Synth

“I want DH here.”

It was a struggle to speak, and TO’s throat seemed to rebel with every syllable spoken. For the first time in their life, they were distinctly aware of the different sets of vocal chords they possessed: one was far more damaged and weak than the other, so often one set would give out while they continued talking with the other.

Their voice sounded wrong.

“I know.” Goretta said as she set up the small device which would constantly monitor TO’s temperature. It was a thin device that stuck to their forehead, but TO was acutely aware of it, and just wanted to scrape it off.

In truth, they almost felt like they could scrape off a whole layer of skin.

“And I don’t need all this,” TO croaked. Waking up had been awful enough, realizing that the heat and the pain they felt were real and not just part of the dream. The moments immediately afterwards had been worse, with DH making a frantic call to Goretta, the others leaving the room, and TO ultimately being brought down to the room where Avery had been resting until the new ‘recovery’ room needed to be turned into a quarantine room. “The rest of the civilians are-“ a series of violent coughs interrupted them. “They’re still with the other civilian-“

“That’s because we can’t possibly quarantine everyone.” She said, “And the others out there have had colds before. For most of them, it’s not a big deal.” She sat down alongside the bed, her tentacles pulling a box forward. “You, though… “

Her communicator dinged, playing a soft song that TO didn’t recognize. She pressed a button on the top to answer the call and put it on speaker.

“I checked everyone else,” DH said, not bothering with any form of greeting. They were speaking common again and while the tone they used felt more natural than it had back in training, it still felt somewhat dry and emotionless to TO. When they could see their mate’s ears moving as they spoke, the lack of tone didn’t bother them, but without seeing their ears, DH’s voice seemed so cold and emotionless.

“And?”

“No fever, no throat irritation, no coughing. There is some fatigue, however-“

“However, given the situation, it’s unlikely that that’s a symptom.” Goretta said, “That’s good, TO is the only Synth that’s sick.”

“It’s not good. This shouldn’t be happening.” Even though the tone to DH’s voice was minimal, TO could still pick up a bit of frustration, or perhaps anger, as their words were clipped and fast. How angry was DH that they wanted their anger to be clear even when nobody could see their ears? “TO is vaccinated-“

Goretta gave a frustrated sigh. “Yes, you’re technically vaccinated. And I know you lot have the best vaccinations for even minor stuff. But a vaccination for a *cold* is still nearly impossible to maintain for an extended period. Maybe it would have worked for a year or so if you had limited exposure to the public, but you’ve been out in public more than most synths even before you joined us, and you’ve been trapped in close quarters on a ship with an active disease outbreak!” she sighed, reached into the bag on the floor, and pulled out a small pack. Carefully, she opened it up to reveal a small syringe.

“Another vaccine?” TO croaked.

“No. I’d like to take some blood. It’s just a cold, but I also don’t know how a cold will actually hit your species.” She pulled out a large, thick rubber band. “The issue is that this focused on the respiratory system, and messes with the throat as well. You have a more complicated respiratory system and more in your throat, so it could cause more problems for you.”

All TO did in response was to turn and groan, closing their eyes as they stretched their arm out to her. They had blood tests done before, but it was a long time ago; well before they developed such issues with blood. Still, so long as they didn’t have to see the blood, they were fairly certain they wouldn’t have an issue with this.

“So what, you’re running tests?” DH asked through the communicator. “When they’re done, I can visit, right?”

“What, do you think I’m going to get a full workup of this cold from a blood sample?” She asked, “It’s not that simple.” TO winced as they felt the pinch of the needle in their arm. The pain didn’t bother them so much, but the knowledge that blood was coming out of them did. “No. This will give me something that I can use to see if it spreads to the rest of you, at least. It might give me some hint as to how well TO’s body is fighting it too, but it won’t tell me anything else.”

“Then when can I come see them!?” DH demanded

“No idea.” even with TO’s limited understanding, they could tell her tone was flat and cold. They glanced over just to see her face, and despite her tone they could see the faint signs of something like sadness on her face-the slight medial curve up of the brows, the lowered eyelids, and a slight downward turn to her lips.

“That is not acceptable,” came DH’s clipped voice. If they could see their mate, TO knew that the words would have different meaning to them. Though Galactic Common didn’t require ears to add meaning, TO found that words which DH might speak in Common would still take on a different meaning in their mind depending on the movements of the ears. Without, all they had was the dictionary definition of the word, and its formalized use. “I won’t let TO be alone-“

“They won’t be alone, not really.” Goretta said. “I’ll be checking in regularly, and you’ll be able to talk to them all day long if you want.”

“But I won’t be there. It’s not the same.”

“Look.” Goretta said as she pulled the needle from TO’s arm, applying gauze and pressure immediately after. “As I said before, I’m not an expect of infectious disease. That’s a complex specialization which I respect, despite having little to no interest in it myself. Cross-species infectious diseases is an even more complex specialization, and one which I know absolutely nothing about!” She pulled out a handful of multicolored adhesive bandages from her kit. “Which color would you like?” She asked.

“... Blue?” TO answered after a few moments of confusion.

“Right.” She said, her skin darkening slightly, “Sorry, I don’t do blood tests that often. Mostly I did that when I was working in a clinic, and I was working in a children’s clinic then.” She pressed the blue bandage to the inside of TO’s elbow. “And nothing cheers up an upset kid more than a bandage of their choice and some candy.”

“We have several species up here, and this cold has infected all of them! I don’t know why TO is the only one quarantined-“

“Because TO is the only Chilacian to get this cold so far.” She said, “GiDi doesn’t have it yet, but even if they did, that’s different. GiDi has already been sick a few times. TO hasn’t. You haven’t. We’re in close quarters, and I don’t know what this cold is going to do to the lot of you. It could be mild, or it could be severe, since your affected anatomy is far more complex! And because I’m no expert in this field, I’m inclined to take the far more cautious approach here!”

DH continued, making fierce arguments about how they could visit and be safe, about how they could take the same precautions as Goretta herself was taking and how given the close quarters they were in, keeping TO quarantined was pointless. While TO listened to the arguments, they also considered how awful they felt, how they seemed to feel hot under their skin, how air seemed to scrape through their throat, and how they felt so oddly tired and weak.

“Stay away.” TO finally croaked. Their voice was too faint for DH to hear, but Goretta heard them just fine and paused, looking at them with a brief smile. “You heard that, DH?”

“Heard what?”

Goretta brought the communicator closer to TO, who cleared their throat as best as they could before speaking as loudly as they could. “Stay away.” They said, their voice cracking as they spoke, “I don’t want you to get sick.”

“But I can help!” DH said, “I can-“

“Unless you have a magic cure, there’s nothing you can do.” TO said. They looked up to Goretta, “That’s correct, right?”

“Right.” Goretta said, “I mean, there are things that might help you heal up faster, of course. Resting, eating full meals, and keeping hydrated. I can ensure you have all you need to heal up quickly as possible.” She frowned. “You’re lucky, in a sense. This ship was designed for you, as is your food. It has all the nutrients you may need-“

“TO has been taking supplements with their meals to help their leg heal faster.” DH said. “And they’ve been...” They trailed off suddenly, and with only a moment of thought, TO knew why. Yesterday, they hadn’t eaten their supper. They remembered picking at the food and eating what they could, but they didn’t think they could actually stomach eating much. Could skipping a meal like that cause a virus to gain enough traction in their body to make them sick?

“And that’s another issue as well.” Goretta said, “Injured as you already are, it might be harder for your body to fight this. Honestly, that’s probably why this cold was able to get a foothold in you; your body might have been slower to respond despite the vaccination due to your injury.” TO heard the pack at her feet zip closed, and when they looked back, the vial that contained their blood was gone. “And again, I’m not an expert, but I think if the virus got a hold of one of you, it’ll be easier for it to hit all of you. So, yes, I’m calling for quarantine.”

Silence fell on the line. While TO absolutely hated the idea of being alone in the room for any extended period, the idea of them getting DH sick was something they hated more. Also, Avery just woke up, and DH was already worried about their health. What if Avery got sick as well?

“I’ll be fine.” TO croaked. “We can talk on the communicator.”

Several long moments of silence passed before DH spoke again. “What’s the criteria for TO coming out of quarantine?”

“Depends on how long the symptoms last.” Goretta said, “I’ll judge by the fever, mostly. Once that breaks, I want them to have a couple of days in quarantine until I’m confidant in saying they’re fine.”

“Fine.” DH snapped. “But I’m checking with Snout to see about ways to speed this up.” Before TO could protest that there was no need, that Snout was busy, the line cut out.

“Well, I can’t blame them.” Goretta said as she packed up her things, “Being away from your partner is awful, especially when you know they’re unwell.”

“You have a partner?” TO croaked, “I didn’t know. Are they on the ship?”

Goretta had just gotten up and was close to the door when TO spoke. She stopped, communicator in hand, ready to press against the chip reader to open the door. “I’m just speaking hypothetically.” She said after a moment, “If I had a partner, I wouldn’t want to be away from them. I do not have one now.”

TO didn’t ask any more questions as she left. Though they thought that they’d hate being alone, the sudden silence was an unexpected relief. They leaned back, grateful that they didn’t have to have their eyes open anymore, and that they didn’t have to listen or focus or look at anyone. Everything seemed to make them hurt, and they just wanted to not exist for a while. As they relaxed onto the cool pillow and let themself drift, they replayed Goretta’s response in their head, trying to remember the exact tone and cadence she used.

Tone was still hard for them to pick up on. Facial expressions were so much easier to understand, but Goretta had her back to them when she responded to their question. Despite that, TO got the feeling that their question had somehow been a painful one to her and her answer, even more so.