She picked out Miko’s and Dataran’s yells even from the chaotic roaring in her ears, and then they were above her, tenderly turning her onto her back. She scanned their faces, recognizing shock, fear, panic, uncertainty. Dataran was speaking but she couldn’t comprehend. Miko was pressing a hand against her forehead.
Her processor began to flicker back to life, programs gradually rebooting themselves. Though she still had no control over her legs, she could once again make out Dataran’s concerned questions, raining down on her like shooting stars.
Then Miko laid a hand on Dataran’s arms and said, with calm authority, “Bring her some water.”
With a frantic nod, he pushed himself to his feet. When he had gone, Miko sighed, her gaze full of sympathy as she tucked a lock of Star’s hair behind an ear.
“The fit seems to have passed, but just lie still.”
Star withered from embarrassment to know that Dataran had seen her like this.
“I’m sorry if I offend you by asking this,” Miko whispered, glancing in the direction Dataran had gone, “but … are you an escort-droid, Star-mèi?”
Eyes widening, Star tried to sit up, only succeeding when Miko tucked an arm beneath her shoulders and lifted her. She realized the thought of Miko knowing her secret terrified her, but Miko’s smile was kind. “Don’t worry. I don’t think Dataran has noticed anything, and I won’t tell anyone. You are very … convincing.” Her lashes dipped, and she murmured, “But like recognizes like.”
Star scrutinized her. Like recognizes like. The words repeated in her head, but she couldn’t seem to compute them.
Then Miko reached a hand for the back of her neck, where Star had noticed that strange dark spot a dozen times since her return, always hastily covered up. “I’m not an android,” she said, shaking her head. She cleared her throat and dared to meet Star’s gaze again. “But I am a cyborg.”
Cyborg. The definition was in her database, but Star doubted its accuracy. Miko? Lovely young Miko?
Miko glanced around to make sure no one was near. They had been sitting near the paint booth, which offered a good view of the ship’s takeoff without all the crowds, and no one was paying them any attention.
Sitting back on her heels, Miko pulled up the wide sleeve of her silk kimono. Star watched, mesmerized, as Miko dug her fingers into the flesh of her elbow and began to peel the skin back. A perfect, thin layer of flesh rolled down her am like a tightly knit sleeve, and beneath the skin was a finely crafted arm made from lightweight carbon-fiber polymer, the same material Star’s body was constructed from.
As soon as Star had seen, Miko rolled the skin back into place, rubbing at the synthetic until the edges had merged seamlessly back together.
Gaping, Star pointed to where Dataran had gone.
“He knows,” said Miko. “I told him as soon as … well…” She stared down at her prosthetic hands, now clutched together in her lap. “As soon as I realized that I was falling in love with him. I thought for sure it would put an end to it all. That he wouldn’t want anything to do with me once he knew. But … he isn’t like that, is he?” A happy flush bloomed across her cheeks, but was smothered as she glanced out toward the rows of ships in all stages of incompletion. And down the lane, the Child of the Stars. “Not that it matters. As soon as the ship is done, we’ll be leaving, and nothing will change my father’s mind. I know he thinks it’s for my own good, but…”
Star listed her head, urging her to continue.
“We’re leaving the Commonwealth because he’s afraid that I’ll be selected for the cyborg draft if we stay. I know it’s by random selection, and the odds are so small, and yet he’s convinced that the draft skews toward female cyborgs, and young ones at that. I don’t know how he got this into his head, but … That’s why he bought the ship, why he’s so insistent that they finish it as soon as possible. And when it’s done … I’ll have to say good-bye.”
Star thought she detected a shimmer in Miko’s eye, but it was gone just as fast. “I should be grateful. I know that. He’s going through so much trouble to keep me safe. But I can’t help but feel that I would rather take my chances with the draft, if it means being with Dataran.”
Star looked away. She knew that feeling so well. The pain that jolted through her vertebrae when she walked. The torture of seeing how his eyes latched on to the bright-colored obi that wrapped around Miko’s body. How agonizing it was, this life of silence and yearning.
Yet how very worth it when his eyes found hers, and she could still recall the look of disbelief and gratitude and curiosity that had passed over him when she’d pulled him from the oil tank.
“Here, I usually keep a portable charger with me,” said Miko, pulling her handbag toward her. “Dataran will be back soon, and it will be difficult for me to explain why you aren’t drinking any water unless you seem recovered. Is the receptacle in your neck?”