The Ninth: Invasion

by Benjamin Schramm

  “Is there anything we can do?” the captain asked hopefully.

  “I don’t even know what, if anything, is wrong with him. If it weren’t for his unresponsiveness, I’d say he was in perfect health. All I can do is watch and wait.”

  “Can I see him?” Cassandra pleaded.

  “It’s up to you, Captain.” The doctor turned to face Captain Perez.

  “I’m not sure it’s a good idea.” The captain scratched his chin in thought. “For all we know it could be contagious.”

  “If I can make a suggestion,” Cain spoke up.

  “What is it, Master Hooten?”

  “This has happened a couple of times before, and each time Cassandra was by his side when he recovered. I don’t know if there is a connection, but it couldn’t hurt to let her try.”

  Cassandra looked at Cain with grateful tear filled eyes. The captain nodded in agreement. A nurse emerged and led Cassandra deeper into sickbay.

  “Captain, it’s time for you to make an announcement. We’ll be jumping in a few minutes,” Miss Carrero said.

  “Do you think we should postpone the jump?” Angela asked. “Until Brent feels better?”

  “Jumps are perfectly harmless,” the doctor said matter-of-factly. “It’s nothing more than superstition to think otherwise.”

  “Right.” Erin turned on the doctor. “And I’m sure there is some reasonable explanation for Brent’s condition that doesn’t rely on superstition or you sounding like an a first year medical student. Don’t jump down her throat.”

  The doctor was about to protest when he sighed. The captain paused as he walked through the door.

  “Robert, get a detail on this door. I want it fixed as soon as possible.”

  The engineer saluted briefly, acknowledging the order. The troopers quietly sat in the waiting room. The captain’s announcement went unnoticed as the troopers thought about their fallen friend. Owen was the only one to react to the approaching wall. Hiroko held his hand as he tried to clam down. As Owen was letting out a sigh of relief after the Wall had cleared the room, they were all startled by a blood-curdling scream.

  “Please tell me I am not the only one hearing that,” Owen said, still pale from the jump.

  “It’s coming from inside sickbay!” Dante was already rushing to the doorway.

  As the doorway opened up, the volume of the scream doubled. The troopers quickly made their way to the source of the terrified sound. A nurse was falling over herself trying to escape from one of the side rooms. Angela worked on calming her down as the others checked out the room. Cassandra was covering her ears, staring at the nurse in surprise. On the bed was Brent. Kindra gasped.

  “What’s wrong?” Sanderson asked as the nurse stopped screaming.

  “It’s Brent!” Kindra ran to his side. “He’s covering his ears!”

  The other troopers stared in wonder, as Brent looked them over.

  “How did I get here?” he asked, confused.

  “Are you all right?” Cassandra was clinging to his arm.

  “I’m fine.” He put his hands to his temples. “Got a horrible headache, though.”

  “What’s going on back here?” the short doctor asked, shoving his way into the room.

  “It’s Brent,” Penny said with a relieved smile. “He’s okay.”

  “Guys, this nurse is seriously freaked out,” Angela said, perched over the now silent nurse.

  “Is that a technical term?” Cain asked.

  “Not now, Cain,” she snapped. “She’s scared practically to death.”

  The short doctor gestured to a few nearby nurses who escorted the panting nurse on the floor to another room. Silently, the doctor studied the monitors and readouts.

  “No change; not that he was in bad shape to begin with. How do you feel?” the doctor asked.

  “A little disoriented and I have a killer headache.” Brent rubbed his temples.

  The doctor made a few notes on his pad before searching through a cabinet. After a few moments, he handed the Weaver a pair of red tablets.

  “Those should help with the headache. Do you have any idea what happened to you?”

  “No clue. I was talking to Tyra, and then I checked through my pad. After that, it all gets hazy.”

  “Your pad? What were you looking for?”

  “I’m not sure; that part is what I can’t remember. I think it was important, though.”

  “Well, you are all right for now. I’d like you to say here for now. I’ll have a nurse stay nearby in case you need anything.”

  “Doctor, can I . . .” Cassandra started.

  “Stay as long as you like.”

  The short doctor nodded to the girl as he left the room. Brent suddenly realized the troopers all had expressions of varying concern on their faces.

  “What did I miss?” he asked.

  “You were unconscious,” Tyra said, patting Cassandra’s shoulder.

  “Really? For how long.”

  The troopers looked at one another.

  “A couple of hours, give or take,” Doug said with a shrug.

  “You seem perfectly fine now.” Owen studied the monitors with an obviously trained eye.

  “Are you tired at all?” Erin asked.

  “Not at all. I feel fine. Still have a pounding headache, but beside that I feel normal.”

  “Good enough for me.” Cain shrugged. “I’m off to the recreation room. Hope Brent’s fainting spell didn’t scare away my prey.”

  “Sure, act tough,” Angela said as she followed. “I know better. You were just as scared as the rest, maybe even more.”

  The two walked out of sickbay arguing fiercely. Some troopers chuckled while others shook their heads.

  “Leave it to Cain to do something unexpected,” Mr. Springate said with a smile.

  “So what should we do now?” Doug asked, looking at Brent.

  “Don’t worry about me.” He stretched and settled into the bed. “Whatever it was it seems to have passed now. I’ll catch up later.”

  “If you’re sure . . .” Tyra had a worried expression on her face.

  “I tell you I’m fine. Go have some fun. If you can find it.” Brent winked at Tyra.

  Tyra blushed faintly as he nodded toward Ronald.

  “He’s got a point; I hope the 3P isn’t broken,” Penny said.

  The other troopers were obviously clueless about the meaning of his gesture.

  “The engineer said it shut down, not that it was broken,” Humphrey mumbled. “Although, I might just read a book instead; worst thing you can get from one of those is eye strain.”

  Slowly but surely the troopers filed out of sickbay. Finally Brent, was alone save for Cassandra who was still holding onto his arm.

  “It wasn’t me, was it?” she asked slowly.

  “What do you mean?”

  “Tyra told me you were discussing my age.”

  “I don’t think it was that.” A slight pang of pain arced through his mind. “You’re sixteen, aren’t you?”

  “So you knew?”

  “Nope, was clueless. I think that was one of the things I was looking up in my pad.”

  “I see. Are you . . .”

  “Nope, I’m not mad. I don’t hate you, and I’m not going to hold it against you.”

  “I’m not that predictable, am I?” Cassandra asked with a weak smile.

  “Sometimes.” Brent returned the smile.

  “I never realized I could have gotten you in trouble.”

  “Are things different where you come from?”

  “We don’t really talk about those kinds of things. My homeworld is basically one big ranch with various landowners. If it doesn’t have anything to do with raising animals, no one seems to really care.”

  “They raise animals on heavy gravity worlds?”

  “Of course they do! The extra gravity means the animals develop more muscles. They are stronger and arguably taste better too. Needed throughout the Commonwealth. Rim
worlds want them for their strength while the core worlds want them for fancy dinners and whatnot.”

  Brent chuckled to himself.

  “What?” Cassandra asked.

  “Sorry, it’s just hard to see you as rancher.”

  “Don’t see me as the gentle, nurturing type?” she asked with a grin.

  “I could see that. It’s the idea of you spending all your free time talking about raising animals that I can’t believe.”

  “Never said I enjoyed it. Why do you think I joined the military as soon as I could? You can only endure so many years of heated debate over the benefits of different types of feed.” Cassandra sighed.

  “I can’t imagine.”

  “Wait a minute. What do you mean you could see me as the gentle type?” she asked with a raised eyebrow. “Haven’t I tossed you around a few times?”

  “As if you need to ask.” Brent chuckled to himself. “You know, you are awfully cute in the mornings. I could see you snuggled up to a baby, holding it close as you took care of it.”

  Cassandra instantly flushed.

  “At least I know your fainting spell didn’t change your personality,” she said in embarrassment.

  “Do you think I’ll have to hang out here until we reach Eos?”

  “Who knows? I didn’t exactly make the best impression on the doctor.”

  “What did you do?”

  “I kind of . . . manhandled him.”

  “Well, I’m sure he understands you were concerned.”

  “He does indeed,” the doctor said from the hallway.

  “Doctor! . . . How long have you been standing there?” Cassandra asked nervously.

  “Long enough. There doesn’t seem to be anything wrong with either of you,” the doctor said with a smile.

  “So does that mean I’m free to go?” Brent asked.

  “I’d rather you stayed here a bit longer. The others seemed rather alarmed by . . . whatever it was that happened to you. I’ll make you a deal. If you stay here like a good little patient, I’ll release you in time for dinner if you’re still feeling well.”

  “Can I stay?” Cassandra asked quickly.

  “As long as you don’t disrupt the nurses, I don’t see any harm in it.”

  “Then it’s a deal,” Brent said with a smile.

  The doctor nodded and continued his rounds. Cassandra smiled warmly as she held his arm.

  “What’s with the smile?” he asked.

  “I’m just glad you’re okay.”

  The two talked about the details of life on a ranch while they waited for the time to pass. Occasionally, a nurse would come in and test his reflexes and check the readouts of the machines lining the room. A couple of times their conversation was interrupted by a jump, but they managed to pick up where they had left off after the Wall passed. Brent was becoming an authority on the ins and outs of raising twenty different species.

  “Never knew there was so much to raising animals,” he said with a chuckle.

  “It’s hard not to learn something when it’s all you hear.”

  “So did you want to be a rancher like your parents when you were young?”

  “Not at all. Now, my brother, he took after dad. Minus the temper. He’ll probably take over the family ranch and be happy doing so.”

  “What about you?”

  “What about me?”

  “What did you want to be when you grew up?” Brent asked with a grin.

  “Anything but a rancher. I wanted to see the Commonwealth. Travel from world to world. See the sights.”

  “And the military offered that?”

  “Yep. I had it all planned out. After I graduated from the academy, I’d be assigned to a planetary garrison. Every couple of years I’d put in for a transfer and move to a new world. It wasn’t going to be a life of grand adventure, I’ll admit, but compared to spending the rest of my life as a ranch hand, it was plenty appealing.”

  “Was? It’s not so appealing anymore?”

  “Well, things didn’t go exactly as planned. I got placed into the FF right after the exams. I realized that even if I did manage to get assigned to a garrison, they’d probably turn down any transfer requests I made. Troopers who graduate without any redeeming qualities don’t exactly get a lot of say in their careers.

  “I gathered that from Tyra. So why stay? You could have washed out at any time.”

  “I kind of boasted before I left home. I couldn’t run home with my tail between my legs. I’d never live it down.”

  “Well, at least you don’t have to worry about that now.”

  “What do you mean?”

  “Well, with the war on, I’m sure your parents would be happy just to know you are safe.”

  “That’s true.”

  “Plus, you are going to have to rethink your plans anyway.”

  “Why’s that?”

  “I didn’t hear one word about having a husband.” Brent smiled at Cassandra.

  She blinked a few times as she sorted out what she’d heard.

  “But . . . I’m too young . . . Tyra said so.”

  “That’s true.” He shrugged. “But you know what they say, good things are worth waiting for.”

  She turned a bright red. Her grip on his hand tightened slightly.

  “That has got to be the most roundabout proposal I’ve heard in all my life,” the doctor said with a chuckle.

  Cassandra jumped out of her seat in shock. Her face burned red as she realized someone had been listening. He held her hand tightly, trying to calm her down.

  “You know, it’s not polite to eavesdrop,” Brent said.

  “I know, but I couldn’t very well interrupt something like that. It was too perfect. Although, you could have picked a more romantic place to propose than a bed in sickbay.”

  “So, I guess it’s dinner time?”

  “Just about. You seem perfectly healthy to me, so I’m going to let you two leave.”

  Brent nodded to the doctor as he got out of bed. Cassandra was still a deep red, unable to speak in her embarrassment. He gently pulled her along as she slowly recovered from the shock.

  “Don’t go and break her heart; I can’t fix that!” the doctor shouted after the pair as they left sickbay.

  Cassandra stiffened again as the doorway sealed behind them. Brent forced himself not to laugh. That doctor was no doubt getting back at her. She manhandled him so he embarrassed her. Although, as Brent tried to get Cassandra to move, he couldn’t help but wonder if the doctor had gone overboard. Slowly but surely, she relaxed as he guided her to the mess room. By the time they reached it, she was moving normally, although her face was still a deep red.

  “Are you okay?” he asked before they entered.

  “What?” she asked, obviously distracted.

  “I asked if you are okay.” He chuckled to himself.

  “That horrible doctor!” She covered her face in embarrassment. “I can’t believe he said that.”

  “Shouted, actually.”

  Cassandra shot an angry glance at him. He smiled back and gave her a quick kiss on the cheek.

  “Try to relax,” Brent said soothingly. “The girls are going to know something is up if you walk in there all red.”

  She took several deep breaths, trying to forget the doctor’s antics. Slowly, the red faded from her face. Confidently, the two entered the room and selected their meals. Brent noticed the other troopers were eyeing them suspiciously. Their gazes weren’t the playful ones the girls gave them when they had questions about their relationship. The gazes were concerned and distant. Something was wrong.

  Galen’s cheeks hurt. He had kept a false smile up for so long his face ached and begged for relief. It couldn’t be helped; most of the directors and the entire board were fully behind the Grand Executive and the war. Those who disagreed too vocally either saw their power taken from them, or simply disappeared. Galen stayed safely in the middle ground. Never speaking against the plans of the others, but never e
ndorsing them either. His false smile gave the others the impression he supported them, despite the fact he hadn’t actually said a word to any of them in several days.

  His assistant’s face brightened as he entered his office. The boy still seemed to idolize him, despite the fact the war had made it terribly apparent that none of the directors had any real power. It was the Grand Executive that charted the course and the Board that enforced her will. All the directors did was relay the orders further down the chain of command.

  “How did the meeting go?” the boy asked politely.

  “The same as the last few,” he said with his false smile.

  “Well, don’t over do it. We need you around here. I don’t know what we’d do if you worked yourself to death.”

  “I’m sure you’d made do.”

  “Oh, before I forget, that man from the other day is back. Be careful, sir.”

  Galen’s false smile instantly shattered. He nodded at the boy and ventured into his office. Once again his chair was facing the window with small smoke rings wafting upward.

  “Klaus,” he said, using a neutral tone.

  “There you are, Galen. I’ve been waiting for you.”

  “War isn’t in our standard skill set. Meetings about it take longer than usual.”

  “You don’t do your compatriots credit. You might not call it war, but I’ve seen how you conduct business around here. Some of you make my mercs seem downright civilized.”

  The chair spun and the man smiled sinisterly. Galen’s cheeks ached when he forced the false smile. Klaus hopped out of the chair and gestured for him to sit. He was certain he didn’t want to turn his back on the man, but Galen didn’t want to seem hostile either. With a polite nod, he took the chair and waited for Klaus to take the one opposite. Instead, the man stared out the window and tapped his cigar on the window still.

  “We need to have a private conversation,” he said finally.

  Galen trembled slightly, but activated the room’s security measures. Within short order the windows were all blotted out and a small field obscured the room from scanners or any type of listening device. He had only had to use the system a couple times before during sensitive negotiations. He never thought he’d regret having the system.