by K. L. Wallen
*.*
“Bagallard!” Favian shouted at the monitor. Having momentarily forgotten his commander was present, he quickly schooled his emotions and sat back in what could only be described as a comical, forced, relaxed position.
“Warrior Bax,” Commander Gharm addressed him. “Do I have reason to be concerned?” He found Favian’s obvious interest in the human female disturbingly amusing.
“No, Commander Gharm. I am merely concerned for the safety of Dr. Randall. What if this human male drops her?” He pulled up a training video, Ivanoff forwarded him, of a fireman in full gear carrying a human down a ladder from the roof of a three-story building. “How will she perform the stem cell procedure on young Cory Hendrix?” Favian hoped his commander was buying into the horcht dung spewing from his mouth.
“Do you have a video showing this typical gear the bagallard would wear?”
“Yes.” Favian played a second video of a fireman in partial gear performing the same task.
Dorn reached over and replayed the video. “One can’t tell who’s in that suit. In the first video,” he observed. “I would think, for the safety of Dr. Randall and for the good of her patient, that perhaps you should be the one carrying her down that ladder,” he quirked the corner of his lips up. “Have Blaize, Ivanoff, and Varun assist. Make sure you wear the same headgear as the human in the first video.”
“Thank you Commander.” Favian wasted no time contacting the others. Ivanoff suggested they ask Dorn for permission to ask the MacKennas for their advice. Once Favian received back their commander’s approval, the three of them contacted the MacKennas and invited them to morning meal in Favian’s quarters. They didn’t want to include Director Lee or Nica in on this covert operation.
He was a little perplexed by Nolan’s reply of, ‘Anything you want! My wife used the wand ;-).’ Favian showed Ivanoff the reply, and then smiled when Ivanoff took his data pad and turned it so he saw the winking, smiley face.
*.*
“You can practice carrying me,” Aideen excitedly offered.
Much to Favian’s relief, her father declined her offer.
Blaize was surprised how well Conall MacKenna presented a workable plan. “Varun, can you locate recent photographs of this fire department’s suits and gear? Make sure to get a close up of the emblems, Conall spoke of.”
“I can do that. Ivanoff has shown me how to interact with their government and social media systems. I’ll also get the specs on the ladder and have that replicated so Favian can practice in the training room.” Varun then turned his attention to Favian and remarked, “No offense intended. It’s just that the human equipment looks rather weak. I want to make sure that it will hold your weight, and that of Dr. Randall.”
Sherry cleared her throat. “Gentlemen, now you need to come up with a distraction so Favian can switch places with this fireman. Also, we need to figure out how to get the fireman somewhere else, where he won’t run out yelling about an imposter.”
Sherry found Favian’s concern, as he put it, cute, and she was silently rooting for the Pzian warrior. “Now if we can come up with a distraction, can you, without hurting him in any way, find a way to remove him from sight until after you carry Dr. Randall down?”
Blaize addressed her, “I can do that without any problem.” He said it with such conviction that no one challenged his answer.
“I can feign fainting,” Bridgett offered. “Aideen can act all hysterical. That will draw their attention at the time you need to make the switch. We should also have a second distraction ready to go. Concurrently,” she amended. “Ya know, just in case Aideen and I don’t draw as much attention as needed.”
She then looked at her daughter and proudly announced, “Aideen took a drama class in high school as an elective. She’s very good.”
Ivanoff brought up an aerial of where the Fall Festival is to be held, along with the map of assigned booths. They studied the layout and decided where distraction one would occur. Next, they plotted the second distraction, if needed.
Aideen decided Robert could take a nosedive off his bike into a nearby booth. Her father stated that Robert should wear his helmet. Favian stated that he could easily heal any injuries.
Robert frowned. “What about a cat stuck in a tree?”
Aideen scoffed at her brother’s question. “Right. Then they’ll just put the ladder over there first, and mom’s fainting spell will be for naught. Just man up and take a header over the handlebars. It’s not like it’d be the first time you’ve done that.” She hugged him when he begrudgingly grunted that he’d do it.
Blaize grinned as Aideen rested her head against Robert’s arm. He looked over at the brothers, Nolan and Conall, and noted that the younglings have the same red hair with natural highlights. The young MacKennas also had green eyes; however, all of their eyes had slight variances. He could see what Ivanoff referred to as eyes being like fingerprints.
Overall, Blaize was impressed with the human’s creativity. He also realized that human younglings aren’t as useless as he originally believed. Blaize now understood the faith their Fleet Commander expressed, and planned to share his insight with Commander Gharm. The MacKennas are special, and he would be near during their performances, in case they needed protection. Blaize vowed to protect them with his life.
Varun left the meeting early to meet with Nica and learn how to operate a laptop. On his way out, he signed to Ivanoff to record the remainder of the meeting for him.
*.*
Director Lee and Nica were nearly finished with breakfast and discussing her relocating to the west coast, when Cheng was summoned by the Commander. “I’m sorry Nica, we’ll need to pick this up later.” He took the lift to crew quarters as instructed, and stood just outside the lift wondering which the Commander’s room was.
Dorn ordered the computer to open his door as soon as the computer announced Director Lee’s arrival on deck. He stepped into the doorway and indicated Director Lee should follow.
Cheng sat across from Dorn and accepted the offered coffee. “Thank you. This transporter is different from the one the Scorpak brothers were on.”
Dorn took a sip of his coffee before responding. “The one our Fleet Commander was on, was from an older model warship. He was partial to that particular vessel. One of my assignments is arranging a limited tour of one of our warships with Earth officials. I’ve studied your planet’s politics and foresee difficulties. Am I incorrect?”
“No, you are not incorrect. There will be many vying for the opportunity,” Cheng honestly replied. “Some of those persons will be problematic. I won’t deceive you. This will be complicated.”
“I’ll simplify this. When you return, inform your superiors that I intend to honor our Fleet Commander’s order. Six of your officials, plus yourself, will be provided a restricted tour. No electronic equipment will be allowed, and not all questions will be answered. Warrior Blaize Pulten will be in charge of selecting the candidates. You are to present to him a list of names, well in advance of the tour. Blaize will let you know which individuals will be permitted.” Dorn returned Cheng’s grin.
Chapter 13
Come Tuesday morning, Stacy was still floating on air.
On Saturday, she had a wonderful breakfast with Logan, and then saw him later that night for dinner, drinks, and dancing. She was floating on air by the time he returned her home. Stacy was sorely tempted to ask him to spend the night, but knew she had one too many drinks, and painfully reminded herself of her vow not to consider sex until after several months of dating, and physical examinations.
On Sunday, she went to the Viking’s game with Bill and got to try whiskey dogs for the first time. They weren’t quite what she expected but she thoroughly enjoyed her time with him and his friends. That was her first professional football game and she had gotten up early in the morning to look up the rules of the game on the internet so she could at least follow along and not feel like a novice. Yesterday, on her way into
work, she picked Bill up a venti-sized latte and some biscotti as a thank you.
This coming Friday night, she had another date with Logan scheduled. Then the festival! Her social life finally found its flame and ignited.
Stacy took her purse out of her filing cabinet and headed out of the building. “Cora,” she called out to the receptionist, “I’ll be at the medical center. Cory’s scan is scheduled this morning and I want to be there. If anyone comes looking for me, I’ll be back later.” She waved with a half-closed fist since her keys were cupped in that hand.
*.*
“Varun, can you track Dr. Randall? She’s going to a medical center for Cory Hendrix’s scan. I need the name of that center in case that is where she’ll perform the stem cell procedure,” Favian requested. He had assumed the scan would be done at the research lab and was disappointed that none of them thought to review the blueprints of the laboratory, and equipment.
Varun sent Favian a message not too long afterwards letting him know the name of the facility and assured Favian he now had access to their mainframe.
Favian didn’t bother replaying the video of the Viking’s football game. There was not much to see.
However, the video of Stacy and Logan returning from their evening out and kissing in her home, sat like a boulder in his stomach. He had never felt the pains of jealousy before. Favian wanted to be the one holding her in his arms and meshing his mouth against hers. He nearly transported down to stop the mating, but Stacy broke contact and told this Logan that she wanted to take it slow. Favian wasn’t exactly sure what she meant by that and it worried him. Just how slow is slow? He was relieved when the human male left her residence.
He shared the video with Ivanoff and asked him if this was a typical prelude to a mating contract between humans. Ivanoff sent him a copy of the same videos he shared with a couple other warriors, then recommended he review the material left by Honored Guest Laurel MacKenna. The literature both captivated and angered Favian. He was intrigued by the human mating rituals and pictured doing some of the actions described with Dr. Stacy Randall. He was angry that Stacy might choose to do those things with this bagallard, Logan.
He sent Varun another message, ‘Does this medical center have interior cameras you can link into?’ Favian was disappointed with the quantity and quality of the cameras, and the fact that there was no sound to accompany the video. When Stacy entered a room with no camera, Favian decided to go to the training room and practice on the recreated ladder. He convinced, well, bribed, Warrior Bylt to agree to being thrown over his shoulder and carted down the ladder. At 270 pounds, Obard Bylt is the slightest of the male warriors onboard. He didn’t feel comfortable asking Adal Lucia for such a favor. Besides, if the ladder will hold his and Bylt’s combined weight, then he won’t have a worry about his combined weight with the equipment he’ll be wearing, and Stacy’s estimated weight of 130 pounds.
*.*
Dr. Randall was present in the control room as the M.R.I. machine produced images of Cory’s spine. “This can’t be right. When was the machine last serviced?”
“The servicing docket is on the wall behind you,” the attendant told her.
Stacy pulled the chart off the wall and reviewed the entries. She then turned back to the screen. “This is wrong. His spine is out of alignment. This,” she pointed to the M.R.I. machine which was clearly visible through the glass partition, “is obviously malfunctioning. This,” she pointed to the screen, “is not his spine. The machine must be replaying an earlier image of another patient. Call for a technician.”
“Dr. Randall, I’ll call my supervisor. I’m not authorized to call for a technician.” The attendant let the machine continue its scan and called for her supervisor. After she hung up, she faced Dr. Randall. “She’s on her way. Dr. Randall, I’m the only attendant operating this machine this week. I did scan a patient’s spine yesterday. None today. The one, and only one, I did yesterday has scoliosis and it showed clearly on the scan, although I’m not a medical doctor and so cannot verify that with certainty, and shouldn’t even be suggesting that I know how to read a scan.” The attendant was clearly worried that she overstepped her bounds.
“Elizabeth, how long have you been doing this job?”
“Eight years now. This is the only machine I operate.”
Stacy turned and looked at the screen again. She then brought her hands up and ran them along the sides of her face and around the side of her head. Stacy paced the small room. Two steps towards the door, turn, two steps back to the control panel, and repeat. “Don’t you get claustrophobic in here?”
Elizabeth made light of Doctor Randall’s pacing. “Sometimes, especially when I have an impatient physician hovering over me.”
She said it in such a manner that Dr. Randall knew she was being played. It helped to relieve some of the tension she felt. “Could you please call and see if x-ray can take him in immediately, oh, and a CAT Scan too?”
“Don’t worry, I lunch with the gals who operate those machines. I’ll get your patient in there this morning,” she informed Dr. Randall. Elizabeth then mumbled, “It’s rare to see a miracle.” She hadn’t realized Dr. Randall caught her softly spoken words.
Stacy pulled in her bottom lip and then released it with a smacking sound. “Yes, please set up the appointments. Thank you. Can you shut down this machine completely, restart it, and just scan this section of his spine again?” She pointed to two disks on either side of his injury.
*.*
Dorn entered medical at the same time as Dr. Randall arrived back at the research lab. “She looks perplexed,” he remarked.
“Cory had his scan this morning. Dr. Randall has been gone for hours. I’m assuming she had the scan rerun and verified with other equipment,” Favian replied. He walked to the dispensary and ordered up two glasses of jirfpt.
“Blaize confirmed your plan to replace the human male at the festival and carry Dr. Randall down the ladder. Have you considered that none of us has mastered the English language yet?”
“Yes, I’ve been practicing the words and phrases. I hadn’t planned on remaining there and having a conversation with her. I should be okay with the limited language skills I’ve mastered. If only she had a translator, it would make,” he stopped speaking when Stacy entered the conference room, where her coworkers had gathered. Favian and Dorn watched as she presented pictures of Cory’s spine, obviously produced by more than one machine.
*.*
“They had the M.R.I. machine looked over by a technician and everything is operating fine. The patient after Cory produced expected results for that case. I,” Stacy blew out a breath and looked at her coworkers. “Am I dreaming?” she pinched herself and yelped.
Stacy moved out of the way as her coworkers gathered around for a closer look. Dr. Everen asked her if this was a joke. Dr. Carter asked her if she would mind if he examined Cory. Stacy shrugged her shoulders and told Dr. Everen that it wasn’t a joke, and then turned to Dr. Carter and informed him she’d set up the appointment.
She stood up and informed the others that she was leaving early for the day. She needed a good long run, so she could figure out how to impart this news to Cory and his parents. Dr. Carter instructed her not to say anything until he has a chance to examine him. She agreed, but left knowing she would be having that conversation with Cory right after Dr. Carter verifies the validity of the tests.
*.*
Favian was angry that they would question her ethics and mumbled as much during his and Dorn’s viewing.
“Do you know where she runs?” Dorn asked his distracted healer.
Favian focused on his commander. “I know. I’ve watched her run every night. She has a set path.”
“Then I recommend you change into appropriate human attire and go for a run. Make sure to take a translator with you.” He stood and headed towards the door. Dorn turned back and added, “After you change, report to the bridge for the coordinates, a transporter, and a monit
or.”
Favian immediately commed Ivanoff and summoned him to medical. He needed advice.
Chapter 14
Stacy locked her front door, slipped her stretchy boater’s bracelet over her wrist, and zipped her lightweight jacket halfway up. She knew she’d be unzipping it soon enough, and probably tying it around her hips after a few miles. She stood on her front porch and stretched her legs and arms, before bounding down the two steps and the driveway. Stacy ran on the sidewalk as much as possible, only going onto the curb of the street when neighborhood kids were out and about. She was anxious to make it to the park and the golf course where running on the dirt and in the grass was more to her liking. Today, however, she planned to run even further, or at least circle the golf course several times if it were absent golfers. Dodging stray golf balls is not her idea of a good time.
Favian sped and stayed in the shadows, waiting for the perfect opportunity to intercept the pretty, human healer. Four miles later, he trailed her in a sparsely populated section of town. The sound of fast approaching vehicles caught his attention and he moved a bit further back into the tree line.
Stacy was approaching an intersection when she saw a Dodge Challenger approaching from the East. It was traveling much faster than the posted speed limit. The driver was either oblivious to the upcoming stop sign, or just thought he was alone out here. Stacy slowed her pace and whirled when she heard a car horn blaring from behind.
Favian quickly calculated Stacy’s position in relation to the impending collision of the two fast moving transports. He determined that she was at a safe distance and prepared to speed to her when the two transports impact.
Stacy knew what was going to happen, so she quickly moved next to a large tree. She positioned herself so the tree, rather than her body, would absorb any debris from the crash. She threw her arms up, covered her face with her forearms, and closed her eyes. The sound of metal meeting metal was deafening. Stacy screamed, “No,” and slid down the tree as the vehicles screeched, slid, and collided a second time. She was so stunned that she had not noticed Favian, nor had she felt his hand upon her neck.