I should have seen this coming. He's been acting strangely for a couple of days now," Topaz said.
"He always acts like that. How was anyone supposed to know?" Levits asked. RJ gave him a dirty look and he shrugged. "What?"
RJ ignored him. "He's too far gone now for a space sickness shot to work."
"It would probably do more harm than good at this point," Topaz agreed.
"Yeah, but you won't know unless you try it," Levits said with a crooked grin. When both RJ and Topaz glared at him he just shrugged and smiled broader. "Just trying to help."
"We're going to have to keep him sedated for the rest of the trip," RJ said.
"That's three days , RJ," Topaz said in disbelief. "It's not healthy to keep someone sedated for three days. Even with the new drugs with the stabilizing feature and IV fluids there is still some dehydration, and after being completely shut down for that long there is a risk of bladder infection not to mention an impaction. I'm telling you right now I'm not doing any turd spelunking when he can't take a dump."
"Topaz," Levits started. "Have you ever seen what happens to someone with space sickness?"
"You know I haven't, smart-ass," Topaz said. "But I've read about it."
"I've seen it," RJ said. "We don't have a choice."
* * *
Janad didn't think she could answer even one more question about her planet. RJ and her weird brother were relentless. How much does it rain? What is the plant life like? What kind of animals? Questions about their government. Questions about their religion. How much did they sleep? What did they eat? Where did the Reliance ships land when and if they landed? Did they have a spaceport on the planet's surface? Did they have a satellite docking station or one on a moon or did the ships always land on the planet?
Some of the things they asked her she flat didn't have an answer for, in fact she didn't even know what they were talking about half of the time. While RJ and Poley kept asking questions about her planet and the way they lived, weapons, fighting styles and such. Topaz bombarded her with questions about her family tree. What color were her ancestors? Was everyone the same color? What were the traditions about their ancestry?
At one point, tired of all the questions, she snapped at them, "How would I know, I'm not a priest!"
"The priests know the origins of your race?"
"They know everything; they talk to the gods," she said.
"Your King?"
"And the others -- those that breathe the clouds into the sky," Janad said. "The ones who give us light and water."
Topaz looked confused.
For her things were much easier than things were for these people. They never seemed to be happy with her answers; they always wanted to know why and how. No answer ever seemed to be good enough for them. A simple answer didn't seem to satisfy them at all. She didn't understand them completely, however she did know that they took the same information she had and came to conclusions she had never even thought of before.
She was purposely avoiding them now. She walked down the hall away from their voices, walking as lightly as she could and munching on a protein bar.
Stupid questions all the time. I feel like my brain will explode. I have to stay away from them; they aren't leaving anything in my brain. They are taking everything out.
She walked past David's room. The door was open, and she looked in. He was asleep, no wait a minute he looked
. . .
dead! She crept in the room walked up to him and watched him closely. She could see his chest moving with his breathing, and she started to breathe again herself. He didn't move, though. It was the way he was laying; he just didn't look right. She sat on the bed and poked at his shoulder lightly. He didn't move, so she poked him a little harder. He still didn't move, so she punched at his shoulder. When he still didn't wake up, she drew back her fist to hit him hard.
"What the
"He always acts like that. How was anyone supposed to know?" Levits asked. RJ gave him a dirty look and he shrugged. "What?"
RJ ignored him. "He's too far gone now for a space sickness shot to work."
"It would probably do more harm than good at this point," Topaz agreed.
"Yeah, but you won't know unless you try it," Levits said with a crooked grin. When both RJ and Topaz glared at him he just shrugged and smiled broader. "Just trying to help."
"We're going to have to keep him sedated for the rest of the trip," RJ said.
"That's three days , RJ," Topaz said in disbelief. "It's not healthy to keep someone sedated for three days. Even with the new drugs with the stabilizing feature and IV fluids there is still some dehydration, and after being completely shut down for that long there is a risk of bladder infection not to mention an impaction. I'm telling you right now I'm not doing any turd spelunking when he can't take a dump."
"Topaz," Levits started. "Have you ever seen what happens to someone with space sickness?"
"You know I haven't, smart-ass," Topaz said. "But I've read about it."
"I've seen it," RJ said. "We don't have a choice."
* * *
Janad didn't think she could answer even one more question about her planet. RJ and her weird brother were relentless. How much does it rain? What is the plant life like? What kind of animals? Questions about their government. Questions about their religion. How much did they sleep? What did they eat? Where did the Reliance ships land when and if they landed? Did they have a spaceport on the planet's surface? Did they have a satellite docking station or one on a moon or did the ships always land on the planet?
Some of the things they asked her she flat didn't have an answer for, in fact she didn't even know what they were talking about half of the time. While RJ and Poley kept asking questions about her planet and the way they lived, weapons, fighting styles and such. Topaz bombarded her with questions about her family tree. What color were her ancestors? Was everyone the same color? What were the traditions about their ancestry?
At one point, tired of all the questions, she snapped at them, "How would I know, I'm not a priest!"
"The priests know the origins of your race?"
"They know everything; they talk to the gods," she said.
"Your King?"
"And the others -- those that breathe the clouds into the sky," Janad said. "The ones who give us light and water."
Topaz looked confused.
For her things were much easier than things were for these people. They never seemed to be happy with her answers; they always wanted to know why and how. No answer ever seemed to be good enough for them. A simple answer didn't seem to satisfy them at all. She didn't understand them completely, however she did know that they took the same information she had and came to conclusions she had never even thought of before.
She was purposely avoiding them now. She walked down the hall away from their voices, walking as lightly as she could and munching on a protein bar.
Stupid questions all the time. I feel like my brain will explode. I have to stay away from them; they aren't leaving anything in my brain. They are taking everything out.
She walked past David's room. The door was open, and she looked in. He was asleep, no wait a minute he looked
. . .
dead! She crept in the room walked up to him and watched him closely. She could see his chest moving with his breathing, and she started to breathe again herself. He didn't move, though. It was the way he was laying; he just didn't look right. She sat on the bed and poked at his shoulder lightly. He didn't move, so she poked him a little harder. He still didn't move, so she punched at his shoulder. When he still didn't wake up, she drew back her fist to hit him hard.
"What the
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