Well bugger. Wish I had known about this um…time dilation we’re going through. Stardates are going to be a problem for a tad, as far as records go, eh? Not conductive if they’re still based on the Real Life counterpart on a 1:1 ratio.
I digress.
Luckily writing is nothing but adaptable. Going to keep my format, but like Kirk says in Star Trek II (not the reboot rubbish.), “…hours instead of days. Now we have minutes instead of hours.” That got me thinking, I’ll just write this short story in hours, in lieu of days. Changing format too often is every writers bane. 😛
Now I need to edit my first ‘hour’ instead of the ‘day’. Is there someway I can do that? The edit button is always gone after an hour.
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Hour 3
“I said no synth-cast!” Solari’s exclamation came out more as a lyric then a yell at the Atlantis’s Chief Medical Officer.
That happened when you were part of an amphibious species. Sound travelled differently underwater, so they learned to chant their acoustic language.
It’s why the Lieutenant junior always sounded like he was humming his Terran speech. It’s also why the Humans had named them the Gregorians, much to their initial chagrin. Until they heard the Human chants and loved it, taking the word as an honour.
The present came back to him.
He put a webbed hand up to his face and let a sigh out. “I’m sorry sir. Xeno-biology, basics. You mostly treat Humans, aye? Remind me what a cast does to fully Human skin?”
The doctor, with the Commander insignia barely noticeable on his medical uniform, was standing in front of Solari, and very much soaked in his own perspiration.
He was putting away his diagnostic scanner, when he replied. “Well synth castes immobilise and dry up the epidermal…”, he didn’t need to finish, looking at the purple-skinned officer, and his ‘modified’ uniform, still in slight tatters.
“Ah, I got you. We’ll have to consult the inter-species database then. You’re my first half-Gregorian patient, let alone that I’ve never treated a full one.”
The doctor, picked up his data screen, and stared for a moment.
Solari was curious. “Something ahit sir?”
A strange glance followed the doctors reply, “A what Lieutenant?”
The half-Human gave a blink, with his four eyelids. They reminded Humans of a Terran frog supposedly. “Ah, I mean amiss? That is the correct word, aye?”
“No and yes”, replied the Human. “Actually, strange coincidence. We seem to have a small group of Gregorians on a liner, from the system evacuation. One of them, is, by the documents, a xeno-biologist.” The doctor seemed to stop sweating for the moment, and looked back up. “We’ll see if we can get them over the coms at least. Until then, you’re confined to bed for recovery while the time allows.”
Solari cocked his head to the side. “I no longer have one presently sir.”
The doctor, so busy treating people, had barely ay time to recognise any other kind of damage. “Damn. Well, we’re full up here, and the station is processing evacuees in every space we…”
A webbed hand from Solari stopped the doctor. “I believe Atlantis command’s main foyer has a wall aquarium?”
“Well this is named after that mythical island..” Again, the doctor realised where this was going. “You’re telling me you want to go in it, aren’t you?”
Solari nodded. “Aye sir.”
“Well, I think I just my appetite for today’s meal. I’ll get an attendant to help, Lieutenant.” The Doctor chuckled, probably for the first time in the last few hours, as he went to his next patient and muttered “Catch of the day indeed.”
But Solari didn’t get the joke.