Page 4 of The Alien's Private Redemption

"Did you have anything available to stop her from suffocating?" Zoric pressed. "Any way to shock her and keep her brain from killing her body?"

"How do you know-" Dr. Phillips started, but one of the soldiers interrupted her.

By the amount of decorations on his uniform, Zoric knew he was important in their hierarchy but he couldn't remember his title.

"We have a complete medical kit here and available," the soldier said. "Including a defibrillator that could be used to bypass the self-destruct."

"Why weren't you using it, then?" Zoric demanded.

The soldier glanced at the interrogator and straightened his shoulders. "We did not realize how much physical distress the prisoner was in."

"You couldn't tell she was about to die?" The woman in his arms gave a small squeak of protest when his arms tightened around her and he immediately held her out so he could check her for damage.

She needed new clothes, and a chance to wash her face, and she'd probably like to brush her teeth.

"Did I damage you?" he asked, searching her face.

"No," she answered, her voice hoarse. "Not worse than anything else, at least, and I don't like being constricted."

"An understandable reaction," Zoric said. He couldn't stop looking at her.

"Is she in any more danger?" Dr. Phillips asked, interrupting his perusal.

"No," the soldier next to him said, and looked at him to confirm.

"The immediate danger seems to have passed," Zoric said in reluctant agreement.

"Good, then we may continue," Dr. Phillips said. She looked at her chair and the realization that the liquid from the table had dripped on her seat showed in the horror on her face.

Zoric couldn't imagine how she'd actually managed to avoid getting the vomit on her clothes.

"No," he said. "You won't."

"We should certainly move to a different room so someone can clean this," the interrogator said. "But I have several more hours with the prisoner and the immediate danger has passed."

"No," Zoric insisted, pulling Angela back against his chest. "You're done for the day."

"That's not your call, Mr.- Zoric," she corrected herself. "You shouldn't even have access to this room."

Zoric had to fight the urge to shrink in at her tone. Angela had relaxed against him, though, and he would fight anyone to keep her where she belonged - cuddled into his chest.

"I am here to act as an advisor," he told her. "And I could feel she was in serious medical distress before any of the people who were supposed to monitor her condition. I do not trust your assessment of her capabilities right now to be anything other than self-serving and dangerous."

"Have you met Private McBride before?" the soldier behind his shoulder asked. Zoric really should learn his name and rank. That would come with time, though.

"I have not," Zoric answered. "I was given a brief description of the situation which did not include her name. As I have been sent to act as an advisor, I would advise you to refrain from any more questions today, and to get the prisoner a new set of clothes."

One of the guards came forward with a set of keys and bent down to remove her leg shackles from the chair.

"I did not authorize her removal," Dr. Phillips said. "You can not disconnect her from that chair."

"We'd have to do it anyway if we were going to change rooms," the higher ranking soldier said. "And I can't see a compelling reason to leave her in clothes covered in vomit. After she's been cleaned up, we'll do a medical assessment and bring her back if she's fit."

Zoric could feel the annoyance coming off the interrogator and panicked for a brief second that she was also someone he could bond with.

"If I'm going to be any help, you're going to need to remove him from this room before you take her to get cleaned up," a very annoying voice said behind him.

He turned to glare at the other advisor. Ae-cha wasn't exactly his nemesis but the Elite had been fighting the Remnant for their entire recorded history. Nobody knew how far back the feud went but Zoric suspected it had started on another planet.

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