jumped back from the porthole. Janad saw why as a naked body floated by. "What the hell!" he screamed.
"RJ must have opened the airlock to dump the dead bodies," Poley said matter-of-factly.
David shuddered and walked quickly away from the porthole. "Why did she strip them?"
"You know RJ. She hates to throw away anything she might need later," Topaz said.
"Why does she have to use that damn plasma blaster instead of a laser? It makes such a mess," David observed almost conversationally.
"I imagine that would be why," Topaz said with a laugh. "Come here, David, I need a blood sample."
"I think I've bled enough today. Couldn't you just take a piece of my hair if all you need is DNA?" David protested.
"Come on, Dave, humor an old man," Topaz said.
David held out his arm, and Topaz got the sample.
"See, Poley?" Topaz tapped on the screen as it showed a comparison of the two DNA samples.
"They aren't even close," Poley said.
Topaz sighed. "Oh, yes, they are. This girl is at least half human. Look more closely at the data. I can't put my finger on it, but there is something very familiar about her DNA."
"Wow," David groaned. "That has got to be the worst come-on line I have ever heard! I'm out ah here. Think I'll go lie down for awhile."
Poley nodded. "I do see many similarities and would have to agree that, yes, the subject is at least half human."
"Then I'm going to assume that it will be safe to treat her with the same medicine we would use on humans," Topaz said.
Janad watched as they cleaned the wound. They applied a salve, dressed it, and then Topaz put the thing back on her arm and she felt a slight sting. She trusted him. She didn't know why, but she did.
"I suggest you find a bunk and get some rest. RJ's going to have a lot of questions for you," Topaz said.
Janad nodded.
"Poley, put Janad in a convenient spot," Topaz ordered.
Poley nodded and started to walk away. Janad followed him reluctantly. She already felt better. He took her to a room close to the flight deck. Obviously it had been some big shot's quarters, as it held only one bed instead of sixty. She lay down. To her surprise Poley covered her up before he left. She closed her eyes and was almost instantly asleep.
* * *
RJ joined Levits on the flight deck.
"Is everything alright?" she asked as she sat beside him.
"Why don't you tell me?" Levits asked. "You've changed dicks right in the middle of a screw, and I really have no idea why."
"The Reliance is up to something on Beta 4. They're hauling something back from there, and it sure as hell isn't any livestock we're familiar with. We just caught a wounded Beta 4 humanoid on this ship, and it looks like she's been hiding here for a while. Now here's a good question. Did she hide to ride on the ship, or is she hiding to go back?"
"That doesn't make any sense," Levits said. "What would a Beta 4 humanoid be doing on Earth?"
"I think they're the 'livestock' the Reliance has been shipping in from Beta 4," RJ said.
"But why?" Levits asked. "Why would they do that? They have enough trouble feeding their own people on Earth right now. Why bring in more mouths to feed?"
"Levits, sometimes you think like a farm unit," RJ said in exasperation.
Levits shrugged. There was so much crap swimming through his brain right now that he would have gladly settled for half the brain of a common farm worker with which to work.
"How many Reliance troops did the New Alliance kill on Earth? Thousands? Hundreds of thousands? A large part of the reason they surrendered Zone 2-A to us was because their war with the Argys has escalated on two fronts and they can't afford to divert troops from space back to the home front. If they want to keep us from running over the rest of the planet, or if they want to take back what ground they have lost, they are going to have to have troops from somewhere," RJ
"RJ must have opened the airlock to dump the dead bodies," Poley said matter-of-factly.
David shuddered and walked quickly away from the porthole. "Why did she strip them?"
"You know RJ. She hates to throw away anything she might need later," Topaz said.
"Why does she have to use that damn plasma blaster instead of a laser? It makes such a mess," David observed almost conversationally.
"I imagine that would be why," Topaz said with a laugh. "Come here, David, I need a blood sample."
"I think I've bled enough today. Couldn't you just take a piece of my hair if all you need is DNA?" David protested.
"Come on, Dave, humor an old man," Topaz said.
David held out his arm, and Topaz got the sample.
"See, Poley?" Topaz tapped on the screen as it showed a comparison of the two DNA samples.
"They aren't even close," Poley said.
Topaz sighed. "Oh, yes, they are. This girl is at least half human. Look more closely at the data. I can't put my finger on it, but there is something very familiar about her DNA."
"Wow," David groaned. "That has got to be the worst come-on line I have ever heard! I'm out ah here. Think I'll go lie down for awhile."
Poley nodded. "I do see many similarities and would have to agree that, yes, the subject is at least half human."
"Then I'm going to assume that it will be safe to treat her with the same medicine we would use on humans," Topaz said.
Janad watched as they cleaned the wound. They applied a salve, dressed it, and then Topaz put the thing back on her arm and she felt a slight sting. She trusted him. She didn't know why, but she did.
"I suggest you find a bunk and get some rest. RJ's going to have a lot of questions for you," Topaz said.
Janad nodded.
"Poley, put Janad in a convenient spot," Topaz ordered.
Poley nodded and started to walk away. Janad followed him reluctantly. She already felt better. He took her to a room close to the flight deck. Obviously it had been some big shot's quarters, as it held only one bed instead of sixty. She lay down. To her surprise Poley covered her up before he left. She closed her eyes and was almost instantly asleep.
* * *
RJ joined Levits on the flight deck.
"Is everything alright?" she asked as she sat beside him.
"Why don't you tell me?" Levits asked. "You've changed dicks right in the middle of a screw, and I really have no idea why."
"The Reliance is up to something on Beta 4. They're hauling something back from there, and it sure as hell isn't any livestock we're familiar with. We just caught a wounded Beta 4 humanoid on this ship, and it looks like she's been hiding here for a while. Now here's a good question. Did she hide to ride on the ship, or is she hiding to go back?"
"That doesn't make any sense," Levits said. "What would a Beta 4 humanoid be doing on Earth?"
"I think they're the 'livestock' the Reliance has been shipping in from Beta 4," RJ said.
"But why?" Levits asked. "Why would they do that? They have enough trouble feeding their own people on Earth right now. Why bring in more mouths to feed?"
"Levits, sometimes you think like a farm unit," RJ said in exasperation.
Levits shrugged. There was so much crap swimming through his brain right now that he would have gladly settled for half the brain of a common farm worker with which to work.
"How many Reliance troops did the New Alliance kill on Earth? Thousands? Hundreds of thousands? A large part of the reason they surrendered Zone 2-A to us was because their war with the Argys has escalated on two fronts and they can't afford to divert troops from space back to the home front. If they want to keep us from running over the rest of the planet, or if they want to take back what ground they have lost, they are going to have to have troops from somewhere," RJ
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