The door chime sounded, making both of them jump a little.
“That’s either the medical supplies, medic, or the food,” he said, straightening away from her. She let her arms fall away from him, almost immediately missing the warmth of his body near hers.
He crossed the room and ordered the door open. He had a short conversation with the person in the hall before stepping aside to let them in.
Her vision was only getting worse, and she couldn’t make out much about the Fielden who came into the room. They were a long gray blob with a large brown blob attached to their back. The brown blob had to be one of the large boxes Fielden wore like backpacks.
It reminded her that Fielden didn’t use droids or other smaller tech because it was easily destroyed by the sand. When she’d heard that she’d scoffed, but now she understood.
“I’m Dranker, the medic on call.” The waver in the Fielden’s voice told Nova that it was a she. “The request ticket said a human was injured?”
“That’s me,” Nova said, waving her hand. “I’m Nova.”
“I’ve never met a human before,” Dranker said, stepping into the room. “But I’ll do my best.”
“That’s all I can ask,” she agreed. “That and don’t kill me, okay?”
“No, never!” Dranker said with a little sound of distress.
Nova felt bad. She’d forgotten that Fielden didn’t do humor like that. “I’m sorry. I was trying to be amusing.”
“Oh, then I’ll try not to take offense if you insult my skills as a medic again,” Dranker said.
“That would be good,” Nova agreed. Then remembered a Fielden saying, “Children and fools never know how to act.”
“That’s true,” Dranker said, obviously relaxing a little, and responded with the second part of the saying, “But children can learn, fools are irredeemable.”
“I’ll try hard to be a child and not a fool,” Nova said, relieved that Dranker wasn’t upset with her any longer.
“We must all make a habit of learning,” Dranker agreed, voicing the third line to the saying, “In that way, we are forever children.”
She took her box off, set it on the floor next to the bed, and pressed a button on the top. It was close enough for Nova to watch it open a little like a flower, revealing layer after layer of equipment and medication.
“Please list your concerns in order of priority,” Dranker said.
“Her eyes and her left ankle,” Miran said before she could talk. “You should also assess her skin for bruising, her internal organs for injury, and her brain for concussion.”
Nova wasn’t sure, but she thought she saw the organs in Dranker’s dome pulse. An indication of concern or surprise.
Dranker addressed Miran. “That is an extensive list. What happened to this human?”
Nova bit her lip at Dranker’s accusatory tone.
Miran didn’t even notice. “Humans are small and delicate. I’m worried that she injured herself getting here. On top of that, the sandstorm was brutal on her eyes.”
“I understand," Dranker said, although Nova thought she still heard a hint of condemnation. “I’ll start with your eyes, Nova. When I ask questions, you must attempt to answer them to the best of your ability.”
“Of course,” she agreed.
Things went quickly from there. Dranker mostly ignored Miran. She even hushed him when he tried to answer for Nova. Although Dranker was being deliberately rude to the Hissa, he never realized it. He was too preoccupied with making sure Dranker didn’t miss anything.
First Dranker gave her some pain medication that dulled the remaining pain in her eyes to a distant throb.
Then Dranker treated her eyes with several different types of drops and a mask that probably did all kinds of fancy things, but to Nova, it was pleasantly warm and made her eyes immediately feel better.
When Dranker took it off, she was happy to find that her vision was no longer fuzzy.
“That’s much better,” she said, relief making her feel a little lightheaded.
