The civilian transport vessel docks at the secondary tower, running lights brilliantly illuminating the outside of the tall structure. Zra waits with a selection of nurses and as many members of security.

  Dunc Wollen is the ranking member of the security force present. His squad includes only Tserri and himself.

  The air exchangers hiss as they equalize pressures. Zra rushes forward pushing a trolley customized for the arriving beings.

  Dunc watching, signals two of his subordinates to move forward as support. He then yawns quietly into his helmet. Another medic follows with her own trolley.

  "Still not at full health yet?" Inquiring about his condition is more than just polite, it can help with accurately assessing the danger the medics are in.

  "It isn't that," he answers, then explains himself. "I mean, I'll never have the stamina I used to, but I just haven't been sleeping well."

  Zra wheels the first two of our new arrivals off the transport. The long brown-orange creatures, still cling tightly to each other in their comatose state. The armored guard paces nonchalantly beside the loaded trolley. The creatures' eyes are closed, and the wide mouth of the female hangs open slightly. The male's mouth is clamped tightly shut, quivering almost imperceptibly.

  Drool running down his muzzle, the dark-furred creature follows strapped to a trolley that creaks under his bulk. His ears roam independent of one another, each focusing upon different random sounds. The guard who accompanies this one holds his stun rifle at the ready.

  Dunc waves the next set of medics, and their escorts, forward. "Do me a favor, since I've got your attention?"

  I agree, curious as to what the officer might request of me.

  "Have Glian get his furry ass ready to fix whatever he did to my armor. The thing's boiling hot inside, and I know it shouldn't be."

  "You want me to file a request for routine maintenance and repair for you?" While I don't object to doing this for him, it is indeed peculiar. "If you think that's a good use of my time, I can help you."

  After an unnecessary and ridiculously untrue remark about my parentage, he explains. "He isn't speaking to me, still."

  "I had thought you two were getting along well enough, lately."

  Two more trolleys come off the civilian vessel and he signals the last of the waiting medics. The armored guards follow behind them onto the transport. He waits for the last trolley to exit the vessel before answering.

  "We were. But Spen got hold of Glian while he was in one of his moods. Hold on." He deactivates the muffling feature keeping our conversation quiet. "Good job, everyone. Double check your equipment, in pairs like we've practiced, and we'll get moving."

  The better design of the secondary docking tower goes almost wasted. The established shops are known attractions that continue to draw steady visitors to the older districts branching from the primary tower. Dunc's plan is to take advantage of that fact while escorting Zra and the others to the new hospital.

  For the most part he is correct. Few are here to see the newcomers, but those that see and are curious, follow. A small but growing crowd follows in their wake. More trickle out of the restaurants, repair shops, and small specialty stores as they proceed. I also notice an increase in comms usage as word spreads.

  I place the request for the officer. When the acceptance notification arrives, I inform Dunc.

  "Good," he replies, reactivating the quietening effect of his helmet. "Thanks. I'll have Abran take it with him after our shift."

  "I assume that this confrontation occurred during my absence."

  "Yeah," he confirms. "A couple of days after Eva's promotion." He chuckles ruefully. "Check the rosters. Go on, I'll wait."

  He can only mean that of the security teams. I open the data file but it takes a moment before I see it. His second in command is listed as Abran, who had only acquired the position on the day Spen had confronted Glian. Spen Dondrik's name doesn't appear anywhere on the registry of security personnel.

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  A little more research could likely reveal the rest, but I would prefer to hear his explanation over the official reports.

  "What happened? I can guess that Eva was less than excited to hear that Spen had assaulted our best mechanic."

  Dunc snorts and stops walking to recover his composure, drawing the attention of one of the nurses. He shakes his head in response to her questioning look and she quickly loses interest. He resumes walking, hurrying to regain his place in the loose formation.

  "That wasn't the way she phrased it. 'Gross incompetence,' was the cause of dismissal. It was stupid to challenge Glian inside his garage and he should have known it. The fact that he had to be carried out proved he couldn't handle the position." He stops talking to interrupt an overly curious child from approaching the Snapper.

  An adult dressed in the same red and yellow rectangle pattern snatches the excited child back and apologizes to Dunc. He waves them off with a professional smile. He switches to voice amplification mode to address the gathering crowd.

  "For your own safety, please maintain a safe distance. These beings are unpredictable, even while restrained and sedated. Please stay back."

  The crowd mutters loudly, clearly still wanting a better look, but they draw back slightly. He mutes his helmet again with a resigned sigh.

  "Would you like to try, oh great spirit? I'd rather not have to hurt anyone today."

  If it helps to keep the people safe, despite his failed attempt at humor, I'm willing to assist.

  "Attention citizens," I announce from all the speakers I have access to in the area. "Please do not approach the aliens. Please clear the area. Thank you for your cooperation."

  Only a small fraction of them disperse. Dunc seems satisfied that they're at least staying a reasonable distance away and not blocking the way. At least he is until a tourist throws a rock. It bounces harmlessly off of Dunc's shoulder pad and clatters to the street.

  The gray visitor runs off, hoping to escape any consequences. A still image saved from the surveillance will allow security to identify him when he attempts to leave the station. I send it to the team working at the docks along with a brief note explaining the situation.

  "Thanks again. Anyway. After losing his contract, Spen went to live on the planet. Gelest has property in Centra. They're living there."

  "And you chose to stay here?"

  "Yeah."

  He doesn't have anything more to say after that. The rest of the trip is relatively quiet, until they reach their destination. Aside from the roar of the trailing crowd, hailing them with questions and insults.

  There they find a flurry of activity so loud that it drowns out completely the noises of their unwanted escorts. Two days is not long enough to finish a facility of such grand scope and construction is still ongoing. The first floor is the only one that can be described as complete, if one wishes to be generous, with the rest still in varying degrees of disarray. Though I know they complain when not allowed into the unfinished hospital, I cannot hear the crowd through any of the microphones in the area.

  Not all of the monitoring equipment I might use to view the inside has been installed, so I rely primarily upon the view from Dunc's suit. It shows walls that still bear visible tool marks and unconcealed infrastructural wiring.

  The floor set aside for the unique needs of our guests is the third. Dunc leads the way, past busy work crews and up flights of roughly hewn stairs. Ventilation shafts, mostly functional but without much of the finishing details such as smooth casings or sound dampening devices, alternatively scream or stutter causing the more skittish of the nurses to flinch constantly.

  Tserri workers labor alongside Selber from the planet, here on loan from Matron Bell. The two groups tease each other playfully, turning construction into a competition. I watch as a Selber engineer cuts slightly into a key wiring junction installed by a Tserri crew. What a prankster!

  Of course, I inform Dunc. This project is too important to allow the workers' fun to interfere with its completion. He chuckles, then mutters, "This'll be fun."

  Dunc has the prankster, as well as his intended victims, follow him into an unoccupied room, after ordering another work crew to fix the junction. He then explains the joke to the Tserri, who smile broadly, slapping each other's complex shoulders in shared amusement. The prankster backs away from the others, waving his arms in front of himself. Does he for some reason regret his harmless joke?

  I do not know what happens next, as Dunc cheerfully bids the workers 'have fun' and leaves. He also locks the door behind him. How will the workers get out?

  The ventilation system inside the room begins making the worst screaming sounds. If the patients weren't sedated, the awful noise would only worsen their mental states.

  As if hearing my thoughts, Dunc informs one of the Selber workers about the incident. He calmly and with much detail explains to the worker exactly what happened and why such pranks should be avoided in the future. As the explanation continues the worker's face grows darker until it is almost black with suffused blood. He tries more than once to shove his way past Dunc, but the armored officer refuses to allow it, catching the other and pulling him back each time.

  "Now, go spread this story to your little friends," he says with an upbeat tilt. He turns, and recognizing the crew leader, shouts, "Hey, Ialla, would you unlock room three-fifteen, please?"

  She agrees but is in no hurry. She ambles along, stopping to check the work of those she passes.

  Dunc looks around, turning his helmet camera in each direction. Zra and the rest of the medics don't seem to have noticed his absence. They busily install their patients into the specialized housing units, each with different atmospheric and gravitational settings. Medical variant vacuum suits sit in charging alcoves beside each room, two each for Tserri and Selber.

  We watch together as the scale-covered being is wheeled into her room. He sighs heavily before he turns to leave.