Tall-White-Lady fastened the last snap on her new jacket and primped in the mirror. She laughed as she thought the blue complimented her eyes. She asked 'General' ChiBoo,"Lieutenant-Commander? Are you serious? That puts me up the ladder of promotion above Dakk! He has more..." Boo snapped, "...FEWER years in service than you. I read your service record for the city and the commendations you have. I don't think you have the experience in command to make Capitan, though. ALso since we are in a human run system--we'd have riots if I put you over Capitan Tkarro!" Boo paced over to the door and said quietly, "We'll have riots soon enough, as it is." The small Trow woman they knew as Ahrini, moaned quietly in the grips of her mysterious fever and tossed in her sleep. Boo continued quietly, as Tall-White-Lady's drak started rubbing himself against Boo's legs, "Well, at least stray animals still like me. What's his name?" Tall-White-Lady smiled and said, "I call him Snuzzy. Short for Sneaky and Fuzzy. Most of the time I really call him, 'you little bastard!' " She laughed, "He gets into my stuff and irritates everyone to pet him, but he loves me. So..what are your plans?" Boo opened her mouth as Ahrini raised up a little and shouted, "Don't you touch her! F'Loona! RUN!" The temperature alarm went off as steam rose from Ahrini's skin. The monitor chimed in, "Warning! Core Temperature Rising! In Excess of Boiling Point!" The two women stopped talking and turned toward the writhing woman. Tall-White-Lady stared in shock as the monitor showed a grimy image of F'loona and some kind of violence going on. The image clicked off as Ahrini went limp in exhaustion and flopped back onto the bed. The monitor showed that Ahrini's heart-rate was over 200 beats per minute and that her body's temperature was over the boiling point of water. ChiBoo exclaimed, "Good GOD! What is killing her? We have to do something!" Tall-White-Lady said, "It's the artifact crystal welded into her stomach. Toxic had an effect on it. Ahrini's brother said he had to return something to Ahrini when he accompanied us down to the surface. We need to talk to him." ChiBoo nodded at the door out, and shooed the overly friendly drak back, and said ,"I'll link up with 518 and then tell Dokka what we find out. Stay here and keep her alive!" "HOW?!?" Tall-White-Lady stared helplessly at Ahrini, and mopped her forehead with a hand-towel. Boo thought and said, "Keep it simple. She overheats, trickle ice-water on her! Have a bucket of water and ice on hand. The chill-suit is overloaded! I'll arrange for a tub of water." Tall-White-Lady nodded, as Boo said grimly, "If ANYONE tries to take her, or interfere other than myself or Dokka--SHOOT THEM! Understand?" Tall-White-Lady looked her in the eye, and said,"Understood,Mamm!" Boo slipped out the door, as Tall-White-Lady wondered what she had seen on the screen about F'loona. --TO BE CONTINUED!-- Media is Poser7,PSP7,Blacksmith2.2,and Wings3d