Stardoc (12 page)

My theory worked. Within a few minutes the patient’s vital signs began to level out, and the thermal packs brought her temperature up quickly. It was then I noticed an odd, undulating distention in her lower abdominal cavity. Something I’d read about the evolutionary aspects of highly evolved reptilian life-forms from an old medical journal came back to me. A comparative study revealed some were capable of mammalian proliferation -

“Sterile field, stat!”

At once the containment generators isolated me with the patient in an impenetrable bubble.

Unfortunately, this locked out T’Nliqinara and the other Hsktskt in the process. The intruder charged at the glowing wall around us, and bounced off as a painful bioelectric charge repelled him.

I ignored him. I barely felt the vacuum from the air replacement unit as I sprayed a skin seal over the Hsktskt’s lower limbs. After I masked and gloved, I searched for the aperture I had to find.

Gingerly, I inserted the tips of two fingers into a natural breach in the octagonal green scales just above the patient’s lower appendages, and promptly received a nice, sharp bite. I snatched back my fingers, and swore lightly. I had, nonetheless, reached a unshakable diagnosis.

My patient was about to deliver whatever bit me.

The translator from MedAdmin chose that moment to show up. The small, harried-looking humanoid was in such a rush that he didn’t notice the warrior leveling the pulse rifle at his skull.

“Language used by patient is Hsktskt,” I was told.

“We know. What’s she saying?” I asked with thin patience.

As he began interpreting the hisses, he finally noticed the other Hsktskt and the weapon he held. Terrans weren’t the only beings who turn pale with fear, I saw. The quaking translator’s stutter filtered through the low static of the containment barrier. “T-This f-f-female must b-bear her y-young at this t-t-time.”

I nodded, and tried to reign in my ever-growing irritation. “I gathered that much. Why was she so cold?”

The small humanoid relayed this, and my expectant mother groaned something miserably.

“The female promises that this male, referencing to him with explicit profanity, will meet his demise at her hands in a particularly cruel and protracted manner.” The, translator risked a nervous glance at the expectant father.

“I won’t stop her,” I said. “But that doesn’t answer my question.”

The larger Hsktskt shifted his weapon from one claw-clutch to another, then hissed at the terrified interpreter.

“This male indicates he tried to force this ungrateful female into cryogenic suspension to prevent premature emergence of the young.”

“That would explain his contusions,” I said. “He tried to put her in the freezer, and she thought it was a really bad idea.”

The male Hsktskt glowered at me as this was relayed. I turned my attention to the female, and tried to look sympathetic. It was rather difficult to do that when my patient was looking at me as though deciding which end to start gnawing on first.

“New fathers always seem to panic at the worst possible moment,” I said prudently. I had no wish to meet my demise. As it was, things couldn’t get much worse. “Does she know how close she is to delivering?”

The patient rattled off an impatient succession of hisses.

“Only minutes remain. Anticipate at least four newborn young, and isolate each upon emergence.” The small humanoid coughed, then turned slightly green. “If the young are not immediately separated from all other life-forms, the result will be... carnage.”

Things just went from awful to horrible.

“T’Nliq, I’ll need a half-dozen quarantine cribs, reinforced with plasteel panels and inhibitor webbing.” I checked the birth aperture gingerly; the first of the young was almost crowned. My patient began to make a high, keening sound. “In about a minute.” I deactivated the containment field.

The pulse rifle was back in my face.

“This male wants to know why the female is crying out,” the translator said.

“It hurts,” I replied. I wasn’t going to admit I had no idea if pain was a natural occurrence during Hsktskt childbirth.

The Hsktskt male responded furiously.

“This male believes you are causing the female’s distress.” The humanoid’s voice was strained. “He thinks-“

“It’s okay.” I saw what the big, mean bastard thought as he fingered the firing mechanism of his rifle.

Leaning close to the Hsktskt male, I smiled nastily. “Tell him if he kills me, he’ll have to deliver the young by himself.”

He was told. The weapon was retracted. Slowly.

T’Nliqinara had in the meantime quietly ordered the equipment I needed. It arrived with two orderlies who wisely stayed outside the threshold. I nodded my appreciation toward the nurse, then turned back to my patient. She was screeching in real agony now. The gap in her scales widened, then peeled back as the crown of the newborn bulged out.

“Here we go.” I slid my fingertips just inside the aperture, cradling the small skull. “T’Nliq, run a continuous scan on her vitals.” The rest was up to the female, and her instincts. “Tell her to bear down -

now!”

The first of her young made an abrupt and rather messy entrance into the world. Like most scaled life-forms, it was a miniature version of its parent. It also had a mouthful of very well-developed, keen-edged teeth, which it bared at me as it took its first inhalation.

“Hello, little one.” I smiled down at the small Hsktskt in my arms as I severed its umbilical connection to the mother. It was a male. He hissed furiously and struggled as T’Nliqinara suctioned the excess mucous from his mouth. “Just as cheerful as your dad, I see.”

I quickly placed the newborn into one of the isolation cribs. My wrist received a sharp bite in the process, but I had no time to do more than swivel and assist with the next emerging sibling.

The delivery continued in this rapid, dangerous manner. The newborn were vicious, poised to kill from the moment of consciousness. I knew it was a survival instinct, but it didn’t make my job any easier. I wrestled three more young from the birth aperture before my patient paused as if to gather the final dregs of strength.

This struggle culminated in a horrible scream and the expulsion of the last infant.

She was nearly twice the size of the others. Her calm, buttercup-colored eyes regarded me solemnly before the tiny head lunged. My aching arms protested as I fought to keep her from tearing out my throat.

The little darling was strong, too. T’Nliqinara wrenched her away just in time, and thrust the squirming bundle into a crib. After I took a deep, bracing gulp of air, I turned back to the dazed female.

“Congratulations.” I tried to smile and began to clean up the mess of body fluids and birth sac remnants.

“It’s three boys and two girls.”

That was when I felt the cold rim of the rifle barrel nudge the side of my head. At the same time, Dr. mu Cheft walked in.

He was short for a native, only seven and a half feet tall, and his turquoise hide was constantly flaking from spending so much time out of the water. His recessed eyes rotated toward the cribs. Dr. mu Cheft, like the translator, didn’t at first register the fact that the proud parents were savage killers or that Daddy had a rifle pressed to my skull.

“Dr. Grey Veil,” he greeted me cheerfully as he beamed down at the infants. His rehydration must have gone well, I guessed. “Ah, a delivery. How enchanting. We don’t often see such happy events in Trauma, do we?”

“Not like this,” I said.

Mu Cheft started to reach in one of the cribs and pat one of the quints. Luckily, Nurse T’Nliqinara grabbed his flipper and yanked it back before he lost some flesh. He sobered at the sight of all those small, effective teeth, and the further realization that the proud father was holding a weapon on me.

“Perhaps not quite as enchanting as I thought,” the native ‘Zangian said.

“Daranthura.” I waved my hands over the mother to distract the father, who seemed to be ignoring mu Cheft anyway. “Get the hell out of here.” My colleague slowly backed out of the exam room.

Daddy hissed at me again.

“This male wants to know if the brood is healthy,” the translator said.

“Yes, they appear to be.” I eyed the Hsktskt down the length of the weapon. “Tell him to get this stupid thing away from my head.”

The translator made a diplomatic interpretation, and relayed the Hsktskt’s terse reply as the rifle was lowered. “This male commands you to complete treatment swiftly.”

“I plan to, rifle or no rifle.” New fathers were so predictable, I thought. Once all the excitement was over, they went right back to strutting.

The female Hsktskt spoke up.

The translator smiled. “This female asks to know about her young.”

Through the translator I reported the condition of the infants once more, and received a rough smack on the shoulder from her. A gesture of Hsktskt gratitude. It hurt, but I smiled anyway.

“The female wishes to express her recognition of your assistance,” the interpreter told me. “Your name will be used to designate the dominary, or last-born, as honor to you.”

The male made what I personally interpreted as a thoroughly disgusted sound.

“Thank you.” I observed a shadow moving across the opposite wall of the corridor outside. “I think we have a more important issue to discuss now.” I addressed the male Hsktskt. “You know the Militia has arrived.”

The translator stifled a groan before he interpreted the furious reply. “This male indicates that defense forces for this colony are less than worthy of his attention.”

“Worthy or not, we’d better negotiate safe passage for Daddy here to get off this planet.” The Hsktskt’s huge eyes narrowed to slits. “Surprised?” I asked as I completed my postpartum scans. “I’m only interested in preventing any further violence. From anyone.”

“This male agrees,” the translator told me. “The female and the young will accompany him.”

“I don’t know.” I eyed the exhausted mother and five cribs uneasily. “She’s been through a lot, and the newborns need individual examinations.”

My advice was ignored, of course.

I really couldn’t blame the Hsktskt for taking his family with him. Security was outraged that their defense grid had been so easily compromised. Not to mention how all the other patients felt, being terrorized and held hostage. No, it was better that the entire family got offplanet in a hurry.

Thanks for visiting K-2, please don’t come again.

The Militia swiftly agreed to the terms I negotiated on behalf of the Hsktskt. Everyone was eager to see the intruders depart as quickly as possible, afraid that detaining them might provoke a direct invasion by the Faction.

T’Nliqinara, the translator and I escorted the Hsktskt group to the exterior of the facility. We had put the quints in a cargo unit with individual shielded compartments, to prevent them from eating each other. The weary female walked alongside the young, a curious sort of contentment illuminating her harsh features.

The small, heavily armed shuttle the Hsktskt had used to penetrate the security grid lay just beyond the back entrance of the FreeClinic. The male Hsktskt kept his weapon trained on us as he backed up to the shuttle, shielding his family with his huge body.

“Are they alone? Are there more of them?” one of the Militia asked me, and I shrugged as I watched them board the vessel.

“I have no idea. Do you want to ask him?” I pointed at the male, who had paused on the boarding ramp and turned to look back at me. He stared at me for several long moments, then disappeared inside the vessel.

“You’re welcome,” I said.

Dr. Mayer appeared at my side as I watched the shuttle fire its engines and rise rapidly to disappear into the emerald sky.

“Dr. Grey Veil.” His shrewd eyes reflected the usual intense dislike and a new glimmer of outrage. He wasn’t going to slap me on the back and thank me for a job well-done, I could see that. “Come with me.”

I would have preferred to deliver another batch of Hsktskt killer-babies.

The chief had a small, sterile office in the MedAdmin section of the facility. I sat down in front of his desk and resisted the urge to defend myself before he said anything. I wouldn’t have to wait long.

“I want to know precisely what happened.”

I gave him the particulars of the incident in the same terms I would have made a chart entry. When I was finished, it only took ten seconds for him to start in on me.

“What did you think you were doing?”

“Treating a patient,” I said. “Under dangerous conditions.”

“You recognized both as Hsktskt assassins, didn’t you?”

“I recognized a female in the final stages of labor. The male threatened us only to insure she would get proper treatment.”

He made a disgusted sound. “I want a complete report on this incident before your next shift, Doctor.” I nodded. “According to Militia reports, no one was injured during this attack.”

I wasn’t going to show him my bruises. “It wasn’t an attack.”

“You may thank whatever God you worship for that, Doctor.”

“I’m delighted no one got hurt,” I said. “Everything I did was an effort to make sure no one would, Dr.

Mayer.”

“Is that what you think?” His eyebrows lifted. “Your reckless actions today endangered the lives of the FreeClinic staff, the patients, and every other inhabitant of this colony.” He placed his hands on the edge of the empty desk, and I noted the whiteness around his knuckles. Gee, he was upset. “Colonial Security will conduct a full investigation of your role in these events, subject to established statutes under the Charter.” The Chief didn’t have to say it was at his request. He wasn’t finished, either. “You gambled with too many lives today. Doctor.”

“What else could I do?”

“There were any number of means at your disposal to disable both of those terrorists. Even a medtech student knows a syrinpress can be used as a weapon.”

I thought about the number of times I could have been killed that day, and what Dr. William the Almighty Mayer would have done in my place. I looked away from my boss, and spotted a small, old-fashioned holographic document hung on the wall beside me.