The four remaining Solar Warden TR-3Bs moved in and positioned themselves between their injured comrades and the enemy saucer. It slowed as it approached them, stopping not far away where it sat, silent. Oleander came about and charged toward the group of craft. It fired at the saucer, but the enemy bird shot away unscathed as it jumped to FTL.
“Tactical One, Flight. Do you read, over.”
“Flight… Tactical One. You’re lima-charlie, over.”
“Tactical One, Flight. We’re going to reel you in, over.”
“Negative, Flight. I can’t raise Tactical Two. Take him first. Confirm, over.”
“Tactical One, Flight. Confirmed. Locking tractor beam onto Tactical Two now. Sit tight. We’ll be right back to get you, Scarecrow, over.”
“Tactical One copies. We’re not goin’ anywhere, over …”
“I hate snakes, Jock! I hate ‘em!” Williams shouted, startling Scarecrow. Despite their dire situation, Scarecrow smiled at the Spielbergian allusion.
Scarecrow entered the trauma bay to see Williams lying on a bed, his right leg covered with an unusual bandage. It appeared to be made of some form of metallic cloth with several tubes or lines running either to it or from it, Scarecrow couldn’t tell which. A small device with an ARI readout was attached to the corner, but Scarecrow couldn’t discern the details of the display from where he stood. A corpsman was off to one side, viewing another ARI version of Vince’s injured appendage, recording the information. Williams was in noticeable pain, his eyes closed, his face strained.
Scarecrow walked up to stand beside the bed. As he put his hand on William’s shoulder, his WSO opened his eyes and offered a weak smile.
“So, the obvious, dumb question is … how are you doing, Vince?”
“Well Sir, it’s like Indiana Jones once said, ‘it’s not the years … it’s the mileage,’” he replied as he winced.
“You like that old classic, don’t you?” Scarecrow smiled back.
“Let’s just say that there are days when I can relate to Dr. Jones. Today would be one of those days, Sir–” He gasped as a spike of pain shot up his leg and into his belly.
“I should get you a fedora and a whip for your birthday.”
“Already got the fedora … just don’t have anywhere to wear it.”
“Well, you just get better. I need you.” He patted Williams on the arm.
“I don’t know about that, Sir,” Williams said with a sigh as the jolt of pain subsided. “If what the doc says is true, I might lose the use of my leg. If I can even keep it.”
Scarecrow was speechless at Williams’ declaration. At that moment, the corpsman finished his task, and turned to his patient while several other staff entered the room.
“Sorry Sir, but I’ll have to ask you to leave. We need to prep the Lieutenant Commander for the pod, now.”
“Everything’s gonna be fine, Vince. You’ll see.”
Williams didn’t respond. Instead, he stared at Scarecrow with a forlorn expression. Scarecrow returned it with a look of confidence, betraying his true feelings. He turned to walk out of the room, his gait listless. He entered the passageway and saw the CMO approaching with an intent bearing, his head down, peering at his tablet.
“Doctor, have you got a minute?” Scarecrow blocked the CMO’s path as he made his inquiry.
“Only a minute, Commander,” he said as he stopped short of running the pilot down.
“I just spoke with Commander Williams. He told me he may lose the use of his leg?”
“It’s a distinct possibility.”
“But one of your corpsmen just told me they were going to put him into a regeneration pod? Won’t that repair his leg?”
The CMO glanced at Scarecrow with a sympathetic air and sighed. “We’re not placing your WSO into a regeneration pod, Commander. We’re putting him into a stasis pod.”
“Why? You’ve got Hutch in a regeneration pod, don’t you?”
“No. He’s in a stasis pod as well.”
“What’s wrong with putting them in a regeneration pod?”
The doctor paused for a moment as he stared at Scarecrow. “Your CAG’s injuries are severe, and treatment will take time. So will treatment for Commander Williams. We thought it best that both officers be returned to Nautilus to undergo their treatment, instead of here on Oleander. We stabilized Hutch and placed him in the stasis pod immediately. Williams has just now finished being prepped in is being placed in another stasis pod. Once we rendezvous with Nautilus, we’ll transfer both of your officers, where they’ll be placed into regeneration pods in their own sick bay.”
“And then he and Williams will be okay, right? The regeneration pods will heal them completely, won’t they? Williams will get use of his leg back, and Hutch–”
“There was considerable tissue loss to Williams’ leg, Commander. The regeneration pod can restore damaged tissue, but it can’t replace missing tissue. At least not as much as the Commander has lost.”
“But you must have something … some kind of FM that can do that? Restore his tissue?”
“There is a therapy, yes. But it requires numerous treatments. And time. There are no guarantees, Commander.”
“And Hutch? The regeneration pod can treat him though, can’t it? He’ll recover?”
The CMO hesitated before continuing, his face dower. “Honestly? I wouldn’t hold out much hope, Commander. I’m afraid that despite our best efforts to save him, your CAG may not make it. I know that’s not what you wanted to hear …”
Scarecrow stood motionless, staring at the doctor with shock and disbelief.
“I’m sorry, Commander. I hate to hit you with more bad news.” The doctor released a heavy sigh. “But Lieutenant Commander Edwards expired 20 minutes ago.”
“What … what about Lieutenant Jones?”
“He’s in critical but stable condition. We already have him in a stasis pod. He’ll make a complete recovery.”
“And Lieutenant MacPherson?”
“She only suffered minor injuries. She was released an hour ago. I’m sorry, Commander, I don’t want to appear to be uncaring, but I have to supervise Commander Williams’ placement into the stasis pod. If you’ll excuse me.” The doctor slipped past him and darted into Williams’ room.
“There’s no joy in Mudville …”
Scarecrow’s eyes had followed the CMO into the trauma room, his stare incredulous, overwhelmed by the doctor’s diagnoses of his comrades. Shere-Khan’s voice snapped him back to reality. The CAG had come up behind the CMO just as he and Scarecrow finished their conversation.
“That’s fitting,” Scarecrow said. “Mighty Casey has struck out.”
“Yup. You’re not very popular around here right now, Steve.” Shere-Khan’s face was stoic.
“With good reason. Not only did I not squash the Admiral’s chigger for her, but I wrecked two more of her birds, and now I find out my two friends may not make it through the night. Stanton’s chigger turned out to be an armadillo. An armadillo with a serious set of fangs.”
“Don’t be so hard on yourself. Hardware can be replaced.”
“Yeah, but now you’re down to only four birds. And one of those is a loaner.”
“Hutch’s bird is a strike–it’ll go back to the taxpayers. Yours is salvageable, but it’ll have to be shipped back to Earth for a refit. Don’t worry. We’ll make do. There’s four more TR-3Bs about to roll off the line. I’m sure Oleander will get at least two of them. As for your friends, they’ll pull through. I’ve known Hutch for a long time. He’s a fighter.”
“I hope you’re right. The CMO doesn’t seem to agree with you.”
“What do doctors know?”
“I really messed things up this time.”
“Everybody may be disappointed with you right now, but I came here to tell you I don’t share that sentiment.” Shere-Khan’s expression was unwavering, augmenting his encouragement. “I did a preliminary analysis of our sensor data and the tactical readouts, including those from Oleander. From one brown-shoe to another, I can honestly say you did everything right. Your tactics were sound–you outflew everybody in that engagement, including your Black Bart.
“You scored more hits on that bandit than he did on you, and he was definitely gunning for you–the rest of us were secondary targets. You were betrayed by superior hardware.”
“Then you and I need to put our heads together and figure a way around that superior hardware.”
“Consider it done.”
“And what if the next time we come toe to toe with a mother ship, hundreds of saucers just like that one come pouring out?” Scarecrow pointed to the air above them. “What then, CAG?”
“Then I’d say we’re in some serious shite. I really don’t think that’s going to be the case. It’s my opinion this bandit is a one-off. Built especially to deal with you.”
“The hot rod.”
“Absolutely. You were right–he had a hemi under the hood.”
Scarecrow stared at Shere-Khan for a moment, processing his evaluation. The CAG continued.
“If he was flying a traditional enemy TR, you would have taken him out no problem. His combination of enhanced shields and ablative armor was your undoing, not your skill as a pilot. He’s good. Very good. But not as good as you. And I intend to make sure Stanton understands that. And know this–from what I could glean from the data I previewed, his shields were fluctuating near the end. Another five minutes and several more hits, and you would have splashed him.”
“Thanks for that, Brett. But I need your help to come up with a strategy to defeat this enemy asset before he wreaks any more havoc on our forces. That’s all that matters. Normally, it would be Hutch and I–”
Shere-Khan waited for him to finish. Scarecrow sighed before continuing.
“I don’t think I can bear to listen to taps as they play it at my best friend’s funeral.”
“Don’t count Hutch out yet. Give him more credit than that. He deserves it. I’ve only known you for a day, but if it’s any comfort, my original impression of you hasn’t changed. In my mind, your reputation is intact. You’re still an ace. And Hutch will pull through.”
“I appreciate that. Once I return to Nautilus, we need to work on how to squash Stanton’s chigger.”
Shere-Khan offered his hand, and the pilots shook. Then he handed Scarecrow a data key.
Scarecrow stood in Oleander’s transporter room and watched as three stasis pods and one body sleeve slid through the portal.
Six had embarked on this mission. Only five returned. And only two of them unscathed.
At least physically.
MacPherson stood off in one corner, remaining silent and refusing to even glance in Scarecrow’s direction. Once the pods and body sleeve were through, she shot in after them and disappeared from view. Scarecrow hesitated for a moment, his mind a roiling mass.
Somehow, with Shere-Khan’s help, he would turn this defeat into victory.