Page 26 of Alien Mercenary's Wife
"Tal?"
"Ship's medic. Former imperial, knows more about alien physiology than most hall-trained doctors." He paused outside a door marked with medical symbols. She arched an eyebrow. Apparently, some things were universal across the galaxy. "He's also mated to a human, so he understands your species' particular brand of stubbornness well."
The door slid open to reveal a compact medical bay that managed to look both high-tech and somehow welcoming at the same time. Clean surfaces, advanced equipment, but none of the cold sterility that made most medical facilities feel like processing centers for the dying.
T'Raal set her down carefully on one of the examination beds, his hands lingering a moment longer than strictlynecessary. "Try not to be too difficult for him. Tal's one of the good ones."
She looked up at him. "Are you staying?"
Something flickered across his expression—surprise, maybe. "Do you want me to?"
"Someone should make sure your medic doesn't try anything I haven't agreed to," she said finally, the excuse feeling thin even as she voiced it.
T'Raal's smile was slight but genuine. "Copy that, Captain. I'll keep him honest."
As if summoned by their conversation, footsteps approached from the corridor beyond. Time to see if alien medical technology could accomplish what human doctors had declared impossible.
Time to see if hope was just another luxury she couldn't afford.
The medic whowalked through the door looked nothing like she had expected an alien doctor to look. Tall, broad-shouldered, with a stubbled jaw that suggested he'd been working long hours. Another Lathar, she realized, noting the same muscular build and height as T'Raal, though his bearing was different. Where T'Raal carried himself like a weapon waiting to be deployed, this one moved carefully.
"Tal," T'Raal said by way of introduction. "This is Captain Reese Payne. The one Eris mentioned."
Tal's smile didn’t hide the way he assessed her, taking in the damage to her pants and the exo-leg beneath. "Captain.” His voice was deep with a pleasant burr and an unusual accentthat was different from T’Raal’s. “I heard you've had some excitement today."
"Yeah, you could say that." She kept her voice neutral, even as every instinct she had screamed at her to get off this table and find the nearest exit. The medical bay smelled like antiseptic and ozone, clean in a way that reminded her of too many hospital appointments.
As she spoke with the doctor, she saw T'Raal settling against the wall near the door out of the corner of her eye.
"May I?" Tal gestured toward her damaged leg.
”Of course.” She nodded as he approached. She held her breath, bracing herself against the usual pain of examination. But Tal’s hands were steady and gentle as he examined the destroyed servo mechanism through the hole in her pants. The exo-frame was twisted around her leg like a metallic cage under the fabric, and after a moment of careful assessment, he looked up at her.
"I'll need to remove the pants leg to get a proper look at this," he said, reaching for scissors off a nearby equipment table.
T'Raal growled low in his throat from the corner.
She shot him a look. "Be quiet if you want to stay."
He gave her a mulish look, and for a moment, she thought he was going to argue, but then he nodded, and his big frame relaxed. Relief washed through her, which was odd. What did she care if an alien she’d just met kicked off in medical?
Shaking the thought away, she watched as the doctor began cutting through the fabric of her pants, his movements careful and precise. He peeled away the damaged material, revealing the mangled cage of the exo-leg and her skin beneath. His touch was clinical, professional. A frown creased his brow as his fingers brushed against the neural interface connection points, his expression intent and focused.
"Sniper round?" he asked, reaching for another tool to cut the damaged servo away. She gritted her teeth as he pulled it free from her skin, shards of pain shooting up her thigh. He apologised softly as she winced, then looked down as the servo came apart in his hands, revealing the extent of the damage.
"High-velocity. Looks like it took out the primary servo and half the stabilization matrix." The destroyed components looked even worse under the medical bay's bright lighting, charred and melted beyond any hope of repair.
“You know your equipment.” Tal set the servo aside and pulled a scanner from the nearby equipment array. The device hummed to life.
“Yeah… had to do a lot of jury-rigging in the field with the earlyScorperiomodels. Gave us a good grounding in this kind of shit. That was before Tank’s time,” she added, looking at T’Raal.
Tal nodded, frowning as he cut the rest of the exo-leg away and ran a scanner over her leg.
"These neural interfaces... They’re very expansive."
"Yeah, they’re specialised for aScorperiounit." The words came out harder than she'd intended. "I was a tank commander."
Tal nodded. "I've treated plenty of soldiers before. Imperial military."
