Take The Star Road (The Maxwell Saga) (30 page)

"How's he doing?"

"Not too well. I've strapped his chest as tightly as I dare, but it'll take doctors and a hospital to set those ribs properly. His wound's become infected, too, and we're almost out of antibiotics and nanobiotics. I'm keeping an eye on him, but with all these others to care for as well, I'm badly overloaded."

"I know you're doing your best. The Fleet Hospital at Vesta will fix him up."

Steve opened his eyes, blinking. Tomkins stood next to his bed, beside another man he didn't recognize.

"Hey, he's awake!" Tomkins exclaimed, pointing.

"Yes, I figured he'd come round about now." The other man picked up a container and held a straw to Steve's lips. "Here, drink this. It's water."

Steve sucked at the straw. He was rewarded by a wonderful spout of moisture, soaking the dryness away from his cheeks and tongue. He drank greedily.

"That's enough for now," the other said, taking the container away and setting it down. He glanced at Tomkins. "I'll give you a minute with him - no longer, OK?"

"Thanks."

"Wha - what's... happening?" Steve managed to croak.

"We're on our way back to Vesta," Tomkins informed him as the other man moved away. "We'll arrive in two days. You're going to be all right."

"What... about... Bosun?"

Tomkins' face fell, and he lowered his eyes. "I'm... I'm sorry, Steve. The Fleet spacers fought a running battle with the remaining pirates to take back the ship. Their boss had to make an emergency five-light-year hyper-jump to get away from de Bouff while the fighting was still going on. She was shot herself, and badly hurt - her second-in-command's in charge now. Everyone was too busy fighting to get back to the Bosun, and... I'm sorry, Steve. He bled to death before we could get him to the sick bay. I'm real sorry to have to be the one to tell you."

Steve couldn't help tears springing to his eyes. "He... he was the finest man I've ever known. I wish I could have died instead of him."

"He wouldn't have wanted that, but I know what you mean. He wasn't our only casualty. Eleven Fleet spacers were killed in the fighting, and seventeen of the pirates, and there are several more wounded. It could have been a whole lot worse. We wouldn't have made it at all if you and the Bosun hadn't made it possible to disarm so many of the pirates in the mess hall. We owe it all to you, buddy. We're all real grateful."

Steve shook his head. "What... what about our crew? The Captain? Why isn't he in command again?"

"The ship was recaptured by Fleet spacers, so she's a prize of the Fleet. I'll explain more about that later.
Cabot
's crew is OK, thanks to you and the Bosun. They got us out safely after killing our guards. Some of them tried to take us hostage and hide behind us, but we dealt with them." Tomkin's voice was grim. "All that karate training you gave us came in real handy!"

The other man returned. "That's enough for now, Bosun's Mate. He's still very weak. He needs to rest."

"OK, thanks, Medic." Tomkins looked back at Steve. "I'll come and see you again soon, and we'll visit you in the hospital. I'll get your personal possessions from your cabin, too, and secure them for you. You concentrate on getting well, you hear me?"

"I... OK."

The medical orderly bent towards Steve. "I'll pull the curtains around your bed. You're in a temporary sick bay we set up in the mess hall. There are several others in here too. Don't try to get up - in fact, I'd prefer you not to walk at all until a doctor can check you out."

He tugged at some white drapes hanging from ropes stapled to the deckhead. They were difficult to move smoothly, Steve noted, but he managed to pull them closed, shutting out the view of other sets of drapes on either side of the bed. He guessed mattresses had been laid on the mess tables to accommodate the wounded.

Steve turned his head to one side and closed his eyes, unable to hold back the tears.

Dammit, Vince! Why did I ever leave you?

Chapter 20: May 27th, 2838 GSC

Steve was sitting up in his hospital bed, nursing his aching ribs, when he heard footsteps approaching down the corridor. He recognized the voice of the nurse who'd brought him his medication that morning. "He's in this ward. He's doing much better now."

Captain Volschenk's voice replied, "That's good to hear. I've been worried about him."

"So were we at first, Sir, but they've got the infection under control now."

A pleasant contralto female voice said, "We know he needs to rest. We won't keep him long."

The nurse answered, "That's all right, Ma'am. It's not as if he's going anywhere else for a while!"

The other woman chuckled. Captain Volschenk appeared in the doorway, accompanied by a dark-featured female Spacer Corps officer. She wore triple silver bars on the epaulettes of her black uniform above a double row of ribbons on her left chest, balanced by a silver badge on the right. Steve noted that the two Fleet Spacers on the other side of the four-bed ward, survivors of the communications frigate destroyed by the pirates, who'd been injured during the fight to retake
Cabot
, straightened their arms and lay in a posture resembling attention as she came in.

"Good morning, Spacer Maxwell. I'm Senior Lieutenant Abuan, on the staff of Admiral Cardew, Flag Officer Commanding the Vesta Sector of the Lancastrian Commonwealth Fleet. I understand you met him last year in connection with the Radetski mission."

She noticed the spacers across the aisle, turned to face them and came to attention. "Thank you, Spacers. Carry on, please." She turned back to Steve as they allowed themselves to relax.

"Good morning, Ma'am." Steve tried to sit more upright, but winced as his injured ribs sent a flash of pain through his nerves. "I -
unh!
- excuse me, please, Ma'am. I hadn't expected an official visitor." He transferred his gaze to Captain Volschenk. "Good to see you again, Sir."

"And you, Maxwell. I owe you my personal thanks for all you've done. Without your help and that of the Bosun, who knows where we'd be now? Some of the pirates said they would have put all the prisoners, including us, in that cargo shuttle, along with a nuclear demolition charge for company! Still, that's over now. A lot's been happening since we arrived at Vesta. We're here to tell you about it. May we sit down?"

Steve flushed. "Of course, Sir!"

"Thank you."

The Captain took two straight-backed chairs from against the wall, pulled them up to the bed, seated the Senior Lieutenant, then sat down himself.

As Abuan settled herself, she said, "First of all, I'm here to thank you officially, on behalf of Admiral Cardew and the Lancastrian Commonwealth Fleet, for the assistance you rendered to our personnel who were imprisoned aboard
Cabot
."

"Thank you, Ma'am. How is Lieutenant-Commander Esquivel?"

"She's doing all right, according to the doctors. She'll need more surgery, then she'll be sent back to her home planet to be with her family during extended convalescent leave. Her court-martial for the loss of her communications frigate will be held next month, as soon as she's sufficiently recovered to attend, but nobody doubts she'll be acquitted."

Steve blinked. "Court-martial? I don't understand, Ma'am. What did she do wrong?"

"Nothing at all, as far as I'm aware. It's just that a Commanding Officer bears ultimate responsibility for his or her ship. If she's lost for any reason, there's always a court-martial to determine if they did everything possible to save her, or left anything undone. Based on the facts of this case as I've heard them, there doesn't appear to be a single thing Lieutenant-Commander Esquivel could have done to prevent or evade the attack on her ship, so I'm sure she'll be honorably acquitted."

"I see, Ma'am."

"You'll also be pleased to hear that Admiral Cardew has nominated Bosun Cardle for the posthumous award of the Lancastrian Cross of Valor, with Combat device. That's the Commonwealth's highest award for an act of heroism by a civilian."

"Er... yes, I am, Ma'am, but I don't understand. I thought medals for valor could only be awarded to military personnel."

"That depends on the medal. The founders of the Lancastrian Commonwealth followed the example of the pre-space-age British Empire on Old Home Earth. It had the usual military decorations for heroism: the Victoria Cross at the very top, then second, third and fourth-ranked awards for lesser degrees of valor. It also had equivalent medals for acts of heroism by civilians, in combat or otherwise, and for non-combat valor by service personnel. They ranged from the first-rank George Cross, equivalent to the VC, down through lower-ranked awards. Yes?"

Steve had half-raised his hand. "Please excuse me for interrupting, Ma'am, but what sort of civilian acts were considered 'heroic' compared to service personnel?"

"Almost anything brave you can think of: defusing an explosive device, saving lives at grave risk to one's own, serving as a spy, tackling an armed and dangerous criminal, and so on. The Commonwealth's founders liked the idea, and decided to copy it. We have two medal series awarded specifically for valor, each in four grades. The Lancastrian Star is awarded only to Commonwealth Fleet personnel and those of member planets' armed forces, for heroism in combat. It runs from the Star of Valor at the very top, down through Gold, Silver and Bronze grades. The Lancastrian Cross in the same four grades is awarded to Commonwealth personnel for non-combat heroism, or to others - including civilians - for either combat or non-combat heroism. If it’s awarded for a combat-related incident, the letter 'C' is displayed on the ribbon - we call that the 'Combat device'."

Captain Volschenk added, "The Star and the Cross carry the same weight as far as the Fleet is concerned. The award of one counts the same number of points for advancement or selection as the other in the same grade."

"I see," Steve answered slowly. "You said Bosun Cardle had been 'nominated' for the award, Ma'am. Does that mean he may not get it?"

"Not exactly," she reassured him. "A Sector Admiral can approve awards up to Silver level. Anything higher has to be ratified by the Board of Admiralty on Lancaster. Final approval for top-level valor medals is reserved to the Awards Committee of the Commonwealth Senate. If the Board ratifies Admiral Cardew's nomination, they'll forward it to the Committee; or they may decide to award Bosun Cardle the Cross in Gold, our second-highest award for valor by civilians, which they can confer on their own authority. That's a very high honor in itself, of course. Only about half a dozen Gold-level awards are made across all two-million-odd Fleet personnel during most years in peacetime, and sometimes a single Valor-level award - frequently none at all. Awards at that level take a long time to process, but we should know the outcome within six months if all goes well."

A wave of mingled pride and sadness for the Bosun swept over Steve. He could feel moisture welling up in his eyes, and blinked rapidly to control it. ""Ma'am, if anyone ever earned such an award, he did. He was the finest man I've ever known. I hope he gets it."

Volschenk nodded. "I think the only way he won't qualify for the Cross of Valor is if some technical or bureaucratic hitch gets in the way. I'm sure he'll get at least the Cross in Gold. His conduct certainly warrants that."

"I guess his brother or sister will receive the medal in his name, Sir?"

"I would assume so."

"Before he died, he asked me to send a message to them if he didn't make it, and to visit them if possible. Where can I get their contact details, please, Sir?"

"I have them. I'm sure they'd like to hear more from you about his last days. It won't take away their grief, but I hope it'll help them understand and share the pride we all feel in him. I want them to have his personal belongings, so when you're fit to travel, I'll send them with you as my personal representative. The ship's management company will arrange for your passage to New Brisbane, so you won't be out of pocket. You'll be kept on our books as Spacer Second Class while you're doing that, so you'll continue to accrue seniority in rank; and your piracy insurance will pay your salary for some months, of course."

"Th - thank you, Sir."

Abuan said, "Bosun Cardle isn't the only person who'll be honored by the Fleet. Lieutenant-Commander Esquivel and her crew will receive recognition for their joint and several efforts. They've informed us that without your assistance, as well as Bosun Cardle's, they couldn't have recaptured
Cabot
from the pirates. Your intervention certainly saved their lives - the captured pirates have confirmed they were to be murdered. We've also studied the statement you made towards the end of your voyage here, describing how you and the Bosun planned and prepared for the attack.

"It's Admiral Cardew's opinion that your contribution was indispensable and highly praiseworthy, particularly given your junior rank and relative lack of experience. Your conduct during combat also does you great credit, taking out multiple opponents equipped with modern weapons while armed with only a stabbing spear. In recognition of your performance, he's going to award you the Lancastrian Cross in Silver with Combat device."