Steele worked the external dial and got the solar shield to rotate. He looked through the now-clear surface of the helmet ‘glass’ and swallowed. In what he thought of as a tragic mockery of life, Harold’s face looked exactly as he had remembered him; there was no sign of decay. It was as if the time he had endured so painfully, whilst in captivity with the Narlavs, had been a few hours, instead of many months.
“I, I…” Tracy stuttered, aware of Beckie’s wonderful message, pounding, as it now was, with tremendous power in her mind. “Restore!”
Kevin looked at her in amazement, debating if she had taken leave of her senses. When he turned back to the body, he froze. The arm he had shifted slightly was now moving by itself!
“Take off the helmet,” Doctor Hawk commanded, her voice full of emotion. “I need to see…”
Full of a strange combination of horror and anticipation, Commander Steele complied, hurrying with the release mechanism. The head beneath was revealed a moment later.
“Kevin! How?” Harold spoke quietly, but clearly. He looked past his friend and colleague, seeing the Assembly Room and Tracy from his prone position.
Steele was shocked speechless and felt immobilised by a thousand conflicting emotions.
“Hello… welcome back!” Tracy reached out slowly and touched the cheek, feeling the warm, firm flesh and wishing that, like Kirrina, she could quickly bring him up to date.
Beckie appeared, having rushed from the Control Room as she had cast her greatly exercised and expanded mind-link towards the scene, and she crouched down beside the space-suited figure, taking over the role as she knew she must. She started very carefully, slowly opening up a connection, aware that she could quite literally fry his mind after it had surreally survived months of super-cooled preservation. She found a serenity building within her that eased her task, and, quickly gaining confidence, poured as much as she could recall about the past few months into the waiting mind. A measure of his faith, his unshakable confidence in divine intervention and the love that proceeded from that perspective, flowed back across the link, blending inextricably with her recollections of her own life. It was several minutes before she pulled back her hands, and then the pilot just grinned at her. The two maintained contact somehow as they seemed to stare into each other’s minds.
“Thank you, Beckie. I can’t imagine a better – or nicer – way to be updated than by someone as sweet as you.”
Beckie blushed, aware, from her rather intimate contact with the Canadian pilot, that his complement was a totally honest expression of his prompt and unconditional brotherly love for her.
Finally, Harold looked at his old crewmate again as he pushed himself into a semi-upright position with his right arm. “You see?” He said simply. “Didn’t I tell you?”
“Yes.” Kevin nodded, tears now streaming down his face. “Someone really has looked after you! Let’s get you out of that EMU and take you home. Miyoko and the kids will give you a proper welcome!” He followed this by attempting to embrace his friend with all of his restored strength – not a very practical procedure with someone encased in a NASA spacesuit – and receiving in return the powerful clasp of the jubilant survivor whose own tears also coursed freely, dripping on the modified EMU and the pristine, Medic-simulated Naval uniform.
***
As Patrol Craft Sixteen descended to the lower hangar, Dan and his crew were still discussing the incredible news from PC Eight, which was some minutes behind their craft on its return to Earth, with the presence of one more – living – person aboard than anyone had anticipated.
“All I can say is, he must be the luckiest man in the world!” ‘Poko’ Longclaw, the pilot with partial First Nation ancestry, found it strange to see the vastness of the chamber, now occupied only by the incomplete hulks of what would one day be PCs Eighteen and Nineteen, quiescent in their unfinished forms, mere inches longer than they had been before the battle had been joined, along with PC Thirteen and the old Scout Craft Drive sphere.
She brought the dark ship down neatly into the approximate spot where the craft had so recently been formed.
“I want to see him, I can’t really believe it’s real.” ‘Pigeon’ Wing shut down her scanners and stood up, anxious to disembark, her blonde hair bobbing as her head moved abruptly, as it often did when she was excited.
“Crew stand down…” Captain Sanders declared, running his hands through his red hair with a feeling of almost overwhelming relief. “And again: well done!” The three walked towards the back wall of the Control Room and flickered to the bronzy floor of the construction facility.
A horde of their earth-bound comrades swamped them, kissing, hugging and slapping their backs, all talking at once and creating a hubbub that reverberated around the hemispherical walls, there being little to dampen the audio waves now that the missing ships were ironically so evident by their absence.
After a few minutes, Dan broke away as he caught sight of the dark, curved surfaces of his command through the jubilant crowd. He walked closer and checked out the slight discolouration that had distracted him from the celebratory spirit, running a hand over the surface and finding it as smooth as ever.
“This is the lowest level of damage,” Paranak began, his voice deep and mellow as ever as he seemed to almost magically appear beside the tired Captain. “It technically isn’t damage at all, as there is no reduction in the strength of this amazing material. Let me show you the effect on PC Thirteen.” He led the Captain over to the other ship, where Latt and Isaac were examining several similar patches, but took Sanders past that point and showed him another section of interest. Jane Kellogg was there, making a record of the damage with a portable scanner the like of which Captain Sanders had never seen before.
“Hi Dan.” Jane merely nodded to him and then glanced at Paranak, giving the blocky alien the benefit of her smile. “The crystalline structure is distorted, but I can’t take good readings, as the effect still seems to be varying – quite rapidly.”
Dan ran his hand over the distinctly lighter patch, and found a strange coarseness to the surface. He looked at Paranak questioningly.
Paranak looked at Jane.
“Latt and Isaac say this part should be subjected to the VIC Defining Modules again – perhaps this would reverse the effect,” the young Asian construction expert reported. “If not, parts will need to be replaced.”
“That sounds difficult,” Captain Sanders commented.
“That’s why we try the VIC DMs first.” This time Kellogg graced him with her smile and Dan was surprised at how much her appearance changed. Smiles… make the world a brighter place!
“We will follow all the steps necessary to restore this ship to its full strength,” Paranak declared with dogged determination. “As difficult as it may be to repair, I wish we had many more ships to practice this on.”
Dan nodded in grim agreement as Jane’s smile faded away.
“This control area is very impressive,” Kirrina declared as she accessed the computer records in the above-ground observation and command area[46] of the subterranean base now temporarily deprived of any – living – Narlav presence. “I’m going to use the rim monitors the Rhaal command force set up to open up a communication link with New Leeds.”
Richard watched her as she worked, intensely grateful that she was still with him. Her blue, blue eyes, truly relaxed at last, caught reflections from the display and sparkled as she set up the connection. He waited until she had completed the work, then tested it:
“Moon Base Tsiolkovsky to New Leeds SPF[47], this is Richard with Karen, new… interim base commanders, reporting in.” He found himself using the name by which he had first known his wife, as he reflected that the moment he was informally commemorating seemed beyond time.
“N.L. SPF to M.B.T.,” Spencer Norrington’s cheerful young voice came back a couple of seconds later, with a distinct impression that he was grinning, pleased with the acronyms he was using and how it made him
feel as if he were in control, though he obviously was not. “You are coming through loud and clear.”
“How is everyone?” Karen asked, gently.
“We lost quite a few,” Spencer stated, after the requisite delay, his tone very subdued. “Fortunately Patrol Craft Thirteen got here in time to stop the hordes of Narlavs, taking them out from above as they closed in on the hangar. It was a pretty near thing though. I think the Medic was what made the difference after that. Everyone who was badly injured – even some who seemed dead – got Restored, good as new… or almost everyone.”
Karen thought about the psychological stresses that would remain in the battle survivors, and that she would need to address.
“Could you ask Walt to provide us with a summary?” Richard requested this, rather than asking for any more details from the youth, aware of the implications which his wife was contemplating.
Again, the message rushed at light speed to Earth, and the response came back moments later: “Will do. What’s it like around there?”
“Hey, Spence!” Kirrina interjected. “It’s amazing here! You’ll have to come and see.” She picked up on Richard’s intent and looked over at him, her dimples showing as she let him continue.
“We are in control of both the base here and the last Warrnam, though the ship needs a major overhaul. If you can get Paranak and Latt to come on the ‘line’, I think we’ll be able to persuade them to have you accompany them out here!” Fletcher continued, smiling to himself as he contemplated how this suggestion might be received by the lad. He put a hand on Karen’s nearest one, finding that she was still drained, as his energy flowed over to her rapidly again. “You could do a report for the Earth-bound GAF – give them an idea of what a tremendous prize we have won.” These ships can carry a lot of people… or troops, but he already knows that.
He knows more than a boy should ever have to know; how one kham of Narlav warriors can destroy – would unhesitatingly have destroyed – all that is dear to him. Kirrina kissed Richard on the cheek, sharing with him the relief of their sister-ship’s timely return to Earth. Had it not been for the Restorative power of the Medic and a whole lot of Arshonnan ship-mounted lasers, we would have lost them all!
“Penny-Lee is here with me.” Again, the delay due to the light seconds distance between the two worlds made the conversation seem disjointed. “She’s off to find them now. Mom and Dad are helping with the clean-up, as is ‘sis’.”
“You don’t know how glad I am to hear that!” Kirrina grinned, pleased that the Norringtons were fine – though this would have been obvious from the exuberance of the youngest member of that family, even without his forthright declaration. And I’m so pleased that our ex-cheer-leader survived the land battle, too. She felt a different kind of relief as her thoughts turned to the only human she knew from Rhaal. I’m glad I’ll have more time to savour that unique character! Some of her friends and colleagues had come through the space battle unscathed, some – too many – had been lost. I’m going to miss Leroy, Eric, and even that irascible old enemy of ours, Ed Baynes! And there’ll be others… ones we’ll never see again in this life… in Konig’s report. She acknowledged that her grief would become more focused as she received more of the details, but found the thought of the lost Patrol Craft crews was already ramping up that effect.
They shall be remembered! Richard felt her pain as it blended with his; he drew her close as he tried to comfort her.
Oh, Richard! We must move on… Her eyes lost their focus and looked cloudy, as if, now the battle had been won, all her carefully submerged worries regarding the future were coming back to the surface of her mind once again. Latt will be desperate to go to Rhaal, to discover survivors there; he won’t want to wait, though we have so few ships left… and I know we must get back to Fepnine as soon as we can, after that… I only hope we are not already too late!
Richard remained silent, aware that these heady concerns could not easily be assuaged.
Chapter Thirty-Six
Wild and wondrous worlds; lost, desolate and endangered
“What a brilliant concept!” Isaac leaned over the Mecuba controls, having been transported to Moon Base Tsiolkovsky in PC Sixteen with several others less than an hour after it had triumphantly returned to Earth. Leaving the shambles and horror of the battleground behind had given him a huge sense of relief – albeit a guilty one – and he had felt the need to have Ruth accompany him, for his sake, as well as hers.
She had not objected.
During his brief return to Earth, Kevin Steele had exited from PC Eight with Harold Morton, determined to see the Canadian flyer’s reunion with his wife and children. Kevin had barely got back from this emotional high in time to join the PC Sixteen trip back to the Moon. Latt and Judy had come too, as Jusstinalss was determined to check the navigation records on the Warrnam to get the most recent information about his home world, and Brisson was equally determined to keep close to him, having realised how close to death he – and she – had been during the battle which had turned PC Nine into the largest and darkest artificial satellite ever placed in Earth orbit.
The trip from the Earth to the Moon was an awesome opportunity to see our home planet from space and Ruth had found this live imagery so compelling that the time passed very quickly for her. The blue of the oceans was contrasted by the whiteness of much of the land masses, making the planet seem to blaze against the blackness surrounding it. Spencer Norrington had stayed with her, similarly absorbed in this new perspective, not even noticing when Isaac had drifted away.
Professor Hardy had watched this allegedly irresistible image for a while, then, somehow breaking the spell, had moved up to the Control Room to watch the Moon as it grew ever larger. The contrast between this airless and lifeless world appealed to his analytical mind; he had persuaded Navigator Wing to explain her instrument readings to him, finding the wealth of information available to be like a stimulant for his intellect and enjoying the pleasure it obviously gave the navigator to instruct him in her speciality.
Latt and Judy had spent the trip checking out the rather ancient data on his home planet – for the last visit by an Arshonnan ship to what was then known as Foruna had occurred over half a millennium earlier – intending to compare it to the information which would soon be accessible to them in the captured Warrnam.
The transfer from ship to moon base had been accomplished by the simple expedient of bringing the Patrol Craft up very close, enabling them all to pass through the airlock door that led into the hollowed-out mountain peak without the need for spacesuits.
Richard had greeted them all and went with Isaac and Spencer, leading them to the Command and Control area. Professor Hardy had hurried through the passageways in a state of great anticipation and had dashed over to the Narlav equipment as soon as he had entered the expansive chamber, his teenage associate staying close by. Ruth had followed at a more leisurely pace, with Kevin accompanying her to point out salient features on the way.
Captain Fletcher had watched the young physicist checking out the extensive control panels, becoming increasingly absorbed in his study of the apparatus. Spencer Norrington – having elected himself to the position of assistant – listening and watching with admiration as the workings were deduced and then explained to him in fairly simple terms by the ever obliging scientist. He was clearly anxious to be useful to his recently acquired role model.
Richard caught Mrs. Hardy’s slightly irreverent grin as she walked in a few minutes later and found her husband already focused on his task. The watchful young Fletcher winked back at her, glad that Steele had looked after her so attentively.
“What do you think, Ruth?” He took her by the hand, starting to lead her over to the huge windows. “Would you like this view from your mountain cabin?”
She glanced back over her shoulder, noting that Isaac was totally absorbed in his investigations, completely unaware that she had arrived – or that she was moving away from him again.
“There’s no one like him!” She said this proudly, her tone low, as if she did not want to disturb him – although that eventuality seemed unlikely to occur. Completing the short walk, she faced ahead, giving her attention to the vast open spaces of Crater Tsiolkovsky, now displayed in all its raw grandeur through the wide and exceptionally clear Transplyous panels. “Ooooh! It’s…” Just glass between me and that… that… She stepped back a pace, her rather incoherent wording fading away as she realised the thickness of the physical barrier between her and the vacuum outside looked no more substantial than the windows in her home.
“Perhaps not.” Richard put his arm around her shoulder, noting her involuntary shiver. “Not many could even imagine seeing this… and here you are getting the full effect! Come on, I’ll show you where Commander Steele tussled with the Narlav, saving our lives, then I’ll take you back to PC Sixteen.” He gestured to Kevin to accompany them as that worthy dissembled regarding his role in that grim and seemingly one-sided combat.
Ruth accepted this invitation, glad to have any reason to be able to step away from the lifeless desolation she found all too clearly visible through the vacuum which contrarily constituted the lunar ‘atmosphere’. “It’s all a bit much. A few hours ago I was looking down at my feet, wondering why my toes didn’t hurt.” She looked over at Paranak, now working beside the youthful protégé, several feet away from but within easy arm reach of her husband, and shook her head at the insanity of it all. Friends. No weapons needed here… “I had lasered them off. You know – my toes. Didn’t even feel it.”
“Ah, the marvels of the Medic. We would have lost a lot more good friends than we did today, and toes, too, if we didn’t have that miracle-machine.” Richard picked up on the true depth of Mrs Hardy’s post-battle trauma and changed his hastily rearranged tour itinerary yet again. “Let’s find Kirrina instead; you look like you should take a nice stroll in our Arshonnan scene; Kirrina is already there,” Richard said soothingly, glad that he had helmeted himself and walked back to Citadel earlier to allow a moment of solitude in the vast open space of the crater – where he looked up at the stars and marvelled at the desolate lunar scenery – and to move the ship up against another airlock of the Warrnam for easy future access. “We want to make sure you don’t have nightmares, when you take your scientist-husband in your arms tonight… and sleep.”
Cavalry Page 35
