by John Walker
“Cathleen, grab a gurney while I tell the Behemoth what’s going on.” Olly stepped away and let out a deep breath. “I’m pretty sure they’re going to have a thing or two to say about this.”
***
Everly tapped Gray’s arm. “Captain, I’ve got Olly on the line. He says they’ve woken up the Captain of the Silver Star. Apparently, he’s suffering from side effects of suspended animation. Hoffner just requested a medical shuttle. They’d like to bring this person to our sick bay.”
Gray nodded once. “Make it happen.”
Clea stood. “I’d like to meet them in the hangar if you don’t mind.”
“Think you can help?” Gray asked.
“Most definitely. An alien being who likely does not speak our language might feel a little better if someone else stands out with him.”
“Good thought.” Gray gestured for the door. “Let us know what you find out right away.”
“Sir,” Paul spoke up as Clea left the room. “Getting a shuttle over here won’t exactly be easy. I mean, we’ve got full shields up, not to mention the enemy close enough to spit at.”
Redding huffed. “If they were that close, I’d be blasting the hell out of them.”
Paul rolled his eyes. “You know what I mean. We start sending shuttles around, we’re asking for trouble.”
“The decision’s been made, Paul,” Gray replied. “Focus on your duties. Everly, give the shuttle a fighter escort. I’m sure they won’t need it but better to be safe than sorry.”
“On it.”
“Okay, let’s see what this guy has to offer.” Gray settled back in his chair and watched the view screen. This could be the break we’ve been waiting for or a total red herring. Let’s hope fate feels generous. She’s been pretty fickle most of the day.
***
Captain Paltein clung to his translation device as if his life depended on it. He rode the gurney staring straight up with wide, frightened eyes. Two marines walked him down to the hangar with Olly in tow. The latter spoke to him the whole way, offering as much comfort as he could muster.
When they arrived, Olly asked Sid to open the hangar bay doors. The green of the shield lit up the room and they saw fighters flying around outside, patrolling the area. Far off, beyond their vision to the left, the enemy gathered waiting for their opportunity to strike. Whatever damage their ships sustained seemed to be enough to keep them away.
Just stay away a little longer, Olly’s hopeful thought made his body tense. This guy’s been through enough without you stampeding in to give him a heart attack.
***
Lieutenant Richard Martin and Lieutenant Kelly Parson drew escort duty for a medical shuttle. Panthers Seven and Eight respectively, they were the newest members of the team, which was likely why they got the crap duty. They sidled up to the hangar, waiting for their charge to deploy for the quick trip over to the Silver Star.
“Hey, Kel,” Richard said, “you ever think we’d be in an actual fight like this?”
“Yeah,” Kelly replied. “I knew the enemy would be back.”
“I didn’t. I figured why bother? We kicked their asses before. Why come back?”
“No one went and told the bad guys we won, you realize that, right?”
Richard paused. “I…didn’t think about that. But shouldn’t it be all the scarier? When your people don’t return, wouldn’t you assume the worst? We sure did with our probes beyond the Solar System.”
“We always intended to follow up though.”
“True that.” Richard checked his scans. The enemy seemed to be holding their ground. “I guess they don’t want any more today.”
“They’ll be back in,” Kelly replied. “Revente’s briefing proves it. Whatever damage we inflicted might already be repaired. The final fight’s going to be rough and I promise you this, it’ll start suddenly.”
“You’re all sunshine and rainbows, Kel.” Richard shook his head. “A real motivator.”
“I just like to keep it real, pal.” Kelly went silent for a moment. “They’re launching the shuttle.”
A moment later, the medical craft left the Behemoth and gunned the throttle, heading for the Silver Star. Kelly and Richard took up flanking positions slightly behind it, following at a reasonable distance. They established a communication link and Richard gave them some brief instructions.
“Don’t get too far ahead. We’re not going to land with you but when you’re ready to take off, let us know. We’ll watch your six.”
“Appreciate the protection, Panthers Seven and Eight. Glad to have you around.”
“We’re here for you,” Kelly replied. “Just stay focused.”
Richard watched his sensors like a hawk, waiting for an attack he hoped would never come. Hardly twenty seconds away, many other Behemoth fighters patrolled the area. If they got into real trouble, reinforcements were a quick jaunt away. Meagan made it clear the bad guys wanted the Silver Star for some reason. It dawned on him a medical shuttle carrying a survivor might just be a target too ripe not to pick.
The trip between ships took less than three minutes. The medical shuttle disappeared into the hangar, leaving Richard and Kelly to circle around and prepare for the trip back. Loading the patient shouldn’t take too long. No more than five minutes he figured but probably less. Then they’d start back and the short but stressful escort duty would be over.
Then back to patrol.
“Panther Seven and Eight, this is Med One. We are securing the patient for transport. Estimated departure time, twenty seconds.”
Even faster than I thought. Fantastic. Come on! Let’s go!
“Hey,” Kelly broke his thoughts. “I’m picking up some readings heading in fast.”
“What do you mean?” Richard checked his scans. “I don’t see…wait…there they are.”
“Uh huh. Must be fighters.”
“They’re several minutes out,” Richard replied. “Plenty of time to get this shuttle back if we hurry.”
“Panther Five, this is Panther Eight,” Kelly announced. “Can you bring Panther Six over here? We might have a problem.”
“What’s up?” Leslie Eddings, Panther Five, answered. “We’re patrolling grid three-two-seven.”
“Pretty sure they’re more worried about getting this patient back to the Behemoth than the nothing you guys are finding in grid whatever,” Kelly said. “Hurry up. We don’t want to face down a bunch of fighters with this shuttle in tow. It’s about to take off.”
“Okay, okay,” Leslie replied. “We’re on our way.”
Good call, Richard thought. Still, it shouldn’t matter. We’ll have these guys home in no time.
“This is Med One, launching now.” The shuttle left the hangar and plunged toward the Behemoth at top speed. Richard and Kelly fell in beside it, easily catching up. Enemy fighters were closing in, picking up speed. Sensors estimated they’d overtake them before they reached the Behemoth.
“Crap.” Richard sighed. “Do you see that, Kel?”
“Yeah,” Kel acknowledged. “Leslie, prepare for a real fight. These jerks are almost on us after all.”
“Fantastic. Do you have a number?”
“Not an accurate one,” Kelly replied. “At least four…but probably more. They like to fly tight to avoid scan confirmation.”
“This is Med One, we are raising our shields.” This meant they’d be slowing down significantly. Holding off the fighters would not be sufficient. They’d have to take them out. A couple lucky shots would be all the enemy needed to destroy the shuttle. Protecting them would be a pain.
Richard sent a ping to Kelly, indicating he felt they should engage. She sent back an acknowledgement then let Panthers Five and Six know to catch up. Six committed to staying by Med One. Three fighters against whatever the enemy threw at them seemed like good odds. After all, they took down so many of them earlier.
“Visual!” Richard shouted. “Contact! Six total fighters.”
“Gr
eat, and we’re only bringing four…” Kelly sighed. “I hope you’re ready for some crazy cause we’ve got it.”
Richard pulled to the right and banked hard. Kelly went the opposite direction. They’d practiced the tactic a thousand times in simulation and training exercises. Earlier, they learned just how effective their unorthodox maneuver was against this particular enemy. Since they didn’t seem to operate under the wingman mentality the humans trained for.
Coordination and cooperation went a long way and meant a lot more than numbers.
At least, Richard hoped so.
The enemy broke ranks, twisting away from their loose formation to meet the fighters. Others plunged straight for the shuttle, fully intent on annihilating it. “Um, Kelly do you see that?”
“Kind of busy right now,” Kelly replied in a tight voice. “That’s why we called in Five and Six.”
Richard dodged a blast, dropped his ship under another to avoid a collision and buried the throttle. He pulled the trigger as he casually flew over one of the enemy and turned it into slag before initiating a barrel roll and joining back up with Kelly. His sensors suggested their first pass took out three fighters, leaving three others.
Five and Six engaged the attackers, driving them back from the shuttle. A random, lucky shot from the enemy tagged the shuttle, making the shield flash. Five dropped a missile which chased the fighter some distance before the fuel ran out and it exploded. Richard hailed med one.
“You guys okay?”
“Keep them off us!” The pilot yelled back. “We can’t take another one.”
As if it was our fault. Richard bit his tongue.
“Contact!” Kelly cried. “Six more!”
“Oh, hell with this.” Richard lowered his head and plunged straight at one of the first three. The computer sought a lock while he dialed in to the open channel. “Mayday to any fighters in the area. We need additional backup ASAP. Over.”
“This is Tiger Three,” a voice answered. “We’re en route to your position. Just hang on.”
Solid tone sounded in his ears and he pulled the trigger. The shots hit the shields but didn’t finish him off. The ship careened but maintained course and speed. Richard fired again, this time clipping the side of his target.
That did the trick and the ship spun out of control before exploding in a fiery globe.
“I got another one,” Kelly said. “The last one’s on his way to his buddies.”
“This is Panther Six…I’ve been hit.” Richard turned in his seat to try and see him. “I need to get back to the Behemoth. Stick is sluggish and shields are down.”
“Get your ass out of here,” Richard said. “You’re not doing anyone good. We’ve got this. Look, Tiger Wing’s here. We’ve got this.”
Four Tiger wing ships joined them just as the enemy engaged. Richard had a last second to glance at his sensors to see that Med One was less than a minute away from docking with the Behemoth. They had to hold on for such a short period of time, just a little longer and the mission would be complete.
Now, with seven on seven, it seemed much more than possible.
Except that the enemy had a plan.
Two of the ships broke their formation and moved at full speed for Panther Six. “Stop them!” Kelly shouted, diverting her own ship to intercept. She was rewarded with a pulse blast that nearly took her out of the sky. Richard watched her spin away, only regaining control well out of the fight.
Panther Six attempted to evade but three solid hits tore his frame in half. The last thing Richard heard from his friend, Brian DuVall, was a short scream and half the word eject. A ball of gold flame burned out in an instant and then, the pilot and all traces he ever existed were simply gone.
The rest of the fight was a total frenzy of straight, concentrated violence. Panther and Tiger wing paired up, taking the enemy fighters down in rapid succession. Richard and his wingman, someone he didn’t even bother to identify, closed on a target, dodging multiple pulse blasts before blowing their target to pieces.
Richard nudged his controls to the left, narrowly avoiding a shot straight to his nose. He played chicken with the other fighter, drawing him in. When they were within three hundred yards, he finally pulled the trigger, putting a round straight into what he assumed was the enemy’s cockpit.
The shields flashed then the ship burst into flames, turning into little more than slag. Richard spun and dropped below the wreckage, entering the fray from the back. He counted only two enemies left but they didn’t go down without a fight. Three ships from Tiger Wing were destroyed though he saw their pilot beacons flashing for pick up.
Thank God, they got out.
One pilot was enough for the day.
“This is Med One, we have made it safely back to the Behemoth. Thank you for the assist, guys.”
Yeah, whatever. “Let’s mop these bastards up and go home.”
Only the enemy ships bugged out and headed for home. “You still with me, Kelly?”
“Yeah, I’m here.”
“I don’t really feel like letting those pricks get away.”
“Stand down, Panther Seven.” Revente’s voice came on the line. “Assist with pickup duty on the downed pilots. You’ll have your shot at them again.”
“Sir, they destroyed, they killed—”
“I know full well what happened,” Revente interrupted. “Get back to the ship. That’s a direct order.”
Richard fumed as he thought about Brian, his whole body arguing against the command. Ultimately, he obeyed, even as he saw his friend’s face in his mind’s eye and desperately felt an urge for vengeance. More fighting wouldn’t bring him back…but it just might make him feel better. The weight of the loss settled in as he turned his ship around and headed for home.
I sure hope that God damn shuttle was worth it. Richard drew a deep breath and let it out, trying to find his center. Sadly, that wouldn’t happen any time soon.
Chapter 16
Chief Medical Officer Laura Brand had been busy. Her staff, spread out between two hospitals, handled a number of casualties from minor burns to far more severe lacerations. While the Behemoth seemed to come away from the skirmishes in reasonable shape, several of her crew bore the brunt of the damage.
The past hour and a half since the initial battle had her moving from table to table, double checking patients and the care plans of her subordinates. A vast majority of the hurt would survive and they’d only lost three patients so far. If she wasn’t running around the room like a crazy person, she’d take a moment to knock on wood.
“Priority patient!” Someone shouted the words as they entered the room, pushing a gurney made of some kind of shimmering metal. Laura directed one of her nurses to take over stitching a young man’s arm and rushed over to the pilots entering her hospital.
“What’s going on? Who is this?”
“He’s one of the crew from the alien vessel,” one of the pilots explained. “Suffering from amnesia and complications resulting from suspended animation.”
Laura’s eyes widened. “Who sent you here with him? We don’t know anything about his physiology let alone how to treat…complications.”
“Orders from the Captain, Ma’am. We need to get back to our duties.”
Laura watched the men leave, fighting back a feeling of exasperation. Turning to the person on the gurney, she admired his jet black hair and odd colored skin. Other than the cosmetic differences, he seemed to have all the parts of a human. Perhaps they could help him after all.
“Hello, sir, my name is Doctor Laura Brand. Do you understand English?”
He clung to a small device and it rattled something off in his language. He replied in a series of strange syllables, mostly mumbled. When he finished, the speaker on his device spoke up in a pleasant, articulate voice. “He does not speak your language, Doctor Brand. His name is Captain Andu Paltein.”
Laura nodded. “Okay, Andu. I’m going to perform a diagnostic scan of your body and g
et a baseline. It won’t hurt and you shouldn’t notice anything at all but the device does make a sound. Try to remain calm.”
The device once again translated. Fascinating device. I wonder how it knows English.
Idle curiosity had to wait. She drew out her tablet and initiated a diagnostic program, directing the hand held scanner over the alien’s torso. Regular beeps emitted from the speakers as it collected data, analyzing his organs and brain waves. The process took less than two minutes and she drew away to check the results.
Body temperature: 99.2 degrees
If he had much in common with humans, he’d be running a little on the high side. Possible side effect of waking up. The body might compensate for running cooler.
Respiratory Rate: 26 BPM.
Also, slightly abnormal to humans. The average fell between twelve and twenty breaths per minute. Could be nerves or another complication. We haven’t done enough experimentation with suspended animation. This man is technically the first successful application of such a process.
Heart Rate: 110 beats a minute.
A little fast, again, possibly from nerves. A foreign ship, new people, an uncertain future…Laura needed to learn whether fear motivated his various bodily functions or if this was normal for his people. They had no other examples to go by so Captain Paltein would be their baseline. Maybe if others woke up, they could develop some averages.
Organs were all in the right place for a human being and performed the same functions. His melanin levels seemed on par with humans but there was some other, unidentified chemical in his system causing the metallic sheen. Laura didn’t feel comfortable giving him any drugs meant for humans but other, non-medical treatments, should be possible.
Laura tapped into Captain Atwell’s line and paced away. “Hi Laura, what’s going on?”
“I’ve got an alien in my hospital, that’s what’s going on,” Laura replied. “What exactly did you think I could do with this man?”
