Wings of Steele - Destination Unknown (Book 1) (40 page)

"But..."
he objected.

"Buzz
off!" insisted Jack, waving the .45. The medic was not going
to
argue with a man with eyes like that, they were literally aflame. He
turned to the group huddled around Fritz and decided to lend a hand
there. Whether it was by coincidence or by design, for the moment,
the group had forgotten Joshua Kidd.

"Help
me," gurgled Kidd, one bloody hand reaching out beseechingly.

"Fuck
you, you lousy piece of shit," spat Jack. “There are no
words foul enough to describe the depths of worthless human waste
that you are...” Steele thumbed the safety off, “Hear
that...? Know what that is...? It's Hell, and it's coming for
you...” His voice was cold, deadpan.

"But,"
pleaded the pirate, "he was only an animal..." He saw no
mercy
in the dark eyes glaring back at him, only blackness. He shivered
from a wave of cold and realized too late he'd crossed the wrong
man. "Oh Lord p-p-please," he stammered. "Just an
animal... I'll get you another. I'll give you anything... I can make
you rich, yes that's it, rich.
Rich
beyond your
wildest
dreams...
"

"That
proves it," snarled Steele.
"You
are too fucking stupid to
live."
The rage overtook him like a tidal wave and it was without
hesitation or further thought that Jack leveled the muzzle of the
.45. Maria screamed as she descended the ramp of the cruiser, but he
did not hear. He squeezed the trigger and watched Kidd's head
explode, his brains splash across the deck. The empty shell casing
tinkled lightly across the deck as the near-headless body toppled
over limply. Blood ran freely from the stump of the neck. "That
was for Fritz," he said quietly, clicking the safety and
holstering the gun. He stared blankly at the odd pattern of gore,
void of remorse or other feelings... mostly numb.

Maria
touched the pilot on the elbow. "Jack?"

He
spun. "Huh?"

"Jack,
what happened here?"

"Fritz..."
his voice trailed off. It seemed that suddenly his mind
shifted
back into gear. He spun around. "Where's Fritz?"

They
had all been watching, the pirate crew, wounded, medics, his
friends.
There were quite possibly a hundred witnesses and not one person or
being said a word. Brian stepped forward and took his friend by the
shoulders. "They took him to the infirmary. So far he's still
breathing, but that's about it."

"I
want to see him."

"I'll
go with you," volunteered Maria.

Jack
put one hand on her shoulder and looked into her eyes. The
rage
was gone now, only the little boy who was losing his best friend
remained. "Thanks," he sighed, "but I think I'd
rather go alone." He wiped away a tear with the back of his
hand and with his head hanging, sedately followed a medibot to the
infirmary. The others stood silently and watched him go.

“
Alright
alright!" yelled Brian, taking charge. "We've got plenty
of
work
to do! Let's not just stand around, let's clean up this mess and get
organized!" Once again the landing bay became a flurry of
activity.

■ ■ ■

The
room was dimly lit and smelled of antiseptic. It took Jack's
eyes
several moments to adjust to the darkness, so he paused at the
doorway before entering. He stared at the shiny white tile floor of
the infirmary. It was comforting to know, at home or in deep space,
some things remained constant. He took a deep breath and walked into
the room. Fritz lay alone in the room on an infirmary bed, his only
companion, the lit console of electronics that monitored his life
signs and kept him alive. Jack stood at the side of the bed and
stared at the hoses, tubes and wires running from the console to his
friend. If for only a moment, he contemplated pulling them out and
letting the dog slip quietly away with dignity. He could not and
admonished himself for even thinking of it. He pulled a chair over
to the side of the bed and sat with his head resting on the edge of
the mattress and his hand on the soft fur of Fritz's shoulder. "I'm
here buddy..." He fell asleep feeling the gentle rise and fall
of the dog's breathing.

Several
times throughout the night, medical attendants passed in
and
out of the room, checking on the dogs status. Except for a slight
improvement of his stability, things went unchanged and Jack went
undisturbed... until several hours later. "Jack...
Jack
!"

He
sat bolt upright and blinked in the darkness. "Huh?"

The
hooded figure stood in the darkness on the other side of the
bed
holding a snifter of brandy. "Are you with me?"

"Voorlak?"
He knew it was. It was a question Jack didn't need to
ask.
"Ditarian Brandy I take it?" He rubbed his eyes.

"Of
course."

Jack
nodded, "Of course... got any more?" His mouth was dry and
he
could use the warmth, the room felt cold.

"Wouldn't
go anywhere without it," said the Ancient, handing the
pilot
another snifter from under his long robe.

Jack
accepted the snifter and took a slow draw on the thick, sweet
liquor.
It felt good as it slid down. "Don't suppose you've got
anything to eat in there..." he said, pointing at the robe.
Voorlak smiled, Jack couldn't see it so much as he could feel it.
"No, I suppose not." He stood up slowly, as he was stiff
and sore. "Don't you ever use a door old man?" Jack
realized he was probably being a bit irreverent, but he was in no
mood for regal formalities. Besides, he felt he had a kind of
strange understanding, a link with the wise man that went beyond the
pomp.

"No
need," said the Ancient with a casual wave of his hand.
"Besides,
it's
boring... no flair, no style."

It
was Jack's turn to smile. "Well, I guess I've got to admire an
omnipotent
with a concern for style."

"Thank
you... really, but I'm not truly omnipotent. At least not
yet."
Voorlak pulled back the hood of his cloak and sipped his brandy. He
stared at the swirling golden liquor and thought. The silence was
uneasy and seemed longer than it was. The discussion turned
serious, as Jack knew it had to. "I had to come," said the
wise man, "to tell you not to give up on him like you
contemplated earlier." He stroked the short fur on Fritz's
front foreleg. "He may not consciously be aware of you, but you
need to talk to him, touch him, he'll sense you. You need to keep
his spirit alive, give him a reason not to give up his soul."

"What
good will that do? He'll just be a vegetable. Right?" Jack
loved
his friend with all his heart, but he had no desire to prolong the
dog's agony.

"You
must trust me," said Voorlak, pointing a finger at Jack. "All
is
not lost, unless he feels alone and gives up." He sounded stern
and fatherly at the same time. "Now I don't see you as a
quitter. Are you willing to let him go without a fight?" That
had never been one of Jack's weaknesses. He shook his head, feeling
like a young boy getting a little league pep talk. "Good,"
said the Ancient, "now see this." He moved close to Fritz
and while stroking his fur, talked lovingly to him. The monitoring
equipment showed definite and almost immediate changes. "See?
Of course, you'll probably get better results."

Jack
stared hard at the old man. "You knew this would happen..."

"Yes...
I suppose in one form or another, but not exactly when or how. It's
not an exact science."

Jack
sighed. "But you couldn't tell me because you thought it might
affect
how I handled things? Maybe change my decisions, my destiny?"

"Now
who's being omnipotent?" He paused to gaze at the dog. "Well,
actually
it would not have changed your decisions. You are guided by your
heart and conscience. Besides being incredibly imaginative, you have
an acute sense of right and wrong which prevents you from being a
casual bystander."

Jack
thought about that sense of right and wrong and for the first
time
in several hours, thought about the death of Joshua Kidd. He felt
guilty. Guilty about letting the rage overrun that sense of right
and wrong. Overrun, hell, it got trampled to death. That brought him
down to the same level of principles as Joshua Kidd, he despised
himself for that.

"Forget
what you are thinking, Jack." Voorlak's voice startled the
pilot
who had been momentarily lost.

"But
I murdered a man in cold blood..."

The
Ancient shook his head, "No... Not a man, more like a rabid
animal. And not
in
cold blood, but in defense of all living beings. It was
his
destiny and you were just the instrument. It is done and forgotten."

Jack
was stunned. "Forgiven... just like that?"

“
Just
like that," confirmed the old man.

“
Can
I get that in writing...?”

"Jack?
Who're you talking to?" Steele turned to see Maria walk
through
the open door followed by Brian, Derrik and Paul.

"I..."
he turned back but Voorlak was gone, "was um, talking to
Fritz."
He leaned over and rubbed the dog's frame. "Wasn't I boy?"

■ ■ ■

Mike
Warren and Professor Edgars shared a room in an infirmary
facility,
several levels below the one in which Fritz lay. After a refreshing
shower and a clean uniform, Jack paid a visit to them with the same
group that came up to see Fritz. When the group arrived, Mike and
the Professor were in the process of playfully harassing a rather
attractive, nurse. She fought valiantly, defending herself against
the roaming hands. When Jack told the two men to behave themselves
and quiet down, the nurse defended her patients, excusing their
behavior due to the drugs they'd been treated with. Both men were
happily animated and obviously feeling no pain.

The
surgeon caught Jack and the others in the hall as they left and
explained
how Mike and the Professor were doing. It seemed beyond the serious
burns, Mike also had three broken ribs and a punctured lung from the
fall off the wing of the Sweet Susie. His ribs would knit quickly
with the aid of an electronic stimulator which accelerates the bone
healing process. And using a small patch of healthy skin, a sheet of
new skin large enough to cover the damaged area could be grown
through a cloning-type process which would eliminate the normal
massive scarring.

Unlike
Mike, the Professor had no hidden injuries. Upon healing, he
would
receive a permanent, completely functional, five fingered,
mechanical hand and arm covered with artificial skin. Unless
carefully scrutinized he would appear totally normal. Jack was
pleased that two men he called friends would return to good health
in relatively short time. But since his thoughts never left Fritz
for long, it was difficult for him to feel the happiness or relief
he should have felt.

There
was much to do after the capture of the pirate cruiser but
no
matter how tired or busy, Jack found the time to see Fritz every day
and spend time with him. After a couple days of stable life signs,
the surgeons carefully removed the sections of Fritz's damaged brain
tissue. In preparation for what, Jack was unsure, because the
surgeons told him little. The only thing he knew was, what they were
to attempt was strictly experimental and risky. And like most
doctors anywhere, they were careful to not predict the outcome.
After the initial surgery, Jack took to sleeping on the same bed as
his friend, hoping the companionship would improve the odds of the
Shepherd's survival. A week later, Jack entered an empty room and
was told Fritz had been placed in a sterile isolation area and could
not be visited for some time. Seeing the amazing things accomplished
with Mike and the Professor, Jack had no choice but to put his trust
in the skill of the doctors. He just wished they'd let him visit his
friend.