Law's End (22 page)
Authors: Glenn Douglass
Tags: #adventure, #travel, #dog, #future, #space, #rescue, #supercluster
Canis barked in enthusiastic agreement.
Releasing the now useless throttle from his double paw grip Canis
pushed himself into Kassad's chest in an acrobatic microgravity
turn. In return Kassad embraced the animal in a single arm
hug.
"And you," Kassad said bringing his helmet and
Canis' together, "I don't know how you did it, but I am going to
find you the biggest steak in all of the Horsehead Nebula."
A hearty round of barking voiced Canis'
approval.
Removing her helmet Greene was immediately
struck by how much cleaner the air smelled, it was much colder too,
but other things attracted her attention as well. "Is it just me or
are the colors wrong?"
Tapping the control to make his own helmet
retract Kassad squinted at Canis, Sabha's control console, and his
own hands. "Yes, like everything has gone slightly too bright and
somewhat pastel." After a moment he added, "And I don't want to
worry you, but it's like there are voices right at the periphery of
my hearing."
"I didn't want to say anything either, but I
hear them too." Greene admitted. "Perhaps one of us should have the
auto-medic take a look at us."
Unbuckling and gently pushing his shoulder free
of the restraints Kassad said, "I'm not going to argue with
that."
Canis barked and bounded out of the cockpit
ahead of them.
Chapter 16: "Broken"
"Our next generation Omnicron automated
medic system is the latest triumph in our long line of robotic life
saving devices. Perfect for military, industrial, commercial, and
private use the Omnicron is the first and last word in medical
automation. No matter the species or injury you can't do more to
ensure survival and recovery of your patient then to load them into
one of our pods."
-Product promotional blurb, Automated
Medical Systems Incorporated
automated medic Greene asked. "Will we be safe? Can they follow
us?"
Kassad found the distraction from his physical
woes too inviting to ignore. "Warp drives are fairly easy to
follow. They leave trails like gaseous tunnels where they've
scooped up and concentrated the interstellar gas along their
course. Jump drives do leave telltale electromagnetic distortions
that point in the right direction making it possible to follow a
jump, but it takes a lot more time. Even in the worst case scenario
we have twenty hours, more like days or weeks, if they haven't
decided to be reasonable and just given up."
Setting the medical machine to provide an
assessment without performing unsolicited procedures Greene settled
down onto the diagnostic bed while Kassad waited. Enclosing the
patient to prevent interference with its work the machine swept its
sensor equipped arms up and down Greene's body. Eventually the arms
settled to focus on her head as specialist neural scanners were
brought in to study the activity in her brain.
After a long time the machine spoke in the
absolutist masculine tone programmed into it. "Diagnosis complete,
patient suffers from unknown form of neurological biochemical
imbalance. Recommend patient be placed in stasis until treatment
can be continued at a Primary Care and Research Facility."
PC&Rs were where the very sick went. People
with advanced or obscure conditions the medical machines were
uncertain about got sent to a Primary Care and Research Facility.
Much like the Code of Law the PC&Rs were defined by a set of
basic rules agreed upon by the majority of Laniakea, and much like
Lawships the demand was rare enough that not every world had
one.
Forcing himself to stop rubbing at his doubly
injured shoulder Kassad inquired, "Is there any treatment for the
symptoms until we reach a PC&R?"
After a search of its database the machine
explained, "An eighty four percent correlation treatment has been
extrapolated from similar conditions on record. Weekly time release
injections will return crew to minimum functionality. Side effects
include numbness and psychological disassociation. Prolonged use of
correlation treatment will result in permanent damage."
This was the main reason Kassad had never
replaced Sabha's aging automated medic with its worn manual
controls and scuffed surface. Being a model built for military
service it was able to formulate 'walking wounded' treatments for
almost any malady. It could mix a cocktail capable of rendering a
person cut in half able to perform basic tasks by disabling the
self preservation limits imposed by biology. As such it wasn't a
feature that Kassad used often or lightly, but being a one man show
most of the time it was an option that provided some peace of
mind.
"Do it." Kassad ordered. "And make up a second
shot for me." Underneath the diagnostic bed the automated medical
unit's miniature chemical factory began manufacturing the requested
medicine.
"Maybe you should just put me in stasis?"
Greene suggested while admitting privately that she was just trying
to avoid dealing with the pain.
Shaking his head Kassad rejected the idea. "If
anything happens to me our passengers are going to need an
advocate. There's a pretty good chance I'll be spending at least a
little time incarcerated as this is all sorted out so that leaves
you."
"Won't they arrest me too?" Greene asked.
"Unlikely." Kassad shrugged. "That's part of
the captain being ultimately responsible. You're just a passenger,
not a lot of responsibilities there so there's not really anything
they can charge you with." As he spoke a slender mechanical arm
extended from the automated medic to provide Greene's medicine and
then Kassad leaned in tapping the device and saying, "Get that
second shot up here, and give me something for a dislocated
shoulder."
Nonplused by the command the machine replied,
"A dislocated limb will require full patient encasement."
With emphasis on the word 'we' Kassad said, "We
already reset it. I just want something for the pain."
The machine was emotionlessly
defiant."Non-localized analgesics will react negatively with
current treatment. Recommend localized application of
anti-inflammatory and four hours of sonic remediation of the
affected area."
Since there was no way Kassad was going to take
himself out of action for four hours he replied, "Thanks for
nothing."
Sitting up, hooking her legs against the table
to keep from drifting away, Greene looked around and at her hands
before declaring, "I guess that's better."
A second injection swung up and administered to
Kassad who looked away saying, "I'll double check the navigation
track, but this should keep us alive at least until we get to
Mareville."
With her mind back in the familiar ruts of life
saving routine and procedure Greene asked, "Don't we need to bring
the reactionless drive online first?"
Rubbing at his arm where the injection had been
made through his sleeve Kassad squeezed his eyes shut in an effort
to focus and said, "This stuff doesn't help you think any clearer
does it?" Looking around to see if he could spot Canis lurking
nearby Kassad announced, "We also need to get Canis checked
out."
Gesturing to the diagnostic bed she was still
sitting on Greene incredulously asked, "In this?"
Kassad explained, "It's good for over four
hundred species, although I did have to add canines in with a
software patch." Not finding Canis anywhere nearby Kassad shouted
sternly, "Canis, come."
Concern gripped Greene. "You don't think he's
having a worse reaction than we are?"
Leaning out of the sickbay hatch Kassad scanned
the area for Canis saying, "No, he just doesn't like the vet."
Confused by the term Greene inquired, "The
what?"
Pulling himself through the sickbay entry
Kassad shouted, "Canis you must have a physical exam my friend."
Then acknowledging Greene he explained, "Vet, veterinarian that's
what they call someone who provides medical care for animals."
Thinking that perhaps this shed some light on
the background of Sabha's captain Greene inquired, "Ah, did you
grow up on a farm?"
"No." Kassad replied without offering further
explanation as he began poking his head into whatever hidey holes
that Canis might have secreted himself into. "Help me find Canis,
check the cargo hold, and be thorough. Last time I found him in
wedged under the primary heat exchanger."
Rather than head to the cargo hold Greene
pointed to one of the tables in the lounge area saying, "I think I
see a foot."
Although the protruding hind foot immediately
disappeared in response to its mention Kassad investigated
cautiously knowing full well the dog could bolt. Canis was far more
adept at maneuvering in zero gravity than anyone Kassad had ever
met. This meant any escape avenues had to be covered for a quick
grab. Drifting above the table with his feet to the nearest
bulkhead ready to push off in pursuit Kassad peaked below.
Canis responded to the intruding look with a
low and rolling plaintive yowl that sounded like grumbling.
In his most authoritative tones Kassad said,
"This has to be done now, before we get to Mareville."
To Greene's ears it sounded as if Canis'
complaining yowl of response were meant to mimic terrestrial speech
patterns.
Kassad remained persistent. "You know post
hazardous environmental exposure physicals are mandatory. What
would they say about a captain derelict in looking after their
crew's health?"
Greene rolled her eyes at Canis' low moan of
reply to Kassad's argument. "You know he can't really understand
you."
Carefully reaching one arm under the table
Kassad dismissed Greene's cynical comment. "Yes, I'm sure he wedged
himself under the table purely as a random response to something
completely disconnected to my words."
Before Greene could say anything more Canis
exploded out from under the table as a ball of fur and loud
barking. Kassad managed to grapple the hound with one hand then
bring another arm around pulling Canis close to his chest. Their
combined momentum left them spinning in mid air as Kassad cooed
reassurances to the protesting barks from the wriggling
animal.
"You two are quite the sight." Greene said with
her voice lost in the cacophony.
Narrowly avoiding a mouth full of dog foot
Kassad pleaded, "Lend a hand and haul us into sickbay."
With a smirk Greene grabbed Kassad by one foot
and while bracing herself with hand and foot holds pulled the two
back into the sickbay. Aside from his vocal complaints there was
very little resistance from Canis who allowed himself to be placed
on the diagnostic table. The heart wrenching whining went on as the
automated medic did its work.
After a long examination the machine opened and
announced, "All vital signs within normal range. Patient stress
levels consistent with overwork. Recommend reduced shift
hours."
With its diagnosis complete the table opened
and Canis bounded from the table and quickly out of sight as Greene
asked, "The machine does know Canis is an animal right?"
Cocking his head to one side Kassad massaged
his bad shoulder absently with one hand and observed, "You're the
only one arguing that point, and the machine is right. We all could
use some down time." Cutting off Greene's complaint with one hand
Kassad said, "We'll take a few hours to get right in the head
before we attempt to bring the reactionless drive online. It's a
tricky operation and we can't afford any mistakes out here."
Opening her mouth to point out that they might
not have time Greene stopped herself, internally conceding that any
threat was best met with a clear head, said, "Fine, but I don't
think I'll be able to sleep."
Chapter 17: "Good Intentions"
"Triple redundancy is the standard for all
critical systems… except crew."
-Old spacer's saying
Releasing the now useless throttle from his double paw grip Canis
pushed himself into Kassad's chest in an acrobatic microgravity
turn. In return Kassad embraced the animal in a single arm
hug.
"And you," Kassad said bringing his helmet and
Canis' together, "I don't know how you did it, but I am going to
find you the biggest steak in all of the Horsehead Nebula."
A hearty round of barking voiced Canis'
approval.
Removing her helmet Greene was immediately
struck by how much cleaner the air smelled, it was much colder too,
but other things attracted her attention as well. "Is it just me or
are the colors wrong?"
Tapping the control to make his own helmet
retract Kassad squinted at Canis, Sabha's control console, and his
own hands. "Yes, like everything has gone slightly too bright and
somewhat pastel." After a moment he added, "And I don't want to
worry you, but it's like there are voices right at the periphery of
my hearing."
"I didn't want to say anything either, but I
hear them too." Greene admitted. "Perhaps one of us should have the
auto-medic take a look at us."
Unbuckling and gently pushing his shoulder free
of the restraints Kassad said, "I'm not going to argue with
that."
Canis barked and bounded out of the cockpit
ahead of them.
Chapter 16: "Broken"
"Our next generation Omnicron automated
medic system is the latest triumph in our long line of robotic life
saving devices. Perfect for military, industrial, commercial, and
private use the Omnicron is the first and last word in medical
automation. No matter the species or injury you can't do more to
ensure survival and recovery of your patient then to load them into
one of our pods."
-Product promotional blurb, Automated
Medical Systems Incorporated
automated medic Greene asked. "Will we be safe? Can they follow
us?"
Kassad found the distraction from his physical
woes too inviting to ignore. "Warp drives are fairly easy to
follow. They leave trails like gaseous tunnels where they've
scooped up and concentrated the interstellar gas along their
course. Jump drives do leave telltale electromagnetic distortions
that point in the right direction making it possible to follow a
jump, but it takes a lot more time. Even in the worst case scenario
we have twenty hours, more like days or weeks, if they haven't
decided to be reasonable and just given up."
Setting the medical machine to provide an
assessment without performing unsolicited procedures Greene settled
down onto the diagnostic bed while Kassad waited. Enclosing the
patient to prevent interference with its work the machine swept its
sensor equipped arms up and down Greene's body. Eventually the arms
settled to focus on her head as specialist neural scanners were
brought in to study the activity in her brain.
After a long time the machine spoke in the
absolutist masculine tone programmed into it. "Diagnosis complete,
patient suffers from unknown form of neurological biochemical
imbalance. Recommend patient be placed in stasis until treatment
can be continued at a Primary Care and Research Facility."
PC&Rs were where the very sick went. People
with advanced or obscure conditions the medical machines were
uncertain about got sent to a Primary Care and Research Facility.
Much like the Code of Law the PC&Rs were defined by a set of
basic rules agreed upon by the majority of Laniakea, and much like
Lawships the demand was rare enough that not every world had
one.
Forcing himself to stop rubbing at his doubly
injured shoulder Kassad inquired, "Is there any treatment for the
symptoms until we reach a PC&R?"
After a search of its database the machine
explained, "An eighty four percent correlation treatment has been
extrapolated from similar conditions on record. Weekly time release
injections will return crew to minimum functionality. Side effects
include numbness and psychological disassociation. Prolonged use of
correlation treatment will result in permanent damage."
This was the main reason Kassad had never
replaced Sabha's aging automated medic with its worn manual
controls and scuffed surface. Being a model built for military
service it was able to formulate 'walking wounded' treatments for
almost any malady. It could mix a cocktail capable of rendering a
person cut in half able to perform basic tasks by disabling the
self preservation limits imposed by biology. As such it wasn't a
feature that Kassad used often or lightly, but being a one man show
most of the time it was an option that provided some peace of
mind.
"Do it." Kassad ordered. "And make up a second
shot for me." Underneath the diagnostic bed the automated medical
unit's miniature chemical factory began manufacturing the requested
medicine.
"Maybe you should just put me in stasis?"
Greene suggested while admitting privately that she was just trying
to avoid dealing with the pain.
Shaking his head Kassad rejected the idea. "If
anything happens to me our passengers are going to need an
advocate. There's a pretty good chance I'll be spending at least a
little time incarcerated as this is all sorted out so that leaves
you."
"Won't they arrest me too?" Greene asked.
"Unlikely." Kassad shrugged. "That's part of
the captain being ultimately responsible. You're just a passenger,
not a lot of responsibilities there so there's not really anything
they can charge you with." As he spoke a slender mechanical arm
extended from the automated medic to provide Greene's medicine and
then Kassad leaned in tapping the device and saying, "Get that
second shot up here, and give me something for a dislocated
shoulder."
Nonplused by the command the machine replied,
"A dislocated limb will require full patient encasement."
With emphasis on the word 'we' Kassad said, "We
already reset it. I just want something for the pain."
The machine was emotionlessly
defiant."Non-localized analgesics will react negatively with
current treatment. Recommend localized application of
anti-inflammatory and four hours of sonic remediation of the
affected area."
Since there was no way Kassad was going to take
himself out of action for four hours he replied, "Thanks for
nothing."
Sitting up, hooking her legs against the table
to keep from drifting away, Greene looked around and at her hands
before declaring, "I guess that's better."
A second injection swung up and administered to
Kassad who looked away saying, "I'll double check the navigation
track, but this should keep us alive at least until we get to
Mareville."
With her mind back in the familiar ruts of life
saving routine and procedure Greene asked, "Don't we need to bring
the reactionless drive online first?"
Rubbing at his arm where the injection had been
made through his sleeve Kassad squeezed his eyes shut in an effort
to focus and said, "This stuff doesn't help you think any clearer
does it?" Looking around to see if he could spot Canis lurking
nearby Kassad announced, "We also need to get Canis checked
out."
Gesturing to the diagnostic bed she was still
sitting on Greene incredulously asked, "In this?"
Kassad explained, "It's good for over four
hundred species, although I did have to add canines in with a
software patch." Not finding Canis anywhere nearby Kassad shouted
sternly, "Canis, come."
Concern gripped Greene. "You don't think he's
having a worse reaction than we are?"
Leaning out of the sickbay hatch Kassad scanned
the area for Canis saying, "No, he just doesn't like the vet."
Confused by the term Greene inquired, "The
what?"
Pulling himself through the sickbay entry
Kassad shouted, "Canis you must have a physical exam my friend."
Then acknowledging Greene he explained, "Vet, veterinarian that's
what they call someone who provides medical care for animals."
Thinking that perhaps this shed some light on
the background of Sabha's captain Greene inquired, "Ah, did you
grow up on a farm?"
"No." Kassad replied without offering further
explanation as he began poking his head into whatever hidey holes
that Canis might have secreted himself into. "Help me find Canis,
check the cargo hold, and be thorough. Last time I found him in
wedged under the primary heat exchanger."
Rather than head to the cargo hold Greene
pointed to one of the tables in the lounge area saying, "I think I
see a foot."
Although the protruding hind foot immediately
disappeared in response to its mention Kassad investigated
cautiously knowing full well the dog could bolt. Canis was far more
adept at maneuvering in zero gravity than anyone Kassad had ever
met. This meant any escape avenues had to be covered for a quick
grab. Drifting above the table with his feet to the nearest
bulkhead ready to push off in pursuit Kassad peaked below.
Canis responded to the intruding look with a
low and rolling plaintive yowl that sounded like grumbling.
In his most authoritative tones Kassad said,
"This has to be done now, before we get to Mareville."
To Greene's ears it sounded as if Canis'
complaining yowl of response were meant to mimic terrestrial speech
patterns.
Kassad remained persistent. "You know post
hazardous environmental exposure physicals are mandatory. What
would they say about a captain derelict in looking after their
crew's health?"
Greene rolled her eyes at Canis' low moan of
reply to Kassad's argument. "You know he can't really understand
you."
Carefully reaching one arm under the table
Kassad dismissed Greene's cynical comment. "Yes, I'm sure he wedged
himself under the table purely as a random response to something
completely disconnected to my words."
Before Greene could say anything more Canis
exploded out from under the table as a ball of fur and loud
barking. Kassad managed to grapple the hound with one hand then
bring another arm around pulling Canis close to his chest. Their
combined momentum left them spinning in mid air as Kassad cooed
reassurances to the protesting barks from the wriggling
animal.
"You two are quite the sight." Greene said with
her voice lost in the cacophony.
Narrowly avoiding a mouth full of dog foot
Kassad pleaded, "Lend a hand and haul us into sickbay."
With a smirk Greene grabbed Kassad by one foot
and while bracing herself with hand and foot holds pulled the two
back into the sickbay. Aside from his vocal complaints there was
very little resistance from Canis who allowed himself to be placed
on the diagnostic table. The heart wrenching whining went on as the
automated medic did its work.
After a long examination the machine opened and
announced, "All vital signs within normal range. Patient stress
levels consistent with overwork. Recommend reduced shift
hours."
With its diagnosis complete the table opened
and Canis bounded from the table and quickly out of sight as Greene
asked, "The machine does know Canis is an animal right?"
Cocking his head to one side Kassad massaged
his bad shoulder absently with one hand and observed, "You're the
only one arguing that point, and the machine is right. We all could
use some down time." Cutting off Greene's complaint with one hand
Kassad said, "We'll take a few hours to get right in the head
before we attempt to bring the reactionless drive online. It's a
tricky operation and we can't afford any mistakes out here."
Opening her mouth to point out that they might
not have time Greene stopped herself, internally conceding that any
threat was best met with a clear head, said, "Fine, but I don't
think I'll be able to sleep."
Chapter 17: "Good Intentions"
"Triple redundancy is the standard for all
critical systems… except crew."
-Old spacer's saying
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