Chapter 11 S2

Niris was overexcited. Leaning forward against the cockpit window, he was looking straight ahead, wriggling with impatience. Lou, for her part, was fed up with her pupil's excitement, which had been going on for several hours already. She had tried repeatedly to get him to sit down in his seat and wait for the plane to land but to no avail. The angel couldn't wait to see her friend Ascarm again. 

-Sit down! She tried one last time to reason with him, but she couldn't believe it herself. 

The angel sat on the edge of her seat without saying a word, her eyes still fixed straight ahead. She sighed. Their stay on Selanpe was likely to be a long one...

They were just a few minutes from the intergalactic entrance to Joukhen airport, a city on the outskirts of the capital where they planned to spend the time it took to rehabilitate the Master of Blades. His condition was not stable and although she had not told her pupil, she feared he would suffer a seizure soon, permanently disabling his left arm and preventing him from fully recovering his power. 

This stay on Selanpe was going to be crucial. 

"Landing clearance granted. Automatic heading to gate 57." 

She sighed. At last, they had arrived. She left the controls to the artificial intelligence in the control tower, which would guide them directly to their parking area for the duration of their stay. In a few minutes, she would be able to relieve the pain that had gripped her for the last few hours. It had to be done quickly. 

Niris, completely unaffected by his master's suffering, had risen to his feet and was staring with shining eyes at the golden portal opening before them. In a few minutes, he would see his friend again. He couldn't wait any longer. 

Their landing was uneventful. Selanpe's technologies were advanced and interstellar visitors were always well received on the planet of the marine species, where they benefited from a benevolent economic and diplomatic climate. 

"Opening of decompression airlock. Please wait two minutes in the airlock before entering the reception area" said the robotic voice. 

With a leap, Niris jumped to her feet and planted herself in front of the door, which was opening too slowly for her liking. 

-Master, we've landed! Hurry!" he urged Lou, who was getting up from his seat and grumbling. 

The pain had become unbearable. She was going to ask for an emergency operation as soon as she got to the reception area. After what seemed an interminable wait, the robotic voice welcomed them and finally allowed them to enter. The airlock door opened, and Niris didn't have to wait much longer to throw herself into the arms of Ascarm, who was waiting for her on the other side. 

-Ascarm! God, I've missed you!" he cried, clutching the little Selanpis to his chest. 

Ascarm let himself be crushed in the warmth of his embrace, laughing. He too had longed for the little prince. All around them, Kinni was barking happily in circles. The scene was refreshing. Finally, they separated from each other and looked at each other. Ascarm lost his smile. He could see the fatigue and anxiety in his friend's eyes even through his radiant smile. It had lost its natural radiance since they had parted. 

-How are you?" asked the angel, interrupting his gloomy thoughts. 

-I've been very busy since I got back from Yerpena. Time's flown by and I've hardly had time to think about you," he smiled wryly, earning himself a pat on the arm from his friend. And what about you? 

-I'm fine, a lot's happened since... 

The angel's gaze wavered as he spoke his words. The Selanpis' heart clenched, but before he could say anything, the angel resumed with forced enthusiasm. 

-But everything's fine, I'm in great shape! Ready to fight for the world haha! 

Ascarm was not fooled by his false confidence, but he said nothing. If his friend needed moral support and mental strength to face the situation, then he certainly wasn't going to destroy everything because he cared about him. 

-Good, I'm glad to hear it! he replied with an understanding smile. 

The last thing he wanted was for his friend to think that he had specific expectations of him, but he also didn't want to break the little strength and semblance of serenity he had managed to muster to embark on the long journey ahead of him. It was a difficult in-between, but he knew that the angel would lean on him when he needed it. 

-You must be tired, come on, I'll take you to your rooms. 

The angel nodded and turned to tell his master of his plans when he saw a group of people bustling around her. He approached, worried. 

-What's going on? 

-Your Highness, we're going to perform an emergency operation on Master Lou, his condition is very serious," explained a tall man dressed in a uniform that resembled Ascarm's.

Niris frowned. An emergency operation? He knew that the Master of Swords had a paralysed arm, but she had assured him that her condition could not worsen and, above all, that she felt nothing in her left arm. 

He pushed some of the men who had finished carrying her onto a stretcher and bent over her. 

-Ah Niris..." said the angel with a faint smile. I seem to have underestimated my arm's capacity for deterioration. Niyari is not someone to be underestimated, my long years of rest have made me forget that. 

-How long have you been in pain? asked Niris coldly. 

-A few hours at most," she replied, still smiling. But it's nothing, the Selanpis are excellent specialists in energy channel medicine, and they'll have me back on my feet in no time. That's why Selanpe is our first port of call after all...

-If you die, it'll be your fault. And don't expect me to bury you, I'll throw you off a cliff and feed you to the vultures. 

It took a lot of mental strength not to shake his voice at the end of his sentence. Lou gave a tired little laugh. 

-Fine by me," she replied. But I'm not going to let you have the pleasure anyway, so count on me coming back in top form to kick your arse for your insolence, young man. 

She gave him one last provocative look before he was pushed aside by the stretcher-bearers, who lifted the stretcher and ran off in the direction of a vehicle waiting, doors open, a few meters away. Niris watched the scene with a detached air. 

He felt empty. They had been travelling together for a fortnight, and at no time had he noticed the deterioration in his master's condition. He clenched his fist. He felt worthless. Both because she hadn't told him so as not to worry him anymore, and because he hadn't been able to see for himself what was going on.

It was as if she considered him incapable of coping with the news of her condition. By hiding his condition from him, she had protected him from the heaviness of realising his fragility. The master of blades could not appear weakened in front of his pupil, that was all he retained from his actions. And that left him with a gaping hole into which he felt irreparably sucked. 

Feeling his anger rising, he inhaled deeply. Slowly, his fingers loosened and he regained a certain serenity of mind. He knew why Lou had done this. He didn't like her, but he understood. He would discuss it with her when she woke up. He didn't want a truncated relationship with the person he should trust most, his own master. 

-Niris..." Ascarm called behind him. 

The angel turned and looked into his friend's green eyes. 

-Ascarm, explain to me what is happening to my master and how you intend to treat her. I want to know the implications and how the corruption of her energy channels works, so that I can react if it happens again during our journey. 

Ascarm watched him for a moment, Kinni in his arms. Then he closed his eyes for a brief moment. 

-Very good," he said. I think this is something you need to know and something you can master. Follow me," he ordered. 

The angel thanked him with her eyes and complied. They left the airport and climbed into a sphere made of metal and glass, attached to a rail that took them over the surrounding countryside to the city itself. 

-Joukhen is an industrial town with very few dwellings. Most of its activity is based on the intergalactic airport and the carelogy energy laboratory, i.e. the study of energy channels. 

The angel forgot for a moment the scene of his master lying on a stretcher to admire the surrounding countryside. Unlike the angels, the Selanpis practised animal husbandry and agriculture. In their way of life, they balanced respect for their environment with the development of technologies to improve their living conditions with an intelligence that the angel respected. 

Around them stretched cultivated and wild fields as far as the eye could see, dotted with large structures that strongly resembled farms. 

-The government chose this location because it is so rich in natural energy, which is perfect for both airport deployment and carélogie. The laboratory is ideally located at the crossroads of several energy currents. 

Niris listened attentively. He didn't want to lose a single crumb of information on a subject he didn't know very well and which he would have to master if he wanted to avoid situations like this recurring. 

-We began to develop carelogy when a scientist succeeded in treating a paraplegic by rehabilitating his energy channels. The operation lasted three days and at the end, he could walk as if he had never been paralysed. This discovery is what convinced us that there was enormous potential in cardio-logy. 

-A person was able to walk after having had his energy channels rehabilitated? Without their body or their illness being cured? asked Niris, dumbfounded. 

Ascarm nodded. 

-Since then, we've deployed a huge amount of resources in carelogy and we have the most important carelogy center in the intergalaxy. We're proud to be able to say that we've become the intergalactic reference and that we welcome scientists from all over the world to take part in our research. 

He paused for a moment before raising his head. 

-That's why I have total confidence in our teams to get Master Lou back on his feet in no time! 

Niris met his gaze and then nodded silently. 

-Thank you Ascarm, I know you're not saying that to please me," he replied in a weak voice. 

-Of course not, I mean it! he replied with a confident smile. Especially as she contacted us about three weeks ago, we were able to look into the matter and prepare the ground before she arrived. The energy surgeon who will be treating her has found a method that should give her back full control of her arm and ensure that the corruption doesn't spread to the rest of her body. 

Niris looked at him expectantly. 

-And what does this method involve? 

Their transport capsule finally arrived at its port, where it stopped. They were in a long, flat building with a very severe appearance. The inside was as cold as the outside. Niris deduced that they were in the famous laboratory. 

The two friends climbed out of the capsule, followed by Kinni, and entered a long corridor lit by white neon lights. 

-It's a revolutionary method, to be honest," continued Ascarm, answering the angel's question. He had the excellent idea of calling on the Rourques who helped us develop this technique with their knowledge of biotechnology. He wants to revitalise his energy channels and replace the tissues that have been damaged by decay. 

Niris opened his eyes as round as saucers. Had he heard correctly? 

-Revitalise...? he asked, a little confused. 

The Selanpis smiled. 

-The Master of Blades' channels have been corrupted by Niyari's energy, in other words, they've devitalised. But as his body was still in the grip of the cryogenic sleep he'd been in for all those years, the corruption hadn't spread as it would have in a normal body. That's why his condition was stable at first. But with time, his body regained its vitality and the corruption slowly began to take its toll, which explains his deteriorated state on arrival. 

The Selanpis paused and turned into a corridor before resuming. 

-Honestly, with a few minutes to spare, she could have lost complete control of her body," he said in a darker voice. 

A shiver ran down the angel's spine at the thought. The thought that his master was so close to death as he waited excitedly for their landing to see Ascarm again made him decide a little more. 

Niris thought for a moment. If he understood correctly, his master was undergoing a crucial operation that would determine not only his ability to use his left arm again but quite simply his survival. And the fact that she was a kind of scientific UFO, having woken up after an enforced lethargy, meant that the operation was particularly delicate. 

This could not happen again. He had to be able to anticipate this kind of situation in the future to be able to prevent it if they had no access to doctors or means of transport during their journey. 

-Teach me everything there is to know about carelogy," he said with determination. 

Ascarm sighed. 

-Niris, it took the best scientists decades to understand how this science works, you can't expect to understand its mechanisms yourself in a few weeks. 

-Anyway, I need to know as much as possible. I'll manage, just give me something to study and I'll study as much as I can during these days here. 

Ascarm read the unwavering determination in his friend's eyes. He wouldn't change his mind. And even if the task was prodigious, in itself it was surely the best thing he could have done. His master would forever be subject to the vagaries of carelogy now that she had one of her corrupted arms. He might as well give the angel all the keys he needed to help his master if need be. 

-All right, I'll help you," he says with a straight face. But don't complain about the workload, you're the one who asked for it. 

-Thank you Ascarm! 

His friend's warm tone and the sparkle that shone in his eyes as he heard his reply moved him. He had forgotten how Niris was someone who would do anything for those who mattered to him, and this determination was surely one of the things he appreciated and respected most about him.