Badlands

by Randal Sloan

"Lieutenant," the man said gruffly after ignoring her for two minutes. During those two minutes, Jarra made a decision. Even if this man wasn't guilty of treason, as soon as her mission was over, he was gone. This was a reproachable way to treat anyone.

  "You have been requested on board the station," he went on, "for a debrief on the officer exchange program. I want you to tell them it's an utter failure."

  "Sir," Jarra answered in total disbelief. She was so shocked she couldn't think of a diplomatic answer. "I can't do that."

  "Lieutenant, I'm giving you a direct order. You'll do as I say."

  "Sir, I may be only a lowly lieutenant, but even I know such an order is illegal. I can only tell them the truth and that's what I intend to do." Jarra couldn't help it. She looked the man in the eye, daring him to try to push it even further. For a moment she thought he was going to explode, but he finally looked away.

  "It doesn't matter," he finally said. "I intend to tell them myself. I'm sure they'll listen to an Admiral of the Fleet over a lowly lieutenant, as you say."

  He smiled a nasty smile. "Sigmus Station is a dangerous place. Best be careful while over there. Wouldn't want anything happening to you."

  He turned away, leaving her standing there for several moments. Jarra had to force herself to control her anger. Finally, he looked back up.

  "Dismissed," he said in total disdain.

  Jarra saluted him with the sloppiest salute she had ever used before she turned abruptly to leave. Her anger was boiling just below the surface. She knew she was going to have to do some meditation soon. Like Master Kadash had often told his brilliant but also sometimes most difficult student, controlling one's emotions was much harder than controlling one's body. He would probably order her to meditate for several hours if he could see her now.

  As soon as the girl was gone, the Admiral made a private implant call to a special number. Not surprisingly Mad Dog answered rather quickly.

  "I heard you were being denied shore leave. How would you like to have that order overridden and have the whole two days to play on station? I'll even throw in a little bonus for spending money."

  Mad Dog smiled. "Sounds good. What do I have to do to earn this little gift?"

  The Admiral returned his smile. "I need you to take care of a little problem for me. I expect you'll even enjoy it."

  "That's sounding better and better. Please do tell."

  When the Admiral told him what he wanted, his smile got even bigger. "Consider it done, sir!"

  As the Admiral broke the connection, he had his own smile. He hated dealing with the little worm, but sometimes he could be quite useful.

  #

  When Jarra returned to the bridge, she was met by the XO. By that time, Jarra had gotten control of her emotions, or so she thought. Apparently not so much that the XO couldn't pick up on it, because he almost said something. Minutely shaking her head, Jarra saluted him to cover her embarrassment.

  "Lieutenant," Jack told her. "You're being given leave up to the duration of our stay to take care of your business aboard the station. I've discussed your situation with the Captain and we feel someone as young as you shouldn't go alone. Therefore, we've assigned Lieutenant Commander Cauldwell and Lieutenant Swanson to accompany you.

  "Master Sergeant Cartwright has also informed me that his first group of Marines will be leaving the same time as you and they'll be accompanying you to your first destination. He has also very strongly requested that you inform him whenever you're ready to go anywhere else and he will have someone meet you."

  Jarra had to swallow a lump in her throat as she answered, "Yes, sir. I thank you for your thoughtfulness." Although not required, she gave him a crisp salute as she turned to leave. She couldn't believe they all cared so much.

  Of course, all of that required some changes as she stopped by her room. Quickly changing her uniform, she secured the room and pulled her com out of the safe. Doing a quick time calculation in her head, she sent her message to Sasha.

  Plan to meet at the bar previously directed at 1600 hours. Be aware that I will be accompanied by two others, but I have vetted both of them.

  Pocketing the com, she sent Amy and Jason both an implant ping to let them know she was ready and hurried to the docking port. There she was surprised to see Master Sergeant Cartwright waiting for her.

  "This group will be accompanying you as is their duty," he told her. He pointed to a group of several Marines including Greg and Maze. "I believe you know those two. They both insisted they need to stay nearby to you the entire time you're on station, and I've agreed with them."

  The last was said to the point the Master Sergeant expected no disagreement, so Jarra wisely didn't argue with him. Smart lieutenants knew better than to ever disagree with Master Sergeants, despite the fact they technically outranked them.

  "Thank you, Sarge," Jarra told him quietly. "I promise I'll be careful."

  "That's what worries me," was his answer.

  Jarra could only shake her head. Apparently her reputation had preceded her. Luckily, Amy and Jason arrived so she was able to take her leave of him.

  #

  Jarra had arranged a large suite of rooms for her group in the pretense of using them for her debrief. Her eyes promising Jason she would spend time alone with him later, she escorted Amy off to the room she'd designated as the girls' room.

  "We need to talk," she told Amy as she settled into one of the chairs in the sitting area of the suite. "I'm not really here for a debrief, I'm here for a meeting with my team."

  "What are you, NavInt?" Amy asked her, referring to the Naval Intelligence group.

  "No, I really am in the Rim Patrol, but I'm part of a special team. It's our job to defend the rim from threats against the Empire and I've been undercover as part of my latest mission. We're investigating Admiral Janson. We believe he's a member of the rebels against the Empire and also is in cahoots with the pirates."

  "Do you have enough evidence against him at this point to do something?"

  "I believe we do, but I want to be sure I have him and all his pirate friends. I'm also convinced the Badlands are the key to everything, so I'm letting him run free at the moment."

  Amy just looked at her in wonder. This girl spoke with authority that far exceeded that of any lieutenant she had ever known. Yet she was so very young.

  "Just who are you?" she finally asked. Luckily for her she was sitting down, because she got a lot more answer than she ever expected.

  Jarra had considered whether or not she would tell Amy of her identity. She hadn't made up her mind before now, but she was absolutely convinced she could trust the girl and to not tell her when so many others did know seemed unfair.

  "I am Crown Princess Jarraosa Christinee Von Hasson," Jarra told her flatly.

  For just a moment, Amy thought her friend was pulling her leg. Then she looked at her closely and suddenly it all fit. She quickly dropped to a knee.

  "Thank you for your service," Jarra told her quietly. "Please rise." Then she gave her friend a glare. "That'll be the last of those. Otherwise, I'll have to knight you to keep you from doing it again."

  Amy looked at her friend in horror at the thought. "No, that won't be necessary. I promise I'll behave." Seeing the look in Jarra's eyes, she realized Jarra hadn't been serious. Then she had a thought. "So — Jason, he knows who you are?"

  "Oh, yes. He still seems to be interested in me despite all that."

  "He's just smart. You're a very special person." Amy pulled her into a hug. "So this part about your team. That's legit too?"

  "Yes. I can't wait to show you my ship. There's nothing like her in the galaxy. But for now, we're going to go meet my team. I think you're gonna like them."

  Collecting Jason and the others, they were off.

  #

  Catching the local automated transport, Jarra led her little group off into Marine country. When they reached her destination, all of her companions excluding Amy looked askance at her. It s
eemed they did know about this particular bar. Jarra guessed it was quite noteworthy.

  "Yes, I have permission to enter. Just wait here while I get us all cleared."

  As Jarra approached the entrance, she heard Amy ask Jason, "I don't understand. What's so special about this bar?"

  Jason answered quietly, but Jarra still heard him. "Only the best of the best can go in here." Jarra supposed that was the best answer. One had to have distinguished herself either in accomplishment or in combat. Jarra guessed she had done both now.

  The bouncer at the door must have been related to the XO, because he took one look into Jarra's eyes and opened the door. She really needed to work on that if she was going to be doing this undercover gig very much.

  "They're with me," she told the man, pointing to her little group. He just nodded, so Jarra led them in. An escort quickly met them to lead them to a table, surprisingly the same table she'd occupied the last time she'd been there.

  "We're a little early," she told her escort. "My team will be here shortly."

  One of the things Jarra liked about this bar, they had human servers instead of just using an AI. When the man came to her, he just told her, "Don't worry. I've already got your order." Before she could answer, the man was gone.

  She didn't get time to think about it, because about that time her team arrived. Jarra jumped up, rushing over to give them all huge hugs. Finally, satisfied that all were well, she turned back to the table. "Let me introduce everyone. At the table we have Lieutenant Amy Swanson, a very good friend that I've been lucky enough to work with and perhaps the second best navigator in the galaxy. You've already met Lieutenant Commander Jason Cauldwell and I know you know the two miscreants behind me.

  "For Amy's sake, I'll introduce the team. From left to right we have Galen, an awesome systems specialist and the best navigator in the galaxy, Gabo the best science officer, engineer and ship's sensor expert, Sara the best hacker on the Rim, and Sasha—how do I describe Sasha? Put it this way, Sasha probably already knew you two would be here."

  Sasha nodded. It had been obvious to her. Then she realized Jarra wasn't entirely serious, so she mumbled, "Well, the patterns said they would be."

  "Everyone take a seat and order whatever you want." Jarra told them. Then she turned to Sasha, "How's my ship? You haven't broken her, I hope?"

  "Nope," Sasha answered. She pointed to Galen and Gabo. "But those two have made some rather unusual changes to her. I'll tell you about them later.

  They talked a few more minutes while everyone sipped their drinks. Finally, it was time they got down to business.

  Jarra broke the ice. "Alright, guys, while it's great to see you, I called you here to talk about our game plan. In around ten days, we'll be at the Badlands and the Admiral will do whatever he has planned. We have to be ready to respond.

  "The first part is easy. Katarina will ship out of here ahead of us and use her speed and stealth systems to reach the Badlands before us. There you'll test her new systems and make sure they're going to work. If you have time, you'll look for the pirates. Amy and I will try to slow the Relentless down, but not to the point it makes it obvious.

  "Once the Relentless arrives, we will re-establish coms and figure out what the Admiral's up to. Then we'll do whatever it takes to stop him. That's probably going to be the hard part."

  Jarra had no idea.

  #

  Mad Dog had finally gotten out of the stockade. He was supposed to have been denied shore leave, but thanks to the Admiral he was given one of the electronic passes anyway. He stopped by his room to get a few tools he would need. On his way out, he stopped at one of his hideouts to get his weapon of choice — a multi-weapon with several levels of stun and a kill setting.

  Using an electronic gizmo he'd bought from the black market, he programmed it with the girl's techno-signature. Modern implants left a special signal behind that was many times more unique than fingerprints. His tool could follow that up to an hour later, or so the man who sold it to him claimed. Mad Dog never pushed it higher than a quarter of an hour, just in case.

  The trail was easily followed to a hotel, but he didn't try to enter just yet. That would come later if he didn't find a better option. Instead, he found a good hiding place and waited. One didn't come to Sigmus Station to stay in a hotel room, so she'd be coming out sooner or later.

  Luckily for him, it was sooner and not later, but she was not close to being alone. That was a big setback. He followed anyway, hoping to catch her away from the others sooner or later. His plan was dashed when they all went into a bar. Mad Dog just stared. How did she get in there? She must have a lot of money, because there was no other way she could have pulled it off. Mad Dog added that to the list of things to probe for when she begged for mercy. Might as well profit where one could profit.

  That's when it all went wrong. Mad Dog figured he could sneak in easily. After all, he was a Marine and he was much more intimidating than that bunch. He'd go inside, find a table off in a corner, and wait for her. Sooner or later, he'd catch her off away from the others. That's when he'd pounce.

  But that was not the way it went. No, not at all. The biggest bouncer he'd ever seen took one look at him and pointed to the door. "But I'm here with another group," he said to the man.

  "You know this bar is exclusive. Have you seen action? What campaign? What ship? You sure as hell didn't go through Advanced Marine Training."

  "The ones that just went in. I'm with them."

  "Aeres. I don't think so. Those guys all went through hell and came back alive. You've never fought in a real battle in your life."

  The huge man snapped his fingers and two men nearly as big as he appeared. "Take this one to Aeres. He claims he's with them. We'll see what she says."

  Mad Dog had begun to think this was a bad idea. But it was too late. The two men practically dragged him along. A number of Marines looked up as they passed by and several stood to watch. A couple even dropped in behind him. What had he gotten himself into?

  Then they reached her table. Mad Dog spotted a Lieutenant Commander and an older Lieutenant at the table, but the men didn't look toward them. They looked to her for the answer.

  "This one claims he's with your group," one of them said. "Needless to say, we didn't believe it. We know you tend to pick up stragglers," he pointed to the two young Marines with the group, "but this one doesn't look like he belongs."

  The girl had been talking with her friends. When she looked up in anger at the interruption, even Mad Dog was afraid, especially when she looked right at him.

  "You're right, Gunny Sergeant. That one is a big bully who is beyond redemption. I already gave him a shot at it and he passed it up. If I didn't think he still had a part to play, I'd have you take him out with the trash. But unfortunately, he needs to be on our ship."

  "We'll take care of it, ma'am," the bigger of the two men that had followed behind spoke up. "If you don't mind him getting banged up a bit."

  The girl smiled, but that only made Mad Dog worry even more. "Bang away. He just has to get there. I don't care if he's all in one piece. Just make sure you hand off what's left with the Master Sergeant on board our ship."

  The arms that grabbed hold of Mad Dog tightened like vices. Before he knew what was happening, he was being dragged away. The girl turned away to speak with her friends, but just before he lost sight of her, she looked back up at him. He swore she looked through to his very soul and found him wanting.

  Mad Dog tried pleading with the two men, Marine to Marine. When that didn't work, he tried offering them money. "Listen, guys, I can make it worth your while if you could just see things my way; however much you want, I can get it."

  One of the men slapped him on the mouth, knocking him to the ground and busting his lip. "You fool. There's not enough money in the galaxy to match what she's worth. Don't insult us like that again or I'll bust you up so bad you won't be able to speak the next time."

  Despite the pain and
the fear the man had damaged his teeth, Mad Dog thought this was his chance. With neither holding on, he was able to get his multi-weapon out. He quickly aimed it at his tormentors and managed to get a quick shot off. Of course, it was on stun. The kill setting tended to set off alarms, so Mad Dog only switched it to that when necessary. That's when he realized how deep the trouble he faced went.

  The man he'd shot just laughed. "You're gonna have to do better than that," he said. Then he hit him.

  Sometime later, a much banged-up Mad Dog made it to the Relentless. Mad Dog could barely hear out of one ear and his right eye was nearly swollen shut, so he really didn't know what was said or see what was going on. But when the Master Sergeant came into range of his one eye's vision, he knew he was in trouble.

  The Master Sergeant held Mad Dog's multi-weapon in one hand and the collection of his other tools in the other. "With this junk," he told Mad Dog, "I could have you kicked out of the Navy and locked up for years. But she wants you left alone for now. I'm telling you right now. If anything happens to her, this will find its way to life and you'll be done for."

  He brought his face up really close to Mad Dog to whisper in his good ear. "I can also promise you this. You won't survive a week in that prison. I'll make sure of that."

  "Get him out of here!"

  CHAPTER ELEVEN

  Plans and More Plans

  After the interruption by Mad Dog, Jarra and her team took a break from work to enjoy some time with each other. The girls all moved over to sit by Jarra to talk girl stuff, so the guys moved to the other end of the table. Naturally, both groups wound up in very different conversations.

  The girls spent their time catching up on each other, at first revolving around mundane things such as the latest styles, but then down to more personal things. It didn't take long for the discussion to come around to Sasha and Prince John. Jarra was finally able to pin her down on their relationship.

  "I don't know exactly where we are," Sasha told them. "But it appears Prince John intends to court me. I knew from the moment I met him he was special but I had no idea he was the Prince. I was sitting in the special meditation area on the Dauntless when this man came in dressed in robes. We talked for several minutes and he was just this down-to-earth kind of guy. Then one of the Marines came in and addressed him as Your Highness and I almost fell out of my seat. But the funny thing was, he was still the same man and he treated me the same way as before."