“She knows that there are thunder worms down in those tubes. Didn’t she bring a screech driver?”
“I’m not sure what that is.”
“Never mind. How badly hurt is she?”
I relayed what TenSix suspected, about the psychoactive toxin in her bloodstream.
“That’s exactly right,” Biella said. “Where did you get a utility bot anyway?”
“At the Marlington camp. They had left it behind.”
“Strange.”
“There’s more to it,” I said. “I’ll explain when you get here.”
I heard a brief hesitation and then Biella Lark said, “We can’t leave.”
“What?”
She paused again. Just for a second. “There’s too much to do here. We’re not done loading. We’ll be working all night as it is.”
“I don’t think you understand,” I said. “Your daughter is in a coma.”
“She’s not in a coma. Don’t be melodramatic, Mr. Beck. Thunder worms are not used to prey as large as a human. The amount of toxin Kira was exposed to is certainly not enough to kill her, and—”
“You haven’t seen her. She looks really sick.”
“It will pass.”
I couldn’t believe what I was hearing. What kind of mom didn’t care that her daughter was just attacked by a giant worm? A thunder worm, no less?
“Dr. Lark, you really need to get out here with a hover-sled or some way we can transport Kira back to camp.”
“Impossible.”
My mind was exploding. Was this woman a psycho?
“Mr. Beck, here’s what I want you to do. Follow my instructions to the letter.”
“Maybe I should speak with your husband.”
“He’s busy. So, I’m going to tell you exactly what to do. Do you understand?”
“No, I—”
“I’ll speak slowly.”
I really couldn’t believe what I was hearing.
She continued, “First, you need to wake Kira up. Use whatever means necessary. Cold water. Shaking. Slap her if you must. Just get her conscious. She’ll recover much quicker if you do and will be less likely to suffer permanent injuries. Okay?”
I didn’t know what else to do but acknowledge her wacko instructions. “Yes.”
“Once she’s conscious, remind her that her Uncle Diento was attacked in a similar way by a thunder worm last year. She helped him through recovery.”
TenSix, who was listening along with me, tilted his head. He seemed as incredulous as me.
“What?”
“Her…Uncle…Diento,” Biella Lark said, stretching each word out as if she was speaking to a non-human. “It is critically important that you mention him. It’s the key to her treatment. Repeat it back.”
“Uncle Diento’s treatment,” I parroted back.
“Very good.” There was another pause. Then Biella Lark said, “Well, Mr. Beck, good luck. We’ll be in touch tomorrow. Hopefully, Kira will have fully recovered by then and you can rejoin us at the camp.”
“That’s it?” I asked. “She’s supposed to spend the night out here in a—”
“Remember, keep her conscious, and remind her of her Uncle Diento. Goodbye, Mr. Beck.”
She ended the transmission. I just sat there, gobsmacked. No wonder Kira hated her family. There was zero compassion. Zero concern. Packing up camp was more important.
I turned to TenSix. “You heard that, didn’t you?”
“There was a high degree of stress in that woman’s voice.”
“She didn’t seem stressed to me. Just the opposite. She was a block of ice.”
“I beg to differ. I believe she was communicating to you under duress.”
“What? You think someone was forcing her to answer that way?”
“I cannot be sure, of course, but that’s my best guess.”
My head was spinning at the thought.
“The woman was correct about one thing,” TenSix said. “We do need to get Dr. Lark conscious.”
That was easier said than done. Whatever substance was in her bloodstream had really knocked her out. Splashing her with water didn’t work, and neither did shaking her. I don’t slap women, except when Lirala demands it. And I wasn’t about to start now.
“Try giving her some B-stim.” TenSix handed me the medpak. “Half a dose.”
“You sure?”
“Yes, her blood pressure and heart rate are both down. A half dose should be fine.”
The B-stim worked, but we ended up having to give her three half doses over the course of an hour before Kira finally became conscious. Then it was another fifteen minutes before she could focus enough to speak.
“I feel like I just chugged a bottle of cheap viterai.”
“Thank Dynark!” I said, wrapping my arms around her.
“Ouch, ouch, ouch!”
“You’re alive. That’s the important thing.”
“Barely.” She tried to sit up. “What happened?”
“Apparently a thunder worm tried to become intimate with you,” I joked. “And that didn’t sit well with me.”
“Oh yeah?” She smiled a crooked smile at me. “You the jealous type?”
“Jealous enough to carve that worm from the inside out,” TenSix said. “Of course, I was down there as well, a critical part of the rescue effort.”
“Rescue effort, huh?”
“Mission accomplished.” I smiled at her.
“Really? You got the sample as well?”
“Uh…” I stammered. “Kira, you almost died down there. I wasn’t really thinking about your samples.”
“I was,” TenSix chirped. A little panel on his chest unit opened and disgorged the collection kit. It still had traces of slime on it.
“Nice work, Short Stuff! You just saved me a trip back into that hell hole.”
“Glad to be of assistance, Dr. Lark.”
The bot swiveled his head towards me. “I think it is time to tell Dr. Lark of your interaction with her mother.”
“My mother?” Kira asked.
“Yeah, now I know what you’re dealing with.”
“What are you talking about?”
I could tell Kira’s hackles were up. “Once we got you back up here, I called your mom to let her know what had happened. I thought she and your dad would race over here with a hover-sled or something.”
“And…?”
I felt suddenly thirsty. Maybe I shouldn’t be mentioning this.
Kira sensed my hesitation. “What did she say, Jannigan?”
“She kind of blew me off.”
“What?”
“A little bit.”
TenSix jumped into the conversation. Maybe to rescue me. “Your mother told Jannigan Beck that she and your father were too busy packing up the camp and would be unable to offer assistance.”
“She did not!”
“Yeah, she did,” I said. “She basically told me just to wake you up and deal with it.”
“I could have
