Dana Cartwright Mission 1: Stiletto (3 page)

“I can’t feel my legs,” he whispered.

“You have a spinal injury.” She said it softly, as if tempering the severity of the issue.

It didn’t register with his brain. “And my hands burn like…”

“I’ll give you something for the pain.” She fussed with a tube and pressed it against his neck and the burning left, replaced by a sensation of floating. His eyelids grew heavy and he sighed.
 

“That’s better.”

Her cheek pressed against his, as she used the sparkling device. Her skin felt so soft and he tasted something sweet and smelled… “What do I smell?”

“Smell? Oh, that’s coconut oil,” she answered.

His nose was pressed into her hair and he sniffed again. “What is coconut oil?” He wondered.

“What you are smelling… I use it to make my hair shine.”

He licked a wisp of her hair. “Coconut oil?” It didn’t mean anything to him. “You’re very beautiful, Dana January,” he thought aloud. “The most beautiful woman I have ever seen.”

She blushed, but in the amber light she already glowed.

He reached with his gloved right hand, pushing a stray lock of her bangs from her beautiful eyes. “Who are you?”

She smiled sympathetically, “Doctor - Cartwright…”

“No… Who?” He struggled for words. “Tell me about you?”

Her response was to flash more sparkles before his eyes. He could still see them even after closing his lids. “What are you doing?”

“Taking readings of your vital signs.”

“Am I dying?”

“No,” she assured. “Your heart is strong. You haven’t lost too much blood. You do have a concussion.”

“And I can’t feel my legs,” he reminded weakly.

“That, too,” she whispered.

They heard a loud, metallic noise and felt the beams and panels vibrate ominously. White powder rained down on them.

Kieran looked. It was like snow falling, dusting her hair. “Is it toxic?”

She shook her head and the sprinkles went away. “No, they stopped using toxic materials in fire extinguisher systems a long time ago.”

Her voice-badge broadcast a tone and then a husky male voice asked, “You okay, Doctor Cartwright? The crane with the keg lights toppled.”

“We’re fine,” she responded.
 

“Going to take a little longer to right it. I’m sorry.”

“It’s okay, Chief,” she answered, but didn’t sound convincing. “We’re not going anywhere.” She patted her patient. “Are we?”

“I can’t feel my legs,” he repeated. It seemed the most important thing to tell her. And though he was dazed and confused, he repeated it in traditional Alphan, too, in case she didn’t understand.

She answered in Alphan, “I understand perfectly, Ambassador.”

“Why do you keep calling me ‘Ambassador’?” He wondered. And then his brain fog cleared. “Oh!”

She was staring with her beautiful, mismatched eyes, and he stared back. “Don’t tell anyone, Doctor Dana,” he whispered, so that only she could hear. “I’m not Ambassador Cray. I’m a member of his security detail, Kieran Jai, acting as a decoy, a security double.”

She was still staring. He looked through her; his telepathic, sixth sense now functioned as he focused on Cray. “The Ambassador is still at the spaceport, safe and sound. There were rumors… I dressed up as he would and took his place. We were afraid someone would try to kill him.”
 

Kieran pressed his cheek against hers, realizing the enormity of the situation. With a massive sigh of remorse, and complete lucidity, he admitted, “I was right.”

While her patient rested, Dana used her reader padlet to call up the most recent library texts on Alphan anatomy and physiology and one on neurological trauma. Page after page flew by — she enjoyed a photographic memory and full comprehension. About ten chapters in, Kieran Jai began to stir and she took time out to take vital signs again.

“Doctor Dana?”

His voice sounded weaker, almost pleading.
 

“I’m here,” she responded, gently patting his shoulder with her left hand to reassure him.

His eyes remained closed. “My hand is crushed. You could amputate it.”

“No!”

“Don’t you have a medical laser scalpel?”

She refused to answer.

“I have a Sterillian blade. It’s in a sheath in my left boot. Take it. Use...”

“No,” she interrupted, “you would bleed to death.”

“That’s the idea,” he said.

When she didn’t respond, he bumped her chin with his forehead. “I can’t feel my legs. Just get the blade for me. I’ll do it.”

“No! No! No!”
 

He shrank away from her, as far as he could under the circumstances. “My father always scolded me like that. Did you learn how from your father?”

She wavered a moment, then apologized, “I’m sorry, Kieran. I didn’t mean to scold you. Please believe me, you are going to be fine. I’ve seen far worse crashes.”

He felt her hand gently massaging his chest.

“If my father saw me... He’d disown me.” Kieran frowned. “It’s hard being the oldest. I was always getting scolded, but my brothers caught up to me. We all became rebels.” He chuckled, but it became more of a sob. “Please get me out of here! I’ll be good, I promise.”

She rubbed his cheek gently. “Shh…be patient. They’re working on it. The best Ground Control Chief on the planet is working above us. He and his team have to follow strict procedures. You understand that, don’t you?”

When she fell silent, he pleaded, “Please, keep talking. Your voice is calming.”

“I’m not much of a conversationalist, but...”

“Did you get scolded as a child?” He wondered, “What’s your earliest memory?”
 

“I have very few memories from childhood.” She leaned over him, worried that his vital signs were weakening and that the rescue crew still had not cleared away enough debris. “My guardian still scolds me. He wants me to be a professor of medicine at the science academy.”

Kieran chuckled. “I’ll bet you’d be a good one. Why does he scold you? You don’t want to be a professor?”

“I never wanted to be a doctor,” she admitted. “However, he’s one of the best, and everyone thinks I’m a very good one.”

“What did you want to be then?” Kieran wondered. “When you were much younger?”

“I wanted to be a starship captain.” She said it with a smile.

“Oh! Me, too!” He chuckled. “I have so many memories. Too many… I’ll give you some before I die,” Kieran offered weakly. “I can even make some up for you, if you’d like.” He pressed his cheek against the back of her hand, so dazed it was hard for him to focus. “I know… This is a good one. When I was a boy, I had a kite hang-glider. I would hike alone up to the highest cliff, assemble my kite, and strap it on. With a running start, I’d jump off and catch an updraft. Like an eagle, I would soar. I could see all the way to Forever Pointe, deep down in the canyon. I love to fly.” A tear trickled down his cheek. “That’s a good memory to give you, because I may never fly again.”

Dana wiped the tear from his cheek. “I’ll have no talk like that. You will survive this. I promise.”

He grew very quiet. She could tell he’d stopped listening, and was caught up in private memories.

Another tear rolled down his cheek. “I have another memory to give you. I had an albino rat as a pet when I was seven. His name was Puff. My brothers and I used to play tricks on him. We created this labyrinth. He would race in and bang into the first wall and sit there. Finally, I realized I needed to train him by leaving bits of food at the gates. Pretty soon he could race the whole maze to the treats at the other end in record time. He was so soft.”

Kieran gently reached out to touch her cheek with his gloved right hand. “Your hair is so soft. You’ll like Puff. He was my best friend. One of my brothers left his cage door open and he ran away. We never found him. My dad scolded us all. He said the dog got to Puff. I never liked that dog after that.” More tears rolled down his face. “I miss Puff sometimes. Puff taught me to be gentle and patient.”

“Those are good lessons. You should keep that memory,” Dana whispered, once again wiping the tears from his cheeks. She felt a pang of remorse, but also a bit of fear. She hoped Kieran was strong enough to endure another hour or so before the Chief and his team got to them.

Kieran seemed in a daze. He muttered something in Alphan and then told her in a whisper, “Puff was so special. I want his memory to live on. I’ll give it to you. Promise you’ll remember him?”

“Kieran?” She leaned her cheek next to his and whispered in his ear. “You are not going to die.”
 

He gave no indication that he even heard her.

“Doctor Dana? I have another memory to give you.” He strained his neck and kissed her hair, tasting the coconut oil.
 

When she turned her head to look his way, he kissed her upon the lips, a sweet, alluring invitation. “Take the knife from my boot. My body is broken. Please… Take it.”

“I won’t use it,” she protested, struggling to keep the tears from welling up in her own eyes.

He nodded gently. “I want you to have it. Take the sheath, too. It’s a Sterillian blade, which is a class four, non-metal and very valuable.”

“Kieran, why are you doing this? Please, just rest.” She struggled with the DIA-dermal injector and started to program it for a sedative to keep him calm.

“They’ll only take it away at the medical center.” He protested, “I want you to have it to remember me by.” He placed another kiss upon her cheek. “Go ahead. Can you reach it?”

She slid down along his torso and felt with her left hand the top of his leather boot. The blade came out easily, but the sheath required some tugging. She inspected the delicately engraved pattern on the stiletto knife. The ruby in the handle caught the amber light from the torch. “It’s very beautiful.”

“Very rare… Hand carved and engraved,” Kieran assured. “Got it from an arms dealer out at Scanlos. He told me it’s worth twenty times what I paid for it. Hide it. It’s registered to me, but I want you to have it as a gift.”

“I can’t accept,” Dana protested, “however, I’ll keep it safe for you. I’m not permitted to accept such a gift.”

“Alphan custom is to give…You wouldn’t want to offend?”

“I’m not Alphan,” she protested.

“Oh, but I am.”

Dana slid the blade back into its sheath and clipped it to the shoulder strap of her medical kit. “I’ll keep it safe for you.”

Kieran closed his eyes and swallowed hard. “I’ve been to so many places. I could tell you… stories… I could give you more memories. You’re so nice. Crawling under here and staying with me... I don’t think I could stand it if I were alone.”

Dana patted his shoulder. “I actually like being alone. When you’re flying, you’re alone? Right?”

He bobbed his head just a little. “I love flying. Do you like flying?”

“I MAT everywhere,” she admitted. “Still, I like watching. I was out on the deck to watch your shuttle.”

Kieran sighed. “Blade Class shuttles are…” He frowned and pouted, “How much longer? Please get me out of here? Please?”

“I don’t know. It seems like it’s taking forever. I’m sure they’re doing the best they can.”

He reached over with his gloved hand and petted her hair, focusing his eyes. “What are you reading?”

She smiled, “A text on Alphan anatomy and physiology.”

He chuckled. “Did you get to the good chapter yet?”

“You mean, the one on sex?” She teased rather boldly. Everyone in medical school memorized those chapters first.

He nodded rather sheepishly. “That’s required reading,” he teased. “The rest is boring.”

“I think it’s fascinating that Alphans only mate once,” she remarked.
 

“It’s once in a lifetime… That doesn’t mean you can’t have fun with more than one consenting adult,” he chuckled.

She blushed but asked, “Have you mated?”

“No.” He opened his eyes, looked straight into hers, and asked quite seriously, “Do you want to?”

“I’m not Alphan,” she reminded, and then blushed an even deeper shade of rose, and looked away.

“Even better,” he whispered, kissing her cheek. “I was promised to mate with a princess of the royal family. However, it didn’t happen. So now I’m free to choose for myself. In all the galaxy, I’ve never met a woman as beautiful as you.”

“Now you’re teasing me.” She dared to look into his eyes.

He reached over with his gloved hand and touched the back of her neck then turned his lips to meet hers. They kissed, long and deep, until their souls ached for union. It could not be… Not then… Still, the desire was strong.

And he gave her a memory she would carry with her for a lifetime. It made her smile.

Kieran Jai whispered, “You are a brave lady, Dana January. I thank the stars you are here by my side.”

Kieran slipped in and out of consciousness, while Dana finished her reading of the Alphan medical text. About halfway through the neurology book, his eyelids fluttered. “Still with me?” She asked.

“Feel cold,” he whispered, sounding very childlike.

She slid closer and tugged the formal Ambassadorial robe about him, using the velvet and brocade fabric as a blanket. “The air temperature is dropping. It gets very cold here this time of year. You’re not used to it. Centauri Prime is fully climate controlled, right?”

He nodded, admitting weakly, “I’ve spent most of my adult life on space stations and starships.”

 
She took fresh vital sign readings, frowning at both blood pressure and heart rate, which had dropped significantly from Alphan norms. She touched her voice-badge. “Ground Control? How much longer?”

Chief Rocky responded, “We’ve got a problem, Doctor Cartwright.”

She sensed more left unspoken. “We’re freezing under here, Rocky.”

“Sorry, Doc… Uh, the good news is that your med-evac shuttle has arrived with the coffin you ordered.”

“Excellent! I’m coming out.” Dana patted Kieran’s chest but realized he was barely aware. Still, she said in a comforting tone, “I’ll be right back.” She carefully snaked her way back out from the crawlspace, straight into the arms of a biohazard suited EMT.