The smell of burnt kanic made Jak lift his head from the table. The top of it was sticky with years of ground in grease and food stains and he scrubbed a hand vigorously across his face. Two other customers, both human, sat at the front counter of the all-night cafe while the cook, also human, swept the floor. Otherwise the place was empty. Must have dozed off, he thought, checking the time. Now what?
After leaving camp, he had wandered around town for awhile then stopped at the cafe. Aurelia’s words kept going around in his head as if on a conveyor belt. It wasn’t really so much the words themselves but the look of hatred in her eyes as she said them that made his heart twist like a piece of cloth being wrung dry. He hadn’t realized how much her opinion of him mattered, how much he strived to live up to her standards of conduct, of workmanship.
He remembered the first time he met her had been at a college fair held by GEM Co. Aurelia had been one of only two people who talked to him that day. He boasted too much, he knew that. But he was good and someone had to listen. She had looked him over with those cool jade eyes, asked several questions and moved on. After being hired by the Company on a provisional basis, he had been surprised the day his assignment to the
Pasteur
came through along with a personal message from Admiral Meng stating that Aurelia had asked for him to be assigned to her ship. She never referred to her request and he never asked, just gave her his best work.
Over the past twelve years she had bailed him out and saved his life more times than he cared to count. He had been able to return the favor only once. Twice, he thought and grimaced. And now it’s all worth nothing but a load of Mohair farck. The taste in his mouth was as bitter as burnt kanic.
Sliding out of the booth, Jak stood and stretched. The humans were watching him but he ignored them. He was getting tired of all the tension in this town.
Outside the cafe, the street was still quiet. It should have been busy and crowded by this time. Jak crossed his arms and headed to Linden Court where vaccinations would already be started.
Jak was just crossing to the other side of Narn Street when he heard footsteps and voices behind him. Turning to look, he saw four young Sclarians coming toward him. They were talking and laughing as loud as possible, all were dressed in brown jumpsuits, and none of them stood taller than Jak’s mid-section.
Jak turned and kept walking.
“Hey, insect head!” One of them shouted.
Jak kept walking.
“Who said you could litter the streets, insect?”
“Somebody call the garbage detail.” They laughed.
Jak curled one antenna. Uncurled it. They weren’t worth getting angry.
Then he heard boots clattering against pavement, half-turned, and caught a punch with his shoulder, sending a lightning jolt down his arm. Still he grabbed the Sclarian’s paw. Twisted and screamed, “Aaaaaahhhhh!” into his enemy’s face.
Pain smashed into his skull. He kicked out, connected with something soft that cursed. Bristles scratched his face as one of them tried to get an arm around his neck. Jak twisted, striking out with both fists and yelling his lungs clear of air. Though he could see nothing but a tangled mass of brown arms and legs, he suddenly felt a shift in the fight. Someone else had joined them. On his side.
“Gedden!” Jak swore as sharp teeth sank into his forearm. He swung his fist into the Sclarian’s face. The Sclarian dropped to the ground, whimpering.
“Kak bir,” growled one of the others. The translator didn’t pick it up. It must have been an order to run because all four Sclarians went tearing back the way they had come.
Clutching his arm, Jak looked over to where Steve Miller leaned against one knee, rubbing the back of his neck.
“Thanks,” Jak said when he could breathe again.
“Sure,” Steve said. “Too bad they ran away so soon.”
Jak sat down on the curb, uncurling his antennae where he had kept them tight against his head to save them from injury. “You hurt, Steve?” he asked.
“Nah. Just a chop to the neck.” Steve straightened. “I’m okay.”
Opening his utility belt, Jak took out the disinfectant and a strip of derma-flesh. It took only a moment to take care of the bite. With his scanner, he checked for any transmitted diseases and found everything clear.
Jak glanced up at Steve. “Glad you came along.” It was more of a question.
“I was going to Dad’s house,” Steve replied. His cheeks were covered with blonde stubble and his eyes were puffy. “I told you last night about how we were assaulted.”
Jak nodded.
“I walked all along the river but I couldn’t find...anything.” Steve paused. “I think...will you come with me? To the house?”
Jak stood up. “Guess I can return the favor. Let’s go.”
The Miller house looked quiet and peaceful as they approached. Both the gate and front door swung open with just a push. Leading the way into the house, Steve stopped in the hallway so suddenly Jak almost ran into him.
“Look out. Gedden! Somebody smashed this place good.” Jak let out a whistle at the devastation. Furniture had been overturned, ripped open, paintings torn down, the carpet pulled up and hacked into small pieces. Jak sneezed as the fur was disturbed. Every room in the house had been treated the same way. Returning to the living room, Jak shook his head. “Professional job I’d say. Any idea what they were looking for?”
Steve’s face was paler than it had been. “No,” he replied, “Not really.”
“I think it’s time to call the police.”
“No! Dad wouldn’t like that. He...”
“Shhh!” Jak warned, raising a hand. He could hear footsteps nearing the back door in the kitchen. Motioning for Steve to follow him, he moved cautiously down the hall to the kitchen. The back door stood partially open already and he glanced around the kitchen. The room was empty. Pulling on the doorknob, he looked outside. Steve yelled. Jak whirled at the sound of breaking glass. With two steps, he gripped thick, struggling flesh. The fight lasted two minutes then Jak found himself with his knee pressed into the neck of a frightened, corpulent human with bulging blue eyes and long, stringy red hair.
“Don’t kill me!” the man cried in a deep voice that didn’t match the rest of his body. “Please I just want to talk to Miller.”
“Who are you?” Jak demanded.
“Who are you? Where’s Miller?” The man countered.
Steve interrupted, “Let him up. What do you know about my father?”
“Don’t try to get away,” Jak warned, withdrawing his knee and pulling the man to his feet.
“I don’t know anything. If Miller’s not here I’ll just be on my way.”
“I don’t think so. What’s your name and what were you coming through the window for?”
“Peter Fredrichs. I saw you and got scared. Just let me go please?”
“What did you want with Miller?” Jak asked. “You might as well talk. I’ll hold you here all day until you do.”
It took some arm-twisting, literally, but Fredrichs finally poured out the whole story. He explained how he had invented a new hyperspace drive, one that could be used within a gravity well. Miller had provided funds and materials. “Then a few days ago he tells me he has partners who want to see the new drive,” Fredrichs said. “I didn’t like it. I thought it was just going to be me and him. But I guess that’s where he got the money so I had to accept it. So we tested the drive. And well, it had a few problems.”
“Wait a minute. You’re the one who caused the distortion wave?”
The man nodded, “Half the planet would have been destroyed if it had been a regular drive. I got scared and ran.”
Jak shook his head, “So why did you come back?”
The man’s face brightened, “I fixed it!”
“Yeah, right,” Steve countered.
“Really. I’m sure of it this time. All the money I have in the world is tied up in that machine. Miller has to help me sell it.”
Steve frowned, “Dad’s missing. We were attacked last night. They ransacked the place. If you know who did it...”
The door flew open hitting the wall with a bang. All three men snapped their heads around.
“Police! Everybody stand where you are,” the first Berellian through the door yelled.
Jak grabbed the back of Fredrichs’s shirt and raised his other hand. Gedden, I should have gone back to camp, he thought.
Aurelia triggered the vaccine into the Jidalian’s neck. He nodded and silently walked away. There was no one else waiting in line.
Leaning out of her booth, Aurelia looked around the court. Thirty booths had been set up and only ten of them had customers. All of them Jidalian. Not a single other race had showed up to be vaccinated.
She locked the hypogun in the storage case below the shelf and limped over to the Valerian’s dome. Every muscle protested.
Relly Ken, Bedden Gel’s second-in-command, was perched on an equipment case outside the dome. She blinked her big green eyes and smiled, waving one brown wing in front of her face like a fan.
“Bedden Gel around?” Aurelia asked.
“He’s doing a river check,” Relly Ken replied in her soft, whispery voice.
Aurelia folded her arms across her chest and looked around the court again. Those of her crew not working, most of them, stood around in small groups in the shade, talking quietly. Not at all like the noisy, boisterous group of yesterday.
Aurelia felt a slow trickle of sweat sliding down her back. “Not many customers today,” she said.
“And all of them Jidalian,” said Relly Ken.
“So you noticed too?”
Relly Ken waved a wing in front of her face again. “It’s hot.”
“Oppressive.
Millie came walking toward them. “I’m going for lunch,” she announced.
“Early for lunch isn’t it?” Aurelia asked.
“I had breakfast early. Can I get you anything, Relly?”
“I just ate, thank you.”
“Aura?”
“I don’t want anything, thanks.”
Millie’s’ eyes rolled. “I’ll bring you something anyway. After last night you cannot subsist on candy bars.”
Aurelia knew it was useless to argue although her stomach churned at the thought of food. She wandered back to the booth. At least she could sit down in the shade.
She had just gotten comfortable when she saw Renner Conlin waddling towards her. He wore pink pants and a green and yellow, flowered shirt loud enough to create a small earthquake.
“What have you been doing to yourself?” Conlin asked, staring at Aurelia. “Looks like you’ve been through hell.”
“And I just entered the ninth ring.”
The reference flew past his head without a ruffle.
Conlin rubbed his hands together. “How are vaccinations going?”
“Fine.”
“My, we are communicative aren’t we?”
Aurelia shrugged, leaning her cheek against her fist. “I don’t know about you but I’m not.”
“Very witty, Doctor.”
Conlin was...ebullient. Aurelia looked up and noticed his pupils were tiny little dots. Her scanner was lying on the shelf pointing right at him. It would be easy to reach over and trigger it. Also, illegal. Unfortunately, GEM Co. would never drug test its chief negotiator. Besides, there were too many ways to beat the test.
Conlin was craning his neck around. “Not very many people here. You will be here awhile?” He sounded worried.
“I suppose so.”
“Good. Things are going well.” Conlin practically bounced away.
Aurelia didn’t like the sound of that. Things were not going well. And they just got worse, she thought, seeing Bridget and Miguel followed by a huge Berellian. He said something to the two students then walked over to Aurelia’s booth alone.
“Who are you and what do you want?” Aurelia attacked immediately.
“My name is Radif. I am chief of planetary security.” He dangled a pair of boots before her. “These yours?”
Taking one she examined it carefully. She wasn’t about to answer without being absolutely sure. “Yes, they’re mine.”
“What were they doing on the beach next to a dead body?”
“I don’t know anything about a body. I left my boots on the beach last night.”
“Why?”
“It’s a long story.”
“I cleared all my appointments for today.” Radif folded his arms, his biceps rippling.
Tipping her head back, Aurelia studied his face. His dark eyes were unreadable, no emotion on his face. She had the strange feeling he already knew everything though he couldn’t possibly know anything. There was no reason not to tell the truth. Taking a breath, she plunged in, “I was taking a walk down by the river.”
“What time?”
“I don’t know. About 2400, no, maybe a little earlier. I heard a big splash, climbed over a hill and saw two men below me.”
“What did they look like?”
“I don’t know. They wore hoods.”
“How do you know they were men?”
“I don’t. I just said that.”
“Sure you don’t have a reason to think that?” Radif asked, setting the other boot on the countertop.
“Their voices were low I guess. One sounded vaguely familiar but I couldn’t place it.”
“What did they say?”
Aurelia blew a strand of hair out of her face. “I couldn’t make out what they were saying. They seemed to be arguing over a body.”
“So there was a body.”
“Well, no. I mean he was alive.”
“How do you know?”
“I’m a doctor. I think I know if someone is alive or not.”
“At that distance?”
“He moved.”
“Go on.”
“I could see his face. It was one of my students, Steven Miller. I stood up and yelled something. They threw Steve in the river and ran away. I took off my boots and jumped in after him.”
“So you rescued him.”
“No.”
Radif’s shaggy eyebrows lifted. “No?” he repeated.
“The current was too strong for me. One of the other doctors, Jak Rialus, rescued us both.”
“What was he doing there?”
Aurelia shrugged, “Taking a walk I guess.”
“A lot of people out walking by the river last night.”
“Anything wrong with that?”
Radif shook his head. “So what did this Steve Miller have to say about the two men?”
“I don’t know.”
“You didn’t ask him?”
“No.”
“What happened after you got out of the water?”
“I went back to camp.”
“And you didn’t ask Miller why two people had tried to kill him?”
“No.”
“You didn’t contact the police?”
“No.”
“Why not?”
“I didn’t think about it.”
“Did Miller offer any information?”
Aurelia paused. “I don’t remember.”
“Did you tell Dr. Rialus about the two men?”
“I don’t think so.”
“You’re not sure?”
“I don’t remember.”
“Did Rialus ask Miller what had happened?”
“I don’t know.”
“Why didn’t you go back for your boots?”
“I didn’t remember them.”
“According to my sources you have global memory, Doctor Aurelia. You don’t forget anything.”
“That’s not strictly true. My memory is not perfect.”
“All right. Let’s go back to before you jumped in the river. Do you remember anything more about the two men? Do you recall seeing anything else on the beach?”
“No.”
“I don’t want you to leave the planet just yet. That includes shuttling back and forth to your ship. I know where to find you if I need to talk to you again.”
“Can I keep my boots?”
“Yes. I’m done with them. Nice meeting you, Doctor.” The Berellian smiled and walked briskly away.
Aurelia sank down on the stool and slowly put on her boots, leaning her head against the counter. She had no idea what the big Berellian had thought of her story. His face had never changed expression.
“Here,” Millie’s voice interrupted her frantic thoughts. The sound of paper crackled in her ear. Lifting her head, she stared at the brown bag the nurse had placed in front of her then looked up at Millie.
“Do I have to eat it? What’s the matter?!” She jumped to her feet and clutched Millie’s shoulder to push her onto the stool. “Put your head down,” Aurelia commanded, pressing her fingers into Millie’s wrist to check her pulse. The beat was all right, maybe a little slow.
The skin around Millie’s eyes and mouth gradually changed from the stone-grey of someone about to faint to a more normal brown. Again Aurelia asked, “What’s wrong?”
“My arm just started to hurt,” Millie replied, carefully raising her head from its position against her knees. Even more carefully she held out her arm and rolled back the sleeve.
The long scratch on her forearm had raised and filled with greenish-colored pus. Aurelia slid her hand underneath to examine it with Millie wincing as she did so. The skin around the scratch was red and warm to the touch.
“That’s sort of interesting,” Millie’s voice sounded weak with tears.
“How did you get this?”
“I scratched it on the shuttle yesterday when I fell off.”
“Your vaccinations are up to date aren’t they?”
“Of course.”
Aurelia frowned and reached for her scanner. “I’m going to give you a booster anyway.”
The scan told her nothing she didn’t already know. Loading the hypogun, she gave Millie the shot.
“Hey, Mil, you okay?” Neil Sanders’s voice held a soft, intimate note as he leaned his head into the booth.
Millie smiled at him, “Just a nasty scratch.”
Sanders whistled as he looked at her arm, “Wow, that does look nasty.”
Pulling out a kit box from below the counter, Aurelia took out a vial and Phillip collecting unit, a small enclosed catheter with a pump. “I’m going to drain this,” she said, sliding the unit on top of the vial and carefully inserting it into Millie’s arm. “Farck!” She swore, grabbing for another vial as the other filled quickly to overflowing.
“Aura.” She turned her head in time to see Millie’s eyes roll up and her body start to slide off the stool. Flinging her arm out, she held onto Millie’s shoulder while struggling with the vial now slippery with pus.
“Dammit! Sanders!” she yelled.
He was already charging around the side of the booth. They bumped into each other in the small space. Then Sanders had Millie in his arms and Aurelia snatched at pieces of gauze to stop the discharge. The foul smell made her eyes water.
When she had the arm wrapped, she slipped a monitor over Millie’s wrist. Instantly, the alarm hit a shrill sustained note.
“What is it?”
“Her temp spiked. Martinez!” she yelled at the nearest passing body, “Code D!”
The boy looked confused for a moment then he ran to Dr. Michaelson’s booth. Michaelson and Zimbin arrived within seconds. Sanders placed Millie on the ground and stepped back.
“2 CC’s Liptocaine.”
“Rotan drip?”
“Yes.”
“Move that out of there!”
“I can’t get a vein.”
“Respiration’s dropping!”
“She’s out. Bag her.”
“Where’s that L.C.? Got it?”
“I got it.”
“Keep bagging. Shuttle 3 Move it!”
A flurry of papers and gauze. Wood cracked and splintered. Then Zimbin racing to the shuttle with Millie’s limp form, the two doctors right behind. Steel doors thumped open.
“Get her on. Two more CC’s L.C.!”
“Move that strap.”
“Hook that over there.”
“Come on people. Got that tube in?!” A flip of a switch, another. A steady hum. “She’s on. Resp is up. Pulse steady.”
Aurelia leaned against the cold steel of the security bar over the life support module and remembered to breathe herself. The adrenaline still washed through her but Millie was Millie again, not a nameless mindless machine that had to be kept functioning at all costs.
Don’t you dare die on me, she thought, staring down at the still face, pale beneath its brownness. “Anybody hear from the
Pasteur
? Can we get on?” she asked out loud.
Neil Sanders’s worried face appeared in the shuttle’s doorway. A small crowd collected behind him. “Is she okay?” he asked.
“No,” Aurelia replied.
“What is it?”
“I’m guessing Risanthum because of the amount of pus but I won’t know for sure until I get a pathology report.”
“Is that bad?”
“Yes.”
A concerned murmur went through the crowd.
“Someone call the
Pasteur
. I want to get her up there as soon as possible.” Aurelia frowned as she saw Radif pushing his way through the crowd.
“You are not to leave the planet,” he said.
Hot anger mixed with the adrenaline. With Aurelia standing in the shuttle, this time their heads were level with each other. She glared into his eyes.
Radif held up a comm-link. “This was found at the victim’s house. The registration number is LP001. That’s your number.”
Plucking it out of his hand, she opened a channel to the
Pasteur
, “This is Aurelia. Can we get on board?”
“We have two airlocks open,” came the reply.
“Good enough. I’m transporting a patient. Priority basis. I want a crash cart waiting.”
Radif folded his arms across his chest, “I’m not letting you leave Doctor.”
Aurelia stepped aside so he could see Millie in the life support bay. “I have a medical emergency. If you don’t move your overgrown, crango-smelling, uglified carcass, you colo-bate, I’ll show you just how capable of murder I am.”
`He placed a hand on the side of the door and pulled himself into the shuttle. “I’m going with you.”
Aurelia slammed the door hard enough to put the imprint of the handle into her hand. Clenching her fists, she forced herself past Radif without a look or word and sat down in the pilot’s seat. Zimbin and Michaelson quietly seated themselves and pulled on their five-point harnesses. She had the momentary satisfaction of knowing there was no seat for Radif and half contemplated practicing a few barrel rolls. But Millie’s safety had first priority, and she concentrated on getting the shuttle off the ground.