Jonathan continued talking but I allowed the water falling on my head to drown him out. The price, as usual, was higher than I wanted to pay. The smell of Tabby's soap caught me by surprise and I almost felt her presence. I sobbed as a wave of grief struck me wondering at what our future might have been had we simply ignored Belirand corporation so long ago. If we'd just let well enough alone ... If I'd left well enough alone. We could have had a nice life running freight between colonies.
I leaned back against the shower wall and slid to the floor, wrapping my arms around my knees. I wasn't really sure how I was going to move forward.
"Cap, you doing okay in there?" Marny called.
I didn't have an answer for her even though I knew she might come in after me. The fact was, I didn't care. In the end, that’s exactly what happened. It was like I was watching from outside my body as Marny's arm reached in and turned off the water. With a large warm towel, she and Ada helped me from the shower.
"You need to eat something," Ada said, concern lacing her voice
I sat on the side of the bed, staring at the floor. "Go away." I'd lost all interest in the talk of Kroerak and Iskstar. I could only feel the loss of Tabby. I wanted to be on my own, not required to think about anything.
"You need to eat something, Cap," Marny said. "You're emaciated."
"Not interested." I slipped under the covers, leaving my towel behind.
"Let's give him some time," Ada said.
The room grew quiet as Ada, Marny, and Jonathan exited. I wasn't sure what to think about the fact that I'd lain on Intrepid's deck for ten days, semi-conscious. If I really pushed, I could remember some of what had happened, but the span was mostly a confused jumble. I knew for a fact that the Kroerak were dead – maybe not every warrior on every planet, but without a hierarchy, the generations would cease to breed. I thought back to a book I'd read about destruction of an invasive species and how the character felt so much angst about his role. The only thing I felt was the loss of my best friend. Kroerak were evil and deserved to be destroyed. If anything, I was glad for our participation. It meant Tabby’s death was for a greater purpose.
My eyes started to close as I drifted toward sleep. In the weird dimension of existence between wakefulness and sleep, I could almost feel her, and I hugged a pillow and smiled. As I drifted even further, I thumbed my ring, knowing it was now alone in the universe.
Which is why I was startled when I felt two strong bumps in response.
I sat up in bed and flung the covers back, staring at the ring. It was impossible. Tabby was dead. She'd crash-landed on a planet strapped between two missile engines. My mind spun with possibility and I jumped from the bed, stumbling again but pushing through my weakness. It took significant effort to pull on a suit-liner, but I did it. When I bumped the ring again, I got no response. It didn't matter. Ada said they'd found Tabby and I was positive the crystal had throbbed. I picked up my earwig, pushed it into my ear and impatiently waited for it to adhere to my skin.
"Ada, how can we get to the planet's surface?" I asked. "I need to see Tabby right now."
"Liam, you need to rest," she answered. "You're weak. We'll go down in a day or two."
"No," I spat. "Now. I'm coming to the bridge. Does Intrepid have enough fuel?"
"Mars Protectorate left a few shuttles behind. We can take one of those," Ada said.
"Cap, I'm serious. Your bios are low and you need to eat," Marny said. "I'm not letting you off this ship without. You read me?"
"Bring as many meal bars as you want," I said. "We're going to the planet's surface if I have to fly there in my grav-suit."
"Forward air-lock," Marny said. "And get that grav-suit on first."
I rolled my eyes and pulled the grav-suit from where Ada had folded it next to the suit-freshener. I tried my ring again and, yet again, received no response. The lack of any communicating bump caused me a pang of concern. Maybe I'd been asleep and dreamed her response? No. I didn't really believe that was the case. I pushed through the hatch and was met by Marny, hustling past me on her way to the galley. She was no doubt fetching food to torture me with.
"She's alive, Marny," I said.
"Cap," she warned. "I've seen the crash site. She's not."
"She is," I said. "I bumped my ring. She answered."
"Statistically unlikely," Jonathan said.
"And possible," I returned.
"There is much we do not understand of Iskstar," Jonathan said.
"See?" I called to Marny's retreating back.
"I hope you're right, Cap."
I half ran, half glided forward to the airlock where a Mars Protectorate shuttle was already docked. When I entered, I found that Ada was already on board and had taken the control seat. I didn't know where we were going so I was just thankful to have her take the stick.
"She answered," I said, holding up my ring hand to Ada.
The look I received was sympathetic. She didn't believe me. I didn't care.
A few minutes later, Marny arrived. "Here," she said, handing me another water pouch and a meal bar.
As it turned out, I was starving and quickly polished off the bar. I looked hungrily back to Marny who shook her head. "Not yet, Cap. Let that sit. You don't want to throw it up."
In the meantime, Ada had detached from Intrepid and I got a new view of the skies over the Kroerak homeworld. Hundreds, if not thousands, of derelict ships floated unpowered. Each that I could see had sustained substantial damage.
"Did the battle get this close?" I asked.
"Not really," Marny said. "A lot of Kroerak ships broke off from combat and flew back to the planet. It was like they were looking for help. Of course, that help never came and the Mars Protectorate/Earth fleet took them out.
There was virtually no atmosphere around the planet, which caused me to wonder if the Kroerak had somehow consumed every part of their own home. There were, however, structures across the entire surface. Unlike the hills and towers built from dirt that we'd seen on planet Cradle, these were much more complex and appeared to have required considerably more planning and skill.
Our approach was eerie. There was absolutely nothing moving, nor was there a single ship visible in the sky.
"Is the blue receding?" I asked.
Now that we were closer to the planet, it appeared that the Iskstar crystallization was dimming in some places and in others had disappeared entirely.
"Your observation is correct, Captain," Jonathan answered. "We believe the Iskstar are returning to their points of origin."
"How'd you think they got here?" I asked. "Fold-space? If that's the case, how'd they do it so quickly?"
"Speed through fold-space is directly proportional to mass," Jonathan said. "Theoretically, a mass of zero might allow for infinitely-fast travel."
"If that's the case, then how'd the Iskstar get trapped on Mendari?" Ada asked.
"A mystery we have no answer for," Jonathan answered. "It seems reasonable that the Iskstar should have been able to abandon Mendari before the bomb was ignited. Or certainly, any time after that. Communicating with Iskstar is very difficult. We may never know the answer to this mystery."
"There was radiation on Mendari we couldn't identify," Ada said. "Maybe that was the reason."
"Perhaps," Jonathan said. "It is difficult to know."
I felt the ship settle onto a brilliant dark blue field of crystal. Light from the system's star was so brilliant that my suit had to dim my face-shield so I could see.
"Careful, Cap," Marny said. "We're not sure it's safe to walk on the Iskstar. They might reinfect you."
I opened the hatch and stepped out. "I'll be fine. Give me a few minutes."
The sight of the crash took my breath away. The cylindrical mother crystal was fully intact and resting in the crystal field. Missing were the missile parts Jonathan had fabricated. Propped up next to the mother crystal was the perfect outline of Tabby from the waist up, as if she'd sunk into the very surface of
the planet, her right arm raised in triumph.
"Frak, Tabbs," I said to myself. "What'd you get yourself into?"
I walked around to look at her from the front. I wasn’t sure what I'd expected, but the perfect, crystalized image of her wasn't it.
"That's messed up," Ada said. I looked around, not expecting her, given Marny's warning. She was floating in her grav-suit, suspended a meter above the surface.
I turned back and approached Tabby. It was clear to me that my ring response had been a fantasy, but it was good that I had come to see her. She'd wanted to save the Iskstar and she'd done it. Even with the minimal atmosphere on the planet, I knew I had to touch her, even if I inadvertently reinvited the Iskstar into my body.
I pulled off my glove and grasped her outstretched hand.
"Cap, careful," Marny said. "I'm not sure she's all that stable."
The familiar sense of Iskstar permeated my body and I was surrounded by a deep sense of gratitude emanating from the planet. The tinkling sound of a tiny shard of crystal falling to the surface interrupted the moment I shared with the Iskstar.
"I love you, Tabbs," I said, grasping her hand more firmly and staring at her face. She had no expression, but then the crystal obscured most of her features.
A weak thump on my ring nearly caused me to jump out of my grav-suit.
"Marny, Ada, she's in there!" I yelled into comms excitedly. "She just thumped my ring again."
"Cap?" Marny asked.
Suddenly, I knew what had to be done and I looked around for something hard. Of course, there was nothing but crystal terrain. No rocks. Nothing. My hand shot to my side and I pulled the small nano-blade from beneath my waistband. The handle conformed to my hand but I didn’t extend the blade.
"What are you doing, Liam?" Ada asked.
I smashed the butt of the weapon into Tabby's chest, the impact causing a shower of small fragments.
"Don't, Cap! That's Tabby. You don't want to desecrate her grave," Marny said, thinking I was acting in grief.
I pulled my arm back for another swing and she caught it, stopping me.
"I'm telling you, Marny, she's alive. I just felt her. I need something to break off this outer skin. Iskstar's been protecting her."
"That's ridiculous, Cap," Marny said. "There's no way."
"Look, since you met me, how many impossible things have we seen?" I asked.
"She's moving." Ada’s shocked voice interrupted me, even as more crystal fell away. "He's right."
Marny wasted no time in pulling her bo-staff out and extending it to a meter’s length. Together we beat on the crystal surface that gave way, exposing Tabby still in her grav-suit.
"Suit's not operating," Ada said, swooping in. "We need to get her out of it."
"No atmo pressure." I wrapped my arms around Tabby and tried to pull her free.
"Not on my watch," Marny said, pushing me out of the way to swing at the crystal cocoon encasing Tabby's lower body.
"Ada, get the shuttle open. Marny open her grav-suit. We'll pull her out. She can survive the low atmospheric pressure for a few moments. The suit won't hold her."
Neither woman hesitated. Marny opened Tabby's suit, dropping her bo-staff to the ground. Her first attempt to pull Tabby free was unsuccessful. "She's stuck."
A ridge of crystal following the gentle arc of Tabby's bottom seemed to be holding her down. I could see mottling on her skin as the lack of atmospheric pressure started to damage her body. We had precious few moments. With all my strength, I swung Marny's staff across Tabby's bottom. The crystal shattered, flying everywhere. With a single heroic effort, Marny squatted, wrapped her thick arms around Tabby and pulled with all her might. I swung a second time and she popped out.
"Go!" I exclaimed unnecessarily, as Marny sailed more expertly than I might have expected to the shuttle.
"Med kit," I exclaimed, again unnecessarily, as Ada placed dermal medical sensors onto Tabby’s skin.
The shuttle lifted and sailed upwards. The medical AI would take about thirty seconds to do its analysis. I closed my eyes and tried to control my breathing.
Ada grabbed my arm and shook me. "Liam. She's alive,"
My eyes flew open and I looked for the AI's analysis, but found nothing. When I looked over to Ada, I saw that she was staring at Tabby, who was looking at me, her eyes unfocused.
"You came for me," she croaked.
"Of course we did," I said and bent to hug her.
"Liam, we have a problem," Ada snapped. "Tabby has significant tissue and organ damage. We need to get her to the medical bay and into the tank immediately."
"Go!" Marny ordered, scooping Tabby from the deck and charging forward through the hatch.
I did my best to keep up, but what little energy hope and one meal bar had given me was gone. I was losing my balance and struggling to control where I was going.
"Captain," Jonathan cut in, as I bounced against the starboard bulkhead, barely making it down the ramp to the lower deck where the medical bay was.
"A little busy just now, Jonathan," I said.
"Time is of the essence," Jonathan answered. "Our analysis suggests the medical suspension device will not be successful in treating the damage caused by Iskstar crystallization."
"Jupiter piss," I said.
"Understandable emotion, but there is an alternative solution," he said as I careened into the medical bay.
"We're losing her." Ada helped Marny strip Tabby's body of the suit-liner. To say they were not gentle with the material would have been an understatement as they used specialized instruments to virtually shred the material. I gasped at the sight of Tabby's marred body. The skin on her legs and left arm was blackened and shriveled, her abdomen covered with hematomas and deep bruising.
I held my breath as Marny and Ada slipped her battered, naked body from the table where they'd been working on her into the tank that was already half-filled with suspension fluid.
"Mask," Marny said, brusquely pulling the oxygen line around the back of Tabby’s head and over her nose and mouth.
With the work done, we all wordlessly watched the monitors as nanites were dispatched to stop the decline.
Ada shook her head. "She's not stable. We need to act."
"The medical program will prioritize brain function over all else," Jonathan said. "She is well within the capacity of Anino's medical facility on Irène."
"Done," I said. "Ada, I need you to get us to Irène as fast as possible."
"Liam, that's thirty days," Ada said, turning to the tank and whispering, "Hold on Tabby, we've got you."
"We're transferring crew now," Marny said. "I'll take command of Hornblower and get us back to Kito. Mshindi can take care of things here. I just received word of a hostile Strix-flagged fleet entering Mhina space."
"How will you get back in time?" I asked.
Marny smiled. "Maybe you forgot, but we're back in the fold-space business. I can't wait to see their reaction when Hornblower pops into the middle of their crap. Nick says if we get cracking, we'll arrive a full day before they do."
"Go get 'em, Marny," I said.
"Damn skippy."
Epilogue
I stared into the glass of Tabby's tank as Intrepid transitioned to fold-space. With Iskstar gone from my system, the old feelings of nausea had returned. It's hard to rationalize enjoying feeling nauseous, but I did. I guess I'm a control freak and I have no desire to share my body with any other beings, beneficial or otherwise.
The body on the other side of the glass bore few similarities to Tabby. The hair from her head had been removed and what I could still see of her face was severely damaged. For hours, I looked between her and the monitors, hoping for improvement. For the first hour or so, there was improvement as circulation was restored to those parts of her body that weren’t necrotic. The medical AI would remove ruined flesh and at a minimum, patch it over. The nanites would even create vascular pathways around the stumps so new flesh would be nourished
. It was a time-intensive and painstaking process that would take the entire trip to Irène.
"Liam, it's time to take care of you," Ada said gently from behind me. I hadn't heard her come in.
"I'm fine, Ada," I argued, but didn't resist as she pulled me away from the tank.
The remainder of the trip was uneventful, aside from Tabby's steady decline. Jonathan assured me that they were monitoring her brain function and that little else mattered. I wanted to believe him, but part of me simply didn't trust anyone with Tabby's wellbeing.
"Transitioning from fold-space in ten seconds." Ada's announcement came over Intrepid's public address. "Please brace for possible emergency maneuvers as we're transitioning close to Irène."
I placed my hand on the tank. I'd fully recovered from my own minor ordeal and had spent most of my waking moments in the medical bay next to Tabby.
A moment after transition a warning klaxon sounded. It was a proximity alert and I hustled to grab the safety harness I'd neglected to fasten. Fortunately, the klaxon quieted a moment later.
"Liam, there's a medical team headed in your direction," Ada warned over comms. "They're friendlies."
Just as she finished speaking, two bulky men carrying blaster rifles burst into the medical bay.
"Sir, I need you to step away from the tank and keep your hands where I can see them," the shorter of the two said. With close-cropped hair and clear, focused eyes, it wasn't difficult to identify the man as active military even though he wore what I suspected was a grav-suit without military decoration. If I'd wanted to resist, I had no doubt I'd fail, so I stood up and backed away.
"What's the call here, Sergeant," I said, making a reasonable guess.
"Securing the space for high-value asset," he responded crisply and without hesitation. "Just keep it cool and we'll have no problems."
A moment later, a striking middle-aged, narrow-framed, ebony-skinned woman walked confidently in behind them. She wore a tight smile and immediately made eye contact with me, as if she'd expected to find me here. "Oh, for the love of science, Thor. That's Liam Hoffen. Put your gun down already."
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