Gray Panthers: Earths Revenge (13 page)

Matt saw the icons on his helmet visor as he concentrated on an icon and winked with his right eye. Immediately a brief flash illuminated under the Darts nose as a slight thump was felt as a single 40mm round was fired. Matt instantaneously tried to see how many he could shoot and was rewarded by firing at 30 targets in under a minute. Giving the command, “View trajectory,” made the track of all the shells appear on his visor as he watched them self-correct their courses as they closed in and then destroyed their targets.

“Arizona Space Ship Beater, Dart One, do you see anything we have missed, it just feels like we came up light.”

“Dart One, Arizona Space Ship Beater, we monitored 980 drones destroyed or damaged.”

“Dart Flight, Dart One, did you all copy that? Let's spread out our coverage. I think they are going to try and pull a fast one by doing an end run. Everyone check your computers for your new orders. We are going to go stationary completely around Venus along the equator to avoid any gaps in coverage.”

Dart One, Dart Nine, I’ve lost thrusters and caught in Venus's gravity well starting to lose altitude.”

“Dart Nine, Dart One, turn off your main weapons dampener and adjust your attitude nose down 45 degrees aiming your ships nose towards the planet then immediately fire all remaining stores."

Matt watched from the distance as the nose of Dart Nine seemed to ignite in fire as the 40mm cannon fired its remaining ammunition towards Venus and could be seen moving backwards from the weapons recoil.

“Arizona Space Ship Cornucopia, Dart One, request immediate shuttle assistance to tow Dart Nine back to the ship,” Matt requested.

“Arizona Space Ship Cornucopia, Arizona Space Ship Beater, we will provide assistance, Arizona Space Ship Beater out.”

“Dart One, Dart Nine, I am no longer losing altitude after using the cannons recoil to move away from the planet, all other systems appear OK, just need a tow.”

"Dart Nine, Sandy One, I'll rendezvous with you at your present station. Sandy One out," Zack Askis commed as headed to the stricken ship.

"Dart One, Dart Five, last of the drones are coming in as a tight formation."

"Dart Five, Dart One, good catch you take charge of the flight while I assist Dart Nine."

"Dart Five copies. Take Dart Flight, destroy drones."

"Dart One, Sandy One, advise you increase distance as I assist Dart Nine."

Zachary Askis, seventy eight, was excited as this was his first shuttle mission in space and didn't need these punk kids getting in his way. Since getting fired from his position as gunnery officer on the Bia he was smarting to show he was not a fuck-up. He was hungry for any type of award to make up for his previous career. His years in the Air Force had been uneventful, after his first couple of tours flying transports, he found himself instead filling a desk wherever it was needed, never feeling any real camaraderie he took early retirement and spent his civilian years as an account officer at Major Manures House of Gardening Supplies.

Closing with the disabled Dart, Zachary was sure not to get too close as he signaled the crew chief in the back of the shuttle he was getting ready to open the hatch so he could step out and maneuver towards the stricken ship.

Short Blade was never more nervous before in his life. He had lied and said he had experience using a similar rocket pack as the now poorly attached rocket pack on his back. He feared that he would die a foolish death, and then worried he would fail at the job. The hatch opened and he trembled in fright going out into space. Imagining that he failed the pilot of the Dart and the shame of that failure drove him out of the shuttle. Short Blade amazed himself, as he seemed to put his thoughts of failure behind him as he found himself facing the fighter. He gave a short blast of the rocket pack and found himself rapidly closing with the Dart. No adjustments were needed as he closed on the Dart and slightly hit the retro rocket coming to a soft hit on the dart as his magnetic boots locked onto the exterior of the Dart.

Zachery watched bored as the little alien was standing on the Dart. He started to daydream about the medal he would obviously get for saving the foolish kid, and it did not even bother him that he would have to share the limelight with the alien. His inattention combined with his dreams made him his miss the proximity light on his panel as a couple dozen micro meteors closed and impacted on the shuttle most only scrapped the exterior paint. Those that went through the open hatch continued through the softer interior door and then bounced around inside the flight deck until momentum was lost. Zach was terrified as the first few micro meteors blasted through the door like a blast from a shotgun. Forgetting all training, he immediately tried to close the exterior hatch instead of securing his helmet. By the time he was able to make sense of his situation he saw that the panel was dark and he only had emergency lighting. The illumination panel on the ceiling shed light on red drops that were floating in the flight deck around him as he grasped that he was weightless. Reaching to don his helmet he realized the helmet had a hole through it as did his right arm and leg. Zach immediately threw up in his panic projecting the contents of his stomach throughout the flight deck. Trying to calm himself, he saw that his blood and puke were being sucked out of the flight deck and into space from holes under the panel in front of him. Quickly he tried to block the atmosphere from venting out by covering it with his hand as he began to get light headed, not noticing that the shuttle was now heading for the planet Venus. Reaching behind his seat he finally found the emergency tool kit and the precious repair tape. Taping over the hole his suits arm, then the suits leg, he started to look for the hole on the exterior bulkhead. He repaired the hole the same time he thought of the standby power switch. Flipping the switch immediately filled the flight deck with warnings lights and alarms. Zach looked at the forward display in time to see that it appeared the entire exterior of the shuttle was covered with flames. There was no longer any view of space as the entire screen filled with a view of Venus until the exterior sensors were lost and the display died as the ship entered the atmosphere. Flames began to work their way through the holes in the hull as he realized he was going to crash into the planet as the flight deck began to roast from the heat of the shuttle entering the atmosphere. Flames started to hit against his face as he started to smell his hair and skin start to burn as he forced his eyes closed against the heat and pain while trying not to breathe in the flames. Zach reached into the survival kit behind him using touch to find the 10mm automatic and put it to his head as he shivered once feeling disgusted with himself as he prayed he would not fail as he pulled the trigger.

Short Blade missed the loss of his shuttle as he took the club he had tucked into the harness of the rocket pack and swung it at the offending Dart as he had hundreds of time before as part of the preparation to launch. Short Blade began to tell the Dart pilot to increase power to the engine when he felt the tug at his leg and looked down to see a small hole with drips of his blood floating out then freezing solid. Quickly he pulled off a couple pieces of tape he had prepositioned on his sleeve and covered the holes. He looked up deciding it important to let his shuttle pilot know he was having an emergency as he watched the shuttle enter the planet's atmosphere like a comet with a tail of fire. Frozen with fear he heard a voice.

"Dart Nine to my hero standing on the back of my Dart, if you can hear me hold on, we are heading back to the ranch."

Short Blade saw they were increasing speed as they headed back to the Beater. He walked over to the top of the ship and straddled the center spine as he held onto a locked hatch handle with his left hand as he put his other hand over the hole in his suit for added safety. He decided when they got back to the Beater he was going to ask for his own suit so he could use all four of his arms and not just two like a human

"Dart Nine, Dart One, be advised you have a cowboy riding you back to the ranch. I am assuming position as your wingman"

"Dart One, Dart Nine copies. That cowboys going to get the gentlest ride of his life."

"Dart One, Dart Five, last of the drones are destroyed, looks like Sandy One has crashed, we checked for survivors or beepers, nothing. Looks like he rode it in."

The hanger deck opened its main hatchway as the dart flight returned. The viewing ports were filled with the ship's crew, as they had to witness Short Blade riding the Dart into the bay.

Short Blade felt relief as the landing bay hatches closed behind him. He could imagine the atmosphere was being pumped into the bay. His right leg started to tingle as he felt squishiness between the toes on his right foot. He jumped the short distance to the deck figuring he would help the pilots out of the Darts, and then see to his injury. The short jump to the deck made Short Blade cry out in pain as his right leg buckled under him as it failed to support him; he saw his crewmates running towards him. He felt humiliation wash over him as he tried to get up from the deck appearing like a weak failure. As the first human got to him, his legs throbbing was replaced with darkness as he passed out from the pain.

Jimmy Brewster was the first to reach Short Blade as he dropped to his knees and started to turn the helmet to remove it. Guns Wright plopped down next to him and examined the little alien and saw the tape on his leg and pulled it off as blood leaked out of the hole.

"Son of a bitch! We need to get him out of that suit ASAP; Someone get me a first aid kit now!" Guns hollered

Jimmy handed him an old style straight razor and pointed for him to cut the suits leg off to save time. Cutting the leg off above the hole made it easy to slip the suit's leg off. The wound was easily found as it was still slowly leaking blood, as the entire hairy leg was matted in the red sticky fluid. A first aid kit was thrust into Jimmy's hands as he quickly took the healer unit and slowly waved it over the wound as the smell of burnt hair and flesh permeated the air. With the wound cauterized Jimmy started to lift the little alien as Guns gripped the other side of Short Blade and flipped him onto his back in a fireman's carry and told Jimmy to clear the way to the infirmary. Once in the infirmary Jimmy activated the medical computer as he took a medical scanner and scanned the little alien from head to toe. The medical computer announced, "The patient needs an immediate blood transfusion."

Jimmy replied back to the computer there was no blood available for the little alien. A clear tube began to slide down the length of the bed and sealed itself as a light turned on inside the tube. "Stasis field will maintain patient until needed operations can be performed." The computer reported.

The commander walked in at that moment. Guns was the first to report. "Sir, Jimmy saved our boys life, but he needs blood bad. Request we hit it for the moon ASAP!"

The commander simply nodded as he commed the bridge to set course for the Earth's moon ASAP. The commander then interfaced with the ships speaker system. "All mission requirements have been met and we are now returning home at best speed. We will launch our shuttle to the moon and then proceed on to Earth where Dart Flight will launch their Darts to return to the spaceport at Gray Panther Head Quarters. Then return to the Academy to complete academics. Short Blade is stable and will be in the shuttle to the moon to receive medical attention. I regret to inform you that Lt. Zach Askis from the Bia lost his life when it appears he suffered unknown mechanical failure and crashed on Venus. Funeral arrangements will be carried out after the accident investigation. To the rest of the crew good job everybody, Captain out."

Peary Crater Lunar Base                                     

29 August 2128

Colonel Blade was first shocked then amazed when he was informed Short Blade had been injured and in order to save his life, the ship was en route to save him. Additional information from the guards started to leak out that the little warrior was a hero that had saved a pilots life by having to use a rocket pack to get to the ship as the shuttle he had just vacated crashed into Venus.

Blades chest puffed out on its own as he thought to himself,
that’s my son, the hero.
Then he worried that the humans would not know how to operate on his son. He dispatched his aid to inform the healer and her staff to be ready for his son. Worry lines creased the Colonels face as he waited, absently pacing the floor.

Although he had been watching the hatchway for what seemed hours, Blade was surprised when the little human female Major Paulsen came through the hatchway. He not only did not hear the hatch open. It took a moment for it to realize that she was in front of him talking.

"
Are you even listening to me, Blade? Your
son should be here in under an hour. We will need volunteers to provide blood for him because of the amount he has lost, other than that all bleeding has stopped and with the blood, he should make a full recovery. Will that be a problem Colonel Blade? Colonel Blade, will that be a problem?"

"I apologize, Major, my thoughts were elsewhere. Our people have reached the stars and yet we are still very backwards in some things. Our clan, like the other clans, fear blood transactions because early in our history it usually resulted in death for both the donor and recipient. We later learned about blood types and took away the danger of giving the wrong type of blood, however, our religion looks at it as evil saying we give part of our spirit when we give our blood," Blade said sadly.

"Oh that's fine Colonel, I'll call the ship and just tell them to save the trouble and space him, since his people are afraid of the evil involved for saving a hero. How about you point out your priest and I'll shoot him in the leg and let him bleed out, then get an opinion from him if it's evil to give blood to save a life?" the Major said hotly.

"Major, I'm sorry but we are all your captives and you can do with us as you wish, I will not interfere with any orders you give my people," the Colonel replied as he blinked his right eye.

"OK Colonel as your captor I am ordering you to provide yourself and as many captives as needed until we find the right donors. If this is not done by the time my medical staff arrives I will take severe action against all captives. Do you understand me, Colonel?" the Major said winking at the Colonel.

"If it is the price one must pay being a captive of the humans, so be it. I do know I am the same blood type as my son, so I will endure the stigma of giving blood."

Selene the AI responsible for all lunar operations appeared before the two and stated, "Major Paulsen, when the medical team arrives they will only need to scan a drop of the Colonels blood. I have the ability to duplicate the blood perfectly using the food processors. If the patient had been assigned to a ship with an AI there would not have been any problems."

"Well Colonel looks like you dodged one there, how did you know Short Blade has the same blood type as you if it's against your religion to donate blood?"

"When he was born I had a blood test to be sure he was my son, I was ready to kill my wife for infidelity if he was not of my blood."

"Colonel if you prefer, we can just wait until your son arrives here then scan his blood and fabricate it then, if you wish," the Major offered.

"No Major, I will do anything I need to do for my son. I am willing to even do the transfusion if needed. Short Blade is my only son."

The hatchway opened with the medical technician entering the chamber cutting the conversation short. The Major nodded to the Colonel and the technician just mimed for the feline to open a fist as she then quickly pricked the Colonel in the pad of his paw and quickly held a device over the drop of blood. She then stuck an oversized band aid on the minor stab wound and disappeared back through the hatchway leaving just as quickly as she had arrived. The Colonel stood in near shock for how quickly it had all happened. Looking at the closing hatchway the Colonel turned towards the Major, "That one must also be an excellent assassin with skills such as that."

The Major only looked at the Colonel towering over her as he felt his pad when she broke out in laughter breaking the tension realizing it was the first time the formal Colonel had ever made a joke in her presence. "I need to go Colonel, when your son is ready I will see to it you are allowed to visit him after his recovery." The Colonel only nodded in gratitude as the Major left the chamber.

Captain McGuire was relieved when he finally got close enough to the lunar base so that he could get landing instructions. The two huge crew chiefs in the back of his shuttle were adamant that he make the best time possible to the moon. There was no indication that there was even a base as he followed the approach instructions. One hundred feet from the surface a large hatchway slid open as he continued to descend. The bay was at least the equivalency of thirty stories deep. Jake estimated there had to be at least three hundred shuttles in their separate berths. The berth he was preparing to dock with took over control of the shuttle as he was warned to allow the automated docking control to finish the docking procedure. Looking in the back of the shuttle through the open hatchway, he saw the two beefy crew chiefs waiting for the light to turn to green so they could exit the shuttle and get the stasis unit to the base hospital.

The landing bay was a hive of activity as the shuttle landed and the two crew chiefs from the Arizona Space Ship Beater directed the stasis chamber towards the medics ready to receive their new patient.

Guns looked at Jimmy then to the shuttle pilot. "Sir while we are here it would be an ideal time to run a level one diagnostic on the shuttle since we may not have the needed parts on the Arizona Space Ship Beater. We can start that immediately if you want to head for either the cafeteria here or the recreation center, we can comm you when it's done."

"OK Guns, and if you do it on automatic you can head over to the Base Hospital and keep an eye on Short Blade until you are notified that the diagnostics are done." Guns and Jimmy just looked at each other for a moment then saluted the officer and headed for the Base Hospital and their little comrade.

Two hours later the two were sitting watching the little alien slowly wake up. After notifying the nurse, they just sat and waited for Short Blade to become fully conscious. The door opened again and it was filled with the bulk of a menacing huge alien accompanied by a tiny Major. Both men rose protectively as the duo entered the room.

The alien carefully looked over both of the NCOs as he then turned towards the patient in the bed. Turning back to the Major he asked, "Does my son really need these two to guard him?"

Jimmy answered the question, feeling his comrade was being insulted. "Short Blade is not a prisoner, he is our buddy. We are here to make sure nothing happens to him and to be here for him if he needs anything." The attitude of the speaker was easily passed on to the Colonel even without the need of translator device.

The Colonel stepped closer to the bed as both NCOs became more alert, ready to protect their friend from the alien before them. "I am Colonel Blade, I am glad to see my son has the respect of two senior warriors as yourselves who call him comrade. That title is the highest honor a warrior in my culture can be given to another warrior."

Guns used this moment to speak up. "Then I'm sure the title hero has meaning in your culture also Colonel. That is what your son is. I don't know about your society, but in ours we measure a warrior by deeds and not by height."

Short Blade silently laid in the bed with his eyes closed listening to the interaction between his father and shipmates and was surprised by their strong feelings towards him, he had felt accepted but did not realize how fully until now. A spasm in his leg forced him to groan softly as all eyes were now directed on him.

Guns looked him in the eyes. "We'll be out in the hallway if you need us Shorty." Guns then nodded to the Colonel as he made his way with Jimmy to the door passing both him and the Major.

Major Paulsen was surprised when the Colonel bent over and rubbed his head against his son then started to lick his face before pressing his forehead against his sons and said something she could not hear. The son's response was to weakly wrap his arms around his father in a hug. The Colonel then straightened up and saluted his son. Turning towards the Major he said he was done here.

Once out in the hall the Colonel saw his son's comrades approaching him. One handed him a data disk that was a recording of Short Blades heroics, then both saluted him as they proceeded towards his son's room once again.