Adrift (Dawson's Star Book 1)
Page 10
* * *
“Got ‘em, Admiral!” Linda said, projecting an image to Admiral Swanson.
“Give it to the gunner. Now!”
The Admiral got on the radio. “We’ve identified the ship with the hostages. Gunners should be sharing the information. Destroy any others that refuse to surrender or try to leave.”
* * *
A few moments later, the door opened. In a streak, Alex was out of the room. A moment later, he was dragging the two guards back inside.
“What happened?”
“Ms. Grey, this is now a Random Walk Navy mission. I am conscripting you as a lieutenant. You have two duties: stay completely out of the line of fire and keep Diane out of both our minds. Can you do that, Lieutenant?”
“You can’t conscript me.”
“Now is a real bad time to argue, Ms. Grey.”
“Aye-aye, Commander. And I can do it.”
“Don’t get yourself shot, Pamela. You take care of Diane, I’ll take care of the rest.” He paused. “You wouldn’t happen to know where the bridge is?”
“That way,” she said, gesturing to the right.
Pamela had to step past the two men. She saw they were dead.
* * *
Two and a half minutes after the navy ships dropped out of hyperspace, all but one of the pirate ships had either surrendered or showed no signs of life.
“You will surrender your ship to us immediately. If you return the hostages without further harm, you’ll live to stand trial.”
A woman’s face filled the view screen.
“If you don’t back off right now, we’ll kill them before you can catch us. I have men stationed outside their door and it will only take a few seconds.”
“That wouldn’t be healthy, Miss. I want those hostages.”
“Back off and we can negotiate.”
“All ships, this is Admiral Swanson. Retreat twenty klicks.”
He killed the transmission.
“What’s happening, Ms. Dawson?”
“Something’s wrong, Admiral. Pamela isn’t responding.”
* * *
“Hurry up, Pamela. It’s just a body. We have to go.”
* * *
“Admiral, she was just a little sick. She says, ‘Alex keeps killing people. He seems to go out of his way to do it.’ They’re on the way to the bridge.”
“Ah, that’s my son. Doesn’t like to leave loose ends behind. Let’s see if we can’t keep the bridge distracted for him.”
* * *
“That’s the door to the bridge, Pamela. Wonder if it’s open. Stay back.”
Alex strode to the door in question, checked the guns he was carrying, then palmed the door. It beeped at him, but failed to open.
“Well, then I guess we have to be a little sneakier. I wouldn’t supposed there is someone on the other side that could just open it.”
“At this range, Diane would notice. She might be able to block me.”
“Then we’ll have to ask for help. Can you ask Linda to toss a couple of missiles at us. Just to let them know we mean business? Let her know where we are, too.”
* * *
“Admiral, your son wants you to shoot at him. He’s just outside the door to the bridge.”
“Gunner, two missiles. Knock their fins off or something. For heaven’s sake, don’t hole them.”
“Aye-aye, Admiral. Missiles away.”
The view screen lit up. “Admiral! You’ll kill the hostages.”
“I have no reason to believe the hostages are still alive, Miss. Perhaps you would care to present them to me?”
“I know Linda Dawson is on your ship, and she’s been in communications with Pamela Grey.” Diane was looking desperate.
“You expect me to take the word of a couple of witches? Show me the hostages!” Admiral Swanson yelled the last words, then killed the transmission.
* * *
The door started to open. Alex didn’t wait. Before it was completely open, he was firing through the opening. Two men fell away from the door. Alex dived into the room, the guns firing. Several seconds later, he stopped.
“Hello again, Diane,” he said, straightening up. “Oh, I seem to have killed everyone. I’m sorry.” He dropped the guns he was carrying and looked around for a fresh one. Conveniently, there was a dead body at his feet, clutching a flechette assault rifle. He noticed it had been fired.
Diane backed away from him.
Alex looked at Diane. “You have a choice. You can let Pamela put you out, or you can die.”
Alex heard a whimper behind him, then felt a tickle in his head. He tightened his finger.
* * *
“Admiral,” Linda said quietly. “I lost contact with Pamela.”
“Is she dead?”
“I can’t tell. They made it onto the bridge, but then she just suddenly wasn’t there.”
“Can you reach Alex?”
“No. He’s wearing her necklace. I can’t touch him from more than a few feet.”
Admiral Swanson began hailing the Avenger, but received no answer.
“Take us in,” he ordered. “Slowly.”
* * *
Alex looked briefly at Diane. There wasn’t much left above her neck. He stumbled to his wife. His right leg didn’t seem to work properly, but he ignored it. Pamela had crumpled where she was standing. Alex checked her breathing and pulse. Both were strong, but he couldn’t wake her.
He dragged himself to the communications console and realized he was being hailed. He hit a few buttons.
* * *
“Commander! Status report.”
“Hello, Admiral. The bridge is clear. Hostages are secured, but we could use some medical help.”
“How about the rest of the ship?”
“Send in the marines, father. Make it fast. I’m afraid I’m done in.”
And he collapsed.
Introspection
Alex woke briefly to stare into the eyes of a young medic.
“Hello, Sir. You’ll be fine. We stopped the bleeding in your leg, but you’ve lost a lot of blood.”
“If that’s all you found, medic, keep looking.” And he passed out again.
* * *
Alex opened his eyes, but couldn’t focus.
“Dad?”
“I’m here, Alex. You look like shit, son.”
“What was my body count?”
“Twenty one. You’ve done better.”
“Had to protect the hostage.”
Alex drifted for a minute.
“Are you still there?”
“We’re here, Alex.”
“Have you met my wife?”
Then he knew no more for a time.
* * *
The Bull Market and Jane’s Gift took up orbit around Dawson’s Star. Admiral Swanson immediately got on the radio to the Prime Minister. Her worried face filled the viewscreen.
“Why won’t my own people tell me what happened, Admiral?”
“I asked them
not to, Elizabeth. You have a lovely daughter. She’s sleeping, but I can have someone wake her if you need to talk to her.”
“And your son, Arthur?”
“If you could tell his mother he’s a little bruised, I would appreciate it.”
Arthur’s wife moved into view.
“Don’t give me that, Old Man!” she spat at him. “’A little bruised’ means he’s all shot up. Spill.”
“Hello, Julie.” Arthur smiled at his wife. “He was leaking when we got to him. He had been shot a few times. He managed to secure the bridge before he collapsed. He’s not going to walk very well for a few months, but otherwise he’s whole. He’s also sleeping, and I’m afraid I can’t offer to wake him.”
“He’ll live, Arthur?”
“Of course, Julie. He’s our son.”
“I’m coming up there.”
“Elizabeth, Ms. Dawson tells me your medical facilities are top notch, better than what we have on board here.”
Julie turned pale.
“He’s alive, Julie. But he’ll heal a lot faster and more thoroughly if we can get him to the best facilities available. It sounds like those are right down there.”
* * *
With Elizabeth and Pamela hovering in the background, Arthur and Julie listened intently as the doctor explained Alex’s condition. “The muscles in his leg were destroyed by an unknown number of flechette rounds. The femur took several direct hits, cracking it. When he collapsed, the bone finished breaking.” She gestured to the charts. “Right here.”
“His other injuries, while somewhat extreme, were well handled by the medics aboard your ship. We’re watching for infection, but I don’t think they’ll be much of an issue. The leg, however, is going to require some work.”
“What sort of work, Doctor?” Julie asked.
“We have a procedure we use here. It’s a fairly recent development and isn’t available anywhere else. Basically, we sever the leg. Using nanotechnology, we grow a new one. It’s a slow process and not terribly pleasant. And it’s hideously expensive. But we’re very good at controlling the pain, and I’ve been told money is not an issue.”
“That’s not what we do back home,” said Arthur. “If you can’t save the leg, you end up with a servo-mechanical replacement. Good as new, if you don’t mind setting off the security systems at the space ports.”
“I think we need a little more information,” said Julie. “And we need to talk about this before we can approve the procedure.”
The doctor looked up sharply.
“That will be all, Doctor Tate,” said Elizabeth. “I’ll handle things from here.”
The doctor beat a hasty retreat, leaving the four of them alone.
“Arthur, Julie,” began Elizabeth. “I’m afraid something didn’t occur to either Pamela or me. You understand we’re a matriarchal society here, yes?”
“Yes, Elizabeth, we understand all that. But Alex’s mother is here, so if there are legal issues to deal with…”
“You also understand that Alex and Pamela are legally married? And of course, a Dawson’s Star wedding is universally accepted?”
“I’m not sure I like where you’re going, Prime Minister,” said Arthur. “If there are decisions to be made about our son, his mother and I will be involved.”
“Arthur, I assure you. On all future decisions, you and Julie will both be consulted before Pamela makes any final decisions. But I hope you understand that the final decisions must be hers, under DS law. And, I suspect, under your own as well. She is his wife.”
“A marriage of convenience, I understand,” said Arthur. “A coerced marriage at that. I would like to know more about this procedure before you hack off my son’s leg!”
“Admiral,” began Pamela. “I’m sorry. We were home. He’s my husband. I did my duty for him. It never even occurred to me to talk to you first. Once a man marries, he is his wife’s responsibility, not his mother’s.”
Elizabeth interrupted. “Arthur, the procedure began two hours ago. We’ll give you all the information you want, and Pamela and I are both very sorry we didn’t discuss this with you first. It won’t happen again.”
“I see,” said the admiral through tight teeth. Julie set a hand on his arm and whispered in his ear while Pamela and her mother pretended not to notice. A wife controlling her husband’s anger they could easily understand.
“I need to take a walk,” Arthur said eventually. “A long walk. Do I need an honor guard or something?”
“It might be best if Ms. Dawson went with you, if you don’t mind,” suggested Elizabeth.
“That would be fine. I saw her in the hall.” Arthur stormed out, not quite slamming the door behind himself.
“Now,” said Julie, “I think you should tell me how long this is going to take. When will my son be out of the hospital?”
“The initial procedure takes about 7 hours,” Elizabeth began. “The leg begins to grow at that point, but it takes nearly two months for it to complete. We’ve been improving the process, but it’s still slow. After that, there’s some significant physical therapy before Alex will be able to walk with a cane. He may never walk without the cane again. But he will walk.”
“I don’t think you should underestimate my son, Elizabeth.”
“From what I’ve seen so far, Julie, I don’t think my expectations could ever be high enough to encompass what he’s capable of.”
* * *
<???>
Nothing.
Pamela turned to the doctor. “He’s there, but it’s hard.”
“Keep trying, Ms. Grey. Coma is an enemy right now, and stimulants are bad for the new leg. You have to make him want to wake up.”
* * *
Nothing.
Nothing.
* * *
<???>
“No… Stop them.”
“Come on, Alex. You’re waking up. You have to wake up and save me.”
Pamela started shaking his shoulder. “Alex! Wake up! I can hear them in the hallway!”
Alex sat straight up in his bed, looking around wildly before his eyes settled on Pamela. Then his eyes began searching the room again.
“Alex, it’s okay now. You’re awake.”
“Awake. Where are they?”
“They’re gone now. It’s okay. You can lie still for a minute and I’ll get you a little water.”
“No. Have to stop them.”
“You did, Alex. Don’t you remember? You killed all of them.”
“They came back.”
“Alex, lay back. Let me give you some water.”
Alex let Pamela push him back down to the bed, then sipped from the water she held.
“You’re mother and father are waiting to see you, Alex. Can I get them for you?”
Alex looked around the room, his eyes already growing tired. “They caught Mom and Dad, too?”
“No, Alex. You saved me. We’re home now.”
* * *
“I can’t leave him, Doctor,�
�� Pamela said.
“You are exhausted and need a few nights of decent sleep.”
“He still thinks we’re back on that ship. I had to scare him to wake him up. You told me to wake him up, and nothing else was working.”
“This is normal sleeping he’s doing now, Ms. Grey. We’ll take care of your husband.”
“When he wakes up, if I’m not here, he’s going to wonder where I am. You’ll have to sedate him to keep him from going crazy. Do you want that?”
“The private rooms are not equipped for the type of monitoring he needs, and you need some sleep.”
“I’m not leaving,” Pamela told her firmly. “That’s my husband, and he’ll need me whenever he wakes up. Now I’m going to call a nurse, and she’s going to scare up a cot for me, and I’m going to sleep right here.”
“Yes, Ms. Grey,” said the doctor, admiring the young woman’s devotion to duty.
* * *
There was no response.
Alex paused. He tried to open his eyes, but they didn’t seem to want to open.
“Pamela!”
“Is anything wrong, Ms. Grey?”
“He’s awake. But keep voices away for a while. He’s a bit delirious, and other voices upset him.”
The nurse withdrew.
“I’m right here, Alex. You can hear me. It’s just three steps.”
“Pamela, my leg hurts.”
“I know, Alex. They’re fixing it. Do you want more drugs for the pain?”
* * *
“Good morning, Alex.”
“Mom?” Alex opened his eyes. “Hey.”
Julie Swanson looked down at her son. “You’re talking to me now?”