Why Humans Make Bad Pets!

I'm killing them II

On the immunological front, the scientists efforts to discover a viral or pathogenic organism that Cqcq'trtr's immune system couldn't tear to pieces was also failing. Xkkrk didn't think Cqcq'trtr had noticed that over the past two rictas (three weeks) he'd survived fifty of the galaxy's most infamous plagues, usually more than three at a time. The first success the scientists had thought they had only showed them how far they had to go before they could find a biological deterrent for Cqcq'trtr's species.

After infecting him with a cocktail of the Victen virus, Xilix plague, and Daz-5, a biological weapon outlawed in the peace accords of the Sassinal m******e . . . err, war . . . the researchers had been overjoyed when the onslaught of terminal illnesses were not immediately stifled by Cqcq'trtr's overpowered immune system. His body flew into a fever and released the Hunter cells, but the trifecta of galactic antigenic superpowers held on, but only just. Then the researchers were introduced to what they would later call the Hunter helpers.

They started appearing after the fever was unsuccessful in slowing down the infection. Then they wouldn't stop appearing. The smaller hunter cells began augmenting the Hunter cell's attacks in any way they could, shepherding the protein markers to where they were needed the most, even halting the infections advance by sacrificing themselves to create a nigh impregnable physical barrier the infection could not pass without being blocked or consumed by the shear number of hunter helpers. Within two rics (an hour) the hunter helpers had become so numerous the scanner was having difficulty picking out anything of the terrifying swarm. After only one ricto (two days) the deadly cocktail had been beaten into submission with the elegance Cqcq'trtr had displayed while gifting off the pirates.

The worst part of the experiment, according to the scientists records, was that once an infection was successfully rebuffed, Cqcq'trtr couldn't catch it again. His body remembered. They had started running out of biological monstrosities to infect him with and had started mutating their own so they could even continue. They were also unaware that Xkkrk knew of their activities, especially their immunological "studies". She had to admit, it was sometimes advantageous to be a part of a species that was always discounted as unobservant and unintelligent. It may be true to a certain degree, but that didn't mean she had been born yesterday. Since they had thought she was still buying their lies, they weren't bothering to watch her. If they had, they would have seen her discretely copying their records every time they weren't in the lab.

She hated what they were doing to Cqcq'trtr, but as of yet they hadn't managed to do anything in the slightest to harm him, and she knew she'd only be able to help him escape the facility once before she was either declared infectious and shoved into a cryo pod, or perhaps merely killed. At first she had doubted the research crew were truly doing this out of malicious intent, and she'd been right. After one ricta and two ricto's (approximately 2 weeks 1 day) she had found a message from none other than the Dominion Intelligence Agency. It seemed that they had been informed of the potential security risk and ordered the research station to investigate ways in which Cqcq'trtr's people could be dealt with if they reached the stars and turned out to be hostile.

The only thing that had kept Xkkrk from rushing to Cqcq'trtr the instant she read the message and doing everything within her power to get him off the station was the end of the message which dictated that the research crew were still to try and find a way to cure the infected Vzk'tk, but for it to be a secondary priority. After all, they were people in need of protection and that was what the DIA aimed to provide, they just had to also consider the future, and the future was grim if Cqcq'trtr's people found the rest of the galaxy's sophants to be vulnerable in every way and fancied a galactic conquest.

That message had been tearing at Xkkrk for the past three rictos (6 days). The researchers who had been dedicated to Xkkrk's family, who were admittedly the third string researchers on the station, still legitimately needed comprehensive scans of Cqcq'trtr in order for their research to continue. Without him, they wouldn't have a cure. If she "rescued" Cqcq'trtr from those who wanted to find a way in which to hypothetically destroy him, that would spell the almost imminent death of her crew. She found herself damned if she did and damned if she didn't. Sometimes sapience was real b***h.

"We have made some progress." The Corti's words snapped Xkkrk back into the moment. "We've just finished the development of an implant we can subdermally inject into . . . uh . . Cqcq'trtr's . . . body that will prevent him from infecting other beings he interacts with. It is essentially a more permanent version of the front-line inoculation our zoologist give to potentially hazardous creatures." Xkkrk decided to not point out the flaws in the Corti's wording about his people use of their inoculation. She had to admit that this invention would be terribly useful, but she also knew they'd managed to make it after the first ricta (1.5 weeks) of studying Cqcq'trtr, and it had primarily been made to be inserted into kinetic projectiles which would prevent hypothetical Cqcq'trtr-esque prisoners from killing their guards by breathing on them.

"We would have already taken the liberty of injecting him with it, had it not been for his reluctance to allow us to approach him with anything other than minor injections." Said the Robalin researcher. Xkkrk didn't like him. He seemed slimy, and that wasn't just because his skin naturally secreted a thin mucus covering over his soft scales. His entier personality reeked of ulterior motives, something she had learned to sense as a cargo ship crew member. She knew she shouldn't distrust the Robalin. After all, their people had been brought into the Dominions fold after they had failed to create their apocalyptic bio-weapon, but something about this one just didn't sit right with her. She wasn't speciesist, was she?

"He seems to trust you, for reasons I still cannot fathom," the Robalin purred. "If we could have but a single standard cubit of blood (50cc) it would aid our efforts enormously. Scans of his chemical composition can only achieve so much, and seeing how his blood would react to different stimuli outside his body would be invaluable."

"I have already told you, Dr. UtMot," snapped Dr. Triv, the Corti researcher, "It serves no practical purpose for us to have a sample of blood outside of his body when we have his body here in our lab. I don't know why you are so insistent on this point." He took a moment to consider Dr. UtMot, then seemed to snap out of his consideration and turned back to Xkkrk. "However, Dr. UtMot is correct in one respect, Cqcq'trtr does seem to trust you. If you could inject him with this permanent front line solution, it would allow him to walk about the station more often. He does seem to be rather restless."

"Why, Dr. Triv, I didn't know you cared for our patients well being." Xkkrk simpered in her most scathing voice. Dr. Triv huffed. A very dry huff.

"I don't, he nearly killed me, but it makes it difficult to get a good scan from him when he's shifting around on the bed."

Fair enough. Xkkrk really didn't need convincing that the permanent front-line solution was a good thing for Cqcq'trtr to have, she just didn't want Dr. Triv to actually think he could get away with pretending he cared for him. Walking over to where Cqcq'trtr sat on the bed, she could see that he did look restless. He showed his teeth to her, which Xkkrk knew was the exact opposite of a threatening gesture despite all appearances. She attempted to copy the gesture, and Cqcq'trtr started giving his equivalent of a laugh. Xkkrk assumed she looked ridiculous.

Cqcq'trtr had become her only companion after everyone else in the crew had been put in cryo, and they had created an extremely rudimentary form of communication between them based off of gestures, body language, and tone of voice. She could see Cqcq'trtr's face become the picture of wariness the moment she raised the subdermal injection apparatus in front of her. She quickly used the gesture that roughly translated into "It's ok this won't permanently harm you. You need to take it", at least that's how Xkkrk used it, and it got the results she desired, so she assumed Cqcq'trtr thought it meant the same thing.

He relaxed, and she placed it against his forearm, lined it up with his bone, and pressed the button. The apparatus made a loud click and Cqcq'trtr gritted his teeth in discomfort, but was otherwise still. Dang he had a pain tolerance. The apparatus had been made especially to get past his tough skin, and was strong enough it probably would have sent the transplant into any lesser being's bones. She wasn't as amazed as she would have once been however. It was somewhat comforting to be friends with a creature that could fight his way through everyone in this station. It meant that if she had to get him out for his own good, all she'd have to do was point him in the right direction.

"Excellent," rasped Dr. Triv. "If your services are needed we will not hesitate to call for you. Thank you." Clearly dismissed, Xkkrk left the room to grind her teeth in peace.