A/N: Wow! An update within a month of the previous one! Miracles do happen.
Thank you for sticking with this fic, for reading it, commenting and fav-ing. Somehow my drive for this fic has been reinvigorated and I've been getting some new ideas (hoo boy, I hope that doesn't backfire); still need to figure a lot of things out but we're chugging along.
Anyway, dear readers, please keep safe wherever you are and enjoy the continuation.
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CHAPTER 27
Loose Ends
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Bart half-stumbled, half-sprinted as he made his way through the hospital corridors towards Shirley's room. The last time he had seen the little girl, she was thrashing on the bed while being cared for by Duero, and so far he couldn't get any news from the doctor on her status.
'Couldn't get in contact? What the heck is happening?!' the distraught helmsman thought. He had tried asking other members of the crew, but it appeared that they had also received no word about Shirley.
It didn't help that Jai was currently unconscious at the Nirvana infirmary; he might have an idea of Shirley's situation since he was probably the last one who was in touch with Duero.
Finally, Bart pushed open the doors to her room.
His heart sank when he found that nobody was inside.
"This has to be some kind of joke," Bart let out a disbelieving laugh. "Duero! Where is she?! Damn it, tell me!" he started shouting and looking around the room.
One of the orderlies, an oblivious-looking elderly gentleman, poked his head in following the commotion Bart was causing. "Excuse me, are you looking for something?"
"Someone. Shirley, the little girl who was here," Bart said impatiently, continuing to rummage through the area, "where did they take her? Where is the doctor who was with her?"
The orderly scratched his head a bit, then suddenly snapped his fingers. "Oh, her. You see, sonny," he placed a calming hand on Bart's shoulder, "I'm afraid she's not here anymore."
Bart stopped his searching. He could swear his heart, his mind and even time itself stopped at that moment.
"Wh-what?" he slowly turned towards the older person.
The other gave a kind smile. "I know you're looking for her here, but like I said, I'm sorry, she isn't here anymore."
It took a while for Bart to process the information. After a lengthy pause, he replied, "I see. She was gravely ill, after all."
"By the way," the orderly suggested, "she left a few things over in that cabinet."
It was the one next to where her bed used to be. Bart gingerly opened it and found, among some sewing materials and cloths, three handmade dolls. Two of them he recognized, as Shirley had shown them to him before. The third looked newer; it wore what looked like his uniform, but lacked any hair on its head.
"Maybe you could take them for her; I'm sure she wouldn't mind. Well then, if you don't need me for what else, I've gotta go upstairs now to take someone down."
Bart wasn't really listening anymore. He replied absently, "O-oh sure, thanks." His only focus was on the doll. Surely it was an ongoing project of the little girl he was so looking forward to seeing once more.
But now, it didn't seem like she was going to be able to complete it.
Tears began falling from his eyes as the realization hit him at last in full force.
Here he was, vanquisher of the Harvesters that threatened Parthus. For once, he didn't have to make up stories for her; he had finally done something truly worthy of her admiration.
He had wasted no time getting back to this place, not even waiting for the other pilots and crew.
And all that was left to greet him was an unfinished depiction of himself.
After a short while, Bart had calmed down and regained his composure. He once more looked at the doll in his hands.
"This is not an unfinished Bart Garsus," he muttered.
He gathered up her remaining items and, tucking them into his coat, strode outside.
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Meia was loath to leave Jai at the Nirvana infirmary – and with Jura no less – but there were many things that needed to be done in his absence.
They were back on Parthus. Vandread Knight was still in its fused form; thankfully there was enough room for it in the Nirvana's hangar. Meia had to carry Jai by his shoulder out of his seat, as he hadn't yet regained consciousness. She guessed it was the same as when she was the one who was brought back by him following their other battle.
Imagining him carrying her princess-style brought a slight feeling of embarrassment which she fought to ignore.
He didn't have a hard time, did he? She wasn't THAT heavy, was she?
As the Knight's pilot hatch opened, Jura was already waiting and quickly rushed to them, taking Jai's other shoulder. She had helped them down from the Vandread, at which point Jai was then loaded onto a stretcher and wheeled to the infirmary.
There was something about the blond pilot's worried face that irritated Meia, but at the same time, it mirrored her own feeling of concern.
'Ah, what am I getting all bothered for?! I need to go to the bridge first!' she thought grouchily, pushing all other matters aside.
All the while that Jai was sleeping inside Vandread Knight, Meia could not only hear but almost literally see his thoughts. Memories of his past, his days as a college and medical student and, more significantly, his experiences after being brought to the future and the plans for this battle.
She could mull on all of those later; right now, there were three more urgent tasks she needed to coordinate alongside the Boss.
Reaching the bridge, she quickly greeted everyone and approached Magno, who nodded.
One task was something they were able to discuss with Jai, and with Pyoro, beforehand.
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During the battle, before Phase Two...
"Vandread Raptor and Nirvana bridge, I want you to hear this too. Might be a way to keep Parthus safe from the Harvesters for good in case we do win this fight," Jai said.
After hearing everyone reply, Pyoro began. "Like I was just telling Jai, I've been monitoring the enemies' communications, and it looks like they are using a long-range relay beacon from the planet as a way to transmit back to Earth, and vice versa."
"Interesting," Magno commented. "You mean to say that due to the remoteness of this location, they need such a thing to communicate?"
Jai nodded. "Pretty much. The beacon also serves as a means of identifying where the message is coming from. As we've learned before, the Earth has several of these colonies. I'm not sure, but there are probably similar devices on each of those planets. Also, it looks like none of the inhabitants are aware of it."
"So what does this have to do with us?" Hibiki queried.
"If we are able to stop this invasion, for example," Jai explained, "and we're able to save Parthus from the current siege, what is there to stop Earth from just sending more Harvesters in the future?"
Understanding dawned on Meia. She replied, "I see. If somehow we could tap into the network and send a message that the planet is no longer of any significance, then the people here can at least live without fear of a retaliation."
"That makes sense," Hibiki chimed in, also realizing the situation.
Jai nodded once more. "Precisely. To that end, Pyoro, we'll need you to come up with and transmit the message to Earth. I cannot stress how important it is that we're able to perfectly mimic everything they're doing so we don't raise any suspicions, including all their codes and encryptions."
'Hah! You can count on me!" The little droid stated confidently. "We've been working on decrypting everything since our initial encounter."
Jai sighed, rubbing the bridge of his nose. He was starting to feel a little weary. "I hope so. Oh, we'll also probably need to destroy the beacon after transmitting, so no accidental transmissions get sent or received. Besides, it'll probably seem more realistic if we feed them the scenario that the planet is destroyed or something."
"We can take care of that," Hibiki volunteered. "Vandread Raptor can zip over there in no time at all."
Magno concluded, "Then it is settled. To ensure that no future threat comes to Parthus, we should get this done right after the battle, should the opportunity come."
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"Are preparations ready to transmit to the relay beacon?" Meia was speaking towards a com-link with the Nirvana engine room.
Pyoro gave a salute and said, "I'm almost done with the encryptions for our message to Earth." A status bar was displayed on its face-screen, showing 97% completion.
"Very well," Meia replied, then addressed an adjacent screen. "Vandread Mecha, how long until you reach the site?"
Hibiki answered, "Give us about five minutes." Instead of returning to the Nirvana, he and Dita decided to go ahead towards the area indicated by Jai as the location of the relay beacon since Meia couldn't un-fuse Vandread Knight.
"I hope this does help Parthus be free of attacks from Earth and the harvesters," Dita mused. "By the way, what's in the message, Pyoro?"
"Taking into account what occurred during the battle, the enemies' previous exchanges, and Jai's and Boss's earlier suggestions," the droid said, "basically the story is that the enemy pirates, seeing that victory was impossible, annihilated all remaining life on Parthus as a last recourse after both sides suffered fatal losses. This is a final correspondence from the mothership before it crashes onto Parthus due to irreparable damage and totally wipes out the planet. The fight ended in a draw, and everyone's dead."
Hibiki snorted. "Think they'll buy that tale?"
"I'd say it is almost a certainty. There were plans to destroy the planet anyway after their harvest, and it's not like these were irreplaceable units sent from Earth," Pyoro replied.
After a short while, Hibiki called out, "We're here. It's certainly not hidden, I'll tell you that. Shouldn't be a problem with a few missiles." Jai had previously given them a diagram of the facility and, though most of it was underground, they were able to identify critical areas that could easily be targeted. "Ready when you are."
"Go ahead, Pyoro," Magno directed.
"Transmitting now." An antenna symbol was displayed on Pyoro's face-screen for a minute. After it was done, an 'OK' sign flashed twice. "And we're done."
The pirate Boss then instructed, "Vandread Mecha, kindly get rid of that beacon, if you please."
"With pleasure!" Hibiki gleefully replied.
The Mecha then unleashed a salvo of missiles that gouged out a significant portion of the surrounding soil and demolished specific parts of the facility. When the explosions had died down, a deep rumbling from below them indicated that even the structures further underground must have been affected somehow.
"Did we get it?" Dita asked, marveling at the huge hole they had made.
"We hit all the areas Jai mentioned, so maybe?" Hibiki stated. "Let's just make sure."
With that comment, Vandread Mecha unloaded the rest of its armaments, practically turning their hole into an abyss and totally annihilating anything that was inside.
He laughed gleefully. "That beacon is no more!"
Meia shook her head. "How about some restraint, Hibiki? In any case, good job, you two. Return to the Nirvana and get some rest."
"Roger," both pilots responded as their Vandread started heading back.
After closing all communications, Meia sighed, "That's the second one down."
"Something else on your mind?" Magno queried.
"Boss, about Ezra and the baby that was delivered on Parthus," Meia began to say.
She was interrupted by the Boss. "Oh, they should be at the sterilized room prepared at the infirmary by now. I had just finished speaking with Parfet right before you arrived. Looks like the child remains uninfected, and will be just fine. As for the mother's body, I'll be sure to ask Maron when I meet with her again what they plan on doing next with regards to that."
Meia was greatly relieved. It was one of Jai's worries that something might go wrong with either Nadya or her baby; many details of their plan were somewhat haphazardly devised due to the suddenness and urgency of the whole situation. "That's three down," she whispered.
"Three what, exactly?" Magno questioned.
"Loose ends, Jai called them," the blue-haired Dread leader conceded. "There were four major concerns he had before losing consciousness in our Vandread. One, how to beat the Harvesters. Two, the relay beacon. Three, Nadya and her baby." She abruptly stopped speaking there, as if catching herself.
"And the last?"
Meia didn't answer at once; she was trying to figure out how to explain the last important matter. Finally, she said, "It is about the little girl, Shirley."
"Shirley? Is she okay?" Amarone suddenly exclaimed, to everyone's surprise. "Ah, sorry if I'm speaking out of line," she quickly added.
"It's all right, Amarone," Magno assured her.
"I take it this is the ailing girl some of you have taken a liking to?" B.C. asked.
Meia answered. "Yes. Duero was directly attending to her during the time of the battle. Apparently there was an incident that necessitated some rather...extreme intervention."
Tears began forming in Amarone's eyes. "No, don't tell me she's..."
"Ah!" Meia seemed alarmed at her crewmate's reaction, then realized how her words might have been misunderstood. "Well, what I mean to say is that Jai had Duero bring her here to the Nirvana to monitor her better, and also so that she can be given a specific set of medications that might cure her condition. Apparently they secreted onboard before the ship left the planet to join in the battle, so there was no time to notify everyone and ask for permission," she explained all at once.
Meia then noticed that everyone seemed to be staring at her incredulously after she had finished. "Jai was feeling immensely guilty at making such a radical decision and bringing one of the infected people onboard without conferring first with you all." She was looking in particular at the Boss.
Magno closed her eyes in thought for a while, then spoke. "Seeing as it was the two of them who brought her here, both of them being doctors, I think it was absolutely necessary and all possible precautions were taken – as much as they could, at least. Where is the little girl now?"
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It was quiet in Jai's room; the only sound was the soft humming of the mechanical ventilator that was helping Shirley breathe evenly.
Duero had been worried that the smallest mask they had might have been too big for her, but it fit perfectly. It was also a good thing she didn't need to be intubated.
The battle was over. Their encounter with the Harvesters looked a little perilous towards the end, but things seemed to turn out all right.
'Too many touch-and-go instances lately,' Duero thought.
As for Shirley, he still considered it a miracle that she was even here now, sleeping soundly. It was difficult to believe she was in critical condition not very long ago.
Even transporting her to the ship was nerve-wracking. He had to run from the hospital, carrying a bundled-up Shirley while she was hooked to an oxygen tank he had slung onto his back. Jai had enlisted the help of Pai to discreetly allow them onto the Nirvana via a service port, and to ready the needed supplies in his quarters.
It was a wonder that the nurse trainee hadn't spoken a word about this to anyone.
Though at first confused as to why Shirley couldn't be placed in one of the infirmary rooms, Pai understood once both doctors mentioned that Nadya's newborn was going to be admitted as well later on. For safety reasons, they wanted to keep both children away from each other for now.
Jai had not given any explicit instructions about communicating with other crew members, but Duero decided to avoid answering calls from anyone else unless he deemed it absolutely necessary, and to simply keep himself updated by listening in on broadcasts and general messages.
Ignoring an incoming call from Parfet following their victory against the Harvesters was one of the hardest things he had to endure throughout this whole ordeal, Duero realized.
He once more examined the medications that Jai had indicated. They were laid out on a nearby desk.
"Isoniazid, Rifampicin, Pyrazinamide and Ethambutol," he said, reading the labels. Apparently these constituted the primary treatment for a condition called tuberculosis, or TB, which was quite prevalent millennia ago.
Jai had said that the usual treatment duration for TB was about one year. If the pattern was the same, it would be a problem as there was only enough supply to last one patient a few months.
"Maybe we can analyze the compounds and make a synthetic analogue, if found to be effective," Duero mumbled to himself.
He was deep in thought when a gentle knocking sounded. He looked up in time to see the door open, revealing Magno, Meia, Amarone and Pai standing outside.
Duero quietly motioned for them to enter, not leaving his seat.
Magno spoke softly as she stepped in, "You don't seem at all surprised to see us, doctor."
He shrugged. "I figured that others would find out eventually. Besides, it's not like we're planning to keep it from you for long."
After a pause, he added, "Are we in trouble?"
"On the contrary, I would like to extend my sincerest thanks for all you've done for our crew and the people of Parthus." The pirate Boss bowed slightly; there wasn't a hint of sarcasm in her tone. "Both you and the other doctor, though I cannot convey my sentiments to him at the moment."
Duero stood and gave an even deeper bow, realizing the earnestness of her gesture. "Then on behalf of Jai, we humbly appreciate your gratitude. We do our best, always."
Everyone was silent for a moment, then Amarone said, "Is she okay, Duero?"
He nodded. "She has stabilized somewhat now, but I want to keep her under observation for a while."
"Does she need to be confined to this room at all times?" Magno asked next.
"With your permission, we figure that once she gets stronger she should be able to move about the ship so long as she wears at least a face mask. Restrictions could be further lifted if her medication takes effect, which we might not know for a while yet, unfortunately."
"Still, I imagine getting her out of that planet's harsh environment will do wonders," Magno observed. She then examined Shirley's medicines. "These pills are quite unfamiliar."
Meia was the one who answered. "Those were in Jai's possession when he was transported from the past. The pathogen that afflicts the people of Parthus seems to be similar to a bacteria that was prevalent during his time, so this approach might be worth investigating."
"Oh," Magno's brow was raised in wonder. "I'm surprised you know all this, Meia."
The Dread captain colored a bit. "A lot was explained to me while we were in Vandread Knight. I only understand some of the details, though."
"It is as you say," Duero added. "Jai mentioned the same to me. We were considering that if it turns out to be effective for Shirley, perhaps a cure for everyone on the planet could be developed."
"That's wonderful!" Pai exclaimed, only to be shushed by Meia. It was apparent, however, that the other women shared her delight at the news.
Duero sighed, "That is the hope. In any case, I'll need to get started on developing more of it as soon as possible so that Shirley can have enough for a year."
Magno tapped her chin. "We do have to restock and replenish our supplies, so we will need to depart soon. The nearest planet I'm aware of that could help you with producing more medicine is quite a ways off. Amarone, maybe you could ask the helmsman if he might know of any that are nearer."
"I will, Boss," the navigator answered. "By the way, Duero, does Bart already know about Shirley being here?"
"I imagine not; we haven't told anyone except Pai, and you are the first ones to drop by," he replied.
Amarone shrugged. "I'll just tell him when he gets back. Hopefully he won't cause such a ruckus; this is Jai's room after all."
"About that," Meia offered, "might I suggest if we could move her to a more suitable location, perhaps the vacant room right by the park?"
"That's a great idea," Amarone agreed enthusiastically. "It's bigger, a lot more accessible, and has a great view of the fountain and all the trees. I'm sure she'll like it."
Duero conceded, "I see no problem with the transfer, as long as everyone follows sanitation protocols."
"Then we shall make arrangements at once," Magno declared. "Paiway?"
"I'm on it, Boss," Pai said, swiftly exiting the room.
The other women also began moving toward the door. "Just sit tight, someone will come by later with a rolling bed. Don't be shy to let us know as well if you need anything else, doctor," Magno stated as they left.
Soon it was just the two of them again. Doctor and patient.
"That went better than I had thought it might," Duero sighed. He considered returning Parfet's missed call now, but figured she might visit later. She was probably still busy at the infirmary anyway.
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Jura was sitting in the infirmary.
She was sitting in the infirmary, reading.
To any Mejale who might pass by the scene, it would seem quite an odd sight. When did Jura ever show an interest in sitting still and reading?
Upon closer inspection, the title she was currently engrossed in was not a familiar one to any of the pirates. It was a novel labeled "Fifty Shades of Grey".
Jura had picked it up on a whim from among the items in Jai's safe-pod sometime after first forming Vandread Swan. The front cover was certainly eye-catching. She had asked if it was his, and Jai's reaction was to vehemently deny ownership of the volume.
He explained then that although it wasn't his type of genre, the story had become quite popular during his time, and there were even a few sequels and movie adaptations. He did suggest that she give it a try if she found the synopsis interesting.
At first she began reading the book as a sort of novelty. Then it got exciting. And then it got really...stimulating. She was captivated.
Occasionally, she would ask Jai about certain references when the book alluded to things that were either during his time or were unfamiliar to her. He would try to explain as best as he could. He was always patient, thorough, and on some instances rather awkward when it came to topics that were a bit...seductive. She found his reactions during those instances quite cute.
Thus, Jura ended up doing the most reading she had ever done since joining the pirate group.
At present, however engrossed as she was in the novel, there was another matter that was on her mind – the very reason why she was staying at the infirmary in the first place.
Jai was lying unconscious, though in a stable condition, on one of the beds. Meia had mentioned that he wasn't seriously hurt, but they all understood the mental strain he must have been under while coordinating all the events during the last battle.
Parfet, Ezra, and some other members of the crew had arrived earlier; they had gone into a separate "clean" room where the newborn was now being cared for. Apparently Ezra was taking on the role of the child's mother.
Jura took a break from reading and looked around. There were surprisingly few other injured, considering that they had just been through a difficult encounter.
'And it's mostly thanks to this amazing guy right here,' she pondered.
'Wait...amazing? Where'd that come from?'
Originally, she only wanted to get closer to him to be able to form Vandread Swan more often. Then, she enjoyed messing with him about embarrassing stuff in her book.
There was also no denying that everything he had done recently was nothing short of extraordinary.
Jura caught herself staring at his form, at his face in particular.
'T-there's no way I...! I-i-it has to be because of this novel. Yeah, I'm getting some weird ideas, and he's the only male I'm really close with, and...and...'
And it was at this moment that Jai yawned and blinked at her groggily.
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'Akira'
"Hey, it's been a while. Feels like I'm getting more used to this."
He lazily observed the blue, lightly swirling haze around him for a while. Was he dead? Did the battle end in failure?
If this...entity, or whatever it was, still spoke to him, it was possible he was still only sleeping.
'Guess we'll find out if I wake up."
'Your purpose for being brought here...'
"I remember. Those two androids from before mentioned the Harvest. We have to stop the Earth, right?"
'The journey is still no less difficult.'
"Figured as much. One more thing, though. Will I return to the year 2003, to my own city, after this is all over?"
'Is that your wish?'
Jai paused. It was one thing to be forced into this situation then returned once it was accomplished, but was it all up to him?
Did he even want to go back?
All his family and friends, all his possessions, a promising medical profession. There was still so much to his "future" yet to happen if he did go back.
But despite the short time he had spent in this future, it was feeling more and more like "home", like somewhere he belonged.
"That's a good question. I think I need to think it over for a while."
There was no reply. Rather, Jai felt a breeze rush past him from ahead, then a sensation of falling backwards onto a soft surface.
He gradually became aware of a low hum, which he soon recognized as the air filtration and conditioning in the Nirvana's infirmary.
Jai slowly opened his eyes and let out a big yawn. After blinking a few times, he locked gazes with a somewhat flustered Jura.
"Did we win?" his voice cracked as he spoke.
"I wasn't staring! Huh? I-I mean, y-yeah we did, we won. Wait, how are you feeling? Meia was so worried about you when you blacked out in your Vandread! I was so worried about you too! That's what you get for overdoing things," Jura babbled on, evidently nervous about something.
Jai might've even thought she was being rather bashful.
He yawned again. "I suppose I just shut down in the middle of all the fighting. Guess I owe Meia an apology, or rather I owe everyone an apology."
"Hey, just a second," Jura had regained her composure and was now regarding him sternly. "First of all, you don't owe anybody an apology. Everyone is aware of what was going on back then, and, well, I daresay we all should be thanking you."
"Uh, if you say so," he was still a little confused, having missed the remainder of the battle.
It appeared that he wasn't at all convinced, as Jura stood and motioned to the almost-empty infirmary. "Don't you realize it's mostly because of you that only a handful of the crew are injured, and that none of us are dead right now?"
Her insistence was especially remarkable to Jai; usually she would be one of the first – aside from Barnette – to brag about the skillfulness of the pirate crew and the superiority of the Mejale. For her to assert that he was pivotal in keeping casualties low offers some truth to the claim.
He relented. "All right, you've made your point. I won't apologize. By the way, how long has it been since all the fighting ended?"
"Just a couple of hours," she replied, moving to sit back down on the bedside chair. "It's not like you were out for a super long time or anything. Oh, wait, let me help you with that..."
He gingerly tried to sit up. Jura helped by arranging the pillows against the wall to the bed so that he could lean back on them.
"So," Jai spoke, "have you been keeping an eye on me all that time?"
The blonde Mejale's expression went from surprised, to irritated, then finally to gloomy. "Why, would you have been happier if it was Meia sitting here? Or maybe even Dita, since you spend so much time with her in that dull-looking Vandread?" It seemed some of her cynicism was still intact.
"No, actually, I'm glad we're able to talk like this now," he replied. "I haven't had the opportunity to express my gratitude for trying to keep my spirits up back when we hit those first two motherships with Swan Shot. It was afterwards that I started to feel as if things were all going downhill and I began pushing myself harder, and look where that got me in the end. To be honest, I expected you to mock me or complain that we couldn't defeat all our targets, but instead you were going on how proud you were about us and our Vandread, and that there was nothing to be disappointed about. I just wanted to say I really appreciate the gesture."
'-even if it was all just a gesture,' was what he left unsaid, not wanting to provoke her to her face. Jai was staring at the ceiling while speaking, as if in a trance. He had thanked Meia and Dita before while in their respective Vandreads, but felt that he had left things unsettled with Jura.
"You're still worried about that?" her reply only sounded half-condescending; there was a trace of what Jai thought was genuine concern.
He was not quite expecting such a reaction. When he looked at her, she was hiding her face behind her book. That was even more unexpected, and rather cute.
"You don't sound so convincing, saying that while cowering behind Grey," he said, stifling a chuckle.
"Ugh, never mind that! What I mean to say is that you don't have to feel guilty or anything about feeling frustrated when things weren't going your way. Isn't that just normal?"
"I know. Perhaps I'm just a bit of a perfectionist. If I can't do something I think I ought to be able to do, it really gets to me. I was just thinking I might've been able to think more clearly during all the chaos back there if I didn't feel like I'd let you down with the Swan Shot."
She stood and slammed the book down on the bed beside him. "How many times do I have to say it, I was extremely pleased with how our Vandread did in that battle! I was not disappointed in the least!" Her face was bright red and she was almost shouting, barely holding herself back in consideration to the few other sleeping Mejale in the ward.
For a while, they just stared at one another; Jai was startled at the sudden outburst, while Jura sat back in the chair and took deep breaths to calm herself down.
Jai soon relaxed enough to crack a small smile. "Sorry, I didn't mean to make it sound like it was your fault. I understand now that you weren't saying those words just for the sake of saying them."
Jura was still frowning, but her tension had eased somewhat. She turned away from him and half-mumbled, "You're being pretty glum and whiny right now. Can't you just take a compliment? And here I was thinking how amazi-" she abruptly stopped, catching herself midsentence.
"Uh, pardon? Couldn't hear you very well."
"Nothing!" Still facing away, she snatched her book back and got up to leave. "Since you're apparently feeling much better, there's no need to watch over you anymore. I'm going to get some rest."
Jai could only watch as she hurriedly strode out of the infirmary. 'What was that all about?'
He then realized that he still had no idea how they won, or if the beacon on Parthus had been dealt with, or what even happened to Shirley or to the newborn baby.
'That was a good enough rest,' he reasoned, finally hopping off the infirmary bed.
Time to get back into it.
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A/N: Another chapter done. "50 Shades of Grey" is written by E.L. James, and published by Vintage Books. It kind of felt like the kind of thing Jura would read.
Typing "2003" in here, I've just checked at and I think this is the only really active fic since a while ago. Granted, some chapters took a year or two to materialize, but we're really going the distance. Thank you again for reading! You guys add to my motivation to continue and try to complete this story idea I started more than 15 years ago.
Here's hoping the next chapter is finished soon.