Blood Impulse

Part 14.2 - GRUESOME RUMORS

Homebound Sector, Haven System, Battleship Singularity

It never mattered what ship he was on, the medical bay reeked of sterilizing cleaners and ointments. The air filters could never seem to pull the odor from the air. The Olympia, despite all her technologies and cutting-edge equipment, had suffered the same.

Naturally, the Olympia's medical bay had been different than the one he stood in now. The Singularity's bulkheads were darker, the lights less bright, and his daughter was being held on the other side of that ugly shale gray curtain. She was there, dead or alive, Ron didn't know, and the nurse wouldn't let him pass.

"Sir, I'm sorry, but I've been told to keep all non-essential personnel out."

Non-essential personnel? "What the hell are you doing to her?" Ron demanded, "Why can't I see my daughter?" He should have known. Stars, he should have known. This was the Prince's black battleship after all. I never should have let her out of my sight. "Dammit, let me through."

"Sir, please," the nurse said, moving to block his approach. "They're just treating her."

"Get out of my way!" Ron shouted, trying to shove the nurse aside. He knew what happened to children left unattended. He knew what happened to the orphans of the central worlds. The corporations and the fleet took them, and they did unspeakable things. But not Anabelle. He wouldn't let that happen to Anabelle. He would let that happen to his daughter.

A hand grabbed onto Ron's shoulder just as he managed to overpower the nurse, dragging him a step backward, "Hey, back off."

Ron found himself face to face with a man about his height, judging by the defensive stance, a Marine. "You okay, Sanchez?" he asked the nurse.

She looked shaken, but nodded an affirmative.

Ron shook the Marine's hand off his shoulder and pulled his flannel back into place. "I want to see my daughter, now."

The curtain behind the nurse rippled, and Doctor Macintosh stuck his head out. "Keep it down. My patients need rest." Only a few wounded personnel remained in sickbay, but they had been severely injured, and some were still suffering from radiation poisoning. "If you let them sleep, they'll be fit as a fiddle in a few days." The resupply had replenished their anti-radiation med supply, which had run dry after the attack. The patients with radiation sickness would start to heal faster now.

Macintosh disappeared before anyone could respond, vanishing back behind the wall of fabric. The sight of him only angered Ron. "Come back here! Don't you hurt her or bloody hell I will-"

The Marine limped over to stand at the nurse's side. "Sir, I need you to calm down."

Amelia and Harrison stood off to the side of the room, watching the tensions rise. "Please," Amelia said, "Just let him see his daughter." Why would they refuse Ron that? Stars, what if they decided to separate her and Harrison as well? Maybe this had been the Admiral's plan all along.

Ron sized up the Marine. The young man looked sickly, and one of his arms was in a sling. I can take him. In the interest of saving his daughter from whatever sick experiments the medics were planning to run, he could take anyone.

Maybe it was paranoia driving his desperation, but it had been hours since Ron had seen Anabelle. It had been hours since the staff had told him anything about her condition. He had needed the fleet to treat her, but he had never intended to let her out of his sight while they did so. He knew just how dangerous that could be. Boarding the Olympia had been a calculated risk, but dammit, this wasn't the Olympia. He knew nothing about this ship and crew, save for the gruesome rumors of the Steel Prince. He had to assume the worst.