Chutes & Ladders (Prosperous Book 1)

by A. Rhea King

“What do you usually do at night after nineteen hundred hours?”

  “That’s none of your business! I want another room! It disturbs me that egg is even there. I’m not comfortable with it.”

  “It’s just a painting, Wrigley. What about it bothers you so much?”

  “I’M NOT FALLING FOR YOUR PSYCHOLOGICAL BULLSHIT!” Amanda screamed.

  Tru stared at her. He’s noticed that she could identify when she’d made the wrong choice, but sometimes it took her a while to get there. So he waited, giving her the time she needed.

  After several silent minutes, she began to fidget. The trembling had stopped while she was fueled with emotion, but in the silence, it returned.

  Quietly she told him, “I’m sorry, sir. I didn’t mean to scream and make you angry. That was out of line.”

  “Screaming at me was definitely out of line, Wrigley, but I’m not angry. Tell me what the real problem is. What are you actually upset about?”

  Amanda looked at her hands as she begun to wringing them.

  “Sir, I just… My room can’t be out of order. It takes too long to get everything in the right order,” she almost whispered.

  Tru nodded. “I will see if Gracie can take the egg offline so this doesn’t happen again. I won’t paint over it, but if you’d like, we could figure something to cover it up. Would that help get things back in order for you?”

  A single tear slid down Amanda’s cheek. “Yes,” she whispered.

  “Do you think you’ll be able to get a good night’s sleep in your quarters tonight?”

  “I don’t know.”

  “If you can’t, ask Doctor Equ’Wixal if you can use one of the Infirmary beds for tonight. Does that plan feel like a safe, logical, plan?”

  Amanda didn’t reply or leave.

  “What else is on your mind, XO?” Tru asked.

  “When should I expect my transfer?” Her eyes watered with tears.

  “You shouldn’t, but you should try getting some sleep.”

  “When will you come to fix the painting?”

  “Is 0800 good?”

  “Yes, sir. Good night, sir.”

  “Good night, Wrigley.”

  Amanda turned and left. Tru let out a slow breath.

  She is a lovely woman. I hate to see a human like that reduced to this type of behavior. What do you think is wrong with her?

  He shook his head a couple times. “Definitely an anxiety disorder and compulsive disorder. But… I get a sense that there’s something else.”

  Such as?

  “I think something happened to her.”

  You believe that she suffers from Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder?

  He shrugged and started eating his supper. “I can’t really tell without talking to her, and she doesn’t trust me enough to do that. It is going to be a long stint.”

  “Captain, report to junction F-12,” a male voice said over the intercom. “We have a situation.”

  “What’s the problem?” Tru asked.

  “A fight, sir.”

  “I’m on my way.” Tru looked down at his half-eaten hamburger and fries. “And the fun just never stops…” He grabbed his burger before rushing out of the room.

  A secret uttered in a servant’s earshot, stays a secret no more.

  Ga’reicht proverb

  Chapter 13

  JUNE 2660

  TRU WAS ON HIS WAY TO AN ENGINEERING MEETING WHEN HIS CARGO CHIEF, Warren Meske, trotted up next to him. He smiled, nodding once to Tru.

  “Afternoon, Captain.”

  “Afternoon.”

  An awkward silence followed.

  “Did you need something?” Tru asked.

  He looked down, smiling. “Well, actually… If you aren’t busy tonight… I was wondering if you’d like to have supper with me.” Meske looked up.

  “Was there something you needed to discuss?”

  “No. I just thought that if you were interested, we could have dinner.”

  Tru stopped short, his eyes narrowing slightly. “And by dinner you mean… As a Captain meeting with his Cargo Chief?”

  “N-No.” Meske smiled, blushing. “I think I heard wrong, sir. I’m sorry. Excuse me.”

  Meske turned to hurry off

  “Lieutenant Meske.”

  He stopped short but didn’t turn around.

  “What did you hear wrong?” Tru asked

  “It doesn’t matter, sir.”

  “Actually, it does.”

  Meske turned around with a sigh. “It… I didn’t hear it correctly, sir. I didn’t mean to offend you. My apologies, sir.”

  “Chief, tell me what you misheard about me.”

  Almost under his breath, Meske replied, “You are homosexual.”

  “And who told you that?”

  “I’d heard it at the movie last night.”

  “From?”

  “Petty Officer Kipling and Ensign Ra.”

  “And where did they hear it from?”

  “I don’t know, sir.”

  Tru shook his head.

  “I’m sorry if I offended you, sir. I shouldn’t have—”

  “You didn’t mishear, Chief; however, you know a captain cannot have an intimate relationship with a subordinate. I am sorry, Chief.”

  Meske smiled wistfully. “Thank you, sir. Have a good afternoon.”

  “You as well.”

  Meske hurried off. Tru put his hands on his hips, gritting his teeth in anger. Jackie had broken her promise. But she could wait until after his meeting. He started walking again as his hands dropped.

  Jackie walked out of the women’s shower toweling her hair dry. Seeing Tru leaning against the wall across the hall made her smile. She flung her towel over her shoulder and walked up to him.

  “Aren’t you hanging outside the wrong shower, Truman?” she quipped.

  A slight nod of Tru’s head brought forward the security guard that had been waiting by the shower door. She looked at the guard when he grabbed her arm before turning a stony glare on Tru.

  “What the hell?”

  “While you’re in the Brig for a week, you and your evil twin need to have a discussion about what confidential means.”

  “What are you talking about?”

  “I have been open with you about my sexuality with the understanding that it was a secret, that is, confidential. You broke that confidence.”

  “You’re joking!” Jackie laughed until she noticed Tru wasn’t even cracking a grin. “You’re actually mad about that? I mean, I kept your other secret. That should matter.”

  “Jackie, by not keeping an insignificant secret, I question if I can trust you with Merchant Raitor confidential information. You promised to keep a simple secret, and you didn’t! You may be my best communications officer, but how do you expect me to keep you on as a Merchant Raitor officer if you can’t trust you, Ensign Rhoades?”

  “But… It was just—”

  “No! There is no ‘but, it was just—’! When I tell you that something is confidential, regardless of what it is, I expect it to stay that way! You screw up again, and you’ll arrive at Righel Prime in Brig stasis. And this time, you won’t be transferred to another ship and crew. This time, I will personally see to it that you are dishonorably discharged, and all pension revoked. Are you clear about what is at stake with your career right now?”

  Jackie looked down.

  “Ensign, you will answer me.”

  “Yes, sir,” she murmured.

  “I can’t hear you.”

  Much louder she answered, “Yes, sir.”

  “Officer Lefavour, escort Ensign Rhoades to the Brig.”

  The officer pulled on Jackie’s arm, and they walked to the first adjoining hall. Tru noticed several officers had stopped in the corridor to watch him reprimand Jackie.

  He started to order them back to work when a voice yelled across the ship’s intercom, “CAPTAIN TO JUNCTION G-24.”

  “Gracie, what’s wrong?” Tru asked.


  There is another fight.

  Tru let out an exasperated breath. “Transport me there.”

  Tru materialized at the back of a crowd of crewmen cheering and egging on whoever was fighting. Tru pushed between them, and the crew stopped cheering as he passed. By the time he got to the center, the grunts and punches and cursing of Aris and Gaxean Petty Officer Rachel Kipling were the only sounds.

  Across the arena, the crowd had made for the fight, his Senior Security Guard, an Avinion named Exum Zalet, and two security officers pushed through the crowd. They pulled the women apart, but that didn’t stop them from trying to continue their fight.

  Dealing with fights, lack of sleep, belligerent crew, and being ridiculed for both his sexual orientation and Silerium heritage pushed Tru’s temper over the boiling point.

  Truman bellowed, “STOP! NOW!”

  The bellow echoed through the hall at an ear-splitting, inhuman volume. Many of the crew dropped to the floor, covering their ears. Others shrank several fearful steps back from Tru. But he didn’t hear how loud his voice was. Losing his temper like this surprised him and made him realize there was no way he could withstand months of this crew treating each other and him like this. He had to either throw more than half his crew out at the next port or find a way to convince them to behave like the officers they were.

  Tru walked into the center of the crowd, meeting eyes wherever he looked.

  “I consider myself pretty laid back, crew,” Tru told them. He was too furious to notice how they cringed each time his voice lifted to the same, almost earsplitting volume. “However, I am not about to let you take control of my ship while I sit idly by. I will not continue to tolerate the insubordinate behavior all of you are demonstrating! You are adults; not children, not larva, offspring, or whatever you call your immature young! From now on, anyone involved in a fight will be thrown in Brig stasis for a month at a time. Anyone who encourages fights as this crowd was, will be confined to your quarters for two months. Any crewman still in Brig stasis when we reach Righel Prime will be dishonorably discharged. Not transferred, not demoted, dishonorably discharged. Have I made myself very clear?”

  There was a moment of silence.

  His chef, Andrea Kauffman, started to say, “But, sir, Aris—”

  Tru snarled, “Yes or no!”

  A couple of the crew muttered a quiet, “Yes.”

  “Crewmen, either answer me, or I will make good on my promise on everyone standing in this hall. What is your answer?”

  “Yes, Captain,” resounded around him.

  “Union Rep Kar’esh, I want you to stay behind with the ladies and me. Everyone else, disperse! Quickly!”

  The crowd hurried away. Tru turned to the females, noticing Amanda was moving through the crowd to remain with him and the guards. She stopped opposite of him, holding her hands behind her back. Tru turned his attention to the females.

  “Stasis will not start with you two, so consider yourselves lucky. But you are going to spend some time in a cell, and how long depends on just how long it takes for the two of you to tell me the truth. Which of you wants to tell me how this fight started?

  “She stole food out of the galley, and I caught her,” Rachel said.

  “That isn’t true!” Aris retorted.

  “What food, Rachel?” Tru asked.

  “Oh yeah. Listen to her! Probably fucking her too!”

  “For insulting your captain, you’ve just added a day to your time in the Brig, Aris,” Tru told her.

  Aris’ jaw dropped. Rachel started giggling.

  “And for not remaining professional, so have you, Rachel.”

  The giggling stopped. Aris smiled smugly.

  “Rachel, what food was stolen?”

  “Two apples and bananas and I seriously doubt she was going to eat them.”

  Tru looked at Aris when she began growling. Her puppy face had morphed into a wolf face, and she was growling at Rachel.

  “Aris, what happened?”

  Aris looked at him. “Oh, I get to tell my side now?” she snapped.

  “You just added another day.”

  She stared at him for a moment and then shook her head. “I don’t know why we were fighting.”

  “Every time you dodge the question, you will get one more day in the Brig, Aris. You are now at three.”

  Rachel laughed.

  “And so is Rachel.”

  Rachel stopped laughing.

  “I was just walking past her,” Aris said.

  “Four days for both of you.”

  “That’s not fair!” they cried out together.

  “Five days.”

  “FINE! I stole one apple.”

  “Only one?”

  “Yes.”

  “Why not just replicate one?”

  “I… Well… I… Hadn’t thought of that.”

  “Perhaps you should next time, Aris. You have five days in the Brig.”

  “But I—”

  “Or is it six now?”

  Aris clamped her mouth shut, her wolf face starting to reform. Tru looked at Rachel.

  “You have five.”

  Rachel opened her mouth. Tru’s eyebrows lifted.

  “Aye, sir,” Rachel said, looking down.

  “You two will accompany Chief Zalet and his men to the Brig. Zalet, add a day each time they try to argue or resist.”

  With a solemn nod, Zalet and his guards left with the two. Tru turned to Kar’esh.

  “I imagine crew will complain about this new rule. I want you to verify that it doesn’t go against Merchant Raitor regulations. Alert me if you find anything.”

  “Yes, sir.”

  “That’ll be all.”

  Kar’esh left. Tru finally turned his attention to Amanda. There wasn’t a hint of emotion on her face.

  “Yes?” Tru asked.

  “You yell very loudly, sir,” Amanda said. “I heard it on the deck below.”

  They stared at each other. Tru wanted to feel that she was lying about how loud his yelling was, but he didn’t feel any indigestion. She was telling the truth. How was that even possible, though? There were five meters of metal, shielded cables, and insulation between the two floors – there was no way she could have heard him. They must have been near an air shaft or maintenance tunnel. He decided that was the answer.

  “Now you know how to tell when I’m beyond pissed.” Tru walked away.

  She followed alongside. “It was as if you were yelling through the speakers. It was quite loud,” she added.

  “I was very mad.”

  Tru scrubbed his fingers across his temple. He dropped his hand and stopped. She was still at his side. “Was there something you wanted, Wrigley?”

  “Sir, Aris does this to herself. She steals food to antagonize the galley crew, and she steals other female’s men just to be impossible or get revenge for some injustice she’s manufactured. To be fair to the crew, you should talk to her about her behavior.”

  “It’s her life to destroy if she wishes, Wrigley.”

  “I’m just suggesting that you try advising her. That you use your position as a ship counselor to counsel her. And stealing, sir, is against regulations, regardless of the monetary value.”

  Tru narrowed his eyes, looking at Amanda.

  She turned to hurry away, “Sorry, sir. I didn’t mean to be out of line.”

  “You weren’t out of line, Wrigley.”

  She stopped, looking back.

  “I’m just surprised,” Tru admitted.

  “Sir?”

  “This is the first time I’ve heard you voice any concern about a crewman. Is Aris your friend?”

  “No, sir.”

  “Is Kipling?”

  “Sir, they are just subordinates to me.”

  “I’m not looking for a right answer, XO. I’m looking for the truth. What is your relation to those two?”

  Amanda looked up. “I can’t stand either one, sir. Gaxea are rude and impolite; Paskians only th
ink about sex and food. I’m sure they are both at fault, but it’s only fair to point out that Aris readily gets herself into trouble.”

  Tru smiled. “Fair enough, but to keep it fair, I’d like you present when I speak with Aris.”

  “Let me know when we’re meeting with her, sir.”

  “I will do that. We need to brainstorm some ideas about how to resolve the tension on board; otherwise, we may end up with no crew by the time we reach Righel. And I don’t know about you, XO, but I certainly cannot unload the cargo by myself. I’d probably run over someone with a skiff.”

  Tru saw a faint smile play at her lips, the first he’d seen since he’d met her.

  “And you… You want my opinion on this matter, sir?” Amanda asked.

  “You are my XO, Wrigley.”

  Tru walked past her. She smiled but wiped it off when he glanced back at her. She trotted up to catch up with him.

  “I think our senior security officer, Exum Zalet, may be able to help us in that area, sir. It wouldn’t hurt the crew to brush up on their defense skills, and I know several are coming up for self-defense recertification soon. It would encourage them to channel their tension into some productive training. Under supervised conditions, the sparring may help them ‘beat each other up,’ if you will, without harming one another.”

  Tru nodded. “So far it sounds like a good plan. Can you elaborate on specifics about how it would help the crew?”

  Amanda smiled, working out the details her idea.

  Chapter 14

  TO GET HIS MIND OFF HOW MISERABLE THIS STINT WAS, Tru decided to remove his parent’s books from his personal library. As his mind wandered, it went back to the conversation he’d had with Jackie at Beaver’s Pond. There was nothing in her Merchant Raitor file that indicated she had ever seen a therapist or psychiatrist about her dissociative identity disorder. He’d hoped that Jackie was wrong about Joan deleting those records, but so far nothing had surfaced. Well, nothing in his service record but what about… Tru stopped moving with a revelation.

  “Gracie.”

  Yes, Truman?

  “Where is Equ’Wixal?”

  He is currently in Infirmary.

  “Ask him to come to my office regarding a private matter.”

  Requesting now. He has responded and will be here shortly.