beginning to show up on your ankle; you probably have a sprain.” He was saying in between her fake sobs. “I‘m going to give Suzy a call, get her down here to patch you up." He smiled and gently touched her shoulder with genuine sympathy and added in a soothing voice, "Don’t worry; it’s going to be fine.”
“But I don’t have any money to pay a doctor ,” she continued sobbing. She only needed him to come console her and then it would be quick and painless. As he finished leaving a message for Suzy, he came back to the couch and gently put his arm around her to comfort her. She held onto his arm with both hands as he told her it would be okay. She wouldn’t have to pay anything because Suzy was their friend, and all the rest of the usual things one might say to comfort a friend in need.
Her window was closing. She had to act fast, but why wasn’t she pulling the knife? She had been trained her whole life for this, and she had done this more times than she cared to remember. She struggled as she realized that maybe it was so hard this time, because for the first time, she would actually be killing a friend.
H e scooped her up in his arms again. “I’m going to bring you into a spare bedroom, prop your leg up on some pillows, bring you some water and wait with you until Suzy gets here. Okay?” He gently carried her towards the spare room and Kimiko began crying for real. He looked down at her and smiled, and then his smile turned to shock as she plunged her knife into his back.
______
Present day …….
By all accounts, everything was going as well as could be expected. Endeavor had made planet fall and they had not run into anymore pirates. Collin and Josiah had begun making repairs to the ship. The twenty-four hour observation period was up and Jesse was about to go through the healing tube of the recovery pod. He was headed back towards health and looking forward to sleep. Suzy had taken out her frustration on him by putting the wolves in charge of making sure he stayed awake. Whether it was slobber in the face, a not so gentle tug of the pant leg or a paw to the gut, Shadow and Commando had done a great job of keeping both Jesse awake and Suzy entertained.
“Before I go into the pod and fall asleep,” he called wearily. “I just wanted to say well done to all of you. There is no way we would have survived if not for all of you…. Get some rest, fix the ship and Josiah’s in charge until I wake up.”
Josiah smiled; everyone knew he was first officer, but he liked that Jesse publicly showed him that respect. “Okay then. As acting captain; my first order is for everyone to get out and let the Colonel get his rest.”
As they began filing out, J osiah saw Jesse give him a thumbs up. Once everyone was back on the bridge, he approached Collin and asked “How are the sublight repairs going?”
The tired reply came almost as a delayed reaction. “Not bad, but it’ll be a couple more days at least. Everything else is fully operational though, except the shuttle.”
He thought about the update for a moment and then said, “Okay then, we have all been awake for over a day now. Collin, make sure the ship is cloaked and then let’s all get some sleep. No less than six hours.”
______
Jesse woke up a full two days later. As he sat up and flexed tired muscles, he noticed Commando lying in his usual position at the foot of the bed. He also noticed most of the pain was gone. A little pain remained in his ribs and the shoulder was stiff, but overall he couldn't complain. “SAMMI, how long have I been asleep?” He inquired.
“Forty nine hours and eighteen minutes, Colonel,” SAMMI confirmed.
H e smiled at the pleasant sound of SAMMI’s voice. When he and Serge were developing the AI, Collin asked if they could make it sound like Stephanie, the young, beautiful and extremely enthusiastic receptionist employed at Sea Side Enterprises. Jesse and Serge agreed, mostly because
“But I don’t have any money to pay a doctor ,” she continued sobbing. She only needed him to come console her and then it would be quick and painless. As he finished leaving a message for Suzy, he came back to the couch and gently put his arm around her to comfort her. She held onto his arm with both hands as he told her it would be okay. She wouldn’t have to pay anything because Suzy was their friend, and all the rest of the usual things one might say to comfort a friend in need.
Her window was closing. She had to act fast, but why wasn’t she pulling the knife? She had been trained her whole life for this, and she had done this more times than she cared to remember. She struggled as she realized that maybe it was so hard this time, because for the first time, she would actually be killing a friend.
H e scooped her up in his arms again. “I’m going to bring you into a spare bedroom, prop your leg up on some pillows, bring you some water and wait with you until Suzy gets here. Okay?” He gently carried her towards the spare room and Kimiko began crying for real. He looked down at her and smiled, and then his smile turned to shock as she plunged her knife into his back.
______
Present day …….
By all accounts, everything was going as well as could be expected. Endeavor had made planet fall and they had not run into anymore pirates. Collin and Josiah had begun making repairs to the ship. The twenty-four hour observation period was up and Jesse was about to go through the healing tube of the recovery pod. He was headed back towards health and looking forward to sleep. Suzy had taken out her frustration on him by putting the wolves in charge of making sure he stayed awake. Whether it was slobber in the face, a not so gentle tug of the pant leg or a paw to the gut, Shadow and Commando had done a great job of keeping both Jesse awake and Suzy entertained.
“Before I go into the pod and fall asleep,” he called wearily. “I just wanted to say well done to all of you. There is no way we would have survived if not for all of you…. Get some rest, fix the ship and Josiah’s in charge until I wake up.”
Josiah smiled; everyone knew he was first officer, but he liked that Jesse publicly showed him that respect. “Okay then. As acting captain; my first order is for everyone to get out and let the Colonel get his rest.”
As they began filing out, J osiah saw Jesse give him a thumbs up. Once everyone was back on the bridge, he approached Collin and asked “How are the sublight repairs going?”
The tired reply came almost as a delayed reaction. “Not bad, but it’ll be a couple more days at least. Everything else is fully operational though, except the shuttle.”
He thought about the update for a moment and then said, “Okay then, we have all been awake for over a day now. Collin, make sure the ship is cloaked and then let’s all get some sleep. No less than six hours.”
______
Jesse woke up a full two days later. As he sat up and flexed tired muscles, he noticed Commando lying in his usual position at the foot of the bed. He also noticed most of the pain was gone. A little pain remained in his ribs and the shoulder was stiff, but overall he couldn't complain. “SAMMI, how long have I been asleep?” He inquired.
“Forty nine hours and eighteen minutes, Colonel,” SAMMI confirmed.
H e smiled at the pleasant sound of SAMMI’s voice. When he and Serge were developing the AI, Collin asked if they could make it sound like Stephanie, the young, beautiful and extremely enthusiastic receptionist employed at Sea Side Enterprises. Jesse and Serge agreed, mostly because
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