Page 133 of Return of the Nine

“Good lord, I wouldn’t allow her back to the surface without weeks of treatment to build up the levels across her body. How could this happen? Don’t your people have regulations about supplements?”

Vida stepped out of the scanner. “They do, but my body does not absorb and reuse the calcium like it should. I was the feeble twin.”

Dr. Meevin cocked her head. “Identical twin?”

“No, fraternal. She is stronger, faster and generally in better shape than I am.”

“Too bad, I could have cultured a treatment from her system if she was amenable. Ah well, I will treat the torn tissue and you can be on your way. I will design a calcium treatment, and youwill be here tomorrow morning to start it.”

Vida blinked. “I will?”

Ziggy nodded. “You will. How did you break so many bones?”

“Well, I run around blindfolded a lot. Sometimes, I miscalculate my trajectory.” She shrugged. It was a side effect of looking for missing children in the woods. She banged into things quite often if she was moving at speed.

The doctor pointed to a medical bed, and Vida hopped up onto it without comment. Dr. Meevin loomed over her and shot several hyposprays into the tissue around the wound.

“Whoever gave you first aid knew what they were doing.”

Vida smiled. “Daphne, the ambassador’s wife.”

Dr. Meevin grinned. “She is taking to our ways. Good. It saved your arm. There are traces of an infection here that could have easily turned septic, but the traces of the strong antibiotics in your system have them on the run.”

“She was very thorough.”

The doctor grunted and squeezed lightly at Vida’s arms and legs. “Any problem moving?”

“No. A slight ache in my right wrist, but it has been broken three times.”

The focus shifted to her wrist, and the doctor hummed to herself before disappearing into the outer office. She came back brandishing another hypogun, and before Vida could brace herself, she was jabbed in the arm and that limb felt like it was being dipped in fire.

Vida writhed on the table, and Ziggy wisely kept back. This was knowledge she didn’t need.

When the first wave of agony faded, Vida was covered in sweat. She sat up with a dazed expression. “You could have warned me.”

Dr. Meevin winced. “Sorry, you may experience some slight discomfort. It is an enzyme that the Balance have been workingon to restore harmony in the body. I didn’t know what it would do to a Gaian.”

“That was the worst of it, right? It was just my arm, right?”

The doctor winced. “I think so. You may want to contact Researcher Lerinian. He designed it.”

Ziggy helped Vida off the table. “I will bring her in tomorrow morning. We will consult with the researcher.”

Vida hobbled out of medical feeling far worse than she had entering it. They hopped back onto a pod and were whisked through several distinct neighbourhoods before arriving at a series of structures all lined with heavy plexi to allow for a full view of the stars.

“Oh wow. The Balance, I presume?”

“Yeah, they have battle shields that cover those views during a fight. All the different races have their own environments. It was part of the initial agreement to get this ship together.”

Unlike the area near the shuttle bays, there were no people randomly milling around. Occasionally, a cloaked figure would pass through the open area near the rail, but they didn’t stop or even look over.

“Come on, Vida. The labs are over here.”

Vida closed her eyes and sighed. This area of the ship was the kind of spot she could get around on her own. Every path was clearly marked by the slow paces of dozens of the robed figures. Their energy was all slightly different, but it vibrated and swirled with a slow and steady roil of light against dark. Whatever the Balance was, it was powerful.

Pain began to tighten on her arm, and it spread through her chest. She tried to hide it, but Ziggy had her ways of knowing these things. “Come on, Lerinian’s lab is this way.”

They walked past the occasional silent robed figure until they were in a wheel of large bubbles filled with lab tables and equipment. Ziggy looked into one and scowled. “Damn. Ithought he would be here.”

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