[Mass Effect: New Genesis] 4.25: Recovery and Uncertainty

Doctor Kreiss has done all he could for Corwin. He explains to you the situation. He's lost so much blood under a short amount of time. To compound difficulties, he's suffering from a very rare blood disease called Nagi Syndrome. It makes finding a donor incredibly difficult, in the best of situations. But this isn't one of those situations. The doctors explain all this to you. He doesn't seem to have any of the biological markers that someone who is suffering from this disease should have. Someone customized this blood disease intentionally to hurt him.

He continues explaining the situation, after taking a deep breath. Corwin is in critical and unstable condition right now. He is only alive because you helped bring him here so quickly. Corwin only has one chance to live, and they do not know what will happen. He cannot replace the blood Corwin lost. But it may be possible to stimulate his bone marrow into producing additional blood. They have never done anything this risky before. The results are unknowable.

He asks you. Do you want him to try?

Eri was so far beyond exhausted, she no longer felt sleepy. The muscles in her body felt shakey from fatigue as she walked, and all she really wanted was a hot shower and to sit down for a very long time.

Their arrival to the hospital had been a chaotic mad dash. Fortunately, the Illium authorities who had persued them had been warned away by the hospital staff - although Eri had bent the truth about them being Alliance, the fact that she'd pointed out that their group was acting under the authority of a Justicar had certainly helped the situation. Normally, Eri was reluctant to use her real name in places where it would go on record, but the fact that she still had papers showing she was a citizen of Illium hadn't hurt either.

With the potential legal ramifications handled, Eri had gone in search of the others. Aivar, Aashe, and Corwin had all been rushed to their own rooms, and Eri found Myn pacing alone in the waiting area.

She approached him and gave him a tired smile as he looked up.

EDIT: (removed parts that happened later in this Chapter, chronologically - added them to later replies so thread flowed better)

((4.25))

((Not mentioning who is here and who isn't - but, suffice it to say, Jarvis would tell everyone where they could meet to discuss Corwin, and it's at the hospital, for these series of posts.))

Aashe had heavy bandages wrapped around her torso. Her back had been stitched up nicely, and she was told it would heal well. Though... she was informed, she'd have a scar. She'd purchased a whole new outfit from Illium, and had stayed in the hospital waiting room after she was released. She was currently in an Asari style dress, which was cut with keyholes all over it, so her bandages showed through the dress. The buyer at the hospital had (rather inaccurately) tried to pick something to her taste.

Aashe was sitting in one of the nearby chairs, Dr. Sid Kreiss standing in the alcove of the waiting room, facing the group of crew members to deliver the news. Either hope for a Donor (unlikely) or attempt experimental medicine. Aashe's expression was once more impassive, but she was ghostly pale, especially after the news was delivered.

Dr. Kreiss is a handsome human man, reasonably well dressed, and well kempt, and rather intelligent in both speech and appearance.

"We have to try...", was all she said, trying to make her voice sound strong.

Dr. Kreiss began the procedure. Hospital regulations would have demanded that Corwin's valuables be left with his family. But now, it is left with the group as they wait for the results. The first thing handed over was his Banshee Line Assault Rifle. Corwin kept that rifle in perfect working condition. It did not show any signs of modification or upgrade, except for an engraving on the grip. The engraving read: Amonkira. Guide my hand. Corwin's pistol was handing over next, with exactly the same engraving. The last two items were his omnitool and three folded up letters. Most likely out of curiosity, someone in the group unfolded the letters. All of them were hand-written. They were surprisingly short. Only one of them was stained with tears.



To: Lieutenant Havens, retired
From: Admiral Kastanie Drescher

Lieutenant

As per your request, all intelligence from the Argos Rho cluster will be classified. One month was all I could secure. Your contribution to the Alliance and to my family has not been forgotten. You have one month to extract whatever it is you need. After that, the 2nd Fleet will go in and secure the base. After that, I hope you will give up this fool's errand you've been on for the past two years.

My son still asks about you, Lieutenant. He wants to know what happened to the man who saved him from the Blue Suns. I am running out of lies. Whatever you find there best be worth the effort.

Admiral Drescher




You have done more for me than I deserve. I am indebted for all your efforts. The doctors told you already. It is not curable. Spending hundreds of thousands of credits will not change this. Corwin. My only friend. You have stuck by me when everyone else left. Please. You need to let me go. Amonkira. Lord of the Hunt. Guide my friend. Let him see the folly of his ways. Arashu, Goddess of Motherhood and Protection, watch over him.

Soon. I will be with Kahalira. Goddess of Oceans and Afterlife. My friend. I will always treasure our time together. Remember them Corwin. Kahalira. Goddess of Oceans and Afterlife. Bring peace to us. As we come from the ocean. We will return to it. Your embrace will never be feared. Your mysteries are boundless. As is your compassion. Kahalira. I beg your forgiveness. For all I have done. For all I have failed to do. Only you know our soul.

Thank you, my friend.

Benewan



Lieutenant

Perhaps we were not clear enough to you.

We apologize. We overestimated your intelligence.

We thought we made it clear that if you leave, you will die. Apparently this was something too complicated for you to grasp. So we killed you. You're body doesn't realize that it is already dead. Once your nosebleed starts, you should go see your doctor. Tell you doctor about Nagi Syndrome.

If you want to live, you must prove it. Use your Alliance contacts to track down the Migrant Fleet. We think it is a small price to pay for your life.

Under the last sentence is one statement, written in ink. It was probably a message Corwin left for himself. It simply reads:

I choose death

(Corwin's omnitool, for dramatic purposes, can not be turned on by anybody but him)



For a brief moment, Corwin thought he heard the sound of the ocean. The sound of waves washing up onto the shore. It sounded so close. So real. It made him feel sad, but strangely relieved. But then as quickly as it started, it stopped. He felt a deep longing for that sound to come back. For the life of him, Corwin did not understand why. He never enjoyed swimming. But he wanted to find the source of the sound. No. That wasn't right. He needed to find it. It was calling to him to join it. Maybe even rejoin it. He started walking forward and felt the warm water embrace his feet. He felt a peace that he has never known before. But before he took another step, he thought he heard a voice.

"God, no... please no..."

Corwin stopped. That voice. It sounded familiar to him. Who was she? Did she need his help?

"Please don't let him die because of me..."

That voice sounded heartsick. There was so much loneliness in it. Desperation. Something changed inside of him. He didn't want to be here in the ocean. He needed to be somewhere else. He had to go. He started to look around, trying to take in his situation. There was just darkness in all directions. Somehow, he instinctively knew it wasn't just darkness. There was nothing there. He looked down and watched the water evaporate. Something about that voice he heard. Someone was dying somewhere. Someone somewhere was asking for help. Without a second thought, Corwin began walking forward again, looking for the source of that voice.





Time passed slowly in the waiting room. Minutes extended into hours. Hours into days. Finally, late into the evening, the door to the waiting area slid open. Dr. Kreiss walked into the room. His white surgery outfit was stained with blood. He was exhausted from hours of surgery and experimental medical treatments. Despite the macabre look, he had an optimistic look on his face.

"It's still too early to know for certain. But the treatment appears to be working. His marrow is producing blood at an accelerated rate." He paused for a brief moment. He was clearly exhausted. "I can't promise anything. We will monitor the progress carefully. But I think he's going to live."

Othic paced alone in the hospital hallway. Aivar, Aashe and Corwin were all receiving medical attention and Eri had gone to speak to the authorities in an attempt to calm the situation. The only thing he did was use his Omn-Tool to contact the Eris. He had tried to reach Jeshua to tell him what had happened but had been unable to raise him. He settled for giving the message to Jarvis and tasked the VI to pass it onto the kid.

A few minutes had passed and he now heard footsteps ringing in the empty corridor. He looked up to see Eri approach. She gave him a weary smile as a greeting. She looked like how he felt.

Still pretty though.

"Just a normal day for the Eris crew then?" He joked. His body ached, he yearned for a warm shower, a cold beer and then a comfortable bed. Although he had to admit seeing Eri gave him a boost. He may not have known her well but he trusted her and felt oddly protective following their talk in the kitchen and then seeing her get hurt by Skar.

"How you holding up West?"

Eri gave Myn a weary smile as she approached the waiting area.

"Just a normal day for the Eris crew then?" He joked, looking about as exhausted as she was feeling.

She chuckled half-heartedly. "If the last few days are any indication, apparently so..."

She was unbelievable sore, and wanted nothing more than to simply get cleaned up and relax. She didn't know how long the wait would be... but at least for now there was a moment of quiet. Oddly, even though he was virtually a stranger, she found sharing the quiet with Myn instead of pushing through alone, as she usually did, was comforting.

"How you holding up, West?" He asked her, as she fell into one of the chairs.

"Honestly?" she looked up at him. "At this rate, I'm not sure I can survive many more days like this." She leaned forward with her one good elbow on her knees. Her pants were rumpled, and covered in char marks, and even a few dried splatters of blood. She wasn't even sure if it was Aashe's or Corwin's.

Eri rubbed a hand across her face. Her eyes were becoming so fatigued, they were having trouble focusing. "What I would give for a shower and a soft bed right now, y'know?" she smiled lopsidedly up at him. "How about you, Othic? As tired as you look?" she teased gently.

[[For clarity - This is before Corwin wakes up]]


Othic smiled as Eri practically fell into one of the chairs. "Honestly?" she said, looking up at him. "At this rate, I'm not sure I can survive many more days like this."

She leaned forward with her good elbow resting on her knees. Like him, she hadn't had time to change. Her clothes were charred in places, and were dotted with a few splatters of dried blood. He couldn't be sure whose.

He took the seat next to her with a tired sigh. "What I would give for a shower and a soft bed right now, y'know?" she smiled again at him. "How about you, Othic? As tired as you look?"

"Worse." He replied simply. Although in truth he was more worried about her, after the run in with the Krogan and then a hectic few hours that had clearly physically drained her. He kept silent though, she almost certainly wouldn't appreciate his constant questions about her well-being.

She yawned and placed her head on his shoulder. Just a playful gesture, nothing more Othic told himself. He pushed down to urge to put his arm across her shoulder, to take her hand in his, to kiss her, even. The sudden urges came as a surprise to him. He was undeniably attracted to her, had been since he saw her in Chora's Den. But West was a professional and he was sure she wouldn't react favorably to such a move from him

Instead he said, "You know, I've got things here. You can head back to the Eris if you want, get a shower and get some sleep. I can stay here and keep everyone updated. It's....no trouble, really"

"How about you, Othic? As tired as you look?" Eri questioned.

"Worse." He replied simply, sitting beside her. She'd intended the question to be somewhat of a joke, but Eri had a feeling she were too exhausted at this point for it to come out the right way.

"Mm... I hear that," Eri mumbled, leaning back in her chair, as large yawn escaped her. Before she even realized what she was doing, her head was resting on Myn's shoulder. Some part of her mind was yelling at her, concerned over what he may think - but the rest was simply too tired to care. It had been a hellish few days, and for whatever reason, the simple contact - knowing Myn was right beside her, left her feeling ... protected, calm.

She felt her mind starting to drift, when Myn spoke up again. "You know, I've got things here. You can head back to the Eris if you want, get a shower and get some sleep. I can stay here and keep everyone updated. It's....no trouble, really."

Eri smiled, feeling her eyelids getting heavy. "Are you trying to get rid of me, Othic?" She asked playfully, her voice groggy, her eyes closed.

He waited for her reply. "Are you trying to get rid of me, Othic?" She asked, her tone was playful but also sounded tired and heavy with sleep.

"No." Othic admitted a he rested his head against hers.

In seconds he was asleep.

((4.25))

((Just to tie Myn and Eri to the next series of posts, and establish some of the time in between. This would be when Aashe was released - clearly pre-Corwin being patched up. At this point, they're all probably still waiting to hear from the Doctor.))

Aashe shifted in the dress. The damn thing was floor length, and wore a little too long with her boots. The dress was intended to be worn with actual heels, and her boots (while thigh high) were mostly flat. Aashe had the skirt in one hand, trying to keep from stepping on it. The cut outs looked absurd with the bandaging around her torso. Blasted Asari women with their voluptuous bodies, and clear lack of modesty. She was moving gingerly still, the doctors had injected her with a heavy pain killer, which made her head swim. They'd needed to put stitches in her skin, but she was told the damage was cosmetic more than anything else.

She headed to the lobby to see if anyone was hanging around, and see if there was any news. Rather immediately, she noticed Myn and Eri, both fast asleep, leaning against one another. She smiled in spite of herself, and headed toward them. She had no intention of waking them, so she walked as quietly as she could, taking a seat across from them gingerly, and heaving a small sigh as her muscles relaxed into the chair.

Eri stirred slightly, stretching a bit, and attempted to nuzzle back into her pillow, before she realized something was off.

Her position, unfamiliar noises... slowly they roused her out of whatever few moments of cozy peace she'd found. Reluctantly she opened her eyes, only to realize she was actually nuzzled against Myn.

Heat colored her cheeks - she was leaning against him, her head supported by his shoulder, his hand resting on her knee. They must have ... fallen against each other while sleeping. Honestly, she didn't even remember nodding off, she'd been so exhausted...

She smiled a little at him, trying not to move too much and disturb him. She was sure he needed sleep just as much as she did. It was the first time she'd seen him completely relaxed - he tended to carry himself as a soldier. Always professional, always aware of his surroundings.

Her eyes rested on his hand. His knuckles were scraped, her pants were filty - they probably both looked like hell. But the warmth of his hand was ... comforting. She surprised herself by not wanting to move it, just yet.

And then her eyes traveled across the small waiting area, only to realize Aashe was sitting across from them, a mildly amused expression on her face.

Eri felt her cheeks grow warm again, and hoped she wasn't blushing as obviously as it felt. She bit off the first response of, "How long have you been there?" that came to her mind, and instead tried the second.

"How... are you feeling?" she asked awkwardly. "They released you pretty fast..." Eri paused, realizing she actually had no idea how long she'd been asleep. "Or... I mean..." She gave up, clamping her mouth shut before she just made things worse.

Othic groaned but kept his eyes closed as someone moved his pillow from under him. He grumbled something before dozing off again. Something in the back of his tired mind told him he wasn't in bed but he was so racked with sleep he didn't care.

"How... are you feeling?" A distant voice asked him.

"I'm fine." He mumbled. Hoping whoever was talking would shut up and let him sleep.

"They released you pretty fast...Or... I mean..."

"What?" He asked irritated. He opened his eyes and was temporaily blinded by the bright lights of the waiting room. "Wha?" He blinked to see Aashe sitting across from him, clearly amused by something.

It was only then he remembered where he was. He slowly lifted his head off Eri's shoulder and moved his hand from her leg. In his sleepy state he reasoned if he done it slowly and deliberately perhaps no-one would notice. "Sorry about that." He said turning to face Eri. "Just dozed off." He admitted rubbing his eye with his knuckles.

"How....How's Havens?" He asked Aashe, his voice still heavy with sleep.

((4.25))

((In response to Myn and Eri... I'm juggling today))

Aashe smiled warmly to the two of them as they tried to disentangle themselves. She was happy to see them together, they were both good people... and they deserved to find something nice in the universe.

"I'm fine. Sore... but... fine." Aashe admitted. "Corwin... I haven't heard anything yet. There's no better place for him to be but here..." Aashe tried to keep the bravery in her voice, but she wasn't sure if it came all the way through. She realized if she let her statement sit there, they would comment on it. Ask after her feelings... and she just wasn't sure she was ready to answer their questions yet. She decided a quick topic change may be in order. Before they could reply about hers, or Corwin's wounds, she spoke again.

"That was some mean flying, Eri - you can be my copilot any time. And Myn - remind me to listen to you the next time you tell me to get behind cover!" Aashe smiled to the two of them.

This thread is pre-Corwin waking up

Eri tried to be gentle as she moved her head out from under Myn's, but she winced as she felt him stir. He groaned, mumbling to himself before he seemed to jolt awake, somewhat irritated, which only made her feel worse for disturbing him.

"Wha?" He blinked in the harsh lighting, noticing Aashe sitting across from them, before realizing where his head and hand were laying.

He glanced up at Eri awkwardly, slowly sitting up away from her. "Sorry about that," He said, his voice still heavy with sleep."Just dozed off." He admitted rubbing his eye with his knuckles.

Eri nodded, "Yeah, I... I guess I did to," she admitted quietly, running a hand through her hair to attempt to get it out of her face.

"How....How's Havens?" Myn asked, quickly turning the attention back to the woman across the room instead of the one beside him, which Eri was grateful for.

Aashe smiled warmly, answering Eri's inquiry first. "I'm fine. Sore... but... fine." Aashe admitted. "Corwin... I haven't heard anything yet. There's no better place for him to be but here..."

The taller woman paused for a moment, but Eri felt too out of sorts to even ask her anything logical. She simply nodded, trying to appear as though she were listening carefully.

"That was some mean flying, Eri - you can be my copilot any time. And Myn - remind me to listen to you the next time you tell me to get behind cover!" Aashe smiled to the two of them.

Eri recovered somewhat at that. "I'll remind you of that next time you ask me to fly the Eris..." She replied with half a grin.

(( Myn/Aashe reply here? ))

Eri glanced at Myn. There were still crease lines on his cheek from where he had been leaning on her. His collar was also rucked up, and she was suddenly filled with the overwhelming urge to reach over and fix it for him. She stopped herself, playing off her movement as if she were brushing something off her pants as she suddenly felt the need to be elsewhere for a moment.

"Well, I'm thirsty," she said abruptly, standing up, only to wobble slightly as her foot informed her it was still asleep. "Do either of you want anything?" She questioned angling a thumb over her shoulder down the hallway.

"Well, I'm thirsty," Eri said suddenly, abruptly channging the subject away from her piloting skills. Othic cursed himself, either she wasn't comfortable with him being so close or she was embarassed at being caught by Aashe. He hoped it was the latter. "Do either of you want anything?" She asked the two of them.

He pushed away the crazy urge to say 'You' and instead settled for "I'd go for a Firefly Soda if they had one." She nodded and waited for Aashe to put in an order.

He sighed as the pretty red head took her leave and caught Aashe's eye. At least she was still amused by the two of them. He cleared his throat as he attempted to change the subject. "So.....I was thinking, with all we've been through, it would probably be a good idea to maybe reinforce our numbers with some more gun hands. What do you think? Illium isn't my town but I'm pretty sure I could find at least one good and reliable merc to come with us. One extra gun could make a serious difference to our chances."

He paused and waited to see what she said. Bringing a new merc on board would almost certainly cost money, it would be highly unlikely any Mercenary worth his salt would take his job based on the promise of salvage from a mythical space station. No, it would be cold, hard cash that would be the key and the funding would need to come from either Havens or DeWinter.

((To be moved to 4.25))

"A tea would be lovely, Eri, thank you." Aashe said. She offered a smile, happy she didn't have to get up. Sitting down had been hard enough.

((Eri Reply.))

As Eri turned to leave, Aashe turned her eyes to Myn without turning her head, not wanting to disturb him with a motion. He was staring after her. Aashe couldn't help but smile, through it all, it was sweet to see them trying very hard to pretend they didn't have a budding series of feelings for one another.

Myn turned to look at Aashe, and Aashe settled her gaze more fully on him. He cleared his throat, seeming somewhat embarrassed by her having noticed.

Aashe made no move to hide her amusement.

"So.....I was thinking." Ah, a subject change. He's got it bad... "With all we've been through, it would probably be a good idea to maybe reinforce our numbers with some more gun hands. What do you think? Illium isn't my town but I'm pretty sure I could find at least one good and reliable merc to come with us. One extra gun could make a serious difference to our chances."

"I think we've got three more rooms open, one standard size, and two sized for various non standard alien races. I could comfortably sleep another standard human size crew member, and then say a Krogan crew member, and a Volus, for instance... I'm saving the last room for the Doctor I hope for us to get sometime soon." Aashe said. "But it's Corwin's call..."

A pang hit her. Corwin's call... what if he didn't make it? What would happen then? Would the crew all go their separate ways? In more than just their hiring, he was the reason they were all together. The lynch pin... Aashe turned her eyes down, reflexively, checking her fingernails, and pretending to be mildly annoyed when she realized she'd broken one. The annoyance covered for her frown as she said the next words, trying to con herself more than Myn. "I don't want to make decisions for him, he'll be awake soon."

Cold. The night's breeze brushed past 'him', giving 'him' gooseflesh on his arms. 'He' gazed at the sky above. When high enough above the light pollution, 'he' could see the stars. 'He' was nine now, today was 'his' birthday, the day 'his' parents had died. A Batarian mercenary was behind 'him'. 'He' didn't trust these creatures much. 'He' had heard horrible stories about them, but this offer was too much to pass up.

"Too much physical and psychological stress. Get sedatives to shut her mind down."

"So you can take me up there?" 'He' said without looking at the being "To see the galaxy?"

"Yes, we can take you there, if you are willing to join us." said the mercenary. All Aivar's instincts told 'him' that no mercenary would let a nine year old join their group, but Aivar was a biotic, and biotics were hard to come by.

"The body is failing. Her own biotics are eating her alive!"

"He' turned to face the mercenary and stood up, holding 'his' hand out to shake hands. "I am your man. When do we leave?"

"She's going to flatline. There is nothing we can do more we can do. "

The mercenary gave a smile. "Right now." A shock coursed through 'him' causing unbelievable pain, sending 'him' the ground. The world darkened, but the pain did not stop.

Pain had brought 'him' back the real world, the pain of 'his' own biotics shocking 'him'. 'He' opened his eyes, sitting rigidly up, then hunched over hugging 'himself', feeling cold, and in pain. 'He' shook horribly. He was gasping for air like a fish out of water. The doctors and nurses around working. A couple of nurses then dashed out.

"Food, or an energy drink, anything. Please make it stop...." 'he' begged weakly. A doctor then took 'him' gently by the shoulders, and laid 'him' back. "We will make it stop. We are going to give you some sedatives and thing to make you feel better and rest easy. Just hang on."

Aivar laid there, shuddering, shaking, and let the darkness take 'him' once more.

"Well, I'm thirsty," Eri said suddenly, cursing herself for changing the subject so abruptly, but she needed to clear her head. "Do either of you want anything?" She asked the two of them, already standing up.

Myn regarded her for a moment looking slightly conflicted. "I'd go for a Firefly Soda if they had one."

Eri simply nodded and turned to Aashe.

"A tea would be lovely, Eri, thank you," the other woman replied with a grateful smile.

Eri nodded, trying to smile pleasantly at each of them. "Soda. Tea. Got it! I'll... be right back." She flopped her arm at her side and turned quickly, heading in any direction that was away from Myn looking endearingly ruffled and Aashe looking far too amused for comfort.

She told herself she was imagining their eyes on her back, but forced herself to walk at a normal, relaxed pace anyhow. Spotting a series of vending machines in the distance down a side hall, she figured it looked promising and headed in that direction, grateful to be out of their line of sight.

Eri made a beeline for the vending machine, feeling far too flustered for her liking. What the hell was wrong with her anyway? She and Myn had clearly been so exhausted they'd simply fallen asleep. It wasn't like it had to mean anything! So what if Aashe looked amused - Let her! She hadn't caught them doing anything wrong. There wasn't even anything there... right? Eri's mind traveled back to Myn's easy demeanor while they chatted on the Eris, his seeming interest in her past, his gentle encouragement, the blatant concern on his face when she was in the medbay... him assisting her to the kitchen, and then insisting she not accompany them into battle...

Oh shit... Eri thumped her forehead against the front of the vending machine and closed her eyes.

You're reading way too much into things, West... She pointed out to herself that none of this meant anything - Myn was a merc after all... He was obviously just asking questions to get an idea of what sort of crew he was traveling with - sizing up who was going to be competition and who was going to have his back...

She took a deep breath and opened her eyes. Not even processing that the machine had already spit out the can of soda Myn had asked for. She picked it up, eying the brightly colored, cheerful can. Soda. "What sort of big, tough, Merc drinks soda, anyway?" she questioned out loud, garnering a polite throat clear of a doctor waiting behind her to use the machine. She apologized and moved aside awkwardly.

Apparently the sort of Merc who falls asleep on my shoulder... She could almost still feel the warmth of his hand on her knee and shook away the feeling quickly. She knew this ridiculous feeling... it wasn't a safe one. Especially not regarding someone she barely knew in this line of work.

It's been a rough couple of days... they were both overly exhausted. It was only natural to bond with people you've been through tough times with, she reasoned. She told herself Myn was just being kind. So what if she might have found him intriguing ... it wasn't like she had to tell him. She mentally steeled herself, trying her best to shake off her nerves.

She focused on Aashe, seeing the woman's amused little grin in her mind, and scowled. Tea. The woman wanted tea. Surely there was a cafe in the hospital around here somewhere...

Othic glanced over his shoulder at Eri. Was.....was she talking to herself or the Doctor behind her?

He shook his head and tunred back to Aashe as she finished her answer to his question about hiring an extra Gun Hand
"But it's Corwin's call..." Her voice trailed off sadly and he understood why. Would Corwin even make it? What would that mean for this mission? Most likely get scrubbed and leave them with nothing but cuts and bruises.

"Wouldn't hurt to ask around." He offered. Again Othic turned to see where Eri was. Before Aashe could answer him he changed the subject. "So.......you know Eri quite well, right? I mean I know it's only been three days but you both seem to get on pretty good."

He paused for any kind of answer before continuing. "So, I'm wondering.......well you know, has she mentioned me or anything? Or do you think she'd be uh.......interested.?" He stopped again, feeling pretty damn clumsy.