Chapter 44

Jack stood by Kazlaena’s bed with his eyes closed as he listened to the machinery keeping her alive. A lot was tumbling around in his head as he felt fear and uncertainty weighing down on his ability to think with clarity. He was pulled from his thoughts when Charm walked up to his side and set a hand on his shoulder.

“What’s her status?” Jack asked in a hushed tone, as if he was afraid speaking too loud would somehow wake Kazlaena.

“Lungs are bad, Jack. I ain’t certain I can heal ‘em here.” Charm lowered her head. “She’ll need to be sent for better treatment at a proper medical center. May very well need a lung transplant if there ain’t no improvement to her condition. I...”

Jack saw Charm let out a heavy sigh, then clench her datapad in both her hands tightly.

“You’ve given a solid effort all night, Doc. There’s no fault in that.”

“Still...” Charm looked at him. “ ... ain’t enough for her.”

“We rarely feel we do when it’s for the ones we care about.” Jack set his hands on the bed. “It was my call to have her come out the airlock. This is all on me. Perhaps we could have stopped the station from scuttling. Maybe blocked the process somehow enough to have gotten her out safely by another route. I don’t know. My instinct was to take a path that I felt gave her the best chance.”

“She is here, and alive, Jack.”

“But maybe she wouldn’t have messed up lungs, if I could have just grabbed her faster.”

“She held her breath, Jack. The air in her lungs expanded. Pressure from that caused the damage. You can’t fault her for showin fear and doin what she did. I may very well have done the same in her position.”

Jack wanted to beat himself up over this further, but he chose to remain silent, falling back to listening to the machines keeping his friend alive. Charm was going to speak further, but Nyka and Rusu entered the room, the latter racing to Kazlaena’s bed in audible sorrow.

“How is?” Nyka joined Jack and Charm at the side of the bed.

“Bad,” Jack replied. “Her lungs are no good.”

“Update on Pri. Her vitals remain steady, Jack.” Charm gave him a quick hug, then went over to stand beside Rusu, giving the Lexo comfort as he gripped Kalzaena’s wrist.

Jack looked over his shoulder, seeing where Pri lay on a bed, hooked up to machines of her own. He felt shame for having checked in on her briefly since everyone’s return to the ship, focusing more on Kazlaena. Added to that were all the little tasks that continuously popped up in the wake of their actions that night that kept pulling him away.

“You ok, Doc?” Jack asked Charm and caught her nod. “You need a rest? Or anything to help ease your situation?”

“I’ll be alright, Jack. Thanks for checkin.” Charm assured him.

“InterSAR’ll have help over here soon enough. Should be any time now.”

“Will lungs heal own?” Nyka asked them.

“Not a good possibility, love.” Charm answered.

Nyka put her hand to her mouth, looking to Pri, then back to Kazlaena. She then reached into a pouch and produced a syringe, one Jack remembered from her experiments, one with blank bio-nanites.

“I, no sure work right, but...” Nyka looked at Kazlena. “Will heal, possibly.”

Jack looked at the syringe for a good long moment, then looked to Charm as she stood up, gave a hopeful Rusu a gentle pat on the back, then she approached Nyka.

“You sayin the solution will heal her?” Charm asked.

Nyka nodded.

“What are the risks?”

“Reje, er no take.”

“Doc?” Jack gave Charm an inquisitive look.

“Side effects?” Charm asked.

“Maybe sick, but not expect fatal.”

“Not expected to be fatal...” Jack looked back to Kazlaena.

“Nothin for the kid’ll be without risk at this point, Jack.” Charm joined him in looking at Kazlaena.

Jack closed his eyes, then nodded.

“Ok, if you both agree, proceed.”

“Will need gear, back in moment.” Nyka cast another look at Pri as she turned to leave, then looked back at Jack.

He saw the question on her mind before she asked.

“Only one dose?” He asked.

She nodded.

“Imagine if Pri found out we gave it to her, and not Kaz. She would want us to look out for Kazzie first.”

Nyka understood and resumed leaving the medical center, but Rusu caught up to her and followed her into the hall.

“Nyka, a-are you sure of this?” He spoke to her in Lexocanian.

“Will give her a chance, Rusu. The project is almost complete, the nanites will work. I am confident in this.” Nyka answered.

“Will she uh, need the conditioning?”

“No,” Nyka leaned against the wall, looking at the floor. “Nanites will heal her. They will last about a week, then they will shut down and her body will filter them out. The programming for her or anyone else is not complete. That is the forfeiture of using the nanite injection now. The project will need to be restarted.”

“It took you a year to craft that single dose...” Rusu walked up to her. “Will you restart from scratch and try to finish the project?”

“Without question.” Nyka opened her arms as he moved in to give her a hug. “This crew is our family. I owe it to them to continue trying. Look what so many of them are willing to do without a second thought. Look at the actions of this day. It is a remarkable thing to be on this crew. Something I will never take for granted. Something I will always work to offer contribution in generous effort for the benefit of us all.”

“Thank you, Nyka. Thank you so much for this.” Rusu hugged her just a little harder.

“No thanks are needed,” Nyka whispered back. “She will need you when she wakes up. Be strong for her.”

Nyka returned to the medical center within moments, carrying a case with her. She met with Charm, and they prepared Kazlaena to receive the syringe injection. Charm looked at Jack before they committed.

“We need you to verify permission to proceed, Jack. She has you on her medical as surrogate. Need to be formal here.”

Jack set his hands on Kazlaena’s bed and looked at her face. He saw the breathing tube in her mouth, the blood-stained fur around her jaw, her form looking as weak and broken as Pri. He promised he would never let this happen to her, and he had failed that. Now he had to make sure he did right by her and aided her recovery to the best possible outcome.

“You said there may be risks, correct?” He asked Nyka.

“Always risks medical, with medical situation.” Nyka replied. “Cannot know for sure how react.”

“And the alternative is probably a double lung transplant?” Jack looked at Charm next.

“Another risky operation Jack. Even if successful, it ain’t gonna let her live a long life.”

Jack looked back at Kazlaena, then spoke to her softly.

“Ah kid. I have to make a tough call to get you back to us completely. This procedure has risks. If you can hear, if you can understand, fight. Fight to come back. You are our friend, our light, our beacon of innocence and hope. You look out for all of us. We are all here for you.”

He then gave Charm a nod, and she proceeded with the injection.

Kazlaena was still for a moment, then her machine assisted breathing and heart rate began to increase. Jack grabbed one of her hands and held it, feeling her hand irregularly squeezing back. Nyka had a translucent sleeve around Kazlaena’s opposite wrist, with digital readouts scrolling across the surface. The sleeve allowed Nyka to program the nanites, setting them to respond to Kazlaena’s biology and act as a natural part of her immune system. Jack was about to ask Nyka how the procedure was going, but a violent shudder from Kazlaena stopped that thought.

“What the fuck?” Jack went to push Kazlaena down, but her back arched and a muffled sound escaped her throat.

“Is she rejecting it?” Charm looked at Nyka, who ignored her and furiously typed on a datapad.

“Nyka?” Jack looked at her, wanting an answer.

“Keep hold,” Nyka spoke with assurance.

Jack and Charm traded looks as they held Kazlaena from thrashing about.

“Taking,” Nyka spoke to Charm. “Sedate.”

Charm pulled out a sedative syringe and fed it into Kazlaena’s iv point. As she did so, Kazlaena’s movements slowed, her heart rate relaxed and the machine holding her breathing steady, no longer fought to slow it down. Jack loosened his grip but kept both hands on Kazlaena’s form.

“Is she going to be ok?” he asked.

“Yes,” Nyka replied with a measure of confidence.

Jack let out a deep breath, then looked at Nyka, seeing her uncomfortable posture.

“Sorry for snapping,” he lowered his eyes for a moment.

“Is ok, Jack.” Nyka walked over to him and wrapped her arms around him. “Under-understand. Know. Looked scary.”

“Is that a common reaction?” Jack asked as he used one hand to take hold of her forearm, offering comfort back.

“No,” Nyka shook her head. “Kaz immune system strong, but body hurt bad. Nanite initial response strong. Steady now.”

“All vitals are holdin.” Charm told them to add further comfort.

“Ok,” Jack looked at Kazlaena, letting out a sigh of relief. “Stay strong kid. Come back to us.”

Cardox and Caden headed down the hall on D deck together, intent on speaking with the private investigator Nathan, before he departed with Star Guard.

“How long do we have before he departs?” Caden asked as they neared the quarters Nathan was resting in.

“Not long,” Cardox replied. “I think he’s meant to talk to the officers once they’ve finished with our First Officer. With any luck, that might mean we have some time as our First Officer carpet bombs them with every scenario to make us look favorable.”

“He does seem like he likes to shit diamonds.” Caden said with a slight chuckle.

“Catch him on a bad day, or just be Jack.”

“Him and Jack don’t get along huh?”

“Like a cat and a crow,” Cardox replied as they approached the door to Nathan’s quarters and Caden knocked.

“Yes? Come in,” could be heard from inside.

Caden opened the door and Cardox followed him in, seeing Nathan laying on his side on the bed.

“Gentlemen.” Nathan sat up.

“Sorry to be direct but we have little time,” Cardox said as he sat on the desk and Caden sat on the available chair. “We need info. A lot of it.”

“Ok, I will give what info I know, depending on what the topic is.”

“Black Nova,” Caden started, pulling out a recorder. “Sorry, but we have a lot to ask and will need to be able to look back on this discussion for the future.”

“Alright, what do you need to know?”

“You investigated them, tell us what you know of their activities on Pranza,” Caden asked.

Nathan explained carefully about Black Nova’s operation that he was aware of. The villa was their headquarters, and the warehouse was their base inside Catania. They were meant to integrate slowly to keep a low profile, outing rivals and securing important figures in the political scene. Their main operation focused on illicit goods but they were moving into limited kidnapping and export. That mistake had drawn Nathan in to investigate when it seemed the Pranza administration wanted to ignore the idea Black Nova could tarnish their world.

“So, they have no more operations on Pranza?” Cardox asked.

“No. You all eliminated that.” Nathan smiled. “Not only that but the orbital was their low-key hub for activities throughout the system. I bet they have pulled right back now.”

“Fuck,” Cardox spat, and Nathan looked at him in surprise.

“This, it was a good thing, no?” he asked.

“Not really,” Caden answered.

“Why?”

“There is no way they will let this go,” Caden answered again.

“Well, that is depressing...” Nathan leaned back on the bed.

“It is very depressing,” Caden said as he and Cardox traded looks.

“Sorry. I wish our rescue didn’t put everyone’s future in so much danger.” Nathan spoke with an apologetic tone.

“That’s what we are here to talk about.” Cardox said. “We can’t let them take our hope away. They have no right to be a dreaded specter in our lives for the actions they did.”

“We are going after them,” Caden said, and Nathan leaned forward.

“How so?”

“Where is their leadership in this region?” Cardox asked.

“Vain Gamma.”

“What do you know of Vain Gamma?”

“I will tell you what I remember off hand,” Nathan looked at them both with concern. “They have a Red Circle headquarters there, along with a significant deployment of Fallen Suns mercs.”

“So, their leadership is there?” Cardox asked.

“It is,” Nathan nodded. “For this region, anyway. They have several figureheads there. I will have to pass on those identities when I get back to my office.”

“How established are they?” Caden asked.

“Entrenched, but not without opposition.” Nathan thought for a moment. “I recall the place having independents, miners and survey teams, local protection gangs and rivals to Black Nova. When I can get that info to you, there will be much to review for you to make your next moves. Seeking some allies would be a good move. The lot of you are formidable, but you will need even more if you want to go for their throat.”

“Striking their head is the plan,” Cardox said.

“Just need you to give us the info needed to pop the turtles head out of the shell first,” Caden told Nathan.

“Just promise me you will do it right, so you all come back.” Nathan requested.

“Not sure that’s an easy promise to make, but we’ll give it a go.” Cardox spoke.

“Ok. I will tell you everything I can, but I need that secure line of communication to you. I have a lot up here,” Nathan tapped his head. “It comes with building a strong case so bureaucratic denial is not possible, so long as those in the government are not bought out by the people I make the case against. I have a whole lot more hidden back on Pranza. I will send a backup of everything I know so you can...” he hesitated. “ ... so you can fuck these clowns right up.”

Caden smiled, getting a feeling this was probably one of the only times in his life Nathan uttered a swear.

“That, we can do,” Cardox said and Caden gave Nathan a nod.

Detective Koa took the coffee tray from the coffee shop employee at the drive thru and passed it over to Detective Zende. A moment later, the employee handed Koa a box with some food items, and he passed that over to her too, before bidding the employee a good night and driving off. A couple of minutes later, they were parked in a greenspace lot, overlooking the bright city and the dark lake beyond in the early hours of the morning.

“Night shift is always a screw.” Koa muttered, then took a sip of his drink.

“Suppose,” Zende said.

“Doesn’t bother you because your race has no natural sleep cycle to mess up, lucky enough.” He noted.

“Well,” Zende took a sip of her drink. “We do; however it is not anywhere near the magnitude that you Terrans have.”

“Sometimes I envy nocturnal races,” Koa took a long look over the city. “This is their normal. All the lights and colors, the lack of a stressful hustle in daily life, the soft rain pattering off the sill...”

“Were you not just fussing about the drawbacks of night shift?” Zende asked.

“You’d get used to it, right?”

“I have my doubts.” Zende closed her eyes for a moment. “Any info come in regarding the Wilkly and Huks disturbance?”

“No, just a report there may have been an explosion at a warehouse. Patrol and fire are on scene. They can do a rep-” Koa was cut off as their radio came to life and dispatch requested they head to the scene they had just been discussing.

“So much for heading back to the office after a lunch break.” Koa stated.

“What could this be about?” Zende gave him an uneasy look.

“I guess we’ll know soon enough.” Koa started up their car and began driving to the disturbance scene.

They pulled up to a host of activity, with fire and medical stacked along Wilkly Street, along with multiple patrol cars and officers directing responders to safe locations around a burnt-out warehouse.

“What the fuck?” Koa asked in astonishment.

“All this for a warehouse fire?” Zende looked at him for a moment, then at a Terran police officer jogging to their car.

“Detectives,” The officer said as Koa lowered the window. “We have a significant situation here. We see evidence that a gunfight occurred. A significant gunfight. You can park just over there. I will brief you on what we have so far.”

Koa nodded, wound up the window, then parked where he was directed, before he and Zende rejoined the officer.

“Alright, Sergeant Roska, what is the situation?” Koa asked as they began walking along the back of the warehouse property.