Free Omega Games by S. L. Viehl Page B

anything for a time. Then the lines around her nose and mouth slowly disappeared. “Obviously you got away.”
    “I was very lucky.” I decided to change the subject. “Davidov told us that the colony had instituted the quarantine. He insinuated that there were medical reasons for it.”
    “Oh, there’s a psychiatric reason,” Mercy said. “He’s a fucking lunatic.” She took the medical case one of the drednocs had brought in and opened it. “You pack a lot of supplies. What sort of doctor are you, anyway?”
    “I’m a surgeon. I specialize in cardiothoracic procedures, but I have worked as a trauma physician and a battlefield medic.” I saw her expression change. “Do you need a doctor here?”
    “Yes,” the wall said.
    “No.” Mercy began to pace the length of the room. “All right, change of plans. I can’t release you into the general population. Too many people have seen these relays. They’ll assume you’re in with Davidov, and you’ll end up dangling from a transmitter or turning into a lump of ice at the bottom of a crater.” She raised her voice. “Cat? Get your ass in here.”
    Before Mercy finished speaking, Squilyp hopped into the room.
    I ran to him, but stopped short as I realized the male was not my friend the Senior Healer. This Omorr had a wide, gray-green scar running the length of one arm, which, like the rest of his form, bulged with muscular development. Several black spiral tattoos encircled his outer gildrells. A bronze leather weapons halter crisscrossed his bare chest, gleaming with sheathed Omorr fighting knives. More dark brown leather covered him from the waist down, and a spiked boot encased his one broad foot.
    I gaped at him. “Dævena Yepa.”
    “No, Omorr male.” He stood his ground while his gildrells flared wildly with nerves. When I opened my mouth to speak again, he interrupted with, “Don’t you even think about spitting on me.”
    “She’s not from the homeworld,” Mercy told him, and patted his arm. “Cherijo, this is Cataced, my Omorr business manager, junior partner, and the chief pain in my ass. Cat, this is Cherijo, mysterious surgeon with very large bounty on her head.”
    I considered asking her to call me Jarn, but the explanation as to why might make her suspicions about me return. While I was here, I would have to answer to my former self’s name. “I am happy to meet you, Cataced.”
    Cat ignored my greeting and reached out to tug on Mercy’s sleeve. “You can’t turn her loose.”
    “They know that scout was in orbit with Davidov before it crashed,” Mercy told him. “Everyone saw it crash. Everyone picked up the relays he’s been transmitting. We could kill her and dump the body, I suppose. Except she’s supposed to be immortal. I wonder if Swap’s hungry.”
    “You can’t feed her to your pet worm.” The Omorr studied me for a moment. “She’s not hideous. We’ve got an entire house full of females. We alter her appearance enough to make her look like one of the girls.”
    “And that’s going to fool the males in this colony, who have used every girl under my roof countless times since the blockade started, for how long?” Mercy dragged a hand over her hair and gave me an exasperated look. “They come and find her here, they will raze this place to the ground and toss us out the nearest air lock.”
    “We have to protect her,” Cat said, putting himself in her path. “Mercy. Come on. She’s a doctor.”
    “What difference will that make?” she demanded. “She can’t do anything but feel foreheads and take temperatures. She’s a liability. We have to get rid of her.”
    “I will leave, and tell no one that I was here or how you helped me,” I offered, drawing their attention away from each other. “Only show me where my husband is. I will need him to protect me.”
    “I can’t, honey,” Mercy said, at last showing some sympathy. “He was salvaged by Drefan’s dreds, and he belongs to Omega Dome until he