Free The Genius Asylum: Sic Transit Terra Book 1 by Arlene F. Marks Page A

people functioned best when they were working toward a goal. He organized the various departments, established protocols and duty cycles, and saw to it that everyone kept learning. That was his greatest gift to us. The man was brilliant. He had degrees in medicine, psychology, and engineering. He personally trained half the techs on this station, then designated them engineers and stepped out of the way so they could teach the other half.”
    “And Khaloub?” Drew reminded them.
    “Karim was more into health and safety,” said Jensen. “Order was his first priority, though. Had to be. He replaced Jovanovich, who had just spent four years hiding under his desk—”
    “—after being traumatized by the Nandrians his first day on the job,” Ruby cut in. “He was looking for Gavin, and found him negotiating a trade with some of Nagor’s crew. Jo barged into the discussion and accused Gavin of being a black marketeer, which cast a slur on the Nandrians as well, who responded in typical Nandrian fashion by biting Jo, here and here.” She indicated the midpoints of both thighs.
    “Nandrian venom is actually a digestive enzyme,” Jensen explained. “It’s how they feed. See, the paralyzed prey begins dissolving from the inside out, and—”
    “I get the picture,” said Drew with a grimace.
    “Fortunately, Doc Ktumba had some antivenin on hand. She got to him quickly enough to prevent any serious permanent damage to his body.”
    “He limped a little after that,” Jensen clarified. “It was hardly noticeable, except when he walked.”
    “Mostly, he scurried.”
    “Scuttled, actually, like a crab.”
    “It was very sad,” said Ruby, by now unable to keep a straight face. As she made eye contact with Jensen across the table, they simultaneously burst out laughing.
    Drew looked from one to the other of them and sighed patiently. His first impression of Ruby McNeil had apparently been correct. “I can see you really sympathized with him; but tell me, what happened when Khaloub arrived?”
    “Things were pretty chaotic around here, so he knew he had to lay down some rules,” said Ruby, struggling to regain her composure. “Karim was no slouch in the smarts department. First thing he did was consult with Gavin Holchuk. Together they cooked up a plan. They waited until a shipload of Nandrians was aboard the Hub, celebrating their latest tekl’hananni victory. Then the two of them went down to L Deck and put on PLS suits with null-G microgenerators. They raised the gravity on the station to 3Gs, not enough to immobilize the Nandrians, but sufficient to slow them down a little. Then Karim circulated around the Hub and explained the new five drink limit. Gavin had coached him on how to say things without appearing to insult the aliens’ honor. Finally, just to seal the agreement, Gavin and Karim presented the Chief Officer with a lifetime certificate entitling him to free drinks on Daisy Hub.”
    “A temptation?” The puzzled silence that greeted his question told him he’d better try again. “They gave him a — a bribe?”
    “Call it what you like,” said Ruby. “It worked. The Nandrians have followed the rules ever since.”
    “Of course, our crew was pretty upset about being flattened on the deck for nearly an hour,” Jensen added, chuckling. “Karim hadn’t warned anyone beforehand, but he did explain everything later on. That was another reason why I liked him. He never gave us the mushroom treatment — you know, keep ‘em in the dark and pile on the manure? — and we never had to wonder about his priorities. Daisy Hub always came first for him.”
    Ruby had finished her java. As she moved the empty mug deliberately to the middle of the table, Drew summed up, “So, Naguchi was intelligent, but Karim was smart. Naguchi cared about discipline and learning, and Karim…?”
    “Karim cared about morale,” Jensen supplied. “He knew how important that was, especially to people like us — stuck