Chapter 558: Chapter 558 Checking in on Liesel and Doctor Raiti’s Findings
"I’m relieved to see that you’ve finally woken up. You had me worried there for a bit."
Avery pushed a few locks of Liesel’s long white hair out of her face, and then lovingly caressed her cheek with his fingers.
There was a much softer expression on his face than he had worn for several days now, and his tone of voice was markedly more jovial.
Only a few hours after his call with Cerise, he had received a message from sickbay that Liesel had finally fully regained consciousness.
She had slipped in and out a few times during her treatment and recovery, but each time it had only been for a fleeting few minutes and Avery had never been able to catch her.
During what small bits of free time he had, he had come to visit her. Sadly, there was little he was able to do other than wait.
He had been assured that her condition was not life threatening. Of course, that hardly diminished his worry.
Liesel had been in rough shape when she was brough back the Intrepid, and it had taken days for her to fully recover under Dr. Raiti’s care.
Fortunately, her body had been straightened through physical augmentations, and she had already taken a large dose of nanomachine medicine.
These factors kept her alive long enough to receive treatment in the Intrepid’s advanced medical facilities despite her having been caught up in a powerful explosion at close range.
Avery could still remember when he received the report detailing Liesel’s injuries. It was not until after the operation that he learned just how bad her condition had been.
All he had heard from Burke at first was that Liesel had been hurt and been forced to return to the Intrepid.
The man had withheld the full details so that Avery was not put under any further stress during the operation.
Everyone knew that he was very protective of those he cared about, especially his wives. There was a possibility that Avery might have abandoned everything else to run to Liesel’s side, and even if he had not, his thoughts likely would have been completely consumed by worry.
However, while Avery understood Burke’s intentions, he had still had a fairly intense talk with him after everything had settled down a bit.
In retrospect, he might have been a bit too harsh on the man, but Avery knew that his emotions could get out of control when it involved his loved ones.
It all stemmed back to the time his father had been horribly injured during an accident at work.
Those were some of the hardest days Avery had ever experienced, and sometimes he still had nightmares about it.
So, when he had heard about just how bad a shape Liesel was in, he could not help but draw parallels to the situation with his father.
Luckily, the Intrepid had impeccable medical facilities and a very qualified doctor onboard.
All of her shattered bones and damaged organs had already been repaired, and there was not even a single scar on her porcelain skin.
Looking at her now, it was hard to believe she was on death’s door just a few days ago.
Liesel did not say anything for a couple of minutes, just basking in the attention Avery was giving her.
Eventually, though, she did pull away and look at him with a serious expression on her face.
"Sorry. It seems that I’m the one causing you to be concerned this time. I just... wasn’t strong enough." Liesel said, lowering her head in shame.
Avery knew that she had been training hard to become a more adept fighter, so he understood how she felt when it seemed that her efforts had not been enough.
Avery felt similarly due to the encounter with the mutated monsters.
After blowing through the enemy combatants without hardly breaking a sweat, he was starting to believe that his strength was nearly infallible.
Yet, he had not been capable of fighting off those creatures without some of his subordinates being killed and incurring several injuries himself.
It had been a bit of a wakeup call.
He may have gotten stronger, but he was by no means invincible or infallible. There was only so much any one person could accomplish no matter how skilled or talented they were.
"That’s okay. You did your best, and you made it through. That’s all that matters. Sometimes, our opponents are going to be strong. Not every job will be an easy pirate hunt, or guarding merchant vessels that never get attacked. So, don’t let this eat away at you. I made plenty of mistakes myself and feel like a failure for letting people die. Still, we have to keep moving. We’ll both continue to polish our skills. That way next time, we’ll be more prepared."
Liesel’s smiled after Avery comforted her, and almost unconsciously she started leaning towards him.
It was obvious that she wanted a kiss, and Avery felt no reason not to oblige.
Except, when they were both just a couple centimeters away from each other, a voice echoed through the sickbay and stopped them in their tracks.
"Ahem. I’d prefer that if you’re going to do such things, you don’t do them in my sickbay." Mercedes said, ruining the moment between Avery and Liesel.
Having been chastised by the doctor, the two of them pulled away. Both of their cheeks developing a scarlet hue from embarrassment.
"We were simply going to kiss. We’re married, so that’s not really a problem, is it?" Liesel said, a hint of indignation in her voice.
"Well, I’d like to point out the potential of spreading diseases through such contact, but that’s not my true concern. From the way you two were looking at each other, I was afraid that things might develop further. And considering that this is a place for the sick and injured, I would prefer that it remain clean."
At first, Avery was kind of shocked by Doctor Raiti’s prudence. Considering that she had once started undressing herself to obtain a sperm sample from Avery.
However, her next words shattered any doubts forming in Avery’s mind about her character.
"I’d prefer for Liesel to get a bit more rest, but she is fully healed. So, if you both can’t wait, my lab is open. I would be interested to record how Avery’s body reacts during the act of sexual reproduction. Will he release different chemicals than a normal human, and how compatible are his zygote cells with another person’s now that his body has undergone so many changes? It is all quite fascinating." Mercedes said, an excited gleam in her eyes.
Naturally, neither Avery nor Liesel took the doctor up on her offer.
Any mood that had been growing between the two of them had been killed and then flattened by a hydraulic press.
"Yeah, that’s not happening. Now, since you want Liesel to take a little longer to recover, how about we head to your lab and address the other project you’ve been working on."
"Ah, that. Yes, it’s interesting, but not particularly enjoyable. But I suppose that I should tell you what I’ve found." Doctor Raiti said before turning around and leading the way out of the room.
It was only a short walk over to her lab, as Mercedes had insisted that the two facilities be close together. That way she did not have to waste much time on commuting between the two.
Once they had through a sealed room at the back of the lab, Avery saw the grotesque figures of some of the mutated people that his team had recovered.
They were all held in large rubes filled with liquid meant to preserve organic material.
For the last few days, Doctor Raiti had been examining them. And while there was still much for her to uncover, she had confirmed Avery’s suspicions.
"It seems that your hunch was correct. Every one of these specimens used to be people. I haven’t been able to isolate exactly what caused the rapid mutation, but it’s clearly a recently developed and very powerful mutagen. Especially since it has a similar effect on so many different species."
There had been humans, bahnens, Baccigans, and twelve other known intelligent species among the twenty-seven monsters that Avery’s company had encountered.
And when Mercedes had looked through past census data of the Dramid Alliance, she had found that the species that had been targeted were those that had the largest populations within the Dramid Alliance.
It was evident why they had been chosen and what the Odium Syndicate’s aim was.
"There is something else that I’ve discovered as well. This drug, Paradise as it’s called, is far more insidious than first expected. While it is highly addictive and becomes debilitating over long-term use, its actual purpose is to prime people to be affected by the mutagen that so horribly warped the creature you fought."
Mercedes went on to further explain how the process worked, but the most Avery got out of it was that the drug somehow weakened a person’s cells, immune system, and nervous system so that they became more susceptible to the mutation process.
"I’d need more data, but my tests so far lead me to believe that the drug also likely leaves behind some sort of toxic residue that builds up in the body. That substance then reacts with the mutagen as an accelerant. Though, that’s still only a theory since I don’t have access to the other substance. I’m trying to reverse engineer it, but that’s going to take some time and luck I’m afraid." Mercedes said, shrugging her shoulders.
"Good work. Keep it up. I want to know everything we can about what we’re dealing with here. But there is one other thing I want your opinion on. From what you’ve told me, this is all very impressive, in a sinister kind of way. Do you have any idea of who might have been capable of something like this?"
