Dana Cartwright Mission 2: Lancer (31 page)

She shook her head, “That’s not a good idea.”

He waited until she’d administered the injection, then reached out with his left hand and caught hold of her, pulling her down to sit beside him, telepathically responding,
I don’t deal well with females fussing over me.

She snorted, protesting, “I’m an officer, sir.”

“Yes, Mister Cartwright, and a doctor…thank you for reminding me, a rather insubordinate officer at that.” He didn’t let go of her hand. “Kieran thinks he can fly that ship. I know I can’t, not like this.”

“All the more reason you should not be going,” Dana countered.

“I wish you could come with us.”

“I’d be hard to explain.”

“You’d be valuable with all these possible hybrids and such.”

He pulled her around to where he could take a long, hard look, staring into her mismatched eyes. Then he wondered, “If I was out of the picture, would you go with Kieran?”

She shook her head. “No! Absolutely and positively not…”

“If it was me, alone, would you come?”

She looked away.
 

“Would you?”

“Yes.”

“Why?”

“You’re my Captain,” Dana reminded.

“So, I could order you to come with us…”
 

“You would be countering my Star Service orders to return to Four,” she said, running a scanner before his shoulder.

His expression went from a tired smile to a scowl. “No, I will not counter your orders. You don’t belong out here on away missions.
 
You’re too valuable…and it’s too dangerous.”

She slid her hand along his neck, detecting the tension, massaging away some of it while waiting for the medication to take effect.

“I’ve program this hypospray for incremental doses of the anti-inflammatory drug; you will need re-evaluation in a week or two.” She handed him the device.

He took it, nodding and moaning as her fingers returned to massaging and soothing away the pain.
 

Before I break the telepathic link, I want to give you a memory.

She waited, closing her eyes, receiving the vision of a beautiful woman, tall and fair, with albino hair braided just the way she wore her own. The woman’s long, soft white gown hung gracefully, with a train at the back and a hooded cloak. White boots glistened with brilliant gemstones.

Macao sighed.
If anything should happen to me, I want Shalee’s memory to live on.

Tears trickled down Dana’s cheek as the vision of Janz Jai’s wedding to Shalee Raja Macao ended with a kiss.

Then he broke the link. “I won’t show you how she died. That memory is too painful.”

“Why are you doing this? You said to study Galt’s ‘Theorem’ again. If you believe it, there’s no reason.”

He shut his eyes and sighed. “Shalee wants you to know something. She was afraid, at first, just like you. Love overcame.”

Dana withdrew her hands from his shoulders.

“You would like her. She says…You’re very special and,” he sighed, “you and Kieran should…”

Dana countered, “I’m not Alphan.”

“Neither was Shalee.” Janz took a handful of Dana’s hair in his hands. “You should wear it loose. It’s beautiful. So very long…” He mumbled, “She had platinum hair and wore it long. It had never been cut.”

“Regulations require…”

“Fane!” he scolded, shaking his head, “when you’re off duty, silly. I want to remember you, just like this…” Janz smiled, but it faded. “I won’t be coming back you know.”

“I know.”

“I should have wrestled you to the floor when I had the chance,” he teased.

“Just for fun?” she returned.

They both heard the sound of someone materializing up in the rotunda and shortly after Kieran peeked in from the hatchway.

“All secure. You about ready, Janz?” He looked from Macao to Dana and back.

“You need to be on your way before Mackenna gets back,” she reminded.

Janz nodded.

He pointed Kieran to the roll of transport tags, rose slowly to his feet, with Dana’s help, still testing his strength. “Thank you for the life-star…” He whispered in Dana’s ear, giving her a friendly peck on the cheek.

She took a step back, struggling with feelings of regret, offering a smile to Janz Macao for the last time before the Captain vanished.
 

Kieran came to stand beside her, dropping the N-Link into her hands. “Found that on the floor.”

She fingered the device before going through the motions of putting the leather thong over her head and lifting her hair to hide it.

“Dana?” He sensed her pain in spite of the dampening device, and leaned down to place a very tender kiss upon her cheek. “Do what you can to heal your brother… He’s suffered a great deal.”

Her eyes misted up.
 

“He thinks you are perfect,” Kieran whispered, nibbling at her earlobe, “So do I.”

She shrugged nervously, fidgeting with a lock of hair, then pulled it all back and tied it off, changing the subject. “This is a bad idea, Kieran. Janz needs medical attention and physical therapy. You should abort the mission and…”

Kieran interrupted, scolding, “Have you ever seen a firing squad?”

Dana scowled.

“Have you?” he demanded.

“No…they were banned on Earth ages ago and the Republic has no such penalties.”

“Centauri has,” Kieran said flatly. “Janz and I are from Centauri Prime. He would face a terrible judgment if I take him back. However, I have other orders.”

Dana shook her head. “Why are you…”

“Janz has to come with me. There’s no alternative.”

She frowned. “He needs medical care! I’m worried that…”

“You can’t come with us…it’s too dangerous.”

“I know; and I have orders to return to Four. I can’t disobey direct orders.”

He chuckled. “I could get around those, quite easily.”

“I’m sure you can,” she responded, “but maybe I don’t want to.”

He sighed, deciding, “We’ll wait in orbit until
Lancer
gets here and they rescue you.”

“How do I explain all those dead men?”

“Oh, they are self explanatory,” he assured. “You realize, of course, you won’t have a prayer of getting anyone to believe you tried to stop us.”

“I thought about that…You have a digital injector in your pocket. Program it for a strong sedative to knock me out for a time, while you make your escape.”

Kieran nodded appreciatively. “You really would make a terrific SSID officer. That’s an excellent plan.” He pulled her close, sliding his left hand up to the nape of her neck, beneath her luxurious, cinnamon hair, and gave her a strong, sensual kiss; the kind that old lovers hope and fear will rekindle the original flame.

“Please be careful,” she begged.

“We will. I promise…”

She hugged him that much tighter. “K…”

“I will always love you, Dana J,” he told her, as he pressed the injector against her shoulder, and then eased her limp body down to the deck beside Novem.
 

“We will meet again…I promise,” he whispered, though the drug had already taken effect. He took the Sterillian blade in its sheath from his boot and secured it in hers.

Kieran then slapped a transfer tag on his chest, following his brother.
 

CHAPTER THIRTY-FIVE

Dana heard her name whispered softly in her ear, and opened her eyes to a foggy recollection of whose voice it was. “Patel?”

The Doctor’s instruments hummed loudly in the quiet of the infirmary. Patel offered a genuine smile. “Welcome back, Mister Cartwright.”

From nearby, Mackenna pleaded, “Will she be all right? We found her down in the storage hold, with all the bodies of the mercenaries, but couldn’t wake her.”

Patel assured, “She’ll be fine. Just a little dehydrated…” He administered another injection, with a drug to neutralize the effects of the sedatives he detected in her system.
 

She blinked, still somewhat dazed and confused. “Aboard
Lancer
?”

Patel nodded.

She turned to look at the diagnostic bed beside her and pointed at Novem.

“How is he?”

“Battling a nasty infection…should transfer him to a C-FIIN for the duration. May be a few days before we reach Station Four.” Patel stared at her. “His DNA is mutating. What he needs is a hematologist.”

She agreed, “And I know just the one.”

Mackenna pleaded, “McHale’s demanding to know what happened to the Captain?”

“His back…I performed two surgeries,” Dana recalled. “He wouldn’t rest. They…”
 

Patel scowled, “They what?”

She slowly came to realize she could not tell the whole story. In this case, less was better. “They boarded a mercenary ship.”

“Mercenary ship!” Mackenna exclaimed, coming a few steps closer. “Mercenaries? Like those dead men down in the hold?”

“Mercenaries…” Dana nodded. “They tried to steal the wraith invisibility technology.”

Mackenna rolled his eyes. “Wow! And the three of you managed to…that’s amazing. Wraith technology… Oh, no! I better go tell the Commander.” He took off at a run.

Dana winced, looking to the Doctor. “Novem…is a tribrid… If you run a scan of his DNA you’ll see that many of the markers match mine.”

Doctor Patel stiffened. “Match?”

“He claimed to be…” She stopped herself. “Well, he claimed to be a slave. Many of the others were, too.”

“Castellan-human hybrids and the Crazorians…” Patel patted her shoulder. “I’ve already run some tests on them.”

She nodded. “Yes, I remember reading something about them in the history books.”

“We know very little about that race. I may do an autopsy on one or two. Waiting for approval from the Star Service…Should have permission soon.”

Dana blinked.

“So, the Captain and Tighe just up and left you?” The doctor wondered.

“I tried, but could not persuade them to abort the mission. That didn’t sit well with Tighe…”

“Just between us, maybe it’s for the best.”

Dana stared at Patel. “What about the contraband?”

“Commander McHale knows everything. He has Nichols, and the others, in detention. We’re on a course back to Station Four where they face a court-martial.”

She nodded weakly. “At least the Republic doesn’t have firing squads…”

Patel gasped, “Firing squads? How barbaric!”

“I don’t know what Tighe has planned. At first, he tried to lure me into going with him, but then he decided that for the sake of the mission, the Captain was more valuable because of the mercenaries.”
 

As the fog started lifting, Dana sighed and tears started to well up in her eyes. “Maybe I am a weepy female…I sure am going to miss him.”

Patel guessed she meant Macao and commented, “We will, too.”

She did not dare to correct him.

When Dana made to rise, Patel struggled to keep her in bed. “Not so fast, Mister Cartwright. Bed rest! Doctor’s orders!”

“Please, I need to contact the Galaxean Science Academy.”

It was Patel’s turn to blink. “What in galaxy’s name for?”

“For a hematologist…to help Novem,” Dana insisted, “Hematology is Doctor April Talon’s specialty.”

Patel frowned.
 

Dana reminded, “I’m January…she’s April…Novem is…”

“Ah!” He nodded understandingly, and rolled a viewer closer.

Talon’s image appeared on the screen. The Galaxean Doctor stared, left eyebrow rising at the sight of Dana J. Cartwright, mismatched eyes emotionless and direct.

“Doctor Talon, I’m Dana January Cartwright, aboard the
SS Lancer
, en route to Station Four. We have a patient aboard in need of a hematologist; a patient you are uniquely skilled to treat.”

Talon’s face showed no emotion as she responded, “Surely Four has some one…”

Dana shook her head. “November needs you, April.”

The Galaxean blinked, understanding immediately the nature of the request. “It will take days…”

“Ambassador Solon may be of assistance. Tell him…Tell him Dana January made the request.”

Talon’s eyes widened. “I will do that.”

Dana stared at the woman who could be her twin — nearly identical twin — down to her luxuriously long, cinnamon colored hair.
 

“It will be an honor to work beside you on this case. Cartwright out.”

Commander McHale scheduled no duties for her, but Dana felt it imperative that she spend time in the infirmary, assisting Doctor Patel with the autopsies; and with a secondary duty of staying near to Novem, whose condition seemed to be deteriorating as the infection spread.
 

With just hours until
Lancer
arrived at Station Four, Doctor Patel called her to help ready the patient for transport, transferring him to a C-FIIN.

Dana was well acquainted with the flight immobilization nodules. “Hope you aren’t claustrophobic,” she whispered, as she tucked a sheet about Novem’s torso. With all the sedation, he couldn’t respond, of course.

Doctor Patel supervised the transfer to the base medical infirmary, with Dana as escort.
 

They met Doctor Talon upon arrival and stood by as the hematologist immediately took charge, ordering dozens of tests, puzzling over the readings.

“His immune system isn’t strong enough to fight the infection,” Doctor Patel counseled. “That happens a lot in clones.”

Dana nodded. “He’s eleven of twelve.”

“I think we can save him,” Talon assured.

Patel, touched Dana’s shoulder gently, realizing, “He may need a transfusion from a sibling though.”

“He said my DNA is the most perfect,” Dana offered.
 

Talon demanded Dana submit to testing, too.

Hours later, they attempted a transfusion of a pint of Dana’s blood. In the end, April concluded, “The mutations are too pervasive. If we had done this years ago, perhaps…”

Dana agreed, but wasn’t willing to give in. “Can we do a whole-body blood replacement?”

“We risk rejection. Must have the patient’s permission to even attempt such a radical procedure; and we don’t have a donor. Can’t use pure Galaxean or pure Enturian blood. However, I have been working on a project at the Science Academy. If we could take him back to Galaxea, there may be a way to purify his own blood until he recovers.”