Chapter 14

“Recovery.”

A small lumpy blob of silver appeared in the med bay. It grew larger until it occupied the open space between the exam beds and the hidden closet where the bathtub was tucked away as Inta stepped out of 4-D space carrying the rescue party and Diana.

Inta poured off the group and formed her usual five-and-a-half-foot self, then swiftly helped Will carry the unconscious brunette to the closest exam bed and immediately began tending to her.

Diana was battered and bruised; lacerations covered her body, some deep and some superficial, evidence of claw marks that had tried to rend her flesh. Dried, blood-covered patches of her scalp where clumps of hair had been pulled out. The overpowering smell of seared flesh still wafting off the hastily cauterized stump of her limbs, blood seeping from the cracked and burnt ends. Perhaps the cruelest injury suffered was her torn and bloody vagina, evidence of her prolonged sexual assault at the hands of the beast, prodded into action by the zealots, now dead and buried deep inside the mountain on the planet below.

Diana labored for breath, struggling for each shallow, wheezing lung full, so Inta began there. She produced an oxygen mask from under the exam bed and tenderly brushed the hair from her face before securing the mask over her nose and mouth.

Two more Inta’s appeared and assisted the first as they attended to their patient. One Inta began carefully washing Diana’s naked body while another fetched a container of saline from a storage cupboard and hung it on a hook over the bed. The third Inta gingerly applied a thick white salve on the burnt ends of Diana’s limb stumps, then protected the ends with a thin silver covering that flowed from her palms.

June clung tight to Artona with one arm around her waist while holding her other hand over her mouth, tears in her eyes, watching Inta care for the critically injured girl. Artona put a big arm around June’s shoulders, comforting her with a stoic look on her face. Ben stood on the other side of June rubbing her back, while Will stood apart, arms crossed in front of him, a quiet anger building, directed to those who would do such a thing to an innocent like Diana, as he watched Inta care for the sweet and innocent hostess.

One of the Inta’s stepped over to them while her other two instances continued their work. Taking a soft hold of June’s hands, Inta looked into her eyes. “June, honey, are you up to piloting? It’s getting more dangerous in orbit; we should leave and get back to Penrose as soon as we can.”

June tried shaking off her sorrowful look and replacing it with one of determination, but she was only partly successful. “Sure thing. I’ll head up to the bridge and get us out of here.”

Inta smiled softly at her and nodded. “I just let Captain Hall and the rest of the Bordan ships know our status. They are waiting for us just outside the asteroid field.”

June nodded in acknowledgment, and then Inta looked at Ben, Artona, and Will. “Why don’t you go with her. I’ll take all the weapons back to the armory.” They had been watching Inta work, a silent vigil, and forgot they were still armed from their excursion.

“Okay,” Artona said. “Do you need help putting these away?” She nodded, seeing that this was the kind of after-action procedure that would calm Artona.

“That would be nice, thank you,” Inta said with a small smile.

Ben and June handed their weapons to Artona and Inta. “We’ll be on the bridge; if you need help with anything let us know,” Will said, as he handed Inta his weapons.

“I will,” Inta said, passing the weapons to Artona. Then, she pulled Will into a tight hug. “Diana will pull through; you all saved her,” she told him, knowing he needed to hear it.

He smiled gratefully, gave Inta a final squeeze, and then went to join June and Ben on the bridge.

Artona followed Inta to the armory, insisting that she carry all the weapons. They spent a few quiet minutes wiping down and cleaning the rifles and side arms before racking them with the others lining the wall, and as they put away the last of them, Artona jerked her head to face Inta.

“Fuck!” She exclaimed. “We forgot the shuttle on the surface!”

Inta put a hand on her forearm reassuringly. “Nope, I displaced it back to the hangar just after we returned, but...” Inta wrinkled her nose.

Artona raised one eyebrow. “But, what?”

Inta looked up at Artona sheepishly. “I think June’s going to upset; it took quite a beating.”

Artona furrowed her brows. “I have a hard time believing that June could get angry with you over anything,” she said, putting a large furry arm around Inta’s silver shoulders. “Show me how bad it is.” Inta nodded, then they took the lift down to the hangar.

They stepped out of the lift and walked down the short corridor past the open door of the Grove’s living quarters on their way to the hangar. Frase, newly emerged from her Seeding and wildly curious about the people now connected to the Grove, saw Artona and Inta walk past the open door to their Quarters, jumped up from her lounge chair, and ran out into the hallway to catch up to the pair.

Squeezing in between the two, wrapping two arms around each of their waists, she asked, “Whatcha doing?”

Pleasantly surprised, Artona looked down at the waifish Toparian Maiden. “We’re inspecting the damage to the shuttle from the rescue.”

Frase’s eyes went wide, and her mouth opened into a big ‘O’. “Is Diana okay? How is she?” concern etched on her expressive face.

“Diana went through a lot, but she’s safe now, recovering in the med bay,” Inta replied, “We’re heading back to Penrose Station so she can be properly treated by their medical staff.”

“Can’t you just mend her like you did Will?” Frase asked, one hand tracing Artona’s silver patterned fur as she gazed at her own unmarked skin. Larce and Frase had been as thick as thieves since Frase re-emerged, and Larce caught her up with everything that had happened while she had been Seeding with Fi’balmsa.

“I wish I could, but it’s not that simple,” Inta told Frase as they walked. “Will had been Bonded to me for some time so I already had his imprint.” Inta paused with a pained look on her face, looking defeated. “Diana and I don’t share that kind of connection, so I am unable to mend her body the same way.”

Frase realized the unintentional pain she caused Inta and hugged her tighter, “I’m so sorry, Inta. I didn’t mean anything by it.”

“If it wasn’t for Inta, Diana wouldn’t have survived,” Artona chimed in, trying to reassure the silver girl. Inta gave a small smile at Artona’s efforts, but it was clear she felt immense guilt at putting Diana in this position in the first place.

Arriving in the hangar, Artona quickly changed the subject. “Holy Shit!” she said, seeing the shuttle for the first time since being back aboard. Inta was right; it had taken quite a beating. The landing legs were missing, the lower two rear fins were badly bent at extreme angles, and the third top fin was completely torn off and missing. The hull was crumpled almost flat in sections, and the entire surface was badly dented and charred by extreme heat. “Yup, better not let June see this. It’ll break her heart that one of her toys got broken.”

Inta smirked, appreciating the usually stoic Urarc’s attempt at levity. “It’s not so bad; I can fix it.” Inta’s face soured again, the sadness returning. “But I need to focus on mending another broken little bird first.”

When June arrived on the bridge, sweat was beaded on Thea’s brow as she actively piloted the Nestia to avoid the barrage of asteroids hurtling past the Nestia as they plunged into the planet’s gravity well. Inta stood at her side with a soft, reassuring hand on Thea’s back as she leaned forward at the controls in deep concentration. With her augmented eye, June could see the soft glow of energy flowing from Inta, lending Thea what strength she could.

June walked up to Thea’s other side and asked, “We’re ready to leave; do you want me to take over?”

Thea nodded gratefully at being relieved of piloting duty, “Yeah, if you don’t mind. I’ve been at this for hours, and I wasn’t sure how much longer I could keep it up. It’s taking everything I’ve got to keep us from being pummeled.”

With swift, coordinated movements, Thea slid off the seat and stood up in one direction while June slid in and dropped into the seat behind her, seamlessly taking control of the Nestia’s evasive maneuvering.

“Alright kids, say goodbye, ‘cause we ain’t going back,” June cracked, steering the Nestia out of orbit.

Inta stood watching the fiery apocalypse roll across the surface of the planet she once called home and prison. As the Nestia’s nose turned away, the hellscape drifted from view.

A complex mixture of emotions streamed through her: the deep sorrow of loss, endless lonely and darkest despair, but also the heat of passions re-ignited and the glow of newfound love. It seemed to her at that moment that this was a fitting punctuation, signally the end of that part of her story, the purest of clean slates. There would be no returning to this place or the darkness that was her only companion during those long eons. She would move forward in love and light.

The short journey out of the system was as rough as the one into it, even with June’s impressive piloting skills. She wove the Nestia nimbly about, avoiding most of the chaotic asteroids, heading in the general direction of the Bordan task group, who were waiting just outside the asteroids in the surrounding nebula. They emerged from the asteroid field intact, if slightly battered.

As soon as they were free of the danger of collision and were at the nebula’s edges, Captain Hall hailed them from the lead ship, the Palisade.

“Greeting Nestia; what do you have to report?” He asked, the tone of his voice saying he expected the worst.

“We successfully found and recovered Ms. Davis, though she was tortured and severely injured. She is stable for the moment, but needs immediate medical attention,” June summarized for Captain Hall.

“Did you see anything or anyone while we made the rescue?” Will asked.

“Nothing. We’ve spread out patrolling at the edge of the nebula, watching. No one came, no one left. Not even a whisper on the sensors,” Captain Hall responded.

“Odd,” June said under her breath, then cleared her throat. “We need to get underway immediately, Captain. Can you instruct your ships to rendezvous with us outside the nebula where we entered? We’ll leave for Penrose as soon as we’ve regrouped.”

On-screen, Captain Hall turned to speak with a comms officer for a moment as the Nestia crew watched. Turning his attention back to the viewscreen, he said, “All ships have confirmed their orders; we’re ready to go.”

The Nestia took point with the Palisade a short distance behind as they rushed out of the nebula for the rendezvous point.

Will crossed his arms and shook his head in disbelief as he thought about recent events. “I can’t believe a bunch of zealots went through the effort of digging out the guts of a mountain, just to torture someone they kidnapped, then die at the bottom of their hole as a fiery apocalypse buried them alive. Those tunnels were no small feat; they must have started digging as soon as we left Bordan for Centrailia. We’re talking to hundreds of people, maybe even a thousand to pull something like this off.” Will huffed, perplexed. “None of it makes sense.”

Artona scratched her chin thoughtfully. “When you are at war with an enemy whose strength and numbers are unknown, it is not an uncommon tactic to engage in a minor skirmish, to assess your opponent’s strengths and weaknesses before committing further resources.”

“What could they have learned and reported?” Will continued. “They all died in the end. And I didn’t see any Q-net terminals they could have used to communicate.”

“We can communicate over distances undetected, but could an outsider spot it?” Inta said.

“The mad woman spoke to the granite seat like she expected it to respond,” Ben added. “And I saw that there was something inlaid into it, a gem or something. It was unusual.”

“I wish I had gotten a better look,” Inta said. “I would have been able to tell if there was something more to it.”

“You were focused on what was important; helping Diana,” June said, taking Inta’s hand and comforting the silver girl. “You did more than enough.” Inta smiled in gratitude to June’s kind words.

Inta took a deep breath and then sighed, once again grateful to be surrounded by such wonderful and caring people. They were always ready to jump into the fray and help those who needed it, and someone in the med bay truly needed them.

With the comms still open between the two ships, Captain Hall spoke and broke Inta’s reverie. “All but one ship has formed up behind us; the last one should join us before we make the rendezvous point.”

“Good,” June said. “As soon as we clear the nebula, we’ll head for Penrose as quickly as possible.”

“Understood,” Captain Hall replied. “I’ll inform the other captains to make for Penrose at top speed. Hopefully we won’t fall too far behind the Nestia on our way back.”

Will cocked a single raised eyebrow at him. “What do you mean by that, Captain?”

Captain Hall chuckled. “You will need to be far more circumspect if you intend to keep the Nestia’s capabilities to yourself. Every naval officer at Penrose, down to the lowliest ensign, has been talking non stop about your sprint from Centrailia. They all want to know how you managed a run like that. You could win top prize in any regatta you entered if you wanted. Let’s just say you’ve earned a following.”

June was simultaneously pleased and concerned by the notoriety. “We wouldn’t normally run as hard as we did,” then glancing up at Inta standing behind her.

“I’m fairly certain we’ve overextended ourselves and the ship won’t be capable of ‘feats of daring do’ for quite some time.” Inta said, grinning at the Captain. “Who knows, maybe we can turn our new found notoriety to our favor.”

“Being known as a fast freighter would make it easier to get choice runs that align with places we need to investigate,” Will said, considering the commercial possibilities. Even though most of their day-to-day necessities were taken care of by Inta and the Nestia, docking, port fees, and other expenses would undoubtedly pop up, and they needed to make sure they had a steady stream of income to cover their costs. The search for Inta’s people would undoubtedly be expensive.

The last Bordan naval ship rejoined the little task group just as they exited the nebula. They turned the bows of their ships toward Bordan space, and then Captain Hall called over one last time. “All right folks, looks like we’re ready to go. Noticed you needed a running start last time, so we’ll go and jump to FTL ahead of you. See you back at Penrose. Hall, out.”

In a quick series of bright flashes, the Bordan task group leaped away, and then June punched the gravity drive and accelerated the Nestia to FTL shortly behind them.

To everyone aboard the Nestia, the three-day trip back to Penrose seemed immeasurably longer than that. They all took turns keeping vigil over Diana when they weren’t on the bridge, making meals, or taking a break to get some exercise in Artona’s make-shift gym in the hangar. While the others rotated in and out of the med bay, Inta was a constant presence, monitoring every heartbeat, every breath Diana took, caring for her, and keeping a solemn vigil over the unconscious girl.

After Will relieved her on the bridge, June came down to the med bay on the second day of their trip. She stopped as she was about to enter and just stood there in the doorway, watching Inta with Diana for a few moments.

Diana was covered in a light, white blanket pulled up to her neck to keep her warm. The outline of her body was clearly visible through the blanket, and there was a noticeable lack of form where her limbs should have been.

Inta held a wet cloth and gently washed Diana’s sleeping face, which, for the moment, reflected the peace of unbothered dreams, a rarity since her rescue.

With her augmented eye, June could see Diana’s aura. It was faint and weak, shattered and torn into a thousand pieces, evidence of the extreme trauma of her experience. As Inta washed Diana’s skin, June also saw that Inta bathed her in a tiny, continuous stream of energy and, ever so carefully, piece by small piece, found and joined parts of her aura belonging together with tiny threads from the energy she poured into the broken girl. Inta finished melding two small pieces of Diana’s aura together and saw June watching her. She gave her a small smile before returning to her work.

Not for the first time, June wished that Diana and Inta had had more time during their first meeting; they surely would have developed a closer connection, and Inta would now be able to pour more energy into her than the meager trickle she could only give.

June came and sat on the bed next to Diana as Inta patiently did her work. Watching Inta, she thought about her own brush with death and how Inta had poured all but her last spark of energy into Will and her.

“Why don’t you Bond with her, then heal her properly?” June asked, her concern for Diana loud in her quiet question. “There’s only so much that Doctors at Penrose will be able to do for her.”

Inta gave June a sad smile, shaking her head. “I desperately wish I could, but that’s not how the Bond works. It is the joining of two into one, a state accepted willingly by both individuals; each reaching out for the other. Diana can’t consent, and can’t open herself fully to me. If I were to force it, it would be a weak shadow of a connection, and her will would forever be subordinate to mine, even though it may not be what I intended.”

June watched Inta’s face as some dark memory surfaced, reflected in her expression. Inta’s eyes softened, then she continued, “We are Givers, and both must willingly give themselves to the other.” A sad but loving expression crossed Inta’s face once more as she continued to sponge-bathe her sleeping charge, resting on the exam bed.

Seeing there was little she could do to help Inta, June hopped off the bed she was sitting on, walked around Diana’s bed, and kissed Inta softly on the cheek. “Let me know if I can help in anyway,” she said, hugging the silver girl from behind.

Inta smiled and nodded, then returned her focus to the unconscious girl. June left her to work on mending a broken spirit, looking back only once from the doorway before leaving.

The rest of the trip went by too slowly for the urgency they felt. An instance of Inta never left Diana’s side, working over her tirelessly and seeing to it that she was as comfortable as possible. Still, even so, no one could relax, knowing Inta’s careful attention was the only thing sustaining Diana in her fragile state.

Not soon enough for the Nestia’s crew, they were decelerating from FTL at the edge of Bordan space.

They were once again greeted by Bordan traffic control. “Ship Nestia, this is Bordan Traffic Control. We’ve been expecting you.”

“Thanks, Traffic Control,” June responded urgently. “We are returning with a badly injured passenger and request emergency medical responders waiting for us as soon as we dock.”

“They’re already on stand-by, Nestia. We’re clearing a lane for you now. Proceed on flight path provided and dock at slip B1. The medics will take the injured from there.”

“Roger, Control. Flight path received. Proceeding.” June flew the Nestia to Penrose station, ignoring all port speeds along the cleared path Traffic Control provided. She brought the Nestia up to dock smoothly, and when the cargo bay doors opened, Will and Ben found several med techs waiting, carrying med kits and towing a gurney.

They ushered the med techs up to the medical bay, where everyone else had gathered around Diana. The crew stood back and silently watched as the techs went to work.

The other produced a small tablet that sprang to life, displaying several sweeping, squiggly lines, one after another, as the other tech pulled small devices out of their bags and, after squeezing a small dab of gooey adhesive to the backs of each, placed them on both sides of Diana’s head, over her temples, and on several places on her torso.

Inspecting the silver caps on the stumps on Diana’s limbs, the techs gave each other a quizzical look and then glanced in Inta’s direction. “Your handy work?” One of them asked her.

Inta nodded. “I did everything I could think of; is she going to be alright?” she asked nervously. “She’s stable, but looks like she has a couple of broken ribs and some internal bleeding.” The tech drew her lips in a tight line. “Other than her amputations, she was severely ... abused, wasn’t she?” she asked with tact. Inta nodded, tears forming in her eyes.

The tech placed a hand on Inta’s forearm. “We’re going to take real good care of her, okay?”

Inta wiped a tear away with the back of her hand. “Thank you,” she said softly, barely a whisper.

The techs reviewed the tablet readings and agreed that she was stable enough to move. Then, they positioned the gurney close to the bed.

They checked the intravenous drip Inta had been administering and were satisfied it was properly placed. They removed the bag from the hook over the bed and connected it to the gurney. Then, sliding their hands under Diana’s limp and passive form, gently lifted her from the examination bed and placed her on the gurney.

The anti-grav pods of the gurney barely registered the additional weight of the injured girl, weighing even less now, without limbs.

Straps were pulled across her body, and when they were tightened to keep her from sliding around or falling off, a look of distant pain crossed Diana’s face, her heart rate spiked, and her breathing became rapid and shallow.

“Not too tight!” Inta said urgently, pushing past the med techs to loosen their straps slightly, thinking how closely it resembled the straps that held her to the stone table. “She’s ... she’s been through a lot,” she said, still fighting back tears. Inta caressed Diana’s face softly, and her heart rate slowed, and her breathing steadied.

One of the techs placed her hand on Inta’s shoulder. “She’s ready for transport. We’re going to take her to the infirmary now, okay? I promise, they’ll do everything they can to help her.”

Inta nodded and stepped back. The med techs placed their bags on the gurney’s empty end and carefully guided it out of the medical bay, with one tech at the head of the gurney and the other at the foot.

Inta stayed close to Diana and the techs, followed by the rest of the crew, as they brought her out into the station to the small ambulance, waiting just outside the Nestia’s airlock. After lifting the gurney up and in, they locked it into place so it would not shift. A tech climbed into the driver’s seat, and the other sat on a small bench next to the gurney so she could continue monitoring Diana’s condition.

Inta was about to climb into the back ambulance after them when the tech in the back held up her hand to stop her. “I’m really sorry, you can’t come with us. You can meet us at the infirmary, though,” she said, her face full of sympathy.

With an iron expression that broached no discussion, Inta said, “You WILL NOT keep me from her side.”

Seeing the determination on Inta’s face, the tech quickly relented with a sigh. “Alright. Sit over there,” she gestured to the small bench on the other side of the gurney. “Just don’t touch anything.”

Inta hopped in and looked back at the others standing just outside the airlock. “Don’t worry, Inta. Everything will be fine,” June said with more conviction than she had felt. “We’ll follow you and be there shortly.”

Inta smiled softly and nodded. Then she nodded to the tech, indicating she was ready to go. The tech reached over and closed the ambulance doors, and the Nestia crew watched as it sped down the long corridor, heading to the station’s central hub and the infirmary.

The crew stepped out of the cargo bay door and into the corridor of the station’s arm, watching the small ambulance roll off into the distance. Pedestrians stepped aside at the sound of its siren to let them pass.

“Okay, let’s get going, it’s going to take us a bit for all of us to catch up,” June said, turning to the group.

Will looked at the crowd their family had become; June and Ben stood ready to head off in a dead sprint, Thea and Artona just behind them, Be’tule at Artona’s side. De’noke and Larce stood just inside the cargo bay door, peeking out. He smiled. “Yeah, let’s go.”

“I’ll walk you there; I didn’t get to do any people watching from the back of the ambulance,” said another instance of Inta as she squeezed past De’noke and Larce, giving each a kiss on the cheek as she did so.

Walking through the station, the crew of the Nestia drew stares and gawkers as they passed. Bordan wasn’t exactly a galactic backwater, but the eclectic mix that was the crew would have probably drawn looks even at Centrailia. Inta caught their eyes as they passed, smiling, and the onlookers couldn’t help but smile in return.

They reached the central hub, and Will looked for the nearest directory to find the direction they needed to take. “The infirmary’s that way, Love,” Inta said, pointing left, knowing precisely where her other instance was.

The nine of them crowded into a single car on the small tram and rode it a few stops down, then got off when they saw the large sign for the infirmary. Crossing the small plaza, they saw an ambulance parked in front of a large, sliding glass door, which wooshed open as they approached to enter. Inside, the reception area of the infirmary had a medium-sized reception desk manned by a single nurse to the immediate left as they walked in. A sitting area with several rows of seats across from it was on the other side of the room. At the back of the room was a large set of double doors, presumably heading deeper into the infirmary, which was flanked on the right by a bubbling fountain, about the size of a large bathtub but with a shallow basin.

They trooped into the reception area, which was mostly empty except for a woman and a small boy with tears in his eyes, who apparently had fallen and twisted an ankle. The mother and son watched the group of newcomers with curiosity.

June approached the nurse sitting behind the reception desk, everyone close behind her. The nurse sat at the desk, wearing a crisp white uniform, her auburn hair done up in a tight bun, looking professional. The pretty young nurse’s eyes widened at the group suddenly assembled before her.

“Hello Nurse...” June looked at the nametag on her crisp, white uniform, “Emily, we’re here to see Diana Davis. She was just brought in. We’re friends; we’d like to see her, please.”

Nurse Emily’s gaze swept over the crowd assembled, pausing on Inta, eyes narrowing slightly like she recognized her, then nodded. “Just one moment, please,” she said, then typed into the terminal on her desk. After a moment, she looked up. “They’re still doing intake examinations. I’m afraid you’ll have to wait here,” she said, gesturing to the sitting area.

June’s expression soured, but Inta touched her arm, letting her know it would be okay. “That’s fine, thank you. My sister is already with her and will let us know how things are going.” Nurse Emily nodded, her unspoken question answered.

“I’ll let you know as soon as Ms. Davis is ready for visitors,” Nurse Emily said, but the look on her face said that she was unsure how long that would be, given the state the patient arrived in.

“Thank you so much, Emily,” Inta said, June catching the sparkle in Inta’s eyes. “I know she’s in good hands.” The young nurse smiled back at her as a slight blush crept up her face.

They turned to go to the sitting area, and giggling softly, June whispered into Inta’s ear. “Simply insatiable.” Even Thea, not Bonded to Inta, felt the echoes of desire roll off the silver girl and smiled.

The crew sat in the waiting area, occupying half of the available seats in the small waiting area, even though the Toparians were kneeling comfortably on the floor.

A short time later, the boy and his mother were called to be seen, and then the waiting area was empty save for them.

As they waited, June and Ben chatted quietly with the others about the last time they were at Penrose, and Inta sat wedged snugly between June and Artona, listening.

While they conversed, Inta looked into the faces of her loved ones gathered here, and she felt their warmth and caring wash over her, a balm for her soul. She smiled, her eyes beginning to well up with small tears. She loved them all so much. They hardly knew Diana, and they’d already done so much for her simply because Inta cared for her, and they felt it was the right thing to do.

Inta’s smile dimmed; she knew that Diana’s recovery was going to be a long road, but she cared for her and felt responsible. ‘How could she allow Diana to suffer because of her?’ She asked herself for the thousandth time.