Stella, My Star

14

The first thing I become aware of is the strange sensation of being held safely, but thrown. I groan. My head is sore and dizzy at once, as the blood rushes up. I am hanging limply over someone's shoulder. There is some blurred conversation. The hardness of the striding body as I bounce lightly against it registers in my mind as Gabriel. I try to say his name but I am too quiet and too groggy. I fall back into unconsciousness.

Again, I have another moment of wakefulness. I am strapped into the seat of the pod and I cannot lift my head. It is like I am drunk and I feel nauseous. I see boots through half-closed eyes. Who is it? Who's missing? What happened? My ability to recall basic detail is weak, but I remember firing at Artiqewans.

"The Redpunk. Where's my weapon?" The words tumble from my mouth, confused and whiny. I try to keep myself awake as I fumble at my legs, knowing I have a thigh belt. I feel the blade, and then remember the pocket beneath my left breast. My right hand reaches back up and I grope for its form. Nothing. The Redpunk 12 is not on me.

I grab feverishly at the harness, trying to undo the clasp in vain desperation, in the hope of getting a sympathetic assistant.

"Lieutenant Wood. Stay calm. It's alright. Just relax."

Brimley.

"I've got to go back. I have to get his weapon!" I plead.

Two hands lock onto my wrists, reposition them on the seat, and hold them still.

"No. No. Please let me go and find it." I am shaking my head and trying to muster energy to fight off the hands.

"Shhh. Shhh."

"I can't lose it!" I cry in desperation.

"Stella?" My eyes widen, and I have my first sense of lucidity in this painful, exhausting moment. It is your voice I now listen to on the speaker. My head lolls back and I look to find the source.

"Lieutenant Wood. It's okay. Gabriel has what you are looking for. Just rest. Your job is done."

It's you.... You understand my concern.... You get it....You get me.

I give into the hands that pin me. I close my eyes. I sink into that deep abyss.

I realise when I come to, that I am in the Destructor hospital, under a crisp white sheet and soft, homely blanket. I am dressed in a white singlet and white underwear. My blonde hair is out, combed and framing my face, and I have been washed free of the blood and sweat. There is a bandage on my head, my head that aches like it is in a vise. There is projected footage on the wall in front of me of a serene setting, an Earth rainforest and small waterfall, complete with the realistic soft sounds that accompanied it, many years ago.

"Hey, you." I turn to the left to see Louisa at my side, holding a reading device. "Good to see you awake, although I think the captain is going to be a little annoyed you didn't wake up on one of his pop-in visits. How are you feeling?"

I must be looking seriously confused, because she adds, "He thought someone familiar should be here when you wake up." She reaches over, switches off the projection and touches my arm. "Rosetta?"

"Yes, Miss Stevens?"

"Rosetta, please inform the captain that Lieutenant Wood has woken from her rest."

"Yes, Miss Stevens."

"God, I can't believe I've been given the privelege of talking to Rosetta. Feeling like someone important right now," she says, gesturing to her shoulders.

"How long have I been in here for?" I move a pillow to support myself, and sit up.

"Almost a couple of days. You took a really good hit to your head when Officer Donovan set off one of those...ah....mini grenade things."

"A yilch. It's an added attachment you can get as an extra for an Arrow 540."

"Ah, yeah."

"Is he okay?"

"Donovan? Nah. Well, yes, he survived. Blew half his own leg off in the process though. Better than ending up Artiqewan mincemeat. Finished off the last two aliens though."

I know I don't have to ask many more questions. Louisa has a penchant for talking.

"Tristan's shoulder needed minor surgery too. He's in a sling. He's a little worse for wear, but at least he's been up and moving. You were blocking him from the force of the grenade thing. You took most of the blast out of the two of you. They all reckon you instinctively moved in front of him the moment the warning flash occured. Gabriel said it was your previous training that caused you to do that for Tristan."

She pauses. "Sorry, Lieutenant Gelding." She blushes, as she realises she has been talking too much, too fast, and without concern for her professionalism.

"Officer Clark is still in a bad way. She's in a stable condition now, but it's still too dangerous to transfer her to Concordia yet. It was touch and go there for awhile. Sykes did a great job." I'm astounded at the extent of her knowledge. She looks at her watch and I wonder if she's thinking of Gelding. She now searches for new content in her memory.

"I think it drove Captain Rafferty crazy knowing he couldn't be down there supporting you all. You should have seen him. He was intense. But he was one step ahead of you pretty much the whole time. He had Gabriel working hard on researching the Artiqewans and their wild plants before you'd said anything. Apparently it's really rare for Artiqewans to leave their own kind behind like that. No-one suspected them to be there still. Something to do with the Greenhouse. That's how Officer Clark knew about the ambush. The captain was so worked up when we realised the danger on the visorcam."

"Well, you know the rest. You were concussed and winded. You have a small skull fracture too."

The door slides open, and you hesitate at the entrance. Louisa rises and salutes. After a small silence, she realises she is no longer needed, tells me she hopes to see me walking about soon, excuses herself, and leaves.

You take a step forward, and the door closes behind you. You stand there looking at me.

"A bit underdressed for greeting your captain, Lieutenant Wood." You smile.

I manage a half smile, and my fingers grip the sheet and pull it up slightly, covering my hips.

The joke hasn't worked, and you are all too aware of the fact.

"You look angelic in 'hospital white.' How are you feeling?"

I manage a small shrug. I really want you to just hold me. Remind me I am safe again.

"You did a great job, Stella. All of you. It wasn't easy down there. We only rescued two Blood Diamond staff, Officer Gormer was hiding in a storeroom, and we lost two of our own. The station has been given the all clear now, all bodies have been removed and returned to their families, so, according to the I.S.F Council, mission successful." I see the disappointment in your face at losing crew members.

I nod. You move to the side of my bed and you take my hand in yours. Your thumb circles my palm.

"So I hope to see you standing proudly next to me on the bridge very soon." You squeeze my hand lightly. "My two faithful, injured lieutenants!" We both smile and then hold eye contact for long enough to know so much has gone unsaid, and that now is not an ideal moment. Again.

"Nice likeness," you say, nodding to a card that sits bedside, and changing the mood. I glance over to a humorously drawn caricature of me, dressed in my leathers complete with head bandage. I am a lion tamer in the ring at an old circus with my grillion blade and whip, standing victoriously with a foot on top of a pile of dead Artiqewans. I pick it up and read the get-well message inside. It is signed by the many new rec room friends I have made.

"See?" You comment, peering over the top of the card. "You are totally lovable, Lieutenant Stella Wood. Give into it." You wink, cheekily.