Talosian Chronicles 1: Olympus (9 page)

"Re-animation sequence initiated. Warning! Please notify Medical personnel. Maximum safe cryo-sleep period exceeded. Medical attention will be required."

Beth stepped forward and placed her hand on the same plate Ian had. "Acting Chief Medical Officer Elizabeth Williams is present." Beth said, "Proceed."

"Acknowledged," the emotionless voice replied.

Beth watched the monitors like a hawk. Everything seemed to be going well. Talena should be awake in a few minutes; however, Beth didn't think she would be ready for much more then bed rest for a couple of days.

“Reanimation sequence complete. Warning! Unit door malfunction! Occupant will terminate in forty-five seconds! Warning! Unit door malfunction! Occupant will terminate in forty seconds! Warning!...” The voice droned on emotionlessly. Ian jumped the console and ran to the pod. “Oly! Active the emergency release!”

“Step back, Commander!” Oly said with a concerned voice.

Ian jumped to the side as the door blew off the pod and crashed into the bay wall. A nude, silver-haired girl fell out of the pod to be caught by Ian. He picked her up in his arms and carried her to the gurney. Beth and Jenny pushed the floating table out the door, across the hall and into medbay. Ian and Olympus followed behind them.

The floating gurney slid into a wall unit that opened up to allow passage, then the clear door slid closed again. Beth stood at a console and was entering commands. A bar of light passed over the girl in the chamber as an image appeared on the monitor next to the chamber. Beth studied the image closely, then typed in more commands. “Computer, begin rehydration with twenty cc’s of mythanizole. Begin muscle mass regeneration,” she said in Talosian.

She sighed, and turned to Ian. “She’s in pretty bad shape, we cut it awfully close. But I think she’ll be fine now. I’ll be able to move her over to the portable autodoc in about an hour, and we can leave then. She’ll be asleep for a while, at least until tomorrow.”

Ian nodded, and turned to Oly. “When she’s able, teach her our language and customs. You might want to give her some background on how long she’s been in the freezer and what’s happened in that time. Don’t overload her; just give her what she can handle.”

“Sir, I... I should have kept a closer watch on the facility. That door should not have failed,” Oly said.

“Relax Oly, that’s the reason I ordered the level one diagnostic. Do you think the tests will be complete by this weekend?” Ian asked.

“I have altered the priority so that the hull, superstructure and life support systems should be complete by Friday mid-morning. If nothing is found, I have the medbay, defense shields and outboard weapons scheduled next, followed by each of the landing bays, and flight control. I am also increasing the number of drones to three hundred,” Oly explained.

Ian nodded, “Well done. I’ll look forward to the report on Friday. Do you have the ability to create construction drones?”

“Yes sir, the replication bay is large enough to accommodate those.”

“Good, start producing them; I’ll want a couple hundred. You can park them out on the lunar surface for now. If you run low on raw materials, send the ones you did get built out to get some more. You should be able to find most of what you need here on the moon. However, do not let them go over to the dayside. So many people look at the moon at any given time, they might actually be seen,” Ian ordered.

While Ian and Oly had been talking, Jenny called the shuttle to tell them what happened and how long they’d be. Then she stood and looked through the glass at the sleeping Talena.

Ian stepped up beside her. “She certainly is beautiful isn’t she?”

“She’ll be one of our wives one day, Ian, but she’ll be very fragile when she wakes,” Jenny said softly. “She’ll really need us.”

“Really? I mean, I was thinking about maybe adopting her until she gets used to us and our way of life, support for her that way...” Ian said.

“I think that’s a really good idea, Ian, but we need to talk it over with Cindy first. But, I think you should know, that she's no longer the seventeen year old that was put into the cryo-unit – she did age in there.” Beth said.

Ian looked at Beth in mild surprise. “I thought the aging process stopped when a person went into cryo?”

Beth shook her head. “Not completely, no, but it's so slow as to be considered stopped. Remember, the original intent for these chambers were for a hundred or so years. In that time frame, one would barely age at all. However, she was in there for forty centuries, so she actually is physically older than when she went in.”

“How much did she age?” Ian asked.

“It's pretty difficult to tell, because while it did age her, it also stunted her growth. In most aspects she is between the age of twenty-two and twenty-four. I think she'll pretty much stay the size she is now, because the computer is telling me the she is as physically mature as she's going to get,” Beth said. “Basically, she's a small looking woman. Are you alright? You seem to be awfully concerned...”

Ian nodded and interrupted her. “I know, but seeing her again, and knowing what she's been through... what?” He asked because Jenny was looking at him funny.

“You said ‘seeing her again’. Ian this is the first time you’ve ever seen her... isn’t it?” Jenny asked.

Ian bit his lower lip. “I meant to talk to Beth about this after school yesterday, but I got sidetracked with my little project for tonight. Since I started using the Talosian teaching method, I’ve been getting more than just knowledge. I asked Oly about it, but he says there is nothing like it in the instructional data sets. I think I’m getting Commander Zeus’ memories.”

“Well, we got an hour to kill. Come on; jump up on the bed, Ian. Let’s get you checked out,” Beth said.

“Beth, I really don’t think...” Ian began.

Beth interrupted him. “Ian, this is just to make sure there is nothing medically wrong with you. We all need to go through it eventually; we might as well do yours now.” She activated one of the other chambers, and the table slid out.

“Do I need to get naked first?” Ian asked.

Beth chuckled, “No, tha-uh!” She grunted as Jenny elbowed her in the ribs.

“Yep, you have to get naked for the exam Ian, right doctor?” Jenny said looking meaningfully at Beth.

Beth laughed. “Absolutely! Strip down, Ian.”

“Nice try, ladies. You’ll get me nude soon enough when we get home,” Ian chuckled and lay down on the table.

Beth activated the device, and Ian slid back into the unit. He closed his eyes as the bar of light passed over his face. “Just relax in there, Ian, and try not to move very much. The scan only takes a few seconds.”

Ian did as he was told and just lay there. Eventually, the machine beeped, opened, and his table slid out, and he sat up and looked at Beth. “Well, am I going to live?”

Beth was intently studying the display of his scan. “I don’t know, Ian. You have about two hundred percent more brain activity than you should have. You also have a bunch of toxins and other pollutants in your body that are slowly killing you. But I don’t know if that’s normal or not. Looking at a body like this is so different then what I’m used to. The scanner here can show me your body all the way down to the sub-atomic level. It can read your DNA and RNA and it’ll tell me everything about you. Talena’s body doesn’t have even one hundredth of the poisons you have, yet you appear to be perfectly healthy.”

“Can you get rid of the toxins and other bad stuff?” Ian asked.

“Yes, and I had to tell the autodoc not to. It wanted to sedate you and begin treatment immediately,” Beth said. “I’m leery of it, because if we do this for you, what will happen when we return to Earth? For that matter, what will happen to Talena?”

“Oly? Can you answer any of her questions?” Ian asked.

“The Earth is polluted. Many of these pollutants will build up in the human body while others are passed through. If you allow the autodoc to treat the Commander, he will have more energy, and generally feel much better than he does now. The autodoc will also want to perform a process erroneously called ‘re-sequencing’. What that means is it scans his DNA and RNA and removes or disables the predisposition for most cancers, he will be more resistant to infection, and almost immune to a lot of diseases you consider deadly. This process also lengthens the standard life span into the second or third century,” Oly explained.

“Has Talena had this done to her?” Beth asked.

“It is part of prenatal care,” Oly explained.

“What do you think, Ian?” Beth asked. “We’re past what I’ve learned so far.”

“How long will I be out?” Ian asked.

“No longer then ten minutes, dependent on how much junk you have in your system. I should warn you, that once this is done, your morning coffee will have a much greater effect on you,” Oly said grinning.

Ian lay back and let the machine pull him in. he looked over at Beth as the machine knocked him out.

When he opened his eyes, it had appeared that she hadn’t moved. However Jenny was looking at him through the glass with concern. He smiled at her and blew her a kiss. “Am I done?”

“Just about, just stay still for a moment longer,” Beth said.

Ian found that was actually easier said than done. He had so much energy now that he wanted get up and do something... or somebody, he grinned. “Oh, you guys are in so much trouble tonight. I feel like I could even wear Cindy out,” Ian said.

Beth snorted, “I’d pay to see that!”

“Jen, you’ve gotta try this! I feel great!” Ian said as the door slid open. Ian was off the table before it had fully extended and picked Jenny up in his arms. He twirled her around and kissed her before setting her back down. “This is really something!”

“Damn, maybe I should get in there! I’ve been feeling a little run down lately,” Beth said.

“I will monitor your condition, if you wish, Doctor,” Oly offered. “Colonel, we have another chamber if you would like to be examined as well.” He indicated another chamber that was opening next to the one Ian had used.

Beth thought about it for a minute, then shrugged and got up on the table. Jenny watched her before turning to the other one. Ian stepped over beside Oly to watch the monitors.

Beth smiled at Ian before the machine knocked her out, and he glanced over to see Jenny do the same thing. The light bar was passing over Beth when it suddenly stopped over her chest and a chirping alarm sounded.

“What’s wrong?” Ian asked panicking.

“The Doctor has advanced breast cancer. She has several malignant tumors in both breasts, and it has spread to her lymphatic system,” Oly said calmly. “Without treatment, she will die in less than six months.”

“So, treat her!” Ian ordered as he stepped over to her chamber.

“I have already begun, Sir. She will be asleep for a bit longer than originally stated,” Oly said.

“What are the chances it’ll come back?” Ian asked.

“None sir. Once the existing cancer cells have been removed, her body will be adjusted so they cannot form again,” Oly explained. “That is part of the normal process that you just underwent. If she had this treatment when she was born, she never would have had it.”

Ian just stood and looked at the woman he had come to love so much. When Oly spoke, it jarred him back to reality.

“Both the Colonel and the Doctor are pregnant. Congratulations Sir,” Oly said with pride.

“Thank you,” Ian said absently.

“Sir, really, she will be fine. Better then when she went into the chamber,” Oly said.

Jenny was finished and the door opened on her chamber. Ian was there to help her out and she kissed him. “I think you’re going to have help with Cindy tonight!” She grinned.

“Jen, the scanner found advanced breast cancer in Beth,” Ian said. “Oly says the autodoc removed the cancer and is finishing her treatment. If she had this treatment from birth like all Talosian children, she never would have had the cancer to begin with.”

Jenny had moved over to Beth’s chamber to look worriedly down on her lover. “She’ll be alright? She didn’t need a mastectomy?”

“The cancer was far too advanced for Terran medical knowledge to treat. She would have passed away within six months. However, all the cancerous cells have been removed, and she is now getting the 're-sequencing' I mentioned earlier. She should be finished and awake in about seven minutes,” Oly said.

“Maybe we should get Cindy and your folks up here too,” Ian said softly.

“I can send the Maglev for them,” Oly offered.

Ian touched his earpiece, “Cindy? It’s Ian.”

“What’s up hot stuff?” Cindy replied.

“I’m sending the maglev back to the landing bay. I want you to bring all three Laskars to the main medbay. I’ll explain when you get here,” Ian said.

“We’re on our way,” Cindy replied.

“See ya in a few minutes. Oly’ll guide you from the maglev.”

When the connection was cut, Ian looked over at Jenny who was still staring at Beth. “By the way, beautiful, the scans confirmed that you and Beth are both pregnant.”

Jenny didn’t reply, but got a soft smile on her face.

Cindy, with the Laskars in tow, arrived just as Beth was sliding out of the chamber.

“Whew! That does feel much better!” then she saw the looks on the faces around her. “What?”

Ian stepped forward, and took her by the hands and pulled her to her feet. “Oly display Beth’s original scan, please.”

Beth looked closely at the scan that appeared on the monitor. She turned white as she realized what she was looking at. She was opening her mouth to say something but Ian stopped her. “Now, Oly, please display her last scan.”

Once again Beth turned to the monitor but this time she seemed to study it intently. “It’s gone,” she said softly. She turned around and hugged Ian desperately. “The breast cancer is gone!”

“WHAT?!” Cindy cried.

Since Ian and Beth, now with Jenny, were busy hugging and kissing, Oly took it upon himself to explain what the scanners had found and what was done about it. When Cindy had finally calmed down, she rounded on Beth.

“I’m so mad at you! You’re a doctor! You preached and preached to me about doing breast exams all the time. Didn’t you ever do them on yourself?”