Fracture - Book One of the Glass Galaxy Trilogy

Chapter 11: Kaeya Part 1

Galactic Year 10,702

42 Years Earlier

I stretched the fatigue out of my muscles, opening my eyes to the glare of the medical-bay's ceiling lights. Why was I in here again? I pushed myself up, swinging my feet over the side of the cot, and realized that I had a bandage wrapping around my entire torso like I was some kind of mummy.

Right, that was why I was in here.

I grunted in discomfort as I pushed myself to my feet, my entire boding aching from inactivity, and I pulled aside the curtain concealing my cot. The doctor sitting in the corner spun her head at the sound of the curtain moving, and she jumped to her feet as I emerged. "Kaeya!" she exclaimed in surprise. "How do you feel?"

She set about examining my body, looking at me through a pair of medical-lenses. "I feel like shit, Stell," I answered the doctor, "but I can't imagine I feel any worse than they do." The far corner of the room was lined with Bio-Restoration Tanks, two dozen of them in a two-by-six grid, and every single one of them was occupied.

I grimaced, feeling the occupant's pain smothering me like a fifty-kilogram blanket. It took little effort to push that blanket off me, but I held it nearby, letting it remind me that I was responsible for their suffering. They followed me, so it was only right for me to share in the pain they felt for doing so.

Stell touched my shoulder gently, drawing my attention back to her. Her voice was hushed, as if the tank-occupants would be disturbed if she spoke to loudly, "Kaeya, you know that we follow you willingly. We all accept the danger we're getting ourselves into. Don't beat yourself up again."

I looked into her sharp blue eyes, a stark contrast to her darkened skin, and I nodded to her, "I'm not going to beat myself up, but I'm not going to let myself forget the consequences of my decisions either."

"A wise person might point out that that's the same thing," Stell said as she finished her examination.

"Well I guess it's a good thing that there aren't any wise people nearby, then," I responded, smirking.

She looked at me over her medical-lenses, trying to give me a scolding look, but she was unable to suppress her smile and a moment later we were laughing together. "I guess there aren't," she said after the laughing had subsided. "You're mostly good now, but don't do anything that could break that rib again. I don't want you in here tomorrow with a punctured lung."

I gave her a tight hug, which put painful pressure on my rib cage, and then grabbed a shirt from the shelf beside the door. "I don't know how I could do this without you, Stell," I said as I slipped the form-fitting shirt on. "How's my brain activity?"

She pushed her medical-lenses up her nose and peered at my head, "You've been out of the Prodigy for too long- your brain activity is starting to accelerate. You need to either get into your suit or into the Prodigy immediately."

I looked at her expectantly.

She sighed, "And yes, your psy-cortex is teeming with peripheral activity. He's still alive."

I beamed at her, "Thank you, Stell." Then I set off towards the bridge of the Liberation. I had been out for two days, and it wouldn't do for me to idle about any longer. Getting to the Prodigy could wait. The medical-bay was directly above the heart of the ship, so it only took me a moment, mostly spent climbing stairs, to reach the bridge, and I stepped into the command center of the battleship Liberation. 

Strike Major Sentinel Haelee was standing next to my seat at the head of the room, and she turned and saluted me as I entered. She was built tough, her shoulders heavy-set with muscle and her face hardened by many long years of experience. She wore her mid-length hair up in a messy bun, and the form-hugging combat uniform of the Sentinels rested on her like a second skin. She was my second-in-command, and she had been leading my crew while I was trapped in the medical bay.