by Francis, Ron
“I’ve run the numbers Collin; if we can manage the power efficiently and make the modifications you suggested to the drives, we can knock this down to a four and a half month journey. Not a bad back-up plan. Well done, buddy. I'm going to rest a lot easier knowing that if the conduit doesn't appear or we miss it for whatever reason, we can still get home. Not only that, but we can come back here in the future if we want to.”
"I hadn't thought about that, this gives us a lot of options." He was starting to grow excited as he spoke. "I think I can have the drives modified and seven or eight of these adapters done within a week, Jess.”
“Well, don’t forget to spend some time with Bessa; you don’t want to take a woman like that for granted.”
“You know, you’re right. I’m gonna take her somewhere nice tonight. I can start on the adapters tomorrow.”
“Good call, now, if you’ll excuse me, I have my own date to get ready for,” He said with a smile.
“Suzy is really happy that you are feeling good enough to go to dinner. So are the rest of us. Now, go have some fun with your best friend.”
“Thanks, Collin, I will.” He laughed as he realized his friend was right. He knew he was going to have fun with Suzy tonight.
Almost an hour later, he left his room to go meet Suzy in the common room. As he rounded the corner, he stopped short; taken aback by how beautiful she looked in her red dress. She had picked out the perfect outfit and looked amazing. He was suddenly self conscious as she looked at him. “What is it Jesse, is everything all right?”
He smiled as he replied, “I was just momentarily stunned by your beauty,” she smiled shyly as she hit his arm, so he added, “Then I thought who is going to believe that a woman like you would be hanging around with me?” He held his arm out theatrically and she took it with a smile as they walked to the waiting speeder. When they reached the speeder, he helped her in first, and then joined her. He was happy he had let her talk him into getting all dressed up; he knew it would be more fun for her.
When Jesse and Suzy arrived at the restaurant, all eyes were on them as they got out of the speeder. It was the first time anyone had seen Jesse out publicly since he had come back to Hyperia, and people started to congregate around Hyperia's hero. He had been to the palace twice, but no one outside of the royal family and a few advisors had seen him. A vid news reporter approached them and Jesse was actually feeling good enough to take a few questions.
"Colonel Marcos, it has been a long time since anyone has seen you. How are you feeling?"
"I have finally recovered from the advanced death brush fever, thanks to my most talented and dedicated doctor." He pointed to Suzy and smiled as he spoke.
"The Colonel wasn't conscious, so he probably doesn't remember that it was the Queen's royal doctor that actually saved him. I had never treated death brush fever before. I'm just happy he's healthy again."
"Colonel, you and your doctor look amazing tonight, are you seeing her or are you hoping to ask for Princess Rayelle's hand in marriage?"
"Doctor Baker is my oldest and closest friend. We first met when we were four and she is as much a sister to me as my sister Nina. She even has her own room in both of our homes. We are just out as friends tonight, so all of you single men out there can rest easy." Suzy smiled at that last comment.
"So, it's the Princess you want, then?" The reporter persisted while Suzy looked amused.
"Princess Rayelle is amazing, and she deserves the best this galaxy has to offer. However, we are just friends. My heart is set on another."
"Who is this other woman, Colonel?" The reporter asked as the crowd looked on, waiting for his reply.
"I'm afraid I'm going to keep that one to myself for a little while longer. Thank you for taking the time to talk to us. Now, if you'll excuse us, we have a reservation, and I'm really hungry." He smiled and the reporter thanked him for his time as he made his way towards the restaurant again.
Jesse hadn't been out in a long time and Suzy was all smiles as people continued to approach them. They stood outside the restaurant for nearly ten more minutes taking vid stills with people and talking with them. The people were very grateful and also eager to meet them. Jesse was beginning to think they might not make it inside when Wassan approached them with a beautiful little girl.
"Colonel Marcos," he began, "Finally back on your feet after the death brush fever. It is good to see you up and about."
Jesse shook his hand and Suzy gave him a warm embrace as he replied. "It is good to see you as well, my friend, and who is this lovely young lady you have with you tonight."
"This," he said proudly, "Is my younger sister Tisa." She waved as he continued. "Tisa, this is the man that jumped into the death brush to save my life; my friend, Colonel Jesse Marcos." He smiled as he continued, "And this lovely woman with him is his oldest and closest friend, Doctor Suzy Baker."
Tisa's face lit up as she hugged Jesse, "Thank you so much for saving my brother, Colonel."
"You are most welcome, Tisa, your brother is an outstanding man."
"Hello, Suzy," she said shyly. "That is a really pretty dress. I hope my brother meets someone as pretty as you." Wassan smiled, slightly embarrassed as he put his arms around his little sister.
Suzy just smiled as she said, "He already has; he's met you." She replied to a big smile from the sweet little girl.
"Tisa, can I ask you a favor?" Jesse asked, she nodded yes and he continued. "I would love it if your brother took a vid still of you with Suzy and I. Would that be alright?"
Tisa smiled again as Wassan nodded his thanks and took out the vid-cam. After taking a couple stills, Wassan looked at his sister and said, "We should let them get into the restaurant and have their dinner before they miss their reservation. We still have to go to the park."
As Tisa waved goodbye, Jesse called out, "Bye, Tisa, it was a great pleasure to meet you." Both he and Suzy waved to her. Wassan turned and smiled in appreciation that they would take the time to make his sister feel so special.
As they finally walked into the restaurant they looked at each other and smiled. Jesse inhaled the fragrant smell of a steak sitting in tangy barbeque sauce and smiled. Jesse knew it was going to be a good night and he was happy he was sharing it with Suzy.
______
Josiah had never seen Wennagal look as concerned as he did when he answered the transmission. “What’s going on, Wennagal? Is everything alright?” he asked.
“No, my friend, everything is not alright, I’m afraid. Is Jesse available, I have an urgent matter to discuss with him?”
Kimi and Sergeant Tanna Rivada walked in to the common room with Reece and Xanu and noticed the transmission with Wennagal. They came over to say hello as they heard Josiah saying, “I’m not sure when he’ll be back, tonight is the first night he's had enough strength to leave the ship, and Suzy took him to a restaurant, she made him get dressed up and everything. We all think he lost a bet he's not telling us about." Josiah laughed as he spoke.
Wennagal looked as if he had just been hit in the stomach as he said, “That is going to complicate matters.”
“What do you mean, what’s going on?” Kimi asked as Collin and Bessa walked into the common room.
“Garrinoras has captured Cassyanna and he has threatened to kill her unless Colonel Marcos meets him and engages him in a Zinnebailan death match.”
“A what?” Collin asked, not liking where this conversation was headed. “He wants to fight Jesse in a death match, for Cassie? He does know she dumped him, right?”
“No, apparently he does not.” Wennagal replied sadly.
“How did she get captured, Wennagal?” Josiah asked, trying to avoid the larger issue.
“We went to Chawanas to try to broker an alliance with the Farannsian people, and Garrinoras had some thugs there waiting for us. As soon as Captain Reed was vulnerable, they struck. They injured Lenk in the process. He feels terrible about it and has offered to fight Garrinoras for Capta
in Reed, but the pirate refused. He will only fight Jesse, and if Jesse says no, he will kill Cassyanna."
Kimi looked concerned as she said, “Look, Wennagal, your crew will always be our friends, but I have no wish to see Jesse fight a death match for a lot of reasons, most of all is that he still hasn't gotten his full health back from the death brush fever yet.” She left the room, troubled by this new development.
“Do you all feel this way?” Wennagal asked, slowly losing hope.
“If you’re asking if we want to see Jesse fight Garrinoras in a death match, the answer is no. But we have no wish to see Cassie die, either. We will have to have him get back to you as soon as he gets back from his dinner with Suzy, and we honestly don’t know when that will be. I’m sorry, but this is no easy thing you ask, but we'll figure something out. We're not just going to leave Cassie in Garrinoras’ hands, that much I can assure you.” Josiah added. Wennagal nodded and ended the transmission.
“What do you think?” Reece asked.
“What do you mean?” Collin replied.
“Do you think Jesse is going to take the challenge?”
“He will most definitely take the challenge.” Bessa surmised.
“She’s right; he’ll do it if we tell him about it.” Josiah agreed.
“Are you suggesting we keep this from him? Good luck, Kimi already knows about it and we all know how she feels about Cassie. What do you think is the first thing she is gonna do when she sees him?” Collin added.
“Even if we could get her to not talk, we don’t have the right, it’s his decision to make,” Tanna reflected sadly. “And we all know what he’s going to do.”
“That’s what I’m afraid of.” Josiah replied.
“What are you afraid of?” Jesse asked as he and Suzy walked into the room. “Where's Kimi?”
There was an awkward silence as Kimi came back into the room.
“What's going on, Josiah, are you guys trying to play some kind of joke on us or something, because this feels a little weird. Is something wrong?” Suzy knew she wasn’t going to like the answer even as Jesse asked the question.
“We just received a transmission from Wennagal. Garrinoras has captured Cassie and he’s going to kill her unless you agree to meet him in a Zinnebailan death match.” Josiah replied with a look of sad resignation that told Jesse this was not an elaborate prank.
Jesse looked contemplative for a few moments before he answered to everyone’s surprise, “Well, they had better mount a rescue then, because I’m not doing it. They have plenty of money from the treasure; let them use it to hire a recovery team.”
“Seriously?” Reece asked as Jesse looked at the shock on all of his friend’s faces. “You’re going to let Garrinoras get away with this; I know you are no longer interested in Cassie, but come on you can’t seriously be dismissing her that quickly,”
“What would you like me to say, Reece, you weren’t there. She used me; everyone else could see it except me. The second she got everything she wanted from me, she dumped me. She didn’t even come by to say goodbye on our last day. She dismissed me that quickly. Now I’m supposed to drop everything and come running because she’s in trouble? No way. I'm nowhere near healthy enough to do it. I can’t possibly be the only one in the galaxy capable of rescuing her.”
“So she dies, just like that, huh?” Collin asked, looking a little disappointed.
“Wait, you guys want me to do it?” Jesse asked as a look of confusion crossed his face. “I thought you’d all be happy that I finally let one go past without having to be the hero and risk my life.”
“It’s not like that, Jesse,” Josiah started. “Believe me, we are happy you have decided to stop taking so many unnecessary risks, but are we really gonna let this stand?”
"I'm not gonna lie to you, I just don't think I'm physically up to it yet. If it was any of you, I would do it without a second thought, and knowing that it's her might be influencing my thinking. She never apologized, I doubt she's even given me a second thought, and now I'm supposed to rush to her rescue? You need to understand, I will not win if I face Garrinoras in my condition. I'm at least five maybe six weeks away from being useful in a fight."
"I know, Jess, and we have to respect that you know your body. It's your decision, we just all thought you would jump on this," Josiah mused as he looked at the rest of the crew.
“I don’t think you should do it, I don’t think your body is ready either. Jess, he’s a monster. He’s over seven feet tall and he outweighs you by over a hundred pounds. Plus, there are probably rules to this thing that you don’t even know about, and he’s most likely going to betray you and kill Cassie anyway.” Suzy pleaded, knowing it was probably a losing battle to try and talk the whole crew out of this.
“There is that,” Josiah added, “But I think if we’re smart about it, we can come up with a way to prevent him from betraying us.”
“How would we do that, Josiah?” Suzy asked, not liking that she was the only one trying to hold her friend back from rushing to his death.
“For one, we rent out all of the mercenaries of Ginderbar and we tell them to invade and destroy Zinnebulous if Garrinoras breaks his word. If there is any part to the government there that he does not own, they will make sure his treachery does not bring destruction on their planet. We have you run the portable over her to make sure there are no implanted surprises and we have them send someone to explain the rules to us before we do this.”
“Look, Jess, I’m glad you want to finally stop taking all of the risks around here, but I just think you’ll never forgive yourself if you don’t help her, because even though she treated you badly, Cassie and her crew are still our friends, and we have to help our friends.”
“I, too, believe you should do this,” Kimi added to all of their surprise.
“Really, and you’re not just saying that only to be really mad if I actually go do it. You know I’m terrible at hints and innuendos, if this is one of those times where you say go, but you really want me to stay, you need to tell me.” She nodded her agreement and he continued. “So you’re all in agreement, all of you except Suzy wants me to go rescue Captain Reed.
They all nodded including Xanu and Tanna.
“Well, chances are, you’re going to need a doctor, so I guess I’ll have the recovery pod warmed up and ready to go, just bear one more thing in mind, though, please.”
“What would that be, Suzy?”
“It is a death match; you won’t be able to just leave him wounded. If you knock him unconscious, you may have to kill an unconscious, unarmed man. I know you dislike Garrinoras, but do you think you can do that?”
“If I agree to this, I would have to. It’s just, I’m not sure I really want to do this. Do you even think Garrinoras would be willing to wait over a month for me to be ready? Because I can't face him any less than five or six weeks from now, that much I know for sure.”
“Jess, no one’s saying you have to do it, we would like you to, but it’s your choice, and don’t think we don’t appreciate you not just jumping in without telling us. We know you are still regaining your health, but that doesn’t mean this isn’t the right thing to do.” Josiah noted.
“Jesse, if you can help someone, you should. Does that sound familiar? It does to me, because I’ve only heard it on this ship like a thousand times since you first said it to me,” Reece added.
“Is this the only way? There's no way we can lead an attack and rescue her without me stepping in the ring for a death match with a man we already know is going to cheat?"
"A failed rescue could put the bulk of the most powerful planets in the sector at war. Millions could die, or one person could die. That's what it boils down to." Josiah replied.
When no one said anything else, Jesse looked around and added, "Alright then, we help Captain Reed. Let’s get plans in motion, then, I guess we’re doing this. We'll stay here a little over a month. By then, I should be almost ready for the fight. I'm no
t gonna face him before I'm physically ready. If Garrinoras needs us before then, it's not gonna happen. After that, it’s four days to Kaldor. We'll stay on Kaldor two days and then it's off to wherever the match will be. I should be physically ready by then. Looks like Garrinoras will have to wait five weeks or so to get his revenge on me. It will probably take them that long to set up the vid rights and all that nonsense anyway. I'm just letting everyone know right now, I'm not gonna do it on his terms. The fight will be two days, not three or four. It will not be on Zinnebulous, and as I enter the Arena, Captain Reed exits the arena. I don't fight until I know she's physically alright. If he doesn't agree to those terms, it's no deal. I'm not putting my life on the line for the slim chance that he won't betray us. Let’s contact Wennagal and let him know we’ll do it. Hopefully, they can wait the few weeks."
______
Wennagal was happy to hear back from Jesse. He knew it must have been a tough decision for him to make, but he never doubted Jesse would help. He knew from their time together that his friend would step up to help them. He was not thrilled at the time table, but understood the Colonel wasn't completely healthy yet. Wennagal agreed to hire two hundred ships from Ginderbar with the orders to destroy Zinnebulous should Garrinoras betray them. Garrinoras’ own fleet of nearly eighty ships would pose no problem to the mercenaries of Ginderbar should it come to battle. Wennagal was also able to get an expert in Zinnebailan law to tutor Jesse on the rules and nuances of a legal Zinnebailan death match. Garrinoras no doubt knew the rules all too well, and Jesse had not wanted to be at a disadvantage there. As it turned out, many of the rules wound up lining up with what Jesse had wanted to do. Wennagal was a little worried that Garrinoras would not agree to Jesse's terms, but he understood why his friend had to take the precautions. This was going to happen, and hopefully, Colonel Jesse Marcos had one more gift for the Kalephi Galaxy. Marcos was planning to leave Hyperia soon; four days later he would arrive and three days later, the death match would begin. It had been eight days since he had seen Captain Reed, and it would still be almost four more weeks until she would be released to Endeavor. The government knew that if she were harmed in any way before or during the match, they would be at war with Ginderbar, and after their defeat at Kaldor, it was a battle they could ill afford. He was sure she would be alright until Jesse arrived, but he was still worried.
