Stardoc

by S. L. Viehl

  “The Allied League of Worlds wishes to present an emergency petition,” he said as he approached Douglas. Behind him, a detachment of armed guards spread out to surround me and Dr. Mayer. “Detainment and deportation of a non-sentient to its owner and planet of origin.”

  Gee, wonder who he was talking about?

  “I assume you refer to Dr. Grey Veil?” Douglas inquired as he took the disc with the second petition.

  “The petition identifies the non-sentient by that designation, yes.”

  “Excuse me.” Douglas and the other Council members observed me with little interest. Had I already lost the respect of other sentients? “We were here first.”

  “My petition negates the one being presented by Dr. William Mayer.” The Allied investigator was smug. For him it was already decided.

  Douglas may have been Council chief but he was also Terran. I was the embodiment of everything human beings feared: a mutant experiment, artificially conceived, scientifically enhanced. I was surprised the man didn’t immediately award the Allied rep his petition.

  That was when the home team arrived.

  The chamber door panel slid open again, and a line of medical staffers filed in behind the guards around me and Dr. Mayer. I saw Ecla, Dr. Dloh, Dr. mu Cheft, T’Nliqinara, and even Dr. Crhm from Pathology. Nurses and orderlies who had worked with me during the epidemic. Former patients. Security officers involved in transporting patients to the groves. Finally there was no more room in the chamber, and a line began to back up and out the door.

  I smiled at the Allied rep. See? Even the non-sentient hunk of property has friends. Lots of them.

  Nurse Ecla stepped forward and made a particularly cutting gesture. I didn’t know she knew that sort of language. “We are here to speak on Dr. Grey Veil’s behalf.”

  Dr. Dloh managed to work his way over to come within a foot of where Dr. Mayer and I stood, and leaned forward to catch my attention. “Dr. Grey Veil, I muzt warn you, Dr. Rogan inzizted on appearing. He iz here.”

  I rolled my eyes, but winked at the big arachnid. “Don’t worry, Doctor. I think we have the bad guys outnumbered.”

  “My zpinneretz are full,” he replied with a buzzing chuckle. “Enough to cocoon the entire Counzil, if nezezzary.”

  The Council conferred quickly, and adjourned to a larger auditorium where everyone could be better accommodated. In other words, they panicked and sent us all to a bigger room so they could have space to make a hasty exit if necessary. The Allied rep looked confused. I was unsettled. The chief was actually smiling.

  “What are you so happy about?” I demanded.

  Mayer nodded toward Douglas. “He’s stalling.” When I looked directly at the Council chief, I thought I saw compassion in his eyes. A friend, after all?

  We were escorted by armed guard to the new conference site. Medical staff, former patients, and other colonists continued to arrive. When they filled the auditorium and still kept crowding in, someone on the Council finally spoke up.

  “See here, the entire colony can’t appear on behalf of Dr. Grey Veil!”

  “Why not?” someone called back. “She saved our lives!”

  A rumbling agreement swept through the auditorium. The Allied investigator stopped looking confused and started looking worried.

  Very worried.

  After the auditorium was filled to capacity, the Council announced that it would hold subsequent hearings for those still waiting to present evidence and would now address the two petitions individually.

  “In order of presentation?” Dr. Mayer asked, and Council Chief Douglas agreed.

  That meant the petition to have me deported could not be heard until the matter of my sentience was decided. Bravo, Council Chief Douglas. I wasn’t in the clear yet, however. I kept remembering how many times Ana Hansen had petitioned to have the Chakacats declared sentient.

  There was a set of League standards used to determine sentience, well-known by all species. I had to prove I met them. The League had to show I didn’t. My challengers went first, simply because there were only two of them.

  Dr. Phorap Rogan rushed to have his say. He claimed to know I had been “preprogrammed” by my maker to perform “adequately” in the role of medical physician. Only sophisticated training had allowed me to ape my “betters.”

  “She has created difficulties between sentient physicians at the facility from the first day.” Rogan ended his speech with a disgusting smirk. “Obviously an effort to deflect notice of her limitations.”

  I felt like deflecting something off his polyp-rich head.

  The Allied investigator also had his chance, and was mercifully briefer, but no less derogatory. “Dr. Joseph Grey Veil has provided positive evidence to the Allied League of Worlds as proof of this life-form’s non-sentient status. It is his hope that the enhancements she enjoys can one day be used to augment the lives of sentient beings everywhere.”

  What about my life?

  The Council called for a short intermission in order to decide how to proceed. Everyone began talking, speculating on the outcome of the petition. I noticed a number of tall, silent beings moving discreetly throughout the crowded auditorium. At the same time, some of the medical staffers were quietly slipping out to make room for them. All of those who came in were wearing helmets.

  “Who are they?” I asked Dr. Mayer after I nodded toward one towering figure dressed in a pilot’s flight suit. Another pilot, as big and powerful-looking as the others, came right into my direct eye line.

  He lifted a gloved hand and raised his visor, and his white within white eyes crinkled from a hidden smile. Then he tapped weapon-shaped bulges on his sides and legs. He dropped the visor almost at once, but I knew who had come.

  Kao’s version of the Calvary. HouseClan Torin.

  Now I began to count the helmeted figures, and when I got to fifty I caught my breath. They now outnumbered Allied forces three to one. So many of them could only be here for one reason. Especially carrying concealed weapons.

  Paul Dalton’s voice came back to me. “Jorenian HouseClans are notorious for pursuing their adversaries, and those of their kin, to the end of the galaxy.”

  Kao must have sent them to insure I would not be taken against my will from the planet. I grinned. Rogan, not to mention the Bartermen, were going to be so disappointed.

  Douglas called for attention and acknowledged that it was time to present evidence on my behalf. The number of presentations the Council could allow in order to responsibly rule on my petition was limited, since the deportation order was in effect for the next day. It was decided that I should choose three supporters to speak for me.

  I didn’t hesitate, asking that Dr. Mayer, Nurse Ecla, and Chief Linguist Reever speak on my behalf. I realized my mistake when Reever did not respond when called.

  “The chief linguist is not present. You must choose another.”

  “I would speak for Dr. Grey Veil,” a familiar voice called out, and I saw Alunthri moving through the crowded auditorium.

  “A non-sentient can’t present evidence!” Rogan said.

  Douglas held up his hand. “There is no precedent,” he said. The Terran looked at the Chakacat and sighed. “However, we proceed into such new areas with every moment that passes, it seems.”

  A brief conference between the Council members decided the issue. My friend and fellow unrecognized sentient, Alunthri, would be allowed to speak on my behalf.

  Dr. Mayer went first. As he stood and began to address the Council, I couldn’t help wondering where Duncan Reever was.

  The chief described my struggle to adapt to an alien and sometimes hostile environment. He went on to praise my commitment to my patients and extended efforts to educate myself. He admired my skills and determination. He didn’t say I walked on water, but it was pretty close to the same thing. I recognized that smile he made at the end of his speech. It was the one that he reserved for fools, malcontents, and Phorap Rogan.

  “Shoul
d you determine Cherijo Grey Veil to be non-sentient, you defame all medical professionals on this world. Dr. Grey Veil embodies everything it means to be an outstanding doctor and sentient being.”

  Nurse Ecla talked about the humorous incidents, the mistakes and the way I had learned from them. She used her remarkable non-verbal gestures to spread laughter throughout the assembly.

  Toward the end she grew serious. “I’m told non-sentient life forms do not have the ability to understand the meaning of death. During the epidemic, Dr. Grey Veil was often required to treat approximately one hundred patients per hour, to facilitate the most efficient care. I recall one of the many times she did not meet this quota. I saw her holding a dead child in her arms. She was praying to her God for that lost little soul.” Ecla moved her limbs, and the air itself seemed to weep. “Council members, Dr. Grey Veil is not less than we sentient beings. She is an example to the rest of us.”

  The Chakacat came to my side, and regarded the Council with calm, unblinking eyes. It was the kind of gaze that made several squirm and look away.

  “I have appeared before the Council many times,” the Chakacat said. “Each time I was judged not to be sentient. Until now, it was simple for me to accept such rulings. I had never known freedom.” Alunthri bowed its head. “When my last owner expired, I faced deportation and continued slavery. Dr. Grey Veil was kind enough to declare herself my owner in order to spare me that ordeal.”

  “One non-sentient protects another,” Rogan said. No one looked at him, but the waves of hostility were apparent even to him. He had enough sense to shut up.

  “I find it remarkable that Dr. Grey Veil, as a non-sentient, identified the Core life-forms, took measures to end the epidemic, and restored the Core to their natural environment. A non-sentient aiding, and protecting, a host of sentient beings.” Alunthri cocked its head. “If Dr. Grey Veil is declared non-sentient, then I request any future petition made on behalf of my kind for the same be withdrawn. The Chakacats do not want freedom on such terms. It is beneath us.” The big cat gazed at me with deep affection. “I prefer slavery to hypocrisy.”

  It was over. The Council adjourned to confer on the testimonies. The Allied forces remained in place, and it was announced (rather nervously by the investigator) that I would have to stay in the auditorium until the Council reconvened.

  The Jorenians were now over a hundred in number and well positioned throughout the auditorium.

  Dr. Mayer leaned close. “Your friend Torin has no faith in our ruling Council.”

  I flashed him a grin. “Neither do I, to be frank. This may get ugly, if the Jorenians choose to fight here. What should I do?”

  The chief looked grim. “Keep your head down and get out as fast as possible.”

  I expected the Council to take their time, but they filed back into the room after only a brief interval. Faced with the overwhelming numbers present, they were no doubt too anxious to deliberate at length. They’d seen too many mob riots during the epidemic.

  They requested a record drone list the standard requirements for sentience under Allied League precepts. As I listened, I noted the exact criteria I did not meet.

  I had not been conceived, gestated, or delivered by natural or legally sanctioned methods.

  I possessed enhancements deliberately bred by experimentation.

  I had never been allowed to live freely.

  There were other, greyer areas, but I had a sinking feeling as Douglas got to his feet once the record drone was through.

  “We are all very grateful to Cherijo Grey Veil for her service to the community. We sympathize with supporters present—”

  They were going to rule against me.

  “—however, no matter what the majority prefers, there are legal standards by which we are all governed and must adhere to. In light of the evidence presented, the Council has no alternative but to deny this life-form sentient status.”

  The auditorium was dead silent. Mayer tensed beside me, and I saw the face of the Allied investigator glow with satisfaction. He stood, and began to present his petition to have me deported back to Terra.

  That was when the Jorenians made their move, and pandemonium broke out. Throughout the auditorium, HouseClan Torin engaged the Allied forces, aided by some of the colonists. I saw Ecla knock down the Allied rep herself and sit on him. A helmeted figure appeared before me.

  “Healer Grey Veil.” The Jorenian pilot removed his headgear and made a quick bow. “Xonea Torin, to escort you to safety.” He took my arm and began to guide me through the fray.

  “Kao?” I asked, and he gave me a sad glance.

  “My ClanBrother may still live. He waits for you on our vessel.”

  I couldn’t ask when or how they had removed Kao from the inpatient ward. No time. We were running through the Administrative Building, and I had my hands full just trying to keep up with those long legs of his. Other helmeted Jorenians appeared to flank us. From the angry shouts behind us, I surmised the Allied forces had regrouped and were in pursuit. Xonea took double the strides I could manage, and before long he turned and picked me up with one arm.

  “Allow me, Healer.” He carried me to a glidecar in a long line of empty vehicles, placed me inside, and nimbly vaulted over it to take the driver’s position. “Brace yourself, this will be quick.”

  K-2 blurred around us as he jammed the controls to maximum speed and pointed the glidecar toward the Transport area. The other Jorenians did the same, creating a wall of vehicles behind us. I held on to the restraint grips and looked back.

  “We’ve got company,” I said.

  An ominous cluster of Security transports sped after us, weapons firing. Though the other Jorenians ran interference, some of the Allied pursuers got through. I cringed when our vehicle was rocked by the impact of pulse fire. Xonea grinned at me and steered a weaving pattern to avoid another hit.

  “An interesting world, this Kevarzangia Two,” he said. “Are you prepared to leave?”

  “No,” I said, and looked back. “But it doesn’t appear that I have a choice.”

  “I will keep you safe, Healer.” Xonea scanned the access paths and chose one that led to the shuttle docks. “There is our vessel.”

  The Jorenian ship was beyond huge. It must have overloaded the Transport Grid when it landed, taking up the space of ten starshuttles with its mass. Yet for all its enormous size, it was beautifully made, a towering sculpture of silvery amalgams and gleaming lights.

  “The Sunlace awaits your company, Healer.” Xonea helped me from the glidecar and looked behind us. The pursuing vehicles were approaching at high speed. “It seems I must carry you again. Your pardon.” He picked me up in his arms and ran to the ship with me.

  There was no entrance ramp in evidence, and I found out why when we were surrounded by a brilliant light. Grav-displacers. I felt our bodies being slowly lifted from the ground and pulled into a small, telescopic gap in one of the outer hull panels.

  “P’narr knich retach foro,” Xonea said, and I realized my TI was no longer functioning. The big Jorenian set me gently on my feet while I shook my head, bemused. At once he produced a short chain of flat-linked discs, which he attached around my neck. “Can you understand me now?”

  I nodded, fingering the device. “What’s this?”

  “A vocollar—what we Jorenians use for inter-species communication.”

  “My insert should do that,” I touched my ear, puzzled.

  “The Sunlace’s hull blocks transmission from the colonial database,” Xonea said. “Come with me, this way.”

  We followed a central corridor into the heart of the Sunlace. The ship inside was as beautiful as its hull, elegantly appointed with HouseClan Torin’s myriad aquamarine colors. Alunthri would have loved it.

  Complicated-looking equipment was recessed into the structure supports so that large Jorenians could move about freely. As small as I was, I felt like I was being swallowed up by all the space.

  “Can I se
e Kao?” I asked Xonea, and he nodded.

  “We go to him now.”

  The Jorenian guided me through the spiraling corridor, then turned. I followed him through a door panel into what had to be a medical bay. Gleaming equipment surrounded a bed where I saw the motionless form of Kao Torin. He was being scanned by a tall Jorenian woman.

  I practically ran over Xonea to get to him. “Kao?” I took his cool hand between mine and held it tightly. “Kao, I’m here.”

  The exhausted white eyes opened, and I thought for a moment he smiled. Then his eyes closed once more.

  “Kao, your HouseClan rescued me,” I told him. “They were wonderful. Xonea brought me here to you.

  I don’t know how to thank . . . Kao?” His hand went limp. No, not now! I gazed blindly at the attending Jorenian. She shook her head. “Kao?” My voice broke. “Kao, please?”

  Xonea came and put his hand over mine and Kao’s. “He hears you, Healer. In eternity, he hears you.”

  I closed my eyes, and lowered my cheek to rest against Kao’s unmoving chest.

  CHAPTER EIGHTEEN

  Last Rights

  After Kao died, the Jorenians cared for me as one of their own. Xonea called one of the women to assist me when I left the Medical Bay. Probably because I couldn’t function on my own. She held my arm and guided me through a long, twisting passage to a room she said would be my quarters.

  “Healer, may I be of some service to you?” she asked. I shook my head. “Would you prefer to be alone?”

  I was alone. Completely, horribly alone. “Yes. Thank you.” I sat on the sleeping platform and watched her depart through a numb haze. I had no idea what she looked like, I thought absently. I’d never once glanced at her face. Didn’t have to. She looked like Kao. They all did. I never wanted to look at another Jorenian again, for the rest of my life, and I was on a ship teeming with them.

  Why couldn’t I feel anything?

  When Maggie had died, I’d been devastated. I remembered feeling a peculiar kind of rage, one that sprang from my need to defeat illness and death as a physician. I’d gotten mad at Maggie, too. How could she have left me like that?