The surgeon left as the nurse started to make her charge presentable. She pulled the blanket up around her a bit, brushing her hair as best she could, and making her comfortable. She also dimmed the lights a bit and brought up some gentle music. When the admiral awoke, she wanted the admiral to be in the most serene, calming environment she could manage. She also brought in some of the flowers from the sitting room that had been left. She settled down for a bit of a wait. It wasn’t long, about an hour or so later, her charge started to stir.
“It’s okay admiral,” Chris laid her hand on the woman’s good hand, “You’re in good hands, you’re aboard the Valiant. I’m Chris your nurse.”
“What...” Joyce said her eyes opening, she looked at Chris, then around the room and said, “Oh shit they got the arm again.” She started to move her arm but it was still immobilized.
“You can’t move the arm. We have it in an isolation field.” Chris said, “Who are you?”
“Joyce Wilson,” the older woman said, “the last thing I remember was a fire fight and me getting shot. Where’s my daughter in law.”
“Admiral,” the nurse said carefully, “Lady Wilson was kidnapped by the woman who did this to you. There isn’t much known about her whereabouts, but we know her to be alive. The marshal will be here in a little while.”
“I got to get to Mike and my granddaughter.” the retired admiral struggled to sit up, “They must be in sorry shape.”
“Easy Admiral,” Chris said, “you are in mild restraints while the nanobots finish up with your arm. You didn’t have it shot off this time. Only a break and a bad cut; but until the ‘bots finish their work you are not going anywhere.”
“I have to get to my family,” Joyce said, still struggling to get out of bed, “You’ve got to let me go them.”
“Easy Admiral,” the surgeon walked in. “You keep thrashing around like that and you’ll mess up some of my best work. That will piss me off. And it will delay you getting home another week. Nurse shut the restraints down to one eighth power.” the nurse tapped a command on her pad and the restraints lowered their strength. The surgeon tested Joyce’s hand strength. He also had the nurse adjust field so that it allowed her to move her elbow and hand a bit.
“Well Admiral,” the surgeon said, “It’ll be another day at least before we can release you. The nanobots are sewing up the wound and repairing the muscle damage. I won’t allow you to be even medically transported until they are finished.”
Resigned to her fate, she said, “Commander, can you hook me up with a com, and get someone to tell me what’s going on?”
“Chris,” the surgeon said, “See that she has a com, and I’ll see if the Intel Officer can come down and give you a briefing. Oh the Marshal and your granddaughter are on their way. They should be here in a little while.”
“Tell me what happen to my arm,” the woman finally asked.
“During the fire fight, after you had accounted for I think the MPs said two of the bad guys. You took a round in your right radius. The round took a two centimeter piece out of it. The ulna wasn’t harmed at all. Some muscles and blood vessels were messed up. The Medics at the Evac Hospital got to you soon enough to control the bleeding. They supported you by giving you fluids. The bots rebuilt your radius and have just about finished with your arm muscles and skin. It’ll be another day before they will be done. The bots controlled a little bit of infection, and fixed a little bit of damage from your earlier injury. Once the bots are done you shouldn’t have any restrictions.”
“I got lucky,” Joyce said, “Thank you commander. You say Mike and Jill are on their way up?”
“Yes,” The commander said.
“Chris can you get me a robe or something,” The Admiral asked. They had seen no need to clothe her while in isolation and no one but the doctors and nurses seeing her.
“Sure thing,” Chris said going to a closet where a robe that was the admiral’s size was waiting for her to put it on.
###
The flight of three space craft approached the HPS Valiant. Evac 1, the landing craft carrying Marshal Wilson to the HPS Valiant was being escorted by two space air superiority fighters from the militia. Because of the kidnapping, Marshal Wilson and his family never went anywhere without a beefed up protective detail. Before it would have been Mac and one of his team members escorting the Marshal, now it was a six man team. They were very obviously armed. When they went anywhere on the ground they were escorted by two weapons jeeps with the heavy laser mounts manned and ready. They had already lost Lady Wilson. No one was taking a chance with the boss. Although Wilson didn’t want it, he knew what was going on. His team was making sure that Hozenbur didn’t get him. She wanted to cause his wife as much grief as she could and get him in the process. She was playing a mental game. She wanted him and the evacuation command so rattled that they couldn’t do their job. She wanted to get even with the clone as pay back for all things she had one to her. She didn’t care if half a million people died in the process as long as she got her vengeance. The protective detail wasn’t about to let her try to get to him. The one thing she had succeeded in doing was diverting resources that were needed for the evacuation. He didn’t need this type of protection. Now as the flight approached the hospital ship the escorts peeled off and began to fly a Combat Space Patrol about the hospital ship.
As the landing craft settled to the flight deck and pressure was brought up on the deck, an honor guard of marines and star men formed up on either side of the ramp from the landing craft. The Captain and the Chief Surgeon were waiting with the honor guard. As Wilson stepped down the ramp, thinking only of how his mother was doing the 1MC bellowed. “Evac 1 arriving.”
As he and Jill stepped aboard the Valiant, the NCO of the detail bellowed, “Present
Arms!”
As the Honor Guard snapped to attention and the boson put a pipe to her lips and piped Wilson aboard. It was the only time in his life that honors had ever been bestowed to him as he stepped aboard a ship. Especially this one! Normally when he had stepped on board an HPS he had been coming back from a deployment to protect the doctors, or had been the reason they had been deployed to come and get him, and he was in a casualty liter headed for the hospital, not the marine berthing spaces. He nodded to the Chief and the Sergeant as he returned their salutes, and went to where the Captain and his Chief Surgeon were waiting. He thought that the honor, while appreciated was out of place. He wasn’t making an official visit to the ship he was coming up to visit his sick mother. He considered if he should say something to the captain.
“Welcome aboard Sir Mike,” the captain greeted the marshal.
“I was hoping to visit. But not like this.” Mike answered, “How is she?”
“Doctor O’Keefe has taken personal charge of the admiral’s care.” The captain introduced the chief surgeon.
“Yes sir, we met earlier this week.” Although the surgeon usually refrained from the honor brigade, this time he couldn’t nor would he avoid it. The admiral was a legend among the IRS and her son was equally a legend among the marines. “If you’ll follow me
I’ll take you to the admiral.”
As they walked through the ship to the VIP quarters in the hospital, marines and starmen all seemed to be in the passageway to lay their eyes on a living legend. Jill watched her father react to the attention. She could tell that he was little embarrassed by it; but was also enjoying it. He never got a chance to be around common soldiers, or police officers doing their jobs, he spent most of his time now around admirals, generals, and high ranking civilians. Finally the Senior Chief who was escorting them bellowed, “All right you apes, get your asses back to work! What do you think this is a cruise ship? Now hustle your butts to where you need to be!”
With that the crew drifted away. As they entered the VIP suite the marine on duty came to rigid attention.
“As you were,” Wilson commented softly. “Jill, ple
ase wait here while I see Mom.”
“Okay Dad,” Jill said and noticed the gloves on a small table by the door to her grandmother’s room as her father entered it. She picked one up to look at it better. Seeing the dark red brown stain across its palm and asked, “What’s this?”
“Miss Wilson,” The young marine on duty began. He was only a few years older than Jill. He had to ask what the pile of gloves meant when he saw them for the first time on table outside the admirals room. “The officers and enlisted people have sworn a blood oath that your grandmother’s assault will be avenged. Every glove on that table represents one officer or enlisted man who has sworn such an oath.”
“I see,” Jill said looking to Mac and Georgia to see if they understood. The look on their face said they did. “My family is honored that your officers and fellow enlisted would swear such an oath. Truly honored; but it would be just as much a tragedy for one of you to wind up in sickbay or in this ship’s morgue because you took matters into your own hands. Pass the word private that if anyone gets in the way of the authorities trying to rescue my mother I’ll dine on their bones!”
“Yes ma’am,” the private said. Later when he went off duty and was talking with his squad mates he repeated word for word what Jill had said, in hours every marine in the fleet knew that Jill Wilson could be as tough as her old man and grandmother.
“Come in Jill,” Michael said through the open door.
“How are you grand mom?” Jill asked.
“I have had better days,” Joyce said, “Looks like I’ll be a bit delayed in getting the house built on Home.”
Georgia followed Jill into the room. She wanted to see the admiral. Joyce looked up and saw Georgia, and said, “Mac. Georgia is assigned to me. Make it happen!”
“Aye-aye Admiral,” Mac said, he had walked in with Jill, and Georgia. He turned to protective agent, “Georgia, please take your post.”
“I am only borrowing you young woman,” Joyce said, she knew what was going through the young woman’s mind, and while it showed a good deal about Mac’s leadership, she knew Georgia’s soul would still be hurting. “When Lisa is back among us, you are going back to her as her primary agent.”
“If she’ll have me,” Georgia replied. “I messed up Admiral Wilson.”
Jill’s father sighed, but knew there was nothing he could do about it. He had been there and understood what she was going through.
“Georgia,” her grandmother continued, “I am sure she will. You couldn’t have prevented that abduction. Hell the marines, and MPs couldn’t stop it and they were much better armed than you were.”
“But if I could have gotten her attackers!” Georgia said she felt immensely guilty for having lost Lady Wilson. She had been very surprised that Mac had let her stand post with the rest of the team. This was the second time her charges had been harmed because she wasn’t good enough. Not only did they get Lady Wilson; but injured Admiral Wilson on account because of her ability.
“Looks like the doctors will be releasing me tomorrow. “ Joyce said changing the subject, “How are you guys holding up.”
“Mom,” Michael said, “We’re doing okay. I am very worried. I know Hozenbur, is an animal. I know what she is capable of. I try not to think about what she might be doing to Lisa. I also pray that we find her fast. As for Hozenbur I hope to hell that she is killed in the assault because if she comes out alive I will kill her with my own hands. I’ll show her what a Marine Black Guardsmen is capable of when pissed off and provoked!”
“Dad!” Jill said sharply, “Lisa will kick your ass. That last thing she wants is for you to go berserk getting to her or Hozenbur, before, during, or after Hozenbur’s capture. The Queen will also kick your but as will Aunt Mylea if you don’t let the courts convict and execute that bitch. But you will let the system work. You trained them, you lead them, and you will by god let them do their job. Just like you have told me on occasion!”
“Marshal,” Joyce commented, “I think you got the wrong grade on that girl!”
“I am beginning to wonder,” Michael replied wondering how to react to his daughter. He was realizing that with every passing day Jill was no longer the little girl he had left on Mars.
“Sounds like a chief I had in boot.” Joyce said, “Or like a certain young marine I knew when I was going through Black Guard Beast!”
A little sheepish at having lashed out at her father, Jill didn’t say a word. They visited with Joyce for a while, when she tired they took their leave.
As the landing craft left the flight deck and headed back to the planet, a bemused Wilson turned to his daughter and said “Pass the word private, that if they get in the way of the authorities trying to rescue my mother, I’ll dine on their bones.”
Jill looked sheepishly at her father. She hadn’t realized he had heard her.
“Couldn’t have said it better myself.” The older Wilson said, “I see the academy is wearing off on you.”
“No,” Jill said, “Just your daughter, and Grand mom’s granddaughter. You two have been very instrumental in my upbringing.”
“Jill,” her father said, “You should have seen the look on your grandmother’s face when she heard you speak to that marine.”
“Marshal,” Mac spoke up he had kept his marshal in eye sight when he had gone in to talk with his mother, “As exquisite as the admiral’s expression was, yours was better!”
Wilson let loose with the first good laugh he had, had since Lisa capture. “I image so.”
As they landed on the palace landing pad, Jill’s fate was being sealed on Home.
###
“I saw grand mom today,” Jill had written in her diary that night before she went to bed, “She looks good. She was moving her hand around and she didn’t seem to be in much pain. The doctors say she is going to make a full recovery. Yea!
“I can’t believe I yelled at Dad and that marine,” She continued, “I couldn’t believe that they would make that type of oath. I can’t believe that I told that marine I would dine on their bones. I wonder what got into me.
“Dad really scared me. I thought for sure that he was going to dump everything and start searching for Mom. I have never seen that look on anyone’s face. He frightened me.” The diary continued, “I need to talk with Lamile, or Mitch. I would bother Aunt Mylea; but she is now running the whole show, and I would hate to disturb her. She is doing both Dad’s and her own job. Maybe I can talk with Sergeant Green or Sergeant Lucas, they both seem to be fairly accessible even though Sergeant Millie tries to make it seem she isn’t.
“I am worried about Mom. When I first came to Trena I was all set to hate her. I was certain that she was the reason why I couldn’t be with dad. Over the last few months I
cannot hate Lisa. She and Dad are so close and she allowed me to invade their space and made me part of her family. Dad was right about this Captain Hozenbur. I asked Mac and Kellogg to tell me what they knew about her and it wasn’t good. I want to keep my hopes up but it’s hard with what they have told me.
“I want to join my guys in the field.” Jill had written, “As I told Lamile earlier I need to be some I can be gotten a hold of quickly if the find Mom. So here or home is where I have to be until we get Mom back.
“I looked in on Mitch again today,” the princess read, “and talked to her nurse. She’s not badly injured. She’ll be back on her feet next week. I already miss her. I didn’t realize how much she did around here. I’ll have to remind her to start grooming her replacement.
“Oh enough of this,” Jill had written, “Time to get some sleep! Tomorrow comes real early.”
Chapter 27: Special Weapons and Tactics Training Center on Trena
“I was up on the space station for the first part of the Lady Wilson incident.” The General began her lecture. “So I was not present when they put the team together that would make her lady’s rescue. Princess Carroll was made over all S
pecOps coordinator for the evacuation command.
“The training center had been set up months before. Marshal Wilson and the Queen had allowed the Black Guard to take over a small isolated town away from prying eyes, to practice in. Everyone one knew that the SpecWars of the Empire, the Realm, and the Militia would be called on at some time to either make a hostage rescue, or to take out a barricade subject holding part of a town on an evacuation route hostage. Some soul who thought he should go before others. Various units of the Mounted Patrol, The companions HRT and SWAT unit, the Black Guard, and Militia routinely practiced at the facility. At least once a month all of the units worked a combined unit operation to make sure everyone understood the other’s signals and procedures.
“With abduction of Lady Wilson they began assembling at the training center. Although Marshal Wilson had issued the order that the Companions Hostage Rescue Team would be the lead for recovery of his wife, (mostly because they weren’t emotionally involved like his SWAT team) he knew that all of the SpecWars would play a part, including one that no one had expected.”
###
“They’re not going to let us join them!” the driver said as the truck with the twenty men from the Trojack security detachment approached the training center. They were company cops, all clones who had worked in Trojack’s security’s Strategic Response Team. Simply because most were clones generally nonviolent didn’t mean that some clones or others on Trojack didn’t occasionally cause some problems. Every once in a while a clone went rouge and the security unit had to go in. Although some people in the company would just take a kill them all attitude; others thought differently. The team on Trojack was not the premier team in the company; but they knew their business and hadn’t lost a suspect yet.
“We’ll find out,” Crandle, the fifty year old team leader said. He ha1d spent 35 years in the hostage unit. He had trained people from all over EBio, and worked with all types of closers, including Hozenbur, who he had sworn a blood oath against. He had to clean up one of her messes. He still couldn’t believe that Hozenbur was a company officer.
“Good morning,” one of the Mounty manning the check point greeted them, “You’ll have to turn back this is a restricted area.”