"If you're done with your morning experiments," says the Ship-Mother testily, "we've got a few ideas we'd like your opinion on."

  Donna nods from her place in front of the Ship-Mother's desk. "First, we want the, um, dust eaters? To enhance as many of our suits as possible with electrical resistances."

  "Is this something they can do?" Eva crosses her arms and glares at the camera.

  "Of course," I reply. "Convincing them of the necessity might require certain amounts of diplomacy, however."

  Eva grunts, disappointed in my response. "Fine. I'll contact Yosip. If anyone can convince them this is important, he can."

  Beside Donna sits Teah in dark green station casual. The fabric stretches across her bulging middle. She's here for her experience building and designing the mark one and two versions of the vacuum armor.

  "With less defensive systems," Bucket's electronic voice grates from the main screen, "more armor can be added. Negligible weight gain."

  The Ship-Mother nods her head. Her long crest bobs at the movement. "Medics are too valuable to keep losing. Does anyone see a problem we've missed?"

  The room is silent as each contemplates any improvements they think might help. The only sounds are breathing and the slight shifting of bodies too long in one place.

  "Those Jurers were able to make bricks serve as radiation shields," ventures Teah. "What other functions could they replace? Each one frees up more weight and space for other systems. Defenses, tools, chemical and air supplies."

  Her body may be softer now, but her mind is still a solid cliff to crush problems against. I turn the camera to center on her. Her weight gain, strangely, seems concentrated in the middle section with only a slight padding added elsewhere.

  She positively glows with health, however. In fact-

  I watch aghast as a lump nearly two bits across rises against the top of her swollen belly. To my horror it slides downward before withdrawing back into her abdominal cavity.

  "Hold her down," I command, opening another communication with the hospital. "Send help immediately, medic. Teah has a live parasite dwelling within her!"

  The room is shocked by my revelation. Donna and Eva turn to look at Teah, eyes wide in horror. From the screen Bucket and the medic watch, too frightened to respond.

  All at once the females break into laughter. Are the other two infected as well?

  "Good one, Mos," gasps Eva, clutching the edge of her desk. "I didn't know you had a sense of humor."

  "I don't insult you," I retort testily. "Warlord's ghost, indeed!"

  Eva collapses back into another hysterical fit but Donna manages to bring herself under control long enough to say, "It's alright, nurse. There is no emergency."

  The nurse huffs before he ends the transmission from his end. Through the microphones at the hospital I hear him mutter, "Rare as rain, the lot of them."

  Eventually the officers calm enough to retake their places.

  I cannot let this spread. Using programs, crude overrides really, hidden with Bucket's enhanced compression software, I lock the doors leading out of the office. Even the Ship-Mother's codes will not allow them to escape and infect others.

  At the same time, I have a dronefeather retrieve a hidden canister. Pale still sends the nurses searching the storerooms, convinced there's a missing container of the powerful narcotic. They'll never find it.

  Sharp ears catch the sound of locks engaging. Donna stands hurriedly, lower claws reaching for the stun pistol on her thigh.

  Before they can issue orders that I will be compelled to obey, I use another hacked together set of instructions to turn off all auditory receivers in the room. Letting my hidden weapons loose now is an unfortunate cost to save their lives, but one I must pay. When this encounter resolves, I can be confident that the administration will search diligently through the network and eliminate any that remain. There is no more reason to hold back.

  Stolen story; please report.

  Donna fires her weapon, aiming at the locking mechanism. She doesn't realize that the charge it fires is within the range of frequencies that the thaumatists enruned protection absorbs. A pitiful wash of heat and light is all that reaches the lock. The brick installed just below my socket in the wall sends the rest away.

  Eva Chel shouts furiously. Her words are muffled from reaching my physical self through the blast protection. Unable to discern her meaning from mouth movements alone, I am free to continue ignoring any orders she may be yelling. It distresses me to cause them alarm, but their parasites must be eliminated. They aren't acting rationally right now, but once they've been freed, they'll understand.

  It might be too late for Teah. I will miss her.

  She curls upon the floor clutching her knees with all four claws and screaming. Donna shouts something to Eva, pointing angrily at the prone technician. Eva rushes around her desk and kneels beside the Tserri, fear clear upon her face.

  Eva shouts again, one tiny fist raised high. Donna yells as well, slashing her claws through the air.

  With a roar that rattles the tablets upon Eva's desk, Donna turns and stomps toward the locked door. Armored claws clash with blast resistant reinforced alloys.

  She dents the metal, but it will be some time before she breaks through. My dronefeather will arrive before then. Already it crawls through the vents, dragging the canister behind it.

  My plan has a fatal weakness, however.

  Bucket.

  Almost as attached to the systems that sustain this station as I, Bucket quickly notices my paltry attempts at programming. The locks disengage and my microphones reactivate. All my hidden overrides purge from the system.

  "Senile fool," the conglomerate entity transmits over the speakers in the office. "There is no parasite. Observe."

  They display an image of the insides of all three occupants of the room, as seen through an advanced form of echolocation.

  "Stars above, Denn! What do you think you're doing?"

  I see Donna's lungs expand as she shouts at me, powered by muscles in her abdomen. Her heart pumps furiously within the complex arrangement of bones. But there is no foreign organism visible, no matter the magnification of the image.

  Next I examine the Ship-Mother. Organs and bones are placed differently, but to the same general effect. The elaborate structure of calcium supports hides no parasitic invader. Perhaps they are in a larval form too small to see. I must examine the primary carrier to be sure.

  Inside Teah I at last find the evidence I seek. Three hearts beat within her. Hers, and two much smaller inside the great swell of her belly.

  I expect to see writhing worm-beasts or fungal growths twitching madly within her.

  What I find is shocking to my sensibilities. Within Teah swim two miniature Tserri. Cords of flesh connect these passengers to her.

  "You're not fat," I exclaim.

  "We don't say those things around Eva," grumbles Donna. What?

  "I eat plenty," objects the Ship-Mother from her position above the moaning Teah.

  "If I had a head it would be aching," I say. What is going on?

  The dronefeather finally reaches the panel above this office. I stop it just as it begins to peck at the seal of the canister. Dear tides, what did I almost do?

  "Fascinating," comments the monotone voice of Bucket.

  The display centers on Teah. Muscles in her abdomen spasm and contract rhythmically.

  "They're coming!" Teah's voice shifts pitch midway through her yell.

  "Mos, get a medic down here," orders Eva.

  I rush to comply. It takes three attempts before anyone chooses to believe me. The nurse from before even insults me, ending the transmission abruptly after.

  I can only watch helplessly as Teah suffers. Donna at least has the luxury of pacing the confines of the office nervously.

  Eventually a nurse, Mimba, enters the office to assist in the arrival of the newest residents of our station. Eva surrenders her position beside Teah, joining Donna on her endless circuit around the office.

  The rest seems to happen in an instant.

  Kicking and screaming, they join us in the office. The first sapient beings born within Kalibern. Teah holds one in each upper arm, cuddled against her chest where they sleep. Their first trial was exhausting.

  Running her lower claws gently through their downy tan fur, Teah murmurs, "Your father hunts the stars, little ones, but you will meet him soon." Soft cloths from Mimba's medical bag wrap the new lives.

  "Let's get you three somewhere more appropriate," commands Mimba.

  Eva takes the young ones carefully so that Teah may stand. Donna offers her a claw to help the new mother rise. Teah accepts with a weary smile.

  The four make rapid progress to the closest room: Eva's room just down the hall.

  They quickly install Teah in the only bed despite her loud objections. After a final inspection to insure there are no problems, Mimba leaves the three alone.

  Back at Eva's office, Desra returns from her meal break to a scene of destruction.

  Scorch marks on the inside lock, torn clothing upon the floor, and deep claw marks on the door frame. A discarded stun pistol sits next to a shining puddle of red blood and clear liquid. She collapses onto her furred backside at the wanton devastation.

  "What happened here?"

  To relieve her worries I respond, "It's alright. There wasn't a parasite."

  "What!?"

  She looks around wildly, presumably for a parasite.

  At that moment the grilled vent holding my dronefeather gives out. The feathered device and its delicate cargo crash to the ground not far from Desra. She screams in alarm.

  "You might wish to vacate the premises quickly," I inform her.

  The canister starts hissing and the startled administrator scrambles through the exit. Her claws slide against the polished stone as she moves all six limbs frantically. The door whisks shut behind her.

  I'll have to begin making new preparations. First, I reschedule the cleaning crew. This mess needs dealt with.