SWEET HOME ALLE BAMMA (SOLBIDYUM WARS SAGA) (47 page)

Then she kissed all three of us on the cheek and said, “You three now children of Thumumba.  You now in our hearts and welcome here always.”

Then the cheering renewed and we were suddenly besieged by hundreds of natives, these mysterious children of Thumumba, who streamed toward us with outstretched arms.  Once they touched all three of us, they vanished, one by one, quickly and quietly into the jungle, leaving us alone and in silence with four bowls filled with ruguian eggs.

“Tibby, I don’t know if I believe what just happened,” Hotyona said.  “How did they know we were coming?  How did they know Kala was the one who was sick?  You never told them it was a woman.  And how did they know of A’Lappe and that he would make the anti-toxin?  I mean, they could have figured out that we needed more
ruguian eggs; they had been watching us collect them; but beyond that, I don’t understand how they knew any of this.  Up until now I thought that the dreams of Thumumba were the result of hallucinations caused by the plant that God’s Sweat is made from, but that would not account for this.  I’m at a loss to figure it out.”

“Well don’t worry,” I said, “you’re going to have plenty of time to figure it out.  I’m putting you in charge of planetary flora and fauna studies here.  Any scientific teams coming to Alle Bamma will have to get your approval and I expect you to participate in their expeditions.”

“Wow, I don’t know what to say… I mean, I want the job… but what about Cantolla?  I’m part of her staff!”

“Let me worry about Cantolla.  She works for me,” I said.  “It may cost me a fortune, but I'm sure I can come up with something that will make her happy.”

When we returned to the
NEW ORLEANS
, A’Lappe was waiting at the hangar.

“We’ve been able to
extract some information from the computers recovered from the Brotherhood’s bases and from the prisoners.  The entire operation on Alle Bamma was run by a man called Lendera.  Unfortunately for us, he left the planet just days before we arrived to set up another drug production operation somewhere a few light years from here.  He’s not expected to return here for several years, if ever.”

“Lendera,” Kerabac exclaimed with disgust.  “It figures it would
be him.

“You know him?” I asked.

“Hell yes, I know him.  He was one of the botanists on the team when I was here 15 years ago.  He’s a real asshole, but a very intelligent man.  He had only total disrespect for everyone and everything; and he acted like he was in charge of the expedition.  The bastard actually suggested one day that we should shoot the natives for sport, as he didn’t consider them to be anything more than just dumb animals.”

“Do you know anything about him that would help us find or capture him?”

“Unfortunately, no.  I felt like I knew way more about him than I wanted to as it was.”

“I want round-the-clock research conducted on the man until we find every shred of information there is to be found about his origins, his associates and his history.  This information is to be provided to the FSO as we find it; and they are to assemble a task force to uncover more information in the field.  It may take years to find him, but that isn’t a reason to not begin searching now.”

“A’Lappe, here.  Please get these to the lab immediately.”  I handed him the stasis container that held the ruguian eggs.”

“You’ve got them already?  But how?  You were gone only a little over an hour.”

“That, my friend, is something we will discuss over dinner.  It’s a fantastic tale; and it will be easier to tell everyone once at a staff dinner.  Now get to it.  Kala’s been in stasis far longer than I like already.

The production of the anti-toxin took several hours; but at last, A’Lappe was satisfied that it had been properly produced and that its potency would be effective in halting the progression of the toxin as soon as Kala was brought out of stasis.

I reluctantly followed A’Lappe’s request and waited outside the recovery room where Kala was taken to bring her out of stasis.  Once the stasis fluids were removed from her lungs and she was breathing again, I was allowed to be by her side.  She was still unconscious and the anti-toxin had not yet been administered; so it was all I could do to contain my anxiety.  The moment I entered the room, I was struck again by her beauty, as I was every time I saw her.  The month and a half of suspended animation had not altered one atom of her precious being; she looked exactly as she did when they placed her in stasis.  A’Lappe and a medic moved quickly to insert the IV and attach electrodes to her head and body at various locations.  As each electrode was attached, readings began to appear on the vid screen by her bed.

“We’re just in time,” said A’Lappe.  “
And it’s good they got her into stasis so quickly after the attack.  There is no indication of permanent damage to any organs; and once the anti-toxin goes to work, she should make a full recovery…maybe in a few days.”

“How long will it be before she regains consciousness?” I asked.

“I’m not sure.  I think it depends on how long the poisons have been in her system and how much damage has been done.  In Kalana’s case, only a few hours elapsed before the medics induced stasis.  The reports I’ve read indicate that patients have been successfully revived up to two days after being poisoned; but there is no documentation as to how long it was before subjects regained consciousness.”

A’Lappe and I watched the vid
screen in silence.  Only seconds passed before I noticed measurable changes in Kala’s vital signs.

“This is good.  The anti-toxin is working,” said A’Lappe.  “See here?  You can see her pulse is picking up and there is a slight increase in her blood pressure and blood oxygen level.  I will venture a guess and say that she’ll be awake in a few hours, if she continues to improve at this rate.”

A tremendous wave of relief swept over me.  Up until this moment I had been harboring the fear that I might lose Kala; and the thought of it had become nearly unbearable.  In a way, I was glad for all the troubles created by the Brotherhood over the past several days because it detracted from these fears.

I stayed at her bedside
and held her hand as I thought of our time together so far – like the first time I saw her in the hangar on the
DUSTEN
and how she walked with an air of grace and authority; and how that same day she stripped down and stepped into the shower beside me and how I stumbled over my own confusion from her actions at the time, because I was unaware that nudity taboos didn’t exist in most of the Federation.  I thought of our swims together, our dinner conversations, falling asleep in front of the fireplace, and the sweet love she gave me at the end of every day.

I thought, too, about Kala’s sister, Lunnie.  Lunnie brought Kala and me together, breaking down our walls with her constant teasing and joking.  I thought about
the day I kissed Kala for the first time and made love to her for hours.  I thought about our journey on the
TRITYTE
, and about receiving honors before the Senate and the Military High Command.  My heart ached as I recalled the battle to free the
DUSTEN
and Lunnie’s tragic death at the hands of the maniacal traitor, Lexmal.  It was Kala who saved me.  Really, it was Kala who saved the entire Federation by her heroic actions.  I thought of the death of Captain Maxette, Reidecor, and the thousands of others who fell in the battles that ensued; but every memory came full circle to Kala, our life together, and our future together.

At some point I must have drifted off to sleep, because I found myself standing in the jungle on the
I’aban tree platform where I first met Jnanara.  Kala stood at my side and held my hand.  We were nude, except for red floral leis around our necks.  Before us stood Thumumba, who smiled upon us as he placed his hands on our heads and said, “My children.”

Then Kala squeezed my hand.  As she squeezed my hand in the dream, I woke to find that she really was squeezing my hand!  I gazed into her face and whispered her name; and my heart quickened when I saw those beautiful eyes open slowly to look at me.  She tried to speak, but only a dry rattled sound came from her throat.  She tried again; I could just barely make out “water.”  Quickly I reached for the container of water by her bed and held it to her lips.  She slowly drank from the nub-like attachment and then laid her head back on the pillow.  I waited silently as she gathered the strength to speak; and I did my best to control my tears as we stared into each other’s eyes.

Finally she smiled and said, “You need a haircut and a shave.  How long have I been asleep?”

“About six weeks,” I said.

Shock and confusion spread across her face.  “Six weeks?!” she exclaimed in a weak voice.  “The last thing I remember was putting on a demonstration for the admiral.  What happened?”

“The two men we fought in the demonstration were Brotherhood members who had killed and replaced the troopers originally assigned to the demonstration.  After we defeated them and turned our backs to return to the banquet table, they attacked with knifes that were laced with a rare toxin that first renders the victim unconscious and then slowly shuts down all body functions.  For some reason my Earth DNA makes me immune to this toxin; but you slipped into a coma almost immediately.  A’Lappe was able to identify the poison quickly; but we had to travel several weeks to obtain the material to produce the anti-toxin.  In the meantime, you were placed in stasis so no further damage would occur to your body.”

“So I take it you were able to make the anti-toxin,” said Kala, as she slowly reached for the water again.  I picked it up and handed it to her.

“Yes,” I said.

“I hope it wasn’t too difficult.  How has everything else been going?”

“Nothing unusual… just typical daily events,” I said
, still trying to keep the tears of joy from welling in my eyes.

Kala nearly choked on her water and said with a grin, “That bad, huh?  How many battles have you fought and won?  That reminds me – what happened with the trap at
Banur?  Did the Brotherhood fall for it?”

“Brotherhood showed up in force with a small fleet of ships; but the Federation was ready and waiting.  The admiral destroyed most of them right then and there,” I said.

“The Federation destroyed them?  Do I detect by your comment that you weren’t there?”

“She always was a smart lady,” said a voice coming from the doorway.  I turned to see Admiral Regeny standing just inside the entry with Commodore Stonbersa.

“Admiral, so good to see you; but where was Tibby, if not at the battle?”

“Tibby was on his way here to conduct an egg hunt,” replied the admiral with a grin.

“Egg hunt?  Here?  Where is here?  Where are we?”

“You’re at the planet Alle Bamma,
” said the admiral.  “The poison that infected you comes from this a non-aligned world; and as soon as Tibby found out that the source of the anti-toxin could also be found here and
only
here, he left Plosaxen as fast as he could to get you the cure.”

“What about the Brotherhood and the trap at
Banur?  If the
NEW ORLEANS
came straight here, you couldn’t have been there to deploy the trap.”

The admiral laughed, “Oh, we were there.  Tibby threw us off the ship when I threatened to take it away from him for use as our command post during the Banur operation.  He wasn’t about to let anything delay his mission to get the ingredients for the anti
-toxin you needed.  I have to tell you, there were some tense moments; but Tibby didn’t relent and I’m glad he didn’t.  He made me see the truth and put my actions into perspective – and I’m grateful for that.”

“Wait a minute,” Kala said while trying to prop herself up on her elbows, “you’re telling me that you tried to commandeer the
NEW ORLEANS
and that Tibby threw you off the ship and came here instead of staying to help you trap the Brotherhood at Banur?  Then you executed the trap anyway, while Tibby was on his way here?”

“That’s right,” replied the admiral.

Kala opened her mouth to say something else, when Kerabac walked in and said to Commodore Stonbersa, “Excuse me, Commodore, but there’s a call coming in for you from the
MIZBAGONA
.”  Before leaving, Kerabac threw a smile in Kala’s direction and said “Welcome back, Kalana.”

“Thank you, Captain,” said Stonbersa.  He then quickly took leave of Kala and headed off toward the bridge.

“
Commodore
Stonbersa? 
Captain
Kerabac?” asked Kala wide-eyed?  “What have I missed?”

“Not much, really,” I said.

“Ha,” blurted the admiral.  “Not much?  He has only expanded his personal fleet by five corvettes, ten Mirage Fighters, two freighters and who knows how may patrol ships.  He’s managed to capture a planet full of Brotherhood rebels, destroy their bases and put a huge dent in the God’s Sweat drug trade in the process of freeing thousands of native slaves on Alle Bamma.  While he did all of this, he managed to find the ruguian eggs necessary to produce the anti-toxin that saved your life.  In the end, it seems he needed to promote some officers to handle all these ships he kept acquiring from the Brotherhood.”