The hanger deck opened its main hatchway as the dart flight returned. The viewing ports were filled with the ship's crew, as they had to witness Short Blade riding the Dart into the bay.
Short Blade felt relief as the landing bay hatches closed behind him. He could imagine the atmosphere was being pumped into the bay. His right leg started to tingle as he felt squishiness between the toes on his right foot. He jumped the short distance to the deck figuring he would help the pilots out of the Darts, and then see to his injury. The short jump to the deck made Short Blade cry out in pain as his right leg buckled under him as it failed to support him; he saw his crewmates running towards him. He felt humiliation wash over him as he tried to get up from the deck appearing like a weak failure. As the first human got to him, his legs throbbing was replaced with darkness as he passed out from the pain.
Jimmy Brewster was the first to reach Short Blade as he dropped to his knees and started to turn the helmet to remove it. Guns Wright plopped down next to him and examined the little alien and saw the tape on his leg and pulled it off as blood leaked out of the hole.
"Son of a bitch! We need to get him out of that suit ASAP; Someone get me a first aid kit now!" Guns hollered
Jimmy handed him an old style straight razor and pointed for him to cut the suits leg off to save time. Cutting the leg off above the hole made it easy to slip the suit's leg off. The wound was easily found as it was still slowly leaking blood, as the entire hairy leg was matted in the red sticky fluid. A first aid kit was thrust into Jimmy's hands as he quickly took the healer unit and slowly waved it over the wound as the smell of burnt hair and flesh permeated the air. With the wound cauterized Jimmy started to lift the little alien as Guns gripped the other side of Short Blade and flipped him onto his back in a fireman's carry and told Jimmy to clear the way to the infirmary. Once in the infirmary Jimmy activated the medical computer as he took a medical scanner and scanned the little alien from head to toe. The medical computer announced, "The patient needs an immediate blood transfusion."
Jimmy replied back to the computer there was no blood available for the little alien. A clear tube began to slide down the length of the bed and sealed itself as a light turned on inside the tube. "Stasis field will maintain patient until needed operations can be performed." The computer reported.
The commander walked in at that moment. Guns was the first to report. "Sir, Jimmy saved our boys life, but he needs blood bad. Request we hit it for the moon ASAP!"
The commander simply nodded as he commed the bridge to set course for the Earth's moon ASAP. The commander then interfaced with the ships speaker system. "All mission requirements have been met and we are now returning home at best speed. We will launch our shuttle to the moon and then proceed on to Earth where Dart Flight will launch their Darts to return to the spaceport at Gray Panther Head Quarters. Then return to the Academy to complete academics. Short Blade is stable and will be in the shuttle to the moon to receive medical attention. I regret to inform you that Lt. Zach Askis from the Bia lost his life when it appears he suffered unknown mechanical failure and crashed on Venus. Funeral arrangements will be carried out after the accident investigation. To the rest of the crew good job everybody, Captain out."
Peary Crater Lunar Base
29 August 2128
Colonel Blade was first shocked then amazed when he was informed Short Blade had been injured and in order to save his life, the ship was en route to save him. Additional information from the guards started to leak out that the little warrior was a hero that had saved a pilots life by having to use a rocket pack to get to the ship as the shuttle he had just vacated crashed into Venus.
Blades chest puffed out on its own as he thought to himself, that’s my son, the hero. Then he worried that the humans would not know how to operate on his son. He dispatched his aid to inform the healer and her staff to be ready for his son. Worry lines creased the Colonels face as he waited, absently pacing the floor.
Although he had been watching the hatchway for what seemed hours, Blade was surprised when the little human female Major Paulsen came through the hatchway. He not only did not hear the hatch open. It took a moment for it to realize that she was in front of him talking.
"Are you even listening to me, Blade? Your son should be here in under an hour. We will need volunteers to provide blood for him because of the amount he has lost, other than that all bleeding has stopped and with the blood, he should make a full recovery. Will that be a problem Colonel Blade? Colonel Blade, will that be a problem?"
"I apologize, Major, my thoughts were elsewhere. Our people have reached the stars and yet we are still very backwards in some things. Our clan, like the other clans, fear blood transactions because early in our history it usually resulted in death for both the donor and recipient. We later learned about blood types and took away the danger of giving the wrong type of blood, however, our religion looks at it as evil saying we give part of our spirit when we give our blood," Blade said sadly.
"Oh that's fine Colonel, I'll call the ship and just tell them to save the trouble and space him, since his people are afraid of the evil involved for saving a hero. How about you point out your priest and I'll shoot him in the leg and let him bleed out, then get an opinion from him if it's evil to give blood to save a life?" the Major said hotly.
"Major, I'm sorry but we are all your captives and you can do with us as you wish, I will not interfere with any orders you give my people," the Colonel replied as he blinked his right eye.
"OK Colonel as your captor I am ordering you to provide yourself and as many captives as needed until we find the right donors. If this is not done by the time my medical staff arrives I will take severe action against all captives. Do you understand me, Colonel?" the Major said winking at the Colonel.
"If it is the price one must pay being a captive of the humans, so be it. I do know I am the same blood type as my son, so I will endure the stigma of giving blood."
Selene the AI responsible for all lunar operations appeared before the two and stated, "Major Paulsen, when the medical team arrives they will only need to scan a drop of the Colonels blood. I have the ability to duplicate the blood perfectly using the food processors. If the patient had been assigned to a ship with an AI there would not have been any problems."
"Well Colonel looks like you dodged one there, how did you know Short Blade has the same blood type as you if it's against your religion to donate blood?"
"When he was born I had a blood test to be sure he was my son, I was ready to kill my wife for infidelity if he was not of my blood."
"Colonel if you prefer, we can just wait until your son arrives here then scan his blood and fabricate it then, if you wish," the Major offered.
"No Major, I will do anything I need to do for my son. I am willing to even do the transfusion if needed. Short Blade is my only son."
The hatchway opened with the medical technician entering the chamber cutting the conversation short. The Major nodded to the Colonel and the technician just mimed for the feline to open a fist as she then quickly pricked the Colonel in the pad of his paw and quickly held a device over the drop of blood. She then stuck an oversized band aid on the minor stab wound and disappeared back through the hatchway leaving just as quickly as she had arrived. The Colonel stood in near shock for how quickly it had all happened. Looking at the closing hatchway the Colonel turned towards the Major, "That one must also be an excellent assassin with skills such as that."
The Major only looked at the Colonel towering over her as he felt his pad when she broke out in laughter breaking the tension realizing it was the first time the formal Colonel had ever made a joke in her presence. "I need to go Colonel, when your son is ready I will see to it you are allowed to visit him after his recovery." The Colonel only nodded in gratitude as the Major left the chamber.
Captain McGuire was relieved when he finally got close enough to the lunar base so that he could get landing instructions. The two huge crew chie
fs in the back of his shuttle were adamant that he make the best time possible to the moon. There was no indication that there was even a base as he followed the approach instructions. One hundred feet from the surface a large hatchway slid open as he continued to descend. The bay was at least the equivalency of thirty stories deep. Jake estimated there had to be at least three hundred shuttles in their separate berths. The berth he was preparing to dock with took over control of the shuttle as he was warned to allow the automated docking control to finish the docking procedure. Looking in the back of the shuttle through the open hatchway, he saw the two beefy crew chiefs waiting for the light to turn to green so they could exit the shuttle and get the stasis unit to the base hospital.
The landing bay was a hive of activity as the shuttle landed and the two crew chiefs from the Arizona Space Ship Beater directed the stasis chamber towards the medics ready to receive their new patient.
Guns looked at Jimmy then to the shuttle pilot. "Sir while we are here it would be an ideal time to run a level one diagnostic on the shuttle since we may not have the needed parts on the Arizona Space Ship Beater. We can start that immediately if you want to head for either the cafeteria here or the recreation center, we can comm you when it's done."
"OK Guns, and if you do it on automatic you can head over to the Base Hospital and keep an eye on Short Blade until you are notified that the diagnostics are done." Guns and Jimmy just looked at each other for a moment then saluted the officer and headed for the Base Hospital and their little comrade.
Two hours later the two were sitting watching the little alien slowly wake up. After notifying the nurse, they just sat and waited for Short Blade to become fully conscious. The door opened again and it was filled with the bulk of a menacing huge alien accompanied by a tiny Major. Both men rose protectively as the duo entered the room.
The alien carefully looked over both of the NCOs as he then turned towards the patient in the bed. Turning back to the Major he asked, "Does my son really need these two to guard him?"
Jimmy answered the question, feeling his comrade was being insulted. "Short Blade is not a prisoner, he is our buddy. We are here to make sure nothing happens to him and to be here for him if he needs anything." The attitude of the speaker was easily passed on to the Colonel even without the need of translator device.
The Colonel stepped closer to the bed as both NCOs became more alert, ready to protect their friend from the alien before them. "I am Colonel Blade, I am glad to see my son has the respect of two senior warriors as yourselves who call him comrade. That title is the highest honor a warrior in my culture can be given to another warrior."
Guns used this moment to speak up. "Then I'm sure the title hero has meaning in your culture also Colonel. That is what your son is. I don't know about your society, but in ours we measure a warrior by deeds and not by height."
Short Blade silently laid in the bed with his eyes closed listening to the interaction between his father and shipmates and was surprised by their strong feelings towards him, he had felt accepted but did not realize how fully until now. A spasm in his leg forced him to groan softly as all eyes were now directed on him.
Guns looked him in the eyes. "We'll be out in the hallway if you need us Shorty." Guns then nodded to the Colonel as he made his way with Jimmy to the door passing both him and the Major.
Major Paulsen was surprised when the Colonel bent over and rubbed his head against his son then started to lick his face before pressing his forehead against his sons and said something she could not hear. The son's response was to weakly wrap his arms around his father in a hug. The Colonel then straightened up and saluted his son. Turning towards the Major he said he was done here.
Once out in the hall the Colonel saw his son's comrades approaching him. One handed him a data disk that was a recording of Short Blades heroics, then both saluted him as they proceeded towards his son's room once again.
Gray Panther Spaceport Arizona
29 August 2128
It was late in the evening when the spaceport was alerted to receive a special flight of ten ships. The ships were to be put immediately under cover and no mention of them was to be made.
Flying towards Earth, Matt Andrews was totally ready to call it a day, unfortunately, he was leading a ten ship formation into the Earth's atmosphere for the first time. The feeling of gravity combined with the additional G's he was pulling while maneuvering was tiring him out by the moment as he finally was in contact with Grub, the AI from Gray Panther Central.
"Dart One, this is Grub, I have completed interface with your ships computer. You have the option of going on automatic pilot or following the input loaded on your computer."
"Grub, Dart One, thank you for your assistance I will maintain control and follow your directions home. I think I need the experience," Matt replied tiredly.
"Grub copies and will monitor. Grub out."
Matt's helmet mounted display now showed a course to the Gray Panther Space Port, along with recommended altitudes and speeds. Playing a hunch Matt dropped a thousand feet lower than recommended while still over the Pacific Ocean and away from any air traffic. Instead of any alarms or warnings, course changes were immediately updated advising against any addition variations due to fuel consumption. Matt smiled to himself as he realized his minor act of petulance had just cut into his fuel reserves. Following the course as set for him, it was not long before he was contacted when he entered US airspace and was given a vector that matched the course from Grub. Twenty minutes later, he was landing with his entire flight. Following ground control instructions, he taxied towards a part of the field that was usually restricted. Hangar 3 opened its giant doors as he was instructed for each ship to enter separately with a minimum of a minute apart and follow visual instructions from inside the hangar. Matt relayed the instructions as he entered the hangar and saw a huge opening in the center of the facility. Directional arrows materialized on his helmet display as he centered himself over the opening as he followed the directions to lower himself directly downward. It was amazing to see the different levels as he was finally instructed to move forward a hundred feet after he was thirty levels down and land as he saw a crew chief with lights waving him to a parking spot. Nine more crew chiefs were also waiting to wave each of the other ships to their parking spots. Matt was proud when he lowered the Dart so softly he did not even feel the contact with the ground as he followed the crew chiefs instructions to shut down engines. Raising his Darts canopy he watched the remainder of his flight taxi in and shut down. Removing his helmet, he remembered to close his eyes so it would be easier to adjust to seeing without the enhanced visor he took for granted. The air felt good against his cheeks, as he smelled burnt fuel and hot electronics cooling off. Matt disconnected his leads connecting him to the flight deck; he then loosened his flight suit and was assaulted by his own odor as he just closed it back up figuring a shower was going to be high in his list of priorities. The crew chief assisted him in exiting the ship and opened up a digital 781A log for the ship. Matt made the crew chief happy when he said the ship was in perfect condition and just needed to be fueled to be made mission ready, but that he did not know when that would be.
Matt waited as the rest of his flight debriefed. The pilots all agreed showers and sleep were the next item on their list. Matt asked one of the older looking crew chiefs how to get back to the surface. The crew chief smiled and pointed towards a door two hundred feet away saying that was the way to the stairwell and the thirty stories to ground level. As the winked at the other crew chiefs who all burst out laughing
Initially shocked, Matt quickly turned to rage. "Chief we have been flying for three fucking days on little sleep and crappy food and I need a god damn shower so bad you would puke if I opened my suit, so quit the shit and tell me the way to the surface!"
The crew chief looked at the kid in front of him and revaluated his position as he began to sweat as he commed for a shuttle to take the pilots wherever th
ey wanted to go.
"Sorry about the levity sir, we did not know the specifics of your mission. There's a maintenance shack near the operations building that has good food and is still open. There will be a shuttle here any moment to take you where ever you want to go."
Before Matt could say anything, he felt his stomach start to ache from hunger as a shuttle pulled up to the group. They started to turn as a group to head for the shuttle as the crew chief saluted. Matt absently returned the salute as he boarded the shuttle, ordering the driver to take them first to the maintenance shack for a bite then back to the academy. The driver glanced at the group for just a moment wondering what all these kids were doing down here, and then just headed for the surface.
It was a quiet ride from the maintenance shack as exhaustion from the last few days mixed with full belly caught up with everyone. The driver was surprised when he parked in front of a training squadron dorm as his passengers departed.
Matt was going to order everyone to the showers as he peeled himself out of his gear and decided instead just to get under the water as soon as he could. The hot water seemed to peel off layers of grime as he just stood in front of the water nozzle enjoying himself while beginning to feel alive; others from the flight were in near zombie status as they also stood under the water streams. Steam filled the air so densely it was hard to see the walls when from the far side of the head three heads flushed in rapid succession as the water went cold and everyone tried to avoid the chilly water. Tiny Shaw stood in the entry to the showers laughing at the results of his action as the group before him debated between lynching him or laughing as they all found new strength and laughed with their tormentor.
Gray Panther Academy AZ
30 August 2128
Carlos Diego had enjoyed a relaxing weekend and had decided he was going to go easy on the flight for the next few days until they graduated. They had shown that they were intelligent and willing to do whatever it took, just a shame they seemed to lack any character as a flight. The flight had struck him almost like computers with their ability to hide their emotions and perform as required. Turning the corner to the barracks entryway Diego was surprised to see one of the bunks under the covered area; next to it was a chair and locker, all in prescribed space from one another all the way to the boots and shoes lined up under the bunk. The only deviation was that there seemed to be an abundance of tape securing cadet Shaw to his bunk. Fighting to keep from laughing; Diego entered the building and went up to the second story.
Gray Panthers: Earths Revenge Page 13