Chapter 25
KITTINIR
Being newly matched to not one, but two mates, instead of the usual two weeks off to settle in together, we were given four.
Thankfully, the curriculum for the course I was to continue teaching had only required a few modified tweaks, which were already all done, thanks to my Dragonii partner, who was more than happy to stand in my stead for the rest of the meetings regarding implementation, with me available via comm should the need arise.
We watched movies and played vid, board, and card games over the next few days, and went out for walks in the park to burn off the Bratty Dogs we were eating thanks to a challenge Carl came up with - we would try every style of Bratty Dog on their extensive menu, with Alec sticking to the low sodium versions after we remembered his blood pressure issue.
“Guys, I’m going to be fine, I tell you,” Alec said as we left the park, having each consumed a Kimchi Dog and several pieces of gimbap to accompany it.
We weren’t on our way back home this time; instead, heading over to the ship’s sickbay, where Alec had his appointment with our chief medic, Dr. Yoslin.
“Of course you will be. Mylos medicine has been adapted in several ways for the human body, and I am certain that the nanite treatments that are usual for us will no doubt be applied to you.”
“And effectively cure me?” Alec asked, looking hopeful. “And not just have to take different pills as Dr. Proslo suggested?”
“Dr. Yoslin specializes in the cardiovascular field and just recently returned from working at Queen’s Medical Center in Honolulu," I informed him.
“So, he no doubt is more up to date on the latest Mylos applications in this area, though Chief Medic Proslo and the others will be updated by him as they can make time.”
“And you know this how?” Carl asked me.
“Xeranos told me when he let me know that Alec really shouldn’t have imbibed alcohol with the medications he was taking. Korpia notified him after detecting it in Alec’s urine.”
“Stupid bathroom AI snitch,” Alec murmured.
“It’s for your own good. You knew to tell us about the alcohol and didn’t, or forgot, so Xeranos thought it wise to let me know so I could share that with Carl, and we could help remind you if necessary.”
“Look at it this way, if the nanites can indeed be programmed to help with whatever is the underlying cause of your high blood pressure, it won’t matter. You can drink as responsibly as Kit and I.”
“I guess,” Alec said, still looking a bit sulky. “But I still think Korpia is a snitch.”
“Only if it is something that could seriously affect your well-being,” I reminded him.
“Yeah, yeah,” he sighed. “I’ll get over it.”
“Good, because what if you’d had a drug interaction?” Carl said. “I’d have felt awful, having been your bartender.”
Alec glanced over at him, looking remorseful this time. “You’re right, I’m sorry.” He leaned over and brushed his lips across Carl’s cheek, and I inwardly cheered. This was the first time he’d kissed either of us, and it had happened so naturally and unprompted.
Carl grinned, not saying anything, but between the smile on his face and the added bit of bounce to his step, I knew that both the apology and the kiss had him going from merely happy and content to feeling delighted.
Arriving at Sickbay, we were greeted immediately by Dr. Yoslin, who was bouncing on the balls of his feet.
“There you are, right on time!” he said, appearing excited to see Alec.
“I’ve been reviewing your profile and medical chart, including the bio scan done at your orientation.
I’m going to do a more thorough one today to confirm the genetic anomaly I believe is the root cause of your blood pressure rises, and if I’m correct, I’ll program some micro-nanites that will live and reproduce within your cells to compensate. ”
“So, I’d be cured?”
“That would be the general effect, so as good as. Just don’t get yourself caught in an EMP field, and you should be fine.
If you do, you’ll need to seek medical care immediately so you can receive treatment once more.
And you’ll need to come see me next week so we can make sure all is working as it should.
From there, we’ll decide how often you should report for a scan.
Every few weeks at first, then months, then only if you suffer a spike or suffer a different cardiovascular event of any kind, including physical trauma. ”
“Yeah, I’ll try not to get mistaken for a vampire on Halloween, so no one will stake me,” he joked, and Yoslin merely blinked.
“That is when the humans dress up as monsters and superheroes and boxes of cereal holding knives and go asking for candy,” I explained.
“Ah. I see.”
Both Carl and Alec’s lips twitched, trying to hold back their amusement so as to not offend the chief medic.
“If you’ll just follow me,” he said, spinning on his heel. “Just Alec, please,” he called over his shoulder, “You two can wait for him here. I expect this to take a couple of hours.”
“We’ll be here,” Carl said after them, then turned to look at me. “How about we check on my furniture delivery and come back?”
“We can check on it from here,” I pointed out.
“I meant check in to see how the unpacking is going and put stuff where we want it. We can ask Xero to let us know when the doc is almost finished so we have time to come back before he gets out.”
“Alright.” That did sound much more efficient than sitting around in the waiting area, where the ill and injured would come in.
“Cool.”
We returned to our quarters and saw they’d already brought the grav pallets there and were unpacking boxes and reassembling furniture. After asking Xeranos to let us know when to leave so we could arrive on time, we began directing where the furnishings were to go and helped unpack the boxes.
“Just remember if we use any of the pots, pans, or dishes, to not recycle them,” Carl said, putting away a stack of bowls that he’d once told me were called Butterfly Gold or some such.
“I’d hate to try to have to replace any of Meemaw’s Corelle or Pyrex from halfway across the galaxy someday, never mind now. Handwash only!”
“I’ll remember, and I’m sure Alec will too. Not that we cook much ourselves,” I pointed out.
“Yeah, replicated food is so much easier, but we should make the effort to try to cook at least once a week, maybe twice. It’s something we can do together, and the food will be made with love.”
I smiled at him, loving sappy Carl as much as I did mischievous Carl. I scratched an itchy spot on my forearm before grabbing a box marked flatware.
“It really sounded as if the doc was certain he could program those micro-nanites to cure Alec,” Carl said, hanging the matching Butterfly Gold rimmed mugs on cup hooks placed under the cabinets. “And aren’t all nanites like super small?”
“Yes, but micro-nanites are even smaller. They mimic genetic materials rather than entire cells. It’s a rapidly advancing field of medicine. It’s quite exciting that we have a chief medic who is knowledgeable in it.”
“Wow, so new even for Mylos, huh?”
“Only about twenty of your years, yes.”
“Wow.”
“Pardon me for interrupting, but the Chief Medic is completing final checks on the nanites he’s given Alec,” Xeranos said.
“Still makes me jump a little when he just speaks up like that,” Carl murmured. Then louder, “Thanks, Xero.”
He hung the last mug, and I shut the drawer holding the flatware.
“Time to go get our man,” Carl said. “It’ll be great news, for sure.”
The way his hand brushed mine, I knew he sought reassurance that this was true. I slid his fingers through mine, ignoring the return of that itch on my forearm.
“Of course it will be,” I replied as we exited our quarters. “We’ll be back shortly,” I told the warrior unloading yet another piece of disassembled bookcase from a grav pallet in the corridor.”
He nodded. “We know where you want these, and should have just finished putting them all together and placed into position by then.”
“Guess we’ll unpack the books and the rest of the games next,” Carl mused.
“Sounds like a plan.”