Return to Dakistee (34 page)

"I've heard about their amazing recuperative powers, but surely that doesn't apply here. She's expired, Doctor. She cannot come back to life."

"We don't know that, so I'm going to assume she'll recover. We'll get her into one of the stasis chambers the Dakistians use."

The job was hastily done, and, when Christa was bandaged and an oxygen mask placed over her face, Johannes used a bed sheet to soak up the pooled blood, then jammed the saturated sheet into a plastic disposal bag before going to the door.

Two orderlies with an oh-gee stretcher were waiting outside. He gestured them in and they placed Christa on the stretcher.

"Take her to the Vault level," Johannes said. "We're right behind you."

Gibson hurried after the stretcher-bearers as Johannes said to Madu, "She's very seriously injured and we're not equipped to work on her here. I'd like to place her in one of your stasis chambers and take her to Higgins where she can get proper attention."

"Of course," Madu said. "How long will it take to get to Higgins?"

"Higgins is about thirty light-annuals away. The diplomatic ship in orbit can make the trip in just over a solar."

"The stasis chamber that I was in has more than enough power to sustain the process for that long without being hooked into our power system."

"Great. Let's go."

Carmoody had heard the news, and, in her haste to get to Christa's room, ran into Madu as she and Doctor were headed towards the elevator. Madu explained the situation quickly and the three ran after the first group.

Once in the Vault, Carmoody logged into the computer so Madu could do what was necessary. Christa hadn't yet restored Madu's full access rights, although that would have happened soon now that the crisis was over.

Madu's chamber was gently lowered to the deck and Johannes worked with Gibson to get Christa situated inside.

It was necessary that Madu have the computer place the chamber back in the racks to initiate the process, but that took less than ten minutes. When the chamber was again lowered to the deck, the process was in full effect. Christa would be preserved at her condition when the process was initiated. As the computer lowered the chamber, the two orderlies situated the oh-gee stretcher beneath."

"Take her to the surface," Dr. Johannes said. To Nurse Gibson, he said, "You have ten minutes to get whatever you need or do whatever needs doing. We're accompanying the Commander to Higgins."

"Yes, Doctor."

"I'll see you topside. Remember, talk to no one."

"Yes, sir."

An hour later, the Diplomatic Yacht Wellington, captained by Commander Pieter Survossa, left orbit and headed for Higgins at the fastest speed available in Dakinium-sheathed ships— Light-9793.48.

Chapter Twenty-Four

~ December 4
^th
, 2285 ~

Admiral Jenetta Carver opened her message queue as she sat sipping from her first cup of Colombian in what was usually a long line of such refreshments throughout the day. A message marked Priority-One from Admiral Holt naturally grabbed her attention. It should have been delivered to her regardless of the hour and how she was otherwise engaged. She would find out later who on her staff had dropped the ball and make sure it didn't happen again. For now, she punched the play key and watched as the somber face of Admiral Holt appeared on her monitor.

"Jenetta, Christa was injured in a shootout with a dig site person at Loudescott. It's imperative that you drop whatever you're doing and come to Higgins as soon as possible."

"Brian Holt, Rear Admiral Upper, Base Commander, Higgins Space Command Base, message complete."

Jenetta stared at the screen for several seconds while she thought. It wasn't like Brian Holt to send such a brief and cryptic message, and he wasn't prone to melodramatics. There was more here than his words indicated. If Christa had been injured, her physiology should see to the repair of the damage, although doctors had never been able to determine the level of severity from which the Carver system couldn’t recover. For instance, would their bodies replace an entire limb over time? Perhaps Christa had lost an arm or a leg and her body wasn't repairing the damage.

Since the message time was eighteen days to Higgins, it would take thirty-six days to get a more accurate picture. In that time she could be more than halfway to Higgins, which was about a fifty-day trip each way. She made her decision.

Jenetta's office was thrown into turmoil as aides tried to reschedule everything that had been planned for the next four months. Much of it resettled onto the shoulders of lower ranked admirals or senior base officers, but some things would just have to wait until Jenetta returned.

The SC Battleship Ares was in port, so Jenetta contacted Captain Gavin and told him she needed a ride. He was a bit surprised by the travel orders, but when the Commander of the Second Fleet designated a destination for a ship, that's where it went, and it went when she said. All leaves were immediately cancelled and everyone dirt-side hurried to get back to the ship while on-duty personnel struggled to complete in-progress maintenance operations and stow gear and recently delivered supplies.

Less than three hours after Jenetta had viewed the message from Admiral Holt, the Ares left orbit around Quesann, outbound for Higgins Space Command Base.

* * *

A General Court-Martial for enlisted personnel in Space Command and the Space Marine Corps, as was the case for commissioned officers, was conducted before a judge and a six-to-twelve member jury. But general officers faced a tribunal composed of only five general officers drawn at random. Both court-martial types decided guilt or innocence and determined the sentence to be imposed. A senior JAG officer presides as judge at a General Court-Martial, but the most senior general officer in rank and time in grade of the five selected to hear the case performed as president of the tribunal.

Admiral Bernake, Rear Admiral Upper, sitting in the center of the five admirals, said, "The accused will rise and face the court."

When Admiral Hubera and his civilian attorney had risen and faced the five admirals, Bernake said, "Admiral Hubera, you have heard the list of charges and specifications. How do you plead?"

"Not guilty to all charges," Hubera said loudly and proudly.

"The record will show that the accused has pled not guilty to all charges. The trial will begin tomorrow, December 8
^th
, at 0900 in this courtroom. This Court is adjourned until that time."

* * *

"Come," Jenetta said when the computer informed her Captain Lawrence Gavin was at her office door on the Admiral's bridge aboard the Ares. In response, the computer opened the door to admit the Captain of the ship.

"Good morning, Jen," Captain Gavin said as he strode in. Although she was a four-star admiral, Jenetta preferred an informal rapport whenever protocol didn't dictate that they behave differently.

Newly promoted Lt. Commander Jenetta Carver had been posted to Captain Gavin's battleship Prometheus almost two decades earlier and their friendship had grown out of mutual respect for the other's abilities. Gavin had been offered a flag numerous times, but he preferred to remain as a ship's captain for as long as he could. Jenetta would have preferred a battleship captaincy as well, but war and other events had seemingly conspired to keep pushing her up the ladder. She allowed it to happen because she honestly believed she could make a difference. That was true, and, mainly through her efforts and the unremitting efforts of galactic rulers to absorb the Galactic Alliance, the GA had grown five hundred percent of the size it had been when she graduated from the Academy.

"Good morning, Larry," Jenetta said almost absentmindedly as he walked to the beverage dispenser and prepared a mug of coffee.

As Gavin took a seat facing her desk, he said, "You have a troubled look on your face. Anything you can discuss?"

"I've been reviewing all the reports Christa submitted during the months she was on Dakistee. Progress was slow at first until she solved the problem of how to open the door, and then things slowed even more as she waited for the special cylinders to be located in the ruins of collapsed buildings around the planet. After she managed to open the door, only one report was transmitted before she was forced to seal the facility to save the dig site people and the secrets of the facility. But she continued to record reports, and the computer sent them as soon as the facility was unsealed and communications were reestablished. The last report was prepared an hour before she unsealed the entrance door to the tunnel. After that, nothing. Her injuries must be horrific or she would have sent something."

"I wouldn't be too concerned," Gavin said. "She inherited that famous Carver physiology. By the time we get there, she'll probably be back on her feet and anxiously looking for her next assignment."

* * *

"Our involvement on Dakistee has ended," Councilman Ahil Fazid said to Chairman Strauss on the com from his office. "All of our people, save one, have pulled out. We lost the man who was functioning as an assistant labor supervisor. He was good. We'll miss his information and evaluations."

"What happened?"

"According to Mikel Arneu, or perhaps I should say Nicole Ravenau, our man tried to shoot it out with Christa Carver. Apparently, they fired at the same instant and killed each other, dying within minutes of one another where they fell. He was using a lattice pistol from several feet away and she was using a laser pistol."

"Damn," Strauss said. "Damn, damn, damn. Carver is going to be coming after us with a vengeance now. Are we
sure
Arneu had nothing to do with it?"

"He— she— says not. She never fired her weapon."

"What was she doing there and why was that laborer armed?"

"Well, Arneu has carried a grudge against Jenetta for a long time— ever since she destroyed Raider One and made him look foolish. He may have been trying to exact a little revenge on her sister, whom he actually had as a prisoner for a short time until she escaped from the Tsgardis guarding her."

"So that ass wanted to even the score a bit and has succeeded in dropping us into the shit. Well, I'll deal with him later. What about the operation? Were there
any
positives?"

"We wound up with new slaves the GA isn't going to spend much effort looking for, and they're all prime specimens. There's nothing else though. According to Arneu, there was no new technology to grab. It was just a sleep depot for ancients. Carver succeeded in waking up a few hundred."

"Ancients? How ancient?"

"Twenty thousand years was quoted."

"
Twenty thousand
years? And they were successfully revived?"

"According to Arneu's report, they're all healthy. They popped up out of their stasis chambers and were ready to go in an hour."

"An hour? After sleeping for twenty thousand years? And you don't consider that significant? Do you have any idea what that technology would be worth if we could patent it?"

"But Space Command isn't going to let anyone patent it, Arthur. It was found on Dakistee, so any attempt to patent it would point a finger to the member of the organization who tried. The Dakinium we could have used without seeking a patent but not this."

Strauss sighed. "I suppose you're right, Ahil. I'm just groping for something to bring to the Upper Council. They're going to be plenty upset that we spent so much and came out of this with so little."

"Not every venture is going to reap a bonanza, but we have to take a chance every once in a while where the payoff could be great. At least this wasn't the debacle Gagarin orchestrated."

"Yes. Although costly, this was not on the same scale as that disaster. However, there was another cost in this mess. We've lost the use of a valuable contact at Space Command Supreme Headquarters. Hubera will never be acquitted of the charges brought against him. That old oaf lost his temper and went too far when he ordered Carver to quit the site. He'll be censured and possibly demoted. He might even lose his place on the Admiralty Board. Damn it! People holding senior positions in Space Command are too valuable to lose without having at least turned a decent profit on the loss."

* * *

"The court-martial of Admiral Hubera begins tomorrow morning," Admiral Moore said to the other eight members of the Admiralty Board. "The trial is closed to spectators and live broadcast, but I've ordered that the images be transmitted here so we can watch the proceedings in real time. Attendance is not mandatory."

"I still can't fathom what he was thinking when he ordered Commander Carver to disobey her orders and desert her post." Admiral Bradlee said. "If, in fact, he did order that."

"It's no secret that Donald is prone to losing his temper where Admiral Carver or her sisters are concerned," Admiral Hillaire said. "We've listened to his tirades here for years. I think he just lost his temper— and his better judgment. If, in fact, he is guilty of doing what he's charged with."

"Is there any chance Admiral Carver might have overreacted and overstated the issue?" Admiral Platt asked.

"I suppose it's possible," Admiral Moore said, "but from what I've observed over the years, the
Ice Queen
never overreacts. Every action seems to have been thought out to the nth degree, except during battle. And even there she gives as much thought as possible to examining the issue before deciding on a course of action."

"Yes," Admiral Hillaire said. "I've never heard of an instance where she lost her temper or acted rashly."

"In any event," Admiral Moore said, "it's the duty of the court to determine the facts and I'm sure they'll meticulously examine all the evidence before reaching a conclusion."

"What if it comes down to a matter of Donald's word versus Commander Carver's word? According to Admiral Holt, she's still in a coma. She obviously can't testify until she regains consciousness, and, since she was shot in the head, her memory of the event may be faulty."