Paul woke up in a strange room and tried to think about how he got there. He thought he saw an octopus roll out of the room but let that go. He was in a hospital, Amataya was in the next bed. He remembered the truck, the pain, then passed out.

An hour later he woke again and went through the same thoughts as before. This time he managed to calm himself enough to check over his body. It was then that he realized his legs were gone! One below the knee and one above it. He felt the blood drain from his head and lay back into the pillow. Where was Shige, was he dead. What had happened to Amatya and her baby. Oh my god, what was happening to him, where was he.

He managed to gather his thoughts enough to push a call button beside his bed. A Dr appeared and said she was Sue and that he was lucky to be alive. Somehow, he didn't feel lucky.

"Where is Shige?"

She told him that he had been here every day and was on his way right now. That felt better. And that Amataya and the baby were ok and would make a full recovery. Better still. He wept for the loss of his legs. He wept for the whole trip going wrong and wished he was still in his uncle's stupid shop fixing boring toasters. Finally, he stopped taking a deep breath.

The Dr was still there waiting patiently holding his hand.

"You have been through the ringer Paul, but were lucky you ended up here. Without the care we could offer Amataya and her baby would certainly have died. Your other wounds have healed well, our surgeon is one of the best around and we have certain technological advantages too." Paul looked around again and noticed machines unlike any he had seen before.

Before he had time to ask more questions Shige arrived, he was looking excited to the point of bursting. Drs Teshene and Sue had briefed Shige on breaking the news to the others when they woke up. Not something someone has to do every day.

"Paul, I have missed you, you won't believe this place, sorry about your legs, how are you feeling?" He asked.

"Overwhelmed, tired and a bit low, how long have I been here?" said Paul.

"About two weeks since the accident" replied Shige.

"Shit" was all Paul could think of saying.

"They kept you under sedation, apparently it gave your body time to heal, you were pretty fucked up, so was Amataya. She is alright though, they managed to save her baby and her arm. Dr Teshene is awesome." said Shige.

"Shame he didn't save my legs, what am I going to do? Did anyone tell mum and dad?" asked Paul.

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"No, not yet it's... part of their policy here." said Shige thinking on the spot and feeling guilty he hadn't thought much about contacting his parents.

"What do you mean the policy, where is my phone?" said Paul, getting frustrated.

"Look Paul, there is something we need to chat about. You have watched Star Wars, right?" said Shige.

"What the fuck has that got to do with anything Shige?" said Paul, annoyed at his friend.

"Um we are kind of in it, we went through a portal, like a real one. We had to, to save you two, now we are on planet Borgon, in a Trading station called the Red Scar, because it is long, red and ugly."

Paul listened quietly trying to work out if Shige was taking the piss.

"They take water from earth and freeze it into gigantic blocks then sell it right across the galaxy, along with all sorts of food and other earth stuff. I've got a job driving a vibrobike doing deliveries, it is awesome. My new friend Trice is a Shubanta. They have big rodent bodies, ram like horns and three eyes. She is about this tall and has short blue fur. We get these cool translators, they let us understand the other aliens."

"Hold on, you aren't joking, are you?" said Paul forgetting his legs for a second and looking sideways at Shige.

"Your Surgeon is an alien, the guy who saved you, he won't come into the ward until you are ready." said Shige helpfully.

"I'm not sure I will ever be ready" said Paul "I could show you a picture of him if you like, he is like a giant red octopus." said Shige.

"Wearing a white suit?"

Shige nodded.

"Holy shit, you are for real." Said Paul. "Ok show me the picture."

Paul wasn't sure about much after that, he was sure he didn't want to see Dr Tshene yet. He wasn't sure how he felt about his legs, though they didn't hurt, ouch, unless he poked them.

Dr Sue came back over and reassured him that he had plenty of time to adjust and that all his friend said was indeed true. She gave Paul an oval tablet so he could message Shige or video chat with him whenever he wanted to. Paul felt whacked, emotionally and physically drained.

"I think I'm going to go back to sleep" he yawned.

"Good move, get hold of me anytime on the tablet." said Shige.

Paul was asleep in moments. Shige chatted to Dr Sue for a moment. She told him that they would wake Anamata up in 20 hours or so to keep his work schedule free around then if he could.

“Is there any way to get a message home? Paul is really close to his family and Amataya’s will want to know where she is.” he asked.

“It is up to the management here, they strictly control every communication, it’s worth a try though.”

Sue gave him a vine address to try. Shige went back to finish his rounds thinking about how they were going to manage, especially with Amataya’s baby coming. Though they had only really hung out for a week properly before the accident it seemed like a lifetime since they left home. He felt responsible and a bit guilty since he was the only one not injured and was kind of enjoying the experience.

After work he chatted to Trice about his friends.

"You are the first person, sorry friend, I have had over to my pod, I'm sorry I can't offer you a drink or anything, it's what we do on earth." he said.

"Don't worry about that. I think that if you can adjust as well as you then you will be able to help your friends too. I can imagine it is some challenge. I grew in space so have expectations different than you. Even in this small station there are lots of to do." she said kindly.

"Thanks Trice I really appreciate having you as a friend, even that is surreal." he admitted.

"You are surreal Shige” Trice laughed and patted his hand.