Read Online Arkadian Skies: Fallen Empire, Book 6 by Lindsay Buroker - Free Book Online

miles to the one our doctor here picked out. It was hard to find closer parking.” She didn’t mention that they were in a junkyard, and that Beck and Mica were outside now, doing their best to camouflage the Star Nomad .
    “If I’d brought a thrust bike, I could have gotten him there quickly. Do you think we could borrow a bike and I could pull him there on a hover gurney? I’d be in and out, real fast. The grubs would never see me.”
    “I, ah, the grubs?”
    “Er, uhm.” Ostberg glanced to Alejandro. For help?
    Alejandro, still pacing and speaking to someone else, did not acknowledge him.
    That’s a term we have for mundanes , Abelardus spoke into her mind dryly. So thoughtful of him to monitor her frequently.
    Sounds derogatory, Alisa replied silently, wondering where in the ship he was.
    Only if you are one.
    Gee.
    “The doctor could ride behind me,” Ostberg said, apparently deciding that expounding on this daring plan was better than explaining the word. “I could get him there faster than a solar flare.”
    “I’m not sure where we would find a thrust bike here,” Alisa said, thinking that sounded like a polite way to reject the idea of a thirteen-year-old boy careening through the streets with a coma patient bouncing along behind him.
    Ostberg’s shoulders slumped. “Wish I could have brought the one I was racing. It was mega-stellar. But it belonged to my corporate sponsor. She knew my secret and knew I could win. She took half my earnings, else I could have bought a bike.” His forehead wrinkled, and he looked at Alisa. “Oh, uhm, but I still have some money. In case—you never said if we need to pay.”
    Ostberg had been tense and wary when they first met him, but he had grown more bubbly as the trip to Arkadius had progressed and he’d gotten used to them. Maybe he felt safer now, since Alejandro was taking care of Durant, and because everything Alisa had told him had turned out to be true. She had no idea if the things Abelardus had told him were true. Or if what Abelardus told her was true.
    Really , Abelardus shared. Such suspicion.
    Ignoring him, she told Ostberg, “You don’t have to pay. These days, the Nomad gets its money from the brave dinosaur hunters on board.”
    “Yes, I believe you’ll find it an interesting case,” Alejandro said, after listening to what must have been a long medical diatribe on the other end. Or maybe someone had put him on hold. “My patient is the victim of a Starseer attack…. Yes. Completely unresponsive.… I tried nanobots, but they are, of course, limited with what I could program them to do, and since I haven’t done extensive scans… Very limited, yes. This ship is extremely antiquated. I might as well be making splints out of branches and bandages out of caveman furs.”
    Alisa propped a fist on her hip. Would it be inappropriate to punch him while he was talking on the comm?
    “Yes, I’m aware of the work you did in the field,” Alejandro said, putting his back to her. “That’s why I’m contacting you. I see. Thank you.” He tapped his earstar, but responded to another caller instead of turning to face Alisa.
    “How many people has he contacted?” she whispered to Ostberg.
    “Five or six,” he whispered back, since Alejandro was speaking again.
    “Five or six people who now know he’s on the planet and could have reported that fact to the authorities?” When Alisa had suggested he try to find a local contact, she hadn’t imagined him comming the entire hospital staff.
    “Do you think we’ll have to fight ?” Ostberg whispered. “I can get my staff and be ready.”
    “Let’s hope not.”
    Alejandro frowned at them, made a shushing motion, and kept talking. “Yes, that would be excellent, Doctor. Two hours? We’ll be there.”
    Finally, Alejandro closed the comm. He lifted his chin.
    “I’ve found an old medical school colleague who works at the hospital and who has agreed to let me in with my patient and a