Chapter One
Her ship rocked asshe moved through the debris field.Skylar felt the pull in this direction, but all that was in this direction was garbage.
She got clear of the field, and her ship auto-answered the nearest station.She may as well get more water and try to find out who was calling her.None of the ghosts was saying.
She set the controls to take her to the station that was calling, and she went to lie down in her regeneration arbour.
She settled in her chair, surrounded by trees and moss and flowers.The life of the plants wrapped around her and perked her up.The song of the plants gave her energy and let her sleep.Breathing fire on Aten might not have been the best of ideas, but it had felt so very right at the time.
Skylar eased into sleep with a smile on her lips.
The ship was chiming, and there was a distinctive knock on the hull.Shave and a Haircut.Skylar fought her way to consciousness.“Ship, status.”
“Repairs to the biosystems have been requested.The station has a bio ship medic who is requesting entrance.Is clearance granted?”
“Single being?”
“Yes.Terran female.”
“Let her in.”
There was the hiss, and a very strange gait was coming toward Skylar.She paused and got her headgear on, and the normal step followed by a heavythunkcontinued to approach.When the door to the interior garden opened, Skylar was stunned.The medic was actually human; she had her right leg encased in a thick framework that hobbled her.
The woman had a pack and a shaved head with a station mark on her.“Good day.I am here to take a look at your bio setup.Your ship indicates distress.”
Skylar answered in common.“Please do what you need to do.Let me know an estimate of time.”
“Of course.This is a lovely ship.”
“I like it.”
The woman went to the watering unit and made notes on a tablet.“I am ordering some more water and nutrients.I will clean your lighting lenses and check the output.You are having quite the energy draw from them, so I would recommend putting in some giving species.They are gossipy, like living with other plants, and get excited by travel.A basic consciousness, but a nice one to have.”
Skylar spoke in English, “Ship, are these recommendations reasonable?”
“They are.The captain is correct with what is needed.I am also requiring a filter change.”
The woman smiled.“I will get on that, Gertrude.”
Skylar gasped.“Gertrude?I would have pegged you for an Iris.”
The ship said, “My captain named me for her grandmother.”
The tech smiled.“She was a bitch, too.”
Skylar stared at the woman wearing a ton of bond markings.“This is your ship.”
The woman continued moving through the plants and trees, making notes.“It is.Was.If I try to leave the station, my leg rips through the hull.”
The ship’s voice said, “Calculating a means to divest you of the restraint.When calculations are complete, I will let you know.”
“Thanks, Gerty.”
The woman did the step-and-drag into the medical area.
Skylar stared.“Wait, wait, wait.If this were your ship, how did I get it?”
“I snuck up on your med bed and put the tablet there, told the ship about you and that we are nearly genetically identical, which meant that the cranky bitch accepted you right away.”
