"Why is Gemmi here?" Talyn demands, once he and Bialar are out of earshot.
"Because I brought her here."
"That's not an answer." Talyn follows Bialar into a small room that must be his sleeping quarters.
He takes the shirt Bialar offers and slips it on, then reluctantly steps into the pants, hating all the excess signals they send to his brain. Freedom simply means you choose your own chains, Bialar had said, using that tone he always does when he thinks he's being clever. Being in this body is like being chained, and he never would have chosen it. Having to put on clothes is like stepping into a cell, making his imprisonment complete.
He knows some beings believe their gods dole out justice in an afterlife, so maybe this is all because of the med ship. Frell, maybe part of it is because of the command carrier. Not all the Peacekeepers are bad; some of them must be like Aeryn and Bialar, or at least they might have had the chance to be someday. He probably deserves to be stuck like this; he just didn't think the lord of his hezmana would be a little Kalish woman, and he doesn't know why Bialar had to bring her here.
Bialar sits in a chair at a small table, twirling a metallic object in his fingers. He sighs when he sees that Talyn won't look away from him until he gets a real answer, but instead of explaining, he asks a question. "How much do you remember from the research station?"
He sits down in the chair opposite Bialar and shrugs. "Two and a half monens of taking lessons with the Scarran and Kalish children, looking for Moya with the sensors, and being in trouble half the time. It wasn't all bad, I guess. Jayza was nice, and some of the kids were too. This Scarran girl, Veena, seemed to feel sorry for me. She helped run the sensors, but we never found anything. Last thing I remember is Gemmi saying she was going to make a backup."
"You spent nearly a monen on a datachip. Gemmi was only now able to restore you, which means twice now she has saved your life despite-- no matter. You will show her some respect."
"Or she'll do the same kind of dren she did in your head? Make it so if I frell up it's the end of both of us? Maybe you can forgive her for that, but I can't."
"The fail safes are gone, Talyn. She knew she was being taken for assessment after... a particular incident, and she wanted to ensure I would not be left defenseless. When we are linked once more, you will see her true intentions for yourself."
"Linked. What's the point of being linked now, now that I'm just... this?" Talyn responds automatically, before the full implication of Bialar's statement sinks in. When it does, he shakes his head hard. It's something he's seen the Kalish do when they don't understand something, though it never seems to help, any more than all the other pointless gestures they make. "You're linked with Gemmi?"
"I had Moya's DRD's build a modified transponder. It was necessary. Fortunately, the result was successful, and what's more, I believe the design can be further modified to allow you to communicate with Moya. I promised her as much." He holds the small object up for Talyn to examine.
"Is that it?" Talyn holds out a hand and Bialar drops the object into it. At first glance, it appears to be no more than a solid spike, but upon closer inspection, he can see tiny lines of circuitry tracing the surface. "Once it's in, it's permanent?"
"Not for you, no. Gemmi has a fully biological mind, and as a biomechanoid I can exert some measure of control over her. You will be able to remove it if you choose."
Talyn hands the transponder back to Bialar and nods. "Then I'm ready. And I'm glad you're keeping Gemmi on a chain and not the other way around. I guess we could need her again." He pauses, hoping Bialar will say something. After a few microts of silence, he adds, "You're not going to tell me what happened, are you? Why she had to use the backup? How I got the scar on my chest?"
"For now, I thought your first wish would be to speak with Moya." Bialar stands up and moves behind Talyn. He puts one hand on his shoulder and uses the other to press the sharp tip of the transponder into Talyn's synthetic flesh.
Ignoring the pain, Talyn waits impatiently for the familiar touch of Bialar's mind. "I do want to speak with her, but she'll want to know what's happened to me. All I can tell her is I think it's something I've done wrong."
All she needs to know is that you are safe, Talyn. That will be enough. Now come with me to Pilot's chamber. I believe it will be easier to speak with her from there.
"You spoke through the link!" Talyn turns to Bialar and flashes a smile, one of the few responses that have become second-nature to him after weekens among the Scarran's and Kalish.
"I wanted to test it. I still prefer to use my own voice." He leads Talyn from the room and into the corridor.
Talyn stumbles several times along the way, too captivated by his newly expanded senses to pay attention to his awkward appendages. Reluctantly, he allows Bialar to take one of his arms as they make their way toward Pilot's chamber. In some ways, the link feels much like it did before. He hadn't realized how much he missed the reassurance flowing through that bond, the knowledge that he wasn't alone, that he mattered to someone.
Other aspects of this new link are different than anything he has ever experienced. When Aeryn Sun had linked with them, her connection had been primarily with Talyn, and that's what he feared it would now be like with Gemmi. Thankfully, the Kalish woman's direct link is with Bialar, so only faint traces of her thoughts and emotions bleed through. She and Bialar echo each other like a pair of mated Leviathan's sending infrared signals through the void. It's disgusting, but if he concentrates hard enough he can forget it's there. At least he'll be able to remove the transponder when they start frelling.
Another set of signals grows stronger as they proceed. When they finally arrive at Pilot's den, he gives up trying to make his ridiculous bioloid body move properly and collapses onto the floor, his mind lost in Moya's familiar patterns. Her gentle mind caresses his, and something inside him crumbles at her touch.
Oh, Moya, Mother... I'm useless now. It was all for nothing. The Scarrans have the data spools from the command carrier, and I've become... this. I can't protect you, or Bialar, or anyone. I can't even transport anything.
Not useless. Never that, Talyn. Now you are one I protect and carry, even more sacred and precious for being my son.
It's not enough! I have no purpose!
Talyn... He feels her distress, her wish that there were something, anything she could do.
Just let me stay for now. Let me feel what you feel and remember what it's like.
Of course.
"I did not until now realize what I had done to him." Bialar's voice rings heavy with regret.
Pilot reduces Moya's response to words. "Moya says that you brought him back to her in the only way you could. She is grateful."
"I've had him brought back as a ghost, Pilot. Moya deserves consolation, but Talyn's wishes should have been at the forefront of my thoughts."
"And what will you do to rectify the matter?" Pilot's distrust resonates through Moya.
"I don't know." For once, Talyn senses no machinations in Bialar's mind, only despair.