Scenes From Space

Chapter Thrity-Five: The Next Two Missions

"Jesus, what happened to you?" Graham asked after taking one look at me through the video feed.

"Nothing major, just a little bruised," I answered easily.

"Half your face is purple," Graham said with a frown. "And, I just got a report of your leg being really messed up." Graham looked around at my surroundings. "And, you're comming me from a medbay."

"Yeah, but I'm still pretty, right?" I fluttered my eyelashes at his visage. Graham snorted, before resuming his disappointed expression.

"So, just how did you end up injured this time?" he asked.

"Weeeellllllll..."

***

Kuzzon and the tailed girl had cornered me in a bathroom. It was my fault. I thought the door was going to lead to a maintenance tunnel, not an enclosed space where I couldn't run away. Something had gotten lost in translation; the sign had flashed maintenance in English. Apparently, 'the personal' of personal maintenance was implied.

I jumped up on a sink and immediately off onto Kuzzon's back. I was able to force him to his knees but the pink girl grabbed me by the shoulders and flung me back. I bounced into a stall door and jumped right back into the fight. I grabbed the girl's tail and yanked. She cried out and stumbled toward me, so I turned and jabbed my elbow back into her stomach. I could hear all of the air leave her body so I turned to Kuzzon, and went in for a right cross to the chin. He weaved back.

The tailed girl had recovered. I felt her tail wrap around my waist and throw me back. My shoulders hit the bricked wall in between two sinks. Kuzzon bent down and picked up the tube containing the maps we had just stolen off of the floor.

I used the lip of the sink to haul myself up. Kuzzon left the bathroom. The girl slid a dinner roll sized disk across the metal floor and -

Bam.

Light.

Burning.

Searing.

"Fuck!" I screamed out in anguish. I sobbed violently and tried to get emotions under control. Fuck, fuck, fuckity shit. I couldn't hear anything other than a low buzzing. My vision was a haze of white.

The world slowly came back into focus with every sob.

My left leg was pinned under the remains of a sink and a stall door. I felt around what I could and felt wet, frayed, crisp edges of where skin should be. Disembodied voices shouted at me through the com in my ear.

"Kuzzon and tailed-female, have the intel. I have no idea which way they are headed. I will need a medevac," I sobbed.

"Shit, Guinevere stay calm, we're on our way," Ben said.

"Stay still," Mako said.

"I don't have a choice but to stay still and fuck you Ben," I responded.

***

"So, anyway, totally fine now. Mako's got my leg all fixed up," I said.

"Only from the outside," Mako cut in. "You will require a deeper treatment. You'll be in medical at least a day when we get back to 'ic'zing."

"So, you're not totally fine," Graham said with a frown.