Chapter 4: 4. Healing

"Here you go," my host said as she set a glass down in front of me. "Careful, that's strong stuff."

We were up on the main deck of her ship, and she'd just given me a very brief partial-tour. Aft of the second cargo hold was a small corridor, with a workshop on the port side and the food-water-air recycling on the starboard side. There was also a small laundry unit in there. Further aft of that was the lower half of the engineering chamber, which included a small open-sided lift that took us up to the main deck.

In addition to the lift the ship had three separate ladderways connecting the two decks, but Piper spared me having to climb due to my injured shoulder.

From the upper half of engineering we travelled forward through another small corridor. That held a small storage room on either side, then opened into the ship's mess and rec area. That was as far as she took me, and we ended up sitting at the table in the mess. Assuming my sense of direction wasn't completely skewed, I figured the mess was directly above the smaller cargo area. So there was still more of the ship forward from this section, including the cockpit or bridge.

So far everything I'd seen was old, messy, rusted, or stained. It left me wondering just how old this ship was, and how space-worthy it might be.

The dining table was actual wood, like it would have fit right into the kitchen of any farmhouse back on my home-world. The six chairs were all mismatched though. The mess was on the starboard side of a somewhat open space in what I figured was the middle of the ship. There were countertops, storage bins, and a small cooking unit for preparing home-cooked meals. There was also a small antiquated auto-chef that probably generated edible but unappetizing 'food'.

On the port side was a very small lounge area, there were a couple large comfortable looking chairs, a pair of coffee tables, and a small sofa. The sofa was facing a large entertainment panel on one wall.

And perhaps most surprising of all was the array of liquor bottles I saw when she opened one of the storage bins over the counter. The beverage in front of me came from one of them, and she poured an equal measure into a second glass for herself. Then she took her seat across from me, and had a swig of the drink.

The grimace on her face told me she wasn't kidding about it being strong.

I picked up the offered glass and had a tentative sniff, and immediately winced. "That's not liquor that's cleaning solvent!"

She giggled, which was an unexpected sound for someone who up till now had acted fairly tough and serious. After another swig from her glass she looked me in the eyes and asked, "Were you serious? You really want to use that pod? I'm guessing it's got nothing to do with your shoulder."

I felt my cheeks go red and I had a gulp of the harsh liquid in my glass. It was allegedly some kind of whiskey and it burned all the way down. A few seconds later the burning was replaced with a warmth as the alcohol hit my system and I sighed slightly. I wasn't much of a drinker, but after the last three days I suddenly understood why she'd offered me this stuff.

I took a second gulp of the potent drink, then after the burning passed I nodded to her. "Yeah. It's not something I uh, ever expected to discuss with a stranger though. And definitely not in these circumstances. But yes, if what you said is true then it's... I've been trying to get to the core worlds for this sort of technology for the last five years."

Piper knocked back the last of her drink then shook her head, "I haven't been in Imperium space in a long time, but I'm pretty sure they don't have this kind of tech even in the core worlds."

I couldn't argue with that sentiment. I'd stayed up to date on what kind of medical advances they had in the core, specifically anything that was relevant for transitioning. It was advanced, but nothing like what she described. And nothing anywhere near as fast twelve hours, either.

The best I was aware of took forty or fifty days, with a minor procedure at the start and a more significant one at the end. The results were impressive though.

They used your own stem cells to grow new organs in vitro, and some powerful drugs to induce the secondary changes in your body. After the new reproductive organs were ready there was surgery to graft it all in place. Another five days or so to heal, then you were all set. It didn't do anything for your height or over-all body shape, and there were other secondary characteristics that weren't improved either. However, additional procedures could address those things as well. It all cost credits of course, and the best results were very expensive. But they were worth it.

I drained my glass, and Piper opened the bottle and topped me up again, then did the same for herself.

She had another swig of the fiery liquid then said, "Your friend's going to be in there for a while yet. When it's done you'll get a look at what the pod can do, and I guess if you still want to use it you're welcome to. While you're in there I'll help your friend get settled in."

"Crap," I sighed. I had another gulp of the whiskey as I finally forgot about my excitement and thought about my patient.

He probably had no idea what was going on. Last thing he'd remember was an accident in the Hammersmith's engine room. He was going to wake up on a strange ship, and in a strange body. He wouldn't know what happened or how he got here. He'd probably need counselling and psychiatric support just to get over the loss of his friends and ship, never mind the rest of it.

I wasn't taking it as badly because I never liked the ship and didn't have any friends on board. And I wasn't in it for the career. Or maybe I was still in shock about the whole thing and it would all hit me later on. Either way, Lieutenant Holloway was in for a lot of surprises when he finally regained consciousness.

Piper must have guessed what I was thinking. She shrugged, "It'll be a shock but it beats being dead. Plus the AI won't just wake him up and spit him out when it's done. It'll try and help your friend adjust. It'll talk to him, let him know how the process went and what's been done."

That didn't really fill me with a lot of assurances. I had no idea how AI worked, all I knew was it was supposed to be dangerous and untrustworthy. That's why the Imperium prohibited its use.

I asked her, "How can a talking computer help with all that? Does it have some kind of therapy software?"

My host shrugged, "I didn't build the thing, computers aren't my area of expertise. But you can talk to it when you're in there. It likes talking about itself. You'd think it was lonely or something."

I finished the last of my drink, it didn't burn as much anymore but I was definitely feeling it.

Piper knocked the last of hers back as well then suggested, "Why don't you get some rest? You can use the sofa over there."

She gestured towards the little lounge area, then added "I'm going up to the cockpit to do some work. I don't want you wandering around my ship unattended so I'm going to seal this compartment till I'm done."

It sounded like I didn't have much choice, and thanks to the whiskey I was already kind of out of it. It worried me a little that she was planning to fly the ship after drinking that stuff, but she seemed pretty steady on her feet while my head was spinning. Then again, I was never a drinker. I figured she might be used to the stuff.

I stumbled on my way to the sofa but got there without incident. The cushions were soft and comfortable, and it wasn't long before I was asleep.

It was my first decent sleep in three days, but it wasn't all that restful. I had nightmares of the accident in engineering, my patient's injuries, and of the ship breaking up. And of me and my patient stuck in that lifepod.

On the other hand, despite being restless I was asleep for quite a while. I actually didn't wake until my host roused me.

"Hey Navy," Piper said as she nudged the side of the sofa with her boot. "It's time to get up."

I had a mild headache and my shoulder was throbbing again as I pulled myself upright.

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"I didn't get your name earlier, Lieutenant something right?" she asked. "Anyways your friend's going to be coming out of that pod soon, we should probably be there for when it's done."

"Voss," I mumbled. "Lieutenant Voss. Can I get some water or something?"

Piper gestured towards the mess. "Glasses are in the cabinet above the dispenser."

It didn't take long to find a clean-looking cup. The dispenser was above a small sink, which contained the two glasses we used earlier. In a few seconds I had a full glass of water, and it actually tasted clean and crisp.

Once I was fully awake I noticed my host was carrying a bundle of clothing in her left hand. It appeared to be a set of grey coveralls like the ones she was wearing, and a pair of small slip-on shoes.

"Let's go," she told me once I was finished my drink.

I left the cup in the sink with the others then followed her aft, back to the lift in the small engine room. A minute later we were on the lower deck, in the small cargo hold next to the smooth black pod.

Piper checked the little panel and reported, "A couple minutes to go."

My heart was starting to race again as I wondered what we'd see when it opened. As much as I wanted to believe her story, I found I couldn't. I was half convinced the thing would open up and we'd find the engineer's body, find out he'd passed away while I was sleeping off that whiskey up on the main deck. His injuries were too severe, he needed a doctor and proper medical care. Dumping him in a mysterious black tube in the cargo hold of a messy antique freighter was the most irresponsible thing I could have done.

I was still mentally berating myself a minute or two later when a gentle beep caught my attention.

The otherwise smooth surface once again revealed a seam, and the doorway rose up then rotated back out of the way. And I found myself staring wide-eyed at the person inside. My mouth might have been hanging open too.

Twelve hours ago I helped put a dying man in that thing. He was in his late fifties, he had to be six feet tall and close to two-fifty pounds. His greying hair was in a short Navy-approved trim.

There was simply no way the person I found myself staring at was him.

She couldn't have been a day over eighteen. She was maybe five-foot-five or five-six, and couldn't have weighed more than a hundred and twenty pounds, tops. Her long sunny-blonde hair hung part-way down her back, her eyes were bright blue, and her body appeared flawless. There wasn't so much as a scratch on her, anywhere. And I could see pretty much everywhere, because there wasn't a stitch of clothing on her.

Her eyes flicked back and forth from me to Piper, then back to me again. She obviously recognized me. She gulped and in a light soprano voice asked, "Doc?"

I couldn't stop staring, as I responded "Lieutenant Holloway?"

She shifted so she was sitting upright, with her legs hanging over the side of the tube. She hadn't done anything to try and cover her nakedness yet, she was still staring at me.

"Yeah," she nodded. Then she recited her name, rank, and serial number, as if that would prove her identity.

Piper finally stepped forward and offered the clothing, "You might want to get dressed."

The young blonde glanced down at herself and her eyes widened as her cheeks went bright red.

"Holy shit," she whispered to herself.

Or was it himself? I realized I had no idea what pronouns to use for the chief engineer. I wanted to ask, but I also didn't want to upset him. Or her.

The attractive blonde accepted the clothes and quickly got into the coveralls, then slipped on the shoes. The coveralls were too big, so were the shoes, but they were close enough for now.

Once clothed, my former ship-mate got to his feet. Or her feet. The girl finally looked up at me again, which left me feeling strange. Lieutenant Holloway was a few inches taller than me, this girl was a couple inches shorter.

She asked nervously, "What happened to the Hammersmith?"

"I don't know," I shook my head. "Whatever it was, it happened so fast they barely issued a red-alert and it was over. Um..."

After a moment of hesitation I asked, "Sorry but I really don't know how to put this delicately. Should I be using he/him pronouns for you, or she/her?"

From the look on the young woman's face, I could tell she wasn't expecting that question and didn't have an answer ready.

While my former ship-mate was still thinking that over Piper looked at me and suggested, "If you still want to use it, you may as well do it now."

I looked from her, to the open pod, to the blonde. The chief engineer's eyes widened as she realized what Piper was saying.

Before either of them could say anything else I nodded "Yes. Thank you."

I ignored Lieutenant Holloway who was staring at me like I was crazy, and I climbed into the thing and lay back.

Piper moved to the end of the pod and tapped the little panel, while the engineer continued staring at me. A few seconds later the cylinder closed and sealed, and everything went black.