Chains of Loss Read Online Free Page B

this.  He ordered the mediceps to start stripping rh proteins.  “It’s not very hard—for a New Athenian.  That’s, that’s where I’m from.  New Athens.”
    “What do you want?”
    “To go home.”
    “No, I mean for you to fix my eye.  What do you want?”
    The question made no sense to Derek; he saw that she needed help and so he offered it freely.  He pondered for a moment and decided that the word 'want' might have a slightly different meaning here—something closer to ‘need’.  “I need a few minutes to set up.  That’s really all.  Would you…”  He hesitated, not sure if he should make this offer.
    “Would I what?” She replied cautiously. 
    “I’m not sure if I should offer, but would you like…augments?  Like a cyborg?”
    “The ones you have, you mean?”
    “Yeah.  Fast healing, better vision, a simulation and communication suite.  New Athens standard, really.”
    “And what would that cost?”
    “Let’s see.  You’d need to be well-fed for it to take full effect, but it really wouldn’t take more than an hour for me to get it started.  After that, it’ll phase in as it integrates with your system.  It’ll take a week or two before it’s full strength, but not much longer than that.”
    “Okay.  So what do you want?”
    Derek thought.  That question again.  “I think…it would be nice to not be the only cyborg in the world.”
    The woman looked guarded for a moment, then nodded.  “That’s all there is to it?  No strings?”
    Derek shook his head.  What did physics have to do with this?
    “Then how do we start?”
     
    ***
    Mycah did some stretches, mostly to assuage her restlessness, while Derek sat, eyes closed and lips moving slightly.  What was he doing?  Meditations?  Prayers?  She didn’t really care enough to inquire.  The sitting was driving her crazy, but did she dare pace?  It would increase the amount of tracks they left, and with her companion’s unexpected weight they were in a bad enough situation already.
    She took the opportunity to look him over.  He was a few centimeters taller than she was, and looked young – probably out of his teen years, but not far.  His hair was dark and longer than hers was, if not by much.  His face might have been handsome if it wasn’t so gaunt; perhaps cyborgs weren’t as great as the legends said.  His people obviously hadn’t been able to give him enough to eat.
    “So…what’s this take?  What do I have to do?” she said. 
    Derek coughed gently.  “Okay.  We could start now.  Take off that eyepatch.”
    “Okay.”  She did so and set it aside.
    He pulled a white cloth from his pocket, unfolded it into a scarf-like length and offered her one end.  “Wrap this around your head.  It doesn’t have to cover your mouth, just your eye.”
    She pushed it back.  “No way.  Haven’t known you nearly long enough for that.”
    “Whuh?” He seemed genuinely confused, but he could just be a good actor.
    “I’m not letting you blindfold me.” 
    “Oh.  You can leave your other eye uncovered.  We’re not working with it.  Or, wait.  Let me have a look.  Keep your eye open…”  He leaned in close.  “Okay.  Good enough.  You can leave it uncovered.”
    She did as he said.  The cloth seemed smooth and soft, except when she placed it on her face; there, it stuck.
    “Now I work.  Don’t worry, just relax, and whatever you do, don’t take off the cloth.”  He sat down behind her, back to back.
    “Okay…”  She sat still for a minute, hearing nothing of her companion except his breathing.  “Sooo…?”
    “Working on it.  You can talk if you want.  I’d actually suggest it, really.  I have a lot to learn about this world.”
    “Right.  Hmm.  What do you want to know?”
    “What happened?  To the planet, I mean.  My people left a very long time ago, and the world was very different then.  No orcs, for example.”
    “More than seven hundred years