"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.
"That tickles," Patricia whispered.
The surprise sent a jolt through Taylor-06's body, causing her to jump back. "You're awake!"
Frederick Shan jumped out his seat, excited by her outburst. He rushed over.
"Wait, give her space," Taylor-06 said, regaining her professional composure.
"Right, right. Sorry."
"It's okay," Patricia said as she sat up. "No need to treat me like a porcelain doll."
"Patricia, I'm so happy you're awake. How do you feel?"
"I feel good. Actually I feel fantastic. I haven't felt this good in years. Taylor-06 are you crying?"
Taylor-06 wiped the lubrication from her cheeks. She was crying though she couldn't quite explain why. She was happy, not sad or in pain. Patricia gave her a motherly smile and squeezed her hand. The feel of her was comforting.
"Patricia, you have no idea how great it is to have you back."
"Wow, Freddy, it's nice to see you too." She looked from Taylor-06's arm to the stubble on Frederick's chin. "Last time I saw you that was just a five o'clock shadow, and you had two arms."
Patricia said it jokingly, but she sat up straighter. She really took in her surroundings, her arms, her hair. After a few minutes she climbed out of bed and walked over to the table. She poured herself a cup of water, and drank deeply. After two more cups she sat back, and studied Taylor-06.
"Tell me what happened."
"I'm gonna get you something to eat." Frederick backed out of the room.
"Bring me my datapads!" Patricia was annoyed, she hated not having all of the available data.
"The micro-station was hit by debris from a vessel destroyed by a Pale Garden battleship."
"A Pale Garden- I apologize. Please, continue."
"During the chaos you were injected with Scott's R.Nano tainted blood."
Patricia's expression grew serious, but she quietly listened as Taylor-06 recounted the events of the last few weeks. She patiently took notes on a piece of paper, and asked detailed questions when Taylor-06 paused to compile her thoughts. She was especially interested in Spider's account of the events on Amazon-05, and the procedure used to treat her R.nano infection. She was taking notes on Bad Kitty's successful cracking of the Amazon's Core AI when Frederick returned.
He had a tray of gelatin cubes, and a set of datapads under his arm. Patricia went straight for her datapads, ignoring the yellow cubes which everyone knew were her favorite. She stopped just shy of grabbing the datapads, and stared at her wrist where a dark discoloration was spreading across her skin. She scratched at it like one might a rash.
"That's new," Taylor-06 remarked.
"It's uncomfortable too."
The rash grew until it was a jet black band across her ginger colored fur. Taylor-06 grabbed a thin probe to examine the rash, and by the time she prodded the growth it had solidified.
"This can't be right." She worked the probe beneath the band and gave it a gentle tug. "Do you recognize this?"
"Obviously. I thought you and Dr. Ho cured me."
"So did I."
"Hey that looks like the same bands Scott and Mr. Marcus wear."
Taylor-06 tugged slightly harder and the band snapped. Patricia doubled over in pain, gagging as she clutched her chest. Silver nano poured out of her mouth and crawled across her skin. Where the ooze passed there were bands of silver armor plating in its wake. When her convulsions stopped Patricia lay on the floor in war mode. Armor hugged her body like a second skin from head to toe. A T shaped opening left he eyes and mouth exposed. Her eyes emanate an orange glow, and an orange hard light visor floating just above her face.
"You... your one of them now," Frederick said in awe. "Cool."
"Not cool, Freddy. I didn't ask for this," Patricia moaned as she tried to sit up.
"Patric-"
The room door burst open. Liam and Scott rushed into the room, guns drawn. They were in war mode, rippling armor and muscle. Their eyes went directly to Patricia.
"My transformation triggered on its own, and my visor warned me of an unknown threat," Liam said in response to everyone's concerned expressions.
"Me too."
Scott holstered his weapon and knelt down beside his sister. She sat up, and he squashed her in his massive arms. He kissed her forehead, and gave her ear a gentle lick.
"Stop being weird."
"I've missed you."
"Okay, can someone explain why my brother is all emotional."
"Ask Ivory," Liam said under his breath. He threw a wink in Taylor-06's direction, and came out of war mode.