The Refugee (The Korvali Chronicles Book 1) Read Online Free PDF Page B

low-resource situations. When I asked him who designed these alterations, he admitted that he did.”  
    “And the other refugees don’t show these alterations,” Ferguson surmised.
    “No, Captain,” Catherine said. “We checked.”
    Ferguson nodded. “So we’ve not only picked up a Korvali, we’ve gotten ourselves a genetic scientist, one who appears to live up to Korvali lore. I’m starting to understand why they’re called ‘Mutants.’”
    A few laughed nervously at this.
    “Why was I not contacted when this refugee was in stasis?” The question came from Commander Steele, Chief of Research and Catherine’s commanding officer. The group looked at Dr. Vargas, to whom the questioned was aimed.  
    “I scanned his DNA and found some irregularities, and wondered if they were related to his comatose state,” Vargas said. “The logical person to contact is a geneticist.” He motioned to Catherine.
    “The logical person to contact is the Chief of Research,” Steele corrected him.  
    Vargas’s tired face scowled in annoyance. “This was a medical problem, James, not a research problem. I had a half-dead kid lying in my sick bay. I needed a geneticist.”
    “I’m a geneticist,” Steele said.
    “And when was your last genetics paper published?” Vargas said.  
    Yamamoto saw Catherine press her lips together, as if stifling a smile. Steele’s expression hardened further as he began to retort.
    “Enough!” Ferguson interrupted. The men quieted down. “We didn’t anticipate this turn of events. We have no protocol for handling comatose Korvali with genetic… changes.” She resumed talking to the group. “So this… Eshel… when I addressed him, he was very aloof. But he came up clean during interrogation, and he’s been forthcoming so far.”  
    “Of course he’s been forthcoming, Captain. He wants something from us,” said Chief Operations Officer Marks, whose square jaw and tight haircut gave him a tough, stubborn appearance.
    “Let’s not think the worst of him yet, Commander,” Ferguson said.
    “He’s an oddball,” Vargas said. “Getting information out of him is like trying to squeeze water from a stone. And although he was perfectly calm interacting with us, the moment I got too close to him… only to check his damned vitals… he shrank back from me like I was going to slice him open.”  
    “Yes,” Ov’Raa interjected. “The Korvali do not tolerate anyone unfamiliar touching them, even to shake hands. It is best to give them much space, in my experience.”  
    “How are we supposed to know that?” Marks complained. “Most of us have never even seen one of them in person.”
    “Such information was included in the report given to each member of this crew at the start of this mission, Commander Marks,” Ov’Raa said with a smile. “It is quite important that we learn the customs of other peoples, including the Korvali.”
    Marks scowled and gave no reply.  
    Vargas glanced at Catherine. “He seemed to warm up around Dr. Finnegan. He had plenty to say to her… hell, he even shook her hand.”  
    All eyes turned to Catherine again, who appeared embarrassed.  
    “Perhaps we’ll send her when we need information from him,” Ferguson said with a half smile. There was a bit of laughter.  
    “And how the hell did he learn such good English?” Vargas added.  
    “I asked Eshel that very question, Doctor!” Ov’Raa said. “I too wondered after briefly conversing with two Korvali government officials with remarkable English skill years ago. Eshel stated only that he learned from his father, and that our language was, ‘very easy to learn.’ He speaks Derovian and primary Sunai as well. I was very impressed with his Derovian,” he added with a smile.
    “He could serve as a diplomat,” Ferguson added dryly, “if he had any people skills.” More laughter. “Moving on… the implications of offering asylum to a Korvali. Commander?”
    “The implications