RED KNIGHT
a STAR FRONTIERS Novel
by Layne K. Saltern
Voar Tung watched with something between reverence and sadness. Thibaut refused to give anyone the courtesy of eye contact. Katrina, Tulk'n, Zhelk and Krenny followed my every word, intent on finding answers.
"You're moving without your walker," remarked the admiral.
"The level of my muscular response has been fluctuating since the accident," I explained. "But my condition seems to gradually stabilizing with time."
"What have you found out about Commodore Xid'kit?"
That was my cue. "I have successfully placed him in a freeze field. Any major medical center should be able to clear the toxins from his body and revive him."
"So he overdosed on Telol?" asked Krenny.
"My guess is that someone wanted this to look like an attempted suicide. It's well known that Commodore Xid'kit has medical training, and that he had in his possession a substantial supply of telol, as well as other drugs.
"What I find of interest is the way in which the drug was administered. It takes considerable medical knowledge to properly inject telol for use as a truth serum. I have examined the injection point on the commodore's arm, and it's obvious to me that whoever used the hyposprayer had advanced medical skill.
"But a second look at the body reveals some things that are much more puzzling. Notice these bruises on his left wrist and right upper arm. A blood dating test has confirmed that these bruises were inflicted at approximately the same time that the hyposprayer was used. This discoloring on the back of Commodore Xid'kit's neck was caused by electrical trauma. . .possibly a stunstick."
Admiral Zhelk's face hardened with every word. "So you're saying someone attacked him?"
"Someone trained both in medicine and the martial arts."
I turned to see how the others were reacting. My eyes fell immediately upon Katrina. Tulk'n had his arm around her, and she seemed to be burying her head in his shoulder.
I felt a wave of numbness wash my body.
"Kro'khan!" Voar's voice was distant.
Only too late did I realize that my weakened condition was back. I collapsed into the solid arms of the Dralasite.
"My. . .walker. . ." I mumbled.
"We'll get it," he reassured. "You're going back to bed."