In addition to their ability to control and access Ancients technology and produce small crystal objects, Key-Holders have incredible healing abilities. We have tested this ability in multiple ways, starting with small cuts, and escalating to the removal of entire limbs or organs. They also do not get sick as easily as others of their race without Keys. If we could unravel the technology behind these Keys sickness would decline in the galaxy and the loss of limbs or organs would be a non-issue!

  -Si’l Vala Reshka’i, Head of Ancients Research, Silva Prime

  ------------------------------------------------------------

  Maggie didn’t get her tablet back until the next day when she was moved to her new room. She was glad to be out of the medical bay, or whatever they called it, but she still had a nurse in her room, which she wasn’t as thrilled with.

  “I won’t be here for long, you’re healing remarkably fast.” The nurse reassured her.. “I’m just here to help you to the bathroom when you need it, help you with physical therapy, monitor your condition, and keep you company. My name is Sen’di, most humans find it easier to call me Cindy though, the words sound similar enough that I don’t mind.”

  “Sen’di.” Maggie tried, looking over the tall, lithe woman. “Uhm... sorry, but what are you? I mean, what’s your race? I haven’t seen an alien like you before.”

  Maggie was sure she would remember seeing someone like Sen’di, with her long, thin limbs and multi-faceted eyes. She had no hair, but two long antennas that hung down her face, gently floating as if in a breeze. Maggie had a hard time not comparing the woman to a bug. A giant, friendly bug. At least she didn’t resemble a bee or spider, or Maggie might have tried to run away.

  Sen’di laughed, a sound like bells tinkling in water. “I am Telorian, my people prefer planets to space though, so you will not see many of us on ships and space stations. There’s no room to fly.” She unfolded shimmering dragonfly wings, displaying them proudly.

  “Makes sense.” Maggie said as she gripped the floating bar that she guessed served as a walker. They dipped only slightly as she used it to stand, her legs trembling with the effort. It felt like hundreds of tiny needles were poking into her legs and feet as she took a step towards the large bed, almost ruining the soft feel of the carpet beneath her feet.

  Sen’’di moved over, gently holding a long-fingered hand behind her back. “Yes, but I do not mind. We visit enough planets where I can fly that I don’t get homesick that often. I know that you are human, but what is your friend?” She nodded towards Robin, who was watching anxiously from beside the bed.

  “A ghost.” Maggie flashed Robin a smile, making her way to the bed slowly. The pins and needles feeling faded a little with each step, although the exhaustion didn’t.

  “A ghost? What planet are ghosts from?” Sen’di tilted her head, her wings rustling like a plastic bag as she folded them. “Turn around and sit down, slowly.”

  “No specific planet.” Maggie turned around and eased down onto the bed. She flopped back on the thick comforter, closing her eyes.

  “Ghosts are what happens when people die and their soul doesn’t move on.” Robin said. “When I died, my soul got caught in the computer somehow.” Robin said. His eyes lingered on Maggie, worry creasing his face. “Are you alright Maggie?”

  “I’m fine. Just tired. This is a really nice bed.” She was surprised that she didn’t feel worse, considering what they had said about her condition when she arrived.

  You died, of course you feel tired. Your body is still getting used to being alive again.

  “The captain and Ambassador Ux’thu wanted to make sure you had the best available.” Sen’di said as she folded back the covers, gently nudging Maggie off them. “This room is often used for honored guests, so everything is top-quality. You have a full bathing room, which we will use for some of your exercises, a kitchenette, the bedroom of course, and a sitting area. You also have a very good view.”

  She smiled and pressed a button next to the bed. Large sheets of metal slid silently to the side, revealing giant curved windows that showed a sea of stars. Maggie sat up, staring out the windows. She was reminded of Theseus and her first view of space through the window of his ship, of the beautiful nebula that Robin said was called Flower of the Gods.

  Flor’i’navis. Te’chik’s voice provided helpfully. Maggie clenched her jaw, wondering if she would ever get privacy again.

  It didn’t seem likely.

  “Where are we headed?” Robin asked, sitting on the bed next to Maggie. His hand lightly brushed hers, cool and tingling.

  “Silva Prime, there is a place there that specializes in the study of the Keys and all that is related to them. Ambassador Ux’thu wants them to help you with your Key. Of course if you start to get visions of where your ship is, then we can change course.” Sen’di said.

  “Visions? Of where my ship is? I don’t have a ship, and I don’t have visions.” But hadn’t Theseus or Robin mentioned something about a ship the Key was supposed to go to? Could it be that massive thing she kept seeing in her dreams, cloaked in snow and ice?

  “All Keys are attached to ships, and the only one who can pilot the ship is a Key-Holder. So, somewhere, you have a ship. Do you want to sit up, or lay down?”

  “Sit up I think, But maybe move to a chair? Is there anything to do around here?” Maggie wondered if her music was copied to the new tablet as well. She supposed she could play chess with Robin, except he kept beating her. She wasn’t entirely sure he wasn’t cheating!

  “You can watch holo-shows, there are some games I can teach you, you can take a bath, study almost anything your heart desires, read fiction, write. What is it you would like to do?” Sen’di smiled and helped Maggie stand.

  A bath, she had mentioned there was a bathing room, and it had been ages since she had taken a bath! The pods on Galaux Station only had showers, and she had never gotten to the pool area there. “A bath would actually be great. Robin, are you okay here while I do that?”

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  “Of course.” He smiled, and winked at her. “As always, I promise not to peek.”

  Maggie laughed and gripped the floating bar again, walking carefully to the door on the other side of the room, Sen’di leading the way. Now that she wasn’t confined to the bed, she was trying to get in what walking she could. Partly because she wanted to reassure herself that she still could, and partly because she valued the freedom it gave her. She didn’t want to have to depend on others to move around, and she hadn’t seen a whole lot of handicap-accessible areas since she went to space. Did that mean they just didn’t need them? Or that they just didn’t care about people with disabilities?

  She hoped it was that they just didn’t need them, or maybe they were just so high tech that she hadn’t noticed them? She thought briefly of the floating chairs at the laundromat, and the floating bar she held onto now as she stepped into the massive room that was the bathroom.

  Then she froze and stared at the room before her, all other thoughts washed from her mind as she looked at the small pool that was their idea of a bath. There was a toilet, a sink, all of the usual stuff, even a couch! Who the hell needed a couch in the bathroom? Who the hell needed a pool for a bathtub? Not that she was going to complain!

  “I will start the water, the seats at the edge of the bath are warmed, so you don’t need to worry about being cold while it fills.” Sen’di guided Maggie to the edge of the pool, gently helping her down the steps. “I will also fetch soaps and shampoo for you.”

  “Thanks.” Maggie said weakly. She sat down on the long bench that circled the inside of the tub, surprised to find it really was warm! With Sen’di’s help she stripped, and then just relaxed as the other woman started the water and gathered items from drawers set into the wall.

  She wound up falling asleep in the bath, relaxing in the warm water, surrounded by the bubbles and the sweet smell of the soap that had made them. She wasn’t sure what time it was when she woke up in bed, dressed in a plain nightshirt and pants and tucked in under the cozy blankets and comforter, or what had woken her up.

  Maggie looked around the room, frowning when she didn’t notice Robin’s familiar faint glow, or Sen’di anywhere in the room. Her father wasn’t even there, but instead there was a short, grey-furred Silvarian, peering at her from his spot next to her bed.

  “Good morning, granddaughter.” The Silvarian said, his furry mouth turning upwards in a smile. His head-tendrils were longer than what she was used to seeing, floating behind him, several inches off his back. But they were nearly down to his tail, and he leaned on a cane that looked like it was made out of twisted wood. Instead of the sparse accessories or nothing at all she normally saw Silvarian’s wear, he was wearing a simple blue robe that reminded her of the robes she usually saw priests wearing.

  “Hi?” Maggie said, slowly pulling herself into a sitting position. She looked around for her tablet, frowning when she didn’t see it. “Where’s Robin?”

  “Your friend is nearby, when I’m ready to leave I’ll take him out of his drawer. But I wanted a chance to meet you by myself first. I am Ux’thu, but you may call me grandfather.” He smiled, the long whiskers on either side of his mouth reminding her of a mustache the way they hung down.

  “You’re the one that raised the- the guy who says he’s my dad?” She didn’t like waking up to find random people in her room, didn’t like that Robin was nowhere to be seen. None of the people here seemed to trust him, which made her nervous.

  “I am. He did mention that you were skeptical about that fact. But I assure you, he is your father. And from the sounds of it little Nora is your mother, how was she doing the last time you saw her? Was she well?”

  “She was doing alright, she was at a rehab place, they were working with her to get her legs to work.” There wasn’t any harm in telling him that, but she wasn’t going to mention what rehab place, just to be safe.

  Ux’thu’s whiskers drooped, and he lowered his head slightly. “He had mentioned something about that as well. I am sorry to hear she is having problems. When she was chosen for Key implantation we estimated that she would react well to it, and meld cleanly with the Key. I suppose we were wrong. Unless something happened, unrelated, that affected the use of her legs?”

  “Doc said it was some sickness that was eating away at her muscles or something. Would a Key do that? Is the Key going to do that to me?” She curled her fingers into the blankets, glancing down at her legs. They felt fine right now, if a bit sore.

  “A Key can do that, yes. We’re still not sure why some people meld cleanly with a Key, and others suffer. But we are making progress in learning. I don’t believe that something like that will happen to you though. I’m not sure what they told you about your condition when you arrived here, but you should have died from that blast. For a little bit, you did die, but then- then you came back! Muscles and organs started to regrow, even now you’re walking when you should never have been able to again.” A glow entered Ux’thu’s eyes, his voice raising slightly in excitement.

  A chill ran down Maggie’s spine, and she scooted a little away from the Silvarian. It was no different from what Te’chik had said, or the doctor in the medical bay, but the excitement in Ux’thu was unnerving. “Guess I’m lucky?”

  “Extremely lucky! You’ve melded cleanly with your Key, and it hasn’t even driven you insane!” He deflated slightly, looking her over with concern. “But I’m making you uncomfortable, I’m sorry. I’ll leave you be to get some rest, and we can talk in the morning. There are many things you need to learn, so lessons will begin early, after you eat your breakfast.”

  He reached over to the bedside table that seemed to grow directly out of the wall, and pressed a button. A drawer slid open, and Robin immediately appeared as he pulled out the tablet. “You furry bastard! I don’t appreciate being shoved in a drawer!”

  “Language young man.” Ux’thu said firmly. “I simply wanted some privacy with my granddaughter. But I’ll leave you two now. If you need anything granddaughter, don’t hesitate to ask.” Ux’thu smiled as he turned back to Maggie, and set the tablet down next to her on the bed. “Vala Sen’di is in the room next door, she’ll hear if you call out.”

  Maggie took the tablet and hugged it against her chest. Robin was still seething, glaring at the Silvarian, but he didn’t say anything as Ux’thu bowed slightly and left the room.

  “Are you alright Robin?” Maggie looked up at him. He was full size, standing with his arms crossed and legs slightly spread. He looked ready to throw punches!

  But he held up a hand, staring hard at the door, as if expecting Ux’thu to walk back in at any moment.

  Eventually, he nodded, and let out a sigh. “I’m fine, are you? What did he want?” Robin sat down on the edge of the bed, reaching out to lightly touch her hand.

  “I’m fine.” Maggie smiled and relaxed back against her pillows. “He just wanted to say hi I guess, he raised my- my father.” That was going to take a long time to get used to. She was still not sure if she believed it. “At least the guy who says he’s my father.”

  “He is your father, I looked at the DNA tests. It explains some of that genetic drift Doc Tomas mentioned, all humans get a little bit further from Earthlings as more generations are born in space, and they marry and have kids with other species.” Robin said.

  “Wait, humans can have babies with other species? How is that even possible?” Maggie thought of Jo’s insistence that he wasn’t Tommy’s biological father, and made a face. Did that mean some humans had sex with Silvarians? They may not be animals, but they looked enough like giant otters to make her stomach turn.

  “The wonders of science.” Robin smiled and shrugged. “It makes for some interesting people, and that’s not even counting the people that have body modifications, like Nurse Veela.”

  Maggie shook her head, letting herself slump back down in the bed. “Sex ed must be something else out here.”

  “It is at that.” Robin actually laughed now, his shoulders relaxing as they talked. “Get some more rest Maggie... I’ll be right here.”

  “I’m getting sick of just resting. I want to do something.” She closed her eyes though, letting out a soft sigh. She just didn’t know what to do.