I dragged on some clothes before shoving everything into our bag. I dropped the bag next to Seth and wrapped him in a blanket from the bed. I held him in my arms, waiting. Seth burned within my grasp, trembling. He was ill, and it’d happened so quickly. One second he was well, and then the next?
He would be fine. He had to be.
Captain Talvax’s voice sounded in my ear. “We’ve had a rash of sick people, Prince. We’ll be transferring you both directly to the medbay for isolation.”
“Ready.”
One moment Seth and I were in the dwelling I’d secured for us, and the next, we were in the medbay surrounded by people. Every bed was occupied, and people darted around. Doctor Qinlin shouted orders that people jumped to follow. I sat in the middle of the chaos with Seth in my embrace.
When someone rushed by, I said, “We need help.”
The assistant barely glanced in my direction.
What was going on?
Gathering Seth closer to my chest, I stood with a quiet groan, leaving our bag in the middle of the floor. Seth wasn’t significantly shorter than I was and had a solid build, not to mention he was deadweight, all making it difficult for me to hold him. Still, I carried him toward Doctor Qinlin.
“Put him there,” she ordered, gesturing to her office that had a couple of cots in it. Ensign Wyn was curled up on one, puking into a container.
When I stepped into the office, Wyn shot up. “Seth! Is he alright?”
“I don’t know.” I placed him down as carefully as possible, keeping the blanket tight around him. I brushed back his damp hair. Sweat dripped down his temple, though he shivered like he was chilled.
I didn’t want to leave him, but Seth needed to be seen. I spotted Doctor Qinlin near another patient.
“What is going on?” I asked, my voice deepening.
She mussed her hair. “Nefi fever. A whole rash of it.”
My lungs refused to take in air at her words, and the world spun. Shaking it off, I demanded, “Why weren’t we informed when we entered orbit?”
“They had a couple of cases and thought it was under control, but someone was unknowingly infected and went to work at the tavern where they spread it to a multitude of people.”
“Seth was there this afternoon.”
“It incubates quickly. We’re evaluating everyone. People with moderate cases are being transferred to their quarters or one of the cargo bays, which is becoming a secondary medbay. Everyone else is restricted to quarters to stall the spread, and we’ll remain in orbit until no one is contagious anymore.”
“What about vaccines?” I asked. Nefi fever had gone through the capital when I was a child, and I’d been inoculated at that time.
“They’re effective when givenbeforeexposure. We’re synthesizing them now and will begin treating all of the uninfected. We’re also supplying some to Vx-93.”
“My Seth?” I asked.
“If he’s already sick, we can’t give it to him. I would also need to perform tests to make sure the vaccine wouldn’t harm him.”
“He’s not well. You need to examine him. Now.”
Her mouth opened, almost like she was going to protest, but she closed it and headed toward the office. I had enough presence of mind to grab our bag as I trailed behind her, soul pounding with each step. Seth had to be alright; I wouldn’t survive any other alternative, but who knew how his body would react to nefi fever?
Doctor Qinlin ran her scanner over Seth, making non-committal noises. She removed a needle out of her pocket and took a sample of his blood before depositing it into the computer for NAID to analyze.
Looking at her screen, she said, “His temperature is well above normal as is his pulse. His white blood cell count is exceedingly higher than the texts say is regular. From what I can tell, his organs are not functioning as they should.”
My stomach knotted. “And?”
“You need to prepare yourself, Prince.”
“No. Seth will be fine. You have to do something.”
