SWEET HOME ALLE BAMMA (SOLBIDYUM WARS SAGA)

by Musser, Dale

  “Well don’t worry,” I said, “you’re going to have plenty of time to figure it out. I’m putting you in charge of planetary flora and fauna studies here. Any scientific teams coming to Alle Bamma will have to get your approval and I expect you to participate in their expeditions.”

  “Wow, I don’t know what to say… I mean, I want the job… but what about Cantolla? I’m part of her staff!”

  “Let me worry about Cantolla. She works for me,” I said. “It may cost me a fortune, but I'm sure I can come up with something that will make her happy.”

  When we returned to the NEW ORLEANS, A’Lappe was waiting at the hangar.

  “We’ve been able to extract some information from the computers recovered from the Brotherhood’s bases and from the prisoners. The entire operation on Alle Bamma was run by a man called Lendera. Unfortunately for us, he left the planet just days before we arrived to set up another drug production operation somewhere a few light years from here. He’s not expected to return here for several years, if ever.”

  “Lendera,” Kerabac exclaimed with disgust. “It figures it would be him.

  “You know him?” I asked.

  “Hell yes, I know him. He was one of the botanists on the team when I was here 15 years ago. He’s a real asshole, but a very intelligent man. He had only total disrespect for everyone and everything; and he acted like he was in charge of the expedition. The bastard actually suggested one day that we should shoot the natives for sport, as he didn’t consider them to be anything more than just dumb animals.”

  “Do you know anything about him that would help us find or capture him?”

  “Unfortunately, no. I felt like I knew way more about him than I wanted to as it was.”

  “I want round-the-clock research conducted on the man until we find every shred of information there is to be found about his origins, his associates and his history. This information is to be provided to the FSO as we find it; and they are to assemble a task force to uncover more information in the field. It may take years to find him, but that isn’t a reason to not begin searching now.”

  “A’Lappe, here. Please get these to the lab immediately.” I handed him the stasis container that held the ruguian eggs.”

  “You’ve got them already? But how? You were gone only a little over an hour.”

  “That, my friend, is something we will discuss over dinner. It’s a fantastic tale; and it will be easier to tell everyone once at a staff dinner. Now get to it. Kala’s been in stasis far longer than I like already.

  The production of the anti-toxin took several hours; but at last, A’Lappe was satisfied that it had been properly produced and that its potency would be effective in halting the progression of the toxin as soon as Kala was brought out of stasis.

  I reluctantly followed A’Lappe’s request and waited outside the recovery room where Kala was taken to bring her out of stasis. Once the stasis fluids were removed from her lungs and she was breathing again, I was allowed to be by her side. She was still unconscious and the anti-toxin had not yet been administered; so it was all I could do to contain my anxiety. The moment I entered the room, I was struck again by her beauty, as I was every time I saw her. The month and a half of suspended animation had not altered one atom of her precious being; she looked exactly as she did when they placed her in stasis. A’Lappe and a medic moved quickly to insert the IV and attach electrodes to her head and body at various locations. As each electrode was attached, readings began to appear on the vid screen by her bed.

  “We’re just in time,” said A’Lappe. “And it’s good they got her into stasis so quickly after the attack. There is no indication of permanent damage to any organs; and once the anti-toxin goes to work, she should make a full recovery…maybe in a few days.”

  “How long will it be before she regains consciousness?” I asked.

  “I’m not sure. I think it depends on how long the poisons have been in her system and how much damage has been done. In Kalana’s case, only a few hours elapsed before the medics induced stasis. The reports I’ve read indicate that patients have been successfully revived up to two days after being poisoned; but there is no documentation as to how long it was before subjects regained consciousness.”

  A’Lappe and I watched the vid screen in silence. Only seconds passed before I noticed measurable changes in Kala’s vital signs.

  “This is good. The anti-toxin is working,” said A’Lappe. “See here? You can see her pulse is picking up and there is a slight increase in her blood pressure and blood oxygen level. I will venture a guess and say that she’ll be awake in a few hours, if she continues to improve at this rate.”

  A tremendous wave of relief swept over me. Up until this moment I had been harboring the fear that I might lose Kala; and the thought of it had become nearly unbearable. In a way, I was glad for all the troubles created by the Brotherhood over the past several days because it detracted from these fears.

  I stayed at her bedside and held her hand as I thought of our time together so far – like the first time I saw her in the hangar on the DUSTEN and how she walked with an air of grace and authority; and how that same day she stripped down and stepped into the shower beside me and how I stumbled over my own confusion from her actions at the time, because I was unaware that nudity taboos didn’t exist in most of the Federation. I thought of our swims together, our dinner conversations, falling asleep in front of the fireplace, and the sweet love she gave me at the end of every day.

  I thought, too, about Kala’s sister, Lunnie. Lunnie brought Kala and me together, breaking down our walls with her constant teasing and joking. I thought about the day I kissed Kala for the first time and made love to her for hours. I thought about our journey on the TRITYTE, and about receiving honors before the Senate and the Military High Command. My heart ached as I recalled the battle to free the DUSTEN and Lunnie’s tragic death at the hands of the maniacal traitor, Lexmal. It was Kala who saved me. Really, it was Kala who saved the entire Federation by her heroic actions. I thought of the death of Captain Maxette, Reidecor, and the thousands of others who fell in the battles that ensued; but every memory came full circle to Kala, our life together, and our future together.

  At some point I must have drifted off to sleep, because I found myself standing in the jungle on the I’aban tree platform where I first met Jnanara. Kala stood at my side and held my hand. We were nude, except for red floral leis around our necks. Before us stood Thumumba, who smiled upon us as he placed his hands on our heads and said, “My children.”

  Then Kala squeezed my hand. As she squeezed my hand in the dream, I woke to find that she really was squeezing my hand! I gazed into her face and whispered her name; and my heart quickened when I saw those beautiful eyes open slowly to look at me. She tried to speak, but only a dry rattled sound came from her throat. She tried again; I could just barely make out “water.” Quickly I reached for the container of water by her bed and held it to her lips. She slowly drank from the nub-like attachment and then laid her head back on the pillow. I waited silently as she gathered the strength to speak; and I did my best to control my tears as we stared into each other’s eyes.

  Finally she smiled and said, “You need a haircut and a shave. How long have I been asleep?”

  “About six weeks,” I said.

  Shock and confusion spread across her face. “Six weeks?!” she exclaimed in a weak voice. “The last thing I remember was putting on a demonstration for the admiral. What happened?”

  “The two men we fought in the demonstration were Brotherhood members who had killed and replaced the troopers originally assigned to the demonstration. After we defeated them and turned our backs to return to the banquet table, they attacked with knifes that were laced with a rare toxin that first renders the victim unconscious and then slowly shuts down all body functions. For some reason my Earth DNA makes me immune to this toxin; but you slipped into a coma almost immediately. A’Lappe was able to identify the poison quickly;
but we had to travel several weeks to obtain the material to produce the anti-toxin. In the meantime, you were placed in stasis so no further damage would occur to your body.”

  “So I take it you were able to make the anti-toxin,” said Kala, as she slowly reached for the water again. I picked it up and handed it to her.

  “Yes,” I said.

  “I hope it wasn’t too difficult. How has everything else been going?”

  “Nothing unusual… just typical daily events,” I said, still trying to keep the tears of joy from welling in my eyes.

  Kala nearly choked on her water and said with a grin, “That bad, huh? How many battles have you fought and won? That reminds me – what happened with the trap at Banur? Did the Brotherhood fall for it?”

  “Brotherhood showed up in force with a small fleet of ships; but the Federation was ready and waiting. The admiral destroyed most of them right then and there,” I said.

  “The Federation destroyed them? Do I detect by your comment that you weren’t there?”

  “She always was a smart lady,” said a voice coming from the doorway. I turned to see Admiral Regeny standing just inside the entry with Commodore Stonbersa.

  “Admiral, so good to see you; but where was Tibby, if not at the battle?”

  “Tibby was on his way here to conduct an egg hunt,” replied the admiral with a grin.

  “Egg hunt? Here? Where is here? Where are we?”

  “You’re at the planet Alle Bamma,” said the admiral. “The poison that infected you comes from this a non-aligned world; and as soon as Tibby found out that the source of the anti-toxin could also be found here and only here, he left Plosaxen as fast as he could to get you the cure.”

  “What about the Brotherhood and the trap at Banur? If the NEW ORLEANS came straight here, you couldn’t have been there to deploy the trap.”

  The admiral laughed, “Oh, we were there. Tibby threw us off the ship when I threatened to take it away from him for use as our command post during the Banur operation. He wasn’t about to let anything delay his mission to get the ingredients for the anti-toxin you needed. I have to tell you, there were some tense moments; but Tibby didn’t relent and I’m glad he didn’t. He made me see the truth and put my actions into perspective – and I’m grateful for that.”

  “Wait a minute,” Kala said while trying to prop herself up on her elbows, “you’re telling me that you tried to commandeer the NEW ORLEANS and that Tibby threw you off the ship and came here instead of staying to help you trap the Brotherhood at Banur? Then you executed the trap anyway, while Tibby was on his way here?”

  “That’s right,” replied the admiral.

  Kala opened her mouth to say something else, when Kerabac walked in and said to Commodore Stonbersa, “Excuse me, Commodore, but there’s a call coming in for you from the MIZBAGONA.” Before leaving, Kerabac threw a smile in Kala’s direction and said “Welcome back, Kalana.”

  “Thank you, Captain,” said Stonbersa. He then quickly took leave of Kala and headed off toward the bridge.

  “Commodore Stonbersa? Captain Kerabac?” asked Kala wide-eyed? “What have I missed?”

  “Not much, really,” I said.

  “Ha,” blurted the admiral. “Not much? He has only expanded his personal fleet by five corvettes, ten Mirage Fighters, two freighters and who knows how may patrol ships. He’s managed to capture a planet full of Brotherhood rebels, destroy their bases and put a huge dent in the God’s Sweat drug trade in the process of freeing thousands of native slaves on Alle Bamma. While he did all of this, he managed to find the ruguian eggs necessary to produce the anti-toxin that saved your life. In the end, it seems he needed to promote some officers to handle all these ships he kept acquiring from the Brotherhood.”

  Kala started to laugh. “I knew it! Tib’s typical day is finding the enemy in the morning, defeating him in the afternoon and going dancing in the evening.”

  All the while that Kala conversed with her visitors about the events of the past several weeks, I watched her life signs on the vid monitor and was pleased to see them continuing to climb closer and closer to the normal range.

  A’Lappe entered the room and greeted Kala. He looked over the monitor readings and said, “It would seem the antidote is working properly, Kalana. All body functions are returning to normal. I think by tomorrow you will be able to return to your suite and continue your recovery in more comfortable surroundings; and perhaps soon after you can begin moving about the ship.”

  To everyone’s delight, Kala’s recovery was much faster than predicted and by the end of the next day she appeared to be fully recovered. That evening we had a quiet dinner alone in our suite and I filled her in on all the details of the events that had occurred while she was in stasis. It was when I began to tell her about Thumumba that she stopped me.

  “Tib, I had dreams of Thumumba. I don’t know when, exactly. I know it was after I was poisoned, but I don’t know if the dreams occurred before or after I was placed in stasis. I remember the two of us standing before him in the trees. He called us his children.”

  I was shocked when she said this, as I had not yet related to her my own dream of this event. When I told her that I had dreamt the same dream, she asked, “What do you think it means?”

  “I think it means that it’s time to make one more trip to the surface before we leave,” I said.

  We were still discussing the events that had unfolded during Kala’s long sleep, when Kala’s communicator signaled that someone was trying to reach her.

  “Kala here,” she said.

  The call was from one of her personal staff who first inquired about her condition and then said that an invitation was sent from the URANGA by Admiral Regeny that requested our presence at a victory dinner celebration the next evening. The URANGA was scheduled for departure the following day. The admiral and his crew now had the arduous task of interrogating each prisoner while transporting them to a proper prison facility, where several weeks of tribunal and court proceedings would take place.

  Kala said she felt up to attending; so we accepted the invitation, but only on the condition that neither of us would be required to put on a martial arts demonstration. Kala’s assistant also informed her that the admiral and a team of legal experts had arranged a meeting earlier that same day to discuss some issues that had to be resolved in terms of disposition of the prisoners. Since Kala and I were scheduled to be at the celebration on the URANGA that evening, we agreed to go to the URANGA early for the meeting.

  The NEW ORLEANS was a large ship – the largest privately owned yacht in the galaxy – but compared to a star ship it was like a baby. The NEW ORLEANS could easily accommodate a few thousand people, though I had so far staffed it with a considerably smaller crew, leaving many cabins and suites unused. By comparison, more than 10,000 people could easily be accommodated in a star ship; and every one of them would be surrounded with luxury and style. Star ships were so large and their journeys so vast that, in addition to serving as military platforms, they also served as mobile government offices that hosted diplomats, ambassadors, senators and other government officials during transit between planets. Scores of civilians served aboard as support personnel; and various stores, shops, restaurants and clubs were found in the common areas throughout the ship.

  It was on one such star ship that I lived when I first arrived in the Federation territories – the magnificent DUSTEN. Boarding the URANGA brought back all the awe and wonder of that first experience on the DUSTEN. We were transported to the hangar of the URANGA on a luxurious transport craft, where we were greeted by the Federation’s Color Guard and armed troopers who lined the pathway from the transport to the ship’s interior. Kala and I were both dressed formally – Kala in her lieutenant commander uniform and me in my honorary vice admiral uniform. Commander Stonbersa, Captain Kerabac and Captain Felenna were present in their respective non-military uniforms of the style and cut of my staff. Lieutenant Marranalis rounded out the party an
d was dressed in his formal Federation military attire. Even though we would only be on the ship a few hours, we were still assigned a large suite with rooms enough for all of us and a full staff to see to our needs as long as we were aboard the URANGA.

  Since Kala and Felenna didn’t have an opportunity to meet prior to departing for the URANGA, I left them to become acquainted while we were on the transport. Kala had heard of Felenna’s participation in the battle with the Brotherhood and was eager to talk to her. Likewise, Felenna was excited to meet Kala and was in total awe of her, as both Kala and I were rapidly become legend throughout the galaxy. Their conversation continued even after our arrival; and I watched in amusement throughout the day as Felenna was mesmerized by Kala’s every word.

  The time arrived for the meeting with the admiral, the High Command, and the Federation legal team. I was under impression that only Kala and I were to be involved in the discussion from my side of the issue, so I was a bit taken aback when Kala and I entered the large conference room and saw a number of people already seated on our side the table.

  “Who are these people?” I asked Kala.

  “This is our legal team,” she said.

  “We have a legal team?”

  “Of course we do, silly. With all your wealth, property and vast number of employees you don’t think a legal team is necessary?”

  “To be honest, I hadn’t given it any thought; but now that you mention it, I guess it is.”

  “Let us begin,” said Admiral Regeny.

  After making the necessary introductions, the admiral came directly to the purpose of the meeting. “Disposition of the prisoners is not going to be easy or straightforward. The undisputed actions relate first to prisoners who were serving in the Federation military during their membership with the Brotherhood. Their membership and rebellious actions on behalf of the Brotherhood, up to and including the armed conflicts against the Federation, constitute treason, for which they will be tried in a military tribunal. It is also generally agreed that the civilian Brotherhood prisoners who participated in the attempt to steal the solbidyum at Banur on Plosaxen should be treated as enemy combatants and tried accordingly in a Federation court.