Upon Vestia: Chapter Thirty-Eight

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Shane nodded agreement. "Let them sort themselves out, when they are ready, if they ever are, they can admit it publicly as Starr and Armin have done with their dating.

~~~
Danika chuckled softly and shrugged "It's just part of the game, most of the situations are made up things to give a reason for adding money to your bank." She waited for him to put the amount in then picked up the dice to roll them, using the chance to show him how they were normally rolled without saying so. She landed on the starship (train) and immediately bought it

Dawn waited for the doctor, not saying anything else for the moment. When he was ready, she would show him the way to the medical lab.
Along the way she would ask him "Do you know anything about this ship or us?"

Dr. Baker smiled Hewitt. "All right then, it was good meeting you." they headed after Dawn, walking beside her, "I've heard rumors about this ship, nothing substantiated. She caused quite a stir when she pulled in yesterday."

~~
Ethan relaxed as the doctors left. No scalpel stabbing, whew.

~~
Asher looked at Kay uncertainly. He didn't know what to read into that nod, and being anxious about all this he was inclined to read it as a sign that he'd trod on some topic he shouldn't. "Uh... so yeah."

Dawn smiled at that and looked at him "What kind of rumors?" She asked curiously. It would be nice to know what was said about them.

(The doctor uses they/them pronouns btw :) )
Dr. Baker looked thoughtful. Some pirates and criminals reacted badly to rumors, it was wise to be cautious. "Why do you want to know?"

Kooshie wrote:(The doctor uses they/them pronouns btw )
Dr. Baker looked thoughtful. Some pirates and criminals reacted badly to rumors, it was wise to be cautious. "Why do you want to know?"

"It's good to know what's said about you, and to stop the lies when you can. Also, it's an answer to your question before. The professor would have likely been offended if we talked about magic in front of him, given how he is so scientific based in his beliefs. Our 'experiment' was magic based to save his life without stressing his system too much. No one knew if it would work, but we were certain we would lose him if we did nothing. Given how most react to magic users, I refuse to say who or what kind was used, and I can't have you trying to look up anything and setting more stupid slavers after us just trying to find out that little bit of information. So I thought it best to say that much outside of his room." She explained

Kay felt a stab of guilt, this was so awkward and Asher looked unhappy. He hesitated, then reached out and gently touched Asher's arm. Didn't matter that Asher couldn't feel it, it was a gesture of affection and comfort.
He pulled his hand away, chewing his lip anxiously.

---

Hewitt glanced to Ethan and if he realised Ethan had been uncomfortable he said nothing about it. "Now, what were we doing before we were interupted?" He leaned on his cane heavily. "Come, let's see this space station then."

Dr. Baker blinked, surprised to get any sort of an answer. They'd thought they were going to leave here without knowing, fearing that this crew might have used chemical fertilizers on Hewitt or something.
"Well, I suppose magic would account for the accelerated healing. Normally elderly Aketi wouldn't heal nearly so quickly. I'm curious what sort of a magic would work so well, but you did just say you wouldn't tell me that."
They smiled and added, "And I suppose I can answer your question. Rumor has it that this ship isn't called Hildegard at all, that she's the one who disappeared into the Rift, and was at the epicenter of most of the things that happened ten years ago. But as I said, it's just a rumor."

~~
Asher smiled softly, he understood the gesture, and how much it meant coming from Kay. It was sweet. He was about to think of something, anything to say when he heard voices in the hall as the two doctors approached the med bay.
"Sounds like we're about to have company," Asher said.

~~
"You're not tired?" Ethan asked. "We were already exploring this ship for a bit, and you've just been in a coma. You must be tired. Not that I care either way of course." He wasn't fussing over Hewitt, honest!

Dawn smiled again, glad he wouldn't pursue the topic at least with her. "Well, at least those rumors aren't harmful, directly anyway." She said then shrugged and motioned to the doors "Here we are. We can update our files in here."

Kay hesitated at the sound of voices, company, great. He nodded jerkily and waited for Dawn and whoever she was with to appear.

---

Hewitt waved a hand dismissively. "I've been sleeping for months" He was a stubborn old man, tiredness wasn't going to stop him if he didn't want to stop.

---

Dr. Baker headed into the med lab with Dawn, nodding in greeting to Asher and Kay. "Sorry to interrupt, I'm here to update your files on the Aketi species."

Asher smiled in greeting but stayed quiet, he was trying not to be a medic any more and he didn't want to be pulled into a medical conversation by mistake.

~~
"A few weeks actually, but point taken," Ethan said. "Lead the way, I can always carry you home if you wear yourself out."

Dawn nodded to the pair. "Sorry to interrupt you two, this is Dr. Baker, this is Kay and Asher, Kay is our medic." She said then headed over to the database to open the files they had on the Aketi species. She frowned at the notes she had made, hiding one then glancing over to Asher curiously. She waited for Dr. Baker to start transferring information to send a quick note to Kay's tablet. [Ask Asher if the sapling kids are okay after the Dr is gone, please.]

Kay watched the doctor curiously, nodding a vuage greeting. This person was an expert on Aketi? he had to admit, he was surprised them to be Aketi themselves. huh.
He was distracted by the message on his tablet, staring at it in confusion. He glanced to Dawn quizically.

Asher didn't know what Kay's and Dawn's looks meant, it would be rude to read Kay's messages over his shoulder so he didn't try to. He hoped it didn't mean anything bad.

"It's good to meet you both," Dr. Baker said politely. They got to work uploading their files from their tablet to the med bay computer, letting the others have whatever mysterious interaction they were having in peace.

Dawn just smiled at Kay and tilted her head to Asher before turning to watch the transfer of information. At least this much new info would give her something new to focus on if Esk went back to not wanting her around.

Kay glanced back to Asher and gestured toward the door. Dawn was busy and they were just cluttering up the place. [This isn't a conferance room so we'll see you later.] He told Dawn. Was that rude? it was probably rude but he didn't really care.
He just didn't want to stand here with Dawn and a stranger when he was sort of focused on reconnecting with Asher, privately.

Dawn chuckled at the message, nodding "Alright, see you two later then. Are we going to get new signage in here?" She teased, glad they were both feeling well enough for Kay to mention the conference room thing. It was a good sign to her.

Asher smiled hesitantly. Whoops, maybe he should have broken the news about his plan to resign to Kay earlier. Oh dear. "We'll see what the future holds. See you later Dawn, good to meet you Dr. Baker." He'd follow Kay hastily.

Dr. Baker looked over from the data transfer, smiling. "Good to meet you both, too."

Kay hastened into the hallway and led the way to a lounge area before he showed Asher the question Dawn had sent. He had no idea what she was on about, he'd completely forgotten about the Aketi saplings.

Asher considered the message for a few moments, not sure what it meant at first, then his eyes widened as realization dawned. "Oh no." Realizing Kay likely needed an explanation he added, "The cuttings Amity took from the cruise ship passengers. They're going to grow up to be Aketi, and they must have been left behind when Thalia took the kids to Unity."

~~
Dr. Baker finished the data transfer after a few minutes. "Is there anything else you'd like me to add to the system for you?" They asked Dawn. "I'll be sending over the full report about Hewitt, of course."

Dawn frowned lightly in thought at the question. "Not that I know of, thank you." She replied, glad to have that much information.

Kay looked confused, then realisation dawned on him. [You mean they're still at the house?] Oh dear, had they just accidentally been responsible for an alien invasion? He didnt' really know how Aketi development worked, were the cuttings concious of their surroundings?
How fast did they grow?
Maybe they should talk to Hewitt, or Amity.

"All right then, I'll be heading out," Dr. Baker said. They smiled and offered their hand to shake. "It was good to meet you."

~~
"They must be, I know they went to the Imperium, but I never saw them at Unity and Thalia never mentioned them." Asher said.
"We have to go get them back. We can't just leave them there, what would the Imperium do with them?" Another thought occurred to him, that Thalia might have given away the houseplants to someone on Unity. It was an unpleasant thought. "And we should ask the kids when they last saw them."

"It was good to meet you too" Dawn replied, smiling and shaking their hand. "I am sorry I cannot tell you more about treating Professor Hewitt, but it is not my secret to tell and we have been hurt by those seeking to enslave us too many times already." She said softly.

Dr. Baker nodded. "Fair enough, everyone has their secrets. I'll show myself out, or rather, I suppose the ship will." They smiled.

Kooshie wrote:Dr. Baker nodded. "Fair enough, everyone has their secrets. I'll show myself out, or rather, I suppose the ship will." They smiled.

Dawn nodded and smiled. "I hope we can meet again." She did like them, they seemed good.

Kay frowned, chewing his lip as he considered the possibilities. Going back to get them, if they were even still there was not exactly easy nor something he much liked the thought of. He had no real desire to go anywhere near that house.
How much would they have grown in ten years?

[If they're still at the house, they might be able to hide fairly well. That road hasn't been used in years...] He was searching for excuses.

"I hope so too, it was good to meet you." Dr. Baker smiled at Dawn, then would head back to Unity.

~~
Asher shook his head. "And if they're there, by themselves, with nobody to look after them, is that really any better? I may not know much about Aketi, but I know that it's not healthy for children to be deprived of language and care." Now that he actually remembered these kids existed, there was absolutely nothing that would stop him from making sure they were okay.
"We should go back to the med bay and read the information Dr. Baker and Dawn added to the system," he decided.