May I Enjoy My Life: Entry 11

Entry 14, Day 32

I spent the day in bed not doing much but trying to get better. They did let me get up to use the can at least. It was highly embarrassing, because believe it or not, fucking MYRTLE is my nurse!

When I hit the button for assistance, it was her who strolled in, wearing properly fitting scrubs and with a proper nametag and everything. She still looked like a kid, with long auburn hair and green eyes and a wrinkle free face. I think she must be an adult if they're letting her be a nurse, but with Terran Child Labor laws…who knows. “Hello, I’m-”

“Myrtle?!” I gasped, unable to hide my shock.

“Yep, it’s me! Lucia, I mean, Dr. Sussurro must have told you about me, huh? Well, little apple and I are here to help!” she said brightly, holding up the golden apple in question. 

“I, uh, wow, guess they’re sending their best to take care of me,” I said, feeling a little dizzy. I mean, Myrtle might be a 4★, but she puts out 7★ levels of power. Shit, I used her more for max risk CC than I did any other operator! 

“Yep! It’s time to change your catheter. Unless you think you can get up to go to the bathroom, they said you can try that today,” Myrtle said brightly. 

With the option being a damn loli dwarf sticking a tube up my dick or manning up and crawling out of bed, I crawled out of bed. 

The other thing I did was play Wintermaul Wars. It was an interesting tower defense, more like an arcade game, really. You picked either multiplayer or solo play, then got chose a builder. The free builders were fire, ice, lightning, stone, and poison, with a dozen or so other races that were some sort of premium content. The way this game worked was you had an initial starting amount of resources, and could build static towers as defense. Enemies would spawn on one end of your “lane” and try to run to the other side. You lost a life every time an enemy crossed into your endzone, and the number of lives you got varied by difficulty level. 

You could also build a maze with your towers, which I quickly learned was necessary to survive more than the first few waves. Each race of towers had different effects, like ice slowed your enemies, fire did more AOE damage, lightning had cheap towers good for mazing, stone hit hard but was expensive, and poison did DOT damage. After 20 levels, you got to pick a second race, which made it so that there were a lot of different combinations to try. It was pretty fun, and I was soon getting to harder waves. I tried some PVP and even didn’t do too badly, though PVP threw in the wrinkle that you could spend resources on building towers or attacking your foes by sending additional enemies, launching a sapper that could destroy their towers, or giving them some sort of temporary debuff. 

It’s a good way to waste time, but when I looked at the highscores, the name at the top stood out. TinyTerror. That had to be Sussurro. Her high score was insane, 101,172 points!? I was barely scoring over 30k! Guess I needed to see about unlocking some of those premium races…but how to get money?

Guess I better apply for employment. 

Entry 15, Day 33

I am officially bored of convalescing. Exusiai has been spending more time away now that I’m awake, and I can’t say that I blame her. Sitting here with me can’t be all that interesting, as all I do is nap, hobble to the bathroom, and play Wintermaul. The highlight of the day was when Ash and Tachanka came to visit me. 

“Ah, Bones, you are awake!” Tachanka boomed. It took me a minute to recognize him, as he didn’t have his helmet on. He wasn’t a looker, I’ll tell you that, with bluff, scared features, hair that was more grey than brown, cauliflower ears, and a nose that had been broken more than once. 

“Hey, good to see you,” I said, pausing my game and setting the tablet aside. “Thanks for saving my ass back there.”

“No problem, we is being glad to be doing it,” Tachanka said. “Here! I would be bringing you vodka, but they are saying you are too sick. Instead, I bring apple juice. Small doctor says can be having that.”

I accepted the juice box and took a sip. It was pretty good actually, as my diet was still very restricted. I was on solid foods, but it was all bland stuff fit for someone healing from major trauma. “Thanks, big guy. And you, Miss Ash.”

“Eliza, we’re not on duty,” she said with a nod to me. 

“I am Alexsandr, call me Alex,” Tachanka said, taking a seat alongside Ash at my bedside. 

“Please, call me James. I hate that damn nickname,” I said with a sigh.

“Is good nickname then. I was hating mine when I was first getting it,” Tachanka laughed. 

“That’s not quite why we came here though,” Ash said, folding her hands and crossing her legs. “So. Alex says you’re from Earth, but came here a different way.”

“I…yeah. It’s not your Earth though,” I said, rubbing the back of my neck. 

“Oh?” my guests exchanged looks. “Go on.”

“Well…” I thought about what Kal’tsit said, and what Sussurro kept telling me. Honestly, I was feeling a lot less stressed, which did make it easier to think about what I said before I said it. “I’m not sure how much I can say, it’s probably going to end up super duper classified. But suffice to say, I know it’s not the same world, because, well, I know about you. All of you, actually. Not much beyond your names, well, call signs, but I know you’re a part of some black ops team called Rainbow Six, and you ended up in Terra because…I think some scientist found some originium somehow?”

“That’s about as much as is safe to say, maybe more,” Ash said with a nod. “Glad to see you got that tongue of yours pegged down.”

“Have you ever been in situation where life is at risk before?” Tuchanka asked, sounding curious.

“No, I’ve always been a bit of a blabbermouth, but that was worse than usual. Plus…I think I was suffering some sort of psychotic break from arts overdose. Not an excuse I guess, but it does explain why I couldn’t shut the hell up.”

“I’ve seen people with years of training and even some field ops under their belts break under pressure on missions that were less terrifying than that op,” Ash said in a consoling manner. 

“You are being young, I think. What are you, 25?” Tuchanka asked. 

“Twenty six, just graduated from Medical school, was supposed to start my residency at Saint Francis in San Francisco. Then…I got truck-kun’d. Always thought that was just a meme…” I trailed off into silence, looking blankly at the wall. 

A hand rested on my shoulder, and I blinked to find Tachanka giving me a grandfatherly look. “It is being hard, being ripped from all that you know and love. Eliza, myself…we were prepared for death. Me, I am old man. Thought the black dog would be catching me long ago. You? You are young. A doctor. You are thinking you can fight death still.”

“I don’t know about that anymore,” I said, looking down at my hands. “A lot…a lot of people died, to get me here.”

I tried to not let the tears come, but they did anyway. I figured I looked like a bitch in front of these two hard asses, but to my surprise, Ash handed me a tissue. 

“Let it out, Bones. I’ve had ops where we saved almost all the hostages. But it’s the almost that keeps me up at night.” 

“I am old and tired. I drink vodka to forget. For there are many things I am not wanting to remember,” Tachanka sighed. Then he smiled. “But, you are bringing me new grandson, yes?”

“I…what?” I said, blinking back the tears. 

“Andrey! He and my grandaughter Lada are being good friends already! She is teaching him to be cook. Is good! He should do something useful with life. Not pick up gun like an old dog like me.”

“Lada?” I racked my brain for a moment, then said, “Oh, you mean Gummy.”

“Yes, you are knowing her as well?” Tachanka asked, sounding curious. 

“Know is a strong word, but…” I shuddered. “I…well. Let’s just say there are some stories I wish I didn’t know, and the Children of Ursus is one of them.”

“Ah.” Tachanka went quiet, and Ash looked disturbed, which was saying something. 

“Those girls have had it rough. Lada…well. I hope it was her class pet she ate, and not…” Ash trailed off. 

“Best to not be thinking of such things. And not breathing word of it to Andrey. He is having nightmares enough,” Tachanka said grimly. “Lada, Sonya, Natalya, Anna, and Rosalinda, they are good girls. They did what was needed to survive. I am understanding that.”

“You’re…close with them?” I said, recalling the Youtube synopsis of Children of Ursus I had watched. I didn’t think that Gummy was a cannibal…and I preferred that level of delusion in my life. 

“The big softy calls them his grandaughters. He sponsored Sonya and Natalya to go to university in Columbia,” Ash said, giving Tachanka a fond smile. 

“Vodka is cheap. Will not be staying here anyway. What good is money to me, eh?” he said gruffly, but I could see he was smiling. “Am helping Svelta and her boys as well. She is adopting Andrey. Good woman. Is getting job at shop here on landship. Many people, they are being very happy to see her. Many infected escaped Ursus because of her.”

That made me feel sick again. “And a lot won’t now, because of me. Like Dr. Medvedev…”

“Don’t look at it like that, Bones,” Ash said with a firm shake of her head. “Count the ones you did save. Hell, you’re a doctor. So you’ve got some red in your ledger. We all do. But Empress Hildegard let you go because you’ve been crossing it out. Just keep doing that.”

“Earn it,” I said, and tried not to sound bitter. 

“Can tell self that,” Tachanka said. “But is heavy burden. Do not do that. Live for something else besides vodka and ledgers. Find nice woman. Have children. Raise family. That is worth living for.”

“Yeah, I guess…” I fiddled with my sheets a bit. “There’s no way back home, is there?”

“We’re still looking,” Ash said with a tired smile. “But we’ve been here three years now, Ela and her squad more than a year. You were our best lead.”

“Well, I don’t think my method of transfer is one you want to pursue. I don’t recommend getting run over,” I said, and forced a laugh. 

“Eh, is not so bad. I am having grandchildren, I am having my squad, and now, I am having you, James. We is keeping in touch, yes?” Tachanka said, and held out a callused hand. 

I took it, and to my surprise, he didn’t try and crush me. He wasn’t a dead fish, but he didn’t feel the need to try and prove his strength either. He already knew he was strong. 

“Thank you, sir. It’s good to hear from, well, maybe not someone from home, but a fellow Earthling. You too, ma’am.” 

“Ma’am? I’m not that much older than you, Bones,” Ash laughed, but she shook my hand as well. “Shalom, James.”

“Shalom,” I said with a nod. Huh, didn’t realize she was Jewish. “Keep in touch.”

“We’ll be around the landship for a while. Maylander has twigged that something’s up, and they want eyes on you. If you really can…well. Let’s just say we may yet live to see interesting times,” Ash said with a shrug. 

“Oh boy. My favorite.”

Still can’t beat Sussurro’s high score on Wintermaul. I need to get those damn premium races!

Entry 16, Day 34

Sussurro brought me dinner tonight, and I have to say, I am starting to understand what they say about Italian women. Or in this case, Siracusa, because hot damn can she cook. It wasn’t anything fancy, pasta al limone, but it was creamy, tangy, and very, very delicious. 

“This is incredible! Easily the best italian food I’ve ever had,” I told her after eagerly slurping down some of the noodles. 

“Funny, because it’s Siracusian, James,” she said, her ears flicking slightly, though she was smiling as well. 

“Oh, right, sorry. It’s just…never mind,” I said, looking back down at my plate. “It’s really good.”

“I’m aware that several Terran cultures match up with ones from your homeworld, don’t worry,” she told me. “Just…be careful.”

“Yeah,” I said, and took a few more bites. I looked over at her, and frowned slightly. 

“Sorry, I shouldn’t scold you too much, just enjoy the meal,” she told me. 

“No, it’s alright, I was just thinking…this is going to be the rest of my life, isn’t it?”

“If you should be so fortunate. I’m a busy woman, I can’t cook for you every night,” Sussurro said with a laugh. 

“No, no! Not that, I mean…this place, here, Rhodes Island,” I gestured to the room. “This is it. Even if I could go home…I can’t. Morally, I mean. Shit, if I can cure oripathy…I’ll miss my family, especially my dad, we were always tight, but…no. I’ve gotta say here. I want to stay here, I guess.”

“Ah.” Sussurro set her plate aside, and looked worried. “Yes, that. I was going to talk to you about that. Dr. Kal’tsit left it to my discretion, but when I judge you fit for duty…we’re going to start the onboarding process. It was indicated that it’s…less than voluntary.”

“Well, it’s a good thing I’m volunteering then, huh?” I said, pasting on my dopey-est grin. “For eats like this, who wouldn't?”

“Still, you should be given a choice. The rest of us chose to be here,” Sussurro pointed out. 

“Did you, though?” I asked, and she frowned at me, so I clarified. “Look, you’re infected. Most everyone here is too. They’re not here because they want to be, but because in Ursus they send you to the gulag, and even in more enlightened places like Columbia they ship you off to the colonies. Rhodes Island is the only place you can come and still be human.”

“I…” Sussurro sighed, her ears drooping slightly. “I wish that were less true. Even in Siracusa, if you can’t pay the exorbitant health insurance fees…it’s banishment. Which may as well be a death sentence. And of course, if you are infected…it’s hard to find a decent job.”

“Well, fuck that. That’s why we became doctors,” I said, and held out my hand. “So yeah. I’m on board. Maybe I can’t cure oripathy. But we can at least try.”

Sussurro took my hand and shook it. “Well then, welcome aboard Rhodes Island, Doctor McCoy.”

Entry 17, Day 35

After a bunch of medical tests, Sussurro gave the OK for me to start the onboarding process. To my surprise, it wasn’t someone from HR who came by to onboard me, but rather, Warfarin herself. 

“So, they’re going to give you to me, are they, my pretty?” she purred, her red eyes glowing in the dim light as she stood in the door.

“Oh give it up. I know you’re just a theater kid at heart who’s actually a big softie,” I told her. 

“Am I?” Warfarin asked, her fangs barred as she stepped closer. “I have something of a different reputation on the landship.”

“One I’m sure you work quite hard to maintain, but I know who hired you in the first place, and I trust her judgement of character,” I said, folding my arms over my chest. 

“And who might that be,” Warfarin purred.

I opened my mouth, then thought a moment. “You’re uh, cleared for the ‘weird alien knowledge,’ right?” 

“Like the fact that apparently you think we’re all characters in one of those video games that you children are so obsessed with?” Warfarin snorted. “Honestly. I never understood the appeal.”

“Oh right, you’re really like 500 years old or something. I think you’re even in Endfield, though I didn’t get into the beta test,” I mused. 

“Endfield?” Warfarin said with a frown. “What on Terra…?”

“No, actually, you guys breach the false sky, and you guys end up on another planet in the Talos System to-”

Warfarin was instantly in my face, her eyes wide, grabbing my hospital gown in both hands. “Say again!?” 

“You, uh, leave Terra to found a colony on another planet? But not for like, 200 years or something,” I gasp.

Warfarin set me down, looking dazed. She slowly pulled up a chair and sat, gazing off into the middle distance. And I kid you not, a tear slid down her cheek. “Then…then it’s true. I…I get to see the sky again…”

“Uh, yeah. I guess Kirsten Wright really did manage to kick off the space age after Lone Trail,” I said.

“Kristen. Not Kirsten. But…hmm. You do have some weird alien knowledge. That has been my fondest wish since I was but a girl in Kazdel during the reign of King Yliš. Ah, I remember studying at the royal court, looking up at the sky and…” Warfarin’s eyes glazed over a moment. Then she shook her head and regarded me sourly. “I had given up on all that. Foolish, to dream of the stars when there is so much suffering to see here. That’s the lesson I learned from that fool Yliš, and a mistake I vowed never to make myself.”

“Well then, let’s cure oripathy or at least give it a good spanking,” I said, meeting her eye. 

She cocked her head to one side. “Huh. Guess you’re still one then. I’d have figured you’d have been cured after what you saw in Ursus and Leithanien.”

“Still what now?”

“An idiot optimist. The world sucks, kid, and if it doesn’t drain you dry, me or one of my kin will, and toss your bones to the fangbeasts,” she humphed, and dug out a pair of glasses from her jacket and perched them on her nose. “Right, we got a lot of stuff to fill out, twice. Once on the official forms that you’re going to lie your ass off about, and the other on the files that no one but me, Kal, and Amiya get to look at.”

“What about the Doctor?” I asked automatically. 

“What about them?” Warfarin said, peering at me over the rims of her spectacles. 

“Is he, you know…uh, read into the program? Since, you know, he’s like…the field commander and stuff?”

“Doctor ain’t a he, unless Kal’s hiding something from the rest of us. Though that wouldn’t be the first time. They won’t get mad at you if you call them a he, in fact it’s pretty damn hard to piss them off, trust me I try every day, but it won’t do you any favors either. Call them Doctor.” 

“Ok, but, that doesn’t answer my question, even if they’re nonbinary,” I said, feeling both exasperated and rather intrigued. I’d always thought of the Doctor as male, because, well, they were me. But now…now the Doctor was someone very different. 

“Oh, well, in that case, ask Kal. Doctor is on a strictly need to know basis, and most everything about you no one needs to know.”

“Huh. You were with Babel, right?” I asked, stretching back my game lore knowledge, which mostly came from /r/0sanitymemes. 

And, uh, the other subreddit, that I am very grateful my phone was destroyed before anyone saw just how much browsing I did there. And I don’t mean the main subreddit. 

“Kid, you have got to learn to keep your damn mouth shut,” Warfarin hissed, glaring at me from behind her glasses, which shone ominously. I quailed, and she sighed, taking them off. “Look. The kitty is out of the bag on the fact that Doctor was involved in Babel. How much do you know?”

“Not everything. But that he, they, raised Amiya alongside…well. Theresa. Um, I hate to ask, but, er…has Londinium happened yet?”

“Almost two years ago now,” Warfarin said with a slow nod. “I assume you’re referring to the Crisis we were heavily involved in, against my better judgement, that resulted in Siege getting herself declared Speaker of Londinium. A lot came out of that, including me being involved in Babel, and, well, who Doctor was. But that’s mostly only known by the top brass openly, so don’t go spreading it around, you hear?”

“Right, so, uh, if I see Civilite Eterna, I should just pretend-”

I found myself pinned to the wall again, sharp fangs pressed against my skin. Not hard enough to draw blood, but enough to let me very firmly know they could if I breathed wrong. After a pause, they withdrew, and I found manic red eyes boring into my own. 

“What. Do you know,” Warfarin hissed. 

“That Civilite Eterna is another name for the Black Crown which is the symbol of the king of Sarkaz and Theresa gave it to Amiya before she died back in Babel but no one probably knew that and then after she got her medic form when she battled Theresa’s soul in the Matrix Amiya was acknowledged as King of Sarkaz even though she’s not a Sarkaz or really even a cautus but probably more of a chimera but then you get Civilite Eterna as an operator and even though she’s a knock off version of Skalter she’s still pretty good especially for a welfare but I wasn’t clear if she like actually joined the landship or if Amiya just wore her like a hat and oh hi Sussurro and Exusiai I was running my mouth again please don’t kill Warfarin!”

“Put him down, vampire,” Exusiai said coldly, her gun pointed straight at Warfarin’s head, finger on the trigger. They’d stepped into the room halfway into my rant, and apparently Warfarin had been too focused on my inane babbling to notice. 

“Dr. Warfarin, I am going to have to insist you set James down,” Sussurro said, her voice surprisingly firm. “Even if he is perhaps saying more than he should again.

Warfarin closed her eyes, grimacing in annoyance. “How much did you hear?”

“I didn’t hear that our dear leader is apparently the king of my race’s most ancient enemy, which is perhaps why Bones was so insistent on me not being a racist ass,” Exusiai said, the normal chipperness from her tone replaced by a terrifying chill. 

Warfarin slowly lowered me until I was able to stand on wobbly legs, and turned around to face the other two women. “You can’t breathe a word of this. To anyone. The only people who know about this can be counted on both hands. SWEEP, me, Kal’stit, Amiya, Doctor, and apparently now this idiot and you two.”

“I thought I was supposed to tell you about my weird alien knowledge!” I gasped, massaging my throat. “You told me to! Next time, I ain’t saying shit unless Sussurro and Exusiai are there!” 

“Would that I thought you had such self control,” Warfarin growled. She studied Exusiai and Sussurro. “Sankta, I do not care for your kind. Santimonius assholes, the lot of you. The Law and the Curia cannot be allowed to learn of this. If they had the opportunity to assassinate a nascent king of Kazdel, especially one with the sort of forces Amiya has at her control…they would take it.”

Exusiai swallowed, and slowly lowered her gun. “I…I’m not a heretic. But…” she shot me a pleading look. “James?”

“I…” I looked at Warfarin. “...I need to have a talk with Kal’stit. Preferably with Sussurro there. But…you can’t trust the Law, or the…Curia? The ruling council. You can maybe trust the Pope, he seems like an upstanding dude. But…you can trust Amiya. Even, or perhaps especially, if she’s the King of Sarkaz.”

Exusiai sagged, and slowly nodded. “I…yeah. Ok. But whatever that weird alien knowledge you have about me and the Sankta…please, trust me James. Just…tell me, OK?”

“I want to, but…I think I’ve gotta talk to someone who actually knows all this because she was there first,” I admitted. “And probably Lucia too.”

“Glad to hear you trust your doctor that much, but I don’t know that I need to be read into all the deepest darkest secrets of the world,” Sussurro said in too light tones. I could tell from how her tail was bristling she was not happy, though for once, that didn’t seem to be directed at me.

“Well, Sankta?” Warfarin demanded, her fingers seeming to take on the shape of claws as she hunched as if to prepare for a leap at Exusiai’s throat. 

“I don’t trust you, vampire. But I trust James, and I trust Amiya.” Exusiai turned her gun so that it was pointed at her own heart, hands folded over it, and solemnly said, “I swear by my Patron and Halo that I, Lemuel of Penguin Logistics, will speak not a word of this to a living soul, not even the Pope or the Law itself, until I am so released by Director Kal’tsit of Rhodes Island. Or may my Patron abandon me and my Halo dim.”

Said halo flashed brightly three times, and Warfarin and Sussurro both were staring at Exusiai open mouthed. After a moment, Warfarin slowly closed her jaw, then nodded. “I…would not have required such an oath. But since it is given…I accept these words. May the Law guide you and your Patron preserve you, Lemuel.”

“You…you know the ancient words?” Exusiai said, holstering her gun and looking shocked. 

“Please. I may not be old enough to have been there when they were written, but we vampires have long memories, especially when it comes to…well. You are not my hated foe, Lemuel. I am Qassirah of the Vampires. We meet in peace, and may we depart in peace.”

Then, Warfarin pricked her own finger on her fang, a scarlet drop of blood appearing there. She held it out, and to Exusiai’s shock, marked the Sankta’s forehead with it. “I mark you with my scent and seal, Lemuel, that others may know you are under my aegis.”

She did the same for me, then Sussurro, and stepped back. After a moment, she laughed. “Ha! You have me acting like a superstitious old biddy. Right, Sussurro, you handle the damn onboarding. I’m going to find Kal and rip her damn ears off. Setting me up like this, she knows something fucky is going on!”

With that, Warfarin stalked out, leaving the three of us alone. 

“So, uh, first, sorry about that, second, what just happened? I get that I was just a part of some sort of religious ritual, but I would like some context.”

“You just witnessed a Sankta and a Vampire exchange their most sacred oaths to one another,” Sussurro said, sitting down heavily and looking poleaxed. “Something that hasn’t happened in…”

“Since the first stone of the Tower of Revelation was laid, as far as I know,” Exusiai said, sounding rather dazed herself. “No one…no one’s ever sworn themselves to a vampire. I just…James…is Amiya really…?”

I looked at Sussurro, who just shrugged. “In for a centesimo, in for a florin.”

“To the best of my knowledge, yes. She’s the true King of Sarkaz. Though, uh, her not being full Sarkaz means that this is…problematic,” I admitted. “Though I don’t fully grasp all of it to be really honest. There was this one meme going around, about how to be Pope of Laterano, you have to be fluent in 12 languages, memorize all the scriptures, immaculate drip, a great beard, be 6’3”, and you know, be Sankta. The requirements to be Sarkaz king were to be Sarkaz, but it was optional.”

“You think Yvangelista XI has…drip?” Exusiai said, cocking her head to one side. 

“That’s what you got out of this?” Sussurro said, giving Exusiai an exasperated look. 

“I mean, it’s just…those pope robes are like a thousand years old! That’s not drip, that’s tradition! My messenger clothes have more drip than those stuffy old things!” Exusiai protested. 

“I don’t know why I even put up with you people,” Sussurro said, flicking the papers in front of her. “If you don’t have any further earth shattering revelations, perhaps we can get started.”

“I mean I think I’ve probably got at least a few more but we can save the fact that I’m secretly an alien from another dimension for later,” I said.

Exusiai scooted her chair into a corner and started cleaning her guns while blasting hiphop again, which seemed to be her way of dealing with stress. Sussurro helped me fill out all the “official” documents, in which I was a an Aegir from Trimounts in Columbia. Maylander had fabricated a backstory for me, which I found odd for a detective agency. Then again, Tin Man had dropped a few hints in his voice lines that maybe there was more to Maylander than met the eye. 

Guess I didn’t know everything. Though I’m still wary of Maylander. I thought they were the damn Pinktertons.

“So, Oripathy simply doesn’t exist on your world, and there’s only one race?” Sussurro asked as she jotted some things down. “I’ve heard it before, but I just don’t know if I can believe it.”

“I mean, we say there’s other races, but it’s really just different skin tones of people. It’d be like you being called a different race of vulpo because you have pink fur,” I said. Sussurro had dyed her fur back to pink a couple of days ago, leaving behind the brown job she’d been forced into in Ursus. 

“My hair isn’t naturally pink, James. It’s naturally red. I dye it,” Sussurro said, sounding rather amused. 

“Oh! Uh, didn’t realize,” I admitted. I glanced over at Exusiai, who had cherry red hair herself. “What hair colors are natural, anyway?”

“I lighten my hair a couple of shades, it’s naturally more of a rusty red,” Exusiai said, looking up from reassembling one of her sub machine guns. “Red and pink hair are pretty common amongst Sankta, actually. But it’s also normal to dye your hair to a new color. Bright ones are the most popular.”

“I used to frost my tips in junior high, but I haven’t had more than a basic bitch haircut in a while,” I admitted. My light brown hair is usually pretty messy. I keep it kinda short, but it’s gotten a bit long because I haven’t seen a barber in a while. “Actually, I could use a haircut. Too bad I’m broke as hell.” 

“Hmm, I think we can work something out, you’re set to be discharged tomorrow. Honestly, we probably didn’t need to keep you as long as we did, but we’re being overly cautious,” Sussurro admitted. 

“Oh, uh…where do I stay? It’s not like I can pay for an apartment,” I admitted. 

“You’re an employee now, so you’ll be assigned a cabin. You’re a…special case, so you’ll be given a solo cabin, next to Texas and Exusiai’s.”

“The cabins aren’t too bad. A bit cramped, this is just a landship instead of a full city, but it’s not so bad,” Exusiai said with a nod. 

“Food is provided free of charge to all employees as part of your compensation package, as are most services on the landship. Some things are extra money, like booze, hair cuts, and some luxury items, but Susie has a standing policy that everyone’s first haircut is free. We’ll take you by tomorrow,” Sussurro promised. 

“Hey, speaking of Texas…how is she doing?” 

Exusiai and Sussurro’s expressions immediately fell, and Exusiai started crying. I sat up, horrified. “No, she’s not…did she die?!”

“Texas did some very stupid things in the battle,” Sussurro said quietly. “She pushed her body and arts further than anyone should. And…and she was taking Amp-X.”

“You mentioned that, some sort of arts amplifier? You gave me some,” I pointed out. 

“Yes. But you’re already infected.” Sussurro took a deep breath. “Amp-X is an originium based arts amplifier. It’s highly illegal, but it’s very popular amongst Sarkaz mercenaries because of how much of a power boost it gives you, even if the consequences are…severe.”

“Wait, originium based, you mean-”

“Texas infected herself,” Sussurro said grimly. “When questioned about it, she stated that she had sworn her blood and honor to protect you. Additionally, by straining her arts so heavily at the same time as she contracted oripathy…her case has progressed quite severely. She’s in intensive care.” 

I stood up, throwing off the cables and ripping my IV right out. “Well fuck that. Get Kal’tsit and Warfarin. Now.”

“James?” Exusiai said, jumping up, her expression hopeful. “Do you mean you will-”

“You’re damn right I will, and don’t you fucking tell me I can’t,” I said, glaring at Sussurro. 

She regarded me for a moment. “You realize that this could exacerbate your own condition. It could kill you, James. We don’t fully understand what’s happening to you.”

“And I get that. But I’m not going to let Cellinia die! How bad is her case?”

“Not terminal, yet. But oripathy is always terminal. She’s Stage 2 already. She was taking a lot of Amp-X, and that much arts use…it stimulates orginium growth. Her outlook, if she immediately halts Amp-X use and follows a healthy lifestyle, is ten to twenty years before symptoms become so severe that she enters stage 3. After that…another decade at most.”

“Fuck that noise. She swore to protect me, but that comes with responsibilities on my end, too. Now it’s my turn to protect her,” I said firmly. “Get them. Tell them I’m not asking permission to do this, but if they want their damn data…now is the time. Where are my pants?”

Exusiai tossed me my clothes, and Sussurro went over to the phone and placed a few calls while I dressed. No shame this time, even if Exusiai was watching me, a look of hope on her face that was, well…heart breaking. 

“Did you know she was taking Amp-X?” I asked her. 

She shook her head tearfully. “She’s used arts amplifiers before, but always the safer, less potent kinds. Those can still cause complications, but not oripathy.”

I strode out, Exusiai leading the way and Sussurro scampering along beside me. I noticed, and slowed my pace so that she wasn’t having to sprint to keep up with me. I’ve got long legs, being 6’ and all, while she’s like 4’8”. 

“Don’t stop, I can keep up,” she told me, her teeth gritted. I picked up the pace a little, but didn’t go back to my full stride. 

We found a familiar face waiting for us, Gavial with a grim expression. “So, they finally told you, huh? Figured you’d find out eventually. You sure you know what you’re doing, kid?”

“No, but since when have I let that stop me?” I said, pulling up short and looking down on her. She was dressed in a labcoat and green scrubs, with her hair loose about her shoulders instead tied up in braids like they’d been in the field. 

She regarded me for a moment, then jerked her head towards the door. “Don’t start until we’re ready, but I’ll go to bat for you, kid.”

I went inside, and found Texas, looking pale and wan, asleep in the bed. Her ears were drooping, and her hair looked dull and lifeless, though it was spread out in a sweaty halo about her. Right at that moment, she didn’t look like the legendary deadly assassin and master of combat arts. She looked like she was at death’s door. I checked her chart and the machines, and grimaced. 

“COA 5%, lesions on her thigh and abdomen where she was injecting herself. BOCD is .23. Shit, that’s bad. And symptoms of a major arts overdose, not to mention numerous internal injuries as well as major external ones as well.” 

“She got beat to hell and back,” Exusiai said soberly. “But she kept on fighting. Somehow.”

Texas stirred, her ears flicking and one eye opening. “Exu? Bones?”

“I’m here, Texas,” Exusiai said, taking her friend’s hands. “Bones is too. He’s going to help you.”

Texas grimaced, and tried to sit up. “Don’t…worry…about me. I’m…I’m the one who protects you.”

“With this?” I demanded, and held up a vial that Exusiai had given me. “Are you for real?”

Texas glanced at the empty vial of Amp-X, then shrugged. “Made a promise. Had…had to keep it.”

“Well you then your autistic ass better listen to me, Cellinia Texas. Because if you pull this kind of stupid ass stunt again, I’m liable to kill myself to save your life. No, don’t open your mouth, this is listening time, not talking time. I’m your doctor, dammit, and your friend. I am not going to sit by and watch you suffer and die just to keep me safe. So next time, either find another way, or ask for some goddamn help! You are not an island, missy, and you’ve got me, Sussurro, Exusiai, and the rest of Penguin Logistics right here to help you! Do you understand?”

Texas nodded weakly. “Yes.”

I turned around to find the room was now rather crowded. Kal’tsit was there, so was Warfarin, but also Amiya, Myrtle, and Folinic, I think? Hard to tell, they were all masked and gloved up. 

“Well, Dr. Murphy, it seems you are going to insist on testing your abilities before I had planned,” Kal’tsit said, her voice muffled by her mask. “A suggestion, however? It would be best to do this in surgery instead of a hospital room.”

“Right,” I nodded. “I wasn’t planning on just ripping it out of her. Sussurro’s described the process to you?”

“She has,” Warfarin agreed. “And we’re going to run tests on both of you before and after. And get this whole thing recorded.

Myrtle’s eyes were wide, and she was staring right at me, but she had a hand held camera ready to go.

“Let’s do this properly then,” I said. “You get whatever you need set up, set up. And, um, I…might have to get a little naked for this. Her too.”

“I am not attracted…to men,” Cellinia said, her eyes closed. “Even if I am certain you are…objectively conventionally…attractive.”

“Don’t be gross, Texas. It would be a major HIPAA violation, or, uh, whatever we have here, for me to make this even slightly sexual,” I told her.

“That was…a joke,” she said, a faint smile on her lips. 

“Very good. Lemuel, you will wait in the observation room. Dr. Gavial, escort her there. The rest of you, prep Miss Texas for surgery. Dr. Murphy, you will come with me,” Kal’tsit said. 

I nodded and followed after her while the team sprang into motion, getting Texas wheeled into the various tests before they would get her ready for surgery. 

Kal’tsit took me to an office that was rather spartan, save for a few plants and what looked like odd mementos on the wall or on small pedestals. She sat me down in a chair, then pushed her own chair around the desk and sat beside me. 

“Well. You have the air of a young man on a crusade. One that will not be dissuaded from his chosen path, no matter how foolhardy. So I shall not attempt to dissuade you. But I will ensure you are fully aware of the potential consequences of your actions. Do you understand what originium, and oripathy are?”

I opened my mouth to say yes, then thought about it. Man, talk about character development. “Let’s assume that I know less than you.”

Was that a small smile I detected? Maybe Kal’tsit had a sense of humor after all. 

“A wise assumption. I will not get into the metaphysical aspects-”

“Like how it’s clarktech designed to terraform the planet or something?” I blurted. 

Kal’tsit paused, studying me. I swallowed. “I’m, uh, feeling a little stressed. And, well, if I can blab to anyone…”

“Why do we not begin by outlining what you do know, Dr. McCoy. That may save us some time and energy, and allow you the outlet you seem to desperately crave.”

I nodded, and started wracking my brain. “Originium is a wonder element that does everything from power toothbrushes to give people magic. It was created by the Precursors-”

Kal’tsit’s hand shot out and covered my mouth. “I have reconsidered. We will discuss this another time, it seems, as we lack the time to go into sufficient breadth and depth to cover all you know, or think you know, it seems. Do not mention what you know of originium again until I tell you to do so. Do you understand?”

I nodded.

“Do you grasp that if you do so, it may cost your life, and the life of everyone on this landship? I make no threats, Dr. McCoy. I am only stating a reality.”

Oh, fuck. Priestess. She could hear? I nodded hastily again and gave a thumbs up.

“Good. You showed a discernible amount of discretion by waiting until we were in private to make that statement, and I did, after all, ask. So I can hardly fault you. Let us limit our discussion to the medical ramifications of originium and the nature of oripathy, and not the deeper philosophical and historical questions relating to the element.”

“Uh, alright. Um, Originium doesn’t behave like any known pathogen or disease. Er, well, I should say, not any from my dimension. It’s the bastard child of a prion and a virus, only it’s crystalline. When it gets into the body, it begins to convert the cells, starting with the major organs and spreading through the circulatory system, into more originium. This results in organ failure, and ultimately, death. 

“The side effect, and why a certain autistic idiot is now infected, is that it also amplifies your arts. Of course, if you abuse this, it just makes the infection spread faster by causing the crystals to replicate even more quickly. Modern oripathy suppressant drugs don’t inhibit arts as much as the older ones, but they do still dampen arts ability. I would hazard the new line drugs are modeled after the blood of, um, your dad, and…”

I trailed off, as Kal’tsits eyes had gone wide, and she was sitting up ramrod straight. Not that she normally had bad posture, but she looked like someone had goosed her. 

A single tear trickled down Kal’tsit’s cheek, and when she spoke, her voice was raw with emotion. “You know a great deal, James McCoy. Many things that not you, nor anyone else living, should know. And yet, you are ignorant of so much more. The Oracle…the Doctor…is not my progenitor.”

“Uh, well, I wasn’t going to repeat the joke about him being your ex-husband since, you know…but that kinda slipped out,” I admitted. 

The shock was replaced by a look of actual bafflement. “Ex-husband?”

“Uh, you know how I mentioned that my knowledge comes from a video game in my world?”

“Yes, Closure has the remains of your device, though it is doubtful she will obtain any relevant data from it. Not only is it in a completely different set of programming languages, but it is also nearly destroyed.”

“Right. Well, uh, due to your…interactions…with the Doctor in the game…the joke was you behaved like a jilted lover. Or…an ex-wife. Later revelations, um, colored your interactions a bit differently.”

“In what regard?”

“Well…how he gave you a name…and how you’re an android,” I admitted. 

She regarded me for a long moment, then slowly shook her head. “There are none now living who know that information. Even the…Doctor…has forgotten. And yet, you so casually discuss such things, and in such an ignorant fashion…”

She took a moment to gather herself, then said, “You are correct that the Doctor’s blood has been instrumental in modern first line oripathy medications and treatment protocols. As has the blood of your fellow Earthlings. Yours portends to open even more lines of research, and I have had to restrain Warfarin from attempting to exsanguinate you.

“I bring this up because your case, Dr. McCoy, is unique in a number of regards. For one, it is not your major internal organs that show signs of oripathy infection, but rather your nervous system. Additionally, Dr. Sussurro has proposed a very particular theory. One which I believe we are about to test the merits of. I myself will reserve judgement. Despite my extremely long life, I have never seen anything quite like you, Dr. McCoy. I do not mean that in the typical trite manner that all life is unique, but rather that yours is a whole original circumstance using powers and abilities I thought long lost, or never existed in the first place.”

“So, uh, that means?”

“You are quite precious, Dr. McCoy, but I will be forthright with you: I fully intend to use you up. The potential to cure oripathy, or even the oripathy of a few key individuals, is invaluable. Are you aware of which world leaders are secretly infected?”

“Uh, no, aside from Amiya and I guess Ch’en, though I don’t know if she qualifies.”

“Well, then you are at least willing to admit ignorance of some things. Let us simply say that there are those with tremendous wealth, power, and military might who would give quite literally anything to obtain the cure for themselves or those they cherish, or perhaps simply to be able to inject their troops with deadly arts amplifiers, as your foolish friend did.”

“So, just to lay the cards on the table…I’m OK with you using me up. As long as you don’t do it in a stupid way, and since, well, it’s you…I’m not real worried about it.”

“Your trust in a person you have just met and barely know is naive in the extreme, but I will do my best to demonstrate that it is not ill founded.”

“Honestly, I know it’s weird, but…I feel like I know all of you already. I mean, it’s probably a real unhealthy parasocial relationship, like you feel like you know an actor or streamer or something when you’ve never met them, but…I played a probably unhealthy amount of Arknights. I saw you all every day. It’s just…”

“Do not confuse a facsimile with reality, Dr. McCoy. That said, I can understand your feelings, false as they are. It is a common failing of humans, your kind included. Now. Do you understand that this procedure that you propose to do could very well cost you your life?”

“I do. That or turn me into an invalid.”

“And you still wish to go through with this operation?”

I took a deep breath. “I’m scared, I won’t lie. I could die. Again. And that…” My hands started shaking, and I clasped them together to try to control it. Two hands folded over mine, and I looked up in shock to see Kal’tsit meeting my eyes. 

“James McCoy, I am, perhaps, the only living being who truly understands the fear of death as one who has died. My many deaths have never been pleasant. I also, however, understand the courage to stare death in the face, and declare that you will not bow to that fear. I cannot tell you to take up this burden. There are other paths you may take, and…I begin to ramble, do I not?”

“A bit. It’s kinda soothing, actually,” I admitted. “Sorry about, um, the whole twenty words or less thing. I’d come up with an excuse, but, well…”

“You were suffering from arts overload, terrified for your life, and you are something of a babbler when stressed. It is a trespass I will forgive this once. But as I said, I expect more decorum from my residents.”

“Yes ma’am. I…I’m trying. I just…I don’t want to die, you know?”

“I do. Now. Are you ready to spit in the face of death?”

“What do we say to the god of death?” I whispered to myself, forcing myself to my feet. To my surprise, my legs weren’t shaking. “Not today.”

“As is ever the duty of the physician. Now. Let us get you prepped for surgery, Dr. McCoy.”

There were multiple imaging tests for both myself and Texas, MRIs, ultrasounds, and a few I just didn’t recognize. All that done, we were taken to a surgery room. Texas was anesthetized, unconscious and looking rather small and frail. I was dressed in a surgery smock, with a mask and slippers, though I had to take off my gloves. 

“Wait,” Sussurro said, coming up to me. “Before you begin, I want to use your arts to heal her. We’ve done what we can with our own arts, but I want this to be an opportunity to see what yours can do. I’m going to draw some blood first, however. Nurse?”

Myrtle turned out to be part vampire herself, quickly sticking me and pulling out a vial of blood. I was hooked up to multiple monitors myself, with Warfarin, Kal’tsit, and Folinic in the surgery with me. There were people in the observation room as well, Amiya and the Doctor I recognized, but I didn’t have time to worry about that.

“Alright. Beginning arts healing,” I said, taking the proffered wand, then pulling back the sheet from Texas. 

What I saw was painful. Texas had multiple fresh wounds, many of which had already been sutured, as well as places where arts had been used to patch her up. She also had multiple lesions of originium nodules showing on her thigh and abdomen. I paused a moment for those to be recorded by the cameras, though I wasn’t pulling them out just yet, even though I could sense them. 

Using my arts, I began to re-knit all of Texas’ wounds. I took my time, going over her from head to toe. I was going to rip her apart again, but it was best to start with her fully healed. 

That done, Sussurro had Myrtle draw my blood again, which was marked and labeled. I wondered why, but I didn’t question. 

“Right. Are we all ready?” I said, looking around the table. “This is the messy part.”

“Standing by,” Myrtle said, and the other doctors nodded. 

I took a deep breath, and put my hand to the lesions on Texas’ abdomen. “Begining originium removal of abdominal lesions.”

I gritted my teeth, then connected with the originium inside of Texas. I started with removing those nodules, healing as I went, replacing the crystallized flesh with healthy, living tissue. I could feel the cyrstals embedding themselves into my hand, and gasped in pain as they burned up my arm, then into my spine. The process took several minutes, though I was going a lot slower than I had with Andrey, having a slightly better feel for it.

I paused once that was done, and checked Texas’ vitals. They looked good, well, for someone who was knocked out and very ill. 

“Begining removal of ventral thigh lesions.”

More blood, more pain. I used the other arm this time, as my left didn’t have any lesions yet. This time I let myself scream in pain, to the point that Warfarin asked me, “Do you want morphine?”

“No. After. Need a clear head,” I gasped, keeping my hand steady despite the overwhelming tide of pain, and the new black crystals in my palm the size of dimes. That done, I placed my hand over Texas’ superior vena cava. “Right. Gonna take a breather, then…then I scrub the system. She’s still got crystals in her bloodstream. If I don’t get those out…she’ll still be infected.”

“Take all the time you need. Vitals look good, for both of you,” Folinic said. 

I took a full minute to do some breathing exercises. Then, I returned my hands over Texas’ heart. I watched her chest rise and fall, but I wasn’t really seeing the skin. I was seeing those tiny little flecks of crystal, circulating through the body, doing some mental calculations. Right. 

“Begining…beginining circulatory scrub,” I managed, then, I yanked. 

I think I took all the blood in Texas’ entire body out, and made an absolute mess of the entire surgery room. I also, however, replaced all that blood, growing it inside of her. Texas was of medium height and build, and the average adult has about 5 liters of blood. When you’re getting it everywhere…it looks like a slaughterhouse. 

This part took much longer, at least 20 minutes, though I wasn’t looking at the clock. When I was done, I healed up the wound, stepped back, and collapsed into the arms of Frolic and Warfarin. 

“Blood draw, stat!” Sussurro ordered, and samples were taken from myself and Texas. 

“Such a waste of good blood,” Warfarin muttered, and I could see her lick her chops under the mask. 

“Not…not gonna heal you if you’re…stupid…stupid enough to drink this,” I slurred. “I think…I think I might check out now…”

“We’ve got you. You take a nap now, James. You were incredible,” Sussurro told me, pushing down her mask to smile at me. 

That was the last thing before I saw Myrtle pushing morphine into my IV, and consciousness fled. At that point, I honestly thought I was going to die. I had quarter sized lesions on my right hand, and nickel on my left. 

But, at least I had blotted out some of that red in my ledger. The stray thought flitting through my head, was that I hoped I wouldn’t make Sussurro cry.