
Subj : New Beginnings(35)
To   : All
From : Skyhawk #1
Date : Tue Aug 22 1995 17:05:06 PST

                             New Beginnings(35)
                             By Daniel C. Harrison
      
     The door to the infirmary felt cold as she grimaced under Jerry's dead
weight and operated the manual again. "Grayson! Get your ass over here! Now!"
     "What?" Grayson came toward her from the dim light of the room. "Oh my
lord..you don't take no for an answer, do you? Stubborn, bullheaded, bitch! Get
him on the table."
     Candar gently laid Jerry down and, Grayson went to work. "He has internal
bleeding. I think I can stabilize him." He looked up quickly. "Do you have any
idea though how many might die while I'm delayed here?"
     Candar reached over and grabbed his shoulder harshly. "I really do not
give a damn. I'm no longer a starship captain. These are no longer my
passengers. This man is my friend. He got us to this world. Now you save his
life or I'll end yours!"
     Grayson stared at her in shock a moment. "Yeah..I believe you would."
Without another word, he went to work on Jerry. For a time, the silence closed
in one them except for the sound of Grayson operating. The minutes seemed to
stretch into eternity. At last, Grayson looked up. "I have him stabilized. He
has a chance now. I will not waste time on Henry though. Last I heard, Kevin
told me he had metal buried in his chest!"
     She looked down. "He does."
     "Then the hell with it." Grayson pushed past her. "I'm heading for the
colonists. Jerry will be fine..if he makes it through the night. I would
appreciate some help."
     "Of course." She followed him out. "THanks for helping. You could have
said no."
     "What, and have you kick my ass?" Grayson laughed. "How are you feeling?
Any symptoms?"
     "None since I went into cryo. It's really weird. I feel like I'm not sick
anymore." She smiled to emphasize it.
     Grayson shrugged. "It'll catch up to you in time. Here we are. Bear with
it they're an ugly lot." He opened the door to the colony area.
     Candar almost puked. There was crying and wailing everywhere. In a corner
of the room, people were hunched over their dead loved ones, cuddling them. She
could see Carnigan with a group of men near the back. As she made her way
further inward, he suddenly spotted her. "There you are you mass murderer!"
He moved quickly toward her. "Here's the bitch responsible for your loved ones
deaths! She lost control of the ship and crashed us!"
     Grayson gave her a quick look. She shook her head and moved forward.
Around her, the crowd thickened except for those to lost in their own grief. 
Taking a deep breath, she looked around. "I can't say that we didn't lose
control. But it wasn't due to pilot error. If the logs survived they will
confirm this. The fact is, you contracted with a chincy company that spent very
little on starship maintenance. And even the best trained crew in the universe
couldn't have prevented this. God knows, we tried. I have lost people I care
about too. One is lying with a piece of metal in his chest on the bridge. The
other is critical in the infirmary."
     "What about us?" a man shouted. "We have first priority! Why is he there
before my wife who is still waiting! She needs help!"
     Grayson spoke up, "I authorized it. That's all that needs to be said.
Since I'm currently the only doctor, I sugest you listen. I'll look at your
wife now." She watched as he took Carnigan aside. "I suggest you desist this
lynch mob you've organized. It doesn't matter how many died or how we got
here. We'll deal with our grief later. Your supposed to be the planetary leader
here. They voted you in before we left Earth. Do you want to start your term in
office by lynching the crew of the ship?"
     Carnigan glared at him. "Someone has to be held responsible for this. We
can't do that to Universal Star. So, we'll blame the next person..the pilot of
this ship." He turned to Candar. "You apparently didn't do enough safety checks
or something. You were negligent from the start. The crash and all these deaths
are on your head. You will be held liable for it." He turned and walked back
toward the wall to converse with his colleagues.
     Candar swore to herself. What a way to begin a new life..to be lynched the
first day!

