Total Betrayal (Deep Space Endeavor) (21 page)

             
Somehow, he could tell that this was quite real and it wasn't easy for her to be here. Still, there was only one question on his mind as he screamed, "SUZY, WHERE'S MY LEG?"

             
"It's gone, Jesse, I'm sorry." The words seemed to come in choked gasps as he could tell she was barely able to hold it together.

             
"Gone, what do you mean gone? Suzy, what happened to my leg?" Jesse was in the midst of a full-fledged panic attack; he had never been more frightened in his life. He had to find some way to wake up from his nightmare.

             
"Admiral Bliney destroyed your leg, Jess, he nearly hacked it off with a sword after destroying the knee and lower leg beyond our ability to repair. We were forced to amputate what was left. I'm so sorry."

             
"Amputate," he repeated in shock. "You cut off my leg, Suzy?" His question carried with it an accusation that almost sent Suzy into hysterics, but Jesse was in too much shock and pain to notice. He still did not fully understand the situation and in his confusion-driven, pain-induced delirium, he began to repeat over and over, "Suzy, I just want my leg, where's my leg?"

             
"It's gone, Jesse, I'm sorry," she repeated, her face a mask. Her body was practically trembling as she desperately tried to hold it together.

             
As the confusion began to die from his eyes and he began to become more alert, the memory of what had happened came flooding back. He turned away with a resigned look that said he finally understood that his leg was gone and he grew very quiet. One of his worst nightmares had come true: his enemy had crippled him. Only this wasn't a permanent injury suffered in glorious battle; this was a shameful, cowardly attack. For the first time in his life, he felt like a victim, and he was ashamed. He didn't think he could bear it and as he looked into his oldest friend's eyes, he didn't just see sympathy, he saw something much worse: pity. He began to speak in a barely audible whisper, "Suzy," he started slowly. "Suzy, you cannot let Lana see me like this, Lana or Kimi. I don't know if I could handle it."

             
"Jesse, of course you can, they love you and wild horses couldn't keep them away."

             
"No, Suzy," he yelled. "Don't let them in. I don't want to see them." He looked away and Suzy saw something in her friend's eyes that she had never seen before, something she never in her wildest dreams thought she would see, and something she never wanted to see again: shame.

             
"Why not, Jesse?" She asked in her best comforting doctor voice.

             
"Why not? Why not?” He repeated as if the answer should be clear. "I'll tell you why not, because if I ever saw the look of pity in their eyes that I just saw in your eyes, I swear I'd stab myself right in the heart. I don't want anyone's pity, especially theirs. I'm crippled Suzy, and I'm no good to anyone. I'm not worthy of either of them and I don't want to hold them back because of the obligation they might feel. Suzy, I'm useless."

             
"Wow, your brain must have been in the leg they just cut off, ‘cuz that was the stupidest thing I've ever heard." Josiah reprimanded him as he came in the room. "Let me ask you something. Colonel," he continued to a look of shock from both Jesse and Suzy. "Was it your leg that designed the SSE Leviathans? Did your leg invent the cloaking device that gives
Endeavor
the single greatest tactical advantage since the invention of the bow and arrow? I know it must have been your leg that devised the plan that routed the much more powerful Jarlevians when they tried to invade Earth. Remind me, though, I may have forgotten, was it your leg that figured out how to recreate the conduit?"

             
He stood there with a stern look on his face and Suzy couldn't believe what he had just said. It was quite possibly the most insensitive thing she had ever heard, but it may have been exactly what Jesse needed to hear. Josiah continued his monologue and Suzy actually wondered if he had prepared it ahead of time. "With or without your leg, you're still the smartest man I know, and somewhere in that big brain of yours, you are gonna realize I'm right. They'll fit you with a prosthetic, and after a few months of rehab, you'll be as good as new. You may even be better than new if you invent some crazy technologically advanced leg for yourself.

             
“In the meantime, you have a daughter that waited her whole life to get to know you, a daughter that just risked her life to pull off a Marcos miracle and save Carmine and his family on Telos. She loves you and you're gonna let her help you recover. As far as Kimi goes, there aren't enough guys to keep her out of here, and if you screw this up again, she's gone for good and everyone knows you don't want that. So here's what you're gonna do: you are gonna swallow your pride and let the people that love you take care of you for once. It's gonna be a difficult few months, but I have no doubt you'll get through it.”

             
Jesse sat in his bed, his face still a picture of pain, but Suzy could see he was contemplating Josiah's words. He looked up at his friend and Suzy almost thought he tried to smile. "You're right, this is just a setback, I need to let you guys help me through this." He said the words, but Suzy wasn't convinced that he believed them. The next two hours was a parade of people coming through to check on him while Lana held his hand the entire time. His family,
Endeavor's
crew, the rest of his close friends and even the military council visited. After a while, Suzy let them know that visiting hours were over. Lana reluctantly left with Ariel, but Kimi stayed behind, just to be with him. She treated him as if nothing had changed and talked about when he was back on his feet, as if it were a foregone conclusion, that he would be better than ever. Eventually, he fell back asleep.

             
The next time he woke up, Lana's smiling face was the first thing he saw. He turned his head and saw the largest arms in the galaxy. "Carmine, I heard you had a rough go of it on Telos, but a very skilled pilot saved you." He tried to smile, but there was still too much pain.

             
Carmine did smile. "Yes, she did, and did you know that the incredibly skilled pilot is also incredibly beautiful?"

             
"I was aware of that," he answered as Lana brought him a plate of food and another perfect smile.

             
"Here, dad, Carmine doesn't think anyone should have to suffer through med-bay food." He poked around and took a few bites, but largely left the plate uninterrupted. Lana noticed as she was eating hers and with a mouth half full said, "Come on, Dad, you have to eat."

             
"I will, sweetie, I'm just not really hungry right now."

             
"Your cousin got us some nice places. With all of the people looking for places to live on Polisia right now, that was some miracle she pulled off. They're all together, too."

             
"Ariel is very persistent, and she is also always very good to the people she loves, and she has always loved you, buddy."

             
"I know, and it baffles me. I'm not a real good guy, and yet even as a kid, she loved me. Thanks for never telling her who I really was."

             
"He never needed to," Ariel called out with a smile as she walked in the room. "Just like we never needed to tell Lana; we see the good in you, Carmine." She hugged him, leaned over, kissed Jesse, and then started eating his food. "I smelled this food from, like, a block away. I hope you don't mind, cousin." She took another bite and wiped her mouth with Jesse's napkin. Being around Ariel and Lana, and smelling Carmine’s food actually did give him a little bit of an appetite. He ate about a third of his plate and then his eyes started to get heavy. He woke up a little while later to Lana sternly giving out commands. He was a bit confused at first until he opened his eyes and saw three pups in the room.

             
"We can't neglect their training, Dad, and they missed you." The sight of his daughter with Commando and the pups brought the first real smile to his face since he had woken up in med-bay. She put Soldier on the bed and he immediately licked Jesse's face. Jesse pet him with a smile and handed him back to Lana. They spent the next two hours giving the wolves commands until Jesse fell back asleep.

             
He woke up again in the middle of the night, and sleeping in the chair next to him was the woman he was in love with. He was relieved that she was not awake because he was in no mood to fake how he felt. He felt like he was becoming two different people, one when his friends were around, and one when he was alone with his new reality. What scared him was he wasn't really sure which one he was anymore.

______

              An emergency alert woke Nina from a sound sleep. Before she could even register the time, Manny was already on comms. "We have a fleet of substantial size incoming, Nina."

             
"Substantial size, what does that mean?"

             
"I'm not sure, the data seems contradictory. The number is large, but the visual evidence is not supporting what the computers are telling us."

             
"I'm on my way; let me know what we're facing as soon as you know."

             
"Josiah already has
Endeavor
out there. He should be getting back to me soon."

             
"Good, Serge and I will be there shortly." The transmission ended and worry took over, even with all of the plans they made, she wasn't comfortable with a possible battle if Jesse was not leading the military's defense, and he was still in too much pain to leave the base's med-bay.

             
"Manny, good news: the computers were right, it's just not what we thought." Josiah informed as he surveyed the situation.

             
"What is it, then," Manny responded, visibly confused.

             
"Thirty-one Coalition ships filled with crews and their families that are seeking asylum on Polisia. With them are four space liners filled with people, eleven cargo ships full of stuff and thirty-nine private vessels. Best guess, a couple hundred thousand people in total."

             
"Can we accommodate that many?" Manny asked.

             
"Eventually, and they have indicated that they are willing to wait."

             
"Start interviewing each ship's captain and command crew. If they do not agree to lie detection exams, they will not be allowed to land. Start with the military, then the cargo, space liners and any personal ship large enough to do any damage. I'll wake the ruling council and the military council. As soon as I know what they wish to do, you'll know."

             
"Sounds good, we're docking with a battleship now, we'll clear them as quickly as we can so they will be ready either way for the council's decision."

             
Nina sat next to Councilor Dana while the ruling council and the military council decided what to do with the fleet in orbit seeking refuge.

             
"We can surely use those thirty-one extra ships," Admiral Collingsworth was saying.

             
"Yes, but can we afford to take on another two hundred thousand people?" Councilor Dana asked. Everyone looked to Nina who was suddenly very uncomfortable.

             
"I think we can, Councilor, there's a couple of things we need to remember. First, we've already settled over one hundred fifty thousand people in new, fully furnished condos. As long as the people coming now don't mind waiting a few months, we can definitely accommodate them. Second, these aren't refugees that lost everything; many of these people will be bringing significant financial assets to the table, and could probably afford to buy existing homes anywhere on Polisia. It won't be nearly the financial burden we faced with our displaced friends. To that end, we have another sixty billion in liquid assets ready to add to the recovery process. Third, and most importantly, we could really use those ships." Nina could see the ruling council shaking their heads in agreement while the military council looked at her with thanks. Adding the comment about another sixty billion was a good play. She knew the council wouldn't turn away the money. Jason had slowed down the siphoning of Coalition funds at Jesse's request, or they would have had more. Still, it was more than enough to ensure the outcome they desired.

             
Councilor Dana stood and said, "Missus Romanov can be quite convincing," everyone around the table laughed a bit. "Pending the clearance of each captain and command crew, we will accept them." As everyone stood to leave, Manny reflected on how these new ships would give them approximately two hundred fifteen. It was beginning to look like they may survive, especially now that Nina had agreed to finish the shipyards. They wouldn't be churning out SSE
Leviathans
and
War Hawks
, but they would be building better ships than the Coalition currently produced.