Princess Rescue Inc (47 page)

Deidra
turned. “I touched them but he moved away.”

“Wounds?”
the Queen asked, suddenly concerned.

“A
basilisk
clawed his arm, hip, leg, and shoulder. And he was nicked with
a dagger and a sword when he rescued the princesses from that knight,” Doc
replied. “The damn fool won’t take antibiotics, he said he doesn't need them
and we'll need them later,” she sighed shaking her head at such stubborn
stupidity. “Are they at least clean and healing?” she asked Deidra.

Deidra
blushed looking away. “I didn't get a good look.”

Her
mother pursed her lips. “Well, best to check since those wounds were earned
saving you my child,” she ordered firmly. She got up and motioned for them to
go. Doc nodded.

“I've
got a meeting in a few minutes with Senji and Tau but I can spare a moment if you
can finish for me princess.” She nodded.

“It's
the honorable thing to do, to bind wounds given in your service,” Her mother
replied softly.

Deidra
nodded again firmly, shoulders back, chin up. Her mother was right; she'd
neglected that simple courtesy. “Let's go,” she ordered. She gathered her gown
and marched off. Doc gave her retreating back a look and then shrugged to the
Queen, bowed slightly and followed the departing princess.

<==={}------------>

In
his suite the princess chased off Answorth, a pair of apprentice engineers, and
an artist assigned to draft the blueprints they were working on. “Now princess,
I did eat, honest,” he said holding his hands up. He wasn't sure what all her
sudden concern for his welfare meant. At least she wasn't a shrew, that's all
he could think about. He did have to admit he did feel better with five hours
of uninterrupted sleep. Doc came in behind the princess and quietly shut the
door. “Oh no, not you too? Did you put a bug in her ear?” He jerked his thumb
to the princess who was trying to lift his shirt. “What the hell are you
doing?” he demanded looking at her.

She
sighed in exasperation, hands stopping for the moment. “The doctor told me to
check your wounds. Take your tunic off.”

“They're
fine!” he said returning her ire with his own. He turned on the Doc. “You did
this you meddling female…” He yipped when Deidra pinched him.

“Be
nice!” she growled, eyes flashing only a foot away from his own. He turned on
her with a glower but she ducked the look grabbing his right forearm and
holding it still. “There is blood on the bandage,” she said, suddenly
concerned. He had been injured nearly a month ago. The wounds should be healed
better than this.

“Probably
torn the stitches again, He's done it a few times already. It keeps setting the
healing process back. Not surprising given the activity we're all doing,” Doc
said with an exasperated sigh. “Over here,” She waved to the bed as she set her
kit down on it.

He
grumbled but got up and let them check his wounds. Deidra brushed up against
him a few times, making him feel a little warm. Doc checked for a fever and
frowned. “You're running a point and a half high; that's a sign of an
infection.” She gave him a dirty look. He shrugged it off. “I'm fine Doc, just
ah....” Deidra brushed up against him again. “A little distracted and it's a
little stuffy. I've also been ah...” He waited until Deidra turned. “I've been
on my feet a lot,” he admitted Doc chuckled slightly.

A
chambermaid and lady in waiting came in with water and fresh bandages. They got
his shirt off. “Eyes right!” He growled at the younger girls.

The
chambermaid caught the princess's flush and lingering look over his body and
giggled something to the lady near her. The princess turned a quelling glower
on the two of them. “You're dismissed,” she growled, eyes flashing.

After
he was bandaged Doc firmly informed him they needed to be checked daily and he
needed to put less strain on the skin so it would knit properly. He sighed.
There was a knock at the door and he looked up as it opened. The hall was
filled with people all jostling to get in. He rolled his eyes at Doc.

Sue
sighed. She knew the look, knew just how far she could push him. He was about
fed up with her machinations, she could tell just from his subsonic rumble and
body language. “Fine, then book some free time. And I want you down for six
hours a night. Six, not four, not five and a half... six!” she sternly waggled
a finger at him. “I'll send a nurse up with some antibiotics. We are finally
getting that worked out by the way; we’ve got plenty of sulfur so that's not a
problem even though Wanda and Charlie are using it for the gunpowder. Charlie
said she managed to identify penicillin this morning. She's culturing it now.”

“That's
good to know,” he said and smiled. She gave him a look. “All right Doc. I'll
try to get some down time,” he sighed.

“See
that you do,” she said turning to Deidra. “And you make sure of it,” she said.

“I
will,” the princess said. Ryans eyed her and then turned a suspicious eye on
Sue. Sue shrugged.

<==={}------------>

Later
he caught Doc having an argument with a group of healers. He caught part of it,
a heated argument over anatomy. He went to his suite and printed out a couple
of pages on anatomy. He brought them down with a poster and handed them over.
One of the healers started to snarl and crumple the paper but another grabbed
his arm.

“Look,”
Senji urged. The old man looked down and was astonished at the images. He
looked up but Ryans was already gone.

Doc
nodded, wanting to kick herself for not thinking of that sooner. “As you can
see, we have an extensive medical library at our disposal. If we can get more
ink and paper, then we can have easier access to it, or at least copy the
material out for books for easier access. Unfortunately that is in English so I
will translate...”

<==={}------------>

Max
and Scooter checked out an armorer. “He's busy,” his assistant said waving them
off.

“What
gives?” Max asked.

“A
local lord wants his armor repaired,” the assistant said pumping the bellows.
He'd heard the gaijin had made many things available to other smiths but was
unsure of them. He wanted to keep his job. It was tedious pumping the bellows
but it was work.

The
smith was sans shirt, bare chested with a broad burly chest. He had no facial
or chest hair, and no hair on top of his bullet head. He was sun burnt, most
likely from being around the forge and he had a long black braid. His hands
were thick and heavily callused from his work. There was a fresh cut on the
back of his right hand.

They
watched as the smith pulled a broken rivet out of the armor and then used a
dolly and hammer to hammer the dent around the hole back into shape. Scooter
nodded. The guy was using the same techniques body and fender guys had used
over the years.

“What
are you working on there?” Max asked, pointing to the forge.

“Armor
for a titan,” the assistant replied. The smith grunted, not looking up.

“We
are gaijin tasked to defend the Imperium by King Andreas. It is said you know hard
metals. That you make the best hard metals and know how to make things light,”
Max said. He noted several stamping forms in a dark corner. Good.

“Indeed,”
the armorer said, puffing his chest in quiet pride.

“All
right, we've got some work for you,” Scooter said looking to the smith. “I've
been told you can handle making small parts?”  He was hopeful this guy
could handle it. The artisans were all tasked.

The
smith nodded. He pulled a rivet out of his pocket and put it into the holes. He
tapped the hammer and dolly to bend the rivet, and then put it on the anvil to
hammer the rivet head shut. Cold forging, Max thought.

“Aye,
I can,” he said gruffly. He pointed to the chain mail on a bench nearby. “But
I've got a lot to do right now,” he said. “The lord wants this fixed. He should
have known better than to ride in the last tourney,” he said. He shook his
head.

“Yeah,
we can see that. I've got a couple of small projects for you. It's a royal
priority,” Max replied. The smith looked up with a glare.

Max
held up a writ signed by the lord chamberlain. “See?”

The
smith looked it over, eyes darting back and forth. He couldn't read it but he
did recognize the seal and the signature. “All right, just what do you need?”

“Well,
we need a couple of things. Tools really, they will be used to make new
weapons. Let's start with more parts for a lathe. Then another rifling bench.
Fortunately we've done both already so we know all the steps involved and the
parts,” he said, pulling out a scroll with blueprints.

<==={}------------>

“Sue,
what are you two up to now?” Ryans asked, eying the Doc.

“Is
this your way of asking what's up? I wondered why the sudden interest in all
things medical,” she said with a lurking smirk. He snorted.

“No,
that was actually an accident. Yes I was looking for you but I kind of figured
you'd be busy.”

“Riiight,”
she drawled.

“Look,
what are you playing at? You know you're playing with fire. You, Charlie, and
Wanda. Don't think I don't know about your little girls' night the other
night,” he warned. She flushed. “Let me guess, I was the topic of
conversation?” he suddenly demanded, eyes intent. “Right, and let me guess, how
to get through my defenses and cozy up to me was a subtopic? With pointed hints
from you three?”

“What
did you expect?” Sue demanded, spreading her hands.

“Sue,”
he said impatiently, running a hand through his hair. He'd finally taken the
time to shave and shower, he'd felt better for it. “So that's her sudden
concern for my welfare?”

“Saw
through that huh?” Sue asked, leaning back against the table behind her. He
snorted.

“Gee,
she comes over in a sheer low cut silk gown, late at night to get me to talk
about the stars and make me go to bed? I know damn well it's brooded about all
over the court,” he said waving and angry hand.

“And
that's not a good thing?”

“I'm...
damn it Sue, I am not going to get dragged into this shit. I know damn well you
females are manipulating me!” he growled, eyes flashing. “Playing me for a
fool, setting me up.”

“Did
it ever occur to you that she's genuinely interested now?” Sue asked. He
snorted. “No seriously,” she said, pushing him back when he tried to leave. He
growled. “Don't growl at me bub or I'll find an enema with your name on it,
boss or not,” she growled, this time her eyes flashed. He glared. “Okay, okay,
joke in poor taste. But you've got to admit, she's thawing. Is that such a bad
thing?”

“No,”
he admitted grudgingly.

“Do
you
want
her back as an ice princess?” Sue asked. “Cause I
garun-fucking-tee if you act all pissy with her as you are with me right now
that's what you'll get. She'll shell up and be seriously pissed.”

“No,”
he said in exasperation. “But I don't want to be tied down either,” he said,
jaw set.

“Who
said anything about that?” Sue asked, spreading her hands... She knew damn well
where this was leading he knew, knew it and lied right to his face. Typical, he
thought with a mental snarl. “You nit, she liked you. You finally thawed her
out when you started to talk about astronomy. She's been into it since she was
a little girl. That broke the ice,” she said.

He
froze and then frowned thoughtfully, remembering her keen interest with the
astronomers and then in his quarters. “Okay,” he said backing down a little.
“I'll give you that,” he said grudgingly. “But you and your cronies are out of
this. Pass the word, no more crap. Yeah, I know you're setting me up. Teaching
her how to get through my guard. She's got enough of an advantage as it is so
knock the shit off.”

“You
don't like her?”

“I...
that's no one's business. I'm not going to be here long enough so why go
there?” he demanded. “I'm serious Sue, knock off the crap, I don't have time
for it,” he growled.

“Yes
sir captain sir,” she mockingly said, coming to attention and saluting with a
sneer. His eyes flashed.

“I
said I don't need the crap Doc,” he growled.

“Oh
grow up. Be a man,” she said.

Again
his eyes flashed. “So what you're saying is I should spread my legs, close my
eyes and enjoy it?” he asked.

Suddenly
she paled. Her fist clenched. She wanted to slap him but restrained herself.
Finally he looked away. “Okay, a little uncalled for,” he admitted softly. But
there was a hint of truth to it, they both realized. She, some of the Terrans,
were pushing them together not because they'd make some sort of cute couple but
like the Queen they wanted an assurance that their power and life would
continue. “Sorry,” he finally muttered.

She
breathed through her nose a few times, gathering the shreds of her temper and
firmly keeping them in check. Finally she nodded. “So play it by ear. Don't
bite her head off for finally being nice and warming up to you. Maybe it'll
force Rojer to rethink his plans and buy us some time, who knows?” she asked
throwing up her hands. “One day at a time boss. Just think about that,” she
said. “That's all we ever have,” she said jerking the door open and exiting the
room.