by Ricky Sides
Chapter 12
The Athens landed on the flight deck of the Damroyal. Within moments, one of the converted APCs that had been altered to serve as an air ambulance landed behind the battleship. Doctor Sanchez accompanied the patient, as he was loaded aboard the APC for the short flight to the flight bay, inside the gigantic Damroyal. Once there, she would brief Maggie as to the condition of the patient and everything that she had done to this point to save his life.
Evan spent the first thirty minutes working. He granted his crew a twelve-hour leave that they could spend aboard the Damroyal, which was to all intents and purposes, a floating city, complete with its own recreation center and dining hall. The recreation room was actually a series of rooms, consisting of a weight room, a hand-to-hand combat training room, and movie room with a large screen.
There was also a small club where the peacekeepers could meet to socialize. The club had dancing, and even served alcoholic beverages, but there was a two drink limit on those, and before you could get a drink you had to produce a signed pass indicating you were off duty and would be for hours. Getting caught ordering a drink for a friend in order to help him exceed the two-drink limit was treated as a serious infraction that in the past had resulted in the permanent banning of patrons.
Lisa came aboard the Athens to spend the night with Evan before he left the next morning on his next mission. However, Evan took one look at his pregnant wife and said, “I think we should stay aboard the Damroyal tonight. You look as if you could deliver at any moment.”
“I feel as if I could, too,” she said resting her forehead against Evan’s. “In fact, I think maybe you should call for the air ambulance.”
Evan leaned back to look at her face to see if she was teasing him. He could see the pained expression on her face and realized that she must be in labor. A moment later her face relaxed and she said, “It must have been a false pain. Maybe it’s the excitement of seeing you again. I’m not accustomed to being away from you.”
“I don’t think we should take a chance,” Evan said. He took a step back and he was turning to go to the radio station when he heard Lisa cry out in alarm. Spinning around, he saw her holding on to the back of his chair as the lower portion of her pants darkened from a spreading pool of liquid. “Has your water broken?” he asked in alarm.
“I’m not sure, but I think so. God, this is embarrassing.”
“Don’t be embarrassed, Lisa. It’s perfectly natural,” Doctor Sanchez said. She had just arrived to give the captain a report concerning the disposition of the patient they had delivered to the Damroyal.
“Captain, recall the ambulance. They just left and probably haven’t even entered the Damroyal yet. Join us in the cargo bay. Maggie will want to be involved in this delivery, if she can spare the time, and I think she can. The man we brought in is in surgery, and another surgeon who specializes in abdominal surgery is performing the operation,” she explained, and then she led Lisa into the corridor.
Evan managed to catch the APC as it was approaching the flight bay entrance. He asked them to come back for a medical emergency, received confirmation that they were en route, and then he sprinted down the corridor.
He caught up with them just before they reached the cargo bay.
Lisa stopped walking and closed her eyes. She grunted in pain, but it soon passed. “Are you ready?” asked the doctor.
Lisa nodded her head and took Evan’s hand in hers. “I’m glad you’re here. I was so afraid you’d miss our baby’s birth.”
“So am I,” Evan responded with emotion evident in his voice.
“Maggie’s going to miss the delivery if we don’t get going,” Doctor Sanchez quipped.
“You sound a lot like Mom,” Lisa said with a smile as she resumed her awkward journey to the air ambulance, which Evan saw landing behind the Athens through the open bay door.
Seeing the men exiting the ambulance, Lisa said, “Evan, tie your shirt around my waist please. I don’t want them to see me like this.”
“Sure, Honey,” Evan said as he took off his long sleeved BDU shirt. It only took a few moments to tie it loosely around her waist, and then they were moving again. Evan wasn’t surprised by her request. He understood that there was more than modesty involved. During the months they had spent in seclusion aboard the Damroyal, Lisa had confided things to him about her captivity that no one else knew. One of those things was that Reggie had had a special fondness for sexually assaulting her when she was most vulnerable. Once she had lain sick with a bad fever for two days, during which time, he had repeatedly raped her. Because of that childhood experience, Lisa couldn’t bear to appear physically vulnerable in front of men unless she knew them well.
As they passed the duty guards, Evan told them that Lisa was going to have the baby, and that he would be aboard the Damroyal if anyone needed him.
***
“I’m sure, Admiral. It’s time I took our forces back to Cuba,” Ramon stated with certainty.
“Can I ask what has changed?” Jim asked because he was concerned about the safety of Ramon and the other Cuban peacekeepers who had sought sanctuary aboard the Damroyal.
“I fear that you will think me an ignorant, superstitious man, Admiral, but since you asked, I owe you an explanation.”
“There are no debts between us, Captain. And I can’t imagine thinking of you as an ignorant, superstitious man.”
“Do you recall the woman, named Ruth, who assisted me in Cuba during the plague?”
“That was the former nun. Yes, I do.”
“Last night, I was restless, so I went out onto the flight deck of the Damroyal with my strike team leader to inspect the Havana. While we were on the deck, I saw a vaporous mist form out of thin air. It coalesced into the form of that woman. For just a moment, she looked solid, but then she became translucent and I could see the stars that were behind her through her form. While she was solid for merely a moment, it was long enough for her to look me in the eyes. She didn’t say a word. Instead, she turned and pointed to the Havana. Keeping her arm extended, she raised it over her head, turned and brought the arm down until it was aligned to the southwest.”
“You believe it was a message that it was time for you to return to Cuba?” Jim asked.
“I do. My strike team leader saw it too,” Ramon stated defensively.
“I have no reason to doubt your word, Ramon. You are free to return to your homeland. Be careful, my friend. It would sadden me to hear that some of your fellow Cubans had killed you.”
“That would not bring me joy either, my friend. Thank you for understanding. Rest assured that I will not permit anyone to seize the air assets. We will be most vigilant in that regard.”
“I have the utmost faith in you. If any man takes the Havana, it would be over your dead body and the bodies of your crew.”
Ramon swallowed a lump in his throat. Jim had just paid the Cuban crew the ultimate compliment that anyone could give them. “As God is my witness, I will never let you down, Admiral.”
“You never have,” Jim replied. “Draw all the supplies the Havana can transport from stores. You may be in isolation when you return to Cuba, at least for a while. That beach we surveyed on the northeast coast would be a good spot, so would the little town you helped to save on the northwest.”
“We appreciate the supplies. As you say, we may indeed be isolated for a while.”
When Jim broke the contact with Ramon, he ordered communications to contact the Damroyal and authorize anything the Cubans requested. Turning to the pilot, he asked, “How long until we reach the Damroyal?”
“Another hour and fifteen minutes, sir,” responded the pilot.
“Thank you. Communications, send a message to Lina aboard the Damroyal. Tell her I’ll be arriving soon to see my new granddaughter.”
***
“Do not land here, Captain,” the Havana base commander advised Ramon. “I’m afraid the mood of the men is still such that they might react p
oorly.”
“I understand. We won’t land at the base, but we will remain in Cuba. You will be able to reach us if you need us,” Ramon pledged. He said goodbye to the commander, and then he ordered the pilot to fly to Cabo de San Antonio.
The Havana landed on the outskirts of the little city where Ramon had camped during the plague. Most of the fighters landed near the patrol ship. Eight of the thirty were flying a discrete survey mission to see if there had been significant changes to the isle in the weeks during their absence. They were under orders to avoid flying over Havana.
Ramon exited the ship in the company of the strike team leader and two of his men. They saw a large group of men and women in the street headed toward them at a rapid pace.
The crowd greeted Ramon like a long lost friend. He hadn’t known it, but to the people of Cabo de San Antonio, the crew of the Havana was all heroes and their captain was now a legendary figure.
Ramon explained that the peacekeeper forces needed to stay in the city for a while, and then he explained why. He was pleased when the people offered to open their homes to the peacekeepers if they needed shelter, but he declined the offer, explaining that they would have to camp beside their fighters and that the Havana could house all of the peacekeepers who would be staying in the city. He did warn them that the aircraft would come and go a lot as they flew on their various patrol missions, but they were understanding in that regard. They had been the recipients of the aid that such missions sometimes carried out. The fact that the peacekeeper aircraft operated very quietly at low speeds mitigated the problems their presence would present.
Since they had no enclosure to secure their aircraft, they would maintain a watch with the Havana and a few of the fighters.
Ramon met with the pilots and gave them the schedule that he had worked out during the flight to the city on the northwest coast of the island. That schedule had them patrolling the waters off the northern shoreline of Cuba twenty-four hours a day, seven days a week. When some of the pilots asked if he suspected that the air raiders would eventually attack Cuba, he confirmed that he did indeed expect them eventually to attack Havana and the peacekeeper base there. Pulling his copy of the captured map depicting a flight plan from Montana to Havana, he added, “I think something tipped off the enemy that we were aware of their intentions, so they changed their original plans for the raid. But yes, I believe they will yet raid Cuba, and when they come, they will do so in large numbers.”
“Then we will blow them out of the sky,” one pilot said derisively.
“I believe that we will indeed win, but remember, these people now have lasers, and, they captured several fighters. It is wishful thinking to believe that they haven’t had time to learn to target the weapons systems properly. If they send those fighters against us, they could, at least in theory, wage a devastating hit and run war against us. What man among you couldn’t do the same to them, if you knew the location of their base?”
That sobering thought stopped all the cynical comments and the pilots got down to some serious planning for how best to deal with a large group of armed civilian aircraft with multiple fighters acting as air support.
***
“She is so pretty, isn’t she, Dad?” asked Evan as he stared at his daughter cradled in Lisa’s arms.
“She is indeed.” Looking at Lisa, Jim said, “Maggie says you had an easy delivery. I’m happy to hear that. I was a bit concerned.”
“She said it was easy?” Lisa asked incredulously.
Lina laughed and said, “I doubt Lisa would think it easy.”
“I thought I was going to die more than once. No, I didn’t think it was at all easy,” Lisa confirmed. Looking at her husband, she added, “But Evan was there for me the whole time. He helped me through it, as he has always helped me through the bad times. If he wanted me to, I would have as many children as he wants.”
Evan’s eyes misted over with an uncharacteristic display of emotion. For a moment, he was almost overwhelmed by the memory of Lisa’s agony during the childbirth. “I thank you for our daughter, but no thank you on the offer for more children. I’ll not put you through that again.”
Maggie frowned and said, “Honey, I’m afraid Evan is right. There shouldn’t be any more children in your future. Not if you want to pursue a career as a flight officer.”
“I understand that, Mom, so I guess Beth will be an only child, unless we have another unexpected pregnancy. When will we be able to join Evan aboard the ship?”
“You’re off duty for two weeks. Medically, there is no reason that you can’t leave with him in the morning, but there is the baby to consider. The G-Force accelerations are my main concern. If she isn’t properly positioned and supported, the acceleration would kill Beth.”
“Then I guess I’m off the crew, because I won’t risk our baby.”
“Did you really think I’d let it come down to this?” Jim asked Lisa with a smile.
“What? I don’t understand your question,” Lisa said in confusion.
“Pol and I discussed this problem after we discovered how fast the Athens would be capable of accelerating. He designed a set of acceleration beds for the baby. One will be in your cabin, and the other will be in the infirmary, where the baby will be watched by the medical staff while you’re on duty.”
“That was so nice of you and Pol, but are you sure it’s safe?”
“Pol designed it. Have you ever known him to design anything that was faulty?”
“No, he’s a perfectionist,” Lisa responded with a relieved expression on her face.
“Besides, we knew this would be a problem with a baby aboard, even on a slower ship, so a great deal of Evan’s advanced training dealt with utilizing strategies that avoid mass acceleration.”
“So that’s why the instructors often eliminated that option during our simulations,” Evan stated. “Thank you, Dad.”
“You’re welcome.”
“He’s right, Lisa. I can’t say we’ll never have to resort to full acceleration, but I can say that there are almost always options that you can exercise that are as good. Thanks to Dad and my instructors, I have the training to know those options and select one of them.”
“Good. Then someone can teach me how the bed works and in two weeks I will return to duty.”
“Yes, just as soon as Doctor Sanchez signs off on your return to duty status,” Evan stated.
“I’ll have the beds installed in the ship tonight,” Jim promised. “Now, when do I get to hold my granddaughter?” he asked impatiently.
Evan smiled as he watched Jim take Beth in his arms and stare at her with love evident in his eyes. “You have your mother’s eyes, don’t you, precious?” he said to the baby who responded by placing her balled up fists next to her eyes as if she were about to cry.
“It will be your turn soon,” Evan observed.
“I know and I can hardly wait. You’ll have a little brother or a sister then.”
“And Beth will have a playmate at times,” Lisa observed.
“If the two of them are anything like you and Evan, they’ll get into a world of mischief,” Maggie observed. Then, looking at Jim, she asked, “Are you going to hog the baby all night? I think Lina would like to hold her and then I want a turn.”
***
“I need answers, Doctor,” Jim said irritably an hour later.
“I know you do, Admiral,” Maggie stated archly. “But this man is in no condition to be questioned.
The two friends stared at one another in a contest of wills. Jim was adamant that he needed to question the man that Evan’s crew had rescued at the Tennessee Ark site, but Maggie was equally assertive when she said that was impossible, given his current condition.
“Admiral? Are you Jim Wilison?” asked the patient who had been awakened by the sound of their heated discussion.
“Yes, I am,” Jim said quietly.
“We tried to defend the civilians, Admiral, but there were too many of them for u
s. They took hostages at the first sign of resistance and killed half a dozen when we refused to lay down our weapons, but we didn’t surrender, sir. We took the fight to them then, but they cut most of us down. I fought them until I ran out of ammunition, but then they captured me.”
“You did the best you could under the circumstances. No one blames you and the rest of the former peacekeepers,” Jim assured the wounded man.
“They tied me to a stake and stabbed me. They thought I’d die by nightfall, but I didn’t. I made up my mind that I’d live, somehow, so I could warn you. I heard some of the men talking while they were tying me to the stake. They are planning to raid Cuba soon. You can catch them there, sir.”
“Did they mention where their base is located?” Jim asked.
“No, but they did say it was in the mountains. I remember that’s where they said they were taking the prisoners. The men will be forced to work and the women will be put to, other uses,” he said tactfully in Maggie’s presence.
“What were they flying?” asked Jim.
“I saw cars, trucks, a tractor trailer style rig, and two APC class vehicles.”
“Did they have any fighters with them?”
“Fighters? No, I didn’t see any fighters,” the man said tiredly. He had had his eyes closed as he answered the last two questions.
Maggie motioned for Jim to come away from the bed and let the man rest.
Jim turned and walked toward the door. “Admiral,” Jim heard the man say. Turning, he looked and saw that the man had his eyes open and was looking in his direction. “They mentioned digging. They said they were glad to get more slaves to replace the ones who’d died because if they hadn’t, then they would have had to start digging out the chambers.”
“Thank you. That helps,” Jim stated. “What’s your name?”
“Jeremy Sidel, sir.”
“Jeremy, when you get well, you come see me if you want to rejoin the peacekeepers.”