Brooke overheard and glanced at Ari. “Be done in a moment.” After a final functional test, she patted Walt on the shoulder. “Thanks, honey, you’re a scholar and a gentleman.”
“Katie, why don’t you help Merrick put on his armor,” Ari said, “and Brooke, if you wouldn’t mind helping me….”
The two men sat against the port side gurney as the nurses assisted with the leggings and upper armor. Then, after securing the latches on Ari’s suit, Brooke leaned back and frowned. “You sure want to be facing in the right direction if you get into trouble down there. You have gaps around these closures in the back.”
“Yeah, we’re aware,” Merrick said. “It was the best I could find. We’ll just have to live with it.”
Katie couldn’t help smiling as she looked Merrick over.
“What?” Merrick murmured.
“You look—well—massive,” she said in genuine admiration, “—really powerful.”
Merrick struck a body-builder’s pose, giving everyone a well-needed laugh.
Jack abruptly raised his hand to silence the crew. “What was that Candy? Didn’t catch that last bit.” Jack listened with one hand covering his in-ear com-link. “Oh, boy! This could get dicey.” He turned to face Ari.
The laughter had disappeared from Ari’s face, replaced by sober concern. “What is it?”
“Well,” Jack said, half smiling, “it appears Adie’s finished in the kitchen. She’s heading for her room to—”
“Sounds like good news to me,” Ari interrupted. “She’ll probably—”
“—do some reading before heading to the shower,” Jack continued. “What’s she reading, Doc—the Bible? Is this something she does every night?”
Somewhat distracted, Ari said, “Her devotion, she’s doing her evening devotion—maybe twenty to thirty minutes. She doesn’t read the Bible until later.”
Jack stared at the floor trying to concentrate. “Okay, so let’s say five minutes to get to the room and relax and twenty-five to read; five more to gather her things and reach the showers, and fifteen to thirty minutes to shower. That’s fifty to sixty-five minutes—right?” He looked up at Merrick. “How long till we set down in the compound?”
“We begin auto-braking in five minutes,” Merrick said, “then thirty minutes to Earth orbit. Twenty minutes later, we’ll be on the ground. Add five or ten minutes for Doc to egress and locate her, and we’re looking at sixty to—”
“Sixty-five minutes,” completed Jack. “Doc, you may have to carry her out in the—”
“Don’t say it,” Ari interrupted, now flushed. “I know...good grief, what incredible timing.” All he could do was shake his head. “Let’s just hope it’s a quick shower…. Keep us abreast of that, Jack.”
“That’s—not—funny,” Brooke jested, in a singsong voice.
Distracted and puzzled by Brooke's comment, Ari soon caught her meaning. “Oh, for heaven’s sake,” he bemoaned, and everyone laughed.
Moments later, Merrick initiated auto-braking by rotating the craft on its axis to point in the opposite direction, then slowly throttled up to achieve maximum deceleration. “Thirty minutes to Earth orbit,” he called out.
The atmosphere in the cabin took on a more serious tone as Ari and Merrick began functional tests with the helmets. When complete, the helmets came off, and Ari asked Jack for the latest intel.
“For starters,” Jack said, “it’s warm and humid down there—nearly eighty degrees, so it may be a little toasty in that armor. Right now, the Syrian commanders are debating the best time to attack, though it’s unlikely they’ll make their move before dark.”
“Have you spoken with the controller about a landing spot?” Ari asked.
“Yep, ops believes our best bet is to settle down and hover just above the roof of the multipurpose building, where Adie should be. The roof is hard and flat but definitely won’t hold our weight. Merrick, you’ll need to position us at the north end of the building and use the station-keeping gear to lock us in position. Now Doc, when the ramp deploys, you’ll walk out onto the roof, move maybe 50 feet to the stairway entrance, and go down to the washroom. At the bottom of the stairs you’ll see the showers, and probably Adie, across the room to your right.”
Ari thanked Jack and spoke up to address the crew. “Listen everyone, I thought I would touch on a few possible scenarios, so we don’t go in completely cold.
“First, you should know something up front. Whether the offensive has begun or not, as long as Adie is alive, this mission goes forward. Do you all understand? Can you support this?”
The answer came as a unanimous “YES!”
“Okay then, here’s the ideal scenario: The offensive doesn’t begin during the rescue, I am able to sedate Adie without issue and safely carry her to the landing craft. Under those circumstances, we’ll give her an exam and correct whatever medical issues we can while we move her to a safe location. We have three doses of sedative. That should be plenty.”
“How much does she weigh, Doc,” Brooke asked, “and how far will you have to carry her?”
“I should be able to carry her without much problem. It will only be around 50 yards, and Earth gravity should help some…. Anyway, another possibility is that she is injured and unconscious, but the wounds aren’t life threatening. Under those circumstances, we’ll give her the exam and treat her wounds, plus anything else we can. If we need more time, Jack will work that out with ops. Now it is possible that she could be wounded and need to remain conscious. In that case, we’ll probably be dealing with fear and confusion—even shock. Walt, that’s where you come in. She’ll need a lot of reassurance, understanding, and calm smiling faces from everyone—even you, Jack,” Ari poked with a grin.
“What language should we use if she’s awake?” Katie asked.
“Right now, she seems most comfortable with modern Hebrew,” Ari replied.
“And what if you’re wounded...or, heaven forbid, killed?” Walt said.
Ari thought carefully before responding. “Again, as long as Adie is alive and Merrick feels he can get her out, the mission goes forward. If somehow all three of us are lost, then hit that red icon on the pilot’s console, and go. Don’t worry about the suits or our bodies. If we’re killed, the suits will vaporize. No evidence will be left behind.”
The cabin once again fell silent as the crew contemplated the gravity of their undertaking. Even Katie, normally light-hearted and upbeat, now felt great foreboding at what might await Ari and possibly Merrick on the surface below.
Jack broke the silence. “Okay, looks like Adie is heading for the shower. I expect to lose our visual feed in the next ten minutes, when the censor kicks in.”
“Be losing it in about fifteen minutes, anyway,” warned Merrick, “when I bring the visual camouflage on-line. You won’t have it back until we’re in place on the roof and I uncover the reception equipment. Of course that will be incoming imagery only...ops still won’t be able to monitor the cabin.”
“Good to know,” Jack said.
———————
The craft entered Earth orbit on schedule. Merrick swiveled in his seat to alert Jack. “Visual camouflage in two minutes.”
Jack nodded and updated Candy.
Halfway through his Earth entry checklist, Merrick called out, “Going red.” He brought the cabin illumination down to twenty percent and changed from full spectrum lighting to red.
For Katie, the cabin had taken on an eerie, unfamiliar mood. The crew’s conversation somehow seemed less reassuring and more mysterious; their faces, pale and lifeless. She felt foreboding and turned to Walt for consolation. “Why did he change the lighting?”
Walt sensed her uneasiness. “Because we’ll be working in fairly low light levels. It will help our eyes adjust.”
Still looking at Walt, Katie used her hand to shield her words from the others, and whispered, “Is it okay to be afraid? I feel so unworthy to be here.”
Admiring her ho
nesty, Walt pondered for a moment, and said, “You must have seen some of what went on during the great war in Europe.”
Katie nodded. “We all did.”
“Then tell me, which effort struck you as the most heroic?”
Surprised at his question, Katie paused to think. “I guess, for me it was the Americans when they defended that French town...Bastogne.”
“A perfect example,” affirmed Walt. “But didn’t you see the fear in many of those young men? Didn’t you hear their prayers—their confessions? Even so, they still managed their fear and relied on their training. And how do you remember them? Weren’t they among the most selfless heroes you ever saw?” Walt raised his voice, aware the others were listening. “Let’s be honest now...everyone who’s afraid, raise your hand.” Hands went up. “Look around you, Katie. Do you see anyone who didn’t raise a hand?”
Katie shook her head, a little embarrassed.
“That’s right, and you may not have noticed, but Doc Stratford up there, one of the bravest men I know—he raised two.
“So consider this,” Walt continued. “We’re on a mission to save the life of a lovely young woman who will almost certainly die without our help. Now, if we all do our jobs and find success, how do you think history will remember this event? Five hundred years from now, what will Marcovan school children learn about this crew? Will they learn about our fear, or will they learn about what we did?”
“Nicely put, Doc,” Jack said.
Katie looked at Walt and offered a quiet word of thanks.
———————
“Okay, Jack,” said Ari, “she’s been in the shower for nearly twenty minutes. Let’s get an update...and I need a detailed description of the washroom—what’s in there and where things are located.”
Jack put the request through to Candy and pulled up an overhead image of the room. After listening to Candy’s update, he began. “Here’s what we know: Adie is just now getting out of the shower. She’s in a large, open room that measures about fifty by eighty feet—ceiling looks to be maybe fifteen feet high. The room has two doors and a vehicle entryway. Coming down from the roof, you’ll be using the stairway entrance centered on the west wall. The main door and vehicle entrance are on the north wall. The room itself is mostly empty except for some clothes washers in the northwest corner and the shower in the opposite corner. The shower room measures about six by ten feet, with multiple shower-heads. Next to the shower on the south wall are a toilet, a washbasin, and then a bench. There are a couple of clothes hooks to the right of the mirror. Adie is standing just outside the shower. Her clothes are on the bench with a small bag, what looks like a perfume bottle, and a syringe. Her pistol is holstered and hanging from one of the wall hooks. The only light source in the room is a single bulb above the mirror.”
“What does the roof look like?” Ari asked.
“It has a three-foot parapet all the way around—should provide some cover. As you go down the ramp, the stairway entrance will be straight ahead—no door. Stay clear of the southern half of the roof, or you’ll get into clotheslines.” Jack paused momentarily. “That’s all I have, Doc.”
———————
Merrick brought the small craft down the valley from the north, passing to the right of Mount Hermon. “No moon tonight,” he said. “Pretty dark out there.”
Candy was back on the com-link with Jack, feeding him updates.
“Adie’s just finished drying off,” Jack said. “She’s wrapped herself in a towel, Doc. I doubt very seriously if she’ll be dressed by the time you reach her.”
Ari gave a nod. “Then, I’ll deal with it.”
“Also, looks like the Syrian army is poised and ready; just waiting for the go-ahead. I think the sooner we get you into that washroom, the better.”
Ari turned to Merrick. “Before we forget, let’s set the cabin to Earth gravity.”
Merrick dropped his hand to the console and made the adjustment.
The nurses exchanged smiles.
“Approaching the site,” said Merrick, “one mile out.” He slowed and entered the compound barely above tree level, establishing a hover directly over the target building. Maneuvering thrusters softly fired to point them eastward, and the craft settled into position, inches above the roof. “Station-keeping is engaged—and locked. Jack, I’ve unmasked the transceiver. You should have visuals.” He glanced over at Ari. ”You’re on, Doc.”
CHAPTER 30
Ari’s hands felt cold and clammy as he donned his helmet and moved aft. He paused at the fridge for the multi-injector and clipped it to his belt.
Merrick extended the ramp and keyed his com-link. “Doc, watch your step on the ramp and then going down those stairs. You’re not used to walking on inclines, and that armor’s going to make things difficult.” He returned to monitoring his console.
Ari stopped to shake Walt’s hand and offer the nurses an appreciative smile.
“Make us proud, Doc,” Brooke said, giving him an encouraging pat on the shoulder.
As he started down the ramp into the inky night, his heart began to pound. The air was moist and heavy, full of unfamiliar scents. He stepped onto the roof. Grit and debris crackled under his weight.
“Doc, you need to walk softly,” Jack cautioned. “Adie’s right under you.”
Ari made his way across the roof. In the bottom half of his visor, the heads-up display presented a 3D wireframe of the building. A small green dot indicated Adie’s position in the large room below. “Listen, Jack, I may not be able to watch this tactical display and manage everything else. Assume I’m blind.”
“Will do,” Jack said as he listened to Candy in his other ear. “Doc, our controller tells me she’s starting to see movement in the Syrian line. It won’t be long now.”
Ari entered the stairwell connecting the roof to the washroom below. He grabbed the handrail to steady himself and carefully descended, moments later coming to a stop at the washroom entry. A solitary light drew his attention to a single human figure across the room. There she stood; not a lifeless image on a display, but flesh and blood, wrapped in a towel, humming softly and peering into a poorly hung mirror. How often he had contemplated being with her, talking to her, enjoying her company. The whole scene seemed surreal. He stood there transfixed as she tipped a nearly empty flask of perfume and lightly dabbed behind her ear. Time seemed to lag. He felt strange. Something had changed—something fundamental.
Jack anxiously watched Ari on his display. “Doc—,” he said slowly. “We need to move along here. Troops are nearing the perimeter. I think this thing’s about to kick off.”
Ari snapped back to reality. He felt sweat running down his face and neck. Reaching into his hip pouch, he withdrew the four amber-colored orbs.
The rapid pop-pop of small arms fire erupted outside the compound, followed by two large explosions.
“Zero hour, Doc,” Jack warned. “The assault is underway. They’ve taken out the towers on the north side. Troops are rushing the compound! Make your move!”
With an underhand pitch, Ari tossed the four flash capsules toward the center of the room.
Adie, startled by the uproar outside and the orbs bouncing along the floor, quickly reached and pulled her pistol from its holster.
Ari moved his hand toward the detonation button on his wrist.
“Save your flash caps, Doc!” Jack snapped. “You’re going to need ‘em—company’s coming!”
Muttering into his com-link, Ari said, “Uh...Jack...Adie’s gun...how many bullets?”
Adie racked the slide on her pistol to chamber the first round. She lifted the gun and scanned the room, her sights coming to rest on the large shadowy figure in the stairwell some forty feet away.
“Relax, I don’t think she’s—” Seeing her expression harden, Jack recanted. “Seven! She’s got seven rounds, at most!”
Adie shuddered at the intruder’s massive size. Though shrouded in dim light, the uniform was ob
viously foreign. With heart pounding, her instinct and training took control. It’s a snake, a poisonous snake, she thought. Trigger-squeeze—trigger-squeeze.
“Doc, she looks awfully serious. I think she’s going to—”
Ari braced himself for the first impact, which came as a shattering jolt. He held his ground and started moving forward, demonstrating as little intimidation as possible. His immense stature and menacing appearance worked against him.
Jack’s voice was booming in Ari’s ear. “Watch the slide on the top half of her gun! It’ll lock back after the last round!”
Ari counted the rounds which continued to find their mark, causing flashes and small puffs of smoke as they ricocheted off his dense armor.
The last shot rang out…. When he came to a stop, Adie was just out of reach. The mixture of spent gunpowder and freshly applied perfume filled the air with an odd fragrance.
It was then that he realized...in all of his planning, with the distractions and confusion, he had given little thought to conversation. So, in a calm voice, he just said the first thing that came to mind. “You okay?”
Adie was becoming noticeably pale. In a halting, almost indiscernible voice, she managed only one word. “Super—man.”
Seeing signs of impending collapse, Ari lunged forward. Caught off balance and unable to bear her weight, he followed her to the floor, softening the impact as best he could. Her head hit the concrete, and she rolled onto her back, unconscious. “Ah, nuts,” he blurted out in disgust.
Katie, watching her display, drew a quick breath. “What happened?” she yelled.
“Good grief,” Merrick said. “He’s scared the poor thing to death.”
“What’s my status?” Ari shouted.
“One soldier approaching the north entrance,” Jack said in an urgent tone, “ten yards out—automatic weapon.”
“He’s got to get moving!” Walt prodded.
“Ari, turn around!” yelled Jack. “Your full armor’s in the front!”
Ari turned to face the door and reclined on his side, pushing himself back to shield Adie.
The soldier breached the doorway and burst into the room, gun raised. The door slammed hard against the inside wall.
“Fire the capsule!” Jack yelled. “Now, Ari!”
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