by Saxon Andrew
Chris felt the room start to swim, and he reclined his chair. His head hurt unmercifully, and Jillian could see the pain on his face. After a moment he passed out and Jillian saw his arms fall from the sides of his chair. She ran over and belted him in, then raced back to her board and hit the jump button. Two seconds later the Cheops appeared just outside the disruption in Sierra Space that surrounded Earth’s solar system. She hit the board and the Cheops emerged back into normal space just outside Neptune’s orbit. Immediately a small white ship flashed up and she heard on her speaker, “Welcome back. This is the EG ship Melbourne. I hope your trip was successful.”
“I have an emergency medical situation. I have an injured crew member and I’ve got to get him to a hospital.
“I’ll notify them you’re on your way.”
“How are you going to do that?”
“We can now communicate faster than light. “
“Let them know.” Jillian went weightless, hit full thrusters, and the Cheops instantly approached light speed.
Dolly, George, Hemon, and Sasha were discussing the list of new ships when the communications channel came on. “Fleet control. We have a medical Emergency. I repeat, a medical emergency. The Cheops has arrived and is returning at high speed. Dr. Gordon notified me that one of her crewmembers is injured and will need to be taken to a hospital immediately upon arrival.”
Dolly’s face turned white, “Oh my God, it’s Chris.” She hit the panel and interrupted the call. She yelled, “Attention Melbourne; did Dr. Gordon say what the nature of the emergency was?”
“No Sir, she did not. She sounded like it was serious, and she left at light speed.”
“How fast did you say?”
“My instruments said 92% light speed.”
Dolly hit her communicator, “Ben, Jillian is coming in at light speed from Neptune. She notified our picket that Chris is seriously injured and needs to be taken to a hospital. Get a ship up there to meet her.”
“I’m on it, Dolly.”
Jeff came over and took Dolly in his arms, “He’ll be ok. Just hold on, he’ll be ok.”
George saw his sister’s fear approach panic, so he said, “You need to focus on getting everything ready for him. Don’t lose yourself to your fear.”
Dolly looked at George and nodded. She grabbed Jeff’s hand, and they ran from the room. The three left behind looked at each other, then ran after her.
Jeff lifted the Jukebox and went vertical into the atmosphere. The other four occupants were belted in and saw the atmosphere rushing by the viewports. Hemon yelled at Dolly over the roar of the engines, “Why is Jillian coming in so fast?”
“She’s using relativity to help Chris.” Dolly saw that Hemon was puzzled by her remark. She said, “You know that it takes light four hours to reach the orbit of Neptune?
Hemon nodded.
“Well, that means she will arrive in four hours. General Keenan is lifting the hospital ship Margaret Thatcher into orbit and should have it done within two hours. He’s taking the Thatcher because its landing bay is big enough for the Cheops to dock. The Lady Gabriella is a newer ship, but it’s too small.”
Sasha asked, “Do you always name your hospital ships after heads of state?”
“Yes, we do. Gabriella was a great President and deserving of the having the ship named to honor her memory. However, I was telling you about why she’s coming in at light speed.” Dolly stopped and said, “What?” Jeff said something and she nodded.
Dolly turned back to Hemon, “It appears that she is going over the top of the planetary plane to get here. I’m sure she wants to avoid the asteroid belt. Anyway, for those of us waiting on her, four hours will pass. However, as any physical object approaches light speed, time for anyone traveling at that speed will slow down.”
Sasha furrowed her brow, “You mean it will take them longer.”
“No, it will take them a much shorter period. As the Cheops gets close to light speed, time changes. The trip for those on the ship will only be five minutes instead of four hours. She is seeing Earth getting closer extremely fast. She’s doing it to save Chris. On that ship, only five minutes will pass to make the trip. Out here, four hours will pass. She reduces the time it takes to arrive by using relativity, and thus reduces the time Chris takes to receive medical help.”
Jillian was flying the Cheops using the manual controls. She pulled back on the steering wheel and the Cheops moved over Saturn and roared toward the inner Solar System. She looked at the sensors and saw Jupiter off to the right as she zoomed past its orbit. Ordinarily it would have been impossible to see anything, but Chris’ device gathered the light they were rushing into and focused it into a coherent picture. She looked at her display and pulled up the current locations of the planets, seeing that Earth was ascending toward Mars. She saw Mars pass below her, and she banked the Cheops to the left and set the sensors for Earth. She saw it further to the left and she had to bank away from the sun. She had crossed Earth’s orbit and she pulled back on the steering wheel as she turned the ship. Earth was getting larger by the second, so she pulled back on the speed control and saw her display was adjusting for the radical drop in speed. She slowed to a thousand miles a second and heard on her speaker, “Jillian, this is Dolly. The hospital ship Margaret Thatcher is holding station over the equator. We’ve been notified you are coming in from the west, so look for us over Mexico as you approach. The landing bay is open and a weak force field is maintaining air pressure in the bay.”
“I see you. I’ll be there in a minute.”
The Cheops roared up and Jillian pulled the speed lever back to zero. The Cheops came to a sudden stop. Jillian added mass and started applying thrusters. The Cheops moved into the landing bay, and Jillian deployed the four landing gears. Jillian added more mass, and the Cheops settled to the deck. She hit the port button and the right rear door opened to the eight waiting technicians. They rushed up to the bridge as Jillian was releasing the belts holding Chris in his chair. Right behind them, Dolly and Jeff rushed in and saw Chris with the large bandage on his head. She looked at Jillian and she started crying.
“He was injured saving my life. It’s my fault.”
Dolly came over and gave her a hug, “He’ll be ok. Just hold on; he’ll be ok.”
The technicians placed Chris on a gravity stretcher and rushed out of the bridge. “I’ve got to go with him.” Dolly nodded, and they followed the technicians out of the ship.
Jeff went over to Chris’ command chair and punched in his ID. The board blinked and he pulled up the recordings of what had happened. Jeff remained on the bridge for the next three days making copies of the database. When he saw what Chris had done to save Jillian he knew he had not given Dr. Connor the respect he was due. The sheer bravery of what he had done made Jeff remember his medal. He knew that this action was remarkable, and he knew for certain that Dr. Connor was in love with Dr. Gordon. He knew from viewing the recording that Chris expected to die. He could see it in his eyes as he held the screen in place for Jillian to escape as the huge explosion rushed at him. He was not going to allow her to be harmed, even if it cost him his life. He thought about his love for Dolly and knew what Dr. Connor had been feeling. There weren’t many people that had earned Jeff’s respect, but now Dr. Connor had entered their ranks. He now understood Dolly’s love for the wacky professor, and it made him feel better. He was not a competitor; he was a brother. Jeff smiled and prayed for Chris’ survival.
Ben was outside the operating room in his scrubs talking to Jillian, Dolly and George. “He has a blood clot in his brain and we can’t get to it. We know there is a slow leak somewhere around the clot, but we can’t seal it unless we remove the existing clot.”
Jillian made herself remain calm, “Can you go in and remove it?”
“Not without permanent brain damage. We’ve been able to get a micro needle into the clot but we can’t pull the clot out. It’s just too thick.”
George listene
d as Jillian and Dolly asked questions and after ten minutes said, “Doctor, I want to try something. How big is the hole through the needle?”
“It’s smaller than a human hair.”
“Give me thirty minutes before you do anything. Can you do that?”
“Not much longer than that. We’ll see permanent damage if we don’t act soon.”
Dolly looked at George, “What are you going to do?”
“I don’t have time to explain.” George ran out of the hallway.
Jillian collapsed to a bench and put her head in her hands. “He stayed alive long enough to get me home. He refused to give in to his pain until he knew I was safe.”
Dolly put her arm on Jillian’s shoulders and hugged her, “If George is going to try something, there’s hope.”
Jillian looked up at Dolly, “I hope he’s as smart as you say he is, Dolly.”
‘Jillian, he’s smarter than you can believe.”
Ben stood over Chris and remembered his first encounter with the professor. His quick wit and courage had impressed him then, and his actions since had gained his admiration. He watched the clot growing incrementally and George had yet to come back. He was going to have to go in to try and save his life. He reached for a bone drill when he heard, “I’m here! I’m here!”
Ben saw George come in holding a long device with a trigger on it, “What is that?”
“I’ll explain later. Can you inject some dye into that clot that will make it glow on an x-ray?”
Ben nodded to his first assistant, and he put a syringe on the needle in Chris’ brain and pushed two cc’s slowly through it. He pulled the scanner over the bed and turned on the discharge element. They looked up at the monitor on the wall and saw the clot.
George brought his device forward and put the tiny end of it into the opening in the needle, “I’m going to hit that clot with a positive gravity beam. It will be set for a minimum spread and I need you to tell me when the clot disappears completely from the monitor.”
Ben nodded, and George pulled the trigger. George focused on keeping the device absolutely still as Ben watched the monitor. After a minute he saw the center of the clot disappear, then the outer edges began dimming. “It’s gone.”
George released the trigger and said, “Turn him over on his side and withdraw the needle.”
“We need that needle to guide us in, George.”
George looked Ben in the eye and said, “Would you want to live with brain damage?”
Ben stared at him, then after a moment shook his head.
“Well, neither would he. Pull the needle.”
Ben almost refused, but then reached forward and pulled the needle out.
“Get a bag and put it over the hole.”
Ben reached and pulled a surgical bag off the table and placed it over the tiny hole. He held it there and wondered what was going on. For five minutes nothing happened, and he knew that Dr. Connor was going to die. Then….something started lifting the bag. He held it down and looked at George.
“Those blood cells are now being pushed by Earth’s gravity field. They are breaking apart into their atoms and attempting to rise.”
Ben felt the bag and felt something in it. Turn on the x-ray.” The display showed the clot was gone. Ben said, “Go in closer to the area at the top.” He looked at the display and saw where the small leak was located. “Hit it now!”
The three assistants aimed their radiation beams at the location, and Ben pressed the button that fired all three simultaneously. The tiny break in the blood vessel fused shut.
George said, “Move him from side to side gently. The cells are moving toward any exit they can find.”
Ben assigned the task of holding the bag to a nurse, and saw the bag was standing straight up on Chris’ head. They held it there for two hours and George said, “Ok, I think that’s long enough.” He took the attachment off the gravity gun, lifted the bag, and fired into it. The bag fell. Ben looked inside and saw a blood clot forming in the bottom. He looked up at George and said, “You have just revolutionized the treatment of concussions.”
George looked at Chris and said, “I’m sorry I didn’t think of it sooner. Is he going to be all right?”
Ben looked at Chris and shook his head, “I don’t really know. We’ll see.” He looked around the room and said, “Get him ready to transfer down to New York.” The staff lifted Chris to a gravity stretcher and began hooking up mobile monitors to him. They lifted the stretcher and began moving him out of the operating room.
Jillian and Dolly jumped up when the door opened, and Jillian saw Chris being taken away. Dolly held her as she tried to rush forward, then they saw Ben and George come out. Jillian looked at Ben with her hand on her throat, unable to say anything.
“We don’t know. The clot is gone. George was magnificent, but I don’t know if any damage was done before we removed it.”
Jillian rushed up to George and hugged him tight. George looked very uncomfortable but lowered his arms and gave her a small hug. “Thank you, thank you.”
“Not yet. I don’t know if it worked?”
“There was no hope, but now there is. Thank you, George!”
George smiled, “You’re welcome.”
Ben nodded up the hall and said, “You may want to go with him.”
Jillian released George and ran up the hall.
Dolly watched her go and looked at Ben. “Dolly, I honestly don’t know. I don’t understand how he stayed conscious as long as he did after the injury. He should have been unconscious with that big a clot in his brain.”
Dolly looked up the hall as Jillian turned the corner, “Love kept him awake long enough to bring her back home, Ben, and love will bring him back.”
George looked at his sister and was surprised. She was right. He looked up the hall and wished he could feel what Chris and Jillian had.
Dolly watched her older brother and saw his thoughts as if they were her own. I’ll have to work on that.
A giant yellow colored creature moved slowly down the hallway and entered a wide round portal in the wall. It moved deliberately with smooth motions as it exited the portal, progressing into a huge room where six other yellow beings were sitting around a large table. It didn’t have legs. Its body was a nine foot tall cylinder that seemed to just glide over the floor. The Cylinder had a large round ball on top that was smooth and featureless. It approached the table and waited. After a week, one of the yellow creatures directed a thought at it, “Why are you here?”
“One of our vessels has detected someone using a vibratory frequency.”
All six beings turned their attention to the Messenger.
“Where did it originate?”
“We don’t know.”
“Why do you not know?”
“It is omidirectional. It is everywhere.”
One of the beings at the table said, “That is an advance of our system.”
“It appears you are right. This is troublesome.”
“Should we delay our plans until we find the source?”
The six linked their thoughts and considered what should be done. The Messenger waited patiently, and a month later it heard, “We will delay momentarily. Put all of our assets into finding the source.”
The tall cylinder turned and glided out of the room. The two million ships preparing to invade were stopped and made to hold their position just outside the Milky Way Galaxy.
Jillian sat beside Chris’ bed and held his hand as the ship dropped through the atmosphere headed toward Mount Sinai Hospital in New York.
She gently rubbed his hair as she stared at his face. The ship bucked slightly as it hit turbulence, and she gripped the headboard. “You would think they could fly better than this.”
Jillian jerked and saw Chris looking at her. She screamed and started kissing him all over his face. “Hey, hey, not so hard!” Jillian felt her tears and didn’t care. Chris saw her crying and said, “I was just kidding. You can ki
ss me all you want.”
The nurse rushed in the room when she heard Jillian scream and heard Chris’ remark. She smiled and gently closed the door.
Chris watched Jillian continue to cry and said, “What’s wrong?”
Jillian looked at him with a huge smile, “Nothing now.”
Chris looked around, “I guess we made it back.”
Jillian leaned forward and gently kissed him. She pulled back a little and smiled, “We have now.” Then she continued her kiss.
Dolly was talking with Ben when he reached up to his ear. She watched as he listened and said, “Keep me informed.” He looked at Dolly and smiled, “He’s conscious and talking.”
Dolly jumped up, grabbed Ben’s neck, and kissed him on the mouth.
“What’s that for?”
“You saved his life. I owe you.”
Ben smiled and went back into the operating room to review the tapes. Dolly turned and sprinted down the hall.
Chapter Fourteen
Chris sat in the hospital room and was ready to leave. He was bored to tears and the food was starting to taste bland. Two weeks was enough and he was itching to get out and back to work. Jillian listened to his complaints and patiently waited until he ran down. “Are you finished?”
Chris looked at her with an expression that said he was over it, and said, “No, I’m Swedish.”
Jillian giggled, “That’s a good one. We have one more person to check you out, and then you can go.”
“Will you please hurry them up? I’m dying for a hamburger. Two weeks is too long. I should have been released five days ago.”
The door opened and Chris saw President Suh enter. He tried to stand up, but the covers had him pinned. “Don’t get up. I just wanted to stop by and see how you were doing.”
“I’m eager to get back to work, Sir.”
Suh smiled and looked at Jillian, “The two of you have made quite an impact on the planet.”
Chris looked at Jillian and she nodded.
“Why do you say that, Sir?”
“We’ve released the recordings of the acquisition of the Jenze weapon. The T-Rex made the recordings the number one viewed on You Tube. The fight with the Alliance Battleship also topped the charts.”
