by Chris Mills
“It’s the best they could do,” Stephen said. The doctor pulled a handheld from her light blue coat. The uniform beneath had green to it, unlike the security from earlier.
The handheld looked like a thin slab of black metal. A finger press brought it to life. She tapped a bit, glancing up a times. She gasped. “Wow,” she said. “These methods are unique. Herald, I know you told me not to question -”
“Captain’s orders,” Herald said sternly.
“I don’t detect any major recent injury. There is bruising, but nothing. Wow, these methods are crude. I’m sorry.”
“It’s okay,” Stephen said. “I’m Stephen if he hadn’t told you.”
“Doctor Cherkera,” the doctor said. “I do apologize. I haven’t seen this alloy used for repair. I thought at first you were being altered for cybernetic purposes.”
“Huh?”
“Cybernetic enhancements.”
“Like becoming a cyborg?”
“If you want to put a label on it, yes. Your bones read a different story. What happened?”
“Doctor, I,” Herald began.
“I had a nasty fall,” Stephen spoke.
“Oh, and I guess there is a story for the means used to heal you.”
“Yes.”
“Well, if the captain ordered for that to be kept out, then that is how it will be. You are in decent health. There’s a lot I’m getting readings on. Your body is struggling to heal at the point of fractures.”
“Why?”
“You have a couple of low levels that would greatly impact your healing process. I can give you an injection to help. I apologize, it won’t be of immediate help. I can’t increase the dosage with the alloy they’ve used in you.”
“Oh,” Stephen said a bit sad. “I hoped there was more you could do.”
“More?”
“Take that alloy out and heal me.”
The doctor’s gaze came to Herald. “I know, you don’t have the equipment,” he said. “He was -”
“What kind of infirmary would this be if I didn’t have the correct medical equipment?” Doctor Cherkera questioned. She rolled her eyes. “I may not have the best stock for every procedure, but do not assume, Herald.”
“I apologize.”
“Does this mean you could heal me?” Stephen asked.
“It would take a few hours at least. Your damaged areas will need work. You’re missing bone, and I’d have to create the exact portion to match yours. Something like this can’t be done right now.”
“Why?”
“You have to understand, Stephen. This is not a hospital. This infirmary treats illness and injury for Galatian Empire officers. You do not belong to the Galatian Empire or you’d have a match in records. Also, it isn’t a procedure that is performed by our crew.”
“Huh?”
“No one has your prior health treatments.”
This thing on Stephen’s ear had a little oddness at times when she spoke. Sometimes the fluidity sounded normal and then a word or two would stall compared to the rest. She also didn’t sound normal, as if this thing gave its own voice. His other ear didn’t seem to work properly with this thing attached.
“Come on, doctor,” Herald said. “You know you want a challenge.”
“Sure, but at what risk?” Doctor Cherkera spoke.
“Let’s cut to it,” Herald said. “I know very well that you can perform a surgery onboard for payment.” The doctor’s right eyebrow shot right up. “I am a crew member, and I can pay for a procedure, right?”
“If it is you or family.”
“He is my family.”
“Your family?” Doctor Chereka said. Her eyes went wide. “You found him.”
“As you know, he has no relation, but cut me some slack, Doctor. If you get it started, I’ll ensure the captain is fine with it. He owes me one.”
“And your recent venture didn’t?”
“Please,” Stephen said. “Don’t make me beg. I might not be able to get off the floor.” The good doctor’s eyes fell closed. She let out a deep sigh and crossed her arm.
“Your status is sad,” Doctor Chereka said. She sighed and took towards her office. “I’ll get everything started. You will pay for this now.”
“You have my account.”
**
It wouldn’t be like the captain to care about a procedure being done if it resulted in no-to-little cost upon the empire. Doctor Chereka would resupply the moment they got to Galat II. Herald rested his back to the wall, checking the cost the doctor had quickly charged to his account. Ouch would be a harsh word for this. It didn’t set him back, but he still was smart to watch.
The halls aboard the Explorer C never had much noise in them. Herald kept close to the lab he spent the majority of his time in. He had a team of four, including himself, that fell to three today. Shifts were normal to his old roles. It got pretty boring, and he felt that he and Darren could have handled this all by themselves.
It should have been Darren to go with Herald. The captain chose to leave him onboard after seeing Darren’s over eagerness to enter the past. Herald would have fought more. The point had been made. He hadn’t thought till now what it would have been like to come back if Howard never went down. Would Stephen not be here?
“What a mess,” a voice said. Darren crossed his arms. “I tried to speak with them. They aren’t in a talking mood beside the blind one. It’s curious to see someone without sight onboard.”
“I had hoped to not meet his friends,” Herald emphasized. “You have no idea how they responded.”
“And we have them. Who is the girl?”
“I don’t know,” Herald said. “Darren, do you remember if Stephen was married?”
Darren’s mouth shut. He rubbed his chin. “I swore I remember reading it,” he said. “His youth, I don’t remember what we’ve discussed.” He swiped his handheld from his pocket.
“I wouldn’t bother,” Herald said. “There’s nothing past the point we knew of this date. I checked.” The only copy of what Stephen could have been resided in Herald’s handheld, and he felt it needed to be wiped.
“How are we going to explain this to Councilman Wallace? He knew what we sent him. Heck, I don’t know what I sent him now. This doesn’t make sense.”
“That’s the thing,” Herald said. “We knew going back could alter things. He does not exist in the past anymore.” Nor did Stephen’s friends. “It is curious.”
“What?”
“I remembered Carson on security being a man.”
“Uh, a man? Come on, Herald. I’ve only hit on her a dozen times.”
A dozen times? Herald’s memory of anything of the sort would be ridiculous. The idea of time travel was not impossible, but improbable. Nothing made had ever worked, nor would it in his mind. The Galatian Empire had done well to hide the truth of the tear. Herald experienced firsthand one of the theories of time travel’s effect on the present.
“Herald?” Darren questioned. “You really are serious.”
“I’ve seen little things,” Herald said. “The doctor is also a woman now.”
“This is freaky.”
Changing something in the past had different theories. One, which many would probably first see, would be that change affecting the future in a way specific to that. The idea of taking Stephen and his friends and causing such changes over the course of 700 years was ludicrous. This then brought in two theories.
Herald had come to the same future he had left, but his very presence on top of what happened sent little ripples upon the timeline. These ripples, while small, had changed the timeline. It may not be major - he hoped. The other theory is that Herald never returned to his future, but one of many which formed when he went back. Of course, the tear joined the two points, so that seemed more farfetched.
Herald pinched his forehead. “I must say,” he said. “I hate thinking about what I may have done.”
“We don’t know what all has been done,�
�� Darren reassured.
“How much has changed? Am I even where I should be?”
“What I know is that your reputation on the ship is the same, I know you as my friend, and you behave as I have known. That is what should matter, and that Howard met his fate. If he were still alive, I’d see him locked in the brig. I doubt he could find a buyer.”
“He may have known where to look.”
“We do have Kodon and the Porters’ son,” Darren said. “The others are troubling.” Herald nodded. He had to do some looking. All he had was his knowledge against the changes. If something really had changed the course he knew, he’d have known, right? “Relax. Things will be fine, I’m certain.”
“I hope so,” Herald said. He didn’t want to come to a point where he expected things to be different. It would suck the joy and mood to come. “Stephen’s in surgery”
“You convinced her?”
“She cares about compensation for time and supplies, like the captain. I have plenty.”
“Had. You lost a lot of it in stocks.”
“What?!”
Darren smacked Herald’s back. A laugh shook the hall. “Sorry,” he exclaimed. “I couldn’t help it. See, not much has really changed.” Besides the identity of two crew members. “You’re fine. How long?”
“She said four hours tops,” Herald said. “She’s going to install a translator too. That’s my money, hard at work. She had me choose between two top models.”
Both were a bit more than what Stephen needed right now, but they were like Herald’s and would give Stephen the best integration into understanding people. It was amazing how far that technology was still coming. A language’s own slang could come through like another’s if specific features were turned on and were capable in a unit. It may be weird for a while to get over lips not matching. Herald had not moved to a surgical one till his years at the academy. By then, he got used to listening and not watching a mouth.
“Is Kodon in the lab?” Darren questioned. Herald nodded. “I feel it is still best we wait. He should be here when we open it.”
“I agree,” Herald said. They had talked about the chance of Stephen coming, and they did agree that Stephen need to be present when examining. It was vital now he was part of this. “He must understand it. I don’t want him confused more than he is on what got a man killed.”
“Kodon is very special,” Darren said. “We arrive at Galat II tomorrow evening according to Ensign Wild. I hope we have time tomorrow to examine it before then. We’ve tried to ignore it, but it won’t be in our hands for too long. Councilman Wallace will have great control over it. He may choose for it to be elsewhere, and who knows if he will want us there now that Howard is dead.”
“Or now that we have Stephen and three surprises.”
“Stephen is surprise enough. I thought you would take him to his father’s hometown if he came.”
“I had planned to leave if he came,” Herald said. His heart had been set on finding if Ian Porter had a chance to live. He knew the child’s fate and had the damn thing that caused much trouble. “I may very well keep to that. I’m not old.”
“Yes, you are.”
“Very humorous, Darren. I’m old enough though and have plenty of money. There are jobs I can take. I want to give Stephen a chance to enjoy what he has come to. He needs to know all I know about Kodon and his parents. Hopefully then, after he sees the scope of what he has, he will look back and decide upon his choice.”
“Choice?”
“He’s here.”
It still felt unreal.
Chapter Six
It still felt unreal. Gabe had seen plenty of shows and movies dealing with space travel, partially because Stephen had an obsession with the what-ifs. He had a telescope in a box back at his home that cost more money than a computer Gabe had. It had a screen, and he used to take that thing to the drive-in so he could stargaze there or later.
White dots streamed by on the large window. Gabe felt a little bit of peace watching them. Silence had fallen to the guest quarters they had been put in. Andy had joined them. It didn’t make sense to throw him in a room by himself. He didn’t have a cane to navigate.
“I’m hungry,” Andy said.
“They said we could go eat when we wanted,” Kim said.
A panel by the door revealed the time. It wasn’t a big change. Gabe’s stomach grumbled a little. Some chips would be nice. He leaned his head back upon the blue chair. The small living area had a couch and a table that supposedly could provide them entertainment. None of them had bothered touching it.
There wasn’t much to these quarters. The layout reminded Gabe of a one-bedroom studio apartment, but smaller. There was a double bed and a door to the bathroom. A closet space had been provided for the guests. He couldn’t imagine living in a room like this for a job aboard. How did anyone cope with this not having far to walk onboard?
“Where is he?” Kim asked.
“I don’t know,” Gabe said. “He should have been back by now.”
“You don’t think he got injured worse from that man?”
“I don’t know,” Gabe said. “We need to find him. I’m tired of waiting.”
“Darren seemed nice,” Andy said.
“All smiles and cheer,” Gabe said with a roll of eyes.
“He was trying to be polite with the situation.”
“Whatever,” Gabe said. “We need to meet this Gala Council, or whatever they’re called, and get back.”
“Darren said we will arrive tomorrow,” Kim said.
“How are we going to explain this if we can’t get back before Monday?”
“There isn’t much of a choice right now,” Andy said. “We’ll have to wait.”
“This isn’t fair,” Kim said.
“Of course, it’s not fuc -,” Gabe said, but quickly cleared his throat. “It isn’t. Stephen was an idiot. Some man he doesn’t know claims to know his birth parents and bam, I’ll go with him. He’s not in his right mind. He’ll regret this.”
“I can’t blame him,” Andy said.
“What?!”
“Think about it,” Andy said. A yawn escaped him. “He’s in a wheelchair and can’t do anything for himself. A chance to change that came, and he could learn his real origin. That is an enticing offer.”
“But he has college and -”
“He’s in space now. He wanted to make it there. Plus, Gabe, it’s not like he knew when he’d get back to college. You know as well as I did what happened really messed his body up. Perhaps they can fix it here.”
“If they fix it, he’ll have to explain a lot when we go back.”
“What gives you the right to decide that?” Kim questioned. Gabe stared, a bit shocked at his fiancée. “He made a decision regardless of how foolish it may have been. He started biting off our heads before because he felt like a child.”
Stephen was incapable of caring for himself. Gabe felt that someone like that shouldn’t have any reason to make this choice. He took a deep breath. “Where is he?” he asked. “This is getting ridiculous.”
A tone came. It was hard to figure the origin with how balanced it sounded. Kim rose after a bit of staring and headed to the door. These doors really were something else. Hmm. Kim’s smile came and went. Herald brought his hand to her back and motioned to the couch.
“I’m sorry for the delay,” Herald said.
“It’s been an hour and a half,” Gabe said sternly. “Don’t your hospitals have things to speed it up?”
“It’s an infirmary,” Herald corrected. “His visit would have been quick if it were a checkup from the wounds.”
“And?”
“He made the choice to have the previous medical hardware taken out and use our ship doctor’s methods to repair his body.”
“You’re making him normal?”
“That sounded harsh,” Herald said a bit shocked. “He made a choice so he can get back to full health.”
“How are w
e supposed to explain that back home?”
“Gabe,” Kim sighed.
“He should be out in a couple hours or so,” Herald said. “He’s in good hands. His recovery will be longer. The doctor will fill us in when that comes. For now, you should all try to rest. He won’t wake up anytime soon after the surgery.”
Gabe rubbed his face. He had thought to interrupt that surgery, only to smack his friend and let them get back to it. It was his choice, sure, but now of all times? Couldn’t this have waited till after they met with the council? There would have been a chance, he felt, that the council wouldn’t allow it. Clearly, Stephen’s place was in the past. He barely lived here compared to where they had been.
“I know you’re frustrated,” Herald said. “Things will be okay.”
“Can you guarantee that?” Gabe asked.
“Nothing can be completely guaranteed.”
“So, will he walk right away?” Andy asked a bit quickly. “Or is a progression?”
“Right away,” Herald said. “His body will remember. It will come to him very quick. He’ll be back to his fullest.”
“Good,” Andy said. “Well, I think if you help me to my room and a light snack, Herald, I’ll take it. Can I get a new walking stick, or should they give me new eyes?”
Herald’s chuckle fell short. “One thing at a time,” he said. “As much as I know you probably want to see, perhaps there is a better time to hit that topic. You must speak to the council.” It would make for an interesting conversation with Deb when his son strolled in without any help at all.
Herald helped Andy up. “Goodnight,” he said. “Try not to fume anymore. It’s getting a bit warm in here, Gabe.” Gabe rolled his eyes.
The door slid close, leaving the two finally alone. “That’s enough, Gabe,” Kim said. “I know this stinks. We have to deal. We have with everything else before.”
“This is different,” Gabe said. “We could at least go home or to a hotel. I don’t like being stuck.”
“Nor do I,” Kim said. “You don’t see me with the stick up my butt. Stephen will be fine, and we can have a real talk with him tomorrow. A lot has happened, but I keep faith.”