Chapter 5

The office area was closing down for the night, but one building still had a light burning in the window and a man guarding each door. Don recognized one of them as the mechanic from the salvage yard. This was the place. He set his laser to stun and stealthily approached the back door. The man, however, saw him and warned those inside just as Don shot him. The man fell heavily in the doorway. Don pulled him aside and entered, laser drawn.

The doctor stood to the side, arms held up in surrender. Appolus held Judy tightly against his body, arms pinned behind her, a scalpel at her throat. Don's eyes were immediately drawn to his wife's beautiful face, which was frightened, but calm. His own fear decreased whens he saw the strength behind those clear blue eyes.

"Put the gun down, West and shut down the hover bike. Now!"

Don immediately complied.

"Now, Phiscus, you will examine this woman again. She claims that this half-man is the father of her child. That is impossible."

"There is no mistake, Appolus," the doctor answered. "She is with child. Who the father is does not concern me. She has become a 'vessel' for another man. You can no longer claim her."

"No, I will not accept that! There are ways to do away with the child. Do so now!" Appolus exclaimed.

"I will not, Appolus! It is against my oath to endanger the life of this 'vessel'. What you propose could be harmful to her."

"There are others who can perform the procedure, Phiscus." He called the soldier in from the front door. "Take this doctor to the vehicle and hold him there. I will be along as soon as I take care of West."

After the soldier walked the doctor out of the building, Appolus pushed Judy towards Don. There was a noise at the back door as the mechanic revived and stumbled into the room. Appolus stopped and dared Don to move by drawing a drop of blood from Judy's neck.

"Grab his arms!" Appolus commanded.

The mechanic twisted Don's arms behind his back as Appolus pushed Judy to within inches of Don's face.

"You see, I am not totally unsympathetic, my dear. Give your so-called lover one final kiss, and we will be gone."

Judy and Don's eyes locked as they tried to communicate a lifetime of love in those few seconds. Both knew this could be their last moment together, and there was an unspoken message that both understood. The unborn child needed to be protected, whatever the cost. Appolus removed the scalpel from Judy's throat, and a sorrowful smile crossed Don's lips as his eyes bid his wife 'good-bye'. His face grimaced in pain as Appolus plunged the scalpel into Don's side and gave it a sickening twist. He was thrown to the floor by the mechanic, and Judy's unending scream echoed throughout the room and into the night beyond.

The sound of a laser shot hitting its target caught Appolus off-guard as the mechanic fell. Judy bent her head and bit Appolus' arm as a second shot knocked the bloody knife out of his hand. Scotter ran into the room from the back and John from the front. Judy twisted away from Appolus and picked up the pistol that Don had laid on the floor earlier. She pointed it at Appolus and fired at his chest once, twice, three times.

She stood there frozen, tears streaming down her face. John gently took the gun from his daughter's hand and brought her into his arms. Her body shook with sobs as she collapsed to the floor. She looked towards her husband and crawled until she reached his side. Marcus and Kairon ran in with Phiscus behind them.

Judy held her husband's head in her lap and begged him to stay with her as Marcus felt his pulse and checked his breathing. Phiscus examined the wound and shook his head. "Too much damage has been done. He has lost much blood. He cannot be saved."

Marcus ignored the older doctor's prognostication and ordered him to get a blanket. Don's breathing was becoming shallow and his pulse was weak. "He's going into shock. We have to get him back to the Jupiter immediately."

John pulled his daughter away as Kairon and Marcus placed Don on a stretcher and brought him to the car that Scotter had waiting for them.

"We can save him, Phiscus. Come see what we can do," Marcus entreated. "We can become true healers, not exterminators."

Phiscus agreed. Kairon and Ronon stayed behind to dispose of Appolus and his men.

John commed ahead and the group was met at the base of the Jupiter's ramp by Maureen and Gannon. Maureen's hand went to her throat when she saw how desperate the situation was.

"Oh, Marcus. Can we save him?"

"Get all of the enzyme we have. We can do this, Maureen."

They brought Don into the med lab and stabilized him with a transfusion of his own blood that had been stored on the Jupiter for emergencies. As Marcus and Gannon worked together to mend the damage that the scalpel had caused, Phiscus and Maureen stood by and witnessed the healing. Awed by the scene before him, he proclaimed, "It is a miracle."