Tani's Destiny (Hearts of ICARUS Book 2) (5 page)

“As you wish,” Khurda said, blushing again. 

“Tani has some medical knowledge and wishes to evaluate Astra’s injury,” Steel said.

The sudden hope on Khurda’s face told Tani the truth of why Khurda was standing in front of Astra’s tank, staring at her, because she knew darn well that he wasn’t inspecting the tank’s functionality.  The control panel wasn’t even opened.  “Can you really help her?”

“That’s what we’re about to find out,” Tani said.

Khurda looked up at a clock on the wall, an expression of frustration on his face.  “I’m afraid I’ve been absent from the control room long enough.  I must return now.”

“I’ll let you know what we find, Khurda,” Steel promised.

“Thank you, Steel, I would appreciate that.” 

Tani and Steel watched Khurda as he glanced once more at the tank behind him, then hurried out of the room.  “He’s got it bad,” Tani said mildly.

“Yes,” Steel said with a sigh.  “So does Astra.  They’re both too shy to do more than stare at each other when the other isn’t looking.”

“Sometimes it’s safer to dream about possibilities than it is to reach for them and risk outright rejection,” Tani said as she approached Astra’s tube.  It made her sad to see her friend floating in the hibernation gel, one side of the close fitting leotard she wore stained with blood.

“So true,” Steel said softly as moved to stand beside Tani.  She turned the scanner on again, and looked up at him. 

“Will you help me hold this up, please?”

“Of course,” he said, and took the device out of her hands.  He placed the transducer against the transparent wall directly in front of the area of Astra’s wound as Tani directed, and leaned out of the way so that she could see the screen.  She made a view adjustments to brighten and sharpen the image, then magnified the area she most wanted to see.  After a careful inspection, she smiled. 

“Good news?” Steel asked hopefully.

“Yes,” Tani said.  “The wound isn’t bad at all, see here?” she asked, pointing at the screen.  Steel leaned down so he could see while still holding the scanner in place.  “Was the knife still in her when she transported up?”

“No,” Steel said.  “If it had been, we would have been able to guess how deep it was.  But it bled a lot, which worried us.”

“Well, she’s lucky,” Tani said.  “This is a flesh wound, a deep one, but it didn’t get near anything important because it went in at an angle.  It looks like it nicked a bit of muscle, but it’s not too serious.  She’ll be sore, and we need to be sure it doesn’t get infected.  Do you have antibiotics?”

“Yes, we do, and pain meds as well.”

“Good, then let’s get her out of there,” Tani said as she reached for the control panel on the front of the tank and slid back the cover.

“Will you want to seal the wound?” Steel asked.  “Because that might be a problem.”

“Why’s that?”

“We don’t have any skin adhesive.”

“I need to get a real look at it before I’ll know for sure, but if it’s necessary, I’ll handle it the old fashioned way.  The damaged muscle won’t take more than a couple of stitches, if I have to do it at all.”

“Stitches?  Do you mean with a needle and thread?  Like mending clothing?”

“Yes, that’s what I mean,” she said.  “I’ll check the infirmary for sterile sutures, but thread will work just fine if that’s all you have.”

“I never would have imagined doing that,” he said.  “Will you mind if I watch?”

“No, not at all,” Tani said.  “I’ll even teach you, if you want.”

“Yes, please,” he said.  “We often have wounds that we don’t know how to treat other than to clean them and use antibiotics.  We haven’t had skin adhesive in a long time.”

Tani glanced up at him, the sadness and worry in his tone impossible to miss, then returned her attention to the control panel.  “No problem,” she said.  “I’ll show you and anyone else who wants to learn how to do it.  Like I said, I don’t know a lot, but what I do know I’m happy to share.”  A moment later she activated the hibernation removal cycle and unlocked the tank so that they could rotate it, putting Astra in a prone position so she wouldn’t fall to the bottom of the tank when the gel was drained.

An hour and a half later Astra lay sleeping on a medi-cot in the infirmary.  Tani had chosen to pack the wound with an absorbent medium infused with antibiotics rather than stitch it closed after a second scan revealed that the muscle wasn’t damaged after all.  She wasn’t sure how she’d read the first scan wrong, but since it meant Astra’s injury was even less serious than she’d thought, she wasn’t going to complain.  Steel had been disappointed, but after she assured him that she’d still teach him how to stitch a wound, he was happy. 

“When will she awaken?” he asked as he stared at his cousin.

“Not much longer, a few minutes maybe,” Tani said.  “She’s doing well, Steel, don’t worry.  If I wasn’t a hundred percent certain I could treat her wound successfully, I never would have risked taking her out of the tank.”

“If I wasn’t a hundred percent certain of you, I wouldn’t have let you,” Steel said with a little smile.  “How did you learn so much about healing?”

“I grew up on a cattle ranch,” she said.  “Do you know what that is?”

“A place where cows are raised, yes?”

“That’s right,” she said.  “Dracon Ranch raises cows, sheep, and horses.  Animals get sick and have injuries all the time, so we have a med-barn. When I was a kid I’d spend as much time as I could there, helping Doc and Aunt Darlene care for the animals.  Doc is a real doctor, he just loves animals, so he takes care of them too.  When I got a little older, they’d let me come to the clinic to help out with people.  They taught me a lot about treating wounds, broken bones, and mild illnesses.”

“I would have guessed you lived in a palace, not on a ranch,” Steel said.

“Yeah, I get that a lot,” Tani said with a sigh.  “When I was little it used to hurt my feelings when people automatically assumed we were spoiled little girls who got anything and everything we wanted just for the asking.  When our parents took us to functions on other worlds, we’d meet the children of important people and while a lot of them were just normal kids like us, some weren’t.  We saw firsthand why people thought the way they did.”

“Your lives were so different?”

“Yes, very much so,” Tani said.  “We had regular chores, and got an allowance based on how well we did them.  I’m not going to pretend we weren’t comfortable, or that we ever went without something that we needed.  We lived in a nice, clean home, we had loving parents, we went to good schools and never had to worry about how we’d pay our tuitions or buy our study materials, or whether or not we could afford to go home for breaks.  We had it better than most and we appreciated that.  But we didn’t get everything we wanted just by crooking our fingers either.  If we wanted something special, we worked on the ranch and saved our money for it.” 

“When I was in college, I sometimes visited the homes of friends I met there,” Steel said.  “What you say sounds much the same as what their lives were like.”

“Our parents wanted us to have as normal a childhood as possible.  They didn’t want us growing up thinking we were better than other people just because of the blood in our veins.  Of all the things I’m grateful to my parents for, that is the most precious to me.”

“I now understand why Astra thought that you would listen to our problem, and perhaps be willing to help us.”

“Thank you, Steel,” she said, smiling.  “That’s a nice thing to say.  So, what is your problem?”

“In short, my people have been enslaved for the second time by creatures of the Xanti,” he said, then turned to look at Astra when she made a soft noise.

“Why haven’t you contacted ICARUS?” Tani asked as they both watched Astra for further signs of awakening.

“We’ve tried,” Steel said.  “Our requests have been ignored.”

Tani stared at him in surprise, then turned back to Astra when she tried to sit up.  She hurried over and placed a gentle hand on Astra’s shoulder.  “Just relax, Astra,” she said.  “You just got out of a hibernation tank and need a few more minutes to adjust.”

“Tani,” Astra said, looking at her in mild surprise.  She turned her head to the other side and looked up at her cousin.  “Steel?  What’s going on?”

“Give yourself a minute, Astra, and it should all come back to you,” Tani said.  “Would you like some water?”

“Yes, please,” Astra said.  Tani went to get the water and Astra tried to do as she’d asked and relax.  After a few moments, everything came back to her just like Tani had said it would.  “Now I understand why my side hurts.”

“We can give you something for the pain once you’re fully awake,” Tani said, holding a glass filled with cold water close enough for Astra to reach the straw.  She drank thirstily, nearly draining the glass. 

“Thank you, Tani,” she said.  Tani set the glass down, then checked the readouts on the medi-cot.  “How bad is it?”

“Not bad at all.  It’s going to hurt some for a while, but it’s not serious.”  She went on to explain what she’d done, and what they’d have to do in the near future in order for the wound to heal without complications.  By the time she was finished, Astra was fully awake, so Tani gave her a mild pain killer. 

“Please tell me I can have a shower,” Astra said, reaching up to touch her hair which was sticky from the hibernation gel.

“Of course you can shower,” Tani said.  “I’ll put a waterproof patch over the bandage, but you need to remember to take it off again when you’re dry.” Tani placed one hand over Astra’s.  “Thanks for saving me, Astra.  I’m sorry you got hurt.”

“It certainly wasn’t your fault, Tani,” Astra said.  “I’m sorry for getting you caught up in this, but we really are desperate.”

“So your cousin has told me,” Tani said with a smile.  “By the way, Steel raided your closet for me.  I hope you don’t mind.”

“Not even a little bit,” Astra said.  “That sweater looks great on you, and it makes me itch, so it’s yours if you like it.”

“Thank you, Astra,” Tani said, her smile widening.  “What do you want first?  Rest, shower, or food?”

“Shower first, Food second, sleep last,” Astra replied. 

“Steel, where’s the nearest shower?”

“There’s one through that door there,” he replied, pointing. 

“All right,” Tani said, already digging around through drawers and cabinets.  She found what she was looking for and went back to Astra’s bedside.  “Steel, if you’ll help her into the bathroom, I’ll help her with a shower.  After that, I’ll get her to her room if you can get her a food tray.”

“You sure you don’t need me to help with getting her to her room?” Steel asked.

“I’m stronger than I look,” Tani said.  “We’ll be fine.”

“All right,” Steel said as he reached over and lifted Astra out of the bed.  The muscles in his arms and shoulders flexed and Tani had to look away and think about cleaning and packing Astra’s wound while hurrying ahead of them to the bathroom.  She looked around to make sure everything Astra might need was there, then she lowered the lid on the commode so Steel could set Astra down on it.  After that he left, and Tani gratefully closed the door so she could think. 

Half an hour later Tani helped Astra don a clean med gown, and combed the tangles out of her wet hair.  Even though Tani was significantly shorter than Astra, she really was very strong, so she had no trouble helping her friend up and out of the bathroom, across the infirmary and into the corridor.

“Which way?” she asked.  Astra pointed and they set off. 

“The wound is in my side, so why is it so hard for me to walk?” Astra asked.

“It’s a reaction from the hibernation tank,” Tani said.  “If I knew more, I’d probably be able to give you something to counteract the muscle weakness and dizziness you’re experiencing.  I’m sorry that I can’t, but you should be able to walk on your own tomorrow, after a good night of real sleep.”

“If not for you, I’d still be in it,” Astra said.  “I’ve got no complaints and you have nothing to be sorry for.”  They stopped in front of the elevator and Tani pressed the button for deck two, where the sleeping quarters were located.  A few minutes later, with a bit more help from Tani, Astra was wearing her own pajamas and sitting in her own bed, propped up with a stack of pillows and extra blankets.  A couple of minutes after that, Steel arrived with a tray that Tani placed on a rolling table like the one that was in her room.

“I’ll get out of your hair now,” Tani said when she was sure Astra didn’t need anything more from her.  “I’m sure you and Steel would like to talk without me around.”

“No, Tani,” Astra said, then looked at Steel.  Steel nodded, then grabbed a chair from the corner of the room and moved it closer to the bed.  “Sit here,” Astra said to Tani, who shrugged and sat on the foot of Astra’s bed, careful not to jostle her or her food tray.

“I know you, Tani,” Astra said with a smile.  “You’re dying to know what all this is about, but you won’t ask until you think I’m healed.  I also know Steel.  He won’t say anything until I’m healed, either, but I’m fine, so let’s just do this.”

“If you’re sure you’re up for it,” Tani said.

“I am,” Astra said.  “I’m just a little sore.”  She reached for the glass of juice on her tray and sipped.  “The reason I came to find you Tani, is that we’ve been trying for over a year now to get help from ICARUS, but they keep ignoring us.  We haven’t even gotten a response from them.  I know you aren’t connected with ICARUS personally, but you’re the only person I know who might be able and willing to help us and, like I said, we’re desperate.”