Chapter 8

"Damn it, John! If you stand up you could start to bleed again!"

"Helena, I don't want to hear it!" protested Koenig curtly, as he got up from his bed in Base Main's hospital, and slowly tried to put on his field uniform. He was overcome with a wave of vertigo, but fought it off. Helena had been trying for most of an hour to persuade him to cede command temporarily to Tony Verdeschi, and had gotten nowhere. She hadn't really thought she would, but she had her duty as Base CMO. She steeled herself. Time for Plan B.

"Commander Koenig, I am speaking to you now as Chief Medical Officer of Moonbase Alpha." She responded coolly. Her change in tone from Mrs. John Koenig to Dr. Helena Russell finally got his attention. She then picked up her commlock and pressed a button. Dr. Bob Mathias appeared on the screen.. She then pointed to the two way video screen and pressed another button. Dr. Ben Vincent's face came on the screen. "Dr. Vincent, are you reading us?" she asked.

"Loud and clear."

"Excellent." She pressed another button. "Ed?"

"Also loud and clear,' came the reply from Doctor Spencer.

"Doctor Nunez?"

"Right with you, Doctor," replied Nunez, coming in from an adjacent room..

Koenig sent a furious glare to Helena as she sat down, images of her senior staff framing her from behind, and opened up the manila folder in front of her. She began reading, slowly and methodically, in a detached, clinical tone.

"Hairline fracture of the right tibia and fourth and third left metatarsals, malunited in all three cases; severe concussion on three occasions in the last year alone; bleeding ulcer, possibly requiring surgery to correct; hypertension, insufficiently medicated due to patient's refusal to take prescribed medication regularly;" Koenig opened his mouth to speak, but Helena raised a hand, without looking at him, "and last but not least enlargement of the right ventricle resulting in irregular heartbeat." She closed the folder, and looked up at Koenig. "Doctors, do you all concur with my diagnosis?"

"Yes, we do." They responded together, like a well-trained choir.

"Commander, we… recommend that you admit yourself to the hospital here at Base Main for at least three weeks of rest and recuperation, along with more tests. In your current state,.."

"Helena, it's out of the question! There are too many things happening at once. I can't just abandon my command at a time like this." said Koenig.

She softened in her response, but only a little bit. "John, you're a wreck, to put it mildly. You aren't fit to command a study hall in a junior high school. The stroke or massive heart attack headed your way could kill you, assuming the blood loss from the ulcer doesn't beat them to the punch. Look, we've all been knocked about the past six years! You more than most, and you're not the only one with some serious health issues, John. But you have continually put yourself out in front and taken the brunt of a lot of abuse...and, you have to face facts. It's taken its toll and you are not a young man anymore, Captain Hornblower!" It was brutal, like a dull scalpel. The words hurt him, she could plainly see that. But the words would not kill him. What was on his health sheet almost certainly would.

"Helena," he replied calmly, after taking a deep breath, and looking at her for several seconds, "I understand. I understand that you want a normal life. Who on Alpha doesn't, for heaven's sake? A normal marriage, children, but .."

She cut him off. "Commander Koenig, at this moment we are only discussing your health, possibly your very life, the safety of Moonbase Alpha, and possibly the future of human life on this Earth!" She paused and took a deep breath, knowing that this moment was coming, but still dreading it. "And, since it is….abundantly clear that you are unwilling to follow the medical advice of your staff,.."

"Helena," he raised one hand, finger pointed at her, "don't you dare..!"

".. by my authority as CMO under the rules governing Alpha, specifically Article Six, Senior Medical staff concurring, I…" she paused a moment, and took a breath herself, "I hereby relieve you of active command of this base, effective immediately." She then handed over to him a written copy of the formal order. Koenig didn't even attempt to read it before he fainted.

"We've got him on plasma, intravenous feeding, and cool saline lavage to stop the bleeding. His blood volume is back to normal. His vital signs are stable," pronounced Dr. Nunez. "5 cc librium, so he'll probably sleep well into tomorrow."

She sat nearby and barely heard the words. "Thanks, Raul." She felt his reassuring hand on her shoulder. "He's going to be alright, Helena." She nodded. So intent on Koenig's unconscious form, she barely heard Tony Verdeschi enter the room and sit down next to her.

"How are you holding up?' he asked.

"Oh, just fine! This is not my first palace coup, you know." she answered sardonically. "Well, first successful coup" she thought to herself.

"Yeah." Verdeschi had to smile at that. He admired her ability to keep her sense of humor.

"So, how goes Exodus?" Anything to change the subject.

"Just about finished. We'll be mopping up some final details for days no doubt, but everything went off without a major hitch. We can thank Sandra and her team for that." He paused to sip from a cup of real coffee. "We've got a few people still at Ape City and with Taylor's people. Santa Maria is still on station in the outer edge of the solar system, and a delegation from Sursum Corda is due here in an hour for dinner and a meet and greet, and as Acting Commander I have to take charge of that. I know you were scheduled to be a part of that, but we can find.."

"No, I'll cover it." Helena said, standing up. "There's nothing more I can do here, and if I don't keep busy I might need a padded cell myself."

"OK Helena, if that's the way you want it, that's how it'll be. I'll see you at the Admin Building in an hour, then," answered Verdeschi. As he got up to leave, he did not let on that he was relieved to have another senior staff member with him. "Mmmm. I don't know what they've got going in the galley for dinner, but it smells fantastic!"

They had been willing to ride horses, but Acting Commander Tony Verdeschi had insisted on a land cruiser. Fifteen miles was a bit of a hike, even though the weather in southern British Columbia was pleasant. Now there was an understatement, Verdeschi mused to himself. The weather in this part of British Columbia was damn near perfect. Warm days, cool nights, rainfall abundant and evenly dispersed, no temperature extremes, at least two growing seasons. Ideal for agriculture and just plain living. While large swaths of the planet had been laid waste by forces and events as yet unknown, this section of North America seems to have been preserved intact, ripe for the plucking. It was yet another mystery on a long list of mysteries. The unarmed landcruiser pulled up to the administrative building of Base Main, and the driver killed the motor.. Presently, the door to the cruiser opened and out came Shermeen Williams leading a delegation from Sursum Corda. Verdeschi looked down briefly at the now black sleeve on his tunic. Acting Commander Tony Verdeschi. While he did not altogether dislike the sound of that ( and nobody was bothering much with the "Acting") he really did not want the job, not with John Koenig unconscious in a hospital bed. He knew that his fellow Alphans had confidence in him, and that helped to assuage his own fears and insecurities. It did not occur to him at that moment that his lack of ambition for command was a critical factor that made him most qualified for it. Whether he wanted it or not, he had it now and he knew Koenig was counting on him. Command was a heavy burden, and the fact that they were on Earth did not tempt him to let his guard down for one moment. Verdeschi pushed these thoughts aside as he caught sight of Shermeen Williams. He was startled to see she was no longer in her Alphan uniform, but what looked like a homespun prairie dress. She was followed by three men and two women, dressed in a similar mixture of rustic garments. One stood out: a small black man with graying hair, wearing a brown robe tied about the waist with a rope, and carrying a wooden stick that curled into a circle at the top. Although he had an air of authority and immense dignity, he hung back and let others handle the introductions.

"Joseph DuChiens, this is Tony Verdeschi, Acting Commander of Moonbase Alpha and Base Main…

"Mr. Carter, some activity from the Dorcon ship. Her scanners are back up." said Infantino.

Carter looked at Infantino's panel. "Looks like she's search-lighting the inner planets. Damn! It's only a matter of time before she finds Earth. Ok. Let her do her thing. We're far enough away to send a tight beam to Alpha." he nodded to the communications officer, who then hit a button on his panel, and a microburst transmission lasting only a fraction of a second was sent to Moonbase Alpha. Since Santa Maria was in a direct line to Earth, there was no way the Dorcon ship could pick up the transmission. However, the use of the transmitter did generate a slight increase in power output.

"Captain, possible signal. Close aboard." announced the scanning officer on Royal Vindicator.

"What location?" asked the Captain sharply.

"It was too transient and weak to get a precise location. Somewhere in this area." He pointed to his screen.

"That could be anything," said the Captain dismissively. But then he adopted a more thoughtful attitude. "Do an omni scan before we head for the inner planets, just to be sure."

"Yes Captain.". An omni scan would potentially give away their location to another ship in the area, but the Captain was not worried about that. His ship was powerful enough to handle anything the Earthlings might throw at him..provided he saw it coming.

"Mr. Carter, we're being scanned! Looks like a broadband, multi-phasic type, same as what we recorded last time." said Infantino.

"Could he have picked up our signal?" asked Carter.

"No, but we did register a slight power increase when we transmitted."

"Could their sensors be that good?" mused Carter. Stupid question, he thought to himself. Of course they could.

"Looks like they are increasing the gain." said Mankeiwitz, coming to Carter's side.

"Signal strengths are approaching detection value." warned Infantino.

"All right, mates. Lets see if we can sneak out of here." he returned to the flight deck and took his position in the pilot seat. Once strapped in though, his hands went nowhere near the propulsion handle. That would have given them away for sure. Instead, he made a slight adjustment to the anti-gravity screens. This would have the effect of moving them closer to Oberon, one of Uranus' moons, much as an unanchored ship would drift with the tide. As they grew closer, their speed would increase naturally, as no other celestial body was nearby to exercise a counter-gravitational pull.

"Ok, at this speed another ten minutes and we will be behind Oberon," said Carter.

As much as Carter yearned to get in a first strike at the Dorcon ship, he knew even the upgraded Swift was not up to the job. The defense counsel had come up with a number of contingencies, and he would stick to the plan.

"Anything?" asked the Captain.

"Nothing, sir." the Captain frowned. His instincts told him something was out there, but the machines said no. He went to another console and dialed up a tactical map of the area, showing the ship, the planet, and nearby moons, then overlaid a grid on the screen with references. He looked at the area, the conditions, relative locations and chose his spot.

"There!" he said, pointing to the screen.

"Sir?" asked the scanning officer.

"That's where they are."

"How do you know, sir?"

The Captain noted to himself he had a fairly young scanning officer. "Because if I were trying to hide from a Dorcon ship, that's where I would be. Zed pattern search, concentrated scan!"

"Yes, sir!"

On board the Santa Maria, Alan Carter held lightly onto the controls. Four more minutes to the safety of Oberon. He was afraid to even raise his voice, for fear of giving away his position to the massive Dorcon ship. The logical part of his mind knew that was absurd, but it was no help. Then he heard the alarm from Infantino's station.

"That was a strong one! Even money he's got us." said Infantino.

Carter waited. Ordering battle stations would give away their position for sure. But if he waited to raise shields, he risked getting blown up with no warning. His tactical officer was watching the Dorcon ship. If they had detected the Swift, they gave no sign of it. The scan continued its leisurely searchlight pattern. Then suddenly it halted, doubled back.. and zeroed right in on the Santa Maria. Multiple alarms went off.

"They've got us for sure, sir!" yelled Infantino.

"Battle Stations!" bellowed Carter, almost at the same time. Carter then increased to full power immediately and began a series of evasive moves. The first shot from the Dorcon ship was a clean miss.

"Countermeasures!" bellowed Carter. In the cabin, Infantino threw a switch on his console.

On the Dorcon battleship Royal Vindicator the weapons officer was just completing his firing solution for the Earth ship, when suddenly his screen was filled with at least three dozen decoy ships, all following an independent course! He yelled for the scanning officer to compensate. He heard his captain curse, as he tried to adjust his own controls to locate the Earth ship.

Tony Verdeschi pushed himself away from the table as he stood up to escort his visitors back to their transport. It had been a productive meeting, and a delicious dinner of roast beef and potatoes. It had not been what he had expected. He figured the Sursum Corda community to be a group of religious Luddites, shunning modern technology much as the Amish. As it turned out, their primitive state was all about circumstance rather than conviction. They recounted the story, albeit from different points of view, about the night their entire community was apparently projected two-thousand years forward in time, how they had prepared for an apocalyptic event due to the warnings given to them by one of their community, and how they had gone about rebuilding civilization on a small scale for the past five years. Verdeschi listened, as did Victor Bergman by teleconference. The Alphans in turn related some of their adventures since Breakaway, in particular on the events leading up to the Alphans being separated into two communities by some unknown cosmic force, two moons, and then reunited again. The descriptions of these two events were eerily similar. One of the first things Commander Koenig had ordered upon reaching Earth was a flyover of the Santa Maria area. There was nothing there. All of Alpha had been relieved to hear that, but it left them no more enlightened. From there the discussion fell to practical details. How could the two communities help each other? As it turned out, there were several members of the Sursum Corda community that were pilots and engineers,, something Alpha had been short of. They were unattached and willing to loan their services to Alpha. Sursum Corda also had a plentiful supply of seeds and livestock that they were willing to share. In return, Alpha gave Sursum Corda medical supplies and a few portable generators, both of which were badly needed.

"Mr. Verdeschi, there is something I would like to ask of you."

"Yes, Bishop N'nadi?"

"I was wondering if one of your eagles could transport me to St. Patrick cathedral, in downtown Manhattan. There is ..something of importance there I need to do. It should only take a day or two" His English, accented though it was, bespoke of wisdom, education, and a firmness without a hint of arrogance. Despite himself, Verdeschi was impressed with the man, if totally perplexed by his unexpected request.

"That's near Ape City. What business do you have there?" asked Verdeschi.

"Mr. Verdeschi, at this precise moment I have no clear idea. But believe me I would not ask if it were not vital."

Tony looked over the man more carefully, considering. In other circumstances, we would have most likely refused such an obtuse request. This time though, for no reason he could articulate, he felt compelled to give in.

"All right." He turned to Terry McAndrew who had been discreetly guarding the Sursum Corda guests. When it was clear they were no threat, he had just hung around to listen.

"Dave, will you please escort our guest to the next available eagle and go with him?"

"Of course." responded McAndrew. It had taken him a long time to stop saying "yessir", but he thought he finally had the knack of it. Just as the bishop and McAndrew were leaving, his commlock beeped. He saw the face of Victor Bergman on the tiny screen. "Yes, Victor."

"Tony, I need you to go see Dr. Lancaster in her lab right away. Something has come up you need to know about." said Bergman.

"The Vet? What could she.."

"Now, Tony." Bergman ordered, then clicked off. Victor was never that abrupt, unless he had a really good reason. Sighing, Tony replaced his commlock , gave apologies to his guests, and headed for the lab.

He was grateful that Bergman was conferencing in, because Dr. Lancaster seemed extremely agitated. She was throwing up clouds of terminology, most of which was gibberish to Tony, and showing slides of data just barely long enough for Tony to glance at before moving on to another slide at an almost manic pace.

"..so you see, I've run every conceivable test, and the genomes match up 100%. 100%! And the scans from the Ellendorf complex, look here! It worked perfectly on Aldo, although it was configured for a human brain..and the clincher is the chromosomes , I've counted them five times, and the bone structure, posture it's all wrong." At this point she reached for a thick tome on the table and began thumbing through it frantically. Tony was just able to see its title. The Compleat Primate Care Manual; Royal Association of Veterinarians, pub. 1996 . Lancaster paused to take a breath, and Tony saw his opening.

He quickly held up a hand while Lancaster was inflating for a second round. "OK, hold it! You've convinced me you found out something about the apes, but I still don't understand what you're driving at. In plain English, please."

Dr. Lancaster tilted her head and squinted at Tony as though he were an addled schoolchild. "Don't you understand? They're human!"

"What?"

"The apes, their obvious phenotype notwithstanding, are human beings..right down to their chromosomes, of which they have 46, not 48." said Lancaster.

"I've checked her findings , Tony. I'm afraid she's right. There is no doubt about it." said Victor Bergman from the viewscreen.

"Well, then somebody goofed! How could the human genetic code be manipulated to create..that!" as he spoke, Tony pointed to a few pictures of the apes that were among Lancaster's reams of data.

"That we don't know yet, not without a lot more research. Whoever it was certainly was advanced in the art of genetics." said Lancaster.

"One thing is for sure, this needs to be kept secret. The apes must not get word of it." warned Bergman.

"Yes, I can understand that," said Tony. "If they were to find out suddenly that everything they believe about who they are is wrong.."

"Exactly." said Bergman. A revelation like that could tear the apes asunder. They would turn on each other, and maybe on the humans too, in an endless stream of quasi-religious wars and reprisals.

Further discussion was forestalled by Professor Bergman being called from the conference. When he came back, the news was not good.

"Tony, I just got word from Carter! They are under attack by a Dorcon battleship."

"Oh my God."

"Initiate defense plan Green immediately!" order Bergman. As Tony went to leave, Lancaster stopped him.

"Tony, there is one person who needs to know about this at once."