Titanium Texicans by Alan Black Page B

and shout the same phrase again and again.
    Tasso put his head between his knees. He willed his lungs to pull in cooling air. He wasn’t sure which hurt worse, the burning heat, the bubbles up his nose, or his embarrassment at having to spit out his lunch in front of a pretty girl.
    The burning heat won the contest. He tried to scrape the heat away from his tongue with his fingers. He wondered why anyone would eat a taco and even if you could get used to the taste, why would you leave it in its shell? At least, when he ate a yapikino, he skinned it first.
    Suddenly large hands slapped his seatbelt release, grabbed his shoulders, and pulled him upright. Huge muscled arms wrapped around his chest. He was lifted bodily off the chair and held in the air.
    Tasso’s eyes cleared as a woman stepped into his line of vision. She raised his arms over his head. The movement brought a whoosh of air into his lungs. The woman shook her head. The arms around his chest released him. Tasso dropped back into the chair.
    The woman pointed a medical scanner at Tasso. She was quick, but did a thorough scan of his chest, neck, and face. She pulled a small book from the bag at her side and ripped a corner off a page. The small square easily popped out of the book with perforated edges. She held the paper out to Tasso. “Put this tab on your tongue. Let it melt there.”
    Tasso hesitated.
    She said, “You can do it or I’ll have Otto do it for you. Come on. I don’t have time for this tomfoolery.”
    Tasso put the paper on his tongue. It immediately began to melt and cool his mouth. “Thank you,” he managed to croak.
    The woman pointed at her dataport. “I’m Doctor Valenzuela and this is Otto, my personal physician’s assistant. I don’t have you listed as a passenger, señor.”
    Tasso nodded, “I’m here for a training cruise, I think. Sorry, I’m Tasso Menzies, ma’am.”
    “Not ma’am. You can call me Doctor. You are from …?” She let the question hang in the air.
    Tasso pointed out the window and realized the planet was no longer there. The view was blackness. He stared at the window.
    “You’re from Saronno?” Valenzuela prompted.
    Tasso nodded. “Yes, Doctor. Born and raised.”
    Valenzuela shook her head and checked her dataport. “It’s the Italian compact? No, discovered by the Italian compact, but it is a Scottish and Irish settlement, right? You probably never had anything spicier than a shepherd’s pie.” She turned on Anisa. “You fed tacos with hot sauce to a greenhorn?”
    Anisa said, “But the taco wasn’t hot, Doc. Honest. And it was all the galley had.”
    Valenzuela said, “He should have gone without until we ran a complete scan on him.”
    “But he was hungry,” Anisa said. “He said he hasn’t eaten since lunch yesterday.”
    Tasso said, “I’m right here. I can speak for myself.” Tasso was able to breathe and he decided Anisa and Freddy hadn’t deliberately tried to poison him. “I did ask for something to eat. I guess I’m not used to the same kind of food you eat.”
    Valenzuela ignored Tasso and spoke to the girl. “Lunch yesterday? I’m sorry, Anisa, but your charge still isn’t going to be able to eat for at least another six hours. The tab I gave him will give him stomach cramps and vomiting if he even tries to drink water.”
    “But—” Anisa started.
    “But nothing,” Valenzuela interrupted. “He’ll be a lot worse off than he is now. He’s a little dehydrated now according to my scanner, but it’s not medically threatening.”
    Tasso saw Maria rush into the room, as the medical people rushed out. She shouted across the observation deck, “Anisa, what are you doing with my trainee?”
    Freddy shouted back with a laugh, “It’s already on the net, Maria. Greenhorn can’t hold down a taco.”
    Anisa said, “ Lo siento … I am sorry. I guess I didn’t think and he didn’t say anything until it was too late. Maria, if you’re here to collect him, I have to