Medicine for a Ghost

The ship's records had a hole in them exactly the shape of Bay Nine. Ines spent four nights pulling at the edges until something gave: a deleted crew file, a launch-day photograph, a woman in a medic's uniform beside the first captain.

The woman in the photograph had Ines's job. She also had the patient's face.

“You were the first medic,” Ines said that night. The patient didn't deny it. “I was the first one who knew,” she said instead. “Ask your captain what we're carrying.”