Supervision Required.

"So, how did you get these burns, Miss Tea?"

Carol winced as the doctor examined her ear.

"Would you believe me if I said a starship exploded?"

The panda went still for a second. Then, he slowly straightened up. He shook his head.

"Strange times." he muttered.

They were inside a small, temporary medical ward. Carol watched from the side of a bed as the doctor took out a little vial of red liquid. He moved towards some shelves. Carol could see a drinking glass there. She could also see a syringe. Her eyes seized upon it.

Please take the glass. she pleaded.

He took the syringe of course. Carol tensed with fear. A tooth-filled grimace broke out on her face as the doctor turned towards her. He began to load the liquid into the syringe. Carol caught sight of Milla wincing at her in sympathy. Milla didn't like the ward, or the doctor for that matter. She was trembling slightly, and had slid her hand down to grip the tarpaulin walls of the tent. When Carol saw her in that pitiful state, she forced her mouth closed.

I need to be brave. she realised.

The doctor transferred only a tiny amount into the syringe. He wasn't a young man. Younger than Gong but older than Neera, he examined Carol with hard eyes. Carol stared nervously back. She hadn't known many doctors. This one seemed severe, and she didn't completely trust him with her care. Lilac had always taken care of her injuries.

"Are you afraid of needles?" He asked.

Carol hesitated.

"Yes," she admitted, "A little, I guess."

She looked away at the ground. The doctor advanced. Carol closed her eyes for a second, then opened them again. She tried to pass it off as a particularly heavy blink. She could feel sweat breaking out on her forehead.

Is this going to hurt?

Suddenly, it did. Carol breathed in sharply as the needle entered her ear. A lance of pain radiated through the scalded flesh. Carol closed one eye and grit her teeth, but she cried out as a second, more painful wave cut through her resolve. She groaned as the doctor withdrew his needle. Milla let out a yelp.

"Well done," said the doctor, "five more shots to go."

Five, Carol thought, You've got to be kidding me…

The doctor began to reload his needle. Carol slowly breathed out. She tried to let herself relax as she checked on Milla. Milla was shaking badly. She averted her eyes to the floor the instant she saw Carol look. A guilty pit formed in Carol's stomach.

I'm sorry.

The doctor came at her again. Carol shut her eyes. She braced against the stinging pain, but it came sooner than she'd anticipated. A sharp bolt of agony pierced her left ear. Carol caught a cry of pain in her throat. The second wave forced it from her lungs.

"OWW!"

The needle came free. Carol slowly opened her eyes. She breathed out through her teeth as Milla whimpered from the far wall. It had felt worse that time. Though she could feel the essence beginning to work, her skin still felt sore and tender. She felt like the area was heating up, and her ears throbbed like overfilled balloons. Her eyes glistened with tears.

That really hurt…

The doctor paused for just a second. Then, he turned to his syringe. Carol hung her head.

She was scared. She wanted the procedure to stop. Revealing that to Milla scared her even more however, and so she pushed her teeth together and endured. She tried to block out the pain that radiated from her ears and into her skull. The doctor paused for a moment.

"We'll give that a moment to take effect. The pain should begin to die down soon. Second degree burns such as these are very painful, but the petals will begin to counteract them. Try to think of something else."

Carol shut her eyes. She could only really think of one thing through the pain. She wanted to speak to Torque. She resented being dragged in here.

Lousy burns with their lousy doctors and their lousy painful needles. Why can't he just shove some stinking essence down my throat?

The pain did start to retreat. Carol could feel her skin beginning to moisten again. She opened her eyes. Milla was staring at her with her eyes wide open, her mouth agape in horror. Carol hunched her shoulders in guilty worry.

"Milla, I don't like this either!" she cried, "But the doc has to make this better! It'll take just a sec longer, ok?"

Milla settled down a little, but she stared on in worry and fear. She continued to tremble slightly. Carol noticed how she gripped her collar in fright and couldn't quite open her eyes. The older girl felt like a weight was pressing down on her.

Should I really be doing this? She asked herself, Should I really have Milla in here?

She considered leaving her outside, but shelved it immediately. Carol wouldn't let Milla out of her sight. She sighed.

"Can you get on with it please?" She croaked.

The doctor knelt down and pressed the needle to her leg. Carol clenched her eyes, gripped the frame and did her level best not to scream. Pure agony shot through her ruined flesh.

Carol was shaking by the time the doctor finished with her. Her cheeks and clothes were stained with tears. She'd tried to hide the burn underneath her shirt, but the doctor had noticed the bloodstain. He'd stuck the needle straight into her side. One of her gloves lay discarded on the side of the bed. Her right hand hurt too badly to put it back on. She stared at the floor with reddened eyes and just tried to get through the agony.

She didn't even try to put a brave face on anymore. She could still remember the pain. It was receding, but Carol still felt like she'd been doused in battery acid. She looked over to where Milla had curled up on the floor. Milla had gone quite still, and she now rested her head on her knees. She waited miserably for the procedure to end, but at least she seemed to be resigned to it. The doctor sighed.

"Ok Miss. You're done."

Carol slumped in relief. She shut her eyes and tried to block out the pain again. She just wound up focussing on it. It was the worst pain she'd ever felt in her life. Even the steam burns themselves had reached crescendo in a few seconds. Carol had thought she'd moved beyond pain. The world had a way of reminding her just how wrong she was. She released tension from her muscles as she heard the doctor put the syringe down. He picked up something else.

"I just need you to open your eyes so I can check them."

Carol forced herself to comply. Her body instinctively worsened it's trembling as the doctor leant over with a torch. He scared her now He shone the torch into her right eye. The light burned. Carol shut her eyes again in a hurry. The doctor stepped back.

"I'm going to need to see your other eye, I'm afraid. Come on, you're almost done."

Carol reluctantly obeyed. She'd already done this once. A flash of light, and it was over. The doctor finally straightened up. He was satisfied.

"You're responsive," he concluded, "You are lucky to be alive, Miss Tea. Wildcats are known to be resilient to harm, but you are a marvel even by that standard. I am astonished you are still conscious, never mind standing. Second degree burns, a cracked skull and the remnants of hypothermia were all present when you came in here, yet you appear to have made a full recovery. Please do not take this as a license to push your luck." he warned.

Carol bristled with irritation.

Believe me doc. If I can help it, I'll try.

She pushed herself off the bed. The pain had finally receded to a dull ache. She could see new skin beginning to form on her legs. It was a pale, sickly colour that would probably burn in a few moments, but it looked a lot healthier than blood blisters. She touched her now-healthy ears.

"My fur is going to grow back, isn't it?" She asked. She still had to strain her voice through discomfort.

"Assuming your hair follicles have regenerated, yes," the doctor clarified, "Given how well you've recovered from the essence, you won't be bald for too long. Eat well, stay safe, and you should be back to normal within a few months. Your coat may be a bit thin until then."

Good thing for puberty I suppose. Carol thought grumpily.

Wildcat coats took a long time to grow in, but they got a boost during adolescent years. By the time she was an adult, Carol hoped to have a coat as good as any plate armour. It wasn't just a fashion statement. Carol maintained her fur as carefully as she would her favourite weapon. It was the last thing that stood between her and a bolt potentially, and it carried a certain status. Spade had warned her about it once.

You have two advantages that the rest of us don't. I suggest you look after both. You can squander anything if you aren't careful with it.

Carol gingerly wiggled the strained fingers of her left hand. She'd certainly put her claws under enough strain. She resigned herself to being more careful in the future.

Maybe I should try something with a bit more reach.

She turned to Milla. Milla looked up at her from the floor. She perked up slightly when she saw Carol was standing. Carol began to force herself forward. To her surprise, it didn't hurt very much. The medicine had already done most of the work. She crouched down opposite Milla.

"Hey. That was pretty scary, huh?" She whispered, "It's alright. It's over now. I'm back at a hundred percent."

Milla looked away. Carol straightened up with a sigh.

"Come on. We need to go. Let's get out of here before we get used for science."

Milla stiffened up. Carol winced.

I was joking. she complained.

Milla still uncurled herself from the floor. She stared up at Carol in a mixture of fear and concern. Carol held her gaze for just a few seconds to let Milla know she was ok. Then, she turned back to the doctor.

"Thanks for your help, I guess," she said reluctantly, "Can you tell me where my friend is?"

"Take a left out of here and look for the third ward on the right. He's resting in th-"

There was a rustle of fabric, and the flap to the rest of the hospital opened. Carol turned around. She let out a small gasp of fright. Torque was standing right behind her. He looked away the moment she made eye contact.

"Hi… Carol." he said haltingly.

He looked conflicted. Carol gripped her shirt guiltily. She looked to Milla, who was now eyeing Torque like a lit bomb. Torque finally turned to her as the doctor quietly exited the room.

"Do you know?" He asked.

His voice was strained and stilted. Carol understood him instantly.

"Yeah," she whispered, "I know."

She hung her head. Carol felt utterly ashamed.

"I'm sorry I abandoned you… twice. I didn't know what else to do."

Her voice broke, but she held herself back from any more tears. She needed to face this like a grown up.

Take responsibility!

"I needed to help the search. I needed to find Lilac… and Milla," she said weakly.

It sounded lame and it felt lame. Carol had split off from the group. Torque let out a terse sigh.

"You could be dead right now," he chided, "That march into the north was a death trap."

Carol lowered her head to her chest. She stuffed her hands in her pockets and fidgeted awkwardly.

"I know," she said quietly, "I just wanted…"

She choked off. Carol bit back a sob. Torque softened his voice a bit.

"Did you find her?"

Carol looked up a little, fully conscious of the tears in her eyes. She realised who Torque was talking about.

Oh… right. Milla.

"Yes." she said quietly.

She didn't take any pride in it. Torque bowed his head.

"Well… I'm sure it means a lot to her that you came."

Carol let out a sob. She stumbled forward and pressed herself against Torque's chest. Torque pulled her into a hug as she disintegrated.

"I'm so glad you're ok," she whimpered, "I thought you were dead!"

"I almost was," he confessed, "Lucky you got me out."

"You didn't need to do that!" Carol cried, "You already saved my life twice!"

"We're even then," Torque replied, "and I owe you far more than that."

Carol pushed away from him. Her expression hardened in denial.

"That was mostly Lilac," she said, "I-I didn't do all that much really-"

"That's nonsense."

Torque held her shoulders a little tightly. Carol fell silent. She suddenly felt afraid.

Please don't do this. she thought.

Torque continued.

"You got us out of that base alive. You took Prince Dail down on the glacier. You saved Milla's life… who saved us twice, I'll remind you…" he added sharply before either girl could protest, "and Lilac told me you saved her from Brevon's last machine."

He looked her dead in the eye.

"Do you deny it?" He asked.

Carol looked away. Part of her problem was that she couldn't remember much from that fight. All she could remember was latching onto the big robot as it fired wildly at her friend. She tore into it again and again… then her memories ended. She shivered at the abrupt cut-off… but now that she thought about it, she couldn't really remember Lilac doing much of anything during that fight. Lilac had mostly just kept Brevon busy.

"No." she finally whispered.

Torque let her go.

"Then cut the nonsense," he said gently, "You're not doing anyone any favours by denying your part. It's not about being humble-"

"I AM NOT JUST BEING HUMBLE!" Carol cried angrily.

Torque fell silent for a moment. Then he shrugged his shoulders and went on.

"Yeah, but you're treating this like we're counting your stake or something." he explained grimly, "Carol, you had a job to get on with and you got on with it. So stop this. Right now. Understand?"

Carol shifted.

"Yes… no… I don't know!" she cried in frustration, "I don't want to talk about it, ok? It's not like a medal I won in a tournament or something, it's just…"

"Horrible," Torque completed, "Carol, I know. Believe me, we all feel the exact same way. No one's feeling good about what happened up there. We all felt scared, we all feel guilt and we all have bad memories from it, but we just had to get on with it... have to get on with it. That's all there is to say. That chapter's done."

Carol was silent. Torque sighed a little. He gave her a stiff clap on the shoulder.

"So stop beating yourself up about it." he concluded.

Carol slumped at her shoulders.

"I just don't understand… Torque… how can you be so calm about all of this? I can't stop going over it in my head… and yet it doesn't make any sense!"

"Because I've been through it before," he explained simply, "Maybe not on this scale, but I've been here. I've seen this happen a hundred times to various people, and it's always the same to some extent. You just need to keep moving on… and stop blaming yourself for things you could do nothing about."

His voice hardened again towards the end. Carol closed her eyes. As hard as Torque was being on her, he actually made her feel a lot better. Someone had been there before and hadn't gone completely insane. It put the nightmare in perspective. Torque turned to Milla.

"How about you?" He asked.

Milla looked down at her feet. When Torque continued to wait, she looked up at him nervously. Carol waited tensely in the hope she might speak. Milla just stared up at him with two big, nervous globes. Torque rested an arm on his waist.

"Milla?"

His voice and face shifted into worry as one. Milla shook her head. She looked down and away. Torque looked on helplessly as she began to tremble.

"Milla, what's wrong?"

Carol finally decided that she needed to say something.

"She won't say anything."

Torque looked around. He had pale shock on his face. He clenched his jaw in his hand as he turned back to Milla.

"How long has this been happening?" He asked.

"A day or so, I think," Carol said, subdued, "I think she might have been like this since she woke up. The soldier who found her says she saw some really horrible things."

Her voice broke.

"I don't know what to do…" she confessed.

Torque gave Milla a hard look.

"What exactly did she see?" He asked.

Milla shot up in fright. She looked to Carol and begged her not to tell. Carol hesitated. Her face fell with nerves.

"I don't think I should tell you that for her, Torque." she said guiltily.

Torque sighed in exasperation.

"Fine," he said, "Milla, look at me. Milla?"

Milla didn't respond. She seemed to be stiffening up. Carol could see that she didn't like this, and she could see that Torque wasn't going to back down. She intervened. She couldn't quite control her irritation at Torque's sudden assertiveness. It was becoming intrusive.

"Torque, could you let her rest, please?" She warned, "You're not going to get anything from her."

She began to approach. Torque stepped back. Carol formed a triangle between them. She looked at Milla in worry.

"She hasn't said a word all day, or yesterday either. I don't know if it's because she can't or because she doesn't want to try."

"But if we can't communicate with her, we can't find out what's wrong," Torque pointed out, "How are we supposed to help her if we…"

"Isn't it obvious?"

Carol croaked that question out so miserably that Torque had to take pause. He waited for her to go on. Carol bent down so she could look Milla in the eye. She could see Milla's eyes glimmering.

"It's the same as me," Carol said gently, "She's blaming herself for everything that went wrong. Only it's so much worse, and I don't think it's just going to go away. Milla…"

Milla looked away sharply. She began to shake. Carol pulled her into a hug as she broke down into tears. Torque was silent. For a long time, neither of them spoke. They waited for Milla to calm down a bit. It was only when Milla had mostly cried herself out that he finally spoke.

"She needs psychological attention." he said sternly.

Carol suffered through a bolt of fear as he said that. She turned to look at him angrily.

"Or maybe she just needs a chance to do something normal for a change!" she snapped.

She turned back to Milla. Torque looked at the ground in dismay. Carol started to speak quietly into Milla's ear.

"Look, we'll travel back to the capital, ok? We'll figure out something to do. Something decent for a change. I don't really know anything about stuff like that, but we can probably get help. Maybe the Magister will know…"

Torque obviously didn't like this one bit. He gave a heavy, disapproving sigh. He remained silent, but Carol could sense the growing confrontation. She let go of Milla and turned on him.

"Do you have a problem?" She asked.

It wasn't a friendly question, and it wasn't received as one. Torque stared sternly back.

"This isn't normal, Carol," he warned, "and it isn't going to just go away. It certainly isn't something you should feel you can work your way out of by being a good girl for a few months. That way lies madness."

"Well, what do you think we should do?" Carol cried, "I need to do something to help her!"

Torque gave Carol the hardest look he could summon. Carol felt her confidence slipping away. She felt like she hadn't quite grasped the full scale of the conversation. Torque spoke quietly, but his voice held a tinge of iron that Carol had never heard before.

"I wasn't talking about her, Carol."

Carol froze. Forces coiled up inside her that threatened to explode. She stared at the floor, looked up, stared at the floor… and then opened her mouth. Torque cut her off before she could scream.

"Carol!" he warned.

He glanced towards Milla. She'd begun to tremble violently. Carol shut her trap. She glared at Torque.

This is your fault. she accused silently.

She looked at Milla and tried to figure out what she was going to say. Then, she realised why she couldn't help.

I'm now part of the problem. she realised.

It was then that Carol realised that she was really in trouble.

"Oh Stone…" she whispered, "I'm messing up, aren't I?"

Torque was quiet for a moment.

"I think it might be best if we both step away from this for a moment," He said softly, "I was too direct, and I'm sorry."

Milla suddenly curled up on the floor. Carol looked down on her in terror.

"I don't know what to do…" she whispered. "I didn't mean…"

Her voice quavered. Torque paused for thought.

"I've got an idea," he said, "Have a seat beside her, Carol."

Carol hesitated for a moment. She didn't quite see where he was going with this. It was clear that Torque wasn't wavering however, and he seemed to know what he was doing. She didn't, so she quietly lowered herself down next to Milla. Torque sat down opposite them. Carol finally realised what had happened and just how clever he'd been.

Oh.

He'd just placed them both on the same level.

Because he thinks there's something wrong with me too. Because there is something wrong with me. Or at least with what I'm doing.

Torque took a moment to breathe before he continued.

"Alright, listen," he began, "Milla? Could you look at me for a minute?"

He spoke in the gentlest voice imaginable. Milla didn't respond immediately, but she eventually looked up. Her eyes were full of tears. Torque regarded her carefully for a moment.

"Whatever happened out there on the ice does not make you a bad person, ok? It doesn't make it your fault. I know you might not understand that now. I know it might take time for you to adjust to things, but you don't have anything to make up for. You're a brave girl, and you did your best. Alright?"

Milla stared at him for a second in fear, but she slowly nodded. She lowered her head down. Torque turned to Carol. Her defences went up in an instant.

"Carol?"

She regarded him warily.

"Yeah?" She asked sullenly, "What?"

Torque drew in a tense breath.

"I know you want to help Milla. I know you feel you have a responsibility to her, but you have to understand you are not alone. You are not her legal guardian, and there are other people around who need to help both her and you through this. Above all else…"

His voice hardened in warning.

"…Carol, Milla is not your "kid" to look after. She's her own person, and you can't dictate what she does. You can support her, but don't overstep your bounds. Do you understand?"

The words came like blows. Carol hung her head and closed her eyes. She felt ashamed of herself.

"Tch."

Torque's expression hardened.

"Carol…"

Carol looked up. She snarled at him tiredly.

"Yeah, alright," she snapped, "Now are we done here? I want to talk about anything else!"

Torque closed his eyes for a moment, but he let out a breath in concession. He nodded his head.

"Alright," he said, "look, we don't have to resolve this right now. The general's probably going to take you down South, and then the Magister will want a word. That'll probably be the time to decide where to go next. For the moment, we should just sit tight. I... know that's probably not the easiest thing right now… with everything that's going on."

Milla stared quietly at her legs. Carol looked away irritably. Torque's face fell. He studied his own knees for a second.

"…what did you want to talk about, Carol?" He asked eventually.

Carol sighed.

"Torque, do you think Lilac might have been kidnapped by… aliens? Like you I mean, not Brevon."

Torque stared at her blankly for a second. Then, he looked away.

"Shoot," he said quietly, "I hadn't even thought of that. Uhm..."

Carol and Milla waited anxiously for him to continue.

"I suppose it's not impossible," he conceded, "Though I really don't think they could have done it on their own. They would have needed a local guide… unless they've been analysing the planet for years. I mean, she wasn't exactly an easy target. And the way they went about it was bizarre... even by abduction standards."

Carol raised an eyebrow.

"Abduction standards?"

Torque stared at her uncertainly for a second. Then, something seemed to click.

"Oh… yeah. Illegal abductions from protected worlds. They do happen from time to time. Carol, I thought you'd spoken to the general? You do know…"

"We've changed his mind," Carol explained grimly, "Torque, what do you mean 'abductions from protected worlds'? Does this stuff happen all the time or something?"

"Unfortunately," Torque replied. He sounded unnaturally subdued, "Carol, listen. If Lilac really was taken off this planet, then she is in serious trouble. There are thousands of inhabited worlds out there, and everyone's fighting the war with Brevon. Our chances of finding her are… distant."

"Isn't there some kind of police force that can deal with these things?" Carol asked.

A note of desperation crept into her voice. Milla had looked away again. Torque smiled faintly at Carol's imagination, but it soon faded as he spoke.

"As a matter of fact, there is, but it's underfunded and understaffed. As if that wasn't enough, there are people who haven't signed the treaty allowing them to operate in their world… and some planets that completely ignore the rules on respecting natives. Wholesale exploitation is prevented by guarantee, but no one is going to start a war over a few missing people. There are disturbingly few protections for undeveloped planets."

Carol sunk down behind her arms. She struggled to hold back tears.

"So what you're saying is that some creep could have taken my friend, and that I'll probably never see her again? And there's nothing I can do about it? I hate the universe…"

She buried her head and began to shake with sorrow and anger.

"I know," Torque said sadly, "It… really hasn't been a happy first contact scenario, has it? Carol, unfortunately there are a lot of bad people out there in the galaxy, just as there are probably a lot of bad people down here too. People up there just have… more resources sometimes. I know that isn't fair." he added hastily.

"It's not..." Carol croaked.

Life isn't fair.

Torque sighed.

"Look, maybe we should find the others and try to put this all together. Neera's recovering in one of the rooms here, and that assassin you hired is still hanging around as well. If we all put our heads together, then maybe we can make some sense out of this. However, we really want to find a terrestrial reason before we move onto extra-terrestrial stuff."

Carol and Milla looked at him blankly. Torque sighed.

"We should look for people on Avalice that could have taken Lilac before we move onto aliens." he clarified.

I also didn't hire Spade. Carol thought, but she kept that to herself.

She didn't really feel like moving. Torque got to his feet. He offered Milla a hand, which she accepted silently. He offered a second hand to Carol. She looked up at him with a sigh.

"I can stand up by myself, thanks." she said gloomily.

Torque's expression fell as she pushed herself to her feet. Carol soon stood eye to eye with him.

"Come on. Let's go." he said gently.

Carol shrugged. She shuffled wordlessly out behind Milla as Torque beckoned them out the ward.

Torque watched them go.

"I think it's left to see Neera," he said.

As he followed them out, a seed of doubt planted itself in his mind.

So, they're involved in the investigation now. They really shouldn't be. Carol's way too close to all of this, and I think Milla is just following her around. I suppose it helps keep them occupied, but I hope the general gets our evac soon. The sooner this ends the better. These two should be in school or with a family, not chasing after Lilac. I just hope Lilac's alright. She's strong, but this after everything that has happened? Even if she's alive…

Milla paused as they walked through the wards of the tent. Torque had just enough time to complete his thought.

…is she going to be the same person?

He heard voices talking. From where he was in the line, Torque couldn't quite make them out. He recognised Neera's voice. The second voice sounded vaguely familiar. He took pause.

Is that?...