by S. L. Viehl
“Great.” I motioned for the dark-skinned humanoid to sit beside me. “Make yourself comfortable. This sounds like it’s going to take forever.”
Douglas gave a moving speech, Negilst commented when he was finished. Uh-huh. I would have clapped, but I was busy trying not to fall into a boredom-induced coma.
“Although Dr. Grey Veil may not remember,” Douglas said, “I was among the first of the cases brought to the groves. I saw what she did for our people. She saved me from dying of the contagion, and saved our colony from planetary sterilization.”
All this gratitude made me want to squirm. I didn’t want accolades, I wanted to go back to work.
“However, no one individual’s actions can provide any type of immunity from the Charter, and a valid charge has been filed.”
At this rate I was going to nod off again. “What exactly is the charge, Council Chief?”
Douglas consulted his data pad. “You are charged with causing the deliberate eradication of Core life-forms. The Core occupied this planet long before the colony was settled. As recognized sentients, they have the same rights under the Charter as any colonist.”
So much for gratitude from the bug. Maybe I should have let that Yturi know where he could find some more thermal pruners.
“What did you do to the Core?” Negilst whispered next to my ear, and I shrugged.
“Got them back in their damn trees, far as I know.”
Douglas frowned at my lowered but still audible tone as he turned to address Reever. “Chief Linguist, you may begin.”
Reever stood and carefully inserted his fingertips into the opening of the container. A thin layer of the resin ran up his arm and into his ear.
“Are you nuts?” I shouted, and jumped to my feet, knocking over my chair. I had to stop him. Negilst grabbed my arm.
“No,” it told me. “He’s acting as a translator.”
“We represent the Core,” Reever said, while his eyes rotated up into his head. Ana’s assistant picked up my chair and forced me to sit down.
“Present your evidence,” Douglas said.
Reever’s body trembled as his link with the Core intensified. I swallowed against the fear rising in my throat, but never took my eyes from him. If he showed even one sign of seizure, I’d definitely exterminate every Core life-form I could get my hands on.
“The one who discovered us, the one who ingested us, passed us to this one. She was unlike the others. We were unable to infiltrate the cells. We attempted to communicate and were ignored.”
“I ignored them?” I shot up again, and this time I shook off Negilst’s grasp. “Do you know how many rotations I spent just trying to identify them?” Douglas motioned to the Security guards, and they made me sit back down with a nudge from their rifles.
Reever went on. “Her biological response exterminated our kind. All within her body were destroyed. She is a threat to our continued existence.”
“See? My biological response didn’t ignore them,” I said, then my eyes widened. “They’re talking about—” I grabbed Negilst. “Go get Ana. I don’t care if you have to tell QIT to jump in the nearest body of water. Get her over here, now!”
Reever ended the link, and the fluid left his body to ooze back into the container. I imagined dumping the Core into a waste receptacle. No, not horrible enough. I know, I thought. I’d slosh that resinous glop over the GravBoard track, and see how the kids liked Core lubrication under their rollers.
The chief linguist sat down, his face grey with fatigue, and I saw his eyes return to normal. He gazed over at me without reaction. Douglas and the other Council members conferred for a short period of time, then addressed me directly.
“Dr. Grey Veil, you may now respond.”
I stood up, wishing I had taken a few more political classes as a student.
“I’m accused of murder by the Core, a species that no one knew existed until I established contact with them, through Linguist Reever. I’m not guilty. A physician is required to take an oath to do no harm to any patient. Once identified, the Core life-forms were as much my patients as the living organisms they infected. I didn’t exterminate them. I helped them go home.”
I gazed at each Council member before I continued.
“The Core charge that my biological response killed them. That’s true. I was never infected, despite constant exposure. However, if I’m to be held accountable for my immune system, then the Core should be, too.”
“Clarify, please,” Douglas said.
I stared at Reever. “The Core deliberately infiltrated, destroyed, and replaced tissue in order to secret themselves from detection. They induced pneumonic symptoms to fortify their positions and provide escape routes from their hosts’ bodies.” I smiled sourly. “That biological response killed over seven thousand colonists. Sound familiar?”
Ana appeared with Negilst just as I was taking my seat. She immediately addressed the Council. “I have been monitoring this hearing and only wish to add that the PQSGO will support all of Dr. Grey Veil’s actions—voluntary and otherwise—during the time of the epidemic.”
That seemed to shake up the Council members, who took another interval to discreetly confer. Ana glanced at Reever before she leaned close. “Sorry I’m late. They’re ready to lift the quarantine, and the adminwork is a nightmare.”
“Tell me one thing,” I said. “How did Reever get involved in this?”
“Duncan was summoned to the Botanical Project by the Core themselves yesterday. He had no choice but to act as their representative.”
“He had no choice. Of course. That explains everything.”
Ana nudged me. “Joey, I can sense what you’re thinking, and you’re wrong. He’s only doing his job.”
“His job reeks.”
The Council completed their discussion, and all five rose.
“We find the charge of extermination of the Core life-forms to be substantiated, but in doing so find the Core also guilty of the same against the victims of the epidemic. Both charges can be enforced under the Charter.”
“What does that mean?” I asked.
“It means,” Reever said as he touched the surface of the resin once more, “that if you are found guilty, so are they. I will relay this to the Core.”
After a short silence, the Core spoke through Reever again. “We will withdraw the charge against Dr. Grey Veil, if she does the same.” Reever’s voice shook badly. “We request Dr. Grey Veil be prohibited from any future contact with our dwellings.”
“Right,” I scowled. “I’m heartbroken. As if I wanted to poke around the damn dirt or those ugly purple—
Ana clapped her hand over my mouth. “She agrees.”
“Charges are dismissed. Dr. Grey Veil.” Douglas smiled at me. “You are free to go.”
I hurried over to Reever to examine him. “Notify medevac and have them send a unit. Now.” I eased him back down in his chair and leaned closer. “Don’t say another word, or I swear I’ll sedate you.”
I beckoned to one of the Security team, and shoved the container of resin in his arms. “Get this glop away from me, before I end up with another set of homicide charges.”
Dhreen was hovering outside of Trauma hours later, when I finally dragged myself off duty. I had every intention of going home and sleeping for a week. I barely managed a wave when I saw him. He was still using limb supports to walk while his broken legs healed.
“Dhreen.” I tried to smile, but my facial muscles wouldn’t cooperate. I was that tired. “What are you doing here? You should still be confined to a bed. Wait—” I held up a hand, imitating a gesture he’d made to me in a tavern, a long time ago. “Don’t tell me. I’ll probably have to testify against you.”
The Oenrallian tried to look wounded. “Just came to see my favorite Terran. Who happens to be too conscientious for her own good.”
“Who happens to know you too well,” I said. “I’m headed for home. Can you walk with me to my glidecar? I need to
keep moving or I’ll drop where I stand.”
“I know the problem.” Dhreen shifted the supports under his arms awkwardly. “Right behind you, Doc.”
I managed to snare a space for myself close to the entrance to Trauma earlier, so we didn’t have far to go. Dhreen seemed nervous, and started to say something several times, only to break off.
“Here, sit down.” I opened the passenger’s panel for him, and gave him the once-over. He seemed to be healing satisfactorily. “If you want to come home with me, you can watch me sleep for ten or twelve hours,” I offered wryly as I went around the vehicle and slid behind the controls. The orange head shook as he hiccuped.
“No, but thanks. I just wanted to tell you I’ve gotten a position on one of the Quadrant’s long-range freighters. As soon as I heal, I’ll ship out.”
“That’s good news, right?”
He nodded. “Now that the Bestshot is gone, I’ve got to have steady work. I was lucky the Quadrant needed a pilot who’s jaunted the territories.”
“You don’t want me to clear you to go now, I hope,” I warned, topping it with a severe frown. “Those bones need to heal, or you’ll end up with permanent impairment.”
“No, actually . . .” Dhreen turned yellow, which in his species indicated a rush of blood to the epidermis.
“Dhreen. You’re blushing.”
“Doc . . . you saved my life . . . you’ve been a good friend . . . see, when I heard the Council was trying to get rid of you . . . well, I thought . . . I mean, maybe . . . you know, I have cohab rights on the freighter, and . . .”
He was proposing to me. “You want me to go with you?”
“We don’t have to bond for life,” he said to reassure me. His amber eyes rolled. “I’m not good at this sort of thing. I just thought . . . I wanted to—”
I reached up and kissed his thin cheek. “You’re a lovely friend. I’m very flattered, but”—I looked through the glidecar’s shield back at the facility—“my work is here.”
He looked even more yellow than before. “Are you sure?” His spatulate fingers brushed my arm gently. “We’ve always coexisted well. Shared some mirth.” The clear amber eyes narrowed. “I don’t like leaving you here. Not with the way things are.”
I rested my head against the steering controls. Dhreen shifted his broken legs uneasily. “You know, I’m almost tempted.” I was more tired than I thought. Tired of the Council, the slow recovery after the epidemic, the politics, everything.
“I’d take care of you, Doc.”
Dhreen grinned, and I knew life with him would never be dull. It would also mean running away from my problems. Running away from my past, my father, and now K-2. For a moment I was really tempted.
“Thank you, Dhreen, but I have to say no.”
He didn’t stop smiling. “Let me know if you change your mind.”
“You’ll be on K-2 for a few more days,” I said, “so we don’t have to say good-bye right now.”
“No.” He climbed back out of the glidecar, then ducked his head down to add, “Just remember, the freighter’s route can take a dozen cycles to complete. I won’t be back for a long time.”
“I’ll be here.”
I was barely able to drive the glidecar over to the housing unit and drag myself to my quarters. Tears were running down my face, and I didn’t know why. All through the epidemic I had been like a rock. Now I wept over silly things, like Reever’s scars and Dhreen leaving. What was wrong with me?
Alunthri and Jenner were startled when I stumbled in and flung myself on the bed. They were also kind enough to let me cry myself to sleep.
My shifts gradually shortened, with help from our new medical students, former orderlies who were undergoing formal training. The chief himself initiated the program after PQSGO made it plain that no medical professional in their right mind would transfer to K-2. No matter how well recovery was proceeding, the stigma of the epidemic clung.
The medical students would take years to educate, but they provided valuable manpower in the interim. We were still swamped by a plethora of post-epidemic ailments. During each shift, four students worked on minor cases, supervised by a nurse. That freed up the physicians to deal with the more serious emergencies.
Duncan Reever’s case was handled by Dr. Mayer. I personally avoided further contact with him. The idea was for him to recover, and I was still furious. He was discharged a day after I admitted him for exposure to the Core.
Kao Torin’s condition deteriorated further. His distant homeworld, Joren, eventually transmitted the necessary medical updates for our database, and it confirmed my worst fear. No one reported me for smashing the console screen.
I went to see Dr. Crhm, trying to find some small hope. It reviewed the latest pathological data on Kao with me.
“The transfusion of Terran blood acted as an antibody at first, and restricted itself to attacking the Core life-forms. Once it had removed the immediate threat, it infiltrated the immune system, then the systemic tissues.” It ducked its hard-shelled head, not catching my reaction as it continued. “Now the foreign blood has reactivated its cytotoxic properties and is destroying native cells. Tissue, bone, and fluid.”
“It’s killing him the same way it did the Core.” My blood, eating away at Kao’s internal organs.
“Yes, Dr. Grey Veil. Would you be able to obtain another sample of plasma from the original donor?”
Kao’s chart reflected merely that he received an experimental transfusion of Terran blood. Only Ecla and Dr. Mayer knew it had come from me. Now I would have to lie again. “The donor was killed during the epidemic.” I couldn’t say from the contagion. “A glidecar collision. The body was completely destroyed.”
“A pity. It would have been fascinating to conduct a proper study. I have never reviewed a hematological profile such as this. The cells are absolutely ferocious.”
Bile was burning at the back of my throat. “How long do you estimate the patient has before complete systemic failure?”
“Three, perhaps four rotations.”
I left Crhm’s lab, stopped long enough to throw up in private, then went to Kao’s ward. I sat with him for a while as he slept, holding his hand. The white eyes eventually opened.
“You look fatigued, my Chosen.”
I was. Oh, God, I was. “Kao, I have to”—I choked on the words, hesitated, tried again—“I have to tell you some bad news. The latest tests—” How did I tell him my blood was killing him? “—They don’t look good.”
“How long do I have?”
I was startled, then I understood. The tranquillity, the acceptance. Jorenians were much more intimately aware of their bodies than Terrans. He already knew. “Not long. A few days.”
Kao nodded. “That is enough time. You must do it now, Cherijo.”
I didn’t want to face what he was asking, and shook my head wildly. “I will keep working on a treatment—I can—I might—” I faltered as he gazed steadily at me.
“Send the message to Joren and tell them my time is upon me.” He had discussed it with me in detail days before. “Those of my HouseClan within range will come for my last rites.”
“I don’t want you to die,” I whispered. His big hand curled tightly around mine.
“You will like my HouseClan, Healer,” he said, and smiled. “My ClanBrother Xonea has been eager to meet you.”
“Space your ClanBrother!” I became irrational. “Kao. Don’t give up. Fight it. Fight it for me.”
“Don’t cry, honored Chosen . . .” He lapsed back into unconsciousness.
Dr. Dloh was on ward duty and stood observing at a respectful distance. When I knew Kao wouldn’t wake again soon, I rose and looked at him. He handed me the chart he was holding. “The latezt rezultz from the lab.”
I glanced at the levels, which only reiterated what Crhm had told me earlier. Systemic failure was imminent. Suddenly I watched the chart fly across the ward and ricochet off the opposite wall.
“Doctor—” Dloh reached out a tentative appendage.
“Excuse me, Dr. Dloh.” I walked off the ward before I started taking it apart, piece by piece.
I had to do something besides take care of the injured and repair the damage wrought by the Core. Something physical. Smashing the hell out of something was very soothing. I’d try that.
When I strode out of the facility’s back entrance, I saw Duncan Reever. I swerved in order to put some distance between us, but he only trailed behind me. I crossed a hundred meters, glanced back. Still there. I needed to pound something into dust. Despite my rage, a small part of me didn’t want it to be him.
“Get away from me, Reever.”
He kept silent, but didn’t go away. I walked into a narrow, boxed-in alley between some Transport buildings. I was trapping myself with him. Maybe it was for the best. He was a good-sized male. I might not hurt him. Much.
“Cherijo, stop.”
I’d reached the end of the passage and faced a solid wall of plasbrick. No one but Reever was within sight. That was fine with me. The fury within me punched through my self-control and poured out.
“No!” I screamed at the wall. I whirled on Reever, my fists clenched as I jammed them against my temples. “I can’t stop it! I can’t!”
“No, you can’t.” His gaze held a glimmer of pity.
That was the last straw. I launched myself at him. Reever, who would never leave me alone. Reever, who had repeatedly forced himself upon my mind and made me share his. Reever, who had taken me, pleasured me, used me.
I wanted him to die.
He was strong, but I was unstoppable. With one vicious blow I knocked him off his feet, then threw myself on top of him. My fists struck him, over and over. Knuckles slammed into flesh. Bones jarred and grated. God, it felt good. Pain streaked up my arm. Breath burned in my lungs. Blood roared in my head.
We linked.
Reever’s mind flooded over me like a wave. His thoughts slammed into mine, until I was caught between him and the violent despair that had me spinning out of control.