Chapter 2 #2
"Anyways, Brick," I said, realizing we were in need of a change of subject, "how goes our total repairs? Will we be ready?" I asked, lifting my eyebrows, letting my hope show on my face. It had been a rough few days. "We should be ready soon. After all, we've put in plenty of work."
"Damn right," Lily growled somewhere above us.
"Yes, we should be good soon." Brick rubbed his hands together. "We really just have"—he pulled out a tablet—"two more tasks to work through. We have to do a final walk on the surface of the ship and ensure there are no more plates that need replacing."
"I thought we had sensors for that," I said.
Brick shrugged. "Sensors are good, but if there's a time to double-check them, it's after everything we just went through. We don’t want to do reentry and find a sensor and plate that has failed us."
I scowled at him before deciding he was right, and letting out a sigh, I settled into the realization that it was going to be at least a little longer before we were exploring space once more.
***
"Hmm," Melgara hummed, while the kikai on the bed fidgeted back and forth. "Honestly, I am amazed at the pristine condition your body is in every time I inspect it." Melgara squinted at the kikai. "You wouldn't happen to have some sort of secret to maintaining it, would you?"
"Of course not. Why would you even suggest such a thing? It's just a warrior's body honed through years of training," Violet said stoically.
If Melgara actually cared about that statement, she gave no outward sign.
Instead, she continued her scans. "While on the physical side you seem to be well acclimated, I must ask…
there seems to be some trepidation from you when it comes to returning to your home.
Most people would be quite excited," she said, putting a fine point on it and watching the kikai carefully for any signs.
There was something wrong with her returning home, Melgara knew it. However, most people needed a gentle hand when trying to get information from them. She could only help the kikai if she knew what was wrong.
"It's been a while," Violet said after a moment, looking down at her hands. "A lot of things have probably changed, and if I'm honest, I spent considerable time running from my past."
"This would have something to do with the master you've mentioned before?" Melgara asked, keeping her eyes trained on her datapad rather than giving any outward sign of her thoughts.
"Yes," the kikai answered after a long moment. "After my master died, it became difficult for me to continue to live there."
"I'm sorry for your loss," Melgara said and somewhat regretted that it most likely didn't sound very sympathetic.
She would work on her bedside manner. It was not something she had been able to practice very much.
Most of the patients she had worked on in the past were either heavily sedated or unconscious, and a fair many of them hadn't even been alive.
"It's fine," the kikai said, in a way that was very much not fine. But Melgara had no reason to press her further.
"One day, when you feel more comfortable, I would love to hear more about her," Melgara said, looking up from her tablet.
“Perhaps.” Violet was clearly hesitant.
"And this master taught you how to fight?" Melgara continued, not trying to pry any information from her, just simply talking to relieve the tension.
"She was a wonderful teacher." She sniffed, recalling some painful memory.
"If she taught someone like you to fight so well, going up against the VDF with nary an injury, then she must have really been something." Melgara did her best to compliment the warrior.
"She was strong enough that even amongst kikai she was practically a legend. However, that also meant there were people who wanted to tear down her legend." Violet growled those words.
Melgara nodded. She understood such competitive natures. "Well, there's a special place in the afterlife, one that I hope is not at all comfortable, for those who are so disquieted by another's success."
"I couldn't agree more."
Melgara only smiled. "You'll be surprised at just how common so many problems are.
In my time in the medical field, I haven't met a single race that doesn't have plenty of its members afraid of death and disease, those that have ill fates intertwined with luxuries, and, of course, you can find idiots across all races. "
Violet laughed, and Melgara felt like she'd at least earned one star back on her bedside manner off that joke alone.
"But jokes aside, please continue to maintain your health, both physically and mentally. If we return to your home and you find it difficult to bear any of the memories, then I am always happy to be consulted."
Melgara would probably have to brush up on psychiatry.
It wasn't exactly her specialty. She tended to focus on how the brain worked mechanically, much less emotionally.
But she did find the brain to be a fascinating organ, especially how it differed from race to race.
Working to understand kikai neurology might be an interesting read after all.
However, she shook that from her mind and instead smiled at her latest patient.
"We should be able to head to the planet soon.
I had Brick in here earlier, and he said they had just finished the walk on the exterior.
Thankfully, there was no additional hull plating to replace.
Though, it sounds like we'll be down for repairs for at least a little while once we make it planetside.
" Melgara gave Violet a pointed look. "So we'll be stuck there for a few days. "
The kikai nodded. "Thank you." She bowed, her purple ears flopping with the motion while her tail swished from side to side.
The ears and tails were far more informative than facial expressions for reading kikai. Humans often found them to be uncomfortably stoic, but it was just a different set of micro expressions. Loose ears and a moving tail meant they were relaxed or happy.
Melgara had been reading up on kikai, given there were two on the ship now and one of them seemed intent on staying. Knowledge, after all, was the foundation of power.