Prime of Life - 47 chapter Space Opera novel

Chapter 10

Decontamination over, Gwin could now suffer in clean agony. Gingerly removing tubes, her trader pride did not allow the scream that every body-part called for. A conveyor led the twin pods through an airlock to a room with people in crisp gowns. Technicians opened both enclosures.

Gwin sat up, crossing arms over her bare chest. "What is this, a zoo?" She climbed out, forcing herself to ignore stinging skin and the aching of everything else.

A woman came up and offered Gwin a medical gown. "Sorry. We're mostly new at this."

"Well what do you know, so am I. Now give me something for her," she indicated the still-unmoving body of the foreigner. As Gwin worked to disconnect the other's tubes, a tall man approached from the rear of the room. Light yellow eyes flashed beneath striped brown and white hair. "We'll take it from here Ma'am. Thank you very much."

Gwin glanced at his badge--Jent--and observed that he was not a doctor. "'S all right. Might as well finish the job."

Jent motioned to a fellow nearby. "Dr. Sim will take over now. You can go."

"Listen, Jent," Gwin said, irritated. "You want to run these tubes into your weenie and pump a few quarts of fluid through it, I might consider your opinion. I've got the clearance, that's why they called me here. And having done N1 myself, I think I know how to do this with the least damage. So if you don't mind, butt out."

Jent had taken a firm grip on Gwin's elbow and attempted to move her away from the inductee's pod. She twisted free, turning to the others. "Would somebody tell Mr. Busybody he's in the way?"

"I'm afraid you don't understand--" Jent began.

A familiar form rose from behind an equipment control console. Gwin sighed, remembering the needless broken dialog from the chamber intercom, as Yrg stepped forward, skin tones permuting. "Stinky you fella," Yrg said. "Wise pump weenie, says Gwin."

Gwin suppressed a snicker, then was surprised to notice that Yrg's badge showed a higher security level than her own. She swung to face Jent. "My clearance is good enough to have my body turned inside out but not to stick around for the party? What about everybody else here?" The others shifted uneasily but none spoke on her behalf. Then Yrg said, "Yes, odd man. We all party."

Gwin saw that Jent was irritated. There were aspects to this foreigner that weren't supposed to be discussed in public, apparently. But he was not ready to make a scene, especially in view of Yrg's intervention. "Don't push it," he said grudgingly, stepping back. "Go ahead. We just don't want any mistakes."

Sim returned from a computer console. "I don't understand it. It's as if every cell has gone into hibernation."

"Loathsome readings, mannequin?" Yrg said.

Sim was apparently used to the choppy jargon. "No. She's remarkably stable."

A young woman asked, "What about the planet documents?"

Sim shook his head. "Nothing. They're sparse. The Jolians only managed a single transmission burst. No technology for sustained chaos patterning."

Gwin glanced around the room. "So what's the story? Who is she?"

A lanky fellow, Turi from his badge, responded. "Only Jolian we've ever seen. This was the first post-Restructuring visit. The Jolians claim some of them communicate mentally," he made a dismissive wave with a smile, "with animals." He gestured toward the prone woman. "She's supposed to be one of those. Nobody seems to know why we were ordered to pick her up."