The huge mutlti-eyed creature, dis-armed and stunned Kenji with one kick as the poor man whirled to point his blaster at it. In anger, the creature kicked Kenji's fighter so hard, it skidded several meters away. It said in heavily accent common, "I curse your intelligence! I am exposed to bad disease now, dimunitive creature!" Floona gasped as it's huge hand squeezed the air out of her lungs. She gasped out, while grasping her left wrist controller, "Stop IT! I have chemical explosives! You'll die!" Another one of the same species leapt over the fighter and covered the moaning Kenji and made sounds like a "Chuff-chuff!" It's head bobbed up and down as the majority of some eyes on it's head swivelled around to stare at her. The big one made noises like bats twittering combined with whale noices. The smaller one answered back and took aim at Kenji. The big one said to Floona, "Explain, or Human Pilot dies right now!" Floona gasped as the big one let her breathe again. She said,"I have an interruption radio controlling a bomb in my fighter. ANY interruption of my power sources will detonate it. You kill me--it detonates, and you die. You kill the 'human pilot'--it detonates--you die. Understand?" It paused and apparently discussed it over with it's subordinate in the room. It said, "Am exposed to bad BAD disease. Die soon! Die SOON! Already dead, maybe. Be careful talking, smart small creature!" "BAD bad disease? Do you mean the BLIGHT?" She used the term that the orbitals had coined to describe the red-death or bleeding death of Red Howling. It bared teeth and gums at her. Perhaps it was a smile, or maybe a threat and hissed out in a voice so low in register, she could barely make it out, "Yes." It boomed something in sub-sonics that made her intestines feel loose. She smiled or snarled back, and said,"I have a CURE for the BLIGHT! I can give you ONE vial of blood showing before and one showing after. The other set is for my people in space! Agree to let us go, put me down--then I give you one set! You live! Understand?" "CUREEEeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee?" It squealed in surprise and the subordinate whipped around and stared at Floona with it's main eye. The big one set Floona down gingerly onto the floor-plates and stepped back to regard her seriously. Floona figured that she was understood. After some more 'bat-squeaks' the small one stepped back and went to a rest stance and watched cooly. The big one said, "I am apology! Unknown about mission. Get Cure? Now?" Floona nodded and then said,"Yes." Floona backed away to her fighter, and with difficulty, sat and then scooted up to the cockpit and swung her feet in. She crouched by the seat awkwardly, and put her hands out of sight below lip of the hull. After a moment, she pulled out the Cure case. She said, "Is the atmosphere and temperature like the second and third planets?" After a curt affirmative, she unbolted the Cure hatch and pulled out one set of vials. She got out of the Trow fighter, and walked over and held up the two vials of blood. She said, "The RED vial is the before vial, the GREEN vial is the AFTER vial. Understand?" It looked hard and waved a had. It said, "Identical vials. Don't know BEFORE or AFTER. Understanding is without eyes!" Floona looked blank and said,"Is it too dark inside here to see the colors?" The aliens looked around and the big one said, "Is VERY bright inside here! Humans are without eyes, glowing one." She blinked and looked around the huge dark hangar. "Glowing one?" The creature said,"Trayodashi are many eyes! You are glow from face. Humans don't see." Floona sighed, "I fluoresce in the mid-UV. Aw crap...you can't see in the visible light spectrum!" Floona felt like beating her head against a wall suddenly. --TO BE CONTINUED!--