Chapter 40

QSS Ka'naesh
Near Earth orbit

It was a big unit. Spencer insisted they take care of Sin first, but they reassured him that there was a team already working there. "Let us take care of you." they said. And he agreed.

There was something very soothing about Q medicine, he found. It was as if they designed everything for comfort more than efficiency. The nurses gently swabbed the chemicals off his face with soft cloths and a powdery scented solvent before the doctor came and tipped up his chin to look in his eyes. "You're having an allergic reaction to the chemicals." She said, "Likely from having them trapped against your corneas for so long. I have a treatment that should help but we'll have to keep light off them for a day cycle. It should be fine after that."

"All right." Better total blindness for a day then near-total for a lifetime. He held very still as drops were placed, hissed at the cool burn, and then let them put patches over his eyes to keep them closed. "Now what about this?" He pulled back his waistband to reveal the rash he had under there.

The doctor made a sharp sound. "How did that happen?"

"Same chemicals, under a layer of plastic." Along with some other things, but you could smell that.

"How far does it go?"

"My knees."

"Okay, you're going to need a decon shower and some topical treatment after we take some scrapings to identify what all is there. And we need medicate for hyperstimulation." She asked the nurse for some drugs.

"What kind of drugs are those? I don't recognize the names."

"They're alkaloids that bind to opiate receptors in the brain. They calm the nervous system."

"I don't take those." Spencer replied.

He could almost feel the doctor coming up short. "Ever?"

"Ever. Please put it in my chart."

"Are you sure? Getting this cleaned up should be hyperstimulating for a Noble."

"I have no idea what that means but whatever it is I'll risk it."

The doctor sighed. "All right. If you insist. But if you have a shrieking meltdown I will medicate you."

A shrieking meltdown? "Fair enough."


Fifteen minutes later Spencer decided that if this was what they called hyperstimulating then the decon shower he got after being stuck in Nichols' lab would have been considered torture.

About the only thing the two experiences had in common was that he was naked, standing up (although they gave him the option of lying down here) and there were multiple people making sure all the chemicals and biological components came off. Where the one in DC had been freezing cold this one had warm water. Where that one had a high pressure spray this one had a gentle flow. Where that one had rough brushes and strong soaps this one had soft cloths and soaps that smelled like a spring rain.

There were two nurses washing him off while he stood in the middle of what felt like a larger shower room, while he hung on to some hand hold. At first he nearly had a flashback to the football field, but he fought that off by talking with them. As it turned out they were both female, both grew up in a refugee camp on Aldara, both went to medical training on Celestina, both were looking forward to shore leave in New York, and so on. As they worked he found himself rising to the occasion, understandable given the procedure. Kinda glad he couldn't see.

"Ummm, do you want some help with that?" Nurse one almost cooed in his ear.

Spencer instantly felt himself flaming red. How to make that reaction stop? "Uhhh, no. No, I don't think so." Dead bodies I have known. Maybe thinking of that would help.

"Because your chart said no meds." Nurse one continued. "And it's going to be hard to come down from this and sleep."

"And your Companion certainly isn't up to helping." Nurse two said.

"And it's not that often we get attractive Noblemen in here." Nurse one said.

"So, you know, more than willing to help." Nurse two finished.

Not even remembering the smell was helping. "No, really. Thank you but I'm good." Attractive? Really?

"Okay." Nurse two said. "But the offer stands."

When they were finished scrubbing him down they helped him walk to another space, where he put his chin on a shelf, and held on to other hand holds, and was blown dry by what felt like giant hair dryers. After that he was moved to another space where they covered the hot, itchy places with some kind of cooling goo, and then helped him into a pair of shorts that felt like they were made out of bandage material. Then the rest of him got lotion. "Restores skin integrity." One of the nurses said.

"I know Terrans who would pay thousands for this kind of treatment." Spencer told them.

They giggled at that. "Really?" Nurse one asked. "Not too overstimulating?"

"No. Not at all"

"If they would pay thousands for this." Nurse two said. "I know a spa on Octavia Station they would love."

They helped him into pajamas and socks and then poured him into a bed. The only hitch came when one of them took his arm and started putting a needle into it. "What is that?" He said. "I said I didn't want anything for hyperstimulation."

"Yep, it's in your chart." Nurse one replied. "This is a ReStor bag, glucose and minerals in saline. The doctor wants you to have two of them tonight. And here's something else to make you feel at least a little better."

Glucose, minerals and saline. Sounded like a standard hydration IV or two. Fine. But…"I don't want any other…". It wasn't a drug. It was another body easing in to the big bed on the other side. A body that on some level felt suspiciously like his cat. "Is this normal here?" Spencer asked. "To share a bed?"

"Yeah." Sin said as he stretched out, threw an arm over his lap and snuggled into his hip. He smelled clean now, and his hair was slightly damp. Probably the same treatment. "It's all good. Now sleep. Good for you."

"I can't."

"Why not?"

"I need to talk to the team."