by Various
“I think you’ll like the marshal,” Dr. Barkman said.
“He doesn’t have any experience in medical resorts,” Deputy Lewis said.
“Then you will be a great help to him.”
The deputy grunted.
“Your time will come, Charles. Learn what you can from him.”
“He’s a frontier marshal.”
“I knew his parents,” Dr. Barkman said. “Back in the early years before the major discoveries.”
“All he knows is how to kill and intimidate people.”
“He’s been very successful wherever he’s been posted, and we could use someone with his skills.”
“I have the natives under control,” Chief Deputy Lewis protested.
“The Visitors will be coming soon. If we still have problems with the free Ananke, they will send in additional security troops. That would not be good for any of us, Chief Deputy.”
“But he’s a missionary kid. That won’t be good for us either.”
“His parents happened to be missionaries, but Wallace was raised by families of the Marshal’s Service after the Ananke killed his parents. He has a well-directed hatred of the Ananke. His ability to kill and intimidate and his hatred for the natives make him the perfect choice for this position.”
The green light on the docking tunnel flashed and the doors slowly opened.
Chapter 4
MATT AND HIS daughter stood next to the pod holding Lydia. They would wait for the medical techs to take the pod to the hospital.
“When will they wake her?” Sherrie asked.
“After they complete some basic tests,” Roy explained.
“More tests?” Sherrie sounded distressed.
“She’ll be fine.” Matt put his hand on his daughter’s shoulder. She’d been through so much in her life. Not only was she the daughter of a frontier marshal, she had to watch her mother slowly dying in front of her, and for over half a year she could only see her mom inside this container. But that would soon change.
Sherrie turned her dad to face her and quickly checked his uniform.
“Perfect,” the girl said.
“Marshal Wallace.”
They both looked up to see a man in a lab coat walking quickly their way. From the bios he’d been studying, Matt knew this was Dr. Eric Barkman, the founder and chief operating officer of the Altair medical resort. He was followed by a crew of technicians and one man in a marshal’s uniform.
“You’ve grown to be quite a man,” Dr. Barkman said, shaking Matt’s hand. He studied the marshal’s features. “Not at all like the little boy I remember, but you have quite a reputation as a marshal.”
Matt motioned to his little girl.
“This is Sherrie, my daughter.”
Dr. Barkman gently took her hand and grinned. “Oh, my. You are beautiful, young lady. You have your grandmother’s eyes. She had the most alluring eyes in the universe.”
Sherrie blushed and tried to stammer out a hello.
“You knew my grandparents?” Sherrie asked.
Without being asked, Roy displayed a hologram of a scene from many decades ago.
It was in a remote area, with a waterfall in the background. Roger and Louise Wallace held their baby, Matthew. Next to them was a young Eric Barkman, the medical explorer.
“That brings back the memories,” Dr. Barkman said. “We were in a remote area. There were no cities and not even a marshal’s service. I was doing medical research, and they were sharing the gospel with the miners. We had many nights by the campfire arguing about the existence of God. Arguing isn’t quite the right word. Your parents never argued, Matthew. They were always gracious. We discussed the nature of man and the possibility that God was involved somehow in this chaotic universe.”
Matt couldn’t remember Dr. Barkman from his youth. He was too young, but the doctor’s description of his parents was accurate. They were always gracious and they always encouraged people to think about God.
“My manners,” Dr. Barkman said. “This is Charles Lewis, your chief deputy, Matthew.”
Deputy Lewis shook the marshal’s hand and nodded to Sherrie.
Dr. Barkman stepped over to the pod and looked at Lydia’s sleeping body. “I’m sorry this is the reason for your trip but I’m very glad you’re here.” He tapped some icons on the display panel and studied the readouts. “We’ve been having some troubles with the Ananke and I think you will be the perfect person to lead our law enforcement team. Don’t you agree, Deputy Lewis?”
Matt noticed the deputy’s hesitation.
“We’re looking forward to your enlightened leadership,” the deputy said.
Politics already, Matt thought. Probably passed over for the marshal’s job and pissed off at the doctor. He would deal with that later. Right now there were more important issues.
“My wife…”
“I will personally escort her to the hospital and do the evaluations on her.” Dr. Barkman placed his hand on Matt. “We’re good at what we do here, Marshal Wallace. You will soon have a wife back. And you, young lady with the alluring eyes, will soon have a mother again. Will that be acceptable to you?”
Sherrie nodded her head vigorously and hugged the doctor.
The doctor motioned for one of the women in the lab coats to come forward.
“This is Kari,” Dr. Barkman said. “She will escort you to your apartment and she will be your wife’s personal aide throughout her treatment.”
Matt studied the young woman’s features. The Ananke were beautiful people to look at and even though the treaty said all past crimes were forgiven and the Ananke and humans would be treated equally, to Matt they were still the ones who murdered his parents. “We would prefer to have one of your regular staff members instead of—”
“I understand,” Dr. Barkman interrupted before the marshal could finish his complaint. “But a healer is required for your wife’s treatments.”
Matt took a deep breath to calm himself. He couldn’t let his feelings get in the way of Lydia’s recovery. They’d come too far. It was too important.
Matt nodded to the doctor.
“Follow me, please.” Kari bowed.
“We’ll notify you when we’re ready to open the pod. I like the family to be there. Probably this afternoon.”
“Thank you,” Matt said.
They started to leave, but Roy flashed a red light and made a groaning noise.
“What is it, Roy?” Matt asked.
“The prisoner,” Roy said.
“I forgot. I had to arrest someone on the trip here for drug violations.”
“I told you he was a man of action,” Dr. Barkman said to the deputy.
“He was uncooperative, so it was necessary to restrain him and confine him to a storage closet. Roy will show you where.”
“Good work. I’ll have Deputy Lewis take him into custody.”
Matt and Sherrie followed Kari out of the medical bay. Deputy Lewis looked at the hovering Roy.
“I’ve never seen one of these things. How old is it?”
“My name is Roy.”
“Whatever. Show me what happened.”
Roy displayed a hologram of the arrest.
“Oh, my God.” Deputy Lewis’s eyes went wide with fear. “That’s Turner.”
“Royce Turner, CEO of Orion Industries,” Roy said. “Claimed to be one of the richest men in the universe but it was a lie. I checked and there are at least seven people in the universe who have a greater net worth than Mr. Turner.”
“He arrested Royce Turner?” the deputy said.
Roy continued playing the hologram of the arrest and pointed out what he felt should be obvious to any lawman. “The perp threatened to have the marshal’s head and the heads of anyone who helped him, but Marshal Wallace is a man of great integrity and explained that the law applies to everyone, rich or poor.”
Dr. Barkman shook his head. “Mr. Turner is not a perp. Go with this unit—”
“Roy
,” the robot said.
“Go with this unit and release our guest. Apologize and let him know he will have the best of everything while he is on this planet.”
The deputy looked at the doctor. “A man of action?”
“Make it right,” Dr. Barkman ordered.
Roy led the deputy to the closet. “Justice is for everyone or it isn’t justice, don’t you agree, Deputy Lewis?”
“Your boss has a lot to learn.”
Chapter 5
LYDIA LOOKED so peaceful. Matt stood at the side of the pod with his arm around Sherrie.
Dr. Barkman adjusted some controls, and there was a hiss as the gases from the artificial environment inside the pod were released.
“This is exciting,” Roy said.
“Her vitals look very good,” Dr. Barkman said as he raised the glass lid.
Sherrie leaned closer. “She’s not moving.”
“It takes a few minutes.” Dr. Barkman spoke in his reassuring voice. “You two will be the first people she sees.”
Lydia’s eyelids fluttered. Matt could feel his heart racing. Lydia’s eyes opened. She saw Matt and Sherrie, and a smile spread across her face.
“Mom.”
Lydia held up her hand and let Sherrie grab it.
“You’ve grown up so,” Lydia said.
“I love you, Mom.”
“I love you, dear.” She pulled her daughter’s hand close and kissed it.
For the first time in seven months, Matt reached down and touched her.
“Welcome back,” Matt said.
“So how’s my lawman doing?”
“I’m doing fine now.” Matt looked at the doctor. “May we take her?”
“Not yet.” Dr. Barkman came around so Lydia could see him and also brought Kari with him. “I’m your doctor, Mrs. Wallace. I’m going to make you better. Guaranteed. This is Kari, your personal nurse. She will be with you all the time. If you need anything, you let her know.”
Kari nodded at Lydia.
“I’ll need about an hour to do some tests, then Kari will take you for your first treatment.”
The disappointment was clear in the eyes of Matt and his daughter.
The doctor noticed. “The treatment will make her better and tonight she’ll be at home with you two.”
Sherrie leaned over and kissed her mom. “Wait till you see where we’re staying. It’s fantastic.”
Matt leaned down and kissed his wife. “I missed you so much.”
“You two get out of here,” Dr. Barkman ordered. “We’re going to make her well.”
Chapter 6
LYDIA HELD tightly to Kari as she tried to walk down the hallway. It seemed so simple. One foot then the other. Lydia knew what she wanted to do but her body seemed to have forgotten how to respond.
“That’s normal,” Kari explained. “The medical pod kept your muscles exercised but your brain hasn’t given instructions to them for a while and it will take some time for the connections to become normal again. But don’t worry, they will.”
Lydia had no intention of letting a little thing like walking cause her to worry. When she let them put her to sleep at the beginning of the trip, she had no idea if she would ever wake up again, and here she was on Altair. She’d seen her husband and daughter. They were beautiful. She touched them. She didn’t know if she would ever touch them again.
And the doctor said he could heal her. He didn’t talk in percentages. He flat out said he could heal her.
Kari let her new patient put most of her weight on her shoulders. “I can get you a transport, if you’d like.”
Lydia didn’t want a transport. She wanted to enjoy feeling. Feeling. Even if she wasn’t in complete control of her body yet, she could feel it.
“If you don’t mind me resting on you, I’d really like to try to walk.”
Kari nodded. “That’s the best way to improve.”
The two women moved slowly down the hall. The nurses and doctors who walked past them all greeted Lydia by name: “Mrs. Wallace.” She didn’t know how they knew her. Maybe she had a big flashing light over her head saying “This is the new marshal’s wife.” Or maybe this was just the way things were in these high-end fancy medical places.
Lydia had never been in a medical resort before. Her husband was a frontier marshal. Their entire married life had been spent on postings to remote planets and moons where there was little in the way of civilization. The medical services available on the outer edges of the galaxy were primitive at best.
“Would you like a transport, Mrs. Wallace?” A young man approached her pushing a chair that appeared to float a few inches off the ground.
“Mrs. Wallace wants to walk,” Kari said.
The young man smiled. “That’s the best way to improve.”
Lydia watched the young man continue down the hall. “Everyone is so nice.”
“We’re here to serve you,” Kari said.
“They all seem to know my name.”
“We learn everyone’s name at the resort,” Kari said. “It helps calm you, which in turn will speed the healing process.”
They came and stood before a glass elevator. A scanner did a quick sweep of their eyes and the door opened.
“Welcome to Altair, Mrs. Wallace.”
“Even the elevator knows my name.”
Kari smiled.
“Initial treatment,” Kari said.
“Order verified,” the voice in the elevator said.
Lydia looked for further explanation from Kari.
“It’s a safety procedure,” Kari said. “I describe the treatment we are undertaking. The computer checks the doctor’s orders to see that they are the same. Then we are taken to the appropriate location in the facility for the treatment. It eliminates mistakes.”
The doors closed and the elevator slowly went down to the lower levels of the medical resort.
“We definitely didn’t have anything like this on the frontier.”
Lydia watched the floor numbers go lower and lower.
“How long have you been a nurse?” Lydia asked.
“I’m a healer,” Kari explained.
“How long have you been at the clinic?”
“I’ve worked here for four years.”
“What brought you to Altair? It’s so far from everything.”
The elevator doors opened revealing a large underground cave. Lydia gasped at the view.
Colored lights rotated across the rocks. Music played quietly in the background. She could hear the sound of water, and then she saw an underground waterfall in the distance.
Kari led her along a path that bordered a stream. The water flowed slowly and Lydia was fascinated by the shimmering colors reflected from the lights.
“This is your healing pool.” Kari pointed to a small cave set just off the path.
Lydia still held on to Kari as they walked into the area. There was a clear pool of water maybe four or five feet deep. It looked like the rocks were shaped to provide places to sit along the side of the pool and in the water.
“Sit here.”
Kari helped Lydia sit in one of the rock chairs carved into the wall of the small cave. Lydia thought it was surprisingly comfortable for a rock chair. Cool. Refreshing almost. She settled in like it was a soft cushion, but she knew it was solid rock.
She looked at the waters. The healing waters of Ananke were legendary. For most of her life she thought they were just another tale of strange things that existed on the edge of the universe. People were always making up stories and she knew better than to believe them. But the stories of the waters of Ananke were true. The rich and powerful waited years to come to this place and no one ever complained. If the claims weren’t true you could be sure the clinic’s rich and powerful clients would have sued it bare. And here she was, the wife of a space marshal getting treatment reserved for the elite.
Kari took an orange fruit that was set on a shelf and began cutting it into small pieces.
“Shamru,” Kari said.
Kari took a rock carved bowl and mashed the Shamru with a rock pestle.
“I thought I just sat in the water and got better.”
“You will like it very much,” Kari said.
She poured the mixture into two rock carved cups and brought them to Lydia. She handed one cup to Lydia. “You drink half.”
Lydia took the cup and drank slowly. It was cool and felt good going down her throat. She couldn’t place the flavor, but it reminded her of the fresh peaches she had once as a child. That was so long ago. Maybe they were just a similar color.
Kari drank from the other cup. Then the two exchanged cups and finished the drinks. Lydia could feel her toes and fingers tingle.
“I do like it,” Lydia said. “Is it part of the treatment, or just something nice for the patient?”
“Everything is part of the treatment,” Kari said.
Those frontier clinics could learn a few things from this place, Lydia thought.
Kari held out her hand. “I will help you into the pool.”
“I didn’t bring a bathing suit. I sort of figured you might have one.”
“No clothes,” Kari said.
“What if someone walks in on us?”
“This is your healing pool,” Kari said. “No one enters unless you wish it.”
Lydia figured she’d spent the last couple of years having every inch of her body poked and prodded by doctors. Getting naked and sitting in a pool of water would be a whole lot better than that.
She took off her jumpsuit and slipped into the pool. Even though they were deep underground, the water was warm.
There were two carved seats in the middle of the pool. Lydia sat in one, and the water came up to her shoulders. She wished she could jump up and yell “I’m healed!” But it just felt like a warm bath, so she decided to relax and enjoy. Surely they knew what they were doing.
Kari took off her uniform and slid into the pool.
“Is that part of the treatment?”
Kari nodded and sat in the rock chair next to Lydia. The little Ananke healer closed her eyes and began to sing.