“Alright,” Herdis said. “Here is the situation.”

They were gathered in the entrance area, by the medical table on which Jaquan still lay.

“He is out of danger, I am confident of that. But much of the connecting tissue is burned through. I can keep the arm alive for now, but he can’t use it at all.”

Gaylen looked at his friend, lying there with tubes poking out of his flesh and reeking of medical solutions. Although Herdis had cleaned him and applied skin patches, Gaylen could swear he still smelled the burns. The man was heavily medicated, but his eyes were open, and he blinked slowly.

“I can’t fix it,” she went on. “I’m not trained for that kind of detailed surgery, and I don’t have the equipment anyway. If he is to keep the arm he needs a first-rate hospital. And I don’t really know how many of those there are out here.”

“I... really would like to keep the arm,” Jaquan slurred weakly.

Gaylen nodded severely. The man was already short one limb.

“Well,” Kiris said wearily. “I would also like for you to keep it.”

“Why, Kiris,” Jaquan replied and managed a faint smile. “I am only just learning that you can like things at all.”

She gave him a bit of a smile in return.

“How long can you keep the arm from going necrotic?” Gaylen asked.

“As long as my supplies last,” Herdis replied. “Six days. I don’t dare cut his doses to extend it any further than that. This...” she waved at the medical station, “... isn’t an ER.”

“Six days,” Kiris repeated. She turned to Gaylen. “Is there a quality hospital we can reach in that time?”

“Equal to core-ward worlds?” Gaylen asked slowly. He thought the question over, yet again. He’d already consulted his mental map, as well as some actual ones. He couldn’t think of a route that worked within that time frame. And certainly not one that could bring them back on track in time.

“Are we still doing the run?” Herdis asked, observing him.

“I think we are,” Kiris said.

Gaylen didn’t turn to face her.

“Six days... it just doesn’t work,” Gaylen said. “And there is the Blue Strike issue.”

“Will they be expecting us to turn around, though?” Herdis said. “If they know what we’re transporting, won’t they know what our destination is? It seems it would be easier for them to rush on ahead and try to ambush us.”

“Not... necessarily,” Gaylen said thoughtfully.

It depended on whatever was in that damned cylinder. If it was just some absurdly valuable item, then that could be destined anywhere. It if was information, then they probably did know about the target location.

“Look...” Herdis said after a few seconds of silence. “Your friend is hurt. I realise you have some important delivery to make, but-”

“If I don’t finish this delivery we will be in far bigger trouble than we already are,” Gaylen said. “Not you lot, but me and Jaquan.”

“Probably right,” Jaquan mumbled in a half-delirious fashion.

No one said anything right away. The room was tense. Or maybe it was just him.

“What?” Bers then said. “Deliver what?”

“I have no idea,” Gaylen said, and now turned to face Kiris. “And that’s the truth. But we have an option. An option named Kelan Unn Ter.”

“Huh,” Jaquan said softly, gazing up at the ceiling. “It’s a gamble.”

“I’m willing to make it.”

Gaylen stepped up to the nearest screen and brought up a starmap.

“There’s a spaceport,” he said. “Old, like most of them are around here. It’s technically a thoroughfare, but there’s much less legitimate traffic than at Chukata Mog. Kelan Unn Ter has been managing a section of it for years, making deals with pirate groups, outfits and local gangs. And he has a Golden Panacea Pod.”

The author's narrative has been misappropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon.

“Wait, what?” Kiris said, breaking her usual composure.

“Yes, what?” Bers said.

“Sounds... fancy,” Herdis said.

“It is.”

“Is it a real one, or some kind of knockoff?” Kiris asked.

“Oh, it’s real,” Gaylen said. “I think he somehow stole it from big-time smugglers, or some such. He certainly doesn’t have the connections to arrange such a theft for himself.”

“Some kind of treatment machine, I take it?” Herdis said.

“An automatic one,” Gaylen said. “Capable of fixing just about any kind of physical injury modern medicine can treat in the first place.”

“It’s from the Kingdom,” Kiris explained. “Used by the upper crust of the upper crust. The sort with private palaces and a small army of courtesans.”

“And... a copy is being kept by some nobody on a no-name station in the middle of absolute nowhere?” Herdis asked with entirely warranted surprise.

“The Kingdom holds very tightly onto anything it considers its property,” Kiris said. “Be it territory, people or technology.”

“Yes, exactly,” Gaylen said. “And if Unn Ter started making noise about his special find it could draw trouble he’s not equipped to deal with.”

“That makes sense, I suppose,” Herdis said. “But I take it he charges grossly for access to the pod?”

“Normally, yes. But he has an agreement with some of the gangs that pass through the station. That includes the Brecke Browns, now and then.”

Gaylen considered the matter for a few more seconds before continuing.

“Now and then,” he repeated. “He is not a close associate. There is no reason for him to know I’ve cut ties with the Browns. If I just stroll in like nothing’s wrong he’ll grant access. And Eldin burned up, and I don’t know if any of his goons survived that shootout. It’s not like they’re going to drop by to set Unn Ter straight.”

“Mercs?” Bers said. “What about mercs?”

“Do you mean if they have connections with the station?”

The fringer nodded.

“I’m not very familiar with Blue Strike, but I don’t think they do. But regardless; we need our engineer at full capacity.”

“We do,” Kiris admitted.

“Herdis, would you say he’ll be up for helping Kiris with the engine in one day-cycle?” Gaylen asked. “At least sitting on a chair and telling her what to do?”

“In a cycle?”

Their medic-soldier looked at her patient and he looked back through half-lidded eyes.

“In my opinion, yes,” she said. “What about your opinion, Jaquan?”

“I’ve done this before,” the man replied, and made a rather sad attempt at moving his prosthetic leg.

“The pod should fix you up in about a day,” Kiris told him. “Assuming this man has been able to keep it in working order.”

“How well do you know them?” Gaylen asked her.

“I was taught how to load my masters into one, and operate it,” she replied. “In case of some emergency.”

“Then you’ll be coming along.”

She went through her predictably visible dislike of being told what to do, but he was still running this ship, damn it.

“Gaylen,” Jaquan said. “Did we go through a Korokis Reaction when we were stopping earlier?”

He’d ALMOST forgotten about all that for a moment. He glanced sideways at Bers. The man had nothing to say nor indicate.

“Yes,” he said.

“We need to give the engine at least a full day,” the engineer said. “I’ll give it all a look once... once I’ve rested.”

“How far is it to that station?” Herdis asked.

“From here we might reach it in two days. So, if we’re forced to take another day to rest the engine, that still leaves us two days of wiggle room.”

“Then it sounds like we have a plan,” Kiris said.

“Mm!” Bers sounded.

Gaylen rubbed his eyes.

“Kiris... you and I will go over the engine, to the best of our ability. Then we’ll all... we’ll all have a rest.”

“Rest will be welcome,” Herdis said. “I have to say, I feel like I’m really earning my salary on this trip.”

“Is that an attempt to get a raise?” Gaylen asked her.

“No,” the woman replied with a tired smile, though he didn’t find her entirely convincing.

“Well, since I mentioned money; me and Jaquan did manage to sell most of the pirate equipment. Later on I’ll divide the cash up, as agreed at the start. Fifty percent divided between me and Jaquan, and the rest goes to you folks. And...”

He shrugged.

“Well, I’ll divide it into four parts, and hold onto one for now. Just in case.”

“Fair,” Bers said. “Just in case.”

The mood turned fairly sombre for a few silent moments. He didn’t hazard a guess as to what the others were thinking. Personally he wasn’t thinking much at all. He was rather too tired for thought, and was left mostly with emotion.

“Let’s get to it, Kiris!” he then said, as powerfully as he could. “The sooner we’re finished the sooner we can start gathering our strength.”

“Right,” the Chanei said and walked with him into the engine room. “I wish I’d thought to buy some alcohol back there,” she added.

“So do I.”