Episode #8 "Skippy Goes Postal"
by the frog princess
(Inspired by the television program Earth2.)
WARNING: This is a continuing soap opera. If you haven't read the prior installments of the As G-889 Turns saga yet, this will make no sense whatsoever.
"Don't kid around with me, John." Julia tried to smile, but didn't quite succeed. "You remember Alonzo. Alonzo Solace. He's our pilot."
John Danziger only shook his head. "Pilot? I was on a ship?"
"Yes. John, you were our ops captain. Don't you remember?"
John glanced around the med tent. "We're not on a ship now."
"No."
"We crashed?"
"Yes." Julia nodded enthusiastically. "You remember. We crashed."
"Musta been a hell of a tumble. My head hurts like crazy."
"No," Julia said, the disappointment nearly overwhelming her. "No. John, we crashed months ago. You weren't injured in the crash. You were injured when Alonzo hit you with . . . ."
"Dad!!!" True squealed as she ran into the med tent. "Dad, you're alive!"
True practically flew on top of her father and hugged his neck in a death grip. The look John gave Julia was one of pure terror.
"True, I think you should give your father time to rest. He hasn't fully recovered yet."
True released John from the hug and took up his hand in both of hers. "Everything's going to be okay now, Dad. You just rest now."
John was eyeing the girl warily without a glimmer of recognition in his eyes.
"True, I'd like to run some tests on your father. Why don't you come back later?"
"I'm not leaving," True insisted. "And you just said that he had to rest. You should run your tests later."
"True . . . ."
"True," John repeated hesitantly. "Let the doctor do her job. You just wait outside for a few minutes. Okay?"
True sighed in resignation. "Yes, sir."
She obediently trudged outside, but her shadow on the tenet wall indicated that she hadn't gone far.
Julia knelt down by John's cot and whispered urgently. "John, don't you remember anything?"
John only rolled his eyes as he tried to search his fragmented memory.
"John, what's my name?"
"I don't know."
"What's your name?"
"John."
"John what?"
"I don't know."
"What year is this?"
He just shook his head.
Julia was silent for a moment as she watched True's shadow scuffling outside. Back on the stations, there are specialists who can do amazing things with the human mind. The leaps they have taken with altering memory are unbelievable. But I don't have the equipment necessary for such a detailed neural procedure. Even if I did, the brain is a very tricky thing. I can't guarantee it would work. On the other hand, his memory may return on its own in a short time. He's probably still suffering from the trauma of the initial injury. We may just have to wait this out.
Finally, she spoke. "The odds are good that your confusion is temporary, that in just a few days as you get your bearings everything will come back to you. I don't make any promises. But there's no need to worry yet."
He remained silent.
"John, do you understand what I'm saying to you?"
"That girl is mine?" he asked quietly.
Julia nodded. "Her name is True. True Danziger. She's your daughter."
"Do I have any more of those I should know about?"
"No -- none of your own -- but there's a boy, Ulysses. His mother got very sick a while back. We had to place her in cryogenic suspension to prevent her death -- but I still haven't determined the cause of her illness. We may not be able to revive her for a long time. So Uly's sort of an orphan at the moment. He looks up to you quite a bit."
"And the girl's mother?"
"She . . . ." It was all a little too complicated to explain to him at the moment. "She died a long time ago."
"So the girl -- True -- is alone."
"She's not alone. She has you. You may not know who you are, but I do. Take my word for it. You're a great father."
"Din-din!" Walman chirped as he entered the tent, carrying a bowl.
True trailed in behind him. "Done with your tests now?"
Julia ignored the question. "Let's get some food in you," she said to John.
He nodded weakly as Walman handed Julia his soup. But as soon as the bowl made it within sniffing range, he recoiled. "What is that?" he asked suspiciously.
"It's soup."
"What kind of soup?"
"Vegetable soup, with an added protein mix to help you regain your strength."
John didn't look convinced. "What kind of vegetables are those, exactly?"
Apparently she had a picky eater on her hands. "It's local vegetation. Wild roots and ... ."
"I'll pass."
"John, we have all been eating these plants for months. That includes you. They pass all toxicity scans. And trust me, you have eaten far worse things on this planet already."
John peered into the mysterious bowl and grimaced.
Julia sighed. She shoveled a spoonful into her own mouth. "See? Yummy."
"Oh, all right!" he snapped. "You don't have to make a fuss."
Julia smiled. Somewhere in there, the real John Danziger was still home.
"Will we start moving again now?" Walman asked Julia. "Yale wants to know if we should prepare to break camp in the morning."
"I'm not sure if he'll really be ready to move that soon. Maybe . . . ."
"Julia!!!!" Uly was screaming somewhere across camp and the sound of his voice was coming closer. "Julia!!!! . . . Julia!!!!" The boy was nearly breathless by the time he stumbled into the med tent followed by concerned onlookers.
"Uly, what's wrong?"
"It's Skippy!" Uly panted.
"Uly, I don't have time for this right now. Look," she said, trying to cheer up the boy, "John's awake now."
"There's blood everywhere!"
Julia couldn't imagine what could be wrong with the little koba, but she had other priorities right now.
"Uly, I'm sorry. As soon as I've finished with John, then I'll come check on Skippy."
"You don't understand!" the boy screamed. "It's Skippy! He's killing Alonzo!!!"
CONTINUED IN THE NEXT INSTALLMENT