“Excellent news!” Admiral Gilmore replied, “Fitz, recall your CAP. We’ll take over the sector patrol from here. You need to get your ship ready for your recovery mission.”
“Yes, Sir. Right away,” Jed answered, motioning to his tactical station.
“Lieutenant Collins to flight deck. Recall all fighters. Repeat, recall all fighters and support vessels.”
“Admiral, we’ll begin calculating our jump coordinates,” Jed continued, “I’ll report back when we’re ready. Rock out.”
“Jed, you and your crew set some pretty high standards for us out here. Keep up the good work. Agamemnon actual out.”
“Charley and Delta leaders,” Major Phillips ordered, “round up your fighters and get them in the landing pattern.”
“Charley leader, roger that.”
“This is Delta leader; we’ll be coming in behind Charley squadron, over.”
“This is the CAG,” the Major instructed, “Alpha squadron, Captain Simon and Jones, you’re on my wing for Bravo escort. Everyone else return to the Rock on the double. Enter the landing pattern, but remain in the pattern until Delta squad has returned. Alpha team will be the last CAP before the Aga takes over our watch.”
“Bravo team, to Alpha leader. Much obliged for the escort. It’s a bit cramped in here with this giant on board. We should be entering the pattern in two minutes. Rock, prep landing pad for quarantine procedures.”
“Bravo team, Rock reads you, over,” Lieutenant Henderson confirmed, “You are clear to land, quarantine procedures are set up for landing pad three. Doctor Lambert’s team will receive your prisoner.”
“Bravo team,” Jed interjected, “Your team will remain in quarantine until Doctor Lambert has given you the all clear.”
“Understood, Sir!” the Bravo team leader replied.
“Doctor Lambert here,” Jed heard over the loud speaker, “quarantine protocols in place and activated.”
“Doctor,” Jed began, “I’m sensing a but...”
“Yeah. Well, it’s just I don’t know if I’ve got a gurney large enough to carry our Antarian patient.”
“I see your problem,” Jed answered, then turned to address his CSC staff, “Suggestions?”
Jameson spoke up first, “How about using one of the cargo lifts. A type two compact cargo transport lift is rated for five hundred kilograms, and could easily navigate the corridors all the way to sickbay.”
Jed smiled, “Sounds like a good plan to me. Chief? You hearing this?”
“Kelly here, Sir. Yes, Sir, I’ve got it. I’ll prepare a type two lift and meet them in the landing bay.”
“Great,” Jed praised, “Take a lid from one of your containers and use that for a bed. Can you hook that lid to the lift?”
“Yes, Sir. I think that’ll work out. I’ll have that ready by the time they’re docking, Sir. Kelly out.”
“Bravo assault team, what’s your ETA?” Henderson requested.
“Captain Hopkins here. I’m on final approach now.”
“Roger that, Bravo leader. You’re clear to land.”
~
“Pitch ten degrees azimuth to the Rock,” Hopkins reported. “Decreasing ships speed twenty percent...positive glide slope. Adjusting with maneuvering thrusters…we’re over the landing pad deck. Lower landing skids.”
“Captain, your clear for landing,” Collins confirmed.
“Skids down, Sir,” Hopkins’ co-pilot acknowledged,
“I’m bringing her over to pad number three...stand by to receive...Prepare mag-locks...We’re over the landing pad...touchdown in three...two...one...activate mag-locks.”
The support ship locked to the metal deck of the pad with a clunk.
“Mag locks activated!” the copilot reported, “Drop us inside the landing bay.”
The ship jostled as the floor to the Rock sunk down inside the bay, clearing the landing pad deck, which was quickly sealed by the overhead doors rolling closed.
“Check cabin pressurization, and stabilize with bay.”
The crew heard a hissing as the copilot pressed various controls, “Confirm pressure equalized, Sir. Clear to open the hatch.”
The Marine squad commander yanked the lever that unlocked the side hatch. He rocked the door outward, and then swung it upright.
It took all eight crew to move the ailing Antarian out to the deck. Several deck hands jumped at the ready and helped place the alien on the container lid.
Chief Kelly eased the lifter into position and lifted the nine foot creature. When he reached the bay exit, Kelly stopped and activated the comm. “Doctor Lambert? Do we have clearance to transport the prisoner to sickbay?”
The hanger deck speakers echoed the voice of the Alpha leader as he called for landing clearance for himself and his two wingmen.
“Roger that, Alpha leader. You have the ball, three cleared to land.”
Another voice echoed over the speakers, echoing through each bay, “All fighters recovered. All present and accounted for...Chief Kelly, please give all clear to secure landing bay.”
Kelly flipped his comm channel and depressed his transmit button, “All clear is given...repeat, all clear...secure launch bay. Roll ‘em closed.”
“This is Doctor Lambert, Chief. We’re a go. We have containment protocols in place. All areas have been sealed off. You’re clear to proceed.”
The Chief grinned, “Open them damn doors you good fur nothing squids!”
~
Jed stood at the CSC and began to climb the steps from the pit, “Artemis, please join me in sickbay. Let’s see if we can give the good doctor a hand, shall we?”
Artemis stood fast and returned a glance, “Why should I help an Antarian?”
“Come on, Artemis. It’ll be good. Maybe if we show them we’re not savages...”
Artemis cut Jed off, “...they won’t care! It matters neither way. If you help this one live, he will do everything in his power to kill you before he dies.”
“I told you, we value all life, even that of our enemies. Besides, if he dies, we won’t get any useful information out of him. Maybe you should use caution in choosing your battles, Artemis?”
“My not helping him live is not a fool’s battle...”
Jed waved off the Eridonian, “Listen, I’m the Captain of this vessel, am I not?”
“Yes, Captain Fitz, you are in command of this vessel.”
“...and you’re on my ship, right?”
“Yes.”
“So, that makes you one of my crew, and as your commanding officer, I order you to assist us.”
The Eridonian faced off with Jed, giving him a stern look, “Do not challenge me. You will not win.”
“Are you, or are you not, here to help us?”
“Yes, of course we came to help you.”
“So help us already! My decision in this is based on the foundation of my principles. Are yours, or are your decisions based upon eons of emotion disguised as experience? Help us keep him alive. Trust us. I’ve got a ship full of Marines that can safeguard us. They’re the best of the best. My men are ready for any contingency.”
“That remains to be seen, Captain Fitz. Nonetheless, if you insist on my assistance, I shall accompany you to your sickbay. However, I make no claims as to whether I can keep him alive. He may die at our hands. If he does, there will be repercussions if the Antarians discover you caused his death.”
“I’ve already expedited the demise of an unknown number of Antarians in that battle.” Jed motioned with his hand, “After you.”
Artemis bowed, and then led the way out of the CSC. Jed looked over his shoulder as he followed, “Commander, you have the con.”
“Aye, aye, Sir!” Commander Jameson acknowledged.
Jed chuckled as he continued to sickbay, “I’ve always wanted to say that.”
“Yes, Sir,” Jameson smiled, “Understood, Sir.”
~
Chief Kelly returned to the flight deck after delivering the
huge alien prisoner to sick bay. He saw the Alpha leader and his two wingmen approaching.
Kelly stopped and gave Phillips a salute, “Major?”
“At ease, Chief.”
“That was some nice flying out there. Your pilots did us proud, Major.”
Rene gave Captain Jones a playful shove, “Saved your ass, didn’t I?”
Eric shoved her back, “Ha! I set them up, led them right to ya.”
“Thanks, Chief,” Major Phillips said, shaking Kelly’s hand, “You’re crew were spot on today. You kept us in the air, and got us in and out of the cockpit with minimal wait times. Nice job yourself. Guess your Navy crew ain’t so bad after all.”
“Excuse me, Sir? W-what did you mean by my ‘Navy’ personnel?”
“We all know that the Navy’s known to miss the mark from time to time. It’s us Marine pilots that keep you’re asses from being in a sling.”
Captain Jones chimed in. Chewing on what appeared to be bubble gum, he smiled, “If it weren’t for us, those fighters would have breached our ship’s point defense systems in no time.”
The Chief stepped down from the lift and stood chest to chest with Captain Jones, “Beg pardon, Sir? The way you jarheads treat those fighters, your planes wouldn’t be fit to fly anywhere, ‘cept for us squids....Sir!”
“Take it easy, Captain,” Major Phillips said, stepping between the two, “Stand down, Chief. He’s just yankin’ your chain a little.”
Kelly stood his ground, teeth clenched at the Captain, who was now leaning toward Kelly.
“I mean it, Chief. Stand down, or I’ll have you arrested.”
Kelly reluctantly stood back, glancing between Eric and Kurt. Then he returned to his lift and begrudgingly motored down the corridor.
Rene swatted Kurt on the arm, “Why’d you have to be so rude?”
Major Phillips smiled, “I just like giving the squids a hard time, that’s all...and how about your little flying trick, Rene? I think you did save Eric’s ass out there.”
“Hey, Major? What gives? I said I just set her up for a great shot, that’s all.”
“Yeah, sure ya did, Eric,” Rene smiled, as the three walked the corridor arm in arm.
“Yeah, well, next time, I won’t be setting you up.”
“Right, keep it up,” Rene said, tugging Eric’s arm, “Keep it up.”
“At any rate, we all did great,” Major Phillips added.
“I had at least five kills,” Rene boasted.
“Only five?” Eric teased, “I think two of those were mine.”
“Up yours, Eric!”
“Okay, everyone, ZIP it!” Major Phillips yelled. “Everyone did great, and it’s great that you’re keeping score. Let’s not lose our focus. Rene, pull all the pilots and meet at the auditorium in twenty minutes for debriefing.”
Rene smiled at Eric, “Aye, aye, Major.”
“Teachers pet,” Eric mumbled under his breath.
“What’s that, Captain Jones?”
“Uh, err, nothing, Major. Rene, would you like some assistance?”
“No thank you Captain,” Rene again smiled, “I got this handled already, but thanks anyway.”
“Yeah, sure, anytime.”
“Okay you guys,” Major Phillips said, putting a damper on their joking. “You think you can behave yourselves for twenty while I prepare my repair manifest for the Chief?”
“Sure, Major,” both Captain’s said in unison.
“Then carry on. I’ll see you all in twenty.”
~
Jed followed Artemis through the sickbay doors and nearly took three steps back at the sight of the Antarian, “Oh. My. God! They’re so…large!”
“Yes, they are an average of nine feet tall,” Artemis nodded, “Though they appear mostly humanoid on the outside, I assure you, there is nothing similar about them.”
Doctor Lambert poked his head up from his ultra sound monitor, “But they do have organs that appear similar. I see two distinct hearts, four lung sacks, six kidneys and three livers.”
“Well, guess they had to fill that large cavity with something,” Jed chuckled.
Artemis stepped over to the Antarian, “Yes, they are well built. It is because of the extra organs that they live an average of five hundred years.”
“I assume the ones that die at an earlier age didn’t die of natural causes,” Doctor Lambert nodded.
“Quite right, Doctor. Most of the younger, inexperienced Antarians die in battle. The ones that manage to make it to the higher ranks live as long as six to seven hundred.”
“So my question,” the Doctor asked, returning to his examination of the medical equipment, “is why’s he so sick?”
“May I connect with you Doctor?” Artemis asked, “I must transfer what knowledge we have of the Antarian if you are to save his life.”
Doctor Lambert stood back from his instruments, “Sure. It’s kind of cool. All of a sudden, I just know what I’m supposed to...”
Artemis touched the Doctor’s forehead and closed her eyes.
“...do.”
The Eridonian opened her eyes and gazed into the Doctor’s, “Now you will know what you must do.”
“Yes...just like I was saying, one minute I’m unsure of how to proceed. The next...well, let’s just say, I think I know what’s wrong. But I need to draw his blood and run some tests to make sure I’m right.”
“What do you think it is, Doctor?” Jed asked.
“I believe it is either the common cold, or some form of flu. He may have been introduced to the germs when they captured Colonel Jennings and his crew.”
Jed turned to Artemis, “How could a cold kill him with the immune system he seems to have?”
“The same reason that I am not sick and dying from the viruses of Earth: I was inoculated. My Nanites are working to eradicate the microbes that are airborne.”
“Why aren’t his Nanites working? Shouldn’t they be eradicating the germs?”
“Yes, they should be. However, if the Nanites programming weren’t updated with the microorganism makeup of your world, they would not be as effective.”
Doctor Lambert pointed at the Eridonian, “Yes, this is why I must test the alien’s blood to make sure.”
“Why not just shoot him with updated Nanites?”
“Because,” the Doctor answered, before Artemis could respond, “If we don’t have the correct programming loaded into the Nanites, it could kill him.”
Artemis nodded, “Doctor Lambert is absolutely correct. We must draw his blood and ensure what model and type of Nanites he currently has. Then we can prepare an updated batch. Once injected, he’ll return to normal in a couple of hours...that is if we are in time. He is extremely weak; near death.”
“Artemis,” Jed began, “can you do anything to stabilize him? Do some kind of mind trick on him to keep him alive?”
“I am sorry, Captain Fitz, our telepathy doesn’t work that way.”
“Fine, then can you connect to him and get what he knows while the good Doctor here does his thing?”
“It is very risky, Captain Fitz. I can, but if he resists I must stop.”
“I have to agree, Captain,” Doctor Lambert added, drawing a syringe of blood. “In his weakened state, the stress of resisting could kill him.”
Jed glanced at the Doctor, “Since when did you become an expert?”
Doctor Lambert tapped on the side of his head, “Thanks to our Eridonian friends, I got it all up here.”
“We have to at least try,” Jed insisted.
“You are the Captain,” Artemis said, stepping to the head of the catatonic Antarian.
With closed eyes, the Eridonian placed her long spindly fingers on the temples of the Antarian and chanted softly in her native tongue.
The Antarian twitched his enormous arms and legs. Several assistants stepped in to hold the alien creature still, but even as weak as he was, they were no match for his physique.
“We’re losin
g him!” Doctor Lambert shouted as several medical devices sounded alarms.
Jed looked at Artemis, “Are you getting anything?”
“No, not yet...almost...”
“Captain! His vitals are failing, he’s dying!”
“Artemis, break it off!” Jed ordered.
“It’s alright, Captain Fitz,” Artemis reassured.
“No it’s not, Captain! He’s trying to kill him!” Lambert shouted.
“Artemis, break it off already! That’s an order!” Jed ran to the Eridonian’s side to break her mind hold.
CHAPTER THIRTEEN
________________________
Antares Star System
Third Moon Serintin
________________________
The cell door opened on the Antarian rescue ship. Race, Danielle and Malcom sat on a bench. Thick chains tied with heavy rope, shackled their wrists.
“You will come with me,” a gruff Antarian voice ordered.
“Yeah? And where are you taking us?” Race demanded.
“Frail Human, you will obey our orders!”
“You gotta give me some credit here. I did help get Darnash back to his people. You should be taking that into consideration, you know.”
Disregarding anything Race had to say, the Antarian continued, “We will leave for Serintin, now!”
“Oh, so it’s like, take me to your leader?”
The guard drew his saber and held it to Danielle’s neck.
“...or is it more like, I really don’t have a choice in the matter...okay, let’s go.”
“I am taking you to our Lord and Emperor, Dumakas.”
Race stood, followed by Malcom. Danielle remained frozen to the bench, afraid to move, fearing that her neck would be sliced.
The guard, seeing Race’s submission, withdrew his blade. He masterfully returned it to its sheath, sliding it to its stops.
The large Antarian carefully pushed on Danielle’s shoulder to reassure her it was in her best interest to begin moving.
Escorted through the towering corridors, the three looked about themselves. For Race, he was memorizing and observing details he may be able to take advantage of later. For Danielle, she was in awe of her surroundings. She wasn’t expecting any of this, and now here she was, walking the corridors on an alien space ship, on her way to another world.
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