Chapter 43
Hattie
The shuttle ride was quiet. Peaceful.
This time, she got to enjoy the majestic sight of the in all its glory as it spread out below her while their shuttle climbed. It was an ocean of green, undulating under the breeze, as the daily storm began to open up across the land.
The shuttle dipped into the clouds and the window was swallowed in a haze of white.
A long, shuttered breath flew past her lips.
“Are you alright?” Tuvo asked softly.
She nodded. “Yeah. I hate saying goodbye.”
“It won’t be forever, kyrya. You’ll see them again.”
She smiled, turning in his arms to look up at him. “I know I will.”
“And think of all the good things to look forward to.”
“It will be nice to get a long, hot bath.”
He chuckled, pushing back her hair. “Yeah. And we can finally get your wounds seen properly.”
“Hey, I wasn’t the one who got infected.”
“Indeed.” He rolled his shoulder. “Can’t wait to get these bullets out of my back.”
“How many do you think are back there?”
“Enough,” he said dully, making her laugh. “I think I’ll melt them down into a necklace for you.”
“Huh? A necklace?”
“No? Maybe a bracelet instead. I would have said a tail band, but, well, you need a tail for that.”
She smiled. “You’re going to make me jewelry out of the bullets you got shot with?”
“What else would I do with them?”
“Throw them away?” She laughed. “Aren’t those made of lead?”
“I don’t know. Why?”
“Isn’t lead toxic?”
“I’ll have it coated so it doesn’t affect you.” He grabbed her wrist, closing his whole hand around it. “I got these bullets for you. It’s only right I give them to you.”
Oh. It was a domini thing. And kind of sweet? In a very odd way. And as long as she couldn’t get lead poisoning or something from them, she wasn’t unhappy about accepting.
Bright sunlight burst through the window as they came out of the clouds and she turned, this time watching as the Earth got further and further away.
The shuttle moved fast, piercing through the atmosphere so quickly and smoothly, she didn’t even feel it.
She just slowly became aware of the distant horizon appearing in her field of view as it bled into the darkness of space.
The continents formed under her gaze. Swirling masses of clouds became streaks of white lazily swirling through the air.
Getting smaller and smaller. Further away.
And, strangely, she wasn’t sad to see it going.
She still wanted to visit her parents before they left. She had to call them. While she was sure that someone had notified them that she was okay, she needed to let them know herself. That would be one of the first things she did when they got back to the starship.
But aside from that, she didn’t really feel like she was leaving home.
Earth just didn’t hold that place in her heart anymore.
“Preparing to dock,” Atem said from the front of the shuttle.
Tuvo released her, stepping towards the door.
Hattie turned as well, frowning at his back.
Atem hadn’t looked behind him while flying, so he hadn’t seen the way Tuvo held her.
And now Tuvo was releasing her. Did that mean something?
Or was it just him watching as they came into the shuttle docking bay – little indentations near the bottom of the ship where the shuttle slid and locked into place.
The door would lock onto the wall of the ship as a gate closed below them, sealing the shuttle inside without needing to depressurize the entire docking bay.
And through the window, she could see the others.
They all gathered around, eager to see her. The girls were up front, and tears filled Hattie’s eyes. Joy and relief.
The moment the door opened, she was off, running towards them. She found herself immediately closed in on all sides by eager, hugging arms. All the girls were talking at once, saying how glad they were that they were okay.
Everyone, finally back together again. It felt good to see them.
To know they were alright. She even got to see Atem and Peony’s baby boy, Viktor.
The sight of the three eyed infant curled up against his mother’s chest, staring at her with huge, red eyes, his skin the same green as Peony’s shirt, made her belly clench with longing.
She wanted one.
“Let her breathe,” Atem chuckled, coming over to them. “Let’s get them both to the med bay. Tuvo, I’ll want a debrief after.”
He grunted in understanding as Scarlet led the way into the ship.
The Jutiron Stor was a massive structure. Basically, a city in its own right. It had everything it needed for all the passengers and crew to stay aboard long term. Recreational areas, its own shopping center, and more rooms than a high-rise apartment complex.
It was also luxurious. Huge and comfortable.
Especially the wing that Hattie and the others were staying in.
The colors were bright – white and cream ivory marble with golden accents.
Even rooms that didn’t have windows had simulated windows that offered views of whatever the person setting them wanted – including an outside view from cameras on the outer hull.
The med bay was one of those. The bright, open space had a long window that Scarlet – as the healer in charge of this room – had set to be a view of Earth’s horizon, live.
She had three med scanners in the room. Beds set up against a massive computer that took up an entire wall.
The beds weren’t anything fancy, they didn’t even really have a cushion, but they were made of a semi-solid material that conformed to the body when one laid down.
Since Scarlet was working by herself – the others having left them alone so they could have some privacy – Tuvo insisted that Hattie lay down first. She fought briefly, stating that he had been shot multiple times, but he wouldn’t hear of it.
From its base on the computer at her head, a large ring separated and began to slowly spin around her – a cream colored, pulsing glow emanating from it as it moved down her body.
Scanning her as Scarlet worked on the control panel set to the side, her eyes moving quickly across a read out of information as a 3D holo recreation of Hattie’s body built in the air.
“How’s it looking?” She asked, trying not to sound impatient as Tuvo came to stand at her side.
The two of them shared a look. Silent but knowing. They hadn’t said a word to each other, but she knew they were both thinking the same thing.
The ring was almost at her lower belly.
“A lot of well healing lacerations,” Scarlet said, her eyes fixed on her holo body. “They’re scarring up nicely. Want me to fix that?”
“Yes,” Tuvo said before she had a chance.
Scarlet lifted her gaze as she paused in her work. Giving him a dull look.
Hattie giggled. “You’re worried about me having scars?”
“Yes,” he said again. No hesitation.
“You’re more scar than skin. Why can’t I have some nice scars? We could match.” She wasn’t actually fighting for the scars, she was just curious about his reaction.
“Absolutely not.”
“Why?”
“I don’t want you to have scars.”
Silent, Scarlet raised a single brow.
He reached up, his longest finger tracing down one of the marks on her leg. “I’m a warrior. I’m meant to be scarred. I carry these to remind myself of my battles, and to honor the foes that fell while I fought them. They deserve that much. You are not a warrior, kyrya.”
There went Scarlet’s other eyebrow.
“I hate that these marks mar you,” he continued. “It is dishonorable to me.”
“Wait, how are scars honorable on you but dishonorable on me?”
“Because these are the marks of combat I survived. But these,” he touched her scar again, the ring having reached her feet now, “are marks of my failure in protecting you.”
“Aw,” Hattie couldn’t help but smile. “You’re so cute, Tuvy-bear.”
Scarlet’s eyebrows somehow, impossibly, went higher. Hattie had to fight back the urge to laugh.
“Get the scars removed,” he said, stepping back, making room for the ring to move. “Allow me that, vi kyrya.”
“Of course. Scarlet?”
It took a second for her red-headed friend to snap out of her surprise at seeing Tuvo being affectionate and focus back on her task.
“One scar removal, coming up,” she said, programming the ring. “You’ve also got an intestinal infection. Probably from contaminated water or food or something.”
“Ew. Gross. Could have lived without knowing that.” Hattie made a face. It wasn’t surprising after surviving in the wilds of the , but it still wasn’t easy to hear.
“All in all, you don’t look too bad,” Scarlet said, manipulating the holo model of her body. “Some bumps, some bruises… If that’s all you get from falling out of a plane, I’d say that you’re not doing too… hm?”
Scarlet’s head cocked curiously as she stared at the light recreation. Hattie’s heart skipped as she and Tuvo both stilled, looking at her.
A couple holo screens appeared over the console, more information blazing across them as Scarlet made some adjustments or pressed some buttons or something. Hattie honestly had no idea what she was doing – it was too complex for her.
But she was after something.
“Anything wrong, doc?” Hattie asked, smiling around her heart thumping in her throat. Beside her, Tuvo’s hands tightened nervously into fists. “What do you see?”
Scarlet’s eyes focused on her through the long screen of text she was staring at. Her dull expression made Hattie giggle uneasily.
“I think you know very well what I’m looking at,” she said, twisting Hattie’s holo around and up then zooming in until only her lower belly was visible.
Hattie still had no idea what it was. Those were her intestines? Right? And then that had to be… her bladder? She should have paid more attention to high school biology.
“Is it healthy?” Tuvo asked, his voice soft. He didn’t need to specify further.
“Initial DNA scans are… Well, as ordinary as something like this can be. There’s only three other data points to draw from at this point.”
“Can you tell me what it is?” Hattie asked, breathless.