“Millie! What a very pleasant surprise.” Neil’s grin almost lit up the entire booth from the monitor. He looked older, with gray strands peppering the light hair. He was probably about fifteen pounds heavier as well but looked in good health.
Smiling in return, Millie said, “Gosh, that was fast. I thought I’d have to wait for such an important man.”
“Ahhh, I’m not that important and I never keep a lovely lady waiting. You look fantastic, Millie. It really is very nice to see you again.”
“I’ll have to call more often just to boost my ego. I feel kind of bad calling to ask for a favor.”
Neil leaned forward in his seat. “For you I’ll do anything, Millie. And I mean that very seriously, absolutely anything.”
Millie smiled again and after a bit more banter explained the whole story about the wemrat, the Sclarian and the ion emitter. Neil took notes then looked up when she finished.
“I’ll see what I can do, Millie. With I.G. courts the way they are, it shouldn’t be too hard to get the charges dropped. Your boss sounds as tough as I’ve heard,” he commented.
“I always did like a challenge. Say, Neil, I know you’re terribly busy but one more favor,” she added, trying to make her voice sound as casual as possible. “I was wondering if you could find out about a Kaprinian named Althan Tahk for me.”
Sander’s eyebrow went up but he merely asked, “Anything in particular you want to know?”
“Not really. I’m just mildly curious about him. Don’t bother if it’s too much trouble.”
“No trouble. Well, I’ll get to work on this. I should have an answer in a couple hours. Call me again anytime and we’ll chat about old times. Okay?” He gave her a wink and signed off.
Millie stared at her blank screen for a long moment. He really looks good, she thought and sighed.
Switching off the monitor, Millie stepped back outside.
“Well?” Conlin blinked his beady eyes at her.
“I talked to Commander Sanders. He didn’t think it would be too much trouble to drop the charges. He said he would call back in a couple hours.”
Gar Gar held out his paw, wiggling his bristly digits. “I’ll take my emitter back now.”
Millie and Captain Zelan looked at each other, Zelan’s mouth twitching upward as he stifled a grin.
“Uhmmm, Gar Gar,” Millie spoke in as respectful a tone as she could muster. “The commander won’t be able to call back without the emitter.”
“I will stand guard then, or two of my crew will, actually I think I will call a full security detail.” Gar pulled out his comm-link and began to warble into it.
Millie turned to the Jidalian desk clerk. “I’ll be on the
Pasteur
. Page me when Commander Sanders calls back.”
Bridget met the boys in the hall on the
Pasteur
’s C deck. They had all found their rooms, showered and were now supposed to meet Dr. Sshn’LRuh for a tour of the ship.
“How’s your room, Brid?” Miguel asked.
Flipping a strand of hair back from her face, Bridget shrugged, “It’s all right. I’m in with three of the nurses.”
“You’re lucky,” Steve said. “We’re all stuffed into a converted utility room.”
Torp clapped him on the back. “It’s not so bad. We only have to sleep there.”
“I’d expect it not to bother you, coming from a scrubby little dirtwater planet like Rama.”
“We better hurry to meet Dr. LRuh,” Miguel said, stepping in between them before Torp used Steve’s head as a punching bag.
They were to start the tour in Ward 2 on Deck 7 (the top three decks were lettered). It was the largest ward with 50 beds. Taking the staff elevator brought them to the ward’s nurses’ station, a separate room with a glass front running the length of the ward. Here was all the telemetry, with each patient’s wristband keyed into a different monitor.
It was a busy place today due to the injuries on the space station. There were four nurses, two orderlies, Dr. Michaelson and Dr. LRuh. As Bridget and the boys filed off the elevator, Dr. Aurelia arrived on the elevator on the opposite side of the room. Bridget’s first reaction was to hide behind Miguel, but she controlled the impulse and waited.
Aurelia stood in the middle of the room, her left hand pressed against the small of her back as if it pained her. “Jannie, how’s that Aguanian doing?” she asked one of the nurses.
“He’s stable, upgraded to serious condition, family contacted.”
“Good. I called Melgan on our other critical. They okayed transport. We’re shipping out in a couple of hours.”
Bridget watched Dr. Michaelson straighten with surprise. He scratched his fingers over his bald head. “I thought we would stay here and help with the flood downstairs?” he said.
Aurelia’s eyes looked capable of shooting flames. “How did you know about that?” She spoke softly but it was that very softness that made it threatening, like the slow rumble of thunder before a storm.
The room was dead quiet except for the soft hum of machinery. Everyone waited for Michaelson’s answer.
“Uhhh, I just heard it from Zimbin about ten minutes ago.”
“Zimbin needs to keep his damn mouth shut. Listen up. We’re leaving. I don’t want to hear another word about it.” Dr. Aurelia’s voice was suddenly overlaid by the higher pitch of the computer’s.
“Code A in Ward 2. Code A in Ward 2.”
All the nurses and doctors except LRuh went out the door to the ward. LRuh waved a tentacle at Bridget and the boys.
“Hurry up if you want to see a real code,” LRuh told them.
They hurried into the ward, following the crowd to the eighth bed down. Bridget, trying to maneuver around Dr. Michaelson’s bulk, suddenly found herself at the top of the bed with an excellent view.
A young Sclarian male was choking on something, his fuzzy face already turning a cyanotic blue.
With both her arms under his armpits, Dr. Aurelia pulled him to a sitting position, wrapped her arms around his chest and pushed upward.
He kept choking and wheezing.
“Get me a Z clamp,” Aurelia snapped, lowering the Sclarian again.
Jannie slapped a rubber tipped clamp into the doctor’s hand. Kneeling on the bed, Aurelia jammed her thumb into the side of the little Sclarian’s jaw, his mouth opened and she stuck the clamp down his throat. A turn of her wrist and something purple popped out, rolled off the bed and went rattling across the floor.
The little Sclarian gulped in huge breaths of air then started to cry.
Dr. Aurelia, sitting on the edge of the bed, then did something Bridget never would have imagined in a million years: she took the little Sclarian in her arms, pouring soft sympathies into his ear and gently patting his back.
As the crowd began to drift away, Millie arrived off one of the visitor elevators. “I heard the code,” she said. “Everything under control?”
“All clear,” said Michaelson. He, Millie and a couple of the other nurses formed a small chat group.
Bridget, still watching Dr. Aurelia, saw the chief surgeon get the little Sclarian settled again in his bed then go searching for something on the floor. She came up with a round, purple, sticky-looking object. Limping over to the chat group, Aurelia thrust her open hand in the middle of them, practically in Jannie’s face.
“This is what he choked on. What the hell is it?”
“Looks like a toothpopper candy,” said Millie.
“I specifically ordered that he have no candy.” Aurelia waved the sweet in the air. “This is exactly what I was afraid of. When I give an order, I expect it to be obeyed.”
“Just a minute, Doctor.” Millie, hands on her hips, spoke in a low voice that shook with anger. “My nurses have been pulling double and triple shifts the last few days and doing a darn fine job of it.”
“I don’t want to hear excuses, Nurse.”
“And I don’t want to hear one of your tantrums. Snuffy was in the rec room all morning and could have gotten that from anyone.”
Dr. Aurelia looked like someone had snapped her chain up short. Standing there silent for a second, she finally uttered, “See that it doesn’t happen again,” and stalked off.
The anger almost instantly drained from Millie’s face. Shaking her head, she said, “I hate doing that.”
LRuh maneuvered her cart from the door to the nurses’ station where she had been watching everything over to Millie. “She’s been waiting to pop a cork since we got here.” LRuh said.
“Tell me about it.”
“What’s going on with this flood thing?” asked Michaelson.
Millie frowned. “I don’t know. It’s just not like her. Maybe we should have a senior staff meeting.”
Michaelson groaned, loud and long. “Don’t you remember the last one? Aurelia yelled us all into a coma. She’s got more lung power than the rest of us.”
“You don’t think we should just leave Jidal IV with no vaccinations do you?” Millie asked.
“No. I guess not,” Michaelson agreed.
LRuh was turning a slight blue color. “I’ve got an idea,” she said. “You two go corner Doc in her office and I’ll meet you there.”
With an uncertain look at each other Millie and Michaelson agreed. LRuh whirred over to Bridget and the boys, waving several tentacles. “I’ll be back,” she threw at them and zoomed away.
Miguel leaned his chin on Bridget’s shoulder. “Something tells me we’re not going to get that tour.”
The senior staff meeting was not going well. Millie and Dr. Michaelson, joined by Rob Keller and Lak Zanin, had gathered in Dr. Aurelia’s office to convince her to start vaccinations on Jidal IV.
Sitting at her plain, metal desk, Aurelia had her arms folded across her chest and mouth set in a stubborn line. “Last time I checked,” she was saying, “I’m still head of this hospital.”
Millie leaned forward in her chair. Aurelia hadn’t invited them to sit down but Millie had taken the seat anyway. “Aura, we’re all concerned about a phinotheria outbreak. It’s a major risk in this part of the galaxy. None of us want to see an epidemic. And with the space station here it could turn into a pandemic.”
“Don’t lecture me about epidemics. I know better than anyone here what phinotheria is like.” Aurelia jabbed her index finger at Millie. “You’re the one complaining to me about your nurses pulling double shifts.”
“But that’s the point. We’re telling you we’re willing to work to get this taken care of.”
“Let one of the other hospitals handle it.”
At that moment, the door slid open and Rob moved aside to let LRuh into the room.
“Doc,” LRuh said, “Bedden Gel wants to talk to you.”
“I don’t want to talk to him,” Aurelia replied.
LRuh’s skin flushed a shade of yellow. “You can’t not talk to him. He’s waiting on the link right now.”
Millie wanted to applaud LRuh’s brilliant idea. Bedden Gel was Captain of the Valerian Search and Rescue Team. No one knew how they did it but the Valerians appeared to help at most of the major disasters throughout the galaxy and never took money or a reward for their work. Few outsiders were allowed on Valeria. Aurelia had been one of the few when Bedden had asked her to treat a young Valerian, not yet able to fly, who had fallen over a hundred meters. She would say little about her experience on the planet except that the patient was fine and that she hoped they would let her retire there when the time came. Between Aurelia and Bedden Gel there was a strong bond of mutual respect.
It worked. “Fine,” Aurelia finally said. “I’ll talk to him but you can all clear out.”
Millie and the others waited in the hall. In about ten minutes, Aurelia poked her head out the door.
“We will be going planetside in the morning,” Aurelia announced as if it was entirely her idea. “Get ready for mass vaccinations.” She disappeared back into her office.
Millie turned to congratulate LRuh. “Great idea.”
“I knew she wouldn’t be able to refuse Bedden Gel. I don’t know why she made such a big deal about it anyway,” LRuh replied.
Millie shrugged. “I’ve given up on trying to figure her out.”
As she turned away, Millie had one of those weird psychological moments when the world is suddenly reversed and nothing is as it appears to be. She recalled the strange Kaprinian, Althan Tahk’s words while discussing the finding of the wemrat, “It just seems convenient for her to find it. Quite a boost to her reputation.”
Could Aurelia have created the whole box pox epidemic for her own gain? Might she be hoping for a phinotheria outbreak for the same reason?
Millie shook her head. It was impossible. She had worked with the woman for twelve years and no matter how prickly and unbearable she could be at times, she truly cared about her patients’ welfare.
Millie had meant what she told Tahk, that she had never seen anything remotely improper in any of Aurelia’s dealings. Besides why would she need to do anything like that? Millie knew that Aurelia earned a percentage of profits as part of her contract with GEM Co. The whole idea was crazy.
Shaking her head again, Millie tried to dismiss the thought from her mind. Still, thinking about Aurelia’s contract had brought another niggling little thought to the tip of her brain, but she couldn’t quite seize upon it. Although Aurelia rarely talked about personal business, she had once casually mentioned a couple of the terms in her contract.
What was it? A percentage of profits and...Millie squinched her eyes together trying to remember. It seemed connected with something someone had said in the last couple of days but she couldn’t remember that either.
“I need some lysine,” Millie muttered.
“Falterite is good for memory too,” Zimbin said, laughing down at her as she just managed to avoid running into the big Berellian.
“Huh?”
“Thinking hard about something, Mil?” Zimbin asked.
Millie laughed, pounding the edge of her palm against her head, “Yeah, but nothing’s coming out.”
“I think they were looking for you over on Davis at the C.C.”
“Oh! Thanks, Zimbin. I’ll run right over there.”
The night shift must have begun on Davis. When Millie arrived at the C.C. instead of the female Jidalian who had helped her before, she found a pleasant-looking young man working at the courtesy desk.
“Hi, Gerard,” Millie said, reading his name tag as she approached the desk. “I’m Millie Konoho. Were you looking for me?”
“Yeah, you got a call from a...” He checked his monitor. “Neil Sanders. But Arbiter Conlin took the call.”
“Oh.” Millie felt a wave of disappointment pass through her. “Did you hear any of it?”
Gerard sniffed. “Ma’am, I’m not in the habit of listening in on private conversations.”
“Sorry. But did Conlin say anything?”
“He said they were releasing some guy then that skinny Sclarian said we could keep the ion emitter.” Gerard looked around the room as if to make sure no one was listening then added, “That geedo is weird.”
“Okay, thanks.” Millie started to leave then turned back. “Say, by the way, don’t you normally keep extra emitters on hand?”
Leaning his forearms on the desk, Gerard motioned Millie closer. “I swear I saw two emitters in the supply room just the other day. Now they’re gone. And that Sclarian? Like I said, he’s a real geedo. Every other Sclarian around here has been jacking off about that gravity wave and how it’s damaged all their systems. I guess they got hit really hard and of course, they’re blaming the Kaprinians though how they figure that is beyond me. But Geedo there was all buddy-buddy with that Kaprinian with the functified antennae.”
Millie imagined if she stood there for long she could hear the entire life history of everyone on the station from the governor to the maintenance crew.
“What do you mean by functified antenna?” she asked as he paused for breath.
Gerard twirled his finger above his head. “All twisted up, like a curlicue.”
Tahk, of course. That was interesting.
“Thanks,” Millie said and headed slowly back to the
Pasteur
.
Word had spread that they were going planetside in the morning so most of the crew had turned in early. Millie wandered around for awhile, checking in on Ward 2, headed for her room but found she was too restless to settle down to sleep.
Finally, Millie wandered into the observation lounge and curled up in her favorite spot in one corner of the green Baxi chair. It fit two Berellians and was made out of some kind of soft, foamy stuff that seemed to soak up all the tension in her bones. She soon drifted off into a daydream in which Neil Sanders figured more prominently than she was quite comfortable with.
The soft swish of the door made Millie open one eye to see who had entered.
It was Aurelia. She had a white, rectangular box from which she removed the lid and announced, “I’ve got a pound of real Swiss chocolate I can’t eat by myself.” It was as close to an apology for her earlier behavior as she was going to get.
Sitting up, Millie caught the buttercream tossed in her direction and popped the whole thing in her mouth. As she let the sweet chocolate melt down her throat, she decided as an apology it worked rather well.
Aurelia set the candy box on the table between them then flopped down on the couch opposite the Baxi chair. She looked calmer and more relaxed than she had been in days.
“I’m supposed to ask you if the students can go planetside with us tomorrow,” Millie ventured.
“I don’t care. I’m not planning to go down myself.”
Millie reached out for another buttercream. “I’ll tell LRuh. She was wondering what to do with them.”
Aurelia rolled her eyes. “What a stupid idea anyway. The board is lucky I only vote for Director-General.”
Millie’s brain gave a little startled leap. That was it: Aurelia’s contract gave her three votes for GEM Co.’s Director-General. Althan Tahk and the governor had said something about getting rid of someone with three votes. Were they trying to remove Aurelia as chief surgeon? Why? And what did the Kaprinian have to do with it?
She was about to open her mouth and tell Aurelia but she decided against it. She didn’t know enough yet to risk upsetting Aura again. She would wait and see what Neil turned up about Tahk. Maybe nose around a bit herself and see what happened.