Traitor

Linda and Andrea rushed to his side, called the Ship AI, and transported Jason to the sickbay where he was immediately placed in a medical pod. The medical AI told Andrea, and Linda that Jason had suffered a critical injury. Every effort would be made to resuscitate Jason and bring him back to life. The AI informed them that the weapon had burnt through his chest, and had made a hole in his sternum then through the worst possible place at the junction of his atria and ventricles of his heart. It damaged both the bicuspid and tricuspid valves and all four chambers of his heart. The energy weapon spread out after firing leading to widespread damage. It damaged his esophagus which led to stomach contents entering his chest. It continued out of his back penetrating and severing his spine. It did damage to one of his lungs and severely damaged several of his ribs.

“Jason will need his heart regrown. He’s on full life support while this is undertaken. I’ll provide him with a mechanical heart in the short term. Nerve tissue is being grown for his spine. His rib and sternum are having bone segments grown and will be patched into his existing sternum and rib. He’s in shock and infection has commenced in his lungs and is becoming septicemia. The pod is removing stomach contents from his lungs and treating the infection removing bacteria directly and supporting his immune response. His esophagus has been patched and temporarily repaired,” said Phyllis compassionately.

“The injuries are critically severe. The only factor that may save Jason is the very short delay in transferring him to medical. He would have otherwise bled out in seven more seconds. His stomach contents are acidic and spread throughout his chest. The blood in his chest is an excellent growth medium for bacteria. His heart is so damaged it has been removed and the mechanical replacement was emplaced, four seconds ago,” said Phyllis sadly. “Poor Lord Kargo I’m so fond of him. He’s helped me so much to be a better pod.”

“The Empire technology is superb and very advanced. We’ll do our best even under these adverse circumstances. There’s nothing you can do now. I’d suggest that you return in three hours and I’ll able to tell you more.”

They walked slowly to the canteen. Robert and his deputy Marie were beside themselves with anxiety. They stood wringing their hands and were unable do their usual work. Many concerned people asked them about Jason. They tearfully told everyone that it was touch and go.

Papa Zora was incinerated and his remains thrown from the airlock. His clone and his staff was sentenced to death and subsequently also incinerated. The cardinals were tried next and forfeited their lives.

Linda and Andrea returned to the command center conference room next to the bridge, to keep themselves busy while they waited for medical news. There was minimal resistance on the planet. The troops arrested the senior executives in the information technology, medical technology, and replicator manufacturing corporate businesses and began the processes of preparing to send the businesses to Porquenta. The priest board members were also arrested. The chief executives and the priests were all interrogated and placed in stasis prior to relocation.

They were both surprised to hear that after the curfew was lifted there were spontaneous street parties all over the planet.

The attack had begun at the Nirvana equivalent of 4:30 AM. The first phase of the covert operation was completed in two minutes. Within four further minutes the shuttles and troops had completed the destruction of the garrison and the compound was under control ten minutes later. Within two hours control was established throughout the planet. The second rung of senior priests all attempted to escape and most were captured. They were interrogated and put into stasis and sent to Porquenta.

Papa Zora had managed to hide an implanted weapon in his finger. It was telepathically triggered. It was an unknown technology. It was a one-use weapon. The weapon was only visible after triggering. Following Jason’s past instructions, Papa Zora’s arms were cut off for further investigation after a post mortem was undertaken.

The telepathic Marines described to the tribunal what they had discovered in the mind of Papa Zora. They described what Jason had done in the mind of Papa Zora to the senior officers. Jason was looked at with considerable respect as the telepaths told of unprecedented telepathic power and Jason’s extraordinary control over giving others horrific visions. They tried doing as Jason had done in subsequent interrogations, without success.

Andrea, Linda, General Celia Ford, and Admiral Felicia MacDonald from Porquenta went to medical at the appointed time. They found both dogs lying next to the medical pod. The dogs looked very sad. They patted them and made a fuss of them. They were soon joined by Janet Malone the Colonel of Marines of the ship and Major Constance Ross from intelligence and a few minutes later Colonel Phoebe Harris the head of the fighter group on the ship arrived. Moments later General Morgan James and Admiral Peter Kane entered medical.

“Jason remains critical, and despite my best efforts is still unstable. His friend is helping as is his crystal. There’s a long way to go. I regret that I can’t give you more reassurance.”

“What is this friend that you are talking about and what is this about crystals,” Morgan James asked quite puzzled by what he had heard.

“He’s a friend in a trans-dimensional pocket who is with him always. He’s one of the Una. He found Jason in one of the trans-dimensional rooms on the battleship.

“Jason has over a hundred and forty crystals that have mysteriously consolidated into one enormous crystal. Many of these crystals were the biggest crystals that have ever been encountered. He was given many more crystals than any other member of the Royal family. No one known has ever been able to load so many crystals. No one has ever heard of someone living in a dimensional pocket nor has anyone heard about crystals joining together. Now he has an extra four hundred free slots,” said Andrea.

“Please return in twenty-four hours. If there’s major news I’ll contact you immediately,” said Phyllis sadly.

During the night, Phyllis contacted them all.

“Archduke Kargo is deteriorating, slowly. I replaced his heart with a mechanical heart. The nature of the energy weapon is unknown to me. It has had more widespread effects than I expected or was able to establish on examination. There’s a cone of damage from the entry point. Very much more tissue has been damaged than expected and there is also a poison in him. I’ve removed all the tissue I can but I’ve reached my limitations.

“There are many great hospitals in the Empire. There’s a superb facility on Nirvana. It’s probably the most technologically advanced facility in the Empire. I’ve contacted the facility to transfer him. It’ll give him the greatest chance of survival,” said Phyllis with a shaking voice and unexpected emotion.

The ship’s doctors and the medical AI transferred Jason to the surface in the medical shuttle along with the senior team and guards.

The hospital was the largest building in Nirvana. It was a substantial research facility for both medical research and for the development of medical technology. It was the largest such facility in the Empire. Doctors trained in Nirvana hospital were highly sought after. The research facility designed the most sophisticated medical pods and their AIs.

Jason was well guarded. Four Marines followed by a further sixteen including Marine AIs accompanied him as he made his way rapidly through hospital diagnostic processes while still in his pod. He was then transferred to a larger impressive but very different looking pod. Marines were scattered defensively around every area that Jason traversed. Six doctors from the ship observed every medical intervention. The floor was evacuated and heavy weapons put in place. Staff were provided with unique identification implants.

“Our doctors are observing the diagnostic processes and going through the proposed treatment with them. They understand our nervous and suspicious state of mind,” said the senior ship doctor.

“The doctors attending Jason are regarded as the greatest doctors in the Empire and the Archduke is safe with them, I know them both and I did train here for some years. They are Dr. Watson and Dr. Watson. He’s Charles Watson she’s Delia Watson. They are very old and very experienced. They have worked together since they qualified. They are truly inspired teachers and they have an amazing team. They can achieve miracles. There’s nowhere better than this hospital for an unusual injury. They will speak to you as soon they have useful information,” said one of the ship doctors.

They waited anxiously with their guards in the large waiting room.

Nearly three and a half hours later two small sprightly energetic looking doctors arrived accompanied by an entourage of fifteen who all looked exhausted. The old doctors Watson looked as though they were in their thirties. Their manner was breezy and confident.

“I’m Delia Watson and this is my husband and colleague Charles Watson. I’ll introduce the rest of the team later, but time is pressing and we have much to do. Thank you for providing us with arms and hands of Papa Zora and also the hands containing the weapons of the others. Our weapons specialists fired a second weapon. We have seen a similar but much larger weapon in the past. There’s an ancient people who created these weapons. We don’t know exactly where they live, but they meddle on the edges of the Empire. They are known to stir up trouble. They supply advanced technology to pirates and those interested in insurrection.

“The weapon produces an energy beam the technology of which we are not familiar. We have not been able to reverse engineer these weapons, but we know the effects and have seen many injuries produced by them. They behave differently to our weapons. Our energy weapon will burn through tissue and there will be a small region where the tissue will die from heat. The wound is easily cleaned.

“This weapon behaves more like a high-speed solid impact such as is produced by high speed shrapnel. It produces a shockwave on impact and a cone of tissue dies behind the impact point. This weapon causes an even larger cone of damage and the tissue becomes toxic. His cone extends backwards from the Archduke’s sternum. The impact circle is only a quarter of an inch but it involves half of both lungs and his entire thorax at the back. It produced a wide cone damaging nearly twelve vertebrae and a long segment of his spinal column.

“The damaged tissue is hard to distinguish from normal tissue until a day later. It becomes a toxic mush. We have dealt with many such injuries over the years.

“Fortunately, the Archduke was struck by a very small weapon. The effects are nevertheless devastating. Few will survive unless they receive medical care within minutes. Field medics use stasis techniques to keep people from deteriorating until they can receive care. This care can only be delivered at a super specialist level hospital,” said Dr. Delia Watson. She handed over to her husband.

“The Archduke is stabilizing. We have a rapid micro-transporter system that can target the toxic destroyed tissue and remove it. We have a new generation of antimicrobial nano-bots that will assist his immune system. The pod transporter system targets foreign DNA and is also removing virus and bacterial material from the wound. Nano and micro-bots are working to stop bleeding and repair the damaged tissue. We are concurrently growing tissue which is put in place by transporter technology.

“We’ll complete his repair within seven days. He will need to learn to walk again. It’ll take at least a month of strenuous rehabilitation effort before he’s back to as close to normal as we can do it,” Dr. Charles Watson said confidently, “but I fear he will be weakened in the future and much more vulnerable physically.

“There’s something about his system that has puzzled us. We extracted and identified bio-mechanical cellular structures in his blood. Initially we began removing them, but we discovered they’re part of his immune system and augment it. They appear to also assist in tissue repair. We found despite him appearing fully human and having extensive DNA of the Empire, he’s an admixture of some of the ancient DNA we have found in ships disabled during the past great wars. This DNA is actively producing these immune and repair adjuncts. We have also detected another being within him in another dimension, who appears to also be assisting though he’s now very weak and exhausted. Can you help us understand what is going on so we may be of more help?” Dr. Watson asked.

“The being within Jason is known as Winston and he’s living in a trans-dimensional pocket that was created when Jason went to seek a crystal in a trans-dimensional room. Winston is part of an ancient race known as the Una that exist throughout the galaxy. He acts as a mentor to Jason and to us and we have had a number of discussions with him via Jason. Jason received an extraordinary number of very large crystals and these have also consolidated into one single crystal which apparently is unprecedented,” said Janet Malone.

“Winston is communicating with me telepathically,” said Linda. Dr. Watson and Dr. Watson, I’ll tell you directly what he says word for word.

“Doctors, we the Una are very ancient race. We all communicate together and at this time I’m speaking to you as the leader of the Una.

“Jason is a very precious person to us and we’ll do anything to help in this precarious situation. If at any time you feel that Jason is deteriorating, please put him into stasis and I’ll convey him to another galaxy to a very advanced race with special medical skills.

“In all likelihood Jason is part of a very ancient race that precedes even very ancient races like the Una. The immune phenomena that you describe are very much part of his people and that indicates to us even more certainly the origins of Jason. We are somewhat reassured by your words. We do know the dangers of the weapons that you’ve described and know the race that has produced them. The technology was considered to breach all intergalactic rules of warfare, but I can say that intergalactic warfare had few rules if any by the time the last war drew to an uneasy conclusion. It’s quite safe both to leave Winston in place, who has helped as much as he can and to not worry about these unusual immune phenomena. You will undoubtedly in time find out how to change your DNA to augment your immune system bio-mechanically. That should only be a few hundred thousand years away.

“Doctors we have given both of you the ability to telepathically communicate with Winston and therefore our people. Very soon you will begin to hear the superficial thoughts of other people. Nurture this gift carefully and it’ll pay huge dividends in your profession. We thank you for what you’ve done for Jason.”

The two doctors listened carefully, slowly nodding their heads in tandem. They then spoke together:

“We’ll send you an update daily.”

“His situation remains critical but stable. The first twenty-four hours is the most dangerously time,” said Delia Watson before she and her husband turned at exactly the same time to face the door. They strode from the waiting room with their entourage scuttling behind them. The younger doctors were excitedly chatting amongst themselves gesticulating wildly.

“Let’s return to the ship. There’s nothing more that we can do. His life is in their hands and they are an impressive pair,” said Andrea emphatically feeling and sounding much more confident.

The week passed rapidly. There was much to do. James Morgan and Peter Kane had both previously administered planets during wartime. They spoke to the people of Nirvana and explained carefully what had happened and showed holo-transcripts of the tribunal findings. They were popular and well received, though many were profoundly shocked at the behavior of the priests and the poisoning of people in the Empire.

Nirvana stabilized rapidly. The occupation troops were well received and even welcomed.

The media interviewed Gen. James Morgan and Adm. Peter Kane frequently during the initial time of uncertainty. They informed the planet about the Archduke Kargo who had uncovered the plots of Papa Zora. He had acted in the interest of the Empire. Papa Zora and his senior priests were no more. The transcript of the trials was then made public. The public were then informed of the attempted poisoning of Jason and the pirate attacks. They were then told of how Jason assembled a fleet and military force. No information was provided about the clones. The media were shown Papa Zora shooting Jason. They were told that Jason was in hospital and was still critically ill.

Daily vigils of dozens of people commenced at the hospital. Within a few days the crowd swelled to thousands. Jason was viewed as a hero. The ongoing news and trial transcripts were publicized widely through the Empire. Within hours of the first broadcast, the Emperor declared Jason a hero. He sent messages of support directly both to the ship and to the hospital.

He and the Empress began to speak to James Morgan daily.

“Our scouts have indicated increases of Mob scout activity. I’ve met with a trusted few within our intelligence services and have commenced an internal investigation. I’ve met with similar groups from the Armed Forces and have commenced an active mobilization. We are preparing to arrest and incarcerate all those who appear to be obstructing and blocking us. As the war has not yet begun, the saboteurs are still hiding themselves and making sure that they don’t expose themselves. It’s far better that we know that this is the situation before we are attacked rather than after. We are very grateful for the advanced notification.” Cassius, the Emperor, said.

“We are very pleased that you were able to make use of the services of Drs. Watson and Watson. I know them from school and they were like two peas in a pod from the second year of school. Despite coming from two very different families they gravitated together and became inseparable. They are almost like one mind. They have three children and if I recall correctly at least ten grandchildren and many great-grandchildren most of whom have been outstanding performers in medicine. The Watson’s have almost become a cult. At least with longevity some of us become famous in our own times.” Cassius laughed engagingly.

“I do hope that my nephew comes out of this reasonably well. I hope it does not damage his enthusiasm for life. He’s also badly needed to help sort out the Duchy, as unfortunately our hands are tied,” said Alana sadly.

Jason awoke in the pod. His memory returned quickly. Every muscle in his body ached. The pod opened and he saw Andrea Phillips, Peter Kane, Celia Ford, Felicia MacDonald, James Morgan, Karen DuPree, Janet Malone, and Phoebe Harris standing next to the pod. Two tiny smiling doctors with a large entourage behind them, stood near the foot of his pod.

Jason saw that everyone was smiling. They spontaneously all cheered. His mouth felt dry and he licked his lips. “Thank you all for being here. I don’t recognize the room and doctors so I assume I’m in a hospital somewhere,” said Jason. His speech was slightly slurred.

“We are Dr. Watson and Dr. Watson your doctors. I’m Delia Watson and this ugly mug is Charles Watson who I’ve put up with for more thousands of years than I care to recall. We were at school with your uncle the Emperor and have had a few years of experience. So far, you’ve been through the easy bit. Now you will need to be mobilized and relearn to walk. It’ll be tiring.

“You’ve a new heart, twelve new vertebrae and a large section of spinal cord, new lungs, a new sternum and ribs and many microbots and nanobots completing repairs. Your own extraordinary crystal and your little friend have been of great help. Your little friend said that if we were stuck he and someone called Porquenta and another person called The One, could arrange to take you to another galaxy for treatment. Your treatment has taken five full days rather than the seven we predicted. You are a healthy strong young man, and you’ve had a lot of help. We changed everything that was a potential future vulnerable body part, to give you the best chance of an excellent recovery.

“You’ve our thanks for removing Papa Zora. He was a blight on the priests and an impost on the honor of medicine. The priests were a fine group of people until he corrupted them.

“We’ll commence your rehabilitation treatment within the hour. We’ll put you into a rehabilitation pod and then when you are ready you will begin some exercises outside the pod. We have been building up and stimulating your muscles since yesterday and that’s why they’re aching. We’ll leave you now and see you every few days. Your medical AI, Phyllis as she’s called, insisted that she train our AI on ‘bedside manner.’ That training has been a blessing. Even your medical AI is extraordinary and has a name, Phyllis of all names, how odd!” Delia said and she and Charles did their coordinated turn and strode through the doors.

“That was a very energetic and dynamic pair,” said Jason laughing.

“That tiny little weapon of Papa Zora did some serious damage,” he continued.

“You were in a very bad way on the ship. Phyllis couldn’t satisfactorily treat you and you were deteriorating. She contacted the planet and arranged for your transfer to see Watson and Watson the formidable pair with their very high-level facilities. Porquenta and The One wanted to take you for treatment to another galaxy. Watson and Watson reassured them that they could treat you and get you back to your former state,” said Linda. They said that they built you a new chest in its entirety.

“We have received congratulations from the Emperor and his best wishes for your recovery. He’s very pleased to hear of your arrival. He said that he was impressed that you were a hero before he even met you. He said that you solved a very nasty political problem for him. The testimony of the telepathic Marines and the shooting of you by Papa Zora has constantly been on the news throughout the Empire. The Emperor has told us that he’s your great-great uncle. The great greats go on for some time. He’s reinforced the invitation for you to stay with him on Laomedeia which is the capital city of the planet Cassiopeia the central core planet of the Empire,” James Morgan said. “It’s such a beautiful city, you will love it. For most of the year it has a warm temperate and balmy climate. They have the most extraordinary restaurants and my wife says that the shopping has no parallel anywhere in the Empire and I can tell you that she has shopped everywhere.”

“Admiral Kane and General Morgan have warned him about the impending Mob attacks on the industrial planets,” Andrea said, “and he appears to be preparing for a purge of traitors. I suspect however that they all going to have their hands full when the war begins in earnest. The nasties have probably wormed themselves into every area and will do a lot of dirty work.

“He knows that you were instrumental in exposing the nefarious plans of Papa Zora, has called you a hero, and has annexed Nirvana as a protectorate to you.

“James and Peter have been in constant contact with central military command on Cassiopeia. They think that they’re not believed, which they see is of great concern. The attacks on the planets by The Mob are delayed. The Emperor has intelligence tracking everyone who tries to prevent preparations against an attack.

“We think that The Mob is reevaluating the situation after the attack on Nirvana. If they do attack it’ll need to be in the next few days before the Empire can mobilize. After that they will lose their advantage. We all think they will attack. They will see the Empire is mobilizing slowly and not very effectively despite our warnings. If they don’t attack they will fall even further behind and such an opportunity won’t recur. The priests were not going to contribute much,” said Andrea.

“I’ve been informed a few minutes ago, that the Emperor ordered a full mobilization. My source informed me that the Emperor had great respect for the intuition of your family, and there was more to lose by not mobilizing, than to mobilize in error,” said James Morgan, “he further said that The Mob were due to attack again. He said that his intelligence believed that they were falling behind and would soon not be able to attack the Empire at all.”

Three pleasant young ladies introduced themselves as the physiotherapy team and stated that they were going to oversee his rehabilitation. They would move him to a rehabilitation pod where he would be treated for five to seven days before he would be able to start independent exercises. They could visit him daily at predefined times that would differ from day-to-day. They provided a link to the constantly updating timetable of rehabilitation.

Mid-morning the next day, the pod opened. Jason saw all the usual suspects standing next to the pod.

“Jason, The Mob attacked the seven planets as expected.

“The Emperor has personally asked you to allow your fleet to assist. He knows we have a fleet but central command and the Emperor for their own reasons think it’s a modest sized fleet about one-tenth of what we actually have. I was amused and didn’t correct him.

“We are in discussion with central command to negotiate the terms of our assistance. We’ll be ready to leave Nirvana in five hours if you concur. We can leave a small force here to manage the planet and make sure of your safety if you choose to stay. Before I ask you your thoughts, we’ll give you the rest of the information about your own status.

“We are able to take you with your physiotherapists and special rehabilitation pod with us. They think that you will be functioning reasonably well within two weeks and back to normal in four. The Watson pair say their job is done, and you are on the road to recovery.

Alternatively, if you prefer, you could remain here,” said Peter Kane. “I know you would want the fleet to help. The emperor also suggested we can take you to the palace for your recovery. If we did that we would use a cruiser and a few destroyers and some frigates. We would steer clear of the war zones with ease.”

“I’ve no doubts about this. We must help to the best of our capacity. I don’t want to hang around this hospital while you guys have all the fun. Please get me onto the ship as fast as you can, I’m missing Phyllis,” Jason said with a beaming smile. “I’m raring to go. I’ve had enough rest, it’s time to hit the road! Tell the Emperor I’ll see him when the job is done and I shall speak to him and Alana soon.

Peter what is the situation on the planet?”

“The hostages are all on their way home. We have identified eight hundred and thirty-two more priests who are the minions of Papa Zora and who should face charges. Porquenta has said that he’s suitable penal duty for them and can keep them under his control. We are moving the IT and replicator technology businesses to Porquenta. We have a fleet of cargo ships that began the process two days ago. We have shipped nearly all the major builders with much of their equipment and many staff to set up companies on Porquenta and then on Mars to build up the planets. They literally drooled at the opportunity. They are recruiting madly from Nirvana.

“Most of the priests are decent human beings, much like the fine priests of the past. We removed small numbers of criminals working in the civil service, and in the corporate areas. They’ve been transported, along with the evil priests, to penal servitude on Porquenta. It’ll take time to find all the villains. Many we suspect have legitimately left the planet or were elsewhere. We’ll need to look all over the Empire.

“We are also offering people here a chance to migrate to Porquenta. The Kargo name is well respected, and you are a hero; both of which have helped recruitment a lot.

“We are receiving unsolicited requests to migrate to Porquenta from throughout the Empire. Many IT organizations saw a special report on Porquenta and believe they will develop themselves and companies in unique ways. The war will put that on hold for a month or two I suspect, but it’s an interesting development.

“The police forces are intact. There was little priest involvement. We only need to leave a small military force on Nirvana. We can rotate troops here on recreational leave if the war is protracted,” said Peter Kane before adding,

“Let’s now go do the bidding of the Emperor and kick some butt!”