“Paris, did you make it back to Lisa? How is she?”
“Sorry doc, I still haven’t made it to my people yet. I’m almost to their holding cell. The ship broke up between me and them. You could probably get someone over here to help.”
“Why didn’t you go back to Lisa?” The doctor sounded worried for the first time.
“Because a lot of the humans were still locked in their cells. When Venay released them only some cell doors opened. Those people took off when they realized they couldn’t help. But Venay told me how to open the cell manually so I’m going to release them and leave them with the med-kits. It should be a faster trip back to Lisa.” At least I hoped it would be faster.
“You say they are on our side of the ship?” He asked.
“Yes, I think so, unless the ship broke up into three pieces?” That thought hadn’t occurred to me and I really hoped it wasn’t the case.
“Something tells me that is what happened. Did you climb all the way down to the ground and then up again?”
“Almost, I found one warped hallway still attached so I went across that, but it was seven stories down and then up again.” I was panting from the exertion, but I doubted he even noticed.
“Be careful Paris, the Commander will be very upset if you get injured,” The doctor admonished.
“I know. I’m being careful. Okay, I’m here now. I need to let you go. I’ll call back if there is something I can’t handle myself.” My heart rate increased at the thought of finding seriously injured people. Using the back of my hand, I wiped at the perspiration dotting my forehead.
We said goodbye, and I found the panel Venay told me about. He had called me back while I was climbing up and told me where to find the panel. I took off the cover, and there, like he said, was a large lever. I pulled it down and the cells unlocked. I heard a loud click.
So did the people inside as I heard their cheers of joy. Then the bars opened up. I walked into the room and everyone was excited to see me. A few asked if we crashed on Earth.
“We are a long ways from home, crashed on an alien planet controlled by the V’Zenians. But the bad part is that we were fighting an alien ship who had better technology than we do. They are injured as well and followed us down to the planet. I don’t know where they are, but we need to get moving somewhere else. Is anyone here injured?” I looked to all the people climbing out of the cells.
“Yes, but this could be good, right? Another alien race could be our rescuers?” Betsy asked. She had a hopeful look on her face that was covered in scratches and dried blood.
I walked over to her and hugged her. “Betsy, I’m so glad to see you’re alright. But, these other aliens are worse than our current captors. They are not humanoid like us; they’re insectoid. You don’t want them catching any of you.” I pulled back and examined her closely.
She did look pretty good, but I noticed she was standing on one leg. “Did you hurt your leg?”
“I think it is sprained but not too badly.” Betsy winced.
“Ok, sit down while I check you out.” I pulled the sheet of supplies towards me and took out one med-kit.
“If any of you have any sort of first aid training, please come over here, and I’ll show you how these work. We’re going to need every bit of help we can get here.” I opened the med kit and pulled out the diagnostic tool.
One woman came over whom I hadn’t seen before, “My name is Donna. I’m a pediatric nurse, but I’m sure I can help with the adults too.”
“Oh good! Come here while I show you how to use the med-kit’s diagnostic tool. The doctor will be happy to know you’re part of the group. He can’t get here because the ship is broken up into three parts.” I looked at the others and no one else stepped forward.
A few of the people near me called out various questions, ones I had no answers to. “Look, I don’t know much, I have told you all I know so far. But we have injured here that need our help. Let’s focus on fixing them up first, Ok?”
A few grumbled “Okays” made their way back to me.
I showed Nurse Donna how to use the diagnostic tool, but it was going to be hard for her to use since she didn’t have a universal translator implanted.
“Does anyone here have a universal translator implanted?” I looked up at those who were still here. Some had snuck out once they were let out of the cages. I couldn’t blame them, but they should have stayed and helped.
Two women spoke up and said they did.
“Great, come over here. We’re going to need your help.” I relaxed knowing I wasn’t the only one here who could understand the alien tech.
I showed them how the diagnostic tool worked and then how to fix Betsy’s sprain. It was going to take each of the girls with the translators to help others use the equipment. I also handed out some of the supplies so that everyone could help clean up the cuts on most of the people.
Some of the guys were still here too. So I had them lift those who couldn’t walk and put them with the others who were injured.
“Ok, do you guys have a handle on it here?” I was antsy to get back to Lisa and check on her.
The nurse said she did, so I left her in charge and also instructed the other two how to make a call on their devices and who to call in case of an emergency.
Betsy looked at me with either fear or trepidation in her eyes; they were wide, and she had tears building in them. “Where are you going? Why aren’t you staying with us?”
“Lisa is injured and unconscious. I have to get back to her before she wakes up. She’s on the side of the ship where no one else is located. I can’t leave her there alone. All of you here need to stick together and once everyone can walk, try to make your way to the front of the ship. The doctor will help you all.” I pointed to the general direction of the med-bay.
I heard a few say they would rather try to make a go of it on their own here on this planet than be taken back as slaves. I couldn’t disagree with them. So I said nothing more.
Chapter 15
I made my way back to Lisa. It was slow going but faster on the way back like I thought it would be.
She was still asleep, thankfully. I checked the device on her stomach, and it was healing nicely. It looked like once she woke up she might be able to slowly walk away. I wasn’t sure if she would be able to make her way to the med-bay, but she could probably get out of this ship if she had to.
The doctor called me, and I told him what was going on. He was very impressed with what I had done in the holding cells with everyone who was left. Those guys were going to go and check on the others in Bravo cell and see if anyone needed help there.
On my way back, I did try to look for anyone who was in the living quarters, but I never heard anything. Made sense though. They should have all been at some sort of battle station since we had been in a battle. I would have been surprised to see anyone in the living quarters area, besides my people. It dawned on me I hadn’t heard from Cazon or Sheila yet.
I tried calling Cazon but couldn’t reach him so I tried Sheila.
“Paris, oh thank goodness! I was so worried about you! Where are you?” Sheila’s voice broke and I felt awful for forgetting about her.
“I’m with Lisa in her quarters. She was badly injured, and I’m just waiting for her injuries to heal. They have some pretty advanced equipment here. How are you?”
“I’m fine, a bit scraped up and will certainly have some nice bruises, but overall, just fine.” She sounded relieved and I knew she was going to be fine.
“How is Cazon? I couldn’t reach him,” I asked.
“I haven’t been able to reach him either. With the power issues maybe his communicator is out?” Sheila sounded optimistic.
“I don’t think it works like that, but maybe. I really don’t know. Can you get over here? Do you even know how to get here?” I knew if Cazon was conscious he would have called Sheila. But I didn’t want to worry her.
“Um, no. Can you come get me?” She asked
.
“Sure, what’s your cabin number?”
“I don’t know. How do I find that out?
“Go outside to your hallway and look at the number to the left of your door.” I instructed her.
She gave me her number, and I made my way there. We grabbed her med-kit and a few more as we made our way back to Lisa. I figured if I had to go out again, we might as well have some med-kits with us. I also picked up a couple laser guns and two Taser guns as well. It was best to be prepared. Then at the last minute, I grabbed a few sheets too. I wanted to be able to cover bodies if we came upon any. So far, there were only the three I saw in the holding cell. The guys took care of covering them up for me.
Lisa was still out of it when we got back, so Sheila and I chatted. I told her about everything that had happened today, and she was shocked that I was able to get over to the cells and back safely. “Man, you are one tough chick, Paris. No wonder the Commander wants you.” She chuckled and shook her head.
I, on the other hand, started to blush. Compliments weren’t something you get when living on the streets, usually it was just the opposite. “Thanks, I had company for a lot of it. You didn’t. Looks like you are one brave cookie.”
“Nah, I buckled in and just went for the ride. Once it was all over, I started to worry and pace. If you hadn’t called me when you did, I would have gone stir crazy and eventually gone out wandering through the ship. I would have done it sooner, but Cazon was very insistent I wait in our cabin until he contacted me.” Sheila grinned and I knew she would have done exactly that. It was a good thing I contacted her.
“Well, the three of us are here together, that’s what matters now. But I should probably go and check on the people from the cells. See if they are ready to move yet. I would like to get them all over here and spread out amongst the different cabins as much as possible. That is if they don’t want to head to the med-bay. But something tells me that most of them will leave the ship, and to be honest, I won’t blame them if they do.” I shrugged, knowing the planet would be difficult to survive, but if I didn’t have such a strong desire to get back to Earth, I’d probably join them. Anyone who ran from the ship would never get back to Earth.
“You still stuck on the whole save the slaves thing?” Sheila asked.
“Of course, aren’t you?” A little indignation entered my voice, but I didn’t care.
“Yes, but to a point. Cazon is a great man, and I want him. I don’t need to go home. But then again, I’m also the one who has fantasized for years about meeting a hot alien man who would make me fall in love with him.” She laughed and grabbed her stomach and leaned over flinching in pain.
“Sheila, are you ok?” I grabbed one of the other med-kits and took out the scanning device and moved her hands out of the way so I could scan her stomach.
“Well, according to this machine, you have some mild internal bleeding. I need you to lay down so I can put the tablet on and heal your stomach. I doubt it will take long, but I don’t know how much blood you have lost either.” I shook my head and realized I really should have done a better job checking her over when I found her.
She followed my orders, and I had that device on her stomach. We chatted until Lisa woke up.
“Hey,” Lisa said groggily.
I looked over to her, “Hey there, sleepy head. How do you feel?”
“Tired, and sore. I think I might be a bit hungry too. Do you think the replicators are online?” Lisa being hungry was a good sign, I hoped.
“Doubtful, but we do have some protein bars. I’ll go grab you one and check your vitals.” I left the room to find the food.
Sheila and Lisa chatted while I went to the kitchen.
While I was in there I decided to call Venay, since I hadn’t heard from him in a few hours. “Venay, what’s going on?”
“Paris, are you still in Lisa’s room?” he asked.
“Yes.”
“Good, stay there. We have seen signs of the Insectoids nearby. I think some of the slaves got out and have been captured by them. There were a few areas that our scouts said looked like a fight had broken out. Then they also saw insectoid foot prints walking away. We have surmised that the Zateelians have captured our humans and are carrying them off somewhere.” Venay’s voice was tired and sad. Even though they were his slaves, I knew he wanted to keep them safe.
“No, no no. It’s all my fault.” Panic took over and I paced the small room.
Venay interrupted me. “Shh, calm down. It’s not your fault. This is on the Zateelians, not any of us.”
I had to make him understand. “I released all of the people in the jails and left them. I had to get back to Lisa and told them I would come back and check on them. Many were injured and one of the non-injured is a nurse, so I showed her and a couple others how to use the med-kits. I need to get them to come here with the injured. We have plenty of empty rooms around us. Maybe we can even make some sort of a defensive position and fight off any insectoids?” I rambled on worried about the rest of the humans.
“No, it’s too dangerous. The sun looks to be setting soon, and they like the dark. I am sure they will be back and looking for more humans to take. Stay where you are and find a way to lock yourselves in. I wish I could be there with you, but I know you will do great.” Venay paused and sighed. I could hear the stress coming through his voice. “Have you seen anyone else?”
There was no way he could get to me. Not with the way the ship was in pieces. Plus, he was in charge and needed to be on the bridge, or wherever he was running everything from.
“Yes, I found Sheila and brought her back here too. So it is the three of us. Have you heard anything from Cazon? Sheila can’t reach him, and neither can I.” I rubbed my neck as the aches and pains from the crash were starting to come back in force.
“Sadly, I haven’t. I have to assume he was badly injured, and either can’t get to us or can’t move,” He huffed. It sounded like Venay was angry, but without seeing his face I couldn’t be sure what he was feeling. I didn’t know him well enough to be able to tell his emotions just from his voice.
“No, I don’t buy that. I know he’s going to be fine, maybe there’s just an issue with his communicator. He could have hit his head and damaged it.” Cazon had quickly become my friend. I wouldn’t believe he was seriously hurt until there was proof.
“Yes, that is possible.” I could hear the uncertainty in his voice. He didn’t believe my excuse but was going along with it to appease me.
Losing Cazon would be hard. He was my only friend amongst the aliens, well, besides Venay. Sheila was falling for him, and it would be tougher on her. I decided not to tell her anything, and let her think there was hope until we knew for sure.
“Sheila and I scavenged some weapons and med-kits on our way back to Lisa’s place. But I didn’t think to get food. Is there any way to get these replicators back on line?” My stomach gurgled as I thought about food.
“Not at this point there isn’t. Try the rooms next to you, see if there are any rations in those kitchens. And if you find any more weapons, grab them. But don’t go too far.” Venay’s voice softened and I heard a door close behind him. He must have power where he is, or he manually closed the door so we could have some privacy to speak.
“Alright, um… are we going to be stuck here alone on this side of the ship all night?” I knew I sounded like a baby, but I didn’t care. The other aliens were out there, and they had already taken some of the humans with them. I only hoped Venay was lying about the Zateelians and they would take good care of them.
“No, I am going to send some of my warriors to get you three, and if they can get the slaves on the way back, even better. But if they do find you, make sure you bring all of the med-kits, weapons, and rations you can carry. We are going to need them.” His voice was firm. There was no way he was going to let me stay the night all alone.
It made me feel all warm and fuzzy. I knew he had so much on his plate, as did all of
the warriors. Sending a team to get us probably wasn’t the smartest thing to do with his resources, but it made my heart swell for him.
“You got it. I’ll go scavenge some more now while it’s still light.” I could hear the hope in my voice and knew we were going to be alright.
“You have lights in your hallway?” Venay asked, sounding hopeful.
“There are some emergency lights on, and then the big hole in the ship has leant us some natural light as well. I’m not that far from it.”
“Good, with you being so far up from the ground, you are farther from where the enemy will start looking for any survivors. So stay on your floor. Lock your door and block it with any furniture you can once you finish scavenging the rooms around you. But, don’t leave your floor.” Now he was sounding like the Commander again, ordering me to stay safe.
“I’ll be strong and get us all through this, but Venay, I really miss you.”
“Oh sweetheart, I love hearing you say that. I miss you too. If I wasn’t the Commander I would have come to get you as soon as we landed. I am sorry I haven’t been able to come get you yet. The next set of warriors to come in, I will send them to you.” His soft voice gave me comfort and I knew I’d see him soon.
“Venay, you should probably get the other humans first. They’re closer to you than I am. And I have no idea if the injured have anyone to look after them right now. My guess is that most have taken off, deciding it would be safer to hide out on the planet. That’s what I would have done. Well, I would have made sure that everyone went with me. I wouldn’t have left anyone behind, unless they wanted to stay.” If the Zateelians were out there, and if they really were the true bad guys, it looked as though something had finally gone right for me. I was in a much better place than the rest of my species.
The humans who were lower to the ground, and exposed to the planet, were in a lot more danger than I was. Plus, I had a communicator as well as weapons and most likely some protein bars or whatever they kept in the kitchens for emergency rations. I doubted those who found a way out of the ship had anything but the clothes on their backs.
Worlds Away Page 13
