Broken Soldier (Book One) (21 page)

Mike was frustrated. He had expected his son to be
listed, on post, at the Naval Air Station; but it showed no one by
that name. Further research of Pentagon files showed that Wayne had
just been transferred to a squadron out of Naval Air Station
Oceana, in Virginia Beach.

However, an internet news report listed their names
as being the survivors of a terrible car accident, two days ago.
Wayne had been driving to his new duty assignment, when the crash
happened. Now his son and Mary were in a hospital in Richmond,
Va.

Apparently it was a fiery crash, because Mary was
listed in grave condition, with burns over ninety percent of her
body. Wayne also had burns, but his major injury was to his neck.
With his spinal cord severed, his son was now a quadriplegic,
paralyzed from the neck down.

His heart filled with grief and was nearly as bad as
it had been when Sherry passed away. He quietly wept for his son.
Mike felt the horrible depression coming on that had enveloped him
at the death of his wife.

That’s when a realization struck him…the potential
of the marvelous med unit.

Bambi, Take us to Richmond, Va. I’ll comm you the
location of the hospital we’re aiming for.

In a cheerful tone, she replied,
Aye, aye,
Captain. I assume we’re going to grab another old vet?

Yeah. That’s exactly what we’re going to do.

Chapter
12

Before leaving the large shuttle, they stored the
med units holding Al Benson and Max Kolbe, and then put two new med
units in the small shuttle. Mike realized that they needed names
for the different shuttles and a host of other items, such as the
Mother Ship. All of that was of little concern, as he told his
friends whom he was going to pick up, at the next stop.

Mike removed his military blouse and donned a light
blue collared shirt. Over that, he wore a white doctor’s smock. It
even had a name badge, Dr. Edmund Curry. He was glad that in his
planning, he had realized the necessity of fitting in at a
hospital. As they flew to Richmond, he had Bambi access the
hospital computers and enter the Name of Dr. Curry as an associate
of that facility.

It was nearly sunrise, when they hovered over the
Hospital. It was a busy scene, as people scurried about, arriving
for an early shift, or going home after a late one. He found an
abandoned building, four blocks away, and had them set down next to
it. He walked the rest of the way.

Once in the hospital, he discovered that Mary was in
ICU and nothing was being done for her, because she wasn’t expected
to live more than a day or so. Wayne was also in intensive care,
his condition being monitored by machines. The hospital had done
all they could for him. He was only two days out of surgery and
would be transferred to a recovery center in a week to ten days,
where he would begin his rehabilitation.

Mike remembered his experience of learning to walk
without legs and it was a painful memory. The depression he
experienced was as bad, if not worse, than the pain of his wounds.
He hated to think of his son going through something similar.

When he entered the boy’s room, he saw that Wayne
was sleeping and probably sedated. When he shook his son’s
shoulder, there was no response. He thought perhaps it was best
that Wayne was out of it. Now he could retrieve him, without any
loss of time. This had to be conducted like a military strike…quick
in and quick out.

After grabbing a nearby gurney, he placed Wayne on
it, covered him with a sheet and began wheeling him down the hall.
No one stopped him, no doubt due to the white smock, the badge and
the confident attitude that Mike projected.

However, when he attempted to gain access to the
hospital landing pad on top of the building, a security guard
stopped him. The man was more of a rent-a-cop actually. Mike told
the guy that this patient and one more were due to be picked up and
transported by air to a facility that specialized in these types of
cases. The guard never questioned Dr. Curry.

Mike asked the man to watch his patient as he
retrieved the other one. The guy was reluctant, explaining that he
wasn’t qualified to provide medical care.

“Damn it, don’t you think I know that? This place is
so undermanned, due to budget cuts; we never have enough nurses’
aids. Hell, you should know that. Now do as your told.”

“OK Doctor. Just be quick.”

An awkward twelve minutes later, Mike rolled Mary
out to the helipad. He turned to the guard and told him, “They had
a call for security, down on the second floor. The girl said it was
an emergency.”

The guard took off running, as he mumbled, “Oh
shit!”

Fifteen seconds out, Captain.

Bambi was right on top of it, thank God.

Because of Mary’s terrible condition, he put her in
a med unit first, then his son; but not before kissing his forehead
and saying a short prayer for both of them. With that done, there
was nothing else he could do at the moment.

Captain, I’ve done a quick check of the woman and I
won’t promise I can save her. Your son is repairable. I must tell
you that the quicker we get them back to the Mother Ship, the
better their chances are going to be for a full recovery. The med
units there have a greater rage of healing options than portable
units.

“Then go. We’ll leave behind that new beacon and
take the larger shuttle to the Ship. Go as fast as you can, but
don’t over do it. I don’t want to upset any of the military forces
on the planet.”

Yes sir.

The trip back was agonizing for him. Bambi assured
him his son would be fine, in a week. But it would be a close call
for the boy’s wife.

He looked through the clear cover of his son’s med
unit and saw the face of a grown man. Wayne was thirty six years
old now. It had been so long since they had talked in person that
Mike had nearly forgotten his little boy was a grown man and a
veteran combat pilot. They would need men like him. The thought of
having his son on board, as a member of the crew, was a welcome
relief for Mike. No matter how old his son was Wayne would always
be that little kid who went running to Sherry, when daddy was angry
with him.

Wayne as crew…it could work. Wayne couldn’t go back
to being Wayne on Earth and neither could Mary, if she pulled
through. His son would have to have a new identity and have his
mind altered, so he would have no memory of being in space. At
least if Wayne opted to stay on board, he would retain his memories
and possibly his wife.

Mary had been a mechanical engineering major in
college. She worked at a manufacturing company that produced large
pieces of earth moving equipment. Perhaps, with an upgrade to both
her body and her mind, the additional alien knowledge could be put
to good use in designing equipment for human use. Mary would not
only be a wife for Wayne, she would be an important member of the
crew.

That pleasant thought allowed Mike to spend a few
hours reminiscing about the fun times he had spent with Wayne, when
he was a little kid. He even recalled some good times with Mary,
when his wife and he had visited them. Sherry adored Wayne’s wife
and Mary had been a great comfort for Mike, when his wife passed
away.

Jo and Bambi gave him some space, allowing him to
deal with his emotions. He was grateful to them for that and he
told them so, several hours later.

There was definitely one additional good thing
acquired from the trip to Earth, the coffee. The replicator was
working out really well. The coffee it produced was good and the
food was a close match for whatever he threw in the thing. Even
though it looked odd, it tasted OK.

He had several long chats with Jo, as they made
their way back out to the Mother Ship. He found it therapeutical to
talk about Wayne and his wife, as he overcame his fear of losing
two more loved ones. Jo shared a few pleasant memories of his wife,
displaying a love for her that sounded, to Mike, very human. Time
wore on and a few days later they were nearly at the Mother
Ship.

A few hours away from docking, Bambi asked,
Captain, I need to ask about your son. I’m fixing the damaged
nerve in his neck and a few other things as well. My question is,
how much should I do for him? Is he going to get the full upgrade?
Do you want me to give him the full combat upgrade?

I learned a lot about human physiology, when I did
it for you. So, I know I can make it easier for him and do it far
faster. But it’s still going to be very painful for him. Jo helped
you to prepare for it emotionally. Are going to give your son the
same time frame for making the decision, or are you just going to
have it done now?

Mike truly appreciated her delicate approach. It
showed how far she had come, as an individual. She demonstrated
tenderness and sincere concern, as she approached the subject,
which had to be addressed.

He was very tempted to have Bambi take care of Wayne
all at once. But that wouldn’t be fair to him and it would deny his
son the mental preparation for the aguish of the process. He had no
intention of putting anyone else through that horror, without first
allowing them to decline the offer. If his son refused, Bambi would
have to remove his memory and return him and probably Mary to a new
identity on Earth. It was a decision he would not make for anyone
else, and he certainly wasn’t going to deny his son the opportunity
to decide for himself.

“Bambi, do everything you can for my son and his
wife. When they’re able to comprehend the pluses and minuses of the
upgrade procedure, it will be their decision.”

Yes sir.

Bambi didn’t offer any clever quips or make any
attempt to be cute and funny. He felt she was aging rapidly. What
would happen, when she surpassed human levels of consciousness?
Would she find humans to be unworthy of her company? He hoped she
would not lose her personality. He rather liked the current version
of Bambi. But, was version 2 going to be an ally, or a threat to
humanity?

Mike’s mind was operating at a speed he’d never had
before. He was just beginning to appreciate how much information he
could process at one time; and now he had so many different
thoughts and new concerns to ponder. It was exciting, frightening
and frustrating.

He was not tired physically, but he did feel tired
emotionally. He felt drained by seeing Wayne in such a terrible
state. Yet there was more to his concerns than just his son.

Before they had gone to Earth, he had failed to
think his actions through in depth. The lack of specific details
had cost them valuable time and nearly got him shot. It was just
one more example of why he shouldn’t be the leader of this
operation. He was convinced that Maximilian Kolbe shouldn’t be in
charge either. But the man would definitely be a huge help in the
preparation stage of any operation.

They needed more senior officers on the staff. They
needed men with experience in logistics, navigation,
communications, personnel, weapons, engineering, and medical. The
good Lord only knew what else he had missed. Most important of all,
he had to find an old warrior who could lead them, yet do so
without getting them all killed in the process.

Of all people, he should have known that you
couldn’t win a war with warriors alone. Although, he understood how
Jo might have seen this as a winnable proposition. Jo lacked
exposure to the vastness of a complete command structure, which
would define the objectives and limit those objectives to realistic
possibilities, based on available resources.

All Jo had seen was the rear elements of a brutal,
hostile, yet effective group of Saurans, who achieved success in
spite of their incompetence. In his mind, Jo saw the Saurans as a
juggernaut that used its overwhelming numbers and technical
knowledge to win victories in every battle. So, Jo assumed the only
way to defeat them would be with the use of greater numbers of
warriors who had enhanced muscles and mental ability. It was a
logical assumption for him to presume, but not necessarily
accurate.

He mumbled, “I need a break.”

Bambi asked,
How can I help you, Captain? What
should I do?

He had forgotten that she monitored everything.

“Bambi, I’m just getting used to all of the various
things we need to address. Sometimes a human needs to back away
from it for while. It helps to clear his head. I feel a need for
something physical. I need to see what my new body can do.”

Jo mentioned that a while ago. Maybe this would be a
good time for you two to practice your combat programs, once we’re
back on the Mother Ship.

“What would that entail?”

Fighting. Trying to kill each other. When you guys
are finished beating up each other, I’ll get you into a med unit
and patch you up. Want me to comm Jo?

“Yes. We both need to determine what we’re capable
of.”

A thought struck him. “Is there any way we could
test our skills against a Sauran?”

There is a warrior program that the Saurans used to
maintain a minimum level of hand-to-hand combat. It’s just that
they so rarely allowed the enemy to get that close to them that
they didn’t think it was practical. The only reason they did any
practice at all was because their War Doctrine required it.

“Is the War Doctrine in your system and is it
complete? I would like to review it later.”

I have a copy of it. But, it is only that portion
that applies to transports in non-war zones. If I had been assigned
to a war zone, then the latest version of the combat zone doctrine
would have been included in the orders.

He sighed. “We sure have a lot to learn about them,
before we face them in combat. Bambi, call Jo for me and see if
wants to fight, in a little while.”