Knight Progenitor

by Sharon L Reddy

PARTY!!"

  The Doctor shook his head and smiled as Tech tossed his shirt to Claudy, picked her up, put her over his shoulder and ran down the beach with her. He laughed when two girls fought over Doc's shirt. Doc solved the problem by tearing his shirt in half, bowing and offering half to each. Diz did a handspring into the middle of a group in identical sorority shirts and backed down the beach beckoning. They followed. All seven of them.

  "Leroy, I fear I have taught them too well."

  "Captain, I believe the appropriate response is you still have a great deal more to teach them."

  The Doctor walked back to the ship barefoot, carrying his shirt and shoes in his hands. He made one stop. The sign said, "No shirt, no shoes, no service." He walked in, ordered a shot of whiskey, was served, downed it, said "Bill it." and sauntered out. No one asked who he was. They were sure they'd find out.

  He and Data dressed for the evening. They chose black, white and red. The Doctor tucked loose black pants into shiny black boots, left the white wide-sleeved shirt open almost to his waist, added a red satin cummerbund and a black cape with red satin lining, then donned rings and a ruby pendant. Data wore leather. Black pants, boots and jacket, a tight red satin shirt and a flat black and white cap with red edging. The Doctor looked at his image in the mirror and smiled. "Data, I don't think changing clothes makes me any less noticeable. Shall we go?" He was beginning to enjoy playing the part of Captain Knight.

  The Doctor ate a perfectly prepared meal at a fine restaurant and had a bottle of wine. He took a few sips and disposed of the rest. The object was to appear to be drinking, not get drunk. Data made no pretense of eating. They had decided it wasn't necessary. His appearance was alien enough it would be assumed he required a special diet.

  They started down a street of night clubs and 'caroused'. They also collected company, women and men. Everyone was in the mood to party and they were a moving party. Women argued over whose turn it was to dance with them, so on the fast numbers they danced with several at a time. The dance style currently popular for them was one in which the partners seldom touched. Leroy 'sat in' with several bands and the Captain led sing-alongs. Several men in dark business suits watched. Something about this 'Captain' made them nervous. They were planning on taking out a little 'insurance' that he didn't become a problem.

  Tech, Doc and Diz partied. They had lots of help, all of it female. At one point a half dozen muscular types decided to move in on the three with every good looking girl on the beach. The boys drew straws and Diz won. He put the muscular types down for a nap and stretched out on the moonlit sand. He'd been pleased to note he was nearly as muscular as the 'types' and a great deal faster. The girls seemed to be pleased about it too.

  "Time to move on."

  "Where to, Tech?"

  "Towards town. This party gets wild shortly, Doc. Time to kiss the girls good-night."

  "Which ones?"

  "All of them, Diz. Wouldn't be fair otherwise."

  They each kissed every girl and left them sitting on the beach sighing. Tech said they'd see them soon. Doc said Tech was always right. Diz said they were beautiful.

  The first doorman tried to tell them they were too young and Doc couldn't come in without a shirt anyway. They borrowed his. No one on the street tried to stop them after that. Word spread fast. Captain Knight and Leroy took uptown and the boys took down.

  Women began to decide they liked VERY young men. Men objected, but not for long. Men in dark suits watched and stayed out of their way.

  Tech ordered champagne. When the bartender didn't bring it, Diz went over the bar and brought back a bottle each. The bartender pulled his hardwood 'persuader' from beneath the bar. Doc smiled at him and broke it in half. Diz removed the slipper of a beautiful redhead and drank from it. Tech removed the man who objected. They stayed in an area known as 'tough', where fights were common and the crowd wild.

  They found a bar with a good band and took over the dance floor, and the women on it. The men decided to leave when asked. Word had spread.

  Tech got dizzy, laid down on the dance floor and laughed. Two men in dark suits decided it was time to obey orders and pick them up. Tech looked down at the two unconscious men who had tried to help him up. He said, "Oops. I hope I didn't break them. Dad said not to." Several more men in dark suits decided it wasn't time to pick them up yet.

  The crowds started to thin and the boys started looking for somewhere else to party. They were staggering down the street arm in arm in arm, Diz in the middle, and saw a place still open. They had to make two attempts at the steps. The men in dark suits decided it was time to pick them up. The woman watching out the window smiled. She didn't like the six men in dark suits lying unconscious on her front steps anyway. She did like the pretty boys who left them there. So did her girls.

  "Leroy, dawn approaches."

  "One hour, eleven minutes, thirty-two point four seconds, Captain."

  "Ladies and sirs, I must seek my wayward lads. Good-night."

  Captain Knight and Leroy turned and left. Men smiled and ladies sighed. The party had gone.

  The Doctor smiled as he stepped over the men in dark suits on the steps. His boys had obviously attracted someone's attention. "Good morrow, Madam. I've come to collect my boys."

  "They're upstairs. Nice kids. My girls and I have grown rather fond of them in the last few hours."

  "I'm rather fond of them myself. Leroy, time to pour them home."

  "Yes, Captain."

  The woman watched them mount the stairs. She knew who they were, Captain Knight and Leroy. Word had spread. She wished the captain had come earlier, but she decided she really couldn't afford to shut down for a whole night for one man. She was basing her estimate on his boys. She wasn't planning on billing him. She looked out at the six on her steps and smiled.

  The Doctor found Tech in a room with three women. He looked up, smiled, said, "Hi, Dad. We had a g.o.o.o.d time." closed his eyes and went to sleep. The Doctor smiled, accepted the assistance the women offered to restore Tech to some semblance of order, picked him up, put him over his shoulder and headed down the steps. Data was waiting at the foot of the stairs, a boy over each shoulder.

  The woman watched them walk down the street toward the spaceport and smiled.

  "Here, drink this."

  "Uhh, please, Dad. I don't ever want to hear the word 'drink' again."

  "I thought you said you remembered this, Tech."

  "Reality is much more nauseating. Ugh, I know it'll make me feel better, but it tastes awful."

  "Sleep for another hour, then we get back to work."

  "Slave driver." Tech smiled. The Doctor decided it looked a bit green. Doc and Diz were about the same shade.

  The Doctor and Data finished installing the new computer system and broke into the cluster banking network. Large sums of money were leaving Carnival. It had to be accumulating somewhere. They found nine numbered accounts on the banking world of Brotherhood.

  "Time to get to work and play."

  "What is our itinerary, Doctor?"

  "The amusement park is our major objective, but I don't plan on arriving there until late afternoon. We'll start in the spas. The boys should benefit. I'd like them to look a bit more invincible by the time we get to the park."

  "They appear to have attracted someone's attention last night."

  "It would appear so. I wonder why?" He smiled. "I think our evening should include them. We're going to the ballet. Here's a small shopping list. We've got a few changes to make in the carburetors of our bikes before we ride them."

  "Doctor, there is evidence of an attempt to enter the ship in our absence."

  "I noticed. Two of the items on that list are for an improvement in the security system. I'm going to wake the boys and take them to breakfast. Order those items and have them delivered. Scan everything carefully. There are diagrams for the sec
urity installation in the computer. Key it before you leave. We'll key in later. We shall meet you at the Waters of Joy spa in four hours. Albert has given us a very high credit rating. We'll supplement our bank balance once we've decided who's going to pay our expenses."

  Data said, "Computer, locate sources, arrange purchase and delivery of the following items... "

  "Dad, breakfast is something I'd like to put off til after dinner."

  "Diz, you'll eat and you'll keep it down. I promise. I need you to appear in perfect form by noon."

  "We'll appear that way, Dad, but it's because we're good actors."

  "You'll actually feel better after you eat, Doc. I'll order. Alcohol poisoning is not a pleasant experience. I know. The drink I gave you earlier was to start restoring the electrolyte balance in your systems. Breakfast for complex carbohydrates. The workout afterwards will sweat most of the rest of it out."

  "Tech, why didn't you tell us he was going to make us do a workout?"

  "I was trying very hard not to think about it, Diz. I'm still trying very hard not to think about it."

  "Good. Just what I had in mind. We'll sit in the roof garden in the sun." He smiled when all three groaned. They were still at the 'shade the eyes' stage. He really was trying to get them through their first hangover quickly, but he intended they remember it well. He could have cured it within seconds by giving them a drug specifically designed to counter the effects of alcohol poisoning, but he wanted them to have a clear understanding of exactly what they had done to their bodies.

  They ate. He insisted. He also insisted they eat slowly, ordering only one or two items at a time. They showed a tendency to 'bolt' their food, trying to get it over with. "Now, the gymnasium we want is in the Classine Palace Residential Hotel. We're not registered so we're going to earn our way in. They have an exceptional martial arts program, classes in several levels. You will teach. I will watch. Your classes will begin in twenty minutes. The run to the hotel will take seven. Shall we go?"

  He set a reasonable pace. He really didn't like to run. He really didn't like to exercise at all. He was very much looking forward to the time he could become a comfortable, irresponsible, wanderer again, but he would miss them. He didn't need to see the future to know how much.

  The hotel manager had never had a request quite like it before, but Captain Knight had set it up in advance. He notified the gym of their arrival. The Doctor hadn't told them they would be teaching small children. Tech knew, but didn't see it as a problem.

  He was pleased. They were patient and careful of small bodies. Doc's class asked his age. He listened carefully. He wanted to know too. Classes stopped while the three conferred. They brought their figures to him and asked for a conversion to Earth years. They were all just a few days over seventeen.

  After the classes, he took them through a workout. Doc was the strongest, Tech the most precise and Diz the quickest. He finished with a fencing lesson. He was surprised at their proficiency, especially Diz'. He learned Doc had been teaching him. The Waters of Joy spa was less than two blocks from the immense hotel complex. Data met them at the door.

  "Captain, the system is installed and operating. I have coded it as you have instructed. The appointment you requested is for three hours after midday. The entire facility will be dedicated to completing the work for two days. The first items to be completed one hour before the ballet. The gentleman you asked meet us there was most agreeable. He too will deliver the first items an hour before the ballet. He stated it would be a challenge for his family."

  "Excellent. Tech has been smiling since he stopped being green. I don't think he's told the others. I just found out they all had birthdays recently. They're seventeen."

  The masseuse working on the Doctor was awed. The strange pattern of scarring was beautiful, but she couldn't stand to think of the pain that must have accompanied it. She finally got up the nerve to ask about it. He told her there were actually two sets, but he had gotten them both at once. One was to signify his adoption into the first family of a world; the other his designation as their champion in ritual combat. Word spread.

  Data stood guard outside the door. He heard the explanation. He also heard the boys' groans of pure pleasure. He wondered what it would be like to have muscles that responded to skillful manipulation. Two men in dark suits saw him standing outside the door, put the gas canisters back in their pockets and left. Data noticed.

  They left the spa and the Doctor hailed a cab. Their appointment was across the city. The boys looked at the big white building with its discreet brass nameplate and grinned. It said, "Basitch and Basitch, Tailors".

  They went back to the ship and were keyed into the security system. The boys smiled when they realized how it was designed to operate. It wouldn't be exceptionally difficult to get in, but no one would get out again. Access to three areas was voice and command coded. The engine room, the bridge, and the captain's stateroom were totally secure. Since the rest of the ship was shiny clean and empty, it would seem very strange to their first intruders.

  "I still like the amusement parks on Earth best. Disneyland and Disneyworld have never had an equal."

  "Sir, that statement refers to two distinct places. You have spoken of them as one."

  "I suppose I think of them that way, Data. Disneyland was the first. It was built in the mid-twentieth century. The concept came from the mind of a creative genius named Walt Disney. Disneyworld was completed well after his death, but his genius lived on in its design."

  "I am familiar with Mr. Disney's accomplishments, Doctor. His animated works are still considered classics."

  "Yes, especially Fantasia. Make sure the boys see it someday. Well, time to go to work. Shall we play, Leroy?"

  "I am prepared, Captain.

  "Dad, this afternoon's itinerary has some unexpected complications."

  "Our dark suited friends?"

  "No. Just make sure you're in the front car of the roller coaster."

  "Tech, sometimes you are just a bit too enigmatic."

  "I'm rather caught in the middle, Dad. If I tell you everything that's going to happen, it will drive you crazy. If I leave something out you think is important, you'll be furious. I tell you what I remember telling you and make the best of it."

  "And make me nervous." He sighed. "All right. Front seat it is."

  They became heroes that afternoon. Carnival was rather geologically stable as planets go, but that afternoon it hiccuped.

  They were riding the roller coaster when the temblor hit. The structure collapsed at the bottom of a steep drop. The recreated 'coaster' was at the top. Data and the Doctor were in the front car.

  "Stop us!"

  Data leapt over the front of the car and used himself as a friction brake. He brought the train of twelve cars to a stop four meters from the break. The Doctor and the boys made six trips each down the structure carrying someone on their backs. Several people felt capable of making it on their own. They made 'emergency friends' with the two men who made several trips with them. The Doctor invited the woman who had made three trips carrying children to the ballet. Word spread.

  The men in dark suits looked at the cheering crowd around them and put their stunners away. Data noticed.