High Flyght – Chapter 8

A hospital bed was not where I wanted to end up. And right now, I’m angry with myself for passing out. I’m stronger than that. I’m a warrior in beast mode. I can handle just about anything!

At least, I thought I could.

I stew in the bed and stare out the window at twilight descending on Sakata City. Trains zip in and out of the center of town, and ships descend from Orbital Station to the spaceport. That’s where I should be, on the Amagi.

The wall of data to my right draws colorful graphs and beeps irregularly as Gus taps on readouts and makes notes.

“You’re lucky you were here before that infection crawled to any other place than your leg,” he says, turning around to face me. “You’re also lucky you weren’t in the orthopedic ward.”

His smirk is genuinely sweet, but I’m in no mood.

“I’m kind of busy, though,” I point out. And I’m also kind of drugged up and exhausted. My voice is slow like freezing ice. “Any idea when we’ll be done?”

Gus turns back to the wall and zooms in on a map of my body. “Your doctor will be in here in five to ten minutes to talk to you. But I can tell you some stats now from what I see here.”

He backs up to the bed and rests his hips against the side, crosses his arms, and turns his head to me.

“Sure.” I relax my head on the pillow and resign myself to being stuck.

“The nanobot cleanup crew is at forty-five percent complete. They’ve been killing the infection and repairing the cut for about two hours and forty-nine minutes. I suspect they’ll be done in another three hours.” He strokes his dark beard, and the repetitive movement is soothing. “Your blood pressure and heart rate look good. We’ve given you a backup antibiotic and some pain killers to make you more comfortable and bring down your fever.”

I slip my bare arm under the sheet. The room is cool and dry, different from the constant warmth of the Amagi. Gus removes himself from my bedside, grabs a blanket from a cupboard in the room, and brings it to the bed.

“Thank you,” I say, trying on a weak smile.

“You’re welcome.” He tucks in the sides. “So, um, I should apologize before this awkwardness between us gets any worse. I’m sorry I asked you out, or I made you feel uncomfortable the day you showed up at Tomu’s place.” He sighs, and I don’t know how he manages to make it sound professional, but he does. “I should know better. It’s tough being in this business. You never know when someone will end up in your care.”

My heart squeezes, and I relax a little.

“It’s okay. It’s fine. You’re fine. I’m fine… Well, actually, I’ve been better.”

He smiles.

“Don’t worry about it,” I stress.

“Great. I don’t want you to think I’m being improper, especially since I’m also caring for your mom.”

I snuggle down into the covers. “We’re good.”

“Okay, good. I promise it won’t happen again.”

I open my mouth and shut it.

Wait. I wouldn’t go that far.

But Vivian, Marcelo is vetting the men for you, and you have proven this is not your area of expertise.

I hate that little voice inside my head.

And I hate it enough to ignore it.

“You don’t have to promise.”

He freezes, and his dark eyes narrow. That was not what he was expecting.

“Correa is your last name, right?” He nods. “I think I met your mom and dad recently. Military people?”

“Yes. My mom and dad? How?”

“I captain a Flyght ship, and we transported all the family art and your parents here to Ossun about a week ago.”

He breaks into a hearty laugh. “I’ve heard the term ‘It’s a small world’ and I never thought that was actually the case when you factor in several worlds across two star systems. Yes, they’re my parents. My sister is getting married soon.”

Despite my misgivings about having military people on my ship, I suddenly want to play with the idea. My seeds may not be so illegal, and a military connection could come in handy.

‘Invite me as your date’ is on the tip of my tongue, but I swallow it. He may already have a date, or he may not be allowed to bring someone. So few men involved in weddings bring anyone unless they’re already attached to a network.

But maybe…

“Any chance you want to get coffee and gossip about your awesome parents sometime soon?”

He rubs his beard with his right hand before extending it to the end of the bed, probably to keep himself from dying of shock.

He’s kind of cute when he’s confused.

“I… Didn’t I just go through the whole please-don’t-be-offended-by-my-date-offer routine?”

My fractured personality comes back into play, and Risky Vivian says to lay my cards on the table. No beating around the proverbial bush.

“You did, and it was an admirable effort. I need you to have coffee with me so we can get to know each other better. And I can convince you to leave this spectacular and stable job to come be my ship’s medic.”

Now he’s really shocked. “You want me to be your ship’s medic?”

I shrug with a sly smile. “Maybe.”

“What makes you think that would be something I’d consider?”

It’s a good question, and if he had asked it with anything other than real curiosity, I would’ve told him to forget the offer.

“I think your first instincts are usually correct, and there’s a chance you might give it a shot.”

“I… Hmmm. You’re quite the puzzle, Vivian Kawabata.”

“Go search for my name on the duonet,” I instruct him, though this is something even I won’t do. “Watch the videos and understand my family’s situation. If you’re still interested, let me know.” I raise my chin, trying to show some backbone after everything I’ve been through.

The door swings open and in comes the doctor, my dad, and Jinzo. Gus melts into the background to do his job, so I keep him in the corner of my eye.

This man could’ve taken advantage of this situation to woo me or show off or do any number of annoying things most men do when confronted with someone they’ve already flirted with. But instead of doing any of that, he apologized and backed off.

That was the perfect opportunity to act, and now I have him thinking.

The doctor is knowledgeable and kind with a brusque and efficient bedside manner. He tells me everything Gus just told me except he tells me how the nanobots will exit my body (through my urine) and that he’s already put in orders to have me discharged tomorrow morning if everything stays stable.

He enters his notes into his datapad and then gives me a perfunctory smile.

“Next time you have a cut of this magnitude, you should have it cleaned by a professional first.”

Jinzo holds up his hand. “My fault entirely. I’m not much of a medic, and our medical supplies onboard the ship are a little sparse.”

Gus clears his throat and grabs his datapad. “Come see me before you leave today, and I’ll give you a list of supplies you can pick up that should cover you in most situations.”

Jinzo nods, pleased. “Thanks. That’ll be great.”

The doctor and Gus finish up and leave, and I draw a breath of relief. I’m going to heal up quickly. Thank goodness.

Dad lays his lips on my forehead and pulls back with a smile. “Much cooler, and you look better too. I can’t remember the last time you passed out on me.”

“Neither can I.”

“Mom’s worried, but she knows you’re in good hands.” Dad pulls up a chair, and Jinzo sits at the foot of the bed. I draw up my legs, and he sits down cross-legged in the open space.

“So, I put in a call to my contact on Rio, Darmit Hoggard.”

“I know the name.”

“But he’s been on a three-week expedition in the jungle there, and his assistant says he won’t be back for another two or three days.”

I close my eyes and rest my head back.

“In the meantime, I went back to the ship with Jinzo while you were being taken care of here.”

“And?” My eyelids droop, and my lungs reflexively inhale to perk myself back up.

“The seeds are not mine. I’m certain of it. I’ve never seen these ones before, and I’m not sure what they’ll grow into. Whoever, or wherever, Tomu got them from, it wasn’t from me.”

I yawn, and Jinzo yawns too. “Sorry,” I say, and force myself to sit up. “So what you’re saying is that Tomu was dealing in seeds as well, but it has no connection to you?”

“Well…” Dad grimaces. “He did spend a lot of time on Rio, and it may not have been all because he had a girlfriend and a gambling debt. We spent time there together. You know, father-son stuff.”

I don’t want to know.

“And I never told him why I was always going on the expeditions, but he could have spied on me. He could’ve found out somehow. And I’m not the only one who ever went on expeditions with Darmit. Everyone knows Rio is special and a gold mine. But it’s also dangerous. I never told you nor your mother about the few times I’ve had brushes with death.” He presses his hand to his heart. “I’m lucky to be here.”

I yawn again, and this time I can’t help the crushing fatigue that washes over me. Jinzo finds my foot under the covers and squeezes it.

“We need to go to Rio,” I mumble out between yawns. I need to put the bed down and pass out again.

“I think you’re right about that. You should get some rest. I’ll talk to Skylar about prepping the ship for departure.” Jinzo alights from the bed, lithe like a cat. He’s more graceful than I’ll ever be.

“And I’ll contact Darmit and let him know you’re coming,” Dad says, grabbing his coat to go.

“Wait.” I gesture to them both before I drop off to dreamland. “I’m not leaving without Ken. Give me a day to go find him, and tell Skylar we should take up Gai Reis on his offer. And… and tell Carlos I need what’s on that datapad.”

Jinzo hesitates, but he comes forward to kiss me. I’m proud of him not waffling and going straight for my lips. It’s a brief kiss, but it reminds me of all the physical time we’ve had recently, and how I rely on him now for his strength and resourcefulness.

“You’ve got it. I’ll take care of everything,” he says when he pulls away.

Dad’s eyes are sad, but when Jinzo turns around, the two share a moment of camaraderie, and Dad’s eyes brighten. Jinzo cares about me. That’s what matters to Dad.

“Get some rest, and we’ll see you tomorrow.”

I direct the bed to recline and close my eyes.

“I’ll call you when I’ve found Ken.”