Wings of Steele - Destination Unknown (Book 1) (39 page)

PRINCESS
HEDONIST, LAN SYSTEM:
ADRIFT

The
conflict on the landing pad ended rather suddenly, when Gantarro
caught
Kidd unawares as he tried to escape the crossfire on the pad. With
the barrel of a laser shoved in his ear, Kidd had no choice but to
order his crew to surrender. Basically, it was an inevitable
outcome. But Gant's actions, which he refused to call heroic,
prevented an extended conflict which would have easily doubled the
number of casualties.

Jack
stood at the foot of the steps leading to the control tower,
surrounded
by wounded from both sides. Medical attendants, both mechanical and
biological, attended to those wounded. "Stand still, Commander
Steele..." said the medibot in a female voice.

Jack
fidgeted as she removed the shards of graphite composite from
his
forehead and wiped the blood from his face. "Geez, take it
easy, will ya? That hurts!"

"It
will do more than just hurt if we don't get it all out," she
urged.
"Be still!" Holding his face firmly by his jaw, her
optical pickup zoomed in to inspect the lacerations across his
forehead for any remaining debris, as she dabbed away the blood.
She was a short, boxy, automaton with two arms and fully digited
hands, though she moved on rubber treads and not legs. Her
extendable articulated neck supported her shiny oblong head. It
contained a single optical sensor with zoom adjustable floodlight
and multi-use surgical laser. "You are lucky, Commander, you
have a rather hard cranium." She tapped the top of his head
with a rubber padded metal digit, "Though I don't doubt you'll
have a tremendous headache."

Jack
winced as she wrapped his head with a clean dressing, "Y'know,
you
need to work on your bedside manner..." he grumbled.

The
medibot paused, and with a glowing optical sensor, unblinkingly
looked
him in the eye. She tilted her head in introspect, "But you're
not in a bed, Commander." After a moment, she returned her
attention to his dressing.

"What
I meant was..." he abandoned the thought. "Oh, forget it,"
he
mumbled.

"Hey
Jacko..." Derrik, still carrying his M1, strolled up from the
tower
office.

Jack
attempted to turn toward the approaching voice but forgot his
head
was still anchored by the medibot's grip. "Ow... Hey Derrik.
Say, how's the professor doing?"

"Lost
his arm, but he'll live."

"Christ,"
whispered Jack. "Man I'm really sorry, I didn't expect..."

Derrik
shook his head, "Forget it," he said, interrupting. "Uncle
has.
Call to duty, honor, stiff upper lip. Y'know, all that rot. As far
as he's concerned, we won and that's all that counts."

"Wow..."
Jack couldn't help but admire that kind of intense, selfless
dedication.
"He sure is a tough old bird..."

"Well,
it helps to be a bit daft," added Derrik.

Jack
smiled weakly, "I suppose."

"So,
how's your bean, old boy?"

Jack
ran his hand around the newly finished bandage and gingerly
touched
his wrapped forehead. "I've got a major headache."

"Undoubtedly."
Derrik clapped Jack on the shoulder, "But you Yanks
have
good, hard heads."

Jack
smiled, "So I've been told."

■ ■ ■

Brian
strolled across the landing pad toward the tower with Fritz
at
his side, after organizing an armed security attachment to guard the
swelling number of prisoners. Fritz trotted up to Jack and sat at
his side searching for an approving hand. He found it. The pilot
rubbed his ears. Jack knelt down and checked the dog again for
injury. The crate that had exploded had tossed them both, leaving
them momentarily senseless, but it appeared the Shepherd was
completely unhurt. Jack glanced up as Brian approached. "Have
either of you guys seen Pappy's group?"

"No,"
said Derrik, slinging his carbine over his shoulder by its
strap.

"Not
yet," said Brian, "Comm links are still down too."

"Ok,"
nodded Jack. "Let's get a messenger up to them, have them bring
everybody
out here. Get `em some extra help if they need it. Let's see if we
can get this mess all organized."

"No
problem, Skipper, it's already been done."

"Super..."
Jack rubbed his head, "anybody got an aspirin?"

"No,"
countered Brian, "but I've got another headache for you. Gant
says
Kidd is requesting a meeting with the commander of our forces."

"Aww
geez," moaned Jack, "why doesn't
he
handle it?" Brian shrugged,
saying
nothing. "Ok," conceded Jack, throwing up his hands.
"Whatever, just give me a few minutes." Brian agreed and
disappeared to find Gant and the pirate Captain. Shedding his
bloodied coveralls, Jack Steele adjusted his uniform and smoothed
his tunic. His blood had seeped through the coveralls and stained
his uniform. "Shit. Well, there goes another good shirt,"
he muttered to Fritz.

■ ■ ■

The
meeting took place on the landing pad away from the wounded and
away
from the prisoners. They stood in the shadow under the nose of the
pirate cruiser, Jack, Derrik, Brian, Gant and the pirate, Kidd. Two
armed security people stood off to one side, and Fritz sat at his
master's left hand. Gant at his elbow, the pirate Captain stood
arrogantly with his arms folded across his chest. He wore a red
velvet coat, elaborately decorated with gold braid, resembling
something from America's Colonial era. It was quite a contrast to
his crew's motley attire and a true testament to his selfish and
arrogant nature.

Jack
stood casually with his left hand resting on Fritz's head,
gently
scratching his ears. "What can I do for you, Mr. Kidd?"

"First,"
said Kidd coolly, "you will show me the respect of my rank
you
will call me Captain. Second..."

"
First
,"
interrupted Jack, smiling wryly, "you are in
no
position to
demand
anything.
Second
,
you pompous windbag, you are the Captain of
nothing
.
You're a dirt bag that's going to prison. That ship and everything
in it, belongs to me..." He was watching the astonished
expression on Kidd's face, but he caught the look of surprise in
Gant's eyes as well. He had half expected the man to request fair
treatment for his crew or something of that nature. Instead, the
pirate aired some ridiculous personal demands. Jack found it easy to
detest the man. "Now, sir," continued Steele, forcing
professionalism, "if you have a reasonable request, make it. I
am willing to listen. Otherwise, stop wasting my time."

Joshua
Kidd was indignant. These men wore uniforms, but to no cruise
line
or military agency he was familiar with. Yet they had enough cunning
and combat training to lure him in, defeat him and capture his ship.
He saw no way out and this infuriated him. "Who the
HELLION
are you people?"

"Well,
we're from Earth," said Jack, indicating himself, Derrik and
Brian.

"I
can see
that
,
you fool! So was my great grandfather!" The pirate
collected
himself and adjusted his coat. "I meant, what organization are
you with? And by whose authority do you hold me and my ship?!"

"No
organization," said Jack calmly, "just ourselves... with a
little
help," he added, looking at Gant. "Technically, I guess
you could call us mercenaries, bounty hunters... take your pick, one
label fits as well as another. And as far as our authority, I'm sure
there are more than several agencies happy to pay big bucks for your
ass. You've been a bad boy, Joshua, murdering people, pirating, who
knows what else."

Kidd
made no attempt to deny any of the allegations. "So," said
the
pirate
snobbishly, his hands on his hips, "you intend to turn us in to
the highest bidder... Well! If it's
money
you want..."

"No,"
interrupted Jack, growing angrier by the minute.
"Our
fee, is
your
ship. Nothing more."

"My
ship
..."
growled Kidd.

"Don't
worry," said Brian coolly, "we'll put it to good use.
Besides,
you
won't need it where you're going."

"It's
MY
SHIP
!"
Insisted the pirate.

Fritz
was watching the pirate's every move and was the first one to
see
the flash of silver in his hand, a foolish attempt at revenge. There
was no telling where the pirate had kept the derringer-sized laser
hidden, or how it had so suddenly appeared in his hand. But then
again, to Fritz, it didn't matter. A gun was a gun and he would not
allow any harm to come to Jack. Without hesitation or command, the
Shepherd lunged with teeth bared at the pirate's arm. The searing,
blue-white laser passed between Jack and Derrik as they jumped
apart, more of reflex than anything else. It all occurred in such a
blur, no one besides Fritz and Kidd, really knew what happened.

Kidd
was on his knees and grasping his throat with both hands. Blood
ran
through his fingers and dripped to the deck. Slow to take his eyes
away, Jack turned to his left at Brian's insistence. Fritz lay
sprawled on the floor, unconscious. Jack dropped to his knees and
crawled to his partner, ignoring the wounded pirate. He carefully
rolled the limp dog on his side to ease his breathing and was
horrified by the sight. The laser had struck the right side of his
face. Skin, bone and brain matter had been completely fused. "Oh
God, oh God no...
MEDIC
!!"
Grief stricken, Jack Steele cradled his best friend in his lap while
the others stood helplessly by. "Oh
Christ
,"
he pleaded, "help him..."

Brian
put his hand on Jack's shoulder. "Let him go, Jack," he
said
quietly,
"he's gone now..."

"NO!
No, he's not. See? Look, he's still breathing,
see
?"
The Shepherd
breathed
steadily, but his body twitched and shuddered, his damaged brain
severely short circuited. Brian tried to pull him away but Jack
strongly resisted, pulling free. "
NO
!"
He objected. He grabbed the medic heading for Joshua Kidd by the
leg.
"Fuck
HIM!
You get your ass over
HERE
!"

Medical
personnel are instructed to always tend to humanoid life
first.
Animal and other life forms come after. The young tech was only
following his training. He pointed to Kidd. "But..."

Jack's
helplessness was quickly turning to rage. "
NOW
!"
He snarled.

The
medic knelt down, putting his field pack beside Jack and the
wounded
Shepherd. "Don't know what I can do, Commander," he said
gently, "he's got quite a bit of brain damage..." The rage
was surging, and Jack Steele was fighting to remain in control.

Suddenly,
Jack found he had his .45 in hand. "You do
whatever
the hell you have to do to keep him alive," he growled, tapping
the medic in the chest with the muzzle of the gun. "Understand?"
The startled young med-tech nodded, opened his emergency surgical
kit and instantly went to work. Steele gave the dog one last loving
pat and stood up, turning to face Joshua Kidd. "You rotten
piece of subhuman filth..." he snarled. He blocked another
arriving medic. "He won't be needing you."