Chapter 8: Moving In

June, for the first time since she first woke up in the hospital bed, found herself waking up alert. The room she found herself in was clearly different to the hospital room she'd been in before, the bed was even softer than before with a ridiculously plush duvet covering her body with just enough pressure to be reassuring to her. No beeping medical equipment, the light was noticeably less harsh then before and to her side lay an extremely soft and cuddly looking plushie in the form of... some sort of creature. 

The last few days had been a blur of memory and drugs so what little she could dredge up told her that this was something that was expected, the little emotional facts stating so bubbling to the surface of her consciousness. She'd... agreed to come with the nice Affini doctor and live with her for a while-that's what it felt like- but why didn't she remember the conversation? Surely she wasn't so dazed to have forgotten large swathes of talking to nice people like these Affini. She shrugged it all off, probably some reason or the other. 

Grabbing the plushie by her side and pulling it against her, she felt a warm satisfaction and comfort radiate in her mind. A vague bubble of a memory of a plushie from years and years and years ago floated to the surface, this was obviously different but it evoked the same feeling of comfort and safety. Stroking the fur a very slight floral scent not like the one that was in the hospital filled June's nostrils, again relaxing her further. 

June hoped that she hadn't fallen into some awkward to explain fervour that the rest of the crew would pry about, when they get suspicious she'd feel sick almost instinctively which was odd to feel. They were all shipmates, why would their questions tie her stomach up in knots? Whenever she tried to think about it however, the question and the barest form of an answer quickly slipped through her fingers. Never mind then.

Giving the plushie another firm squeeze, June realised that she should probably check the rest of this place out, who knows what sort of technical or mechanical problem would come up next, and the magic plant based electronics fascinated her to no end. The counterpoint was just as tempting; she'd lie in this lovely relaxing bed for another few hours, letting herself rest a bit more. Oh the blissful soft bed she found herself in, warm and cozy, forming so that no matter her body position she was encased in nothing but comfort. Overall she just felt like she'd had her first few proper nights of sleep in forever. 

That's another thing she couldn't really understand, sure she got woken up all the time for repair duties, but that wasn't too often, why did she feel so tired all the time on the ship? It's not like she was doing much outside of her job and most of those only took a couple hours at a time. Yet whenever she was around others on the ship they looked even more tired and run down then she felt. Clearly something was wrong there, everyone needed a good sleep at the very least. 

A bubble of recognition floated to the top of the lake in her mind, threatening to break the surface and tell all, but something seemed to pull it back down just as June grew aware of it's brief presence. Never mind then. Just thinking about sleep made her feel sleepy again, and the soft plushie was just irresistible to her. If anyone needed her, they'd wake her up.

Time passed however as she tried to fall back into sweet beautiful merciful sleep, but there was a small itch for her, she was going to have to take a look around the place beyond just her bed at some point, and she was told by the doctor she could walk around freely. Before long she was sitting up in her bed observing her new room, the lights brightening as she rose so she could see everything more clearly. 

Her bed made up the most of the space, a stack of clothes lay on the undisturbed foot of the bed, some drawers lined the other side, a small open unit with some Terran snacks and medication bottles just sitting out in the open, a sink, mirror, more storage and what appeared to be some sort of TV screen embedded into the wall. Going by the way the lights automatically adjusted to her movements, June assumed they must have some sort of automatic control somewhere but it felt unlikely that the lights didn't have some form of manual override. 

"Uh" she started, guessing there would either be voice commands or a set of dials, "Can you please dim the lights a little, please?" she asked, a little weary of looking foolish at first. It was a relief then when the lights dimmed slightly. Voice control it was then. She smirked and tried something a little more complex. "Please change the hue of the light from this colour to yellow, then purple, then yellow again". A moment and the colour of the lights shifted just like she asked, returning to their nice slightly yellow tone. Clearly nobody was skimping on the lights here, nothing like on the ship where you were lucky to get lights at all in some areas. 

Content enough with the lights for the moment, June quickly reached for the clothes on the end of the bed, nearly falling on her face as the mattress gave way a bit too readily. Steadying herself she grabbed the top item as she slid her feet off the bed and onto the pleasantly warm floor. Wriggling her toes as she felt the nice warm and comfortable... whatever it was, June was given another opportunity to just let her curiosity take a time out and sit in the 'I'll be back in 10 minutes' pen. The nice soft fabric of the clothes though did win a few extra points in being both curious and nice'n'snuggly departments, enough to make June unfold the damn things.

To her surprise and amusement, what June got was a pair of very soft silky coveralls and a flowey shirt, both with strikingly colourful accents and yet more of a lovely floral scent that threatened to break the relaxation scale. Now this was June's style, if her hosts would allow her to grab a few tools then she'd be prepped for whatever new maintenance jobs were next on the agenda. Back on the job, doing what she knew best, and only what she knew best. 

Throwing the clothes on and grabbing the plushie as a new companion in exploration, June made sure there wasn't anything else soft and squishy to distract her as she straightened up, and walked up to the door. 

—

Kauri was sitting at xyr worktable again, xyr job had a problem xe easily fixed from home. Another Terran trying really sloppily to break into a database. Dirt if it wasn't so disappointingly obvious, hadn't any of these people ever heard of basic program security? Their frankly embarrassing attempts at it made even the most lax Affini systems look like hyper-advanced honey traps, and the Terrans were simply insects throwing themselves at the honey, gasping in shock that they stuck to it. Poor honey coated fools. 

This work was much nicer. Even with the Terran's tendency to slam their heads against the wall in hopes they'll happen to unlock a door, they did have some quite lovely and quaint little technologies that seemed to have stuck around a while. While primitive and rarely up to proper quality and safety standards, there was still a small enjoyment Kauri felt as xe carefully soldered completely different components together to build something far different to their creators original intent. Fun little trinkets that gave Rimu some mental exercise. The main issue was the solder was mostly made of lead, despite the insistence of the packaging that it was free of such toxins. Terran marketing at its best, folks. 

This new project, however, was going to be interesting. In the junk yards someone had managed to find xem a load of pretty much ancient radio equipment that seemed to somehow survive into the post-digital era the rest of Terran technology, some hobbyist hobby called 'HEMP radio' or something to that effect. Of course all comms the Affini had were generally handled with their tablets, and for the florets their little communicators. But that was terribly predictable, all on proper channels and carefully shaped to ensure maximum bandwidth could be shared. Buzzwords like full duplex, turn sharing and error correction, the works of dull technical perfection. These amateur sets were much nicer to deal with, all the rough edges made even more jagged when flicking across frequencies, catching the faint radio echoes of a radiographically busy universe. 

When the door to the Terran's new room opened, Kauri jumped a little, Rimu had told xem that the little Terran would likely be out for a few hours... a few hours ago probably. Rot and frost. Kauri thought with a little bit of anger, why wasn't Rimu here to deal with them? The Terran at first didn't seem to pay Kauri any mind as they looked around the room, plushie in hand. At least for the moment the Terran was clearly paying more attention to their new surroundings then at xem. That was something Kauri could live with as xey instinctively pulled xyr shell of bark closer in.  

The Terran after looking in every direction they could from the doorway to their room suddenly started off aimlessly, moving from one part of the room to the other to get a good look at whatever it was that caught their interest, still obviously a little bit shakey from the dose they'd clearly been on the last week or two.

Taking the Terran's distraction for the opportunity it was, Kauri stuck xyr eyes back down to the worktable and started soldering again, more whiffs of metal laced smoke curling up towards xyr face. The rhythm that Kauri had started with quickly returned, allowing the focus to return to the pile of electronics before xem and away from the little Terran currently inspecting the room. As long as the two of them didn't need or end up interacting, Kauri could live with this new arrangement.  

As the electronics began to take shape, Kauri's mind wandered a little back towards the last time xey were around a floret long term. Not xyr floret, xe never had one, but xe may as well have... until the. Kauri pursed not-lips as the memory and the memory of the guilt made their usual return, flying in a ballet of regret and anger around xyr mind. Blight was this going to happen every time the Terran was around? 

"You're not soldering that to the right component" the Terran said from frighteningly close to Kauri, startling xem as xe turned to face the little being who'd somehow jumped up onto the couch without Kauri noticing. Clod, where did they come from? 

Kauri struggled for a word, opening and shutting xyr not mouth before finally- "What?"- xey asked in as much confusion as shock. 

"You're not using the right component" the Terran, plushie still in one hand, said as they pointed at the mess of electronics. Looking back down Kauri realized that the Terran was... probably right. "You attach the transistor to that part of the board, that's how it processes the interface commands, what you've soldered it to is the power management, you try to power it and it'll go *pop*" the human continued, emphasising the 'pop' with a sharp flick of their hand. 

Of course, how could Kauri have forgotten that? xey wondered as xey instinctively shuffled a little away from the Terran. If sneaking up on Kauri was going to be a regular event then... well that arrangement will have to be nullified... somehow. Clod, if the Terran was going to sit this close to xem all the time that'd probably break at least some of the deal xey had with Rimu. It took a minute for Kauri to realise one of their legs was tapping the floor again. 

"Thank you" Kauri finally muttered, already getting to work desoldering the component and resoldering in the correct location. Though it was lucky the little thing did pick it up at all, it wouldn't be fun to finish the job, try to power it and get a disappointing popping sound as capacitors exploded like bottle rockets. Diagnostics was always a chore, even in hobbies. Expecting the Terran to get bored with xyr work, Kauri continued, slowly pulling the pile of electronic scraps into the form of something allegedly useful, definitely impractical, and entirely satisfying.  

"No don't do that" the Terran suddenly said as Kauri was readying to bind two components together. Rotting- why had she moved closer to xem? 

"E...excuse me?" Kauri asked quietly, confused as the Terran leaned over and grabbed the components. They looked carefully at the different parts, checking them with some dedication before placing them back onto the worksurface, keeping the chip Kauri was just holding. 

"Don't use these chips, the exlexor superheterodyne translator chips were built like crap and more often than not short circuited. Someone tried to sue them and got a very public hit squad on their door in reply" she said, wrapping the chip in a piece of tissue paper and snapping it. "The Maxitor mark threes, like this one, are the real gems of the field, and they draw twenty five percent less current to boot!" she proclaimed, clearly pleased with being able to share that little tidbit. 

Staring at her, Kauri found xemself more than a little shocked. The last time this sophont had said anything with that level of intensity they'd frankly scared the clod out of the Affini, and yet here was a similar fire in the little Terran's eyes and yet it was directed towards a simple electronic component, her mind riled up into decisive declaration over some obscure part found in some junkyard somewhere. Sophont pluribus or not, it was more than a bit of whiplash for Kauri to process. 

---

The last few hours had gone by quietly for June. Meeting the new Affini had remained a quiet affair, it didn't even give her its name or pronouns, just an occasional thank you as she pointed out little details of different components, correcting the Affini when the need arose. The Affini didn't seem aloof, not in any major way, but there was a definite feeling like the Affini was trying to avoid contact or even proximity. Every time June would try to shift a little closer, the great mass of plant matter would shift, slide around, reestablishing a small bubble of empty space between the two, each time pressing it a little closer to the wall. One more shuffle towards the Affini and it suddenly slid below the worktable and emerged on the opposite seat in one fluid motion. June looked at the Affini who seemed to avoid eye contact like the plague. 

Point taken then.

Still, June was content enough to simply watch, still trying to call out anything interesting, but with gradually decreasing enthusiasm as she received nothing but grunts and little nods in reply. By now she was just waiting for that Doctor Rimu to come back, she seemed to be more than happy to give her attention. 

The door to the hab unit promptly opened, and inside walked Doctor Rimu, carrying a couple bags with a slightly mischievous grin on her face. Not the type that says 'look out something big is happening' but rather one that says 'I've got a sneaky little surprise coming'. That thought slipped June's mind, however as her eyes caught just how beautiful Doctor Rimu was, a sea of greens competing in texture and vibrancy. Forgetting the feeling of disappointment from the other Affini's avoidance, June quickly hopped off the worktable seating and walked up to the good doctor. 

"I'm home dears" Rimu announced happily, vines already racing out to deposit the bags on the couch in the middle of the hab. "I hope you've all kept out of trouble." The remark lit June's face up a little as she stepped in front of the Affini. 

"I promise i've been keeping out of trouble, Doctor Rimu." she beamed, receiving a headpat from a vine as a reward, causing her to shudder briefly. "I've just taken a look around this place and. It's incredible. I've never been in a place like this. Is this like some fancy hotel?" she asked. 

Rimu just looked down at the cute little Terran with a smile and a giggle. "No dear. This is my and Kauri’s home" she said softly, extending another vine to stroke the Pluribus' hair. "Because of the overflow at the hospital, we've agreed to host you here for a while." she continued, making sure to tip toe around anything that may set June off. Thankfully June was distinct enough in her voice and attitude that she was easy to tell apart from Jewel and Juniper, making that at least a little easier. 

June seemed to think for a moment. "So I don't need to pay to be here?" she asked, a little weary. 

"Oh of course not. You're our guest, even if we still did that sort of thing, we'd never do it to a lovely ward like you" Rimu replied as she started to reach down and pick the Terran- remembering that she still would need to ask before touching- then straightening. "Dear June, I have a question, you just need to answer with whatever you feel most comfortable with." she started, a little awkwardly, June nodded simply. "Dear, would you mind if I were to pick you up?" she asked, feeling still a little awkward at how to approach it all. "See, you're technically just a guest and not a patient in the regular sense. So I'll be trying to ask before I do anything. Are you ok with that?" she asked, smiling unsurely as she tried to convince herself that it all made sense. 

"I won't mind it, silly" June replied, smirking at the Affini's momentary loss of composure down the awkward drain. "You're a big pretty plant alien who feels nice to touch. Honestly I'm just happy enough getting to feel all this nice stuff instead of the kinda crummy bedding and floors on the ship... where is it, by the way?" Rimu frowned, trying to think of a way to soften the potential blow, vines snaking out to June.

"You see, dear." she started. Blight she's going to need to just be honest with this. "I'm not sure how much you know, but that ship was one that we couldn't let fly again. I'm sure you had nothing to do with it, but most of the people aboard were doing things that put everyone around them in danger. To make it worse, and I'm not saying this as an indictment against your work, but the thing was a death trap waiting to fall apart. Whatever else was happening aboard and what the ship was doing, we couldn't in good conscience let it take off again."

June studied the Affini for a second, cogs whirring in her head as she played what Rimu said back mentally. She shrugged. "I guess if it was in that poor a state I'll have to trust you. You're the ones with the hyper advanced tech and everything" she replied casually. "I'd still like to take a look around the place one last time though. I want to see how well some of the repairs I did held up" Rimu smiled, relaxing a little inside.

*Thank the everbloom* she thought as she relaxed unexpectedly from the sudden build-up of tension, driving the sudden release into happily bundling the Terran up off her feet and lifting her close to Rimu's chest, eliciting a few very happy sounds from her little ward. The worst case scenario would have been if June had reacted poorly, falling back into some insulted pride or some deep seated free Terran ideology. Instead she seemed to shrug it off like it was no big thing. That's good, Rimu could live with that, especially when she didn't need to lie. *But you were selective with the truth* she chided herself, though she knew it'd always be the better alternative to a second hostile member of the bunch. 

Maybe steps, as the Terrans said. Maybe steps.