Chapter 40: The Doctor is missing
The first thing K heard was the hum of a ship.
Low and steady.
The second thing he felt was pain. It wasn’t sharp enough to make him scream, but it was everywhere. A dull ache beneath his ribs. A heavy pressure in his skull. His limbs felt strangely distant, as though they belonged to someone else.
His eyelids fluttered, white light seeped through.
He blinked.
The ceiling above him swayed slightly.
"...Where?"
His voice barely escaped his throat. A familiar mechanical chime sounded inside his head, sending a sharp pain through his skull.
...
[Host consciousness detected.]
...
K’s eyes opened fully.
...
[Vital signs stabilizing.]
[Neurological activity returning to baseline.]
...
"...K?"
Lex’s voice.
He turned his head in the direction her voice came from.
She was sitting in the pilot’s seat.
Blood had dried along the side of her face. One arm was wrapped tightly with bandages around her torso, and the other remained on the controls.
Her clothes were torn, her breathing was shallow and yet she was still piloting.
K stared at her.
Lex stared back.
For several seconds, neither spoke.
Her expression wasn’t relief.
It was fear.
Not the fear of someone seeing a wounded friend wake up.
Something else.
Uncertainty.
As if she wasn’t entirely sure what was going to wake up.
K frowned.
"Lex?"
Her fingers tightened around the controls.
"Welcome back, K-0-0-1."
Kagu’s voice sounded from the ship’s speakers.
"K’s consciousness has returned."
Lex swallowed.
"I said K’s consciousness has returned."
"Oh...okay, I’ve heard."
K tried to sit up.Pain immediately shot through his chest, he hissed and fell back.
"Don’t."
Lex’s voice came out sharper than intended.
K looked at her again.
"...What happened?"
She didn’t answer.
K slowly turned his head to the stretcher across the room. Iniko lay several feet away.
Unconscious.
Her body was covered in blood, a deep gash in her thigh covered by several healing patches. One of her Ulu staffs lay broken beside her.
K’s eyes widened.
"Iniko."
He tried to get up again.
This time Lex abandoned the controls long enough to grab his shoulder.
"Don’t move!"
"She’s hurt."
"I know."
"What happened?"
"I don’t know."
K stared at her but she quickly looked away.
Kagu’s interface flickered across the nearest outlet.
"Would you like me to perform a memory recall assessment, K?"
K stared blankly at the words.
"...Do I remember anything?"
Kagu paused.
"I was asking you."
K shut his eyes and tried recalling but...
There was nothing.
Only fragments.
A voice.
Something screaming.
A sensation of falling.
And then...nothingness.
Darkness.
He opened his eyes.
"No."
Lex’s expression tightened.
Kagu continued.
"Do you recall the expedition?"
"Which one?"
"The encounter with the hostile Vashki entity?"
"No."
"Your confrontation with the U’Kan?"
K frowned.
"No."
Silence.
Lex looked toward the windshield.
Meredith’s atmosphere was already visible beyond the glass. Clouds stretched across the planet like pale ribbons.
"We’re almost home," she whispered.
K looked at her.
"...Why do you look so...scared?"
Lex didn’t respond.
"Lex."
"I’m not."
"You are."
Her jaw tightened.
"I said I’m not."
Kagu interrupted.
"Lex’s heart rate has increased by 17%."
Lex shot the outlet Kagu floated on an irritated look.
"Kagu."
"Yes?"
"Stop."
"Understood."
K looked between them.
Something was wrong.
He just didn’t know what.
The ship entered Meredith’s atmosphere several minutes later.
The descent was rough.
Normally, K would have complained about Lex’s piloting.
This time, he barely noticed.
His mind remained occupied by the strange feeling crawling beneath his skin.
Something was missing.
Or perhaps, something had been...added.
The ship finally touched down.
The moment the landing mechanisms locked into place, the doors opened.
Medical personnel rushed inside.
"Easy."
"Careful with the injured."
"Get the stretcher."
K barely had time to process what was happening before someone lifted his stretcher from the ship.
They wheeled him towards a different sector.
"Wait."
The medical team ignored him.
"Where are you taking me?"
No answer.
K looked around.
Iniko was being carried beside him.
Lex was being supported by another medical officer.
"Where’s Thira?"
Still nothing.
K’s brows furrowed.
"Why aren’t we going to Thira’s laboratory?"
One of the medical personnel glanced at him then immediately looked away.
K’s eyes narrowed.
"Where are you taking us?"
Nothing.
His pulse quickened.
"Kagu."
"Yes?"
"Where are they taking us?"
A brief pause.
"I am unable to access the facility’s current medical routing protocols."
"...What?"
"My access has been...restricted."
K stared at the ceiling.
This was very unusual.
Thira was the one who handled their medical treatment.
Especially his.
Why were they being taken somewhere else?
He tried sitting up.
"Stop. You need to lie down"
The attendant pushed him back down.
"Sir, please remain still."
"I asked where you’re taking me."
The man didn’t answer.
K’s irritation quickly became anger.
"Stop ignoring me."
But the wheels continued rolling. His fingers curled around the side of the stretcher.
"I said—"
"K."
Bak’s voice echoed through the corridor.
Everything stopped.
The medical personnel immediately stepped aside.
Bak stood at the end of the hallway.
His expression was unreadable.
"Take the injured women for treatment."
K stared at him.
"...Admiral?"
Bak didn’t answer immediately. His eyes moved over K’s face, his chest and his hands.
His expression darkened.
"K."
He stepped closer.
"What happened to you?"
K frowned. "I was hoping you could tell me."
Bak’s jaw tightened.
Before he could respond—
A Few Hours Earlier
Bak woke choking on air.
His body lurched upright.
For several seconds he didn’t understand where he was. His quarters was dark, sheets were tangled around his legs.
Sweat covered his forehead.
Then the memory that plagued his dreams returned.
That burning house.
The smoke.
The incessant screaming.
His scrawny bandaged legs standing above the burning wreckage.
"Dongsaeng-a, geunyeoleul anjeonhage jikigessdago yagsoghae jwo. Museun il-i iss-eodo geunyeoleul bohohagessdago.[Little brother, promise me that you’ll keep her safe. No matter what, you’ll protect her.]"
That thing.
Porcelain.
Tall.
Its white head positioned directly at him.
Speaking in a language he never understood.
Bak clutched his chest.
"No..."
His stomach twisted.
He barely reached the bathroom before vomiting.
His knees hit the floor.
He remained there for several moments, breathing heavily.
The nightmare had felt too real.
It always felt too real.
He dragged himself upright and washed his face.
The mirror showed a man who looked older than he had yesterday. Dark circles sat beneath his eyes, his hair was disheveled and his hands trembled slightly.
"Get yourself together."
He turned on the shower.
The cold water helped a little.
He stepped beneath it and closed his eyes. For several seconds, there was only water and his steady breathing.
Then—
BEEP.
Bak opened his eyes.
His wrist communicator flashed red.
INCOMING ’DISTRESS’ SIGNAL.
He immediately accepted it.
Lex’s voice burst through the speaker.
"Admiral!"
Bak straightened.
"Lex?"
"We’re injured."
Her breathing was strained.
"How bad?"
"Bad enough."
A pause.
"Iniko’s unconscious. K’s—"
She stopped.
Bak’s expression hardened.
"K’s what?"
"He’s alive..."
Relief barely had time to register.
"We’re approaching Meredith now."
"Bring them directly to Thira."
"Please have medics ready!"
The transmission cut.
Bak immediately contacted Thira’s laboratory.
No response.
He tried again.
Nothing.
His jaw tightened.
"Thira."
Still nothing.
He switched frequencies.
"Thira, respond."
Silence.
Bak stepped out of the shower. He dressed quickly and stormed out of his quarters.
The two soldiers stationed outside his quarters immediately straightened.
"Admiral."
"Find Thira."
"Sir?"
"Get to his laboratory. Now!"
The soldiers saluted and hurried away.
Bak began walking toward the medical wing.
His communicator crackled.
"Admiral."
Bak stopped.
"What?"
"We have a problem."
"Speak."
A pause.
"We can’t locate the doctor."
Bak’s eyes narrowed.
"What do you mean you can’t locate him?"
"His laboratory is empty safe for his attendants and they claim to have not seen him as well."
"Search it."
"We already did."
"Then search again."
"Sir..."
The soldier’s voice became uncertain.
"There are signs that he was there."
Bak’s stomach sank.
"What kind?"
"His equipment is still active."
A pause.
"His clone bodies are still present."
Bak stopped walking.
"...His original?"
"...missing."
The corridor suddenly felt colder.
Bak stared ahead.
His nightmare flashed through his mind again.
The burning house. The porcelain figure. The strange language.
Lex’s distress signal.
And now Thira was missing.
"Find him and pull all footage feeds."
"Yes, sir."
Bak ended the call.
He stood alone for a moment.
Then another transmission came through.
"Admiral!"
"What now?"
"The ship has landed."
Bak immediately turned.
"Medical team?"
"Already responding."
"Bring them to the central medical wing."
"Understood."
Bak began walking.
Fast.
Now, standing in front of K, Bak studied him again.
K stared back.
"You look like you’ve seen a ghost," K said.
Bak’s expression remained cold.
"You don’t remember?"
K shook his head.
"No."
Bak looked toward Lex.
She avoided his eyes.
Then toward Iniko.
Still unconscious but being attended to.
Finally, his gaze returned to K.
"...Interesting."
K frowned.
"What?"
Bak stepped closer.
"Where is Thira?"
K blinked.
"I don’t know."
Bak’s eyes narrowed.
"That’s exactly the problem."
K’s stomach dropped.
"What happened?"
Bak didn’t answer.Instead, he looked toward his soldiers.
"Take them inside."
"Wait! I’m coming with you!" K immediately protested.
"K...please."
"I said I’m coming with!"