way out.
I turn my head away, wishing I was somewhere else. But I
can only go back down inside my mind, and I'm afraid of what I'll find there.
"So." Aaron sits carefully next to me.
"What were they like? Bray said they were primitive brutes. But I doubt
brutes are intelligent enough for the kind of technology it took to get you
back here. I mean, by the Mother, did they beam you in here? That would
be—" He whistles. His smile broadens with excitement, waiting for me to
explain. But all I want to do is claw myself out of this alcove and make a run
for it.
"Ooo-kay," he says after I don't answer.
"Wrong tack. I'll give you another dose, let you get some rest, and you
can eat after. I'll run the scans while you sleep, alright?"
He thumbs a small pad above the medroid's injector arm,
and the monstrous thing stabs forth toward my neck.
"No! If that touches me—"
He raises an eyebrow as the needle goes in. Too late. The
injector hisses under my ear and my veins are burning again. As the MD waits
for me to pass out I grind my teeth and lurch with all my might. My fingers
twitch and my knees buckle. I free a hand, push through the field and grab
Aaron by his throat.
He squirms and grabs my hand with both of his, and pries
my fingers open.
"Fuck!" He stumbles away from me, coughing and
clutching his throat.
I scramble out of the alcove, past the medroid, past the
center bulkhead, and bump straight into Chuck and his lunch tray. Aaron catches
up and grabs me from behind.
"Help me," he yells, pulling me back. Chuck
grabs my shoulders and I squirm in their grip. "What the hell got into
you? How did you—"
"—Let me go! No more shots! No medroids! And for
fuck's sake stop touching me."
Chuck lets go as if I burned him. But Aaron's not about to
quit. "You've been on an alien ship for almost a month." He wrestles
me back to the alcove. "You could be contaminated with alien organisms,
your synet corrupted with some unknown virus, or suffering from severe
trauma." He plants me in the alcove and straddles me, holding me in place
with his own weight. "By the way you're acting it's all of the above. Now
calm down, stay down, and let me do my job. I promise I'm not gonna hurt
you, or do anything without asking you first. Okay?"
I nod and pretend to relax. My heart is pounding in my
ears. I'm panting, sweating, obsessed with escape like a caged beast. Even if I
flee from the medbay, I can't get off the station by myself. Not without a
synet. Fuck!
Aaron gets off me, watching me skeptically.
I grab his wrist. "No tranquilizers. And no field,
please. I can't stand being held down anymore after all that happened."
He nods, then thumbs the medroid into scanning mode.
-
I open my eyes after a shallow, nightmare-ridden sleep, and
find Bray staring at me, a muscle twitching in his jaw.
"Hi." I stretch inside my alcove. "What's
up?"
He shakes his head at me, goggle-eyed. He smells of sweat,
disinfectant, and hair gel. I lean away a bit.
"We have to talk."
I harrumph and sit up. To my surprise, I feel much better.
No more dizziness, no fatigue, and all my senses are acute and focused. I look
around the medbay for Aaron or his mechanical minion, but we're alone.
"Do you feel funny?" Bray asks.
"What?"
"Do you have any unusual symptoms, like headaches,
dizziness, hallucinations?"
"You mean you're actually here?"
He rolls his eyes at me. "Did the aliens do anything
to you?"
"Sure, they stuck probes up my ass to look for
humanity's secrets."
"I'm serious." In fact, he really does look
serious. "The aliens are hostile, aren't they?" He's actually
worried. How cute.
"Not as hostile as humans usually are."
"But they are , right? Preston wants to... He
thinks..." He scratches his head, then frowns at me accusingly. "He
wants me to fly out to them again."
To Amharr.
My stomach tightens. "So? What's that got to do with
me?"
"You're the one who fucked up the contact mission.
You should go, not me."
I sit up. "What do you mean I
I turn my head away, wishing I was somewhere else. But I
can only go back down inside my mind, and I'm afraid of what I'll find there.
"So." Aaron sits carefully next to me.
"What were they like? Bray said they were primitive brutes. But I doubt
brutes are intelligent enough for the kind of technology it took to get you
back here. I mean, by the Mother, did they beam you in here? That would
be—" He whistles. His smile broadens with excitement, waiting for me to
explain. But all I want to do is claw myself out of this alcove and make a run
for it.
"Ooo-kay," he says after I don't answer.
"Wrong tack. I'll give you another dose, let you get some rest, and you
can eat after. I'll run the scans while you sleep, alright?"
He thumbs a small pad above the medroid's injector arm,
and the monstrous thing stabs forth toward my neck.
"No! If that touches me—"
He raises an eyebrow as the needle goes in. Too late. The
injector hisses under my ear and my veins are burning again. As the MD waits
for me to pass out I grind my teeth and lurch with all my might. My fingers
twitch and my knees buckle. I free a hand, push through the field and grab
Aaron by his throat.
He squirms and grabs my hand with both of his, and pries
my fingers open.
"Fuck!" He stumbles away from me, coughing and
clutching his throat.
I scramble out of the alcove, past the medroid, past the
center bulkhead, and bump straight into Chuck and his lunch tray. Aaron catches
up and grabs me from behind.
"Help me," he yells, pulling me back. Chuck
grabs my shoulders and I squirm in their grip. "What the hell got into
you? How did you—"
"—Let me go! No more shots! No medroids! And for
fuck's sake stop touching me."
Chuck lets go as if I burned him. But Aaron's not about to
quit. "You've been on an alien ship for almost a month." He wrestles
me back to the alcove. "You could be contaminated with alien organisms,
your synet corrupted with some unknown virus, or suffering from severe
trauma." He plants me in the alcove and straddles me, holding me in place
with his own weight. "By the way you're acting it's all of the above. Now
calm down, stay down, and let me do my job. I promise I'm not gonna hurt
you, or do anything without asking you first. Okay?"
I nod and pretend to relax. My heart is pounding in my
ears. I'm panting, sweating, obsessed with escape like a caged beast. Even if I
flee from the medbay, I can't get off the station by myself. Not without a
synet. Fuck!
Aaron gets off me, watching me skeptically.
I grab his wrist. "No tranquilizers. And no field,
please. I can't stand being held down anymore after all that happened."
He nods, then thumbs the medroid into scanning mode.
-
I open my eyes after a shallow, nightmare-ridden sleep, and
find Bray staring at me, a muscle twitching in his jaw.
"Hi." I stretch inside my alcove. "What's
up?"
He shakes his head at me, goggle-eyed. He smells of sweat,
disinfectant, and hair gel. I lean away a bit.
"We have to talk."
I harrumph and sit up. To my surprise, I feel much better.
No more dizziness, no fatigue, and all my senses are acute and focused. I look
around the medbay for Aaron or his mechanical minion, but we're alone.
"Do you feel funny?" Bray asks.
"What?"
"Do you have any unusual symptoms, like headaches,
dizziness, hallucinations?"
"You mean you're actually here?"
He rolls his eyes at me. "Did the aliens do anything
to you?"
"Sure, they stuck probes up my ass to look for
humanity's secrets."
"I'm serious." In fact, he really does look
serious. "The aliens are hostile, aren't they?" He's actually
worried. How cute.
"Not as hostile as humans usually are."
"But they are , right? Preston wants to... He
thinks..." He scratches his head, then frowns at me accusingly. "He
wants me to fly out to them again."
To Amharr.
My stomach tightens. "So? What's that got to do with
me?"
"You're the one who fucked up the contact mission.
You should go, not me."
I sit up. "What do you mean I
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