Chapter 13: Admiral Clayandrian

Vague shapes and lights moved around him, sensations and sound that meant ... something? He groaned, then blackness. Lights returned, shapes moved. Someone touched his forehead with cool hands. Tristan's head felt as if it was being beaten from the inside by a hammer. Voices and faces faded in and out and he had strange dreams. Sometimes they were pleasant ones, other times not. Many of his dreams centred on a beautiful alien with eyes of brilliant blue.

He opened his eyes. He was lying in a sunlit room with a large window. There were chairs around his bed and a table to one side. He smelt a faint hint of spicy perfume and it niggled at his memory, but he could not place it. He touched the scar on his forehead. Was this the room they put him in after his transplanted interface had fused? Had they removed the failed interface? He shook his head but it failed to clear. He tried to rise, but the instant he did his vision flashed to intense white, as if his head would explode. He lay back down and sighed. The strange dreams he had been having of beautiful aliens, distant planets, powerful spaceships, were fading. He wondered if Sarah had been to visit him; he lay still and savoured the peace and quiet. Occasionally he heard voices outside his room, but he could not make out what they were saying.

He was hovering just on the edge of sleep when the door of his room opened. Turning his head with an effort he tried to see who it was. The half formed smile froze on his lips. His heart jumped, his greeting turned to a faint gurgle in his throat. I'm still dreaming! It was not a nurse or Sarah as he had expected, but one of the aliens he had been dreaming about. She had an air of authority about her and was accompanied by the smell of spice he had been unable to place.

She smiled a radiant smile at him when she saw he was awake and said something. He shook his head and said, "I don't understand" in English.

She frowned at what he had said, walked over to him, and laid a cool hand on his forehead. Tristan lay rigid at her touch, watching. She was strangely beautiful but very alien; her skin had a slight green tint to it with darker patches running from her neck up either side of her face like large freckles. On her head, where her hair should be, were low ridges running from her forehead to the nape of her neck. The only hair he could see were long eyelashes over red albino like eyes.

She said something else, but Tristan did not understand. With a shake of his head he asked where he was. The alien's frown deepened; she ran her hand gently down the side of Tristan's face and turned towards the door. A few moments later, she returned with another alien. This one looked male and had a higher central ridge on his head. He was dressed like a doctor wearing scrubs. He walked over to Tristan and said something. Tristan took a gulp of air, filling his lungs and feeling a scream building from the pit of his stomach he shook his head, his pulse racing, blood pounding in his ears. The scream came out as a faint croak. He could not breathe, he fought for breath and tried to rise. Firm hands held him down. There was a stabbing pain in his arm and the room wavered and vanished along with the strange aliens.

When he woke the memory of the aliens was vivid. That was the most realistic dream I have ever had. He opened his eyes slowly. The 'doctor' was standing over him with a slight smile playing on his lips. It was no dream! He was living in a nightmare or some alternative reality. His heart started to flutter in his chest. He balled his hands into fists in an effort to control the returning panic. He took a deep breath forcing himself to relax. Wherever I am I will just go with it. The doctor removed an instrument from his pocket and with gentle hands looked into Tristan's eyes with it. He turned to the female by his side and said something. She nodded and sat down on one of the chairs by Tristan's bed. She gently took one of Tristan's hands in hers and smiled at him. It was as if this creature knew him. Tristan's head was spinning. Was he still in the dream? The alien talked to him in low soft tones, but he had no idea what she was saying.

A short while later, the door opened and a male, another female and a small child walked in. They stood and talked to the first female for a while, glancing at Tristan as they did so. They also seemed to know him. Tristan tried to sit up, but the first female held him gently down with her hand on his chest. She shook her head, indicating he should stay where he was.

"OK, I will lay quietly." It was not worth arguing with her so he relaxed back on the bed. He looked at the others around him. "What is going on?" he asked. "Who are you people?" They all frowned at his words and talked together for a while. The female with the small child bent over Tristan and said something to him. She squeezed his free hand and all three turned and left, leaving him with the first female. When they were alone, she bent forward and looked intently at him with her strange eyes. She kissed him, turned and left.

Tristan's mind was still in a whirl. Perhaps he would wake up soon from this strange dream. He lay still for a while, trying to make sense of what was happening to him, but he could think of no rational explanation. At least they meant him no harm. The first female even acted as if they were in a relationship. As if Sarah had been transformed. His body and head ached, so he shut his eyes and fell back to sleep.

He woke to find there had been food left for him. He managed to sit himself up. He was hungry and thirsty. The food was good and the drink a strange kind of fruit juice. Shortly after he had finished, the female alien returned. She sat with him for a while and again kissed him when she left. This went on for several days. Tristan got stronger every day. One day he felt he was ready to stand, so she helped him up, and he held on to her for balance. When he was standing, he found he was a good head taller than she was. He took a few wobbly steps before collapsing back on the bed. What is wrong with me! Why have I forgotten how to walk?

His face had started to itch. He scratched his cheek, long stubble felt rough on his fingers. I need a shave. By the use of sign language he got the female to understand he needed something to remove the few day's growth. She sat him down in the chair and went to the door. Another female was outside. They had an animated conversation, turning to him often, they both laughed and the second female disappeared. Shortly after she returned and Tristan was presented with a knife similar to a cut-throat razor. They sat him by a basin with a mirror. He looked at himself, the same unshaven face he remembered stared back at him. He looked at the two smiling females watching him. Can't they see I'm different to them? He turned back to the mirror and carefully removed his emerging beard. When he had finished they both nodded approval and helped him back to his bed.

Tristan used the time to try and learn some of the language from the female who was with him most of the time. The first thing he learnt was her name, Clayandra. She made him repeat it several times. When he got it right she clapped her hands together, lent forward and kissed him so hard on the mouth it took his breath away.

The following day, Tristan was able to walk with her down the corridor into a garden. He looked around when he was outside. He could see he was far from home. Everything was strangely different; plants, buildings, it was all wrong.

At last he was allowed to leave. Clayandra walked him out of the hospital accompanied by a retinue of nurses and doctors. They left them at the front doors, where Tristan thanked them haltingly in their own language. Clayandra squeezed his arm and led him down the steps to a convoy of waiting vehicles. The door to the central vehicle was being held by a large male in what appeared to be a military uniform. No sooner had they settled in the seats than the vehicle whisked them away to a large imposing building at the end of a wide tree lined boulevard.

Sentries stood either side of sweeping marble steps. The vehicle stopped at the base of the steps and a uniformed officer opened the door. Clayandra took Tristan's hand and lead him up the steps into the building. Whenever they passed a sentry he would stand to attention.

Tristan frowned. "Are you important or something?" he asked her in halting Mylian.

Clayandra just smiled and squeezed his hand. "Come on." They soon arrived at a corridor with a door at the end. She opened it and led Tristan in. "This is all yours." She swept her arm round indicating what appeared to Tristan to be a large apartment. He shut the door behind them. She immediately turned and kissed him hard on the mouth, pressing her body tightly against his. She broke their embrace, stepped back and fumbled behind her dress for a moment. It fell to the floor with a faint swish. Tristan gasped, she might look strangely alien but her body was most definitely human. She pulled him towards her, tearing at his shirt. He responded to her urgency and passion. She pulled back, breathless, smiled, took his hand and lead him to the bedroom he had noticed through the open door on his left.

Afterwards, she lay in his arms, her strange exotic scent filling his nostrils. Dappled early morning sunlight danced on her breast as she breathed. She roused, opened her eyes, and smiled. Her hand touched his cheek then she rolled away from him and sat up. She said something to him he did not understand, and smiled then swung her long legs round and stood. She dressed herself rather provocatively in front of him. Tristan was tempted to pull her back. He reached for her.

Smiling, she skipped away from him and shook her head. "Later, I have to go now." She leant forward, kissed him quickly, twisted away from him laughing, and left.

Tristan lay back down and stared at the ceiling. What am I doing here, when will I wake up to reality? He sighed, remembering his cottage, the almost continuous arguments with Sarah. Perhaps it would be better if I never wake up. The sun had moved round and was now shining in his eyes. Time to get up. He found the shower, and got dressed.

He had just started exploring the apartment when a knock at the door made him jump. Standing at the door was one of the aliens who had visited him in hospital. He made Tristan understand his name was Da'ren and he should follow him. He led Tristan out of the building to a ground vehicle. Once they were seated, the driver took them out into the countryside. Da'ren tried to talk a few times but Tristan shrugged and told him he did not understand, using the few words Clayandra had taught him. He noticed Da'ren had a frown on his face by the time they reached their destination.

They had arrived at a large open area with buildings off to one side. It reminded Tristan of an airfield. Long sleek ships were parked in rows along the edge of the field. It was these ships that fascinated Tristan, they were certainly not any type of aircraft he had ever seen.

On the far end of the field was a large ship with a central ramp leading up into the interior. They drove up to the ship and stopped by the ramp. Da'ren indicated to Tristan he should get out of the vehicle.

They started to walk together up the ramp. A whispering started in his head. He looked round to see if anyone was nearby but only Da'ren stood with him on the ramp. His frown deepening with each step, the whispering became more insistent. Then like a switch closing in his head, his memory returned. Everything flooded back at once. He swayed and clutched Da'ren for support.

"Are you all right, Tristan?"

"Yes, I think so." He let go of Da'ren. "I need to sit down." He walked to the edge of the ramp and sat down, dangling his legs over the side. Da'ren stood watching him. "I remember everything."

"Good, the doctors said you would probably regain your memory suddenly, although we were all worried for a while, especially as you did not understand us and you spoke a strange language," Da'ren replied.

"What was the outcome of the battle? I assume we won or we would not be here."

Da'ren laughed. "Yes, we beat them thanks to you. The Sicceian threat to the Mylian system has been neutralised."