Naskia blinked awake, her head aching. Not just her head, her whole body was aching. She tried to remember what happened but everything was a blur. She was in a bright room, everything looked white. She could hear voices.

“She’s waking up….” One said.

Naskia blinked some more and her vision started to clear up. She was in a bed in a very clean, white room, a single dark green plant in the corner. Instruments beeped away steadily and a display beside her bed gave information on her vital signs.

“Naskia…are you with us?” A familiar voice said.

She turned her head following it to see the face of her father smiling at her.

“Daddy….?” She said.

“Yeah I’m here…how do you feel?” Her father said smiling softly but still looking concerned.

Naskia sat up in bed thinking. She rubbed her sore head and then everything rushed back to her. Kiri telling her Dorok had Niall and Nonah, fighting with Dorok, Dorok kicking her repeatedly as she held Nonah and then watching Niall pummel Dorok over and over before she passed out.

“Yeah….I’m ok…sore. Are Niall and Nonah ok? And Kiri?!” Naskia said slumping back down in bed. She was too sore to sit.

“They’re fine. Kiri has been discharged already, Niall and Nonah are ok. Niall called the police and medics for you after you passed out. He called me to come and get him and Nonah. Nonah is a very sweet girl; she’s been very worried about you.” Hussel explained.

“The police?!” Naskia said trying to sit up again. “What are they doing?”

“Well turns out Niall did quite a bit of damage to Dorok, I really must thank him for that actually. He shattered his skull in several places. The two police officers who responded were so impressed with Niall’s hologram and him saving two Titan women from a madman that they decided to look the other way and log Dorok’s injuries as being caused by “an unknown assailant”. Dorok is to be charged with multiple counts of assault and attempting to murder a class two sentient being. He’ll be shipped off to a penal world in no time.” Hussel said. He never wished violence upon someone but seeing what he had done to Naskia he was glad Niall had nearly beaten him to death.

Naskia breathed out a sigh of relief. “When can I get out of here?”

“Tomorrow, you were in a bad way. You had cracked ribs and internal injuries. What possessed you to go in there in the first place?” Hussel said trying not to sound angry with her but she had nearly gotten herself killed.

“Because they’re people Daddy, I couldn’t leave them to die like that. Would you have left Nonah there?” Naskia said.

Hussel thought for a second. “No I suppose I would have done the same thing. It’s just hard for a father to see his daughter like this.”

Hussel got up and activated a slider on the wall which blacked out the windows between Naskia’s room and the word.

Naskia shifted in her soft bed trying to find a part of her to lie on that didn’t ache. “If it makes you feel any better I have no plans on doing it again.”

Hussel walked back and sat down in the chair beside the bed. He put his hand in his pocket and took something out and set it on the table. Naskia’s eyes took a second to focus but she was soon able to make out a rather bashful looking Niall.

Naskia reached out and grabbed him with both hands and hugged him to her chest. She wanted to squeeze him with all her strength but even in her weakened state she knew she had to be gentle with him. She could feel her eyes well up as she thought back to how she had nearly lost him to Dorok or that he had ran away from her. She couldn’t ever lose him again; she couldn’t ever risk driving him away. When she was well she was going to start counselling. She owed him that.

Hussel smiled seeing how happy his daughter looked. “When he heard I was going to visit you he demanded to be allowed to come along. Apparently the “no pets” rule doesn’t apply to him as he isn’t a pet.

Naskia held him in her hand in front of her face and grinned. “You never would do what you were told…”

“Shuddup.” Niall said playfully.

“Well now I have you both in one place I should probably tell you I have news.” Hussel said.

“Oh?…” Niall said turning in Naskia’s palm to look at Hussel.

Hussel cleared his throat. “The Titan Institute of Physics has agreed to recognise your qualifications and grant you the equivalent qualifications here. You would be a doctor in High Energy Physics with a high degree of seniority. They would offer you a research position here at the University that pays quite well. You would also be given access to The Titan Institute of Science’s resources for any projects you wish to work on also. All you need to do is complete an equivalency assessment and be approved by the board.”

Naskia’s face lit up she was so happy for Niall. He looked nowhere near as happy as she did. He simply breathed a sigh of relief. He had never allowed himself to fully believe that he would get his career back. He had always hoped but never truly believed it would happen. He sunk down into Naskia’s palm not 100% sure if he was feeling relief or terror at the prospect of returning to work.

“Niall! You could work! Earn money! They could petition for you to get citizenship!” Naskia said.

“They could help you there. The T.I.S holds a lot of political sway in the Empire. It is a well-respected organisation.” Hussel said backing up Naskia.

Niall looked up at Hussel, the thought of going back to work had still not fully sunk in. “Thank you Hussel, you have no idea what this means to me.”

Hussel smiled. “You have no one to thank but yourself. You have earned this. Now I think we should leave Naskia to sleep and you can plan your new career.”

Niall hugged Naskia’s thumb and kissed the pad softly before returning to Hussel.

“Goodbye daughter. Sleep well.” He said kissing her on the forehead.

Nonah was curled up asleep in Loona’s palm. She had never been so happy to see Loona when she walked through the door. Nonah cried and Loona held her and shushed her like a crying child. A tear even managed to escape from Loona’s practiced facade she was so moved by how upset Nonah was. Nonah bawled as she told Loona what Dorok had made her do and how he had nearly killed her, she spent a great deal of time emphasizing to Loona just how much Naskia had gone through to protect her.

Nonah really was in total awe of what Naskia had done for her. Despite the ordeal Naskia put her through it was nowhere near as terrifying and degrading as Dorok’s actions. Naskia had attempted to make amends and hadn’t actually attempted to kill her; she snapped and made some threats. Naskia had taken a beating for Nonah so bad it put her in the hospital when it would have been far easier just to let her die. Provided Naskia never hurt her again Nonah would never tell Loona.

“Can I pick you up?” Loona said to Niall.

“Sure…” Niall said.

Loona reached down and picked up Niall with her free hand and wrapped him gently in her fist, she brought him to her lips and softly kissed him on the head. Niall felt slightly embarrassed and a bit weak at being unable to resist the kiss. He was capable of saving three women from a rampaging giant man but helpless when it came to any kind of tenderness.

Loona lowered him and opened her hand allowing Niall to sit. “Thank you for everything you did for Nonah. You risked your life to save her. You beat that guy into bloody pulp, I kinda wanted to do that myself. I can’t ever repay you.”

Niall scratched at the back of his head uncomfortably. “Heh…she did her own share of saving. She’s a lot tougher than she lets on. We got each other through it.”

Loona looked down at the sleeping Nonah; she found it hard to believe that the tiny, timid blonde thing was capable of standing up for Niall as well as herself.

“What did she do?” Loona asked still staring at her.

Niall shifted uneasily, he knew just what she’d done for him. “She was safe and hidden and Dorok threatened to kill me, I told her not to come out but she came straight out and offered herself for me. She did other things too…not nice things…I don’t want to go into it…All I’ll say is she’s in every way my equal and if you don’t treat her like one you’ll have to answer to me.”

Loona looked up and smiled at Niall warmly. “I think I may have underestimated her, she’s come on so much just from being around you…..”

Loona was interrupted by the sound of the door of the dorm opening. Niall turned to look at the door, he could hear shuffling and the sounds of bags being moved around. The door opened and Hussel slowly walked in with a rather shaky looking Naskia on his arm.

“Heeeeey Nas.” Loona said nervously.

Niall watched as Naskia painfully walked across the room. She looked very pale and in pain, most of the visible areas of her body were covered with dark bruises. Niall started to feel his Irish blood boil in his veins again, he’d never felt truly out of control with anger before. He would have killed Dorok if Nonah hadn’t stopped him. He could now see that anyone was capable of anything if the circumstances were right and once you lost control, it was hard to get back.

Hussel helped Naskia into bed, moving that much was painful for her and she winced. It was going to be a few days before she would be mobile again.

“Are you sure it’s ok?” Hussel asked her.

“Yes! Go Daddy. I’ll be fine. You were supposed to be there yesterday.” Naskia replied somewhat exasperated.

“I’ll look after her. Any problems, Loona is here too.” Niall chimed in.

Hussel grimaced. “I hate to leave you like this.”

“Go! I’m a big girl I’ll just be in bed anyway. Do you really want to hang around a dorm with a bunch of smelly twenty somethings?” Naskia said trying to use humour to distract from her condition.

Hussel got up from the bed and kissed Naskia on the forehead. “Any problems you call your mother straight away, in fact call her everyday anyway.”

“Yes Daddy…”

Hussel took a few steps backwards. “I’ll only be 20 light years away. If you need me you call, young lady.”

“Yes! Now go!” Naskia said growing tired of being treated like a sick child.

“Niall, you have been better to my daughter than any man, Human or not, my family owes you a great deal. You will have our support for as long as you need it.” Hussel said.

Niall simply nodded unsure how to take the compliment.

Hussel stepped into the doorway ready to leave. “Goodbye all; take care of my daughter.”

Hussel left as the group said goodbye. Naskia lay back down in her bed and exhaled deeply, she was exhausted still and had been putting on a show for her concerned father.

Loona looked down at her palm as she felt tiny feet move. Nonah was awake and hopping up and down slightly. She was wearing one of Niall’s T-shirts that Loona had given to her. Nonah was pointing at Naskia. She wanted to go see her.

Loona placed Nonah on the bed. Naskia felt something scampering up her side, she wanted to sit up but she was too tired. She felt furthering scampering on her chest and she tilted her head up to see Nonah beaming down at her. Nonah dived at Naskia’s face and landed on her lips, she hugged her tightly. Naskia giggled as the small girl made snow angel movements on her face.

Nonah turned to Loona. “Loona can you take Niall? I want to talk to Naskia myself.”

“Ehhh yeah sure…” Loona got up and carried Niall with her. Both were concerned at Nonah’s request but for totally different reasons.

Naskia waited for Loona and Niall to leave before sitting up slightly and placing Nonah on her chest. Nonah was looking bashful. She could barely look at Naskia.

“I…I want to say…” Nonah stammered slightly unsure of what to say to Naskia. “Dorok is a monster, truly a monster. I’m sorry I called you a monster. You are nothing like him. Nothing.”

Nonah felt herself starting to well up and forced herself to keep her composure. Naskia was doing not better.

“You saved me from him, he did terrible, terrible things to you and you didn’t let go. It would have been so easy to let him kill me but you didn’t.” Nonah started to cry. “I owe you so much. I don’t care about what happened with us anymore. You have shown just how good a person you are. I will never forget what you did for me, NEVER.”

Naskia sniffled and lifted Nonah up to her face and kissed her softly. “Nonah, I will never be able to make it up to you and I’ll not stop ever. I still feel terrible for what I did. I’m going to see someone to make sure it never happens again.”

Naskia cupped Nonah and held her tightly to her chest. “If you need anything ever, you only ever have to ask. And I’m going to make sure you get your dresses.”

Nonah kissed Naskia’s hand feeling safe and protected like she had never felt before as Naskia started to drift off to sleep.

Loona was making tea. She knew Naskia would be feeling pretty terrible and a cup of tea would help her to feel a bit better. Niall was standing on the counter watching.

“The leaves are in the cupboard up there.” Niall said pointing to a cupboard at Loona’s eye level.

Loona retrieved the tea. She had just been about to ask before Niall had told her where the tea was. “Ah….thanks.”

“You should probably make Nonah a cup too; she’s pretty fond of the stuff and likes to drink with Naskia.” Niall said firmly. He was aware Loona still wasn’t overly happy about Nonah stuffing herself with Titan food and drink.

Loona poured boiling water into a pot with some tea leaves in a sieve.

“Ok…I’ll pour her a cup. I guess I’ll have to get used to her eating with me and drinking with me if I’m going to start treating her as a friend and not a pet.” Loona said more to herself than to Niall.

Niall smiled but didn’t reply. He was feeling nervous about what happened with Nonah and Naskia, he felt he had a duty to tell Loona but he knew he couldn’t.

“So I have a bit of a confession to make.” Loona said. “I only sent the article I wrote on you in for publishing the other day…”

Niall was surprised. He thought it had probably been binned by an angry editor. “Oh…how come?”

“I suppose I was half expecting you to be a fake but when you turned out to be real I wasn’t sure how to act. Especially you making your own holosuite program and making me look at Nonah differently. I’ve been writing it over the last few weeks and it’s now a few pages long. I’ve also covered a lot about how far Nonah has advanced just from being around you.”

“Well that’s good. I’m glad Nonah gets a look in too.” Niall said.

“Well it gets better…the editor at Tannhauser Student News loved it so much he sent it to the local News Service. It’s getting published in 4 days’ time as a special feature! Four pages, they even included the picture Naskia took of Nonah and I displayed beside a picture of Nonah in my hand so people can see that your program works. Your name and Naskia’s name aren’t mentioned but by next week everyone in the city will know about you, I think you should start getting ready for it just in case it causes a stir.” Loona explained.

Niall stood locked to the spot a million thoughts racing through his mind. He wanted to do this gradually, start with the University then the wider scientific community and then let it gradually filter through society. Such a visible, in-depth article in the mainstream press was likely to trigger a debate in the local population that could potentially go planet wide quickly. He wouldn’t be able to control the debate and the context as well as he could in the University. Speculation and rumour would run rife and the facts would end up taking a backseat to emotional pandering. He was worried. Loona noticed.

“Don’t look so worried! I know what I’m doing…mostly. This is what I’ve been studying this for the last 4 years. I’m not going to let this get out of hand. The editor of the Tannhauser News Service and Tannhauser Student News are both backing you. They would love for you to come in and do a full piece but they understand why you’d be nervous. There’s going to be a debate Niall, we probably won’t win it but the main thing is that the question gets asked. This is something that hasn’t been asked before. Some people will start to see Humans as equal and it’s only a matter of time before perceptions change.” Loona said straining the tea from the pot before it stewed.

“I suppose I’ll just have to trust you then.” Niall said trying to sound like he had confidence in Loona. Niall would usually never trust anyone but himself to deal with something so important but he knew he didn’t have a choice here. He knew Loona was more than capable; he just would have been more comfortable doing it himself.

“That you will! Can you carry Nonah’s mug for me?” Loona said with a smirk.

Loona lifted Niall and placed him on her shoulder while she carried a mug and a pot of tea for Naskia. Niall found Loona’s shoulder a lot easier to ride on than Naskia’s as there was no the massive canopy of hair to worry about. Loona set Niall down beside his tank when they arrived.

Loona set the tea down and poured Naskia a cup. She was very careful when pouring Nonah’s not to spill any but still made a bit of a mess.

“Move over Nas…” Loona said clambering into bed beside the sleeping Naskia and squishing up against her.

Naskia groaned unhappy at having to share her comfy bed. “I’m not well! You can’t take my bed!”

“If you think I’m spending the next 20 hours sitting in your rickety chair you have another thing coming. I know you’re in pain but I’ll ruin my back doing that.” Loona complained back.

Niall sighed. “Ladies! Can you please settle? Naskia has boiling hot tea and Nonah is within spilling distance. You may both be massive but you’re skinny enough to share the bed.”

Naskia made a faux gasp “I may be recovering but I’m still well enough to kick your ass for being cheeky.”

Niall laughed. “You’d have to catch me first.”