Ep.#4 - "Freedom's Dawn" (The Frontiers Saga) (39 page)

Once that task had been completed, he had returned post haste to her side. It was neither love nor friendship that brought him back to her side. It was respect. Cameron was family, just as much as any of his sisters, and even his brother, back on Earth. Besides, it also gave him a chance for some peace and quiet.

The Corinairans had a much different approach to medicine than the people of his world. Their hospitals were more like resorts or spas. Cameron’s room was ornately decorated, and was filled with fresh flowers and various candles. Almost hourly, an attendant would enter the room and snuff out one scented candle to light another. The attendant explained that the variation of smells helped to stimulate healing of the body. Some of the smells were quite relaxing, while others were not so much.

Nathan had dozed off in his comfortable chair. Jessica, as usual, had immediately found the couch and, small though it was, had managed to curl up and fall asleep in it. Before he had also dozed off, Nathan had wondered if Jessica had ever actually slept in a proper bed. He had made a mental note as he drifted off to visit her quarters on board the Aurora someday, just to see if she even had a bed.

The attendant entered the room quietly so as not to disturb Nathan and Jessica. Again she snuffed out the burning candle and lit the next one in the series that had been designed by the aromatherapy specialists. As she was about to leave, she noticed the patient moving her head. The attendant stopped, watching the patient in amazement as her eyes began to flutter slightly.

The attendant quickly moved over to Nathan and touched his arm. “Sir, sir,” she prompted. Nathan opened his eyes, briskly looking around to identify his surroundings. “I believe she’s waking up, sir.”

Nathan quickly adjusted himself, sitting upright in his chair and leaning forward to look at Cameron as the attendant backed away and quietly slipped out the door.

Cameron opened her eyes, slowly at first. She looked around at the unfamiliar but pleasant room. Then she saw Nathan and frowned. “What are you doing here?” she questioned.

“Where else would I be?”

She looked around some more, realizing she wasn’t on board the Aurora, and neither was the Aurora’s captain. “Who’s watching the ship?”

Typical Cameron
, Nathan thought with a smile.
All business.
“Relax; Vlad’s in command for now.”

“Oh, great.” She reached up and felt the bandages on her head. She also noticed the IV line in her arm. Then it all started coming back to her. “How long have I been out?”

“Three or four days, I think.”

“Three or four days?” Her head fell back against her pillow. “Did I miss anything?”

“Oh, not much,” Nathan said as he turned and looked at Jessica who was now waking up as well. “We fought off the Yamaro, survived a planet-wide riot, recaptured our ship from the bad guys… the usual stuff.”

“Oh,” Jessica interrupted as she rose from the couch and came to the other side of Cameron’s bed, “and Nathan became a legend.”

“A what?”

“Never mind,” Nathan told her as the doctors rushed into the room to check on Cameron now that she was awake. “We’ll tell you all about it later, when you’re stronger.”

Nathan rose from his chair and backed away from Cameron’s hospital bed to make room for the doctor’s and specialists seeking to check on their patient’s condition. He smiled and waved at Cameron as he and Jessica exited the room.

Tug and Jalea rose from their seats in the intensive care unit’s lobby when they saw Nathan and Jessica coming. Tug felt a huge sense of relief as he saw the smiles on their faces when they approached. “She is well?”

“Yeah, she just woke up,” Nathan told him. “The doctors are with her now. I think she’s going to be fine.”

“That is wonderful news, Nathan. Wonderful indeed.”

“I think the doctors are going to be with her for a while. So maybe we should get some work done. There’s a lot to do—”

“And little time to do it in,” Tug finished for him.

“We’re going to need a lot of help, Tug. The ship is pretty busted up and I have almost no crew left.”

“I think there is something outside that you should see,” he told Nathan, intentionally being secretive in his manner.

Nathan looked concerned, glancing at Jessica.

“Go ahead, skipper,” Jessica told him. “I’ll stay with Cam until you get back.”

Nathan followed Tug out of the lobby and down the corridor, at the end of which they stepped into an elevator to take them down to the ground floor.

“What’s this all about?” Nathan inquired. “What do I need to see?”

“Don’t worry,” Tug told him. “It’s something good; I promise.”

The elevator stopped and they stepped out into the main ground floor lobby. Nathan followed Tug across the expansive lobby and out the front doors of the hospital. Gathered just outside were thousands of men and women, most of them in Corinari uniforms. They were lined up in four single file lines. At the head of each was a table with several people also in uniform that were signing them in.

“You asked for volunteers,” Tug said proudly, holding his hand out at his side to gesture toward the lines of thousands.

At that moment, a man in uniform working one of the sign-in tables stood and shouted. “CORINARI!” Nathan recognized him immediately… It was chief Montrose.

The crowd responded in unison. “HUP! HUP! HUP!”

* * *

The lines did not shorten as the day wore on. The men and women worked the sign-in tables tirelessly throughout the day.

“Can you believe these lines?” the man said to the fellow standing in front of him.

“Yes, they are impressive,” the man in front of him agreed.

“I’ve been out here since sunrise,” the first man exclaimed.

“As have we all.”

“I lost my parents in the bombardment,” the first man said solemnly. “That’s why I’m here. I’m ready to kick some Takaran ass!”

The man in front of him turned to look back over his shoulder in response to the other man's declaration. “The time will come; I am sure.”

“Did you lose anybody?”

“No, I was fortunate,” the second man told him. “My wife and children survived unharmed.”

“Then why are you here? Shouldn’t you be home taking care of them?”

“They are quite capable of taking care of themselves. Besides, I believe I can do more to protect them here.”

“Yeah, I guess so.”

“Next!” the man at the sign-in table called out. The second man, now being at the head of his line, stepped up to the sign-in table.

“Here to join up?” the man at the table asked.

“Yes, I would like to volunteer.”

“What skills can you offer?” the man at the table asked.

“I have extensive experience in assault tactics, covert operations, and intelligence.”

The man behind the table smiled, obviously impressed. “Anything else?”

“I am also a qualified and experienced pilot.”

The man behind the table looked him over. He was a bit older than most of the volunteers, maybe even a bit too old. However, no one knew how long this war was going to last, and it was quite possible that in the end it would take the efforts of every man, woman, and child in order to win their freedom from the Ta'Akar.

“Why not,” the man behind the table finally agreed as he scribbled on his paper. “What’s your name, sir?”

“Dumar,” the man said. “Travon Dumar.”

Thank you for reading this story.

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COMING SOON

Episode 5

Of

The Frontiers Saga

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