by Saxon Andrew
The Fleet Commander turned to the Flagship’s captain, “Take the freighter down slowly into the clearing.” The giant freighter started descending and the Scanning officer reported, “All eight groups are rushing to the tree line next to the clearing.”
Grady turned to him, “Are they attacking each other.”
The Leftenant kept his eyes on the scanner and shook his head, “No, it appears the groups are intermingling as they move toward the clearing.”
The Fleet Commander turned to Grady, “Why did you ask that?”
Grady stared out of the giant viewport as he answered, “The survivors on this planet are having to fight the others for food and water to survive. I suspect those groups were defending the area around them. It appears they are coming together to confront a mutual threat.” Grady looked at the Freighter’s Captain, “You should start the recording before you land.” The Captain turned to his communications officer and nodded. Grady looked at the Fleet Commander, “I’m headed to the port.” The Fleet Commander nodded, and Grady rushed off the bridge. He was given a ride on a small cart in the main corridor running through the middle of the ship and arrived just before the landing bay doors opened and the boarding ramp extended.
Chapter Twenty
Grady looked out of the port and saw the tree line. He glanced at Dunhan and Abby and saw they were wearing blaster belts, “Why the weapons?”
Abby immediately answered, “We’ve been ordered to defend you away from Melbourne.”
Grady shrugged and remarked, “They have to be hearing the recording.”
Taffy nodded, “I’m sure they hear it, Grady. I think they’re too afraid to come out.”
• • •
The leaders of the eight settlements stared at the giant ship at the edge of the clearing and one of them said as he stared through his binoculars, “There’s blasters on that ship’s hull.” He lowered them and said, “I think we need to stay here.”
The leaders nodded, and suddenly saw a woman carrying a baby and holding a little boy’s hand move out of the tree line into the waist high grass, “ANNA!!” the leader of the largest settlement shouted.
“My children are going to die if they’re not fed! Staying or going makes no difference; we’re dying!”
• • •
Grady’s eyes narrowed, “Someone has left the trees.”
Taffy looked out across the clearing and squinted, “It’s a woman with a child and baby.” Suddenly, she shook her head, “She’s not going to make it!”
Taffy started toward the port and a Special Forces Captain stepped in front of her, “I’m sorry, but the Prime Minister has ordered that you will not leave the safety of the ship!”
Taffy’s expression turned angry and Grady pulled her back, “He’s following his orders, Taffy!” Taffy glared at Grady and looked back out of the port.
Abby saw the woman was stumbling and that Taffy was right. She unbuckled her blaster and handed it to Taffy. She turned and sprinted down the boarding ramp. Dunhan yelled, “STOP! GET BACK HERE!” But Abby ignored him and sprinted into the grass. Dunhan dropped his holster to the deck and sprinted down the ramp after her.
Abby arrived at the woman as she fell to her knees. She rushed up and went to her knees in front of the woman and saw the woman look into her face with sunken eyes and overwhelming fatigue. Abby wrapped her arms around the woman and felt her tears start, “I’m so very sorry it’s taken us so long to come!” The woman raised her eyes as they filled with tears.
Dunhan came running in at his best speed and pulled Abby to her feet, “TAKE THE BABY!” Abby looked at him and he repeated, “Take the baby!!” Abby took the baby from the woman’s arms as Dunhan lifted the child into his left arm, “Help me get her standing!” Abby and Dunhan used their free arms to lift the woman and Dunhan put his arm around her waist. He started walking toward the freighter and said, “KEEP ME BETWEEN YOU AND THE TREE LINE!” Abby turned and frowned at Dunhan and he said forcefully, “DO IT!!” Abby started walking toward the open port and saw Dunhan place himself directly between her and the trees.
• • •
The Leader watched a woman come running off the ship and everyone realized that humans were flying it. He saw her go to her knees in front of Anna and he handed the binoculars to a woman standing next to him. She watched as a man rushed up and she handed the glasses to another leader. She looked at her husband and said softly, “They are not our enemies.”
He looked from her to the clearing as the two humans helped Anna across the clearing. The other leaders were looking at him and he raised his hands, “We’re going to die if we stay. I say we go with them.” The other leaders looked at each other and nodded agreement. The main leader yelled, “LEAVE YOUR WEAPONS! IT’S TIME TO GO!” He put his arm around his wife and two teenage girls walked out of the forest with them.
• • •
The intercom announced, “They’re coming, and they’re unarmed.” Grady watched a large mass of people leaving the trees as Dunhan and Abby came up the ramp. Abby said to Dunhan, “We need to take her to the cafeteria!” Dunhan nodded and they walked the woman out of the landing bay. They arrived in the cafeteria and they helped the woman to sit in a chair. A sailor came rushing up with a glass of water and a plastic bag. He took two balls out of the bag and held them out to the woman, “Swallow these.” The woman opened her mouth and the sailor put a ball in her mouth. He held the glass and she swallowed the ball. The sailor raised the other ball as a second sailor went to the little boy. Abby saw a nurse rush up with a baby bottle filled with milk. She handed it to Abby and she began feeding the baby. She looked up at Dunhan and asked, “Why did you follow me out?” Dunhan looked down at her but remained silent. Abby’s expression turned hostile, “I asked you a question, Captain!”
Dunhan shrugged slightly, “I didn’t want to see you hurt, Sir.”
“You could have been hurt, as well!”
Dunhan nodded, “Yes, but I wouldn’t have been missed like you.” Dunhan turned, ran out of the cafeteria, and Abby couldn’t decipher his facial expression. He was bothered by something.
The woman turned to Abby, “I feel better. I can feed her now.”
Abby smiled and handed the baby to her. She stood up and walked to the port. Dunhan was running up the ramp carrying an unconscious woman in his arms. He yelled, “Where is the infirmary?!”
A sailor stepped out, “Follow me, Sir!” Dunhan ran out of the landing bay with the woman and an old man that was following Dunhan out of the clearing started shaking his head, “I need to go with my wife!!”
Abby took his hands and smiled, “She’s in good hands; we need to get you something to eat.” The man looked in the direction Dunhan had disappeared and nodded.
Dunhan ran into one of the infirmaries and shouted, “I have one suffering here, Doc!”
“Put her on the stretcher!” The doctor ordered. The medical team surrounded the woman and began checking her vitals as they connected her to monitors. A nurse said loudly, “She’s severely dehydrated!”
The Doctor checking her heart ordered, “Start an IV and inject a vitamin pack in it!”
A nurse hung an IV bag, took the patch on the end of the tubing, and placed it on the woman’s arm above a vein. The patch detected the vein and injected a needle into it. Fluid started flowing and after a tense sixty seconds, the beeping of the monitor was sounding regular. The Doctor looked at Dunhan standing in the doorway, “She’s stabilizing; she’s going to be ok.”
Dunhan smiled and disappeared from the doorway. He ran to the cafeteria and looked around. He saw Abby sitting at a table with the woman’s husband and he rushed over and went to a knee beside the man, “Your wife is going to be all right. They’ve got her stabilized and she’ll join you as soon as she regains some strength.”
The man leaned over and kissed Dunhan on the forehead. Dunhan’s face turned red and he rushed out of the cafeteria. Abby waved a sailor over and said, “Take care of hi
m.”
“Yes, Sir.”
Abby went to the port and looked around. She looked at Taffy and she nodded toward the port. Abby looked out and saw Dunhan sprinting across the clearing toward a woman and two small children. The woman was on her knees and the children appeared to be jumping up and down screaming. Dunhan pulled the woman to her feet and lifted a man out of the grass. He put the man’s arms over his shoulder and started moving toward the port. Abby shook her head and Taffy said softly, “I told you he was more than what you think.”
Abby nodded slightly, “I can see that.”
Taffy turned to Grady, “I notice that the cafeteria is serving our processed food balls to the survivors.”
Abby turned her gaze to Grady. She thought Taffy had Larson provide the balls. Grady shrugged, “I told you I was working with provisioning the freighters.”
“How many did you give them, Grady?”
“All of them, Taffy.”
“WHAT?”
“I’m a Union officer and I’ve sworn to defend Britannia. The freighters couldn’t carry enough food for all the survivors and I decided to give them what we had.”
“You took all of them out of the Rabbit.”
“I did, Taffy.”
“But the processors to make more are on Britannia.”
“I realize that,” Grady replied.
Suddenly, Abby knew what Taffy was doing with Spring Hill. Taffy saw her expression and realized she had figured it out. Her eyes showed her tension, but Abby winked and turned away. Taffy breathed a sigh of relief and Grady asked, “What?”
“You did the right thing, Grady.” Grady nodded and turned back to the open port.
Dunhan rushed up the boarding ram; and yelled, “CLEAR A PATH!!” Survivors walking up the ramp stepped aside as Dunhan rushed in the port and yelled, “Take care of them!!” He didn’t slow down but headed out of the landing bay toward the infirmary.
Abby took the woman and two children to the cafeteria and the two children were yelling, “I want my Daddy!”
Abby went to a knee in front of them and smiled, “You know the man that carried your daddy.” They stopped yelling and nodded as their tears continued. “He’s going to take care of your daddy.” Abby looked at the exhausted mother and said, “Please, eat something.”
The woman shook her head slightly, “Sam has been giving us his rations. He’s not well.”
Abby closed her eyes and hoped for the best. Ten-minutes later, Dunhan ran into the cafeteria and knelt in front of the woman, “He’s extremely weak, but the doctor says he’s going to make it. They’re going to keep him for observation.”
The two children hugged Dunhan’s legs and the little girl said, “Thank you for caring for my daddy!” Dunhan looked down at her and Abby saw a tear in his eye. The mother took them off Dunhan’s legs and he ran out.
The woman turned to Abby, “I don’t know how he found us. We were hidden in the grass.” Abby turned and saw Dunhan leaving the cafeteria. She stood up and followed him. She arrived at the port and saw Dunhan running out into the waist high grass. Most of the survivors were on the ship and the last were moving slowly toward the ramp. The Captain ordered sailors out to assist them and the boarding process picked up speed.
Dunhan was looking wildly around and suddenly, he turned around and ran across the field. He suddenly stopped, and Abby saw him go to his knees. He lowered his head and then jumped up with two toddlers in his arms. He sprinted across the field and up the ramp. He handed the toddlers to Abby and, without a word, ran back out of the port. Abby saw the toddlers were twins. Their eyes were red from crying and Abby took them to the woman with the two young children in the cafeteria, “Will you watch them?”
The woman looked at the twins and looked up at Abby with concern on her face, “Jessica?” Abby closed her eyes and shook her head. The woman lowered her head and then took the babies, “I’ll take care of them.”
Abby returned to the port and saw Dunhan running around the clearing like a mad man. Finally, he stopped and walked across the field to where he found the twins. He went to his knees and lowered his head. Abby knew he was saying a prayer. Suddenly, his head jerked up. He sprung to his feet and sprinted toward the trees. A moment later, he disappeared into them.
Abby ran down the ramp and headed toward the forest where Dunhan had disappeared. She arrived thirty yards from it and Dunhan suddenly appeared sprinting out of the trees carrying an unconscious little girl. He yelled at Abby as he passed, “Help them!” Abby looked at the trees and saw a woman being held up by a man using a Y shaped branch as a crutch; a young boy was following behind them. They were struggling, and Abby shouted, “WE NEED HELP HERE!!”
Two sailors rushed over and two more came running with a stretcher. They tried to get the man to lay on the stretcher, but he yelled his wife needed it. They put the woman on the stretcher and the other two sailors helped the man and little boy to the freighter. Abby walked beside the stretcher and heard the woman say in a voice she barely heard, “She’s been so sick.”
Abby went to the cafeteria with the family and they fed the woman two balls before deciding on sending her to one of the infirmaries. The sailors were giving every survivor servings of water and fifteen minutes later, the woman felt well enough to be lifted off the stretcher to sit in a chair. The man looked at Abby, “We were down to our last days. We’ve been eating bugs, grass, pond creatures; pretty much anything we could find. Most of the wildlife has been killed and eaten months ago. If you hadn’t shown up when you did…” the man raised his hands and shrugged.
Abby waited with them and heard the intercom announce, “We will be lifting in three minutes. Everyone find a place to sit down until the ship is off the ground.” Abby stayed where she was, but she kept expecting Dunhan to make an appearance. After thirty minutes, he still hadn’t come to the cafeteria. She stood up and went to the infirmaries. She looked in every room and he wasn’t there. Where could he be.
She looked down the corridor toward the landing bay, but she would have seen him pass the cafeteria if he went in that direction. She looked up the long corridor in the other direction and didn’t see anything…for a moment. Then she squinted and saw something on the floor at the end of the corridor. She started walking that way and saw the object on the floor was a man sitting down with his back against the wall. She started walking faster and then began running when she saw it was Dunhan. She ran up to him and saw him crying. His body was being racked with sobs and she sat down beside him. He had his head in his hands and he glanced at her. He put his head back in his hands and struggled to control his weeping. Abby put a hand on his shoulder and felt his body shaking. Finally, Dunhan managed to say between sobs, “If I had found her sooner, she might have lived.”
Abby rubbed his shoulder lightly and said softly, “Your finding them at all was a minor miracle, Dunhan. Her mother told me she was very sick.” Dunhan blew out a breath and nodded slightly. Abby sat beside him until his breathing became regular and she said quietly, “Dunhan, the reason you and I are wearing these uniforms is to make sure that no more little girls will have to die like she did.”
Dunhan’s breathing was under control and his body was no longer trembling. The PA announced, “Landing in fifteen minutes!”
Dunhan came to his feet and held out a hand to Abby. He pulled her to her feet and she wrapped her arms around his waist. He looked down at her with red eyes and she said softly, “Thank you.”
“For what?”
“For coming out to defend me…and for being the man you are, Dunhan.” Dunhan stared into her eyes and hugged her lightly with his right arm. He released her and sprinted down the long corridor. Abby was exhausted, and she knew Dunhan had to be in worse shape. She walked down to the port and arrived just after the ramp dropped. She looked at Taffy and she nodded toward the port. Abby looked out and saw Dunhan running across another clearing into the tree line; he wasn’t going to make the same mistake. Abby shook her head an
d Taffy said, “I swore I was going to find Dunhan a woman.” Abby turned to her with a frown. “He needs one in his life, Abby. I’ve been looking at every woman I’ve met and didn’t realize that she was right in front of my eyes. It’s you, Abby.” Abby shook her head slightly and Taffy continued, “He needs you and, whether or not you believe me, you need him as well.”
Abby turned and looked out of the port toward the tree line a hundred yards away. She saw Dunhan walk out of the trees with a young boy riding on his shoulders with his hands wrapped around Dunhan’s head. He had a man and a woman under each arm and Abby could see they were struggling to stand up. Three sailors ran up and took the family from Dunhan and he immediately turned and ran back into the trees.
Abby felt something in side her snap. She blew out a breath and shook her head. Dunhan ignored the possibility of being shot in the trees, he was on a mission. Abby had given up on men, after her broken engagement. They just weren’t worth the effort. She saw Dunhan come back out of the trees and she realized that he was worth the effort. She had to convince him that she was too.
• • •
The countries that were part of the Union were handled first and things went some what smoothly, all things considered. The Coalition Countries were a completely different matter. Most of the freighters were fired on at most of the places they landed. Grady watched the tree line from the port and saw no one leaving the trees. He shook his head and sighed. Another failed attempt; the recordings were being ignored. Grady turned around and heard Dunhan say, “Something’s happening.” He turned back around and saw a woman walk out of the tree line with two children, put them down, pointed toward the freighter, and went back into the trees. The children were screaming, and the woman stepped back out, spanked them, and forcefully pointed toward the freighter. The children started walking forward and Dunhan walked out of the port, “D0N’T, DUNHAN!!” Abby shouted.