Ocean of Stars: Where the Sun Sails [1]

X

While less than inviting, the weather was nothing if not consistent. Afternoon looked the same as morning— overcast, gray, with occasional light mist and fog. Local fauna continued to be conspicuous by its absence.

Karine continued gathering, packaging, and labeling her specimens. Ledward continued.....

She saw him standing and swaying. His gaze was unfocused, his balance decidedly questionable. Uncharacteristically, he failed to respond when she called to him.

Setting aside her work, she walked quickly over to him.

"Ledward, you don't look... right." She moved closer. "Stay there."

The hasty basic medical check she performed was done without instruments, but it was enough to tell her he was ill. His eyes had gone colorless, and the rest of him didn't look much better. Waxen skin, bright lips—if she didn't know better, she would have said he had gone from healthy to what could possibly be anemic (She wasn't a doctor, but she knew a few things) in the space of a few minutes. The speed at which the symptoms had overtaken him was shocking.

Also, she knew that individuals prone to anemia and other, often hereditary conditions were not accepted for colonization—much less into ship security.

He staggered and she took a step back. His breathing was hoarse and uneven. "I have to..." He stopped, started anew, as if the act of forming simple words was becoming difficult. "I have to sit. I'm sorry... I'm really sorry..."

Nearly collapsing, he sat down hard, indifferent to where he landed. He was scared and making no effort to hide it. In the dark as to what was happening to him and unable to hazard a diagnosis without suitable equipment, Karine could only stand nearby and watch.

"I can't... breathe." The private thumped his chest. "Can't breathe..."

A tiny droplet of blood appeared, leaking from one tear duct. Espying it, Karine struggled to hide her alarm. That kind of reaction on her part was the last thing he needed. Without knowing what was wrong with him she couldn't begin to prescribe a possible remedy.

She—they—needed help, and fast.

"You sit," she ordered him. "Get your breath. Try breathing slowly—don't panic. As soon as you get your wind and feel up to it, we're going back to the lander. I'll pack up. The specimens can stay here." She indicated the silent beauty of their surroundings. "There's nothing here to bother them, and I can come back for them later." He nodded understanding and she moved away, quietly addressing her suit comm as she did so.

"Captain Oram, come in. We have—" She stopped, considered the effect a full description of Ledward's condition might have on the others, and resumed speaking with a more moderated explanation. "We're going back to the lander. Repeat. Private Ledward and I are returning to the lander. There's something wrong with him, send Aspen back." Switching quickly to a suit-to-suit channel, she contacted the landing craft.

"Faris," she said, "Ledward and I are on our way back. Prep the medbay."

* * *

Standing in shallow water that now threatened to overtop the upper rim of her boots, Faris frowned as she digested the communication.

"Will do, Karine," she responded. "What's going on?"

"Just do it!" the scientist said. Anxiety was plain in her voice, though it didn't sound like panic.

Straightening from where she had been working under the bend of the hull, the pilot stared toward the distant, forest-draped mountainside. It had begun to drizzle, a fact which did nothing to improve her mood, but it was lost in her concern for the obvious worry in the other woman's voice.