Laila, Spock's Granny (Book 1: Vulcan Gladiatoress and Klingon Slave)

No. 73

I was not sure, what had happened. Did I dream? I got aware, that I was lying on the sand of the practice area, with a brutal headache. Something was insulting my nose, maybe I was lying in animal turd. I wanted to do something about it, but I could not. Things just did not work right. Nethis dragged me into my bed, my pile of hey, that's what I realized. I had a headache like I did not have had one before. I thought my head would explode any moment.

From far, I heard Nethis say something like: "How could you fight him without a helmet?"

I remembered that in my fury I had not put my helmet back on again. For some reason, I was still alive. Achot had not killed me, as he had promised and Fek'lhr had rejected me. Being in my sleeping bag in the soft hey was comfortable and it did not take long until I was asleep.

When I woke up, I still had that bloody headache. It was not as brutal anymore but still painful. The slightest action with my left arm caused excruciating pain, while a number of other spots on my body were burning. In a way, I was interested, what had happened, but the pain made me dismiss the idea of getting up and checking things out. At some point, however, Nethis came in with food, but I had nausea and did not want to eat.

"What's wrong with me", I asked him?

"You might have a concussion. You have two wounds at the side of your head. How could you face Achot without a helmet?"

My brain did not quite produce the answer yet. For some reason, I did not have a helmet on. "Where is Achot", I inquired?

"You hit him pretty badly in the neck. He could not breathe well anymore. He had left, after his breathing had improved somewhat again. He could not continue after you were on the ground. That possibly saved your life. He could hardly breathe anymore."

"Well, he asked for it and look at me, he hit me badly, too." These few words drained all my power and I just went back to sleep.

In an Apartment in the First City on Qo'nos

Editorial note: The following paragraph is information, Laila did not know at the time, but was gathered much later and is provided for the reader's better understanding of events to come.

"Achot, what happened to you?"

"Don't ask, ghojmoH!"

Author's note: ghojmoH = honey

"Look at you! Your neck is swollen and you can hardly breathe. How can I not ask?"

"Fine! The Pathak I'm training, called me a bIHnuch and then we got into a real fight. I wanted to kill her, but before I landed my fatal hits, she got me at the neck."

"That Vulcan Pathak dared call you a blHnuch?"

"Yes, but she might already be in Gre'thor. I did not show her mercy."

"Well Achot, surely you had to kill her. Such an insult cannot go unpunished. However the way you did it was not very smart. For once, you need to go to a medical examination now. Secondly, when she is dead, then you are without a job. And I guess you are very much aware, that this is bad. Thirdly Odron and his investors will be asking you for damage reimbursement. Fourthly if word goes around, that you killed a trainee, you will have the hardest time to get another job as a trainer. We have to figure out, how we can make this look like an accident so that your insurance will cover it."

"I fear you are right, ghojmoH."

"Off course Achot, you are the fighter and I'm the brains. Let me see it. Does it hurt when I press here!"