Firmament: Reversal Zone
Page 15
“Is it serious then?” Guilders' low, calm voice was home to my tired ears.
“It seems to be very serious.” The Doctor.
There was a moment's silence, then the Captain spoke, his tone weary but determined. “We wanted to ask your advice about Crash. He is your nephew...”
A sigh from the Doctor. “I don't see how that matters.”
“It wouldn't except that the situation is a little complicated. He hasn't technically broken any laws. He's violated certain ISA regulations, but he isn't a member of ISA, so he can't be persecuted on those grounds.”
The Doctor groaned. “I'm sure that was no coincidence.”
“No,” Guilders agreed dryly.
I opened my eyes again and let the three men come into focus.
The Captain sighed and rubbed his face. He'd already shaved and had either changed his uniform or had it ironed, leaving no trace of the worn, slovenly Captain of the last few days. “Unfortunately, Stacey is a member of ISA. And he has broken laws. On top of that, he's in captain training which means standards are even stricter.”
There was a silence of a few seconds before the Captain continued.
“It's tough, Gerry. I know the strain everyone was under...”
“The three of us were under the same strain and we managed to keep from breaking the law,” Guilders pointed out.
“I know, Guilders. It's just...”
After a pause, the Doctor said, “I know, Trent.”
The Captain happened to turn towards me then, and when he saw my eyes, he smiled. “Andi.”
The other two turned towards me, and the Doctor stepped towards my cot and knelt beside it. “How are you feeling?”
I hadn't thought about this. I mentally examined each part of my anatomy carefully before answering. “Not bad. Tired and a little stiff.”
The Doctor looked up at the other two. With an unusually gentle smile, the Captain walked forward and bent to rest a hand on my shoulder. Guilders also offered a smile, a more fond one than I'd ever seen from him.
“What's going to happen to Crash and Stacey?” I asked.
The Captain straightened up and looked at Guilders before answering. “I don't see any way to avoid prison for Stacey. He'll get a fair trial... it'll be up to the jury to decide whether he's responsible.”
Guilders nodded.
“As for Crash...” the Captain went on, glancing at the Doctor, “I don't see that there's anything we can do except ban him from the ship.
I raised myself on my elbows and stared at the Captain.
“Not forever,” he added.
“There's some debate about that,” Guilders said.
I would have smiled if I weren't so alarmed at the thought of my beloved cousin being banned from my home.
“We have to go back to earth anyway,” the Captain said. “We need to report on this and make some repairs, and we are due for some shore leave. We can take Crash and Stacey back with us, and decide on the terms of Crash's banishment on the way.
I nodded and lowered my head to the pillow again, still aching for Crash. “When can he come back?” I asked.
“We'll just have to wait and see, Andi,” the Captain sighed. “See what he does. Maybe in a few months he'll be ready for another chance... but to be honest, I'm not sure he'll want to come back for awhile.”
In the silence that followed, I remembered the words I'd heard when I first woke up.
“What were you saying was serious?” I asked the Doctor.
He just looked at me for a moment, and I felt his fingers close around mine. “You were very brave to do what you did, Andi.”
A chill tickled over my spine.
“You were indeed,” the Captain agreed. “We owe you our lives.”
I swallowed and looked at the Doctor.
He took a deep breath before speaking. “It seems that the radialloy was damaged by the cloud, or the reactor... or both.”
The chill intensified. The radialloy was keeping me alive. Without it, my lypmhatics would be eaten away in a matter of weeks. “How badly damaged?”
He shook his head. “I'm not sure. It had to put out a huge amount of radiation to repel the cloud from the engines... the radiation doesn't seem to have harmed you, but it took its toll on the metal. Its potency is severely decreased.”
I held back a shiver, and it broke out in goosebumps over my skin. “What does that mean?”
He squeezed my hand. “It means the radialloy is dying, Andi. While we're on Earth, I'm going to be doing everything I possibly can to find an alternate cure.”
I stared at him, and began to tremble. His eyes had a depth of fear I had never seen in them before.
The Captain sat next to me and put his hand on my shoulder again. “I'm sorry, Andi...”
I shook my head, but didn't trust myself to speak.
Guilders asked the question I wanted to. “What would you say the chances are, Gerry?”
The Doctor hesitated. “I don't know how to answer that question. A lot of research has already been done on this with no results. But... I know you two won't agree with me on this, but Andi will... with God, all things are possible.”
I pressed my lips together and nodded. He was right. I was alive. I was all right for now. God had answered my prayers for the safety of the ship and the crew. There was good reason to hope.
The four of us sat in silence for a moment, then an Austrian voice broke in. “Excuse me...”
“August knows,” the Doctor told me.
I nodded and smiled at my brother as he approached, his face pale.
“Well,” the Captain said, “I really should be getting back to the bridge.” He gave my shoulder one last squeeze, then stood and turned to leave.
“Wait,” I called after him.
He turned back.
“Can you do something for me before you go?”
“Anything,” he replied without hesitation.
“Could you please demote me?”
The look of surprise on his face made the Doctor laugh and Guilders smile. “I don't think that needs to be done right away...”
“Begging your pardon, sir, I do.”
The Captain looked at the Doctor, who shrugged.
“If you insist,” the Captain sighed. “Andi Lloyd, you are hereby demoted from acting commander to second medical officer.” He paused, then asked, “Are you sure you won't let me give you an official rank?”
“Very sure,” I said.
“Impossible woman,” the Captain said, shaking his head. “Come on, Guilders, we have work to do.”
As the two left the room, I smiled. Impossible woman. Not impossible girl. My time of command was over, but the Captain was never going to see me quite the same way again. And I liked that.
The Doctor squeezed my hand again, said gruffly, “I have work to do, too,” and stood up. “You get some rest.”
August sat next to me as the Doctor entered his office. “How do you feel?”
“Tired,” I said, smiling a little.
He rested his arms on his knees and nodded. “Are you going to be okay?” he asked.
I turned to the Doctor's office, where I could see my father picking up a giant research journal from his shelf. He sat down and started reading it.
“Yes,” I said. “I am.”
THE END
Did you read the prologue online before reading this book?
Now it’s time to continue Harry’s story.
To read the epilogue, go to:
http://www.firmamentseries.com/reversal-zone/epilogue/
and type in this code:
VIENNA
Special Thanks
First, as always, I thank my family for their support of my writing, particularly my parents who helped me pursue my passion by signing me up for writing courses, buying me lots of books, and so much more. I also want to thank my sister Hope, who as always, was the first to read this book and who gave me her thoughts on it back when it was s
till a first-draft-in-progress.
I also owe a huge thanks to my faithful test reader and dear friend Jonathan Garner, without whose insightful comments the book would have made a lot less sense. I also thank my editor, Jeremiah Stiles, who made the book the best it could be, and my extremely talented cover artist, Michael McDevitt. It was so amazing to see the Captain come to life just as I'd always imagined him. And of course, the beautiful interior design is thanks to my favorite formatters over at Penoaks Publishing, Rachel and Joel Greene. But the cover wouldn't have been complete without the work my brother Jacob did by adding the text and tying it all together for me.
Even though they haven't read the book yet, I owe special thanks to my brother Adam, Sarah Holman, and Jack Lewis Baillot for being such supporters of my writing and of the series! I also want to thank the folks of the Clean Indie Reads Facebook group for their input, assistance, and sympathy throughout the writing and publishing process. I also thank Faith Blum for adding me to the group and for her continued support over the years.
Finally and most importantly, I thank my Lord Jesus Christ, the greatest storyteller of all, who sustains and cares for me each and every day.
About the Author
J. Grace Pennington has been telling stories since she could talk, and writing them down since age five. Now she lives in the great state of Texas, where she writes as much as adult life permits. When she’s not writing, she enjoys reading good books, playing movie soundtracks on the piano, and looking up at the stars.
You can find out more about her writing at www.jgracepennington.com.
Read the other books in the Firmament Series:
Radialloy
In His Image
Machiavellian.
Other books by J. Grace Pennington:
Never
Implant