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."
