Page 49 of Alien Mercenary's Wife
Something in the medic’s tone made his attention sharpen. "What kind of options?"
"The Empire has treatments that could reverse the neural damage completely." Tal met his eyes directly. "Neural pathway reconstruction, cellular regeneration protocols, genetic repair sequences."
He went perfectly still. "No."
"Boss—"
"No Imperial involvement. Find another way."
Tal's jaw tightened, a small muscle pulsing in the corner. "There might not be another way. The Empire has been researching neural interface technology for decades. They understand this type of damage better than anyone else in the galaxy."
"Then we find someone else who understands it. No Imperial entanglements."
"This isn't about politics," Tal said. "This is about saving her life."
The words hung between them. He stared at the medical displays.
"There has to be another solution," he said finally.
Tal was quiet for a moment. "There might be. Lizzie mentioned something interesting from her last call with her sister."
"Talk."
"Lord Healer Laarn has been doing research." Tal pulled up a new set of data. "There've been several research papers published recently by an anonymous scientist. Papers that have led the Lord Healer down new treatment avenues."
"Anonymous?"
Tal nodded. "Completely. No identification, no institutional affiliation. But the research is groundbreaking." He highlighted sections of the display. "It's advanced stuff for neural repair. Whoever this scientist is, they understand neural damage on a level that takes most people a lifetime to master."
T'Raal studied the information. He could pick out one or two phrases but most of it was beyond him. "Laarn has access to this research?"
"More than access. He's developing treatments based on it. Lizzie says he's had remarkable success with early trials." Tal paused. "But getting access to his treatments would require..."
"Imperial connections." T'Raal finished with distaste.
"Yes."
"What about acquiring the research directly?" T'Raal asked. "The anonymous papers?"
"I've tried. They're published through secure channels. Whoever this scientist is, they're being very careful about protecting their identity.”
"Is there anything else you can think of? Any alternative approaches?"
Tal shook his head. "Limited. I can continue treating the symptoms, which may slow the progression slightly. But without access to advanced regenerative technology..." he shrugged. "I'm treating battlefield injuries with field medicine. It keeps her functional in the short term but doesn't address the underlying problem."
"How long do we have to find alternatives?"
"Before her condition becomes critical? Six months, maybe less if the degradation accelerates. Before it becomes irreversible? Unknown. The longer we wait, the more damage accumulates."
T'Raal stared at the medical displays. Six months to find a solution that didn't require Imperial involvement.
“Why are you having so much trouble this time? You managed to heal Eris and she had the same implants.”
Tal grimaced. “Unfortunately the captain is older, and her implants have been in place longer. Not much, but it makes a difference.”
T’Raal sighed. Just like in battle, sometimes a split-second was the difference between life and death.
"Keep on it," he said finally. "Contact every medical specialist you know. Someone, somewhere, has to be working on something we can use."
