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As far as Owen was concerned, this mission had gone badly from the beginning. It was rushed. Gear had been forgotten and packed wrong; that one scanner had been crushed by medpacks falling on it; and to top it off, the head of the whole affair was not a natural leader.
The doctor who walked nervously beside him now was a fine therapist, and Owen had no complaints with him in general. But it was obvious that when the man had been chosen for this position, no one had expected him to ever need to do the job. It looked like he hadn’t even used the translator before. Owen was just glad that Dr. Rhodes had agreed to let him lead the expedition. It would be easier for everyone this way.
A voice called for attention, and turned out to belong to eagle-eyed Namina, who met them halfway with her search partner and an intriguing new piece of shell. Her dark face was lit with excitement, and it was easy to see why.
“Ooh, that’s a good one,” Owen said, accepting the eight-inch hollow spike that was held out to him. “It was all by itself?” He flipped the pale orange thing over in his hands, marveling at its similarity to Earth crustaceans.
“Yeah, right here between the rocks,” Namina said, pointing at nearby chunks of gray river stone, turned brown with dried mud. “It was wedged in there pretty tight.”
“We’re guessing it got stuck during higher water than this,” chimed in Namina’s partner Joey. The short white man puffed with pride, though his eyes darted nervously. “Looks like it came from something pretty big, huh?”
Owen inspected the piece further while the psychologist shifted uneasily on the gravel. “Could be,” he said. “Keep an eye out, and make sure everybody stays in pairs.”
“Yessir!” the two workers chorused.
“Do you want us to go put this in the car?” Joey asked.
Owen handed it back. “Sure thing. Have Walt add it to the list I left for him.”
The pair hurried off, and Owen was just turning to say something to Dr. Rhodes when he heard the unmistakable sound of someone falling down.
“Sorry!” Joey was saying when he turned back to look. “That rock slipped under my foot!”
“I’m fine, I’m fine,” Namina grumbled, getting her feet under herself. She rubbed a hip. “Man, this is not the best ground to take a fall on.”
“I am so sorry!” Joey insisted, grabbing an arm and hauling her upright. “I didn’t push you on purpose, I swear! I wouldn’t do that to you! Are you sure you’re okay? You could have a hairline fracture!”
Owen was already getting out his SedEgg and striding forward before Dr. Rhodes said anything.
“He’s not usually—” the doctor said.
“I’m on it.”
Namina was trying to reach her own SedEgg while also trying to calm the inconsolable teammate who had hold of her right arm.
“Are you bleeding anywhere? You could get an infection! Do you want me to get a first aid kit? We need to make sure you’re not bleeding internally!”
“No, I’m fine, I’m sure it’s just a bruise. It’s okay.”
“But you can’t know that for sure!” Joey continued, eyes wide. “Stay here! I’ll be right back with the medkit!” With that he took off sprinting for the aircar, leaving the others swearing behind him.
“Joey!” Namina yelled, scrambling after him. “Come back!”
“Or better yet, sit down!” Owen added as he raced after.
Closer to the aircar, Walt and Diana were just looking up from their guard duty and noticing the commotion. Owen yelled at them to meet Joey with SedEggs out. They didn’t need to be told twice.
“I need the medkit, fast!” the panicking man was saying as he ran. “Namina might be hurt!”
The duo met him at the door with spread arms. He managed to dodge Walt in a lunge for the open door of the aircar, but Diana stamped the back of his neck as he passed.
“Medkit... it’s right there...” Joey trailed off as he collapsed on the doorstep. “Somebody get it to her... Sorry...” And with that he was out.
Owen came sliding to a stop moments after Namina, and he thanked the two guards for acting quickly.
“No problem,” Diana said as they moved the unconscious man onto the level floor of the aircar. She flicked a black braid out of her way and straightened up. “Do you want us to fly him back to base, or keep watch on him here?”
“I’ve already lit up the medic light,” Walt added. His own gray hair was tied back in a braid longer than Diana’s, but tucked into his shirt. “Xian should be back here any second.”
Owen thought about it. “Normally I’d say to take him back and not risk anything, but we have a lot of other people out here today, and it’s an important trip. So let’s just keep an eye on him for now. He wasn't frenzying for long, even though he did get a running start.” He clapped the victim’s partner on the shoulder. “Keep an eye on him, all right?”
Namina nodded. “Of course.”
Owen looked around, just now remembering the hollow shell fragment and the psychologist. “Now where did—” He spotted both the shell and the doctor lying on the gravel far from the car. “Crap.”
A quick jog later, he found Dr. Rhodes staring skyward and muttering about the futility of it all. He sighed and dug out his SedEgg again.
“...Can’t even run very fast, and I have no idea how to fight if the natives are violent, and what if the translator doesn’t know their language?” Dr. Rhodes clutched the machine and didn’t even notice when Owen pressed the needles against his arm. “What am I supposed to do while the machine figures it out...” He lapsed into silent breathing, though much faster than usual.
Owen called for the guards to bring him a stretcher, wondering as they did whether Dr. Rhodes was out of breath simply from frenzy, or also from trying to keep up with the running. Not a great sign if the man was so out of shape that such a short jog could make him pant.
He made sure that the doctor was in a comfortable position while he waited for the stretcher, securing the shell while he was at it. Other workers were noticing the continued commotion and heading toward him, but he waved them back to their tasks. Further anxiety wouldn’t do any good at this point.
When the stretcher arrived, Owen made sure the doctor was carried safely into the aircar, then he headed back out in the company of a different pair of explorers who had come bearing a few more shell fragments.
But the day didn’t improve from there. Not ten minutes later he heard a yell and a scuffle, followed by the shout of “Frenzy down! Stretcher and an ice pack, please!”
Other incidents sprang up all along the riverside, making Owen start to worry that they wouldn’t have enough space in the aircar. He clamped down on the emotion, and didn’t let himself think about what would happen if they ran out of people to pilot the car.
“All right, game’s over for today!” he called from the door of the aircar. “Everybody out of the pool, and back onboard in an orderly fashion!” He spoke quietly to the driver. “Call base to expect us. And to come find us if we don’t show.”
The driver kept her calm, for which Owen was grateful, but there were two more frenzies and one mundane panic attack by the time the engines started.
“We need to leave right now,” someone was saying as Owen shut the door and did a quick head count. “Before it spreads farther!”
Owen didn’t look for the speaker, still counting. “Everyone think about breathing evenly,” he said when he had finished. “Anybody who can’t handle a nice quiet ride home can do so unconscious.”
The same voice spoke up again, only to trail off as the speaker was sedated by a neighbor.
“Good move,” Owen said, giving the go-ahead to the driver and strapping himself in. “Make sure his head is secure, will you? Everybody breathe with me, and we’ll be home soon.”
The car lifted off with a thunder of engines. Owen was glad to see that the slumbering victims were all properly strapped in place while the rest of the crew appeared to be keeping their cool. Now that they were moving, the air of panic should subside.
Still, he thought as the river receded in the distance, This has got to be the worst expedition I’ve seen in quite a while.