Nebulon by Frank Carey

Author:Frank Carey [Carey, Frank]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Published: 2017-10-07T06:00:00+00:00

CHAPTER TWENTY-THREE

"How's Dr. Blyst doing?" Ciara asked as she walked into Sickbay.

"Fine," Dr. Kaean said "She's getting dressed and should be out in a moment. Her team's outside." Dr. Kaean was the Cube’s Chief Medical Officer and one of the Leagues finest surgeons. She was Alturan, about a meter-and-a-half tall with three large eyes and twelve tentacles that ranged in size from large ones used for locomotion to pencil-thin ones used for fine manipulation. Kaean was known for a razor wit equaled only by Ciara's.

"I talked to them already. They're worried, of course."

"Other than a minor viral infection, she is in the peak of health."

"You mean she has a cold?"

"That's what I said. Her body is dealing with it."

"What about attacking Jason?"

"Ah, that's where things get interesting. Tralaskan women are the dominant gender, and they take that role very seriously. When in a weakened state, they react badly to unwanted stimuli. We ran a mass spec on the air sample and found trace amounts of tricyline, a chemical used to make a high-end perfume for Tralaskan men. A very small number of Tralaskan women are allergic to the substance. Someone in that room was wearing said perfume, and Nebulon reacted to it the way any full-blooded Tralaskan woman would under those circumstances. She lashed out at the first male she could find."

"I take it that Tralaskan women don't get sick much?"

"It is very rare, especially a viral infection. Those are once-in-a-lifetime events."

"Can you do anything for her?"

"Don't have to. Her body will fight it off. She just needs to avoid perfumed fop males."

"Fop?"

"Pejorative term from seventeenth century England on Earth for a male overly concerned about his appearance."

"I'll try to remember that. Any lasting effects from the stun charge?"

"None. In fact, I can't find any evidence she was stunned, ever."

"Isn't that odd?"

"Yes, as is sitting up and shaking off a charge as powerful as the one she was hit with. We tested Ms. Dael Rey's gun, and it is working perfectly. Its logger shows that she did fire a single charge set at heavy stun. Nebulon's blouse shows the effect of being hit by said heavy stun charge. It’s Nebulon that shows no evidence of being hit by anything.”

"Doctor, do you need anything else?" Nebulon asked as she exited the examination room.

"Nope, that's all. You're fine. Your virus should pass in a few days. Just drink plenty of fluids and get lots of rest."

"Thanks, Doctor," Nebulon said as she and Ciara left the room and joined Nebulon's team in the outer waiting room.

"Boss, what did Dr. Kaean say?"

"I'm fine. Nothing to worry about. I'm sorry for scaring you all like that."

"Not to worry. That place made me feel a little twitchy myself," Jason said. "What about the air samples?"

"I've got a slight cold, and I'm allergic to a perfume one of the men was wearing."

"But you're fine otherwise?"

"Fit as a fiddle."

They walked down the hallway and went into Ciara's office.

"Good. Well, we caught a break today. The missing ship is now offloading at Orinoco as if nothing was wrong, which we will allow its crew to keep believing.

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