I woke up from coughing violently. My lungs refused to be regurgitated. Always be grateful for the small favours in life. When I could breathe without doubling over, I gingerly sat up on the stony ground. My head hurt. What was I doing on the floor anyway? The desk - oh metals. The work table was turned over, samples and boxes scattered in a hopeless mess in the dirt. The instruments were missing altogether. I scrambled to my feet and frantically went over the mess in search of the back log and my datapad.
“Don’t move.” Zac’s voice and cold metal pressing against my throat. I froze.
“Why are you not dead like the rest?” His voice was too rough.
“What the mercury happened?” I smelled blood but he held me immobile. “Zac, let go. There was a strange smell, then I lost consciousness.”
He shoved me around brutally. “That poison is lethal to humans. Why are you not dead?” His face promised murder. Possibly mine, if I made him ask a third time.
“Just kill me like the others, will you?” I spat, staring at his bloodied clothes.
“Drat that. Listen, Doctor. Tom came back with muscle. I got one of them before the poison knocked me out. Guess they didn’t know it’s just a narcotic to my species.”
Drat indeed. I stared at him, hard. He met my gaze unblinking.
“I will ask you one last time, Doctor. Why are you not dead?”
Warnings about enraged Razzans flashed in my head. Oh, by the meltdown, the stupid things were killing me anyway. Bending my head over one palm, I deftly removed my contacts with the other hand. When I raised my gaze at Zac, I thought he looked shocked for a second before he schooled his face again. My sight was adjusting slowly and the room sharpened.
“You’ve got to be fucking kidding me,” he growled.
I showed him the contacts. “Dentmedics can work wonders these days. You should try.”
The look he shot me clearly said which other kind of medic he thought I needed. Shrugging, I stored the contacts in my vest. Then I patted my other pockets, just to be sure.
“What are you looking for?”
“Datapad. I backed up the results.” I kicked one of the sample boxes in frustration, then rubbed my hands over my face.
“Nobody is that sloppy.” Zac snidely said to my back. I was on my way to the cave camp. Sam, Elias and two of the mercs had been playing cards at the table. Elias had fallen off the bench, his hand still clutching the cards. They almost looked asleep. I turned my back to them and went on to check the bunks. Tom’s and Ronna’s things were gone. Mine was even more of a mess than usual. I found a credit stick under a torn trouser. No datapad. No ID.
“You’re quite calm.” Zac’s voice made me jump. He leaned against the wall.
“Would it help if I freak out and scream?” I ground out. Damned sneaky Razzan.
“Not really.” Something on his body beeped. “Need a ride?”
On the way to the surface we passed the original owner of the blood on Zac’s shirt. I smelled him before we turned the corner. Sweat, metal and blood. The slit throat explained all the blood on the Razzan. Who barely spared his former team member a glance before he turned to me.
“Traitors don’t deserve a swift death like his.”
Death threat duly noted. I stepped over the body and walked on. Without even noticing it, I had slipped back into Beta Tern XI mode. If it kept me alive again, I couldn’t care right now.
This work by Kat is licensed under a Creative Commons Namensnennung-NichtKommerziell-KeineBearbeitung 3.0 Unported License
“Don’t move.” Zac’s voice and cold metal pressing against my throat. I froze.
“Why are you not dead like the rest?” His voice was too rough.
“What the mercury happened?” I smelled blood but he held me immobile. “Zac, let go. There was a strange smell, then I lost consciousness.”
He shoved me around brutally. “That poison is lethal to humans. Why are you not dead?” His face promised murder. Possibly mine, if I made him ask a third time.
“Just kill me like the others, will you?” I spat, staring at his bloodied clothes.
“Drat that. Listen, Doctor. Tom came back with muscle. I got one of them before the poison knocked me out. Guess they didn’t know it’s just a narcotic to my species.”
Drat indeed. I stared at him, hard. He met my gaze unblinking.
“I will ask you one last time, Doctor. Why are you not dead?”
Warnings about enraged Razzans flashed in my head. Oh, by the meltdown, the stupid things were killing me anyway. Bending my head over one palm, I deftly removed my contacts with the other hand. When I raised my gaze at Zac, I thought he looked shocked for a second before he schooled his face again. My sight was adjusting slowly and the room sharpened.
“You’ve got to be fucking kidding me,” he growled.
I showed him the contacts. “Dentmedics can work wonders these days. You should try.”
The look he shot me clearly said which other kind of medic he thought I needed. Shrugging, I stored the contacts in my vest. Then I patted my other pockets, just to be sure.
“What are you looking for?”
“Datapad. I backed up the results.” I kicked one of the sample boxes in frustration, then rubbed my hands over my face.
“Nobody is that sloppy.” Zac snidely said to my back. I was on my way to the cave camp. Sam, Elias and two of the mercs had been playing cards at the table. Elias had fallen off the bench, his hand still clutching the cards. They almost looked asleep. I turned my back to them and went on to check the bunks. Tom’s and Ronna’s things were gone. Mine was even more of a mess than usual. I found a credit stick under a torn trouser. No datapad. No ID.
“You’re quite calm.” Zac’s voice made me jump. He leaned against the wall.
“Would it help if I freak out and scream?” I ground out. Damned sneaky Razzan.
“Not really.” Something on his body beeped. “Need a ride?”
On the way to the surface we passed the original owner of the blood on Zac’s shirt. I smelled him before we turned the corner. Sweat, metal and blood. The slit throat explained all the blood on the Razzan. Who barely spared his former team member a glance before he turned to me.
“Traitors don’t deserve a swift death like his.”
Death threat duly noted. I stepped over the body and walked on. Without even noticing it, I had slipped back into Beta Tern XI mode. If it kept me alive again, I couldn’t care right now.
This work by Kat is licensed under a Creative Commons Namensnennung-NichtKommerziell-KeineBearbeitung 3.0 Unported License
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