A painful start

In the hospital room the only sound was the soft beeping of machines and the even quieter susseration of the respirator that was keeping the pale young woman in the bed alive. Deathly pale and somehow seemingly diminished in only a few hours time, the only color was her raven's-wing-black hair and brows. Watching through the observation room a man in his late fifties watched his young friend with concern, it was hard to belive that the so very still form in the bed was the same vibrant woman who had brightened the dinner table. And half a day before that had saved his life from a foolhardy action on his own.

A woman who was of the same age that had given in to time gracefully stepped up to his side and silently put her arms around him, offering what comfort she could. She too had come to like the young lieutenant assigned to their small base to help keep the militia trained and up to date. Both had adopted her as an honorary daughter much to her embarrasment, but after awhile they broke through her stiff formality to the charming young woman that hid beind the mask of a LAAF officer.

He finally spoke, "How bitterly ironic. She saved me from choking on a chicken bone of all things, and now she's dying because I thought I'd have a special dinner in her honor."

His wife held him tighter and rested her chin on his shoulder, "You didn't know the fish would be bad, dear. None of us did. At least we know it was accidental."

Unspoken were their mutual thoughts that life amongst the Lyran nobility was not all peace and light, that sometimes "accidents" were arranged, especially for a young woman with her past. So when Marlana had collapsed in a pool of her own vomit after dinner the first thing the doctors checked for was poisons. Thus far all they had been able to determine was that she was suffering from an extreme case of food poisoning, but none of the treatments seemed to be working. Neither let themselves think about the fact that Marlana was the only one to get sick from the fish.

"We found it!" The shout startled the couple as the normally reserved doctor came running up to planetary governor Erik Doons and his wife Elizabetta. A smile was on his exhausted face and they noticed nurses going into the young woman's room and began to administer various medicines.

Doctor Aarons took a deep breath and let it out slowly before speaking, "It was anaphylactic shock, my lord, my lady."

At their blank looks he continued, "A severe allergic reaction, for some reason her body reacted as if it were allergic to the fish. That's what we were missing, the toxicology report just came in a few minutes ago, now that we know the entire situation, we have a better chance at helping her."

As the expressions brightened the faces of the two, the doctor raised his hand warningly, "It's not a guarantee that she'll come out of it. We can treat the two conditions, but there's a ways to go before Lieutanent Halas will be in decent shape. But there is a chance."

Sighing, the governor nodded sadly, "I'd best have her next of kind informed, but by the time they'll receive the notice we'll know one way or the other."

The doctor looked thoughtful, "Considering some of her relations, I would be very careful in how you phrased the message."

Startled the governor looked at the younger man piercingly, "Is there something you haven't told us?"

Aarons shook his head, "Not really, it's just the fact that everyone at your dinner ate the fish and none have gotten ill. Presumably all of the servings were prepared at the same time?"

"Yes, we already had verified that, we haven't replaced any of the staff and the meat came from the same vendor we've been using for years. We're currently having an investigation being conducted, but so far it just seems to be accidental."

All three fell silent as the nurses left the patient's room, and the doctor went in to examine his patient, gesturing for the couple to join him. Naturally he shut the door and pulled the curtains closed. As he began his examination the doctor spoke softly, "The only reason why I asked is that I know there are drugs that can be used to simulate different conditions. While I did have them tested for, some of them break down too quickly to be detected in time. I'm having her room kept under constant surveillance, but I just wanted to give you some sort of warning. In case."

Then he spoke in a normal tone of voice as he opened up the door, "She seems to be responding to the treatment, her breathing has eased at least. We'll know in a few hours."

Silently the older couple nodded, then left to their home to send some carefully worded messages. They had to notify the LAAF and the family of Marlana's sudden illness, but not the severity, not yet.

As days, then weeks went by, Marlana seemed to pull out of her situation, then would have a sudden relapse. For some reason her system would continue to have responses as if given a constant allergy. Finally one of the attendents noticed that Lana's hair color seemed to be fading, more tests showed reveal that the hair dye she'd been using had a chemical closely related to fish oil. Once the dye was stripped from her hair, her recovery finally started.

When she was finally up and about, though weak and shakey, Marlana received an unexpected visitor in the shape of Alex.

"You look like hell, sis."

She smiled wryly, "Love you too, brother mine. So what brings you out to the middle of nowhere?"

"Oh, I dunno, thought I'd see how the fish were biting."

At her scowl he grinned, "I know, not funny. Actually your father had me come out here to check up on you. He would've, but with the way Her Grace has been acting lately, he figured it would be safer for me to check up on you. " Alex studied his adopted sister thoughtfully and tried not to worry at how pale she'd become or the fact her hair was pure white, "Pity it's not around Halloween, you'd have no problems dressing up as a ghost."

He didn't move in time to avoid getting a pillow to the face.

After a nurse came in to chastise him for upsetting her patient, Alex shook his head, but settled down.

"In all seriousness, sis, how are you doing? You really do look like death warmed over."

Lani was quiet for a time, looking out the window to the parklike settings outside. "I'm not sure, Alex. I haven't puked in a month and they're letting me eat solids now. The worst part is how I'm tired all of the time."

He grimaced, "That falls under TMI, Lani. "

She shrugged, "You asked."

He was quiet for a moment then spoke slowly, unsure of how she'd received what he was about to say. "When he heard who I was and before they let me in, Governor Doons approached me. He's worried about you, hun. And his friends in the LAAF have stated that certain individuals have made it clear that you'd never get beyond postings like the current one until you toe the line with your mother. He can arrange for an honorable discharge and you know that my cousins would love to have you working for Defiance as part of their security."

Alex began to worry when she didn't respond right away, then he saw the tears silently running down her cheeks. Not saying anything he got up and carefully hugged her, wincing at how delicate she felt. She'd never been a big person, but she'd always had a solidity to her, now she was shockingly fragile. For a moment she just sat there, then slowly put her arms around him return, but without their former strength. As his best friend wept bitterly silent tears into his chest, he just gently rocked her without saying anything. What could he say in the face of her broken dreams?

Finally she sat up, wiped her eyes and sniffed, seeing that she had gotten it out of her system, he returned to his seat. Then seeing the thoughtful look in her eyes, he wondered if he should have left.

"How different do I look now?"

He regarded her warily, Lani wasn't one to ask about her looks. "Unless they knew you well, no one could tell who you were..."

She smiled and he almost did leave, she clearly had a plan in mind. Alex sighed.

"All right, sis, what's brewing in that twisted little mind of yours."

Lani smiled, "You still know some of the wrong people for a new id, right?"

His heart sank, it was worse than he was afraid of and he knew her well enough to know where her thoughts were going.

"I guess so..."

"Good. Marlana Halas is going to disappear for awhile. I want to apply to the merc company Dad is doing the admin for, but I want to do it on my own without having to rely on Dad or Uncle Sledge to help me."

Stunned her visitor just sat there staring at her. Of all the things she could have come up with, that was the last thing he expected. She simply smiled and waited for him to finish squirming.

"Yeah, I guess I can get you the id you need, but you're not in any shape to pilot a mech."

"Doesn't matter, get me the id, I'll be in shape by the time I get to Outreach."

The smile on her face was one he knew far too well, it was Lani at her most stubborn.

"After all, I have a goal now, and we both know I achieve my goals."