A sharp prick as the needle broke her unprotected skin. Then silence for a few minutes as they waited for the sickbay’s computers to run the diagnostics.

“Ah, here we are,” said the doctor, and started reading his overlays, eyes darting from side to side.

Sparrow said, “Well, what is it, Doc?”

“If Ms. Kira chooses to tell you, that is her choice,” said Vishal. “However, she is still my patient, and I am still her physician, and as such, this is privileged information.” He gestured toward the door and said to Kira, “After you, my dear.”

“Yeah, yeah,” said Sparrow, but there was no concealing the spark of curiosity in her eyes.

Once out in the hallway, with the door closed behind them, Kira said, “How bad is it?”

“It is not bad at all, Ms. Kira,” said Vishal. “You are menstruating. What you are feeling are uterine cramps. Quite normal.”

“I’m…” For a moment, Kira was at a loss. “That can’t be possible. I had my periods turned off when I first hit puberty.” And the only time she’d reactivated them had been in college, during the stupidest six months of her life, with him.… A flush of unwelcome memories crowded her mind.

Vishal spread his hands. “I am sure you are right, Ms. Kira, but the results are unmistakable. You are most certainly menstruating. There is no doubt whatsoever.”

“That shouldn’t be possible.”

“No, it shouldn’t.”

Kira put her fingers to her temples. A dull ache was forming behind her eyes. “The xeno must have thought I was injured somehow so it … repaired me.” She walked back and forth across the corridor and then stopped, hands on her hips. “Shit. So am I going to have to deal with this from now on? Can’t you do something to turn them back off?”

Vishal hesitated and then made a helpless motion. “If the suit will heal you, then nothing I can do would stop it, unless I remove your ovaries, and—”

“There’s no way the Soft Blade would let you. Yeah.”

The doctor glanced at his overlays. “There are hormonal treatments we could try, but I must warn you, Ms. Navárez, they can have some undesirable side effects. Also, I can’t guarantee their efficacy, as the xeno might interfere with absorption and metabolism.”

“Okay … Okay.” Kira paced the breadth of the corridor again. “Fine. Leave it. If I feel any worse, maybe we can try the pills.”

The doctor nodded. “As you wish.” He drew a long finger across his bottom lip and then said, “One, ah, point to remember, Ms. Navárez, and I apologize most seriously for mentioning it. Practically, there is no reason you could not become pregnant now. However, as your physician, I have to—”

“I’m not getting pregnant,” Kira said, harsher than she intended. She laughed, but there was no humor in the sound. “Besides, I don’t think the Soft Blade would allow it, even if I wanted.”

“Exactly, Ms. Kira. I could not guarantee your safety, nor the safety of the fetus.”