Medusa's Touch

by Emily L Byrne

  No. Take the Ear’s ship. She’s not leaving with you and you’re not taking her ship. Sherin’s voice was cold and clear, her tone suggesting that she’d found a weapon and would use it to defend TiCara if she had to. TiCara felt a warm glow fill her. Sherin cared for her as much as she had hoped she did. Sherin wouldn’t give her up. Even if she couldn’t see.

  I have everything I came for. Vahn, again, on faulty audio. We have overstayed our welcome. My apologies, Pilot-Captain. I hope a cure for your condition is found. His voice rang around her ears and echoed through her skull as she tried to shut it out.

  She could feel herself slipping away, giving in to the pain and the darkness. She hoped Sherin had a lazer, just in case Zig wasn’t dead. She hoped that Vahn and Sammo weren’t going to try to take her away from Sherin. She hoped that she’d be able to see and hear Sherin when she woke up. If she woke up. With that thought, she was gone.

  Chapter 27

  TiCara wasn’t in the corridor anymore when she woke up. Wherever she was felt different, smelled different, nothing like burning metal or blood. Without thinking, she reached both hands up to her face, then winced and quickly lowered her burned hand.

  With the other hand, she felt a bed underneath her and several bandages on her limbs and head. The ringing in her ears had been reduced to a dull buzzing but she could hear station sounds beyond that and sighed with relief. Cautiously, she opened her eyes, then shut them again immediately afterward.

  She was in a room lit by what looked like harsh bright lights. She opened her eyes a slit, only then realizing that her face was covered with some kind of light bandage. Whatever it was, it was semi-opaque and fastened in a way that she couldn’t quite figure out with one hand.

  She dropped her medusas down to it, letting them explore the bandage’s texture while she lay quietly absorbing the information that they were sending her brain. After a moment, she realized that all her medusas, even the ones that had gotten shorted out in her fight with the robot, were working again. A sense of wonder filled her: who had done this? Had Sherin managed some miracle to get her healed?

  A beloved voice cut through her reverie and she turned toward it, trying to smile. A sharp pain burned her cheek and she pressed her hand up against it. She could feel Sherin take her other hand and press it gently between her own.

  The tell from the techs is that the damage is temporary. You did it, starshine girl, you saved us. She pressed a careful kiss on TiCara’s fingers. Then, more softly, Zig’s dead. You did that, too. There was another pause before she spoke again. I gave them tell about Vahn, said he hired Zig to steal tech, that they had a fight when Vahn decided to leave Zig here, that I thought that Vahn had taken a drive with some of their tech on it. They took the tell in trade for healing you, said they’d take it from there.

  TiCara thought about asking what, if anything, they might do to Vahn, then decided that she didn’t care that much. He wasn’t going to pay her what they’d originally agreed to since she wasn’t flying him back to Kyrin, so she didn’t really owe him anything. Still, a part of her was disappointed that she didn’t get to see him healed and strong. He’d been an interesting client, often a good one. Regardless of his motivations, she’d miss him, at least a little.

  Of course, she could say the same of Erol, and that cut much deeper. His loss ached much more than any other. She had a damaged ship and a damaged face, and no loyal Second to help her injured crew pull through while she healed. She tried to ask about the Astra, the crew, but her voice came out as an unrecognizable croak. Instead, she tried to use her good hand to gesture to convey her questions.

  Sherin didn’t understand at first and asked a couple of questions, pausing to touch her hand or her arm as if for confirmation or assurance. If TiCara squinted hard through the wrap on her face, she could almost see her lover through the bandages. But that hurt too much to try for very long, so she finally shut her eyes and tried to use her good hand to respond as well as to ask. It wasn’t very efficient, but Sherin must have speced what she was trying to do.

  I commed Ji-min and Vijay, gave them tell on what happened. Vijay’s bots got him and Ji-min fixed up and he says they’re fine. Ji-min says the ship is whole. By the time you’re ready, we can fly off this rock. Sherin paused, then added, And I still have access to Vahn’s credit. He hasn’t disconnected me yet. I took back what he still owed you.

  A warm rush of emotion filled TiCara and for an instant, even if she could have spoken, she would have been at a loss for words. She tried to convey everything she was feeling with a tight grip on Sherin’s hand, squeezing it, releasing it and squeezing it again. She felt the other woman raise it to her lips for a kiss and thought she was the luckiest humanoid in the galaxy.

  But with that came another thought. If they could raid Vahn’s cred, why not pay for Sherin to get wired again? A click from something mechanical nearby interrupted her thoughts and she could feel a cold fluid seep into her arm. She struggled against a sudden, overwhelming need to sleep, trying to get the words out before she slipped back under, but it was no use.

  When she woke up again, she was alone. The lights weren’t hurting her eyes anymore, and she teased carefully at the bottom of the bandage to see if she could look around the room. A moment later, she realized that she was

  examining the covering with both hands. That had to be a good sign.

  The bandage around her eyes peeled back a little, leaving her blinking at the room and the lights. Her movement must have sent some sort of signal as well because a moment later the door to the room opened and Sherin stepped inside. Leave your eyes covered for a few cycles more. The bots aren’t done yet.

  She was right. TiCara could feel them now, gliding over and under her skin, knitting it together again. She let the bandage drop back down again and cleared her throat experimentally. Sherin, she said at last, her voice a dull rasp, as she felt the other woman take her hand. Take Vahn’s cred, get rewired, she choked out before she started coughing.

  Dr. Moest said she’d talk to me about it in a few cycles. The labs weren’t damaged but I think they’re using them to try to do an assessment of the tech that they think Vahn and Sammo had access to. TiCara could feel Sherin’s shrug through her hand and squeezed her fingers lightly to reassure her. She could hear the disappointment in her lover’s voice. Sherin continued, I’ll bring you with me when I go to see Moest the next time. Get some more sleep.

  I don’t need more sleep, TiCara started to say. But just as the thought crossed her mind, she did. She dropped back off into a dreamless oblivion.

  The next time she woke up, it was because Sherin’s hand was resting on her shoulder. It’s time to go see Moest. Are you ready to come with me? Drink this first. TiCara felt a metallic container pressed up against her lips, and took a gulp from it. She choked on the medicinal flavor and nearly spat it back out. Only the pressure of Sherin’s hand reminded her to swallow.

  After a couple of choked coughs, she looked up at Sherin, relieved to see that she could see her lover’s beautiful face clearly for the first time since the fight. A moment’s cautious probing with her medusas told her that most of her bandages were gone. Sherin tilted her face with gentle fingers. The burn’s almost completely healed. You might not even have a scar.

  Sherin kissed her, lips soft and careful against her own. Then Sherin broke off the kiss with a gentle nip at her lips when TiCara reached up to pull her closer. Not yet. TiCara could hear the regret in her voice and smiled at her.

  She had less to smile about when she saw the state of her blacksuit. Burns and tears left it barely wearable and she wrinkled her nose at the scent of old blood and sweat. Sorry, Sherin looked stricken. I didn’t think to have the station clean it. Getting them to fix you up was all I thought about.

  TiCara grimaced. "The Astra will fix it for me when we get back on board. Now let’s go see Moest so that can happen sooner." TiCara got dressed slowly and stood, albeit with the occasional sway. Together,
she and Sherin walked out of the room and down the hallway. TiCara tried not to clutch Sherin’s arm too tightly. Despite some pain and discomfort, the pilot felt as if she was light enough to be on a lowgrav world. At first, she attributed that to her feelings about Sherin. But when she thought about it, realizing that Zig was finally dead, that he wouldn’t be coming after her, was a meteor’s weight off her psyche.

  And then there was the healing and the credits. Sherin had done a nova job sorting that out. She couldn’t imagine what this trip would have been like without Sherin, now that she knew and trusted her. Once this was over, they’d...that was when she realized that if Moest could and would rewire Sherin, life would be very different.

  Unless a wired pilot was in training, the tech for wiring medusa pilots was so specialized that most ships never had more than one wired pilot at a time. A medusa ship got programmed to individual set of brainwaves when a pilot plugged in; modifying that to another pilot’s implants involved some elaborate reprogramming.

  As she thought about it, TiCara doubted that Sherin had taken enough from Vahn to cover getting rewired as well as getting her a ship of her own. If she got rewired, they’d certainly have to get her working on a corp ship to manage the debt.

  The sharp pang of impending loss swept through TiCara in a wave. To have come so far and been so close to having a primary for the first time in her life, then to lose her again so quickly, was almost more than she could bear. She blinked back against sudden tears and dropped her face into her hands so that Sherin wouldn’t see them.

  For some reason, the gesture made her think about Elia. Had the other pilot felt this way about her? And known her feelings wouldn’t be reciprocated? Had that been part of why she had stayed so aloof, so distant? But her small pang of sympathy was replaced by an overwhelming sense of self-pity. Whatever Elia had wanted

  initially, it no longer mattered, especially in the wake of her betrayal.

  Sherin lifted TiCara’s chin and kissed her, driving away all her fears and doubts, at least temporarily. She tasted like warm spice and TiCara savored the flavor of her tongue against her own. Her battered body felt a surge of arousal and she reached out to pull Sherin closer. A sharp pain shot through her, causing her to pull away with a muttered curse.

  That gasp was enough to bring a fast-moving med tech over to them, herding them into one of the rooms. Sherin moved away, going to sit in a nearby chair to wait. TiCara bit her lip to hold back a pout. After that, she had more pressing concerns as the tech checked her eyes, injecting them with a fluid that left her blinking in a haze while the tech removed the bandage from her hand. It’s healing well. You’re fortunate, pilot. Your treatment will cost less than the credit limit your primary set.

  TiCara could see Sherin wince despite her tearing eyes and mouth an apology. She tried to smile reassuringly, but the tech slipped between them to reach for one of the medical scanners on the shelf above her head. That was enough to make her briefly aware of the tech and her distant, cold expression. She could smell a very faint tang of fear sweat and it made her wonder what she was doing and why.

  Unthinking, she sent up a medusa to feel what the tech was reaching for, and felt the woman flinch away. She withdrew it immediately, with a mumbled apology, and tried not to see the disgust cross the tech’s round face. She had always had some trouble reading groundy expressions, but this one was pretty clear.

  She ran the scanner over TiCara’s injuries, careful to avoid reaching up toward her head and the writhing medusas. They don’t bite. Much. TiCara finally growled, forcing the tech to meet her eyes.

  The tech’s full lips quirked upward in an expression that approached a smile, but then she broke eye contact quickly. You can leave today, pilot. Keep your hand bandaged for two more cycles to let the bots finish. They’re programmed to die off when they’re done. The tech finished rewrapping her hand, then stepped away. At the door, she turned and nodded slightly, this time meeting TiCara’s eyes, her expression turning curious rather than fearful. TiCara let out a breath she hadn’t realized that she was holding, as if coming to the end of a battle she was unaware of fighting.

  Sherin walked over and held out her hand to help her up from the chair. She looked at TiCara’s medusas and frowned thoughtfully. But she didn’t say anything, and TiCara couldn’t bring herself to ask, not after the tech’s reaction.

  She tried to kill off a tiny hope that Sherin was reconsidering being wired. Why should some groundy’s phobia change her mind? And she definitely couldn’t bring herself to ask if it changed how Sherin felt about her. Instead, she let Sherin patch up a few of the tears in her suit with some sealant that she found on the shelf, all in complete silence.

  Ready to try and escape again? Sherin asked at last. TiCara raised her hand to her lips and kissed it gently. Sherin smiled at her, then reached out with her free hand, and very carefully, stroked one of her medusas. TiCara shuddered with pleasure and bit back a gasp as the other woman withdrew her hand. It took all the self-control that she had left to follow Sherin out of the lab when her every instinct demanded that she pull her down on to the bed and make love to her then and there.

  That, or run screaming out the door to the Astra and back to a simpler life. Simpler, but less interesting. Now, it was time to see what their future could hold.

  So she sent a fervent hope out to the universe that the bots would be able to finish repairing her sooner than the tech had predicted and trailed after Sherin. Fortunately, they didn’t have to go far. Dr. Moest was waiting for Sherin in a nearby lab. When they got there, she gestured at them to sit down on the nearest stools before turning the screen behind her so they could see it too. Sherin tilted her head and looked at it sideways before straightening out and looking politely interested at Moest’s frown.

  This is your skull, the doctor gestured at the screen and the thin white line that circled a blob of red and gray. This, Moest pulled up a second image for comparison, is an image of a humanoid skull before wiring. She paused, as if to let the pictures sink in for her audience. You can see how much thinner the bone is here and here. She tapped the image of Sherin’s skull.

  Sherin reached out and grabbed TiCara’s good hand. There were tears at the edges of her eyes. So...you’re saying that something is wrong. That my bones are too thin?

  TiCara closed her eyes for an instant, trying to hope as hard as she could that Sherin wasn’t right, that the

  doctor was really saying that reimplanting her medusas was still feasible. She could sell the Astra, pay off Ji-min and Vijay, pay...but she found she couldn’t go any further, let alone say the words out loud. There had to be another way. She opened her eyes.

  Moest went on talking about bone density for a while longer, then, as if she was aware of losing her audience, concluded, So I can’t just reimplant them as your skull bones are now, not without permanently damaging you. But I might be able to do something else.

  A wild hope flashed across Sherin’s face. What?

  The doctor went back to the images and launched into a complex explanation of how she might be able to give Sherin medusas again. It was a complicated procedure and TiCara didn’t understand all of it, but she grasped enough to realize some of what could go wrong. Dr. Moest didn’t explain the impact of those operations until TiCara cleared her throat and asked the question that hung over all of them. But if you did that, wouldn’t you damage her skull, maybe her brain? Sherin’s fingers tightened convulsively on hers and she heard a gasp.

  Tru tell, she’d lose most of her memories of the recent past, maybe more. There’d be some impact to motor skills, but those should rebound. Moest frowned at the images as if it was an interesting challenge. I would like to try, but I cannot say that it would be safe. She shrugged and glanced back at them as if she had forgotten that she was talking about a living person sitting before her.

  TiCara felt the blood drain from her face, leaving her light-headed. For a long moment, she was afraid to look at Sherin.
What if she agreed to this? What would be left for them? But then, what would she do in her lover’s place? If this was the price that she had to pay to connect to her ship again, would it seem too dangerous to try, too much to give up?

  Sherin cleared her throat. I need to think about it. Just for a cycle. I know time is cred and that Electra wants us gone soon. Moest nodded and Sherin let go of TiCara’s hand. I’ll ping you when I’m ready to talk, she added to TiCara. Then she slipped out of the room, leaving her lover and the doctor staring after her, then at each other.

  Chapter 28

  It felt like an eternity to TiCara while she waited for Sherin to come back. She and Moest discussed a very short list of other options before she found herself dismissed from the doctor’s lab to wander down to the canteen. Once there, she made herself drink something warm that she couldn’t taste. She wondered if she could recreate the spiced drink that Sherin made for her and started experimenting with selections on the food processor until the canteen ‘bot shooed her away from it.

  With nothing else to do but fret, she called her crew. Ji-min told her that the repairs were completed, the Astra was fueled and that Electra’s spaceport authority had told them that they needed to leave soon. Vijay told her not to worry so much and asked what their next job was.

  That question shook TiCara loose from her spiraling nest of fears about Sherin, and got her planning about where they could go next. Her thoughts shied away from Kraybourne, even though they’d have to go there soon. She clicked off her handheld without giving Vijay a direct answer, mentally weighing the options. She imagined all the places in the known galaxy that she’d seen before, wondering if Sherin would like to see some of them with her, once they left here.

  Or where she and the crew would go next, if they were leaving without Sherin. Kyrin was not an option, at least for now. Not until they knew what had happened to Vahn and whether or not Zig’s corp was responsible for sending the Ear after her. After them. But, there were plenty of other planets, other systems to choose from, no need to retrace their steps.