Chapter Sixteen: Dissolution — Part 5

“What happened? Why’s Ferret bleeding so badly?” She asked, helping Xeti attach the vitals monitor, which Xeti had been trying to do with one hand while also trying to staunch Ferret’s bleeding with a cotton rag.

“He feinted, or slipped, I don’t know which. He gashed his head when he slid passed the cannon’s restraining strap. I don’t think it’s that bad, and I doubt that he jarred his brain.” Xeti paused. “He’ll need about a dozen stitches, though, because he hit the sharp edge of the strap straight on.”

Xeti worked with Roxy to stabilize Ferret’s vital signs, and Didi sat next to him, stroking his hair. After cleaning and stitching Ferret’s wound, Shadow paced back and forth, waiting for him to come back to consciousness.

“I didn’t get a chance to have either of you visit the tailor.” She said, after several moments of pacing.

Xeti shifted his skin color until his uniform roughly matched Didi’s pants and blouse, only in a slightly different color. It wasn’t a perfect match, but his skin acted like a holograph. No matter how hard Shadow looked, she couldn’t see any hint that Xeti might be running around without clothes on.

“Is this acceptable?” Xeti asked.

“Yeah. Must be great being a superconductive life form.” Shadow said.

Didi appraised Ferret closely. “Ferret can borrow some of my clothes. Besides, I kind of like being naked.” Didi said.

“You’ll wear a uniform. Go put one on. Save the nudism for port side.” She said to Didi, and then returned her attention to Xeti. “Okay hot shot, show me what you can do.”

“What do you mean?” Xeti asked, suddenly nervous.

“You’re the one with the super skin. What’s it capable of? I’ve heard rumors, but the Grays always keep tight-lipped. I want the truth.”

“I’m not true gray, I’m something different. I was born this way, for one thing. I can’t be hurt by anything. Knives don’t pierce me, plasma doesn’t burn me, and bullets are just about worthless. As my Captain, you need to know, unless somebody tries drowning me, I’m pretty much invulnerable. Unless I get dazed, I can usually avoid confrontation altogether.” Xeti said, smiling.

Xeti vanished for a second, then reappeared several feet away, turned stark white, then pure black. For a moment every part of him was completely visible, and then nothing again as his illusion of clothes settled onto him. Xeti had absolutely no hair on his body, nor fingernails or toenails. Even his crotch and underarms were barren. Geometric patterns formed on his skin, giving him the illusion of clothing, and then of hair, and after a moment he shifted back to his uniform illusion. He was nude without being naked, and Shadow guessed that his abilities provided him with absolute temperature control as well. As Xeti went through his changes, Ferret regained consciousness, and stared quietly through the entire event. He sat up slowly, a frightful look on his eyes. He started say something incoherent, looking for a place to run, then Shadow calmed him with a touch, and his voice became subtle, almost a whisper.

“It’s over.” Ferret said.

“What?” Didi asked.

“The battle. The Hub’s been nuked, I don’t have a home any more.”

“How do you know that?” Xeti asked, suspicious.

Ferret stammered the beginnings of an explanation, but Shadow put a hand on his lips. “Hush child.” Shadow said. “We’ll talk later, before bed.”

“Where are we going?” Ferret asked.

“Alien space, where we’ll be safe from the stupidity of other human beings.” Shadow said.

Her clothes were still in the cargo bay, so Didi grabbed a couple pair of clothes and tossed them to Ferret.

“Girl’s clothes?” Ferret said, sounding miffed.

“Unisex.” Shadow corrected. “Except, most probably, the underwear.” Shadow turned her attention to Xeti. “Xeti, you’re qualified to work on engines, right?”

“I used to repair engines on long-range battle cruisers.” Xeti said. “It’s a perfect job for me, I’m immune to every known form of radiation. Means I can work inside the pulse deflectors with the engines running.”

Shadow considered the implications. “I like that concept.”

Turning his back to everybody, Ferret changed into Didi’s uniform. It fit him almost perfectly. He needed to roll his pant cuffs up and wear a belt; but otherwise the two were well matched.

“Xeti’s on Engines, Didi’s my copilot, and you will be in charge of life support.” She said this to Ferret.

“How much money do I make for this?” Ferret said, sitting back on the medical table, his feet dangling.

“Most the money you earn will be put aside so you can attend a decent tech school or college.” Shadow said.

Ferret swung his legs slowly while looking down into his lap. “What if I want to go to art school?”

Shadow felt her mind slip momentarily. “If you want to be an artist, then by all means you’ll be a fine one. Roxy, point the boy to the art supplies, the ones I have stored in the privy. And while you’re doing that give me an update on repairs to the deflector coil.” Shadow choked on her last words, and rushed to her room, closing the door gently behind her.

“What got into her?” Ferret wondered.

Didi’s expression was one of curiosity and worry. She looked first at Ferret, then at Xeti.

“Maybe it’s a woman issue. Go check on her.” Xeti said to Didi.

Gulping, Didi went to Shadow’s room. She closed the door behind her, wondering if Shadow were in the mood to kill her. Shadow looked up from her bed. She was lying on her belly, her eyes filled with tears. She wasn’t a lady to wear make-up, so her face wasn’t streaked in an ugly way, but her eyes were puffy, and she looked like she was miserable. Didi found herself having to look through the residual bruises and fresh scars, having to imagine Shadow with a full head of hair.

“I don’t know about you,” Didi started, “But I could use a bath.”

Shadow nodded, undressing quickly. The fresh and old scars of countless battles brought Didi considerable shock. It became obvious why Shadow had chosen to wear clothes that covered her from wrist to toes when the thermodynamics of a ship in flight would make being less covered more preferable. Didi took a deep breath to clear her mind, sitting down at the edge of Shadow’s bed, helping Shadow with her boots. She set the bath water to a few degrees short of skin-frying hot, then waited patiently for the tub to fill. Shadow went into the water first, helping Didi to sit down, sitting while Didi held her. The two didn’t talk for several moments. Didi held Shadow’s hands in hers, trying to make her feel better. It took Shadow a few minutes to regain her stoic composure. When she did, her voice was calm, as if she hadn’t cried at all. When she was calm, she could talk.

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