Solbidyum Wars Saga 9: At What Price (31 page)

As Tranor led me through the building, I couldn’t help but note the absence of visitors and the sense of urgency that one generally experienced in the hospitals of Old Earth.  These hallways were empty and we only encountered one other non-employee on our short journey.  I saw no carts or conveyances for transporting patients in any of the halls, nor did I see any patients, for that matter.

“I get the impression you don’t do a lot here…?” I said.

Tranor chuckled, “Not most of the time, though a few weeks back there was an outbreak of one of your Earth diseases… something you call
measles
.  I believe that’s what Doctor Danjuma called it.  We were pretty busy for a while as we managed that situation.  However, you’re right.  Most of the time we have little to do in the way of widespread emergencies or disasters.  Nevertheless, we’re well-trained and prepared for any medical crisis within the estate.

Here, we are, sir,” Tranor said as we entered a glass-enclosed suite.  I’ll let Doctor Danjuma know you’re here.”

A moment later Doctor Danjuma emerged from a door at the far end of the room.

“Tibby, what a surprise.  I wasn’t expecting to see you here.  Come into my office where we can talk privately.”  Once we were inside and she had latched the door behind me, she asked, “Now, Tibby, what can I do for you?  Are you feeling ill?”

“No, no, it’s nothing like that.”  I hoped the fact that I was due for a synthetic nerve rejection treatment wasn’t too obvious.  “We have a situation on Agraious.  The Brotherhood has launched an attack there and Ming is using some sort of biological warfare.”  I went on to explain all that was happening and the devastation that was unfolding as a result of the biological agent.

When I’d finished Doctor Danjuma said, “Ming did try germ-warfare back on Earth, but it backfired on him infecting more of his own troops than it did his enemies.  We’ll never know what the outcome would have been, had he continued that campaign, because shortly thereafter, Ming fled to the moon right about when the asteroid hit the Earth, wiping out the germs that caused the plague along with the rest of the planet’s life forms.”

“What can you tell me?  Did he execute massive attacks with the germs?

“If you mean did he strike a lot of places?  No.  He hit two major cities with devastating impact.  Moscow was one and New Delhi was the other.  He tried to target locations in the United States as well, but their missile-defense system is believed to have destroyed the two incoming missiles that carried the biological contaminants, though it was never known with certainty whether they actually were biological missiles or not.  Again, this was right near the end of life on Earth.  I have no idea what his overall intentions were or if he had more germ-laden missiles that he intended to use.  From what you just told me nothing he used then was as potent as what he’s using now.”

We were interrupted by my comlink.  I answered to find it was Kala.  She’d just arrived at the estate and Piebar had informed her I was there.  She wanted to know if I’d be available for dinner.  I had to contain my excitement, since I had missed our dinner the night before and I still longed to be near her in a way that I couldn’t begin to describe.  “I’m likely going to be in a meeting with Doctor Danjuma for the remainder of the afternoon, but barring any emergencies, I should be there at the usual dinner hour.”

The doctor and I reviewed the data gathered from the Agraious event, after which she offered to search the Old Earth databases for any information that might be useful regarding biological warfare.  She also offered to prepare specialized mobile labs and consulting biochemical teams that would be available to the military upon request, in the event their assistance was needed with the pandemic.  The idea gave me some peace of mind, so I told her to go ahead with her plans.  I finished our meeting on a lighter note by reminding her of her promise to Kerabac to dance with him again.  She grinned coyly as she bid me farewell.

I called Marranalis as I showed myself out of the building and informed him I would be staying at the estate and wouldn’t be coming back to the
GLOMAR ROSA
until the next morning, unless something urgent came up.

When I tracked down Kala in the estate house, she greeted me with a passionate kiss and then said, “Tib, I hope you don’t mind, but I would prefer to eat on one of the terraces.  It just doesn’t feel right in the house without the twins.”

“No, I don’t mind at all.  You know, maybe we should remodel the house.  Or even better, maybe we should just relocate to another part of the estate and build a bungalow.  That way we won’t have that haunting feeling of the twins not being here when we are.”

“Tib, that’s a great idea.  Then we can preserve this house the way it is a use it as a family when the twins come home.  We certainly have enough space for it.”

“Great, I’ll let you sort out the details with Piebar.  You can design it to suit your tastes since you’re here more than I am.”

“Ha!  You’d be surprised how little I’m actually here, Tib.  I’m quite busy handling all your affairs and seeing to the estate, your finances and your galactic-wide philanthropy,” she said with a grin.

“I thought you had a staff to handle those things.”

“I do, but I need to check their work regularly and give them a good deal of direction.  I meet with our financial people once a week to go over reports and authorize actions.  You forget how much wealth you have, Tibby.  By the way, your wealth is still growing.  I also meet with our philanthropic advisers once a month to see how our charities are doing and revise the focus for each of those organizations.  Thankfully, Jenira has taken over handling matters concerning the orphans, which has taken a huge load off my shoulders.”

“Jenira is responsible for the orphans?  How long has that been going on?” I asked.

Kala looked at me sternly.  “Tib, Jenira has been seeing to the orphans for several years.  It started while we were stranded on Desolation.  Since we weren’t around, Jenira took the initiative and stepped in immediately in my place.  When we came back, she wanted to stay on as my assistant, but I was so busy catching up on everything else that I pretty much left the management of the orphanages to her.  After about a year of this arrangement I was still no closer to getting everything else in order, so I just told Jenira that she was officially delegated permanent responsibility for the orphans.  I swear I talked to you about this many times in the past.  Weren’t you paying attention?”

“Uh, I guess not,” I answered sheepishly.

Kala laughed.  “I should be angry with you, but knowing how busy you’ve been and the pressures you’ve been under, I guess I can forgive you… this time.”

Just as she completed her sentence my stomach growled.

“Oh my, Kala exclaimed.  “It sounds like we had better get you some dinner.  Which terrace do you prefer?”

“I don’t know.  How about one we’ve not used before?” I replied.

“Hm… I'll let Piebar pick from the ones we haven’t used, so we’ll both be surprised,” said Kala.

Surprise us Piebar certainly did, as I doubt we ever would have found this spot on our own.  It wasn’t exactly a terrace.  It was more of a small alcove carved into the far west wall of the main building, where a small lake came right up to the natural stone that formed the foundation of the building.  From one of the higher terraces, Piebar directed us to a hidden nook behind a vine trellis.  The small recess revealed a narrow stairway between two tall walls that twisted downward until it reached the alcove at the water’s edge.  The niche itself was only about four hundred square meters, flanked on two sides by towering rock walls and open to the water on its remaining perimeter.  Swimming in the crystal clear water a meter below the terrace were fish cloned from the Earth DNA bank and bred in the estate labs.  Plants and ferns were arranged in large pots along the meandering edge of the short promenade that bordered the lakeside.  The large, silver-gray hewn stones of the deck and towering walls that surrounded the alcove captured the colors of the setting sun and the movement of light across the lake’s surface, creating a magnificent and almost surreal impression of floating.  The beauty was overwhelming, which was, I’m sure, evident in all of our faces.

“This is a lovely place,” I said.  “I had no idea it was here.  Thank you greatly, Piebar. You’ve shown us an extra special kindness by bringing us here.”

“Well, sir, not many residents know of this place, but I thought it was time the two of you learned of it.  It’s a shame it doesn’t see more use.  When your children were younger and they managed to sneak away from Jenira, they would come here to hide from her.  Actually, I’m quite certain Jenira knew they were here, but she pretended not to.  Even if she didn’t, I believed that was in some way important for them to have a secret place they believed to be their own… and as I have come to know Jenira, I have no doubt that she understood this.”  He released a nostalgic sigh and looked around the space before he continued.  “Now that they’re grown, no one comes here, so I don’t think they would mind the two of you dining here in their absence.”

I looked at Kala, whose smile trembled as she took in the beauty of the dancing colors and imagined her boisterous twins ruling this space as their own secret domain.  Her eyes brimmed with tears, but the liquid held as she leaned over and gave Piebar a kiss on the cheek.  “Thank you, Piebar, this place is perfect.”

Except for a permanently installed stone table and chairs for two, the only other furniture in the alcove was a sofa lounger positioned toward the water on a very cozy-looking rug.  Kala and I reclined on the cushions and held hands, enjoying the water and the setting sun, while Piebar and his staff saw to the preparation of our dinner.

“It was nice of Piebar to bring us to this place,” I said to Kala.  “Did you know this was the twins’ secret retreat?” I asked.

“I knew they had a clandestine retreat they would sneak off to at times, but I never knew where it was.  They were pretty good about keeping this place a secret.”

“It would seem that our staff was pretty good about keeping it a secret as well,” I said.

“Yes,” replied Kala with a chuckle.  “Really, the fact that they were willing to keep it confidential demonstrates that the staff has always had respect for the twins.”

I looked around in silence for a moment.  “If these walls could talk, I wonder what tales they would tell us about our kids that we don’t know?”

Kala gasped and rolled her eyes.  “It’s probably best we don’t know, Tib.  Some secrets kids keep from their parents are best not known.”

“Oh?  Did you and Lunnie have secrets from your parents?”

“Did we?!  You have got to be kidding!  Can you imagine my sister NOT having secrets from our parents?”

“Uh, no.  Now that you mention it, I can’t.  But, did the two of you have shared secrets?”

“Oh, a few,” Kala said with a sideways grin.

“Like what?” I asked.

“If I told you, they wouldn’t be secrets anymore,” Kala teased.

“Your sister and parents aren’t around, young lady, so it’s not like you need to keep it a secret anymore,” I said.

“My sister and I promised we would never tell anyone, so I can’t tell you,” Kala said with a sassy, crinkled-nosed grin.

Our revelry was interrupted by Piebar and two of the house staff arriving with trays of food.  Kala and I rose somewhat reluctantly from our comfortable nest in the lounger in order to seat ourselves at the stone table that was now covered with a white table cloth.  Piebar poured some wine and after I sampled it and gave my approval, he and the staff stayed long enough to serve the appetizers and main dishes from the cart before leaving us alone.  This was unusual, as Piebar generally stood nearby while we dined to see to any needs we might have during the meal.  A row of lit torches mounted along the perimeter replaced the fading sunset with a soft, orange glow that drifted up the stone walls.

“You know, Tib, this is kind of romantic,” said Kala.

“Kala, did you know Ming is dying from an illness he contracted through his cannibalism that has symptoms similar to my synthetic nerve rejection?” I blurted out before I realized what she had just said.  “I’m sorry.  I don’t know why just I said that.  I shouldn’t have mentioned that just now.  It was a mood killer, I know.  Really, Kala, I’m sorry.  I’m an idiot.”

Kala sighed.  “It’s alright, Tib.  I understand, and yes, you’ve mentioned it several times recently.  That particular issue seems to weigh on your mind a lot.  Do you want to talk about it?”

“No.  Well, maybe… a little.”

“What are you thinking, Tib?”

“It’s just that… well, it seems strange.  Ming and I are so different, but we’re both from Earth.  We’re both – well – dying…,” I said and then realized that I had never said to Kala before that I was dying and it made me swallow hard.  “…and both from neurological diseases.  I mean, doesn’t it seem ironic that both Ming and I are from Earth and both of us are… uh… having similar problems, even if from different causes, and it’s happening at the same time?”

“So, what are we really talking about here?  You and Ming both having nerve-related problems at the same time, or that you think you’re dying?” said Kala, who had stopped eating and was looking at me very squarely.  For a moment, I was shocked by her bluntness, but it made me realize that what I was really talking about and thinking about was my own impending death.