Chapter 35 - A Wounded Colony

We raced up the hallway. Ahead, I could see smoke and hear shouts. The shouts were filled with panic. The smoke quickly got thicker and I nearly ran into Patty when she stopped.

"Patty!" I heard Reggie shout. "What happened to Craig and Robert?"

"The AI reported that a section of the ceiling collapsed and trapped them," Patty said as she pushed the gurney against the wall. "Meiko and I brought gurneys though."

Reggie nodded and seemed about to say more when the AI spoke. "Communications to the laser rooms and hallway outside have been reestablished. Current damage prevents full analysis of repairs. Priority has been given to hall way repair and main repair modules."

"I don't want that, I need more people here!" the scientist's voice rang out. "We have a battle in space to fight."

"Without the lasers, we don't have much we can do," I heard Yvette snap back. "Timothy and Louis are here, and know the systems we have left."

"Louis is currently controlling your tug module, or so you say. He can't do that and run a weapons station," the scientist growled. "We need more people here."

I leaned against the gurney, trying to catch my breath. Reggie vanished through the shattered door to the laser room. A thick black smoke was pouring through the broken airlock, leaving the hallway covered in soot. I could see Patty sagging against the wall as we waited.

Pushing away from the gurney, I took a step towards Patty. Before I could advance further, Mike staggered through the doorway. He was walking backwards with his hands held at about waist level. "Easy!" he called out.

He continued emerging from through the doorway and I realized that he was holding a body in his hands. Beyond him, I could see Fred holding the legs as Reggie tried to support the torso.

"Quick!" Reggie cried as they got to the gurney Patty had brought. "Get her on the gurney now!"

Fred and Mike moved in unison, lifting their arms and stepping around the gurney. They immediately set the body down, with surprising gentleness, before stepping away and starting to run back into the laser room. As they stepped away, Patty gave a scream of horror.

I glanced down at the body and had to swallow my own scream. The body was clearly that of Barbara, but she we no longer the tall beauty who dominated the colony basketball games. Her long hair had been melted down and formed a ugly plastic helmet over her head. Worse, a huge part of her lower torso was a jagged mass of torn flesh covered by the remnants of a suit of battle armor. "She's alive?" I whispered.

"Barely," Mike replied as he placed a gentle hand on my shoulder. "But she needs a medical pod badly. You should move her. I need to join back in the recovery."

I was moving to grab the gurney when Jacques and Lindsay ran up. "We'll take the gurney," Jacques said as he arrived. "Watch for when the other is ready."

My friends did not wait for a response, but shoved the gurney into the middle of the hallway and then raced off, the gurney giving of a faint plaintive wail. Patty was starting to stand back up when Reggie looked out.

"Meiko!" he shouted. "The speakers in the rooms are still out. Stay there and listen for what's happening in the command center."

"What's happening is that I'm not seeing anyone come to help support the rest of your staff," the voice of the chief scientist snapped. "One Sa'arm ship has been destroyed, but there is still one to go, and the people here can't seem to move enough of the space defenses to help the ships fighting to keep you safe. When will I get more people?"

"Yvette, who knows those systems? I know that Timothy and Louis did most of the setup. Do we have anyone else?" Reggie asked.

"Brad knows how to run them," One of the twins shouted.

"He's still out. Whatever caused the explosion in the laser rooms knocked out everyone. From the bleeding coming from the ears, I'd say we have major concussions. He'll need time in a pod before he can help," Reggie replied.

"You have medical training?" the scientist growled.

"He might not, but as the head of our medical department and having seen to Linus who was also knocked out by the blast, I can affirm his diagnosis. Linus has a major concussion as well as severe blunt force trauma to his back. He'll recover fine, but I need to give him two hours in a pod and then I recommend at least eight hours of rest before he returns to duty. And since he could be helped to stagger to medical, I'm guessing he was one of the least injured," Donna called out.

"Who else do we have then?" the scientist snarled. "I need someone to take over this weapons station and my marines all tell me that they don't recognize the setup."

"It's a planetary defense grid control," one of the twins said with a sigh. "It requires special training to learn to use it. Let me think. Terrence knows how to run it."

"Can't help you. I'm still working with both ships to get their people teleported to medical, and all of my backups are unavailable," Terrence replied.

"Deborah was learning how to run the controls," Timothy mused.

"She's got a crushed pelvis and a shattered collarbone," Alexis called out as she stepped into the hallway. "We need to get her into a medical pod, but are still working to get the debris off of her so we can lift her without increasing her injuries."

"I'll do it," Mike said. "I've been getting some practice."

"How much time have you worked at it?" Louis asked. His voice had the strained cadence of someone who was trying to maintain intense concentration on a difficult task.

"Two hours," Mike said.

"Get here!" the scientist screamed.

Mike gave an apologetic look at Reggie and Fred before dashing off down the hallway. He was following the direct route towards the colony center, but stopped only a short distance away and then came running back. "The hallway is completely blocked by a cave-in. I could see two concubines lying in the rubble," he shouted as he dashed by.

"Shit!" Fred called. "That must be Craig and Robert. We need someone to check on them."

"I can't leave medical one, Linus is in a pod and soon I'll have Barbara and Debby to take care of," Donna called out. "Shawna, Ed and Gina are all at medical two and cant leave. Ill try to send David, but can't until Barbara arrives and we get her into a pod."

"She's not there yet?" Reggie called out.

"Oh god!" Donna replied. "Never mind, Lindsay and Jacques just pushed the gurney in. Sorry, this will take a lot of concentration."

"Shit," Reggie spat. "Fred, Alexis, let's get Deborah out and onto the gurney. Meiko, stay here to relay messages if we get any. Patty, I think Christie was moving around in there. Can you check on her and help her walk to medical if she can stand? Xavier, you better check the hallway, we don't need the roof to break open."

Everyone started moving away from me. Overhead, I could hear the scientist continue to complain. "This is impossible. Where are your reserves? How can you be this disorganized?"

"Easy, we usually would have every concubine helping so that the citizens could worry about the big picture stuff," Ulla said as she slid up to stand next to me. "But your arrogance has our masters trying to do it all without the usual levels of support to protect us."

Yvette had another answer. "We only have twenty-two citizens, and this is about as bad as it gets. We have you arriving just as the Sa'arm put a serious effort into wiping us out. Fortunately, we have two ships from Borneo here to help, but that means casualties we have to help with."

"You must protect the artifacts!" the scientist screamed. "I don't want the Sa'arm hitting the bases on the moon with any of their weapons."

"There is only one Sa'arm cruiser left and it's now engaged in maneuvers against Sif. I doubt it's going to be making any more attacks on us," one of the twins said. "Although they already hit us once."

"What?" the scientist screamed.

"I'm not sure what they used, but tracking confirms that the explosion in the laser bay was due to some kind of projectile. Based on the blast, I'm guessing it was some kind of mining charge they use to clear debris from blocked tunnels. The concussion wave was huge for the size of the explosion."

"Affirmative," the AI called out. "Similar charges are used on other Confederacy planets to help clear blocked tunnel passages. Had this explosion occurred in one of the central hallways, it might have knocked out everyone in the colony. The airlock for the laser rooms helped contain the shock wave and prevent more injuries."

"We could have been killed!" the scientist screamed. "I thought you said you had this planet protected and pacified."

"James has never sent in a report with that kind of message," Yvette snapped back. "We are relatively safe against a Sa'arm landing, but we've always known that they had a chance to get us. But you were safe from that pressure wave. The colony has internal pressure doors and there were several between us and the explosion."

"Analysis is limited, but based on the timing of the blast, the projectile arrived just as the doors opened to allow laser two to rise to the surface. It must have fallen through the lock before it closed out the atmosphere," the AI intoned. "This fits current readings, which show that the doors separating the colony from the atmosphere are intact and closed. The force of the blast would have damaged closed doors. There are no leaks or holes in the skin of the colony."

"You mean we effectively got hit by a lucky shot?" one of the twins cried.

"Sounds like it," I heard Timothy whisper. There was a moment of silence. Before I could say more, Reggie emerged from the laser room airlock. His careful way of walking made it obvious he was carrying a body.

He continued his slow walk. Behind him, Alexis and Fred stepped out. Between the three citizens, Deborah's battered body lay in an improvised sling. They did all they could to prevent the body from bouncing or hitting anything as they turned in the hallway and then raised the body up to the remaining gurney. Debby appeared to be unconscious, but let out a blood-curdling scream of pain as they gently set her broken torso down.

Reggie immediately sprang away from the gurney and pushed Alexis to the back. "You can explain to Donna about her injuries and help her there. We'll start working to get the others to medical. If you can, see about freeing up some concubines to bring gurneys."

"Got it," Alexis shouted and then started pushing the gurney down the hallway. Reggie watched her disappear into the still smoky hallway and then looked at me.

"Any news?" he asked.

"Just that the explosion appears to have been from some kind of Sa'arm mining charge, or at least that's what the AI is reporting. Supposedly, it must have entered the laser bay before Laser two ascended for its flight into the atmosphere," I said.

"Damn," Reggie said as Fred collapsed against the wall and slowly sank to the floor. "Well, the good news is that everyone in the rooms is breathing. But they definitely could use time in a medical pod. However, Fred and I need a short break, we had to dig Deborah out from under laser one. The blast picked it up and threw it against the wall."

"So we have no lasers at the moment," Yvette's voice called out.

"None," Fred replied softly. Exhaustion permeated his voice as he looked up at the ceiling. "Laser two is a twisted ruin. Laser one came off its moorings completely. The laser might be intact, but it can't be used until it's moved back to its original position and all the connections tested. I expect we will be waiting a couple days for the AI to complete repairs once we clear the pods."

"What about the wounded?" Yvette asked.

Reggie seemed about to speak when Patty appeared. She was standing between James and Christie. Christie had her eyes closed and was clearly struggling to stay standing. My master looked even worse. Blood oozed from his nose, and he held his free hand to the side of his head. Reggie jumped up to help Patty as they fell through the doorway.

"Master!" I cried and ran forward. I stopped before I knocked him from his feet, but threw my arms around his waist and then shifted so that I could take his weight on my shoulder and free Patty to help Christie.

"James," Reggie said. "I didn't expect you to be up. The blast knocked everyone out."

James nodded slightly and then seemed to collapse. He swept both of his hands to the side of his head and held it. A dead weight settled on my shoulders as he sank towards the ground.

"I need a report!" the scientist shouted. "Is James alert?"

"Not hardly," Patty replied. "I was in there to help Christie and found him trying to stand. He hasn't said a word, and I think he's running on instinct."

"Who's that?" the scientist screamed. "And get James here to command right away."

"Meiko, are you still there?" Donna called out.

"Yes," I replied quietly.

"I demand an answer to my question private! Who spoke just a moment ago!" the scientist shouted again.

"That was Patty," Reggie replied. "She belongs to Linus, but agreed to help try to get some of the injured to medical. I guess James stirred while she was helping Christie stand, so she helped him to the doorway."

"How is he?" Yvette asked.

I looked over at my master. His eyes were closed again, and I noticed that his legs were no longer supporting his weight. Only the fact that Reggie was on the other side of him prevented him from dragging me down to the floor.

"It looks like he's unconscious again," I said. "We should probably get him to medical."

"That's what I was trying to say," Donna said with a huff. "Meiko, bring him to me now. I need him here to try to calm Brittany and he probably needs time in a pod."

Reggie reached around James to touch me on the shoulder. "You need help carrying him to medical," he said.

I nodded. Just then, we heard shouts down the hallway. Looking up, I could see Esther leading a small army of concubines and children. She walked up to Reggie and smiled. "We've been listening. You need help and we are here to provide it."

"Great," Reggie said. He looked at the children. "Kids, down that hallway you'll find Craig and Robert. They might be trapped under some debris. Dig them out and then see if you can help them stand. Once they are free take them to medical."

"Robert!" a voice cried. I watched a woman dash down the hallway, her hands covering her mouth.

"Robin!" another woman cried out. I glanced over to see Marie standing there. Her son was clinging to her leg.

"Who?" Reggie asked as Robin disappeared into the smoke, which still clouded the corridor.

"She's Barbara's other concubine. And before the pickup she was Robert's wife," Marie said. "I guess I'll lead the kids in helping her."

"Good," Reggie said. He slipped James's arm off his shoulder and stepped away. James immediately became a dead weight on my shoulder and we tumbled to the ground.

"James!" someone shouted. His body was lifted from mine. Struggling to my feet, I looked around to see Orlando and Victoria holding my master up.

"What's wrong with him?" Victoria cried. The young girl had tears in her eyes as she helped keep James standing.

"Whatever hit the laser room knocked everyone out. We need to take him to medical," I replied.

"How is Debs?" Orlando asked.

"Alexis took her to medical a short time ago," I said. "She was hurt pretty badly."

"Oh god, what happened to her?" Victoria asked. "I need to see her."

"Vicki! Help Meiko get James to medical. Your mistress is already on her way there and you can see her then," Reggie shouted.

"I ordered James to report to me here," the scientist's voice shouted from the ceiling. "Soldier, you have no business giving a different order."

"James is still unconscious, so how can he report to you?" Reggie shouted at the speaker. "There are a couple concubines who will carry him to medical."

The hall was silent after that as Victoria and I struggled to carry the body of my master down the hallway. More concubines came streaming down the hallway as we exited. We had just reached the intersection with the outer tunnel when Janice ran up.

"Esther suggested that we all help in the laser room. She and a couple others are keeping all the babies in the school. The noise has frightened the babies so they are busy, but they felt more people helping was more important," she said as she reached over me to support James. "Lead the way and make sure we aren't stopped."

I sighed with guilty relief as the weight of James' body was removed from my shoulders. Then I sped up to get ahead of Janice and Victoria to lead them towards the medical bay.

"How could this happen?" Victoria asked. "It's been so nice for so long."

"Too much happening at the same time," I said quietly. "We never expected to have to deal with someone from Central Command at the same time a battle was going on. It's pretty clear he's rather disruptive. I imagine that Tam and Tif are having trouble doing their duties."

"I can't believe he complained about their outfits," Janice said. "I mean does it really matter here?"

For several minutes, we were silent as we navigated the hallway. In the distance, we could hear people running, but no one barred our way as we approached the medical bay.

"It seems that our new governor thinks the outfits worn by citizens does matter," I admitted.

Nothing more was said as we covered the last yards to the medical center. I stepped inside to see Donna standing up from a medical pod. She turned to look at me and frowned.

"I see James has been brought to me. How is he?" she asked.

"Heavy," Victoria commented as she and Janice stepped into the room.

"He ain't heavy," Janice said. "He's my master and my love."

Donna and I giggled as she walked over to my sister concubine. Donna put a hand on James' chin and lifted his head for a moment. When she noticed that his eyes were closed, she used her free hand to pry his right eye open for just a moment and then nodded. "As I expected, much like Linus. He'll be fine with a little time in a medical pod."

Donna stood up and walked over to one of the medical pods and began pushing buttons. The pod slid open with a hiss.

Janice and Victoria brought him over to the pod. As they arrived, David stepped out from another room to help them lift James into the pod.

"Meiko," he said when he saw me. "Can you go into the room I just came out of? Brittany is in there and needs a companion."

I thought of how she had been when I left and ran to the room. Inside, I found Brittany and Kitty both in natal gurneys. The two gurneys had been turned so that my sister concubines could look at each other. They were holding hands and sniffling as I stepped up. Kitty was facing me, but here eyes were closed so neither one realized I was there until I placed my left hand where their hands were joined.

Brittany turned her head and gasped as she saw me standing there. She had tears pouring from her eyes. "What's wrong, sister?" I asked.

"My baby is about to be born and will never know a father," Brittany mourned. "It's unfair."

I turned my head to look at her. "Why would your child never know James?" I asked.

"You heard the AI, James was in the laser room when there was that explosion. How could he have survived that?" Brittany said with a sniffle.

"He's alive," I corrected her. "Donna just got him into a pod. No one was killed in the explosion. It merely knocked everyone out."

"I wish you were completely correct," Michael said as he wandered in. "Barbara's injuries killed her unborn child."

"She's going to be devastated," I said. "What about Deb?"

Michael gave a faint smile. "By some miracle her baby is unharmed. Hopefully, the medical pods will be able to keep it alive though. The laser landed on her lower back and did a ton of damage to her bones."

"She'll walk tomorrow," Victoria whispered as she walked into the room to join us. "Donna assured me she'll walk."

I sighed in relief as Brittany seized my hand and squeezed it. For a moment, I thought she was trying to pull it off, but then she groaned and arched her back. Victoria jumped forward.

"She's giving birth! Michael, get Donna. Meiko, try to calm her down!" Victoria cried out.

"No fair," Kitty said with a giggle as I turned to look at my sister concubine. "I go into labor first, but she gives birth first."

"Her body is reacting to a mental shock and that appears to be accelerating her labor. Meanwhile, you are giving birth to twins," Donna said from behind me. "To be honest, I'm just hoping Brittany's baby won't have any problems. The kind of shock her body is going through can't be healthy for the baby or her.'

"Is that what's happening" Kitty asked. "And how to you know I have twins?"

Donna giggled; it was a surprisingly cheerful and girlish response from the woman. "I know you have twins because that's what the medical scanners told me. Not identical though. You are going to have a boy and a girl. The boy should be first. As for the rest, I'm guessing on the limited medical knowledge I've gained since we arrived here. I was a fashion magazine's scout and gopher before we arrived here."

I nodded and held Brittany's hand, trying to keep her from writhing as another contraction ripped through her body. Donna saw her back arch and hurried over to check the readings on the gurney.

"Something's wrong?" I asked.

Donna checked everything and then stood up straight. She had a shy smile on her face as she shook her head. "No. At least nothing too horrible. Brittany's daughter is going to be born now. And once that is done, I need to find an open medical pod for Brittany. The shock she suffered has her suffering a bit of a breakdown. The medical pods can rebalance everything."

"Will she need drugs afterwards?" Victoria asked.

"What?" Kitty asked. I could feel my sister concubine try to roll on her side, but a quiet groan ended her movement and she sank back onto the gurney.

"One of my aunts had problems giving birth to a niece of mine. After that, they said she had some kind of depression and kept her on drugs for years," Victoria said.

Donna smiled as she stroked Brittany's forehead. "That will never happen here. The medical pods will not only fix the immediate problem, but repair Brittany's entire system. Your aunt needed drugs to replace some hormones her body stopped producing. But in Brittany's case, the pods will just make sure her body functions properly and doesn't need any supplements."

Just then, Brittany gave a huge cry that seemed to mix triumph and pain. Victoria was standing near her feet and leaned forward to catch something. The young woman stood up and was holding a baby in her arms. The child was covered in blood and Victoria's face was ashen.

"She's bleeding badly," Victoria whispered, staring at my sister concubine.

Donna nodded and turned to the door. "Michael, David! I need you to get Brittany into a medical pod, now!"

The two male concubines ran into the room. There was a moment of confusion while Donna accepted the baby from Victoria and cut the umbilical cord. She asked Victoria to grab some wet cloth from a replicator so she could clean the child.

"It's terrible that all this is happening now. The birth of a child is supposed to bring joy to everyone," Kitty moaned. "Now only you are going to be here for me." She reached out to hold onto my arm.

"I'll be here," a soft voice said from the door to the room. We both turned and found Janice standing in the doorway. "I can't help anyone at the moment."

"How's James?" I asked. "And have you heard about Bethany or Tina?"

"Donna put James in a pod right away, but only a few of our citizens are knowledgeable about the pods, and the others are in the other medical bay helping deal with the wounded from the ships. Donna has others to help so she hasn't been able to say much," Janice said. "Tanya peeked at the readings and said that it looks like James only has a concussion, so the pods can definitely heal him, but it will take a couple of hours."

Kitty sobbed. Her hands wrapped around my arm and she held on as if for dear life. Then a long moan came from her mouth and the gurney she was laying on started beeping.

Donna ran over to Janice and held out Brittani's baby daughter. "Hold her," she snapped. "Kitty's son is about to be born."

Janice accepted the child. She looked over the baby as Donna walked around Kitty's gurney and stood at her feet. "How is Brittany's girl?" I asked as I moved to put a hand on Kitty's shoulder.

"She looks perfect," Janice said. "Brittany will love her."

"I hope she does," I said quietly. "Today has been rather traumatic for her."

"You forget why it's so traumatic," Kitty whispered. She moaned for a moment and then took a deep breath. "Brittany watched her mother killed by the man who selected her as a concubine, and then the man made it clear he was going to rape her on her fourteenth birthday. She's the youngest concubine on Ishtar and extremely afraid of what might happen should she be separated from James."

"But you aren't panicking," Janice replied as she walked to the replicator. She accepted a bottle of milk, which she began to feed to the baby.

Kitty sighed and then groaned again. Donna smiled. "Give me one more big push!" the woman shouted to Kitty. "I can see your son's head."

"I'm trying," Kitty said. "But I'm trying to answer Janice, too. Janice, I guess I'm not panicking because I truly believe in James. The AI hasn't said he's dead. Unless it does, I know I still belong to him. I'd only panic if I heard he died and saw his body."

"One more push!" Donna commanded.

Kitty groaned loudly and then collapsed back on the gurney. I could hear a gasp from Janice, who was watching Donna. A moment later, Donna lifted a baby up and held it up for Kitty to see.

"He's a healthy boy," Donna said. "But don't stop. You still have a daughter who needs to be born." She turned and held the baby out to Victoria, who took him tentatively.

"Joy, more pushing," Kitty said with a faint giggle. "At least I can barely feel it. You and Shawna had a great idea with these special gurneys."

"Shawna just wanted to avoid the pain of childbirth," Donna replied. "She investigated ways to reduce it and eventually came up with these inventions."

"Too bad she can't sell the idea," Kitty said with a groan. "Oh god, I hate this."

"What?" Victoria cried as she gathered Kitty's son into her arms. "How can you hate this? You know James will love your baby."

"Babies," Kitty said with another groan. "But that's not what I hate. It's the fact that I have to lie here on my back feeling very uncomfortable while James is in a medical pod. I want to be helpful."

"A new child will cheer up the colony," Janice whispered. "And James will understand."

Kitty gave my hand another squeeze and then groaned again. This time, Donna gave a cry of joy and reached for my sister. "I can see your daughter's head. Give me another push!"

Kitty let out a scream that mixed triumph and fatigue as her shoulders left the gurney for a moment. A second later Donna was standing up, a crying baby in her arms.

"A perfect little girl," Donna whispered. "You did it, Kitty."

"Kristi, we can name her Kristi," Kitty whispered. "And my son should be Jerome."

"Jerome?" Janice asked as Donna handed Kristi to her. "Why Jerome?"

"I wanted to give him a name starting with J, and it didn't feel right to call him Junior," Kitty whispered. "Now, I just want to sleep for a while."

My sister concubine rolled onto her left side. Her head slumped onto the gurney and she closed her eyes. Donna shook her head.

"She must be exhausted," she whispered.

"What about the babies?" Victoria asked.

"We have some beds for them," Donna replied. "Let's take them to the nursery and I'll have Michael and David move your sisters there as well. They'll sleep for a few hours."

Donna led us from the room we had been in. The entrance area was now filled with everyone who had been in the laser rooms. Michael and Molly were going around checking each casualty and applying wet cloths to foreheads. I paused for a moment as I noticed Tina lying on the floor.

My sister concubine was lying on her back. A huge bruise marred the formerly pristine skin on her left thigh. The fist-sized mark was already turning yellow at the edges. Her left arm was lying flat on the ground, but someone had pulled her right arm up to lay on her stomach and then strapped it down.

Janice ran into the back of me as I paused in dismay. She grunted, causing Molly to turn around. The young woman looked at me and smiled.

"Everyone here is going to be fine," she said. "Gina suggested that we set up a pod to triage everyone. With Ed, Shawna and Gina working in the other medical bay, it was the only way we could determine the problems. We have a number of broken bones and torn muscles, but nothing too serious. It's just we don't have enough pod space at the moment."

"We'll fix them all," Donna said quietly. "But right now, this isn't a good place for the babies. Let's get them into the cribs, then you can check on Tina and Bethany."

Donna resumed walking. I gave a final glance at my friend's body before following into the nursery.

I had fixed my gaze back on the doorway, so was surprised when Donna put her arms on my shoulder to stop me. As I turned my head, she deftly stepped around me and plucked Kristi from Janice's arms. She whirled around to put the baby in a small crib. Kristi fussed for a moment and then curled up to lay still.

I gazed on my sister concubine's daughter while Donna stepped over to Victoria and collected Jerome. She placed him in another crib while I cautiously stepped forward to look more closely at Kristi.

"She's so small," I whispered. "Was Madoka that small?"

I know," Janice said, as she moved to stand next to me. "Joy is more than twice the size, and it hasn't even been a year. But I guess a newborn is tiny. I thought she'd be hungry. I know I need to feed Joy soon."

I nodded. "My chest feels uncomfortable. It's been a bit too long for Madoka as well, but we've been so busy. What about feeding Kristi and Jerome?"

"The system will monitor the newborns and alert someone to provide nourishment should it be required. Newborns usually don't become hungry immediately," the AI intoned.

Donna sighed. We glanced over at her and she was quietly directing Michael to place Kitty in a corner of the room. She noticed that we were all gazing at her and shook her head. "It's just that the AI doesn't seem to understand the concept of volume control. I'd rather the babies get to sleep for the first hour or two after birth."

"Should we?" Janice asked.

Donna grabbed Janice and gently pushed her out of the room. "You can help me care for everyone," she affirmed. "I'm sure your sister concubines will appreciate the attention."

I followed, thinking I could help. As I returned to the waiting area and was looking for Bethany, the voice of the scientist growled out. "It's been more than an hour. Is James available?"

Donna muttered something, but then looked up. "We've been dealing with all the casualties, but he is in a pod. Give me a moment to check."

Donna walked over to a wall where a single pod sat. I made my way through the room to stand next to her as she pressed a few buttons and examined the display. Finally, she sighed and looked at me. "I can't delay that man too much longer," she whispered to me. "He doesn't sound very patient. But James is going to be unsteady. Can I trust you to go with him and bring him back?"

"But..." I started to reply.

"I know, James made it more than clear that we were going to keep concubines away from our visitors, but right now we don't have anyone else available," Donna said. "And I'm hoping with you there, James won't say anything to get into trouble. We can't afford to lose him right now."

"But..." I tried to reply again, but Donna was hitting buttons on the pod. She continued for a moment and then looked up at the ceiling.

"I'm getting James out of the pod he's in," she said curtly. "But he's not fully healed. He really needs four more hours in a pod or a day of bed rest."

'So you are saying there is no chance of permanent damage," the scientist barked.

"The pod made sure that there would be no permanent damage immediately. But he's still had a major concussion and because I instructed the system to prevent permanent damage first, James will be disoriented for a few hours. He's also going to have a headache until he either gets more pod time or a few hours of rest," Donna snapped. "Taking him out of the pod right now goes against all my medical instincts."

"And you have years of medical training, I'm sure," the scientist barked mockingly. "Just get James down here to the command post. I need to review some things."

Donna gestured at the speaker and then bent over the opening pod. I gazed in with her as my master's face was revealed. He opened his eyes and immediately put a hand to his forehead.

"Damn, when did we allow a truck to drive through the laser pod?" James said with a groan. He blinked once or twice and then sat up quickly.

"The others?" he hissed as his head moved quickly from left to right. The motion brought another groan and this time both hands came up to caress his forehead. I jumped forward to support him as he slumped to the side in the pod.

"Master!" I cried.

"No!" James whispered back as he brought one arm down to rest on my head. "I distinctly remember telling my ladies that they are not to call me that. Now what about the others?"

From right behind me, Janice giggled. "If I heard right, Barbara and Deb are both in pods with serious, but not life-threatening injuries. Everyone else in the pods suffered concussions and bruises, but nothing major."

"Are they all in pods?" James asked.

"No," Donna replied. "We still only have eight pods here, and with the way our new governor is ranting I wasn't sending anyone through the tunnels to the other medical bay. You should still be in a pod though. However, his loudness wants an audience."

James struggled out of the pod. For a moment, his legs held him up, but then he sagged back against the pod. 'Master!" I cried again.

"Little one," he replied as I slid up next to him. He placed his left hand on my shoulder and slowly levered his body back to vertical. When he finished, he patted me on the head. "If you don't stop calling me that, I just might make you sleep with the babies for a week."

"No, you wouldn't," Janice called back. "You'd miss her too much. Besides, she's only saying that because it's clear you are in pain. I'd jump into your arms too, but I'm afraid I'd hurt you if I did."

James nodded very slowly. Even that motion brought tears to his eyes and I tightened my grip around his waist to keep him standing. "I won't argue that. Now why am I awake and not still in a pod? It's clear I'm not fully healed? Are we that short of pod space?"

"No," Donna replied. "Our new governor is demanding to see you. You still need a couple of hours in a pod, or a night of relaxation and sleep, but he wants to see you now. Meiko can walk you to the command post."

"I'm not taking a concubine into his presence," James hissed.

"James," Donna snapped. "We don't have time to argue. With the damage and injuries from the laser room, there is no spare citizen who can take you there. Meiko is here and I trust your love for her to keep your anger in check. We all know that we were forced to do things that made that last fight a fiasco, but telling him that won't help right now."

"It got people killed," James muttered. He pressed his left hand on my shoulder and took a step forward. For a moment, he swayed uncertainly. I held him close against my shoulder until he was steady.

"No one on the planet,' Donna said. "And from what little I've been able to pick up, the casualties on both ships are lower than expected. Just accept that we have to placate the bastard and get him to view his precious artifacts. Now go, and stop stalling."

James grumbled, but took another step towards the door. This time his step was just a bit stronger. I stayed by his side, offering him a living crutch as he stumbled his way to the door and the passageway leading to the command post.