Chapter 20: Vampire in Space: Chapter 16 Born Again

We were on our way to get my vampirism restored and the first thing the crew did was rub it in how my plan wasn’t a secret at all.

“Ela, we knew you were lying about us not being in danger in the Hunting Grounds.” Beth said with her hands on her hips. The holodisplay of Beth from the other ship was so lifelike it felt like she was standing right there. 

I crossed my arms, “No way you knew. I’m excellent at fooling prey.”

Shelya chimed in, “Girl you weren't fooling anyone. You have tells when you lie.  Like that big stupid grin on your face when you were assuring us going to the hunting ground would be safe. Your grin was the type of grin that says, 'haha I'm fooling the stupid prey.'”

“You guys have to be lying otherwise why would you go along with it?” I retorted in a derisive tone.

Eliphor’s AI translator spoke as her tentacles waved wildly in the air, “We went along with your plan because we needed to restore you as a military asset. We knew Captain Guthrapali would be on board for the plan. Our lives being in peril would be an acceptable risk to her.”

Steve put out his hands in a stop gesture, “Whoa just wait a minute. I went along with the plan because I’m confident in the face of death. Besides, if I die in glorious combat I’ll go to Valhalla.”

Ed started laughing hysterically, “Dude you’re not even a follower of Asatro and you’re Asian. Shouldn’t you be buddhist or something?”

Beth smacked Ed on the head, “Don’t be racist Ed. We expect better from you.”

Ed rubbed his head, “It was a joke.”

Steve crossed his arms, “It wasn’t funny and it’s not appropriate.”

“I’m sorry,” Ed said softly.

Steve sighed, “Good. Now, back to Ela being a poor liar.”

I hissed, “I’m not a poor liar. I lie well. My mother raised me to be the perfect hunter.”

Brandy chimed in, “And how much time did you get to spend with children your own age.”

The answer was none, mother had me isolated from a young age. All of this was incredibly frustrating.

Ed laughed, “Honey there are things you do well and things you simply don’t excel in. You’re not a people person and you’re definitely not a good liar. What is this are you pouting? Brandy, is she pouting?”

I growled, “Once I get my powers back I can hunt you.”

Brandy put her hand on my arm, “I’m sorry Ela, but it is true. You lie about as well as you care about the general populace.”

“I care about the prey. I felt sorry for those who died in the attack on Dr. Faust’s space station.”

“If you truly cared, you wouldn’t be calling people prey. They are not simply cattle to be hunted.” 

“Well if they’re not prey what are they?” I said honestly confused about the matter.

Brandy sighed, “They’re people, and or sentient organisms.” Brandy left to return to the cockpit leaving me alone with the holodisplay. Beth signed off the call.

 

A green swath of land was the first noticeable feature of the planet. The trees even had green trunks covered with moss. The grass was soft beneath my feet. A floral scent assaulted my senses. I wondered how the smells and sights would change with my vampire senses. Hopefully I'll have the answer to that soon. The facility was in a clearing. I looked at the door and realized that once I went in I would be stripping my humanity away. No more delicious cakes for me, and no more sensitivity in my skin. Brandy had shown me the value of soft skin. I glanced at Brandy. Her eyes were on the facility ahead of us. A part of me wanted to stay in this vulnerable form for her. Brandy noticed me staring at her and said, “What is it Ela? Are you having second thoughts?” I shook my head no. I was born to be a hunter of course I would restore myself to my former glory.

A rose bush was to the right of the entrance to the doctor's office. The purple blush of the roses straddled the line into blue. The deep color caught my eye and I found I couldn't help but pluck one. A thorn snagged on my skin drawing blood. I looked at the wound on my hand and saw my victims in the blood.  Hundreds of limp bodies with lifeless eyes danced before me. I flashed back to the space station when I was surrounded by humans. I bit the neck of the prey who was poisoned with an anti vampire disease. Losing my vampirism was a harsh pill to swallow. As I looked at my left hand I felt the soft petals of the rose. My skin was sensitive enough to feel the velvet smoothness of each petal. Likewise I had a choice before me.  

On the one hand I could remain human and treasure the sensitive skin and sweet tastes I would experience. Or on the other I could choose to be a hardened weapon. Was the choice before me truly so simple? As a vampire I should choose to be a weapon. As a lover I would want to be human for Brandy. There was no way I could have both. My mother, Captain Guthrapali, and even Brandy all expected me to turn back into a vampire. My mother always admonished me, “Be the predator I raised you to be.” My mother’s voice continued to ring in my head, “Make the gods proud.” Captain Guthrapali’s voice followed, “You’re a military asset. A weapon.”  I looked at my right hand and watched as the blood flowed from my cut. Did I choose blood like they wanted me to? I brought my hand to my face and licked the cut.  A metallic taste went through my mouth. 

Without the vampirism the blood wasn't as sweet as it normally would be. Ingesting blood would be my favorite pastime if I changed back. I would be a predator capable of taking down entire ships single handedly. That's what my crew wanted of me. That is what I'm good for. In my left hand the soft petals caressed my skin. For the first time in my life I understood what gentle and loving care could do. I was like Brandy's rose. Full of love and soft kisses. I would be giving up a softer side of myself that I had enjoyed. 

"What is it Ela?"

I had stopped walking and was standing in front of the door to the clinic. Brandy waved her hand in front of my face. 

I cleared my throat,  "I'm ready."

I opened the door. Becoming a vampire was the only choice I could make.  I needed to be tough again for myself. 

"What would you prefer I'd do?" I asked Brandy as we approached the check in counter.

"I don't know what to tell you… It's your choice. All I know is who I need to be, I need to fight the federation for their attack on Dr. Faust's station. If it weren't for our good fortune my brother could have died. The federation needs to pay. I won’t hate you if you choose to be soft, I like you soft and sweet, but I'll be at war whatever you decide to do. I don’t care about the odds of winning, the Federation must be stopped" Brandy responded with a hardness in her voice as she clenched her fists. 

Brandy is going to get herself killed. All at once the choice became more clear than crystal. There was no longer any question, I must become a vampire, but this time not a predator, a warrior protecting her, and the crew I suppose. Brandy was vulnerable as a human, vulnerable enough to require my attention and care. There was no holding back. I had to be a vampire for her sake as well as my own.

 

“I’ll become a vampire, besides someone needs to protect you, sweet human.” I smiled at Brandy.

“Hey that’s sweet that you want to protect me. No one has ever done that before.” Brandy patted my shoulder.

I signed in at the counter using a TouchPad. Then we sat in the waiting area. Brandy would be at war with the federation. I love her too much to let her fight by herself. The crew sat around us all talking amongst themselves.

“Ela to the back,” the AI receptionist called, and the door to the exam area opened automatically. When I got up Brandy and Beth followed. The AI stood in the doorway, her hair in a neat braid that went down her back. Her lifelike eyes looked at both women.

“Ela must enter the surgery on her own.” The AI held up her hand in a stop motion. Both Brandy and Beth hung in the doorway.

“Perhaps they could wait outside the door?” I asked. 

The AI shook her head. “I’m sorry but you’ll have to wait in the waiting room.” Beth and Brandy walked back to their seats. I followed the AI to the exam room. I sat down on the exam bed. Waiting took longer than expected. When the doctor finally arrived I was laying down with my legs crossed staring at the patterns in the ceiling.

Dr. Darcy was recommended by Dr. Faust who now was living on a rebel ship that was in another star system. We chose to see Dr. Darcy as she was closer. She had long black hair, pale skin and violet eyes. Her heart shaped face wore a frown.

"So we're here to do some DNA editing, Miss Suryava. You're a new patient. Would you tell me what your current status is?"

"My DNA was edited to match human sequences. That was to save my life from a vampire virus that I was poisoned with."

"Today I'm going to target that virus first before repairing your DNA. I'll be using nanobots to target the virus."

Dr. Darcy pulled out a syringe. "The nanobots are in this serum. They've been programmed to target the virus. This may sting and the process may cause some pain in your veins." 

Dr. Darcy rolled up my sleeve and stuck the syringe in my vein. She shot the solution. Then arranged a holo display to see the inside of my vein through the lens of the nanobots. The virus was lying dormant attached to my DNA. A burning sensation creeped through me as the nanobots worked to kill the virus.

 

I hissed as the pain slowly increased.  The nanos were moving at high speed through my veins. Taking down the virus in quick bursts. I yelled as they approached a large cluster and blasted through the virus. It looked like on the screen the nanos were using lasers. It was hard to tell what it was for sure.  Either way they were getting the job done. Dr. Darcy was typing on a computer that was hooked up to the holo display. 

"I'm guiding the nanos through your system. You should be good to go in a few minutes."

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When the high speed chase through my veins was done I took a deep breath.  Dr Darcy had the nanos line up in my wrist and used a syringe to extract them. She then took a long needle connected to the computer and stuck it in my vein. 

"Time to edit your DNA. We’re going to use some Crispr editing." Dr. Darcy began typing and then injected some blood into me through the tubing in the needle. I cried out in pain as I saw her building the sequences in the software. It felt like something was crawling beneath my skin and pricking my veins along the way. Maybe not pricking but more stabbing. I hissed as every inch of me stung.

Dr. Darcy pulled out another syringe of blood and injected it into the tubing. The blood spread through the injection site. Dr. Darcy continued her editing using the injected blood as a model for the sequence. The human sequences were having issues connecting with the vampire DNA. This caused me some pain as the blood circulated through my system. 

Dr. Darcy did what she could to make the edits go swiftly. Another injection of the vampire DNA made me happy I got so much extra. It was clearly needed. Dr.  Darcy did another injection of vampire DNA. The blood had a distinct smell. The fact that I was picking up on it meant my body was already adjusting to the changes. 

Dr.  Darcy put her hand on my arm. "I've coded all of your DNA. Now all that's left is for your body to accept the changes. I recommend bed rest."

"Yes mam." I said before getting out of the chair. I nearly fell from the dizziness. 

"I will keep the spare vampire blood in case you need a follow up appointment. It will be earmarked for you."

"You mean I might not be done?" Dr Darcy removed the needle from my arm. 

"You may have to go through another edit if the changes don't stick."

"I am sure they will." I said not wanting another painful session. 

“You need to avoid heavy activity while your body adjusts to the changes. I’d like to see you for a follow up in a few weeks. You can schedule that with the receptionist.”

I nodded my head and walked out to the reception desk to make an appointment. The AI greeted me and immediately pulled up a calendar on her holo display. We agreed to a time to meet and set the appointment. The receptionist bid me a good day as I walked out to the waiting room.

I felt good as new though my body ached. When I went into the waiting room Brandy was there wringing her hands. Beth and the others stood back, their eyes on the exits.

Brandy got up from her seat, "Did it go okay? Is the procedure finished?"

"I'm okay. The procedure is finished."

Brandy came up to me and gave me a hug. Her scent of cinnamon and coffee hit my senses.

"You smell good. " I said without thinking. Brandy moved back, "No feeding on me."

"I know I won't." Brandy’s neck was always a temptation, but one I avoided as much as I could.

The two of us headed back to the ship with the crew on our tail. The sunlight was blaring and made my eyes hurt. I kept to myself until Brandy extended a hand to me and we held hands. My heart felt fuzzy with affection. We got on the ship and I sat in the cockpit with Brandy. My body ached all over. I hissed as I put on the seat belt. Brandy extended her left hand to me to hold it. With her right hand she put in the coordinates and started the ship. My superior senses were beginning to kick in. I heard every tap of the keys as Brandy launched the ship.

We arrived at The Lancet with time to spare. Brandy got me out of the ship and to my room. The pain in my body was severe enough that I decided to stay in bed. Brandy had access to enter my room. She let me know she would be back later to check on me. When she left I felt comfortable in my bed though I still felt the pain in my whole body from the edit. Dr. Darcy had warned me that the changes would be incremental and painful. Every organ had to adjust to the changes. My body was getting used to being vampiric again. The increased ribosomes production and muscle density. My vision increased to a much wider spectrum. I could see heat again. After several hours of agonizing pain, I have become whole. 

 

The next morning I awoke to Brandy slipping quietly into bed next to me.

"Good morning, Ela." Brandy gave me a quick kiss.

I stretched and sat up. "What are you doing here?"

"I'm cuddling with you, silly."

"I have to get ready for work."

“Are you ready for work?” Brandy’s tone implied she thought I might still be sick. She sent a finger trailing over my skin.

“I’ll prove I’m ready.” I shot up out of the bed and used my strength to pick Brandy up from the bed in one arm.

“See I’m much better.” I looked up at her face.

Brandy smiled and slowly got out of my grasp, “Nice moves, but you shouldn’t push yourself too hard.”

Brandy stood up and looked down on me, her hair falling forward it was loose instead of in it’s customary bun. The platinum blond strands got caught up in my hands as I went to put my hands on her face.

“You don’t have to worry about me.” I kissed her then gently on the lips. The taste of her making me heady with romance. I let her go to get ready. My ability to work was in question and I wanted the answer to be that I was more than fit to do my job. Weakness was not something I wanted to have.

“How about you come with me to the gym so we can test how much better you’re doing?” Brandy said to me after I got out of the shower. I looked at the clock, and my shift didn’t start for another 30 minutes. I had some time so I followed Brandy to the gym.

Once we were there she put some weights with imperial measurements on the bench press and gestured for me to pick them up. I laid down and lifted the 500 lb weights she put on as if they were a baby. Brandy added another 500 lbs and I lifted that too.

“You just lifted 1000 lbs without breaking a sweat.”

“Yes and I could do better!” I felt like I could lift the entire weight of the ship. “Also vampires don’t sweat.”

Brandy smiled and slowly slid the weights off, “You still have to prove you have the stamina to do your job.” She encouraged me to approach the treadmill.

“Let’s see how fast you can go on it.”

I got on the treadmill and maxed the speed out to 120 km per hour. I looked at Brandy, “Can this go any faster?” I wanted to push myself to see just how good I was again.

Brandy shook her head, “No you’re going the maximum speed. It’s built to take the speed of Saring cadets, not vampires.”

I looked at my wrist com to check the time and stopped the machine. “Gods it feels good to be back in my own skin again. I’m not prey anymore! Time to go on shift. I’ll see you later. There’s just one last thing I need to check on.”

I pushed Brandy against the wall, both arms penned her in. I stood on my tippy toes to kiss Brandy, thrusting my tongue deep inside her mouth. “You taste so sweet.” I said as I went to nibble on her lower lip. Brandy moaned, but I withdrew to leave. 

 

Despite being sore I went to work (what Brandy didn’t know wouldn’t kill her). When I went on break from work it was on my way back that I discovered Captain Sansona had disappeared. The cell was completely empty. I used my wrist com to alert Brandy and the captain. Captain Sansona had to have had help. My sense of smell had returned so I walked down the hall following the trail. The scent of four distinct entities headed toward the escape pods filled my nose. There were other smells surrounding them. I saw two guards knocked out on the floor. I rushed to the escape pod chamber and saw out the window a shuttle rushing out of the ship's range. As I passed the shuttle bay from where they had launched I picked up the scent of a fifth person. Coffee and cinnamon hit my nose. 

“Oh no, Brandy!”

 I headed to the docking bay where the mini gun ship was located. I got in and asked captain Guthrapali to green light a chase. Clearance received, I pursued the shuttle. I hailed them, "stop now." The shuttle kept speeding forward. I engaged the tractor beam and the shuttle slowed down, being pulled toward my ship. The shuttle resisted, Sansona attempting to speed away. Sasona opened fire in the hopes of destroying the tractor beam. Damage was sustained to the hull. The tractor beam disengaged. 

“Let us go or I’ll kill your mate.” Captain Sansona came in on the com line. 

I could hear Brandy screaming in the background, “Open fire, kill them all!”

“Never,” I growled trying to re-engage the tractor beam.

The shuttle opened an HQ Tunnel and escaped my grasp. Feeling defeated, I returned to the Lancet. How could I let them take her? I failed. My hands were balled into fists. Captain Sansona didn’t know what she was doing taking my mate. I’ll have her head.

 

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