Free Precious Cargo by Sarah Marsh

alien segregation. I don’t trust him to have Ali’s best interests in mind over his scientific academia.”
    “The Trade Corps would never allow us to contract with Alison with any kind of reprimand on our permanent record.” Conn paced the room. “This way they have no leverage to deny us once we formally break ties with Shara.”
    Kal was shocked into silence as Conn voiced the very thing he was hoping for. Kal knew that Conn had known Shara since childhood, and he’d always seemed to act as though he’d cared for her. That was why Kal and Tannen had let it go on for as long as it had, but it was a relief to know that his feelings for Alison were mirrored in his other bond mates.
    “You wish to break negotiations with Shara?” he asked carefully, almost as if he’d jinx it by saying it out loud.
    “Of course!” Conn growled at him as though he was insulted. “Do you think that I would have treated Ali like that if I did not have honorable intentions towards her?”
    “Both of you calm down,” Tannen interjected. “Clearly all three of us have feelings for Ali and want to be rid of Shara for good, do we not?”
    “Gods, yes,” Kal growled as Conn simply nodded in agreement.
    “Good. It’s been hours since Alison went with the med crew. She should need us soon.” Tannen moved towards the doors. “Let us go find our girl then.”
    ****
    The doctors had been poking and prodding her for hours now, and Alison was exhausted. On top of that, she’d begun to start having the hot and cold flashes that signified the virus was rearing its ugly head.
    “Umm, excuse me?” she said to the man who was taking yet another blood sample. “I think my symptoms are coming back. Will Conn and the others be coming to see me soon?”
    “Why would Clan Drogan need to see you, Alison?” The man looked puzzled at her question.
    “Tannen was treating me for contact sickness because of the virus. He said that he sent all the results to you ahead of time. Didn’t you get them?”
    “Oh yes, we received Doctor Drogan’s preliminary exam reports on your condition, but we are quite confident that we can treat your symptoms fully with medication here.”
    Alison was momentarily distracted by how adorable it was that the other clan members had taken Conn’s last name, right before she remembered how many medications Tannen told her he'd tried to alleviate her pain.
    “But he tried a bunch of medications. It never stopped the pain.” She began to worry when another cold sweat broke out all over her skin, making the monitors attached all over her beep faster along with her heart rate.
    “Doctor Gend, her vitals are elevating quite quickly now,” the younger doctor said aloud as an older gentleman came into the room.
    “Hello, Earth female, I am Doctor Gend. I am in charge of your care here, and I assure you we have the best medical facility here on Dolak,” he said in a superior tone as he motioned for the younger man to give him the handheld device with her test results on it. “We’ll start her on a fifty percent dilution of the serum. I am certain it will work.”It didn’t work. And neither did the next two batches of shots that they gave her as she continued to writhe in pain and sweat on the bed. Alison was almost delirious with the aching that was racking her body now. They’d tried to give her pain meds as well, but were hesitant, not being familiar with her body chemistry and metabolism. She prayed for Conn, Tannen, and Kal to show up and make the pain go away, but hour after hour went by and there was no sign of her former rescuers.
    “Doctor Gend, there were a significant number of notes sent on Alison’s condition. The serum isn’t appearing to help her and her vital signs are becoming alarmingly erratic. We need to try the contact therapy they were treating her with.”
    Ali heard the younger doctor talking not far away in the room, although the lights were making her feel like her head would explode so