Gabatrix: The First Peace

Chapter 5: Trying to Regain Control

"This is what I was warning about!" Doctor Aline exclaimed as she was looking at the screen by the bed. She had a look of anger on her face as she watched the data flow on the screen.

Both Kane and Ifra stood in the Gabatrix medical lab with Doctor Aline. The lab was in the central section of the ship. They were once again away from the centripetal rotating ring. The lab was moderate in size. It consisted of three beds with large overhead scanners. A monitor screen connected to a console was on the top of each bed, and advanced medical equipment was strewn about the room. There was a dark blue alarm that illuminated the area.

Aline had her right hand hovering over Ifra's head. A red scanning light was emitting from the palm of her hand. The light was running back and forth over the alien woman as she looked with some fear and agitation. Aline was watching her hand and occasionally looking at the console.

Kane could watch as the emitting light from Aline's arm was doing a deep scan of Ifra's body. It was marking her body and skeletal structure. It provided a picture for the doctor to get a look at the alien's system.

"You use an augmented arm too?" Ifra asked.

Aline, even though she was upset, still smiled a little bit. "Yes," she replied.

"You have it on your right arm."

"That is because I am left-handed."

Ifra seemed to blink a little bit as Aline continued with her scan. The doctor paused as she looked at the display screen.

"Ambassador Ifra," Aline addressed her. "How long have you had this virus?"

"For ten years."

Aline seemed to shake her head. "I am sorry that I am acting this way to you. I want you to understand that my goal is to make sure the crew is healthy. If you brought a disease on board, it might be deadly to us."

Ifra made a slight snort. "It is alright. You are in no danger of it."

"We will see about that. Kane, do you know if she was in contact with anybody?"

"No. She touched my hand, but I don't feel any different."

Aline moved her hand to his hands. The light began to make a beam over one of his hands as he lifted it up for her to get a more significant scan. Her augmented arm was processing the data as it was also displayed on the screen.

"So far, the data shows nothing. I'm not picking up anything that is affecting your body or system," Aline commented. "Can you describe to me the symptoms that this virus does?"

"It......it does not have symptoms," Ifra replied.

"I'm still pissed off about this," Aline said. "I apologize again, Ambassador Ifra, but I'm angry that we were not given enough time to analyze any pathogens your people may end up carrying on board our ship. I didn't want to have to call a ship-wide alert, but it has to be done. We all carry diseases, and we could end up infecting you. What is a simple virus to you or me would be deadly to somebody else."

"I understand, healer Aline," she replied. "I can promise you that you are safe. This disease is not designed to attack humans."

Aline seemed to acknowledge what she said but was still looking at her display. Her scans over Kane's hand and arm seemed to show something.

"I am picking up something that is on your hand," Aline said as she could see something pop up on her hand. She flicked her hand a little bit as it shut off, causing the scanning light to cease. She then held her fingertips to the display screen and adjusted her fingers around as the projection of the data got bigger.