BORN OF HEROES

— by Jeff Karamales

Chapter 2
 

Emergency sirens normally used for storm warnings blared throughout the city of Grandstorm and the spaceport that served it. While some citizens ran for cover in the shelters that were standard in almost all of the buildings of the city, including private homes, a few individuals simply looked around curiously. The sky was a deep azure with only a few cotton ball clouds that added to the perfection of the spring day with no sign of a storm. Those individuals that were at the spaceport, though, took to the semi-bunker like storm shelters like vermin fleeing bright light as they had seen the flaming, smoking mass that hurtled in their direction like some demonic creature of death and destruction.

   All of the Air Traffic Controllers that had occupied the tower at Grandstorm had fled as the SPF sloop came in on a ballistic trajectory aimed directly at the spaceport; save for the small female fox that had been in communication with stricken craft since had first contacted her. Though the first emergency landing request had come just fifteen minutes earlier, it felt to the black furred vulpine that this had been going on for days. She was trembling visibly as she watched the tapered wedge shaped vessel hurtle by less than a hundred feet from the ground and what seemed like a matter of yards from the glassteel windows of the control tower. Save a few scorch points where the paint had burned away from the armored hull of the sloop from weapons fire, the starboard side of the vessel that she saw was untouched. On the other side was a vision of the Hell that she had read about in some religious tome that had originated on Earth. Biting her bottom lip hard enough to draw blood, the fox watched with tears standing in her eyes as the sloop continued on over the starport and city to the sea.

***

  “…the SPF sloop, Scimitar, had apparently been engaged in an intense space battle with a known pirate vessel. As you can see from this home video footage, the damage was quite severe and It’s miraculous that the pilot was not only able to make it through reentry, but when he realized that it wouldn’t be possible to land, made the decision to set his crippled ship down in the Arvallian Sea.”

  The pictures and videos that accompanied the news rehash of Elias’s spectacular crash showed a smoking wreck plummeting overhead and out of sight before switching to scenes of the rescue of the personnel.

  “And here is the video that we were able to get from our own helicopter before authorities cleared the airspace around the stricken craft .Several of the ships that were down at the spaceport aided in the rescue effort including one that has home offices right here in Grandstorm,” the feline reporter, a Siamese with deep blue eyes and dressed in a smart looking one-piece jumpsuit of rich gray and purple, was saying. Her image appeared in a small box in the lower right hand corner of the screen and INN anchor Holly Harken appeared in a similar box in the upper left.

  “Is there any news about the pilot or the crew, Misha? From the looks of the devastation it really is a wonder that there were any survivors at all. Do we know what their status is?” Holly asked with a crease forming between her eyebrows.

   The Siamese female nodded before speaking. “The only casualties from this terrible event were from the actual engagement with the pirates they were trying to apprehend. The rest of the crew, including the pilot were immediately taken by the freighter that you see here to the Grandstorm Spaceport and from there flown directly to the hospital. We know that the pilot of the SPF Scimitar, Chief Warrant Officer Tivnan, a fox from Odeon on Alexandrius, suffered severe lacerations, electrical burns and crash trauma from the event. His status is guarded, but the doctors and SPF expect him to make a full recovery.”

  “Thank goodness for that, and thank goodness for people like Warrant Officer Tivnan. We hope that he makes a speedy recovery,” Holly said as the furrow between her brows vanished. “Coming up, the increase of piracy throughout the P.A. and what it means for the rest of us. Stay tuned for more after these commercials. “

***

  Someone was standing next to him, and the sound of glass and metal clinking together made Elias open his eyes in response. No. Not both eyes. Just his right one. There was something covering the left eye but Elias didn’t experience too much concern over this. What did concern him was the blinding light that seemed to stab directly into his brain. He squeezed his eye shut at the light and hissed. Then the realization that all of his body felt like it had been battered beyond anything he felt he should live through sunk through his muddled thoughts.

  “Hold on a second,” a deep voice said. He heard more clinking. “This will help.” There was a momentary sensation of icy tingling in his arm that had been preceded by a muffled hiss. Almost immediately the pain that wracked his entire being began to lessen the white hot grip it had on him, replaced by a cool euphoria. “Now let me turn down the lights,” the voice said.

  Even through his tightly closed eye lid, Elias could tell the bright light had diminished and he braved trying to look again. He was in a medical facility, of that he was certain. If the stale, bland colors that he could finally see didn’t tell him that, the smell would have. Antiseptics, plastics and the lingering scent of sickness that pervaded hospitals across the Planetary Alignment were all the tell-tale verification that he needed. Elias’ vision was blurry, but a few rapid blinks helped to clear most of that away. Standing over his supine form was a wolf in the standard white long coat that doctors and medical types wore throughout known space and on every world he’d ever visited. The gold colored caduceus symbol on the left breast pocket indicated that the gray and buff colored lupine was a doctor. Elias watched as the wolf tapped something into the DataPak he carried on a shoulder sling, then pushed it behind him so that he could examine the fox.

  “You’re a fairly lucky individual, Warrant Officer Tivnan,” the doctor said as he took Elias’ pulse while timing it with a wrist watch. He then began an examination of the left side fox’s head.

  “What happened?” Elias asked after several attempts to speak, the words coming out being little more than a scarcely audible hoarse whisper and agony caused his throat and neck to spasm.

  “Try not to talk. Your larynx was crushed and it is going to be some time before the bruising and swelling go down. Talking will only aggravate the injury.” The wolf finished his examination and pulled up a chair on rollers next to the hospital bed. “First let me tell you of the extent of the injuries you suffered. I’m going to be matter of fact. Your injuries were by far the worst out of your crew. The rest are all fine, and have been released to the SPF barracks here in Grandstorm to await reassignment,” the wolf said seeing the relief in the fox’s good eye with the news that no one else had died.

  “Now then, as I said you are very lucky. When your ship hit the water, the entire forward bulkhead collapsed in, and you were caught between the debris, water and aft bulkhead. Your helmet was almost sheared in two by a pane of glassteel, fortunately it also saved your head from being split in half. We were able to save your left eye, but it needs time to heal as well. There is a long laceration that runs from your snout to your left ear. There will be some minor scaring there. Your other injuries were far more traumatic. Apart from the crushed larynx, you have four broken ribs, you suffered a punctured lung, a lacerated liver, internal hemorrhaging, a dislocated left shoulder, hip, knee and wrist. Plus there was a fairly severe concussion. There are also some electrical burns on your left side. All of these have been treated, and as soon as you feel ready we can begin you on a regimen of physical therapy.”

  Elias looked at the wolf and knew that by rights he should be dead. As the wolf spoke, Elias’ abused brain dredged up memory flashes of the crash and only confirmed to him that his survival had been achieved by sheerest dumb luck.

  “How long?” Elias mouthed slowly so that the wolf would understand the question.

  “You’ve been here for a little over two weeks. To be honest you are quite the celebrity and the SPF has had to place guards outside your room. A lot of people want to meet the Hero of Grandstorm.”

  “Don’t feel like much of a ‘Hero’,” the fox mouthed with a weak snort.

  The doctor smiled. “I can’t help you there. Footage of the crash has been broadcast by the local networks since the incident and even the Interstellar News Network has been following things closely. SPF investigators made it very clear that your ship should have plowed into the ground thirty miles outside of the city. That you were able to get this far, then put your ship down in the Arvallian Sea and not in the middle of downtown has many convinced that you are the greatest pilot ever!” He looked at the white furred fox with an earnest expression. “The Dennieran Council wants to give you a medal for your actions and the planet is all for it according to the polls. But right now I am more concerned about your recovery and well-being.”

  The wolf stood. “Now then, there has been a certain young lady that has been coming by and staying with you almost every day and is very interested in having you make her acquaintance. If you promise to behave and not talk or chase her around the room, I’ll let her in and go see about getting you something a bit more nourishing than the fluids we’ve been giving you intravenously.”

  Elias nodded and the doctor smiled.

  He went to the door and said something to a guard that was wearing the gray and crimson trimmed SPF field uniform, but also had on heavy armor and carried a shoulder weapon. The guard, his species unreadable in his riot helmet and mirrored visor nodded in response. Elias watched this out of the corner of his right eye and saw the doctor motion to someone else. Then the wolf stood aside and held the door open for a small figure before departing, letting the door close on a silent return arm.

  The figure entered the room, hesitation evident until Elias turned his head slightly, curious as to whom the visitor was.

  Stepping into the dim light cast from the glow-tube over the head of the hospital bed was a petite vixen. She had black fur and hair that was caught up in a simple single long braid that draped over her left shoulder. Her eyes were a deep emerald green and sparkled in the low illumination. The vixen smiled beatifically when she saw that Elias was awake and immediately took the roller chair that the doctor had just vacated. She was dressed in a silk blouse of deepest green that left her arms and shoulders bare and an open neck line that gave a tantalizing hint of cleavage. Her skirt was also of the same material and color that ended a good four inches above her knees. Her knee high boots were of very dark brown suede that had buttons of tiger’s eye cabochons on the sides. The young lady’s jewelry was kept to a minimum, consisting of a simple, curiously star shaped necklace that had a single emerald in the center, a thin silver earring in each ear, and silver bracelets and arm bands. She wore a shoulder bag on her left side, and in her right arm was cradled a bouquet of flowers. The flowers were in a crystaplast vase and she set these next to the head of the bed.

  The scent from them was subtle and mixed with whatever perfume the vixen was wearing in a very pleasant manner.

  “I’m glad to see you awake, Warrant Officer Tivnan,” she said, her voice was like warm honey. She took his right hand tentatively in hers and flashed another smile at him once she was satisfied with the placement of the flowers.

  “Please, call me Elias,” the fox croaked, forgetting that he wasn’t supposed to speak, the pain that gripped his throat emphasizing the doctor’s instructions.

  The vixen shook her head. “No. No talking. The doctor won’t let me back to see you if you break the rules.”

  It took several moments for Elias to recognize the voice, and his right eye widened in pleasant surprise. “You’re the Air Traffic technician,” he formed with his mouth without actually speaking.

  The female smiled again. “I’m Cerise. And yes. I wish there was more I could have done, but-“

  Elias stopped her with a squeeze of her hand and shake of his head, while not vigorous, was emphatic. He tried to express his gratitude for her with another gentle squeeze of her hand and by his expression, and he thought she got the message because her head dropped a little and she looked at him through thick lashes. He wasn’t sure if she knew the effect that had on him, how alluring she looked, and he smiled as best he could at her.

  “Great Maker!” he thought silently still looking at the vixen. “Thank you for letting me live!”

  He watched as the other fox’s eyes grew wide. “I almost forgot!” She reached into the shoulder bag that had been slung over her shoulder and withdrew several magazines, a reader pad with large control tabs and a few books. “I wasn’t really sure what you liked, so I tried to get a variety. The reader pad has unlimited access to the local library and video networks. I know it’s for an elderly person, but with your arm in a sling I didn’t think you’d be able to operate a regular pad without problems. I hope that’s all right?”

  Elias smiled and nodded. “Thank you.”

  She smiled again. “I had to be in the hospital when I was younger and know what it’s like to be out of touch with everything. That and I know the SPF doesn’t often post anyone close to home, so I wasn’t sure if you had anyone that would be stopping by to see you. I know it meant a lot to me when my parents and friends came by, and that was for a three day stay. Just let me know if you need anything, okay?”

  Elias nodded again and tried to smile in return, but the deep cut that ran from his muzzle to his ear flared painfully with a feeling like red hot steel was being pushed against his skin and his right eye watered. He brought his right hand up, slowly because it was as fast as he could move, and rubbed gingerly at the eye and bridge of his nose, feeling the thick padding of the bandage that covered half of his face and left eye. Then a strange thought came to him. He hadn’t really considered himself attractive, but the wounds that he’d received would probably make him positively horrid, now. He chuckled at this rather odd turn of thought and Cerise looked at him in puzzlement. He pointed to the reader pad that would also serve for sending messages and letters. She handed it to him and waited patiently as he typed out his thought.

  The vixen’s brow furrowed when she read what he finally wrote on the electronic screen and regarded his one blue eye with her two green ones. “You just survived a pirate engagement, three days in a pressure suit, a crash…and you’re worried about attracting a date?” She let him take the pad back and he wrote a single word before handing it back. “You…’Priorities’…are you serious?” she asked with a chuckle.

  Elias shrugged with his right shoulder.

  Cerise leaned in so close that her nose almost touched his and gave him a very smoldering look. “Some females like attractive males, that’s true. But some of us prefer to see past the outside to the person that’s within.” She gave him a light kiss that lasted for a long moment. “I’m the second kind,” she said after her lips separated from his. “If you find one that’s only interested in what you look like, she isn’t worth your time.”

  She stayed with Elias until a nurse came into the room after being cleared by the guards outside the door. The nurse was a marten with dark gray and tan fur and intense brown eyes. She moved around Elias in a brisk and efficient manner, obviously taking her duties to her patients with a seriousness that seemed incongruent with her apparent youth. The marten satisfied herself with her charge’s wellbeing before turning to Cerise. “I’m sorry ma’am, but visiting hours are over in a few minutes and Mister Tivnan needs his rest. You can come back tomorrow.”

  Elias wished he could talk so that he could tell the nurse where to go, but his irritation was disarmed by the vixen’s hand on his shoulder. “It’s all right. She’s just doing her job and you do need to rest. I promise that I’ll come by every day to see how you’re doing.” She gave him a gentle nuzzle and left the room with a glance and smile cast back over her shoulder.

  Elias let his head sink back into the pillow, his right hand unconsciously touching the side of his face that the petite fox had nuzzled, his thoughts jumbled and his heart beating a little fast. The last was noted by the marten as she took his pulse. She laughed lightly. “If she doesn’t speed up your recovery, then there’s no hope for you, Mister Tivnan.”

  The fox gave the nurse a small smile and let her continue about her business.

— NEXT CHAPTER —

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