"[And you saw nothing out of the ordinary?]" asked Rgrarshok.

Her current interrogatee was a [Karnakian] by the name of Ker'rill'ah. He was a smaller male with black feathers and a white belly. At the moment he was a very scared-looking male, since he'd been the last disciple to go in and commune with the Claw before Hrathra's arrival.

He peered up at the Captain, then back-and-forth at the Matriarch and Second Claw who flanked him on either side. Ck'Trrk'Ka gave the disciple what passed for a gentle smile among the [Karnakains], while Ter'yeik stood with crossed arms and a stormy expression.

"[Go ahead, Brother,]" said the Matriarch.

Ker'rill'ah glanced once more at Ter'yeik before straightening up. "[All was as it should be in the Sanctum. Please, if I've given cause for disciplinary action I must know so that I may properly atone...]"

Ck'Trrk'Ka placed a comforting wing onto the back of the disciple's neck. "[Be at peace, Brother. There was an unfortunate accident in the Sanctum during the [Jornissian's] visit, and the [Human] was injured.]"

The disciple looked genuinely shocked, and his crest went flat. "[Oh, no! Will she recover?]"

"[We believe she will,]" purred the Matriarch. "[These [Dorarizin] are here to examine our safety protocols and ensure that something like this never happens again. I cannot say more until their investigation is complete. In the meantime, please comply with whatever duties they require of you.]"

Ker'rill'ah's crest rose. "[You may count on me, Reverend Mother!]"

Ter'yeik also laid a wing onto the disciple. "[Of course, we never doubted it.]" The Second Claw now looked much less irritated, he even looked...happy?

Rgrarshok didn't think that the Matriarch's cover story would last more than a few more days. Sure, having an injured [human] would explain why a Senate team was sniffing around, but they were also asking questions that had nothing to do with safety.

After the [Karnakians] had departed, the Captain retrieved the drone hovering discreetly nearby. Ker'rill'ah's biometric data flowed into her implant along with an initial analysis. The disciple was nervous as all Hades, but it seemed he was also telling the truth. Which in turn gave more credence to their current suspicion that the Second Claw was the thief.

If he was the culprit, then it was clear that this affair was more than a simple theft. She walked towards the temple entrance and thought about the Second Claw's sudden attitude change. Rgrarshok made a mental note to show the video of the interrogation to [Oscar] and see what the devious little alien made of Ter'yeik's shift in behavior.

Her inner musing was interrupted when she reached the entrance hallway and saw two uncertain Karnakians standing in front of a very unamused-looking Grawfren. The pilot must have just arrived, since rainwater still dripped from the edges of her poncho.

"{Is there a problem?}"

The pilot waved a paw in the direction of the two, who were leaning against each other in unspoken support. "{You tell me, Captain. The Matriarch just came up and asked me to take 'em.}"

"[We do not wish to be a burden,]" said one of the Karnakians. This was a blue-colored male who looked familiar, but she couldn't place where she'd seen him.

"[The Reverend Mother is facing many questions about what is going on,]" said the other, who was colored an equally familiar deep red. "[She wants us completely sequestered and thought your ship would be the best place.]"

Oh, right. These were the two who had guarded [Hrathra's] team before her own arrival, and they knew about the Claw's theft. The captain gave a subsonic clicking-growl. "{My ship is not a damned dormitory.}"

The first Karnakian all but shrunk in on himself. "[We are both truly sorry.]"

Rgrarshok sighed. Somehow, it was hard to stay angry at a Karnakian. "{It's not your fault,}" she said. "{You're just following your Matriarch's orders. Grawfren, please take them up to the ship. Give Ngralh my compliments and ask him to figure out accommodations.}" The Captain unsheathed a wickedly-sharp claw and pointed it at the two. "{I'm sure I don't need to tell you to behave yourselves. If any of my crew tells you to do something, you do it. No questions asked.}"

----------------------------------------

Maria sat with her back to the wall. She'd turned to work to distract herself, and right now was in the middle of a tricky bit of translation. Her source was a short Karnakian love poem from over ten thousand years ago. Most of the translation into English was straightforward, but she'd hit a snag. Nobody had come up with a better term than 'soul sight' for whatever the hell it was the Karnakians saw with their second pair of eyes, and it didn't help when the raptors described it in roundabout ways even in their own writing.

She could imagine their frustration when they'd first encountered other sapient beings. Trying to describe soul sight would be like trying to describe the color blue using only words. At least with color one could point to things in the external world as examples, but how could one describe something so subjective?

At present Maria was torn between 'twinkle-laden' or 'star-filled' as a descriptor for the poet's object of affection. Both fit the meter of the poem, and both got across the same idea...or as well as she was going to with her current skill level.

She looked up from her datapad as the door slid open and Bgrarh poked his head in. He'd exchanged about ten words total with the three of them, but that was enough for her to notice that he spoke with a strange clipped accent that made him sound vaguely French. Maybe her translator was going bad?

"[Bonjour, mademoiselle! It is time for your, how you say, constitutional.]"

'Confined to quarters' was an easy thing for the Captain to command, but in addition to her media time Maria also needed to use the bathroom more often than her snakey cell-mates. Plus she figured she was overdue for a scenting by one of the males, and she could take care of both with one trip.

She set aside her datapad with a sigh and stood. "Right, you two hold down the fort while I'm gone."

Her two cell-mates looked at her with tilted hoods, then at their relatively small cell, then looked each other with equal puzzlement. "[How is this a fort?]" asked Hrathra.

Maria ignored them as she walked towards Bgrarh and held her arms over her head. "Up, please."

Bgrarh's tail wagged furiously as he reached forward and with great care picked her up and cradled her against his chest. He trotted out the door and down the hallway as Maria leaned back in his arms and fretted.

She rubbed her face into his mane absently. Dorarizin didn't smell like dogs, their scent was more like freshly cleaned carpet. If she had to get scent-marked there were worse smells that she could think of.

Now that she wasn't distracted, her mind turned again to what the hell was going to happen to her. To all three of them, really. What if she was charged with the Claw's theft? Would they exile her back to Earth or try her in a Karnakian court? And if she was tried and found guilty, then what? They couldn't throw her into a Karnakian prison. Given how fragile humans were, she'd be dead within a week.

The Dorarizin must have picked up on her worried musing, because his arms tightened a little bit around her as he trotted. "[Do not worry. I have a good nose for troublemakers, and you do not smell as such. Zhe Cap-tin, she never stops until she finds zhe truth.]"

He set her down at the door leading to the 'facilities'. They were thankfully human-sized and made her feel a little less out of place. The only problem was that she couldn't take a shower, as that would undo all of the scenting she'd just gone through. Maria wondered how Oscar dealt with it. She hadn't noticed any body odor on him. Maybe he took a sponge bath now and again?

On the way back from her toilet, the pair ran into another group of three coming the other way, starting with the crew's taciturn pilot. Behind Grawfren slunk a familiar pair of Karnakians, one blue and one red.

Maria was at first a little angry and annoyed to see them, since they'd been guarding her and her friends during that horrible time of incarceration inside the temple. But after another few days of being cooped up she was just happy to see familiar faces.

She straightened up in the cradle of Bgrarh's arms. "Hey, Frick and Frack! Long time no see! What are you guys doing up here?"

The translation software matrix in their implants must have properly edited in their real names, because both of their crests perked up in happiness. Frick was the first to speak. "[Hello! It's a pleasure to see you again as well.]"

"[Even though these circumstances are less than ideal,]" added Frack. "[I fear we are at present a burden to our Matriarch.]"

"Oh, she stuck you up here to keep things quiet?" An impulse surfaced again, one that she had managed to suppress ever since landing on the planet and getting surrounded by fluffy raptors. "Hey, can you guys do me a favor?"

Bgrarh let out a questioning little wurf? as the two Karnakians looked at each other.

"[Does she count as one of the crew?]" asked Frick.

"[She's on the ship, so I say yes,]" replied Frack. He turned back to Maria. "[Yes, we can! Provided it does not involve violating one of our sacred Sutras, of course.]"

"I'm sure this won't. Hey Benny, can you put me down for a minute?"

"[Certainement, mademoiselle. I should perhaps mention that we Dorarizin can run much faster than zhe [humans].]"

He placed her on her feet. "I get what you're driving at, Benny. But there's nowhere to run to, seeing as how we're in space." Maria marched up to Frick and pointed at him. "Now you stand still for a bit."

Frick gave a questioning trill, but Maria was already in motion. The Karnakian froze as she took a double-handful of feathers and pressed her face deep into his deep-blue chest fluff. After a long moment, she withdrew and repeated the process with Frack, who also froze with terror at the unexpected contact.

"[What do I do?]" Frack stage-whispered to his counterpart.

Maria's voice was muffled by his chest feathers. "Just shut up and let me have some feather therapy." She pulled her face back and gave his keel-like sternum a forceful pat. "All done now. Thanks." She reached over and gave Frick his own chest-patting. "Thanks to you too. C'mon, Benny."

Bgrarh scooped her back up and trotted off down the hall. Frick called out after them. "[If you ever need more [feather therapy], please let us know!]"

----------------------------------------

"[So then the Captain goes and has them dumped on me!]" growled Ngrarh. "[Where am I supposed to keep them? Certainly not with our other...guests. Maybe one of the storage closets?]"

The two Karnakian guards looked downcast. For the first time ever, Oscar felt a need to make a Karnakian feel better. "Hey guys, don't worry. We'll figure something out." Both their crests rose as he turned back to Ngrahl. "We could have 'em bunk on the hangar deck, right?"

"[It won't be very private,]" said Ngralh.

"[Not to worry! We'll be fine with that!]" exclamed Frick.

"[Yes, we don't wish to be a burden!]" Frack added.

Ngralh rubbed his forehead. "[I suppose that will have to do. [Oscar] will take you down there. In the meantime I'll have some proper nesting materials fabbed for you.]" In reply, the two Karnakians all but prostrated themselves as they bowed to Ngralh.

Oscar regarded the two bowing raptors thoughtfully. "Hmmm...these two aren't suspects, right?" he muttered.

"[Not that I'm aware of,]" Ngralh muttered back. "[What are you driving at?]"

"Do you mind if I borrow 'em for some tests? First I have to hit up Emma for some specialized fabbing."

----------------------------------------

As promised, the two Karnakian guards now had a proper nest of pillows set up in one corner of the hangar deck; they'd declared the setup quite comfortable and were content to stay out of everyone's way.

But now the pair stood middle of the hangar deck and looked with trepidation at a crate set in front of them. The container was approximately the size of the altar in the Sanctum, and on top of that crate rested a 3D-printed replica of the Claw's case. The replica case consisted of white and clear plastic and had a rough, unfinished surface. On the other side of the crate stood Oscar, Egwreh, and Bgrarh.

"[There aren't any detailed scans or [blueprints] for the Claw and its case,]" said Egwreh. "[But this should be close enough based on its drawings.]"

The engineer reached into the breast pocket of her uniform and produced another 3D-printed white plastic replica. This was the wickedly curved, sickle-like toe-claw of a Karnakian. She handed the replica claw to Oscar, in whose hands the claw looked like an oversized dagger.

He walked forward and flipped the top of the case open, then set the Claw inside on a little cradle.

"How does this look?" he asked. "I'm assuming you guys have been in the Sanctum before."

"[I was so honored about [one hundred months] ago,]" said Frick.

Frack shrugged. "[I have perhaps another [twenty months] of study before achieving that honor myself...provided we get the Claw back, of course.]"

"We'll find it, buddy," replied Oscar. "We can't leave you guys without the Last Sutra, can we?"

Frick trotted forward, cocking his head at all angles as he studied the replica case and claw. "[Yes, its dimensions appear accurate from what I remember.]"

"[What do you require of us?]" asked Frack.

"[We need to exercise ze little gray cells,]" replied Bgrarh. "[Zis is to get an idea of how hard eet ees for a [Karnakian] to smuggle zhe case on zhere person.]"

Frick now looked askance at the replica. "[Oh...perhaps first we should contact our Matriarch or the Second Claw and seek guidance?]"

"[But these are members of the crew,]" said Frack. "[We agreed to the Matriarch herself to follow their requests.]"

Frick tilted his head the other way. "[Very well.]" He turned to regard Oscar. "[You wish me to pick up the case?]"

"Yeah, tuck it under your wing," said Oscar. "Let us know how comfortable it is."

The Karnakian complied, and the case vanished under his arm-feathers. "[Hmm...it digs into my side a little, but overall it is bearable.]"

"Great! Now walk away about twenty meters, turn, and come back."

Frick did so, his blue feathers bobbing in the harsh overhead lighting of the hangar. One thing became quickly apparent; the replica Claw acted as a nice rattle since it promptly fell out of its supports and bounced around inside of its case. Frick looked sheepish as he turned and walked back, rattling all the while.

"[I fear it is not very stealthy,]" he said.

"[And his posture was a leetle off,]" added Bgrarh.

"That's true," replied Oscar. "But remember that we know Frick's using the 'ol Armpit Express. If somebody didn't suspect it, would it be obvious?"

"[It might be,]" said Frack. "[If someone was carrying such a sacred item, they'd be very nervous. That in turn would be detectable via soul-sight.]"

"Wait, so one of you guys could read the thief's mind and know they were stealing it?"

"[It's not mind-reading,]" said Frick. "[We can detect if someone is more agitated or less, but not what they are agitated about.]"

Enjoying this book? Seek out the original to ensure the author gets credit.

"Got it." Oscar folded his arms and stared at the crate while picturing the empty altar and room in his mind. "So if someone did carry it out, they'd have to have a normal posture while doing so. Then any nervous-aura stuff could be passed off as mere excitement."

Oscar pondered it further. "Or maybe the thief really did use a drone. They send it in through the ventilation duct and have it drag the Claw and case out back out to the temple's AC unit. Whoever planted that crystal shard wanted us to think so."

Bgrarh's ear flicked. "[Keep in mind, [Ker'rill'ah] said zhe Claw was zhere during his visit. Zhere were no others until [Hrathra'sstah] went in. The theft must have occurred during zhose [two] days.]"

"[That's why I think the smart money is on [Ter'yeik],]" said Egrweh. "[He could access the Sanctum without having to sign in, which gave him the opportunity to smuggle out the Claw.]"

The two Karnakians looked uneasy at the mention of the Second Claw. Oscar couldn't blame them; the dude must have lot of pull in temple politics. "Don't worry, dudes. This is just speculation at the moment. Nobody in the Path will know about this, right?"

Frack opened his mouth a few times as if to speak, while Frick looked away and scratched at his crest with one hand.

"[Things have not been going well for the Path as of late,]" Frack finally said.

Oscar put on his friendliest, cutest smile. "Aw, that's too bad. Is it money troubles?"

Frick looked up. "[No, it's that...the debate as to whether or not to admit [Hrathra'sstah] created a lot of strife. The Reverend Mother's decision was accepted by most, as she is the wisest and most learned.]"

"Buuut?" prompted Oscar.

"[But there are still a lot of hurt feelings as a result of that debate,]" said Frack. "[It will fade over time, and we will be one unified Path again.]"

"Especially when we get the Claw back to you," said Oscar.

Both of them brightened up at that notion, and Frick put the replica case back on the crate. He then reached into it to place the Claw back in its proper mounting.

Egwreh tilted her head. "[Why not just take the Claw? Why the case as well?]"

"My guess is that the thief already planned to plant that piece of crystal, so stealing everything would throw off any investigation." Oscar stepped forward and regarded the case. "Without the case they'd need to plant a piece from the Claw itself, or pry off one of its gems.]"

Both Frick and Frack shuddered as the human spoke. Oscar looked up and gave them a wry smile. "Yeah, even if Ter'yeik is the thief that's about the last thing he'd do."

"[What if they broke the case down?]" asked Egwreh. "[Its corners are just thin metal. It could be folded flat and carried under one wing, then the Claw could be carried under the other.]"

"[That should make it easier to walk normally,]" said Frick.

They tried it and found that the folded case was just a little to big to carry concealed. It was Frack who hit on the idea of carrying the base under one wing and the rest of the case under the other.

Oscar started pacing around the case. "So that implies our thief needed two trips. Let's run through it again and see if the timing works out. The Second Claw goes in at the end of the day after Ker'rill'ah's visit. He folds up the case and takes it out of the Sanctum, giving a cheery nod to the Keeper as he goes by. The next day he does the same with the Claw. He knows the schedule of who's going into the Sanctum, so he'd know when he had the opportunity."

"[It seems physically possible,]" said Egwreh. "[But even setting aside motive for the moment, the overall timing is strange. After [Ker'rill'ah] went into the Sanctum, there were only two days before [Hrathra'sstah's] visit. And the Second Claw certainly knew of her planned visit well in advance.]"

"[I feel we are making too many of zhe assumptions,]" said Bgrarh. "[Are we certain zhat [Ker'rill'ah] is telling zhe truth?]"

"Good point, Benny. We can't know for certain, but there is one check we can do. Can we get one of those biomonitor drones in here? We'll test it on these guys." He turned to Frick and Frack. "If you're okay with that, of course."

After their enthusiastic acceptance, Bgrarh retrieved the necessary drone and they performed some test questioning, including a few times where the Karnakians were instructed to deliberately lie. After the tests, the drone's ability to test truth or falsehood from a Karnakian was demonstrated to everyone's satisfaction.

"[So [Ker'rill'ah] is innocent,]" said Bgrarh at the end of it all. "[Zhe Claw was in there during his visit, therefore [Ter'yeik] must have been the one to steal it before Hrathra's visit.]"

Oscar stared into space. "That's not exactly true. All we know is that he was telling the truth as he understood it. Can we call up the video of his interrogation? I need to hear what he said specifically. Then I need to talk to the Keeper again."

----------------------------------------

"Tell me more about Tk'rii'na's departure," said Oscar. Right now he and Myyreh were the only ones in the room. Ker'rill'ah had been assigned as their escort in the temple, but for now he waited on the other side of a firmly shut door.

Ti'krrh stood next to the Ledger's plinth and regarded the struck-through signature. "[I'm not sure if I should be the one to say anything. Perhaps we should have the Second Claw here.]"

Oscar reached up and put a comradely hand on the raptor's shoulder. "Hey, the Matriarch already thinks you're plenty trustworthy. You're one of the few who know why we're really here, after all."

The Keeper's crest hesitantly rose. "[True, but...]"

"Plus I'm not asking you to air any dirty laundry."

The Keeper turned to him with a puzzled stare.

"Er, I mean I'm not asking you to disclose any secrets. I'm assuming Tk'rii'na' had some kind of disagreement with the Path, but whatever you feel comfortable telling me is fine. Mostly I need to know when he left."

Ti'krrh grasped his lapels. "[As to when, Tk'rii'na departed the Path [four weeks] ago after a very public disagreement with the Matriarch. As to the details of that argument...well, Tk'rii'na disagreed more vehemently than most with the Matriarch's decision.]"

"Got it. I appreciate your trust in me. Now let's see..." Oscar looked at the Ledger's most recent page. "He went in after the Matriarch's last visit to the Claw. Was this before or after her decision about Hrathra?"

"[It was after. At the time, he professed some misgiving and requested audience with the Claw so that he could meditate and calm himself.]"

"Huh. It must not have worked, since he had a public blow-up with the Reverend Mother right after his visit." Oscar crossed his arms while continuing to stare at the tome, his mind working through all of the possibilities. "He only had the one visit, right? Not two in a row?"

"[That's correct. You would see two signatures if there were two visits.]" Ti'krrh's eyes widened. "[You don't think he stole the...oh, what am I saying?]" He gave a trilling laugh. "[I'm such a fool. There have been eight disciples in the Sanctum since then!]"

Oscar laughed as well. "Exactly!" He pointed at the next signature after the struck-through one. "Who's this?"

"[Er? Oh, that's Ka'iirt.]"

"Ka'irrt." Oscar rolled the trilling name around in his mouth. "Do you know where I could find him or her?"

"[I'm afraid she's not on this planet. After her visit to the Claw she departed to perform missionary work along the frontier of this Blessing. I'll ask the Matriarch to put her in touch with you.]"

Oscar patted Ti'krrh's shoulder. "Thanks, friend, but that won't be necessary. I've heard all I need to."

----------------------------------------

Oscar looked up at the main AC unit for the temple. It squatted like a gray amorphous beast in front of him and Myyreh. They'd traced the ventilation duct leading from the Sanctum and found that it ran overhead through quite a few rooms. Anyone trying to drag the case out via drone would have created one hell of a racket, which just cemented his suspicion that the crystal shard was a plant.

"So even though this is a machine, you let its output air go directly into the Sanctum?"

Ker'rill'ah gave his species' equivalent of a shrug, a side-to-side bobbing of his crest. "[It is a necessary compromise. This planet has a tropical climate, so if we did not allow this then the Sanctum's atmosphere would become unbearable. Especially for cold-adapted Karnakians.]"

The human turned and surveyed the rest of the space. A shop area sat nearby, which held several worktables and a large wall filled with hanging tools. The latter all looked surprisingly human-like apart from their size. Oscar pointed at the shop. "Is this area for repairing things when you can't use nanotech?"

"[Correct! From time to time we need to manufacture or fix items that are located deeper in the temple.]" Ker'rill'ah glanced around to check for others, then brought his head closer to the human. "[Um, can you tell me how the investigation is proceeding? I keep getting questioned by the others. The entire city is whispering about your team's presence.]"

Oscar sighed. "I'm sorry, friend. I know it's difficult, but you should refer anyone to the Matriarch if they have questions."

"[I do, but she's not saying anything either.]" Ker'rill'ah sounded peeved, the first time Oscar could remember hearing such a tone from any of the temple dwellers apart from Ter'yeik.

Oscar figured he'd change the subject. "So are these tools made by hand as well?" he asked as he strolled over to one of the worktables. A few chisels lay on top of it, left behind by whomever had last used the space.

The Karnakain let out a trill of laughter. "[No, we are not that strict in our interpretation of the Sutras. For use deep in the temple we only require that an object be shaped by hand or hand-held tools. The same interpretation allows us to use normally refined materials.]"

"Well, that only makes sense. Otherwise you'd need to set up a whole separate industrial base." Oscar picked up one oversized chisel and tested its edge with his thumb. Definitely sharp enough for what he had in mind.

"So you must have nanofabrication facilities in the outer parts of the temple, correct?" he asked.

Their escort bobbed his head in assent. Oscar smiled and tossed the chisel back up on the table, then looked down in annoyance at his hand. "Aw, man!"

Ker'rill'ah's crest rose in curiosity. "[What is wrong?]"

"Eh, I just cut myself. That chisel was sharper than I expected." Oscar held out his hand towards the Karnakian, showing a line of blood across his palm. Ker'rill'ah froze for a moment before his feathers started to quake.

"[Oh no! Oh, this is terrible!]"

"Nah, no big deal. Just a little bit of blood, see?" Oscar couldn't resist smearing the blood around his palm with his thumb and then shoving his wounded hand closer towards the Karnakian's wide and horrified eyes.

From behind him he heard Myyreh give a barely-audible snicker.

By now Ker'rill'ah was practically dancing a jig. "[But, no! Oh, Great Mother, this is very bad! I'm responsible for you! I must take you to our medic right away!]" He reached for Oscar but was stopped by a warning growl from Myyreh.

"[I'll carry him. You just lead the way.]"

----------------------------------------

Cir'ta'ah, the temple's doctor, had feathers of a type that Oscar hadn't seen before. They sparkled with the iridescent sheen of oil on water, and the Karnakian all but sparkled in the lights of the the medic's office. The room had an exam table, although Oscar had to stand on it to be high enough for the medic to examine him.

Ker'rill'ah stood next to the entrance, wringing his claws together. "[I'm so sorry, Sister! I shouldn't have let the [human] pick up a sharp implement.]"

"Hey, it's no big deal," said Oscar with a smile.

Cir'ta'ah cocked her head as she stared first at Oscar, then down at his cut. In spite of having no formal training in human-handling, her grip on his injured hand was very gentle. She spread a thin layer of silver goop over the slash; the nano-bandage spread itself out and sealed the wound in seconds. "[The [human] speaks true, Brother. He has suffered some minor loss of blood, but there is no danger of nerve damage. I should check his blood pressure, just to make sure.]"

"Eh?" Before Oscar could blink, the medic slapped another wad of nano-fabric onto the back of his neck. In another instant it unfolded itself around his neck and inflated, making it look like he now sported a silvery goiter.

"Hey!" As Oscar reached up to tear the silver cuff off, it squeezed down on his neck ever so slightly. He froze, wondering if it was about to pop his head off by accident.

Cir'ta'ah gave him a smile, and she was close enough to his face to make Oscar rear back from the sudden display of fangs. "[Fear not, little one! Our biomonitors are updated to account for [Human] fragility.]" The medic stared off into space as her implant informed her of the biodata from the cuff.

Myyreh grinned. "[You should keep that. It's a good look for you.]"

"Oh, har har. I'm just glad that cut wasn't deeper. I don't know how you guys would have done a transfusion. I'll bet Maria's not my blood type."

Cir'ta'ah cocked her head. "[What does [transfusion] mean?]"

"How can you not know? It's when someone gets hurt and needs blood, so you take it out of someone else's body and put in into the injured person. We humans have to be careful to use the right blood types, though. I dunno if you guys have to worry about that or not..."

As he talked both of the Karnakians shrank back in horror, as if he'd launched into a detailed description of necrophilia.

Cir'ta'ah shivered. "[You expect us to put someone else's blood in your body? That's revolting!]"

Oscar tried to look as dignified and indignant as he could while sporting a puffy silver donut around his neck. "Well, what do you do when someone needs blood?"

The multicolored medic floofed herself out smugly as she indicated a nearby counter. On it sat a large white box with several spigot-like outputs and a sliding tray. "[This is a standard medical cloner. We'd take a sample of your blood cells and create as many artificial copies as you need. Those are then combined with a neutral plasma to create a blood substitute that would keep you healthy until your own body can regenerate the other necessary blood components.]"

"Huh, that's cool. Can that thingamabob do other types of cells?"

"[Certainly! Skin cells are the next most-common type that it can synthesize, but fortunately you didn't lose enough of those to warrant cloning more.]"

The medic reached out and poked Oscar's collar, which obediently deflated. The human gave an annoyed grunt as he pulled it off over his head...then froze as he heard a chorus of high-pitched chirping from the hallway.

Ker'rill'ah peered out the door. "[Oh, dear.]"

Myyreh became instantly on high alert. "[What? What's wrong? Is it a riot?]"

"[No, it's a group of children. It must be a tour from one of the nearby schools.]"

Oscar had once seen Myyreh face down a huge and drug-crazed Dorarizin berzerker without so much as flinching. Now, however, her face took on a look of horror. "[Oh, no. [Karnakian] children? Get out there and fend them off!]"

"[Too late, I think they heard the [human], they're coming this way...]"

Oscar saw only a dark-brown blur as Myyreh moved. He yelped as his world spun, and he found himself standing on the counter next to the medical cloner.

Myyreh pointed a furry digit at him. "[Stay up there, it's safer.]" She moved to the door and stood next to the two Karnakians. The three of them formed a skirmish line just as what looked like an avalanche of vari-colored pompoms crashed into them. The three aliens became blurs as they started playing the galaxy's fastest-ever game of Whack-a-Mole. Their strikes bounced the incoming fuzzballs back out the way they came. The high-pitched chirping was now interspersed with excited yelling. Much of it was too overlapping for Oscar's commbead to translate, but he did get a few snippets here and there.

"[Hee! That tickles!]"

"[It must be cool if they don't want us to see it!]"

"[I saw it! It's for sure a [human]!]"

"[I saw it too! It's sparkly!]"

"[They really do exist! Cool!]"

One enterprising chick performed a sneaky carom-style double-bounce and shot past the goaltenders. Oscar crouched and got ready to dodge as the fuzzy gray ball rolled to a stop on the exam table. The fluffball then perched itself up onto two clawed legs, standing almost as tall as a man. Oscar could just make out the kid's snout poking out of the fluff surrounding his body as he peered curiously at the human.

"Um, hi there? I'm Oscaooof..."

He was driven onto his back by a substantial weight slamming into his torso. The chick now perched on top of Oscar's chest, his chest-fluff all but enveloping the human's torso. Oscar froze as the kid touched his nose with a fanged snout and peered deep into his eyes.

"[Your soul is sooooo sparkly,]" the chick whispered.

Before Oscar could say anything like 'ow' or 'Your claws are digging into my chest', Myyreh plucked the intruder off of him and pitched the intruder back into the hallway like a fastball. After another confused whirl of motion, the door was shut leaving Myyreh and Oscar the only ones inside the office. She pressed her body against the door and panted with exertion. From outside they could hear the voices of the two adult Karnakians over the excited screaming of the children. A few thumps against the door showed they were still trying to gain access.

Oscar sat up, then pulled out his uniform's collar to look down and check his chest. He had a scrape along one pec, but the kid's claw hadn't broken his skin.

"[I hope you at least got what you wanted,]" said Myyreh.

"Oh, I sure did." Oscar patted the slick white top of the cloner. "Now that I know what kind of medical gear they have on-site, things just became a whole lot clearer."

"[Good. We'll wait for those two to [wrangle] the puffballs and then get you back up to the ship. Kgrashak will need to check your hand over.]"

"Aw, c'mon! Can't we just let this be our little secret? Kate always gives me such a look when I show up in the medbay. She keeps threatening me to put me in a hamster ball."

"[And how exactly do you plan to keep this a secret? She'll smell the residual blood on you and see the bandage.]"

"I'll wash my hand real good, put on a glove, and claim to be imitating a renowned figure from human pop culture."

She raised one eyebrow. "[Are you asking me to lie to the ship's doctor?]"

"It's not a lie, just not telling the whole truth. Please? I can't waste time getting fussed on in the medbay, I've gotta interview Maria."

She snorted. "[I'll bet you do.]"

"I really do. I need to find out when she...wait. I don't believe it. You're not jealous, are you?"

Myyreh crossed her arms and looked away. She didn't speak in reply, she just gave out a little huff.

"You are jealous. Oh, for..." Oscar slid off of the counter and approached her. She turned her body away a bit, keeping her arms crossed. He bumped his forehead into her armpit.

Myyreh huffed again.

"Come on, stop being a grumpus." He kept trying to shove his head under her arm until he was rewarded with a giggle. Oscar knew then that he'd won, and kept pushing until she finally relented and allowed him into her arms. Her snout nuzzled at the top of his head while he pressed against her chest and embraced her as well as he could.

Oscar didn't speak, instead he trusted in his scent and heartbeat to say louder than words how much she meant to him. Being in her arms like this always felt like coming home. He'd been without a real home since joining the Army so many years ago. His years in Florida now felt more like self-imposed exile rather than putting down roots.

After a long, silent embrace he finally spoke. "You know you're the only girl for me, don't you?"

"[I know it now. It's always nice to be reminded. Thanks, sweetie.]"

"Don't mention it. Heh." He twisted his head to look up at her. "You do realize Maria is young enough to be my daughter? Shit, maybe even my granddaughter."

"[But you only have about [forty years] difference in age...oh. I forgot how short your lives are.]" Her arms tightened around him just as the door slid open and Ker'rill'ah staggered back in. His dark feathers now stuck out in all directions and his chest heaved from his recent exertions.

"[Whew! They're quite spirited, I must say!]" His quadruple-eyed gaze took in the embracing pair. "[Oh, I apologize for interrupting. If you don't mind my saying, you form quite a nice pattern.]"

Myyreh tilted her head. "[What does that mean?]"

"I think he's talking about our brain-auras," said Oscar.

The Karnakian gave an enthusastic nod of his crest. "[Yes! Your patterns mesh together in a very pleasing manner. As Sutra [Twenty-Nine] states, 'A complimentary combination of auras is a the greatest offering one can make to the Great Mother'.]"

"Is that your relgious way of saying we're a good match?" asked Oscar.

Ker'rill'ah straightened up and smoothed his ruffled feathers. "[It is! Part of the Thirty-Third Path's goal is to show how Karnakians are better at...well, at a lot of things.]" He shook his crest back into place. "[Are you uninjured...well, apart from the hand?]"

Oscar winked at Ker'rill'ah. "I'm fine. I don't think we need to let either the Matriarch or the Second Claw know about my injury, do you?"

The Karnakian gave a noncomittal chirp. "[I mean...I should report it.]"

"Why? No harm no foul. Anyway, we should be going. Can you show us the way out of here?"

After they'd gotten back to the shuttle, Myyreh gave a thoughtful click of her teeth as she regarded Ker'rill'ah. The disciple was heading back into the temple at a near-run.

"[That boy is way too wound up to keep this a secret. You know he's going to go right to the Second Claw, don't you?]"

Oscar's face settled into a feral smile. "Oh, I'm counting on it. Now we gotta talk to Emma and get her in the loop..."

----------------------------------------

"|I see. Thank you, Ker'rill'ah, for being brave enough to tell me of your failure.|"

The black-feathered disciple bowed deeply in front of the Second Claw. "|Forgive me, your Eminence. It's true the [human] was injured in my care, but I made sure that he was properly healed. He was almost injured again when we had a children's tour come by, but by the will of the Great Mother I helped in keeping him safe from any further harm .|"

Ter'yeik gave a regal nod of his crest. "|You have therefore already atoned for much of your first mistake. Go and contemplate Sutras [Thirty-Five] through [Forty]. I will be by presently to test your understanding of how they relate to this incident, and if I am pleased you will be allowed to escort the [human] again. As a further condition, you must report directly to me every time you escort the [human].|"

Ker'rill'ah gave a thankful peep, then picked himself up off of the stone floor and hurried out of the Second Claw's office.

The moment the door closed, Ter'yeik's lordly bearing collapsed. He clenched his clawed hands together and gritted his teeth as he paced back and forth like a caged animal. That [damnable], infuriating little alien knew. He knew of Ter'yeik's crime, and might have even deduced how it had been done. And now Ter'yeik's planted evidence might have doomed the Second Claw to exposure.

What could he do? He had to keep up appearances. For sure he couldn't simply vanish. That would broadcast his guilt as sure as any confession. No, he had to somehow turn this situation around somehow...

His crest rose as his furious musing hit upon a possible strategy. Yes, that might work...