Examinations
Author's Note: Thanks go to Bobby for RPing this with me. Thanks, Bobby!
An excerpt from Peripatetica, by M. K. Sebastien, Engr., ret.
Thursday, 03 Nov 2518
Kuiper II Class, 'Summer’s Gift
Memphis, Osiris
White Sun (Bai Hu) System
20:05 hrs, local time
Nika was still unconscious when Mike pulled the car up to the Gift and we wasted no time getting her to our makeshift med bay. Arden was pretty wobbly on his feet, as was Christian. Mike and I were the most able-bodied, so we did all the heavy lifting. Mike carried Nika aboard and I lent my shoulder to Christian and somehow we got everybody settled. Arden didn’t bother with changing the sheets on the bed, but went right to work the moment Mike laid Nika down. Mike assisted, following Arden’s orders on this or that, while I propped Christian up in a chair and kept him awake. A washcloth wrung out in cold water helped, and after a moment’s brisk application to his face, Christian irritably snatched it from me. I made sure he wouldn’t fall over and left him cleaning up while I went back outside to park the car in its container. Mike had run down two armored policemen getting us off the roof and I had no doubt their brothers in blue wanted a piece of us in revenge. The less visible the car, the better.
Stowing it was the work of a minute. I shut her down and pocketed the keys and ran my hand over the dent in her body work with a twinge of regret. She was a good car and we’d used her hard. She deserved better. I locked down the container hatches and turned off the lights. I’d have to work on her later. Right now I had bigger fish to fry.
Christian’s voice drifted to me from the bridge as I gained the passenger lounge and, eavesdropping, I realized he was calling his parents and telling them all was well. An understatement and a lie, but necessary. Mike’s admonition from the night before still applied: we needed to reassure Christian’s parents their son was safe with us and had they seen us dragging in, any goodwill they possessed would have gone up in smoke. The Edges may be retired but they still had connections aplenty, and we wanted to remain in their good graces. I changed course and entered the bridge proper, and helped Christian to his quarters when he ended his call. He didn’t argue with me but rolled right over to sleep when I got him on his bunk and threw a blanket over him, and turned out the lights.
Mike was in the corridor when I closed Christian’s door.
“Your turn,” he said, hooking a thumb forward. Dried blood crusted his nails, trailed down his neck from his ears, smeared under his nose where he’d wiped it. His trousers didn’t even bear thinking about. Looking down at myself, I saw I was in a similar state. Mike knew me inside-out and being seen by him like this didn’t bother me. Being seen by Arden, however…
“I can wait,” I said and brushed past him.
“No, you won’t,” Mike said evenly, and took my arm.
I knew that look of his, and that tone. It was time to face the music. Mike marched me over and thrust me inside the med bay. The bed was empty. My heart lurched. I dug in my heels and turned in his grasp.
“Where’s Nika?”
“Sleeping in her quarters.”
“You’ll pay for this,” I growled.
“I’m looking forward to it,” Mike whispered in my ear. “I’ll be right outside.”
He gave me a final shove forward and closed the door behind me, cutting off my escape.
Damn the man.
Water splashed and ran in the next room over and a second later, Arden emerged from the bathroom, wiping his hands on a paper towel. He’d bled just like the rest of us, and more severely than either Mike or I had: Arden had been caught outside while I’d been sheltered by the stairs and Mike by the car.
“Sorry,” Arden said when he saw me. “I’ll have this fixed in a minute.”
I watched as he pulled the bloodied sheets off the bed and bent over to grab a clean replacement from the cabinets. He wavered on his feet and I grabbed him by the arm.
“Easy,” I said, taking the folded sheet from him and sitting him down on the nearest suitable surface. A chair. “You look like shit, Arden. Take care of yourself first. I can come back later.”
“No, I’ll be fine.” Arden shook his head. “Just let me get my equilibrium.” He took a deep breath and slowly released it. He levered himself up to his feet again and said, “Okay, let’s do this. I just want to make sure that there is no un-obvious problems caused by our little foray against…whatever they or that thing was.”
Meaning the business-suited goons with the sonic weapon.
“Please,” Arden opened a drawer and pulled out a folded paper gown and held it out to me. “Strip your clothes off and put this on. I won’t say it’s more comfortable, so I’ll pass on the ‘slip into something more comfortable’ jokes.” He gave me a wan grin.
“Thanks,” I said and took the flimsy paper gown from him. When he left the room, I did as ordered and gritting my teeth, I called him back in. True to his word, Mike stood just outside. I caught his expression and gave him a minute shake of my head. He nodded and closed the door.
“We should make this quick,” I said to Arden. “I don’t think you’re up to doing much more of this."
“No different than doing ER duty after thirty-six hours of surgery.” Arden shook his head with a mild smile. “Been there, done that, got that t-shirt.” He picked up his medcomp from the counter and turning back around, spoke to the screen. “So, have you felt anything unusual lately? I mean, other than the headaches, the nausea, the vertigo, and the feeling like you couldn’t fight your way out of a wet paper bag?”
I stared at him, appalled.
“Since when did you work ER with blood dripping out your ears, your nose, your nails, and other places I won’t mention?” I asked him. “Seriously, Arden. It should be you on this bed, not me.”
“You bled just like I did,” Arden said, half-insulted but willing to let it pass. “Besides, I didn’t get shot or anything, just stunned to heck.” He gestured to the bed again, raised a brow at me and waited. There was no getting out of this now, and if I didn’t know better, I could have sworn he and Mike were in it together.
“All right,” I relented. “Let's get it done.”
I got on that bed and sat with my legs over the edge, kept my knees together and tried not to fidget. Arden made a note on his medcomp and put a fresh cone on his otoscope. He moved with confidence and precision, despite his condition, and his voice was detached and non-committal.
“Let’s look at your ears.” Arden gently pushed my hair out of the way and I reminded myself it was just business, I was being an oversensitive idiot, and that Mike was right outside. Arden pulled back and looked at my other ear. “Some blood signs, that’s expected. A bit of redness. Looks okay so far.” He turned away, removing the cone and tossing it in the trash. “How’s your hearing?”
“Fine.”
“Heart and lungs are next.”
Arden donned his stethoscope and breathed on the diaphragm to warm it. A blessing. He applied it to my back where the paper gown gaped, thumping me every now and then and listening. “Take a deep breath. Hold it. Let it out slowly.”
I sat still and fisted my hands in my lap, and breathed as ordered. As long as you don’t get cozy and can keep it professional, I can do the same, I’d said to him once. The stethoscope moved from my back to my chest, and I could feel the heat off his hand as he listened to my insides. One deep breath, two, three.... Don't overthink it. Just breathe. I kept my eyes forward and my hands down, and managed to get through it.
“Your lungs sound clear,” Arden said, picking up the medcomp and jotting his notes. “You remember to take your immunization packet last time we touched dirt?”
“Um…no.” I shook my head when he looked up. “I don’t think I did. Not if you didn’t make sure I’d taken them.”
“Most do forget, not that there is anything truly to worry about, but better safe than sorry,” he said, smiling a little as he rummaged through a cabinet. “Ah! Here we go.”
He straightened and turned back to me.
“Mix this with your favorite non-alcoholic beverage and drink it all down. It will keep you safe from bugs for 48 hours or so. Don’t take ’em and all bets are off. So the next time we make planetfall, take it before exposing yourself to the outside air. I have more if you need ’em.” Arden picked up his medcomp again, made another notation, and continued. “Now, I did give Nika a drink with a number of blood builders and immune system strengtheners. I would recommend that you have the same. Do you want me to fix it now, or give you the powder and you can fix it whenever. I usually use orange juice to cut the admittedly awful taste, but anything high in acidity will work.”
I slipped off the bed, keeping the hem of the flimsy gown down as I went, and took the package from Arden. I tucked it under my arm and sighed.
“Thank you. I’ll suck it down later. Will that be all, or do you have your heart set on putting me through the full exam? Because if you insist on taking it any further south, I’m going to insist on being sedated. And right now, I think you need the meds more than I do.” I hadn’t missed his slipping syntax, or the way he was leaning against the counter for support. I patted the bed behind me. “It’s your turn, so hand over that stethoscope and talk me through this. You’ve trained me enough that I’m pretty sure I can’t kill you with it.”
“No,” Arden laughed. “I don’t think a full exam is necessary unless you want one.”
“For me, no. For you, yes. Get up here, doc.”
It took Arden a minute to realize I was serious. When it finally sank in, he didn’t argue but commented mildly it would be good practice for me. One thing I’ll say about the man: despite his sheltered upbringing, body nudity wasn’t one of his hang-ups. He simply started stripping down right in front of me without flinch or dither. The dried blood on him, his and ours, stood out starkly against his pale skin, as did the bar code tattooed on the small of his back. He’d hooked his fingers into the waistband of his trousers before I got over my shock and cleared my throat. He turned around, saw my face, and apologized.
“Oh. I guess I should have left to let you get dressed. Sorry. I’ll go into the bathroom and finish there. You can call me when you’re done.” He grabbed his paper gown off the counter and adjourned to the bathroom, closing the door behind him.
“If you’re not out in five minutes, I’m coming in to get you,” I called out to him as the door closed. I thought about the bar code as I pulled my clothes and coveralls back on, thinking that as dehumanizing it may be, a tattoo still had the benefit of being visible to its wearer and carried the implicit option of getting removed at will. I’d had my fill of the alternatives favored by the Feds and refrained from rubbing the scar where mine had been. I tugged my boots on and stood up, and my vision greyed.
A hand clamped on my arm and kept me from hitting the floor.
“Arden, I’m fi—.”
“Arden?”
“Mike?”
“Now that we’ve got the names straight,” Mike got me in a chair. “Sit.”
“I keep forgetting how quietly you can move.”
“I’m quiet when I have to be. Put your head down.”
He put his hand on my neck and gently suited action to word. The ’verse steadied and I blinked my vision clear.
“Better?” he asked.
“Much.” I sat up with a sigh. “Thanks. I can finish things up here, but I need someone to play RIO on the bridge. You up to it?”
“Sure. You want an ear in here?”
“No need.”
“Find me when you’re done.”
A kiss, a lingering caress on my neck, and he was gone, back on the job. And so was I. I rose and called through the bathroom door.
“How’s it going in there? Need a hand?”
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