Chapter 14

There was only dim light, and he couldn't move. He started worrying, and just started to remember what had happened in the tube when he heard a voice and the world went dark again.

Some time later he came to again, and this time he remained conscious once he was actually awake. As he became more awake, he became aware of more. There was a mask over his mouth and nose. The raspy sound he'd heard was some kind of respirator. His body felt weak, but he was able to move his fingers, which were what he tried first.

This time the lights were a little brighter than they'd been before. He was in a medical bay. There was a privacy bubble around him. Kir'let was with him.

"Don't try to move too much yet, and don't try to talk if you can help it," she said. "I'll go get Urish'tal in a moment. You were stabbed and then... trampled on. She says you're very lucky to be alive at all. There were problems with your lungs. I don't really understand the medical stuff enough to explain it. But you're going to be all right. You stay put now. I'll be right back."

It was only a moment before she returned with Urish'tal, who looked tired even to his inexperienced eye.

She raised a furry hand, saying, "I'm sure you will have questions, but please wait one moment. Your lungs were punctured. They are recovering, but it is very important that you remain as gentle with them as you can for the moment. Please nod if you understand."

He nodded already wanting to ask questions. The first being how long it would be until he could talk and ask questions.

"Now," she continued, "you have been in and out of consciousness for five days. A lot has happened in five days, but I'll let Kir'let tell you about most of that. Your condition is stable, and you are recovering well. I want you to stay on the respirator for at least the rest of the day. We can take it off you for short periods, but it may be painful for you to breathe on your own for a little while yet. Keep those periods short. The more rest you get, the faster you will heal and the faster you can get up and leave. Fair enough?"

He sort of shrugged at her as he nodded, and felt a dull pain in his chest from the movement.

"Good," she said. "Now I've got a lot of other patients to take care of too, so Kir'let can fill you in on the things you've missed. She's been instructed to keep your visitors to a bare minimum too, especially since you can't really say anything to them right now anyway. If you have trouble resting and need to be medicated, have her let us know and it can be arranged."

He wondered briefly how he'd let anyone know anything as Urish'tal left, the privacy bubble shimmering slightly as she went through it. Then he saw that Kir'let was holding an extra datapad in her hands. He reached out a hand and she put one of them in it. He recognized it as the one that had been set up for his own use. I guess that means my office survived, he thought to himself, remembering that he'd left it on his desk before he'd gone to work out.

"Before you start trying to ask questions," Kir'let suggested, "let me fill you in on what all has happened first. Then, you can ask what questions you have left by typing them into the datapad and I'll do what I can to answer them."

He nodded in response, setting the datapad down for the moment.

"First of all, Lineel was wounded too. She took a pretty serious blow to the head, although she managed to stay conscious long enough to help me pull you out of the transit car. We still hadn't departed though, so when she passed out we were still in danger. I couldn't get ahold of anyone on the radios except for Ar'shan. Since I knew that they'd saved your life after the last attempt to kill you, I figured I could trust her enough to help then so I directed her and Eesh'ket to us. Eesh'ket had a guard with him of four men so it was easier to clear a way into another one of the transit cars and we headed straight to a medical center. That's where we are now, actually. It's the nearest working medical facility to the capitol building, and the medical wing there took pretty serious damage."

"Agronet went missing for a while," she continued. "Nobody could find him, although it was rumored that he'd left with Urish'tal, Larnet, Mirket, and Ezneel. Trorkash was only saying that he'd gone to mount the defense. He seemed to know what was going on, but wouldn't answer questions. He did come here and made this the temporary headquarters until the capitol building was safe to return to."

"It turned out that Agronet had gone by shuttle to one of our courier ships to help coordinate the defense from orbit. Privately, though, that same courier ship was the one that had gone to your people for the cure. Urish'tal has said that it seems to be working, although there have been some side effects but nothing harmful or permanent. He's walking again anyway. Also, about an hour after the attack began, the Brey-hahd started bringing in more ships across and hitting some of the main communications and government centers across the major cities on this planet. From what I understand, we've also lost about three-quarters of our planetside defense ships trying to stop them. We would have probably lost the rest if the ships your people sent hadn't shown up when they did. Agronet and a Human Commander had begun coordinating the defense before the ships had even reached the planet, so when they were in range, your people knew where to strike first. The Brey-hahd have currently retreated back to the moon, and the Human fleet has set up a defensive position between them and this planet for the moment. I've been led to understand that Agronet has convinced your people to send more ships and another fleet is already on the way, with two more being sent behind them. There's still the problem with the moon though. I guess you already were told about it, and they're working on possible solutions. One of the Human ships has ground troops and the current plan is to try to plow a path in for those ground troops to try and take the moon back from the Brey-hahd."

Author's Note:

RaynDragon

When it was time for him to ask questions he found he didn't have very many. He started by thanking her for being thorough. His most immediate question was how long could he expect to be stuck in the medical bay.

"Urish'tal thinks until tomorrow," she told him.

There were a number of messages to be reviewed, some of which warranted responses. A captain from the fleet had been rather insistent about wanting to see Kevan, but she had been delaying him. Kevan thanked her, agreeing that he didn't really want to be seen by anyone until he was at least off the respirator. That was probably still a few hours away. She confirmed she would set an appointment as soon as possible after that.

He was ready for more rest, and she mentioned she would be back in a couple of hours with a portable holo unit so he could watch news. He thanked her and she turned and left.

He looked up at the ceiling for a while, half thinking and half lost in thought. There were thousands of humans in the sky above him. Partly it was an enormous relief. He also felt more lonely than ever, and he didn't understand it. A single tear slipped down, and he wiped it away.

It didn't take him long to fall asleep, although this time he was aware of dreaming. His dreams were strange and vivid and when he awoke he felt only somewhat rested as a result. When he opened his eyes and looked around again, he was rather startled to find two humans standing nearby, just inside the privacy bubble. After a moment he recognized one of them as one of the linguists he'd worked with learning the Rich'ti language in the months of preparation before the assignment.

The other person looked distinctly like a doctor, with the traditional white coat and stethascope. There seemed to be some disagreement going on between the doctor and Urish'tal, and the linguist appeared to be translating back and forth between them. Before they could get further, Kevan raised a hand to let them know he was awake, a gesture that Urish'tal caught before the others.

"We can ask him ourselves, if you are so concerned," she said, with the linguist quickly translating into English. "He's awake."

The two humans turned towards him and the human doctor came bustling over to his bedside at once.

"Ahhhh, Mister Phelps! Good, good! I am Dr. Melovich, one of the attending physicians on Radiance V of the Jupiter fleet. Commander Norlen felt I should come down here and make sure that your injuries were healing properly."

Kevan's had a moment of amusement wondering what the Rich'ti must think of the portly doctor. Urish'tal did not seem overly impressed. She handed him the datapad again, from where he'd placed it at the side of the bed.

"I don't know what this Human is saying to you now, Kevan," she said with some obvious distaste in her voice, "but he seems to think that you'd be better off being moved to the medical bay on their ship in some contraption that will keep you from being jostled about. I've explained that you should not be moved until tomorrow, and then only back to your quarters for now, but refuses to take me at all seriously. He also seems to be trying to say we are poisoning you with our medicines when he has yet to examine you at all." She shook her head with a measure of frustration. "The choice, of course, is yours, but I'd advise against moving you at this time. If you feel up to it, however, we can remove the respirator for a short while and see how it goes."

He nodded, and she moved forward and removed the respirator. There was a heavy ache in his side, but he as long as he kept his breathing somewhat shallow it was tolerable. He spoke slowly with frequent pauses.

"Urish'tal," he said in Rich'ti, "they are concerned, but it isn't anything out of the ordinary. Would you please forward them your monitoring data on me? They just want to know that I'm going to be all right. I hope that both medical groups can learn from each other."

"Now," he continued, "could I have a moment alone with them?" he asked Urish'tal, gesturing at the two other humans.

"Certainly, but it should be kept brief," she said before stepping back out of the privacy bubble.

"There are some cultural differences between how we and the Rich'ti view medical care," he explained. "Medical privacy is especially important because showing weakness is a bad thing. Injury and illness certainly count as weakness."

"I understand your concerns, Doctor. But me leaving the planet becomes a diplomatic failure. Moving me off the planet is not an option unless there's a total evacuation, which sounds less likely now. For now, human presence here needs to be kept minimal. I'll arrange to speak with the fleet commander tomorrow after I've rested and recovered more."

"Hi there Lawrence," Kevan added to the linguist.

"Hey," Lawrence said, nodding back. "When you're better, we've got a lot of notes to compare."

"Mr. Phelps!" Dr. Melovich exclaimed, "I don't think you understand. Due to the now two attempts that have been made on your life, Commander Norlen feels you'd be much safer if moved to his command ship for now. Relations with this race is tenuous at best. If we need to pull out of here for any reason, he does not wish to leave you behind." The doctor had leaned forward and was near whispering, as if afraid that the Rich'ti were listening in on them.

"Removing me would make the relationship with the Rich'ti even worse," Kevan replied. "And Rich'ti do not run when they have met a challenge. I will lose some of the ground I have gained here if I run just because an attempt was made on my life. It is important for me to stay on this planet right now. And it is also important that the fleet stay here and fight. If we don't help the Rich'ti fight them now, the Brey-hahd will only be coming for us next. Right now they've just been testing our borders. But I've already tried to explain this in the communications I've sent." He sighed heavily, an action that seemed to rasp across his lungs painfully.

"We need to ensure your safety, Kevan. Commander Norlen was very clear on that. He will be coming to see you himself later, but asked for me to come confirm you were being properly treated here and to make arrangements for your safety."

"Lawrence, please step outside the privacy bubble and ask someone for Kir'let to come in here would you?" Kevan asked while quickly beginning to type up a message on his datapad. "Dr. Melovich, hold that thought a moment."

"Sure thing," Lawrence replied, looking relieved to step away from the disagreement, even if only for a moment. By the time he got back, Kevan had the message finished. He held up a hand to forestall any questions.

"Kir'let," he said in Rich'ti. "I need this message communicated with Agronet immediately and I need a response immediately too, so you will need to contact him directly." He handed her the datapad, which she scanned over quickly.

"Right away," she replied with a smiling nod. She immediately turned and left the bubble without another word.

"What was that? What did he say?" The doctor's face was beginning to turn a light shade of red.

"I have reqested that Agronet allow a small contingent of military personell to be posted in my area of the diplomatic section of the building," Kevan replied. "For the moment, Dr. Melovich, I assure you that I am safe here under Urish'tal's watchful eye. I am expected to be moved back to my own quarters in the diplomat quarters. While I already have a Rich'ti guard there, made up of people Agronet trusts, as well as a Rich'ti bodyguard who was injured trying to stop this last attack on my person, I don't see a problem with a couple of armed Human guards added in for good measure. I have informed Agronet that this is a common procedure at Human embassies with other races, and am hoping he will take no issue with it. However, having them come down without his approval would be ill-advised."

"That should satisfy the good Commander's safety concerns. Now, if you don't mind, I'd like to rest my lungs and not speak again until Kir'let comes back with Agronet's response to the request."

He closed his eyes for a moment, in the hopes of getting the doctor to leave him alone. The one side of his chest felt like it was on fire at this point and he didn't know how much he had left in him before he just passed out again. He suspected Urish'tal would not be pleased with him for overdoing it, but he didn't see that he had much choice just then.

"We will wait outside," Doctor Melovich said.

"We'll catch up later, when you're rested," Lawrence added before they both stepped out of the privacy bubble and Kevan lost sight of them.

It did take a while before Kir'let returned. Kevan had almost fallen asleep.

"I do not like that doctor," she said quietly. They hadn't followed her in, which surprised Kevan.

"Don't worry, I'm not sure I do either."

"He is saying it's only a matter of time before I'm replaced with a human aide."

"Eventually," Kevan said, "there will be a fully staffed human embassy here, but not for some time. Once we get to that point, my job here might be done and someone else might be assigned to be the actual ambassador--representative. Until then, I need someone to sometimes act as a buffer between me and the Rich'ti public. I don't see a human doing as well in that role. I won't be replacing you."

"I understand," she said with a nod.

"So what did Agronet say?"

"In short, he said no. The longer answer is that right now bringing armed humans down here will only increase tensions."

"I suspected as much, and I agree. At least the act of asking will appease my people for the time being. How is Lineel?"

"She will be up and walking before you will. Perhaps in an hour."

"That's good. Now if you wouldn't mind, I'd like a couple hours of sleep. I want to get rested up to return to my own quarters as soon as possible. Please ask the doctor to return to his ship. Schedule an appointment with the other for the day after tomorrow. Make it a lunch meeting for at least a couple of hours, would you?"

"Of course," she replied. She turned and left without another word.

He was nearly to sleep again when Urish'tal came in and gently replaced the respirator. He opened his eyes and gave her a tired look as she did so. She nodded down at him.

"I suspected as much. I've been monitoring you from afar, trying to make sure those two didn't get you too worked up. You have a knack for overdoing it you know." She held up a hand, suggesting he needn't bother trying to respond. He realized that with the respirator in he couldn't anyway, as Kir'let still had his datapad.

"This will help you rest easier," she told him, giving him an application of something into the skin on his arm. It didn't take long before his eyes grew too heavy to keep open any more. She had been going over things on her datapad for a few moments before she turned and left the bubble just as his eyes were closing.

This time, rest was easier. He only dreampt once before waking, and it was a pleasant enough dream. In it, he found himself recalling some of the interesting things he'd learned about the Rich'ti people to his sister, back home. His dog had been in the dream as well, and he threw a ball over and over again, watching as the huskie bounded through the shafts of sunlight after it, bringing it back to him and excitedly waiting for him to throw it again.

He was almost regretful when he woke and had a difficult time convincing his eyes to open and drag him out of the fog of sleep. The nagging reminders of all he still had to do to try and smooth things out between the Humans and the Rich'ti eventually gnawed away at the dream until it sifted away, replaced by his mind making the usual lists of things he wanted to get done next. He settled his mind, reminding himself that he was still injured, as evidenced by the respirator and the dull aching still in his chest. He was thirsty. In the end, that was probably the thing that finally opened his eyes. The realization that he wanted nothing more than a glass of water just then.

Kir'let was there, and he was glad to see her. She handed him the datapad and he tapped out his water request. She nodded and left without a word. She was back before long with a pitcher and glass.

He took the respirator off and found he could breathe more comfortably than before. She helped prop him up a little and handed him the water. He started with tiny sips, just enough to wet his mouth to start with. It occurred to him to wonder if there had been intestinal damage and if he should be drinking yet.

Urish'tal came in, so he asked her. She explained that if he took things slowly he should be fine. She gave him another check over and checked the readouts and pronounced him making excellent progress, despite his pushing. Tomorrow morning she'd arrange some discrete help back to his quarters.

She left him with one final reminder to take things easy. Kir'let went over some of the appointments that had been scheduled already. He had another full day of rest allotted, and then a number of appointments with hour gaps in between. There were already five days booked up, and more requests waiting.

Now that the fleet was here and had taken some of the survival fears away, the Rich'ti people wanted to meet their new allies. Business owners, ranking officers, elders, it was quite a list of people that wanted to discuss how coming trade agreements might affect them all.

Kir'let explained to him that Agronet had been publicly talking about an alliance and trade agreement as if it was something they were already committed to. The public seemed to be taking it well. Earlier in the day the combined forces had liberated the moon. There had been more anti-alien protests, but prisoners being put in stocks had kept things peaceful. Agronet had called it a temporary measure. It was a start, Kevan decided.

He spent some time watching the news on the holographic unit that Kir'let had brought for him. While there was still some obvious tension showing in some of the Rich'ti that commented on the arrival of the Humans in their system and the inclusion of the outcasts as Rich'ti with a government of their own, the media seemed to be trying to put a positive spin on things in each instance. He wondered how much they had wanted to help and how much they had been told to do so.

There were interviews with Eesh'ket broadcast, as well as one interview via communications equipment with Commander Norlen, where Kevan was amused to see Lawrence on one end, next to the Commander, and some Rich'ti that supposedly worked with Pergute on the other end. Both sides were having their end of the conversation translated, which seemed amusingly cumbersome. Kevan knew, however, that the interview would likely also be broadcast back home, so having it only in Rich'ti wouldn't translate well there.

He noticed that while Eesh'ket assured the Rich'ti public that the offending rioters were being dealt with harshly, he left out the part about them being left to starve to death. Kevan suspected he had taken some of their conversation to heart. With Humans in the system, able to translate Rich'ti broadcasts, Eesh'ket wouldn't want to start off by immediately damaging the potential relationship.

Commander Norlen seemed surpisingly diplomatic in his answers to the Rich'ti questions. Kevan had been afraid his people would send some naval commander who was purely a military mind, especially after the intent to move him off the planet to safety. But Commander Norlen took each question carefully and answered after a moment's thought. He also said things that gave Kevan the impression that he had actually read some of the messages Kevan had sent about the Rich'ti people. He kept everything he said very non-challenging, but at the same time seemed to show that he had a strength about him.

After he had caught up on the details of what all had been happening recently, he laid back, tired but pleased.

"It seems as if things are getting better now," Kir'let commented quietly.

"Yes, Kirlet," he nodded. "Things are looking much better. I think we have a chance to build something very wonderful here." He had to love the irony that while he'd worked so hard to try and lay the groundwork, in the end the actual building of the formal relationship between the Humans and Rich'ti seemed to be falling together without any help from him at all.

"I think we're going to be alright," he said, closing his eyes. He wondered briefly what his role would be in the upcoming negotiations for trade and further military assistance. Then he set those thoughts aside, knowing that he would be far better qualified to deal with whatever task he was given than he had been to deal with what he'd done so far. As he let himself drift off to sleep again, he found that he was more relaxed than he'd really been since he'd stepped aboard the Rich'ti ship. He finally felt sure that things would work out.

The End of Story #3

RaynDragon