The hand that heals

[rewritable]

Tanya and John walked hand in hand back to Hospital area. The transmission had disturbed the carefree flow of captain's thoughts and made him return in harsh reality of two quarantined liners in the middle of cold dead space. For a moment a specific sense of vertigo reminded of itself, a feeling not experienced for years, but still uncomfortably familiar from days long gone.

The presence of Tanya by his side brought John back to present. They did not talk much for the rest of the way, but that was not an awkward silence. An understanding one, it was soothing more deeply than any idle chatter could be.

In Hospital they found few last passengers queued and were told that Dr. Whitesun had gone to Deck A-Two with "some fainting Cryer lady". Unsure of what does that mean, John turned to Tanya and took her hand,

"Tanya, let the medics to do their magic, then take some rest. You've been through a lot today. I'll go and find out what the representatives of our resident magicians are up to. I promise to visit you later to see if you are all right" He looked deep in her eyes, for the first time, then broke off and walked away towards Deck A-Two.

***

As John went, he remembered he hasn't seen Andrew almost since arrival of Cryer and ExoGeni teams. After a moment of consideration, he got a communication device and sent a short transmission,

"Hey, Ross. It seems that powers that be are gathering on deck A-Two. Unless you are too busy taking the ship's systems apart, I think it may be a good idea for you to come and offer your insight."

A signal of confirmation came a minute later, just as John turned around a corner and noticed a figure of Dr. Whitesun in company of two women he did not recognize. Frial waved and approached the small group.

***

Andrew was still excited from the discussion and was trying to calm down. That was exactly the feeling he loved so much - the shell of a problem gradually falling to pieces and revealing the essentials. By the power of human mind, logic and knowledge alone. That, and finally talking to someone just as enthusiastic over the scientific side of the situation made Andrew feel at least twenty years younger.

"I should re-specialize. Treating animals only gets you so far, dealing with humans is where the real excitement lies."

The transmission John had sent came through. Andrew read it and hit the reply button without much of a thought, then he turned to Julian,

"There's a meeting of sorts there, somewhere. I figure captain wants me to be there. There are things to be told, I shall hurry. I don't know if they are able to appreciate the beauty of our discovery, but anyway..."

He walked back and forth in the medium-sized room, then dashed out of the door. After a second he appeared again, "Oh, excuse my rudeness, I, eh, hmm.... what's appropriate in such situations... Invite you too, no, yes?" Then he disappeared without waiting for an answer.

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