Joyful Confusion
16 Oct 2023Ryuko Ntsikana
Part Seventeen.
Joyful Confusion
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Rex had never been one to pry into Xochitl’s mental state before, but recent and current events were more than he could bear. She might own the ship, lead the clan, and have all the rights, but he had his duty too. What kind of second-in-command would he be if he didn't put the entire crew first? He wrestled with this nagging issue, finally concluding that regardless of his personal distaste for prying, his position demanded it.
Yatziri was the closest to her and knew the state of her thoughts better than anyone. Years ago, she had been in the hospital with her, receiving a cybernetic arm herself. They had bonded through the agony of medical procedures and accompanying rehabilitation. She had been there with Xochitl while the rest of her body was being rebuilt into a half-human cyborg, helping her learn how to walk, talk, and, above all, think.
If anyone knew the quirks of Xochitl, it would be her.
There was always something about Yatziri's appearance that threw Rex off. One moment she would look like the typical cyberpunk found on the lower levels of a back orbital outpost. The next moment, her appearance could be as professional as his own. What version of her would walk into his office was as much a mystery to him as which way a star would blink outside his window.
The report of Avery’s findings and the doctor’s conclusions were not comforting. Xochitl herself had been incommunicado since the release of the report, with Avery running interference for her. If anyone had to know, it was him. He had never known her to have a meltdown, but considering the seriousness of the events, he couldn't rule it out. Considering what they were dealing with, nothing could be ruled out, no matter how far outside the bounds he thought it might be.
The door opened without the chime sounding first as Yatziri strode in with an amused, cocky look on her face.
Some things never change.
At least her attire was moderately presentable, even if her ever-changing hair color was an affront to his visual senses. Violet, blue, and black, with pink highlights. A walking, talking abstract.
"Have you read the report?"
"Couldn't have missed it," Yatziri quipped as she plopped down in the seat across from him, throwing her booted feet up on his desk with a smirk on her face.
Rex rolled his eyes, sighing in resignation. He knew nothing he said would make a difference. She was a smuggler through and through, bad manners and swaggering bravado included.
"Avery’s been checking me, and I need some input."
Yatziri snorted, flinging a loose hand in the air. "Well, at least I don't feel left out. Avery has been doing that with everyone. She even turned her locator off, which means, don’t ask."
Rex rested his forearms on his desk, leaning forward.
"I get it; she's pissed, but I have a ship to run and a lot of people to care for. If the boss wants to have a moment, fine. I’ll round up some battle droids, and she can wreck the house and get it out of her system. That doesn’t solve the immediate issue of the larger picture."
Yatziri chortled. "If you're looking for a backdoor into her thoughts, it’s simple. This is her way of cutting out the clutter and concentrating on the solution. If you think she's forgotten about this … larger picture, well, she hasn’t. You couldn’t throw a wrench on this ship without her knowing about it."
"That’s good to know, but it would be easier if at least Avery would tell me as much instead of giving me the runaround."
Rex knew he needed to try a different tactic if he wanted any useful information. Pulling his arms back from the table, he leaned to one side in his chair to look at the stars beyond the window.
"What are your thoughts on that report?"
Yatziri tossed her hands up in a grandiose fashion. "I'm surprised a maintenance crew hasn’t been called to cut her hand out of another armored bulkhead. That she has gone incommunicado could mean anything. I don’t know if it is a consideration. None of us will until she goes through all of the variables."
Rex shook his head, trying to think of what his decision would be if it were left up to him. All of the findings, on whether it had been copied or not, were inconclusive. The data of what happened to it at the point of it being decompiled was blank and empty. The only hope of understanding the smallest sliver of what may or may not have occurred lay in incorporating it back into a biological host, and the best candidate was Inspector Gladsen.
Rex rubbed his chin. He too was in a communications blackout, per the doctor’s orders, who herself would not elaborate on the developing situation.
"Do you have any information that would help remedy the peculiar position all of this has placed me in?"
Yatziri’s hands went to her lap as she shook her head. "I’m as lost as you are in this. No one is speaking to anyone about anything in this matter. What you know is as much as I know. All I can tell you is to keep on with what you are doing, keep your finger over the plasma cannon’s trigger, and let this play out."
"I am not in the slightest bit comfortable with having that creation this close to the ship. I am also not comfortable in knowing that a member of its crew may be the only answer if we let the two integrate. That the status of yet another member of this crew, who was a host to it, is now unknown, is also not comforting. That a few thousand more could be at risk is several hyperspace jumps beyond unnerving."
Yatziri shrugged. "If it were up to me, I would leave it here and keep going after Zooey. I don’t know if letting it live or not is either the right or wrong answer. Hell, I don’t even know if 'live' is the correct term!"
The corner of Rex’s upper lip curled at that. "It is sentient and self-aware, so yes, 'live' is the correct term. But what has it done to us to deserve that fate? It has inhabited three of our members, saving the life of one, curing another, and benefiting each of them."
"What are you, its advocate now?"
Rex turned his eyes slowly towards Yatziri. "And this is where we circle back to the issue. If I am given the order, or if it does something I don’t like, I will pull the trigger. I don’t have any issues with that. All of this and each of those on board are more important than one."
Yatziri huffed again. "If that’s the case, then why are we breaking ourselves chasing after one?"
Rex focused on finding a center of inner calm, knowing she was attempting to bait him.
"Those are my orders. You know I will follow them. But like everyone, there is a limit. It is why we paused for a few days recently, to complete necessary repairs. You can wish and hope in one hand…"
Yatziri waved a dismissive hand. "Yeah, I know the saying."
Rex shook his head, standing up and walking to the door. He was getting nowhere this way, and those with the answers were going incommunicado, leaving him in limbo with a larger consideration than their privacy at stake. There were only two options left to him, and neither was palatable, but one was unacceptable.
The medical android looked puzzled as it recalibrated its internal chronometer, while the surgeon looked at the monitor on his desk, attempting to remember where he left off.
His notations confirmed that the surgical procedure had been a success, but there was extensive damage done inside the surgical bay, and the usual recordings of the procedures were blank. An after-surgical notation had been added to the record, listing a previously unknown genetic abnormality with the patient, which had caused an initial violent reaction to the procedure, requiring an increased amount of nanobots to make the necessary neurological connections. Though an inquest had been ordered by the chief of neurosurgery, there were no claims made against either the surgeon or the facility, and a waiver of responsibility was on record, should one ever arise.
The chief of the facility's security sent a reply to Federal Inspector Gladsen’s repetitive inquests concerning the location of a recent patient, who was using his ship. There was a notation that it was an inquest of concern regarding her health and her safety reaching the facility for a surgical procedure. With the surgeon’s notations that the surgery was a success and that the patient had fully recovered, he was sure the inspector would be relieved.
A bemused smile was on Zooey’s face as she sat in the facility's cafeteria. To her, as to a child, it had all become an innocent game. She stared at the food on the tray in front of her, while a part of her mind moved ever higher on the swing, with a warm spring breeze rushing past. The little audible chuckle caught a few of the patrons' attention as she watched the little girl, laughing in joy.