Page 46 of Galactic Sentinels, Vol. 1 (Chronicles of Pherebos #1)

Wingo

I go out and frolic in the flowers, chowing down on any flying or crawling insect that comes my way.

I'm not sure how much longer Ileana has, but she can take as long as she likes; I'm in no hurry.

Pherebos is chatting with the males, while our Ileana is busy with a difficult delivery.

Luckily, not his. I'd love it if those two made a baby for us...

No, this is a female from the remote village where we landed.

This world is already known to the Confederation and is populated by all kinds of creatures, as are other worlds. The dominant species here is the Tomaz, who look more or less like us, except they have a bluish coat and two pairs of arms.

Since Pherebos had heard about some Tomaz going missing, he figured we should stop by and chat with them about it.

When we got there, they were a bit suspicious, but they quickly changed their mind when Ileana said she was a doctor .

That's how she ended up helping deliver the wife of the village chief. The delivery had already been going on for several hours.

‘’Wingo?’’ she called directly into my head.

‘’Yes, beautiful? What can I do for you?’’

‘’The child is stuck. Can you discreetly warn Pherebos that I'm going to need more equipment? I'm going to have to perform a C-section.’’

‘’I'll pass on the message. Do you need anything else on the Prianka?’’

‘’If he can bring me my large-format tablet, that'd be great. The scanner has given me the basic info about this species, but to perform a C-section, I need to be sure which organs might be in the path of my laser scalpel.’’

‘’I'll tell him everything.’’’

I'm joining Pherebos, who's sitting on the ground around a big fire, having a heated discussion with the men of the village.

‘’We told the Confederation we didn't want any interference!’’the group leader says.

‘’And they've respected your wishes. The Confederation will only get involved if you ask them to. My friend and I are only here because of a minor issue with our ship. We've only stopped by to do a few checks. I'm glad to help out with my companion's skills.’’

‘’So, are you saying the Confederation hasn't recruited women from our world against our will?’’

‘’I can confirm that. But this kind of practice does match up with the Coalition's. I'm going to report it.’ ’

‘’Ileana needs equipment for a C-section.’’

My friend blinks briefly, the only sign that he has heard and understood. Then he jumps to his feet.

‘’I'm going to pick up some extra equipment on board the Prianka. My companion might need it for the arrival of the child. We'll talk about the rest later. Our companions have priority.’’

A good three hours later, we're back around the fire, celebrating the successful birth.

My Ileana's features are drawn. The poor thing was afraid of losing both baby and mother. But as always, she handled the whole thing like a pro. This is the fifth delivery she's done outside the safe channels of the Swiss Confederation.

Our trio is an absolute success.

‘’You're tired, my Faksaya!’’ Pherebos says in a whisper. ‘’How about a week's rest on MyFaS?’’

‘’Gnuffgnuff!’’ I say enthusiastically.

‘’I agree with Wingo!’’ Ileana smiles.

‘’Sounds like a plan, let's head to MyFaS!’’