The Lost Colony, DM Arnold [ebook reader for laptop TXT] 📗

as Ramina's breedery. He handed the driver a scrip card. “Keep the change.”

Inside the building he spotted Ramina. “Have they started?” he asked.

“Not yet.”

“May I see them?”

“This way.”

He followed Ramina into a treatment room. He looked around in the subdued lighting. Lying on a pair of cots were two novonid girls. Nyk approached the one with a thin, boyish figure. “You must be Fara,” he said.

“You must be Nykkyo.”

He gripped and squeezed her hand. “Good luck,” he said, then turned to the other cot. “Lise ... I thought I'd never see you again.”

“Neither did I. I'm so happy to see you, Nykkyo. What brings you here?”

“Ogan insisted I attend the installation of the Floran ambassador -- as the official interpreter. It's not as if Ambassador Morsk needs one -- he has had Varadan language training. I think Ogan wanted a drinking buddy.” Lise smiled. “That was yesterday. When I heard today was the big day -- I had to come see you. Where are your folks?”

“Neither of them could get the day off. They'll be here when they can.” She peeled down the drape covering her and Nyk saw the registry tattoo on her left clavicle. “Look...”

“I'm both happy and sad for you, Lise. I'm happy you no longer need to lurk in the shadows of the Green Zone, but I'm sad that mark must be the price of your safety.”

“I'm happy to have it. Ms Ramina says she has an assignment for me -- babysitting a pair of Varadan children.”

“I think you'll be good at it.”

A medical assistant wheeled a cart of equipment into the room. “We'll get started shortly,” she announced. “I'll start by putting these probes on your head and chest...”

“You don't start an intravenous drip?” Nyk asked.

“No,” the attendant whispered in reply. “They're deathly afraid of needles, and I don't blame them.”

Nyk took Lise's hand. “Are you afraid?”

“Yes -- a little.”

“I would be, too. Good luck and good courage, Lise.” He held her hand and she grasped his in a white-knuckled grip.

Lise looked toward the assistant. “Can he stay and hold my hand?”

“Until you're under, I suppose.”

The doctor entered and switched on an overhead floodlamp. “Lise, we'll do you first. We'll make two small incisions on your abdomen and harvest one of your ovaries.”

“Only one?” Lise asked.

“We'll leave the other so your hormones stay balanced. Then, we'll tie your tubes. Someone with your condition...”

“You mean a oneshot?”

“I didn't want to use that word. No, you shouldn't live in fear of pregnancy. After today -- you won't” He removed a drape covering her lower abdomen and palpitated her. He nodded toward the assistant.

She adjusted controls and placed a mask over Lise's nose and mouth. Lise tightened her grip on Nyk's hand. “Lise ... breathe deeply ... that's it ... in ... out ... in...”

Nyk watched Lise's ribcage expand and contract as she complied. Her eyes glazed, her eyelids drooped and her grasp relaxed. The attendant glanced at a brainwave monitor. “She's under. We'll call you when she's in recovery.”

He kissed Lise's forehead and headed with Ramina to the waiting room.

Nyk paced the waiting room. “So, this is a novonid clinic,” he remarked.

“This is one of the better ones. The surgeon here is board-certified.”

“There's a board of novonid medicine?” Nyk asked.

“No -- he's a certified medical doctor ... in human medicine. Anyone can hang a sign as a novonid practitioner. This doctor is head of surgery at one of the suburban hospitals. He believes they deserve better.”

“He's BSS, no doubt.”

“Of course.”

“I'm impressed with the dignity they show the patients here.”

“I wanted to tell you, Nykkyo, how grateful I am to you for caring for Laida. She calls me nearly every day and we have long conversations. I never had children of my own, and Laida is the closest I have to a real daughter. I'm sorry she's offworld, but I'm delighted she's happy.”

“She does seem very happy. Tell me, Ramina -- Laida told me they store sunlight. Is that true?”

“In a sense, they do.”

“She didn't seem to know how they do it.”

“They store activated chlorophyll. Their blood is brown because of the green corpuscles. Those carry activated chlorophyll to their spleens, which is modified to be the major photosynthetic organ. Their spleens stockpile activated chlorophyll.”

“I truly wonder what it must be like to be one of them. Laida said she has stored so much sunlight, she glows inside.”

“That sounds like Laida.” Ramina pursed her lips. “I do miss her, Nykkyo. Our media conversations are a poor substitute for holding her in my arms.”

“I'm also in a long-distance relationship. I know what you mean.”

“I also wanted to say how much I've enjoyed working with Lise and her family.”

“How did Grott and Rayla take it?”

“They were suspicious ... cautious at first. Once I convinced them of my good intentions, they recognized the benefits of our little arrangement. I had never been inside the Green Zone before. It was an eye-opener. We BSS have a lot of work to do there.”

“I hope the surgery goes well.”

“It should. I've learned these are done frequently on the pomma farms when a female has atrophied ovaries. The doctor said within a year Fara's female features should develop and she should become fertile. Not too long ago such a one as she would've been put down. I couldn't bear the thought of that, but I also despaired what to do with her. When you suggested a transplant -- I thought it was brilliant.”

“You could've used one of your other females as a donor.”

“All mine are either pregnant or nursing,” she replied. “This is a good solution.”

“Just make sure,” he said, “that Fara conceives only boys. Otherwise you'll have more oneshots to deal with.”

“I'll remember that.”

“Tell me about the assignment you found for Lise.”

“She'll be caring for a pair of toddlers -- a boy and a girl. They live in one of the working-class suburbs. It's a single mother who was just awarded custody, and she can't afford care, otherwise.”

“How do you learn of these opportunities?” he asked.

“Through networking. This mom is delighted that Lise knows how to read.”

“Has she met Lise?”

“The mother has, but not the children.”

“What will the constables think of a novonid walking down the street with a pair of white children in tow?”

“I've warned Lise of some of the ... challenges in this assignment. I've also advised her how to deal with them. Don't worry about her, Nykkyo. She isn't blazing any trails -- there are other novonid caregivers. If I didn't think her capable, I wouldn't have recommended her.

“I imagine your reputation precedes her...”

The door to the waiting room opened and the surgeon stepped in. “Everything went well. I won't say it was routine, because surgery never is. We had no unpleasant surprises and they're both recovering.” He handed a bottle of a thick, clear fluid to Nyk. “This is amazing stuff. I was able to close Fara's incision knowing there was good circulation to her new ovary. It dramatically reduced the blood loss.”

“Keep it,” Nyk replied. “There's plenty where that came from.”

“I wish I could use it on my human patients.”

“You can -- it works on humans. A Floran medic wouldn't perform surgery without it.”

“No, I can't -- it hasn't been approved by the Varadan Medical Board.”

“Can we see them?” Ramina asked.

The doctor gestured toward the treatment rooms. Nyk stepped in and saw an attendant sitting with Lise and stroking her cheek as she wept. “It's a release,” the attendant said.

“What about Fara?”

“She's still under. We had to make her slumber deeper.”

Nyk crouched and took Lise's hand. “How do you feel?” he asked.

“Not very good,” she blubbered. “I have a headache and it hurts to move ... I have an awful taste in my mouth... I had a terrible dream...”

“Do you remember your dream?”

“No. I remember it was horrible... I want sun ... I need sun...”

“You rest and heal.” He kissed her forehead.

“You can help me with the cot,” the attendant said. “Now that she's waking, we can wheel her out in back for some sun. We had to sunstarve them for a day to make sure their metabolisms were fully aerobic -- otherwise we couldn't anesthetize them. We learned THAT lesson the hard way, believe me!”

“Ready for a little ride, Lise?” he asked. “Okay, let's go...” He pushed and the attendant led down a corridor and into a garden behind the clinic. An older novonid man lay dozing on a reclining chair. Nyk removed the drapes to expose her green skin to the sunlight; then folded one and lay it across her hips. “How does this feel?”

“Mmm... better...”

“Shall I cover your breasts, too?”

“The sun feels good. If you're not offended...”

“I'm never offended by the sight of a beautiful young woman, Lise.”

“Nykkyo -- can you stay with me until my parents come?”

“I'd like to. I'd like a chance to say hello to them. I'll get a chair.”

“I'm sure they'd like to say hello to you, too. We want you to answer a question for us.”

“What question?” Nyk asked.

“Why me? Of all of us living in the Zone, why did you pick me?”

“Why NOT you?” he replied. “Have you someone else in mind?”

She smiled. “No... You ... and Ms Ramina have probably saved my life. You certainly saved me from a life of indignity.”

“Perhaps we've saved more than just you, Lise. Think about it. What assignment did you say Ramina found for you?”

“Babysitting two white children.”

“As I said, you'll be good at it.”

“I'm afraid -- I've never been near white children. I won't know how...”

“You'll find them to be exactly like ... children.”

“What if they hate me?”

“I think they're a little young for that. Little children are born lovers. They must be taught to hate -- it's not a natural behavior for them. You'll teach them a different lesson -- one that might be at odds with the one Varadan society teaches about your kind. They will learn to question -- and to evaluate based on their own experiences. It's only two children, but it's a start. You'll do fine. You're a fine young woman, Lise -- raised by two fine parents.”

She turned her face toward him and he gazed into her orange eyes. “Thanks,” she said.

“They must be proud of you.”

“They are.”

“You'll need to be brave and strong in this assignment, Lise -- but I know you're both.”

“Mmm,” she said, “the sunlight is beginning to fill me. I'm feeling better.”

He took her hand. “Why don't you relax, close your eyes, and sleep off any lingering effects of the anesthesia? That way, you'll be in good shape when Grott and Rayla arrive.”

“Okay.”

“I'll sit here and hold your hand.”

“I'd like that.” Nyk caressed her forearm. She closed her eyes. Her breathing grew shallow and ceased.

The surgeon approached. “How's she doing?” he whispered.

“She stopped breathing,” Nyk replied. The doctor smiled and nodded. “I must keep reminding myself that, when they DON'T breathe, it's a good sign.”

Nyk climbed aboard the Floran deep-space shuttle parked on the runway of the capital airport. He gave the pilot the Floran two-finger salute. “We'll be underway shortly.”

The shuttle accelerated, lifted off and assumed a nearly vertical trajectory. Soon Nyk was looking down on the Varadan planet. “We're in a parking orbit,” the pilot reported. “Where to?”

“Myataxya,” Nyk replied.

“YES!” the pilot exclaimed. “My kind of destination...”

The flash shields covered the viewports and the warp jumps thudded through the vessel. The warp indicators winked out and the viewport shutters slid open. Nyk looked out onto the Myataxyan parent world, a golden gas giant surrounded by shimmering rings. Below was the Myataxya colony world, an Earth-like moon, looming larger as the courier executed an orbital insertion maneuver. He feasted his eyes as the courier made its reentry approach, landed and parked at the shuttleport.

He stepped to the polymer concrete runway apron. He and his pilot were greeted by bare-chested young men and women placing garlands of fragrant blossoms around their necks. Nyk headed toward the livery, pausing to examine a shrub covered with large blossoms and golf- ball sized, rainbow-striped fruits. He saw a lizard-like animal slink up to one of the fruits, adjust its coloration to match and begin feeding.

Nyk stood in line for an automated livery car. He specified his destination as the Premier Resort and awaited the computerized dispatch of a car. Inhaling deeply he savored the atmosphere -- warm, mildly humid and drenched in the aromas of blossoms and scented leaves.

His livery approached and stopped for him. He dropped in his case and watched the scenery as the car headed up a knoll and toward a sprawling complex lining a lake. Inside the main lodge he approached the front desk and pressed his wrist to a scanpad. “Mr Kyhana -- welcome to Myataxya. Dr Kyhana has already checked in -- garden room four. Place your bags on the pallet and they'll be delivered to the room.