Galactic Marshal II
by
Hilltopper

CHAPTER 12

When I arrived at the moon base, I went directly to Coop’s office. He was alone and looked concerned.

“What’s up, Coop?”

“I just had an interesting conversation with the council. They told me you are now in charge. I’m fine with that. My problem is that they seem to think that we have a military.”

I laughed.

“Yeah, fire one shot and we now are suddenly on a war footing. Do you really think the aliens are going to be a problem?”

Coop scratched his head.

“A problem yes but I don’t see it being a shooting war. They may try some subterfuge but I think Karen’s presence here will temper things.”

“I agree. I guess we will just have to wait. It is their move. I better get over to medical. They are going to wake George up.”

Coop nodded. I left and went down to medical. As I walked in, I spotted Linda.

“Hi, Linda, I’m sorry I had to leave. How’s George doing?”

“I know you had to deal with the council. There wasn’t anything you could do here anyway. The doctor is going to tell us when she is awake?”

I raised my eye brows.

“She?”

“The doctor insists on it. I think it’s orders from the council.”

I nodded.

“Yes, they told me they wanted to maintain the disguise. I guess we better continue to use the name Georgia. It is not going to be popular with our patient however.”

The doctor walked in.

“She’s waking up. Do you want me to tell her about her condition or do you all want to?”

“We better do it. This is not going to be easy.”

The doctor nodded and led us to George’s room. George was just waking up. He looked up at me and smiled.

“Hey, Jonnie.”

His eyebrows shot up.

“Shit! I still sound like a crazed chipmunk!”

I laughed.

“Nonsense, besides it will wear off in about a month.”

“One month! What about the rest of it?”

“Sorry”

“How the hell am I going to resume my marshal duties like this?”

“Well, there is a further complication. What do you remember about our escape?”

“I remember us running for the shuttle. I think I shot the stun gun at the aliens as we entered it. That’s about it.”

“OK, yes, you nailed one of them but, as you turned, you were shot in the back. We got you into the shuttle and made our escape. We brought you to Fledora’s moon. You were in a medical pod here at the moon base for two days. I’m told your injuries are pretty much healed except for the spinal damage.”

I could see the concern on his face.

“What kind of spinal damage?”

“Paralysis of the lower part of your body. They needed to heal you up before working on that.”

His eyes narrowed.

“I can tell when you are holding back. We’ve been together a long time. There is no fixing this, is there?”

“I’m sure a treatment can be found.”

Linda spoke up.

“I will help you until it is cleared up. You saved me after all.”

George smiled at Linda.

“Thank you, saving you and Mary was my pleasure.”

He looked down at his useless legs.

“But, as things stand, I wish the aliens had finished me off.”

I punched him in the shoulder.

“Oh no you don’t! Like you said, we have been through a lot together. You will recover. Do you hear me?”

“I hear you but we both know how this is going to go down. I will not live like this!”

Linda sat down on his bed.

“Don’t say that! We will fix this! I promise!”

George took Linda’s hand. I decided to slip out. Hopefully, Linda’s presence will keep George going. I found myself heading towards Karen’s room. The Fledoran council had made it clear that the aliens were their biggest concern. Karen was the only one of us that knew any thing about them. I needed to know what she knew. I arrived at her door and knocked. She opened it and had a shocked face.

“I’m sorry, Jonnie. Every time I see you the only one I see is Gina.”

“That’s my fault. I let the Gina disguise go for too long.”

“That’s just is, I don’t think it’s a disguise.”

I frowned at her.

“Look, I’m your brother and really a man. You need to get over it.”

“I will if you will.”

I ignored her comment and sat down on the couch.

“We have important things to discuss. I have been put in charge of mounting a defense against the aliens if it becomes necessary. The marshal service is now involved. We need to know everything you can tell us about the aliens.”

She shook her head.

“I know you think they have evil intensions but I don’t believe it. They saved my life. That kidnapping scheme was just a misunderstanding. They have trouble knowing how we think. They only wanted some thulium; nothing else. I think everyone is making too much of this.”

“That may be but it is better to be safe than sorry. I don’t want to be standing around doing nothing when 10 alien battle cruisers show up.”

Karen sighed.

“OK, what do you want to know?”

“Where is their home planet? Have you seen any other ships than the one we were on? Have they made any threats toward us that you’ve heard? Was that ship armed?”

“Whoa, slow down! I told you that I don’t think they mean us harm. To answer your questions: a) I don’t know where they are from; b) I have not seen any other ships; c) I have heard no threats from them; and d) I didn’t see any armament on the ship. They were just trying to buy thulium.”

“Yeah, but we turned them down. You said yourself that they were determined to get it.”

She nodded.

“I agree that they will try another way. Why not just sell them some and be done with it?”

“That’s not my call.”

She shook her head and went into the kitchen.

“Do you want something to drink?”

“Just cold water, please.”

She brought a glass to me.

“How’s Georgia doing?”

I sighed heavily.

“Physically OK except for the paralysis. That’s the problem. Georgia won’t want to live that way.”

Karen suddenly brightened.

“You do realize that I had the same problem, don’t you?”

“What do you mean?”

“When I was shot, I fell down that mine shaft. I was told that my back was broken. I should be a complete invalid but, as you can see, I am as good as ever.”

That shocked me.

“Are you trying to tell me that the aliens were able to totally heal your spine?”

“That’s exactly what I am saying!”

I pondered a minute.

“Do you think they would do the same for Georgia?”

“I’m sure they will given the right incentive.”

“You mean the thulium.”

“Yes”

I shook my head.

“The council will never go along with it.”

She grinned.

“Who says they need to know?”

I shook my head again.

“I work for them. It wouldn’t be right.”

Karen grabbed me by the shoulders.

“They would screw you in a minute if it served their purpose. Have you not learned anything! They tossed us both aside when we were born.”

“That was the old council.”

“Do you really think they have changed that much? They will do whatever it takes to meet their directives. We mean nothing and neither does Georgia.”

I tried to argue.

“They told me they would help Georgia in any way.”

She grinned.

“You have answered your own question by using the name Georgia. Whose idea was it to continue that charade?”

I sank back. She was right. Why did they insist on George being a woman. He was on the moon after all. Coop was still a man. What difference would it make to treat George like a man too?

“OK. I get it. You are right. Why did they want George to continue as a woman? That makes me wonder about Raylan. They tabled the discussion on his status for 6 months.”

Karen gave me a knowing look.

“We have to take care of each other. No one else will.”

“Yeah, but what about Mary? She won’t approve of anything that goes against the council. She also won’t be happy about any idea you come up with.”

Karen nodded.

“I really don’t blame her but she was always after me. It is a two way street.”

“Well, it’s still a problem. I do love Mary but I feel a tremendous obligation to George.”

“So, how much thulium is on the moon?”

“I have no idea. I could ask Coop.”

“He will need to be in on things anyway.”

“OK, but for now, it’s just a possible plan; nothing more.”

Karen agreed.

“I’ll contact my people back on Prowhiness to get a feel for things there.”

I left Karen’s room and headed to my own. I needed to think things out. It was OK for me to go against the council but I hesitated to get Coop involved again. Well, it wouldn’t hurt to approach him. At least, I could get an idea of how much thulium is available. Of course, thinking about this plan brings the problem of Mary to the fore front. She has strong ties to the council. In effect, I would be betraying her if we proceeded in trading thulium for the aliens help with George. I guess the best thing to do is not to worry about it since the plan probably will never happen anyway. After resting a while, I got up and went to see Coop.

“Hey, Jonnie, what’s up?”

“Karen was telling me that she had severe spinal damage from her fall into that mine shaft and those aliens healed her.”

Coop raised his eyebrows.

“I think I know where you are heading. You want to elicit their help with Georgia. I don’t think they are real thrilled with us right now since I blew out the engines on their ship.”

“Yeah, there is that. We really didn’t hurt anyone though. If there is even a remote chance, I want to explore it.”

“I agree.”

I hesitated.

“Uh, Karen suggested that they might be willing to help if they got what they came here for.”

“You mean the thulium.”

I nodded.

“How much do we have on the moon?”

“Pretty much all that has been mined; certainly more than they could carry with them. I don’t think the council will go for it, however.”

“True, it’s just a thought.”

“Hmmm.”

“Well, I guess I better go call Mary. See you tomorrow.”

I went back to my room and talked with Mary.

“I sure miss you already, Jonnie.”

“Me too. How’s Raylan?”

“He’s doing fine. It’s lucky he is so young. I have to say that he was well taken care of.”

“Yes, thank goodness for that!”

“How’s Georgia doing?”

I cringed at the name Georgia.

“OK, it is a tough thing to deal with.”

We talked a while longer. I did not mention anything about Karen’s plan. After hanging up, I went straight to bed. The next morning, I dressed and went to check on George. He was asleep but Linda was there with him.

“They had to sedate her. She is not dealing well with the paralysis much less the woman thing.”

“Yes, I sure messed things up. Well, I’m going to get some breakfast. I’ll come back a little later. Thanks for staying with --- uh, her.”

“Sure thing.”

I went to the cafeteria and filled my plate. I had just sat down to eat when I noticed Karen looking around. She spotted me and hurried over.

“What’s up?”

She grinned.

“I just heard back from The Alliance.”