Tempest Company

Doc

'I'm telling you Scott that it's her.'

'Bullshit. Come on Blades you've been on the good stuff again.'

'Fuck you! Think I'm going to be mistaken about something like that?'

'She has a point, Scott.'

'See? Even he agrees with me on this one.'

'And what the hell would a princess be doing out on a trash barge like this?'

The voices sounded distant but for Princess Catherine Frere they were something to cling onto in the darkness which had engulfed her since the men had come for her. Her head rang like a bass drum and her entire body felt heavy; like it belonged to someone else. She didn't know how long she'd been here or even where here actually was. All she could remember was the fire as the needle pierced her skin and then a suffocating numbness as the black rose to engulf her.

'And isn't she supposed to be dead?'

'That's what the news said boss, but I think Blades is right. Little thing is a mess, but she does look like the pictures.'

'Since when were you well informed about the Orthodoxy?'

'Shut it.'

Three voices. There were three of them. A man and a woman; she tried to focus on opening her eyes and let out a tiny groan as they finally yielded to her will. Dim light illuminated the space, but it was still bright enough to blind her and bring tears to her eyes; blurred shapes were a short way away and she tried to focus.

'She's coming around a bit boss.'

Catherine flinched at the closer fourth voice, another woman, and tried to recoil from the touch but her body still wouldn't move. A strangled moan escaped her lips. 'Easy there, it's ok.' The new voice soothed, 'Not going to hurt you.' Catherine still couldn't make out anything but managed to gasp out, 'Help me.' Before the crushing blackness reclaimed her and pulled her down into the abyss.

'How's she doing Yue?'

'About as well as could be expected for someone who's got more Tremedore in her system than blood.' She turned around to look at the man leaning against the hatch door, 'And I'm not a doc but I've done what the manual said.' She wiped her hands on an antiseptic cloth and pulled the band holding her white hair back away with a shake of the head. 'I've secured her down for her own safety in case we need to make any sudden moves but looking at her she'd had a rough spell.'

'How rough?'

'Not as bad as that. I checked her over and no sign she's been sexually assaulted.' The thought made her skin crawl. Part of the reason she was a member of Tempest Company was because her family had tried to sell her into that kind of servitude to clear a debt. 'But needle tracks on both arms, bruises from restraints and other cuts and scrapes. Checked her bloods, well the machine did, and other than the sedative there's only trace elements of infection. I've slapped her with a dose of anti-viral and anti-toxins, but I think she'll be out for at least a day still.'

'That shit is pretty powerful.' Scott acknowledged, walking into the small space which served as the ship's medical facility. He ducked without looking to avoid the low hanging beams which otherwise would have caught him, and the sight always made Yue smile. The leader of Tempest was in many ways a totally abnormal mercenary. 'So, the million credit question?'

'Well, I cannot be totally certain without running an update on the central records but that would trigger a lot of attention.'

'Let's not do that.'