Crineal Chronicles 1: In Hera's Service (20 page)

“That’ll
have to do until the doc gets here I’m afraid,” said the tech apologetically.

Thankfully,
Marrash arrived after a few minutes. “General, you’re spending entirely too
much time in my med bay. Any more and I’ll get you transferred here as a tech.”

“Sorry
about that, Doc,” he replied in a weak voice. “I get turned on by the
uniforms.”

The
doctor snorted. “If you want those kinds of thrills then have your young lady
play dress-up for you.”

“Can
I take that as a medical order, Doc?” he said with a little smile at Cyndora.

“If
you need an order for that, General, then you’re far beyond my help,” Marrash
shot back at him whilst looking at the medical sensor display. “Well, between
these read outs and your flippant replies, my professional opinion is that you
need more sleep and then we’ll pack you off to your quarters in the morning
unless you have a relapse during the night.” He looked at Cyndora. “I assume
you’re capable of at least looking after the general once he’s back there? Not
letting him sprint around? Fixing his meals? That kind of thing?”

“Yes,
Sir. I can do that,” she replied, not taking her eyes off Crineal’s face.

“Good,
now I can go and get some sleep.” He looked at the med tech. “Give the general
some more water and dose him with another sedative. Call me if there’s an
emergency,” and with that he walked brusquely out.

The
tech shot a hypo into Crineal’s right arm and then fed him some more water
before leaving, placing the bottle of water on a shelf next to the bed. Within
minutes Crineal’s eyes had closed again, but this time he was asleep rather
than unconscious. Cyndora was feeling tired herself and could barely keep her
eyes open. On the next bed over Feldea lay watching her friend start to nod off
in her chair. The lieutenant pressed the call button on her bed panel and the
med tech reappeared.

“Yes,
Ma’am? What do you need?” he asked.

“Not
me, Petty Officer, her,” she said, nodding to Cyndora. “She needs a bed.”

“Uh,
but she has quarters to go to, Ma’am.”

Her
eyebrows went up. “You really want to separate the general from his assistant
and her guard? It’s just for the night, Petty Officer, and you’re hardly short
of beds. I’m sure Doctor Marrash won’t mind and I’d hate to call him to ask him
to authorize it.”

The
med tech looked at her in resignation, recognizing that this was a fight he
wasn’t going to win. “Yes, Ma’am. I guess the one here between you and the
general will be most suitable.” He went over to the dozing Cyndora and shook
her gently awake. “Assistant? Why don’t you use this bed? Get some proper
sleep?”

“Thank
you, Sir.” Cyndora smiled tiredly at him and got up to lie down on the very
inviting-looking bed.  Kicking her sandals off, she saw Feldea watching her
with a smile and mouthed “Thank you” to her before stretching out on the bed,
pulling the cover over herself and falling asleep.

Early
the next morning Cyndora and Feldea were awake and chatting when Crineal awoke.
They both heard him stir and whilst the lieutenant propped herself up and gave
him a most unorthodox salute, Cyndora moved to the side of his bed.

“Good
morning, Sir,” she said softly. “How are you feeling?”

“Someone
needs to get the number of the cruiser that ran over me,” Crineal said huskily,
his throat raw and dry.

Picking
up the water bottle, Cyndora fed him some of its contents. “Better?” she inquired.

He
cleared his throat. “Much,” he affirmed in a stronger voice. “Good morning,
Lieutenant.”

“Good
morning, Sir,” Feldea said with a grin. “I know you like visiting me but there
really wasn’t any need to go to this much effort. I do appreciate it though.
Oh, Staller and Muscovy dropped in yesterday whilst you were out cold.”

“Thank
heavens for small mercies then,” Crineal muttered loudly, intending it to be
overheard. The two women giggled whilst the fresh marine guard struggled to
keep a straight face.

“And
the admiral came by as well, Sir,” added Cyndora. “He said that the trial would
be postponed until you were fit enough to attend and that we would be assigned
a marine guard each until it was over.”

Crineal
grunted. “Maybe the guard can protect me from Staller and Muscovy, too.” He
shifted on the bed experimentally and winced. “I think you’ll be doing your
exercises without me for a while.” Crineal lifted his head and looked around
the ward, counting the other occupants and coming up a few short in numbers for
the Ares pilots. “Did everyone else get in safely?”

Cyndora
nodded. “I think so, Sir. I counted fourteen pilots in here yesterday before
you arrived.”

Grimacing,
Crineal nodded. “That’s what I brought back.”

“Don’t
blame yourself, Sir. The admiral said that if you hadn’t been out there, he
didn’t think anyone would have got back,” Cyndora comforted him.

Feldea
nodded. “I took a look at the battle report this morning, Sir. You were
ambushed by two squadrons. You couldn’t cut and run, and under those odds it’s
amazing you even survived the missile salvo, never mind the dog fight. The
survivors have you to thank for being alive, Sir.”

“You
two make a great cheerleading squad, I have to admit. But I still take
responsibility for all those dead people.”

One
of the women in another bed struggled to sit up. “Sir? They’re right. Without
you we wouldn’t be here. When the Axes lit up their drives and I saw how many
of them there were, I was sure we were dead.” She looked at him with an earnest
expression on her oval-shaped face. “Then in the middle of the fight I had two
of them on me and you came out of nowhere and blasted them. I owe you my life
twice over, Sir. When I saw you fire at point blank range at the second one and
go crashing into the debris I thought you were dead. I’m glad you’re still here,
Sir.”

Laying
there silently for a minute, Crineal thought about this. “Thank you……,” he
found that he didn’t know who she was.

The
short-haired brunette smiled at him. “Pilot Officer Pretoia, Sir, Mu Four. I
just transferred into Ares. This was my first fight. Should have been my last,
too, except for you, Sir.” She looked at him worshipfully whilst Cyndora and
Feldea exchanged glances of good humored disgust.

“You’re
welcome, Pilot Officer. Now you just have to survive Captain Trovas' debriefing
and I won’t be there for that.”

“Thank
you, Sir. I hope he won’t be too harsh on me. I know I have a lot to learn.”

At
that point Dr Marrash came in trailed by a couple of med techs. He made a
beeline for Crineal. “Well, General, how are you feeling this morning?”

Cyndora
moved out of the way and went back to sit with Feldea. The lieutenant whispered
in her ear, “There’s one who’ll be having wet dreams about the general for a
while,” nodding at the brunette who was still gazing adoringly at Crineal. “Oh,
the foolishness of the young.”

“Unlike
old biddies such as us, you mean?” Cyndora asked archly. Feldea grinned at her.

Meanwhile,
Crineal was answering the doctor loudly. “I feel like absolute crap, Doc. My
arm hurts, my leg hurts, my side hurts, even my little pinkies hurt.” The doctor
looked a little surprised and Crineal grinned at him and then at all the other
injured pilots who were listening in. “Let that be a lesson to you all. Don’t
try all that stoic crap of ‘I’m fine’. Tell the doc how you really feel. He’ll
have you out of here in no time. No one can stand to have a whiner around.”
There was absolute silence for a second and then everyone burst out laughing.
The two med techs tried their hardest to keep it together, but even they doubled
up. The doctor just looked down at Crineal with a deadpan expression. But
through her tears of laughter, Cyndora could see that his eyes were dancing,
too.

“General,
with respect, you are such a pain in the ass I would like to keep you here for
a month as a punishment. But I’m just not that much of a masochist. You’re out
of here as soon as I can get one of these hyenas to find a grav chair to cart
you away on,” he said, ending with a stern look at the two laughing med techs.
One of the techs took the hint and staggered off to find the required chair
whilst the doctor sent mock glares around the room.

Major
Strieger sat at a table in one of the cafes dotted around the transit ring of
Earth Orbital Three. She sipped a cup of coffee and thought it was very similar
to the kafe she liked but a little harsher. Her leave had been great, she felt
so much more relaxed now. She’d seen some of the sights of Earth, eaten well,
met a few people. She smiled to herself at the memory of a particularly nice,
handsome and energetic young man she’d left asleep in a hotel room two days
ago. A few days of dealing with personal chores onboard ship and she’d be ready
to get back in the saddle again. Thumbing through the news on her data pad, a
conversation at a nearby table made her prick up her ears.

“…so
I heard that the Imps lost a bunch of ships again yesterday. Lots of upset navy
types running around. Someone said they lost a whole squadron, some big shot
general, too…”

A
cold weight settled into Strieger’s stomach and she paid for the coffee and
left immediately for the shuttle docking port. Strieger got there just as a
shuttle from the Annihilator docked. Looking around at the departing passengers
she spotted a lieutenant, his section badges marked him as engineering, but he
was the highest ranked crew member she’d seen so far. Strieger grabbed his arm
and pulled him out of the flow of sailors.

“Hey!”
he protested. “What’s the…,” then he saw the rank insignia on Strieger’s
uniform and came to attention, saluting. “Sorry, Ma’am. How can I help you?”

“At
ease, Lieutenant. I apologize for manhandling you. But I need to ask you, was
there a battle yesterday?”

“That’s
what I heard, Ma’am, I think we lost most of a squadron, but that’s just a
rumor, Ma’am.”

“And
was General Crineal involved?” The tension leaked from her making the lieutenant
nervous.

“I
think so, Ma’am. I don’t know what happened to him though. Someone said he was
dead, but I really don’t know.”

The
feeling of dread in her stomach grew larger. “Thank you, Lieutenant. Sorry to
delay you.”

“No
problem, Ma’am. Sorry I couldn’t be of more help.” He saluted her and walked
away.

As
soon as the last of the passengers had disembarked, she boarded the shuttle.
After throwing her carryall onto one of the chairs in the front row of
passenger seats, Strieger headed to the cockpit. She punched a switch on the comm
panel by the cockpit door.

“Yes?”
came a voice.

“This
is Major Strieger. Let me in. I need to talk to you.”

There
was a short delay, she guessed they were confirming her identity, and then the
door opened and Strieger entered the cockpit.

The
pilot and co-pilot saluted her as she entered. “Ma’am. What seems to be the
problem?”

“At
ease, gentlemen. I just need to know what happened yesterday,” she asked whilst
bracing herself against a bulkhead.

“Ares
Squadron got ambushed, Ma’am. They lost over half of the squadron. I don’t have
the exact figure I’m afraid, but I heard they lost between twenty-five and
thirty fighters.”

“And
General Crineal?” Strieger prepared herself for the answer.

“I
don’t know, Ma’am. I’ve heard that he made it in and then he piled up on
landing and died. I do know that Bay Gamma Ten is a mess. They have a Hunter
embedded in the back wall of the bay and half the flight deck is torn up. I’ve
seen the bay myself, Ma’am, and I can’t believe that anyone walked away from
that wreck.” Strieger nodded numbly. Crineal normally touched down last and in
one of the number ten bays. “We’re scheduled for docking at Shuttle Bay Two,
Ma’am. Gamma Ten is right next door. One of the flight techs might be able to
help you.”

“Thank
you, Lieutenant. How soon before we depart?”

“Thirty
minutes, Ma’am,” the pilot replied after glancing at the clock.

Half
an hour of hell, she thought as she made her way back to her seat.

Forty-five
minutes later the shuttle touched down in Shuttle Bay Two. As soon as the door
unsealed Strieger headed down the ramp with her carryall over her shoulder and made
for Bay Gamma Ten. Opening the door to the bay, she was appalled at the sight
of the Hunter. The right wing was a crumpled mess that had made a huge dent in
the thick rear wall of the bay. The two landing skids she could see were
twisted pieces of scrap and she couldn’t identify where the cockpit should have
been. Her carryall slipped to the floor as she numbly surveyed the mess. One of
the senior techs saw her looking at the tangle of machinery.

“Ma’am?
Can I help you?” he asked as he approached her.

“Whose
ship is that, Chief?” She gestured to the pile of metal that had been a
fighter.

“It’s
the one that General Crineal borrowed, Ma’am. Eta One.” He followed her gaze.
“A real mess. I’m surprised the general made it back this far considering how
much damage it had taken. Reverse thrusters had been shot up and he just couldn’t
dump enough speed. He gave it a good try, Ma’am, skidding it along the deck to
kill more velocity.”

Strieger
felt a lump in her throat. “He was the best, Chief. If anyone could have made
it in it was him.”

“Yes,
Ma’am," the tech nodded in agreement and then frowned. “Was the best,
Ma’am? Did he die?”

“What?”
Strieger asked in confusion. “Didn’t you say he died?”

“No,
Ma’am, it took us fifteen minutes to cut him out of the wreckage, but the docs
were patching him up when they took him out of here. Last I saw he was on his
way to med bay.” Before he had finished the chief was talking to Strieger’s
back as she turned and grabbed her carryall on the run.

Breathlessly,
she palmed the door control to the med section and squeezed through as it
opened. Her gaze swept the room but failed to locate the general. She did see
someone she knew though.

“Ma’am!”
Lieutenant Feldea said in surprise. “I didn’t know you were back.”

Strieger
trotted over to the lieutenant sitting up in bed studying her data pad “Where
is he, Lieutenant?”

“The
general, Ma’am?”

Restraining
herself from throttling the young woman, Strieger ground out. “Yes, the general.
Who else would I mean?”

“He’s
back in his quarters, Ma’am. The doc discharged him about two hours ago. Don’t
worry, Cyndy is there to look after him and a guard is outside the door.” She
smiled brightly at having been able to reassure the major that the general was
being well looked after.

Strieger
stood there for a moment and then half collapsed onto a chair, trying to take
in what Feldea had said and making no sense of it. “Lieutenant, I have had a
really, really bad hour. Now you are going to clearly and concisely answer my
questions, or so help me, I will transfer you to the cargo shuttles.”

“Yes,
Ma’am.”

“Is
the general ok?”

“He’s
injured, but recovering, Ma’am.” Strieger felt the weight lift from her, next
question.

“Why
does he have a guard?”

“To
protect him and Cyndy before the trial, Ma’am.” Strieger’s head started to
spin.

“What
trial?”

“Commander
Del’Tarim’s, Ma’am. He broke into the general’s quarters and tried to rape
Cyndy.”

“Lieutenant,”
Strieger said in a dangerously quiet tone, “who the hell is CYNDY?”

“Ummm…
Cyndora, General Crineal’s recreation assistant, Ma’am,” Feldea replied as if
this was a perfectly sensible answer.

Strieger
sat there for a moment and then leaned forward to rest her head in her hands
“I’m really, really hoping that the doc has you on some powerful hallucinogenic
meds, Lieutenant. The general does not have a recreation assistant.”

“Yes,
he does, Ma’am. She comes and visits me every day. She’s very nice. She has
long red hair and gorgeous green eyes. Plus she knows so much about Earth
fashions. I can’t wait to get down there and do some shopping.” She beamed at
Strieger.

As
Strieger looked up into the earnest face of the young lieutenant, convinced
that either Feldea or herself was having a mental breakdown, Dr. Marrash
entered the ward and wandered over to where she sat dazedly.

“Major,
if I get anymore Hera pilots in here I’ll start thinking you’ve annexed my med
bay as part of Hera’s mess room,” Marrash said peevishly.

Gathering
her scattered wits she looked up at the doctor. “Doc? Can you give me a
sensible answer, please? How is General Crineal?”

“He’s
a bit battered but not enough to keep him in here.” This set Feldea giggling
for some reason before Marrash glared at her and she adopted a straight face.

“Thank
you, Doc. I’ll pay him a visit.” At least someone around here was sane,
Strieger thought as she started to stand up.

“No
reason to keep him here when he has that young lady to look after him. Waste of
our time and she can call or send the guard if there’s a problem,” Marrash said
dismissively.

Strieger’s
legs gave way and she sat back down heavily onto the chair as the Doctor walked
away. Feldea was watching her with concern. “Are you ok, Ma’am?”

Strieger
sat there silently for a little while. “No, Fel. I’ve just had a really bad
hour because I thought that the general was dead. Now I think I must be in some
alternate dimension. So I want you to take me very gently through what’s been
happening. How long has the general had this Cyndora?” she asked quietly.

Nodding
sympathetically, Feldea thought for a moment. “I’m not exactly sure, Ma’am. He
first brought her to visit me… ummm… six days ago. So at least that long. I get
the impression that it was just after our last patrol.”

Ok,
thought Strieger, that would make sense. Apart from Crineal wanting a recreation
girl at all.

“And
the bit with Commander Del’Tarim?”

“Well,
Cyndy didn’t want to say too much about it, but apparently he caught her in a
corridor and threatened her. She was supposed to let him into the general’s
quarters the following day because he wanted to rape her. Cyndy told the
general and he, Colonel Jaynes and two marines were waiting for Commander Del’Tarim
when he broke into the general’s quarters after Cyndy didn’t let him in. I’ve
heard that they are going to court martial the commander on a bunch of charges,
but that the charge of breaking into the general’s place is listed as a capital
one.”

Strieger
sat there with a glazed look as she tried to assimilate the story. It certainly
sounded like that rat Del’Tarim. Probably trying to get back at the general.
Her mind kept sticking at the Cyndora bit. “Thank you, Fel. I think that makes
sense now except for one thing and I want you to go over it again just once
more for me,” she paused and gathered herself. “The general has a recreation assistant…?”

Feldea
nodded and after a moment realized she was supposed to fill in the rest of the
sentence. “Yes, Ma’am. She’s very nice. She’s from Earth and she seems to
genuinely like the general. Not like him in that puppy dog slave type way or
like as in the general is a good deal type thing, but really like him.”

From
Earth? Wait… that last day we were looking at the new batch of prisoners coming
on board and Crineal seemed to go a bit funny. Was she one of those? If so
then… hmmmm… “Thank you, Lieutenant. You’ve been most helpful despite me
thinking that you were completely delusional. I’d better go see how General Crineal
is doing… and meet Cyndy.”

“Yes,
Ma’am. One more thing? Mus and Stal are back early and they were in here
yesterday to check up on the general. They met Cyndy, too.”

Strieger
closed her eyes again, feeling a monster headache building. “And they’ve been
loose for almost twenty-four hours with this information? You didn’t have them
arrested or shot or something?”

“No,
Ma’am, sorry. I didn’t seem to have any justification for doing so,” Feldea
said miserably.

“Lieutenant,
Staller and Muscovy are reasons in their own right. What are they doing back
here anyway? I thought I’d have to send the Shore Patrol out for them.”

“They’re
broke, Ma’am. They lost all their money at some place they went to on Earth.”

“Terrific.
Loose and in need of making some money. The day just gets better.” She picked
up her carryall as she stood. “I’ll see you later, Lieutenant. I’ll probably be
carried in with a straightjacket on me.”

After
dumping her carryall in her quarters and taking just a few minutes to freshen
up and pull herself together, Strieger made her way to the general’s quarters.
As she approached she saw that there was indeed a marine posted outside.
Strieger came to a halt in front of him and returned his salute.

“Corporal,
I’m here to see General Crineal. I’m Major Strieger, his second in command.”

“Yes,
Ma’am.” Instead of opening the door, however, he consulted his data pad then
looked at her carefully before looking at the pad again. Seemingly satisfied he
activated the door comm panel. “Assistant Cyndora? A Major Strieger here to see
the general. She’s on the approved list.”