Piece Simul ✔

Chapter 45 - Estrenar - Back in Black

Abruptly, Estrenar sat up straight and barked at the computer:

"Seal off the docking area. Quarantine the incoming crew."

She would've done it minutes ago, but it was hard to get her body moving. It was her body again, no more alien invader. At the same time, she tingled with a newness. An invincible feeling she hadn't experienced since her teens.

Her old name (and it was already slipping away), sounded odd to her. Her new name was just...right.

"Docking area sealed. Incoming crew have disembarked from pod."

"Who are they?"

"Unknown."

Outside the particle wall, Russ addressed Hainish. "Which crewmembers have newly awakened from the dura-chamber?"

"Jason Campbell and Kathar Modive."

It didn't make sense, why those two would be awake. Yet, it made a weird kind of sense. At the names, Estrenar tripped over memories from a lifetime before.

~*~

She stared at Kathar's bald spot as he paced his living quarters, replete with a king-sized bed and private bathroom. A man of his stature with the Institute would never sleep on a cot in the adjunct living quarters.

"It's annoying that Forster sent that idiot Tiptree for a second time." He ceased placing, smiling his unnerving smile. "I'll just have to use the override so you can take a pod down."

While it registered with Guin that she should nod, or simply react, she couldn't. Kathar's hypnosis had seen to that. Her body was only capable of standing, and watching. Until he told her otherwise.

"You'll bring back the real sample."

So many instructions, was what ran through her fuzzy brain.

Kathar ran a hand over Guin's shoulder, causing an involuntary shudder. His dark eyes gleamed as he assumed her action to be indicative of anticipation rather than disgust.

"Mmm, I've read your file. And I've seen you with Forster."

Briefly, she wondered what exactly he was referring to. Until he told her otherwise:

"Now, get on your knees to do for me what you do for him."

She didn't need to wonder anymore about what he meant. Despite her reservations, Guin's knees buckled.

~*~

"Fuck!"

Estrenar's palm flew to her head, as if she could suppress the rest of the memory. Unfortunately, it wasn't going anywhere. It sparked other bad memories which she felt didn't belong to her anymore.

I'll let you out, if you're good.

Her father. His words, his actions, had once pained her, nearly to the point of breaking her.

Estrenar allowed the statement to play in her head once more:

I'll let you out, if you're good.

Nothing. No more crippling grief, shame, or need to please.

The only one she had to please was herself. Her shoulders suddenly lightened. Her chest expanded. She could breathe, fully, for the first time in her life.

With her newfound strength, there were things she had to do. First, she reached into the first aid compartment to don a face mask. Through the cloth covering her mouth, she called:

"Russ, damnit, get in here."

Russ stopped speaking with Genly and Hainish. Briefly, she seemed to consider the request. When she produced and affixed a mask to her face, her decision was obvious. Perhaps she trusted what she saw in Estrenar, because she instructed the particle wall to drop.

Estrenar strode to the second-in-command, eyes steely. She stopped herself from enclosing the petite Puerto Rican in her arms. She allowed an equally vulnerable response.

"Thank you," she said, biting back any edge of emotion in her voice.

Stiff bodied, Russ replied, "Sure thing. Can we do mission-y stuff now?"

Estrenar cleared her throat. She could count the number of times she had thanked anyone in her old life, actually meaning it anyway. Something had compelled her to thank Russ, even if just for a second, to let her know she had changed things for the better. The sentiment had conveyed all of this. At least, she hoped it had, because changed or not, she did not have it in her to explain her feelings.

"Let's right this ship." To the Control station, she said, "Set course for Sanctus. Override for course correct required of Forster or Russ."

"Course settings verified, Captain."

In a very clinical manner, Russ grabbed Estrenar by the chin and passed a pen-sized scanner over her eyes. "Let's have a look at you first."

Estrenar allowed the inspection. She would've done the same, but with a hazmat suit. Russ's lack of protection spoke volumes. She believed the virus was gone, in a very trust-but-verify sort of way.

As though hearing Estrenar's thoughts, she checked the scanner, nodded, and stepped back.

"It's amazing. You're fine." A frown pulled at her mouth. "I wonder if something like this would work to clear up anyone else, back home. They're different infections, but still."

It was a novel idea. Not outside the realm of seeming plausible. And so obviously not from a person versed in science, she couldn't help but think.

"I doubt it," she said.

The Storm and what had infected her were vastly different. There wasn't time to explain how it had only worked because of cultural and personal belief. Or how it might not even work on other Thais. It was as Russ had said. Amazing.

"Say, you've only got one arm."

Russ waved the bandaged stump. "No one told me I could get rid of that green shit just by changing my name." She grinned sheepishly.

Estrenar chuckled, the muffled noise echoing through the Control room. There really wasn't time for laughter, and it sounded odd. She sobered fast.

"We've got to find that asshole, Kathar," Estrenar said.

"I agree. He's got only so many places he can hide."

Kathar betraying the mission fit the larger scheme. What with his beady eyes and holier-than-thou attitude. Everything pointed to him being a Green-Eyed sleeper agent, working to "cleanse." It seemed right. Estrenar believed her theory didn't have to be shared aloud. With how common-sense, though not science-smart, Russ was, she had caught up. But, the other dude was a mystery.

"Who is this Jason guy?"

For the first time Estrenar had known her, the second-in-command looked as though she might crumble.

Chin trembling, she answered, "I thought I knew him. I though he was my friend."

Estrenar smiled wanly. "Everyone changes, don't they?"