A short while later, Fabrice’s ship pulled into the hangar bay of the station S and the others were at. He shakily settled the ship down, pulled the handles, and pushed the buttons needed to power everything down. He was greeted by a parking robot upon exiting the ship and after a slight argument about parking fees, he asked where he could find S. Thankfully, that went more smoothly, and soon the Chilzumi found himself face-to-face with Lyndi’s friend once again.
“S! Oh thank goodness… it feels like forever since I set out to find you…” He glanced at his watch. “Oh gods, it’s been about three weeks…”
The lago smiled and and went up to Fabrice, pulling him into a hug. “It’s really good to see you. I just wish it was under better circumstances. It’s been a tough a few weeks and I just want all this crap to be solved”
He released the Chilzumi and gave him a little space. “Tell me what you know about Lyn. Do you have any clue why she’s in jail?”
Fabrice ran his hand through his hair. “It’s that paper she wrote! I know she only had the best interests of Chilzumi in mind, but apparently the Council for Chilzumi Research and Medicine had other ideas. Apparently tradition and species pride and mystique were just too important for them and they arrested her… she’s not the only one, though; they took a few dissenters from the council, too. And there’s nothing they can do about the dissemination of the paper because it’s on the holonet in a handful of places…” He slowly pulled his hand down the side of his face, stopping at his cheek. “I just… she… I’m so worried. All I keep thinking about is that sad little girl back when our mother passed… I mean, she’s not the same person she was back then, but… she’s still my baby sister…”
S looked angry. “How backwater is your Chilzumi culture!? Arresting someone for scientific research carried out ethically just because you disagree with their findings is a medieval practice, and has no place in the modern world.” The lago was fuming. He was Lyn’s friend and a man of science, and both of these aspects of him were mad.
“Well, we need to get her out of there and get her story on every news network in the galaxy. Show them what happens when they try and censor truth!” S said defiantly
The white and red Chilzumi nodded quickly. “You have no idea. I’ve heard rumors that Chilzumi on other planets are so much more tolerant, but Museorisian Chilzumi? No, they’ve got some of the biggest egos their side of the galaxy. It’s deeply ingrained in the culture, even against their own. We’re a planet of visual artists, and if you weren’t born with that kind of talent, you were teased mercilessly. I’m not excusing myself–goodness knows I’ve done more than enough belittling… not to Lyndi, of course! At least, not because of her talents–but what we have is a major problem that needs to be corrected. We’re living with our heads in the dirt, figuratively and literally, haha…” He slid down toward the floor, sitting with his calves splayed out next to his thighs. “I just, don’t know where to begin… ohhh, Lyndi…”
He stopped himself for a moment, wiping the tears from his eyes, chuckling a little. “I apologize; you’ve seen me as nothing but hyper since the last time we met… I’m just so spun up right now and so tired; I’ve barely slept in three weeks trying to find you… just little naps here and there. So naturally my emotions are all over the place… plus this whole situation…” He shook his head.
The lago looked at the Chilzumi, a bit concerned. “You should really get some rest, Fab. You’re not going to do Lyn any good if you go loopy from lack of sleep. Why don’t we get you comfortable and I can find the others and we can start discussing what we’re going to do about Lyn.” The rabbit offered the Chilzumi his paw.
He looked up at S with heavy-lidded eyes, a small thankful smile spreading. “…Thank you.” He took it and began standing up, breathing heavily. “I amso tired right now…” He said, yawning. “I should probably just… get back to my… ship, and…” With that, the slim Chilzumi slipped back to the floor, face-first this time, and flat on his stomach; he hadn’t even made it a single step from where he’d sat.
S went into full on alarm mode when the Chilzumi collapsed. He bent down and shook Fabrice to try and rouse him but there was no response. The Chilzumi appeared to be completely out. Thankfully this happened right outside a hospital, but the lago actually had to get Fab inside for the robots to help him.
S scooped up the surprisingly heavy Chilzumi in his arms and picked him up off the ground. He staggered to the hospital, calling out for robotic assistance.
One of the nearby robots approached him, peering down at the limp figure in his arms. “Please state the circumstances of the emergency,” it asked, reaching out and carefully taking Fabrice into its arms, attaching a sensor bracelet to the Chilzumi’s wrist for analysis.
S looked to the robot. “He collapsed just outside the hospital. I don’t know if he’s breathing.” The lago said, still in a bit panic.
“Where do I put him? Is there a bed I can put him in do you can look at him? Or maybe like an assistant bot that can take him?”
The robot had already begun analyzing the data from the bracelet, a few lights on top of its head blinking as another robot rushed over and took Fabrice from its arms. This robot, in turn, whisked the Chilzumi off behind a door that quickly opened and shut.
Still blinking, the machine turned back to S. “Warning: patient status critical, code HD70259-IRN.” It bowed slightly. “Emergency medical treatment has begun. Would you like a data printout?”
The lago’s ears folded back and his eyes went wide at ‘status critical’. “Uhhhh… Yeah, sure. Just get him help.” The lago was at a loss. It seemed like the universe was piling crisis after crisis on him without giving him time to work through the previous on. At least he had the robots to help or he’d be in a complete panic.
There was a beep of acknowledgement, and the robot made a beeline for the nearby front desk, where a report was printing at that moment. By the time the pages had been inked, the robot stapled them, brought them back, and presented them to S. “I will alert you when the patient has been moved to ICU.”
The report, nowhere near as thick as the one that had been written up on Cocky’s status, was full of much medical lingo and terms that would sail over the head of many a layman. But certain terms were more easily understood... terms like “congenital cardiac defect,” “cardiopulminary arrest,” “immediate resuscitation,” and “emergency surgical treatment”.
