Solbidyum Wars Saga 9: At What Price (39 page)

“What are they powering it with?  Solbidnite?” I asked.

“No.  That’s where the brilliance comes in.  Whoever designed this is using only a small 4X fusion reactor to power it, but they’ve installed a network of several capacitors and amplifiers that store the energy until enough has accumulated to open and maintain gate operation for about two hours.  I would say that’s its maximum storage capacity.  After that the gate closes when the power is drained and it can’t be opened again until it builds up enough charge, which could take weeks.  It’s nothing close to our gates, but it's sufficient for Ming to get several ships through for a quick raid and still have enough time for them to slip back through.  Anyway, now it’s clear why the power hub for their gates are so much larger than ours, even though ours are more powerful.  They’re just loaded with hardware.”

“Is there any way we can exploit what you’ve discovered?” I asked.

A’Lappe thought for a moment.  “Possibly!  Do you remember those electromagnetic pulse weapons we used against the Brotherhood when we captured one of their ships coming back from Earth?”

“Yes, I remember,” I answered.

“I think we can use the same electromagnetic pulse weapons against this gate.  The pulse should fry this power supply and drain the capacitors, instantly rendering the gate useless.”

“Won’t that destroy our own Cantolla Gates aboard our ships?” I asked.

“No, not at all.  Our gates of all types are manufactured with EMP shielding.  The Brotherhood doesn’t go to the extent of protecting their devices – or their crew for that matter.  To Ming everything is expendable and made so it is barely functional.  Even so, I must admit the design is brilliant.”

“This at least gives us something to work with,” said Admiral Nugallie.

“Yes, if we can find a way to use it,” I replied.  “All it does now is give us a way to shut down their gates, but we could do that before simply by shooting out a node.  We’ve not improved on that much with what we’ve learned here.  Nevertheless, you all did a great job.

“A’Lappe, did you see anything that might give us a clue as to where they’re building these gates?” I asked.

“No.  This thing is a mixed mess of salvaged materials from all over the galaxy.  Most of it was probably collected from construction material waste yards where flawed and damaged pieces are discarded.  That they could even find compatible parts just for this unit is amazing in itself.  I doubt any two power hubs look exactly alike.”

“Alright.  Well, thank you for your efforts, everyone,” I said.

Back in my office I slumped down in my chair and brooded.  I realized I was due for another treatment, which didn’t help my mood any.  Where was the answer?  What must I do to defeat Ming?  I rested on my elbow on my desk and leaned my head into the palm of my hand.  I was tired… so very tired.  I just wished I could take a day… just one entire day without needing to deal with some problem… just one day where I could totally relax without thinking about solving some crisis that involved thousands… or millions… or billions of human lives.

“Admiral, are you okay?”

“Hm?”  I looked up to see Marranalis standing before my desk.  I hadn’t realized it, but I had begun to drift off.  “Sorry, Marranalis, I didn’t hear you come in,” I replied.

“Sir, I’ve been here for more than a minute.  You seemed out of it.  I spoke to you several times but you didn’t acknowledge me.  It was as though you were in some sort of trance.”

“That’s not good.  I’m due for a treatment today.  Maybe I should go early; that is, if you can handle things until tomorrow.”

“If nothing major comes up, I think I can handle it.”

I contacted A’Lappe quickly.  He was surprised to hear from me so soon after our earlier discussion.

“What can I do for you, Tibby?” he asked.

“If you’re available, I’d like to start my treatment early.”

“I can break free from what I’m doing, if you want to meet me in the med unit in about fifteen minutes.”

“Great.  Fifteen minutes it is,” I replied.  As soon as I disconnected with A’Lappe, I called Kala to let her know.

“Tib, I’m at the estate wrapping up some details.  Go ahead and start your treatment.  I should be there to help you before A’Lappe is finished,” she said.

Normally, I could expect these treatments to be filled with pain and searing heat from beginning to end.  The agony seemed endless even after the treatment was over.  This one wasn’t any different, when it came to the heat and pain, but for the first time ever, I blacked out.  But even while unconscious I seemed to have an awareness of pain and misery.  I briefly dreamed I was in a spacecraft of some sort and was slowly being drawn into a spiraling vortex that a voice in my head called the entrance of hell.  Spiraling down before me was a long line of people, each one holding the hand of the person in front of them and behind them.  I spoke out loud and asked who these people were.  A voice replied, saying they were all the lives lost because I hadn’t been able to save them – the lives of those at Glomar Rosa, Agraious, Frandee, Dandcay and hundreds of other places.  I raced past the line of people, descending faster and faster toward the front.  Eventually, I saw Admiral Regeny holding the hands of two other Federation officers.  Further down the line were Stonbersa, Sokaia, Tanden, Captain Maxette and Lunnie and Reidecor.  As I passed Lunnie and Reidecor, they transformed from the original Lunnie and Reidecor into my son and daughter.

“Tibby, wake up!  Can you hear me, Tibby?  You need to wake up!”  I heard A’Lappe’s voice calling as if from a distance.

“Open your eyes, Tib!”  This time it was Kala’s voice.

With the greatest of effort, I tried to pry my eyes open.  It seemed way brighter in the room than it should be.  I blinked.

“Tib, wake up, right now!” said Kala as she took hold of my shoulders and shook me.  With each shake, it felt like a gigantic bell clapper inside my head was slamming into a hollow spaced behind my eyes.

“He’s opening his eyes,” said Kala.  “He’s becoming a bit more alert now.”

“Good,” A’Lappe said.

“Tibby, can you hear me?” asked A’Lappe.

“Mm-fr-meebref...,” I muttered and wondered what I was trying to say.

“Can you understand me?” A'Lappe asked.  I realized my eyes were rolling about in my head as I tried to answer.  “Yefff!”  I licked my lips with my tongue and tried again.  This time I managed, “Yes!”

“Tibby, you had a reaction to the medication.  Cantolla and I bumped up the dosage hoping it would last longer and I fear we got the mixture too strong.  You should be alright in a few hours, but I’d like you to stay here a little longer than usual so I can monitor your vital signs.”

“The way I feel right now I don’t think I could make it out of the room anyway,” I said weakly.

“Is there anything I can get you, Tib?” Kala asked.

“Some ice chips for my hot, dry mouth would be nice,” I answered.

“Okay.  I’ll be right back,” she said as she walked away.

As soon as Kala was out of the room, A’Lappe said, “Tibby, I didn’t want to say this in front of Kala, but the treatments have been damaging your liver.  I knew, of course, that the treatments were taxing your organs, but until recently you were compensating and your body’s cells were restoring well in the days between the treatments.  You also know that your condition precludes you from being a candidate for organ cloning.  So what I’m saying, Tibby, is our options are quite limited at this point.  Cantolla and I have discussed the situation and we were hoping today’s more aggressive treatment will allow more healing to take place before the next session.  Our other hope is to begin using a combination of stem cells and nano-biotic therapy.  The nano-bots would remove damaged tissue and the stem cells would promote new cell growth in its place.  In theory it should work, but it’s never been done before and we aren’t sure what will happen.”

I closed my eyes in frustration.  Everything was going wrong at the worst possible time.  “How long will it be before I’ll be functional again?”

Just as I finished my question, Kala returned with the ice.  She placed a piece of it in my mouth with my last word.

“I’m hoping that the results of this treatment will be similar to those of the past and that tomorrow morning you will wake feeling renewed the way you normally do after a treatment.  But it was an aggressive treatment.  Don’t be discouraged if it takes a bit longer to bounce back.”

I sucked on the ice Kala had given me.  The cold sensation of the ice soothed the searing heat that still pumped through my veins.  I could almost imagine steam coming out of my ears and mouth as the ice melted.

“Tibby, I think you should stay here the rest of the night.  I’ll stay with you.  You still look too weak to make it back to our suite.”

“I agree,” I said as I reached out, knowing that Kala would take my hand.

“If you like, I can give you a mild sedative that will put you to sleep until morning,” said A’Lappe.  “It will allow you a much better night’s rest.”

I glanced at Kala for her opinion.  She replied with a stressed smile and a nod.

“Alright.  Give it to me,” I said.  I watched as A’Lappe fiddled with the I.V.  Then everything went black.

“Wake up, Tib.  It’s time for you to get up,” Kala’s voice prompted me.  “You need to shower and eat and then maybe shower again before you head back to the
GLOMAR ROSA
.”

“Uh… I just went to sl-e-e-e-p,” I moaned.

I heard Kala chuckle.  “Tib, you’ve been asleep nearly nine hours.”

“That can’t be!  I just closed my eyes seconds ago,” I said with my eyes still shut.

“Come on, Tib, get up.  We’ll go back to our suite and you can shower while I get you something wonderful to eat,” Kala said as she tugged on me and helped me to my feet.  “How are you feeling?”

“Like I was knocked down by a full-grown fubalo bull,” I mumbled.  “I usually feel pretty good the morning after my treatments.  This time I feel totally beat up.”

“A’Lappe said you might take longer to recover this time around, because the treatment mixture was stronger.”

“I don’t think I can take another session like that.  It was by far the worst.  Where is A’Lappe?” I asked as I looked about the room.

“He left hours ago.  He said he had important work going on in the lab, and that since you were recovering alright, he’d leave you in my hands.”

“That was nice of him,” I said, offering her a grin.  “Did you get any sleep?”

“Actually, I did.  That chair folds down into a sleeper lounge.”  She pointed to one of the chairs across the room.  “I napped several times during the night.  Once you’ve had a good meal and you’re on your way back to the
GLOMAR ROSA,
I’ll get some more sleep,” she yawned.

After we arrived at our suite, I showered three times to remove the chemical smell.  By the time I ended my third shower, I was feeling much better.  I donned a fresh uniform from the replicator in the dressing area and looked at myself in the mirror.  I noticed the bags under my eyes and that my hair was mostly white now.  Other than that, I still looked fit for my age.  My age?  I thought about it a moment.  I was in my 50s now.   By Old Earth standards, I was in decent shape – or at least appeared so – but by Federation standards, I actually didn’t look so great.  People in the Federation aged slower because of their advanced diet and health management methods.  The rejection of my synthetic nerves was, of course, the reason, but there was nothing I could do about it but keep fighting like I did every other fight.  I took one last glance, shrugged my shoulders, and headed to the dining area where Kala waited with a fantastic arrangement of food and juices.

As I sat down, I suddenly realized just how hungry I was.  I tried to think back to when and what I ate last, but I couldn’t recall.

“By the stars, Tib.  Slow down.  You’re eating like this is the first meal you’ve ever had,” said Kala.

“Sorry,” I said.  “I don’t know if I ate yesterday or not.  All I know is I’m famished.”

“Well, it won’t hurt you to eat a little slower.  Oh my,” she exclaimed.  “I sound like did when I would fuss at the twins when they were young.”

I swallowed the last bites of food and washed it down with juice and foccee while I debated having seconds, but I knew I needed to get to the
GLOMAR ROSA
, so I reluctantly got up from the table.

“Thanks for everything Kala.  I don’t know what I would do without you,” I said.  I knew immediately what she would say in reply.

“You’re welcome… and you better never try to find out either.”

I gave her a quick kiss and turned to leave when she grabbed me by the arm and pulled me back for a second longer kiss.

“Take care of yourself today,” she ordered.  Pools of moisture glistened in the corners of her eyes, even though she had a smile on her face.  I wondered for a moment whether A’Lappe had told her some bad news about me while I slept or whether it was something else.  I gave her one last peck on the cheek and then turned and headed out the door.

I arrived in the
GLOMAR ROSA
’s War Room to a flurry of activity.

“What’s happening, Admiral?” I asked Marranalis.