Redemption(24)

"We are clear," he said, turning to Jason.

"Great," Jason said, pulling the sled along. "Now make me a path through the bodies and don't forget to grab Crusher's blades."

The rest of the way was clear although the security gate sentries looked startled as a battlesynth holding two enormous knives and soaked in three types of blood walked around the corner and politely asked that they open the gate. As soon as the shielded doors parted Jason heard his com unit beep as it reestablished a connection with the Phoenix.

"Twingo!" he practically shouted into the device. "We're at an entrance approximately two hundred meters west of the main security gate. Taxi the Phoenix over as close as you can get her and make sure Doc is waiting for us in the cargo bay."

"We're on our way!" Twingo said.

It wasn't even a minute later when the ground began to tremble and the Phoenix rolled into view. Jason watched as Twingo skillfully swung the nose over and rotated the ship even as the ramp was dropping so that they would have a minimal distance to expose Crusher to the dangerously cold conditions. As soon as the ramp slammed into the tarmac, Jason and Lucky both moved him as fast as they could, the stronger battlesynth pulling the sled and the human sprinting alongside stabilizing his friend.

"Move aside!" Doc barked as the sled rolled to a stop in the cargo bay. Jason smacked the controls to raise the ramp and close the pressure doors while Lucky gently picked Crusher up and placed him on the bed of the makeshift trauma center they'd rigged up in the cargo bay. The thought was that should they have to blast their way out of Duat it would be better if Crusher could be immediately stabilized and treated instead of having to be carried up to the main deck and all the way to the infirmary.

"Twingo, we're in!" Jason said over the intercom. "Get us the hell out of here as fast as she'll fly." Even before he'd released the intercom button the deck began to vibrate as the engines built power and he felt the ship lift herself off the ground.

"How's he going to be?" Jason asked, approaching Doc and Lucky, almost afraid to look down on the bed.

"I don't know how, but he's still alive," Doc said. "The level of trauma is severe; some of it occurred well before today. He has a long way to go, but I'm tentatively saying that if he makes it through the next twenty-five hours he has a much better chance of pulling through. I'll know more after a few hours and he's had a chance to stabilized."

"I'll take first watch with him," Jason said. "Lucky, you go get yourself cleaned up. Doc, grab some rest and chow ... you'll need to be at your best in the coming few days, I think."

It was some time after the other two left when he heard Crusher stir next to him. As he watched he was amazed as the warrior’s eyes simply popped open, fully alert, albeit confused. He looked around the cargo bay for a few moments before fixing Jason with an intense stare.

"I'm out," he said simply. "No more. I don't want any more." Jason sat back in his chair and tried to ponder what he had meant as Crusher fell back into a deep sleep.





Chapter 6




"After Crusher left we tried to keep it together for a bit longer, but it was never really the same," Jason said. "Kage was the first to leave afterward and then Doc decided he wanted to return to doing research in a lab. Twingo, Lucky and I ended up out here shuffling light cargo until eventually it was just Lucky and I running a few hard-won contracts."

"This ship you spoke of, the Phoenix ... that cannot be the same ship I snuck onto," Kalette said.

"Actually—"

"Good morning," Lucky said before he could answer. "I apologize for not informing you that Kalette requested to stay here last night, Jason."

"No problem," Jason said. "We were just having a talk."

"Oh?" Lucky asked, his interest obviously piqued. "Might I ask what about?"

"Just telling her some war stories about the old crew," Jason shrugged. "Something to pass the time."

"I see," Lucky said. "We have received a message from the Defiant. Doc is on his way back down to speak with Kalette."

"He is the 'Doc' you spoke of from your old crew?" she asked. When Jason nodded, she continued, "Why does he now work with Crisstof? Does he have no loyalty for Crusher?"

"He does," Jason said uncomfortably. "But it's a bit more complicated than all that. Doc is an idealist before anything else and he'd lived the sheltered life of an academic before we were all tossed in together. If there's a chance to accomplish something good, like helping people affected by a plague, he'll swallow his pride and do whatever it takes to get it done."