Chapter 2 - Two

Chapter 2

    A foul smell wafted to my nostrils. My eyes fluttered and I began gasping for fresh air. I sat up abruptly, however a feeling of vertigo overwhelmed me and I fell back onto the hard cot beneath me.
    "Whoa! Miss, pleez be careful, yes?" said a strange voice, with a thick Tercian accent.
    "Ow... Where am I?"
    "Yous crasheded here on Coresa. Beat up, bad bad. Rest, rest!"
    "Where is Jori?" I asked in a fearful tone.
    "I assumes you mean tah hu-mans yous was with? Hes went to tah hu-mans hospital..." the way the small Terc man said the word human... Such disdain, such anger, such pain.
    "Ugh... I need to find him... Make sure he's okay..." I could tell out of my peripheral vision that the small red-faced man didn't seem to quite understand my concern for my dear friend. "I need to see him..." I began to fling my legs over the side of the cot, despite the "doctor's" protests.
    I put on my tattered boots, conveniently located next to the cot. Nothing was going to stop me in my search for Jori. Nothing. 

~*~

    I groaned as I awoke. The walls around me were a blinding white. Something wasn't right. I could feel it. The room reeked of bleach, the strong smell intensifying my already skull-splitting headache.
    "Lieutenant! Good you're awake," a very shrill voice exclaimed.
    A slender human woman with raven black hair made her way toward me. She was tall, her eyes were bright, and she carried herself with a sort of arrogance. She glared at the short alien woman beside and slightly behind her, after noticing blue skin and obsidian eyes characteristic of Shar'iki I nearly jumped out of the hospital bed to hug who I thought was Lor'ii.
    "Whoa, steady Lieutenant. Are you in any pain?"
    "L-Lor'ii?..." I groaned as my head continued to throb.
    "I'll take that as a yes. Nurse fetch the Lieutenant some painkillers will you?" and with this simple command, the young Shar'iki woman scurried away. It couldn't be Lor'ii...
    "Doctor... Have you seen a small blue woman? Black hair? Looks a lot like your nurse, only more confident and in a military uniform?"
    "I can't say I have... The only aliens in this hospital are nurses and janitors. And even I despise them for taking those jobs from us hard working humans."
    Jori just sighed and shook his head. He knew that discrimination was prevalent in the Confederate but he didn't realize what a strong hold it had in the capital.
    The doctor looked at his saddened expression with curiosity, "Are you alright Lieutenant?"
    "Yes ma'am," he replied with a slight grin, "I'm just not used to how things work here in the capital. I'm from a small farming settlement on the outskirts of the galaxy. Plus I'm always deployed, so I'm never here for too long."
    "Coresia was once a great planet. Before the aliens started moving in. Things are changing Lieutenant... I heard that the Army awarded the rank of Captain to one of them. A Shar'iki at that. Little blue devils... They'll rule us all one day. Anyway, sir, you are free to go once you sign your discharge papers. Have a great day and I do hope you find your underling. She must be so lost without you giving her orders," and before Jori could correct her she was gone in a twirl of white robes.
    In fact, it was quite the opposite. It was he lost without her. Without much time to evaluate his own condition, Jori signed the discharge papers and was on his way to searching for his dear friend.

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