March 21, 2013

The 'fugee pod had a smell to it, Andrei realized, as Lewsa coded the entrance open, gestured him in, followed him. There was a step where the grav field's intersected. The pod's orientation was just that much off, and he staggered at the shift, banging his shoulder into the red painted frame of the door, and the blow jarred his head and he saw flashes of light. “Shiz.” The grav change hit him worse than the smell. The smell was comforting, a little.

Lewsa was at his side, propping him up, guiding him to a bench, helping him sit. “You want the pain meds? Med tech said you could.” She crouched in front of him, most of her face still shadowed with her hood. She put a hand on his knee, head tilted, her other hand holding out the pouch of tabs.

“No. Not now, the grav shook me. I would like some tea though.”

She nodded and put the pouch in his hand, standing and walking across to a food dispenser. “Got a couple kinds, want dragon? green? sains? Got them, and mint, if you like.”

“Dragon. Some sweet.” he leaned forward, cradling his head. The med techs had warned him he'd have headaches off and on for a couple of days, warned him to come back if they got worse, if he started getting nauseous, or if the world started spinning.

Lewsa put a cup in his hand, real porcelain, warm, patterned with the crest of some forgotten ship. He sipped, found comfort in the bitter bite of the tea, not too sweet, just like he --- he liked it? He wished he knew, but he wasn't sure.

She walked away, and he heard a door click, once, again, and she returned, having shed the gray robe she'd worn into the station, coming to the clinic to claim him and pay his bills, because he had her name on him, when he'd nothing left except his clothes and a cracked head, and her name, Lewsa Kindan, and the serial of the 'fugee pod where he found himself.

He looked at her, startled to find –

She ducked her head, smiling sadly. “Not human, not all.” She spread her hands, “Human 'nough, Da Dan says, for meds, but some things, not.” She shrugged, moving to the food dispenser, pushing buttons and taking a bag of something from a cabinet. “Don't know why you have my name, repair card.” She'd slanted eyes, slit pupiled, green, with almost no visible irises, a forehead that slid flatly into her nasal bridge, the whole almost a triangle with nostrils set at the point, and narrow lips, her ears were set at angles to her head, and while he watched, one flicked, maybe in reaction to a puff of air. Her hair was a dark mass, tangled into two tails that lay one on either side of her neck. Not human, no, but he didn't know what she was, if not. With the robe shed, she wore a ship suit, clipped to wrists and ankle and neck, gray like the robe.

“I don't know either.” He looked into the cup, found half of it gone, took another sip. “They said if I don't start getting things back in a fiveday, to come back, see if something could be done.”

“And more bills.” She tilted her head, “More drugs, maybe trance therapy. You test human?”

“Yes. Metiz they said, testing closer than that would get pricey. I didn't want to – “

She nodded, opening the bag and eating some of the contents. “Thankis.” She walked to a waist high workbench and unclipped a stay net, stowing it at theThe 'fugee pod had a smell to it, Andrei realized, as Lewsa coded the entrance open, gestured him in, followed him. There was a step where the grav field's intersected. The pod's orientation was just that much off, and he staggered at the shift, banging his shoulder into the red painted frame of the door, and the blow jarred his head and he saw flashes of light. “Shiz.” The grav change hit him worse than the smell. The smell was comforting, a little.

Lewsa was at his side, propping him up, guiding him to a bench, helping him sit. “You want the pain meds? Med tech said you could.” She crouched in front of him, most of her face still shadowed with her hood. She put a hand on his knee, head tilted, her other hand holding out the pouch of tabs.

“No. Not now, the grav shook me. I would like some tea though.”

She nodded and put the pouch in his hand, standing and walking across to a food dispenser. “Got a couple kinds, want dragon? green? sains? Got them, and mint, if you like.”

“Dragon. Some sweet.” he leaned forward, cradling his head. The med techs had warned him he'd have headaches off and on for a couple of days, warned him to come back if they got worse, if he started getting nauseous, or if the world started spinning.

Lewsa put a cup in his hand, real porcelain, warm, patterned with the crest of some forgotten ship. He sipped, found comfort in the bitter bite of the tea, not too sweet, just like he --- he liked it? He wished he knew, but he wasn't sure.

She walked away, and he heard a door click, once, again, and she returned, having shed the gray robe she'd worn into the station, coming to the clinic to claim him and pay his bills, because he had her name on him, when he'd nothing left except his clothes and a cracked head, and her name, Lewsa Kindan, and the serial of the 'fugee pod where he found himself.

He looked at her, startled to find –

She ducked her head, smiling sadly. “Not human, not all.” She spread her hands, “Human 'nough, Da Dan says, for meds, but some things, not.” She shrugged, moving to the food dispenser, pushing buttons and taking a bag of something from a cabinet. “Don't know why you have my name, repair card.” She'd slanted eyes, slit pupiled, green, with almost no visible irises, a forehead that slid flatly into her nasal bridge, the whole almost a triangle with nostrils set at the point, and narrow lips, her ears were set at angles to her head, and while he watched, one flicked, maybe in reaction to a puff of air. Her hair was a dark mass, tangled into two tails that lay one on either side of her neck. Not human, no, but he didn't know what she was, if not. With the robe shed, she wore a ship suit, clipped to wrists and ankle and neck, gray like the robe.

“I don't know either.” He looked into the cup, found half of it gone, took another sip. “They said if I don't start getting things back in a fiveday, to come back, see if something could be done.”

“And more bills.” She tilted her head, “More drugs, maybe trance therapy. You test human?”

“Yes. Metiz they said, testing closer than that would get pricey. I didn't want to – “

She nodded, opening the bag and eating some of the contents. “Thankis.” She walked to a waist high workbench and unclipped a stay net, stowing it at the bench's edge. “Got work, enough for bills, for rent, while Da Dan and Da Kin are away, but not enough for gene tests.” She clipped a mag-visor to her forehead and picked up something that looked like a half disassembled filter valve and a tool, scraping delicately at something on it. “Can you help work?”She looked at him, her slit pupilled eyes made huge by the lenses.

“I – I don't know.”

He started to stand, but Lewsa shook her head, blinking and wincing. “No, you no need to work tonight, got this to do, deliver to Station Maintenance, then nothing due until tomorrow. Fixing a water filter system for Upstation. Got to work in place, going to be wet and hot and bad. You can carry tools.” She smiled at him. “This is Downstation work, they didn' mind if Downstation rotates the water systems working and not, but Upstation.” She shook her head. “Upstation fussy is.” bench's edge. “Got work, enough for bills, for rent, while Da Dan and Da Kin are away, but not enough for gene tests.” She clipped a mag-visor to her forehead and picked up something that looked like a half disassembled filter valve and a tool, scraping delicately at something on it. “Can you help work?”She looked at him, her slit pupilled eyes made huge by the lenses.

“I – I don't know.”

He started to stand, but Lewsa shook her head, blinking and wincing. “No, you no need to work tonight, got this to do, deliver to Station Maintenance, then nothing due until tomorrow. Fixing a water filter system for Upstation. Got to work in place, going to be wet and hot and bad. You can carry tools.” She smiled at him. “This is Downstation work, they didn' mind if Downstation rotates the water systems working and not, but Upstation.” She shook her head. “Upstation fussy is.”