Chapter 11
Rainse
The Tidebound descended through the clouds like a living thing.
Her metal hull shimmered as the camouflage circuits disengaged, revealing curves that mimicked the shape of a breaching whale.
The engines purred low and steady, stirring the sand around us into eddies.
Even after all these sunpasses on Earth, watching her arrive still made my chest tighten.
Spaceships were for rich people, for the elite, not for simple finmen warriors like me.
Verity stood beside me, one arm pressed against her ribs. The wind pulled at her hair, tangling it around her face, but she didn’t move. She stared at the ship the way I’d once stared at the open ocean — half wonder, half disbelief.
“It looks alive,” she said softly.
“She is,” I murmured. “In her own way.”
The Tidebound’s underbelly opened with a hiss, lowering a landing ramp that unfurled onto the sand like a silver tongue.
Water poured down its grooves, glimmering in the light.
Kelon had told me once that the designers had done that on purpose — the finfolk didn’t trust anything that stayed completely dry.
Verity’s bare feet hesitated at the edge of the ramp. “It’s… slippery.”
“It adjusts,” I said. “You’ll be safe.”
She took a tentative step forwards, then another, her balance steady despite the uneven surface. I followed a pace behind, ready to catch her if she stumbled, but she didn’t. She walked straight up into the open belly of the ship, and the door sealed behind us with a soft sigh.
The temperature changed immediately. Inside, the air was cool and humid, carrying the faint scent of salt and metal polish.
The floor beneath our feet curved gently, the walls smooth and rounded, lights shifting like reflected waves.
Half of the corridor ahead shimmered with a thin layer of water that receded as we approached, the ship’s systems recognising my dry form.
Verity’s eyes were wide. “This is… incredible.”
“It’s home,” I said quietly.
She turned toward me. “Half of it’s underwater?”
“More than half,” I said. “Finfolk need immersion. We don't like being away from water for too long. But some of us prefer spending some of their sunpass in air rooms, and of course some cargo would be destroyed if kept in water. A lot of the rooms inside the ship are adaptable. Wet or dry."
“Adaptable,” she echoed, her gaze tracing the seams in the wall. The ship responded, dimming the lights slightly as if acknowledging her attention. She smiled faintly. “It really does feel alive.”
“She likes you,” I said before I could stop myself.
Verity looked at me over her shoulder, one eyebrow raised. “Ships don’t like people, Rainse.”
“You’d be surprised.”
We reached the lift that led to the upper deck.
Its door slid open with a soft ripple of sound, and I gestured for her to enter.
The moment the door closed, water rose halfway up my calves while the floor beneath her stayed dry — a subtle adjustment, designed for mixed company.
She watched the waterline with fascination.
“So, this is what it’s like,” she said quietly. “Space travel.”
“Sometimes I forget that humans haven't travelled throughout the universe yet.”
She laughed. "We've barely made it to our own moon. People are talking about travelling to Mars, but we don't have the technology yet to sustain human life across such distances."
"What is your ship like?" I asked.
"She's not mine. I just work on her. The Minerva is a research ship. A company built it and now rents it out to scientists from across the world. Lots of fancy scanners and devices, but the most used piece of technology on it is probably the coffee machine.”
“You’ll find better here,” I said with a faint smile. “Our fabricator can make anything.”
“Anything?” she asked. “Even coffee?”
“Especially coffee.”
Her laughter filled the lift, bright and human. It was a sound I wanted to keep bottled somewhere safe.
The doors opened with a soft chime, revealing a wide corridor lined with doors leading to the crew quarters. The air shimmered with light from the aquaponic gardens below. Through the open archway at the far end, the medbay glowed softly, five pods arranged in a circle like sleeping pearls.
Verity hesitated again. “It’s beautiful,” she said. “And intimidating.”
“It’s both,” I admitted. “Like most things worth trusting.”
She looked at me then, eyes softening. “You really love it here, don’t you?”
“I did,” I said honestly. “Before.”
“Before?”
“Before you.”
The words left my mouth before I could swallow them. She froze, eyes widening, then looked away. The silence between us thickened, and I regretted the truth as soon as it was free.
“Let’s get you to the medbay,” I said quickly, and stepped ahead to open the door.
The medbay doors parted with a soft sigh, releasing a wave of air that smelled faintly of salt and something antiseptic yet oddly sweet.
The circular room beyond gleamed under gentle light, like sunlight filtered through shallow water.
Five pods curved along one side of the wall, their glass lids folded open like waiting shells.
Verity hesitated on the threshold, gaze flicking from one pod to the next. “It looks like something out of a science-fiction film.”
"Science and fiction? Sounds like an oxymoron."
She laughed softly. "The science of today is tomorrow's fiction. I'm sure someone very wise and clever said that."
I stepped ahead of her. “The pod will scan you, nothing more. No pain.”
“That’s what every dentist says,” she muttered. But she followed, cautious but curious.
The pod closest to the centre brightened as we approached, recognising her as the patient. Its inner surface shimmered, the mattress reforming into a shape that mirrored her frame. The system’s voice was soft and genderless, its words translated automatically into English.
“Species: Peritan. Status: mild trauma detected. Please remove upper clothing for full analysis.”
Verity blinked, colour rising in her cheeks. “It’s very direct, isn’t it?”
I tried not to smile. “The ship has no sense of modesty.”
“Lucky ship."
She slipped off her shirt, but kept her slinky breast-harness on, and eased herself onto the mattress. The material moulded instantly around her shape, cradling her like liquid memory foam. Her hair fanned across the surface, and the soft hum of the scanners filled the air.
Lines of blue light swept across her skin, delicate as brushstrokes. The display above her pulsed gently, showing a three-dimensional outline of her body — her heart, lungs, the faint shadow where her rib had cracked.
“Fracture, minor. Surface burns, partial recovery in progress. Elevated dehydration levels. Beginning repair.”
Verity tensed as a warm mist drifted over her ribs, shimmering faintly before sinking into her skin. The tension eased almost immediately, her breath deepening.
“What’s it doing?” she asked.
“Sealing the break. It accelerates bone knitting and muscle regeneration,” I said. “The mist carries micro-salves tailored to your chemistry.”
“Feels… strange,” she admitted. “Tingly. Like soda bubbles under the skin.”
“That means it’s working.”
“Do I want to know how it knows my chemistry?”
“It sampled you the moment you walked in,” I said. “This is a state of the art vessel. It's thorough.”
“You don’t say.” Her voice was dry, but her eyes never left the display as the crack in her rib gradually faded from the hologram. The machine’s hum slowed, then stopped.
“Procedure complete. Patient is stable. Recommend hydration and rest.”
The lid folded open again with a soft hiss. Verity sat up carefully, running her hand down her side. “It doesn’t hurt anymore.”
“It won’t.”
“That’s… incredible.” She looked around, taking in the room again with new eyes. “You could heal almost anything with this.”
“Almost,” I said quietly. “Not everything.”
Like a broken heart. Or the agony a broken bond would create.
Her gaze flicked to me, but she didn’t press. She swung her legs over the side, watching the lights dim to a calmer shade of green. “How long until we reach your island?”
"We will have already landed. The Tidebound flies so smoothly that you don't feel landings during such a short flight."
Excitement flashed in her eyes. "That's incredible. I can't wait to meet your other brother, and of course their wives."
"Mates," I corrected gently. "Although Maelis has been talking about rings and ceremonies. I'm sure we will all learn more about human mating traditions soon."
She put her shirt back on, this time not insisting that I turn around.
We both knew that I had already seen her naked, back when I'd had to take off her cold, sodden clothes.
But I wouldn't mention that. I didn't want to make her uncomfortable.
It had been an emergency situation. And I knew that humans were always keen to cover their bodies, not like finfolk who rarely wore more than a loincloth or wide belt around their waist.
The door slid open and Fionn poked his head inside. "Are you ready? Elise is desperate to meet you, Verity. I've called ahead to have them prepare some food for you. I don't know what you ate on that island, but I imagine it wasn't enough."
Guilt shot through me, making my stomach clench painfully. My clutch-brother was right. I hadn't looked after her properly. All she'd had to eat was fish and coconut water. I'd done a poor job caring for my mate.
"Will it be alien, I mean, finfolk food?" she asked.
"The island's chefs have started to add some of our favourite recipes to their repertoire," I said before my brother could reply.
"None of those dishes will be what you'd get on Finfolkaheem, simply because we can't find the ingredients here, but some are pretty close.
There is one fish species in these waters that tastes surprisingly similar to the lowoo carp back home.
But if you want to try proper finfolk cuisine, I can have the fabricator prepare something for you. "
"I'd like that. But not now. Now I want to see the island. And I want to contact the Minerva. Let them know I'm alive and that I will be returning soon."
Fionn exchanged a stern look with me, one that meant that we'd be talking about my actions. I may be the oldest brother, but somehow, Fionn had become the one in charge.
I sighed internally and gave him an almost imperceptible nod. We'd have that discussion. But not now.
I held out an arm, smiling widely at Verity. "May I show you the island?"
She didn't hesitate as she put a hand on my arm and grinned back at me.