Station

She looked out the window of the station, seeing the planet thousands of miles below them, remembering the time she had just recently spent there. There was a distinct gap between her final moments on that planet and when she had awoken back on the station - she remembered dying as clear as day, but her min had been uploaded at the very last possible moment back to the station, and she had been reuploaded into a new body. It wasn't the first time it had happened, and it very likely wouldn't be the last - that was the life of being a combat unit.

It was technically silent, but she could hear the door to her room sliding open, shifting into the ceiling to allow entry. He walked into the room, looking as he had when she had first met him, despite the horrific end he had faced during their encounter - he, too, had been reuploaded. "Greetings," he spoke plainly. "I have been assigned to your maintenance coming out of your last mission. Have you noticed any immediate problems with your new body?"

She shook her head. "Thank you for backing me up," she told him. "If it weren't for you, I may not have returned from that mission."

The look of confusion was evident on his face. "Did I do that?" he asked. "I apologize. My memory of the events on the surface are gone - there must have been problems uploading my own memory. The last thing I remember occurred immediately before the mission began. I have been informed that it was a rough mission - I am glad that I was able to assist you, if only in this minimal manner."

There was a pang in the depth of her chest at his words. It was against protocol, but she felt a sense of anger and frustration at what had happened. He had sacrificed everything to save her, and she had been unable to save him, and now their experience together was gone for him. She remembered events that to him had simply never happened. And as a scout, he was far more concerned with what he could find than with what he could feel. She could never speak to him about those events - he would dismiss them entirely.

"It is best that you lay down as I complete your maintenance," he said, his voice still calm. "It will only take a short time."

Without a word she nodded and laid down on her bunk, closing her eyes beneath the fold as she felt the seal on her chest cracking open to allow him access to her vitals.