Medic Kaul walked into the clinic; three guards huddled around a desk, looking underneath it. A medic was trying to coax a girl out from under it. Medic Kaul peered under the desk; it was a badly beaten girl with a broken arm.

"This is one of the prisoners?" Medic Kaul asked, still looking at the damaged girl underneath the desk.

The head guard looked at the medic. "Prisoner 1192F, sir. She is unable to speak. We have not yet determined if she is innocent or not. Council Leader Vorik is trying to find Julian Cooper to determine what he knows of the girl."

The other medic looked up. "Our orders are to fix her vocal cords so that she can be interrogated. Council Leader Vorik will determine if she is a test subject or not."

As if conjured by their mentioning him, Council Leader Vorik walked in with Julian Cooper. "Do you know who she is?" Council Leader Vorik asked him, pointing under the desk.

Julian bent down and peered at the frightened girl. His eyes grew wide. He held his hand out to the girl. "Mia, come to me. I'll help you," he told her gently. It was like coaxing a frightened animal.

The girl, Mia, backed away, tears streaming down her dirty, bloodstained face.

Julian bent down and crawled underneath the desk with her as she continued to try to back away from him, wincing as her broken arm touched the side of the desk.

"Her name is Mia, Mia Danicky. She is seventeen. Travis liked to hurt her. He wanted her to remain quiet while he hurt her, so he damaged her vocal cords. I tried to save her, but she disappeared.

Travis said she was dead. Had I known she was still alive, I would have looked for her and gotten her out of there," Julian stated evenly. "Those whip marks are from Travis. She needs to be checked to make sure she isn't pregnant, either, and she may be damaged in that area as well. He forced a lot from her."

Medic Kaul, shocked by what he was hearing, asked, "Why?"

Julian peered at Medic Kaul from under the desk. "Travis had a girlfriend before your people invaded. Her name was Terrie. His girlfriend left him for someone else. When he found Mia, he took that as an opportunity to make her pay. Mia is his ex-girlfriend's little sister, and she is paying for her sister for leaving him."

Julian tried again to get close to Mia; she only backed away more. She was out of places to go. She was trapped underneath the desk with no way out behind her. It was clear in her eyes that she was feeling trapped. She looked like a terrified caged animal.

"Bring Niki or Aleigha in. Perhaps she needs help from a female, not a male," Medic Kaul suggested.

"Merrick and Rask will not allow it. Both girls are pregnant with their children. Those two girls take too many chances, so their mates are afraid they will do something to hurt their children," Vorik stated. "They are confined to safer situations."

"I can try?" a female voice came from behind them. It was Rai; she was still training to become a medic. Her mate was human.

Council Leader Vorik nodded, and everyone stepped back, allowing Rai to see underneath the desk. Rai gasped at seeing how injured and frail the girl was.

Julian crawled out from under the desk, and Rai crawled in. She held her hand out, offering it to Mia. "I will help you," Rai told her gently.

Mia backed up, smashing herself into the wall, trying to go further, but there was nowhere else to go.

Sucking in a deep breath, Rai moved quickly and grasped Mia around her tiny waist. Mia struggled, but was too weak to fight it. Rai pulled her out from under the desk. Medic Kaul immediately took her from Rai, setting her back on the exam table.

Holding her still, he gestured for the guards to restrain her so that he could tend to her wounds. The guards present rushed to one side of the exam table and held her still as gently as they could. They didn't want to hurt her further.

Medic Kaul tended to her broken arm, healing the shattered bone. Then, moving to her throat, he checked her vocal cords. He couldn't fix them; he didn't have the proper device to do so. She struggled the entire time but was too weak to fight against the guards holding her in place. Her panic after seeing the body in the bed next to her was keeping her in a state of panic.

Renn walked in, once co-pilot to Merrick, now training to be a medic, and looked at the injured girl. Seeing the state of starvation, he went to a cabinet and opened it, then scanned the contents. Pulling a feeding device from a cabinet and a pouch of nutrients, he headed over to where Medic Kaul was treating her flesh wounds from Travis's whippings.

Medic Kaul took the device and shoved the long tube down into her stomach. She gagged as it went in. Once in place, he filled her stomach with nutrients and then quickly removed the device.

Tears ran down her dirty, bloodstained cheeks. Fear was in her eyes.

Kaul turned to Renn. "I need you to bathe her. Use the bath restraints so she doesn't drown herself."

Renn nodded and headed to the bath to prepare it, grab all his supplies, a soft gown, and socks for her feet as well. He couldn't hold her and prepare at the same time.

Once ready, he pulled open the restraints, preparing to hold her in the water before going back out to where Medic Kaul was treating her for her injuries.

"Her vocal cords aren't fixed yet. I need another device from my clinic. I will return with it shortly," Medic Kaul stated to Renn, then quickly left the clinic to retrieve what he needed from his own clinic.

Renn just nodded, carefully picked up the struggling girl, and took her away from the guards. After taking her into the bathing and personal care room, he set her in the restraint seat. He tied her to the restraint seat and lowered the seat into the water. Her fear grew.

Renn, trying to be all business, ignored her fear and cleaned her with a soft cloth and washed her bloody, matted hair. Once she was clean, he lifted the restraint seat and carefully dried her and dressed her in a fluffy gown and puffy socks.

As he carried her back into the main part of the clinic, Medic Kaul was re-entering. "Take her to the private room," he told Renn. This seemed to cause her fear to rise, causing her to struggle. Medic Kaul, noticing her fear, had no choice but to ignore it as he followed Renn into the private room.

Ren set her on the bed, holding her tight enough so she couldn't move, while Kaul scanned her for other wounds. Julian had been right. Mia had been torn inside her womb. Quickly scanning her abdomen, Medic Kaul found that at least she wasn't pregnant.

Medic Kaul had to stick a small device inside her to fix the damage, making her even more fearful. Her heart was racing, threatening to explode as she continued to struggle weakly through her treatment.

After pulling out the device, he looked at the frightened girl. "Your insides are fixed now," he told her. "All your wounds are treated. I need to fix your vocal cords now," he told her gently, trying to ease some of her fear. He had never seen such terror before.

Using another device with a small laser, he fixed the damage to her vocal cords. Once finished, Medic Kaul scanned her for immunity. Council Leader Vorik watched from the doorway. "Not immune, sir," Medic Kaul told Vorik. "Her DNA is slightly different, but she's not immune. What do you wish me to do with her?"

Renn looked at the Council Leader. "I will take care of her. She won't be able to speak for a while. At least not until the incision in her throat is healed, and she is unable to take care of herself right now," he explained. "When she is stronger and able to speak, you can decide where you wish her to go," Renn offered.

Council Leader Vorik nodded, but said nothing.

Medic Kaul took that as an agreement with Renn's suggestion and looked around the clinic. "Rai!" he called.

Rai came quickly to her superior. "You and Renn will be responsible for Mia. Make sure she is bathed and fed daily. I will find someone to take care of her during the night." Medic Kaul ordered.

Both medics in training nodded.

Council Leader Vorik scanned the clinic. "I will question her when she is able to speak," he stated, then left the clinic. Renn and Rai stood waiting for Kaul to finish what he was doing with Mia before taking her into a private room where she could be properly cared for.

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