Raymond Bordeaux carried the young man back to the apartment Terra Group occupied. He had to think quick on how to get inside. A small weight in his pocket made him smile.
Shifting Mike's weight to his shoulder, he pulled out a small pick. Cheriss had given it to him in case of emergencies. He put the pick into the lock and pressed the small button. Within seconds, the lock clicked. He reached out and opened the door.
Zee waited expectantly for the door to open. She had hoped they would return and be in a much better mood. However, the man standing in the doorway was NOT Jedi Cochran. The two of them stared at each other blankly for a few moments. The protocol droid finally focused on Mike's limp body. "Goodness gracious me!"
Raymond finally regained his senses. "Um, I was told to bring him here."
"Oh yes, please." She stepped aside to allow him to enter. "How badly damaged is he," she asked.
"I do not know if he has any internal bleeding, but mostly he has cuts and bruises." He laid Mike gently on the couch.
Spaz sped over to them and began to circle their feet. HE'S HURT REALLY BAD! HE NEEDS A BACTA DIP.
"Oh... oh, that will not do." Zee began to pace frantically.
Raymond blinked. "What did it say?"
"He says that..." She was interrupted by the door opening. "Oh! Jedi Cochran!" She waddled towards where the three were entering the apartment.
Josh held up a hand to belay her. He turned to Vickie as soon as the door closed. "Now you can tell me how in the hell you blew up that ship! You risked all of our lives. We may not have gotten what we were looking for!"
"We got it, Josh," she said, pointing at Becki, who held up the focusing element. "And we're safe."
"But what about that explosion? How did that happen?"
"Thermal detonator," she explained. "I'd forgotten I had it in my pocket. It fell out while I was fighting fat boy. It went to the front of the ship, so I pushed the guys out of the way and triggered the detonator."
"You still could have killed us!"
Her eyes narrowed. "And you would have cared?"
Josh fumed, but luckily Zee intervened. "Jedi Cochran, I am sorry to interrupt, but Lieutenant Chalk is hurt quite badly."
He glared at Vickie a moment more. "If you'd only stayed together..."
"Can it," Vickie said, meeting his gaze. "We need to see how severe the damage is." She turned on her heel and moved to the couch.
"Excuse me, Captain. Higher rank or not, I am the mission commander here and you will explain your actions to me. What you did back there was reckless and stupid! Yes, Mike is seriously injured, and it's a damn miracle the rest of us aren't just as badly hurt after that idiotic stunt you just pulled. You talk about not killing anyone if you can help it, but you damn near killed us! How would that have made you feel, huh? We've already lost half our team on this mission - if you get us killed there will be NO ONE LEFT TO DO THE JOB!"
Josh paused and looked away for a moment. Through the silence his clenched jaw worked as if trying to squeeze a piece of carbon into a diamond. Finally he turned back to look Vickie straight in the eye. When he continued, his voice was very quiet, yet still whip-crackingly tense.
"From now on you make the safety of this team your number one priority, is that clear? If that's not acceptable to you, you're too much of a danger to this team, and you can sit out the rest of this mission in the Batcave."
The older woman's eyes narrowed. "I've made the safety of this team my priority from day one," she said in an unusually calm manner. "Have you forgotten that I saved your lives at Cheriss's apartment? As far as what just happened, you have no faith in my precognition. You didn't with Josh and you don't now."
"Not when you show judgment that poor, no."
Hyper, in the meantime, had unplugged himself from his recharge station and come over to scan Mike. He beeped and chattered to himself.
"And what about you? You didn't even realize you and Becki were being followed. You should pay attention to all your senses." Not just your manhood, she thought angrily to herself.
"Vickie, the difference is, I didn't almost blow up the only three healthy agents we have left!"
The droid was getting impatient. He had the information they needed. He watched as they slapped their hands over their ears as he emitted a loud, high pitched sound. Once he had their attention, he began to give them an update.
Josh cut Vickie a look. We WILL finish this later, he told her telepathically.
Vickie nodded towards him as she listened carefully and began to translate. "Internal bleeding, near the kidney area. His left leg is fractured. Three ribs are bruised. His heartbeat is strong, but his breathing is weak. Possible puncture in the lung. Sith."
"This is way beyond any of our abilities," Becki said quietly.
Josh ran a hand through his matted hair, suddenly much calmer. "Ok, I'm open for suggestions here."
Vickie handed him her comlink. "Call Noreh to bring the Red Home to us. We can use the tank onboard."
He stared blankly at the cellphone-like communicator. "I..."
"Josh, he's blocked us both out. He needs help." She looked down at her friend in deep worry.
He grabbed the device from her hand and keyed in the code for the Red Home. "Seven to Red Home. Seven to Red Home. We have a code alpha thirteen. I repeat. We have a code alpha thirteen. Please standby for coordinates." He turned off the comlink and handed it back to her. "Are you satisfied?"
"Josh, I..."
He cut her off with a glare. "Get everything packed up. There's nothing else to really keep us here."
"Wait," Raymond said. "There is one other place to check for Cheriss."
That definitely got their attention. The three Terra Group members looked at the Frenchman expectantly. "Well?" Josh asked.
"My home in Agen. It... we used it as our safehouse. She may have gone there."
He considered the man's words. "I want to go check the warehouse one more time. Becki can come with me. We'll pack until Noreh gets here."
Vickie nodded. "We can get the Home loaded while you're gone. Should we wait?"
He shook his head. "No, go on to Bertie's and get Hyper in my X-Wing. We'll meet you there as soon as we're finished."
"Done." The group began to hastily pack their belongings.