Perspective
Page 5
“Grecko, check these people out. Ramirez, Griswald, help him. I’m going to update the Io of our situation,” Green said as he walked towards the front of the Rhino. He was almost through the door when a gloved hand weakly grabbed his leg. Looking down, he saw Dr. Rayis, the medical team head, staring up at him.
Rayis’s lips opened and closed weakly, ragged gasps escaping his dry throat. Green knelt down next to the man and noticed that the beads of frozen perspiration in his thin gray moustache were just now beginning to thaw. The survivors had all suffered mild hypothermia from trying to conserve their suit’s power.
“Save your strength, doctor. It’s alright, you’re safe,” Green said, trying to soothe the man.
Rayis tried to speak again, the gray hair remaining around the side and back of his small balding scalp rubbed quietly against the Rhino’s metal floor has he shook his head.
“My research…” he managed.
“We saved as much of your research team as we could,” Green answered.
Rayis shook his head again. “My work, save my work,” he struggled to say.
“Your work?”
“That’s what’s important. Save my research,” Rayis managed to whisper, as he nodded slowly.
Green removed Rayis’ hand from his leg and moved on without replying. Despite feeling a sense of pity for what Rayis and the others had been through, an intense dislike towards the man began to grow inside Green.
***********************************************************
After Grecko had cleared the rest of the survivors, they were allowed to rest as best they could. Pete sat with Trisha’s head in his lap. Her raven hair waved out around her head as he gently stroked her face, her skin still cool to the touch. Pete softly hummed an old lullaby his mother used to sing to him whenever he would lay in bed sick as a boy. Up front, Green talked with Lt. Williams, whose thin lips were just beginning to regain their color.
“King and Clay didn’t make it, sir. I’m sorry,” Green said.
“I know. We tried to link life-support from the other suits into theirs, but we just didn’t have the equipment to do it. I heard them suffocate as their suits gave out,” Williams said staring blankly at the wall across from him.
A moment of silence passed before Green spoke again. “Can you tell us what happened, sir?” he asked quietly.
Williams slowly nodded as he began. “When we landed, everything was going smoothly. The medical team had most of their equipment packed and ready to go. Dr. Rayis was still running his last experiment--something to do with seismic printing. He kept going on about how special this planet is and how it’ll change man’s view of the universe,” Williams said, still shaking slightly.
“Anyway, we were loading the Two-Edge and next thing we know those damn crystals are everywhere. Half my people were cut down within minutes. We managed to get Rayis and three others on board and get airborne, but that didn’t last long. Those crystals came at us hard and when we passed over a riverbed the crystals from it were covered in some sort of goop that started eating through hull,” he continued, pulling the blanket close around his shoulders and holding his coffee with both hands.
“After we crashed, we grabbed what we could and headed for the mountain range thinking it would provide us with some protection, but the crystals followed us there, too. We managed to hold them off at the entrance to the cavern, but I lost a man in the process,” Williams said.
“Wilson. We found his body encased in the green crystals near the cave’s entrance,” Green said.
Williams paused for a moment. “I’d hoped he might have made it somewhere else after we got separated. He was a good man,” he said thoughtfully before continuing. “After getting trapped, we went back into the caverns as far as we dared, not knowing if there was another exit or not. Every few hours I would head towards the entrance to send out a high frequency burst on the emergency beacon. Those damn caverns make communications almost impossible. Energy cells started running low and every time we’d get too near the entrance those crystals started to move. We set our suits to bare minimum to preserve life-support. I’m not sure how much longer we would have lasted, though. Good thing you found us when you did,” he finished as he sipped on his coffee.
“We may not have if not for your signal burst. We were still headed to your original LZ when we picked it up,” Green said.
“Sarge, can I talk to you for a moment?” Ramirez asked as he walked up to the talking men.
“Excuse me, Lieutenant. You rest, sir,” Green said getting up. He followed Ramirez towards the front of the compartment as Williams sat there, still dazed.
“What is it?” Green asked, noticing the look on Ramerez’s face.
“Well, sir, Dr. Rayis is gone.”
“Come again?”
“Dr. Rayis is gone, sir. He suited up and told Grecko he wanted to go outside to stretch his legs. When we went out to look for him, he and a hover sled were gone. Sorry, sir, we weren’t expecting him to run off,” Ramirez said apologetically.
Green let out a heavy frustrated sigh. He ran his hand through his curly salt and pepper hair and said, “Track him and activate the automatic return on the sled if he hasn’t disabled it already.”
“Yes, sir,” Ramirez said before walking towards the front.
Green walked back to Williams and sat down heavily in front of him. “Sir, what can you tell me about this Dr. Rayis?” he asked.
***********************************************************
The first thing Trisha saw when she awoke was Pete’s sleeping face above her.
“My hero,” she whispered sitting up and kissing him lightly on the cheek.
Pete awoke with a start. Ever since they’d brought Trisha aboard the Rhino, he’d kept watch over her. He had dozed off a few moments ago and for a second thought he might still be dreaming as he saw her dark brown eyes looking into his.
“I was a little worried about you,” he tried to quip , his voice quiet and raspy as he gently brushing a loose strand of hair from her face, tears welling in his eyes.
“It’s a girl’s job to make her man worry occasionally, keeps him on his toes,” she said as tears ran down her cheeks. “I like your necklace,” she said running a finger over his cross.
“It has sentimental value. Now shut up and come here,” Pete said as he held her tight and kissed her.
Grecko stood just inside the doorway watching until Jones began pushing him out of the compartment.
“Hey!” Grecko said in protest.
“Give them a little privacy,” Jones said.
“What’s the matter, Jonesy? Jealous?” Grecko asked.
A soft smile crept across her face as she looked over her shoulder at Pete and Trisha. “Maybe… just maybe,” she admitted quietly, more to herself, as the door closed behind them.
“Someone please tell me this is a joke,” Private Potter said, the freckles on his face darkening as his cheeks flushed with anger. For two days he’d wanted nothing more than to leave the miserable planet he’d been stuck on. Now as he listened to Green and Williams, he saw his hopes of escape slipping away.
“No joke,” Green said as they all sat around the forward module of the Rhino.
“We’ve tracked Rayis to the downed Two-Edge. From there, he went here to these underground caves,” Williams said, pointing at the screen next him.
“What’s down there?” Johnson asked. His auburn eyes were now alert despite his brown skin still being ashen from the hypothermia.
“Scans barely penetrate the surface so we’re not sure,” Williams said.
“Are we going after him?” Griswald asked.
“Yes, after we take the rest of the survivors to base camp. The Two-Edge is prepped and ready to take them back to the Io,” Green answered.
“My men and I are staying. Rayis was our responsibility,” Williams said.
“With all due respect, lieutenant, you and your men are in no condition to travel,
much less fight if we have to,” Green said.
Williams, after looking at his men thoughtfully, said, “You’re right. Just watch yourselves out there. ”
“We will, sir. Hower, you’re going with them. You’re no good to us with that leg,” Green said.
“Yes, sir,” Pete said, trying to hide the enthusiasm in his voice. He hated that Green and the others had to go after Rayis, but all Pete really cared about was getting Trisha to safety.
As the Rhino rolled back to base, Trisha silently rested her head on Pete’s shoulder, holding his left hand, his right arm wrapped around her. Looking at her, he noticed that the closer they got to base, the more agitated she became.
“What’s wrong?” Pete finally asked.
“I’m worried about Rayis,” she said quietly.
“Why?” Pete asked, hoping the incredulous tone in his voice masked the twinge of jealousy he was starting to feel.
“I’m worried he’s going to get himself killed. He can be a bit eccentric at times, but he’s a good man and he has a brilliant mind,” she said.
“Not too brilliant, running off like he did,” Pete said. “Don’t worry, Green and the others will find him,” he added quickly, seeing the chastising look in her eyes as she lifted her head of his shoulder to face him.
“He was so excited about coming here. It had taken him months to finally get Command to approve this expedition,” she said, her face softening.
“Honestly, Trisha, this is exactly why I didn’t want you to go. It’s dangerous out here. Despite a few hostile crystals, I don’t see what’s so great about this mud ball or why a medical team was doing planetary surveys. ” Pete said.
“It’s special; believe me, it’s special,” Trisha said, looking at the floor.
The ship’s engines whined as they powered up. Looking up at the cockpit, Green saw the pilot give him the thumbs up just before activating the windows’ opaque solar tinting.
“See you back on the Io,” Green said, turning to salute Williams who stood at the bottom of the Two-Edge’s loading ramp.
“Good hunting,” Williams said before walking into the ship.
**********************************************************
From inside the ship, Pete watched the Rhino roll away as the ramp closed, a hiss echoing through the cabin as it pressurized. He looked down as Trisha, who was asleep on his shoulder, moaned slightly at the ship jostling on its stabilizers.
Nudging her gently a few times, she awoke, her eyes squinting as she looked around.
“What?” she asked, sleepily stretching out her arms.
“You can take your helmet off now,” he said to her, wanting to save her from a crick in the neck.
“What…oh, thanks. How long until we reach the Io? ” she asked as she undid the seals.
“About thirty minutes. How are you feeling,” he said.
“Better,” she said. As she stretched again, she saw Potter staring at her.
“What is it, Potter?” she asked returning his gaze.
“I was wondering why the hell you all were on that planet is all,” he seethed, rubbing the back of his head, his hand drifting through the short tuft of red hair atop his head. “Or more to the point, what the hell were you doing on that planet that forced us to come out to find you and get our butts handed to us for the trouble. And for what? An arrogant tool of a scientist that apparently couldn’t care less that good men died to save his sorry butt.”
“Oh,” she replied quietly.
“‘Oh. ’ That’s all you have to say? ‘Oh’. I lost friends back there,” he snapped angrily.
“I’m sorry,” she said as she avoided his glare.
“Yeah, well…” he started.
“Ease off of her, Potter. She’s had it just as bad as you did down there,” Pete interrupted forcefully.
“Well, lookie here, the boyfriend to the rescue,” he said mockingly.
“That’s right. You got a problem with that?” Pete answered, standing.
Johnson stuck his muscular arm over Potter’s chest before he could rise.
“Everyone settle down. We’re all tired,” he said, nodding to Pete to sit back down.
“We’re sorry about your friends, but we lost people too,” Nelson said, the bags under her dark eyes deep from exhaustion. Her dark hair stuck to her forehead, partly covering her red bindi. Since being rescued, she’d kept to herself. Pete, having almost forgotten she was there, was rather surprised when she spoke.
Potter looked from Pete to Nelson and then sat back down.
“Sorry,” he said, staring off towards the wall, not looking at anyone.
“Cool?” Johnson asked, looking at Pete.
“Cool,” Pete said putting his arm around Trisha.
Suddenly, Pete slid hard into Trisha as the ship veered sharply.
“What the hell was that?” Potter asked.
Just then, the cabin lights switched over to combat red as Williams came through the door from the cockpit.
“Green’s team is pinned down,” he said. “We’re en route to provide air support.”
“What happened?” Pete asked.
“They found Rayis. When they approached, he refused to leave and activated that piece of equipment he’d grabbed from the wreckage,” Williams said. “We picked up a huge magnetic spike right before Green radioed for backup.”
“Two minutes until contact,” the pilot said over the intercom.
“Civilians in the fore cabin. The rest of you suit up. We’re going in hot. Once that door drops, we’ll be laying down cover fire as they board,” Williams said.
“What kind of magnetic spike did you pick up?” Trisha asked.
“That’s not important. Now please move up front,” Williams answered.
“Yes, it is! What type of spike was it? A simple spike or a series of micro-bursts?” Trisha asked in a loud impatient voice.
“Listen, I don’t have time--” Williams started.
“Make time and answer me,” she demanded, interrupting him.
“What difference does it make?” Johnson asked.
“Trisha, maybe we should just go up front,” Nelson said, placing her hand firmly on Trisha’s arm.
“No! Too many people have died. They need to know what they’re up against,” she snapped, pulling away.
“Listen to her,” Pete said. “When we were attacked trying to get to you, we found that certain magnetic waves affect those crystal things.”
“I’m listening,” Williams said.
“Trisha, don’t,” Nelson warned darkly.
“This planet is alive. I don’t mean ‘circle of life’ alive, I mean it is a living being,” Trisha said, ignoring her.
“Patterson, shut up!” Nelson yelled.
“Settle down, lady,” Potter said, looking at her strangely.
Without warning, Nelson grabbed Johnson’s rifle and pointed it at Trisha, her small, delicate hands keeping the barrel pointed directly at her target.
“One more word, Patterson, and I swear I’ll blow your head off!” she screamed.
Pete jumped in front of Trisha, shielding her with his body as Johnson moved slowly to the side.
“Pete, no!” Trisha yelled.
“Easy, easy. Put the gun down. We’re all on the same side here,” Williams said, making slow careful gestures with his hands.
“We are under strict orders not to reveal any aspect of this mission,” Nelson snarled.
“I’m not military, bitch, so you can take your orders and shove them,” Trisha spat back, trying to move from behind Pete.
“Wait a minute. Nelson’s not part of the medical team?” Potter asked.
“No, idiot, I’m not. I’m with Intelligence and my job was to make sure this project didn’t have any leaks… and I intend to do just that,” Nelson said hottly, her hazel eyes flashing with fear and anger.
“I’d say you’ve already botched that one pretty well, wouldn’t you?” Potter said.