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Lou grinned at him, glad to have a purpose beyond mere survival, happy to be able to help people again, and grateful to have something to focus on beyond her own trauma. Now that she’d gotten some rest, she knew the nightmares would begin, nightmares that had stayed quiescent when survival was a more pressing concern. Another mechanical spider, smaller than the robot that had guided her to the medical bay, handed her a tablet.
“Press your hand to the surface and identify yourself,” the spider commanded.
She obeyed. The screen flashed white, blue, yellow, then green. When the light cleared, words in English scrolled across the screen.
“Cool,” she breathed.
“Follow me, Nurse Louella Cordelia Jefferson.”
“Right, Doc.”
“HealerEsillon,” the physician corrected with an annoyed sniff as he headed toward a bed.
“Gotcha. Healer Esillon,” she replied as she followed him.
“Very good. Aim the tablet at the information panel here.” He pointed a blunted claw toward a blinking light on the bed frame, and she leveled the tablet at it. The verbiage on the screen changed. Lou scanned it. “Your tablet will inform you as to the patient’s species and other vital statistics and provide care instructions.”
So cool!Louella contained her awe and nodded to show she understood. “Yes, Healer Esillon.”
“The droid beside you has been assigned to you and will accompany you and serve you as you need. It will fetch bandages, medicines, and such, and assist you in administering treatment at your command.”
Louella smiled—remembering to keep her lips closed over her teeth—and nodded. She looked at the robot and asked, “Will I be accompanied by the same machine all the time?”
“If that would make you more comfortable and efficient, then yes.”
She nodded. “Good. I’ll call it Charlotte.”
“Charlotte?”
“After a friendly, helpful spider on Earth,” she explained, knowing the healer would not understand the reference to the beloved children’s bookCharlotte’s Webby E. B. White. She’d loved that story as a child.
“Answer to Nurse Louella Cordelia Jefferson by the name of Charlotte,” Healer Essilon ordered the robot.
“Acknowledged,” the droid replied.
The tall Ahn’hudi male shrugged as his attention was called away. “I’ll leave you to care for this patient. Pay attention to the alerts on your tablet.”
“Will do, Doc!”
“Healer,” he muttered with a sigh as he walked away, growling an order to the ship’s intelligence to keep watchful surveillance over the human in case she attempted any chicanery.The human female was oddly endearing. Bold, but endearing.
And she proved a fast learner, too.
Chapter4
Only iron control kept the roar of outrage exploding from Yas’kihn’s mouth when he returned to his quarters and discovered his human female was not there. The syllables of his native speech hissed as he inquired of the ship’s intelligence of the human female’s whereabouts.
“Human Louella Cordelia Jefferson is in the medical bay,” the ship replied with its usual dispassionate calm.
Is she ill?Yas’kihn ignored his empty belly as he rushed to the medical bay. He ignored the other beings that cowered at his approach and stayed that way until he passed by.
“Healer!” he barked as he prowled through the doorway.
Healer Esillon mek Uskand’Kihn looked up from the patient he was treating and approached the general superior. He bowed deeply and asked, “How may I assist you, General?”
“My human is here.”
The healer’s short crest rose to its full height. “Yourhuman?”
