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I think Tony would be very happy

Authors: Andrew Caruthers
Episodes: Set after Dragon's Domain
Show Year: Y1
Rating: PG
Date: 2009
A few loose ends are tied up. Immediately follows "Dragon's Domain".
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"I think Tony would be very happy, to know he put new life into an old myth," said John Koenig, as he looked over Helen's report on the hideous end of former Ultra Probe commander, and friend, Tony Cellini. "He certainly deserves it, after an end like that."

"And the way I treated him," added Helena, looking down at the floor briefly before again meeting his eyes. "You were right all along. He was right."

"At least that hideous thing is dead, Helena. It can't hurt anyone else."

"Can we be sure, though?" she asked. "Our instruments..."

"Its eye went dark when I chopped it with the hatchet, it melted into a pile of steaming crud all over the floor. If that's not dead, I don't know what would be, Helena. That's why..."

Beep.

"Commander Koenig," came Paul Morrow's voice. Koenig activated his commlock.

"Yes, Paul?"

"Ultra Probe ship responding, Commander. She's separated from the alien vessel, and is on the way towards Alpha."

"All automatic systems still functioning?"

"Yes, Commander. Her engines powered right up with no trouble. Telemetry shows all systems nominal. We also recovered the separated Eagle, Commander."

"Excellent, Paul. ETA probe ship?"

"Two hours, Commander."

"Good. Keep me advised."

"John," said Helena, as she slipped her final report on Cellini and the Ultra Probe into the file, "are you sure we're not taking a terrible risk? I mean, if, by some measure, the monster isn't dead, we could all be at risk."

"Helena, we need the resources aboard the probe ship. Fuel, electronic parts, equipment from ship's stores. All made on Earth and all compatible with our systems. It's a bounty we cannot afford to ignore. That, and if you are right, at least no other hapless explorers will come along, and run into that thing." He saw that she was holding her peace, waiting for him to finish. "Besides, once she was free of the alien ship, Paul sent a command for her to open her airlocks to space. Even the Eagle command module. That thing needed air as much as we do, Helena. Given all the facts to hand, I'm convinced that the benefits outweigh the potential risks."

"All I can say is that I hope you're right. After all," she indicated her work station, "I don't want to have to write up another report."

"Spoken like a true doctor, Doctor."


The Ultra Probe ship slipped into lunar orbit as programmed, and Koenig, with a team in spacesuits, went aboard to assess the ship for cannibalization. The desiccated sludge that was all that remained of the monster was taken for examination, and to Koenig's surprise, the remains of all four victims of the hideous creature were still aboard, despite the decompression of the ship. After so long a time, Drs. Monique Boucher, Juliet Mackie, and Darwin King, now joined by their one-time mission commander, could finally be laid to rest, in a fashion befitting the respect in which their friends and colleagues had held them.


Several days later, with the now-grounded probe ship as a backdrop against the vastness of Plato Crater, Koenig, Victor, Helena, and a score of others, in space suits, made their eulogies and said their personal goodbyes, or listened respectfully, as the caskets were lowered into the lunar soil. Security Chief Verdeschi, a distant relative, and Cellini's only kin on Alpha, gave a moving eulogy, quoting from some of Cellini's poetry, followed by Koenig, and final prayers from the chaplain. When all was done, and everyone had climbed into the Moon Buggies for the trip back to Alpha, Koenig held back a moment. Standing over the steel marker inscribed with Cellini's name, he touched the metal, looked up at the probe ship, then back down at the grave.

"Good bye, Tony," he said, almost too softly even for himself to hear. "Good bye."



Copyright (c) 2009. Reprinted with permission.
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