With Egan acting as surgical assistant, Althea irrigated the girl’s calf wound and stitch it up within twenty minutes. By the time she had completed the procedure the ship was approaching the planet’s northern equinox latitude. It was flying at an altitude of 21,500 metres as it traveled in a northeasterly direction toward SWA-7.
When the cockpit door hissed, Ramuell and Kadeya looked up anxiously. Reading Althea’s expression they knew instantly all was well. Ramuell had observed the Crow Clan’s animated celebration of good news one evening when a hunting party returned with slabs of fat scavenged from an enormous two horned mammal that had fallen to its death off a cliff. He rose to his feet, threw his hands in the air waggling them in rapid semi-rotations. He swayed back-and-forth sligh
