The Dead Priest

by K A Bledsoe

  “Almost there. I’m through two of the four firewalls.”

  Energy blasts continued to rain on the ship. Despite evasive maneuvers, the toll was adding up. Where are the real security forces? thought Diarmin.

  “They are definitely going for the engines,” said Quinn. “Stern shields won’t take much more, especially on the starboard side.”

  “Third wall down,” said Allison.

  As if that was a sign, a missile tore into the ship, sending Lenore flying. A high-pitched whistle and air being sucked down the stairwell indicated a breach somewhere in the ship.

  “Mom!” yelled Allison. She and Quinn went for their buckles to help their mother lying still on the deck.

  “Don’t leave your posts!” yelled Diarmin. “We can’t help her if we are all dead. Quinn, I transferred the science controls to your board. Locate that breach and seal it. Allison, get that hack!”

  Both kids looked stricken but Diarmin knew it was the right thing, especially when the ship rocked from another blast. Had they been unbuckled they would be in the same predicament as their mother.

  The whistle stopped. “Starboard shields on the stern are completely gone,” said Quinn. His voice was rough but steady. “Breach was in one of the guest cabins, so I sealed the lounge door.”

  “Good job. I will attempt to keep the ships to the port side.”

  “I’m through!” Allison yelled. “Looking for the shield codes…got ‘em!”

  Diarmin glanced at the science console where the weapon controls were. They couldn’t be transferred. Bondle wouldn’t know what to do and he looked like he was trying hard not to pass out. Lenore was still unconscious, and he needed to fly the ship. His heart clenched at what needed to be done, but they had no choice.

  “Quinn. You are going to have to fire the missiles.”

  Quinn nodded and unbuckled.

  “Their shields are down,” said Allison. “On both ships.”

  Quinn stood and headed for the science console, steps unsteady in the violently swaying ship.

  Suddenly, the screen lit up with an explosion that wasn’t on their ship.

  “Alli, what happened?”

  “It looks like one ship was seriously damaged. And there’s a missile heading toward the other.”

  Quinn made it to the board and his fingers flew. “Four ships are converging on the attackers. From the scans it looks like the same class of ship.”

  “Hold your fire, Quinn,” said Diarmin. “It’s about time they showed up.”

  “After I got the shields down for them,” muttered Allison.

  “Both of the ships that attacked us are heading for space and engaging their drives,” said Quinn. “They’re gone.”

  Diarmin brought the yacht to a standstill and all three headed for Lenore. There was a growing pool of blood by her head and she wasn’t showing signs of reviving.

  “That’s a lot of blood,” said Allison in a small voice.

  “Head wounds bleed a lot and she definitely has a head trauma,” said Diarmin, pointing to the cut above her left temple. “It also looks like she fell on her left arm. It’s broken and maybe the wrist as well. Someone get me the medical kit.” He started cleaning the blood from her face with a cloth from one of his jumpsuit pockets.

  As Allison headed down the ladder, a bleep at the console indicated someone wishing to communicate.

  “I’ll stay with her,” said Quinn softly.

  Diarmin handed him the cloth. “Keep that away from the open wound.”

  “I know, Dad.”

  Diarmin returned to the beeping command console to open a channel. “L’Eponge de Carre. First officer, here.”

  “This is Admiral Frisson, commander of the Reese security fleet. Apologies for our delayed arrival. Do you have any casualties?”

  “The Captain is hurt, but we are treating her.”

  “Our medical experts will be at your disposal. Is your ship capable of flight?”

  “Yes.”

  “Then proceed immediately to these landing coordinates at our main medical facility. I’ll have people standing by.”

  The transmission cut off after the coordinates were sent. Allison pounded back up the ladder, medical kit clutched under her arm. Diarmin took it from her and pulled out a scanner.

  “Is she all right?” asked Bondle.

  Diarmin had nearly forgotten he was there. He ran the scanner along the length of his wife’s body.

  “She’s got a concussion and a couple of broken bones but no internal injuries.” He carefully picked her up. “I’ll take her to the medbed.” He looked at his worried daughter. “Do you know how to hook her up?”

  Allison nodded, left fingers wildly twisting a curly lock of hair.

  “Then you follow me and don’t worry. She’s been through a lot worse than this.” He turned to his son.

  “Please take Mr. Bondle to the cargo bay to inspect the cargo. As soon as I get her into the bed, I’ll land the ship. We will need to be ready to unload.”

  Quinn helped Bondle to his feet. Diarmin could hear their conversation as he carefully descended the ladder with Lenore.

  “It’s all my fault. I should have stayed in my cabin and she would have had her chair.”

  “If you had stayed in your cabin, you’d likely be dead now,” said Quinn.

  “What?”

  “That part of the ship was holed. There is no air in there now.” Quinn cleared his throat. “In fact, you might have even been sucked out to space. Like your belongings probably were. Sorry.”

  “That’s okay. It’s a good exchange for my life. What’s important is in the cargo bay.”

  The group paused in the corridor, unable to squeeze by while Diarmin settled Lenore on the medbed. “There. I’m for the bridge. To the bay, gentlemen. And soon we will be finished with this mission.”

  Allison muttered one word as she began hooking the IVs to her mother and activating the bed.

  “Finally.”

  Chapter Forty-two

  Lenore came awake suddenly. She tried to sit up but found she couldn’t due to the strap on her chest. Her head throbbed horribly and there was a dull ache in her left arm.

  “Easy, Mom,” came Allison’s voice as her face came into view. “You’ve had a rough day.”

  “I suppose this strap was your father’s idea,” said Lenore, trying to think through the pounding in her ears.

  “No, it was mine. We all know how you are when you wake up from injuries. Now you just sit there while I fill you in.”

  “Yes, ma’am,” said Lenore with a small smile. She willed the meds to work quickly.

  “First of all, the rest of us are fine. You are the only one who got hurt. You have a concussion but no fractures in your skull, what a wonder. But your left forearm is broken with one large break and several smaller ones in your upper arm, wrist and two fingers although how anyone can break only their pinkie finger and middle finger is beyond me.”

  “The ship?” She remembered the loud explosion before seeing the bulkhead rushing toward her.

  “The hull was breached somewhere by the guest cabins. The area is now sealed. Right after you were, uh, injured, I got the shields down. The sentry ships then swooped in and, thanks to me, were able to deliver a couple of damaging missiles. The ships bugged out after that.” Allison looked up as the ship vibrated slightly and engines cut out. “Ah, that would be Dad, engaging the antigrav. We must be close to landing at the medical facility.”

  “Good timing,” said Lenore as the last of the medications were pumped into her body. A stimulant by the feel. “Take the straps off, please and hand me that immobilization device for my arm.”

  “Mom, you are in no shape…okay.” Allison did as asked, shaking her head the entire time. Lenore wondered if it was a good thing that her daughter knew her well enough not to argue.

  By the time she felt the slight jolt of the landing, Lenore was on her feet with the immobilizing gel pack forming a hard sheat
h around her entire arm. She tucked it into a sling, patted the bandage on her head to make sure it was secure, and took two steps toward the cargo bay ladder. As she swayed with light-headedness, she looked at Allison still shaking her head.

  “Well, Alli. Evidently you’re right that I am not particularly well, but I need to see this through. Give me a hand?” She tried for a smile but was sure it wasn’t a cheerful one.

  Allison grumbled but she answered. “How about a shoulder?” Despite her grumpy mutterings, Allison had a slight smile as if she was pleased her mother needed her. Lenore knew she had to keep reminding herself that she could depend on her entire family if she had to.

  The climb down the ladder was awkward with one arm and Allison doing her best to help, but once in the cargo bay, Lenore put her good arm on Allison’s shoulder. That steadied her enough to let her reach her son who was standing ready to open the bay doors which also served as the cargo ramp.

  “Mom! Should you be up?” He glanced at Allison who rolled her eyes. But he said nothing as Bondle came to him, scanner in hand.

  “Captain. I am glad you are okay. I feel horrible that I couldn’t—”

  Lenore held up a hand to stop him. “What’s done is done and I will recover.”

  “Yes, she will, she’s tough. The ship will need a large head-sized dent fixed though.” said Diarmin who Lenore hadn’t heard approach. “Here, you need this.”

  Diarmin handed her a personal force field generator, giving one to Allison as well.

  “What's this for?” she asked.

  “Before we landed, we were notified of the best ways to avoid contamination.” He returned to the ladder and closed the hatch to the rest of the ship.

  Lenore was startled. I forgot about the fact that we may catch this plague. These drugs definitely dulled the brain, or was it the concussion?

  Diarmin offered a field generator to Bondle, but he shook his head.

  “Thank you, but I cannot work with the samples while wearing one of those. I will have to take my chances.”

  “What else do we need to do?” Lenore asked, feeling disconcerted at being out of the loop.

  “The people meeting us will let us know.” Diarmin grinned. “We have been busy while you were sleeping.”

  The joke eased the tension and the cargo ramp was lowered after everyone’s fields were powered up.

  “How did the cargo do?” Lenore asked Bondle.

  “Unlike you they are carefully wrapped against impacts. But we won’t know if the cultures will work after so long until we insert the plague virus in them.”

  As soon as the ramp was down, Lenore could see several people in white lab coats waiting outside along with a man in an admiral’s uniform. He was tall with steely gray hair and mustache, hat tucked under his arm. He strode up the ramp and stopped just before the bay.

  “Admiral Frisson, at your service,” he said with a slight dip of his head. “You must be Captain Fleming. I’d heard you were injured.” He lifted his chin. “Permission to come aboard and receive your passenger and cargo?”

  “Granted,” said Lenore, and she was amazed at how good that felt.

  Admiral Frisson gave one wave of his hand and the group of white-coated people swarmed aboard. Bondle stepped in front of the cargo. His coat was no longer the same pristine white, but his demeanor left no doubt who was in charge of the cargo.

  “I am Senior Researcher Ven Bondle. These samples are to be delivered immediately to the lab nearest the worst plague victims. Nobody is to handle the individual vials until I have explained the proper procedures.” His instructions continued as they wheeled the six-alls down the ramp and into the building. Lenore was amused to see the shy scientist gone now that he had purpose. Diarmin also had a smile on his face as he watched Bondle give orders.

  “Welcome to Reesling,” said the admiral. “We rarely let outside ships land on our planet, but we have taken steps to ensure a very small chance to be infected.”

  Diarmin was the one to speak her thoughts aloud. “Perhaps we should leave.”

  “You can rest easy. Ven wouldn’t have known, but it’s only been in the past year that we have determined that the plague is carried within the soil and plants on the planet. As long as you don’t eat or drink anything and remain in the sterile medical facility, you shall be fine. We have made sure that nobody who is infected will come near you or the ship, and there are other methods in place. Those personal shields are the extra security.” Now he grinned. “And if this vaccine works as Ven says, you won’t need to worry at all.” His arm swept back toward the building. “Please, let me offer you our medical services. It’s the least I can do.”

  “I am fine. It’s only a broken arm.” She hadn’t been in a hospital since she left the Xa. The need to hide her implants and other secrets had been her priority.

  “Nonsense. The bone-knitter will have that fixed up for you in less than an hour.”

  “Bone-knitter?”

  “Yes,” the admiral grinned. “I’m sure Ven told you that we have the best medical researchers in the galaxy. We have a device that regrows bones. Developed almost a decade ago. It’s just now hitting the market outside of Reese.”

  “Go ahead, Captain. We’ll get started on the repairs,” said Diarmin

  “Ah yes. About that. Again, I apologize for our late arrival. We were on the periphery of the system and didn’t expect you to arrive so close to the planet. Ven said nothing about that. And then the ships that intercepted you were ours, so I assumed they were there to help until the tractor beam. The subsequent weapons fire confirmed that.”

  “We thought closer to the planet would avoid a confrontation.” Diarmin tilted his head and twisted his lips in a rueful look. “We guessed wrong but, fortunately, you arrived in time.” Diarmin held out his hand. “It was a pleasure meeting you.”

  Instead of shaking Diarmin’s hand, Admiral Frisson made a circular gesture with his hands that was part welcome and part refusal. She wondered if that was the standard greeting amongst a plague-ridden people or simply because of Diarmin’s personal field.

  “You may see me again,” said the admiral, “but now I will escort the Captain to the proper doctors.” He indicated the way to Lenore and smiled at Allison still next to her. “I see you are well supported. This way.”

  He descended the ramp, only staying a step or two ahead of Lenore, occasionally glancing back to see if he was walking too fast for her. Lenore took a couple of quick steps to catch up, leaning on Allison, the clashing fields only sparking slightly.

  “Admiral, pardon me for asking. But you referred to Mr. Bondle as Ven. Do you know him personally?”

  “Ahem, well, yes. He’s my nephew. He sent the message with his requests to me. He is very young despite his intelligence and he was worried that nobody would take him seriously.” He glanced at her as they continued walking. “Our planet has had their hopes of new cures crushed many times. As my sister would tell you, Ven would never say he has a possible cure unless he was nearly a hundred percent sure of it. We always thought that if anyone could find a cure, it would be Ven. He was so…determined and let nothing stand in his way. He wrangled his way onto the exploring teams despite his inexperience and his work ethic is astounding. Not only is he naturally gifted but he has worked very hard to get where he is at. And if he succeeds, it will be completely worth everything.”

  They had entered the building and into an elevator that the admiral accessed with a special card. It dropped three floors and the door opened on a small room entirely surrounded by glass. Through the windows was a busy scene like those found in most medical facilities that Lenore had experienced. A woman in another one of those pristine white coats approached them. She appeared middle-aged but her flaming red hair had no gray in it and her wrinkles were mostly worry lines, to be expected for a doctor on this planet. Though the smile on her face showed that there were laugh lines as well.

  “Good morning, Admiral. What have you brought me t
oday?”

  “This is Captain Fleming. Captain, this is Dr. Dena, one of the best doctors on our worlds.”

  “You flatterer,” she said, lightly smacking the admiral on the arm. The exchange told Lenore they were obviously well acquainted.

  “Please take them to a secure location, Dr. Dena,” said Admiral Frisson. “They are from offplanet.”

  The doctor raised an eyebrow. “Well, if that’s not a loaded statement... but to business. I see you need the use of our bone-knitter. And maybe a cerebral scan by the look of that bandage.” She spoke into a small device attached to her jacket. “Prepare room seventeen, stat.” She nodded at the admiral as she indicated Lenore should follow.

  Lenore turned to the admiral. “Thank you for your assistance, Admiral Frisson.” She moved her good hand in a gesture similar to the one he had made. He did the same with a twinkle in his eye that told Lenore he appreciated her keen sense of observation.

  “The honor is mine. I hope we will meet again soon.”

  Lenore nodded and she and Allison followed the doctor through a glass door with a large picture of a person coughing overlaid with an X. Dr. Dena swiped a card to open it and they proceeded down a pristine corridor and paused in front of an open door. The doctor swiped the card again and pressed a button, causing a soft glow to fill the doorway.

  “That is the disinfectant, getting rid of any trace of disease so you can remove your fields to be treated.” To demonstrate, she walked through the glow into the room. Lenore and Allison did the same though Lenore could see that Allison closed her eyes tightly as they passed through. The doctor smiled and indicated that they could turn off their personal fields.

  The room was spotless with brightly gleaming instruments, a sink with several cabinets surrounding it, and a medbed that looked as efficient as it was complicated. Allison’s low whistle showed her appreciation for the high-tech bed.

  “You like it?” asked Dr. Dena. The huge smile on her face showed that she enjoyed showing off the fancy bed.

  “This medbed makes ours look like a cot.”

  Lenore saw her put her hands behind her back and she knew Allison was itching to take a closer look.