Crucible: Records of the Argos

by Michael J. Farlow

  If the enemy’s spirits were lifted with the missile hit, they crashed hard when seeing two crazed creatures in full battle armor rushing at them with every weapon blazing like the madmen they were, backed by equally mad Resistance fighters. Some of the enemy tried to escape through the opposite side but ran straight into Tiana’s group. Her bots were down, but she and her remaining people were also screaming something insane. When the dust settled, the enemy was no more, but neither were there the same number of Resistance fighters as when they started the horrible rush. Fully half were down, and most were wounded, including Tiana.

  Another thirty minutes of combat that seemed like a year with every sharp and painful emotion you can imagine shooting through you every minute. That’s how I saw it anyway. Sif, on the other hand, didn’t because he had experience that I did not. Now, he was methodically roaming through the enemy bodies looking for live ones that he could put out of their misery. There were none. They were all dead.

  The big question now was what happened to Amini. Was she ok? Did her shuttle explode? As the stress of the fight wore off, I was becoming frantic.

  “Wizzy, where is Amini?”

  “Her shuttle crashed about a mile away, Captain Nick, and downslope from the plateau. I have her life signs, but they are weak.”

  I looked over my shoulder at the shuttle Doc had just landed and made the only decision I could.

  Doc’s shuttle, which I think we had named Shuttle 2, flew well enough for a rescue. It wouldn’t be worth a penny in combat, but where I was going, that wasn’t a problem. Thanks to Wizzy’s work on both shuttles, I could use the same night vision capability built into the cockpit window that Amini and Doc had used in their night fights. In just a few minutes, I saw the shuttle nosed into a copse of trees on the edge of a flat area. I wondered if Amini had done a controlled crash. Magnificent if she did.

  I landed a few yards away and wasted no time running to the crashed ship with a portable light. The ramp was ajar and open enough for me to climb through and work my way through the fire-blackened cargo area to the cockpit. To my amazement, the cockpit was still intact, and Amini was still strapped into her seat. But she wasn’t moving.

  “Wizzy, what can you tell me about Amini’s injuries? Can you reach her implant?”

  “Her implant is still working, Captain Nick, and she is alive, but barely. She has internal damage to her lungs and several major organs. We need to get her to the medical facility on Argos as soon as possible. Doc says that Tiana is also in a dangerous condition and needs our help.”

  “Ok, I’ll unstrap Amini, and I think I can get her through the ramp opening and to Shuttle 2. Then I’ll pick up Doc, Tiana, and Sif. “

  “That would be best. Do it as quickly as you can, and don’t forget the bots. I can repair them. I’ll have the medical facility ready for you.”

  Remember when I tried cutting Larona out of her seat in her downed ship? I had a similar problem here. The locking mechanism for Amini’s seat straps was broken (in the wet Navy, I learned that is called Bravo Delta, loosely meaning broken big time). Fortunately, that experience taught me the value of carrying a knife attached to my suit. It was a big one too — sort of like a Jim Bowie knife, and sharp. I had to be careful not to cut through the straps and into Amini. Ootah, her father, would never forgive me.

  I held Amini in her seat as the last strap was cut and pulled her gently out. With the strength of my suit, I was able to carry her in one arm while pushing the ramp open more for the two of us to get out and to Shuttle 2. I stopped a few yards away and looked back at the shuttle. No way was that thing going to fly again in my view. Reluctantly, I tore a compression grenade from my suit (my last one) and lobbed it into the partly open cargo space and started again to Shuttle 2. I heard the explosion, and my helmet faceplate automatically dimmed against the bright flash of the grenade. Because Wizzy maneuvered the Argos closer to sites 20 and 35, it was a short flight to get us all home.

  I remember seeing pictures of expectant fathers pacing the waiting room floor nervously, waiting to know what was happening. I don’t have any kids, but I was pacing the passageway outside medical as both Doc and Wizzy did whatever they were doing with Amini and Tiana. I couldn’t believe all this happened in just under twenty-four hours. I was more worried about Amini because she was an important part of the crew and a friend. Was she more than a friend? I briefly wondered but pushed it from my mind in my tension overload. I was also worried about Tiana. I had a feeling that she might be more important to us than we knew, and I bonded with her a little in the two fights. Intense shared experiences like that tend to bond people closer than some family members, so somebody once told me.

  Anyway, it was difficult to focus on much. I had no idea what to do next and was hoping that something would become blazingly evident, but it wasn’t working. On one of my pacing paths away from the entrance to medical, I heard a hiss as the door opened. I turned immediately to see Doc standing in the passageway, mopping his brow with a cloth.

  “Well?” I asked.

  “Tiana is OK. She should be up and talking soon.”

  That was great news, but I felt he was giving the good news first.

  “Come on, Doc. How about Amini?”

  “Amini is in a delicate state,” Doc said, holding his hands behind his back. “Thanks to Wizzy, her lungs and other injuries are repairing nicely with the help of her nanites, but the combined stress on her body has taken a real toll. Her energy levels are very low, and despite the help of the machines, I’m worried about her body’s ability to fight through the challenge.”

  That was news I didn’t want to hear. My only choice was to trust Doc and Wizzy to do what had to be done. By the way, nanites are microscopic medical bots inserted regularly into the bloodstreams of all Galactic Force members. They serve to repair damage to internal systems and even protect against disease.

  Doc continued his report. “There was something important Tiana said before she fell off to sleep. One of the captured enemies gave the Resistance some interesting information about Gurko. He has a hidden base on one of Tye’s moons, Krona.”

  That was important.

  “Anything more?”

  “No. That’s all she got out before she fell asleep.”

  Chapter 14

  The next day, Tiana felt good enough to talk with us. With Doc, I gathered next to her bed, trying hard not to stare at the medical chamber holding Amini. Doc saw my eyes flicking in that direction and drew a blue curtain across the space, placing the temptation to look in abeyance. That allowed me to focus on Tiana.

  The last time I saw her, she was covered in grime and blood from all the fighting. I thought her hair was blond, but beyond that, I had no idea. The woman before us was much different. All cleaned up, I saw her hair was blond and her skin, what we could see anyway, was neither white nor black. More like a light orangish brown with just the hint of broad, gray, well-spaced stripes. You are probably thinking something like a tiger. But not so. Her skin was mesmerizing and soft looking. Beautiful would be a better word, with sharp, green eyes. And there was no doubt she was a woman, if you know what I mean.

  “How are you doing?” I asked, breaking my trance and not knowing anything else to say.

  “Much better, thank you. Your medical capabilities are amazing. When will I be able to rejoin my group?”

  A broad grin swept across Doc’s face as he reveled in praise of his center. He gave her pillow some support.

  “A lot has to do with you, my dear. Your stamina is unusual for a man or a woman. I think you will be able to leave this bed as early as tomorrow. On limited duty, of course.”

  “That would be wonderful. Will I be able to go back to Tye?”

  “As soon as Doc says OK, we’ll have you on your way,” I answered.

  “And if I want to stay awhile?” she smiled.

  That ca
ught me off guard. Sure, there were things I wanted to know from her, and she could be of great use to us in the future. But stay here? Why would she want to? I decided to avoid the matter, at least for now.

  “We can discuss that later. Right now, can you amplify what you told Doc here about the location of Gen. Gurko?”

  “I don’t know much more than I told your doctor. One of my team interrogated a prisoner and found out that Gurko has a facility on the moon, Krona. We didn’t believe it since there have been so many efforts to use the moon for mining, all of which have failed because of the uninhabitable conditions and the lack of anything that might prove profitable. But the prisoner says that the facility is hidden and has been there since the height of the Arkon Empire. It was likely a command center at one time. We never knew about it.”

  I was about to ask more questions when Sif walked in, and everything went to crap.

  “Arkon Red!” Tiana yelled as all the monitors watching her condition began to spike, and her stripes went almost black. She looked around for a weapon, but all she found was a drinking glass which she hurled at the entering warrior and missed. It crashed against the bulkhead but didn’t shatter. We seldom use real glass anymore.

  Doc reached over with both hands to hold her into the bed while I tried to calm her down. I had to scream at first.

  “Tiana! This is the one you know as Mr. Sif. He fought with you and for you. He is a member of this crew and a valuable one. He was never part of the Arkon forces that attacked your planet.”

  Fighting to resist Doc, she said, “They are all evil!”

  “No, they are not. And certainly not on this ship.”

  The pings of the monitoring equipment attached to Tiana dropped a little in intensity but were in no way normal. I briefly thought of asking Sif to leave but thought better of it. This was now his ship and his home, and we were all learning to trust and rely on him. I could not show anything but support.

  “You fought with us?” she asked. I noticed that when she was angry or perhaps frightened, her stripes got darker. They were still dark, but not black

  “Yes, I did. And a great fight it was. Your people are warriors that show much courage.”

  Tiana’s stripes ticked one shade lighter, but still not normal. Doc felt he could release his grip on her.

  “What is your position on this ship?” she asked sharply.

  “I do many things. I am the weapons officer, senior combat officer, armorer, translator, and tour guide.”

  The tour guide thing obviously had her curious, but she was in no mood to ask about it.

  She continued. “We appreciate your help, Mr. Sif. We are just not used to having that sort of help from one of your ancestry, one which has represented only evil.

  “I understand. If you are with us long, you will see that we all take getting used to. Right, Doctor?”

  “Right. What he means, Tiana, is that I was as alarmed as you when he first came on board. Now, I count him as a friend.” Looking at Sif and me, he said, “If you two will leave, I want to see that Tiana gets some sleep. I’ll meet you in the galley when I’m done.”

  Sif and I both took the hint (or was it an order?), left the room, and silently headed to the galley. Sif had never been much of a talker, more of a listener. So, when we sat at one of the tables and waited for Doc. I rambled a little.

  “Knowing where Gurko is should be a big intelligence coup, and it should make me happy, but I’m not. What the hell can we do with this information in the short term? Nothing. We don’t know what forces he has, to say nothing about his defenses. It’s already clear that his number of men in arms is high and probably more so on his moon. We are still five, or more on a good day counting the bots, as long as they last. And he has at least a destroyer and possibly more warships. We have to assume he is well armed and can overpower anyone now in the region in a straight-up space fight. That makes him a threat to the region. But a threat to the Consortium? We don’t know that yet. We haven’t gained enough intelligence to fulfill our orders nor enough power to use against him, if it comes to that.”

  “Then we need to get some,” said Doc as he entered the galley and heard my last words.

  “Some what?” I asked in irritation.

  “Some of everything. More intelligence for one thing. Maybe more people, more assets, including ships,” he commented as he took a seat across from me.

  “Ok, Doc. Why don’t you and Sif head down to Tye and grab up a bunch of that.”

  “No need to get crabby, as you call it. But think. By your own words, and based on your personal orders, we might have to get more involved since we are trapped out here. We already have another ship sitting out in space, remember the Dreng? She has some armament, and Wizzy may be able to increase that. And I’m sure Tiana knows some people who can operate her. There may be other ships as well. We already know the Resistance has fighters, and we also know where there are a lot of supplies if we act fast. What else do you need?”

  Leave it to the true non-combatant to bring us, or me actually, back to reality. Everything he said was true as far as that went. All the things he named were what would be needed if we had to get more involved, which was starting to look more likely. What he didn’t have in hand was a plan. Unfortunately, neither did I at this point. I did know this would all take time.

  It had become a habit for me to retreat to the old captain’s quarters when I had problems to wrestle with. This time was no exception. I sat in an old chair with my feet on the companion desk, leaning back, looking for the way ahead. But it still wasn’t coming.

  “Penny for your thoughts,” came the voice and then image of Wizzy. “Or maybe a penny is too much. How about you pay me?”

  Without changing my position, I glared at the wise-ass AI wishing I could grab him by the throat. Anything to vent my frustration.

  “What do you want, or do you have a solution for what to do next?”

  “Maybe. But you have to be nice.”

  Wizzy was right, but I wasn’t very receptive at the moment.

  “Sorry, your magnificence, I could use some help.”

  “That’s better. Your tiny brain may not have realized it, but Doc gave you the elements of a plan, just not the end goal.”

  “You mean getting to Gurko?”

  “Maybe, if it comes to that. But first, you have to determine his threat to the Consortium. That means his order of battle. So, either you go poking around his moon base or you draw him out to see what he has. Which would be easier?”

  That started the wheels in my brain working. Wizzy had a point. Poking around the moon base was no guarantee that we would find all his assets just sitting around. They would likely be disbursed. So that left only one choice. We had to draw Gurko out from his hiding place and see what his assets were. Count them, if possible. How could we do that? Then it hit me, and a plan started to develop. I needed to talk with Tiana. Fortunately, it was Tiana who called me. Despite Doc’s efforts to the contrary, she couldn’t sleep worrying about what would happen next. I told her what Doc said and then surfaced the idea of drawing Gurko out, along with some of my ideas on how to do that and asked for her thoughts. We worked on a rough plan until she did get tired, and we agreed to work more on the way to the Dreng.

  By the time we got to the old cargo ship two days later, we had made some progress but still had work to do. Some of that work depended on what the Dreng was capable of doing.

  Tiana being capable of getting around on her own, she and I took the repaired Shuttle 2 to the Dreng. Doc stayed behind to keep watch over an improving Amini, and Sif had command of Argos in my absence. I don’t know what I expected, but it wasn’t what I found on the old ship.

  “Holy crap. Does this look like a ship beat to hell in a fight with a final blast from an Arkon warship?”

  “I don’t know what hell means,” said Tiana
, “but if it means what I think it does, no. It doesn’t look like new, but I would never have guessed it was in a major fight. Everything looks fine… for an old ship.”

  She was right. We wandered all over the vessel and couldn’t find a trace of damage. The bots must have found some paint someplace too because the places that should have been damaged and burned were the same shade of off white as the untouched parts of the ship. Amazing.

  The last place we went was the cargo/shuttle bay I remembered when Toor died in front of me in his wrecked shuttle. I recalled that besides Toor’s wreck of a shuttle, there was another one on a maintenance rack with parts scattered around. Now there was one shuttle that looked every inch capable of flight.

  “Wizzy.”

  “Ah, behold the wonders of Wizzy. Impressive, isn’t it?”

  “Why didn’t you tell us all this had happened?”

  “Until we got here, I wasn’t sure what the bots could do with the existing materials on hand. We were lucky. I just learned that some of the cargo being carried consisted of spare parts and replacement modules for other ships in Toor’s fleet. Once the bots discovered those, and of course following my marvelous programming, they were able to complete repairs and even a few modest improvements.”

  “She is fully functional? I mean the ship and the shuttle?” Tiana asked in amazement.

  “Yup. Almost as good as new.”

  Tiana had trouble at first getting used to an AI, especially one with Wizzy’s capabilities and, of course, his quirky personality. The flight here, however, gave her ample opportunity to get used to him.