Reconstruction
© 2024 by Walter Reimer

Thumbnail art by  kittydee


Daruv k’Daridh looked at his face in his hotel bathroom’s mirror.

A tired kam looked back at him.

The surgeon-mistress attending his sister Vesan had wanted him and his brothers to draw on their own memories to ask Vesan questions, to determine which of her memories had been lost irrevocably by the regen procedure or had merely gotten lost.

Surgeon j’Kiva had explained that it was possible that some of Vesan’s memories were intact but had been stripped of the links and labels that permitted a shlan to quickly access them. After she had explained things, Daruv and his three brothers had started.

That had been six full days ago, as each brother related something to Vesan, and the vir tried to see if anything was missing. So far, the only experience that had been stripped of its links was the one where he had taught Vesan to swim.

No wonder all four of them were tired.

He and his brothers were given a day off as a taciturn Fleet officer, accompanied by an Army officer with a red Intelligence stripe on his uniform, arrived to delve into Vesan’s military career and what she knew or may have forgotten, with a particular emphasis on any classified material. Still, so far things had been going rather well.

Apart from her failure to recall Varan g’Raf and her relationship with the vir. Daruv hadn’t met Varan, but knew that Surgeon j’Kiva had been in contact with her. A recorded message and a package were supposed to arrive shortly, and the surgeon would take it upon herself to show the items to Vesan.

He hoped that would go well.

He yawned and looked at his face again before stepping into the shower, deciding to stay up and get something for firstmeal.


***


“Zogat, Viyēakh,” Vesan said as j’Kiva entered her new room. She had been declared sufficiently recovered to be moved to less Spartan accommodations. There were sensors mounted in the walls and ceiling to provide a constant stream of data on the patient’s condition. “How are you?”

J’Kiva smiled. “Quite fine, Admiral. You?”

Vesan smiled. “I have had some memories recovered, thanks to my brothers and to Captain d’Pan,” she said, referring to the Fleet officer. “Obviously, I cannot tell you about some of them.”

“Of course.” J’Kiva wasn’t cleared for military secrets, and some of what her siblings had discussed with her was shlerin, or personal. “Do you recall a vir named Varan g’Raf?”

Vesan looked pensive and gestured negatively. “I know her name’s on the divisional roster, as commander of the Bōank. Apart from that,” and her ears went back as she gestured negatively again.

“I understand,” the surgeon said. She reached into the bag she had brought in with her. “Do you have any memories, possibly recent ones, about having sex with a vir?”

The older vir thought for a moment. “I . . . think I do?”

J’Kiva gestured reassuringly. She fished a small packet from the bag, along with a small datapak. “Please study these materials, Admiral,” and the surgeon gave them to Vesan before leaving the room.

Vesan picked up the datapak and looked it over before opening her padd and slotting the crystal into position. She took a breath and accessed the file.

The padd’s holographic emitter created a simulacrum of a vir. “Zogat, Frelen k’Daridh,” the gray-furred female said crisply before smiled. “My name is Varan g’Raf. I was told that you do not remember me,” she added, “and I’ve been asked to provide this information.”

“When I was redeployed to your division following the end of hostilities with Terra, you praised me for being an aggressive and bold commander – “

flick

“She was the first at the gathering to ask about my injuries,” Vesan said.

“Over time, we became friends – “

flick

“We twined tails,” the vir said softly.

Varan’s image smiled. “After an action against Terran forces near Lalande, you offered me support when I was having difficulty coping with the casualties among my crew and my command – “

flick

“I recalled my own losses,” and the older vir reached up with her right hand to massage her left shoulder.

“We became lovers.”

flick

“We did.”

“I invited you to meet my friends Meredidh and Fuji, who are Terran – “

flick

“They were very hospitable,” Vesan murmured, as scattered fragments of memories – a touch, a sight, a scent, an emotion – arranged themselves.

“Aka,” and the simulacrum’s ears flicked, “we also discovered that we had something in common. We discovered that we played a Terran computer game – “

flick

“My character . . . was a rogue,” Vesan breathed. “A stupid and perverse game,” she added as more fragments fell into order. Her tail swished. “Meredidh has the current game module.” She sat back, her ears flicking almost in time with the end of her tail as she tore her gaze away from a brief clip of the game play to look up at the surgeon. “Th-thank you, Viyēakh.”

J’Kiva smiled. “My duty and my pleasure, Ma’am.”

Vesan opened the small packet and removed a rumpled, stiff piece of cloth. The same evolutionary changes that had extended Kashlanin jaws had not extended to placing their nostrils at the ends of their muzzles, and she brought it close to her face and sniffed.

She gasped as the final pieces of memory fell into place.

“Varan . . . “