by Andi Feron
I inquired about John and Gabriel frequently but each time I would be met with multiple roadblocks. I tried to access the database on their whereabouts, but someone seemed bent on keeping me from knowing anything about them. I only hoped they were okay, and that I would find them eventually.
Talon would come and check on me from time to time, but our relationship now seemed strained. Neither of us mentioned Seraphine. I asked him to help me find John and Gabriel, but he seemed to think he needed to stay lowkey after all that had taken place with bringing the three of us to the base.
I threw myself into trying to find a cure for the Loctorian virus called Dissipation. In all reality, why did I even need to go back to Earth? I wanted to make an impact, but what bigger opportunity than curing millions of souls of a devastating illness? The people in charge of Saturn base insisted that I complete mandatory gym time and weapons training. As long as I kept those up, I was allowed to work in sickbay.
Jasper also gave me the chance to practice my abilities. At first it was small lab animals, but lately, he moved me up to patients in his sickbay. He told me to take things slowly, as healing was proven to drain the healer pretty significantly if overdone. I would sleep well at night, but nothing too exhausting.
I glanced at the clock and realized it was still four hours until my shift, but maybe I could get some healing done early. I ate some cereal and orange juice as I knew Jasper would tell me that I would need the energy to heal adequately. I left to sickbay and found Jasper working on a still patient. Several nurses were around him. As I walked in, Jasper glanced up.
“I was actually about to call you in. I have a patient I’m struggling to stabilize,” he spoke to me as he worked vigorously on the patient. “Head wound and I’m pretty sure there’s nothing medically we can do. You’re the last one I could think of.”
There seemed to be a shortage of healers. Healing was the rarest ability, and when it was found, most were low-grade. They would not be letting me go anytime soon, if ever. I walked over to the patient. A large, gaping wound was blasted across the majority of his forehead. It looked as though someone had taken a baseball-sized boulder and smashed it into the front of his head. The edges were charred, and I knew it had to be some sort of violent weapon, more destruction created by Khalbytians.
I placed my hand gently on his forehead as his monitor alarms sounded. I droned them out and began concentrating on molding burnt flesh to the softness of healthy skin. Brain matter began to rebuild as I moved outward, and cells of the skull began to take a less twisted shape. The blackened skin became pink and smooth. He looked as though he arrived at sickbay to get a good night’s rest. He began to move, and I removed my hand. The entire event was effortless for me.
Jasper scanned his patient and finally said, “Great job, Althea. We need you badly around here and on the battlefield. Why don’t you go take a break now? You had to have used a lot of energy, and the rest of the patients are stabilized.”
Jasper always seemed worried about me draining myself. He said he lost a healer that way in the past and, with us being in high demand, that was an unfavorable outcome. I felt perfectly fine, but that might have been because Jasper never allowed me to heal more than a few patients at a time. This morning’s patient had been my biggest heal since I brought those soldiers back at level determination.
I went back to my quarters and turned on a movie. I began to nod off. My door buzzed, and I jerked awake. The door buzzed again. Someone seemed anxious for me to open it. As my door slid back, I saw a soldier standing there. I had seen him on the planet mission but never learned his name or anything else about him. He reminded me of a younger Dr. Monroe.
“You have been called to a mission. I am here to escort you to the docking bay for boarding,” the soldier said.
“Give me a minute and I’ll put on my uniform.”
The soldier nodded, and I hurried back to my room to dress in expected mission attire. I didn’t know what to expect as we walked the long corridor to board our waiting craft. The last mission damaged me in a way that made recovery seem impossible. The ship doors slid open and I stepped into a craft very much like the last one I had ridden in for the orphan mission. There were six other soldiers on board. Two were sitting, typing away at computers in front of them. Another fiddled under a console to the left, buried shoulder deep in the bottom of the wall.
Two soldiers pushed buttons a touch screen. At the front stood a man with brown hair slightly past his ears. His uniform made me think he was the one in charge. There was something familiar about him. I fought the urge to run up and turn him around. He slowly turned around. I closed my eyes then looked again. It was John, but he looked so different. He looked older than the few months we were apart should have aged him. He had muscles and his face no longer had even a hint of boyhood.
“Althea,” he said as though we had seen each other yesterday.
“John!” I screamed his name.
I needed to wrap him in a hug. He gestured his hand to my chair. It was toward the front. He wanted me to sit. Was he genuinely not glad to see me? Many questions pulled at me as I sat in my chair. He spoke to a man to the right of him, and the familiarity of his voice made it difficult for me to hold back tears. I bit my lip, but my eyes watered anyway.
Many things were different, and it hadn’t even been a year. I heard the craft open again and turned to see Gabriel, Seraphine, and Talon walk in all wearing uniforms. They had gotten to us all.
As everyone settled in, John began to speak, “Captain John Trammel, commander of this vessel. We have been called to the Higher Cron region to aide some ground troops who are trying to secure a Khalbytian stronghold. They have been held up for close to three months and require back up to complete the final stretch of their mission. The council believes each of us holds unique abilities that will help this mission end in victory.”
“Sir, we have about an hour, then we are going to fold,” a soldier spoke while staring at his console.
“Very good. Let me know when we are closer so we can begin preparations.” John sounded confident, so un-John like.
“Yes, sir!”
I had heard of folding space to cover long distances quickly. I believed our ship generated tiny, precise black holes, but I didn’t fully understand the process. I was no physics expert, and my mind was a long way off from grasping the concept. I knew it meant we were going pretty far away from the base, and we needed to do so quickly. I also knew there were some risks; that’s why it was only done for great distances or urgency. We could fold incorrectly and end up fragments or in the wrong location.
Folding also took a lot of resources from the trip, so a miscalculation could leave us stranded. John sat in the captain’s chair, and I tried to come to terms with his new leadership role and how he was now a soldier. His lack of enthusiasm toward seeing me stung deeply. He remained silent the entire trip, and I said nothing in return. The fold went without any issues and was less jarring than I anticipated it would be.
We arrived at a swirling green planet that looked similar to Jupiter. John ordered the ship down through the green haze of the atmosphere. A deep fog surrounded our vessel, and I pictured it as a noxious gas that we were stupidly descending into. The green haze began to evaporate, and a strange Earth-like horizon spread in front of us. Green trees and brown dirt made me homesick for Earth.
We maneuvered through a couple trees and landed softly on the ground. My expectation of bio-suits was dismissed when a soldier opened the craft, exposing us to the environment. The briefing was enough to let me know that we were probably headed for intense battle, and I wondered what we were about to be launched into.
John began telling us we were to hike thirty kilometers to the main base at the forefront of this battle. I was in no way prepared for any of this. I should have put in more than the mandatory amount at the gym. John seemed so different and in shape. He was one of them, and it was obvious that he went through intense training. He�
��d always been pretty thin but now he was built, and he could probably take on just about anyone. I didn’t know if my best friend was in there anymore. He acted like I was any other subordinate.
We made it twenty kilometers before stopping and making camp. I talked more to the soldier who collected me at my quarters and learned his name was Deron. According to him, we needed to make the battlefront within three days. Our intense hours of marching would allow us an extra day. I thought that this would be good for renewed energy for fighting.
I settled in my tent, pulling out a Loctorian biology manual that I snuck in my backpack. It was unnecessary weight, but one that I found significant to my aspirations. I liked these tents because they came with built-in illumination and temperature control. I wasn’t sure how they were powered, but they were operated by voice command. I heard a swift thud on my tent. I hid my manual under my large blanket.
“Come in,” I said. I saw the flap open. “Gabriel!” I jumped out of my cot and wrapped him in a hug.
He sat back on the cot across from mine and started unpacking his bag. “I’ve been wondering where you have been since that orphan mission.”
“Me too. After I woke back up at base, you were nowhere to be found and no one seemed to know where you were. I was also looking for John, but no one would tell me much of anything. I have been working in sickbay, training my abilities to be more focused.” I relaxed back into my cot.
“We were unable to find you either, but it wasn’t from lack of trying. I was concerned about what they did with you after the planet. I’ve been training my ability too, as well as getting more in shape. I was surprised when they called me for the mission. I thought that I was base-bound indefinitely.”
“Who’s ‘we’?” I asked.
“John. He’d been desperately looking for you. But one day I went to his quarters and it was cleaned out. That was about four months ago. The first I saw him again was when I boarded the ship this morning. Seeing him in command was strange. He was so bent on getting you back to Earth with him, and now he’s leading missions. Not sure what they did to him in those four months.”
“Yeah, he doesn’t seem the same. He hasn’t spoken a word to me.”
“Maybe after this mission is over, we can get time to talk to him.”
“Maybe.” I had my doubts. I pulled my manual back out and began where I left off.
“That’s a lofty thing to lug thirty kilometers.” Gabriel chuckled.
I glanced up and smiled, feeling relaxed with Gabriel present. I tried not to read too long, as I knew tomorrow would have ten kilometers within it.
I awoke to a knock on my tent, and it was Deron letting us know that morning had already arrived. We were to be packed and hiking in fifteen minutes. Deron was muscular like most of the soldiers. He was not someone who would lose many fist fights by the look of him. I learned that I was right on the mark with the resemblance I saw in him as Dr. Monroe was his dad. Unlike his father, he was bald and lacked a beard, and it suited him well.
I grabbed my book that had fallen to the side of my cot and put it in my pack. Most of the tent and supplies were placed in a large wooden wagon. Primitive but quiet was my guess. Three soldiers pulled the wagon.
The trees grew denser as we hiked. The potent scent of pine almost made me forget this was an alien world. We hiked the ten kilometers in one spurt and arrived at a large encampment of soldiers clambering about. There must have been around fifty tents. We were greeted by Admiral Calinger. John followed him into the large green tent in the center of the camp and ordered the rest of us to find our stations.
A soldier gave me a sandwich and some water. I devoured them as the hike had left me starved. The small breakfast I ate hadn’t held for long. We were told to rest as tomorrow we would take on Khalbytians and capture their main base on this planet. This stronghold would hopefully prove to be an efficient location to launch more damaging attacks.
My healing would prove a vital skill. The enemy would knock someone down, and I would, within minutes, return them to fully functioning. I was unsure if there were other healers present to share the workload. Information was extremely limited up to this point. I relaxed and read the rest of the day, conserving energy would be my best bet, according to Jasper. After a hearty meal, I went back to my tent and quickly drifted off. Thoughts of tomorrow’s battle pushed aside to allow ease of sleep.
Chapter Eleven
John-May 14, 2013
I tossed in my cot and pulled the blanket to my shoulders multiple times. Tomorrow I would lead my team into battle and hope we all came out unscathed. We did have some advantages. We had abilities, and we were handpicked by the council to create a super team. I discovered later that was why it had been so easy for them to agree to the team I wanted. The entire manipulation of lives was becoming more apparent with each new piece of information I gained. We were right where we needed to be, and the council played us as pawns.
Even so, there was too much at stake, and being stubborn about being manipulated wouldn’t stop the impending annihilation of humanity. For this reason, I continued on with the expectations of the council. I would fight their war not for them but for everyone I cared about.
I learned Allie had healing ability, but I didn’t know what all that entailed. I had missed her and still did, but I had to heed the words of the council. If I ignored them and something happened to her, I would never forgive myself. I didn’t want to hurt her but I wanted her alive more. I wanted to pull her to me and never let go again, but my training created a soldier. The training took over any desires that bellowed below the surface.
Morning flooded my eyes with bright sunlight way sooner than I was ready for. The tent flap opened, and Admiral Calinger let me know that things were ready. I valued the insight his experience provided.
We offered a thousand troops against a few hundred according to patrols that were sent ahead. I had my team with me, and we were to be a couple rows behind the front line. I focused my abilities and gave instructions to the mind of my team members. The soldiers were not surprised and acknowledged my instructions.
I told Gabriel his instructions were to go stealth and help take out the main generator which would jam the cooling system and heat their facilities. Khalbytian skin resembled greenish-brown tar and did not tolerate heat well. Then lastly I hit Allie with my telepathic orders. I felt her recoil in annoyance that this was the first I was talking to her and without warning.
I want you to stay out of the front lines. Your only job is to heal as we go. As many as you can. Avoid fighting unless necessary for survival. Be careful, Allie. I sent this into her mind.
Allie was silent back, and I could feel her anger toward me. There was so much more I wanted to tell her, but we had to get through this battle first. Battle met us sooner than I expected, and instinct took over. I focused on a Khalbytian and pulled him into his mind, allowing his fear to devour him. I spread confusion and terror through the opposing side.
Laser fire surrounded me. I cleared a path for Gabriel as he made it undetected with the other chameleons. My flesh tore as a Khalbytian scratched my face. He had removed the glove of his bio-suit as he was dying to inflict damage with his massive claws. His scaly hand melted smoothly since the environment was too warm for his skin. They were easy to kill on the ground, and if it weren’t for space battles and the detriment of the virus, they would have been wiped out long ago.
Allie glided through the field unlike anything I had ever seen. She reattached limbs to torsos. Burn wounds seared to charcoal smoothed into soft flesh. Deep wounds sealed closed with the touch of her hand and appeared to have never endured trauma.
As the cooling system jammed, I could hear roars. All Khalbytians, inside the facility, were melted into tarry puddles. Hundreds of Khalbytians began fleeing in ships. We fought for about thirty minutes. In the time it took to watch a sitcom, we had left massive destruction.
I would receive the final report when everything was
tallied, but it seemed to be a clear victory. We gained a vital base to launch further attacks and, thanks to Allie, there were limited casualties for our side. There would be a unit assigned to get the new base operational. Humans could tolerate the planet temperature much easier than the Khalbytians could, which made it easier for us to set something more permanent up.
I poured water from my canteen on the stinging scratch on my cheek. A soft hand touched my face as the stinging subsided. I turned to see Allie standing next to me. She looked drained, as though she needed to hibernate for a long winter. The battle had been a workout for all of us.
The thrill of victory brought a cocky rapture. As I was bathing in my misplaced confidence, Allie stumbled. Talon was on it before I could move. Allie fell lifelessly as her brother kept her inches from hitting the rocky ground. He scooped her up, and she appeared almost childlike in his giant arms. He carried her as though she was a porcelain doll ready to shatter at the slightest movement.
“Medic!” Talon yelled.
My confidence diminished into sheer panic as there was no tone to her body at all. I had no idea if she could heal herself. I didn’t know if she was wounded or simply exhausted. My mind tried to soothe my hysteria. Talon brought her to the stretcher as the medics began scanning for wounds and vital signs.
The head medic yelled out orders as he moved, quickly checking for a pulse and scanning her. A couple of the medics pushed Talon back. I could see by his tight jaw he was not tolerating that well, but he didn’t interfere. I stood frozen, waiting to see if she had a pulse and still confused by her sudden collapse.
“Pulse weak but steady. No wounds present. Extreme fatigue. Ability exhaustion is my guess,” the head medic spoke to the rest of his team, and they nodded in agreement.
