Death Defying

Hi, this fiction is written by Dixie and myself. We have sent it back and forth for months. Because she is very busy, Dixie asked me to place it in my name (although the idea was entirely hers). I was reluctant because I already have so many fictions on ... But, in the end, I said I would - just so we can get it on here before Christmas. I hope you will forgive/tolerate yet another fiction from Beck1999! Thanks.

PART ONE

His face was burned. No, not just charred but half dissolved away, melted by the intense flames caused by a horrific disaster. And it was not just his face but the man's naked body underneath a therapeutic blanket and monitor. Scorched, shriveled and broken – hardly human anymore.

There was an explosion in Section D-3, four men and three women killed. Three others were seriously injured – including Commander John Koenig.

He had been there, over-seeing a dangerous project to resolve Alpha's dwindling power supply. They used alien technology and if either Professor Bergman or Maya were still with them, they might have warned their Commander against the 'exploitation of misrepresented certainty'. Everyone, including John, was so sure it would work, allowing the Alphans an indefinite supply of power when – eventually - the moon reached the end of yet another discouraging solar system.

On the moon's current trajectory, their supply of human-life sustaining planets was running thin.

In private, a few evenings before the tragedy, he told Helena their luck could last for only so long. One day there would be no more planets, new potential homes for the people of Moonbase Alpha. Sustaining life was now paramount, starting anew with good health, prospects and children …

Helena winced a little when he mentioned offspring. Maya, her dear alien friend, had died during childbirth, taking she and Tony's baby with her. But before she left them the Psychon whispered to Helena that she should not be afraid. Maya urged Helena to have her own child. Helena wished she could comply but it was not that easy. She made a promise to John …

Tony Verdeschi joined his wife not long after, the victim of violence when Alpha's green-sickness was at its worst. Security, getting the upper hand, did not see the assassin in their midst. Tony did not stand a chance and died from the laser blast. The other man also died when his fire was returned by others in the security division. Some Alphans believed Tony wanted to die, life holding so little meaning for him now that his beautiful wife and son were gone.

John and Helena had both grieved deeply at the loss of their friends – and found comfort in one another's arms. Their love-making had become intense, emotionally passionate, and they cried while embracing. Victor, Paul, Kano, Tanya, Maya, Tony ... So many. It was unfair ... so unfair ...

Their numbers were dwindling, now down to two hundred and forty-nine men and women. Life on Alpha had to change. They needed something to strive for and had to reconsider what it was being an Earthling, living on the moon.

"We have to take chances." John had urged his command staff, "I see that now."

Despite the explosion, a week ago now, the Alphans had learned from the error. Moonbase Alpha's power had been sustained, improved upon, and the wandering moon prospered. In the end, the unfamiliar technology had worked, even if more precious lives were lost in its implementation.

Helena asked Dr. Mathias and Dr. Vincent to work on a program allowing births on the moonbase. She told them to talk with engineers and anyone else who had feasible ideas to improve life on Alpha. She also advised Command Center that digging could start immediately - and should. John would want that …

She was not the Commander, Alan Carter was their acting leader, but so many looked to her for strength and instruction. Even Alan, seeming a little lost in his unwanted position, came to Helena many times in the last week for advice. He knew she was already stressed, taxed beyond comprehension, but he needed her wisdom, just as John Koenig did.

There could still be happiness on the moon if they adapt, making it a real home. Already, Helena had seen couples talking, smiles on their faces, thinking of an unconventional future … Optimism was all important. Koenig had pressed this during that command meeting and he was so right. Everyone looked to him and all knew if he, their proven leader, saw the potential they too should see beyond the disappointment. Making Alpha their permanent home - rather than finding that elusive world with trees, sunshine and fresh air – was becoming acceptable.

Helena took a breath.

John …

She watched him as he lay in his bed in Medical Center, skin waxy and eyes vacant. His life signs were not strong. How many hours had she sat by this bed, holding his hand, telling him – semi conscious but receptive with his hand squeezing – that steps were being taken to insure Alpha's survival. All he needed to do was rest and heal … She would be here for him – always.

But he was dying and this time there was nothing she could do about it.

"Please try to hold on, John. Your people need you. More now than ever before."

"We knew this could happen." He told her during one of his more lucid moments, his full mouth now shriveled into a thin line, teeth missing, throat dry and his voice nearly a croak. "But Alpha is good … I only have one regret ..." and his fingers squeezed her own before John lapsed, once more, into oblivion.

She would never hear his voice again.

Helena sobbed. She had tried for so long to be brave and now, in his final minutes, she could only kiss his hand, the one that had not been burned to the bone, and tell him she loved him.

Mathias and a nurse stood in wait. Alan Carter and Sandra Benes were close too.

Helena blocked them out. For her it was only she and John. She loved two men in her lifetime and had lost them both to space. "What am I going to do without you?" she whispered.

"You'll go on … live … love again."

She heard him in her head. "No." Helena could not prevent the tears from falling. Never again.

He took a breath and the monitor above his bed blipped for the last time then lined out. His hand fell away, slipping from her own.

No! Helena's heart cried. Her head lowered, her forehead gently touching the back of his hand, "Please … please … bring him back." She prayed.

"Do you really want him to return?"

For one brief-moment Helena thought she had imagined the voice. But everything had grown dark around her. She saw nothing but John laying in the bed and blackness. "What?"

"WHY should he return?"

"Alpha needs him." Helena replied, not yet questioning where the voice was coming from. It was soft but could come from either a man or woman, "We are lost without him."

"You are speaking from a personal point of view, Dr. Russell. In truth Alpha could survive without Commander Koenig but you feel you cannot."

"I can't agree." Helena quickly retorted. She did not know why she was arguing with what could only be an imaginary voice but, somehow, knew it was important. "So many others would be lost without our Commander."

"Oh?"

"Always, when life got too challenging he was there. A strong, driven man. His people look up to him – even when they are unsure of him. He was … is reassurance and security." Helena sobbed, "And now, with so many things happening, with so much that could go wrong, they have no one really to look to for guidance …"

"What of you and Captain Carter?"

"It's not the same. They need their Commander; the man who has been here from the beginning. John Koenig is what keeps Alpha glued together."

'But your lives are better now. This new power source will get your base through the most difficult of occurrences. Men and women can now have families."

"And that can fall apart so easily without the right leadership. John … John would see to it that we prospered even if others think we are doomed. There is something so special about him. He never gave up. He never will."

"Yes …" the voice said, "I can see that."

Helena gulped. Who was she speaking with?

"You understand, if we give you back your Commander - there is a price."

"You can save him? What price?"

"Does it matter?"

Helena nearly panted, looking into the black void, feeling hope but also trepidation. "It does." She said solemnly and truthfully, "But I would give my own life for him to live again." She closed her eyes in a pray gesture. John and Alpha could survive without her. She was but one of five competent physicians on Moonbase Alpha. Helena sincerely believed Alpha was still in jeopardy without him. John Koenig was vital to the human race, the people once from Earth, and as much as Helena wanted to believe herself courageous and strong in the face of tragedy, she knew her broken heart would never heal. Simply put, there was no living without him ... Or perhaps - another voice intruded - it was her grief that made her believe so strongly in his value and so little of her own importance.

"There are two ways to get what you want, Doctor; worth and sacrifice. When it comes to whether Commander Koenig is worthy enough to come back from the fate he was dealt, it cannot yet be determined. But if you are willing to make a grand sacrifice … we will return him to life. It would be as if the explosion never happened."

Helena listened to their proposal. Lives, not just John's, would be saved.

Yes. She would agree to their offer, whoever they were.

Go to Part Two.