Shoot for Earth: MedSci Missions 3

Ramone wasn’t hard to locate. The problem was getting to him. Security was tight around the performers’ sleeper suites, and around Ramone in particular. Even once they got through the perimeter, they spent some time convincing their mission specialist’s personal prots that their fellow human would want to, and should, visit with them. A pair of prots followed them.
“Hey!” Ramone said when he saw them. “You’re here just at feeding time.”
“Feeding time?” Walsh asked. “Are you a horse?”
“Oh, my gorking galaxy, if I were hoarse, I’d be in big trouble!”
“I thought I was the comedian,” Dr. Green said.
“So what’s up?” Ramone asked, lifting a goblet. “Besides the drinks.”
Walsh and Green glanced at each other. “Your lab hasn’t heard from you in a long time,” Walsh said, his stern Captain voice creeping in.
“Yeah, I’m sure they’re fine. Scott’s brilliant, man.”
“Scott is missing!” Walsh said sharply. “You haven’t heard from him?”
“Missing?” For a second, it looked like Ramone’s drunken fog was lifting. Then his eyes glazed over again as he grinned. “He’s run off with his girl. What a beauty. I don’t blame him!”
“He hasn’t run off with Savna,” Walsh said, his voice growing ice cold. You need to sober up and come with us.”
Green spoke sotto voce to Walsh as prots moved in front of Ramone defensively. “That won’t work, Captain.”
Ramone stepped sideways so he could see his shipmates again, and suddenly Green stumbled, and fell into him. Miraculously, Green caught the goblet and saved it from spilling much at all as he landed on his butt, hand over the foaming drink. As he accepted Ramone’s hand up, he slapped a micro-needled medpatch into Ramone’s arm, and kept his hand over it for ten seconds. Enough for blood samples to fill the chambers in the patch. Green ripped the patch off as he took his hand away, and pocketed the patch. Back on board, he’d be able to find out what drugs were in Ramone’s system besides the obvious pot that he’d just given him an antidote for in his drink.