Eagle X, Mission 20: Quantum Bonds(Editing)

Part 19: Taylor-06

"Let me at least take a look it!" Frederick snapped.  He was frustrated, but so was Taylor-06.

She didn't have time to be concerned with her damaged arm.  There were so many other things to do.  Taylor-06 was prepared to have him thrown out of the makeshift infirmary the council had established in Landing Bay 3, but she feared it might be an abuse of her newfound authority.  Low on volunteers with adequate medical knowledge, Dr. Ho conscripted Taylor-06 the moment she and Raven had returned.  While Raven got the micro-station's weapon system primed and ready, she'd helped prepare the sick and infirm for emergency evacuation.

Spider and Ivory had been out there alone against a battleship full of Pale Garden troops.  Taylor-06's arm had been the least of her worries.

Thinking of Spider, thinking of Liam, reminded her of their trip to Staten I-718.  He'd asked her to stop putting everyone else's well-being before her own.  It was a bad habit that she'd promised herself she'd try to break.  Taylor-06 hadn't reactivated all of her emotional and sensory systems, but enough of them were running for her to feel a twinge of guilt.  She'd felt so useless for so long, it was hard to believe otherwise.  Taylor-06 was an important part of the Eagle X team.  She deciphered the cure for R.Nano poisoning, braved the void with Raven to warn everyone about the impending Pale Garden attack, and she walked Dr. Ho through the procedure that saved Patricia's life.  She was a hero.

She was also in all likelihood falling in love with Liam Marcus... assuming she fully understood what love was.

Taylor-06 needed to take care of herself too.  People counted on her.

"Please make haste, Mr. Shan.  I have to get back to my patient."

She sat down and extended the ravaged stump she'd made of her arm.  Frederick rolled up her sleeve. What maintenance was able to retrieve from the station's superstructure sat in Patricia's workshop under an oily rag.  Taylor-06 couldn't bear to look at it.  Her aversion to the damage made her ponder the merits of human revulsion.

"I can fix this good as new.  A lot of this tech, oh sorry... a lot of you is beyond my expertise, but it seems like much of the bionic musculature disconnected on its own.  All I have to do is repair the chassis damage, and reconnect the artificial tissue.  You'll do the rest."

Taylor-06 breathed a sigh of relief.  "Thank you.  I truly appreciate your concern."

"You're welcome.  I didn't even know you needed repairs... treatment?  Sorry, I'm not sure what's polite."  He frowned, and dabbed a bit of sweat from his moist upper lip.

"Whichever feels more natural for you."

He smiled.

"I didn't know you needed help, until Mr. Marcus put it at the top of my to-do list.  Then Scott barged into my office and threatened to space me if I didn't check on you."  He swallowed a lump in his throat.  "I think he was serious."

Taylor-06 blushed.  She was an important part of the team, and her friends cared about her health.

"Can I ask you a question?"  The hesitance in his voice gave her pause.

"I'll try my best to answer," she said.

"How is she?" Frederick asked with a head gesture towards the felarnian laying in the bed across from them.  "I'm doing my best, but I can't do much with the reactor while we're in motion.  Mr. Marcus ordered us to leave the sector and I'm not sure Homebase can make it... I need Patricia back."

"We all need her, and not just for her technical expertise," Taylor-06 said.

She patted his hand and stood up.  The treatment had worked.  Dr. Ho could no longer find any trace of the R.Nano in her blood, not that she could reliable trace it in the first place.  Patricia was no longer in critical condition.  It had been three standard days, yet she'd still not awakened.  Taylor-06 placed her fingers against her patient's wrist to check her pulse.