Roger came in at that moment, with a floating chair. “Dr. Hebron said you can go, but she’ll come in shortly to set you up in the chair. She wants you hooked up so that she can monitor you while you’re gone,” he informed me. “She’d planned on coming with you but a couple of patients need her here instead.”
I consented to being dressed and hooked up to medications, monitors and a comm device; I felt like a robot. “It’s important that you look strong; our colony needs your strength.” Nettie told me. “With Captain Pierce gone, it’s on you to be the confidence that makes us stand tall and proud.” Her career as a psychologist was showing; she really was the best in her field. I knew I had to work to fit the bill as prescribed by her.
“Don’t overdo the physical activity.” Lee instructed. “You’re coming along really well but if you push yourself too hard you’ll be in serious jeopardy; I mean it,” she warned again. She stared me down until I acknowledged her advice. “Time to go.”
It wasn’t far to the place where the ceremony was held; but there were all six thousand of our people, plus most of the Reeshian population present. It was a solemn occasion with many tears. Captain Clarke gave a moving speech; and then to my surprise I was called upon to say a few words. I hadn’t prepared anything, having not even known if I could be there.
When Meeza pushed me up to the front of the crowd, I looked out over them and felt a deep connection to all of them. “The Captain was the best friend a person could have,” I told them. “He always did everything he could for all of us; and I for one will miss him forever. The one thing that he would have said if he’d been here today, would have been to remind us that in spite of all our frailties and errors, we’ve done a remarkable job of making a future for ourselves but we aren’t done yet. Let’s put this behind us and move on to the prosperity of which we’re so capable. The spark of the colony will survive and we’ll see a bright future. Captain Anton Pierce assured us of that by his actions at all times; we won’t let him down.” It was the best I could do off the top of my head; it would have to be good enough.
People seemed content with my words and later I saw Capt. Clarke. “You said it all,” he said with a chuckle. “I think you’ll be twice the politician I’ll ever be.” With that said, he informed me that he’d be by to see me to discuss a few details of current events, and then we’d be able to plan accordingly. It was going to take time to adjust to my new role; would I ever get to go exploring again, I wondered?
“You were brilliant,” said Meeza. “I was so proud of you.” She gave me a look that was so seductive as to drive me crazy; it was a knack she had.
“Truly.” Agreed Nettie. “They’ll be quoting you for all of eternity; you’ve shown exactly why the Captain had picked you out a long time ago. You have a knack with words and extremely good judgment. Anyway: Congratulations on your speech; it was much better than anything they’d have written for you.” She kissed me on the forehead and hugged Meeza before leaving; Roger shook hands with me and hugged Meeza also before they left. Roger had really changed from the pain in the ass he was when we were kids; he really was a friend now.
Lee came in and gave me a shot to knock me out for the rest of the day. She did tell me that I had held up well and with a little more rest I’d be the same old pain in the ass I’d always been. She did say it with a smile.
The next day she came in and got me out of bed and helped me walk around some before Meeza got there. Meeza was surprised to find me sitting up in a chair when she came in; she was ecstatic. I was given instruction to walk an absolute minimum; but needless to say, I had to push for all I could get. I paid for it in pain that night and had to have a shot to fall asleep; I was more careful the next day. And in two more days Lee released me to go home; I couldn’t do much but at least I was truly on the mend.
I looked out my window to the yard which ended at the forest; I was so grateful that they had rebuilt my home almost exactly as it had been. The only difference was that Meeza had them put a bigger porch on the back end and I could sit out there when the sun warmed in the afternoon. Our little planet wobbled just a little and it made for shorter seasons than Earth had. Each season was about ten weeks; winter wasn’t as cold except at the poles. We still would have some snow in the winter but only during the month in the dead middle of the season. It was late summer now and the afternoon was about seventy five with a light westerly breeze.
Blurg came to visit almost every day that I was stuck at home and with him came Sasha. Sometimes Sasha would lay down and look just like a large cat but then she’d raise that front end and she’d look more like a short cat-faced person if you saw her straight on. That odd vertebrae always dispelled the cat impression but her behavior was still feline. Blurg had discovered what her favorite foods were; it was doubtful that she’d ever leave him. She would sometimes come to see me alone if Blurg were busy with something that bored her, which was almost anything that didn’t give her enough attention.
It was the first time in my life that I had no duties to perform; it was a strange feeling and I didn’t like it. After a few days I had to go and see Lee at the hospital. I was happy to see that most of the wounded had already gone home and we had more space there than was needed. Lee looked considerably less stressed than the last time I’d seen her.
“How are you feeling, Eric?” She asked as soon as I walked in.
“Much better than the last time I saw you,” I told her. “I’m ready to get back to work.”
“I see,” she said in her best Doctor-to-patient tone of voice. “I think you’ll let me make the diagnosis here.”
I looked to see if she was joking or if I had offended her; she had a big smile and that relieved me considerably. “You know I’d never presume to impose on your professional turf.” I cut back. “I was only letting you know how well you’ve taken care of me,” I said patronizingly.
“Just lie down and let’s get a full scan,” she ordered. Although she looked more rested she appeared to have something on her mind; I decided to play psychologist.
“What’s the matter Lee? You look like something’s bothering you,” I queried.
“It’s just me trying to adjust to my new life as Head Doctor; perhaps you didn’t know I was made that officially two days ago. I think I’d have declined if I had known what a hassle it was going to be,” she said in an irritated sort of way. “I’m fine with patients, but the record keeping as administrator is way beyond my capacity or desire. You’re probably going to find that out for yourself soon enough, with your own promotion and position about to land on you.”
I knew she was right; as soon as I had a clean bill of health I was going to be hit with a lot of new responsibilities. “I haven’t really thought about it up till now; I had all I could do just to get well again.” I confessed.
Her scanners were clicking, humming and beeping; I wondered what the scans were showing with all that noise; but I didn’t ask. “All the regenerated organs have taken so I guess you’ll be alright,” she said. “You can resume normal activities but no lifting for a few more days and don’t get in any fights. Walking around at a normal pace is ok but, don’t hurry and don’t overdo the stress levels yet. I’ll see you in three or four days and lift the rest of the restrictions if you don’t push yourself too hard.”
“Thanks Lee; I’ll be glad to be able to get around and maybe do some short trips into the forest behind my place,” I told her. “I won’t go far and I won’t climb or carry a pack yet,” I said when I saw that look cross her face. She smiled at my response.
“Ok; she said; I’ll see you in three days; sooner if you get carried away,” she cautioned sarcastically.
I left with a smile on my face. Meeza was waiting for me outside the building; my face told her all she needed to know. Happily we headed for home. I spent two peaceful days before going to my ship and seeing how things were going. Brad and Mike had taken turns keeping a watch on things; both were there when I arrived.
“Good to see you up and around,” said Brad. “Now maybe I can get some sleep,” he said in jest.
“Can’t keep a good man down.” I threw back at him; Mike remained silent. “How are you Mike?” I asked; I wanted to get him to come out of his funk.
“I’m ok,” he answered, then fell silent.
I looked at Brad; and he gave me a look that said, See how he is? Mike had always been upbeat and now he was like a lump of stone; completely shut down. I addressed the situation directly. “You saved a lot of lives by your quick response that day; Mike,” I said, putting my hand on his shoulder. “You have to realize that if not for you, none of us would be alive now. I know you feel bad; but from my perspective I’m grateful to you for saving my life, and I’m only one out of many whom your quick actions saved,” I said, looking him straight in the eye. I could see that I was having some impact on him.
“I lost it,” he said with a shake in his voice. “I wouldn’t have left enough to have services for if they hadn’t pulled me off of the cannon.” He looked at the floor.
“Mike . . . it’s war.” I told him. “It’s the way it is when things go wrong; you just react; everyone in that compound knew they were signing their own death warrants when they fired on us; you had no options. You need to stop beating yourself up. You did what you had to do. That’s what the Militia is for; to protect the innocent from harm. That’s all you did, my friend; you protected the rest of us at your own expense.” I could see my words sinking in, as he appeared to start waking up from his bad dream.
“I thought that maybe I could have done something different,” he said as a tear ran down his cheek. He wiped it away angrily. “I’ve thought it over a thousand times and I still don’t know what else I could have done, except to stop firing a little sooner.”
“If you had, someone might have kept firing and there might have been even more people killed or wounded. You can’t second guess fate.” I told him.
“I suppose you’re right,” he said, standing a little bit straighter. “It was just different than fighting outsiders; these were our own people; and I had to shoot them. It’s something I’d never imagined doing. I knew half of them; it should never have happened.” I could see him finally coming to terms with it. I knew he was going to be alright as time went on. When I thought about it I realized that I’d have been more concerned if it hadn’t bothered him so much.
“Well,” I said. “It wasn’t the colony’s finest hour and I hope to never see its like again in my lifetime.” I saw that the whole crew had gathered round while we spoke.
“I think you speak for all of us on that one,” said Brad. The rest of them seemed to affirm his statement.
“Now; what’s been going on here in my absence?” I asked. “Have we had any new orders that I should know about?
“No orders, but we did receive word that a dozen of Hero’s family and friends are on their way here. They had a bit of a battle with those barbarians in order to pick them up, but none of our people were injured in that fray; so we have a little something to celebrate at that,” said Brad.
I could see that everyone was happy with that news, and I felt that it was the best medicine any of us could have had at that moment.
“I have to go and talk with Capt. Clarke about getting Lee back as our Medical Officer.” I told them all. “She told me that she didn’t want to stay on as Head Doctor at the hospital. She hates it, and—don’t ask me why—she misses you guys,” I said with a little lighthearted grin. It picked the crew up considerably to have a little laughter thrown in after all of the serious business had been dealt with. As I left I felt that the crew was back in form and much more ready for whatever came next.
I walked straight over to Capt. Clarke’s office as I had promised him I would as soon as I was allowed by the doctor. His secretary acted as if some high ranking official had entered the office: and I realized that to her that’s exactly what was happening. I felt a little weird about it but decided I’d best get use to it.
The new receptionist was a girl named Betty, with whom I had gone to school. It seemed weird to have her falling all over herself to please me; as if she didn’t know me. “How are you, Betty?” I asked to soften her stress a little. “It’s been quite a long time since I’ve seen you.”
“I’m fine,” she said. “I should be asking you the same thing; we all worried ourselves to distraction at the thought of you being so badly hurt, along with Capt. Pierce and Olga. We couldn’t really afford to lose all three of you. Are you doing alright now?” She asked, relaxing a little.
“Much better, thank you for asking,” I said with a smile. “The farther behind us that whole affair gets, the better for the whole colony.”
“I was at you’re engag . . .” she was going to say engagement party, but stopped herself, blushing. “Sorry, that was tactless of me; I forgot about the bizarre turn of events on that other planet. Please don’t think I meant any disrespect by mentioning it. They did explain what happened; it caught all of us by surprise, and I can only imagine what it must have been like to be one of those caught in the moment,” she said in embarrassment tinged with curiosity.
“I was lucky to have had an understanding partner; Nettie’s smart and she understood the chemistry involved.” I told her. “Nature always has a few surprises for us.” A theme I seem to be repeating frequently these days.
Then I was rescued by Capt. Clarke as he entered to greet me. “Come in, come in,” he invited. “It’s good to see you up and around.”
I nodded to Betty as I left the room. “Commander Duncan reporting,” I said formally; etiquette is important in a military organization.
“Please; call me Evan,” he invited. “I don’t care for too much formality in my office. Besides, you’ve earned the right to call people whatever you like. Your record is exemplary and I’d be happy to have fifty more just like you. I’ve read through the records left by Capt. Pierce, and I know that he trusted you more than any others in the entire Militia. I also had the opportunity to be included in most of the past events as they happened. I knew your father and was aware that Anton was much like a father to you when Capt. Duncan was killed. I can’t replace him in that respect, but I’ll try not to let you or any of our people down as his replacement. I’ll need your help with that, as you can well imagine; I didn’t expect to have this position for many years to come. I also realize that you’re caught in pretty much the same position.”
“I’ll help in any way that I can, of course.” I offered.
“Now, first things first. Are you aware of the problems up on the Astro II?” He asked.
“I’ve heard some about the problems with dumping excess power; also that there were some people who want to take the ship to another system; I suppose to spread mankind out that much more in our stellar neighborhood.” I told him.
“Good,” he said. “I was afraid that you’d have been unaware; having been so incapacitated. You have most of the relevant information, anyway.” He opened his desk drawer and took out a small pile of papers. “These are petitions for the right to take the Astro II and head toward another system three light years away,” he told me. “They claim that they can cut travel time almost in half from what it took us to get here. The systems we use in our new shuttles are similar to the modifications they want to make on the Roid Ship’s propulsion system.”
I took the petitions and the proposal and looked it over. I saw that their plans included attaching another small asteroid to their ship to compensate for the extra fuel consumption. The proposal looked to be reasonable, at least on a glance. Then I noticed the first two names on the list of signers: Roger Turley and Annette Jordan. I looked up and saw that Capt. Clarke was watching for my reaction.
“Yes; they were the two who submitted the petitions,” he said. “They believe they can make it in only five or six generations, and they may be right. That would mean that there was a chance that the youngest children that left here could possi
ble see the new worlds at that end. They’d be very old but a few may actually make it if all goes well. These modifications are based on our project Prometheus that we used to develop the new shuttles; that’s why they want to change the name of the second generation of the Astro II to the Prometheus.” Prometheus was the god who stole fire from Zeus and gave it as a gift to human kind; he was called the friend of human kind. I thought the new name was appropriate.
I had seen Roger and Nettie just two or three days ago; it hurt me a little that they didn’t bother to tell me about it. “Excuse me if I’m caught a little off guard; I’m just surprised that nobody said anything about it to me.” I confessed.
Captain Clake laughed resonantly. “Actually; I believe they did, but I don’t think you were conscious enough to retain it at the time,” he said. “Do you remember me coming to see you four times while you were in there recovering?”
“No.” I answered. “I only remember the visit you made a few days after I was shot. You really came three times?” I asked. He nodded assent. I wondered how much more I’d missed while I was drugged out of existence.
I quickly assessed the situation and reached a conclusion. “I think it’s a great idea,” I said sincerely. “It’s the whole reason we came here to begin with; to insure humankind would survive. The more places we expand to the better our chances of survival as a species.” I quoted from our original doctrine. He raised his eyebrows.
“I have to agree; I was a little concerned because I feared you might not want to see your friends leave,” he said diplomatically. “With your agreement, I’ll let them know. We needed to do something with the ship anyway so it might as well be the purpose it was made for. We will have to help them with the preparations and I think we’ll be glad for the experience anyway.”
It was my turn to nod agreement, which I did. With that settled, I headed for the park where Meeza was waiting for me. I told her about the plans for the revamping of the ship and she was excited to think that not everybody’s journey was going to end here. I wondered if she might really want to go too. Then I wondered if I wanted to go? I asked Meeza point blank and she answered; “This colony needs you, they trust you; you have an obligation to help heal and lead them to prosperity.” I guess that settled any doubts I had. We would stay and help develop two and later, perhaps, three worlds; that would surely be enough challenge for one lifetime. Knowing that the only home I’d ever known for most of my life was going to leave without me made me look at our new home differently. I finally knew that this was my home for all time; it was our colony and our world.
Starborn Odyssey (The Starborn Odyssey Trilogy Book 1) Page 33