Chapter thirteen

Stormy Sea

Orca power reserves propelled Dasaye to catch up with Kevin and Grace before they entered the river cove where the sailboat was tied up.

"There you are!" Grace exclaimed. "We were beginning to think you had changed your mind about coming to meet the rest of your new team."

"No. I discovered that the submarine was sending a signal. It took me awhile to be sure of it, and then figure out what to do; I went back and told the delfinians. Oh, I almost forgot, they're taking Ballena and Pito to the lee side of the island,"

The three friends were absorbed in conversation and didn't notice they were the center of attention for everyone on the sailboat. Sudor was sitting on the fallen tree which was used for a docking pier He smiled broadly listening to the conversation, noting that Dasaye had become an involved part of the group.

Grace and Kevin had crossed the quiet shady waters of the cove and tied the canoe to a branch stump at fallen tree dock. Sudor was leaning against another broken branch with his arms crossed and slowly swishing his paddling hand in the cool water. Grace turned and told him what they were talking about as soon as she secured the canoe. Sudor's relaxed smile turned to a frown when she told him about the submarine signal, his paddling hand splashed just enough to reveal his unexpected irritation and concern.

Kevin followed Grace onto the dock and waved to everyone across it, on the boat. He asked Sudor if he wanted to talk with Dasaye before introductions were made. Sudor said he'd heard enough for the time being and would wait until everyone had met. Grace asked Dasaye if she could jump onto his back and ride around the dock, to the other side of the boat.

"Sure," he said. "Let's give them a little show."

Grace hopped onto his back and they moved slowly around the docking tree and into deeper water.

"Are you ready?" Dasaye asked.

Grace didn't reply with words, she adjusted her feet and placed one hand on his dorsal fin. When Dasaye felt her in balance he accelerated away from the dock and circled inside the cove, which was not large enough for a full-speed display, but sufficiently roomy to make the sweeping turns of a surfer on a wave. They zoomed out into the river and then back into the cove. Dasaye leaped into the air and then Grace leaped from his back, higher yet. She did another perfect one and a half somersault dive and surfaced once again to a round of applause, which made an actual clapping sound this time. She grinned, "Dasaye is awesome." He surfaced gently underneath her and carried her to the sailboat, where Kevin introduced their parents, the Admiral, and his sweetheart partner, Leona. "Eddy and Liz have retuned to the spaceships," he concluded, "you will meet them later."

"I thought you were going on a study trip," Leona said pretending to pout. "If I'd known you were going to have so much fun, I would have insisted on going, too."

Dasaye guessed her feelings, he chuckled too deeply for anyone but Sudor to hear. "I'd be more than happy to take you around the cove," he said, with a dignified bow.

Leona looked at him with a confused expression and turned to Kevin, who took his arm from around her waist and gave her his translation collar. Dasaye repeated his invitation and Leona didn't hesitate. She immediately jumped into the water and climbed onto his back. They were soon zooming around the cove and out into the main part of the river.

Kevin retrieved another translation device from the ship cabin and filled in some of the details Grace had already related about what they had learned and done. Everyone was concerned about the submarine transmissions.

"I'm not sure I accept that figure of a one hundred to two hundred kilometer transmission range for the submarine signal, Will said. "The United States of Earth may spend more on weapons and other war toys than the rest of the world combined but it can't repeal the laws of physics."

Sudor slipped into the water when Dasaye and Leona returned. He asked Dasaye to demonstrate the signal as it sounded from the submarine, and again as it sounded from where Perko heard it. After sampling the two signal versions and savoring them for a moment, eyes slightly glazed, with the expression of a wine taster, he then turned to Will and said he agreed with him, "Perko must have misplaced a decimal point in his head, he probably meant to say ten to twenty kilometers, he added a zero by mistake."

"Even so," the Admiral commented, "we can't have the submarine sending a signal that goes anywhere. I don't like a range of only one or two kilometers, a search boat checking around the island will hear it for sure."

"I will be happy to go tap a message on the submarine hull," Sudor offered.

"What shall we say?" Dasaye wanted to know.

"Tell them we heard their signal and if they don't stop we'll drill some holes in the hull and give them something else to do," the Admiral growled, with a devious smile on his face.

"Can we tell them I was the one who discovered it?" Dasaye asked.

"That's a great idea!" Leona exclaimed. "Pioneers have brought Delfinians to live here on Earth and they have already started building a coalition which includes Ocean People. That should give the submarine commander something to think about while he's sitting there on the bottom."

"Well, don't make it too long or I won't be able to remember all the taps in the code," Sudor laughed.

"Write it down on a piece of smoth wood with a water proof marker," Grace said. "You work out what to say and I'll go below and find the stuff we need to write it with."

"Bring the little welding hammer for a tapping tool," Kevin called after her.

Maybe you can teach me to say it in your language," Dasaye said hopefully. "They did stop to listen when I copied their signal. I'm sure I gave them quite a bit to think about when I sent them my parting message. I know they listened because the signal stopped until I finished."

"What did you say to them?" Leslie asked.

"I sang one section from the ancient recitals of the Ocean People, though I simplified the tones and that left out most of the descriptive details."

"We're not all up to speed with you, Dasaye." the Admiral said. "What are Recitals?"

Sudor gave him a quick summary of how ocean people came together to sing recitals of historical knowledge, some of which, to Inocente's dismay, came from Star Song.

"Cetaceans know Star Song?" the Admiral said incredulously. "I want to hear more about that later. What did you tell the submarine crew?" He asked Dasaye, with a mingled expression of rapt attention and barely contained laughter. "That's what I want to know now."

"I sang the colors and shape of the Earth as it looks from the moon," Dasaye answered chuckling again in his low tone that only Sudor could hear.

Inocente whistled a note of admiration, "I'd sure like to see how that message printed out to on their receiving computer. Whatever came through must have boggled their minds."

"Can you hear Dasaye when he laughs?" Sudor asked directing his question to all the humans.

"I can't hear it," Leona answered. "Yet I was just this moment thinking he looked like he was laughing, and I felt a vibration in the deck with my feet."

"That's it," Sudor replied. "His laughter is a bubbling hum so low and strong it can be physically felt. I'm sorry you can't hear it. He rumbles like a giant and giggles like a child at the same time. Ballena laughs the same way only even deeper. Ocean people sound like singing stars, their laughter carries a rich mixture of tonal signals which I myself do not yet completely understand."

Dasaye felt a glowing pride as he listened to people describe him using words of admiration. "The laughter of ocean people creates an image of what is funny or pleasing." He said. "Another ocean person would know from my laughter there was a confused human trying to figure out a song which I made simpler than the same song from a children's recital. That really should be in the message to the submarine."

Leona had been listening to the conversation as she dried off from riding on Dasaye's back. She picked up the Admirals pen and notebook and wrote out a brief message. "Here's something that might be useful as a starting point," she said, handing it to the Admiral.

He read it quickly. "This is interesting," he said. "Where did you learn to write like this, with so much between the lines?"

Leona blushed. "I helped my grandfather, just like Rima is helping you, and I'm an economist for the State Department. I met Kevin when the government of Nation Pacifica asked me to prepare briefs from his theories linking ecological and economic collapse." She smiled broadly.

"So here I am, a fugitive on Earth Base One helping you compose a note to the crew of the most powerful submarine on the planet."

"Do you mind if I read it out loud and change a few words here and there?"

"Please do. That's what I wrote it for."

The Admiral walked along the ship rail reading the message one more time before stopping to read it aloud. "Hello in there." He began reading. "One of our allies discovered you are transmitting a signal. If the signal does not stop we will take action to stop it. We do not wish to damage your transmitter because we would rather put a relay sensor near it so you can send messages back to your home port, as well as communicate directly with us if a need arises."

Dasaye shook his head. "I don't mean to be rude, but why do you think that is such great writing? I had a more interesting idea in my head."

Sudor didn't say anything so the Admiral and Leona guessed he might be thinking along similar lines. Kevin sat listening with his mother and father, he felt a little tired and didn't really care what they said as long as the transmissions stopped before they caused any trouble. Grace came up from below deck carrying a piece of painted wood and a water proof marking pen. Her family signaled her to remain silent. She sat down next to her dad. "Rima is still sleeping like a log," she whispered.

The Admiral heard her and grinned. "Leona knows that everyone on the sub will hear the message when Sudor taps it out on the hull." He was clearly warming up to what he considered an exciting idea. "Right?" He asked looking at Leona,

Leona nodded, "Yes." She had a slightly devious smirk about her. She started to speak but instead remained silent.

"As I see it," Inocente continued. "The entire submarine crew will know we are concerned about them and want to help them contact their worried families back home."

Leona nodded another yes. Will couldn't help admiring the extraordinary beauty of his son's sweetheart as she sat in cut off jeans talking calmly with an Alien, a Whale, and his old friend, Inocente. Leslie elbowed him in the ribs, gently. Grace saw it all happen and tickled him, just when he figured he was off the hook.

"I like this brief note," the Admiral said. "The crew will not be happy if their commander stands between them and contacting their families, they realize full well that this is a one sided war and we are not fighting to kill them. The commander knows that, too, he will eventually relent and let the crew communicate through us."

"So?" Dasaye asked pointedly.

"So, we happen to have two of the best scientists on Earth right here with us, and a small research laboratory on the spaceship. I'm thinking that once Will and Leslie take apart one of those delfinian translation collars and work their magic on our own sensors, they are going to be able to teach you how to talk to Use navy sensors. Our problem has been that we don't want to hurt a bunch of young soldiers even though they are under orders to attack us, our weapons are simply too strong to use. Leona has revealed an interesting way to fight Use without hurting anyone.

"Is that what you were thinking?" He asked, turning to her.

"I didn't think quite as far as you are going," Leona answered.

"But why didn't she tell them about me?" Dasaye asked. "That's the most important part; I'm the one who found out what they are doing."

The Admiral didn't answer immediately, he walked toward the bow of the sailboat and back. Then he stopped in front of Dasaye and studied him intently. After a long silence he leaned forward and spoke softly, "Do you trust me, Dasaye?"

"I don't know any of you very well," Dasaye answered, squirming slightly. He wasn't sure he wanted to admit even to himself that he had become fond of his new friends so quickly and unquestioningly.

"I didn't ask you how well you knew us. Have you ever thought that you would meet people like us? People who are from outer space and friends of Star Song? Do you know we are here because he told us to be here?"

That did it. Dasaye made up his mind. "Yes. I trust you. I promised Sudor I would guard and protect all people."

"We don't want warlike humans to know about you, yet, the time for that will come soon enough. I would like you to go find more orcas and bring them here. Would you do that?"

"I can't." Dasaye answered. "There's not enough food around here anymore."

"Was there a time when more food was here?" Kevin asked.

"The Recitals tell of a time when there were many tuna and other large fish," Dasaye said. "Now there are only scattered schools of fish. Sometimes we find larger schools in the underwater human cities."

"You have underwater cities?" Sudor asked inquisitively.

"He must be talking of the cities that have been submerged since global warming raised the sea level," Kevin answered Sudor, then he turned to Dasaye, "Underwater cities are an example of what I meant when we talked about humans destroying our planet. All the glaciers melted and warm water expanded, sea level rose and submerged large areas of land."

"But this is awful news!" Sudor exclaimed. "Earth's environmental collapse has progressed much further than we thought. Our terrestrial ancestors destroyed themselves as soon as the cities started being flooded. How can it be that you already have submerged cities? Cecric must be right! Your moon has saved you from the worst, so far."

"What are you talking about?" the Admiral asked clearing his throat for emphasis. "There are three species worth of subject floating around here and I'm beginning to have a little bit of difficulty juggling them all."

"Excuse me, Admiral," Sudor apologized, nodding also to Dasaye. "None of us know each other very well, actually. When our ancestors returned to the sea they were survivors of a terrible war which killed almost everyone. Delfinians were once very much like humans are now. We had reached a similar social and economic position to Earth Humans when our environment also collapsed from global warming, chemical pollution, and drifting radioactivity.

"The chaos and instability of environmental collapse led directly to fighting over what little was left. A bitter war over dwindling supplies of fresh water ended terrestrial life on our planet."

"I thought so!" Leslie exclaimed, with a proudly pleased expression. "Your tail looks more like a leg than a back bone. I guessed your paddling hand to be an evolved foot. Am I right?"

"Precisely," Sudor said with a slight bow. "You are both an astute scientist and an excellent medical doctor. Your keen powers of observation serve you well.

"Delfinians spent millions of years evolving back into the sentient beings we had once been. We have known that we came from intelligent terrestrial beings for less than five hundred years, our present technological age began about six hundred years ago."

"That's an amazing story," the Admiral said intently. "It confirms my worst fears about what we are up against."

"Our technological history was very slow until around 1860, a little over four hundred years ago," Kevin told Sudor.

"Yes. Well, we are all made from the dust of dead stars and it takes a certain amount of time for enough stars to be born and die before life can begin evolving," Sudor responded. "Our scientists have concluded that this timespace region is twin to ours, they are the same age. The few million years it took us to come back from the war that destroyed our original ancestors and their civilization is not very long in the life of a planet, it is nothing in the life of a big bang."

"Wait a minute!" Will cried jumping to his feet. "Are you inferring you come from a different big bang?"

"Something like that, an exact answer remains beyond our science. We seem to have traveled between different infinities, and we believe that is what prompted Doom Cloud to attack us," Sudor replied. "No one knows why."

The Admiral raised his hands into the air. "That's enough, this will take years to unravel, and the day is turning dark. Sudor, we need to stop that sub from sending signals, please go tap out the message. Dasaye, after the message, you go find more orcas and bring as many as possible here, your reward will be a trip to Planet Pacifica, if you want to go."

"Can I bring a friend?" Dasaye chuckled.

Admiral Castro felt his feet tingle from the vibrations picked up by the sailboat, he laughed out loud. "You're a real goof, Dasaye. Yes. You can bring a friend. Now get moving!"

Grace hopped up from where she was sitting with her parents, she gave the message she had written to Sudor. He placed the message in a small pack and rejected the tapping hammer, saying a rock would do just fine. With a good natured salute to the Admiral, he turned to Dasaye, "Ready, Buddy?" Dasaye answered by starting out immediately. Sudor hurried to catch up with him,

"I don't know what I'm going to do," Dasaye muttered as soon as Sudor caught up with him. "There really isn't enough food around here for more than one orca."

"I read about ocean people in the human's books," Sudor said after thinking a moment about Dasaye's food quandary. "First, let's see who's fastest. Race to the sea?"

Dasaye immediately accelerated to full-speed and didn't look back. He strained with all his might to reach the river mouth first. Sudor had begun to know Dasaye's personality and wasn't caught completely by surprise, he was a split second behind and catching up. They raced out of the river mouth neck-and-neck, going at top speed, following an arcing curve along the shore, toward the surfing cove.

The rising moon made a golden path on the ocean, they raced side-by-side admiring its glistening beauty. The swells had grown monstrous, unnoticed while they were in the river. Dasaye swerved slightly closer to shore as they rounded the island and reached the cove point. Sudor followed him, straight into a completely thrilling take-off on a wave as large as any self propelled creature has ever ridden. They quickly realized their play had led them into a serious moment, the race was forgotten. Each concentrated on the awesome power of Mother Earth as they abandoned themselves to ride her wave, completely in tune with natural forces.

They were rocketing through the water faster than either had ever gone when they reached safety at the ending wave shoulder. Dasaye used their phenomenal speed to leap higher than he had ever done before. Sudor blasted along the ocean surface paddling on his tail, he leaped on Dasaye's back the moment Dasaye dropped back to the water. Dasaye dove in a wrestling corkscrew path leading toward the submarine. Sudor hung on with all his strength, taking care not to hurt Dasaye's dorsal fin. Dasaye surfaced for breath just above the submarine. Two happy friends dove without hesitation to their original purpose.

Dasaye led Sudor directly to the transmission device. "It's still sending," he pointed out.

"I can hear it," Sudor replied. "Can you still make it stop?"

Dasaye hummed a mimicking tone that sounded very much like the signal to Sudor. The signal paused briefly and then resumed.

"I don't think it's a human stopping to listen," Sudor mused. "It stopped to quickly. My impression is their computer is set to stop and record responses."

"Are you able to stop it?" Dasaye asked.

Sudor listened for a moment and then mimicked the tone as Dasaye had. The signal did not vary, the computer kept broadcasting and did not pause to record. Sudor listened again and then mimicked the tone a second time with the same result, no pause to record. "How long did it take you to learn how to make it pause," Sudor asked Dasaye.

"It did it the first time I tried."

"Let me hear you do it again."

Dasaye mimicked the signal tone and it instantly stopped. Sudor then tried it and it didn't stop.

"Hmm. I think Inocente's hunch about you was right," Sudor said glancing around with his echo location sonar.

"Why does the Admiral have two names?" Dasaye asked.

Sudor was inspecting the transmission device while he answered. "Inocente is his name. Inocente is an admiral. He was once the top admiral of Nation Pacifica and now is admiral of the pioneer space fleet. The Admiral is a leader."

"Is that like you being President of the Delfinians?"

"Not exactly. President is just the closest human word. A delfinian president helps people get along together when times are tough. Our president is also the one to start important conversations among strangers and to promote direction toward relevent experience and knowledge. Admirals tell land people exactly what to do, and the people do it, until the admiral is replaced."

"Why did you become President?"

"That's a good question. I've never figured out exactly why I was chosen, but I was, so I do the job."

"Well, you better do your job and help me, now. I can't be responsible for what a bunch of hungry orcas might do once they get here and there's nothing to eat."

"I've been thinking about that," Sudor said. "I read in human books that orcas cooperate and sometimes herd seals into a cove, where they are kept until someone becomes hungry."

"That's right. We herd them into coves with plenty of seal food and narrow beaches where they can't get out of reach. How do human's know about that?"

"The book said fisherman have watched you. Humans do exactly the same with some land animals."

"Really? I wondered where they get their food."

"They also eat plants, like delfinians. Some humans and delfinians choose to eat plants only, they are called vegetarians."

"I couldn't do that."

"You might, some day, unless we figure out a way to keep the humans from completely destroying nature's balances."

"Yuck!"

Sudor grinned. Dasaye easily picked it up with his sonar, "What's your idea?" He asked chuckling back.

"Do orcas have leaders when hunting?"

"Not like an admiral, it's more like a delfinian president. We listen for the advice from someone who seems to have the best experience at any particular moment. Then we try to use their wisdom to get the job done for everyone, as best we can."

"That's where we have the advantage over humans," Sudor responded. "They don't have our fourth brain and are somewhat hampered mentally. Pioneers have a computer invention called Distiller though, it shows promise of helping them past their biological limits."

Sudor saw the next question coming. "I know you're curious, I'll explain computers later," he said. "Now we need to solve your food dilemma. I suggest you find enough orcas to herd a large school of tuna to this island cove."

"I don't know if we can do that," Dasaye sighed. "That would take a lot of orcas working together, maybe you should come with me. Wait a minute! I've got it! My small cousins, the Dolphins. They swim with tuna almost all the time. Maybe they'll help. But, Sudor, you will have to come with me, the dolphins will think it's a trick so I can eat them." He paused for Sudor to answer but there was no reply. "No. This idea is way too complicated," he mused quietly. "Why does Inocente want me to bring a bunch of orcas here, anyway?" He asked following Sudor to the surface for a breath, after which they both dove swiftly back to the bottom, where the submarine rested safely below the giant ocean swells.

"I'm not entirely clear what the Admiral has in his mind," Sudor said. "Humans may lack our fourth brain level but they are very intelligent, nonetheless. The problem the pioneers face it that their weapons are too strong. Humans are a hunter specie, like you orcas, their weapons are designed to utterly destroy anything as bad as they can picture themselves being. Imagine Ballena with a weapon strong enough to fight orcas, that's what humans are like. If the Admiral fights too hard there will be a war that will destroy the world, just like it happened on Delfinia so long ago."

"Ballena has such a weapon."

"Really?"

"Yes. That gigantic sperm whale head of hers is more than just a weird head, it's a weapon all orcas respect."

"What do you mean?" Sudor asked as he picked up a rock from the ocean floor and positioned himself to tap the message on the submarine.

"That loud low tone of her chuckle can be way louder if she blasts it out with all her might."

"So?"

"Sperm whales focus that loud tone into a narrow beam. It comes out the front of their head with accurate aim and hits harder than Perko can."

Sudor didn't say anything more. He started tapping out the message from memory, starting with, "Hello in there." After hearing Dasaye's description of Ballena's sound weapon he decided to omit any mention of ocean allies and simply told them to stop, with the offer to communicate home for them. He paused briefly when he finished and then tapped out the message once again. He and Dasaye went to the surface for a breath after he finished.

"Let's go find Ballena and the other delfinians," Sudor said. "Tell me about about the sperm whale's weapon on the way there."

They dove and passed the now silent submarine. Dasaye chuckled his low tone. "Who would ever have thought ocean people could make a human war machine do what they wanted? Not me, anyway."

"I'm glad they stopped," Sudor said, as they swam together leisurely. "Tell me more about Ballena's loud weapon."

"Sperm whales make the loudest sound I've ever heard," Dasaye said. "They can talk to each other from one side of the ocean to the other. The recitals tell that the oceans were a terrifying place to be during the Human War on Ocean People. Death cries of the giant whales filled the seas until they gradually died away, then the oceans became quiet."

"But how does there voice work as a weapon?"

"Sperm whales focus their loud voice into a narrow beam. If a small fish swims in front of them, they let out a sound beam that stuns the fish, then they open their mouth and swallow it down as they swim along. Sperm whales aren't as big as they look, their head is at least a third of their size. That's why an orca isn't very afraid of one alone.

"We don't dawdle around when there are a bunch of them in one place, though. They group into a circle and send their beams at us if we charge through them looking for an old or sick one who can't keep up with the group. They can't move as fast as we can, but if an orca is close, their sound beam is dangerous, especially if one gets hit by more than one."

"That's very interesting. Thanks for telling me, Dasaye. Listen! I sense our friends ahead! Let's hurry a little."

Dasaye and Sudor zoomed into the group of friends. "How is Ballena?" they both asked.

"We are very worried," Cecric answered. "Ballena has a fever. We think it is an infection. Perko was just about to leave and tell the Doctor."

Sudor inspected Ballena's stitches. "You're right she has an infection. I'm surprised it's on the side where skin was removed for the graft and not on the deeper wound itself. It looks bad to me."

Let's take her back up the river to the Doctor," Dasaye suggested.

"No, the river is dirty," Cecric said, "that's probably what infected her, bring Leslie here. It won't be far for them to cross the island, this is the narrowest part. It's much closer for them than for us and the waves have become too big for Ballena on that side of the island."

"What's going on with those waves? Sudor said. "I've never seen waves like this."

"There must be a typhoon somewhere to the east of us," Dasaye told them. "The waves are unusually big but I've seen it before."

"Our oceans on Delfinia were not large enough for this to happen," Perko observed. "Will the storm follow the waves to here, I wonder."

"There's no way to know that," Dasaye answered. "These swells are traveling all over the entire Pacific Ocean, the storm behind them could wander just about anywhere."

"It must be a big one, where ever it is," Sudor said. "I'll go tell the Doctor to come here right away. Perko. I think you and Landra should go with Dasaye to make contact with other ocean people. Will that leave too few of us here with Ballena and Pito?"

"That will work," Dawn answered. "There are no waves here so we can move Ballena closer to shore where the Doctor can wade into the water and examine her."

"What if a bunch of hungry orcas show up?" Dasaye said. "I don't like this idea, Sudor. We should all wait here and decide who leaves, after the Doctor arrives."

The Delfinians all looked to Sudor, they were keen to see how he felt about having his decision so completely and sensibly reversed. Sudor was neither disappointed nor hesitating, "Okay. Tell everyone what we've talked about while I'm gone." He curled his hand into a fist and fondly thumped Dasaye's brow, then he turned and swam into the night.

Sudor swam fast as he rounded the protecting southerly tip of the island and joined with the rolling seas. He was traveling with the waves and enjoyed the extra speed they gave him in passing. The moon was behind and higher, it reflected from the following backs of the immense ocean swells as he leaped from their shadowed faces into deeper trough darkness. The seriousness of his journey did not detract from Sudor's pleasure, he basked in moonlit beauty as he turned out of the ocean and swam east into the shadowed river.

The largest part of the island was Northeast. He resolved to explore past the river bend, beyond the sailboat, and also around the island, as soon as he had some free time. Now he swam to the sailboat and called to the humans. Those on board quickly came to the railing. The others, who had retired to the small palapa style shelter on shore, walked quickly onto the dock. "Did the submarine stop sending signals?" Kevin wanted to know. "How is Ballena?" Leslie asked.

“Yes, the submarine has stopped sending signals. Ballena has become listless with fever, she has an infection on the side where skin was removed for grafting." Sudor responded concisely. "A doctor is needed immediately. We feel it is best to cross the narrow part of the island from here, going slightly east of north. Ballena is backed into a shallow cove where you can wade into the water and treat her infection."

“I know that cove,” Kevin responded.

"How much antibiotic ointment do we have all together? Leslie asked the Admiral. "There are ointments, pills, and injections in the medical locker on the spaceship," he responded. There should be some on our ship, too," Will added.

"Will, you and Kevin gather all the antibiotics we have. I want Grace, Rima, and Leona to collect fifty soil samples in sterile sample bags and dilute them with water. We are going to grow little lawns of soil mold and isolate a local antibiotic. Start immediately by swabbing water from the settled mixtures on melted wax poured into shallow dishes, put a thin layer of gelatin and bullion cube on the wax. Tomorrow we'll go hunt for purple seaweed and use that to make proper agar for our petri dishes. Inocente, you go to the ship and have the crew convert the cargo hold into a laboratory. I'll get my medical bag from our ship. Kevin will lead me from the spaceships to the shallow cove. Let's get going, now."

Sudor turned and swam back along the river as Grace and Leona disappeared below deck to find small bags for the soil samples. Leslie followed the others to the spaceships after giving final directions for growing soil sample molds. Everything was ready and waiting for her when she arrived, including her medical bag and a small ladder. "Just in case you need it," Will said.

Kevin led the determined emergency medical group along a moonlit trail from the old colonial fort to the sheltered cove. The trail became progressively easier to follow as they walked further into the dry side of the island, where the foliage was mainly grasses and low scrub palms, which didn't veil the light. They quickened their pace when they saw the dark shapes of Ballena and the delfinians against the cove's shimmering moonlit water. The surrounding scene was peacefully beautiful as they rushed to join Ballena's solitary internal battle with voracious bacteria.

Leslie splashed into chest deep water and switched on her flashlight. An angry red swelling greeted her gaze. Kevin leaned the ladder against Ballena's side. Leslie handed him her medical bag after putting on her translation collar and clipping her stethoscope around her neck, she then climbed for a closer look. "Staphylococcus aureus," she muttered under her breath.

"Is Ballena conscious?"

Ballena wiggled her tail weakly but didn't say anything.

"I'm going to climb onto your back," Leslie told her as she stepped off the ladder onto Ballena's back and walked forward to her blow hole. "Can you feel me?" She asked crouching on hands and knees and placing the stethoscope against the skin around the blowhole.

"I can feel you," Ballena softly sighed.

"You have a skin infection," Leslie informed her while feeling the flesh surrounding the breathing hole. "I can hear your pulse in the flesh around the breathing hole area. Does this hurt?" She pinched the blowhole skin as hard as she dared.

"A little."

"I need to inject an antibiotic into your flesh with a sharp needle. Could you hold completely still if the pain there was more shocking to your nerves? It won't last long but I must do it several times."

"I can do it."

Leslie walked back toward the ladder, she dropped to her hands and knees about halfway there and pushed the stethoscope firmly against the skin. "Breath deep," she told Ballena, who filled her lungs as Leslie listened. "Now exhale." Leslie listened carefully and then crawled into position above Ballena's other lung. "Do the same thing again." Leslie's face became expressionless as she concentrated on listening to Ballena breath again. She stood and walked back to the ladder where Kevin waited with her medical bag. "Please come with me and hold the light." She said.

Kevin handed his mother the medical bag and stepped onto Ballena's back without hesitating. He followed her to the blow hole and held the light while Leslie filled a syringe with antibiotic. 'Okay. Here we go. This will sting a little," she said to Ballena while pinching her skin. She let go of the pinch and stuck the needle deep, through the thick skin, into the flesh. Ballena's body went rigid and she shivered slightly, otherwise, she didn't move. "Take a breath and relax while I prepare another injection," Leslie said patting Ballena's back gently before replacing the needle and refilling the syringe.

Leslie continued injecting the antibiotic until she used it all. Ballena grew taught and flinched with each injection but remained silent. "Now we will threat your wound and the infected area directly," Leslie said. "I know that hurt, this next step is painless.

Leslie asked Kevin to move the ladder to Ballena's other side when the infection had been treated. She was relieved to see that the actual skin graft did not show visible signs of infection, "It looks good," she called to Ballena. "I think it will heal nicely. Now I am going to apply antibiotic ointment around the area of the actual graft. When that's finished I'll clean the other areas, don't worry, it won't hurt a bit."

Leslie kept up a pleasantly toned verbal description of what she was doing as she worked. She climbed off the ladder and moved it to one end of the long wound, away from the central skin graft area. "Hand me the hydrogen peroxide. I'd rather not use it but we have no more antibiotics." She busied herself with the foaming mixture until all of Ballena's stitches had been rinsed. "That does it," she said wearily. "I'll check on you in the morning."

"Good job," Will complimented his wife and gave her a hug. "It's late, let's go back now and get some rest."

Sudor swam close to the shore and stood in waist deep water. "Should we move her to deeper water?"

"Wait as long as you can without harmful drying. The water will slowly rinse away the salve, it takes time for the antibiotic ointment to begin it's job," she concluded turning to follow Will and Kevin.

Sudor then turned to Dasaye. "Ready, Buddy?" "Let's go find some orcas," Dasaye chuckled his low tone, he was pleased that Sudor had decided to come along and help convince other orcas to join them. He felt much better with Sudor at his side.

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