Rise of the Altered Moon: Altered Moon Series: Book One (The Altered Moon Series 1) (14 page)

*~*~*

Chapter Eighteen

Gina brought the
Altered Moon
smoothly in for a perfect landing in the cavernous hangar on Keenaw. She didn’t expect to be back here so soon, certainly not with only half the crew and Boss in med bay. She cut thrust to zero and powered down the flight systems.

“We’re down, Captain.” Gina felt it was strange to call anyone ‘Captain’ but Boss. She locked out the flight control panels, unbuckled the seat harness, and stood up. She fidgeted; wanting to go to Boss’s side, but unsure about protocols where an unexpected new commanding officer was involved.

CJ must have sensed her uncertainty. “Go, Gina. I’ll watch things here. We’ll worry about everything else later.”

“Thank you…Captain.” She smiled an uneasy smile and left the bridge.

“Cat?” CJ’s voice came through the comms. “We’re set up here and Gina is on her way down to med bay.”

“Roger that, Captain,” Cat said. She unconsciously accepted the new command structure. “I’m already setting up. Diagnosis and prep will take about an hour. The surgery could run up to twelve.”

“Copy. Good luck, Cat,” he said. “Please keep me advised.”

“Thank you, sir, will do.” Cat moved from the comms panel back to the stasis bed. She powered up the surgery module and prepped Boss for the procedure. The nerve axons that ran along Boss’ spinal column suffered major damage from the K-13’s particle blast. The question was if the axons could be repaired or if there would be some permanent damage left behind.

As Cat worked in the sterilized surgical room, Gina’s voice came through the comm from the med bay, where she’d apparently taken up residence. “Anything I can do for you, Cat?” she asked.

“Just handle things out there, so I can focus on what I need to do in here,” Cat answered. “I’d say don’t worry, but…”

“Roger that,” Gina said. “Wild horses couldn’t break into this med bay. Take care of him, Zhu…he’s the most precious thing in the universe to me.”

“He’ll be up, spouting off about ancient Earth in no time, hon,” Cat promised her. She smiled and nodded at Gina through the view port before she turned back to the surgical module.

The blast of charged hydrogen particles had seared a hole through Boss’ flesh around the spine, which allowed the charge to run along his central nervous system. A dozen or so nerve axons between the C4 to C8 vertebrae had spilled out through a hole in the myelin sheath. The sheath of the nerve bundle had burn marks that ran in both directions for several centimeters.

Cat needed to repair the nerve damage and stabilize Boss’ condition before she treated the blast burns. First, she programmed the correct instruments and procedure options into the surgical module. Next, she made the incisions necessary to reach the damaged area of his spine and spread the flesh and what muscle tissue she could to access the spinal column.

Guiding the instruments, she slowly and carefully repacked and lined up the nerve axons. After several hours, she was ready to rebuild the myelin sheath around the bundle of newly realigned nerve fibers. She used a biomedical casing to wrap around the nerves that would allow the myelin sheath to grow back before the casing broke down and was absorbed naturally by the body.

She finished the myelin casing before moving on to the damaged cartilage between the vertebrae. Four of the spine’s cartilage pads had boiled and ruptured from the intensity of the K-13’s blast. She removed the destroyed tissue and debrided any rough bone material before placing medically grown cartilage pads in the spaces between the bones of the spine. She fused the vertebrae with spondiflex plates, then sutured muscle and tendon where it had been torn or separated.

Several hours passed before Cat was able to close the flesh over the wound and seal it with a surgical cover that allowed airflow and drainage but kept out germs and contaminants. She placed Boss in a body frame that immobilized his torso while still allowing access to the injured area of his back. After rotating Boss in the surgical module to treat the blast burn on the front of his right shoulder, she removed the dead tissue from around the wound, treated the burned flesh, and applied a surgical cover for protection.

Once done with the main procedure, she ran a diagnosis scan. The scan completed and Boss’ condition was upgraded from serious to stable. Cat took a moment to breathe a sigh of relief before she continued with the diagnosis. She cringed inwardly when she saw the nerve axon test results. Boss had twenty percent signal degradation in the nerves below the damaged area; he’d never regain the full use of his legs. It was bittersweet; she felt good because she knew he could have come out much worse, but she felt bad that she couldn’t have done more for him.

Cat set the surgery module to recovery mode, which administered a pain reliever and discontinued the sedative. She transferred Boss’ med bed from the surgery module to a recovery bay that would monitor his vital signs through the recovery process. The recovery bay walls would retract when the patient had recovered adequately enough to be treated with standard care procedures.

Setting the surgery module to auto cleanse, she placed her gown, gloves, and other surgical gear into the biohazard bin and pushed the incinerate icon. She waved her hand over the basin scanner at the forty degree Celsius mark. Warm water flowed out, as she rubbed a lotion on her hands that disinfected, as well as hydrated to ease the drying effect of the surgical field. The warm water felt good on her hands that she always joked were really ice cubes in disguise. She dried off her hands and pushed the lights-off icon as she left the module and went into med bay.

Gina was already up and stood at the view port of the recovery chamber. “He should be out of it in fifteen or twenty minutes, G,” Cat told her. “He’s going to come through okay.”

Cat’s voice came over the bridge comms panel. “Captain?”

“Yes, Cat, how’s everything?”

“The surgery is over and Boss is in recovery.” He should be coming around shortly.”

“Very good, thank you, Cat,” he said. “I’m on my way.” He looked up into midair and asked, “GABI, would you like to join us in med bay?”

“Thank you, Captain,” came the disembodied reply, “but, I have been here all along.”

“Ah, I should have known you’d be keeping tabs on him,” he said. “I’ll be there presently.”

CJ closed the comms channel and left the bridge.
I hope the old boy’s all right
, he thought as he turned to go through the med bay door.
He has a good crew now that the shit’s been strained out of it
.
No matter what happens, I hope at least I’ve earned a spot here.

Cat and GABI were standing by the recovery chamber with Gina when CJ walked in.

“Captain,” Cat said, “the sedative is wearing off and Boss is coming around. I was able to repair most of the blast burn damage. The damage to the nerve fibers was extensive and some is permanent. He’s lost twenty percent of the function in both legs. The blast charge overloaded the central nervous system and basically shorted out some areas of his brain.”

She changed the display to show a scan of Boss’ brain and continued with her report. “The damage of the affected areas has an odd pattern to it, almost like an implant, which actually stopped the charge from entering the brain itself, essentially saving his life. Whatever it was, it’s burned out now.”

“GABI…?” Gina’s voice trailed off.

“I cannot establish a connection, Gina Riley,” she answered. “I do not hear him.”

“Wait,” Cat said as she pointed at the scan, “you were connected to Boss, by that thing, for how long?”

“Seven solar years, ten months, seventeen days, six hours, forty-two minutes, eight seconds,” she answered.

“Almost eight
years
?” Cat asked. Visibly stunned, she looked back and forth at CJ and the others. “Why wasn’t anyone told about this?”

“It was determined by Nelson Moon,” GABI answered, “ship master of the
Altered Moon
and my creator, that the true nature of the
Altered Moon
should not be disclosed until the project reached completion. Boss Keltzer felt that it was necessary to include Gina Riley after the destruction of the
Istraulis
. I am both pleased and saddened by the recent turn of events. I would find future projections to be more favorable if Boss Keltzer were part of them.”

“As do we all, GABI,” said Gina.

“What’s…all…this…then…” Boss mumbled, as he regained consciousness and tried to look around.

“Take it easy, Captain,” said Cat to Boss, but threw an ‘I’m sorry’ look at CJ, who waved it off. “Don’t try to move.”

“Gina…” he said, as she came up to the bedside. “You’re safe? How? What happened? Was it a dream…no, not if I’m lying here.”

Cat explained the damage to his nervous system and the prognosis for his recovery. “You’re going to be my guest here in med bay for several weeks; then, it’s going to take a couple of months of physical therapy to get you back on your feet. You’re going to need external support of some kind or a suspensor chair for a while after that.”

“Months?” he exclaimed. “With everything that’s going on?”

“Relax, Boss,” Gina said, and softly placed a hand on his arm as he started to fidget against the body frame, “Everything’s fine. We’re back on Keenaw.”

Boss lay back and listened as Gina told him of what had happened. CJ and GABI filled the gaps about what happened on the
Altered Moon
while Cat and Gina drifted around in the life pod. He became sullen as he remembered Gina and Cat being set adrift. A flash of anger crossed his face as the memory of being shot by Gar went through his head. He was quiet as they told him about Trigger and the others in the shuttle bay.

“Tamara,” he said sadly, “too short a time for someone so special.”

CJ and GABI told him of the unexpected shift in command and the changes they made to the neural center. They also told him of how they cut loose
Lunar Mare
and how they rescued Cat and Gina.

“So you can’t hear me, either?” asked Boss. “The chip must have been burned out by the blast.” He looked somewhat subdued. “Well, all things must come to an end. At least this end comes with my life and the lives of those I care about.” He paused to smile and look around; he thought about all that had happened. “So…Captain Evermore…is it?”

“Hey, Boss, this is your ship,” said CJ, as he raised his hands. “Whenever you’re ready to have it back, just say the word.”

“I have lived long enough to know that fate has a way of working out its own problems, CJ,” Boss replied. “It seems that you and GABI are responsible for saving us all. I thank you both for saving the lives of my friends. And, it looks like I’m going to be out of action for a while. If there are no objections from the others, I would like you to stay on as acting captain…that is, if you want to.”

“Boy, I don’t know.” CJ feigned indifference. “I would have to clear my schedule. There’s that affair with the Emperor’s daughter, and…” the others all gave him the ‘don’t be an ass’ look, “and…of, course I would love to.” He finished with a laugh and shook Boss’s hand just enough so he wouldn’t jostle him around.

They all laughed and a dark situation seemed to get a little brighter. Boss sighed and closed his eyes, so Cat shooed everyone out of the recovery bay to give her patient time to rest. She dimmed the med bay lights and curled up on the office couch. She was grateful beyond words to be out of that life pod and back aboard the
Altered Moon
…back home.

*~*~*

Chapter Nineteen

Boss worked daily at increasing what little strength and endurance the injuries had left him. The process was tough at first because he had to accept the tiny increments of progress, as his body slowly healed the damaged tissue. But, over time the flesh mended and the muscles grew stronger. He recovered enough to move from his bed to a suspensor chair, and then eventually was able to use the head on his own.

What an unappreciated freedom this is
, he thought to himself as he sat once again upon the throne.

CJ and Gina spent the time going over the
Altered Moon’
s dark matter thruster systems, DMITS for short, and String Field Drive operation. Boss brought CJ up to speed where the West Becreth Trading Company scheme was concerned. Cat split her time between helping Boss with his recovery and helping CJ with the
Moon’
s weapon systems. At Boss’ suggestion, she showed CJ the forward and aft missile bays and the autoloader magazines. She went over the Rellia K-200 charged hydrogen particle cannons, which was the much bigger cousin to the K-13 pistol and the K-20 rifles. CJ appeared quite intrigued by the Moonbeams when Cat explained how they worked.

The
Altered Moon
could channel the gathered dark matter particles from the DMITS, which could be directed from beam emitters mounted on the front of the ship. The focused dark matter that came in contact with any physical or energy-based obstruction began to erode the obstruction at the molecular level. The molecules of the target separated as the dark matter opened a hole that a missile or particle cannon could be fired through. The only drawback was the fifteen to thirty seconds of uninterrupted dark matter stream it took to do the job. Thirty seconds could be a very long time in a tense situation.

CJ seemed pretty well versed on the
Moon
and her systems by the time that Boss felt recovered enough to start planning their next move. The time Boss spent recovering made one thing clear: he was never going to be able to sit at the command station on the bridge in a suspensor chair. He watched CJ as he became more and more familiar with the
Altered Moon
, which eased his mind and spurred thoughts of ‘what if.’

GABI came to visit often now that she was a truly independent entity. She and Boss missed the interaction with each other since their connection had been so abruptly cut off. Their conversations had become more interesting somehow, like old friends that have met once again later in life.

“Say, GABI, whatever happened to the parrot and the other things you used to appear as?” asked Boss.

“This form is the only option written in to my neural programming,” she explained. “The patterns for the other materializations came from my sub-neural connection to you. Your thoughts provided the necessary data for me to form the patterns.”

“Oh, that’s too bad. I enjoyed that,” he said sadly.

“Then I shall find a way to add them back in to my neural programming,” she vowed.

“GABI, my dear friend,” Boss said, “I have a hard decision to make and it concerns you, mostly. I need your help to decide what to do.”

“I will be glad to provide whatever assistance that you require, Bernard Keltzer,” she answered.

“Actually, that brings up another matter, first. When you use both the first and last names of people it makes you seem impersonal. I think that the crew would accept you more if you used their first names or call signs, if you would like to try. For myself, I like ‘Boss’ much better than I do ‘Bernard,’ so let’s start there.”

“Yes…Boss,” she answered. “That would conserve several minutes of conversation over time.”

“Yes.” Boss laughed. “It would indeed. The other matter, GABI…the
Altered Moon
is a fine ship. I’ve come to realize that I can no longer be the captain that she deserves. It was a strange twist of fate that brought CJ Evermore to us. There’s a connection that I don’t quite understand yet. I’m going to ask him to join the crew and stay on permanently as captain of the
Altered Moon
. What are your thoughts?”

“CJ Evermore has shown personal qualities that are quite similar to those of yourself and Gina Ri—Gina. His ability for quick learning and strong moral character indicate a high aptitude for leadership. The level of his engineering knowledge will be a benefit to the crew of—”

“No, GABI,” Boss shook his head. “I didn’t ask for an analysis of his capabilities. How do you
feel
about him being the captain? Are you okay with it?”

“Okay?” GABI pondered for a moment. “Yes, Boss, I am…okay with it.”

“Good. Help him as you’ve always helped me.”

“Are you leaving?” she asked.

“No, you’re not getting off that easy,” he teased her. “I’m not relinquishing the ship, just my command. The
Altered Moon
is my home now. I’ll be staying on as science officer so I will be double-checking every one of your equations. Don’t screw up, girlie, because I’ll be watching.”

“I believe,” she scolded him with a raised eyebrow, “that ‘girlie’ is an antiquated, and still quite sexist term,
Bernard
.”

“Ah, ha, ha,” Boss laughed. “Now that’s the GABI I know and love. Let’s go see how the others are doing. Race ya!” Boss set his suspensor chair to high speed, raced out through the med bay door, and nearly slammed into the corridor wall. “Make a hole! Wide load comin’ through! Watch out, Cat!”

“Hey! Be careful!” Cat scolded her patient as he headed for the exit.

“Whoohoo!” Boss flew down the boarding ramp, shot past Gina and CJ who stood by the DMITS intake ports at the bow of the ship, and cruised across the cavern floor. “Round ‘em up and move ‘em out,” he hollered while he circled one arm over his head.

“Looks like somebody’s feeling better,” Gina yelled after him.

“Yeah…I didn’t know those things went that fast,” CJ tried to say before Boss sped by.

Boss actually kicked up a dust trail as he finished his circuit around the hideaway hangar. He cruised over to them and finished up with a little sideways drift slide. “Fill ’er up and check the oil, will ya? And make it snappy, I got places ta be.”

“I, for one, think that you are already full…of something,” said Gina who caused CJ to smile and laugh.

“Spit and vinegar, my dear, spit and vinegar
,
” retorted Boss. “Knock, knock?”

Gina just looked at him with an ‘ah, no’ look.

“Knock, knock,” he said more intently.

“Who’s there?” Gina asked dryly.

“Orange.”

“Orange who?” she asked as she rolled her eyes.

“Orange ya glad I’m feelin’ better?” he said while he smiled and wiggled his eyebrows at her.

“Do I have to answer?” she asked sarcastically, as she squeezed his hand to show him that her real answer was yes.

Boss reached over to goose her caboose.

“Hey watch it, bub,” she scolded him. “I can ask the captain to order you to behave now.”

“Well, that will keep him busy,” Boss said with a wink at CJ.

“Hey, all I saw was Boss brushing some dust from your rump,” CJ said with mock innocence.

“Men.” Gina shook her head and acted disgusted. “Ancient Earth seems to be alive and well and living in the two of you.”

The two men broke into laughter; Gina eventually joined in, but still shook her head.

“Ahh…ha.” Boss wiped a tear of laughter from the corner of his eye. “You two in a good place to stop?” he asked in regard to CJ’s lessons on the Altered Moon. “We need to go over some things.”

“Yes, I could use some coffee,” said CJ. “G?” She nodded her head.

The three of them talked idly as they crossed the hangar and went up the boarding ramp. They picked up Cat in the squad bay, where she’d stowed some gear, and together they all went to down to the ship’s mess hall.

GABI
, CJ mouthed the silent question at Boss who nodded.

“GABI, there’s a meeting in the mess hall,” called out CJ. “Will you join us, please?”

“Certainly, Captain,” she shimmered immediately into view.

“Now that would be stellar,” Cat nodded her head. “To all of a sudden just be where you wanted to go.”

“Yes?” inquired GABI. “I have often wondered what it would be like to actually feel the deck plates under my feet.”

“I’ll make some coffee,” said Gina, as she shoved a coffee disk into the machine and pushed the BREW button. The coffee machine came to life with a and ten seconds later the twelve-cup carafe was full of the dark brown brew. Gina grabbed the carafe and placed it on the coffee service tray. Each person grabbed a mug of steaming coffee; some added a pellet of their favorite flavoring.

“Ahh.” Boss sipped his black coffee. “Well, I have some things that I need to share with you all. I have decided to step down as captain because of physical limitations.” The others fell quiet at the sad, but not unexpected announcement. “After talking it over with GABI, I am going to ask CJ to officially join our crew and take permanent command of the
Altered Moon
. It’s not a decision that neither he, nor I, should take lightly.” He finished off looking squarely at CJ.

“I have to say, Boss, that I love this ship,” said CJ. “The time I’ve had to get to know her systems and capabilities has really made me feel at home around her. So, as to being part of the crew, yes I accept, absolutely and immediately. As for being the captain, are you sure you got the right guy? I have no command experience whatsoever.”

“Nobody has command experience without first having experienced command,” Boss spewed wisely.

Gina coughed an odd-sounding cough.

Boss shot her a ‘What? That was good’ look. “There’s a unique opportunity here, CJ,” he continued. “One that I think you’re the right man for. I don’t believe that you and the opportunity showing up at the same time is a coincidence. I’ll stay on as science officer to handle navigation, sensors and comms. Cat can handle weapons and shields as well as CMO duties. Gina can continue as star pilot and GABI can handle the jump equations and the String Field Drive. We’ll all have to pitch in on maintenance and repairs. Small as it may be, Captain, you’ve got yourself a crew.”

“But, what about the trading company?” CJ asked. “I know nothing about running a business, either.”

“I’ll handle that,” Boss said slyly. “I can stay the front man for the business. The suspensor chair will only add spice to my stories. So, what think ye, Cap’n? Are ye up fer the challenge, sir?”

“Aye, matey, that I be,” CJ answered and shook Boss’s hand once again, this time sealing the deal as captain of the
Altered Moon
. The rest of his crew smiled and congratulated him, indicating acceptance of their new captain.

“Good, I am pleased,” said Boss. “But, that is only the first matter we need to discuss and with the captain’s permission, I’ll lay out what I know.”

“Yes, science officer, please continue,” said a very pleased Captain CJ Evermore.

“We’ve had a big setback,” Boss began, “but, the plan remains basically the same. My intent was to cross into Arzian space in an effort to find Nelson Moon.”

“The guy who built the ship…isn’t he dead?” asked CJ. It was the first time Boss had made him privy to the original plan.

Boss told CJ the story of how he met Nelson and about the research program with GABI. He told of the extended test flight joyride that he and GABI took with the
Altered Moon
and of how they found the research lab destroyed when they got back. He finished his story with how he took the
Moon
and ran, but always had to look over his shoulder, in case someday his past would catch up to him.

“Nelson’s body was never recovered,” Boss said. “Bascher Shipwrights held a public funeral for him and life went on. Part of me believes that Nelson set off the explosion to keep the GABI and dark matter technologies from falling into the wrong hands. Years later a crazy old star pilot told me that Nelson was in Arzian space on a planet in the Thraden system.”

“Do you think he’s going to know what happened to the
Istraulis
?” asked Cat.

“I don’t even know if it’s true,” said Boss, “but, if he’s alive, he’ll have a good idea of what’s going on. Nelson was an incredibly smart man. His projections of future events were always spot-on. I think it is worth the risk of crossing the no-fly zone and we can resupply somewhere in Thraden without sending up a red flag as to where we are.”

“I agree with Boss,” said CJ. “Besides, we’d be there already if things hadn’t turned out the way they did. A couple of hours to square things away and prep the ship and we’re ready to go. Is there any reason to wait?”

No comments or objections came from the others, but Boss spoke up again. “There is the matter of the shuttle. We could use the fuel plates and ration packs at least. There are a number of other items that could be salvaged as well. We should retrieve it. It wouldn’t take that much and we could always scrap it later.”

“What about Trigger and the others?” asked Gina.