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No one could argue that the Kratt brothers had extremely dangerous jobs. But they also knew what they were getting into. For Martin and Chris, research in the fields of biology, zoology, and other related disciplines was the meaning of their lives. They loved discovering new things, adding to their database of unusual information, conducting experiments in the environment, and then publishing their research findings on their organization's website. Moreover, the Wild Kratt team's fund was partially supported by the government, and thanks to Aviva's inventions, the brothers were able to conduct research in areas where other scientists could not.
In addition to their scientific pursuits, the Kratt brothers were passionate about extreme sports. Martin enjoyed diving and surfing, while Chris couldn't imagine life without professional mountaineering.
Thanks to such activities, the team could travel around the world without unnecessary worries, knowing that the brothers were physically and mentally prepared.
And now their mission was quite extreme. It would seem to be easier than simple: they had to set up a research base, take readings from the devices, put it all in a table and go back. If not for one but..
- "Martin, do you feel it?" Asked Chris, wincing from the sand flying in his face.
- "Of course. Yes," replied the elder, noting the rather dry air.
"Well, Kalahari, meet us!" Both brothers shouted, getting into the car and speeding off into the endless sands.
***
They had everything with them: a map of the area, GPS trackers, a supply of food for two, portable charging devices, beacons, and a huge tent for sleeping. The station itself was in a small bag, which became a solid metal structure as soon as Martin threw it on the ground.
"I'll prepare the seismograph," said Chris, carrying the equipment.
"I think I'll go for a ride and take some soil samples." Martin drank some water and yawned as he started the ATV. His younger brother nodded and began assembling the equipment.
********
Martin was always bored with activities such as calculating results, analyzing data, and working with documents. He was much more productive when he was out in the field, collecting samples, identifying animals, and interacting with them directly. He couldn't sit still, and when he was assigned tedious tasks, he often found himself in trouble.
Stopping at another dune, the elder Kratt began to collect sand in test tubes, in order to later conduct their research in the laboratory.
“Damn it..” He said irritably, noting that it was hard to work in a thick protective suit over a vest — the fabric, despite its light shade, quickly heated up. At that moment, a long horn sounded from the beastpod.
"Martin Kratt here." The man greeted cheerfully as he stood up from the ground.
"We're so glad to see that you're all right." Koki said in her usual friendly manner, and the rest of the team joined in. "Jimmy and Aviva decided to stop in Windhoek to restock."
"That's great to hear." Talking to his friends had significantly improved Martin's mood, and he was feeling much less bothered by the heat.
"We have received data from the weather station, and based on this data, we can say that the temperature will rise slightly. You don't have to worry, as your tent has thermal protection." Aviva puffed up, clearly pleased with her invention.
"Great! I'm currently inspecting the area, and I don't think the soil composition has changed significantly. Otherwise, everything seems to be in order. It's a shame that we haven't encountered any local inhabitants yet." Martin feigned disappointment at the word "inhabitants."
"Don't worry. I suggest you complete your research in this area and move a bit further south. Recently, a large population of antelopes was spotted there. Wherever there are antelopes, there are also predators." — Said Koki and showed a map of the desert area. — If anything, we can drop you off in Tortuga.
— Thank you, I got you! I'll let you know if I need any help, guys. — At this point, the call ended.
After about 15-20 minutes, Martin finished his research and headed back. By then, night was slowly falling over the desert.
Nevertheless, working in the wild brought immense pleasure to both brothers. Over the years spent in untouched environments, they had learned to find beauty in the most ordinary things. Now, the blue Kratt was riding over the high sand dunes, and his body was trembling with excitement.
**************
When he finally reached the temporary station, he saw his brother sitting on a chair, analyzing data from numerous monitors. His younger brother was much more interested in working with technology. He was a thoughtful individual who never did anything without proper preparation.
"Is the work progressing well?" The older brother asked cheerfully, placing the sample tubes in the centrifuge.
"Yes, it is." Chris just nodded and took a bite out of his muesli bar. He looked paler than usual, and his cheeks were flushed like two ripe red apples. But Martin, with his natural short-sightedness (or innate stupidity), didn't pay much attention to it, and to cheer his brother up, he pulled a clever stunt.
"You know, you look like a crazy scientist." Martin ruffled his brown hair and pushed his brother's ears back. Chris, who was watching the scene through his laptop screen, laughed merrily.
"I am one, remember?"
As a result, they worked all night without a break: Chris verified his calculations and uploaded them to Tortuga, while Martin worked in a portable laboratory and conducted experiments with the obtained soil and salt samples.
***********
In the morning, it was decided to move to another part of the desert in order to have contact with wild animals. In the afternoon, the ATV, which was loaded to the brim with supplies, stopped in front of a row of thick baobab trees. All around, they could hear the sounds of animals, and it seemed to them that the nature of the wild desert was welcoming them.
Once the camp was set up again and the residents were reassured of their safety, the brothers donned their power suits and set off on their journey, armed with their supplies.
"Do you think we'll see lions?" Martin asked with undisguised excitement.
"Chances are, yes." Chris rolled his eyes at his brother's enthusiastic response.
An hour or so later, they were lying behind a massive termite mound, scanning their surroundings through a binoculars.
"Dude, 10 o'clock." Chris whispered, passing the device to Martin.
The blue Whale turned his head slightly to the left and 50 meters away from them he managed to see a very charming picture: a female South African cheetah was trying to lick the cubs while they were playing restlessly in the sand.
"I think we should get to know them better." The elder smiled and slowly got up from his seat.
It turned out to be quite easy to subdue the cheetah mother - they just had to throw in fresh meat and feed her and the cubs. The little kittens were licking the cameras out of curiosity, and they were showing their playful mood by biting (mostly Martin's butt).
"Did you get them chipped?"
"Yes, and this is the first time we've seen this mother." Chris replied, but before he could finish, his brother started talking again.
"I'm going to name you Tabo and Noma!" The blue Kratt exclaimed happily as the kitten jumped into his arms.
— Why that particular choice?
— I heard that in the local language it means "happiness" and "good luck". Hmm... Then it would be correct to call the mother... Nandi!
— "Sweetheart"? Asked the younger brother a minute later, reading the search string in the translator.
— You're absolutely right! Isn't it? Commented Martin, looking at how Nandi was eating fresh meat with an appetite.
— I think we could explore the area with our suits. The older brother took out the cheetah power discs and put one in his vest. Chris followed suit, and a second later, they were both standing as two humanoid cheetahs.
The super suits allowed them to use the abilities of animals on their own bodies. With this feature, they could reach speeds of up to 112 km/h in just 3-5 seconds. At high speeds, exploring the environment became more exciting and faster than usual. However, it's important to note that cheetahs can only sustain sprinting for around 30-40 seconds due to their body's tendency to overheat under intense physical exertion. Despite this limitation, Aviva's ingenuity allowed the brothers to maintain this mode for approximately 10 minutes before the suits automatically slowed down.
Martin finally stopped at a sprawling acacia tree to catch his breath. The relaxation in his legs after a long run was a great pleasure, and he closed his eyes to savor the sensation for a while longer. Suddenly, he felt a slight tremor in the ground beneath him and saw his younger brother standing nearby.
— Well, how are the studies progressing? Martin asked, coming closer.
To his surprise, Chris looked worse than usual. His breathing was fast and ragged, and it didn't look like he was trying to recover from running.
"Little brother, are you okay?" Blue Kratt asked softly, putting his arm around Green's shoulders.
.Normal..— Chris heard another ragged sigh from his chest and he found the strength to stand up.
"I think we should call it a day." Martin said, putting his brother's arm over his shoulder.
An hour later, they finally reached the camp. By then, Chris was in worse shape, walking more slowly, and sometimes Martin had to drag him along the ground.
Martin laid his brother down on a mattress in their tent and began to examine him.
"Chris, look at me." Blue Kratt said, patting his brother's cheek. Chris could only open his eyes and raise himself up on his elbows.
"You'd better lie down." Martin laid him back down and took a laser thermometer out of the first aid kit. "Has anyone bitten you?" Chris shook his head in response.
Martin became even more concerned when he noticed that his brother had a high fever. 102.2, to be precise. Cursing, the man dialed the team's number to figure out what was wrong.
"Tortuga here. Martin?" Aviva answered, fiddling with the blueprints.
"Chris is not feeling well. The symptoms are of an incipient fever." MK's voice sounded very unnatural.
"Damn, we're on our way. It'll take us about five hours to get to you. Try to cool him down. I still think it's heatstroke." The call ended shortly after. Blue Kratt could only breathe a sigh of relief, knowing that help was on its way.
"M...Marty..." Chris called softly, grabbing his wrist.— That's what he usually called his older brother when he was feeling bad or sad.
"I'm here."
— Water..— The green one asked, pointing to the boiler with the life-giving liquid. Martin quickly poured water into a bottle with a straw and handed it to his brother, but he quickly snatched it back, remembering that it was extremely dangerous to drink ice-cold water when suffering from heatstroke. He unbuttoned his jacket and placed the bottle between the fabric and his own skin to warm it to the optimal temperature. While the water was heating up, Martin unbuttoned his younger brother's jacket and loosened the belt of his shorts.
After being doused and taking a few sips, Chris finally stopped shivering and his breathing became slightly more stable.
"Fuck."The elder swore when he saw that his brother was bleeding from the nose.
"Chris, don't fall asleep, do you understand me?" Martin asked gently, wiping away the blood. Chris nodded and relaxed a bit.
*********
Two hours later, he was somewhere between "satisfactory" and "damn, this is terrible."
Martin was sitting at the table, finishing his sandwich (lunch was supposed to be on schedule), when he heard a strange noise coming from the nearby tent.
"Chris!" He shouted when he saw his younger brother standing by a tree, convulsed by a fit of vomiting.
"Why didn't you tell me?" Blue Krat began rubbing his back, pulling him back.
"I didn't want you.".bother...— Oh, yes, it was like Chris. Never tell others about your own problems and worry about them on your own.
—You idiot. — The man replied irritably when his younger brother was laid on a makeshift bed.
Martin changed the temperature again, and this time the thermometer showed 101.84. Chris was still breathing heavily, and his mind was much more confused.
"Chris, don't sleep." Blue Kratt gave his younger brother a hard slap, which brought him back to his senses.
"It hurts..." Chris muttered, coughing dangerously.
"It's going to be okay, buddy." Martin pulled him close and poured the rest of the water from the bottle over his head and face.
************
An hour and a half later, his condition had not improved. Tortuga, meanwhile, was quite far away. Martin began to panic internally. He sat silently, staring into space, stroking his younger brother's hair, feeling the heat emanating from him.
"Chris, give me your right hand." He finally said. Chris opened his eyes, looked at his hands, and extended his trembling palm. The left one.
"Damn it." Blue Kratt realized that Chris was seriously disoriented, and he carefully turned him over on his side.
Somewhere at the bottom of their first aid kit, he managed to find a couple of bags of saline solution and all the necessary equipment. He had only administered IVs twice in his life, when his mother was ill and needed intravenous medication, and when Jimmy's fainting spell lasted longer than usual. However, their team underwent regular refresher courses in first aid, and they had learned more than just this.
After rinsing his hands with water and preparing everything necessary, he put on gloves and wiped the skin of his "patient" with alcohol wipes and began to look for a vein (fortunately, they were visible to Chris), after which he carefully inserted the needle under the skin.
— Thank God. Martin muttered with relief when he saw the venous blood in the neck of the cannula and immediately fixed the structure with a Band
—Aid..Martin..Are you in pain? ..— Quietly asked Chris, grabbing his brother's hand.
— Why do you think that is? — Martin replied, slowly rocking the younger, and then looked at his own hands. They were shaking. More precisely, it was not only shaking hands, but also he himself. This happened extremely rarely, but still happened. — It's okay, bro, it's all right. I'm here. And you are too.
*******
An hour later, they heard the sound of engines, and a huge turtle landed about 10 meters away. When the ship's doors opened, Aviva and Koki rushed out, looking worried.
"How is he?" Aviva asked quietly, looking at the IV bag.
"He seems to be feeling better." Martin replied, still rocking his brother.
In Tortuga, Chris was examined again, and he was now lying in one of the beds, resting. His older brother had been by his side the entire time.
He managed to calm the tremors in his body only after taking a few sedatives and a couple of mugs of ginger tea, generously provided by Jimmy. Aviva took the time to examine him as well, fearing that he might have overheated.
"He'll be fine. He's feeling better, MK," Aviva assured him, patting him on the shoulder. — The animal suit overheated after the sprint and this led to heat stroke. I'll refine the thermoregulation function and it won't happen again.
— Thank you, Aviva. Martin nodded gratefully and continued to stare at one point again.
**********
Waking up was a very difficult task. He felt like his head was going to split into a thousand tiny pieces, and blood was about to flow out of his ears.
"Chris?. Come on, wake up, sleepy." He heard his older brother's soft voice, followed by his brother's gentle touch on his shoulder.
— Martin?
- It's me, I'm here. Martin helped his brother sit down and immediately handed him a glass of water.
—Damn her..I'm sorry. Chris suddenly felt a deep sense of shame.
"Don't apologize. It's not your fault. Martin felt the tremor coming back to him.
"Thank you, bro." Chris opened his arms for a hug. Martin immediately reached out and gave him a big hug.
"I love you, bro..."