Chapter 2: Janus Base

The instructions Baako gave were precise, if not entirely simple to put into practice.

“Stabilize the ship. Repair the hull. And get us to the nearest station, colony, anywhere, we need assistance.” Baako never truly had to raise their voice, the urgency delivering their message with greater feeling for lack of volume.

Duško got to work shifting robots from their tasks to patch up the hull. What had been a decrepit shuttle, was mostly a cloud of debris, whatever fuel hadn’t gone up in the initial explosion, lingered around the Aurora’s hull. Linnie had rushed back down towards the engine room, to stabilize the shield generators after the sudden hit they had taken. With Alvina unconscious, and Baako only sticking around the bridge long enough to make sure everyone got their orders, Elias was left to put into action the request.

It really shouldn’t have been much of a problem; once the ship was stabilized, Elias was able to figure out how much fuel they actually had left, comparing it to the amount of time their patch ups would hold without needing more repair work. He split his time, and attention between pouring over the known maps of the sector, and assisting Linnie or Duško, as needed--though he kept a coms open at all times in case Baako needed him for anything. Elias was sure he had things handled, after all he took great pride in knowing that Alvina trusted him to do his job, no matter what unusual circumstances came up. He would later learn about Murphy’s law.

In the medbay, Baako had managed to stabilize their first rescue with the help of Roo, and a few other medical robots without much problem. They suspected however, that the male alien was in a self induced coma, a defense in the face of grave injury, which Baako had done all they could to alleviate with what equipment was available on the Aurora. With that taken care of, Baako had turned their attention to the baby, and Alvina; the former had settled down to light sniffles, holding a soft toy, the latter was unconscious.

With all the honesty they possessed, Baako hoped for a day when they wouldn’t have to see Alvina unconscious due to injury...it was getting repetitive, but somehow no less upsetting. Finding that speaking out loud, regardless of whether or not the child understood them, but being fairly sure that Alvina, would at some point in her unconsciousness be able to, only seemed natural to Baako as they set to work fixing Alvina up. Luckily, nothing had truly broken, fractures, and bruises were easy enough to begin fixing up with what was available on the Aurora’s medbay.

“Did you know, little one...that your rescuer is one of the most stubborn humans I have ever met...” Baako’s voice was steady, as they worked off the top of Alvina’s suit off. It had been burned in places, and otherwise peppered with fuel, oil, and all manner of shuttle junk, but proved to be little resistance to Baako’s tools, which made quick work of cutting it off where needed.

“And indeed, that is a feat, for humans are surprisingly resilient, even in the face of daunting odds. I suppose that is one of the many reasons, those like me find them fascinating, and in general like them.” Even as Baako worked, hands steady, and ever vigilant of their own actions, the monitors for Alvina, and the baby’s reactions, they were calm. Baako spared a moment to touch the small matte metallic plates that rested on Alvina’s chest, counting each of the three present with Alvina’s breathing, before going back to tend to the bruises, and injuries they could.

To some degree, it was habit for them to be the calm one, but as long as Baako had something to do, they had learned that most things could be resolved. There was a time they also thought this meant, that anything could be fixed, now they knew better. Some things weren’t meant to be fixed, but most problems did have solutions, and many sentient beings could go on to live.

“And that...is how you apply salve, and apply patches to fix fragments...” Baako couldn’t help but be somewhat amused, as the child had crawled a bit closer to where they could better see Alvina from the cot where Baako had placed them. A glance at the monitors, had Baako moving slightly to adjust the cot settings, and the painkillers they had ready to be administered.

“...baby....” Alvina’s voice sounded cracked a moment, and Baako moved to help give her water, unable to ignore the amusement.

“Here I believed we were past such pet names, but if you so wish.” The corners of Baako’s mouth twitched in amusement, but as quickly as it appeared it vanished. Picking up a small light, Baako held open Alvina’s eyelids, to test her response.

“Alvina. Focus...The baby is right here.” Though the child gurgled on the next cot, Baako barely glanced over, until they were somewhat satisfied with the dilation of Alvina’s pupils.

“Bright. Stop that.” Alvina’s gaze had finally settled on Baako, and though she seemed confused, Baako was satisfied enough to help her sit up slowly. Methodically, they went through the usual check up, to make sure Alvina had not, in fact managed to break or injure her neck, her main problem seemed to be a steady sort of confusion.

“I think you have managed a mild concussion...” Baako instinctively reached over to get Alvina more water, though Alvina’s brow was furrowed, and her gaze shifted between her surroundings, only to rest again on the child.

“Baako...” Alvina flinched slightly when she tilted her head a bit, trying to find how to ask what was on her mind. Baako didn’t push, instead moving to pick up the painkiller they had left ready, and administering it carefully behind Alvina’s left ear.

The result took a few moments, but color began to return to normal on Alvina’s face, and her breathing settled again. Patiently Baako moved a hand to the matte plates that now dangled on their chain, where Alvina’s hand eventually settled as well

“Alvina. The baby is not injured, and while the noise, and unceremonious arrival onto the Aurora seemed to startle him, I believe I have done well to calm him down again.” Baako was aware the child was studying them, and Alvina was doing the same, as she seemingly tried to work everything out.

“Alvina, not Frost. Okay, I think you’re right my head feels fuzzy, and I was expecting something else.” Alvina sighed softly, and ran a hand through her now loose hair.

“It will all settle in your head again, it always seems to.” Baako gave her what passed as a half smile, and for a moment everything seemed to settle. They had a few moments with only their breathing, the occasional gurgle of the baby, and the background hum of the ship, as Baako moved to unhook the monitors on Alvina, putting them back to where they belonged. The monitors one by one going quiet, as they settled back into standby.

“So now what--” Alvina’s question died on her lips, as the coms unit signaled an alert, and Elias’s voice filtered through.

“We’re being intercepted, Baako they don’t want to listen to me.” There was a heightened note that caught their attention and before Baako could warn her not to, Alvina had slipped off the cot, checked her covering before taking off for the corridor to make her way back to the cockpit.

The change in the child was almost instantaneous, the moment Alvina went out of view the were whines, and general agitation from the small human, so Baako did the only thing they could, picked the baby, and bunny toy up and followed after Alvina with only a few words of instruction to the medical robots as they left.

“What’s going on Elias?” Alvina’s voice was only slightly pinched as she made it to the bridge, ignoring Elias’s slight startle once he caught sight of so much of her skin, he wasn’t used to seeing the tattoos in such a serious situation.

“This.” Elias quickly focused on what he had called them up about, and switched over the coms unit as a fighter ship came into view on the screen.

“Unidentified freighter, provide clearance code, or prepare to be disabled.”

Next Chapter: Alien Species: Part 1