Waiting (16 page)

'Yes. That'll
be it. I wouldn't let a little prick like that bother me,' said
Belle with her dirtiest laugh. 'Away with you. I bet Doctor Cormack
will think you are even more handsome now.'

Jacobs stood up
and said, 'I can but hope.'

Chapter 47

Salamandra had
Loretti draped on her belly over the front of his stinger and he
and Bridget were leaving a trail of sand blowing behind them as
they raced to the Base. They pulled up outside the steel door in
the front of the small mountain and it slid open as they
approached. They were greeted by Gunther, Staples and Willis, on
their knees with laser rifles aimed at the visitors. Gunther looked
from Bridget to Salamandra and back again, then put his rifle away.
Staples and Willis recognised Salamandra and kept him fixed in
their sights.

'No time for
explanations,' said Bridget, dismounting. 'Mother needs help.'

'Take her to
the sickbay,' said Gunther. 'Staples. Willis. Put those weapons
away and give him a hand.'

Exchanging
suspicious looks, Salamandra let Staples and Willis lifted Loretti
off the stinger and between them carried their commander General to
the sickbay.

'Salamandra is
a surgeon,' said Bridget.

'In another
life,' said Salamandra with a shrug. 'Perhaps some of the old
skills remain.'

'And you are
willing to help her?' asked Gunther.

'Hmm, not so
much willing, but my medical training urges me to help injured
people whether I want to do so or not.'

'Let him do
it,' said Bridget. 'He's her only hope.'

'You look like
you need medical attention yourself,' Gunther said to
Salamandra.

'I'll survive.
I always do. As long as I can stay on my feet long enough I'll do
what I can for her. You have anyone with medical training?'

'Maria Caswell.
She's a trained nurse, amongst other things. Hospital experience.
Our sickbay is comprehensively equipped and ready for use. '

Salamandra
nodded approvingly. 'Have Caswell prepare Loretti for the
operation. A head wound. I'll have a shower and and get cleaned up.
I'm also dehydrated. Half a gallon of tea might revive me enough
for now.'

'Tea?'

'You have
tea?'

Gunther said,
'A small amount. I'll organise it, Caswell and the tea. Showers are
that way.'

'Right.'

'Oh.
Salamandra. Thank you.'

The men shared
looks of understanding and Salamandra headed off to the
showers.

'Bridget...?'

'Yes, I trust
him. He could have killed Loretti anytime on our way here, me too
had he a mind to do so.'

'That's good
enough for me. I want you to assist Caswell to keep an eye on him,
though. What happened to your mother?'

'She was trying
to kill us so we shot her ship down. Crew all dead. Mother not
quite.'

Gunther said,
'Details later. Go find Caswell.'

'Right. Oh.
Salamandra'. He knows something about the mission and Spero. That's
why he's here.'

'Interesting.
Now go. Help your mother.'

Chapter 48

'That's what I
like to see. A woman with a smile on her face.'

Cormack said,
'Ah, yes. I wanted a word with you, Anne Lee. Will you desist in
tittle-tattle about Jarvis and I.'

'Ooh. Jarvis
now, is it. That's progress. Nobody calls him Jarvis. Makes it
more...personal. Going ok is it?'

Cormack
couldn't maintain her frostiness with Lee. She was another woman
she could relate too. 'We surprised ourselves. Not to mention each
other. Of course there was the usual awkwardness at first. Then it
all became...rather magical. He's gentle, but at the same
time...Why the hell am I telling you all the details?'

'We're just
being women. Now the juicy bits. He's gentle and...'

Cormack
considered going on or not. 'Let's just say he's all man. In a good
way. But of course there's more to him than that. He's intelligent,
considerate, interesting, attentive...'

'Oh, dear.
You're coming down with something.'

'What?'

'Hmm,' said
Lee, placing her palm on Cormack's forehead. 'Yes. I thought
so.'

'What?'

'Serious I'm
afraid. You are coming down with a serious case of love.'

Cormack brushed
Lee's hand away. 'You are being ridiculous. I am not...Oh, God.
You're right. I'm falling in love with him.'

'As long as it
isn't contagious. Just don't tell him yet. Not until you're sure of
the way he feels about you. One way love is the sure way to a
broken heart.'

Cormack said,
'Speaks the voice of experience?'

Lee looked
away, a wistful expression crossing her face. 'Enough experience to
be sure it's mutual before giving my heart completely again.' Lee
took Cormack's hand in hers. 'One step at a time, hey? That's all
I'm saying. I could get away from my mistake, you're stuck here on
the ship with him. Hey. I'm raining on your parade.'

'No. You make
sense. Don't worry. We have all the time in the world. I hope
Jarvis and I are on a long journey together, not just a fling.'

Lee got up to
go, a part of her still thinking of her past. 'You'll be ok. I feel
it in my bones.'

Lee left
Cormack alone in her surgery. Cormack glanced at the
three-dimensional mirror above her desk. 'Love. Me, for pities
sake. Well, if that's the case, hopefully there's no cure.'

Chapter 49

'Are you sure
you're ok?' Bridget asked.

'I'm sure I'm
not ok,' said Salamandra, all scrubbed up and wearing a gown and
mask. 'But at least I smell a lot better. Nurse Caswell. You have
theatre experience?'

'Two years in a
military hospital.'

'Good enough
for me. You have done an excellent job of preparation, under the
circumstances. How old is that plasma?'

'Still within
its use by date. She's fully anaesthetised and her blood pressure
is low, but she's stable. I have x-rayed her head. The results are
over there.'

'You really are
experienced.' Salamandra glanced at the instruments, checked the
intravenous drips and began his examination of the patients head
wound. Bridget followed him to the x-ray images. 'How bad is
it?'

'That's my main
concern. Two tiny fragments pushed inside her brain. That small one
is nearly an inch inside. If it isn't removed, it can do all manner
of damage.'

'Bullets are
the same,' said Caswell. 'They can bounce around on the bones when
they enter the body and end up anywhere.'

'Always a
possibility,' said Salamandra. 'Time to get to work.'

Bridget stood
to one side, not crowding Salamandra's space. She was impressed by
both Salamandra and Caswell as they applied their skills and
knowledge. Caswell knew the tortured hands of Salamandra were
struggling to make a flap on the shaved part of Loretti's scalp,
exposing the shattered skull.

'I can stitch
up for you, Doctor. If that is ok with you, of course.'

Salamandra
said, 'More than ok. I'll do the work on the brain, and leave the
rest in your safe hands.'

Salamandra was
handicapped with his damaged fingers, but fortunately Naylor had
spared his right hand. 'At least it is reasonably contained and not
totally fragmented,' said Salamandra as he gave a running
commentary. He removed two larger pieces of skull, placing them in
a dish. 'I'll replace these and they should knit up in time. He
returned to the x-rays to establish where the two small fragments
were then proceeded the operation. Several very careful hours
later, the two fragments were removed and the two larger pieces of
skull were in place over the exposed brain and the flap sutured up
by Caswell.

Salamandra
said' I would have preferred to use a small metal plate, but not
having that option, hopefully the skull will repair itself. 'Nurse
Caswell. Please clean up our patient and apply a dressing.
Excellent work, by the way.'

'Thank you,
Doctor Salamandra.'

'It's been a
long time since I was addressed that way.'

As he started
to leave the theatre, his legs started to buckle and Bridget
grabbed him.

'Time to look
after you, now.'

Salamandra
leaned on Bridget as they left the theatre. Gunther had been
waiting anxiously outside and jumped up to help support
Salamandra.

'Our turn to
help you. Come on.'

They went to
Gunther's office and sat Salamandra down. Gunther unfastened the
blood stained surgeons gown to reveal Salamandra's torso. 'You
shouldn't have even been on your feet, let alone performing brain
surgery. You've been worked over by an expert.'

Bridget handed
Salamandra a glass of water and a couple of painkillers then said,
'Corporal Naylor. Our answer to the missing link. He'll never do
this again.'

'This isn't
war,' said Gunther. 'This is nothing but butchery.'

'I've no broken
bones,' Salamandra assured them. 'Naylor stopped just short of
that. Perhaps with General Loretti incapacitated, it's all
over.'

Gunther said,
'Rather depends on President Maxim. The biggest war-drum beater
around.'

'He's a
warmonger, for sure, from the safety of his forcefield protection,'
said Bridget. 'Mother had ambitions to take over from him.'

Salamandra
said, 'A backward step in my opinion. She really believes my people
are an inferior race. At best we are something to use like
slaves.'

Gunther said,
'Not a philosophy I subscribe to, Salamandra. People are just
people in my book. We are all the same.'

'No!' said
Salamandra. 'On the contrary. We are all unique individuals. You
are nothing like Loretti. I am not like your daughter here. We
should celebrate our uniqueness, embrace our differences.'

'You need some
good food inside you,' said Gunther. 'I'll get us all something to
eat then you can rest.' Gunther paused by the door. 'I would very
much like to get to know the man not the legend.'

'Soup.'

'Soup?'

'It will take
time before my mouth can forget about Naylor and his pliers.'

'Soup it is,
then.'

Chapter 50

He found
himself staring in the mirror. 'Not ugly. Female would have been
preferable. But this example is in reasonable condition. Using his
voice and brain is taking some getting used to. They have a
primitive means of procreation. Hmm. Perhaps being male is the
better option, considering their females means of giving birth. Is
so much pain really necessary? They didn't quite get the hang of
evolution. Always a mistake letting evolution get the upper hand.
And hands. What's that all about? Still. We will have to work with
what we get.'

He gave himself
a final look over, left his room and closed the door behind
him.

***

'The analysis
of the soil is typical of soil around a volcanic area on Earth,'
said Lee, showing Jacobs the results of her work. 'I realise the
volcano was unexpected, but it could have done us a favour. I took
depth readings and we have between seven and nine inches of
volcanic ash. Below that is between fifteen and thirty inches of
subsoil. The terraformers will ensure the rain which will result in
a slightly acidic soil. We can fertilise areas with our own organic
waste which will result in a rich, productive soil we can grow
crops and trees. This will help balance the carbon dioxide and
oxygen levels. Carefully managed, the planet will green-up and the
creatures we'll release will adapt and help disperse seeds and
plant-life. It will take most of the year for the new rivers and
oceans to stabilise for the various fish species we intend to
introduce. The single moon around the planet will help with the
tides which will keep the water oxygenated and fresh. The planet
once had oceans so a residual saltiness may remain, but it is
likely the aquatic life will adapt.'

Jacobs said,
'It sounds like a veritable garden of paradise.'

'We chose
well,' said Lee.

'The Goliath
was designed to provide all the food we need by hydroponics as we
get the farms established. As the soil is cultivated, we can be
building our city by creating bricks from the local ground.'

Lee said, 'And
the Goliath's power plant can generate enough electricity while we
set up alternatives such as the solar and hydro-generating
stations.'

'A couple of
generations later, we'll have a world to be proud of.'

'And all thanks
to you, Jay Jay. Your vision and persistence.'

Jacobs shook
his head. 'Hundreds of people are responsible for this. People who
shared a dream of a better life.'

Lee smiled and
stared at Jacobs in admiration. 'You are a remarkable man, Jay Jay.
Just you make sure you leave enough of your time for a certain lady
while you help crate Utopia.'

Jacobs got up.
'I'll not neglect her. In fact, I'm on my way to her right this
minute.'

'Have fun.'

Chapter 51

Sol Maxim,
President of the Western Tricor, suddenly had his forcefield
protected world turned upside down. 'Dead?'

General Su
Kane, Internal Security Chief, never minced her words. 'Our
scouting party located Commander General Loretti's ship in the
desert, one hundred and eighty miles due south. All crew on board
were dead. One had been shot inside the ship.'

'Loretti's
body?'

'We were unable
to find it,' said Kane. 'We discovered footprints and traces of
blood outside the wreckage, and assumed she perhaps managed to get
off the ship and staggered into the desert and died of her
injuries.'

'What?' gasped
Maxim. 'You have no body but you have the audacity to pronounce
Loretti dead?

'But sir. The
desert is bitterly cold at night. Being injured, she was unlikely
to survive. We still have teams searching for her, but with each
passing hour, there is only one conclusion to come to.'