by Paul Dayton
“HAL?” Timothy called out.
“Yes Timothy?”
“Do you need anyone to guard the ship?”
“No. I am quite capable of taking care of my own.” HAL sounded indignant.
“Sorry, I didn’t mean to imply otherwise. Is there any danger to the group if they join us?”
“Probably not, as long as you stay in the working areas of the Base. You are aware of what Meagan said.” Timothy thought back and remembered her words. It was obvious the base soldiers that were also listening in on the conversation.
“One more thing. Can you send a Guard-Bot to meet us at General Harvard’s room? I’m guessing that there’s more here than meets the eye.”
“It’s on its way. You should know that Captain Stormdancer has regained consciousness and has moved to intercept you. There is a ring of ten soldiers in hiding circling the Gravplane. You must cross them to access the wing of the base that leads to the base hospital.”
“Do they have any weapons?” Ruth asked.
“They do, but they appear to be inoperative. The soldiers have not found out how to make gunpowder, and the shells have long been spent in the chaos following the partial destruction of the base and the alien attack. Meagan also informed me that she overheard some soldiers complaining about carrying ineffective weapons, so it’s safe to say that you have to worry about hand to hand combat and non-explosive weapons in some areas.”
“Don’t worry about the soldiers, Sir,” Antwon said. “I’ll let them know you’re going to see General Harvard.”
“Very well then. Lead the way,” Timothy said. “And in answer to your earlier question, the Gravplane has always been fully operational, as has Base Freedom USA, right HAL?”
“Yes. I respond to Timothy, the New World Leader, and his wife Ruth.”
The group of eleven, Timothy, Ruth, Elkana, Elan, Antwon and his soldiers and a few others from the tribe came along to meet the General, while the others led by Sam received instructions on where to access the less damaged and operational parts of the base. They all had transponders injected earlier, and this allowed them to stay in touch in areas where the base communication system was not yet operating.
“Sam, get your team to get a rough estimate on how many people live in or use this base, their general health, and anything that stands out that Meagan might not include in her report to HAL.
“Sure Timothy, but I still feel that you should have more people in your group,” he protested. Timothy knew that Ruth agreed with Sam, but he felt he might be hampered with too many people. He also felt that a large group could look like a takeover attempt instead of the ‘open hand of help’ appearance that he wanted to give.
“Thanks Sam…” he replied, “…but I think I’ll stick with this group for now.”
They walked out of the clearing, and just as Antwon promised, he approached an area that appeared like any other area in the forest and started talking. Within moments Timothy saw movement, and an almost perfectly camouflaged soldier came out of the bush. After him came a second one, then a third, and soon a group of them had circled Timothy and his group. Timothy could see Sam pause and watch them out of the corner of his eye and he hoped Sam wouldn’t interfere.
“I’m here to see General Harvard,” Timothy said in a commanding but friendly voice.
“He’s not well,” a soldier standing next to them said.
Timothy looked at Antwon who appeared upset and uncomfortable. He then gave the camouflaged soldier a long stare and said, “I didn’t inquire about his health, Soldier. What’s your name?”
The soldier looked around nervously, and then said, “Private Diller.”
I’ll make mention of your… concern to Captain Stormdancer, Private,” Timothy said.
At the mention of Captain Stormdancer’s name, the Private noticeably stiffened, which was the reaction Timothy was hoping for. The others surrounding them looked nervously at the private, waiting to see what he would do.
“No need for that sir,” the Private said. “I’ll make sure to let the other soldiers know you’re coming. Pitt!”
“Yes sir!” a soldier said from the group.
“Run ahead and inform the others that there is a…” Diller looked at Timothy nervously, not sure of how to address him.
“This is the New World Leader and his group, Private,” Ruth said.
“I’ve never heard of the New World Leader,” the Private said. There was confusion on the other faces also.
“Would you like to ask…” Timothy started saying, but Diller replied immediately, “No Sir! It’s quite alright! I’ll escort you immediately to General Harvard myself Sir!” and with that he turned and quickly walked his way through the bush surrounding the landing pad and out into the forest. Timothy and his group walked together, with Antwon holding up the rear. He didn’t like Antwon in that position, but Timothy didn’t want to make an issue out of it with this new group now joining them.
Eventually they came out into a clearing filled with ruined and rusted metal. At first none could make out what this originally was, but Ruth noticed a partial outline of a large receiver dish in the remains amid the rubbish.
“Timothy, judging by the ruins, it was the base’s main communication dish.” Once Ruth said that, the supporting structures for the Base’s communication system could be seen. Private Dillon looked at them but didn’t say anything.
“It could also be the base’s targeting system,” Timothy added. “Either way, we have to get this base operational. If the aliens attack, I’m not sure how much Base USA and China Lunar can do to help,” Timothy said.
As soon as the words China Lunar had come out of his mouth, he knew that he had made a mistake. He heard a sharp intake of breath from some soldiers, and a few started to murmur. Even Antwon changed in his attitude. One of the soldiers muttered ‘Chinese spies’ under his breath, and the group then came to a halt just before they were to have descended into a pit that provided an unofficial access to this part of the base.
Dillon turned to them and said, “I knew you were spies from the moment I saw you! On your knees now! Hands behind your heads!”
The group of eleven had quickly spread out into a defensive circle with Timothy and Elkana in the middle. Most of them didn’t have time to go into second stage combative training and Timothy knew they were in danger. One of the soldiers took a swing with the butt of his rifle at Ruth, who quickly avoided it and gave the soldier a jab to the throat as his body followed the momentum of his swing. The soldier quickly sunk to his knees, gasping for breath.
“STOP!” a voice bellowed out from behind the group. All turned to watch as Captain Stormdancer walked up from the pit to join the group.
“So we meet again, Mr. World Leader,” he said.
“Sir, we have confirmed that they are Chinese spies,” Dillon said, but Stormdancer had raised a hand to quiet him. “It makes no difference. What happened to Chaser?”
“I’m alright sir,” Chaser croaked as he got up to his knees and tried to stand. “Lucky shot,” he added, and some others in the group laughed.
“I doubt it, Chaser.” Stormdancer looked at Timothy and said, “Kill them all, but leave the woman alive. Better yet, tie her down between those two trees,” he said, pointing to two trees just off to the left, and added, “so we can all have some fun. Ever been with twenty men before?” he asked Ruth with a snarl.
Timothy’s blood started boiling, and he didn’t wait. A quick signal to Ruth was followed by a punch and kick to the two guards nearest them. Timothy hit one of them hard with a jab to the eye, while Ruth kicked out and knocked the wind out of another at the same time that she grabbed Chaser’s hair as he tried to get up. The rest of Timothy’s group, although they weren’t trained in martial arts, knew how to defend themselves well, but not well enough. The group of soldiers were better trained at hand to hand combat and quickly started gaining the upper hand. One of them grabbed Elkana who had bravely come forward to joi
n the fighting, and pulling out a knife, stabbed him hard just as Ruth shrieked out in shock. She quickly came to attack, but the sheer number of soldiers around them gave them no chance.
Timothy could see that their end was near, but Ruth was now like a madwoman, kicking and screaming as she lashed out at every soldier near her. Her frenzy caught them off guard and she temporarily gained ground as she tried to reach Elkana, but the soldiers slowly regained control.
Everything was happening in slow motion. His mind knew the right moves, but his untrained body couldn’t quite keep up. He felt detached, no longer in control as he watched everything dear to him crash down in a sea of impossibility. Elkana was dying or dead, Ruth was under a weight of soldiers bearing down on her and soon to see a fate worse than death, and the others were also going down one by one. How could things get so bad so fast? His despair crushed him as he realized that HE was the fool for having taken them here. He watched as the soldiers swung their rifle butts down on his friends, and then he realized that they were all human. The enemy had already won, and it had won almost eight hundred years ago.
As everything around him rapidly degenerated into chaos, Ruth’s words came back to him, reminding him that love was indeed stronger then death, and that a life could make a difference. He turned to Elkana and watched as the crimson stain crawled across his shirt, and his despair turned to fury. How could he let them do this? How could a rag-tag group of soldiers bring down the beginning of something important, something that could affect all of mankind for the better?
His fury grew until he could no longer contain himself, and he felt his own body come in tune with what he had learned. He lashed out, still disconnected from reality, and watched stunned as his own hands found their targets. His mind focused on one simple thing, defense, parry, attack. Soldiers on either side of him became aware of those falling under his onslaught, and they slowly shifted their attack towards him, though it was no use.
Ruth, surprised by Timothy’s intensity, suddenly found her own body acting in tune with his as they both took on superhuman agility and brutal lethality. One by one they fell as Timothy watched on, surprised that his body could do what he was seeing with his own eyes. Knees cracked and arms dislocated as the two slowly moved their way around until the last soldier fell to the ground with his neck broken.
In a blur Timothy turned to face Stormdancer and paused as his mind registered a smile on Stormdancer’s face. It was only then that Timothy saw the backpack that carried the batteries and equipment partly hidden by Stormdancer’s body. Looking along the wires that travelled from Stormdancer’s backpack to his swollen wrist, he could see the accumulator of a Maser taken off of a Test of Faith. It was pointed directly at him.
Reality engulfed him as he saw his own death and the death of those he loved, unable to do anything to stop it. Stormdancer’s smile broadened as he raised the tip ever so slightly, but his sarcastic smile suddenly turned as his eyes rolled into the back of his head and he fell flat on his face. Sticking out of the back, just where the spinal cord entered the bottom of his skull was a knife shoved deep into the cavity. Timothy was stunned as he looked at Sam, who had crept up behind Stormdancer.
“How…” was all Timothy could blurt out, but Sam ignored him and cried out, “Elkana!”
Timothy turned to see Ruth on her knees, hunched over Elkana’s inert body while Elan quickly checked his vital signs.
He felt movement behind him, and when he turned he saw that Antwon had jumped up and was running to reach the edge of the forest. Taking two quick steps to Stormdancer’s dead body, he yelled out, “Antwon, STOP!” but Antwon continued running. He had just gotten inside the edge of the forest when he screamed, and all could plainly see a burst of boiling flesh appear just before he fell. The screaming continued for a few more seconds and slowly turned into a groan, but eventually this quieted down too after a few moments. Timothy lowered the Maser, still attached to Stormdancer’s body, and turned to Sam who had been watching him. “I didn’t want more people coming…he would have warned them…”
“No need to explain to me,” Sam said.
Timothy looked at him with relief and asked Elan about Elkana. Elan had a worried look, and said, “He’s in shock and he’s lost some blood although the bleeding could be worse. But I think he has a cut spleen and liver. I just can’t be sure. There is nothing I can do for him here. He needs surgery now, and I’ve never done anything like this before. I mean, I have the knowledge in my head, but I don’t know if it will work. We don’t even have the equipment!”
“But this base does!” Ruth said, sobbing. She was still clamping down on the wound to stop the bleeding.
“We’ll carry him in! Ruth, can you carry the Maser and backpack?” Timothy and Sam lifted Elkana up while Elan tried to do whatever he could to stabilize him. Ruth shouldered the backpack as fast as she could and sliced open Stormdancer’s sleeve to remove the accumulator and mechanicals that had been secretly attached to his arm.
Most of the group was injured, although they could still walk. Timothy was deeply saddened to see Jonathan dead, but he had no time to linger. They carried Elkana through the door at the bottom of the pit and the others entered one by one. He hoped that this opened the way to the rest of the complex, which had been isolated by the damage from the meteor, and he was happy to see that he was right. Lights came on automatically as they entered the hallway.
“Meagan, where is the hospital?” Timothy quickly asked.
“This part of the complex is the hospital, Timothy. It is partitioned in two, with one side dealing with injuries and sicknesses, and the other side dealing with the study of the effect of positron emm…” Meagan was cut off as Timothy interrupted, “We have a medical emergency. Light the way that leads to the operating room! Do you have any Medi-Bots operational?”
“Yes.” There was a short pause, and then Meagan continued, “It’s being prepped and will be waiting when you arrive. Almost all my sensors in this area are offline. Continue down this corridor until you reach the elevators. What is the nature of the medical emergency?”
Timothy explained as they continued to carry Elkana to the operating room.
“Please make sure the way is cleared of any personnel. We don’t want another run-in with them!”
“I will. Timothy, there’s another issue. I’m not sure that my stores of anesthetic gas are usable. Most of my tanks are showing some pressure and the gas itself has no expiration date, but it’s been over seven hundred years since the gasses were compiled. Valves and fittings may be corroded or unusable. My other supplies are either depleted or unusable except for rubbing alcohol and the usual assortment of hard tools. Fortunately most are made of stainless steel. And you will have to make your own antibiotics.”
“Is that all?” someone muttered as they hurried down the hallway to the elevators. Once there the elevator doors creaked as they opened, but they piled in anyway, with half the group waiting for the next elevator. The elevator dropped to the operating room floor, the doors opened and they quickly went to the room indicated by Meagan. Bursting in, they found a Medi-Bot checking the operating tools and the fittings and valves along one wall. Its six delicate appendages were flying as it hurriedly prepped everything for Elkana. In the meantime, Sam laid Elkana down on the operating table just as Elkana was drifting in and out of consciousness. Immediately after being placed on the operating table, vital signs appeared in the air just above Elkana facing the Medi-Bot.
“Everyone must leave now!” the Medi-Bot said in a surprisingly kind but insistent voice.
“I’m a doctor,” Elan said. “I’m staying to help.”
“You’ll be in my way, Doctor. But if you insist, please scrub your hands with alcohol, towels are in the sealed plastic bag. You’ll find all you need by the sink. A mask and gloves are available there too.” While it was talking it was carefully and expertly removing Elkana’s clothing and preparing the anesthesia. Timothy nodded at Elan and they all le
ft the room.
***
For the next hour Elan watched mesmerized as the Medi-Bot’s appendages moved faster than any human could as it cut, cleaned, rebuilt and sutured Elkana’s injuries. Elan was sure it would have taken him much longer, if he was able to do it at all. He understood the procedures and knew quite well what the Medi-Bot was doing thanks to the instruction he had received earlier, but he had never done anything of this sort himself.
In the end, Elan was happy to see that he had been correct in his diagnosis and that although Elkana’s spleen was damaged, it was just a small nick caused as the knife had gone through. The liver and surrounding tissue had more damage, but would eventually heal barring any infections.
As Elan watched, he noticed the Medi-Bot slowing down. Just before finishing, it said, “My batteries are being drained at a greater rate than I initially calculated. I will not be able to finish the operation and must recharge soon. Are you capable of completing the operation?”
Elan was surprised but knew that there was little left to do. “Yes. Do you want me to start now?”
“Yes. I will supervise you while I conserve my energy.”
Elan reached for unfamiliar instruments, and after picking them up awkwardly, he cleared the liquids and prepped for the last bit of internal stitching. His hands were much larger than the Medi-Bot’s delicate appendages and Elan found it difficult to do this work through the small incision. He admired the unbelievably fine work that the Medi-Bot had done and felt uncomfortable with it looking on, knowing that his stitching efforts, although surprisingly good, was nowhere near the excellent craftsmanship the bot had displayed. As if reading his thoughts, the Medi-Bot said, “You are doing fine, doctor. The patient’s vitals are all well and I’m sure he will recover nicely.”
Elan felt relieved but said nothing as he continued working. He carefully searched for more liquids that might have leaked before he closed up, knowing that anything missed could be a cause for infection. Once he was sure everything was cleared and all blood vessels had been either electro-cauterized or sutured, he double-checked everything and started the final stitching.