Homestar Saga

Chapter 106: A Nice Surprise

Yvian came awake slowly. It was a nice surprise. Less nice was the throbbing in the back of her skull. She felt her face scrunch in a grimace as she let out a little groan. Her eyes opened, squinting against the light.

She was in a med pod. The sight comforted her for a moment, then gave way to confusion. If she'd been healed, why did her head hurt? Venturetech med pods were not known for leaving injuries unaddressed. She should have woken up feeling like a million credits.

"She's awake!" Lissa was trying to whisper, but she wasn't doing a good job. She sounded... excited. Joyful, even. How long had Yvian been unconscious?

Someone walked over and hit a couple of buttons. The med pod retracted, leaving Yvian exposed on the surprisingly comfortable med table the pod was installed on. A quick glance told Yvian she was still in her voidarmor. Then the smell hit. French dip. Au jus. Fries. Yvian's mouth watered.

She brought her head to the side, expecting to see food. Instead she saw a crowd. The med bay she was in was much larger than the one on the Random Encounter, and it was filled with Peacekeeper units in sharp suits. Their eyes glowed yellow with pleasure. Yvian wondered if Kilroy was one of them. Lissa and Mims were a few meters away from the med table. Mims had a plate, more of a platter, really, heaping with food. Lissa had a case of beer. Standing closer to the table were four Oluken.

The Oluken were an odd looking species. Three sturdy legs, and two arms that ended in masses of tendrils. Their heads were long, thick, and topped with four eyestalks all swiveled to point at Yvian. They were greenish brown in color, and their skin gave the impression of being both leathery and damp.

Before Yvian could ask a question, Mims stepped forward. "Welcome back to the land of the living." He set the platter down next to Yvian, then set a bottle of ketchup next to it.

Yvian decided questions could wait. She was ravenous. She tore at one of the sandwiches. She'd eaten half of it before she even remembered she was supposed to dip the thing in the au jus. She held a plaintive hand out to Lissa. Lissa placed a beer in it. Yvian chugged the entire thing in one go.

It was only after finishing the first sandwich that Yvian could bring herself to remember she had questions. She started with the obvious. "How long was I out?"

One of the Peacekeepers answered. Yvian assumed it was Kilroy. "Twenty three days, eleven hours, and forty three minutes."

Yvian paused with another sandwich halfway to her mouth. Twenty three days? She'd been unconscious for over three weeks. Au jus dripped from her sandwich onto her lap. And the floor. No wonder she was so hungry. She stuffed more bread and roast beef into her mouth. After swallowing, she asked the question she'd been dreading. "The Vore?"

"Dead," Mims assured her. "The Klaath, too. Half our ships and all the Stingers are still scouring the sector, making sure there aren't any little clusters of nanomachines floating around. We've found a few, but it looks like most of the stuff stayed in the Spheres."

"We were sufficient," One of the Peacekeepers spoke. Unlike the others, this one had a white band in his fedora, signaling he was no longer a standard unit. Yvian suspected it was Admiral Zhukov.

"We were sufficient!" The other Peacekeepers thundered in reply. Definitely Zhukov, then.

Yvian's eyes watered. It had been enough. She blinked, trying to hold back the tears. It didn't work. She found herself sobbing into her sandwich.

Lissa came and wrapped an arm around her. Yvian leaned in, crying on her sister. The Captain put a hand on her shoulder, an oddly gentle look on his face. Yvian dropped her food back onto the platter and pulled both of them close, crying and shaking and leaking snot everywhere. She'd been going for almost a minute before she remembered there was a bunch of other people watching.