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“Hey, I think there’s a playground in the atrium downstairs,” Roy said, pointing to the elevators. “Maybe you could try that? I’ll meet you there when we—when Cal’s done.”

“Wonderful. Couldn’t imagine anything more fun.” Uros rolled his eyes, but rose from his seat, arms crossed on his chest. “Come on, Addy. Let’s check out that toddler party.”

“Will there be other kids?” she squeaked, tiny fingers gripping Uros’ hand.

“I’m afraid so,” Uros grunted. As he moved past Roy, his clothes flapped around his frame. A concern rose in Roy’s mind—was the boy eating properly while they were away? There was enough food in Roy’s home, and Adria didn’t seem to be starving.

“Where are they going?” Cal asked in a half-whisper.

“Playground,” Roy answered, carefully pronouncing every syllable.

“Ah.” Cal nodded. The square note he’d received from the kiosk—number 193—had been crumpled between his fingers. “Good.”

After three more cases—mostly reptilians whose skin got stuck during shedding, gripping their limbs and causing painful-looking swelling—a nurse stuck his head out of the door and called out, “193?”

“That’s you.” Roy nudged Cal and gestured toward the doctor’s office. “Do you want me to come?”

“Yes, please.”

The nurse shut the door behind them. The sterile air, rich with disinfectants, was almost unbearable to breathe. Every surface was scrubbed clean, shining under the bright spotlights.

Behind a simple desk with a holographic display, a doctor swayed in her chair, sipping from her coffee mug. With blonde hair pulled back into a tight bun and half-moon glasses perched on her nose, she looked more like Roy’s high school math teachers.

“What brings you in?” Her hands idled above her keyboard.

“Um, my—my partner’s hearing implants turned off. Or malfunctioned. I’m not sure.” Roy’s gaze flicked to Cal, who seemed to hang on every word that left Roy’s lips, nodding along.

The doctor focused on Cal. She gestured, and Cal’s face brightened. They’d been taught the basics of Imperial sign language, but Roy definitely couldn’t decipher the rapid sequence Cal used.

After a short exchange, the doctor swung her stethoscope around her neck and pointed toward the diagnostic pod. The machine swallowed Cal whole, whirring and beeping as the rings rotated.

“Hmm.” Hunched over the results, the doctor scratched her chin. “Doesn’t look too good.”

With a curious look, the nurse peeked over her shoulder. “Is that⁠—”

“Fragments, yes. Scattered all over.” She sighed, meeting Roy’s eyes. “It seems like your partner’s implants broke off the acoustic nerve. Pieces are stuck in the tissue, causing inflammation and swelling. Had he had any trauma recently?”

“He was in a spaceship crash,” Roy said. “But he had an OmniMed shot.”

“That only repairs organic damage. It could’ve been that they just cracked on impact and fell apart later.”

The pod opened. Cal sat upright, impatient questions floating in his eyes. After a quick exchange with the doctor, his posture stiffened, and his brows tightened.

“Let me repeat that to you—from what I’m seeing, I think we can re-implant the right ear right away. With just twilight sedation, your partner can go home an hour after the procedure. However, the left side is too inflamed; the implant would likely be rejected. We need to clean the site today, and you’ll come back in two to three weeks. Full recovery time will be about six weeks. No space travel or deep diving during that time.”

“Do you want the surgery?” Roy asked, half-listening to the medical jargon that barely made sense to him. What he understood was the fear seeping from Cal’s expression.

Cal nodded. He slipped out of the pod and hugged Roy tightly. “Just scared a bit,” he whispered.

With too much time on his hands, Roy visited the playground, hoping to coax Uros into eating something from the cafeteria. He found Uros sitting on a bench, watching over his sister. Adria climbed onto a slide and landed in a pool of colourful plastic balls with a gleeful chirp.

“Hey,” Roy said and slumped next to him. “Having fun?”

“Couldn’t bear to have more of it,” Uros grumbled.

“Can I ask you something?” Roy watched the little girl giggle as she tumbled over. “How come Adria’s so… calm?”

Uros’ blue eyebrow twitched. “What do you mean?”