“At the time, I didn’t really consider the whole knockout thing to be a problem.” GiDi said once they finished recounting the conversation they had with Tham and Vik, which led to the decision to put the failsafe in their chips. “I just didn’t want you two or Avery to be stuck in your rooms any longer.” They stared down at their hands, particularly at the corners between their fingers where they had begun to pick at dried skin while they talked. “And then everything just started happening all at once, and I forgot all about it.”
“You... You just forgot about it?” DH said, their ears flicking in disbelief.
“Well, not entirely, no,” GiDi admitted, “But it wasn’t on the top of my list. And even if it had been the only thing on my mind... I promised that I wouldn’t tell you two. If I did, and if Vik or Tham found out...” They hissed in pain as a bit of skin which they were picking at tore off, and they suddenly clutched their hand in pain.
“I’m giving you something for that.” DH said in their firm medical officer tone of voice, “You shouldn’t be picking at your skin, anyway. Are your hands particularly dry or something?” They strode over to one of the cupboards in the small emergency ship and took out a first aid kit.
“A bit.” They admitted. “Ever since getting back on the ship...”
“You’re not used to the recirculated air, I suppose,” DH said as they positioned themself so that GiDi would have their back to TO while DH tended to the small but obviously painful wound. Oddly, though, TO knew that GiDi’s hand was likely bleeding at the moment. They didn’t feel the same things they normally did when they were around blood. The panic had been there, under the surface of their mind when they saw Avery earlier, but there had been no actual blood there. It was very odd, but at the same time a relief. In part, they wondered if it was because of the medication DH had given them. The panic that they’d normally feel just felt somewhat numb.
“...I didn’t want to hurt you, or Avery, or anyone.” GiDi said in a soft voice as DH treated their hands, “But I just... I wanted to see you again. I wanted to talk to you, and I wanted you to meet Pearla properly, and get to know Tham...”
“I know.” DH said.
“...And... you’re still angry with me?”
DH was silent for a moment, then gave a heavy sigh. “No.” They said finally, “I’m not angry with you, mostly ...because I keep thinking about how I agreed to however they wanted to secure Avery. I was just happy that they were stable and safe, and didn’t think much about the other stuff.” TO heard the spray of aerosol disinfectant and noted that even the smell of it didn’t seem to set them off like it used to. “And I would be more angry that you just didn’t tell us sooner... but if you promised them that you wouldn’t tell us...”
“It would have been too much of a risk.” TO said. It was odd that they could think about this so easily now. Perhaps they had finally gotten over the issue with blood? It would make sense, right? The recent exposure would have done that. Compared to all the awful things they had seen recently, a few drops from torn skin shouldn’t have that much of an effect, right? Of course, it wasn’t as though there was no effect: Their head felt weird, almost as though they were in a simulation or something similar. Perhaps it was just an effect of the drugs they had been on since leaving Arkane.
“Right.” DH said. their ears flushed slightly. “I... asked you not to tell TO the stuff I talked to you about back in training. If you had, I would have been... well, angry wouldn’t be the right word. It would have felt even worse than just anger. I’d have felt like I couldn’t tell you anything ever again... and given the situation, that wouldn’t be a good thing.”
“... Tham’s also my family too.” GiDi said, “So, I wouldn’t want to hurt him either.”
DH finished cleaning up GiDi’s hand, snapped the first aid kit shut, and stood to put it away. A simple, small bandage was now sticking to the space between GiDi’s pointer and middle finger, and their skin had a glossy shine on it from some kind of cream.
“...I’m sorry I couldn’t tell you.” GiDi said.
“...It’s ok.” DH said, “I... Should have listened to you sooner.”
GiDi’s ears perked up when DH said that, and then almost immediately after they turned to TO, waiting in quiet expectation. It took TO a moment to realize that they were even waiting for something from them, but once they did, it was as though their mind snapped back where it belonged.
“I forgive you on the condition that you tell Avery yourself as soon as they wake.” TO said.
“Not as soon as they wake.” DH said, “After they wake, and when I’m relatively happy that they’re healthy enough for heavy news!” They put the first aid kit away and turned to look at TO with their hands on their hips, “Too much stress after they wake up from this won’t do them any good...”
Stolen story; please report.
“Fine...” TO said, “As soon as DH says you can, then you need to tell Avery.” Their ears sunk down. “I’m worried about them. After everything with Kei-“ they paused as they saw the way GiDi’s ears suddenly pinned back then, their eyes narrowing,
“You mean after Kei held a gun to DH’s head, stabbed Avery in the throat, or when they nearly killed you?”
“...I suppose, yes.” TO said. They hadn’t considered it before, but how would Avery react to the news that Kei had come so close to killing them? “I’m worried about this shatter sickness stuff.” TO said, “I’m worried Avery was suffering from that before Kei hurt them” they groaned and gently rubbed at their forehead, “I don’t have nearly the information I need on this. The guide that Flit and Snout gave us only mentions it briefly.“
“Yes, because it’s meant for youths.” GiDi said, their ears twitching in mild amusement, “So, it’s not going to go into detail.” They held up their own hand and activated their chip, causing a flickering screen to appear in mid-air before them. Watching this made TO clench their own hand, their mind reaching out once more for their own chip, but finding nothing. “I think we should be out of this solar system in a few days, so we can send a message to Apoikia then, I think. I’ll have to ask Vik if it’s safe but-“
“Wait.. I thought it absolutely wasn’t safe to send any messages to Apoikia!” TO said, “I thought any off planet communication was too dangerous!”
GiDi stared at TO in silence for a moment, their ears still giving that amused twitch until finally they said, “It was too dangerous to send communication off planet. But we are, at this moment, off planet ourselves. It’s much easier to send a message discreetly from out here.”
“A-ah. Right.” TO said, feeling their own ears warm. “Yes. right. that’s right. We could send a message then.”
GiDi nodded and deactivated their chip, “I’ll talk to Vik, like I said, and as soon as it’s safe we’ll send a message off.” they paused, their ears sinking once more, “Though, on that note... how was Avery when you saw them?” They looked back to DH. “Any signs of them waking?”
“Not yet,” DH said. “We might not see anything for a while.”
GiDi nodded, then looked back at TO. Their eyes lingered on TO’s temporary, useless ‘knee’. “And... How’s your knee coming along?”
TO shrugged, “I don’t feel it.” TO said, “But that’s more thanks to the drugs than anything else, I think.”
“Oh, it is.” DH said, “If I have any control over it, you won’t feel any of that pain until it’s entirely bearable.”
GiDi nodded, “Right..” They said, “You know, Vik is working on a design with Goretta for a better knee for you.” They said, “And a new chip.”
“I don’t know if I’d want a knee from him.” TO said as they remembered how Flit had quickly removed their prosthetic leg the moment they learned about the failsafe. They imagined a knee would be harder to remove at will. “As for a chip, well...” They rubbed the back of their hand, their fingers tracing over the scar where their chip had once been inlaid in their skin, “So long as I can remove that at will...”
“A knee from Vik is going to be a lot more useful for you than a normal civilian one.” GiDi protested, “And Vik and Goretta are working really hard to make sure it’s perfect for you. Besides, the whole idea of the failsafe was mine, right?” They looked to DH. “I just offered an idea, and Vik came up with a solution. You know what he's like, right? Offer him a problem and he just works to fix it!”
“I realize.” DH said, their voice getting cold once more, “And I’d rather them not begin ‘problem solving’ in regard to my mate.”
“You can check the tech after then, and make sure that he didn’t do anything to it, right?” they glanced back at TO, “It’ll be better in the long run. Your knee won’t hurt so much, and you’ll be less likely to need another surgery in the future.”
TO had no idea what to expect after a knee replacement, and neither idea of further pain even after it healed, nor had the possibility of needing another surgery in the future hadn’t crossed their mind.
“...You’re sure it’ll do all that?” DH asked.
“Well, Goretta and Vik are working to make that the case.” GiDi said, “And just think about how well Flit’s prosthetic leg worked! they didn’t have the same pain they have now, and they could walk around even without a limp!” they frowned, “I’d like them to keep using the leg Vik and Goretta made for them, actually...” their looked down at their hand again, now picking at the edges of the bandages, “I know they’re in pain, and they can’t move as easily now...”
DH sighed, “I’ll scan the leg.” they said, “I was planning to do that anyway, I just hadn’t gotten around to it.”
TO frowned, unsure for a moment what they meant by scanning the leg, but then they realized what DH was talking about. “Right. You said once we were on the ship, you could check the leg and the chips for any other software.” TO said.
“Software, or weird hardware.” DH said with a nod, “I haven’t bothered to check my chip yet, since I’ve been busy with other things, but I’ll check Flit’s leg first so they can wear it. Then I’ll do our chips.. and then-“ They looked at TO, “Then, I’ll watch over Vik’s shoulder while they work on that knee for you.”
“You do realize Goretta is already looking over everything Vik does, right?” GiDi said as their ears dropped again, “She was...less impressed than you two were with the fail-safe.”
TO felt their ears perk up again, remembering how angry Goretta had gotten when she learned about the whole incident. Seeing her reaction to the news, especially since she had no idea at the time that TO was watching her, had put Goretta on a short list of implicitly trusted people. “It’s probably fine since she’s working on it, too.” TO said.
“Probably.” DH agreed, “But I’m not taking that chance. Any tech that goes into your body, I’m going over first.”
“Then, you’ll talk to Vik too?” GiDi said as they looked over to DH again, “I mean, if you’re going to watch him work, it’d be awkward if you didn’t try to talk to him.” When DH didn’t respond, GiDi continued, “he really wants to talk to you again, you know.” They said, “He misses you.”
“I wish they had thought of that before they-“
“He didn’t know you before they set up the failsafe.” GiDi said, “And... be honest, can you tell me you don’t miss him at all?”
DH huffed, arms crossed. After a few minutes of silence, they finally muttered, “I’ll consider it.”
It was only then that TO realized that, despite their anger at the small hacker, perhaps DH did, indeed, miss spending time with him.