"You and Chuck must stay on boaM as guards"' he said swiftly in English.
"When the repair men arrive, you are off watch and asleep. Chuck only has to stand around and look suspicious:'
"He does that well," she murmured back.
"You did very well, Kris," Zainal said again, his tone warm and loving.
She leaned into him for strength until they heard steps approaching and separated from their close embrace. But Zainal kept one hand under her arm to support her.
"They're gone, and a smaller vehicle is on its way here;' Chuck said and moved forward to take Kris' other arm.
If she hadn't needed their support, she would have pushed both away from her to walk on her own two feet, but she didn't have the strength and was far too grateful for their assistance.
They eased her back into the bridge compartment and into the com seat.
"Your Catteni is enough for any messages;' Zainal said, keeping one hand on her shoulder. "Anything you don't understand, make them repeat.
Tell them com unit is also faulty. Then act stupid Drassi and you will tell the Emassi when he comes back. You don't know where he has gone… but then they wouldn't ask you since you wouldn't know:'
Kris was glad that gravity was not affecting her ears because she understood every Catteni word Zainal spoke.
"Chuck, you will admit only the service men who will have a proper clipboard you will have to sign as they enter, put in the time I showed you how-when they leave. Whenever they come, Kris is to be off guard and asleep."
An obnoxious klaxon announced that the transport was awaiting its passengers.
"I gotcha," Chuck murmured in English.
Zainal bent to Kris' ear. "The first few days are the hardest. Move as much as you are able and use hot showers," he said in English. "Walk around the ship if you can. We will not be here long. If I can help it."
Then, with a final squeeze of her shoulder, he nodded for Gino, Ninety, Mack, and the two Rugarians to follow him.
Kris saw the ground transport as it sped diagonally off the field, toward the road, away from the command post and the hovels. It was all too quickly lost as the road took it into the thick forest of tossing greenery. She didn't even have the energy to compare Catteni botany with Botany's vegetation.
While she was sunk in the seat, she heard Chuck moving around.
When he reentered the bridge compartment, he carried cups and gave her one. Rather, he put it in her right hand where it lay, almost useless with the gravity, on the armrest.
"Try it, gal, you need the energy. Some of Mayock's special."
"Oh, Gawd;' she said. It took two hands to get the cup to her mouth but liquid didn't seem to object, and she was able to get a good swig down her throat. Did the heavier gravity make it go down faster? She took another sip and it did seem to drop into her stomach really fast.
"Any better?" Chuck asked in a conciliatory tone.
"I don't know. It all seems like so much work:'
"It's never too much work to drink; Kris;' he said and took the other looking out at the scenery. "They don't seem to do much in the way of forestry."
"I saw the Rassi," and despite the gravity she managed a little shudder.
"You wouldn't want them as work gangs. They barely managed to carry the crates into the waiting truck. I begin to understand why Drassi have such short tempers… if they have to work with that level of unintelligence. Not even room temperature. More like just above freezing;'
Even talking was hard because it meant she had to move her jaw.
"Just sit, honey;' Chuck said, lightly touching her arm in compassion.
"We'll get used to it?" she asked.
"If Zainal says we will, we will. Look, Kris, finish the drink and then get some sleep. That'll help. We've already had a busy day."
"Would I feel too heavy to sleep?"
"Finish that drink and believe you me, you'll sleep, honey."
She did just that, taking the second half of the drink in one gulp and letting Chuck help her back to the crew quarters. Even the bed, which had never been all that soft, felt harder to her. The blanket hadn't gained any weight but it felt rough, even through her uniform. The pillow was a rock but that didn't prevent her from falling deeply asleep.
ZAINAL COMMUNICATED WITH THEM once the next morning; his blunt phrases indicated all was well. To expect repair crews the next day. He gave a com contact number. Drassi Chuck would give their Drassi leader the prepared list of resupply items. Zainal was getting the rest.
Kris felt somewhat better by midday, with frequent sips of Mayock's Superior Hooch. In fact, it did make her feel lighter. Not light-headed for her head still felt thick. She insisted on standing a watch while Chuck slept.
She answered several com unit calls quite adequately. Four were obviously a check to see if the ship's guard was actually on duty. Another, from a very pompous Emassi, inquired if the ship was still in a dangerous condition.
She replied firmly that it was not. When the Emassi wanted to speak to Zainal, she gave him the contact number Zainal had left, grateful that he had since she had absolutely no idea where he was. There had been a lot of noise in the background during Zainal's call, which led her to believe he was in a much larger place than the Blizte place which Kivel had mentioned.
She did make herself leave the ship and managed, with very slow steps, to do a full circuit. She sat on the hatch steps and made herself do a second circuit the other way round. When she reentered the ship, she felt as if she had done a marathon at top speed. More of the Mayock Superior with very little water in it helped relieve the exhaustion. In fact, it helped enough so that she did another walk two hours or so later, bored with doing nothing.
This excursion didn't leave her feeling as wrecked afterward.
She managed to make some food for Chuck and herself. By then Chuck had slept a good deal longer than his legendary six hours, but he had needed it. She woke him and they ate together, with more of Mayock's supportive aid.
They decided they had both better be on duty when the repair crews arrived, to give a show of exemplary attention to duty. Chuck made her sleep until just before dawn.
"You've got to see dawn here, Kris. Never seen anything like it in my life;' he told her. "Then I'll kip out until you see the service crew arriving."
That sounded fine to her: Food helped nearly as much as Mayock's brew, and she slept again until Chuck woke her and, with a friendly hand supporting her, led her into the bridge compartment so they could watch the dawn together.
There weren't many clouds in a Catteni sky-too heavy an atmosphere, Kris decided, or they'd just drop down. But the sky coloration went from the most delicate aqua into fantastic almost lightning-like-displays of yellow to orange to red and then back to orange and fading into yellow that turned greenish before the blue-green of a normal Catteni sky settled, and the very bright white sun came up. Instantly the bridge screen darkened.
"Too bright for Emassi and Drassi?" she asked facetiously.
Chuck yawned widely and stood up. At least he seemed to be adapting to the heavier gravity. Maybe she would… probably just about the time they could leave.
Chuck went off to sleep, and she fixed herself some breakfast. Her stomach must be adjusting because it felt empty, not merely heavy and unready for any new burdens.
She took just a slight dose of Mayock. She didn't want the repair crew folk to smell any liquor on her breath because it would be very difficult to explain where she'd gotten it. Besides, they'd only brought enough for their personal needs. Even if her personal need for continued potions seemed excessive, considering her generally abstemious habits.
Remembering the state of Baby and the KDL when they had captured them, she did wonder if perhaps this ship was a little too neat and orderly to be a proper Catteni used vessel. She'd ask Chuck if they shouldn't throw a few things about. She did leave dishes on the table and the cooking pan on the heat pad.