EVE Fiction

He moaned as he fought through the fog clouding his mind. At least he though he groaned. The fog clouded everything. He could feel nothing but his thoughts of… of what? Images flashed before him fleetingly but as he focused on them they slipped away. The surface of a planet rotating far below him, a bright flash and the feeling that he was suddenly somewhere else, floating free with starlight around him. Time lost meaning as nothing more than flashes of images or emotions penetrated the fog clouding his mind.

Then constant shapes began forming in the fog. For a while he did not realize they were there as they moved so slowly next to the images flashing in and out of his mine but the shapes become more distinct. A deep rumbling sound startled him. The fog had been soundless and he had forgotten sounds. The rumbling seemed to clear the fog from his thoughts.

As his thoughts began clearing he tried to grasp at memories. Where was he, what was he doing here, who was he? He felt like his mind was returning to normal but all of his memories slipped from his grasp like the images he had tried focusing on before. He could tell he was lying on some kind of bed but he senses provided no more information. While his mind felt clear again his vision still held nothing more than foggy images but his hearing returned to normal.

“He’s waking up,” the sudden voice and his empty memory triggered warnings in his mind. He could not determine where the warnings came from but he reacted to them nonetheless. He tried to jump to his feet but as best as he could tell he made it part way upright before he was restrained and pushed back down. The wave of dizziness that made his ears roar would have made the restraint unnecessary anyway.

“… hear me?” as the dizziness subsided his hearing slowly returned again. He held the panic down and was able to discern the voice was female. “Did he black out?”

“He is still conscious,” another female voice spoke. “Give him time.”

“You are safe Drethon,” the first voice spoke again. He felt a soft hand touching his. “Take your time.”

He tried to speak but only managed a soft croak.

“Take a sip of this for your throat,” the second voice spoke, closer this time. “Slowly, you have been on life support for weeks.”
The liquid trickled down his throat, triggering forgotten muscle memory to force him to swallow. The action sent a wave of pain through his throat and he began coughing uncontrollably. After a few moments the coughing subsided. While pain lingered, the muscles in his throat began responding.

“Wh.. where,” he choked out. His vision had cleared enough to see the shapes of the women standing above him but not enough to see their expressions.

“You are in a Syndicate medical facility Lieutenant Tolar,” the second voice said.

“Li.. Lieu… Lieutenant?” the word seemed familiar but he could not remember the meaning.

“Drethon, you are a Lieutenant for the FIO,” the first voice spoke again. He could see well enough to see she was the one holding his hand. “My name is Maalan, for the past several months you have been working with me as well. I work for the Syndicate.”

“FIO? Syndicate?” his voice had returned nearly to normal as had his vision. Maalan looked down at him with a concerned expression while the other woman looked more detached.

“You suffered a very serious trauma Lieutenant Tolar,” the second woman spoke slowly. “Your memory may never return and you are fortunate to be alive.” The woman consulted a data tablet and the looked at Maalan. “He is recovered enough to talk with for a short time. Take it slowly though as his mind is still disorganized.”

“Thank you Doctor Kishel,” said Maalan. The doctor nodded and left the room. Maalan turned back to Drethon with a careful smile. “We have a lot to talk about.”