Geran brought up, hand against the chair, and lifted Chur’s head-used both hands to prop her back against the seat. Chur’s jaw hung slack. Pyanfar reached to offer what she could of help, her own hands shaking.
Chur’s ears twitched, the jaw shut, the eyes opened half, and she made a wild lunge for the counter and the gun.
Pyanfar caught her. ” ‘S all right, it’s all right,” Pyanfar said, bracing her up and putting her face where the wild fix of Chur’s eyes could register who it was. “It’s us.”
“Gods,” Geran said, and sank down to her knees on the spot, against the chair. Her ears were back. She was shaking visibly as she clung to the chair arm. “Gods rot it, Chur- What’re you doing here?”
Chur’s ears twitched and slanted her sister’s way as she turned her head. “Everybody get out?” she asked, the faintest ghost of a voice.
The lift was cycling. “They’re on their way up,” Pyanfar said. “Even got Skkukuk back, worse luck.”
“He with you?” Chur asked thickly. “Gods, I thought he was loose on the ship. Been seeing things-little black things- Couldn’t find anybody aboard-Gods.” Chur. lay back against the seat-back and blinked, licked her mouth. “Vigilance- went, captain. I tried to get the guns to bear, tried to stop ‘er. Missed my fix. Armament’s still live-” She made a loose gesture toward Haral’s seat. “Got back here-I don’t remember-Gods-be little black things in the corridors-”
Pyanfar got up and walked over to her own post. The armament ready-light was flashing red on the boards. She shut it down and capped it and looked up as the lift door opened down the hall and their ill-assorted crew came running, kif and all. “She’s all right!” she yelled out to them from the bridge, violating her own cardinal rule; and went back to Chur, only then realizing Chur had not a stitch on. “Migods,” she muttered, with not a blanket to be had and two men-no, three-arriving on the bridge; and then decided no one cared. They were all crew. Even the kif Skkukuk, brought along willy-nilly. Tully came rushing over among the rest, and Chur grinned and reached up and patted his anxious face right in front of Khym and everyone.
“Let’s get you back to bed,” Pyanfar said. “Gods-be med-machine’s blowing its fuses in there.”
“Uhhnn.” Chur put a hand on the chair arm to lever herself up, and fell back. “Goldtooth,” she said suddenly, hazily. “Goldtooth.”
“What about Goldtooth?”
“Took out after Ehrran-blasted out this message-”
“You get it?”
Chur waved her hand at the com board. “In there somewhere. In the decoding-function-”
Pyanfar started to bring it through on the spot; and stopped with her hand on the board, remembering Skkukuk standing there. She turned and waved a hand at the crew. “Tirun, take station. I want a systems checkout. Fast. Geran, Hilfy, get Chur to bed. Haral, Khym, Tully, take Skkukuk to his room, then go wash up, patch up, and get back here double-quick. We got ops to run.”
Haral’s ears slanted. “You’re worse hurt than I am.” The metal particles stung at every move; most of her exposed fur was matted with blood from pinprick punctures. Her battered skull throbbed with so many impacts she had gotten used to the pain. It was likely true she was the worse case. But: “Get,” she said, because there was that message from Goldtooth in the decoder; and Haral read her by that silent way they had of thinking down the same line. Protest filed, Haral turned and made to gather up Skkukuk as she went.
“I am a valued ally,” Skkukuk said, drawing himself up in offense. “Captain, I am not to have my door locked, I am not-”
Shut up,” Hilfy said, facing him by Chur’s side. “Move it.”
“This one means harm,” Skkukuk said. “Kkkt. Kkkt. Captain-” He dodged as Khym reached for his arm. “They have taken my weapons! I warn you their intentions-”
“Get!” Pyanfar said. Skkukuk flinched and ducked his head, and Haral motioned to him again. Shouldn’t have yelled, Pyanfar thought. I shouldn’t have yelled; the son did save my life, fair and plain.