PBEM Turn 92.02b (755 lines) - THIS IS PART 2 OF 6.
=====================================================
=== Alcyon Sickbay ===
After a short while, the pain-killers begin to take effect and Tiblisi
begins to feel better.
*I feel better. I know I'm not better, but at least I feel that way.
Well, I'm beginning to get some feeling back into my right arm. It
hurts like its beat with a cargo lash, but at least its feeling.*
There is a bit of movement from the couch to the left.
*It looks like someone else is coming around.*
Tiblisi glances back to the right to see how the doctor is doing.
Even without fully focused eyes, it's obvious the doctor is moving
fast -- and muttering something -- "...get out of my way..." -- as
he maneuvers around the innards of... of...
*My memories not usually this bad. What IS that guy's name? I'll
remember.*
Aburptly, the mechanized arsenal pivots and moves behind Tiblisi.
After a brief moment of anxiety, there is the sound of a door opening
and closing. Tiblisi lies back and begins to relax when...
The infimary door opens and some security-type walks in like he
owns the place.
*They think they own every place...*
Then he starts screaming at the doctor and true to form, begins waving
a rifle around.
O'Shi's jaw drops. "What the screaming blue fuck...? Uh, I mean HI doc!"
He takes a hesitant step into the Sickbay, looking around him and
gun ready. "Where's this, uh, WARBOT? And who ARE these people? And--"
His voice instantly rises to a yell. "--Where the FUCK did you come from?!"
*Security types, sergents, and chief petty officers just love to yell.*
thinks Lee. *Wait a minute... what is he doing with a rifle in an infirmary?
What kind of a place is this? Either this is a base infirmary, or I'm not
planet-bound anymore. Great... Wonderful... Don't say a thing, Lee. Just
shut-up and watch what's going on. With all that's going on in this sector,
who knows? You don't want to offend someone who is keeping you alive.*
On the adjacent bio-bed, Tarmine Berana is having similar thoughts.
*Where now? Hmm, more screaming, security type in my face, the calm one
must be a doctor. Cleanup, drink, miss... I don't think I'm dying.
Who beat me up? Why me?*
"liquid?"
=== Paladin ===
Morser replies, "Ach, GUT! Herr Azani, chust whom I am lookink for!
Pleease take Frau Rrobins to her cabin unt strap her into her bunk.
Ve seem to be in a crrrizis situvation right now, unt stepping on
her vould NOT speed her recovery in any vay shape or Vvorrm."
Satisfied that he's being obeyed, Morser turns back to the datadisplays.
"IASIC," he whimpers. "Please come back! Kommen sie zuruck! Bitte schon!
Bitte schon mit ZUCKER! ACH!" He begins flipping through the computer
menus. "Vhere ze hell is zat communications zetup?! It iss about Time
I gave Herr Dummkopf Ger a piece of my mind-- he could USE it!"
=== Talisman ===
"Hm... computer, open sessions on displays four and five, sensory
data from incoming transmissions on displays two and three. Call up file
archives Gamma_7500.ecm to Gamma_8500.ecm and Delta_7500.nav to Delta_8500.
nav for statistical analysis. Execute command now."
"Bridge, this is Ralf in engineering. Sorry, I stepped out earlier
to deal with our visitor. I'm currently engaged in analyzing data
gathered since our jump in. I may need access to the sensor equipment;
can I have an open line to the comm officer's dataserver? Hm... I'm going
to be taking a look at the specs for the equipment here as well..."
Thul replies from the Bridge, "Go ahead with the sensors Ralf! All stations!
Report status!"
=== Trakh ===
While Khea' runs densitometer scans, Aiwi concentrates on the other
passive scans, occassionally dumping data to Khaurl by tight beam
laser-com and receiving similar transmissions. Her first priority
is a PasEngScan from Trakh to Kingfisher. She then completes passive
scans of Kingfisher, and moves to Paladin, then Talisman, and so on
until passive scans on all ships (except the phin shuttle) are complete.
Her dewclaw reflexively extends ever-so-slightly as she works with almost
frightening intensity to get every last byte of information she can in the
time allotted. She continues to monitor communications, but solely by ear
while her hands are busy.
Having configured her displays for optimal efficiency, Aiwi continues
to scan incoming sensor data on the fiyfiyalr ships and monitor
intership communications over her earpiece, as she routes a copy of
the incoming sensor data to one of Akhouw's boards. "Sensor data
incoming to your display now, Admiral." Her hands move to adjust a
window on her board as the Admiral orders her to predict the wreck's
course, note probable impact sights, compute the possibility of
survivors, and determine the cause of the damage to the wreck. All of
these tasks she attempts to accomplish with the smallest possible
delay. She begins performing active scans on the wreck to analyze the
damage patterns and enlists the computational aid of Fa'eairl. She
reports whatever the highest probability match is to the Admiral as
soon as she has it.
=== Gemini Arbiter ===
Aurelia swivels in her chair and gets up from the table where the Turnskaad
contract papers were spread out. Stretching, she tells Nichole, " You
finish here. I'm going to the bridge. It should be bearable by now."
Walking onto the bridge, she eases into a crash couch.
"Arby, run a systems check." As the Arbiter's computer completes it's
self-diagnostics, she comments, "Looks good. Okay. Now scan the area.
Lets see what's been happening."
Nichole steps through the hatch.
"Well, it looks to be a standard contract." she advises her sister. "Nothing
fancy. I've rechecked our data on Turnskaad. From what our records show,
they seem to be the typical meduim sized company. Obviously no mention of
this expedition. They've had dealings with SDS before and our parent megacorp.
Standard stuff. The only problem I see is that we are currently employed
by Turnskaad through SDS. Which would make signing this contract superfluous.
"Yeah," agrees Aurelia, "but this wasn't in our original contract. Wouldn't
it interfere with it?"
"Did you ever look closely at our contracts?" asks Nikki. "They've all had
some statement of exception included. We are given quite a bit of lattitude
in the execution of our duties, you know!"
"Oh yeah!" retorts Aurelia. "That same latitude could get us canned, too!"
"Yes." Nichole replies, "But how many times have we really been reprimanded?!
I can remember several instances where we used it to our advantage!"
"Oh, you're right." sighs Aurelia. "I can remember a few too. But still...
Okay. Let's sign the damn thing. I think it would be better if we did. It
might make THEM feel better if we did, too!"
"Besides," adds Nichole, "think of it this way. They might get in trouble
if they didn't help us! You never know how important that cargo is we're
carrying."
A chime sounds as Arby finishes the scan ordered a few minutes earlier.
Turning from Nichole, Aurelia swings back to face the console.
"Let's see what the scanning shows. Whoa! Things have changed quite a
bit since the last time."
Sitting down at her, Nichole punches into the adjacent console.
"Look there! The Kingfisher has powered up her weapons systems!"
"Has anyone else?" asks Aurelia.
Nichole brings up the relevant data. "Doesn't look like it."
"What's his name?" ponders Aurelia. "Ger. I wonder what he's trying to do?
What's the Aslan doing?"
"Nothing so far." Then Nichole points to another part of the display.
"And there! That ship from R-Alpha has just about docked with the Westwind."
Aurelia exclaims, "Huh? That must be some ship!" Glancing at the rest of
the display, she continues, "Looks like we wait a while before we transmit
the contract. Since they've powered up their weapons I don't think they're
to concerned with legal documents right now!"
"Maybe we should call them?" suggests Nichole.
"I don't think so." counter Aurelia. "Let's see what happens first."
=== R-Alpha ===
Grob the Kyth, fleeing madly from the alien vision he'd just been
subjected to, glances behind him and sees the frightening flying-thing
zooming after him above the trees. They are following me to the
Gathering, he realizes suddenly. I am betraying the Kythui by leading
their enemies to them!
With that thought comes action. Grob heels his mount hard to the left
and takes off at right angles to his previous course....
Upon noticing the R-Alphan native changing his direction of travel, Hryawi
instructs Hfolraw to plot another intercept. Hfolraw continues to drive
the Aslan speeder in a straight line for a short time, then quickly replots
another course which will cross ahead of his prey, and cutting off the
escape. Moving the speeder low through the trees, Hfolraw scans for a
clearing in the thick brush, looking for a spot several hundred meters
in front of the Kyth, far enough ahead to avoid detection until it is too
late. The scientist will have her specimen, thinks Hfolraw. It's only
a matter of time.
=== Trakh ===
>From Aiwi's station, where she is currently monitoring sensors and
communications, Aiwi speaks in her usual terse, professional manner,
but perhaps a handful of decibels above normal, due in part to the
sudden flurry of activity on sensors and in part because she wants to
make sure she is heard. Her voice barely modulates, with the sole
exception of a deferential drop in pitch when she uses the only title
that commands her unfailing respect, "New sensor contact, Admiral."
Her hands move swiftly over instruments so familiar she knows them by
touch, as she continues, "Object on the far side of the ringworld,
approximately 2 AU from us. Approximately 1,000 displacement tons...
in a slow decaying orbit. Some heat registering, but not evenly
distributed... secondary radiation leakage consistent with containment
failure of a ship's power plant... VLS shows it to be a starship hull,
*badly* damaged... by high velocity impacts or explosions on hull
surface... unable to match hull with certainty; highest probablility
is a Tukera type RT LongLiner... a ship that would carry a crew of 14
and up to 36 passengers. Sir."
In the midst of reviewing the course tracks of the variety of ships in near
proximity to the _Trakh_, Akhouw's ears twitch in surprise. He politely
acknowledges Aiwi's report, then shifts the course track to a corner of
his HUD and calls up a full display of the new contact. After a brief
look, he touches the controls. The combined EMS image of the liner grows
in size to fill nearly the whole HUD, as Akhouw gets a comprehensive view,
from stem to stern.
When he is finished, a decisive stab of his claw clears the liner image
and resumes his close watch on the variety of ships in the vicinity. "Aiwi,
predict wreck course and note probable impact sites; compute possibility
of survivors. Continue analysis of damage pattern and attempt to specify
cause. Use active scan as required."
=== Alcyon Sickbay ===
When O'Shi bursts upon the scene, Christian is well into the early stages
of the trauma surgery, staunching the worst of the internal bleeding
and preparing to repair the major organ damage. Sparing O'Shi only a
moment's glance, he continues the operation with unabated precision and
commendable speed, as his hands and eyes cooperate in a deft surgical
ballet. His voice is cool and measured, although a close listener would
detect the undercurrent of irritation at the rude interruption.
"My apologies for my unconventional arrival, O'Shi, but I couldn't wait
for a taxi." He checks the med-holo, then turns to the trauma bay controls
and orders a supplemental dosage of anarad, to take care of minor radiation
exposure, and hyronaline, to boost blood resupply. The vital signs were
firming up well, as the drugs began to take hold. Christian released a
very small sigh of relief, before resuming his ... dialogue with his
unwelcome visitor.
"...and hello as well. My patients here are the victims of some sort
of spacecraft crash, I'm not exactly sure myself where they're from."
In the midst of reattaching a swarm of severed blood vessels, Christian
begins to program a host of nanocytes to handle a variety of very delicate
regenerative chores. "...They came to me, and I to the Alcyon, by way of
the Ringworld, or Hoop as some call it. Created by the Ancients, I believe,
and gifted with the ability to teleport people and equipment." He favors
O'Shi with a sidelong glance. "You can contact it, if you have a problem,
I believe it's on 1337.45 Mhz."
"The, ah, warbot you've noticed is the property of Doctor Tweeerrrlll, whom
we rescued off of the Bernoulli. It's called OSF-4, and is currently in
my cabin, assisting in the care of his owner, one of my patients as well."
Suddenly, Christian notices the gauss rifle that O'Shi is waving about the
Sickbay. He sharply orders, "Mahlel, put that rifle away, dammit, before I
implant it up your colon. There's nothing here for Security to get paranoid
about." He glares at O'Shi. "And stop screaming your head off in Sickbay --
got it?" He turns back to his patient, muttering about peace and quiet.
As the doctor yells at O'Shi, Tiblisi just lies back further into the
couch and tries not to be noticed.
O'Shi glares at the Doctor, and blurts, "Implant it up my--" His jaw
shuts with a snap like a steel trap as he sees that van der Merwe is
now pointedly ignoring him. He looks around the room, hitching up his
Bermuda shorts with a free hand, then makes a noise somewhere between
a sigh and a fart.
*O'Shi could use some attitude adjustment, as always. Never understand
how such a bullying slob got hired for this ticket.* A part of Christian's
mind muses while the remainder is otherwise engaged. His hands reached
for a spray applicator of stimgen, a potent regrowth stimulator. *It
was a mistake to include him on the Alcyon roster. Typically, his sort
of personality required close supervision, else the freedom might go to
his swelled head.*
His mind subconsciously notes O'Shi's adjustment. *Crude, as always, but he
does know where his brains are.* His mind laughs. His hands switch between
instruments, the nerve fusor replacing the spray applicator. The patient was
responding well to the surgery, Christian noted. Hormonal reponses were
near optimal, and the holoscan indicated the tide of trauma was slowly
receding; the repair of the internal organ damage remained the critical
task. The surgery continued.
=== Trakh ===
A moment of silence passes on the bridge of the _Trakh_ as the results
from the first set of sensor scans are analysed by Aiwi and Aolrkhea',
with the assistance of the computer. Schematics, estimates, and targeting
information begin to appear on various monitors, holotanks, and HUDs
around the Bridge. On the tactical plot, a new marker appears for the
apparent derelict at extreme range.
Akhouw intently studies the shifting tactical readouts and holotank images.
His internal tension is only visible in the unbidden extension of his
dewclaw. Meditatively, he scratches his chin with his right dewclaw.
The brief spell is broken when Aolrkhea' whispers into her throat commdot.
"Fa'eairl. Begin EMS/IR scans, control at my station. Status."
The computer's soft female voice emanates from the commdot. _Densitometer
analysis continuing. Radio traffic anaylsis complete. I stand ready._
The status alert sounds again. Aolrkhea' glances at the screen and touches
a button on her panel. "Hwa'ahel. Ship _Aurora_ is now also off-line.
Perform densitometer scan, high priority." She shakes her head slightly.
"Admiral, relativistic calculations indicate that the systems on ship
_Aurora_ failed simultaneously with the others, as if by FTL communication.
Akhouw frowns slightly, as a low growl indicates his interest in this odd
fact.
"Fa'eairl," continues Aolrkhea', "Play the results of traffic analysis back
on by earpiece, at compressed speed."
Briefly waiting for results, she looks at her visual scan. The green band
of the far side of the ring now dominates the image, white cotton streams
of clouds visibly above the fields and glittering water of the structure,
the snow bands on the mountainous spill walls blinding in their glare.
*Yes, truly a layeaueakh,* she thinks quietly. *Who was it that composed
"Yoyeaokhtef for a Ringworld"? Ah, I remember, it was Hkyoei.*
The alert sounds again. "Admiral, ship _Gemini Arbiter_ has also shut down."
She immediately sets up the densitometer to scan the vessel. Suddenly, she
cocks her head, listening to the ongoing playback. *Teleport?!* Aolrkhea'
shoots a look over at Aiwi's station. Aiwi is completely engrossed in the
operation of her sensor suite, her hands playing the console like the
consummate artist she is.
"Admiral Akhouw. I think you should hear this on the main speaker. These
are Aiwi's radio interceptions on frequency 1337.45 Mhz, beginning about
tea areiaao before I reported to the bridge."
A calm human male voice floats out of the bridge speaker.
"Iasic has been mildly chastised and will not improve your systems
beyond this without your permission."
Then Ger's voice is heard.
"To the sophont at 1337.45 Mhz, Please Identify yourself. If you
have any control over the Iasic personality, please instruct it to
disengage itself from all our systems. I consider its actions to be
quite disruptive, and irregular." "We have the coordinates, I am quite
confident that my personnel can get us there without any difficulty or
assistance".
Aolrkhea' touches her panel. "And tea areiaao teakheh later, this."
The same calm human male voice speaks again.
"I am this world, which turns below you. I had not expected visitors
at this time, but I welcome you nevertheless.
"I apologize for the apprehension that IASIC has caused you. His
efforts were intended to be of a beneficial nature. He will remove
himself from your systems immediately."
As the communications intercept continues to play, Akhouw's face reflects
his increasing surprise. "Most illuminating...." is his initial comment.
After a moment's thought, he turns to Aolrkhea'. "Query the _Aurora_ as
to their contact with the Iasic construct and if this is related to their
engineering difficulty."
Aolrkhea' cuts in. "I think this next voice is an Ael Yael, an avian
species from Gushemege sector. He sounds quite weak."
Tweel's voice plays back.
"Attention, Rrring, thiss iss the ISSss Aurrorra on 1337.45, you have
jussst ssent uss thrree patientss. We rrequessst inforrrmation on
theirr injurrriess *IMMEDIATELY*. Alssso, we rrequessst that you
possibly teleporrt, them, theirr sssurgeon and hiss equipment to the
Alssseyon wherre betterr equipment iss available. *PLEASSE!!!!* Every
pico-sssecond is the Grreat Hunterr's weapon!"
While his face reflects increased surprise and interest, his comment is
a laconic "Kai! (Indeed!)". His face relaxes into a more thoughtful,
concerned pose. "Further query _Aurora_ regarding origin of those
patients. Request further information regarding possible link to liner
wreck. Suggest that sharing of data is to our mutual benefit and that
we are willing to reciprocate." He glances at Aolrkhea. "Understood?"
He returns his gaze to the holotank. "Teleport!" he mutters. "Truly this
is a strange time, when one may confront what seems to some as the magic
of the tai'ao. Yet now, as ever, the wise counsel of taro is heeded."
=== Talisman ===
"Aye aye, Cap'n, full scan coming up. Hoist the mizzenmast and
batten down the hatches! Er, or something like that..." Ralf starts
accessing the sensor data and running passive scans on the entire Ring
system. "Let's see... I wonder if we've all been so busy looking at the
Ring, we've overlooked something else?"
Ralf considers for a moment, then preps a query packet and sends it
to the sensor suites on the other expedition ships - except for the
Kingfisher (according to his logs Ger gave orders to all ships to drop
the Kingfisher from the Turnskaad datasphere).
Shortly after Ralf's message, control of ships sensors starts to
be incrementally diverted from the bridge to engineering. First,
control of the phase-array sensor guidance is tranferred, then
one commo channel after another is re-routed, slowly removing
all sensor control from the bridge and transferring aft.
=== Paladin ===
Azani picks up Charyn's limp body and carts her down the hall toward her
stateroom. She's not too heavy, being somewhat slim. Charyn's unconcious
eyes open to slits, but with no apparent awareness behind them. She drools
on Azani's shoulder as he places her in her bunk. He buckles her in.
As he is about to turn to leave, he hears a slurp of inhaled breath, her
eyes flutter wide open, the lids press together against the light and
motion, then reopen tentatively. They're a cloudy mottled green, the
color of sludge in a sewage treatment plant. She mumbles thickly but
with surprising volume "wha... hello?".
She tries to sit up and discovers the restraint, puzzled. Her dark
hands reach alongside and unbuckle the restraint. She tries to sit up
again, winces, and lays back down. She reaches gently up to her head
with both hands and places them softly, palm flat against her temples.
She clearly pronounces a profound, genuine, and thoughtful "Owwwww...".
"Whoever's there - got anything for a headache?"
=== Alcyon Sickbay ===
O'Shi stalks over to the wall, lowering the rifle and muttering over and
over like a mantra, "DON'T beat ass on medical personnel. DON'T beat
ass on medical personnel. DON'T beat--" He punches the intercom button
savagely.
"Bridge, this is Mahlel. I don't know how you did this, Grey, but when
I find out I'm gonna KICK yer ass. It's the Doc all right...." He
shoots a glance over his shoulder, and if looks could maim, van der
Merwe would need crutches. "Same high-minded talk, same snotty
attitude."
"ME?!" Grey rubs his eyes. "Why the hell is this MY fault all of a
sudden?"
"Because you're *handy*, asshole. And I CAN'T yell at HIM, he's BUSY."
As O'Shi walks beyond the field of view and begins yelling at someone
named Grey, Tiblisi thinks, *There's no one else here. Must be through
an intercom.*
Despite his intense concentration upon the trauma surgery, the acuity of
Christian's hearing is unimpaired. His eyes quickly stab at O'Shi, sharply
narrowing in a "later for you" gesture, likely missed by the obtuse yet
amusingly attired security team member. 'Vouf, were he present, would
unerringly note the breathing pattern and altered body chemistry warning
of Christian's slow burn.
"What's he doing? From the securecam shots it looks like he's doing a
whole-colon transplant with no donor....yuck...." Grey sounds queasy.
"He's up to his elbows in somebody's guts." O'Shi glances at the
operating table. "Not one of ours, though the Mohawk could belong to
Doc Yarbles. Looks like a crash victim, either that or he tried to
fire an FGMP without combat armor. I'll check out the other cases."
"Yeah, okay. Just watch out for that Warbot, okay? Bridge out."
"WHAT warbot?" O'Shi sneers. "You're imagining things, Grey. Security
out." He slings the Gauss rifle over his shoulder and saunters over to
the two nearby treatment tables. He wrinkles his nose at the two forms
lying on the tables. "Geesh, whatta mess. We should probably slot these
two before they rot any further. Mebbe we can feed 'em to 'Vouf."
In a low breath, Tiblisi begins to mutter,"Slot..." *Shut up Lee. Your
mouth will get you into serious trouble one of these days. Besides,
you're a Purser now not a Deck Hand. You have to watch yourself. Well,
wait until your healthy again, and then we'll see who's going to slot
who. Years of working cargo did you some good.*
O'Shi snickers, then suddenly catches himself and shuts up. With a guilty
look over his shoulder at van der Merwe, he tiptoes over to the CMO's
cabin door, following the spots of blood on the deck. "Somebody crawling
away...?"
O'Shi continues to provide fuel for Christian's intensifying slow burn. At
the crack about 'Vouf, Christian's nostrils flare and he stabs another
glance at O'Shi. Normally a mild man, Doctor Van Der Merwe is clearly
reaching the summit of an otherwise mountain of patience, yet his surgery
is unaffected, continuing on with deft precision and speed.
Suddenly, O'Shi appears in Tiblisi's field of vision, as he steps between
the two bio-beds headed for Christian's cabin. Then O'Shi walks out of
view, and there is the whoosh of a door opening.
*This is going to be good*, thinks Lee.
The door slides open, and O'Shi finds himself face to face with OSF-4.
He starts back, one hand reflexively grabbing for an absent sidearm,
then halts. Another mantra: "DON'T try ta outdraw a Warbot. DON'T try
ta outdraw a Warbot." He lowers his hands. SLOWLY.
He frowns for a moment, as if he's having trouble deciding on
something. Then, with a grunt of disgust, he unslings the rifle and
puts it against the wall. He grabs a portable trauma kit from the rack
on the wall, and strides into the cabin. Doctor van der Merwe can only
hear his voice.
"Hey Doc," yells O'Shi. "Ya know you've got a Ale-Yale bleeding ta death
all over yer bunk? These little guys is kinda flimsy..."
*I've seen an Ale-Yael before.* thinks Lee. *Don't let them hear you say
that.*
"Okay, sport," mutters O'Shi, "let's have a lookitcha-- hey! Hey, Warbot!
Make yerself useful, okay? G'wan out ta the supply server, and thaw six
units of synthetic plasma, ah, lessee, Type Three works on these guys,
we should have some in stock if the people who stockt this place got
any sense. Lessee now--UGH! Better make that TEN units. C'mahn, c'mahn!
Y'wannim ta bleed ta death? Stoopid gahdamn machine. Lessee now, anti-
infective, check, clotting factor, check, suture-dissolve, check, suturegun,
check, biomonitor, check. Ster'lize the hands, check. Gloves, check.
Filter mask, chmmph. Bmmphl gmmph wmmphl gmmph mummph...."
Lee spends the next few moments trying to decide whether to breathe
deep to reduce the headache or shallow to avoid the stench of the
gore covering the jumpsuit. The guy on the other couch moves some
more.
*Looks like I'll have someone to talk to soon...*
=== Trakh ===
On the outer hull of the _Trakh_, a single lasercom unit swivels out of
its rest position and activates. At the speed of light, carefully tuned
and modulated photons shine toward the distant _Aurora_.
Almost three areiaao (45 seconds) later, the laser from _Trakh_ sweeps
the hull of the _Aurora_. After some delay, it finally finds and locks
on to the ship's laser reciever unit.
Holographic static solidifies into an image of a Aslan female officer
of late middle age, wearing a ship's uniform in Khaukeairl clan colors
which identifies her as a mid-level naval officer and a physician-scientist
(for those who can read the insignia).
She speaks, in flawless Rim Galanglic. "This is Khaukeairl Space Navy
vessel Trakh to ISS Aurora, Executive Lieutenant Aolrkhea' speaking on
behalf of Admiral AkhouwTra'Ekhaul. We have observed that your vessel
has been undergoing severe difficulties. Do you require assistance of
any kind? We will stand by for your response. Over." The figure
freezes, showing that the transmission remains open but not active.
There is a pause for a few areiaao. "Aurora, this is Trakh. We understand
that you have had contact with the Iasic construct, and request to know if
it is the cause of your recent problems. We also understand that you seem
to have some injured persons aboard. Are they from the liner wreck? We
have medical personnel aboard who have training in emergency care for
humans and other non-Aslan sophonts. We understand any reservations that
you might have toward our offer, but we are fully willing to share our
data with you on equal terms. We continue to stand by. Over."
=== Alcyon Sickbay ===
With a masterful and award-winning effort, Christian musters his professional
discipline to withstand the further gibe of O'Shi. When the aural message
that O'Shi is attempting first aid finally fights its way past the clog of
traffic on the neural highways, Christian's head snaps up and he stares at
his cabin in disbelief. Good intentions aside, Mahlel had no medical training,
much less xenomedical experience. He wasn't going to trust his friend to a
paint-by-numbers utterly green rookie with his first canvas.
Lucan floated over in response to Christian's summons. It silently hovered
and accepted its orders. "Lucan, go into my cabin. O'Shi Mahlel will be
administering medical treatment to Doctor Tweel. You are to observe the
procedure and CLOSELY monitor Tweel's condition. You are to alert me
IMMEDIATELY if you detect improper treatment that poses a risk to the
patient. Feed your data to the sickbay 'puter. Go!" A moment is spent
in creation of a choice invective, then Christian sets up a small holo off
to the side of the trauma bay in order to keep an eye on Tweel.
*I need to get a drink of water* thinks Tiblisi. *My mouth feels like
rats have nested in it for a year or two, and my thoat feels raw. Still,
it's not as bad as the... fragrance... I've acquired.*
Resuming his delicate surgery, Christian's nose wrinkles as he finally
notices the stench wafting from the two gore-soaked patients at the far
wall. A nudge activates the intercom. "Pater, increase ventilation to
Sickbay and release scent neutralizer into the airflow."
He turns to talk to Dulinor. "Use a sonic seperator and remove as much
of that... gore coating those patients as you can. Keep them sedated
and stabilized until I can get there." He glances back at his patient,
gauging the extent of his progress, then back to Dulinor. "I won't be
much longer here, you will finish closure when I'm done, then I'll
work on those two there..." He looks daggers at the cabin wall. "...
assuming Mahlel is out of my hair."
Tiblisi sess one of the robots move towards the bed and inspect the
bags at the foot of each one. It then began attaching some form of laser
scapel to one of its appendages and begin to make some adjustments.
After inspecting the bags, the robot speaks in an oddly familiar voice.
Perhaps disconcertingly, the voice of Archduke Dulinor is heard in Sickbay,
albeit with a vagely robotic tone. "Doctor Van Der Merwe, the gear bags of
these patients do not contain medical records, but proper nomenclature is
indicated; Lee Tiblisi (Medbay Two) and Tar Berana (Medbay Three). Their
origin is not indicated at this time." A monitor beeps softly; Dulinor
pivots to scan the two.
"Doctor Van Der Merwe, both patients are exhibiting increased neurological
and motor activity. Predict both conscious within... 15.807 seconds." Nearly
on cue, Lee and Tar try to sit up and mumble, respectively. Dulinor notes
their movement. "Both patients are now conscious, Doctor. Possibly coherent.
Instructions?"
*I damned well coherent* thinks Lee. *Berana... Berana... That's right.
The passenger in cabin C-2. As for instructions, get me cleaned up, a
glass of water, and a stack of twenty credit chits while you're at it.
I could have really used something like you on _Glory_ before the hard
times.*
Lee tries to ask for something to drink, but only a light croak comes
out. Suddenly there is a fresh aroma that, because of the prolonged
lack of food, makes Lee's mouth water. *Well, that helps my throat
a bit.* With the saliva, Lee swallows and most of the rawness fades
away.
Christian looks over at the pair. "Maintain pre-treatment protocol and
monitoring. Advise of further developments." He checks his own patient,
then glances at Tweel's monitor. "I'm nearly done here." His vocal volume
increases slightly, as his tone becomes almost cheerful. "Welcome to
the Alcyon, gentlemen, my name is Christian Van Der Merwe. I'll be with
you shortly."
"No problem, Doc," rasps Tiblisi. "Take your time. I don't think I
have any pressing engagements at the moment."
=== Paladin ===
Azani, just about leave, notices Charyn move a little and gurgle. He
then turns and approaches her.
"Lay still Ms. Robins, I'll get the doctors, they'll be pleased along
with Zar that you are conscious."
"Allah be praised..." as he bows and leaves the room. Azani quickly
walks up to the bridge...
"Charyn is awake and requires some medical assistance. She has a
headache and I'm sure the doctors would like to examine her to discover
her condition." "Mr. Zar, I have some experience in piloting, maybe I
can help you on the bridge."
=== Trakh ===
Fa'eairl speaks. _Anomaly detected in density scan of _Arbiter_.
Superdense volume of 25kL range which cannot be effectively imaged in
interior of vessel._
Intrigued, Akhouw contemplates the sensor information and depiction of
the _Arbiter_ in the main holotank. "An unusual ship, this one. Unarmed,
and yet..." He points at the anomaly datum. "Fa'eairl. Anomaly aboard
the fiyfiyalr ship _Gemini Arbiter_. Speculate as to purpose, report
when complete."
As the data begins to come in, Aiwi's dewclaws extend further, but not
so much as to interfere with the work at hand. She speaks without
turning from her displays; her tone is still unemotional,
professional, but she is appreciably louder than before, "Admiral,
scans show increased power flow to the Kingfisher's weapon turret...
definitely more than required for standby... the turret has moved from
its rest position, apparently targeting... the ringworld, or something
near it which does not show up on sensors. Sir."
An icy ball forms in Aolrkhea''s gut, but is swiftly dissipated by the
rush of hormones she feels at the possibility of fighting and dying, the
same rush she knows her huntress ancestors felt on the wide savannahs of
Kusyu. "They must be blaming the ringworld for their ship problems," she
said. I don't like it. We are almost between _Kingfisher_ and the ring,
and with homing or remote missiles, if they want to re-target on us,
they won't need to move the turret more than a handful of degrees!"
Taken aback by this news, Akhouw swiftly recovers and shakes his mane in
irritated puzzlement. His fist thumps onto the arm of his command chair.
"For all my experience with fiyfiyalr, I cannot comprehend these odd
ones." He sighs in exasperation, then makes his commanding presence
felt, turning to each bridge officer and dispatching orders in rapid
succession.
Aolrkhea' takes a deep breath. "Admiral, your orders?"
"Aolrkhea', prepare power plant for rapid implementation of full combat
power output, on my command. Initiate active EMS scan of _Kingfisher_,
localized to missile turret. Bring jammer systems online and target
_Kingfisher_ ONLY, but DO NOT ACTIVATE. Run screen diagnostics and
prepare to energize, on my command."
"Uhwaikh, traverse laser and target Kingfisher turret only; DO NOT
ENERGIZE." Akhouw speaks with urgency, but slowly and clearly, so
that there is no shadow of doubt. "DO NOT ACTIVATE MISSILE BATTERIES.
Ready sandcaster and place on active standby."
Aolrkhea' taps her panel. "Engineering, Bridge. Aeawiyh, the Admiral
orders combat alert. We may be requesting full combat power in the
space of a breath. Prepare the fusion plant and stand by."
Akhouw turns to face forward, clearly confused and alarmed by this
inexplicable incident. "What is this Admiral Nanadth up to? There is no
antagonist. To attack us is madness, to fire upon the Ringworld is an
equally dishonorable attack. What can his purpose be?" His smouldering
eyes narrow.
"Aiwi, alert the _Khaurl_ by secure masercomm. Then open a general
radio channel and hail the Kingfisher." He looks at Aiwi to emphasize
his order. "Priority protocol. Request immediate visual communications
and demand that they explain this event and declare their intentions
openly."
Angrily, Akhouw shakes his mane. He takes a deep breath and visibly calms
himself. Dealing with fiyfiyalr always required a higher degree of self-
discipline and control of his natural aggressive instinct. This mission
was too important to be wrecked by improvident aggression, yet he could
not ignore the possible danger. Tolerance of dishonor extended only so
far.
Facing the main vidscreen and awaiting an answer, Akhouw meditated upon
the situation, hoping that saner, honorable, fiyfiyalr minds would yet
prevail. Perhaps the Zodian spirit was not unknown to them.
=== TO BE CONTINUED ===