The ship is called the Star's Lady. It's luxury, rotating sections providing gravity, private suites of varying sizes, and enough trivial amusements to keep the travelers amused on their four week journey across the central core, where colonies are most closely spaced together. She's seen six films, two concerts and attended several theatric performances in an attempt to amuse and distract herself over the last couple of weeks. The passengers are largely wealthy - traveling this way is far more expensive than traveling in cryogenic storage bays on sleeper ships.
Delphine sits at a restaurant alone, a few young men have tried to pick her up in the last couple of weeks, but nothing of interest had come of it. Some of them she considers very handsome, but of course they've been genetically engineered. Perhaps even by DYAD. In her thermals and warmer civilian clothes they cannot tell that she isn't. If they knew they'd probably run screaming, she finds herself laughing into her soda. She's been counting the days since they departed Huxley station, plotting her next move. It would not be long now until they arrived at Ai Station. Changing the designation of Cosima's cryo tube had almost been too easy, it made her nervous, it seems that no one realized that it had been her, not Aldous who cleared the tube for transport. And of course, believing Aldous had had Cosima's tube incinerated would stop others from seeking it out, though few had the security clearance to do so.
Is it wrong what's she has chosen to do? She's not even sure. Delphine has long been aware that samples from the 'parents' of the clones were sometimes available and no one had stopped her from selecting a clone's 'father', as her sperm donor. Even Aldous hadn't noticed - too preoccupied with other projects to care which sample she used.
Dr. Li had not, of course, made the connection. She simply mixed the gametes and froze the resulting blastocysts, though she had made comments on how Delphine should really consider genetic modification before it was too late. She'd managed to pull the third embryo still frozen but was unable to test any of them against Cosima before having to make the decision to implant. The third embryo was below decks now, frozen alongside the patient she was determined to treat with it. Please let it be compatible. Let them all be compatible... She's slightly late, but her stress levels are certainly high enough to account for that on their own. She'd spent most of the journey in a state of panic.
She thinks of the cryo tube stowed safely below deck, this ship would be a poor choice to thaw Cosima on, she'll have to wait. But she's running out of time... the cells would start to differentiate, assuming it took. She has a few of the clone stem cell injections, but wonders if they'll be enough to hold off the disease a bit longer. Long enough, perhaps, to engineer stem cells into something useful.
Her hand drops to her belly, if the IVF was successful she was carrying a possible match for her Cosima. A partial-match anyways, if she was lucky. A plethora of compatible stem cells either to be used immediately if she could secure a termination in time or cord blood if she carried to term. Though, Delphine wasn't sure Cosima could last that long... She hadn't altered the embryos, though she finds herself wondering would the child resemble Cosima if she had it? Them? She finds herself smiling at the thought before pushing it to the back of her mind.
Biologically the child would be Cosima's half-sibling, would she have to tell Cosima where she got the cells? She knew somewhere in the back of her mind that Cosima would not approve of creating a prospective new life, or taking one, to preserve her own. She shakes her head to clear her thoughts, she faces the large window in front of her. Other passengers seem uninterested for now, chatting with their families or travel companions.
She glanced around semi-nervously, there was no way of accessing the cryo tube until they docked - it was in her custody and they would release it to her once she disembarked. Though she must prevent it from actually entering another DYAD facility. At least Ai's facility was only on the surface, certainly they couldn't load up a cryo tube they had no documentation regarding.
Many ships went through the station orbiting Ai, certainly she could make them find there way onto a more appropriate vessel. A voice comes over the loudspeaker, announcing in several languages that they will be docking at Ai's station in just over an hour. She returns to her room to gather her belongings, the large hub the perfect place to get lost. The planet below was one of the most urbanized and industrial that she'd ever seen.
Ai Station is as unlike Huxley as it can be. It's nearly twice the size for one thing, the metallic rotating sections the only similarity. Where Huxley is grey, drab and uniform, Ai is bursting with life despite it's large military presence. Vendors hawk their wares nearly everywhere. It's a transport hub mainly, few live aboard the station permanently, though renting a room is cheap enough if she decides she needs a layover. The people around her are varied in appearance and in status. It's the perfect place to get lost.
Her bags are around her - the cryo tube sits briefly in a large, paid for, storage locker, if the dockworker found her request unusual he did his best to hide it. There's a well-stocked spacious clinic on the upper section of the station but she heads directly for the dingy one on the lower level, luggage in tow.
A bored nurse sits on the table filing his nails as the receptionist sorts through the complaints of the waiting patients. She doesn't look too wealthy, she hopes. She glances at families, parents holding crying babies and maintenance staff with small lacerations. There are a handful of other nurses - she sees them taking patients from the waiting area back to cubicles.
"Name?" The receptionist waves her over to sign her in.
"Delphine." She gives her first name only along with a look that tells them it is the only name they will get from her.
"Why do you need to see the doctor?" The receptionist glances at her, looking for some obvious sign of injury or disease.
Delphine holds out her hand, "I have a chip, I need it removed and destroyed."
"I can go off break for that," the nurse hops off the table, "We may have a buyer for it, if we can wipe it clean - you interested in selling?"
Delphine nods her head and follows the nurse to the small cubicle, he sits her down and scans for the chip - finding it easily.
"Oh that's an easy one - I can get it out quick - but if you want me to numb your hand I'll have to get the doctor, just to approve use of the numbing agent. It'll be an hours wait, at least, we have more pressing cases." The nurse said prodding her hand and reaching for a scalpel anticipating her answer, he holds her arm down with his free hand.
"Just cut it out quickly." Delphine watches the scalpel cut shallowly across her hand revealing the small metallic chip in a tiny silicone membrane. She feels it of course, but manages to hold still.
"Woah." The nurse plucks it out with tweezers, "Where are you from?" He examines the chip, he can tell, no doubt - that she is from some organization with funding he can only dream of for his public health clinic. He places it to the side of her hand staring down at his new treasure.
"Doesn't matter. I won't be going back." Delphine answers as the nurse begins to suture her hand. Real stitches, she's used them herself several times, depending on the procedure. Though she wonders what she was expecting going here.
"You need to transfer funds off this thing? I know a guy - but I want a cut." The nurse eyes her more carefully trying to assess whatever situation brought her here.
"Yes. If it can be done immediately." Delphine glances around lowering her voice, "How long would it take to have a pregnancy test done?"
The nurse's eyes widen, he was not expecting that question, "At least two hours - we'll have to collect blood and then the doctor does the test... And as I said before - more pressing cases. I mean we could scan you - but once again - limited resources. " The nurse shoots her a sheepish smile.
"No time. I can live without knowing." She decides, "Can you download the funds to this." She produces a tablet from her pocket - purchased on route of course.
"Yeah. I can do that now." The nurse grins, "Care to donate to our humble clinic?" He asks as he finishes suturing her hand. It's only two stitches and should heal up relatively quickly.
Delphine nods in agreement, "Take a quarter of whatever is on there."
"Lady, what kind of trouble are you in?" The nurse eyes her with a sense of wonderment playing across his face - but he does as he's told and lets her go when he's finished. Her bags have been left mercifully untouched, though she suspects that has more to do with the receptionist watching them like a hawk.
She gets back to the docking area - viewing the various ships for travel. The sleeper ships are ruled out, luxury liners would be too easily traced. She eyes the small list of cargo vessels - and heads towards the workers preparing the cargo to be loaded on one. It's mostly cargo here, and few passengers who have decided to brave the cheaper option out of the core... They almost always have cold storage on these vessels, that's not the issue. But which ship to board? A few people mill around between the ships, seemingly trying to make the same decision as her.
"Headed for the outer colonies?" A large man with greying dark hair and a reddish beard surprises her by turning around as she approaches. He's surveying his cargo manifest, surrounded by large pile of boxes and metallic crates.
"Yes." Delphine looks up surprised. No doubt he's taken stock of the large duffle bag around her body and her suitcase trailing behind her.
"Which one? We're going out past Alida, Echo 3, Ilia and then on along that way - making plenty of stops too."
Delphine considers, "Haven't decided yet." It's an honest response at any rate.
"You know it's a long trip, months," He emphasizes, "But then, you might be like some I get in - hate the cryo, or want kids too much to risk it. Can't afford those waking cruises? Me neither! You travel with us? You get your own room - shared kitchen facilities and washrooms. Nothing fancy. You'll be living on rations like us once the good food runs out - though we restock at every stop. Plenty of storage for whatever you're carrying. We may ask you to pitch in a bit, moving crates, keeping the place clean. I charge a monthly rate, you pay me for every month you stay on board. Fair?"
"I have some, delicate cargo, in storage locker M2-31." Delphine looks at him, "I need to ensure that it is brought on board. I will also need access to it during the voyage."
"I'm Sam," The man introduces himself, "I'll send one of the boys to get it- maybe two of them?"
"Two and a hover cart." Delphine answers, she knows how heavy cryo tubes can be,
"Just the matter of payment then - anything else I should know?'
Delphine shakes her head, "I have some ... medical samples that need cold storage." She doesn't want to explain anymore, not about Cosima, the injections, her last frozen embryo - she just wants to get on with this before she is followed. It would be very easy to have a DYAD lackey up from the surface - the sooner the better.
"We got cold storage. With a freezer. Warm storage is really more of a problem in space." Sam nods his head at her, "I'll fetch your special cargo personally and Odie here will talk to you about payment."
Delphine produces the small tablet, she pays for the first three months - a reasonable rate- considering she will be awake the entire trip. Odie is a younger man, and the way he's eyeing her makes her feel increasingly uncomfortable. He doesn't talk much though, simply stands around scowling at the boxes until his boss returns.
When Sam returns with the tube on the hover cart his only words to her are, "This is going to cost you extra. Popsicle or not - this guy is an extra passenger," He pauses to address Odie, "Load this in cargo 1 - she said she wants access to it in flight. She has stuff for the freezer too - make sure that gets in quickly."
"Fine." Delphine will pay triple if they'll only load Cosima on board. She's waved on board with her cargo and led through various cargo holds to the living areas of the ship. It's old, she can tell that much from looking at it - but seems solid enough.
She meets the crew - smallish, only seven people. She's the only passenger at the moment, though judging from their comments they've had many others. She quickly learns that Tasha and Val are the pilots, both pleasant enough - if exceedingly competitive with one another . Odie is the mechanic, along with whatever other tasks need to be done, Yulia - Sam's wife and navigator is also on board, she also serves as medic though Delphine doubts the woman has had any medical training in her life. She's not entirely sure what the other two men do - both spend most of their time wandering the ship. She doesn't even catch their names, though it becomes apparent that they are responsible for a variety of tasks including loading and unloading of cargo.
She feels the clamps unlock from the station - the jerk of the ship isn't something that can be missed. She might actually get away with this. Yulia shows her to her room before excusing herself to take care of some business in the control room. There are six rooms that are seemingly set aside for passengers. It's a small distance away from the crew quarters, so she'll have plenty of privacy. At least for now.
The room is small, a double bed and storage space for her belongings, Val's offered her the tour - and she accepts. Leaving her suitcases here - she's been assured no one will tamper with her things in cargo one; she's certainly paying enough to ensure that remains the case.
Val yammers on as she shows her around, "We don't have much: a gym, small entertainment room - we can watch vids and stuff. Then the common area and kitchen; you best stick to those parts of the station. Don't go wandering into the control room or engine rooms - you'll just get in the way..."
"Alright." Delphine nods, glancing around. It soon becomes apparent that Val is a talker, and that she's not truly paying attention to what the other woman is saying.
"Course, Tasha's his daughter so Sam's bound to say that she's his favourite pilot. Kid's a hotshot though." Val chuckles pointing in the vague direction of what she assumes is the cockpit.
"Pardon?" Delphine has definitely missed something.
"Oh don't worry. It's a long trip. I'm sure you'll get to know all of us a little too well." Val giggles, "It's an interesting trip though. Meet lots of people, see lots of things. Anyways, I should get some sleep - always has to be a pilot on, right?"
"Of course." Delphine settles herself in at the table, she picks at some food knowing she should get some sleep herself. A complication to her plan hits her. Cosima is in cryo, and although the tubes have all the equipment necessary to thaw their occupants, minus the sedation, there is no one here to thaw Cosima but Delphine herself. She won't do it now, she should wait until they are at least several weeks out, but eventually it will fall to her...
Memories of strange hands pulling her from purple cryo gel fill her mind. Delphine clearly recalls the overwhelming stinging, burning pain of it before the doctors had realized their mistake and found that they had not connected the port in her arm to their sedation solution properly. Of course it had taken them until they realized that their young patient was screaming, or trying to, more than normal. She remembers puking on the floor as one of the doctors pulled back her hair - they'd laid her on a slanted table and let her thaw, naked, exposed and alone in space for the first time in her life. They'd examined her, it was part of the procedure, but it had seemed much more frightening at the time. Almost as if they had forgotten that they were thawing a child. They'd commented on her as if she wasn't there, unaltered girl from the Earth, adolescent. The memories blurred somewhat after that as the sedation finally kicked in. She'd woken up hours later completely disoriented, unexpectedly dressed in thermals and very much alone.
She buries her face in her hands on the table. There's no time or equipment to determine if there is currently a mass of cells in her uterus differentiating away from the stem cells she wanted, never mind terminate. She's running out of time.