Ktheg!lik was about to check on the mushroom farm when a loud alarm blared from every speaker in the vicinity. Petra called out something in Galactic that she hadn't learned yet, but it sounded like some kind of official alert.

  “Petra, explain!”

  More Galactic. What's going on, that we never bothered to learn the words for yet? She tried a different tack. “Petra, where is the problem?”

  “Infirmary, Level 5.”

  Kazz! Ktheg!lik started running for the stairs. “Is Nik!eh all right? Is he good?”

  “No.”

  “What happened?”

  “Olk!ano hit Nik!eh.”

  Olk!ano, of course it's him. Ktheg!lik wondered why an alarm would blare just for a punch. Then she recalled Petra's epic skills at understatement. “Petra, how did Olk!ano hit Nik!eh?”

  “Olk!ano hit Nik!eh with a knife.”

  “Petra!”

  “Yes, Ktheg!lik?”

  “Next time, lead with that! The knife part is important!”

  “Understood.” I doubt it.

  She couldn't spare any more breath for the golem as she wheezed a bit on the stairs to Level 6. She forced herself to keep climbing. Above her, a small flock of automata was moving. What does Petra do about violence in her complex? Especially against her orbathic? She sucked in a breath.

  “Petra...don't...kill...anyone.”

  Petra didn't acknowledge the order. That's not good. She went back to climbing. Geh!aoa appeared and grabbed her, hoisting her over a shoulder. The young fuak!a started climbing stairs with a grunt, while a few people passed them. This is undignified.

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  “Oof. Where?”

  “...infirmary...”

  “I've got her,” Geh!aoa told someone. “She's just winded.”

  I'm impressed by her strength. Geh!aoa seemed to be rushing, as if she didn't expect to be able to do this for long. Fortunately, she didn't need to, setting Ktheg!lik down on Level 5 and sinking into a crouch next to the wall, herself.

  “Thank you.” Ktheg!lik saw over a dozen automata standing still in the central area. Those are the defense machines, she realized. She had seen them at rest in their room, and on occasion patrolling outside, but this was her first time seeing them doing more. They had a disturbing number of sharp edges deployed.

  A couple of people were standing in doorways, blocked from moving.

  “Ktheg!lik!” Fana!o shouted. “Is this your doing? It won't let me leave!”

  “Working on it!” she shouted back. She took a tentative step, and when none of the automata blocked her, she crossed over to the door of the infirmary. It didn't open when she pressed the button, though.

  “Petra, open the door, please.” Petra said something in Galactic. “Translate, please?”

  “Wait.” Ktheg!lik reminded herself that the original Galactic was probably a longer, politer version. Please stand by, perhaps.

  “Show Nik!eh's status, please.” She lifted her tablet and examined the fascinating, detailed drawing of Nik!eh, inside and out. There were a lot of similarities to fuak!a anatomy—surprisingly many, actually—but there were definitely some differences.

  At the moment, a small spot on Nik!eh!'s chest was bright blue, even brighter than his brain. She felt a surge of alarm when she saw that Olk!ano had stabbed him through the heart. Only...Ktheg!lik smiled.

  That's not where a hoonan's heart is! The wound was still serious, but not instantly fatal.

  A moment later, the blue was suffused with green specks that seemed to be moving around in the wound. She recognized it. The healing fog. Petra had used up a lot of resources to create it, and now more of it was being spent to repair the damage. If Petra could be believed, the fog was made up of countless tiny automata, each smaller than the eye could see.

  “Where is Olk!ano now, Petra?”

  “In the infirmary.”

  “Is he alive?”

  “Yes.”

  Ktheg!lik breathed a sigh of relief. “Petra, can you open the door?”

  “Yes.”

  A different kind of sigh.

  “Petra, please open the door now.”

  “No.”

  Ktheg!lik suppressed a shiver. I think that's the first time Petra has outright refused a command. I could have gone a lot longer without hearing it, too. “Petra, did Nik!eh order you to keep the door closed?”

  “No.”

  It's some kind of automatic safety procedure. At least, I really hope it is.

  “Petra, when will you open the door?”

  “I don't know, Ktheg!lik.”

  “What are you waiting for, that will let you open the door?”

  “I am waiting for Nik!eh to die or for Nik!eh to heal.”