by Dane Bagley
***
Tammy rummaged through the medicine cabinet, and found the vial that she was looking for. She took a syringe and filled it with air, and then emptied the air into the vial; she then withdrew exactly fifty milliliters, and replaced the cap on the needle. She placed the syringe on the counter near two chairs, and walked back toward her office. She pulled out some papers, and then sat down, crossing her legs, and wrote several notes. She looked over at the syringe and then at Aspiria’s cell. She sat there for a few minutes and tapped her leg nervously on the floor, then uncrossed her legs, got up, and walked out of the lab.
She nearly walked into Danny who was walking into the lab. “Sorry, Tammy, I was just letting you know that it is time for dinner.”
“I was just on my way to the galley,” said Tammy in a brisk tone.
“Great, I’ll see you there in a minute; I’ve just got to let James know.”
Tammy walked into the Galley. Already seated were Kenny and Mike. Aspiria was putting the meal on the dishes. “Aspiria, I’ve got some bad news for you,” Tammy said with some nervousness in her voice. Kenny and Mike turned around with very uncomfortable expressions. Aspiria looked up, and prepared to listen. “I just looked at some of my reports, and you have another infection coming on. This one looks like it could be a bad one.”
“I don’t feel sick at all.”
“That’s good, but it’s coming. I want to give you a quick antibiotic injection to make sure that it doesn’t become a problem for you.”
“Thank you,” Aspiria said as she looked Tammy in the eye and nodded.
“We need to go right now; it will only take a second.”
“Can’t we finish up dinner first? It won’t come on that quickly, will it?” asked Aspiria.
“No, we really need to do it now.”
“Tammy,” interjected Kenny. “Really, let’s finish up the meal. Captain Jenners will be here with Danny and James in just a minute. Nothing comes on that quickly.”
“Kenny, would I tell you how to fly this thing? It really will only take a minute. We’ll probably be back before everyone else is here.”
Aspiria looked at her with a questioning expression, knowing that something was going on. As they walked toward the lab, and out of earshot of the galley, Aspiria asked, “What is really going on?”
“Just like I said, I need to get you this antibiotic injection quick. If I do, I will save you a lot of problems, later.”
They entered the lab, and Tammy brought her to the chair nearest to the syringe. Tammy sat beside her, and picked up the syringe.