Chapter 63 - A Chorus of Mercy

"Go ahead," I said, putting my left hand up next to my ear.

"Meiko," Maggie's voice said. "We have a teleport unit near Morrigan, but we are going to have a problem. The gunner is barely conscious and won't be able to get out of the pod without help."

"Can someone from Morrigan do it?" I asked.

"No," Maggie said. "I already asked. The grid is charged so anyone setting foot on it would be killed."

I considered the situation. "We've done that kind of teleport before, but that was after the fight was over and the ship could be motionless. If we are going to do this, the teleport unit has to hold position while we handle the transfer."

"Paula is running it," Maggie said. "And the big Sa'arm ships are still holding back. We have a ten minute window where we can pull this off."

"Donna!" I shouted. "Do we have anyone who can wear a pressure suit for an emergency teleport? But we only have about five minutes."

Donna stepped out of the medical bay. "What?"

"One of the gunballs on Morrigan took a hit. It's dead on their grid, but the gunner is alive. They are asking if we can teleport them here," I responded.

"Injured?" Donna asked.

"Yes," I replied with a nod. "They will need help to reach the pod."

Donna frowned. "Nathan! You are the most fit. Can you get into a pressure suit fast? And can someone ask Amanda if she'll mind if we borrow her concubine?"

"Go for it!" Amanda's voice rang out. "But will this disrupt the teleport for Deb? They have the last of her armor off and are carrying her to the teleport pad."

"The pad is clear," I called out. "Kitty, run the teleport while Nathan gets ready. Maggie, give us four minutes and make sure that Paula can put the teleport unit right next to the gunball.�

"Teleporting now!" Kitty called out.

There was a moment of silence. In my ear, I could hear Kitty gasp, but no words followed the gasp. Instead, the teleport pad in front of me and near the medical bay glowed for a moment.

The glow faded and I could see Orlando holding someone up. An arm was draped across his shoulder. He lifted his companion up and started to stagger his way to off the pad. Michael noticed and ran forward to help.

"Don't touch her right side!" Orlando screamed. "She's got acid burns all over her."

Michael slowed down. "Do you want a gurney?"

"No," Orlando replied. "We have no time. Just lead me to the medical pod we are going to put her in."

Shawna appeared from the main medical room. "The closet pod on the left is clear. Can you run?"

Orlando shocked me as he used one arm to lift Deb from the ground. With surprising strength, he cradled his mistress in his arms as he stepped off the pad and ran towards Shawna, who scrambled out of the way. Michael followed Orlando, shouting that he'd help lift her into the pod.

"Meiko!" I heard Paula call out. "I have the teleport unit in position, but the Sa'arm are starting to advance. Captain Evans says he can only hold position for a few more minutes. Is Nathan ready?"

"Nathan?" I called out.

"How do I make sure that this suit is sealed properly?" he asked. I looked up as he walked into the room from an alcove I had not noticed before. He had on a silvery suit topped by a spherical helmet. His gloved hands twitched and played with an imaginary collar.

Donna waddled over to him. She grabbed his arm and pressed a couple of buttons on his right forearm. "Watch the lights, if they both turn green the suit is sealed properly," she said sharply.

"Meiko? What will I do when I get there?" he asked.

"The mobile unit should be right next to the damaged gunball. The unit is basically an airlock and will be holding atmosphere when I send you. Once the door is open, step onto the gunball, grab the injured gunner and jump back into the unit. Do not touch anything except the gunball and the injured gunner," I said.

"Will the airlock close before I teleport back?" he asked.

"No," I said. "I can teleport you from a vacuum back to the atmosphere here, but teleport from atmosphere to a vacuum causes problems. All you will have to do is touch the pad and I can bring you back."

"He's ready," Donna called out. "Is the pad clear?"

"Kitty, I'm handling a rescue port, keep the pad clear. Paula, is the pod in position?" I spoke into my headset.

"Yes," Paula replied. "But you need to hurry. Some of the Sa'arm fighters have changed course and are heading toward the carrier that the admiral brought. Morrigan is part of the screen and will be taking fire in a minute or two. I have pad four."

"I've been following the pads. I already have it hooked up. Nathan! Get on the pad!" I shouted.

The man nervously skipped forward and jumped onto the pad. He turned back to me and was shaking his head as I activated the teleport to the mobile pad.

Nathan disappeared from the pad. I watched the readouts. They soon indicated that the airlock of the mobile pod was depressurizing.

"I'm in a dark tube," Nathan said through the radio in the suit.

"No shit!" Donna said. "That's what one of those mobile teleports is. The door should open in a moment."

I giggled. "Donna, I think Nathan is a bit nervous. We should be a bit more supportive."

The reply was a loud sniff. "No one gave me support when I was out there in the cold darkness of space. But I guess it wasn't in the middle of a shooting fight either. Stay calm, Nathan, I'm sure Amanda wants you back in one piece."

"Not funny," Nathan muttered. The display on my console showed that the airlock had completed its cycle and the door was opening. "Doors now opening," Nathan continued. "I can see the gunball. It's a mess. There is a lot of jagged metal here that I have to step over."

"How is the gunner?" Ed asked over the headset. I looked up in surprise. The elder citizen was standing in the entry to the medical room and covering his right ear with a cupped hand.

"Curled up in a ball. I just see the suit but the left arm is moving," Nathan said. "One moment, let me step over. I can see a good platform to check on the gunner."

"Hurry," Paula said. "Morrigan has just increased thrust. She's about to go back into the fight."

"There's a lot of sharp fragments of metal," Nathan replied. "I don't want to risk the suit. Now give me a second, I've managed to step so I can kneel by the gunner. He has his arms over his stomach and there is something staining the suit. I'm guessing he took a hit from a sliver."

We all waited in silence for about thirty seconds. Then there was a loud sigh from Nathan. "I'm no doctor. I need a minute to get the gunner out of his harness. I can see a bit more. Add a shattered shoulder to some severe abdominal injuries. The suit has two sealed holes just above waist level and the gunner's left arm is bent behind him."

"I'll get a pod ready," Ed said. He turned back towards the medical room. "Shawna, activate the new program I set up on pod seven. I think we'll have to put the gunner in with the suit still on. Removing it might cause him to bleed out."

"It slows down the healing," Shawna said. "The nanites end up taking hours just to dissolve clothing."

"Ed's right," Donna said. "The gunner has already spent at least thirty minutes with two holes in him. I don't want to imagine the damage we'd do if we removed the suit."

"Mieko," Nathan called out. "This gunner can't help me. He's unconscious. I can pick him up in a fireman's carry and jump to the pad, but..."

"Do it," I said as I adjusted the controls. The pad would now activate the instant Nathan touched it, bringing him and anyone he carried back to Ishtar.

"On one, two..." Nathan called out. There was a grunt and then the pad in the room lit up in a bright flash of light. Donna and Ed rushed to the edge of the pad as the light began to dim.

"Craig," Donna called out. "Roll the gurney onto the pad. We need to get this one into a pod fast."

Craig grabbed a gurney and began running toward the teleport pad. I could see Ed and Donna standing next to Nathan. He had a body draped over his shoulders. The man staggered toward the gurney as Craig reached the edge of the platform.

"Meiko?" I heard Paula whisper.

"Sorry," I replied as I turned my eyes back to the console. "Nathan has arrived back safely. You can get the teleport unit out of the way."

"I should tell Amanda that her concubine is back safely," I said.

"I heard," Amanda replied. "The AI appears to be tracking what is said and will route information to interested parties. How is the gunner?"

"I don't know," I said as I looked up. The teleport pad was empty of people. While I was concentrating on the console, the gunner had been taken into the medical room. "They have him in the medical room already."

I watched the doorway, hoping someone would come through. The fate of the gunner was a mystery I wanted to know more about. However, before anyone appeared, a new klaxon started to blare.

"Damn!" Yvette screamed. "Tif, turn that damn thing off. What is the matter now?"

"Tracking reports one of the dead Sa'arm scouts is going to crash into the planet!" Tamara called out.

'What about the atmosphere?" someone cried.

"It's too fast," Tamara responded. "And the scan says the armor is intact enough that it will survive its plunge without breaking up."

"Where will the impact be?" James asked calmly.

"Somewhere in the mountains to the west of us," Tamara responded. "But we'll feel it here."

'Are you sure?" Yvette asked.

"The AI probably is," James said. "Sa'arm ships are huge by our standards. The Sa'arm are larger than us to begin with and they have more crew on their ships. It's going to be as if a large meteor hit the planet."

"That's what the AI is warning," Tamara replied. Impact is expected to be in four minutes."

"Everyone, make sure your area is prepared for the impact," James said. He sounded almost unnaturally calm. "Reggie, do you need more people?"

"We can handle it," Reggie said. "You had the nursery reinforced a long time ago, and the main room doesn't have anything that can be knocked around. We already have the babies secured there, so we should be able to ride out anything."

"Will the power be disrupted?" Ed called out. "Some of the medical pods should probably go into emergency mode if we might lose power."

"Based on current tracking and the size of the damaged scout, the damage to the colony will not cause a disruption to the power supply," the AI offered.

There was a light flashing on the teleport console. It indicated a communication from a blocked unit. I reached out a tentative hand and then switched to the incoming call. "Ishtar teleport control," I stated firmly.

"Um... damn" a male voice stammered. "Um... look, some of the guys here aren't happy with how everything went down... um..."

I raised my hand, almost immediately realizing that the speaker could not see it. "Wait. Who is this?"

"Oh! Sorry, but I just thought you'd know... I don't know why you've never met me... I mean, I don't know who you are either, but you're on the planet and..."

The signal cut out for a moment and then an older voice took over. "Damn kid. I knew some of the marines in this company were a bit wet behind the ears, but you don't babble. The private was asking if we can help."

"Who?" I asked again.

"This is Sergeant Watkins. We were part of the company that was just on the planet," the older voice said again. "We'd like to help."

I reached out to put the communication on hold. For a moment, I just stared into space, but then I activated my contact with the rest of the planet. "James, I just received a communication. It appears some of Colonel Johanes' men want to help."

"They what?" James asked. "Damn, We could use the help, but I have to get ready to handle the lasers. Yvette, why don't you listen in, but allow Meiko to do most of the talking. We can definitely try to crash train some laser gunners if they have anyone with armor."

"What's wrong?" Yvette asked.

"Deb is hurt, Amanda and Xavier are both down while their armor is repaired. Barbara and Alexis are still in medical pods from yesterday's fighting. Brad should have his armor back in five minutes, but right now only Linus and I have armor. The lasers are turning around in fifteen minutes, but armor repair is running over an hour," James said.

I was in the process of switching the communications back to the sergeant when Tiffany's voice broke through. "Admiral Timmons! Admiral Timmons! Please respond! We need status!"

"What's wrong?" Yvette called out.

"Captain Evans, status!" James called out.

"Sa'arm fighters got through our screen. They used some missile that was designed to penetrate deep into a target. The carrier took a hit on the flag bridge," Captain Evans replied.

My console was beeping. I was reminded that I needed to resume the communications with the marines. My fingers reached out to make the adjustment.

"Sergeant," I said as I flicked the switch. "Sorry for the delay, we have a small crisis here."

"That's why we are volunteering to help," the man replied. "There's no question that the orders we were told about were not all the orders that Colonel Johanes had."

"The only job on the planet that we can use marines for would be as gunners. I remember that when you arrived James was told that none of your people had the training to use those," I replied.

"These men are marines, they can and will improvise and adapt," the sergeant growled. "If you bring us down, we'll listen and learn as quick as we can."

"They need armor," Yvette whispered. I wondered if the sergeant could hear the comment, but he said nothing.

I sighed. "Firing the lasers requires that you wear marine battle armor."

"Meiko!" James called out. "No more than four gunners. We don't have space here for more. However, we need bodies for search and rescue."

"What?" I replied.

"Problems?" the sergeant asked. "Oh, and any of my guys can get into armor, but it would take some time."

"James, can Amanda's concubines help the marines dress? And what are the requirements for the search and rescue?" I asked.

"I thought I was the one helping with the conversation," Yvette said with a laugh. "Meiko, if Amanda's concubines aren't available, we'll find a few with the training even if I have to pull Mike's concubines from the command post. Search and rescue is going to be a mission to the carrier. We need to pull out most of their concubines and someone needs to get to the flag bridge."

"What about the ships damage control teams?" the sergeant asked.

"Tied up trying to put out fires in the hanger area," Yvette said. "The Sa'arm managed to get most of one of their squadrons past Sif and Athena. The carrier took at least eight solid hits."

I thought fast. "We can handle four gunners and the concubines here can help them dress. Send four young marines with good reactions and their armor. It will take three teleports to get them to the lasers, but we can handle that. After that, bring as many marines as you have with space suits."

"Armor might help with opening blocked off passages on the carrier," the sergeant replied. "I've got twelve marines willing to help. I'll include two more with armor."

I glanced around the medical room. "Nathan! Do you know how to help a marine get into battle armor?" I called out.

"Yes, but I'm not the best at it," he called back.

"We can armor the two men for search and rescue here," I replied. "Do you have the first four with armor ready to teleport? Kitty, we will have four to send to the laser room. The concubines there are all trained in helping marines get into armor."

"Ok," Kitty said.

I was getting the pad on Sir Paridell hooked up when the ground shifted violently beneath my feet. Everything jumped upward and to my left. The force drove me forward and I smacked my chin on a corner of the console.

A roaring sound thundered through the colony as I fell to the floor. I could feel blood dripping from my chin as the ground dropped.

Over the headset I could hear cries of confusion. "Damn! The scout hit the ground!" Tamara called out.

"Shit! We need a medic to the command post!" Tiffany called out.

"Report!" James called.

"Panels overloaded," Tiffany replied. "Yvette is down. Terrence is down. Ulla is down. Mike is down."

"Sergeant, are your people ready?" I asked as I put my hands under my chest and climbed up from the floor.

"I've got two who don't have armor," he replied. "A couple of the crew of Sir Paridell are bringing the battle armor containers."

"James! I'm going to send them to help in the command post," I cried out. "Sergeant, if you get your two ready marines on the pad, I'll teleport them now."

I activated the teleport, pulling anyone standing on Sir Paridell's primary pad. There was the customary flash of light. When it cleared, two men in marine fatigues were standing on the pad. They looked over at me.

"Who's in charge?" one of the two men asked.

"Margaux! I need to send these two marines to Kitty. From there can you lead them to the command post? We need someone to help bring the injured back to Kitty so we can teleport them here," I shouted.

Margaux came sprinting out of the medical room. Shawna followed and looked over at the marines. She pulled a headset from her ear and tossed it towards the marines. "Take that," she said. "This will allow you to hear the open communications on the planet."

"Who's in charge?" the man asked again.

"Donna is the senior marine here in medical," Shawna replied. "But she's trying to calibrate a medical pod. James has overall command on the planet. We just had an explosion in our command post. You are going to be sent there to help with the wounded. Margaux can lead you to it."

"A child?" the second man asked.

"She knows the route," Shawna said. "Meiko, is Kitty ready?"

I nodded as Margaux jumped onto the pad and turned to wave at me. I gulped and activated the teleport.

"They've arrived," Kitty said. "I also just got a message from Randi. Bonnie was hurt when a pipe burst in the laser ready room. Can you accept a teleport from here?�

"Make it fast, I still have ten marines to accept from Sir Paridell," I replied.

"Meiko, do you have a name for the sergeant?" James asked.

"Sergeant Watkins. He's organizing the marines on Sir Paridell. I expect him to contact me anytime," I replied.

"James!" Donna called out. "Do we have any estimates on how many injured we can expect?"

"Too many," James said. "The ships up there have taken out the scouts and fighters, but not without paying a cost."

"James," Tiffany said. She sounded groggy. "I've got status on all of the ships if you want."

The pad flashed, accepting an incoming teleport. As the light faded, it revealed Bonnie sitting on the pad. Roge was standing behind her, keeping her from falling backwards.

"Craig, Michael, come and move Bonnie," Shawna called out. She then looked over at me. "Oh God! Meiko, you're bleeding!"

"What?" I asked as I looked back at her.

"I have the rest of the marines ready on the pad," the sergeant called out.

"We're clearing the pad right now. Give us thirty seconds," I replied.

"What happened?" the man asked.

Lindsay ran over. She put her hands over my ears and turned my head so I was looking up. She appeared to be scanning my chin.

"A damaged Sa'arm ship crashed into Ishtar. The shock wave shook up the colony. We've taken several casualties," I replied.

"Deep cut," Lindsay stated. "Looks like it will require stitches. I can put a bandage on it for now."

"Meiko! The pad is clear!" Craig shouted.

I activated the teleport by touch as Lindsay released my face. She turned and ran off.

The light on the teleport pad was dimming as I turned back. I found a large group of marines on the pad. None carried weapons, but six had large cylinders next to them. One, a tall muscled man with grey hair, stepped forward. "Jackson, Norris, Clay, Cutler, you stay on the pad with your armor. The rest of you dogs step into the room. And get the last two suits of armor off the pad."

The men said nothing, but immediately began to move. Four of the men moved next to cylinders and put a hand over the top. The other two cylinders were picked up and carried into the room. The man who had spoken first marched over to me.

"Sergeant Watkins here. What do you have ready for us?" he said to me.

I glanced over at the medical room, but saw no one. I looked the man in the eye. "A Sa'arm ship struck Ishtar. The shockwave has caused damage and injuries. Right now I'm awaiting word on what will be required to perform search and rescue on the carrier. Your four men are going to meet Brad, who will give them a crash course in using the lasers."

"Actually, I've got the training duty," I heard Amanda say in my ear. "James is strapping in on a laser, and Brad's armor just came out of the repair unit."

"What about Larson and Franks?" the sergeant asked me.

"Who?" I called out. Beyond the sergeant, I could see that his marines had pulled open the cylinders and two men were starting to strip. "Orlando! Nathan!" I shouted. "We have marines here who need help with their armor."

"The first two to arrive," the sergeant asked again. "Where are they?"

"Meiko," I heard Molly say. "I just spoke with Donna and Janice is ready to be released from her medical pod, here inside the enclave. Can she help you?"

"Yes," I said. "Have her escort the marines back along with any injured they bring from the command post."

I looked up at the sergeant. "Sorry about that. Your two marines were sent to our main command post. The shock wave caused several panels to overload and we have casualties that need to be brought to a pod. They should return shortly."

"Meiko!" a new voice called in my ear. "This is Esther, I'm covering for Yvette since we have no one else. If the marines are there, make sure they get into vacuum suits. Sapporo reported that the ship is visibly leaking air from many of the hits."

"What about enemy activity?" I asked. "We're asking the marines to go to a ship they won't be familiar with."

"None near at the moment," Esther replied. "The last Sa'arm fighter was destroyed, so now it's a battle of the big ships. Captain Evans is trying to get his ships back into a formation though and the Sa'arm may cut off a couple ships. We're probably going to need your teleporter soon."

"Sergeant, do your men all have vacuum suits?" I asked. "I've been informed that the carrier is out of the fight, but still needs search and rescue."

"Meiko!" Kitty called. "I have the marines back. They have Yvette and Ulla with them. It's..."

"Bad?" I asked.

"No, but ugly. Both have been burned," Kitty said. "Should I send them?"

"The pad is clear," I replied. "Janice is supposed to be joining them."

"She's still in a pod!" Kitty screamed.

"Molly released her a few minutes ago," I said. "She was going to send her to me. Janice can help the marines get into the armor."

"Wha?" Kitty replied. "Oh god! Janice!" There was a squeal of joy. A moment later a much more composed sounding Kitty spoke. "Sorry, I'm calm now. Sending."

The teleport pad lit up again. As the light faded, shouts for a medic could be heard. Craig and Michael appeared from the medical area pushing gurneys.

When the fog of bright light faded I could see one marine holding up Yvette. The woman's left side was a mass of blackened skin. She looked around slowly as if still dazed by whatever injured her.

The second marine was holding Ulla in his arms. Her face was a mass of angry red skin and her long hair had a melted appearance. Between these two marines, Janice stood awkwardly.

Craig and Michael ignored my sister concubine and led the marines to the gurneys. They helped load Yvette and Ulla onto the gurneys. As they did, Lindsay ran back over to me. She was carrying a case that she set on the floor next to my feet.

She opened the case and pulled something from it. "Meiko, give me a second to clean you up," she said as her right hand grabbed my jaw. With her left, she wiped at my chin with a wet cloth.

"Meiko! You've been hurt!" Janice cried. Lindsay had my head tilted back so I could not look toward the voice. There was a bit of strain in Janice's voice.

"Janice," I whispered around the pressure of Lindsay's efforts to clean my chin. "Sergeant Watkins brought two marines with full battle armor. We need to help them dress. They are needed for search and rescue on the carrier."

"Can do," Janice replied. "How is James doing?"

"Damn!" I heard James cry in my ear. "Seal failure on my right shin."

"James!" Esther screamed. "Are you ok?"

"He's in the armor removal room," Cleo said. "The AI has a remote spraying his leg with an acid nullifier. I'll check once we have clearance to enter."

"James!" I asked.

"It hurts. Damn, it fucking hurts," he moaned. "But it seems the nullifier works. I can see the area, it's blackened, but didn't get to the bone. I'm going to stay on duty for now."

"I don't recommend that," Donna called out. "That acid is insidious. There could be hidden damage."

"I know, but Yvette is out," James said. "We need someone in charge until she's healed."

"And she's down for several hours," Donna replied. "Third degree electrical burns all up and down her left side."

Someone was pulling on my skirt. I looked down to see Margaux holding up a headset. "This is for the sergeant," she said. "And the marines are ready to go get Terrence and Mike."

"Which Mike?" I asked absently as I collected the headset.

"Mickey," Margaux replied. "She had her hands on one of the panels that blew. The marines wanted to move her first, but Elle was still trying to peel her fingers from the remains from the panel."

I winced. Sergeant Watkins was looking at me as I held up the headset.

"This will allow you to hear all communications on the planet," I told him. "The AI screens most of it so you only hear what you need to, but it allows you to stay in touch."

Lindsay grabbed my jaw again. "Hold still," she ordered me. "I want to bandage your chin before you start bleeding again. It probably won't hold if you talk much, but it will help."

Margaux had run back to the teleport pad. "Kitty, is the pad clear?" I asked.

"Go," she said. "And tell Janice that I'm so going to ravish her later."

"I will," I whispered as I sent Margaux and the marines back to collect our friends.

Lindsay released my chin. "Now try to avoid using your chin to test the corners of the console," she told me sharply. She turned to head back to the medical room, but the sergeant put a hand on her shoulder.

"I'm sorry," he said, "but I'm trying to find out where they need my remaining people."

"Meiko?" Lindsay asked me. "What is the status?"

"They need suits for search and rescue on the carrier," I replied as I checked the console thoroughly for the first time since the shockwave had hit. A couple of secondary data units were down. "Right now that's all I'm hearing."

The sergeant immediately turned to face his men. "If you aren't getting into armor, get your skinsuit on. It sounds like we'll be working in a vacuum."

"But we haven't trained for that!" one of the marines called back.

"James!" Esther screamed. "Look at the missile cruiser!"

I looked up in shock, but there was no screen in front of me. James however was clearly looking at a display. "Fuck! Captain Evans, the missile cruiser has been cut off!"

"I know, as has River Oaks. Freya is trying to give River Oaks an opening to escape through," Captain Evans replied.

"Odessa! Please come in! Odessa, you have to turn now!" another voice called out.

There was a growing panic to be heard in the words. I tried to keep my face calm as I set the console to search for working teleport rooms on the carrier, but deep inside I wondered if the planet was going to be hit again.