SWNOVELS Chapter 15
Through my hazy pain filled vision I could see the leg of my skinnies in bloody tatters while one of Lady Camelia’s guards strapped up my leg in a thick wodge of bandages. I felt more then saw the guard jab my leg. A feeling of numbness spread across my leg while another guard strapped a canister of artificial blood to my arm. I felt a suddenly warm as the automated canister sought out my vein to pump in a fresh supply of blood. The wondrous thing about these canisters was that they were universal. No need to find a suitable blood type the canister could be used to replenish blood loss in any species. The bump of the shuttle and the throttling back of the engines told me we had landed but I couldn’t tell where.
Half stumbling half-dragged I was pulled out of the shuttle into the more familiar environs of the Havok’s shuttle bay. The empty space now filled by the Havok’s shuttle. I breathed a sigh of relief on seeing it there. My squad and a med team hurried across to me.
“Easy there major,” Shawna said her hands reaching out to help me.
I waved her away. “I’ll be ok.”
A thought entered my mind I had no idea from where it came from. “Do your duty,” the thought bounced around my head it didn’t sound like Lottie.
“You don’t look it,” Tutor replied.
“Hell, look at that armour,” Bacare exclaimed.
“Do your duty,” again the same voice echoed through my skull.
I saw what Bacare was pointing at. My armour had a number of dents in it where coil gun rounds had hit it. So caught up in the battle for my life I hadn’t even noticed. The ship shook. I looked from Shawna to Tutor. The ship was under attack.
“Get me to the bridge,” I ordered. I needed to be with Marsha, she would want her XO with her. The thought of duty still resonated in my mind.
“Do your duty,” the voice in my mind called out.
“Major?” Tutor queried me.
“That’s an order!” I snapped.
“You’re in no condition to do that!” Tutor countermanded me.
“Do your duty,” I wondered who was saying that but it was a good idea. “I’ll be fine, just get me to the bridge or I’ll do it myself,” I growled at him. Blood loss was making me less than lucid.
One of Lady Broaden’s guards slipped under my arm and put a hand around my waist. “Do as Lady Sandra orders, Confederacy,” he said in Terran.
I could see Tutor stiffen he might not have understood the words but he couldn’t mistake the tone of voice. He followed suit and helped me stand. I winced as the pain in my leg overwhelmed the numbness of the painkillers.
Marsha stood overlooking the scene played out on the screens. With a grateful nod to Tutor and the guard I limped over to Marsha. Ellie and her mother were standing close to the helm watching the battle. Dagger like Terran cruisers fought each other. I saw a brief flash as a cruiser blew apart. The flash was the fire of the explosions before the vacuum of space snuffed it out. I couldn’t tell friend from foe both fleets displayed the Sun and moon insignia of the Terran Empire.
“How long to the wormhole,” Marsha asked her Fandaran navigator.
“Ten minutes ma’am!” The Fandaran shouted back.
“Captain!” The T’Arni at the sensor console called out.
“What is it?”
“One of the Imperial ships is breaking off combat and is on an intercept course.”
“Time to intercept?”
“To far away to be a threat.”
“Helm best speed.”
“Aye Captain.”
It was then that Marsha noticed I was there. “Major Locke reporting for duty,” I snapped a salute that would have done any drill sergeant proud.
She scowled at me. “Get yourself off my bridge and to the medbay XO!”
The combination of adrenaline, blood loss and painkillers made me stubborn. “You need me here. I need to do my duty.” Luckily the sensor operator diverted Marsha’s attention away from me.
“Captain the enemy ship is accelerating.”
“Time to intercept?”
“Not enough to be a problem.”
“Notify me if it changes.”
“Aye captain.”
Marsha turned her attention to Ellie and her mother. “You two ready?”
“We will be captain,” Lady Camelia said to her.
“Sandra medbay now!” Marsha ordered me.
I wavered, the strength draining from me. “You may be right,” I admitted reluctantly. I staggered over to Marsha’s chair and sat. “Just a minute,” I gasped.
“Just stay there!” Marsha said her eyes on the screen in front of her.
“Thirty seconds to event horizon Captain,” the Fandaran navigator announced.
“All crew brace for action!” Marsha barked.
A flash of light blanked out the screens for a second. When they came back on normal space had been replaced by the orange swirling clouds of the wormhole. I breathed a sigh of relief we were safe. Marsha turned from her view of the screen and strode over to the chair. I could see anger in her eyes, anger at me.
“You!” she snorted then stopped aware of the eyes upon her.
“Ma’am!” the T’Arni at the sensor called out.
“Sensors?”
“I detected an energy spike.”
“Energy spike?”
“Yes ma’am the same sort of reading we get on entering the wormhole. I think we’ve been followed in?”
“Is that possible?” Marsha addressed her question to Ellie.
“Possible if they have a key,” Ellie replied thoughtfully.
“Does the Empire have another key?”
“Professor Michael has one he’s the one that discovered how to use them.”
“He’d never betray us,” Lady Camelia added, “I tried to keep an eye on him but he vanished without a trace. I think if the Usurper had found him we’d know about it.”
“Too late to worry about that now. Sensors!”
“Yes ma’am.”
“Keep alert let me know the moment the situation changes.”
“Aye ma’am.”
“Now XO get yourself to the medbay.”
I tried to get up but my vision narrowed and rapidly faded. The last thing I heard was Marsha shouting. “Get a crash team up here now!”
Slowly my awareness came creeping back I opened my eyes but my blurred vision was making it difficult to focus a dark shape moved overhead. I blinked and began to see things clearer. There was a mechanical spider above my head. A tube of red fluid spiralled down to my arm. Weakened I tried to move but found I couldn’t lift my leg. It felt heavy and like a thousand tiny spiders were running all over it. In a blind moment of panic I thought it was gone. Confused I glanced down my blood running cold. Surrounding my wounded leg was a large metal cylinder a portable version of a Cellular Regenerator.
I shivered I had been encased in a full size model on more than one occasion. The Cellular Regenerator or Cell Stitcher as it was more euphemistically known as rebuilt the cells in the affected area be it a wound or a burn. The device operated on a cellular level replacing damage cell by cell. I doubted the Terran Empire had them they were T’Arni technology. Forgetting the Regenerator for the moment I concentrated on my immediate predicament. I was dressed in medbay pyjamas or ‘PJ’s’ the pale cream fine meshed garments consisted of a pair of pants and a shirt. I was glad that at least I was dressed. I could see some of Lady Broaden’s guards occupied the other beds. I couldn’t see any sign of Sarah or her patient. A shadow fell across my field of vision I recognised Doc Brown’s face.
“Where are Sarah and Miriam?” I was concerned about my squad members even if Miriam wasn’t one of them.
“Awake at last,” Doc Brown remarked. “They’re safe and away from here that’s all you need to know,” then added, “that was incredibly stupid not receiving medical attention straight away.”
“I had to do my duty,” I replied lamely. Now that I had the time to think about it I could see I had behaved irrationally.
Doc Brown snorted. “Really I didn’t know you had Valkyrie blood in you? You’ve been associating with the captain too long otherwise she wouldn’t have tried to turn you into one.”
“Look sorry Doc I wasn’t thinking straight.” Fat chance I’d ever be mistaken for a Valkyrie too short and not blonde.
“I’m not the one you should be apologising to,” he told me, “ Captain Yanik carried you down here, wouldn’t let any take you from her until she laid you on the bed. She wanted to know when you woke.”
I felt uneasy about that. I hadn’t wanted to make a scene in front of her I had let Marsha down. “How long have I been out?”
“Two days.”
“What! Two days?”
“I had you sedated most of the time. I had to get the Regenerator a chance to work properly.”
“Where are we?” I was still getting over the shock of being out for two days.
“In the Melanos system,” Doc Brown replied then he looked up and smiled. “Captain.”
“Marsha?” I said my face blushing. She ignored me and looked at the Doc Brown
Marsha ignored me. “How’s your patient?”
“Making a good recovery.”
“Good,” she turned without a further word and was gone.
My heart sank Marsha had totally ignored me and that meant I was in deep trouble.
Doc Brown checked the casing on my leg and the monitor beside my bed. “Healing fast, you'll will be up and walking in a day or so,” he reassured me.
I could only nod in reply still in thought over my relationship with Marsha.
“Major Locke,” A familiar voice called out.
“Shawna?” I was glad to see her. At least she was talking to me even if Marsha wasn’t.
“You ok?” She asked me.
“Yeah I suppose so.”
“You scared us all when we thought you weren’t going to make it. I know we followed your orders to get out of there,” she hesitated, “I hated it, really hated it when Vorra came back with out you, I thought you were dead. Lady Broaden was mad as hell that you weren’t on the shuttle with us. She made her people go back for you I’m glad they did.”
“Thanks Shawna,” At least she wasn’t ignoring me the way Marsha had.
I changed the subject. “Did you get Betsy back?”
“Yes Sandra. I can call you that?”
“That’s ok Shawna we’re off duty now.”
“Thanks,” she seemed to relax. Captain Yanik allowed me to review the footage from the dataslice. You did Betsy proud Sandra.”
“Thanks, look I’m sorry will you tell the rest of the squad.”
“Sorry for what?”
“My actions in the shuttle bay I wasn’t thinking straight that was inexcusable.”
“That’s alright Sandra you were under stress and the ship was in danger.”
“You will tell the squad that.”
“Already done, just get yourself recovered,” she patted my hand, “gotta go Doc’s giving me the evils.”
“Ok,” I leaned back in the bed with my eyes closed listening to the sounds around me.
A buzzing behind my ear woke me I opened my eyes and glanced around Lottie was calling me. “Lottie where have you been?” I hadn’t heard a thing from her since I asked her to help Vorra.
“Been Sandra, I cannot go anywhere I’m locked inside your head.”
I had to concede the point. “Ok, ok I just I haven’t heard a peep from you since I asked you to help Vorra get the defences back online.”
“I was busy hacking into the Imperial Comms Net.”
“What? I never asked you to do that?”
“Oh but you did.”
I couldn’t remember asking her I was certain about that. “Why? What did you find out?” I wasn’t sure what Lottie was on about.
“I was looking into your past,” Lottie paused whether for dramatic effect or something else she had my full attention, “it seems that Camelia Broaden was correct in calling you Lady Sandra and it had nothing to do with trying to bolster your ego. It was a statement of fact you are Lady Sandra. The title is real. Your father was the Comté De Alsace.”
“Comté?”
“Count of Alsace a region that was part of the old country of France. Count is a type of titled lord of the land. You even have an estate there.”
“Impossible!” I growled, “dad never said anything about this. Did mother know?”
“Never the less whatever you were told or not told it remains the truth.”
Then it dawned on me that this was what Com Ops had been hinting about when they refused my reinstatement. Did they know all this time? Little wonder they were so cagey about the mission and all it entailed. “There must be more?”
“Someone has been trying to erase all mention of your family’s existence on the network.”
“Why? When and who?”
“That I can’t say. I do know it was done after the Empire changed ownership and done from the highest level of government,” Lottie paused again, “one thing I did learn is that you have an aunt and a cousin current whereabouts unknown but mention of them has also been erased.”
I was stunned by Lottie’s revelation. “Thanks Lottie I need time to think.”
“Just call if you need me.”
I lay in bed staring at the ceiling thoughts like little motors whirling around in my head. Despite the painkillers I was starting to get the beginnings of a mammoth headache. I closed my eyes to and must have drifted off to sleep. I dreamed someone was calling me. I knew it wasn’t Lottie it was the same voice reminding me of duty the same one that convinced me to ignore my wounds and head up to the bridge.
The voice said. “She comes; she comes, bring her to us.”
I woke again to finding Marsha leaning over me she seemed to be searching my face a worried frown on hers.
“I’m sorry,” I croaked mouth dry and my throat parched. I saw Marsha lean across me and I heard the sound of water being poured into a glass. Something cold and wet was pressed to my mouth. I drank a little feeling better for it.
“Better?” she said her voice not rising above a whisper.
“Yes.”
“That was incredibly stupid,” she said satisfied that I was not thirsty. “The sort of thing I’d expect from my own clan and not you.”
“I had a duty to the ship,” I know it sounded lame but I had no idea why I did it.
“That duty ended the moment you were wounded!”
“I can only apologise for my actions. I guess it was the painkillers the Terrans gave me?” I wasn’t going to tell her I was hearing voices, “perhaps the drugs were confusing my link to Lottie?”
Marsha looked thoughtful gazing deep into my face. “Would drugs cause your implant to malfunction?” I could hear the doubt in her voice. She glanced up with a frown. “We’ll talk again later. I will be back.”
“Well” I asked Lottie after she had gone.
“Not possible Sandra,” she told me smugly.
“I’m certain I heard a voice telling me to do my duty. Are you sure that wasn’t you?”
“Certainly not!” Lottie protested, “there might have been something though.”
“Oh?”
“I was getting interference.”
“I tell Vorra to stop.”
“It wasn’t an Ezaran signal, something from outside.”
Her words really didn’t comfort me. “Oh great so where did it come from?”
“I will find out. I’ll be busy for the next few hours get some rest.”
“Lottie!” I cursed, “get yourself back here!”
“Lottie?” I hadn’t heard Marsha return.
I wasn’t sure what to say. In the end I had to tell her.
Marsha blushed red as I told her the truth about Lottie. “Ok say I believe you and you are not going mad. It knows about our night?”
I explained further. To her credit she listened in silence. “If you want I can have it removed.”
I felt reluctant to rid myself of Lottie despite some of things she had done. I was beginning to consider her a friend. “No leave it as is. She can be a pain at times but she more than made up for it when I need her to. We would have never got off Anwa Padak if it hadn’t been for her efforts.”
“I defer to your judgement on this Sandra but the moment it becomes a problem I’ll turn it over to Vorra.” I was sure she aimed that last threat at Lottie now she knew what she was capable of. “Now Sandra get some rest. Once you’re up and walking we are going to have a long chat,” that sounded ominous.
I drifted off to sleep not long after she had left the second time.
A gentle hand on my shoulder woke me. In a moment of confusion I couldn’t remember where I was then the memories came flooding back. It was semi dark in the medbay and I could just about make out a figure in the dim light.
“Lady Camelia?”
“Just call me Camelia. Get up we have to hurry.”
I became fully alert at the urgency in her voice. “What’s going on?”
“We have to get down to the planet.”
“We?”
“You, me and Ellie?”
“I can’t go anywhere I’m still strapped into the machine.” I waved a hand in the direction of my leg.
“I’ve already removed that you’ll be fine.”
I sat up and swung me legs over the side of the bed and slowly stood up being careful of the weight on my injured leg.
Suddenly a thought occurred to me. “Why the rush and why all the secrecy?” then thought, “does Captain Yanik know?”
“Yes, yes now hurry,” Camelia pulled me through the door of the medbay.
Ellie was waiting outside with one of her mother’s guards. She looked relieved to see me.
“I did come earlier but you were asleep,” she told me, “I wanted to thank you for rescuing mother.” She gave her mother a look. “Is this necessary Sandra’s still wounded? I doubt Captain Yanik would have given you permission if she had known you were dragging her friend along?”
Camelia took a grip of my arm. “Not here, not now we can discuss this on the shuttle.”
“Shuttle? I haven’t had time to brief my squad let alone debrief them on what happened on Tate’s world?”
“They aren’t coming.”
“What?” I tensed up.
“They can’t come it isn’t permitted.”
“Why?”
“I can’t say more than that.”
“Well wherever we are going I’ll need weapons and armour.”
Camelia stopped and regarded me through narrowed eyes. “There are weapons on the shuttle,” she gave my current state of dress her eye, “and clothes you’ll need will thermals it gets cold in the archives.”
Inside the shuttle bay I dressed in the thermal suit I was given. The suit consisted of boots and padded pants and a long equally padded coat with a fur edged hood all in Confederacy grey. I belted on the suit’s power pack and entered Camelia’s shuttle expecting more people to be there than there was. The only other occupants of the shuttle was Camelia’s captain and the pilot. There were still bloodstains on the carpet. I shivered at the thought that it was mostly my blood.
“This everyone?”
“As much as I could bring,” Camelia answered, “could you be a dear and unlock the bay doors. Captain Yanik told me you would.”
I should have been more suspicious as I punched in the codes to open the bay doors I guess the drugs in my system were making me more susceptible to suggestion. Only when I sat back down that I realised something was very wrong.
“You never got Marsha’s permission?” I accused Camelia.
“Not so, but she refused to let us take you with us. I need you here.”
“What’s going on?” I said alarmed.
“Oh Sandra don’t make it hard for us,” she gestured to her captain.
Ellie sat there pale faced and staring. “So sorry Sandra, mother lied to the both of us.”
I felt a sharp object press into my neck and blackness took me.