Invid Lullaby
A sequel to Second Chance

CHAPTER 3

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Intervention
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He was worried sick and mad. 24 hours ago they took her away and he didn't have any news since. What were they doing to her? He imagined Marlene and the baby being prodded by the medical staff. If anything happened to them, he would kill those bastards.... God! He was going crazy.

"I need to get out of here!" the man finally snapped, violently hitting the table in front of him. He made a run for the door of the low level security room where he was being held and knocked down an unprepared guard in his way. It was a silly attempt to flee, but he wasn't himself at that moment. He just wanted to find Marlene.

A group of military policemen chased after him and managed to stop him. "Calm down, Captain! For your own safety, don't resist!" barked one, which seemed the leader of the group. Bernard struggled to free himself. "Let go off me!" he yelled as he fought. The men continued dragging him into his cell despite the difficulty. Once there, he almost didn't feel the diminutive needle they inserted in the back of his neck. Then, it was dark.

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Her swollen sleepless eyes were fixed on the smooth metallic panel in front of her. The food offered to her remained intact on its tray. Deep in thought, Marlene felt helpless.

With some effort, she could have broken free from the human prison that kept her. She could transfigure into energy and exit the building through the ventilation system. She had gotten in that way; those walls wouldn't confine her. But as the baby grew inside her, the risks augmented. She wasn't sure she could manage at this point of her pregnancy. She feared. What if unlike her, her son's human half couldn't endure the transformation? Also, it would be pointless to leave. Where'd she go, after all? And if she did, there'll be no hope left for Scott and her.

If only subtly, she had been feeling the mental agony her partner was in. He had been detained as well. But for a while now, she hadn't been able to feel him anymore. Something was wrong.

Then, the woman entered her cell. She was slender, tall and pale. Her ways denoted authority. Marlene could tell she was an important officer even without noting the collection of decorations pinned onto her uniform. The prisoner expected colder features from yet another officer about to interrogate her. All the previous ones had been relentless in their questioning. But in the green eyes that examined her this time, Marlene just saw serenity.

The Admiral studied the prisoner. She'd heard all about humanoid Invid before, but never saw one from so close. It was amazing. If merely for the strange hair color and a little too perfect skin, she would never have guessed the woman in the cell was an Invid. She had nothing in common with the sluggish kind she had dealt with during the Sentinels campaign.

Marlene's pale fragility seemed anything but dangerous. In any case, her armed escort flanked her in the room. Across from her, the Admiral looked into the prisoner's eyes. Desperation and pain filled her reddish brown irises.

"Marlene, I'm Admiral Lisa Hayes Hunter," the woman introduced herself and sat down in front of her. With a simple gesture, the guards stayed behind.

"I have some questions for you," she said calmly. "What will happen next partly depends on your answers." Marlene nodded.

"Let's start from the beginning, shall we?"

"Okay," Marlene's reply was almost inaudible.

"How did you come to know Captain Bernard?"

Marlene sighed. "I must know, is he all right?"

"He'll be fine," the Admiral responded after a subtle pause. Nonetheless, the attentive prisoner picked up her interlocutor's hesitation and her eyes widened with concern.

"Did something happen to him?" Marlene asked scared.

Lisa breathed deeply and softened, her instincts told her this woman wasn't an enemy. But the Invid had shown to be deceptive before. Marlene seemed so young; maybe she was as young as her own son. And there was something vaguely familiar about her that she couldn't entirely pin down. Her voice; she had heard that voice before. No, that couldn't be. "I'm imagining things," the Admiral told herself.

"He's resting now. He was quite agitated and worried about you two," Lisa said glancing at Marlene's belly. The captive grew anguished. "He'll be okay, I promise," she added, feeling strangely compelled to calm the captive down.

Marlene closed her eyes. "It is a long story, Admiral," she said at last.

"I'm all ears," the Admiral answered.

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It had been a long day. She entered her quarters and, after taking off her shoes, let out a sigh of relief. Why the hell did the RDF think high heels where appropriate attire for admirals in the force? That archaic policy needed some review and she would make sure that was taken care of.

She massaged her sore neck and noticed the message waiting indicator light blinking relentlessly for attention.

"Review personal messages," Lisa ordered.

"You have two new encrypted messages, Admiral," a generic voice informed.

"Open using personal key Hayes #5658," she requested.

"Authenticating..." the voice informed while the light pulsated imperceptibly. "Access authorized."

"Hi Admiral," his voice said sweetly after he materialized on her holoscreen. "I guess you're working late tonight," He sighed. "Your son and I miss you, sweetheart... Call when you get there, all right? Love you, bye." Then a blip.

"Message terminated," the voice again, changeless.

"Time of message?" inquired Lisa.

"1800 hours." 2200, she read on her watch and sat on her bed.

"Review next message," the Admiral ordered. It had been Rick again, an hour later.

She missed him too. With her investigation wrapping up, she thought her time on Earth and away from her family was about to be over. Then, however, Captain Bernard's Invid lover -pregnant Invid lover, she now knew- was discovered at the base. She had harbored suspicion about Marlene's true origins; the thought of a mix child, nonetheless, had never crossed her mind. How was that even possible? And what was she supposed to do about the being that Marlene was carrying? Would it be an egg? She shook her head.

"Wonderful," she thought tiredly. This incident would just extend her assignment for who knows how many more months.

With the media feasting over the singer's Invid wife's story, no one needed another scandal. The latest incident had been handled discreetly and Lisa Hayes Hunter had been extremely clear about the consequences that would befall upon the source of any information leaked at New Liberty.

She remembered her heated interview with young Bernard. Lisa, the Admiral, wished to send him to a military prison. Lisa, the woman, felt sympathy for him. She was a parent and understood what he was going through. He had seen better days.

Scott Bernard. Dr. Lang's godson. Enrolled at barely 15 years of age. Served the forces well since and on occasion even earlier. Now a Captain. Impeccable service sheet, a leader, skilled, driven, loyal... but also idealistic, young, hotheaded and vulnerable to the weapons of love. But... weren't we all victims of those at one point or another?

The pain on her neck asserted itself, and she reached for the muscle relaxant medication on her night table. Fast acting energo-patches. God bless medical science.

Bernard reminded her of another man in more than one way. Commodore Max Sterling. She admired the famous ace's courage to marry Miriya Parino, a Zentraedi warrior, in the middle of a feral war against her people. She remembered congratulating them both upon learning about Miriya's prodigious pregnancy. She remembered too, holding baby Dana in her arms and wishing she was her own. It all seemed eons ago. Maybe it had been.

What was the difference now? Well, Marlene's personality was anything like Miriya's for one. She smiled remembering the strong tempered Zentraedi, a close friend of hers, for many years now.

It was ironic. This time she was the admiral, like her mentor Gloval had been thirty years earlier when faced with a similar situation. There were attenuating factors in Marlene's case that weren't there for Miriya. But also, Gloval didn't have the RDF Council ready to crucify him if something went wrong. The SDF-1 had been at any rate abandoned by all Earth forces. Gloval had certain freedoms she didn’t.

She went over the facts she'd learned from Marlene and from Scott. Emotions aside, her mind searched for the best course of action.

The warm patch worked its magic. The pain faded. "Open a private channel," she ordered. "Use personal privacy key, Admiral Rick Hunter, Moon Base, at once." Promptly, the link was established. His serene smile came to life on her holoscreen.

"Admiral," he greeted in his charming voice. "I'd lost hope of talking to you tonight. How are you?"

"Dying to kiss you, Hunter," she told him.

"When you say things like that, you make me want to board the first shuttle for Earth, you know," he said.

"Then I'll continue," she teased.

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He recovered his senses to the feeling of hammering pain inside his head. "Those bastards had used a tranquilizer on him! Damn them." He attempted to sit up, but the pain intensified. He lay back again. Maybe if he gave his body a few extra minutes. He tried it again, slowly this time and finally managed to see the room he was in from a vertical position. It was bright outside. He wondered how long he'd been out.

The door opened suddenly. A group of guards came in. "Captain Bernard," one said. "Same old bastard from before," Scott realized feeling his blood boil. "Admiral Hayes Hunter is waiting. Follow us, please. Be advised that we'll carry on our orders at any cost."

"Fine," barked the Captain.

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"Captain Bernard is here, Admiral," an aide informed.

"Very well," Lisa said and sighed. "Make him come in, please, Joanne." The Admiral turned her head from the door to her desk and in the process, got a glimpse of Marlene's expectant face. It had been a hard decision to make. Thanks God she had been able to talk to Rick last night. He had offered his help and support in her choice.

Scott was brought into the room. His piercing blue eyes scrutinized the Admiral. Anger coated his face. His armed companions remained at close distance. As fierce as the young man looked, the sight of Marlene sitting calmly by Lisa's desk dissolved his rage. He looked at her and, in an instant, realized his anger wouldn't serve his purpose. He had to be smart about this if he wanted Marlene and his baby to be safe. He relaxed.

"I'm glad you've calmed down, Captain. Things would have gotten worse otherwise," the Admiral warned. He looked down. Then, she dismissed the guards.

"You better sit down, now," she told him. "We have important matters to discuss."

"Henry, wherever you are, I hope you'd approve of what I'm about to do," Lisa thought as she looked at the troubled couple in front of her.

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