Page 44 of Resolution
She was examining a scan result when he knocked and entered but set it aside and rose from her chair with a smile to step into his embrace. “Everything all right?” she asked.
“Couldn’t be better,” he answered truthfully. “We’ll have to stay here a few days to make sure things go smoothly but then we can go home and take a well-earned break.”
Raising her face to his she said, “You’re my home. You have been since we first landed at the spaceport and found ourselves in this catastrophe. Since we made our run through the city and then the countryside and everywhere else we’ve been. That’ll never change.”
“I feel the same, lady. We’re in complete agreement. How bad are things here?”
“A few dead. Some serious injuries—I’ve been doing surgeries nonstop since we got here, while Tamsyn and Trent and the people helping us do triage. It’s good you want to stay for a while because I’ll need to be here to do proper followup on my patients.”
“How many got bitten?”
Her face fell. “One man from Millersville. Their truck wrecked in the attack. And probably 50 from the camp itself. Of course more were killed outright when the infected broke in but as far as what I’ve dealt with, I gave mercy too many times to count tonight. It’s not what I trained to do, it’s anathema to the core principles I have as a doctor, but I can’t let anyone suffer that fate. And we can’t risk more infected being created. Ybidliuz told me the infected will deteriorate after ten years, if we can believe him, but that would be ten years from today if anyone who was bitten is allowed to turn.”
“I’m not going to wait ten years,” Jeff vowed, determination welling in his heart. “We’re going to go out there and eliminate those predators proactively. I promised an amphitheater full of people we had a bright future on this planet and I always keep my promises.”
“Are we starting this new campaign tomorrow?” she asked with a smile. “Because as your doctor I recommend taking a break first. I need one and I know you do. It’s been nonstop for us since we landed.”
“We’ll be returning to the ranch and doing nothing shortly,” he promised. “What I want to tackle next is going to take a lot of careful planning. And work to get the key players on board with me.”
“Norwood?”
“Took his robos and went home.”
Melly laughed. “Of course he did. Well those are all problems for another day. Let me finish up with this final patient, do my rounds and then we can go to wherever we’re camped.”
“I’m sure Driscoll can give us a room here,” Jeff said. “Our old room is probably still empty.”
“Works for me,” she said, going on tiptoes to give him a kiss. “As long as we’re together.”
He let her precede him into the hall. “While you’re dealing with things here I’ll get lodging organized for us.”
“You do that,” she said, walking faster as she saw Tamsyn waiting in the hall ahead, clutching a patient chart. “See you later, husband.”
Full of pride in his wife, Jeff watched her walk away and then he headed out to arrange lodgings and check in with his team. It was good to have the mission accomplished, even if new missions were stacking up in his mind, and he and Melly would be having a private celebration soon if he had anything to say about it.
Time enough to worry about the future of Randal Four later.
Some things took priority and Melly was on the top of his list. She was a woman in a million and the Lords of Space might have pitched him into this apocalypse with no warning and no preparation but they’d sure sweetened the deal with giving him such a partner.
With a grin he emerged into the cool night air and went about his self-appointed task of getting a suitable room for his wife to rest, with enough privacy for them to renew their connection yet again.
For one night he could be nothing more than a happy husband returning from a job well done.
Epilogue
One year later…
Jeff leaned on the fence rail and watched the five new calves cavorting in the grassy corral. Zach had insisted they should at least start their ranching effort and Jeff had finally acquiesced although the pace of missions and meetings was fierce these days.
When he reported to his offworld commander about the successful takedown of the alien lab and the liberation of the refugee camp, the Sectors had been exceedingly grateful. They’d demanded all the data saved from the lab, which truthfully wasn’t that much. The bombing raids had destroyed a lot of the Khagrish IT infrastructure, which Cody had informed Jeff wasn’t all that robust or sophisticated in the first place. Dr. Mercattor’s notes, which Melly had recovered were much more detailed. The renegade human had transcribed as much as she could in her efforts to benefit from the aliens’ twisted science. Before Jeff forwarded any information to Ironside he’d had Cody go through and scrub any identifying notes about Melly being the person with the unique immunity.
He knew the darker side of those who ran the Sectors, who prioritized the survival of the galactic civilization over any individual’s life and he didn’t trust them not to reach out and attempt to take Melly if the aliens tried the same strategy on another planet. The authorities would inevitably claim it was for the greater good of the whole human-led interstellar civilization and he wasn’t having any of it. He instructed Cody to insert notes stating the individual had been killed in the bombardment of the lab.
The next communique from his command had informed him he was the new Sectors Military Governor of Randal Four, with full authority to take any and all action he deemed necessary.
“What do I know about being a governor?” he’d argued, appalled at the responsibility his chain of command was laying on his shoulders.
“Sounds to me from the reports like you’re doing a damn good job,” Ironside said with no sympathy and a twinkle in his eye. “Take the title, son, take the official power and use it as you see fit. You know the Sectors isn’t going to send anyone else to that planet, not one reinforcement, and having you there as the representative of interstellar civilization will be important. Not only for us but for the people of Randal Four.” His holo leaned closer. “You can requisition whatever materiel you need.”
