extract the tendrils.”
The nurse shrugged. “Maybe.” He clearly wasn’t confident. “I’ll let the doctor know you’re awake.”
“Do you know when I can get out of here?” she asked, putting a hand on his arm as he started to walk away.
“Probably by tomorrow. But let me get Doctor Turan and he can give you an update.” And with that he walked off, leaving Tamara alone with her thoughts behind the privacy screen. She could see the guard at the door, but no one else in sickbay, though she could hear others moving around and talking quietly.
A moment later, the tall Guura came around the screen. He smiled at her, touching the controls to make one last check of her vitals. “Hey,” he said, his voice light. “We need to stop meeting like this.”
“People will start to talk,” Tamara said, chuckling.
Turan gave a little snort. “They’re already talking about Quesh and I. I don’t know if I can handle all of the gossip.”
Her lips formed a smirk. “I’ll try to be discreet.”
He nodded, all business. “Very well. The surgery went well. We took care of the infection and the Quick Heal should have those scratches on your legs gone by tomorrow.” He gestured, but the limbs in question were under the thin blanket. “Fever’s broken and the device on your neck doesn’t seem to have caused you much in the way of physiological damage. Though it wove its way into your brain stem and the lower section of your brain and connected itself to your implants.” He sighed, a soft blat of sound. “I can’t get it out, Tamara. I’ll work on it, but the device is too tightly imbedded in your soft tissue. I’ll continue studying it, but it’s going to be extremely difficult to extract it.”
She smiled at him. “I have the utmost confidence in you, Turan. And thank you for trying.”
“I won’t give up,” he told her, grasping her hand. “I won’t.”
Tamara shrugged. “I know. And I won’t either. Maybe there’s a way to get the device to withdraw the tendrils.” She sighed. “Another long term project.”
“But from what I can tell from just a cursory examination, your implants should still work.”
She nodded. “They do. It takes a little more effort than before to use the standard functions, but they all still work. I think once I get used to this new way of doing things I’ll get back up to snuff. But it interferes with my wireless implant so I can’t transmit or receive.” She held up her right hand. “But apparently I still have access with my manual port.” She wiggled her thumb.
Turan snorted again in amusement. “Your ‘manual’ port? Funny, Tamara.”
She smiled. “Thought you’d like that.”
“It is a digital system,” he joked, chuffing out a small laugh.
Tamara threw back her head and laughed for the first time in weeks.
Chapter 2
Time moved forward, as did the Grania Estelle . The engineering teams went into the cargo bays and began cutting apart the chunks of rocks they’d harvested back at Ulla-tran, carrying loads of raw materials to the replicators for breakdown. Tamara was released from sickbay and then from her imprisonment to resume her duties, though she was accompanied everywhere she went by two of Armsman Jax’s more tech-savvy guards. They kept out of her way, but it was obvious that they were watching her closely and they did not like it when she tried to both give them the
The nurse shrugged. “Maybe.” He clearly wasn’t confident. “I’ll let the doctor know you’re awake.”
“Do you know when I can get out of here?” she asked, putting a hand on his arm as he started to walk away.
“Probably by tomorrow. But let me get Doctor Turan and he can give you an update.” And with that he walked off, leaving Tamara alone with her thoughts behind the privacy screen. She could see the guard at the door, but no one else in sickbay, though she could hear others moving around and talking quietly.
A moment later, the tall Guura came around the screen. He smiled at her, touching the controls to make one last check of her vitals. “Hey,” he said, his voice light. “We need to stop meeting like this.”
“People will start to talk,” Tamara said, chuckling.
Turan gave a little snort. “They’re already talking about Quesh and I. I don’t know if I can handle all of the gossip.”
Her lips formed a smirk. “I’ll try to be discreet.”
He nodded, all business. “Very well. The surgery went well. We took care of the infection and the Quick Heal should have those scratches on your legs gone by tomorrow.” He gestured, but the limbs in question were under the thin blanket. “Fever’s broken and the device on your neck doesn’t seem to have caused you much in the way of physiological damage. Though it wove its way into your brain stem and the lower section of your brain and connected itself to your implants.” He sighed, a soft blat of sound. “I can’t get it out, Tamara. I’ll work on it, but the device is too tightly imbedded in your soft tissue. I’ll continue studying it, but it’s going to be extremely difficult to extract it.”
She smiled at him. “I have the utmost confidence in you, Turan. And thank you for trying.”
“I won’t give up,” he told her, grasping her hand. “I won’t.”
Tamara shrugged. “I know. And I won’t either. Maybe there’s a way to get the device to withdraw the tendrils.” She sighed. “Another long term project.”
“But from what I can tell from just a cursory examination, your implants should still work.”
She nodded. “They do. It takes a little more effort than before to use the standard functions, but they all still work. I think once I get used to this new way of doing things I’ll get back up to snuff. But it interferes with my wireless implant so I can’t transmit or receive.” She held up her right hand. “But apparently I still have access with my manual port.” She wiggled her thumb.
Turan snorted again in amusement. “Your ‘manual’ port? Funny, Tamara.”
She smiled. “Thought you’d like that.”
“It is a digital system,” he joked, chuffing out a small laugh.
Tamara threw back her head and laughed for the first time in weeks.
Chapter 2
Time moved forward, as did the Grania Estelle . The engineering teams went into the cargo bays and began cutting apart the chunks of rocks they’d harvested back at Ulla-tran, carrying loads of raw materials to the replicators for breakdown. Tamara was released from sickbay and then from her imprisonment to resume her duties, though she was accompanied everywhere she went by two of Armsman Jax’s more tech-savvy guards. They kept out of her way, but it was obvious that they were watching her closely and they did not like it when she tried to both give them the
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