“They attacked Simon?!” Selai’s excitement immediately melts back into worry at the news. I feel my face twist into confusion at what I’d just heard and shoot up to my feet.

“What the hell? How bad is the damage?” I try and put on my best captain voice but my concern for my friend can’t help but leak through. They attacked one of my officers! They’ve been on my ship for only a few hours and they’ve already attacked my crew! Who the hell do these people think they are?

Dr. Medli chimes back in. “He’s mostly fine. A little beat up but thanks to the metal making up most of his body, he’s fine. Sorry, I called right away and had just assumed the worse. But looking at him, I should have back in order in a day or so.”

Selai breathes an audible sigh of relief. “Dr. Medli, why’d you scare us like that? I thought he was really hurt.”

I turn to her with a serious face. “Despite the level of injury, this is still a very serious problem. We’ll be down there in a minute to talk to you two, Doc. RIN, end call. Selai, I’m certainly not gonna order you to come but I’d assume you’d want to. That said, I understand if you don’t want to.” Her eyes ask if I’m an idiot. “Yeah, OK. Let’s go then.”

The two of us walk down to the medical bay without a word. Even though we knew Simon would be fine, the weight of the news was still holding us down. Occasionally, we’d glance a worried look to each other before marching on. When we reach the door, it slides open to show us a bit more of Simon than I needed to see. He’s sitting with his back to us, buck naked. His skin was twisted and deformed where his implants met his body. Wires and metal protruded from his torso in a manner that was clearly necessary but not very clean. To be quite honest, he looks like half a dumpster headbutted a belt sander. If the stories about him are true, he needed the work done to stay alive but… to live like that? I suppose it’s not my place to judge.

Walking around the examining table, I stand to beside the Dr. Medli so I could see Simon’s face. His human eye was swollen and his nose was a dark purple. Whatever that screen in his face was made of must be extremely strong cause there wasn’t a scratch on it. His body was covered in bruises and quite a few cuts but barely a dent in his augments. Despite all of that damage to his flesh, he looks as calm as could be. “How’re you doing, Simon?” I try to sound worried even though his expression clearly shows there’s no need.

“I feel fine, Captain. My system protocols dull my pain receptors when I take non-lethal damage. This allows me to continue fighting without worrying about losing combat efficiency from the pain.” That sounds really stupid and dangerous.

Thankfully, the Doc speaks up in response. “That may be true, Simon. But you’re not going anywhere until I deem you fit and healthy. And even after you’re human parts are all good, you have to go to engineering to fix all those cybernetics.” Huh, I guess there were problems in his augments after all. “You gotta remember, you’re only part robot. You have to take care of your human half too.”

“Yes, Doctor.” I’d say Simon’s comment was sarcastic, but I’m not sure he’s capable of that.

I turn to Tasha as she continues to clean and patch up the various wounds. “How long until I have my head of security back? If the civilians were gonna behave like this, I’m gonna need him on top of shit.”

She sighs and gives me glance from the corner of her eyes. “I understand, however it’s my job to make sure he’s set for that. I’d prefer he come back and rest for at least the rest of the day, once he’s seen engineering to fix up the parts I can’t.”

I think over the proposal for a moment and ultimately nod in agreement. “That’s fair. I think we can handle one day without him.” Speaking of ‘we,’ Selai has been really quiet this whole time.

Turning about face, Selai is several feet behind me with her hand to her mouth and tears in her eyes. Guess she’s not a fan of seeing people hurting. She really is gonna make a great First Officer. “You alright, Selai?” She simply nods in response. I should try and get her out of here as fast as I can. Looking to Simon, I try my hardest to only focus only on his face. “Simon, do you know who did this?”

“Yes, Captain. My team collected the culprits during their assault and are holding them in the brig for interrogation and judgement. I planned on going down there and providing you with a report. But it seems as if that must wait until tomorrow.” His face is unphased as Tasha stitches his wounds and applies cleaning alcohol. I’d probably be crying in pain… He’s half the human but twice the man... Wait! I’m a man too!

“No need, I’ll handle it. I’m not gonna let these people come onto my ship and start attacking my crew. You take the rest you need... Plus not having you there may help with some guilt tripping.” Tasha looks at me with an angry confusion. I can feel Selai’s eyes on me too. Simon’s expression is unchanged.

The Doctor leans up to look at me better. “You’re gonna try and guilt these kids?”

“Yeah! They attacked Simon. I’m not gonna pull any punches.”

“Very good, Captain.” I’d say Simon sounded impressed if he was able to.

“Thank you, Simon. Selai, you are technically the liaison to our guests but, once again, I understand if you don’t want to go. Alternatively, you can come and watch in the observation room. I’m not gonna force to you to talk to these kids with me.” Selai tilts her head down in thought before looking back up to me with a flame in her eyes.

“I have to know why someone would hurt another person for no reason. Especially on our ship! I’ll go with you. We’re in this together.” I can’t help but smile in confidence.

I nod my head and I see her smile grow in response. “Alright, First Officer. Let’s go.”