by Gun Brooke
“How old are you, Gemma?” Ciel’s cheeks warmed. “I mean, you look impossibly young to hold such an important position.”
“I’m thirty-eight. And you?”
“As you know, Gantharians live longer than earth humans. On average a hundred and forty years. Earth humans become about a hundred and ten. Correct?”
“Yes. And you’re dodging the question.”
“No, I was just trying to compare. I’m forty-four. If we take into account life expectancy, divide it by a hundred, and then remove our respective age and…what’s the matter?” Ciel looked at the chuckling Gemma. She hadn’t heard Gemma laugh until now, and it was a thoroughly beautiful sound. Very addictive and contagious. “What’s so funny?”
“No, no. Do go on. I can’t wait to hear the rest.” Gemma snorted softly.
“Oh. Well, where was I? Yes, we take our respective age and divide with the percentages 1.4 and 1.1, then you’re actually three years older.” She looked expectantly at Gemma.
“All right. And? What’s this obsession with age?”
“Oh, everybody knows that Earth humans are hung up on not having such a vast lifespan.”
“We—we are?” Gemma looked nonplussed.
“That’s what I’ve heard.”
“For stars and skies, Ciel. I’ve never heard such nonsense. Who told you that?”
“It’s common knowledge,” Ciel said stubbornly. “Ever since the protector brought you to help free us from the Onotharian occupation, we’ve known about this. Her spouse, the revered protector-by-marriage, won’t remain with us as long as the protector herself.”
“Some Earth humans live to be more than a hundred and thirty. Some Gantharians don’t live to see a hundred. It’s all statistics. As for the protectors, they both hold dangerous positions, so we can only hope they die of old age and not someone’s plasma-pulse weapon.”
“True.” Ciel thought for a moment. “So, your opinion is, age is of no concern?”
“Age is many times of a definite concern, especially when it comes to medicine. As for personal relationships, I think it might play a part, but it doesn’t make much difference in the end.”
“I suppose, having lived incarcerated for so long, each day of survival became a victory.” Ciel had spoken without thinking again.
“You were in a work camp the entire duration of the occupation?”
“Yes…and no.” Ciel studied her nails. “I was officially in a camp called Gremer Esta. It means Second Star. A few of my colleagues and I found a way to slip outside to gather the herbs and find the crystals and metal ores we needed to work. I sometimes think the Onotharians knew about our nightly excursions, but they turned a blind eye since we prevented outbreaks of contagious illness. As long as they had us to care for the sick and wounded, they didn’t have to bother with it.”
“Are you saying you had a way out, an escape, and you voluntarily remained to care for your people?” Gemma paled.
“Yes.” She looked carefully at Gemma. “Sometimes when we left to gather herbs, we would dress one of the young mothers up as a druid and then help her escape through the resistance network. The Onotharians didn’t seem to actually count us. The camp was close to a wooded area and surrounded by hills. They had a security grid, like a force field, erected around the camp, and the only way for us to sneak out was to dig out the floor in one of the latrines. Everything was very low-tech inside the camp, which was immensely different to how the Onotharians were equipped.” Ciel folded her arms, gripping her elbows. “I hated it. I loved the people I was there with, but I hated being imprisoned more than anything.”
“I won’t even presume to say I understand what you went through. I really have no idea what it would be like to spend twenty-five years of my youth in a camp.” Gemma’s voice was filled with empathy, but she didn’t gush, something Ciel was grateful for.
“It’s left me suspicious and scarred. I become defensive really fast and I’m protective of my people…to a fault.”
“That’s natural.” Gemma rose from the chair and took a seat next to Ciel. “I knew, when I signed on for this mission, that you’d been incarcerated at some point. I’m not sure why I wasn’t informed of the exact details, but I assume the protector and her spouse both agreed that I’d need to find out about your past on my own.”
“Your guess is as good as mine.” Ciel shrugged. “I truly am sorry for acting so ungrateful—”
“You apologized. We both did. Don’t worry. I’ve been known to step on a few toes too. As you say, I’m fairly young for my position, which doesn’t always sit well with my peers or those climbing the career ladder just beneath me. I’ve developed a cynical side, and I can be sarcastic when it really isn’t called for.” Gemma smiled self-deprecatingly. “Trust me. I can go toe to toe with you on all these issues.”
Ciel returned the smile, for the first time sensing they’d be able to find some sort of common ground. Sitting so close to Gemma she noticed, not for the first time, her scent. Something sweet and airy, like the loc’tialdo flower just before their buds burst open, when warmed by the sun. She wanted to ask, but Gemma hadn’t shown any sign that she’d accept personal questions like that.
The humming sound from the outer door chime made them flinch.
“Oh, well, time to get back to work,” Gemma said with a wry grin. “Let’s hope the hospital administrator has seen the light and stepped up her game.”
What light? Ciel had no idea what this analogy meant, nor the one about stepping up games. “Can you tell me this again, in Premoni?”
“I just did.” Gemma frowned, probably as she really had spoken in the intergalactic language of Premoni.
Ciel rose to open the door. “Sure. Your words were in Premoni, but the sentences just didn’t make sense to me.”
“Oh, that.” Gemma accompanied her to the door. “It meant the administrator needs to focus and keep sharp to solve the situation. There’s only so much we can do for the people waiting to be seen. The clinic personnel need to implement their routines sooner rather than next week.”
“Agreed.” Ciel opened the door. Outside stood the very person they’d talked about.
“Good morning, Doctors,” Ms. O’Eso said, holding on tight to the strap of her shoulder bag. “Glad to see you up and looking so well, Druid O’Diarda.” She all but curtsied before them. “We were just seeing how the routines are starting to work, and we plan to implement the last of them this afternoon. That’s why we need your assistance. There’s no way we can assemble a trauma team to deal with the new situation.” She tugged at the strap, her hands white-knuckled.
“What new situation?”
“It came in via our analogue transmitter. Seventy-five or so refugees are stuck in the Siengash Mountains, behind the Sien Dela Pass. They’re in the valley behind the pass, and some of them are suffering from a bad infection, as far as our physicians and the SC medical staff can estimate.”
“We need to take them supplies and medication, and evacuate the ones that can’t wait.” Gemma turned around. “I’ll contact SC headquarters and the protectors. Ciel, can you make sure we take what we need, including yours and of the SC’s resources?” Turning back to the administrator, Gemma narrowed her eyes and the jumpy administrator immediately seemed to focus. “Do we have any idea what kind of outbreak we’re dealing with?”
“According to our only reports, the patients have skin and respiratory problems.”
“Stars and skies. That could include just about anything.” Gemma ran a hand through her hair. “All right, let’s get going. I’m going to let the highest-ranking physician from the SC backup unit remain here to monitor the refugees that are already here. The rest of us will convoy to, what was it called? The Sien Dela Pass?”
“Yes.” Ciel placed a hand on Gemma’s shoulder, stopping her from walking back to her communication center in her quarters. “You just need to know one thing. We’ll be able to go by hovercraft most of the way, but the last
thirty or so kilometers, we’ll have to walk and carry what equipment we can manage. No hovering is possible in the Siengash Mountains, due to the metal ores found in the bedrock. I just wanted you to know this before you contacted SC headquarters.”
“Walk. Of course.” Gemma pinched the bridge of her nose. “Your herbs will really have to prove themselves, since they’re easy to carry. We’ll take all the portable and lightweight medical equipment we can carry. Is the terrain rough or can we pull carts on wheels?”
“It’ll be difficult. Once we can establish the exact coordinates and pinpoint the needs, you can have the SC drop more equipment and food from the air. If they maintain the minimum altitude above the mountains, they can do that.”
“Good. I’ll arrange it. Let’s go, people.” Gemma squeezed Ciel’s upper arm and walked into her quarters.
“She’s rather intimidating,” Ms. O’Eso said in a muted voice. “She frightens me.”
“Dr. Meyer is quite formidable,” Ciel said, not about to have anyone else criticize the woman she was slowly getting to know. “I suggest you head back and call a staff meeting in,” she checked her chronometer, “about half an hour.”
“Yes, Druid,” the administrator said quickly. “We’ll be in the large conference room. Do I notify the SC medical staff as well?”
“I believe Dr. Meyer will take care of that. Unless you hear otherwise, gather your own staff first.”
Ms. O’Eso left, half running back to the clinic. Ciel knew she would need more of that potent SC pain medication if she was going to hike to the Sien Dela Pass. It was beautiful scenery, true wilderness, but also rough, unforgiving territory. She took a deep breath. This would be the ultimate test of how well she and Gemma could work together. She also sensed that it would show her the nature of her attraction to the prickly physician.
Chapter Six
Gemma decided their hovercraft needed to take point and they should both ride up front with Sergeant Tacrosty, who was in charge of maneuvering the hovercraft and his crew. As the ranking military officer, she felt the burden of command settle on her as a second, slightly too-tight skin. Used to it after having been on the fast track ever since the academy, Gemma had taken the middle seat between the sergeant and Ciel. Behind them, four more hovercraft joined them as they traveled at maximum speed toward the Siengash Mountains.
Checking her chronometer, Gemma realized they were less than half an hour from their landing site, from where they’d be traveling on foot. She was wary of trekking along difficult paths planet-side, as she’d lived aboard space stations or space ships for the last twenty years. She was in great physical shape because working out was not only mandatory, but the only way to stay alive when you lived like she did, but running on treadmills or around hangar decks was hardly the same as stumbling around in nature, especially alien nature.
“Not far now, Commander,” Sgt. Tacrosty said.
“You familiar with the navigational instruments of this vehicle?” Gemma asked Ciel. “It would be helpful to have you verify that we’re where we’re supposed to be when we set down.”
“Not really, but from what I can tell, the chart seems pretty self-explanatory. The map system looks familiar.”
“It should be, ma’am,” Tacrosty said, punching in controls that took them to a comfortable altitude. “We’ve worked with your cartographers to upgrade the computer.”
“Impressive.” Ciel ran her finger down the screen. The map scrolled and changed colors as it showed the topography. “Nice!”
“And that’s still just the two-dimensional hardware. Over by Corporal Lund’s station, you can get all that as a holographic image—”
“Thank you, Sergeant,” Gemma said. “I’m sure you’ll get the chance to demonstrate these toys to Dr. O’Diarda later.” She smiled faintly at Ciel, who looked stunning in the light of the early-morning sun. It wasn’t difficult to understand that Tacrosty was doing his best to impress Ciel. Her dark-blue eyes reflected the sky in front of them, and the many layers of her hair seemed to emphasize her otherworldly beauty.
“I look forward to it, Sergeant. You’ll have to be patient with me, as I’m not…technologically proficient.” Ciel shrugged self-deprecatingly.
“No problem, ma’am.”
Ciel turned her eyes back to Gemma. “As for landing at the correct coordinates, I can assure you it won’t be hard for me to tell. Once you’ve seen the Siengash Mountains, you’ll never forget them. The topography is unique, and their beauty will do the rest.”
“In other words, as dangerous as they’re stunning. I might as well confess that the last time I hiked in the mountains on Earth, I was twelve. I hated it.”
“Why?” Ciel turned in her chair, looking curious.
“I was a tech-bore already then. I wanted to stay home and play with my interactive lab that my father gave me. My mother insisted I needed fresh air and took me to a famous area on Earth called the Pyrenees. Mountains and more mountains. I had enough fresh air to last me a lifetime.”
Ciel tossed her head back and laughed. “If you hated it that much, no wonder you settled for outer space.”
Gemma shook her head at Ciel’s mirth, but inwardly she confessed that it was a beautiful, unabashed sound that was quite contagious.
“Commander? Major Vesmonc, operating the craft behind us, reports noticing a disturbance from the ground. We need to increase our altitude the last twenty minutes, or our instruments might become compromised,” Cpl. Lund said from behind. “I recommend climbing another thousand feet.”
“Thank you, Corporal. Climb a thousand, Sergeant.” Gemma double-checked her harness. These large hovercraft had inertial dampeners but didn’t match those of a spaceship. If the instruments were off when they went in for landing, she didn’t want to be tossed headfirst against the helm. “Buckle up, people,” she ordered them, keeping an eye on the instruments and glimpsing Ciel tighten her harness as well.
The friendly conversation was now over and Gemma knew they were all sensitive to any unfamiliar movement of the vehicle. Fifteen minutes later, Tacrosty punched in new commands. “Corporal Lund, open a communication channel to the other vehicles,” he said through his teeth. “This isn’t going to be pretty.”
“Go ahead, sir.” Lund echoed his sergeant’s tone of voice.
“Sergeant Tacrosty to SC vehicles in convoy. We’re going to reach our landing area in less than three minutes and have to set down in rapid-mode.” He reached under the helm and folded up what looked like a mesh glove. “Use the Virtual Digits. This will give you more control since you can’t trust what you see on the gauges. Make sure everybody is strapped in before you commence setting down. Land-pattern, a six-edged star. Good luck. Tacrosty out.”
Gemma knew she’d been given the best of the best for this mission, but she was still impressed with how Tacrosty handled what had to be a first for all the hovercraft pilots. Landing in the pattern of a star would keep them from dropping down on top of each other.
“All right. This it, Dr. O’Diarda?” Sgt. Tacrosty asked, pushing his hand into the Virtual Digit glove.
“This is it. We’re in position.” Ciel gripped her armrests.
“Brace for impact. We’re going in for rapid-mode landing.” Tacrosty’s jaws tightened as he clenched his gloved fist and began moving it in a well-measured pattern.
Gemma was certain they were plunging to their death as the hovercraft fell like a rock toward the wilderness beneath them. She curled her fingers around her harness and held on with what could only be described as a death grip. This was another reason for loving space travel. No rapid-mode toward alien bedrock.
“H’rea dea’savh!” Ciel cursed in Gantharian next to her.
Just as the ground came into sight through the front windows, Tacrosty raised his fist and opened it. The vehicle set down hard but remained intact and they were alive.
“What a ride!” Tacrosty turned to face her and smiled. “We’re safely down, ma’am, and s
o are two of the others. Three more to go. We can’t exit until they all land.”
“I think my kidneys ended up in my mouth, but that was a stellar job of getting us here alive, Sergeant.” Gemma unbuckled her harness and glanced at the others. The eight marines looked unfazed, but Ciel was pale. She didn’t want to single Ciel out by drawing attention to the fact that she looked like she might faint any moment, but she needed to check on her. Stepping closer, Gemma pointed at something arbitrary outside the window and checked Ciel’s pulse at the same time. “Those your stunning mountains? They’re quite beautiful.”
“Thank you. Yes.” Sounding a little drowsy, Ciel tipped her head back, looking up at Gemma. “I’ll be fine,” she whispered. “My leg hurt when we landed. Or should I say, fell out of the sky.”
“Let me know if you need me to check on it,” Gemma murmured. Ciel’s color was returning slowly. “Just sit here while the other vehicles fall, and then we’ll get some of that infamous fresh air. It’ll do you good.”
“You too.” Ciel smiled. “We don’t have much time to reach the pass, as the refugees might be deteriorating.”
“I know. We’ll be on our way soon.”
“All the vehicles are down in one piece. No damage or casualties, ma’am,” Cpl. Lund said.
“Very well. Let’s go outside and start pulling our gear together.” Gemma knew they’d have to carry everything, as the terrain was too rough to even pull anything along on carts. Her backpack was loaded to the brim with medical equipment and portable laboratory. She knew Ciel had packed her own backpack, even bigger than Gemma’s, and four more of the marines’ with the herbs she felt they might need. The rest of the marines carried technology, medical and otherwise, blankets, inflatable tents, and cubicle dwellings.
Outside, the air was indeed so crisp Gemma felt she ought to be able to scratch it with her nails. She inhaled deeply, and suddenly the headache that had simmered in the back of her head was less painful. Perhaps there was something to this whole fresh-air concept after all. She could definitely see it had a positive effect on Ciel. She ran up and down the ramp to the cargo area at the back of the hovercraft, then hurried into their quarters, bringing out mugs and a pot of what now was a familiar scent, the soup, for everyone.
