Sister Katherine by Tracy St. John Page A

to her.  His body was so warm.  He wasn’t much taller than her, but he was definitely bulkier.  His arms were more than twice the circumference of hers, as were his legs.  She thought despite being the smallest Kalquorian she’d seen so far, he was still much stronger than her.
    Her stomach coiled tighter.  A fine tremble had taken over her body.  She was definitely getting sick, though the sensations weren’t unpleasant.  They were certainly nothing like the pains she suffered from several times a day.
    Katherine looked around the room to distract herself from Vadef’s heat.  A vid still of him and his clanmates hung on the wall to her right.  They were all in their black uniforms, but not a single one of them was stiff or formal looking.  The trio of Simdow, Miv, and Vadef looked back at her from some recent moment in time, glasses of green-tinged liquid raised as if toasting to her good health.  Their grins made them seem boyish.  Katherine couldn’t help but smile a little in response.  They looked very happy.
    Vadef shifted again, and once more Katherine was aware of how insubstantial she was sitting next to him.  “You’re all so big,” she murmured.
    He chuckled.  “I’m not nearly as big as my clanmates.  Or most Kalquorians, for that matter.  I’m more like Earther-sized.”
    Katherine shrugged and dared to look up at his smiling face.  “Earthers come in different sizes and shapes too.”
    “So I’ve noticed.”  He cocked his head inquiringly.  “You’re tall for a female of your kind, but rather thin.  Have you been ill?”
    “My stomach hurts when I eat.  I have a lot of responsibility, so I think I’m just stressed.”  Whatever was going on with her now, she might be able to attribute to stress as well, Katherine realized.  Her stomach still roiled in that funny, not-bad way.  It was kind of like being scared but not quite.
    Vadef’s expression became concerned at her admission of pain.  “Hmm.  We did quick handheld medical scans of all of you.  Yours didn’t show anything of note, but a deep scan might be a good idea just to make certain.  I’ll schedule it.”
    Katherine drew a little away from him.  She needed some space between them, though his warmth felt nice.  “I’m sure it’s not necessary.  I don’t want to see your doctors.”
    “Dr. Degorsk is very good.  He’s funny too.”  Vadef sounded as if he was trying to encourage a frightened child.  “I know all about doctors, and our ship’s head medic is one of the best I’ve met.  I was sick for a long, long time when I was a child.  That’s why I’m smaller than the norm for my people.”
    Katherine’s interest piqued.  She hated for anyone to suffer, especially children.  This Kalquorian who had been nothing but nice so far deserved sympathy for extended illness.  “What was wrong with you?  You look perfectly healthy now.”
    “Oh yes, I’m all over it.  I was born with a compromised immune system.  It didn’t function properly, and I was constantly picking up every infection and virus that was around.”
    She felt a pang to hear he’d been ill as a baby.  “How long were you like that?”
    “Until I was 17.  My doctors found a new therapy that worked, and I’ve been just like everyone else ever since.”  Vadef smiled as if to prove how healthy he was.
    Poor Vadef.  He’d missed out on a normal childhood then.  He was the least frightening of his clan, too.  It was awful how the most innocent tended to be the ones to suffer the greatest.
    Curious to know more, Katherine asked, “You’re an Imdiko?  The gentle breed?”
    Vadef gave her a surprised and delighted smile.  “That’s right.  Actually, Imdiko translates into ‘caregiver’.  My breed is known for the urge to tend to others’ needs, to make them happy and comfortable.”
    “You have the kindest expression of your clan,” she told him. 
    He rushed to reassure her.  “Simdow and Miv are