Passing a hand held E.E. G machine over the body, Kathryn read the readout. It was not good, heart rate was dropping and breathing was getting shallower. She gave the man some adrenaline, to bring his heart rate back up, and his breathing slowly returned to normal.
She had no choice but to use the as yet experimental dermal regeneration booth, or risk losing him again. Asking an orderly to help her with the man’s stretcher so she could lay him down inside the booth, which closely resembled that of an old earth C.A. T scanner. She removed his clothes, so that he was now completely naked, which was required for the regeneration effect.
A large scanner passed slowly over the injured man’s body and took detailed readings of where the burns were located and how severe. Then another oval shaped device made a pass, barely millimetres from the body itself, coating it with thousands of microscopic stem cells, once this device had made its sweep, a third larger device made a slow pass across the body repeatedly firing very low power electrical impulses at these stem cells. Slowly they began to take on the form of new skin cells; literally growing new skin over the burnt, damaged tissue. The man would need to stay in the booth for several hours yet to encourage the stem cells to grow.
Two medical interns, Crewmen Booth and Mason arrived on the bridge, other than Jacobs they were some of the most experienced medical staff on the ship. Although the medical staff was only five strong fully manned, the other three were inundated in sickbay.
They shook their heads when they came upon the unconscious form of Eldathar, pulled out a foldout stretcher they were carrying, and carried him off to sickbay. A quiet sadness welled up inside Michael as the Solarian was carried away, Eldathar was far and away the best pilot he had, and one of the best in the fleet, his cheery personality was infectious and he dearly hoped he would recover, he considered the Solarian one of his closest friends. A few minutes later the medic team returned, checked over the other bodies and finally turned to Kinraid’s head wound.
Mason placed a synth flesh bandage on it and said, “you should be fine now commander.”
“ Thanks.”
“ Ensign Hawkins to the bridge,” Michael spoke into the internal comm.
Several minutes later, Ensign Jeffrey Hawkins arrived on the bridge, he was the relief pilot onboard, and took the place of the injured Eldathar. Michael had nothing against the guy, but he didn’t really trust him, probably due to the fact that he was absolutely green, a raw recruit, straight out of the pilot training centre on Delta alpha base. And in these circumstances you could do with an experienced pilot you could trust to fly you out of a tight spot. He just hoped Mr. Hawkins was up to the task.
“ We’ve got another problem cap’n,” Kinraid announced turning back to his flickering screen.
Why is nothing ever easy anymore, Michael thought with a depressed sigh.
Kinraid brought it up on the viewer, the shape of two stealth ships were rapidly closing down on their position. The Liberty had managed to drift away from the main battle. The bright streaks of weapons fire and flashes of explosions were still clearly visible in the distance.
“ Head for the planet,” Michael commanded, he prayed the damaged Liberty would hold together through the entry into the atmosphere of Gamma IV.
“ Sir…the Hermes,” Kinraid said as he looked at the viewer, it zoomed in to depict the massive carrier.
The gigantic wedge shaped ship was ablaze, multiple torpedo impacts had smashed into its superstructure, and it was listing badly. Giant Explosions erupted, bursting apart sections of its elongated triangular hull in great gouts of flame.
“ There’s nothing we can do for her now,” Michael said sadly.
The pursuing stealth ships continued to close on the Liberty.
7. Liberty down
Nikolai Vargev was busily putting the finishing touches to his newly reformed defences. Dusk was beginning to set in, and he knew the Krenarans would resume their attacks soon.
The engineers were already busily repairing the multitude of vehicles damaged over the course of the fighting. Everyone was blissfully unaware however of the huge battle still raging high above the planet.
There were a couple of things Vargev needed to attend to before the inevitable attacks resumed. Heading over to one of the temporary repair bays the engineers had rigged up in one of the vast tank factories. Nikolai wanted to meet the man who piloted that dominator which defended the breach so bravely the night before. He asked one of the guards, who pointed to one of the assault walkers which was awaiting repairs at the far end of the repair bay.
Two engineers were busily welding together some of the frontal armour plating damaged in the attacks. Its cracked cockpit glass had been replaced with one from another unsalvageable dominator.
Standing next to the battered walker, overseeing the repairs with his back towards Nikolai, a lone man was stood. Vargev made his way over to the man who was a little startled by the colonel’s presence.
Quickly turning on his heel, he saluted, which Vargev dutifully returned. The man was only young, perhaps in his early twenties and possessing of a thick mane of dark brown hair.
“ Are you the man who piloted that dominator defending the breach last night?” He said pointing towards the mammoth war machine.
“ Yes sir, Corporal Greystoke, sir.”
“ That was some fight you put up last night corporal, how long have you piloted dominators?”
“ Five years sir, me and Bertha go everywhere.”
“ Bertha?”
“ The name of my dominator, big Bertha,” Greystoke motioned for Vargev to follow where he revealed an airbrushed picture of a voluptuous woman in a tight red dress and holding a machine gun in one hand. Underneath the image, it read Bertha in scarlet italic. The corporal had carefully painted the image on the rear power supply cowling.
Vargev smiled, “quite an artist too corporal.”
Greystoke silently nodded, patting the exterior of the machine. “Don’t worry Bertha, we’ll get you patched up in no time.”
“ I’m going to see to it that you’re promoted to sergeant, Greystoke, when we finally get out of here.”
“ If I may sir, I would rather prefer to stay at the rank I am sir.”
“ Why?”
“ If I remain corporal, I simply go where I’m sent and fight where I’m needed, there is no command decision to make sir.”
“ I see,” Vargev replied, eyeing the young corporal, concerned about the young man’s lack of aspiration. “You don’t want to be in command, to lead men out into the field?”
“ No sir, I am quite happy being the man at the bottom, without all the rigours of command sir.”
“ You know corporal, you’re a wiser man and a better soldier than most of my senior Lieutenants.”
“ Thank you sir,” Greystoke replied with a warm smile.
The two men saluted once more, and Vargev went to leave, but at the last minute he turned back, “corporal.”
“ Yes sir?”
“ I want you to assist in the defence of the main gate, as soon as Bertha is ready.”
“ Yes sir,” Greystoke nodded respectfully.
They saluted once more and Vargev left the building.
Now he angrily strode over to one of the vast munitions factories, and picked up an Armschlager heavy machine gun from the armoury inside the factory, he had business with someone. He asked the quartermaster of the armoury, “Where’s Kalidis?”
“ Last I heard he was up in number 3 tank factory sir.”
“ Thanks,” Vargev replied as he left the building; figures, the furthest tank factory away from the fighting.
He hefted the heavy Armschlager with one hand as he strode out of the munitions factory towards number 3 tank factory, the sling dragged slightly on the ground. The second equally important task had come upon the colonel.
He walked slowly and purposefully towards the tank factory, Kalidis was an engineer and not a soldier, however he was still an E.D. F general and in command of the facility, if not the defenders. And while Nikolai’s men were giving their last breath to defend it, Kalidis was hiding out in a factory saving his own ass. The general’s cowardice infuriated Vargev, and if he could not convince him, the Russian was not above putting a bullet in the general; court martial be damned.
Inside the building it was dark, the power supply must have been cut to this area. He slowly looked around, allowing his senses time to adjust to the gloom.
Nikolai listened intently for any sign of movement, for the slightest inkling of Kalidis’s presence. There was nothing, carefully Vargev made his way further into the factory, continuing to look around him and taking in his surroundings.
He quietly made his way up a series of aluminium steps, in order to get a better view of the interior, and continued along a long gantry which ran the length of the factory, giving access to a series of four overhead cranes which lowered the heavy turrets onto the partially built Apollo hulls lined up below.
Vargev continued to make his way along this gantry, careful that his footsteps did not give away the colonel’s position. The metal grating he walked across creaked slightly, still no sign of Kalidis, I bet the fucking coward’s ran off, he thought, pursing his lips in anger.
From behind him he heard the faint, almost imperceptible shuffling of feet.
“ You’re getting old Vargev, a commando colonel surprised like that is not good,” Kalidis scoffed.
He was holding a single shot laser pistol directly behind Vargev’s head. Nikolai could just about feel the cold steel of the barrel resting against the back of his skull.
“ Drop the gun!”
Vargev had no choice but to comply, and the Armschlager fell onto the gantry with a loud metallic clatter.
“ You know, you really are underestimating me Kalidis,” Vargev said calmly.
“ I don’t think so, not this time, especially since I’m the one with the pistol trained on your head.”