The stand-off between Mr. Acharya and myself was finally solved by a simple suggestion from Nisha. Namely, that her Mother, who’s life was on the line, was allowed to decide if she wanted to trust a Powered her Daughter vouched for or if she wanted to hope for a miracle of some sort. The idea received approval from everyone, even if it was only grudgingly from Khukuri and I had the impression Mr Acharya had some reservations, too.

As a group, we headed towards the hospital, while the driver the Guild had assigned us followed, alongside his security. On the way, I made sure that all the information I had received thus far, some of it even obtained in legitimate ways, was incorporated into the model I had formed for treatment and realised that my work would be quite exhausting. Galatea and I would need to keep a close eye on the processes to slowly reduce and remove the tumor, carving it away bit by bit while keeping the small chunks under control to make sure they would not cause an infarct. If that happened, it was likely that Mrs Acharya would die from it and if not, she would suffer greatly. Not something I wanted to risk.

The atmosphere in the car was about as cozy as one would expect, a small, idle part of my brain wondering if it would be possible to bottle it and use as a replacement for liquid nitrogen in cooling, while the larger part was still occupied with the treatment-options, It looked like I would truly have to remain in direct communication with the nanite-swarm the whole time, especially as I would have to use them to do the imaging as well. Trying to use conventional imaging, an MRI for example, while having the Nanites in the body could easily cause dire consequences, which made it inadvisable. The installation of my own equipment also meant that either Anath or I would have to remain with the equipment at all times, to prevent espionage and classical theft.

By the time we arrived at the hospital, I had a workable solution, if Mrs. Acharya gave her consent. Galatea had even already written the initial, imaging sub-routines for the nanties, meaning we would be able to move into action as soon as we could unload the larger equipment from the plane. The hospital itself brought a bit of a smile to my face, while the outside and ambience was foreign to me, the style reminiscent of the surrounding buildings, the clinical aspects appeared to be top-notch, something I should have expected.

With Mr. Acharya, there was no obstacle to visit Mrs. Acharya in her room, a comfortable private room in the cancer-ward. After waiting a moment outside, while Nisha and Mr. Acharya went ahead and explained the situation, the rest of us followed in and I was glad that my mask concealed my every expression. Mrs. Acharya looked sick, there was no other way to describe it. While her facial features still revealed obvious familial resemblance with Nisha’s, her gaunt cheeks, thin hair and overall lethargy showed just how bad her shape was.

After considering for a moment, I decided to give a show of trust, especially after a quick check to make sure there were no cameras around, and reached up, letting the mask unlock and fall into my hands. revealing my real face.

“Mother, this is a dear friend of mine, Metis. Or maybe I should introduce her as Diana, if she’s willing to unmask herself.” Nisha introduced me, while Anath remained in the back, keeping an eye on the door together with Khukuri. “She promised that she’d be able to help you.”

“Greetings, Mrs. Acharya.” I gave her a polite nod, almost deep enough to qualify as a bow.

“Greetings, young one.” she replied, her voice a little hoarse and physically weak but I was quite certain that there was a steely wll behind those deep, brown eyes that studied me.

“Why do you think you will be able to cure what nobody else can?” she asked, her tone understandably bitter. Before, she had been a mature woman, with a lot of her life before her. Now, she was in bed, with nothing to look forward to but the end of her suffering, while I entered in a garb that somewhat resembled the Grim Reaper’s cloak, offering to help. Or maybe I was projecting,

“She’s the apprentice of Technica, Councilor of the Guild.” Nisha threw in, getting a slight not of acknowledgement, while Mrs. Acharya’s eyes continued to bore into me, trying to discern everything about me.

“That, I am. And you need to ask yourself, what do you have to lose? I say I can help you and from all data I have accessed so far, there are no others who make the same claim. There might be a few Powered with specialised power-sets who can achieve that, but to locate and contact them, you would need to use the Guild’s databases, while also trusting those Powered, just like you would have to trust me.” I replied, utterly unconcerned with her mistrust and the slight scorn directed at me.

For a moment, there was fire in her eyes, as if she was about to jump out of the hospital bed, filled with anger to tear into me, but it lasted for but a moment, before it faded, like a candle snuffed out from lack of oxygen.

“What a sale, ‘what do you have to lose?’” she chuckled, “And what a wretched situation, that the only thing I can do is agree.” she paused again, taking a deep breath.

“Do your thing.” she accepted, looking me straight into the eyes, the earlier fire back, “But give me your word, if you fail, you will atone for it, by helping my daughter. She will need comfort, a friend and confidante, that will be your role.” she asked, her tone a mix of pleading and threat.

“She is my friend. If not for that friendship, I would not be here, nor would I offer to help.” I replied and when she reached out, taking Nisha’s hand, I realised why she had asked the promise of me, in that manner.

“Hear that, dove? If this fails, nobody’s perfect and all that, please stay her friend. You’ll need friends, especially with your power, and I have a feeling that this one will be a good one.” she addressed Nisha, her voice changed from the previous, perfect enunciation to something more personal and warm.

“My wife has decided and I will accept her decision.” Mr. Acharya softly added from the side, not interrupting the closeness between mother and daughter. “I don’t like it, but that has nothing to do with you and everything with my inability to help my wife.” he admitted and I nodded in understanding. If I had to ask for help in order to help Sophia, I would be unhappy as well.

“Anath, can you join Devatma and get the equipment from the plane? It will be marked on your display.” I privately told Anath, quickly getting confirmation in turn. Being able to speak, without using your mouth was quite useful, especially if you had a direct, well-encrypted communication-system, making it almost as good as telepathy would be. Maybe even better, depending on the telepath.

“Please, have someone join my partner as she gets the necessary equipment. In the meantime, I would like to have a look at the measures that have already been taken and the data collected.” I told Mr. Acharya, getting a nod in acceptance.

“Parvati, thank you for your presence. Khukuri, can you join Anath, that was her name, right?” he began ordering people, while starting towards the door, giving me a wave to accompany him.

Leaving Nisha and Mrs Acharya in her room, I followed behind after replacing my mask, while Anath moved together with Khukuri. Parvati followed along and as we moved, I noticed the reverence with which she was treated by the few people nearby.

Mr. Acharya was able to find the attending physician quickly and while the doctor seemed to almost stumble over his tongue as he was staring at Parvati in awe, it only took a few prods and pokes to make him give me full access to the files I needed. Some of it I had been able to break into previously, but most of the data was kept on a local, closed system, preventing anybody from getting in there, even me. Well, unless I walked through the front door, but that hardly counted as hacking.

Once the files were uploaded, I bid Mr. Acharya and Parvati farewell and found a quiet spot, to make sure my previous conclusions were based on sound assumptions and I would be able to begin working as soon as Anath delivered the necessary equipment.