Solbidyum Wars Saga 4: Too Late for Earth (2 page)

Jenira was a young girl of rather small stature.  She was perhaps 14 or 15 by Earth standards, but she might have been older; it was hard to tell.  She and her younger brother, Tanden, had been taken from their parents and sold as child sex slaves on the planet Goo’Waddle to satisfy a debt their father owed the Brotherhood.  Over time, Tanden had aged too much physically to satisfy the perverted men who sought out young boys, so he was sold as slave labor to the plantation owners, where he harvested plants used to make the illegal drug called
God’s Sweat
.  We had rescued both children just a few weeks earlier and reunited Tanden and Jenira shortly before Tanden was killed.

“Kala, what do I do?” I gasped.

“I would say that for right now you just concentrate on healing… but I wanted you to know about this.  The things you do impact more than just your own life.  Every member of your crew depends on you; all those people on the planet depend on you; Jenira depends on you; the androids depend on you; and, Tibby, I depend on you. The fate of this planet is in your hands.  Your life has greater meaning than you realize.”

Just then Jenira returned with a bowl of steaming soup.  She again sat down at my side and began to spoon it into my mouth.  I looked at Kala, who grinned and winked at me.  I had a hunch it would be awhile before I was allowed to do anything for myself again.

It had been three weeks since I had eaten solid food, if all that Kala told me was true; and while I was hungry, I found myself unable to eat more than a few spoonful before sleep descended on me.  The last thing I remember was Jenira trying to feed me another spoonful as I faded into blackness.  When I awoke and opened my eye, the first thing that I saw was Jenira seated there, staring at me.  The scene reminded me of a cat I had as a child, who was always sitting in front of me with an unwavering stare every day as I woke up.

I also sensed that ever-so-faint aroma of cedar that was present whenever A’Lappe was about.

“A’Lappe?” I muttered.  As I did, Jenira moved to get me some water, even though I did not ask for it.

“Ahh, First Citizen, I wondered if you would still be able to sense my presence, after all you have undergone.”  A’Lappe’s voice came from the other side the room, somewhere out of my field of vision.

I had noticed years ago when I first met A’Lappe that he emitted a faint, cedar-like scent that alerted me to his presence when others were unaware that he was nearby.  A’Lappe knew I could sense his presence even when he was cloaked, but he didn’t know how I did it; it was a thing which perplexed his scientific mind in much the same way that the mystery of his own past and origin perplexed me.  I took a sip of the water from the cup Jenira presented me and then painfully turned my head to the left until I could see A’Lappe seated in the chair Kala had occupied before.

“Where is Kala?” I asked.

“We talked her into going to bed.  I don’t think she has been out of this room more than a few minutes since you were brought back to the ship.  Now that she knows you will survive she relented to our pleas go get some proper sleep.  I volunteered to sit here with Jenira in her stead until she has had a chance to get some real rest.”

“I really screwed up this time didn’t I?”  I said.  I realized that I was now a bit stronger than I had been when I was awake earlier.

A’Lappe chuckled, “I think that would depend on what results you expected.  If it was your intent to totally change life on Goo’Waddle and send the Brotherhood running, one could say your efforts were a huge success.  However, if you were trying to survive and to continue to accomplish more, well you barely made it.”

“Tell me honestly; how bad off am I?”

A’Lappe looked at Jenira a moment as though contemplating whether he should say anything in her presence or not.  Then he seemed to decide with a slight nod and began, “Tibby, I’m not going to lie to you.  That you are alive now is
nothing
short of a miracle.  I have never known anyone so severely injured to survive.  If Galetils had not installed the latest and best medical equipment on the
NEW ORLEANS
, I doubt you would be alive now.  As it is, you should have a full recovery and live a normal life – or at least as normal as anyone with your wealth can.  There is a question as to how well the synthetic nerves will work; no one has ever had as much nerve tissue replaced with synthetic nerves as you have.  Right now you are a mass of scars but the nanobots in your bloodstream are already working to repair those.  By the time your other injuries are healed, no one who sees you will ever know you had scars.  You’ll be wearing an eye patch for several months until your new eye is cloned – that can’t be helped.”

“Why is that?  It seems you can heal the rest of me relatively quickly.”

“Eyes are not so easy. The eye is part of the brain, Tibby; and, as such, it is very sophisticated tissue.  For it to be fully developed and completely functional it needs to be grown slowly and allowed to mature before it can be implanted.”

“How long will it be before I can get out of this bed and move about?”

“So far you have been healing rapidly, so I would not be surprised if you are able to get out of bed tomorrow and walk a few steps with some help.  In two or possibly three more days you'll be capable enough to leave this room and return to your suite; however it will be some time before you are fully functional again.

Jenira was tugging on my arm.  I looked at her as she began to pantomime eating and pointing to me; and it wasn’t until then that I realized I was both hungry and thirsty.  “Yes, I would like something to eat… and something to drink.”  Jenira eagerly got up and hurried out of the room.

“That young lady is really fixated on you Tibby.  Everyone is worried about her.  She hasn’t uttered a sound since Tanden was killed; and she frets over you constantly.”

“Kala told me.  Honestly A’Lappe I have no idea how to deal with this situation.”

“I can’t give you any direction there.  I hate to think what would have happened to her, had you died.  She had lost a lot of blood by the time they got her to the
NEW ORLEANS
.  Her wound was small, but an artery had been severed. We gave her a transfusion and treated the wound; that was all she needed and she was fine again in a few hours.”

A’Lappe’s words echoed in my mind, as I realized just how selfish and foolish my actions had been in chasing after Shydak and the Brotherhood the way I did.  I was so steeped in rage that I never gave any real thought to how my death might impact others.

“Whatever happened to Shydak?  Do we have any new information on him?”

“We tracked him on our sensors for quite a distance.  Then we saw a larger ship arrive and rendezvous with him.  The ship turned and left the area, but their destination is unknown.”  As A’Lappe finished relating Shydak’s last known movements, Jenira returned with a tray of food and some juice in another of those strange cups with the nub-like attachment for drinking.  I tried to feed myself, but Jenira would have no part of it and insisted on spoon feeding me once more.

“What’s the situation on the planet?” I asked between spoons full of food.

“I think you will be pleased with what has been accomplished.  It seems your values and senses of right and wrong have been deeply ingrained in your team.  Padaran has been most amazing in what he has achieved by way of the Ruwallie Rasson.  In the meantime, Marranalis and Sokaia have been occupied with the androids and what’s left of the local government, setting up new laws and seeing to the fair and effective enforcement.  Prostitution is now a choice for women and men, and not one of slavery.  Child prostitution is illegal completely.  Unfortunately, the local economy and opportunities for businesses do not offer a lot of choices for women at the moment, so this has resulted in many women remaining engaged in prostitution just to make a living; but at least they have the chance to leave, if they find something else they can do. Of course, they are also able to keep the money they earn, so they can save it up and start their own businesses or go to school, if they wish.  The population in general seems rather pleased with what is happening, as the heavy hand of the Brotherhood and Ruwallie Rasson has been lifted.  The biggest surprise seems to be the way the Ruwallie Rasson are accepting the changes, though there still may be some grumblings among a few of them.”

“I can’t wait to talk to everyone about what they’ve been doing.  To be honest I would not have expected these things to happen on Goo’Waddle this soon.”

“You’ll get to talk to them in due time.  Goo’Waddle is still a rough planet and slavery is not yet eliminated; but the Ruwallie Rasson are delighted in making slaves of the Brotherhood that they have captured to replace the slaves they had to set free.  So, now the groundwork is laid for bringing a slow end to slavery here.”

“How about the enslaved children?  What’s happening to them?”  I glanced toward, Jenira who seemed to be paying no attention to what we were saying, as she was completely engrossed in spooning food into my mouth every time I opened it.

“First Citizen Kalana set up a search team to locate all the parents and families and reunite the children with them where possible.  To those with no living family, she has extended an offer to bring them back to your estate on Megelleon, where she plans to establish an orphanage and school to see to their care and education.”

I had to smile as I thought of Kala making these arrangements.  I really do love that woman.

“How are Stonbersa and Felenna holding up?” I asked quickly, before Jenira could shove another spoon of food in my mouth.

“When the Commodore saw you take off after Shydak, he immediately took action and coordinated a full-scale attack using the Mirage Fighters and patrol ships from both the
NEW ORLEANS
and the
MIZBAGONIA
.  You’ll recall there were several hundred Brotherhood ships surrounding the planet.  Well, they were totally caught off guard; and because all our ships were cloaked, they had no idea how many ships or what size ships were attacking them.  I’m sure it seemed like the entire Federation military was assaulting them.  In just a short time we destroyed two thirds of their ships as the rest retreated.  Their losses here were heavy, greater than in all their previous conflicts with us combined.  When they saw what was happening, the ships in the more distant stations fled the scene at maximum speed.  I suspect they’re mighty upset as you’ve messed up their drug trade again.  I imagine they were ramping up their operations here to compensate for their losses after you stopped them at Alle Bamma… and now you’ve shut them down here, as well.”

“I suspect they have many planets set up like this one.  They can’t afford to have all their crop production and lab operations in one location.  Nevertheless, I’m sure we hurt their business substantially.”  By now I had finished my meal.  I tried to sit up a bit more, as I seemed to have slid down in the bed, and immediately Jenira was on her feet trying to assist me and adjust my pillows.  When she thought that I was sufficiently situated, she looked at me with a smile and sat down in her chair once more.

“How about
our
losses?  How many men and ships did we lose?”

A’Lappe chuckled, “Tibby, you, Tanden and Padaran were our only casualties and the ship you crashed was one you stole from the Brotherhood, so we lost none of our own ships.  Padaran’s leg is almost completely healed now, though he still limps a bit.”

“Has the Admiral been apprised of the situation here?”

“Indeed he has and he’s been calling twice a day for briefings on your progress.  He is also bursting with pride at Padaran’s accomplishments.”

I grinned as I imagined the Admiral’s pride over his nephew’s exploits.  I was just wondering what display he would try to make over it all.  “Has there been any more news about the Tottalax?”

“I think it would be best if Commander Wabussie addressed that matter with you.  I believe he has some new information, but I would be remiss if I were to speak for him and inadvertently present you with the wrong data.”

Commander Wabussie was the head of the Federation Security Organization, an ultra-top-secret Federation intelligence-gathering organization also known as the FSO.  Its very existence was only known to a few within the Federation.  The FSO had been formed in secrecy, when it was discovered that the Federation Office of Investigation, or FOI, which was considered to be the primary source of intelligence gathering, had been infiltrated by the Brotherhood of Light.  The FOI had been passing on false information to the Federation military; and since there was no way to be certain what other government entities may have been infiltrated, the FOI was allowed to continue to function largely as a
intelligence gathering
organization until the FSO could determine who among them were Brotherhood infiltrators.

“Is there any other news in the Federation that I need to know about?” I asked.

“Well, Leader Turaine’s term expired and a new Leader from the Kopalac sector has been elected to fill the third leadership slot.  In the meantime, Leader Roritat, who you’ve never met, as he was the rotating Leader previously in the third slot, will be rotated to the capital to serve with Leader Rieam.  The new Leader from the Kopalac sector is an Obarian, one of the first non-humans ever to take office as a Leader.  His name is Floss.  As you know, the three Leaders are never together in one location at the same time, in order to ensure that there is always at least one Leader in place, if some calamity should occur.”