Zenn Scarlett Part 11

"It is a possibility. But who would do such a thing?"

"I've haven't really figured this all out," Zenn said. "But one person comes to mind."

Hamish waited, antennae vibrating.

"Graad Dokes," she said.

"The human-foreman at the LeClerc property? It seems plain he does dislike off-world life forms. In addition, he is referred to by our Liam Tucker person as *one foul-tempered mud-hopper'. I believe the phrase is non-complimentary."

"Yes, Graad has a temper, alright."

"But to accuse this Graad Dokes? This seems to be, what is the wordinga jumping onto a conclusion."

"Maybe. Maybe not. I'm still collecting factsa but look, here's what we have: the whalehound gets loose, I dart him, and Ren Jakstra says he ran into Graad in Arsia City that very morning. Coincidence he was in the area?"

"Perhaps he had other business in thea"

"Hold on. Then, Gil's sandhog. Guess who just happened to be out at the Bodine place before power to the fence got cut? Gil said Graad dropped off some feed. And we both just heard Graad saying all kinds of stuff about our animals and how keeping them alive was a waste of grazing land."

"We did. But this theorizing would demand that Graad Dokes gained unseen entry to the cloister grounds. Could he achieve this?"

"Alright. That's a weak link. But he knows the cloister layout well enough."

"And there is this," Hamish said. "I am going here and there all the day and much of the night throughout the grounds. My sensing apparatus are quite acute. The director-abbot has requested that I keep myself attentive for any animal having distress during the night hours. I believe I would have noticed a large, odiferous human going to and fro within the compound walls, even if he attempted to go undetected."

"Wait. Odiferous? Graad stinks?"

"I can smell most life types. Mammal forms in particular. It is your metabolism and porous epidermal skin. Graad Dokes smells of addictive tobacco resin, mammal-goats and fresh dung. You smell of unwashed cloth material and carbonized onion-vegetable."

Zenn made a face.

"I do not!"

"It is a true statement."

"I smell likea cooked onions?" She shook off the comment. "Look, I'll admit there are holes in my theory. But Graad has a major motive. He hates aliens, no exceptions. It wouldn't surprise me if he actually wanted the hound to make it into town. Think of what would've happened then."

"Would he? Intend that kind ofamayhem?"

"Maybe. Yes, sure. The worse the better, as far as turning the council against us and our animals. And Gil's sandhog getting loose was just one more dangerous alien creature for people to get upset about. Graad could've cut those wires, easy."

"I suppose there is some limited probability to your scenario." Hamish groomed one antenna nervously with his claw. "Should we go to the director-abbot? Tell him of your suspicion?"

Zenn considered.

"No," she said after a few seconds. "Otha already thinks I'm having trouble with my training because of what's been happening witha" She stopped. "Well, like I said before, I've just been a little off lately. Besides, Otha will want hard evidence. We need to show him proof."

"We?" Hamish now groomed both antennae nervously. "Novice Zenn, I have a reservation to lodge."

"Alright. Let's hear it."

"You said you have been *off' as of late. And just nowa" He raised one claw, pointing to the aquarium. "You failed to secure the door on the filter. Might your being *off' also affect your perceptions of foreman Graad Dokes' involvement in these events? Humans, I have noticed, sometimes impose patterns where no patterns, in fact, exist. I am afraid this is in your nature."

Zenn knew Hamish had a point. What was happening between her and the animals was interfering with her concentration, making her miss things she shouldn't, do things she'd never done before.

"Alright," she told him. She knelt, and scooped Katie up in her arms. "I admit I don't have all the facts. It is possible I'm wrong about Graad. There, happy?"

"Now you are displaying an open mind. I am content."

But as she shut the door to the shed and they headed for the refectory to see what Hild was making for supper, Zenn told herself that, at the very least, there seemed to be a pattern taking shape a" and Graad Dokes fit into it. Nicely.

SIXTEEN.

"He must've been sleeping under the truck," Liam repeated for the third time as he and Zenn hurried toward the infirmary, the unconscious animal wrapped in a towel and cradled in Liam's arms. "He shoulda got outta the way. Stupid cat."

"Alright," Zenn said, trying to think, trying to visualize the steps from the chapters on small animal trauma. "Tell me what happened."

"Graad drove the truck out of the shed, accidentally hit him. At least, he said it was an accidenta I didn't see it happen." He addressed the cat, softly, "d.a.m.n you, Zeus. Stupid d.a.m.n cat."

"Was he conscious when you found him? Alert?"

"Yeah, but he wasn't moving. And he was crying. Then he got quiet, like now. You can fix him, right?"

"Liam, we'll need to examine him first, to see how bad the injuries are."

"Yeah, but you've fixed cats beforea Othaa Otha has fixed cats."

Zenn flicked on the light in the ready room as they entered. She told Liam to put the cat on the smallest exam table, where the attached readout screen would register and record his weight, pulse-rate and body temp.

Zeus came to as Liam set him down, green eyes going wide. He emitted a long, low moan. Liam winced at the sound. And then it struck her, the feeling sweeping through her, fiery sheets of pain climbing like flame up her back, her legs going weak, almost dropping her to the floor. A sense of abject fear then broke over her mind like a cresting wave, her vision grew faint, and the room around her wasa gone. Instead, she now saw a baffling rush of images: bright lights, dim shadows, light again, coming rapid-fire, too fast to make any sense. Then the images slowed, cleared; she could see again. But she wasn't seeing the ready room where she'd been a second ago. She wasa in a dark s.p.a.ce, there were big shapes around her. The underside of a vehicle above, fat truck wheels glimpsed beyond. The smell of oil and gas. She was in a garage, looking up from low on the ground. A sound roared in her ears, deafening, terrifying, she was pinned by a wheel, crushed. The pain surged up again, nearly making her black out with shock and fear. She wasa seeing out of the cat's eyes, Zeus' eyes. Impossiblea unmistakablea She was reliving the cat's experience, reliving the memory of when he'd been injured.

"Scarlett?" Liam's voice cut through the pain and terror, pulled her back. She opened her eyes to see he held her by one elbow. "You alright?"

She tried to breathe, steadying herself.

So that's what it feels like when you've been run over by a truck.

"I'm fine," she said. "I'm alright."

"You sure?"

"Yes," she turned back to the cat, away from the boy's worried look. "It's what I told you about. What happens between me and the animals. I just linked up."

"What? With Zeus?"

"Yeaha but we can't worry about that now. I'ma back. I'm fine now. He needs help."

She saw the bloodstain on the towel swaddling the cat had spread, pooling on the metal tabletop. She pulled her gaze away from the sight, but not before Liam noticed the blood.

"Nine h.e.l.ls," he swore. "It's worse. It's getting worse, isn't it? Where's Otha? Is he coming?"

"He'll be here soon."

Zeus thrashed weakly, trying to escape from the towel, but unable to rise to his feet. Liam held him gently in place on the exam table. The animal cried out again, a pitiful gasp of a meow.

"He's hurting," Liam said. "Can't you do something?"

"We should really wait for Otha." Liam jerked his gaze up to her. "But I'll take a look."

Zeus moaned again as Zenn gently folded back the towel. Her jaw went tight at the sight. Liam looked away. The cat's entire rear quarter was badly mangled, a sickening pudding of flesh, blood and bone. She pushed up the cat's lips; the gums were pale and growing paler from blood loss. Pupils fixed and dilated. Breathing shallow, fast. Another yowl.

"It's alright, boy," Liam said, his voice going uncharacteristically quiet as he returned his gaze to the cat. "It's alright, Zeus. We'll get you fixed up. We'll fix it. Can't youa give him a shot?"

Of course, she could give Zeus pain medication. But she wasn't supposed to. She wasn't qualified. Not yet.

Otha will be mad.

But she knew what to do, she should do it.

He'll be really mad. Too bad.

"Hold him there," she said. "Keep him as still as you can. I'll give him something."

Zenn pulled the infusion tube up from its compartment on the exam table, found a suitable vein on Zeus' front leg, placed the line over it and pressed it into place.

"He's shocky," she said. "We need to get fluids into him, too, get him stabilized."

She dialed a k.n.o.b on the table and started a slow push of electrolytes and quad-steroids through the line.

"Good. Now, we'll start some medicine for the pain."

She pulled open the drawer holding the pneuma-ject syringes, and trying hard not to fumble, found a vial of Amalan. She drew a dose up into the syringe.

Zeus moaned, struggled. Liam held him, but looked away from the broken body, closing his eyes. Zenn placed the pneuma-ject on the matted fur covering the muscles at the cat's shoulder, mentally double-checked the weight-to-dosage ratio, decided it was correct, and pressed the plunger.

"This will help," she said. "He'll feel a lot better now."

Before she'd finished speaking, the drug worked its molecular spell, the animal's stiffly arched neck relaxed, his breathing slowed and deepened, the fear and pain drained from his eyes, which narrowed as the big head drooped.

"Nine h.e.l.ls," Liam swore quietly, stroked the half-conscious animal. "Thanks. For that."

"Liam, this is a bad injury, really bad." She waited for him to look up.

"But Othaa"

"We can see what Otha says. Buta I'm telling you it's bad."

She'd seen towner cats brought to the clinic with similar injuries. It never turned out well. And this one was even worse than the others. Liam looked away from her, breathed hard for a second or two and looked back.

"So," she searched for something to say to distract the boy. "What's Zeus' story? Where'd you get him?"

"Hea my mom." Liam put a strained smile on his face. "My mom gave him to me when he was justa just a little guy." He cupped his hands. "About this biga"

Zenn was sure Liam was on the verge of tears when the door to the room swung open. Otha strode over to the exam table, pulled back the towel and squinted down at the cat.

"Vehicle?" he asked Zenn.

"Truck. Out at Vic's place."

"How long ago?" Otha turned to Liam.

"An hour? Maybe more."

Otha gently lifted one blood-matted hind leg, probed at the animal's belly, ran a hand across the spine. He touched a b.u.t.ton on the exam table, and a small virt-screen appeared in the air, showing a 3-D image of the cat's skeletal structure and major internal organs.

"Liam, this is serious," Otha said after a moment. He steadied his gaze at the boy. "Maybe too serious to repair."

"Yeah, Zenn said it was bad. Buta" Liam gestured at the shelves of medicines and supplies lining the ready room walls, at the machines and devices surrounding them. "All this stuff? All this stuff and you can't fix him?" Liam's eyes blazed at Otha, pleading, accusing.

"There are limits, Liam. These injuries are extensive." He pointed to the images on the v-screen. "Shattered hip bones here, here and here. Fractured spinal vertebrae here and over here. Ruptured bladder, lacerated small intestine, severed arteries. This kidney is badly bruised."

"So, there's no way toa nothing you can do for him?" Liam's voice stuttered. He stared down at the cat. "There's nothing?"

"Otha," Zenn said quietly, not quite sure it was a novice's place to say anything, but unable to keep her thoughts to herself. "What about the Mag-Genis?"

Her uncle c.o.c.ked a bushy eyebrow at her.

"What? What is it?" Liam said, looking from her to Otha. "Can it help Zeus?"

"If it worked it might," Otha said. "But Zenn knows as well as I do that that unit hasn't been fully operational for month. Firmware's out of date. Software's gone buggy."

"But what is it? What does it do?" Liam said again.

"It's a bone and tissue generator," Zenn said. "It uses a magnetic field to create a series of energy scaffolds inside an animal, then it manipulates cells to grow bones and organs and blood vessels around the scaffolds."

"But it's broken?"

"The software that runs it is bad," Otha said. "The process of building tissues, bones, is ma.s.sively complex. Without the software, it's basically useless."

"Actually, I talked to Hild about that, just last week," Zenn told him. "I had an idea."

"Oh?" Her uncle raised both bushy eyebrows this time. "And?"