Jeanette smiled and shook her head. "I don't know. None of us is too sure. We've never had a situation like this before. But we think Naomi is. She regained consciousness first."
I sank back on the pillow, trying to collect my thoughts.
Naomi came into view. She had been standing behind the headboard. Her throat was a mess despite the basic telesurgery, but her expression was friendly.
"Look, Vera, I'm willing to admit I would have lost. You outfought me. But luck was on my side and I won."
"You're right there, sister," I sighed, mustering a smile. I noticed also that they'd fixed her eye—considerably improving her appearance.
"Well, since neither of us was in a position to finish the other one off, it's still a complicated proposition. I mean, about the title," Naomi clarified.
I again managed to sit up and felt the strength begin returning to my limbs. If you aren't stone dead, modern medicine can heal almost anything nowadays in a matter of hours, which I find reassuring. "What do you propose, another duel?"
"That doesn't make much sense," said Jeanette. "Why fight among ourselves when there are so many of those stupid boys buzzing around?"
"Yes, what I was going to suggest," Naomi said eagerly, "is that we sort of share the leadership until one or the other of us gets killed in battle."
I thought for a moment and then clenched my fist, and we knocked knuckles grinning at each other.