Empire of Bones (29 page)

“Can that be fixed?”

“No.
Athena
will never boost again.”

Jared covered his eyes with his hand. “Understood. Bridge out.”

He didn’t bother calling the medical center. They’d be swamped.

Zia turned her seat to face him. “I have Commodore Sanders calling.”

“Put him on.”

The older man appeared on the screen. “Thank the gods you’re alive. I’m launching medical teams and damage control parties to assist you.”

“We need them. Thanks. Did you get all the Pale Ones?”

The Commodore nodded with satisfaction. “Every last one of them. Hopefully that was enough to blunt the invasion, because our defenses are in very bad shape right now. What’s your status?”

“Our drives and power systems have failed. We’ve taken critical structural damage.”

“Do you need to abandon ship? We have cutters standing by.”

Jared shook his head. “I don’t think so, but I doubt
Athena
will never leave Pentagar. If you could assist us with evacuating all non-essential personnel, that would be helpful. I’m sorry, but I don’t have word on your people’s status. Most of us made it back from the raid, but we took some major knocks when we transitioned.”

“We’ll figure that out as soon as we get you the help you need. Sanders out.”

*

Hard work filled the next few hours. A lot of the ship was open to space or in danger of becoming uninhabitable without emergency repairs. The extra hands from the Pentagaran ships helped, but the list of things to do seemed endless.

An exhausted Doctor Stone called him with the final battle tally. Miraculously only eighty-five people died in battle after the Pale Ones captured the Princess and her protection detail: thirty Royal marines, five Imperial marines, and fifty-eight Fleet personnel. A heartbreaking number of friends and shipmates were gone.

Graves coordinated damage control from the bridge, finally allowing Jared enough time to check on the Princess. Wounded filled the corridor. He stopped and spoke with them as he made his way in. He was amazed to find most appeared to be in good spirits.

Kelsey would probably tell him that he should’ve let her die or be enslaved. She wouldn’t see the trade as worthwhile. Seven people saved in exchange for more than ten times that number killed, twice that injured, and
Athena
wrecked beyond repair.

And she’d be wrong.

Fleet didn’t abandon their own. They weren’t suicidal, but these Pale Ones were not the kind of enemy you let take prisoners. If they learned of the Empire, Avalon would’ve been in grave danger.

This fight was going to happen anyway. An enemy invasion would’ve overrun Pentagar in a month or two. It was better to strike now and trade dozens of people for the billions that would’ve perished in the invasion.

Royal personnel in white smocks filled the medical center. At this point, they were setting bones and stitching cuts. Most of his medical personnel were probably dead on their feet.

Stone stood beside a regenerator examining the readouts. She looked up as he approached. Her eyes were black pits of exhaustion. “Captain.”

“Lily. How is she?”

“Asleep. The regenerator can repair the incisions, but I don’t dare mess with the physical modifications. I’m certain the implantation procedure should’ve taken place in stages so the patient could recover. The trauma to her body may cause any number of problems going forward.”

He looked through the window. She looked so vulnerable. “How long will she be regenerating?”

“At least three more hours. Then she can come out and I can begin a more detailed assessment. We think the Pale Ones could recover physiologically without intervention, but we don’t know how many of them died because of the gross insult to their bodies. Princess Kelsey will most likely recover, but she will have to relearn her gross and fine motor skills. Things like walking. Shaking hands.”

Stone turned to face Jared. “She has artificial musculature inserted alongside her real muscles and her bones are reinforced by material stronger than the hull on this ship. Talbot told me she grabbed a Pale One by the throat and strangled him. I’d really hate to lose all the bones in my hand in a handshake gone awry.”

Jared could hardly believe the petite woman in the regeneration chamber could break anything. She didn’t look like she could resist a bully on a school playground.

The doctor rubbed her eyes. “She’s going to recover physically, eventually, but she’s going to need a lot of emotional support. She’s been raped in every conceivable way except sexually. She’s going to be in a very dark place.”

“I’ll be here for her. We’ll all be here for her. We’re family.”

The doctor gave him an odd look, but he put it down to her exhaustion. He clapped his hand on her shoulder. “Catch some sleep in your office. Today isn’t over. We still have a lot left to do.”

The white ceiling confused Kelsey when she woke. Her cabin’s ceiling was grey. Then the events of the day caught up with her and she almost moaned. She clumsily raised her arm and stared at it. There were no scars.

At least on the outside.

She finally realized this room wasn’t on
Athena
. The wide windows displayed a bright blue sky. She was on Pentagar.

“Princess Bandar, it’s so good to see you awake.”

She turned her head toward the jovial man in the white smock coming into her room. She felt like she should say something, but her mind swirled with too many questions. Saying it was good to be awake seemed too much like a lie.

The man patted her arm. “I’m Doctor Trenton Plant. You’re at Capitol Hospital on Pentagar. You’re doing very well.”

The unsaid addition ‘all things considered’ hung in the air between them.

“Tell me what happened. Is everyone else okay?” Her voice sounded so weak.

His expression didn’t change, but his eyes radiated sympathy. “I’ll let Doctor Stone bring you up to speed. She’d give me one of her patented parental looks if I didn’t wait for her. She was sleeping, but I’ve summoned her.”

Doctor Lily Stone walked through the door just in time to hear that. The only sign she’d slept was her mussed hair. “Nonsense. I’d just tap my foot. Kelsey, you’re looking better. All things considered.”

Kelsey’s chuckle earned her some curious looks. “Sorry. I was just thinking that.”

Stone shook her head. “You’re going to recover. You’ve already made quite a bit of progress.”

“I’ve been asleep.”

“And you’ve healed. The regeneration was completely successful. There isn’t any remaining scar tissue.”

“The scars seem like the least of my worries. Tell me what happened.”

Stone gave Doctor Plant a glance and the man graciously headed for the door. “I’ll check on a few other patients and give the two of you time to catch up.”

Once he was gone, Stone pulled up a chair and sat. “Some doctors might sugar coat things, but I believe in putting everything on the table.
Athena
suffered a lot of damage during the escape. We obviously made it back here, but it’s not livable. The Kingdom has all of our wounded here in this hospital and they’re providing some excellent care.”

A chill passed down Kelsey’s spine. “How bad is it? Please tell me no one died.”

The haunted flicker across Stone’s face told the Princess all she needed to know. “How many?”

“Eighty-five.”

Kelsey closed her eyes and felt the tears start. “God. You should’ve left me there.”

“Listen to me,” Stone said firmly. “The Pale Ones were preparing to invade again within weeks. We used a fission weapon to damage the shipyard and another one to destroy the station they took you to. If we hadn’t fought them now, we would’ve been fighting much more serious odds shortly. Those people would’ve almost certainly died right along with all the rest of the people in this system. Billions of innocent people. We couldn’t allow that to happen.”

“That doesn’t help so much. Jared wouldn’t have come after us if I hadn’t been there. He’d have figured out another plan. One that didn’t mean rushing in. And he did it for a lie. I’m not even his half-sister.”

“Blood doesn’t make relationships,” Lily said softly. “Look, I can’t stop you from tearing yourself up over this, but I wish you’d give us all some credit. We came because it was the right thing to do. We all knew that it might result in our deaths. Don’t make their sacrifice be for nothing.”

Kelsey tried to wipe her tears, but her hands were so clumsy. She was lucky she didn’t put her eye out. Stone found a tissue and wiped Kelsey’s eyes as the terrible sobs wracked her body.

When she finally cried herself out, Kelsey felt completely spent. This had all happened because of her. It was her fault. She’d insisted they come out and wait for Jared. Her petty anger had killed so many people.

She looked over at Stone. “How long before we can go back to
Athena
?”

“I’m afraid that isn’t going to happen. The ship is a complete loss. She’ll never fly again.”

It took a few moments for the doctor’s words to sink in. The sheer scope of the disaster took her breath away. Her throat swelled closed. She’d doomed them. They’d never get home.

“Stop,” Stone commanded. “A ship is just a machine. The Pentagarans will help us get home. They’ve already promised everything we need to convert a ship for our use. You need to stop focusing on what happened and look to your own recovery. Are you ready to talk about what they did to you?”

Kelsey swallowed and nodded.

Stone squeezed her arm. “The good news is that the science teams are pretty sure that no control code was put in your head. They don’t understand much of what is there, but it seems to be identical to the old Empire code. You will not become a Pale One.”

“I suppose that’s the best that can be hoped for. I thought I was going to die when they cut me open. Then I wished I had.”

“Yet here you are. As near as I can tell, your physical modifications are the same as the old Empire marines. You’re going to have a lot of rehabilitation in your near future.”

“I know. I feel like I’m so clumsy. I don’t think I could walk if I had to. My eyes still aren’t focusing right, though it’s a lot better than it was.”

“We’ll deal with all that in time.”

Kelsey sighed. “I suppose I’m lucky. At least I get this second chance. Did Talbot make it?”

Stone nodded. “He did. He’d still be sitting in the chair over there if I hadn’t made him get something to eat. I’m sure he’ll be back as soon as he hears you’re awake.”

A rap at the door made Kelsey turn her head. Jared stood in the door smiling at her. “Look who’s awake.”

Stone stood. “We’ll talk later, Kelsey. Just rest for now.” She nodded to Jared and walked out.

He took the seat the doctor had just vacated. “You look a lot better than the last time I saw you.”

“You should’ve seen the other guy. Jared, I’m so sorry. I really, really screwed up.”

He shook his head. “You had no reason to think something like this would happen. I’ve given this a lot of thought and the order of things might have changed if you hadn’t come out to the flip point, but the results would’ve been the same or worse. You know they crippled the ship, right?”

Kelsey nodded. “Doctor Stone told me. What will we do?”

“Make do. Commodore Sanders assures me that the Pentagarans will be starting new ship construction that includes flip drives before the month is out. They’ll name one of those ships
Athena
and task her to take us home.

“They believe that our intervention—especially the trip to rescue you—saved their planet. Now, instead of an overwhelming invasion in a few months, they’ll likely be able to knock out the shipyards before the Pale Ones get back on a war footing. I’m inclined to agree, though the public adulation freaks me out a little.”

“I’m pretty sure that adulation won’t be the first thing that comes to mind when they see me.”

He shook his head and smiled a little. “You couldn’t tell that from the number of people who’ve tried to come see you. I think every single man and woman from
Athena
has come by at one time or another. There’s been so many flowers delivered that I hear they had to stop putting them in the chapels. There wasn’t room for them and people. I know that many Pentagarans have sent their own well wishes. You’ll be reading get well and thank you notes until the end of time.”

The idea that people she didn’t even know were writing her made her head spin. “Why would they do that? They don’t even know me.”

“You’ve captured their hearts and imaginations. You’re the mysterious beautiful foreign princess who arrived just in time to save their world.”

“Thank you for the compliment, but you saved them. I’ve been more a hindrance than a help on this trip. My coming was the worst idea ever.”

“I disagree. You are the soul of our expedition. We fight for what’s right, and you embody that for so many of us. People would and did give their lives for you. Not because you’re royalty, but because you’re you.”

She wanted to scream. “I’m not the person everyone seems to think I am! I’m such a colossal screw up. I’m a fraud.”

“Everyone is a fraud,” he said calmly. “People make us out to be things we’re not and then we have to work hard not to disappoint them. You can’t sit around blaming yourself and feeling sorry. You have to pick yourself up. For them. For all those people who need you. For all the people who gave everything for you.”

Her voice was almost a whisper. “I don’t know how you do it.”

“One day at a time.” He rose to his feet. “I have to go meet with the Royal Family. They’ve also sent their well wishes and I’m sure they’ll come to visit soon. Focus on getting better, Kelsey. We all need you.”

He gave her arm one last squeeze and walked out.

She lay there trying to understand what had just happened. Why weren’t they blaming her for all the terrible things that had happened? It was obscene how many people had died because of her petulant anger. Her entitled arrogance.

She wasn’t blind to the fact that Jared had just masterfully manipulated her. Even so, she couldn’t discount his words. She had to change. She wouldn’t let all those people down. She’d work hard to recover and then do everything in her power to be who they needed her to be. To be worthy of them.