Rx by Alan Edward Nourse

When a crash-priority call comes from Morua II, Red Doctor Sam Jenkins and Green Doctor Wally Stone know at once that something is wrong. The hostile planet has repeatedly rejected Hospital Earth's medical contract and violently driven off every previous contact, yet the General Practice Patrol is still legally bound to answer any emergency signal, no matter how dangerous the trap may be. Hospital Earth's galaxy-wide medical system is built on one uncompromising rule: treat any contracted emergency, anywhere. That ideal has made Earth indispensable, but it also leaves its doctors exposed on worlds that fear or despise them. On Morua II, Jenkins and Stone are met by armed guards, dragged through a grim, ceremonial court, and brought before the planet's ruler, the terrifying Tenth Son of a Tenth Son, whose legendary immortality now seems to be failing. As they confront a suspicious court and a dying emperor, the doctors must diagnose a disease that looks like a devastating pox or viral infection while suspecting Moruan biology may resist familiar treatments. With time running out and the attendants demanding a miracle, Jenkins and Stone must bluff, investigate, and improvise if they are to save a ruler who was never supposed to be mortal. This edition has been fully restored with modern typesetting, custom cover design.