M’kar stood at ready to use her animal-focused psionic Talent to assist Brea. The ship’s medic currently was bent over Spitfire, who obediently lay on her back, wings spread, legs splayed, while the woman ran a medical scanner over her. M’kar had to admit the little drac did an admirable job not swiping at the distraction of the flashing lights on the scanner. She hoped that was a result of Decker impressing on her how important it was to lie still for the make-feel-good-again-lady. The only alternative was that Spitfire’s calmness was a sign of just how sick she got from overindulging in some local berries that hadn’t been cleared by Brea’s medical scanner yet.
“How is she?”
“Better.”
“Honestly, I told her multiple times, but as soon
as I turned my back, she cleared off half the bush so fast, half of what went
down her gullet was leaves and bark.”
“I’m not blaming you.” Brea set down the scanner
and brought out a strip of spiced goho jerky. “If I’m going to blast anyone for
the situation we’re all in, I’ll go after the dee-ee who cursed us all by
asking what could go wrong on a planet with no permitted technology.”
“You heard about him, huh?” M’kar shook her head
at the obliviousness of one of the newer members of the crew. He hadn’t learned
yet that asking such questions usually invited Fate to drop an entire garbage
scow of trouble on the crew of the Defender. She hadn’t had to do
anything to correct the dead-head. His friends standing around him at the
display in the visitor welcome center had turned on him quickly enough and
tried to hush him. But too late. She was just glad he wasn’t in her department,
and had no Talent or potential whatsoever. That meant she had very little
responsibility for correcting his thinking and training him not to jinx their
current mission.
The two women shared a grin as Brea waved the jerky in front of Spitfire, then tossed it high overhead. The little pink drac squealed with delight. That proved she had been obedient, rather than lying at death’s door. She leaped straight up, popped out, then popped back in at the top of the arc, just as the piece of meat started to drop. She snapped it out of the air and popped out again. Spitfire was no dummy. She knew better than to linger around the campsite, where the other dracs might get a whiff of her treat and try to persuade her to share.
Besides being a reward and a signal that the medical examination had ended, the goho jerky had an added ingredient, to purify her blood and finish the recovery process. M’kar thought about how droopy and clumsy Barroo had been for several hours after he woke up from an allergy-induced hibernation when he indulged yesterday. She thanked Enlo once again that her crewmate enjoyed experimenting with and studying natural compounds and discovering new healing potions and powders.
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