by Gary Weston
‘It seems the operation was successful.’
‘Frank’s alive?’
‘Yes. And the parasite has been removed and destroyed. That’s it. They’re all gone.’
‘Thank you. Thanks to all of you. I need to get him over to our ship.’
Captain Drasrovelot shook his head. ‘Your man needs time to heal. A few days, maybe.’
‘No time for that,’ said Shorty. ‘And no time to explain. Help me get him in his suit and on our ship. Please.’
Dorran’s voice came through her helmet. ‘Shorty. Three minutes and we have to go.’
‘Make it ten, Mick.’
Cracker’s voice said, ‘The split is shrinking faster. We really need to go.’
Shorty was already at Frank Millet’s side. His naked body had been cut and patched up in many places. She took his hand in her hand. His eyes opened.
‘Jeez, I feel like crap.’
‘Shorty,’ snapped Dorran. ‘Time is up.’
‘Frank. We need to get you suited up and over to our ship. Can you feel any pain?’
‘No. I can’t feel a thing.’
Shorty was relieved to hear that. ‘You gotta help me, Frank. I have to get your suit on.’
‘Shorty,’ called Dorran.
‘We’re coming over. Don’t you go anywhere, damn it. Frank. Come on.’
It was damned hard work getting the groggy Frank Millet into his suit, and a few times he almost collapsed, using the bed to stop himself dropping to the floor. The two medics watched anxiously as Shorty rammed their patchwork patient into his suit.
Vaxinortal took over, picking up Millet like a rag-doll, and carrying him to the airlock. Captain Drasrovelot did his part and fitted Vaxinortal’s helmet as he stood holding the limp Human. Vaxinortal carried Millet into the airlock and they were followed by Shorty. The inner door closed and the outer door opened. Across the void, the fighter’s airlock was open and Leiutenent Croxfort and Gagonjet Singh were waiting, both beckoning them on.
With a blast from the jets on Vaxinortal’s suit, with Millet in his arms and Shorty hanging on to his belt, the three almost fell into the open airlock. Vaxinortal set Millet gently down, slapped Shorty on the back and dived out of the airlock to return to his ship.
‘Thank you,’ yelled Shorty as the airlock closed up, then Dorran had them streaking through deep space.
Frank was left in his suit and strapped onto the sickbay bunk then everybody prepared for the ride through hell.
Chapter 358
Frogmorten was starting to panic. ‘Its gone. The damn split has gone.’
‘Do I have to do everything?’ snapped Cracker. ‘Move out of my way. Here. The split.’
‘What’s left of it,’ groaned Dorran. He was already regretting waiting for the Millet’s.
The split had shrunk to a tenth of the size it had been when they had gone through it before. The fiery glow was almost out and only the odd flash of lightning forked through it all.
‘We’ll never make it through that,’ said Frogmorten.
Cracker said, ‘I never realised what a spineless wimp you actually are.’
‘I’m just stating the obvious.’
‘Well don’t.’
Dorran said, ‘She’s right. You shut the hell up. If you have a god, just hope he’s in a good mood.’
Dorran could see the split dying in front of his eyes as he pushed the ship beyond any speed it was designed to go. They closed their eyes as they charged into the dying split and it was like hitting a brick wall. Right in the middle of the embers of the split, the ship’s engines cut out and they were plunged into total darkness.
‘Crap,’ snarled Dorran.
Then the engines coughed into life and the flight-deck became illuminated again. Dorran took all this as a good sign and powered the ship onwards. There was a crack, a bang and an explosion.
Frogmorten said, ‘What the…’
Dorran said, ‘That wasn’t us. The split just vanished.’
‘Are we through it?’ Cracker asked.
Dorran saw the familiar stars of sector seven. ‘Don’t ask how, but we can go Home.’
Chapter 359
‘Boss.’
‘Frank. Still in the land of the living, I see.’
‘The doctors say I can go home in a couple of days.’
‘Great news. That was one hell of an adventure. I’ve read all the reports and I still can’t believe it all happened.’
Millet said, ‘Well, it did and I have the scars to prove it.’
Shorty said, ‘Just lots of tender loving care for you from now on.’
‘You’ll get no arguments from me,’ said Millet. ‘Boss. What have the Council done?’
Boss said, ‘Not a lot, as usual. Councillor Freeman gave them hell when he had the reports I sent him. They were so ashamed of themselves, they voted to increase our budget by twenty-percent, which is just as well considering the beat up shape of our ships. They’ll come in handy for spares for the five new ones we’re having built.’
‘Five ships. You hear that, Shorty? Five.’
‘And I don’t care if I never get on one ever again.’
Boss said, ‘No rush. Shorty, you just get my General back to full strength.’
‘And I’d still beat him at arm wrestling.’
Boss Raven laughed and walked out of the room.
The end.
Deep Space Intelligence: Bad Man
Chapter 360
Tagg Raven did a quick count of the baggage as he loaded it onto the freighter. It still puzzled him how baby Dixon Dainty seemed to have twice as much stuff as he himself was taking.
Joy Dainty said, ‘Are you sure we have everything?’
‘The hernia I’ve got from carrying it all tells me yes. If the ship can’t take off, don’t be surprised.’
Joy chuckled. ‘We can always throw your stuff out the airlock if it can’t.’
‘Yeah, that would be right. Oh, Karma. Is this lot ok here?’
Karma Casey said, ‘That’ll be ok. Is that everything?’
‘It had better be,’ said Raven. ‘How long until take-off?’
‘Just over one hour.’
‘Right. I’ll just go have a word with Commander Gordon.’
Joy shook her head and looked at Casey. ‘What do I do with him, Karma? We are on holiday and he still hasn’t clocked off.’
‘I couldn’t criticise. Sam and I are combining business with pleasure. It’s the only way we can have a holiday on Mars.’
Raven said, ‘It’s good of you to let us hitch a ride with you. I’ll be back shortly.’
They watched Raven jump down and hurry away to the communications centre, looking for Commander Felix Gordon.
Joy said, ‘Come on, Dixon. It’s like holding a baby elephant just lately.’
Casey said, ‘We’re not really geared up for babies, but the cot Sam rigged up should be ok. Come on.’
Joy followed Casey to the row of small accommodation units and entered one of them.
‘A little cramped for the three of you, but you’ll manage. Ok. The cot’s secured to the floor and wall, and Sam’s fitted out the soft webbing that can be strapped over Dixon, just a couple of inches above him. In the event of an accident, it will stop him bouncing out of the cot. It’s just for the take off and landing.’
‘It looks great. Thanks.’
Casey said, ‘This is a pretty big ship, but like most freighters, cargo carriers are all about the payloads, not people comfort.’
‘I haven’t been on any sort of ship since I came back with Tagg from Nyzon five. I’m quite excited about it.’
‘And all I want to do is get to Mars and spend a couple of weeks with Sam and Shannon, relaxing and seeing the sights. Ok. I’ll be on the flight-deck doing the pre-flight checks. I just hope Tagg doesn’t forget he’s coming along with us.’
* * *
Raven stood with Commander Felix Gordon, watching the work in progress. The
huge hanger was always a busy place, but it was looking like organised chaos. Three battered fighters were being stripped for spare parts, and two brand new ships, the first of the five commissioned fighters, were at various stages of construction.
‘You’ll never get a better time for a break,’ said Gordon. ‘D S I Military couldn’t respond to anything even if we had to. We should have at least one ship operational by the time you return.’
‘Good. I like the improvements going into the new fleet. Frank Millet still needs to take it easy for another week or so. Shorty and Lieutenant Croxfort will be starting intensive training exercises in a week or so, to keep the troops busy.’
Gordon said, ‘Yeah, we have to keep the wheels on the wagon.’
‘My biggest concern is who Miss Saltoe will be lining up for me as my new P A. Now she and Councillor Freeman are something of an item, I’ll not be seeing much of her.’
Gordon grinned. ‘Maj will be a hard act to follow. I’m guessing her successor will be a cross between Attila the Hun and a school governess. Probably carrying a whip.’
‘That’s your fetish, Felix, not mine. Ok. I had better get on board or I’ll be nagged all the way to Mars. Oh. I don’t want any D S I business coming my way for a few weeks, so if you have any problems, don’t hesitate to solve them.’
‘Go away and have some fun.’
Chapter 361
Typically, it was a smooth take off, and half an hour into the trip, the freighter was on auto and Sam and Shannon Thorne and Karma Casey joined Tagg Raven and Joy Dainty in the galley.
‘Dixon went off to sleep as soon as I lay him in the cot,’ said Joy. ‘Thanks for doing that, Sam.’
‘I’m sure it’ll come in useful for us, one day,’ said Sam.
Raven said, ‘Oh? You two have plans?’
‘Nothing specific,’ said Casey. ‘We need to work out what we’re doing with the business, first. I don’t want to be bringing up children on a ship.’
Raven said, ‘Maybe I can help. Whenever you’re ready, let me know. The D S I will be busier than ever now, and we could always use people of your experience.’
‘No offence, Tagg, but we already feel like honorary D S I employees,’ said Sam. ‘After this trip, we’ll take stock and see what our options are.’
Raven said, ‘Of course. Just remember my door is always open to you two.’
Joy said, ‘Tagg Raven. I swear if you keep talking business, I’ll not be responsible. Do you two have many relatives on Mars?’
‘A few,’ said Casey. ‘My Aunt Betty, for one. Betty Foreman? You heard of her?’
Raven said, ‘I think everyone has heard of Betty Foreman. And she’s your Aunty?’
‘Yes. Her great, great, great grandmother married David Foreman. Son of Andrew Foreman. She still carries on the family tradition of running Mars Base Three. It’s still all about the plants and animals in there.’
Joy said, ‘I’m going to meet her. I sent her a message when we knew we were going and told her I’m a qualified botanist and would love to see the place. I’ve wanted to go there all my life.’
Raven said, ‘It’s a major tourist destination, these days. A pity all the GenMoP’s died out.’
‘How mad was that?’ said Thorne. ‘Talking chimpanzees.’
Shannon said, ‘Chimpanzees don’t talk, Daddy. You’re silly.’
‘Ah,’ said Thorne. ‘A few did talk. Once upon a time, Andrew Foreman was one of the pioneers on Mars. He was a veterinarian. He and some others on Earth, created some genetically modified chimps so they could talk. They were going to be trained to run the Bases on Mars, looking after them for people. Monkley was the first one to live on Mars with Andrew. Then they brought him a girlfriend named…what was it? Oh. Rhonda. She could talk as well. But their offspring lost the ability to talk. A few come and go into Base Three, these days, but mostly they live in the jungle surrounding the cities.’
‘Like the dogs,’ said Shannon. ‘The dogs live in the jungle.’
Casey winked at Joy and Raven. ‘That’s right. And there are rabbits, which the dogs catch and eat, wild cats, birds everywhere, fish in the rivers. All manner of creatures.’
Raven said, ‘I thought I might try my hand at fishing, while I’m there. Hire a rod and line and just sit by a river or a lake somewhere.’
‘I might come with you,’ said Thorne. ‘A few beers. Lie under a shady tree for a few hours.’
Raven liked the idea of that. ‘Let the women check out the city without us under their feet. Yeah. We can do that.’
Joy said, ‘As long as it takes your mind off work, I’m all for it.’
Chapter 362
Miss Saltoe had three weeks to get her successor up to speed. Saltoe had selected from the D S I administration pool, as she herself had been selected. The position required a woman of presence, who would stand no nonsense from Boss Raven. Minnie Tufnutt would be that woman. Saltoe smiled wryly to herself as she imagined Boss’s face when meeting the formidable Tuffnutt for the first time.
Tuffnutt was the thickness of a pencil shy of six-feet tall and had the body of a pro-wrestler. In fact, she had been ranked Home’s number three amateur women’s wrestling champion before quitting the sport. Tuffnutt also had a sharp mind and had a degree in business management. In other-words, for Boss’s P A, she was perfect. Boss would no doubt have different opinions regarding that.
‘That’s the basic stuff covered,’ said Saltoe. ‘The main admin floor acts as an efficient filtering system to stop trivial stuff coming onto this floor. As you know, floor eleven has information coming in from all The Interplanetary Council planets. We have dedicated agents on every populated planet, including the Graggon and Varlindran plants. More scouts than agents, really. Ninety nine percent of the info is fairly innocuous, added to the database until it might become useful in a D S I mission.’
Tuffnutt said, ‘Tell me about it. It drove me mental analysing and processing the data.’
‘I did the same work, as you know, so I agree with you. The job still has to be done, though.’
‘I gave up thinking working for the D S I was exciting, years ago.’
Saltoe said, ‘On the eleventh floor, I agree it’s pretty dull. Here on the nineteenth can be very different. Occasionally, you’ll become involved in some heavy stuff.’
‘Such as?’
‘Well. A long story shortened a lot, I ended up in a ship on Tryzon, actually firing the cannon. Do you recall the last two drixolate runners, Corey and Fritz?’
‘Of course.’
‘I was the one who shot down the old prison wall to let those held captive get free.’
Tuffnutt said, ‘That was you?’
‘Yours truly. And only a few weeks ago I was space walking onto Transporter One to see Councillor Freeman. Then I was helping him during the Annual Conference.’
‘I had no idea, Miss Saltoe. Are things like that going to happen to me?’
Saltoe shook her head. ‘Very rarely. But be ready when they do. Saying no isn’t usually an option.’
‘Oh, I could do with a little excitement in my life. Just to break up the routine.’
Saltoe said, ‘I wouldn’t expect too much excitement for the time being. Our three fighters were all but destroyed. Flying through that split into another universe almost finished them off, including the people inside. They’re being stripped for spare parts and we’re having five state-of-the-art ships being built as we speak. So, no missions for the time being. That’s why Boss has taken his partner and baby to Mars for a much needed break. You’ll be flying solo before he comes back.’
‘I hope so. Do I call him Boss?’
‘Yes. He likes that. But you have to be firm with him. He’s Boss, but never be subservient to him. If you have something to say, say it. And make sure he makes coffee for you once in a while.’
Tuffnutt grinned. ‘Basically treat him like a man.’
‘Exactly. It’s a fine line between pandering to his
ego and keeping him in line. You’ll get the hang of it.’
Tuffnutt smiled. ‘I can see I’m going to enjoy this position.’
‘A job is what you make of it. Start as you mean to go on and you’ll be just fine.’
Chapter 363
The flight to Mars like most Human undertakings, became a series of routines centred around sleeping, eating, chores, relaxation and socialising. That they all knew each other well and were comfortable in each others company. Their body-clock routines dictated what they did when, apart from Dixon, who sometimes had other ideas. Raven became Uncle Tagg to Shannon, and surprised Joy with his patience when she insisted on being the centre of attention, or wanted stories read by him and Joy was often in tears of laughter as the two played their own peculiar version of charades, which meant nothing to anyone else. It was practice for when Dixon got to be her age, he told her.
Other times, Raven would relax and read, or simply doze as the freighter did the boring bits. He also showed remarkable restraint by not once calling Home and checking up on D S I business. By the time they had reached Mars, he had unwound completely, and was looking forward to just being another visitor to Mars. As requested, there was no official welcoming committee waiting for him as he carried the baggage himself to the courtesy buggy sent by the holiday resort that was already programmed to take them directly to the reception. Sam, Karma and Shannon intended to sleep on the ship to save credits to spend on enjoying the sights and take in a show or two. They stayed with the ship to oversee the unloading of the cargo and the reloading of goods for the return trip, two weeks later.
‘Looks like rain building up,’ said Raven as the buggy drove through the city streets to the resort that was set in acres of lush greenery on the eastern edge of the city, next to a recreational lake.
‘It looks sunny enough to me,’ said Joy.
‘See those crater ranges and those dark clouds heading our way? Rain before nightfall.’
