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The Cohen Loop Carver and Max I copyright comidacomida 2014

The transition from Land-Earth to Water-Earth for Max had been both more and less stressful than it had been for other students. He had been separated from the rest of his class, accompanied by Carver... which was probably the only thing that kept his panic in check. Shuffled from one room to the next, Max was seen by no less than a dozen different Phins and they spoke so quickly in their native language that it was hard for him to keep up with it all. While Carver did a good job of helping him piece together the examination process, things were made worse when, in yet another room, they were separated.

They were both sitting at a very human-like table in a space where the overhead misters were set at low. The first human Max had seen other than his classmates entered with a Longos, both wearing a similar style lab coat. With few words, the Phin collected Carver and they both moved to an exit. When Max jumped up the human held out a hand, "Relax, Mr. Snyder... they're only relocating one room over. You'll be back together in no time."

The man's name tag said Doctor Frederick Townsend and it was the only way Max knew who he was since the middle-aged, graying-haired man never bothered introducing himself. Although his tone was calm, the doctor seemed entirely focused on a data pad he was reviewing, "Mr. Snyder, I'm going to ask you a series of questions and I need you to answer each and every one of them. Do you understand?"

Max nodded, slowly sitting back down. "Yea... I... I guess."

The data pad was referenced often as the two went over what felt to Max to be some kind of interrogation. The questions were personal in nature and most involved the relationship he and Carver shared. Although he was hesitant, the young man answered all of the questions truthfully and to the best of the ability but he was unable to tell if any of his responses satisfied the doctor.

That had been it-- no more explanation and no more reassurance. He sat in the room for over an hour with Dr Townsend. Despite the rather excessive details required by the doctor, Max didn't have anything more than a passing discomfort or difficulty in answering them until it came to the doctor's final question, "And, Mr. Snyder, the last question before we put you back with the rest of your classmates... do you want to keep the baby?"

The doctor sat there, peering over the top of his data pad while Max simply failed to supply an answer. The young man tried several times to get his mouth to work but, considering his brain was locked without a response it didn't really make much of a difference. In the end, Max's hands moved to his stomach which, in the back of his mind felt like complete idiocy since he didn't have a uterus. A baby? Him? He was pregnant? He was pregnant. HE WAS PREGNANT! His only answer for the doctor was a hesitant, incoherent, single, blurting laugh.

Dr. Townsend stood up, and motioned ahead as a door on the far side of the room slid open. "I will take that as a perfectly rational and understandable response. Thank you, Mr. Snyder... you'll find Carver in the waiting area... just out that door."

Max made his way to the exit, hands still in place, "Th-thank you... Doctor."

The man nodded, marking off something else on the data pad, "I'm marking the answer to the last question as 'undecided'... but we'll meet again soon, Mr. Snyder; I'll need a response."

Near tears, Max had never been happier to find himself in Carver's arms. The young man didn't have an issue with new places or new experiences, but he had been struck dumb by all of the changes taking place... not to mention the fact that he was apparently pregnant. Back together with his partner, his nerves slowly began to calm and, despite the chaos of his arrival, the rest of the journey to Water Earth's Unity Centre was surprisingly smooth... until he met Carver's mother, Watcher.

As Carver's Mother, Watcher stretched his filial muscles and had convinced Carver to bring Max to dinner. Although Max was incredibly uncomfortable with the situation he was quickly put at ease by the older Amplus' easy-going and down-to-earth (strangely, a term they also used on Water-Earth!) attitude. Watcher made Max feel relaxed and welcomed and did an admirable job of switching back and forth between Phin and English in a way that was both easy and fun to follow.

Watcher, as Max learned, had been one of only two Amplus who had been allowed to join the Unity Centre the first year it was opened to his kind. Originally just for Album and Longos, it had been years before any Amplus had been allowed into the project. Watcher and Fixer, Carver's father, had done well enough that they were able to graduate the program. Both had enlisted into the Unity Center project as employees and Watcher continued his task, even after Fixer's death five years ago. Neither Amplus got into the specifics of it so the young man didn't press them for information; he figured it best just to let it go.

Watcher turned out to be an incredible Amplus which, Max realized, was where Carver must have inherited it. As one of the Centre's primary dock technicians, it was Watcher's task to man the mechanisms and controls for the surfacing and lowering of the docking platform. The middle-aged Amplus was also only one of four Phins that had code clearance to open and close the Centre's main entryway. While it was not normally a role an Amplus would be given, Watcher was apparently quite an exception... not unlike his son.

Toward the end of dinner and during a lull in the conversation Carver shot a glance to Max, who realized his hands had made their way back to his abdomen. The Amplus' non-verbal inquiry was clear enough that the Human slowly sat up straighter and nodded; he had no doubts that withholding important information from Watcher would only end in more damage than being forthright would do, and he grit his teeth when Carver said those three dreaded words, "Max is pregnant."

Watcher slowly lowered his eating utensil and looked to Carver, speaking very clearly and very slowly in English. "It had been my impression that Human males cannot be pregnant."

Carver nodded, his entire face reddening faintly, "Apparently they can with Phins... I'm the father."

If Carver's mother had been surprised at all he certainly didn't show it. The older Amplus blinked and his gaze shifted from Carver to Max then back to Carver. "I see... and did the doctors have a chance to do an examination?"

Max finally managed to speak up, "We spent almost two hours speaking with people... so... um... yes?"

Watcher nodded thoughtfully, still gazing at Max. "And everything is alright? You're healthy? The child is healthy?"

The Human was unable to keep from smiling at the pure insanity of it all, "Other than being pregnant? I.... guess so?"

The older Amplus nodded again, "Good."

Carver spoke up with conviction, "If Max wants to keep him, so do I."

The announcement completely blindsided the human. He had been so caught up with everything that had been happening-- with all of the events of the transition, and even finding out he was pregnant in the first place that he'd completely lost sight of the fact that neither of them had so much as bothered finding out what the other thought. Something about Carver's announcement brought a soothing, all-encompassing warmth to Max... so much so that he had no hesitation when he added, "Yes.. I do."

Watcher's smile stretched across his entire face, "Then I'll have to let the station director know... and the doctors know... and we'll have to get you two transferred to F-3."

Carver, for the first time since arrival looked suddenly uncomfortable, "F-3? Can't we just--"

His mother shook his head with finality, "F-3 or nothing, Carver. Max is a Human, so we'll need the extra support."

The young man felt compelled to ask, "F-3?"

Carver looked his way, "Classes for pregnant Phins... Phins that want to finish classes have a separate session since--"

It made sense to Max knowing what he knew of their culture, "It's rude for pregnancy to be a public thing."

Watcher stood up, "It's also the smart thing, Carver. F-3 helps mothers cope with the stress of school work and being pregnant... it provides time and resources. Max is a HUMAN, Carver, and a MALE. There's no telling how his body will react to something like this, and we need to make sure he's taken care of."

Max latched onto something the older Amplus stated, "We?"

Watcher reached over and rested a hand on his shoulder, "Well... we're family now, aren't we?"

Something about that comment felt really, really good. Glancing over to Carver, Max smiled, "Wow..."

Watcher's smile only widened as he leaned forward and rubbed the side of his face against the Human's, "Wow indeed."

* * * * *

Despite the initial chaos of day one Max settled into Water Earth incredibly well. The fact that he and Carver were at the bottom of the social ladder took some getting used to; he was unfamiliar with caste systems and segregation as an accepted social policy seemed a little strange. Then again, the Human viewpoint of 'everyone is the same and equal in all ways' was probably a little odd for the Phins to learn to accept. By the end of the first week Max had fallen into grudging acceptance of it and made due... after all, it was only for six months (or 4 Phin months, in their case) and the most important person in his life hadn't changed a bit.

Max did an excellent job of tuning out the negative, which was easy since Carver was always within arm's reach. As an added bonus, he stopped feeling the need to hide his relationship; nobody seemed to care or, for that matter, even give them so much as a second glance. They were able to wade through the half-submerged hallways hand in hand and it surprised Max to realize how good that felt. Watcher continued to be great in supporting them, both emotionally and financially and, although Max and Carver had their own apartment they still spent a fair amount of time with the older Amplus.

The request for the F-3 status would take some time according to administration, but all of the station personnel already knew Max was pregnant. Despite it being against numerous confidentiality laws among Humans, it wasn't too much of a surprise on Water-Earth since the Phins had a much different view on how secret personal health care records needed to be. Thankfully, however, that lack of secrecy didn't extend to the other students, so Max didn't have to answer questions from his fellow Humans.

Classes seemed to go much smoother for Max on Water-Earth but he didn't know how much of that was due to the teaching style being more his speed or the fact that Carver had done so well on working with him that it all felt like review. During their off-hours, Max and Carver spent a lot of time above-deck whenever the Centre was not submerged. The Human loved laying on the concrete-like surface of the structure enjoying the feel of the Water-Earth's sun; the thicker ozone layer of Water-Earth meant that the rays didn't have the harsh burn to them that he found on Land-Earth. It also meant that Max spent hours gazing upward relishing the deep, royal blue of the late afternoon sky.

It wasn't all wonder and euphoria, however, and Max had to admit that one thing he learned very quickly to dislike were the Water-Earth wetsuits. Granted, not having them would have been a very unpleasant experience considering the health issues of being submerged in water for most of the day, but Max found them restricting and revealing. Considering they were skin-tight and snug, the wetsuits took a lot of getting used to and, even then, he preferred to spend his time at their apartment completely naked. Max had never considered himself a nudist, but the young man had to admit that the wetsuits had made a believer out of him.... that, and having Carver around certainly gave some incentive for going clothes-free.

Max had been informed that they would have to change classes when the F-3 request went through but, for the first several weeks his starting class included very few unfamiliar faces. Everyone he knew from his class back on Land-Earth remained pretty much together in their new surroundings. School, activity days, and even recreation locations were all consistent with that roster so he had a chance to see a lot of the people he knew from before.

For the most part everyone else continued to shoot him those uncomfortable glances, as if they were sorry for him for being paired up with an Amplus but he was able to shake those off easily; they really didn't know just how good Max had it and he had no interest in humoring their pity. That, however, didn't last even three (Water Earth) weeks since, as of day fourteen, Max and Carver were finally transferred to F-3. The Human really didn't know what to expect but, even without expectations he was surprised by what he found.

The activity day for their new class gave Max and Carver a chance to meet everyone. As far as Max knew, all other classes at the Unity Centre consisted of an even number of students: one Phin to one Human. Oddly enough, F-3 had twenty five students in total: 12 Humans and 13 Phins... Max and Carver made it 13 and 14 respectively. While it was uncomfortable enough to be a Human on Water-Earth it made things all the more uncomfortable to be a pregnant male in a class made specifically for 'expecting' students.

During the first day as part of the new class, Max got the opportunity to meet each and every one of his new classmates. Out of everyone, the only person he recognized was a fellow student from the west coast of North America, a young woman named Charlice. 'Charlie', as she preferred to be called had sat near him on the flight to the Unity Center back on Land-Earth; if he recalled correctly she was originally from Vancouver, BC. They hadn't hit it off well since both had been too preoccupied thinking about their new school, but she seemed to recognize him too, so that helped him get settled.

He had reflected on how strange it was thinking that far back-- it felt like a different lifetime. As for Charlie's associated Phin... well... he had only known her in passing and he hadn't spent any real time with her at the Centre; he didn't know a thing about Charlie's Album partner, Clicker... who was also apparently her child's father. They seemed comfortable with one another and, during the first few minutes of meeting them, Max saw that they had no trouble holding hands and cuddling, and on many occasions he caught sight of Clicker resting his hand on the faintest hint of her baby-bump. Of course, that was nothing compared to the only other male in the class besides Max.

Angel was from Miami or, as he put it, "Me-ah-me". He was, as far as Max could tell, African American but he kept taking on some kind of accent that sounded a lot more Latino. While Max was naturally reserved, quiet, and complacent, Angel was none of those things; he was outgoing, fiery, in-your-face, and completely unapologetic. Unlike most of the other flaming gays Max had met, Angel was all the more likable because of it. Out of all of the blatantly homosexual men Max had met, Angel took the cake with feminine mannerisms, a faint lisp, outrageous clothing (which he actually wore OVER his wetsuit), and, most oddly, the way he called his Longos partner "Papi".

"Papi", in actuality, introduced himself as Seraph, and he was quite unique himself. While most of the Longos Max had met were smooth, slim, and wiry, Seraph was nearly as large as Carver with far more muscle definition. Most Phin didn't have the build or mass to look like a Human body builder but if a Phin WAS capable of that kind of physique then Seraph was probably the closest to achieving it.

Seraph, as Max learned, was not the Longos' original name; he'd changed it after discovering that Angel was pregnant. While many of the couples around the room looked awkward, uncomfortable, or unsure, Angel and Seraph seemed completely at-ease and were, as far as Max could ascertain a very happy couple in any sense of the word. After the activity day and part way through the next week, it was Charlie and Angel who meshed with him the best, and so the three humans and their three Phin counterparts became something of a regular, cohesive group.

The rest of the class was friendly enough, though most Human-Phin couples seemed more intent on their own situation than they were worried about making friends and socializing. Max didn't miss the fact that there were only two Album in the class; considering the strong social order of the Phins it only made sense that they wouldn't want to get involved with anyone outside their own caste, let alone species. Other than Clicker, the only other Album was the lone Phin who was there without a Human... and he later learned that she (yes-- SHE) had her own story to tell.

Tailor, as she identified herself, had been a promising biology student in her school and was working toward a scholarship to attend the Unity Centre. She didn't meet requirements by the time classes started but had earned an opportunity to visit when it had passed her home-- a large city off the coast of what would have been South Carolina on Land-Earth. During her stay she had managed to catch the eye of one of the professors and, as was obvious by her enlarged belly, nature had taken its course.

The Professor in question, Striped Instructor, had been so pleased that she was with child that he elected to have her stationed with F-3 aboard the Centre throughout her pregnancy. Over the course of a few days of conversation, Max was left with the impression that she didn't specifically want the Professor's calf but, since he was covering all the costs and because it allowed her to remain in the Centre and take part in its classes she was willing to accommodate him. The thought of 'mother for hire' put a bit of a pit in Max's stomach, but he didn't comment; the Phins did things differently and it wasn't his place to create conflict when he was a guest in their culture.

So, by the end of their first full week together, the group in F-3, consisting of the odd-ones-out, the underrepresented, and the statistic abnormalities had grown to seven. The class' only two male Humans, only two Album, and only Amplus found a degree of common ground together, and even Charlie, who had been focused on Marine Biology back on Land-Earth had a connection with Tailor, the only Phin without her child's father present.

Aside from the social aspect of being around so many pregnant students, the classes were actually very similar to what Max had come to expect. Unlike the standard Water-Earth Unity Centre classes, however, there were actually two teachers instead of one. Spotted Professor led F-3 for the majority of the instruction, teaching the students all about the normal scholastic subjects while Gray Doctor took the extra portion of the class time going over important things to know about being pregnant.

On the fourth day of their first week, the classes ended early so Gray Doctor could take the entire group to the medical laboratory and run some basic health maintenance exams on all pregnant students. Throughout the process most Phin partners were there with their Human, holding hands keeping one another company. Angel and Seraph went right before Max and Carver, and the young man smiled at how attentive and caring the big Longos was regardless of the fact that his partner was a man... which made complete sense, Max realized after the fact since there wasn't any difference to the Phins-- he ended up laughing at his own silliness.

Max was next, and Carver stayed with him the whole time. The young man had ample opportunities to watch what the doctors did with the prior students so he didn't bother watching them draw blood or manually examine him... but when the three specialists began a series of sonar imaging (manually... without instruments), the whole situation became even more surreal, and he felt that much more comforted by having Carver there holding his hand.

Tailor went after him and Max was right there, ready to hold her hand, but the doctors ushered everyone else out as a rather regal, refined-looking Album made his way into the lab; the young man had no doubt by his bearing and excited smile that he was most certainly the unborn calf's father-- of course, the closely aligned spots on him resembling stripes further reinforced the assumption. Everyone waited outside until they were allowed back in by the staff and, by that time, Striped Instructor had already left.

That first visit to the medical lab was the primary step for information gathering. Toward the end of class the next day Gray Doctor gave everyone the results and progress reports. According to the exams, Charlie was the furthest along at nearly six months. Among the two men, Angel was about a month ahead of Max at about four. Gray Doctor was also able to confirm that all offspring were healthy... even among the male Humans. The differentiation in sex gave Max a moment's pause, but it was Angel who spoke up first, "Woah... hold up a minute there, Boo... whatta ya mean MALE Humans? Ain't we all bitches here?"

It took Max a moment to completely decipher the dialect which came with a double-helping of attitude, but Gray Doctor seemed to have even more difficulty, "I am afraid I don't understand the question, Angel."

Max tried a different route, "Our babies are healthy too?"

Apparently he'd read Angel's meaning correctly, "Yea-- why you focusin' on OUR calves?"

Gray Doctor let out a sound very similar to a throat being cleared, and then shifted the rod he carried from one hand to the next, "I did not specifically mean to identify you, no. My meaning is that we only have prior data involving female humans as carriers of interspecies offspring... and, so you are aware, the proper term in this case IS baby, as all mixed children have human physiology rather than Phinine."

A lot of questions were going through Max's head after learning a surprising amount of information from the instructor's three sentences. Angel, who certainly didn't seem to be the kind of individual to stop and think was right there with a follow up question, "You mean you all KNOW 'bout the whole gittin'freaky 'cross-species thing but you don't bother SAYIN' a WORD? You be trippin'!"

Gray Doctor was very forthcoming and apparently not the least bothered by the reproach, "The compatibility of cross species fertilization has been known for nearly twenty years. There are, in fact, nearly one hundred hybrids to date. This has not been made common knowledge due to an agreement by leaders of both races over perceived possible and probable reprisal from elements of either society. This was something that was not deemed need-to-know."

Angel didn't seem satisfied by that answer, "Yea? Well, for a place so interested in teaching people you sure got some weird ideas 'bout what's need-to-know."

The older Longos leveled his gaze at the young black man, "Were you raped by Seraph?"

The burly Phin seemed surprised by the question but, as usual, Angel didn't even pause, "What? Th'hell with that! Where'd'you even come off sayin'--"

Gray Doctor had no trouble interrupting him. "If you were not raped then it was consensual, which means you--"

One of the other students spoke up-- a usually quiet young lady named Chrissy. "Maybe we wouldn't have if we knew that we might get pregnant?"

Chrissy's partner Roller, a dark gray Longos looked her way but said nothing. He turned to the instructor, who stared back at them both, "You were already asked if you did not want to keep it, Christina Valentine, and you said you did not wish to abort the pregnancy."

The tenseness in the room increased several-fold when she started crying, "Because it's against my religion to have an abortion!"

Gray Doctor, for the first time since Max had met him, lost a degree of the stalwart conviction with which he spoke, and his next comment was almost apologetic, "I see... perhaps we should have asked instead whether you WANTED the child. This was a major oversight and we should have known better considering your peoples' varied religious affiliations. Then let me ask now, Christina Valentine... do you WANT to have your baby?"

With all eyes on her, Max had no idea how she would be able to come up with any kind of clear answer but, surprisingly, she was apparently much stronger than he'd expected. Although her gaze drifted around the room, it was Roller where it finally settled. Still full of tears, she spoke softly, "I'm sorry... no."

It was difficult to read the young Longos' reaction on an emotional level; he maintained a neutral expression and made no response other than an exhaled breath through his blow hole. Standing, Roller inclined his head slightly to Gray Doctor, turned, and walked out the door. Chrissy's gaze drifted from her partner to the instructor who folded his hands on the table in front of himself and announced clearly, "Christina Valentine, you and Roller will rejoin Primary Class 2 starting next week. You are dismissed."

The announcement made her pause, "But, I--"

Gray Doctor didn't let her finish, "F-3 is a program for mothers who wish to have their baby. You are not required to abort the pregnancy if it is against your religion but the Unity Centre's resources are not assigned to this program for the sake of appeasing your theological conscience. If it is any consolation, without suitable cross-species care it is unlikely that your child will make it to term."

She remained frozen in place, both hands going to her abdomen, "But, I--"

The older Longos picked up his supply bag and dipped into the water, swimming out toward the exit archway. "Class is dismissed for the day."

The majority of the class remained right where they were, stunned beyond words. A number of the Humans in the class questioned their Phin partners about whether or not THEY knew that they could get Humans pregnant; a universal 'no' was provided... at least, until Max and Carver were in the hallway, and the Amplus had something to say. "Max... about what happened in there... about what Gray Doctor said..."

Based on all of the questions being asked by the Humans it only made sense that his Phin partner was uncomfortable, "You didn't know... I know."

The Amplus nodded, "About male Humans being able to get pregnant..."

It seemed to be a strange way to agree, and something about it struck Max as odd, "You mean... you knew Humans could get pregnant?"

Carver shifted from foot to foot, "Male Humans, no I didn't. I did know that Phins could impregnate female Humans."

The admission caught Max out of left field but, for all the anger he could have felt at such important information being withheld, he had to ask something first, "So... the other Phins in there are lying? Do all Phins know that they can breed with Humans?"

The Amplus held out a hand and only then did Max realize his voice had raised, "No, Max... most Phins don't know either. My mother is a Unity Centre worker, remember? It's their job to know as much about cross species interaction as they can. It took me a little time to figure everything out, but before I left he told me that I should find a male Human as a partner, and... now I think I understand why."

Carver's admission of lack of information somehow made Max feel a little better... but only a little. Letting out a deep breath, the young man closed his eyes, "I just can't believe that they wouldn't say anything. I mean... having a kid is a BIG issue, and, yea, we're adults and we can make our own decisions, but I'd think it'd be better if we had all of the information so we could make the RIGHT one. How can they expect us to be anything OTHER than mad that we've been in the dark about all of this?"

Gray Doctor, who Max didn't realize was so close by spoke up from right behind him, "We do not, Max Snyder. Anger is a perfectly understandable reaction to being left uninformed."

Reigning in control of his emotions, the Human turned to regard the instructor, "How could you just kick her out like that?"

The Longos let out a soft sigh through his blow hole, "It is a matter of necessity. I understand that your people have extensive religious freedoms and that is admirable... but Human philosophers have stated on numerous occasions that faith untested is no faith at all."

Max frowned, "So you're punishing her for her faith?"

Gray Doctor shook his head in a very human-like manner, "No, Max Snyder, I am simply not making any allowances for it. Religion is an amazing thing among Humans-- it has been said to grant great conviction and strength of will during trying times. I respect Christina Valentine's decision to remain true to her faith but I would be doing her a disservice if I were to make her choice any easier than it is. If faith is what makes her strong then the conviction to her faith is what must help her persevere."

The Human's scowl deepened as he repeated his earlier statement, "So... you're punishing her for her faith?"

Any sympathy the Longos had in his tone disappeared, "No, Max Snyder-- I am giving her the opportunity to have her faith tested. Please bear in mind that you are on Water-Earth. When our students were on Land-Earth they abided by your customs and social expectations; we only ask that you do the same while you are here. As a courtesy I am addressing your concerns, not only because you show some of the most promise as a student, but because I am also very intrigued by this pairing."

Carver stepped up beside Max and spoke in Phin, issuing a low, clicking rumble, "There is nothing wrong with this 'pairing', Gray Doctor."

The instructor actually took a step backward, "I was referring to Max Snyder being a male, Carver... nothing else."

Max crossed his arms, "So... exactly how many pregnant male humans have you seen then?"

For once, the professional disinterest pulled completely away as Gray Doctor took a step forward and reached out for the Human's abdomen, "Including you and Angel? Just two."

The young man had no problem pushing the Longos' hand away, "So... you're saying we're the first? You've NEVER had any pregnant male Humans?"

Gray Doctor's indifference returned immediately, "As it's been said: your kind do not have the necessary physiology for breeding between males and any prior study had acknowledged that your spermatozoa are unable to impregnate a Phin. It had not been considered that a Phin could impregnate a Human male though, in retrospect, there are several important factors that may not have been taken into consideration."

Max frowned, "Like what?"

The Longos attached his bag to the sash he wore around his chest, "It is beside the point, Max Snyder... we have a lot more study to do before--"

Their discussion was interrupted by a cry from down the hall, followed by a very frantic, loud trilling Phin call for help. Argument abandoned, Gray Doctor spun about as he lowered himself into the water, and took off like a shot. Carver was only a moment behind him , pausing only long enough to hold a hand out to Max. The Human grabbed his partner by the wrist at the Amplus did the same to him and, suddenly, they were both moving fast through the flooded hallway as quickly as Carver could take them.

Numerous Phins and Humans from the F-3 class were already on the scene by the time they'd arrived. Gray Doctor had pushed his way through the crowd and there was still enough of an opening for Max to see what was happening, and what he saw chilled him to his very core. Seraph was kneeling in the water, holding Angel above the surface. The young black man was unconscious and had his wet suit unzipped to his abdomen, which was horribly distended and had visible bruising running all over it... and the bruises were spreading before his eyes.

Gray Doctor moved, obscuring any further view but the Longos let out a loud, whistling call in Phin, "Prep the surgical table in med bay four!"