Ryan was moved to the "Odyssey's" medbay. The place was usually a quiet, sterile white, smelling of clean chemicals. But now, it was the busiest, most important room on the ship. The Matriarchs—Scarlett, Emma, Zara, Ilsa, and Seraphina—had basically moved in, turning it into their new command center and sleeping quarters.
Zara had her main console set up in one corner, covered in blinking lights and complicated graphs. Her scanner was attached to Ryan, constantly monitoring him. The news she gave was both good and deeply frustrating.
"His body is fine. Perfect, actually," she would say for the tenth time, pointing at a screen showing a perfectly healthy human form. "I could bounce a laser off him and it wouldn't leave a mark. The problem isn't physical."
