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Captain Grendel thought he heard her daughter’s voice, but he was mistaken.
It was only the groaning of the ship. He had been taking care of Yaddle ever since he awoke from consciousness on board of Yaddle's ship. The old dwarf was in bad shape when he awoke. He had a large hole in his chest, and he had cuts all over of his body. He didn't yet know if Yaddle had suffered internal injuries.
Luckily, Yaddle equipped his ship with a state-of-the-art medical facility, including several magical crystals that boosted the instrument’s healing factors. The hardest part was getting Yaddle onto the medical Holo tube without injuring him further.
Captain Grendel found a hovering medical table. If he was a magic user, he would have levitated Yaddle himself, but he wasn't. He slid the table next to Yaddle. The dwarf was unconscious and his breathing labored.
Captain Grendel moved to the controls of the ship. They were no longer in orbit over the Earth, but steadily moving away from the planet. He had to choose. The ship was not hurtling toward the sun or trapped in a planet's gravitational field. They were free-floating in space. He pressed a few buttons, and the ship stabilized and stopped moving. He could tell this by glancing at the readouts. The ship's main engine was only at 50% power. He only had command of the thrusters. Captain Grendel needed Yaddle.
He turned toward the old dwarf and crouched on his knees close to him. He grabbed Yaddle by his armpits and pulled slowly upwards. The dwarf snorted, but didn't awake. He placed Yaddle's top half onto the medical table, then moved around to the his legs and pulled Yaddle’s bottom half onto the hovering board. When he was secure on the table, he pressed the button on the front of the device. Suddenly the board floated upwards, now about waist height to Captain Grendel.
He moved forward and the table followed him. The medical bay was small, but serviceable. It was located behind the sleeping quarters, near the rear of the ship. All of the ship's engines and main computers were located on the bottom floor, close to the lower hatchway and further to the back, directly below the medical bay.
He ducked and entered the medical room. Captain Grendel left the Holo tube open and turned it on to receive Yaddle. The old dwarf didn't stir as they traveled and for a second Captain Grendel thought Yaddle was dead, but the old dwarf started to breathe again.
The hovering table was part of the interior of the Holo Medical tube and it slid easily inside. A glowing Holo-screen appeared in the front of the device. The screen showed Yaddle's body and all his injuries. He’d sustained many superficial cuts, but the main injury was a hunk of metal shrapnel embedded in his stomach and close to his lungs.
"Computer, can you fix these injuries?" Captain Grendel asked.
"Yes, Captain Grendel. It will take 24 cycles."
"Good, please continue."
The computer said, "Captain, the ship's engines are at 50% power and almost off-line. Do you want me to complete the diagnostic?"
"Yes, but work on Yaddle first."
"Yes, Captain."
***
CAPTAIN GRENDEL WATCHED as the medical tube started to work on Yaddle.
He went to a Holo-screen against the wall. He checked the power level on the ship and it was at 80%. There was an option to use solar or dark energy to get more power, but he shook his head. This was not an option on his own ship, and he marveled at Yaddle's ship and design. He decided not to turn the option on. He would wait until Yaddle was better.
He walked back to the command center on the vessel. He should have been checking on the stores of food and water in the ship's hold, but he really wished to get back to Earth and see his daughter Marlena again.
He reached the Captain's chair and sat. He looked at the controls on the arm of the chair. Pressing several buttons, he located Earth and checked how far away he was from the planet. They were close enough to see the moon and Earth. They were still in the same system.
Captain Grendel had to focus, but the mission on Earth had been a torrent of trouble since he’d started. He should have known that Justina would betray them. Yet, he was blinded, like all of them. The enemy was sly and calculating. He begrudgingly admired the Vvong for their ruthlessness and guile. He wondered how the enemy seduced Justina to their side of the war, and make no mistake, he told himself... this war’s impacting the entire universe.
Captain Grendel remembered when the Alphas and Marlena tried to contact Merlin on board his destroyed ship, The Sentinel. Lazarus, the Alpha leader, spoke of a Vvong Queen. He wondered if this Vvong Queen had been controlling everything since the beginning, since the time of Merlin's ancient past creating the monster Vvong creatures. And if he could find this Queen now, he would destroy her. Curling his right hand into a fist, Captain Grendel knew he was not in a position to do anything. He was sitting in a broken vessel, simply floating out in space.
His wife, the great scientist and healer, Dr. Darlene Grendel, could always keep his mind at ease when he would create these dark voices in his head.
He had met Darlene at a conference between the Hive military and the medical professionals. They were instantly attracted to each other, even though he was a dwarf and she was an elf. He’d never expected to talk to Darlene again after the conference. Captain Grendel was usually in space for many solar cycles when on a mission or patrolling around a space system. Yet, she called on him after he came back from one such mission. It was also the first time he’d heard of the ancient elf named Eastros.
They met for dinner at a restaurant at the edge of the Hive business district. The restaurant was called The Calling. He thought it was an odd name, but realized it was the right place to be. He felt that he was called to her. She told him during the dinner that Eastros had told her that her soul mate would be both a great warrior, and a dwarf. And she believed he was her soul mate.
He was aghast at her statement, because intermarriage between the magical races was rare and had to be approved by the High Council.
"Are you sure, Darlene?" he asked. "You are so beautiful and smart. You could have anybody. I’m just a dumb soldier."
Darlene reached out and grabbed his hand. She didn't care for the people around her staring at them.
"Yes," Dalene said, "I am sure about this. I knew it the first time I met you at the conference. I have heard of your courage in battle and the times you met new alien races."
After that, he had to leave on another mission and was away for an even longer time. And he was still skeptical about her statement. But when he came back from his mission, Darlene was waiting for him.
