Page 63 of Alien Barbarian's Little Human

“Magog, are you sure you can get all of the patients out of here? Even with your surgical expertise they need time to recover.”

“I am certain. The solution is simple. We will instal the more serious cases into cryo pods.”

“That sounds a little bit extreme! Are you sure we need to take that step?”

He shrugs his massive shoulders. The same way that Gog used to. Even Varona did that from time to time, when he forgot to catch himself.

“I’m not entirely certain of anything, but it seems their best chance for survival. I will be unable to provide a gentle ride off the planet. The stasis fields in the cryo pods in conjunction with the medbay inertial dampeners should be enough to keep them stable.”

“I guess it’s a better shot for survival than they have if they stay down here. Now I have a question.”

He tilts his head to the side, again like Gog. My soul aches for the simple days I spent with him on that low technology world so long ago.

“What’s your question?”

“Do you even know where to find an Alliance ship to steal? Let alone one that has enough fuel to get us off world and past the blockade?”

In response, he powers up his compad and enacts a holographic display. It takes me a moment to recognize the area surrounding the hidden clinic entrance.

“The Alliance has given up on the strategy of establishing large, long term bases. But they’ve figured out ways to hold onto small, hidden safehouses in the ruins of the city. One of these safehouses is quite close to the pharmacy where you found me.”

“Do they have a ship in this secret Alliance safehouse?”

“Negative. They have a class F fusion block, which I need to acquire.”

I wipe a hand down my face and try not to get upset.

“You were never this obtuse before. Just tell me where you’re going to get the starship, Magog.”

“Oh, I’m going to build it from the wreckage of the hovertank you took refuge in earlier.”

I wait for a long time, but he doesn’t wink or laugh or do anything to indicate he’s kidding.

“It takes an entire factory to build a starship, Magog. How are you going to do it from scratch?”

“I won’t be working from scratch, as you humans so quaintly put it. The hovertank hull is sufficiently thick and shielded to deal with the rigors of space travel. It already generates its own atmosphere and features inertial dampeners to deal with the massive recoil of the cannon.”

“You make it sound so easy.”

“In many ways, it is easy. It’s merely an application of knowledge and skill using existing schematics and materials. The cannon can be converted into a thruster array with minimal effort, and without the weapons payload there will be sufficient space for all of the cryo pods.”

“Wait, how many people are you planning on putting in the pods?”

“All of them. The starship I will build does not need a large crew, and if they are in the cryo pods they will not use valuable atmospheric resources, nor will they have need of nutrition or water.”

“Jessica is scared of cryo pods.”

“A natural reaction, but I suspect she will listen to you if you tell her it’s for the best.”

I heave a long sigh and rub my eyes.

“Okay, look here, Mr. Magog. Our past lives notwithstanding, if I look at this plan with even a modicum of objectivity, I’m struck by the fact that it’s crazy as Hell. It seems desperate, a last resort, a real Hail Mary.”

“Hail Mary?”

“You don’t have human history in that CPU?”

“Only the bare minimum involving their interaction with the Vakutan race. I believe my creators did not think humanity was terribly interesting enough to use up drive space.”

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