Chapter 35: A Wounded Colony

We raced up the hallway. Ahead, I could see smoke and hear shouts. The shouts were filled with panic. The smoke quickly got thicker and I nearly ran into Patty when she stopped.

"Patty!" I heard Reggie shout. "What happened to Craig and Robert?"

"The AI reported that a section of the ceiling collapsed and trapped them," Patty said as she pushed the gurney against the wall. "Meiko and I brought gurneys though."

Reggie nodded and seemed about to say more when the AI spoke. "Communications to the laser rooms and hallway outside have been reestablished. Current damage prevents full analysis of repairs. Priority has been given to hall way repair and main repair modules."

"I don't want that, I need more people here!" the scientist's voice rang out. "We have a battle in space to fight."

"Without the lasers, we don't have much we can do," I heard Yvette snap back. "Timothy and Louis are here, and know the systems we have left."

"Louis is currently controlling your tug module, or so you say. He can't do that and run a weapons station," the scientist growled. "We need more people here."

I leaned against the gurney, trying to catch my breath. Reggie vanished through the shattered door to the laser room. A thick black smoke was pouring through the broken airlock, leaving the hallway covered in soot. I could see Patty sagging against the wall as we waited.

Pushing away from the gurney, I took a step towards Patty. Before I could advance further, Mike staggered through the doorway. He was walking backwards with his hands held at about waist level. "Easy!" he called out.

He continued emerging from through the doorway and I realized that he was holding a body in his hands. Beyond him, I could see Fred holding the legs as Reggie tried to support the torso.

"Quick!" Reggie cried as they got to the gurney Patty had brought. "Get her on the gurney now!"

Fred and Mike moved in unison, lifting their arms and stepping around the gurney. They immediately set the body down, with surprising gentleness, before stepping away and starting to run back into the laser room. As they stepped away, Patty gave a scream of horror.

I glanced down at the body and had to swallow my own scream. The body was clearly that of Barbara, but she we no longer the tall beauty who dominated the colony basketball games. Her long hair had been melted down and formed a ugly plastic helmet over her head. Worse, a huge part of her lower torso was a jagged mass of torn flesh covered by the remnants of a suit of battle armor. "She's alive?" I whispered.

"Barely," Mike replied as he placed a gentle hand on my shoulder. "But she needs a medical pod badly. You should move her. I need to join back in the recovery."

I was moving to grab the gurney when Jacques and Lindsay ran up. "We'll take the gurney," Jacques said as he arrived. "Watch for when the other is ready."

My friends did not wait for a response, but shoved the gurney into the middle of the hallway and then raced off, the gurney giving of a faint plaintive wail. Patty was starting to stand back up when Reggie looked out.

"Meiko!" he shouted. "The speakers in the rooms are still out. Stay there and listen for what's happening in the command center."

"What's happening is that I'm not seeing anyone come to help support the rest of your staff," the voice of the chief scientist snapped. "One Sa'arm ship has been destroyed, but there is still one to go, and the people here can't seem to move enough of the space defenses to help the ships fighting to keep you safe. When will I get more people?"

"Yvette, who knows those systems? I know that Timothy and Louis did most of the setup. Do we have anyone else?" Reggie asked.

"Brad knows how to run them," One of the twins shouted.

"He's still out. Whatever caused the explosion in the laser rooms knocked out everyone. From the bleeding coming from the ears, I'd say we have major concussions. He'll need time in a pod before he can help," Reggie replied.

"You have medical training?" the scientist growled.

"He might not, but as the head of our medical department and having seen to Linus who was also knocked out by the blast, I can affirm his diagnosis. Linus has a major concussion as well as severe blunt force trauma to his back. He'll recover fine, but I need to give him two hours in a pod and then I recommend at least eight hours of rest before he returns to duty. And since he could be helped to stagger to medical, I'm guessing he was one of the least injured," Donna called out.

"Who else do we have then?" the scientist snarled. "I need someone to take over this weapons station and my marines all tell me that they don't recognize the setup."

"It's a planetary defense grid control," one of the twins said with a sigh. "It requires special training to learn to use it. Let me think. Terrence knows how to run it."

"Can't help you. I'm still working with both ships to get their people teleported to medical, and all of my backups are unavailable," Terrence replied.

"Deborah was learning how to run the controls," Timothy mused.

"She's got a crushed pelvis and a shattered collarbone," Alexis called out as she stepped into the hallway. "We need to get her into a medical pod, but are still working to get the debris off of her so we can lift her without increasing her injuries."

"I'll do it," Mike said. "I've been getting some practice."

"How much time have you worked at it?" Louis asked. His voice had the strained cadence of someone who was trying to maintain intense concentration on a difficult task.

"Two hours," Mike said.

"Get here!" the scientist screamed.

Mike gave an apologetic look at Reggie and Fred before dashing off down the hallway. He was following the direct route towards the colony center, but stopped only a short distance away and then came running back. "The hallway is completely blocked by a cave-in. I could see two concubines lying in the rubble," he shouted as he dashed by.

"Shit!" Fred called. "That must be Craig and Robert. We need someone to check on them."

"I can't leave medical one, Linus is in a pod and soon I'll have Barbara and Debby to take care of," Donna called out. "Shawna, Ed and Gina are all at medical two and can't leave. I'll try to send David, but can't until Barbara arrives and we get her into a pod."

"She's not there yet?" Reggie called out.

"Oh god!" Donna replied. "Never mind, Lindsay and Jacques just pushed the gurney in. Sorry, this will take a lot of concentration."

"Shit," Reggie spat. "Fred, Alexis, let's get Deborah out and onto the gurney. Meiko, stay here to relay messages if we get any. Patty, I think Christie was moving around in there. Can you check on her and help her walk to medical if she can stand? Xavier, you better check the hallway, we don't need the roof to break open."

Everyone started moving away from me. Overhead, I could hear the scientist continue to complain. "This is impossible. Where are your reserves? How can you be this disorganized?"

"Easy, we usually would have every concubine helping so that the citizens could worry about the big picture stuff," Ulla said as she slid up to stand next to me. "But your arrogance has our masters trying to do it all without the usual levels of support to protect us."

Yvette had another answer. "We only have twenty-two citizens, and this is about as bad as it gets. We have you arriving just as the Sa'arm put a serious effort into wiping us out. Fortunately, we have two ships from Borneo here to help, but that means casualties we have to help with."

"You must protect the artifacts!" the scientist screamed. "I don't want the Sa'arm hitting the bases on the moon with any of their weapons."

"There is only one Sa'arm cruiser left and it's now engaged in maneuvers against Sif. I doubt it's going to be making any more attacks on us," one of the twins said. "Although they already hit us once."

"What?" the scientist screamed.

"I'm not sure what they used, but tracking confirms that the explosion in the laser bay was due to some kind of projectile. Based on the blast, I'm guessing it was some kind of mining charge they use to clear debris from blocked tunnels. The concussion wave was huge for the size of the explosion."

"Affirmative," the AI called out. "Similar charges are used on other Confederacy planets to help clear blocked tunnel passages. Had this explosion occurred in one of the central hallways, it might have knocked out everyone in the colony. The airlock for the laser rooms helped contain the shock wave and prevent more injuries."

"We could have been killed!" the scientist screamed. "I thought you said you had this planet protected and pacified."

"James has never sent in a report with that kind of message," Yvette snapped back. "We are relatively safe against a Sa'arm landing, but we've always known that they had a chance to get us. But you were safe from that pressure wave. The colony has internal pressure doors and there were several between us and the explosion."

"Analysis is limited, but based on the timing of the blast, the projectile arrived just as the doors opened to allow laser two to rise to the surface. It must have fallen through the lock before it closed out the atmosphere," the AI intoned. "This fits current readings, which show that the doors separating the colony from the atmosphere are intact and closed. The force of the blast would have damaged closed doors. There are no leaks or holes in the skin of the colony."

"You mean we effectively got hit by a lucky shot?" one of the twins cried.

"Sounds like it," I heard Timothy whisper. There was a moment of silence. Before I could say more, Reggie emerged from the laser room airlock. His careful way of walking made it obvious he was carrying a body.

He continued his slow walk. Behind him, Alexis and Fred stepped out. Between the three citizens, Deborah's battered body lay in an improvised sling. They did all they could to prevent the body from bouncing or hitting anything as they turned in the hallway and then raised the body up to the remaining gurney. Debby appeared to be unconscious, but let out a blood-curdling scream of pain as they gently set her broken torso down.

Reggie immediately sprang away from the gurney and pushed Alexis to the back. "You can explain to Donna about her injuries and help her there. We'll start working to get the others to medical. If you can, see about freeing up some concubines to bring gurneys."

"Got it," Alexis shouted and then started pushing the gurney down the hallway. Reggie watched her disappear into the still smoky hallway and then looked at me.

"Any news?" he asked.

"Just that the explosion appears to have been from some kind of Sa'arm mining charge, or at least that's what the AI is reporting. Supposedly, it must have entered the laser bay before Laser two ascended for its flight into the atmosphere," I said.

"Damn," Reggie said as Fred collapsed against the wall and slowly sank to the floor. "Well, the good news is that everyone in the rooms is breathing. But they definitely could use time in a medical pod. However, Fred and I need a short break, we had to dig Deborah out from under laser one. The blast picked it up and threw it against the wall."

"So we have no lasers at the moment," Yvette's voice called out.

"None," Fred replied softly. Exhaustion permeated his voice as he looked up at the ceiling. "Laser two is a twisted ruin. Laser one came off its moorings completely. The laser might be intact, but it can't be used until it's moved back to its original position and all the connections tested. I expect we will be waiting a couple days for the AI to complete repairs once we clear the pods."

"What about the wounded?" Yvette asked.

Reggie seemed about to speak when Patty appeared. She was standing between James and Christie. Christie had her eyes closed and was clearly struggling to stay standing. My master looked even worse. Blood oozed from his nose, and he held his free hand to the side of his head. Reggie jumped up to help Patty as they fell through the doorway.

"Master!" I cried and ran forward. I stopped before I knocked him from his feet, but threw my arms around his waist and then shifted so that I could take his weight on my shoulder and free Patty to help Christie.

"James," Reggie said. "I didn't expect you to be up. The blast knocked everyone out."

James nodded slightly and then seemed to collapse. He swept both of his hands to the side of his head and held it. A dead weight settled on my shoulders as he sank towards the ground.

"I need a report!" the scientist shouted. "Is James alert?"

"Not hardly," Patty replied. "I was in there to help Christie and found him trying to stand. He hasn't said a word, and I think he's running on instinct."

"Who's that?" the scientist screamed. "And get James here to command right away."

"Meiko, are you still there?" Donna called out.

"Yes," I replied quietly.

"I demand an answer to my question private! Who spoke just a moment ago!" the scientist shouted again.

"That was Patty," Reggie replied. "She belongs to Linus, but agreed to help try to get some of the injured to medical. I guess James stirred while she was helping Christie stand, so she helped him to the doorway."

"How is he?" Yvette asked.

I looked over at my master. His eyes were closed again, and I noticed that his legs were no longer supporting his weight. Only the fact that Reggie was on the other side of him prevented him from dragging me down to the floor.

"It looks like he's unconscious again," I said. "We should probably get him to medical."

"That's what I was trying to say," Donna said with a huff. "Meiko, bring him to me now. I need him here to try to calm Brittany and he probably needs time in a pod."

Reggie reached around James to touch me on the shoulder. "You need help carrying him to medical," he said.

I nodded. Just then, we heard shouts down the hallway. Looking up, I could see Esther leading a small army of concubines and children. She walked up to Reggie and smiled. "We've been listening. You need help and we are here to provide it."

"Great," Reggie said. He looked at the children. "Kids, down that hallway you'll find Craig and Robert. They might be trapped under some debris. Dig them out and then see if you can help them stand. Once they are free take them to medical."

"Robert!" a voice cried. I watched a woman dash down the hallway, her hands covering her mouth.

"Robin!" another woman cried out. I glanced over to see Marie standing there. Her son was clinging to her leg.

"Who?" Reggie asked as Robin disappeared into the smoke, which still clouded the corridor.

"She's Barbara's other concubine. And before the pickup she was Robert's wife," Marie said. "I guess I'll lead the kids in helping her."

"Good," Reggie said. He slipped James's arm off his shoulder and stepped away. James immediately became a dead weight on my shoulder and we tumbled to the ground.

"James!" someone shouted. His body was lifted from mine. Struggling to my feet, I looked around to see Orlando and Victoria holding my master up.

"What's wrong with him?" Victoria cried. The young girl had tears in her eyes as she helped keep James standing.

"Whatever hit the laser room knocked everyone out. We need to take him to medical," I replied.

"How is Debs?" Orlando asked.

"Alexis took her to medical a short time ago," I said. "She was hurt pretty badly."

"Oh god, what happened to her?" Victoria asked. "I need to see her."

"Vicki! Help Meiko get James to medical. Your mistress is already on her way there and you can see her then," Reggie shouted.

"I ordered James to report to me here," the scientist's voice shouted from the ceiling. "Soldier, you have no business giving a different order."

"James is still unconscious, so how can he report to you?" Reggie shouted at the speaker. "There are a couple concubines who will carry him to medical."

The hall was silent after that as Victoria and I struggled to carry the body of my master down the hallway. More concubines came streaming down the hallway as we exited. We had just reached the intersection with the outer tunnel when Janice ran up.

"Esther suggested that we all help in the laser room. She and a couple others are keeping all the babies in the school. The noise has frightened the babies so they are busy, but they felt more people helping was more important," she said as she reached over me to support James. "Lead the way and make sure we aren't stopped."

I sighed with guilty relief as the weight of James' body was removed from my shoulders. Then I sped up to get ahead of Janice and Victoria to lead them towards the medical bay.

"How could this happen?" Victoria asked. "It's been so nice for so long."

"Too much happening at the same time," I said quietly. "We never expected to have to deal with someone from Central Command at the same time a battle was going on. It's pretty clear he's rather disruptive. I imagine that Tam and Tif are having trouble doing their duties."

"I can't believe he complained about their outfits," Janice said. "I mean does it really matter here?"

For several minutes, we were silent as we navigated the hallway. In the distance, we could hear people running, but no one barred our way as we approached the medical bay.

"It seems that our new governor thinks the outfits worn by citizens does matter," I admitted.

Nothing more was said as we covered the last yards to the medical center. I stepped inside to see Donna standing up from a medical pod. She turned to look at me and frowned.

"I see James has been brought to me. How is he?' she asked.

"Heavy," Victoria commented as she and Janice stepped into the room.

"He ain't heavy," Janice said. "He's my master and my love."

Donna and I giggled as she walked over to my sister concubine. Donna put a hand on James' chin and lifted his head for a moment. When she noticed that his eyes were closed, she used her free hand to pry his right eye open for just a moment and then nodded. "As I expected, much like Linus. He'll be fine with a little time in a medical pod."

Donna stood up and walked over to one of the medical pods and began pushing buttons. The pod slid open with a hiss.