Redemption Earth

Doors

Irena opens her eyes to a pair of sunglasses over her face and the room zipping by her. She rubs her face then lazily rolls off the gurney bringing down the dialysis machine with her. At the sound of the crash, the doctor zooms over. Irena gets pushes herself up. The doctor quickly sets the dialysis machine upright, checking it for damage. Irena shifts into a humanoid being. She examines the wires coming out of her arm; the fluid being pulled from her body into the machine. She starts tugging and biting at them. The doctor makes flustered popping noises at her. He zooms over fighting to put them back before she pulled them out all the way.

Irena clicks with annoyance. She kicks his hover pad so he flies across the room. Getting to her feet, she walks toward the door taking the machine with her. Bob darts in front of her to block her from leaving.

He quickly finds his translator and turns it on, "Stop that. You will end up seriously injuring yourself."

Irena's ears twitch but she continues chewing at the wires. Fluid squirts from them. The doctor zooms over, stops the machine's function, and allows it to send her fluids back into her body.

He then tries to stall Irena in her attempt to pull out all of the tubes. He tugs one away from her mouth with hist hover pad's claw. Irena snaps at it.

Bob robotically commands, "no."

Irena repeats him in the exact translator's voice then, starts to growl.

Bob continues to struggle at his objective. Irena slaps his hover pad flipping him over then quickly removes the rest the tubes. Fluid leaks on the floor however, Irena flees the medical bay. She leaves the doctor struggling to flip his hover pad over.

***

Irena creeps down the starship halls looking over her shoulder. Her veins are still stained an odd color. She holds on to the wall for support. She glances in the mirror for a second to see the reflection of an exhausted, lonely and condemned creature. But quickly looks away.

As she continues down the silver hall, at a sluggish pace. Memories bombard her starting with the moment she succumbed to illness. She starts to run a door swishes open in front of her. She jumps through it and almost falls down a stairwell.

Horrid conditions are revealed in artificial blue light. Heat assaults her eyes. Irena extends and retracts her claws.

Exhausted people huddle near the walls behind partially dismantled barricades. Small bits of blood and oil smear the floor. A distinct metallic burning smell assaults her nostrils. Most in the area barely moved. Irena carefully treads down a few steps. She passes some of the able helping the sick. Sweat drips in buckets from their foreheads and back. Near the base she finds Irena's ears perk up with curiosity and she watches the interaction silently.

To his patient he speaks in soft tones, "I know it's hard to stay still but it has to hurt a bit more before it gets better."

Irena comes down another step. He looks up at the hint of movement and makes eye contact. He presses his lips together

"I swear I know you from somewhere."

He turns back to his patient and keeps sewing as he responds, "Do you?"

The refugee squints at him.

He looks up and smiles gently, "Let me know when you remember."

Once he is finished, he helps the refugee up and supports them as they slowly ascend the steps. He motions for Irena to come with him.

"Thank you for fighting with us," he whispers to them.

As they reach the top of the steps the refugee says, "Vibe. You're Vibe."