Exploring the Stars

Chapter 10 - Things are Looking Much Better

(There are italicized words in this chapter that are foreign. Knowing their meaning isn't needed, but it helps know the characters using them a bit more. The final chapter of this book is a listing of these words with their meanings.)

After leaving the two women, Emeka joined Dannay and Hari on the bridge. "Have you been going over the feed?" he asked.

Hari said, "Yes. Ksenie did exactly what she should have. There was nothing she could have done to anticipate the 'attack', and when it happened, she reacted quickly and properly. Her suggestion to immediately use the stasis field to stop any further damage was exemplary."

Emeka went on, "It wasn't until she had a chance to think about what happened that she broke down, and you'd expect that from anyone who just saw their friends and lovers smashed into each other then fall into a lake."

Dannay said, "You know that, and I know that, but we also both know what hindsight bias can do to someone. We now need to know how long it'll take for her to recover from it. If she can't recover, we may not be able to bring her into space again with us."

Emeka felt the need to add, "I totally agree, but she also gave us a plan to move forward. I believe she will come through for us just fine. And for the record, I truly wish there had been a better way to handle this."

The other two nodded at his assessments.

– o O o –

Ksenia woke the next morning in Gamal's arms. She remembered a dream she had through the night – she was in her Russian hometown, but she was not a child anymore. People were still treating her badly, saying how useless an orphan girl was. And even though she was now a grown woman, she was still not able to turn their minds.

So she turned away from them. She knew she didn't need them, so she just walked away – and in the distance, she saw her friends – first, she saw the Heinlein friends she knew as a teen, holding out their arms to welcome her and teach her. She then saw her friends from each of the GeoDocks, but all together to shake her hands and help nurture her.

And finally, she was with her four friends on Udyamita – and a fifth, a tall red-haired woman, as beautiful as any person she'd known. And they were all wrapping her in their arms. Dannay and Hari were smiling and unhurt, holding her as they embraced. And she knew the four loved her.

Smiling as she remembered this dream, she slipped out of sleep and turned to Gamal, wrapping her arms around the doctor. This woke Gamal, who after taking a bit to remember where she was, looked into Ksenia's eyes and asked, "How is my patient doing?"

Ksenia pulled her head back so she could return the gaze. "Gamal, moya dorogaya druga – my dear friend, you and the others – I love you all. I can't bear to lose any of you. I will do whatever I need to to ensure our friends can recover. What else can we do to help our two broken friends?"

"Dear lady, right now, we can go see how they are and see if we can do anything for them here. Are you ready to help?"

"Da, I cannot change what happened, so let us build our future." And she got out of the bed and put on her toga. "Let us go," she said, reaching out to Gamal.

– o O o –

After Gamal put on her own toga, they left for the infirmary. Going down the stairs to the lower level, they walked over to the stasis module. "While they've been out, the system has been working to remove the creature from around them," Gamal explained.

"Sadly, it wasn't a smooth plant, but had jagged thorns and branches. However, since we know what our friends are like and (more importantly) what they aren't like, removing the bits and pieces of the creature is child's play for the GravSieve."