Chapter Five Corrina
“You probably just fed those three a month’s salary worth of Lianov’s exotic pantry stuffs,” Curran chuckles.
“If it works to help make them trust us, it will be worth it.” I answer. “Besides, it’s not like Lianov is going to complain about it.”
Curran barely suppresses his laugh, but the sound draws the creature’s attention. I stand up to bring their focus back to me. A groan from the corner draws the attention of everyone in the room. “Wenschel?” I call. “Can you come to me? Slowly?”
The smallest member of our medical team stands up and walks slowly towards me. “Yes, commander?” she says softly.
“Stand here a moment,” I say. I point at her, then to the corner where my contact lies on the floor.
The three creatures watch me carefully as I repeat the motion.
The tallest one drops its chin in a sharp nod.
“Very slowly and carefully, I am going to walk you over to that guy passed out in the corner. I need you to check him over as quickly and nonthreateningly as possible.”
“How do I check someone nonthreateningly?” Wenschel asks softly.
“Just try not to do anything that would make it seem like you’re hurting him.” Wenschel stares at me for a moment and then nods. Holding her arm, we slowly move towards the prone man. Three sets of strange eyes follow us, but they do not move.
Wenschel crouches next to the prone man and begins her examination. The strange creatures growl softly but stay where they are. “Ask him if he can communicate with them,” I say softly. She does and I hear his weak affirmative.
“Can you tell them that we aren’t going to hurt them?” I ask the prone man. He nods but doesn’t lift his head.
“Commander, I should get this guy to med bay,” Wenschel says. “He’s got a large number of injuries of varying ages and is showing signs of both extended malnourishment and acute shock.”
“Not quite yet,” I say, crouching down to the prone man. “What’s your name?”
“Alek,” he mutters.
“Alek, do these creatures have a translation chip?”
“Just the tall one,” he replies. I glance at the trio of creatures. They are all tall in my opinion, but one of them is noticeably taller than the others.
“Okay. Can you tell it that we’re going to get you some medical attention? And that we want to do the same for them? And do you know why the translation chip isn’t working for us to communicate?”
“Commander,” Wenschel protests.
“Wenschel, the three of them just reduced a fully grown man to fist-sized bits. This is important.”
Alek looks like he is going to vomit again, but he takes a deep breath and lets it out slowly. He calls out my message and the creature nods. “As for the chip,” he says. “It’s an older model. Might need exposure to a new language for a while to start processing it.”
“Thank you,” I tell him honestly. “Do you need a hand with him?” I ask Wenschel.
“I’ve got him,” she replies. She is a lot stronger than most people give her credit for, and I watch with quiet respect as she gets Alek to his feet and helps him shuffle towards the door. I watch the trio carefully, and though they track his progress intently they do not otherwise move.
“What’s next, Commander?” Curran asks when I return to his side.
“I’m trying to decide between a med scan and cleaning up some of the mess,” I reply. I grimace as an unidentifiable piece of the late Captain Lianov slides off the table and lands wetly on the floor. “And I’m leaning towards cleaning up at the moment.”
“And just how do you think you’re going to convince our new friends to take a nice bubble bath?” Curran asks.
“I’ll let you know as soon as I figure it out.”