Sanchez advanced the recording, then started playing it again. "—willing Donors," the detective chief was saying. "We feel pain we inflict deliberately, yes—but we can also project feelings. If somebody's willing to feed me, I can let … feel the satisfaction—even, if ----'s willing enough, the ecstasy—I do when I feed. And I certainly wouldn't take enough to hurt, or even to weaken,…!"
Sanchez shut off the recording. "You know, I believe her."
"So do I," Thompson said thoughtfully. "I do still have to investigate, of course, but I'd say from this that there's no crisis big enough to call in even a squadron for."
The E-Team's landing wasn't the covert operation Thompson had originally planned; instead, the Koslov called for clearance, and they landed at the main spaceport, where Thompson and his team disembarked in full uniform, complete with sidearms. He didn't particularly like weapons, but procedure called for E-Teams to carry them unless doing so would be more dangerous than not, which didn't seem to be the case here.
Landing openly, even an E-Team had to go through Customs and Health, which was routine enough until a tech told Thompson that he needed blood samples to test for susceptibility to the nosferatu pseudo-virus.
"What's that?" Thompson asked.
"What makes humans into Kins," the tech said, sounding as if he were telling them something they should already know. "If you're susceptible, and if the virus gets into your bloodstream, and if something seriously weakens your system more than twenty-four standard hours later, you turn into a Kin. The Count's orders are that anyone from out-system be tested and warned, so if they are susceptible, they can leave before exposure is possible." The tech shrugged. "Odds are none of you will be, though; no one I've tested has been, and so far it looks like only one percent—maybe less—are."
"We all have full-spectrum immunizations," Thompson pointed out.
"I know. But the pseudo-virus isn't one of the things full-spectrum works against."