Star Surgeon

Dal Timgar is a surgeon who doesn’t quite fit the usual human mold—his narrow frame and a patch of soft gray fur set him apart, and his tiny, sentient companion clings to his arm as he scrambles for a shuttle to Seattle’s premier medical center. When a routine reservation is dismissed by an impatient clerk, Dal must use every ounce of his wits and his limited authority to secure a seat, knowing that missing the flight could cost lives.

The story opens amid the chaotic bustle of a massive interplanetary airport, where sleek shuttles, alien patients in glowing tanks, and emergency crews rush to unload a hospital ship that has just returned from the far reaches of the galaxy. Physicians in bright‑colored uniforms coordinate the influx of exotic diseases and unfamiliar physiologies, and Dal finds himself thrust into a world where medicine, politics, and alien biology collide. The first act sets the stage for a high‑stakes journey that will test his skills, his loyalty, and his very humanity.