“And do that with what, Commander? In case you’ve not noticed, I don’t see any storage devices around—not that I’d know one if I saw it.”
Knowing the doctor was right, Shawn looked around in frustration as a new plan began to form. “Major Fralok, those containers back on the shuttle … the ones that came over with us. What are they?”
“Nothing of consequence,” the Kafaran answered. “Standard insertion equipment: explosives, energy packs, environmental suits.”
“Send a few men back to get them.”
Fralok looked at him in confusion. “We don’t need that equipment right now.”
“Not the equipment, the cases. I want them all emptied and brought here.”
By the time the four Kafaran troopers dropped the cases on the floor, Shawn, Melissa, and Uudon had already began to pull pieces out of the computers. The modular design, not too dissimilar to Unified computer construction methods, made replacement of damaged components simple.
“This is absolutely crazy,” Melissa muttered. “We have no idea if we’re taking anything important.”
“Uudon seems to think that we’re on the right track. Isn’t that right?” Shawn said as he looked to the doctor.
“I’m far from an expert on these, Commander, but I believe we’ve found what we were looking for. Based on what I’ve seen, this is a storage processer node. While it may not tell us everything we want to know, it will certainly give us more insight into whoever constructed it and how to deal with them. Perhaps, once the Kafarans have retaken this system, we can—” but his words were cut off as the entire space was bathed in red light. A moment later, a klaxon began to sound loudly throughout the entire station. “What is that?” Uudon asked.
“The universal sights and sounds of trouble,” Shawn replied. “Hurry up and finish what you’re doing.” He then stood and rushed to Fralok. “Major?”
“We just received a report from the Tangled Web. There is a power buildup in the station core.”
“A self-destruct sequence?”
Fralok grunted. “We have precious little time to collect any more trinkets, Commander. We must leave. Now!”
Shawn turned to Uudon, who had fished laying a large piece of the computer into the storage container. “Put a lid on it, Doc. We’re leaving.”
To Shawn’s surprise, Uudon was quick to act. With Melissa’s help, he quickly secured the lid on the container. Two Kafaran troops then moved in and hefted the crate out of the compartment. Uudon ran to catch up with them, leaving only Shawn, Melissa, and Fralok in the space.
“Ready?” Shawn asked her, to which she gave a quick nod. They ran for the doorway, with Fralok in the rear.
When they entered the lab area, Shawn noticed that the fluid in nearly all the large tubes had completely drained away. M-9 was standing near one in the far corner that was still half-full, but it was quickly disappearing. “What the hell did that droid of yours do, Doc?” he shouted in frustration.
“We need to get a sample of that,” Melissa said as she rushed toward the tube.
“No,” Shawn countered as he tried to catch up with her. “We need to get the hell out of here.”
Intent on what she was about to do, Melissa pulled out a sample retrieval machine from a pouch on her belt. As she knelt beside M-9, she began studying a translucent tube. As she reached for it, a spray of fluid shot out from a nearby port and covered her hand. Seeing her withdraw more from shock than pain, Shawn was quickly at her side and pulling her from the machine. A thick red goo, like corn syrup, was coating her entire right hand.
“I’m fine,” she said unevenly, then brought her hand to her face.
Shawn looked up at the droid that was staring blankly down at the two.
“What did you do?” he screamed at the machine. The only response was a series of beeps and blips just before the droid turned and scurried from the compartment.
Exasperated, Shawn turned back to Melissa. “Are you in pain?”
“I … I don’t know.” The words were shallow, distant.
“Can you run?” Shawn asked over the blaring klaxons. “We’ve got to get out of here.”
“I …” she said, then looked around in confusion. “I don’t … feel very good.” With that, her eyes rolled back into her head as her body collapsed to the floor. Shawn’s quick reflexes allowed him to catch her before her head struck the deck.
“Melissa?” he shouted repeatedly, but got no response.
“Commander!” Fralok objected. “We must go!”
Wasting little time, Shawn quickly removed his jacket and wrapped it around her injured hand, then lifted her limp form in his arms and rushed back toward the airlock.
“Do not measure your loss by itself; if you do, it will seem intolerable; but if you will take all human affairs into account, you will find that some comfort is to be derived from them.”
-Saint Basil, Greek Bishop
Old Earth, 330 BC
“If Saint Basil had been there on board the Tangled Web, I’d have punched him square in the jaw.”
-Shawn Kestrel
In response to the before-mentioned quote being attributed to him
Ethos: Words of Wisdom from the Second Great War
Chapter 18
The journey back to the shuttle took only a few seconds, but to Shawn it felt like an eternity. Melissa’s body was completely limp in his arms. Not since their encounter on board the Icarus had he felt so hopeless. When he found a clear spot at the back of the shuttle, he laid her down gently on the deck. Her face was almost devoid of color, and covered in dew-like sweat. Putting his head down to her chest, he could discern a weak heartbeat. Holding his hand above her mouth, he felt gentle waves of warm air caress his palm.
Thank God she’s still breathing.
“Doctor!” Shawn shouted frantically, then noticed Uudon was already at his side.
“What happened?” Uudon asked as he, too, knelt by the limp form. M-9 also took a step toward Shawn.
“Keep that thing away from her!” Shawn shouted. “It’s already done its fair share of damage.”
Wordlessly, Uudon stayed the droid with a wave of his hand, then turned back to Shawn. “Explain?”
“I’m not sure what’s wrong with her, but I think it has something to do with that fluid she was sprayed with. It’s all over her hand,” Shawn said, nodding to the wadded jacket protecting her right hand. He was about to pull the jacket away when Uudon stopped his arm. The doctor’s grip was surprisingly tight.
“It’s best we leave it covered for now, Commander. If there is an infectious agent, it could quickly spread.”
A slight bump reverberated throughout the hull as the shuttle detached itself from the airlock.
Reaching into a pouch on the side of his jacket, Shawn withdrew a small medical kit. “This is all I have,” he said as he offered the paltry kit to Uudon. “Hopefully you’ll find something in there to help keep her stable.”
Uudon opened the kit and quickly inventoried its contents. “There’s nothing in here that’s going to combat whatever she’s dealing with, Commander.” He then withdrew a small device, along with a single syringe filled with a bright yellow fluid.
“What’s that?”
“As I’ve said before, I’m not a medical doctor,” he said as he adjusted the device, “but I do know what this is. It’s a xenoresuscitator.”
“But that’s only used for if her heart has stopped,” Shawn replied in confusion. “Her heartbeat is weak, but it’s still pumping.”
Making the last of the adjustments, he looked at Shawn. “Commander, her blouse, please. Time is of the essence. I will need to place this directly over her heart.”
Doing as he was asked, Shawn exposed the area of skin. It was as pale and sweat-covered as her face.
Uudon quickly placed the metallic device over her heart and switched it on. He then asked Shawn to hold her head steady as he injected the yellow fluid into her neck. “This is a thiopenta
l derivative,” he said as he withdrew the syringe. “It’s a mild anesthetic. In conjunction with the resuscitator, we will slow down all her internal functions—in effect, putting her into a medically induced coma.”
“That’s all?” Shawn asked in disgust.
Uudon snapped back in frustration. “What would you have me do, Commander? She has likely been infected, but by what I can’t say … nor would I begin to speculate. She requires immediate medical attention of the highest degree, and this …” he said, looking at the medical kit with disgust, “is not a hospital. I can use these to keep her stable, but that’s all.”
“For how long?”
Uudon looked toward the kit and the meager supply of thiopental. “A few days, perhaps a week. That’s all.”
“That’s barely enough time to get back to Unified space,” Shawn said in dismay. He reached down and stroked her hair. Some color had already begun to return to her face, and the large droplets of sweat were quickly disappearing. “Stay by her side.” Uudon nodded in response, and Shawn stood and looked to the front of the shuttle. Far off in the distance, he could see the telltale signs of the battle still raging.
Fralok noticed the commander’s gaze and moved to stand by him. “It appears the station core was not set to self-destruct.”
“Then what happened?”
“Once the core reached a critical mass, it vented high doses of radiation throughout the entire station.”
Shawn looked back to Melissa. “So she’s got radiation poisoning?”
“I do not believe so, Commander. The station was not flooded until several minutes after we departed.”
“But, with the radiation, we won’t be able to board the station again to find a cure.”
“Sensors have detected lethal does in every corner of the structure. Why the station did not simply destroy itself, I do not know.”
“Major,” an officer said from the navigation station. “We approach the Tangled Web.”
“Signal our intentions to land, and that we have sustained a human casualty.” He then turned to Shawn. “Our medical staff has some experience in dealing with humans, but I fear it may not be enough to combat what Agent Graves is dealing with.”
Shawn nodded. “Anything that can be done would be appreciated, but we need to get her back to Unified space as quickly as possible.”
Fralok nodded. “You may accompany Agent Graves to sickbay. I will go directly to the bridge and speak with Captain Ralath. Once I have news, I will come to you.”
As the shuttle cleared the landing bay doors and set down, Shawn looked to Fralok and nodded. Lifting Melissa once again, Shawn was the first to leave the shuttle. Turning sideways to get through the hatch, he faced Fralok once more. “Thanks, Major.”
“Go!”
%%%
The sickbay of the Tangled Web was the most brightly lit space on the warship. With Melissa the only current casualty, the ship’s two doctors were focused solely on her. In a corner several paces away, Shawn watched as the two worked diligently to stabilize her for the journey back to Unified space. Before they’d begun to operate on her, the lead physician informed him that his assignment to the ship was only recent, as he was one of the few Kafarans who had any detailed knowledge of human physiology. Shawn didn’t bother to ask where he’d obtained the knowledge, deciding instead to inform the doctor that he should do whatever was in his power to save Melissa’s life. Shawn’s only other request was that Uudon be allowed to assist, which seemed to relieve the Kafaran doctor.
For fifteen long minutes, the two doctors mumbled to one another as they worked on her still form. Tubes, which Uudon had said contained basic nutrients to sustain her, had been inserted into her forearms. The color in her skin had returned to normal, and the sweating had stopped. Save for the tubes and a small device placed atop her forehead, she looked like she could hop from the table at any moment alive and refreshed.
How am I going to explain this to her father? I can’t lose her, I just can’t.
Shawn watched as the two men leaned back from her still form, took a quiet look at one another, then stepped back from the table.
“That’s all that can be done, Commander,” Uudon said as he wiped off the antibacterial coating on his hands.
Stepping beside the table, Shawn gazed down at her still form. “What’s happened to her?” he asked, his mouth dry as parchment.
“There’s some form of viral infection coursing through her veins. We don’t know what it is, and we can’t stop it,” Uudon said, his voice tinged with exhaustion. “Doctor Salok and I have stabilized her for the time being, but it may only be temporary. We’ve slowed the infection, but not stopped it. There’s no telling what its end goal is. The pathology is … beyond our expertise.”
Shawn ran a hand across her forehead. The skin was warm and soft. “Will she make it back to Unified space?”
Uudon looked at Salok, who shared a look of concern. “I don’t know, Commander. It’s anyone’s guess at this point, but … with two days travel time back to the border, and then two more on board the Honor Guard … well, the odds aren’t good.”
“We could put her in stasis chamber,” Doctor Salok said as he, too, wiped the antibacterial agent from his hands. “I believe it would increase her percentage of survivability, but there are risks involved.”
“Such as?” Shawn asked.
“Our chambers are designed for Kafarans, Commander. While there is some shared physiology between our peoples, it is extremely minor. It may do more harm than good.”
“It’s your decision, Shawn,” Uudon said.
Shawn was surprised, not only by Uudon’s newfound compassion, but that he finally had addressed him by his first name. Shawn leaned down, kissing Melissa’s lips softly, then stood. “Do whatever you both think is going to give her the best chance of survival.”
Uudon nodded silently to Shawn, then turned to Doctor Salok. “Prepare the chamber, Doctor.”
As Salok turned away, Captain Ralath entered the compartment and walked slowly to Melissa’s bedside. “How is your mate, Commander?”
“What makes you think she’s my mate?” Shawn asked as he looked down on her.
“I am no fool, Commander. It is quite obvious.”
“Yeah, I guess it is.” Shawn managed a slight smile when he noticed that, at some point, he’d subconsciously taken her limp hand in his own. “She’s stable … for the moment. Doctor Salok is preparing to put her in one of your stasis chambers.”
“I assume he has mentioned the risks involved?”
Shawn nodded slowly. “He has. I don’t think there is any other choice at this point.”
Ralath grunted an acknowledgement. “Perhaps this will increase your optimism. I have contacted the Rugorian ship. They will be waiting for us near the border when we enter Unified space. Captain Litto sends his regards, and expresses sympathy for your compatriot.”
Knowing there was little he could do, Shawn stepped away from the table as Salok and Uudon moved the nine-foot-long stasis chamber into position. With a hiss, the top half opened up, and the two doctors quickly moved Melissa inside the unit. With little fanfare, the translucent top was sealed in place. Exhausted, Shawn rubbed at his face to get the blood flowing to his cheeks. “Has there been any contact with our fleet?”
“Captain Litto made no mention of it, and we are too far removed to initiate any communication with them ourselves.”
Stepping to the side of the chamber, Shawn ran a hand over the smooth surface just above Melissa’s head. “How long until we arrive at the border?”
“We have pushed the engines to their maximum speed. We should arrive there in forty-three hours, barring any unforeseen difficulties.”
“And Hellnastor?”
“I just received a communication from the assault commander. The system has not been retaken yet. Our forces are still in a heated battle at the outer fringes of the system, but I fear they will be quickly outmatched. Long-range s
ensors have detected more enemy vessels approaching the system from their dark space.” Ralath turned to watch Salok and Uudon push the stasis chamber away from the center of the room. One it was in an unobtrusive corner, they hooked up several tubes to the machine. “Our people have suffered greatly today. I only hope it was worth it.”
Shawn nodded slowly. “So do I.”
“Get some rest, Commander. I believe you have earned it.”
Shawn looked across the room at the tube, and to Melissa inside. “I’ll stay … just for a little while longer.”
Ralath nodded quietly, then turned to leave the compartment. “I will be on the bridge.” Before reaching the doors, he turned to face Shawn. “And Commander?”
“Yes?” Shawn asked, still staring at the stasis chamber which held the woman he loved.
“That human compassion?”
Shawn nodded, then turned to face the captain. “What about it?”
Ralath’s eyes moved down to the deck in contemplation before they locked back onto Shawn’s. “An admirable quality.” He stepped through the doors, and they quickly closed behind him.
Shawn turned back to the chamber and the still form inside it. Holding his hand up to the transparent window over her face, he wished he could will Melissa back to good health.
“I love you.”
Doctor Uudon stepped up behind Shawn. “I’ll do everything in my power to help her, Commander. For now, she’s stable. I’ll continue to monitor her for any change in her readings.”
Shawn nodded. “Actually, there is something else I’d like you to take care of for me.”
“Oh?”
Reaching into his jacket pocket, Shawn withdrew Santorum’s recorded communication Melissa had downloaded onboard the Duchess, then handed it to Uudon. “I need you to see if you can make heads or tails of this.”
“What is it?”
“It’s the full transmission that was sent to the signal amplifier on Torval. Melissa was able to decrypt it, but she was unable to decipher the message body. Based on your experience with the device, maybe you can figure it out.”
Dark Space Page 26
