by G J Moses
Trying to keep from laughing in the doctor’s face under such dire circumstances, Jeanne responded. “It seems your reputation is well deserved. Actually, I do need the stimulants, but I also wanted to check up on a fear that has been gnawing at me. How serious is Captain Kinsley’s condition? I understand medical confidentiality, but I was hoping you could give some general idea of just how serious are the injuries he incurred while on the Chohish ship. It is critical I know that so we can plan accordingly.”
With bewilderment showing on his face, Dr. Preruet looked at her carefully before responding. “How the hell would I know? I have not seen the Captain since that time with Gunner. What injuries are you talking about?”
Stumbling from shock and grabbing onto the doctor’s right arm sleeve, Jeanne realized what a fool she had been. From everything she had heard, Doc would never have released Zeke from his care in the condition he was in, Captain or no Captain.
“Oh Doc, how could I have missed it? He had to be carried out of the Chohish ship by one of the Marines due to his injuries. He was hurt pretty bad. I’ll bet Zeke got the message from Niflhel before he had a chance to stop in to see you.”
Looking at the doctor with sudden resolve, she continued on. “Your Captain has made plans to sacrifice himself along with this ship to try and save the people of Niflhel. Well, he does not know his friends too well, does he? If he thinks we are about to let that happen without making every effort to save his butt. No, dammit, I am not about to lose him now.”
Turning, she started walking away before she was stopped by a hand on her shoulder. Looking over her shoulder at the doctor who had followed her, she heard him say in an angry voice. “I am medically responsible for every individual on this ship, rank be damned. The Captain was wrong in not coming to me. Whatever plans you come up with, you will need someone to treat him, count me in. And that is not an option Captain, do you hear me?”
Goodbye
The activity on both ships moved at a frightening clip. Shuttles flew back and forth transferring equipment and personnel while others headed to and from the planet. Personnel in spacesuits crawled over both ships like insects. The ones on the Lucky Strike removing equipment while others were on the Fox installing even more equipment.
As time passed, the pace got even more frantic. While all this was going on, a small group of officers was huddled in a conference room on the Fox.
“I refuse to sit by idly while my commander and friend goes on a suicide mission by himself.” Gunner heatedly declared.
“I am with you, but not sure what else we can do. To do anything different would be going against direct orders.” argued Will.
“Where is Hawke, anyone seen him lately? I have not seen him in the last several hours. Also, has anyone else noticed that he does not seem to be particularly upset? I would have thought he would be more ruffled than any of us being so close to Zeke.” asked a puzzled Isolde.
Khaleesi, leaning against the door frame, calmly responded. “Hawke is still on the Bridge of the Lucky Strike and has no plans to leave it, no matter what Zeke orders him to do.”
Every eye swung to look at Khaleesi to explain further. “I pinged him after the meeting asking the same question several of you noticed. Hawke is in a unique footing that makes this possible. He is a Sorath military representative on loan to the Royal Galactic Naval forces.”
Pushing herself off the wall, Khaleesi stood straight where she put her hands behind her back and started rocking on her heels.
“Normally, he is under the command of the RGN officer in charge, Zeke in this case. But, and a big ‘but’ here, unless there is a Sorath emergency that takes precedence over anything happening locally. Then he is to take whatever action he feels is necessary as long as it does not bring dishonor to the Sorath’s or the RGN. Hawke considers it a rare honor to go on the one-way trip with Zeke against his races hated enemy. He even laughed when I said it was suicide. Hawke reminded me what Zeke told him the day they met.”
Moving towards the middle of the conference table, Khaleesi placed her hands on the table and leaned over so her face was just inches away from those there. “Hawke said he still remembers the moment when Zeke told him why they had to be roommates at the Academy. ‘Because you are our future, in order to save the human race, I had to be his roommate and friend.’ Hawke believes this was all preordained, meeting Zeke was part of both their destinies. What are the odds that when the human race finally encountered the Chohish, that both he and Zeke would be here? Hawke feels that the two of them attacking the Chohish, in this manner, will create a bond between the two races like never seen before, no matter what the outcome at Niflhel is. Hence saving the Human race, whereupon, proving this was their destiny.”
After giving everyone her update, Khaleesi calmly moved back to lean against the wall.
“Damn it, that is not going to help any. We cannot just let the two of them go off alone.” exclaimed Gunner.
“They will not be alone. I and my officers will be on board.” stated Khaleesi without moving from her position against the wall.
“What? You are going to disobey orders?” asked a startled Will.
“My primary job is to protect the ship and its crew; secondary function is fighting a ground action. That is why the Marines are on board a ship in the first place. Each and every Marine officer swears an oath to that when commissioned. How I interpret that oath against what Captain Kinsley’s ordered is up to me. My officers and I have determined that our presence alone would meet that oath while allowing the rest of the Marines to follow the Captain’s order. Karter, will be joining us to represent the Fox’s Marine contingent.”
Looking over at Karter, Jeanne saw him shake his head in concurrence. Sudden dread swept through her body and she swirled quickly to face Jan. From the fatherly smile on his face, she knew he planned to be with Khaleesi when the Lucky Strike left on its ill-fated trip. Things were getting out of hand.
“And I have been informed by Doc, that he will also be staying on board.” Khaleesi quietly stated. “As he put it, he has no less responsibility than I. As long as one person remains on that ship, that is where he will be, orders be damned. Said he was too old to change now; the Captain can put him up on charges if they survive. Oh yeah, he laughed at that last part.”
“Well, then we need to make sure we have a plan to get all your asses out, don’t we?” exclaimed Jeanne. “Ok, since we all agree that the current plan for everyone to commit suicide is unacceptable, this is what we are gonna do me mateys…” whereupon Jeanne laid out a half-baked plan to make that happen. Hopefully, they would be able to make it more solid later.
Once Jeanne finished, everyone there looked at her in amazement.
It was Karter who started laughing first. “Captain, I knew you were crazy at times, but this takes the cake. But it may actually work, it has a miniscule chance, but better than nothing.”
Turning, Jeanne looked at Khaleesi. “Thoughts? Suggestions?”
“We will do what we can to make your plan happen, but will not disobey Captain Kinsley if he orders otherwise. We may be staying on-board against his orders, but that is to satisfy our Marine oath. To do what you want, without his permission, may go against our duty to our Captain.”
“That will have to be good enough. Anyone got anything else?” Looking around and not seeing anyone indicate they had something to add, Jeanne called an end to the meeting.
As everyone was leaving, Jeanne pulled Meghan and Anne to the side. “Any response?”
“No, nothing yet, but I did not expect to hear from them for another few days at the earliest. It is going to be close, real close, if they make it in time at all.” responded Meghan.
“Oh well, not much else we can do on that end. Anne, does Masson think he can do his part?” asked Jeanne.
“He is not entirely sure he can do it in the timeframe you asked for. But my husband is a miracle worker, if anyone can do it, he can. I believe Masson will get it
done even if he has to work the entire engineering section to extreme exhaustion.”
“Lassies, so much is up to chance and luck, let’s see how much of that we can remove. With that, I am heading back to the Lucky Strike to check on the realignment progress. You have your assignments, keep me updated on your progress along with any hiccups that you run into.”
Giving each of the ladies a hug and well wishes, she made her way to the fighter bay. Her mind rehashed the plans again and again trying to figure out how to shorten the work involved. Reducing how dangerous her plan was, well, she knew she was very limited in what could be done there. Too much depended on areas she had no control over. Sighing in exasperation, she entered the lift where she leaned against the wall in exhaustion.
The sudden drop of the lift forced her to brace herself. ‘Damn, Masson must have removed the safeties on the lifts. Anne was right, if anyone can get what needs to be done in time, Masson is. Speed is of the essence here, not safety.’ Bracing herself on the handrails, Jeanne made it to the bay in record time.
Moving swiftly toward her fighter, she thought how much easier everything would be if they were still on the Black Doubloon. The Fox was nice but the layout was too old fashioned to meet her needs. New Providence had changed their destroyers to have more open layouts in their bays and supply areas, reducing the time it took to get the necessary supplies for the fighters. This has proven it was worth the risk many times over.
Several techs were waiting for Jeanne, where they assisted her in getting dressed in her flight suit. It was only a few minutes later that she was taxiing to wait in line for takeoff. Now that she was alone, she had a moment to reflect on this Captain that was playing havoc with her emotions.
Growing up, Jeanne had always been surrounded by family and close friends. But saying that, she never met someone she felt she wanted to be with romantically. Until now, that is. The more she got to know Zeke, the more certain she knew she was falling in love with him. Even this last act endeared her love even deeper.
The thrust of takeoff was something she had always loved, but now, it seemed lacking, like it was missing something.
As she neared the docking bay of the Lucky Strike, she thought back to the dinner she and Zeke had shared together in the dining room. How the waiter had asked if he was taken and her response. Her cheeks warmed when she realized she had known since then that Zeke was the man for her, but had refused to acknowledge it to herself fully until now. The way her heart pounded; she knew she had fallen hard for this man.
Circumstances may take him away before she had the time to capitalize on her newfound knowledge, but she knew she had to try anything possible to give them both a chance. And not just for herself. Zeke seemed to have a unique understanding of the Chohish no one else had, including Hawke. Now all she needed was a lot of luck to make all the pieces fall into place at the right time.
Landing, Jeanne was surprised at the emptiness of the fighter bay. Just hours ago, fighters, shuttles, missiles, spare engines, along with many tons of equipment of all sorts that had been stacked or positioned for easy retrieval, had filled the bay to overflowing. Now, it was empty except for a few pallets that were in the process of being loaded onto one of the pair of shuttles still present.
The moment of departure was near. It was now time for Jeanne to execute the first part of her plan. Shaking her head to clear her mind, Jeanne exited her fighter with determination in her step but anguish in her heart. After consideration, Jeanne decided to leave her trademark hat behind on the pilot’s seat. It was possible, this would be the last time she saw Zeke and she wanted him to see her without anything to take his attention away from her.
Striding purposely, Jeanne passed a few crew members making their way to the shuttles. The somber expression on their faces mirrored what was in her heart.
Exiting the fighter bay hatch, Jeanne was met with an eerie silence. Stopping for a second to reorient herself, Jeanne felt like she was in a tomb, it was so quiet and empty. Increasing her walk to a quick jog, Jeanne made her way to the medical bay.
Entering, again, she was met with the feeling of emptiness. No one was here except for one lone figure at the far end of the bay bent over a workstation. Upon hearing her arrival through the doors, Dr. Preruet turned to watch her approach him with amusement in his eyes.
“Hello Captain, I had a feeling I would meet you soon. Nothing you say or do will make me leave this ship before it goes on its final trip. I have a duty to my Captain just as you do with your crew. I recommend you just turn around and head back to the Fox. They will have need of your talents soon enough.”
“Hello Doc, I have no intentions of requesting nor making you leave. Major Richards has already informed me that you were staying and I have taken that into account as part of my plan to save your Captain. Remember, you said to include you in my plans. In fact, your assistance is one of several critical parts that I am counting on. Are you interested?” Jeanne asked with a twisted smile on her face.
Folding his arms over each other, Doc looked at Jeanne in surprise. “I am listening…”
Less than five minutes later Jeanne left the medical bay and was entering the lift to the bridge. “Well, let’s hope the next individual is as open to my plan as that one was.” thought Jeanne as the lift raced upwards.
Exiting, Jeanne stopped to brush the dust off her uniform, before entering the Bridge. The scene was startling to behold. Only two men were present on the huge Bridge with dozens of empty workstations. One of these men, in the Captain’s chair, was glaring at the other man who was slumped comfortably in the station normally occupied by Caspian.
Both turned to look at her, one with amusement and the other with sadness. Even expecting to see Zeke bruised and weak, she was still shocked to see how frail he now looked. Trying not to show any outward sign of distress, Jeanne made her way to stand next to the Captain’s chair.
Uncharacteristically, Zeke did not stand to greet her. Jeanne doubted he had the strength. “Hi Zeke, just checking to make sure everyone has left. The last few were boarding a shuttle when I landed. I wanted to say goodbye personally prior to taking off.”
Stepping close, Jeanne reached out with her right hand to caress Zeke’s face with the tips of her fingers. Her fingers were enveloped by Zeke’s left hand where he held them close to his cheek.
“Please take care of my crew Jeanne, they are the best crew anyone could have asked for.” Pulling her close so his mouth teased her ear. “I am so sorry it had to come to this my dear, but I could not figure out another option. This my responsibility, bringing anyone else along would be foolish. I would have loved to have had more time to get to know you better, much better.”
Pulling her face around so their lips barely touched, Zeke continued. “I have come to have deep feelings for you; I think you know that. In the short time we had together, you have come to own my heart. I thank you for giving me that.” With that, Zeke pulled her into a passionate kiss that lasted several moments.
Having closed her eyes during the kiss, she opened them slowly afterwards to stare into Zeke’s eyes. “As have I, my love, as I have also come to love you.”
“My love, I have one final favor to ask of you. Convince my dear friend Hawke to join you when you leave. I must do this alone. Please, get him to leave. Hawke staying serves no purpose.” asked Zeke softly while he caressed the back of her head through her thick hair with one hand while caressing her face with the other.
Unable to stop herself, Jeanne kissed Zeke again before whispering into his ear. “I will do what I can, though I doubt he will listen to me, but I will ask.”
Reluctantly removing herself from Zeke’s caress, with her heart pounding in her chest, Jeanne staggered her way to where Hawke watched her approach with sadness clearly written on his face.
Standing, Hawke took the last few steps necessary to close with Jeanne so he could hug her in a brotherly fashion. “Well met Jeanne, it was good you stopped by. Zeke nee
ded to see you one more time. As they say in my language, ‘Xtddti ds vzt elznt zu nsot dlmu usd’, ‘Better to die while in love than not’. My race believes love brings additional strength to a person. And Zeke needs all the strength he can get right now.”
“You know he wants me to take you with me, right?” asked Jeanne.
“I figured he would ask you to try and persuade me. But I cannot honor his or your request for several reasons. I cannot disgrace the memory of my ancestors by running away after meeting their mortal enemy once again. My family’s name will proudly join the many others who lost their loved ones standing up against this evil race. Besides, it is my destiny to go where Zeke goes, even if it means my demise. The ride through life since we became friends has been one wild, tremendous ride that I could never imagine. May this death ride be just as thrilling. That is the way life has played it out and I have no complaints. Finally, and most important, my race and yours will join like never before.”
Stepping closer to hug Hawke even tighter, Jeanne sighed while slipping a small computer chip into his hands. “I will miss you my friend. I had hoped you would show me your home world someday. To hang glide through the famous canyons known throughout the galaxy. But if you will not leave with me, here are some instructions on how to monitor the progress of the sensor arrays Zeke had Isolde setup in case Zeke was still interested.”
Whispering so only Hawke could hear “I need you to look at the chip as soon as I leave, it is critical you do so. Lives are at stake. Do not let Zeke see what is on it. Please nod if you heard me clearly.”
With a mystified look, Hawke gave Jeanne a slight nod.
Stepping back, she gave Hawke one more pleading look before she turned heading for the exit. Reaching the door, she turned to look at Zeke, who was staring at her with sorrow on his face.
