by K A Bledsoe
“Isn’t that expensive?”
“Probably, but it didn’t cost us a thing.”
“Nothing is too good for the heroes of Reese,” said Allison as she slid a plate in front of Lenore. Quinn put one in front of Diarmin and seated himself.
Lenore took several bites of the little savory pockets while trying to process that comment. “The doctor said that if Bondle was successful, he would be hailed as the savior of Reese.”
“And that those who ‘fought to get him here’ are now heroes,” added Quinn. “We have been receiving gifts from so many grateful families all day. The medicines are so effective that plague victims that were almost… gone, are more than halfway to a full recovery. We have trinkets of every size, games, programs and even some foods that are specially packaged and marked ‘guaranteed plague-free’. And one company sent us a note that over half their employees had been cured so they all chipped in to donate their primary product: brand-new, top-of-the-line space suits.” His grin was one of the biggest Lenore had ever seen.
Lenore looked around. “Where are the gifts?”
“In the first guest bedroom,” said Diarmin. “But that will soon overflow to the second soon if they keep coming.”
“But it can’t go to the third,” said Allison with a sly smile.
“Yeah,” said Quinn, his grin the widest Lenore had ever seen.
“What?” she asked warily.
“Can we show her, Dad?” asked Allison, bouncing in her chair.
“Of course, let’s go.”
Allison popped up and headed toward the guest rooms. She waited anxiously in the doorway just long enough for everyone to start to follow. As Lenore rounded the corner, she saw Allison waiting outside with the door open. She grandly gestured inside as if she were entirely responsible for what was in there. Lenore’s suspicions were raised but nothing prepared her for the sight as she stood in the doorway.
Taking up half of the room was one of the state-of-the-art medbeds.
“But…how…when…who?” Lenore couldn’t form the words, but her family took turns explaining.
Allison started. “The doctor who helped you, who is the Chief Surgeon by the way, said she knew our ship’s medical facilities were outdated and that this gift is a drop in the bucket compared to what we did for the planet.”
Quinn took over as if they had rehearsed. “There wasn’t room where the old bed is, so they redesigned this room as a mini medical bay. Take a look in the cabinets.” He squeezed by and opened the first of a set along the far wall. He pulled out several small handheld medical devices and the cabinet over the bed held a bone-knitter exactly like the one they had used on her.
“She left a complete set of instructions and informed us, with a knowing look I might add, that you can control the bed through the ship’s main computer or keep it as a separate entity with its own power source and everything.” Diarmin smiled. “With the cover down, it can even double as a life pod and keep someone safe and alive even if the ship is holed again.”
“This is too much,” she said.
“But that’s not all,” said Allison. “Tell her, Dad.”
“Well, this is something that you probably won’t like.” He took a deep breath. “As soon as repairs are complete, they want us to be a part of the festivities that are honoring Bondle and his wonderful discovery.”
“And what does that entail?”
“An official presentation of an award, making us honorary citizens of Reese. Televised throughout the entire system.” It was obvious Diarmin was steeling himself for Lenore’s reaction.
He was right to.
“Absolutely not. That kind of publicity is something we have to avoid.”
“That’s what we thought you’d say, but while you were sleeping, the security around this bay has been the finest I have ever seen,” said Diarmin.
“And the admiral assured us of our absolute safety. And the reason he waited for the repairs to be complete is so we can leave as soon as it is over,” said Quinn. “He suspects something other than pirates but is too polite to say anything.”
Very perceptive, like the doctor, thought Lenore. She looked around at the bay and her family. She could tell they really wanted this. And she so wanted to give it to them. They deserved the good side of all the hard work they had put in. Despite that, she was about to refuse again until an idea began to form in the back of her mind. It would take some planning, but she could use the broadcast to get some important information.
“As long as we leave immediately after the broadcast, we can do it,” she said then had to silence her children’s cheers. “But.” She looked at each one in turn for a long moment. “This will only happen if one condition is met.”
“What is that?” asked Diarmin.
“That we take a page from our last mission to keep us all safe.” They all looked confused for only a moment. Then the memories of the mission with the missing princess caught up to them and they smiled knowingly. This was her clever family.
“Let’s call the admiral to set it up. Our way.”
Chapter Forty-four
Admiral Frisson politely rapped on the hatch. Diarmin opened it with the rest of his family arrayed behind him.
“It’s time,” said the admiral. It had only been an hour since they had contacted him with their requests for how they would do the broadcast, but they were ready.
Lenore had one last item, however.
“The security sweeps?”
“Completely clear,” the admiral said with a touch of his hat. “I attended to the details myself.”
Lenore nodded and they followed the admiral out the side hatch, down the scaffolding and into the waiting shuttle. Within minutes they were in another part of the station and could see Ven Bondle on a simple stage with a podium. After greeting Bondle, they all took seats on the stage. The admiral stepped up to the podium and lights came up.
In front of them was an audience of thousands. Diarmin leaned to whisper in Lenore’s ear. “It must be the entire population of the station.”
“And perhaps a few citizens who could get a flight up here. But notice the first five rows.”
Diarmin had noticed the sea of military uniforms. Someone would have to wade through a lot of military to get at those on stage.
“This is an historic occasion,” Admiral Frisson said into the microphone as a spotlight illuminated him only slightly more than the rest of the stage. “The plague’s hold on our planet is finally over!”
The applause was thunderous and Diarmin noticed cameras everywhere, most likely transmitting to the entire planet. He tried not to squirm and a glance at Lenore and his children showed a similar lack of comfort.
“Senior Researcher Ven Bondle is responsible not only for the discovery of the organism that will heal our people, but also for creating the perfect treatment to prevent a recurrence as well as another medical marvel to sell.” More applause as Bondle gave a shy wave.
“The others on stage are those responsible for bringing this precious medicine to us. They went above and beyond their duties when they retrieved the stolen cargo from pirates and asked for nothing more than transport fee. And the most amazing part is that they are not from Reese, simply good people who are willing to help others.” He was silent for more cheers and had to hold his hands up for silence. “This is why we are giving this award to them on the station and not the planet. They may know there is a cure to our plague, but that’s no reason to risk coming down with it.” Scattered laughter. “And now we will present the awards. First, Ven Bondle.”
The applause went on for far too long and Bondle turned beet red as he approached the microphone. A glance at Lenore showed her scanning the audience and Diarmin knew she was watching for some type of attack. As Bondle gave his short speech, Lenore looked at her timepiece then at the admiral. He nodded and was ready as Bondle wound down. Admiral Frisson gave the scientist a wooden plaque with a shiny metal plate on the front.
“You are the savior of our planet. And are in charge of bringing this new drug to market. Or you can retire, the choice is yours.”
“Admiral, I won’t stop until all our people are free of the plague.”
More applause and quite a few yells and catcalls including, as the clapping eased off, one woman asking Bondle if he’d marry her. The admiral again motioned for silence.
“And now we present to the heroic crew, an award that grants all of them honorary citizenship in the entire Reese system.”
Yells of 'Speech!' reverberated through the crowd as the admiral handed a plaque to each of them. Lenore, with a significant look at Diarmin, approached the microphone. Her eyes wandered around again and she seemed to be considering what to say as she idly scratched at a spot near her left shoulder.
“Honored people of Reese. I am pleased that my crew and I could do th—” She hesitated only a second and then yelled, “Down!”
Lenore ducked under the podium and Diarmin threw himself on top of Quinn and Allison, the admiral doing likewise with Bondle. A large cylinder hit the stage and a large cloud of smoke caused screams to erupt. Diarmin saw chaos reign briefly until all went silent.
The holographic image of the theater snapped off and the six were left on a silent stage in an empty hangar bay.
They quickly picked themselves up and ran for the door they had come in. They had pretended to enter a shuttle, but instead had gone in one side and out the other to the fake stage. That stage was then holographically projected elsewhere on the station. A trick that they had seen during the duel between a princess and prince.
At the base of the scaffolding, they paused. The admiral spoke first.
“I apologize, Captain. You were right to worry. I thought those pirates would be long gone by now.”
“I hope the people in the audience are all right, but I think it was just a very large stun grenade.”
“I will check on them after you are safely aboard and Bondle is secure. They were prepared and know what to do. They may even catch the perpetrators.”
“I doubt that,” said Lenore.
“My officers are very capable.”
“Yes, they are, and you have been phenomenal.” Lenore appeared undecided for only a heartbeat before she continued. “Admiral, I have never told anyone outside my family what I am about to tell you, but you have earned our trust.” She leaned forward to whisper in his ear. Diarmin could see Frisson’s eyes grow wide but when Lenore was done, he held out his hand.
“It’s has been my honor. Our entire planet owes you its life. We will always be at your service.”
Lenore shook his hand and everyone else did in turn. They headed up the ladder as the admiral had a few final words.
“You have permission to leave as soon as you are ready. I will let the tower know. Good luck.” He disappeared into the doorway with Bondle in tow as Diarmin closed and sealed the hatch.
Everyone was on the bridge and secured in less than a minute. Diarmin had already done all the preflight so he immediately engaged the antigrav. Lenore didn’t bother to send a transmission to the tower since they had discussed beforehand that they had a slim window to get off the station and into transspace if anything happened.
They left the station’s protective field and were out into space.
“All systems working perfectly,” said Quinn.
“Good. Input this nav plan,” said Diarmin as he handed a pad to his son.
“No, Diarmin,” said Lenore. “Use this one.” She handed her own personal pad to him to pass along to Quinn.
Diarmin glanced at the pad, then paused in handing it over. “What’s this?”
“There is something I need to take care of first. I’ll explain when we are out of here,” she said, indicating him to continue.
Quinn gave both parents an odd look but input Lenore’s coordinates.
“Ready,” he said.
As soon as they were clear of the station and planet’s gravity, Diarmin fired up the engines and headed into transwarp.
“Only ten minutes from the stage to now,” said Allison. “We are good.”
“Yes, we are,” said Lenore. “And we will have to be even better from here on out.”
That sobered everyone and the silence was awkward. Quinn broke it first.
“What did you say to the admiral?”
Lenore locked down her board then looked directly at her son. Then to Allison, then Diarmin. Her gaze returned to Quinn. “I said, ‘Watch yourself carefully. Those weren’t pirates, they were Xa’ti’al.’”
“But—” started Quinn but stopped as Lenore held up her hand.
“Hang on to that thought.” She turned her head to Diarmin. “Please get and activate your best privacy device. We need that now.”
“Why not yours? It is the highest quality,” he said as he unbuckled to go retrieve the device from the cargo bay.
Lenore shook her head. “Not this time.” She unbuckled herself as well and motioned to the children. “We will all meet you in the lounge.”
As Diarmin headed down the ladder, he could hear Allison’s voice.
“Mom, what is going on?”
“Into the lounge, Alli, Quinn. I will catch you up.”
Catch them up? On what? Diarmin hurried to the workbenches now back to their regular place. He punched in the code of a locked drawer and pulled out his device that would let them speak freely without any chance of being overheard. Why use this now, after all the eavesdropping devices have been discovered? Well, the sooner I get to the lounge, the sooner Lenore will reveal what is on her mind.
As he entered the lounge, he heard his wife’s voice.
“When Kurla spoke of my medplant being gone, I wondered how she could possibly know that since the only people, well, alive people, are you guys. So...”
As she trailed off, Diarmin finished for her. “Then your mother destroyed the medplant, point blank with her blaster.” He mimed her action and the kids’ heads turned to look at him.
“They were tracking you?” asked Quinn.
Lenore nodded. “It’s the best explanation for how they were always one step ahead of me.”
“But if they can track your medplant after it was removed,” said Allison, her face thoughtful, “what about your hearing and subvocal implants?”
Lenore nodded again, her face grim. “My thoughts, exactly. So here is what we are going to do. Quinn, scan every inch of this ship for a tracking device. We were meant to find the ones Kurla planted, but she very well could have planted others.”
“I examined the entire outside when it was being worked on,” said Diarmin. “And double checked that leak. It was expertly done, sabotage not to destroy but just enough to cause us to drop out of transspace.”
Lenore nodded as she noticed the kids’ wide eyes. “As was the plan.”
“And while he is checking the inside, Diarmin, you are going to assemble a drone to fly to predetermined coordinates. Alli, you will help him program it after you assist me.”
“Assist you with what?”
“With programming the new medbed to perform surgery on me.”
Chapter 45
Lenore sat in the command chair on the bridge, willing the energy shot to work a little faster to clear away the post-surgery drowsiness. I’ve been using too many of those lately. Another side effect of losing the medplant. I won’t need them after today, but right now I need to be fully alert.
“How long until we reach those coordinates, Quinn?”
“Five minutes,” he said.
“Are you going to tell us what to expect?” asked Diarmin, who was sitting in her usual seat at the science console.
“And why you picked this spot in particular?” added Allison.
“I am expecting one of three things. The first is nothing will happen, though I don’t really think that will be the case. Second, there will be a ship arriving within a few minutes after we do, and they will be prepared to communicate. Thir
d,” and she took a slow breath, “that ship will arrive and attack immediately.”
Lenore saw everyone tense at that and hastened to reassure them. “We are going to be completely prepared, but I truly believe it will be the second scenario. You might be wondering why I agreed to the award presentation since, even with our careful deception, normally I wouldn’t. But, as I was preparing to speak, I gave the Xa’ti’al a sign.”
“That weird scratch?” asked Quinn. “It looked like your fingers were crossed. I thought it was kind of odd.”
“That was part of it. It’s too complicated to explain now but the sign said, ‘Meet at my beginning.’ If they were watching, which I am convinced they were, they will show up to talk.”
Lenore glanced back at her husband. He appeared calmer than she thought he would be. She continued with the explanation. “Now ‘beginning’ could be taken in several ways. It could mean where I was first recruited into the Xa’ti’al or where I was born, or even my first official mission.”
“Which one of those is this planet?” asked Allison.
Lenore gave all three a significant look before she answered.
“None.”
Everyone was silent as they considered that. Lenore began transferring pilot control to the science station. Finally, Diarmin spoke.
“You want to see if he is tracking you,” he said.
Lenore nodded. Quinn leaned forward, a confused look on his face.
“But why would he tip his hand by coming to a nondescript planet? Wouldn’t that show you that he was tracking you instead of going to one of those other places?”
“First of all, the sign said ‘my beginning’ which means where I was born. If it had been where I was recruited it would have been ‘our’ instead of ‘my’, meaning where I met my mentor.” Lenore paused as their eyes goggled at that. She didn’t have time for the entire back story now. “And ‘the’ for my first mission. Thus, they would know I was talking about where I was born. Now my official record says I was born on Gravidon, but I had those altered before I ever met the Xa so it is not my birthplace. I am sure they know those records are false.”