The Hundred Worlds

by J. F. Holmes

  At long last the commander moved on, after shaking his hand while having a rating take a vid-pic for the ship’s internal news site, handing him the thick packet with all the paperwork, then saluting him. Jack returned a solid salute and took his place once more to stand at attention in respect for the last two retirees. For all the forty-five years of service, he sure wished his long-departed wife Linda could be there. A small tear started to form at the corner of his eye, but sheer determination and fear of himself made it retreat. The commander’s loud voice cried out yet again at the end of the line.

  “For outstanding service and bravery in the face of the enemy, Lt. Commander Donna Smith, you are hereby awarded the UN Navy Cross for heroism above and beyond. Congratulations!”

  Jack knew Donna well, since his section worked with her section a lot. The petite, dark-haired woman was made of stern stuff, and he respected that. The Navy lieutenant commander shook hands with the XO, saluted, and took her place back in the line as the applause died down.

  The room was called to attention once again. The boson’s whistle piped once more, and the assembly was dismissed. With much clapping, whooping, smiles, tears, and hugs the retirees started toward the tables of food and drink made available for the occasion.

  The order to have a good time was given by the captain, and it was well received, with laughter and good camaraderie, but he didn’t stay around too long, as orders had come down. The Isengard was to be underway by 0600 hrs tomorrow morning.

  Sergeant Major Jack Quincy soon had his fill of the party and was making his way to the hatch leading back toward Marine country when Lt. Commander Smith caught his attention. She was at least fifteen years younger than himself, very pretty, athletic, and to paraphrase ancient Earth sailing speak, he admired the cut of her sail. Her long dark hair was caught up in a big regulation bun on top of her head. The deep cinnamon-mocha of her skin was pleasing to his eyes.

  “Yes, Ma’am?” Jack managed to get out of his suddenly dry throat.

  “I wanted to congratulate you on a long and successful career.” She reached out to shake his hand.

  “Thank you, Ma’am.” He returned the firm handshake. “Same to you. What has it been, thirty years?” he said in his ‘I’m smiling on the inside’ voice.

  “Oh! Don’t remind me!” She chuckled. “I feel so old and gray.”

  She was anything but old and gray to Jack’s eyes. Her laughter tickled him somehow. Like a butterfly was attempting to beat up his stomach from the inside and seemed to be making progress. Old and gray? he thought for a moment. He knew himself to be old and gray, but she was downright beautiful compared to his crusty hide.

  “Beg your pardon, Ma’am, but I don’t see it that way.” He cleared his throat. “In fact, I know many a young Marine would follow you like a lost puppy if they could.”

  “So...,” she quickly changed subjects as her cheeks started to turn rosy, “where will you go from here?”

  “Hadn’t thought about it much, Ma’am.” Her eyes, soft and green, seemed to peer through his rough exterior. He shook his head a little before adding, “Maybe take a small vacation and see some sights. Probably find some work somewhere to occupy my time.”

  “Good for you!” She smiled broadly, then touched her hair as if to see if it was still in a bun. “As for myself, I applied to the STRAGEM Company. I’m hoping to get one of the operations or construction management positions. They’re building three stations and a shipyard in this system.”

  “Good luck with that. Companies always need help from talented people such as yourself. You should go far.” She was very much distracting his thought processes. Well, he was a red-blooded Marine after all!

  “Hope to see you again sometime, Quincy. It was a pleasure serving with you.” She shook his hand again and saluted him.

  He returned the salute graciously and watched as the Lt. Commander turned on her heels and strode off toward up country. She’d saluted him instead of the other way around. That was due to the unique medal on his chest. Decades ago he’d saved thousands of Marines and support personnel from a group of rebels. Or maybe it was in one of a dozen systems like it? Medal of Honor, they called it. He’d just been saving his brothers and sisters. Just doing his job.

  His thoughts strayed to the woman behind the uniform. The one who’d probably gone to finish packing for the ride to the Behemoth, a Cargo Industrial ship nearby. It belonged to the STRAGEM Corporation, which was ramping up operations to turn Indera’s brown dwarf star and vast asteroid belts of raw materials into golden opportunity. Jack sighed, turned, and headed to his cabin. It was going to be an interesting retirement.

  Chapter 2

  Four Years Later, Gloria System Station, Gloria System, Hab Area 47B, 0650 hrs

  Jack stirred his coffee while he read the latest news from InSys Services, the local news and data company. The only news and data company – on the hab station, anyway. The investments he’d made with his savings years ago as a younger Marine were giving him a bit of a heart attack, but a good one. John Kincaid, a crazy gunnery sergeant he used to know, had convinced him to invest a few thousand credits in some crazy development scheme. Venture Capital Investment Funds. Linda had questioned it, but her intuition had seemed to urge her approval, so she’d said okay. He’d done it to shut John up, and to tell the truth, he was just helping out his fellow Marine.

  John had had a new civilian job as an investment broker at Inter-World Banking at the time. Well, Sumbitch! Jack thought to himself. A few thousand creds given to one crazy-assed Marine-turned-civilian, and now the payoff was huge, with even more to come according to the prospectus brief. They’d hit it big!

  “Guess we can afford some better digs, eh, Sparky?” He looked down at the sleeping cat he had in his lap. Long-legged and long-tailed, Sparky was the consummate Flame Point Siamese. Jack had always wanted one, but Linda had been deathly allergic. Sparky, though now relaxed and quiet, was sometimes just about as nuts as Kincaid had been back then.

  The comm chimed and Jack spoke to answer, “Jack speaking, how may I direct your call?”

  Laughter came forth on the other end for a few seconds, then he heard, “Well, I guess that’s one way to answer a call from a long-time shipmate.”

  “With a voice like that, I guess I have to ask, what’re you doing Saturday night?” Jack replied, not quite sure whose honey voice was on the other end. FTL communications could play havoc with voices, though this could be an autofacs call, or automatic facsimile, set up to act and answer like a real person. Probably asking if he wanted to sign up for a credit account. No Thanks!

  “I’ll be happy to take you up on that invite, but I’m a long way away and this call is costing me a small fortune!” She laughed a little more and Jack nailed the voice. Donna? “Well I’ll be a Monkey’s Marine! Last time I heard that sweet voice was at retirement. How have you been, Darlin’?” Jack sat up straighter and Sparky merely stretched and yawned on Jack’s lap.

  “Busy! We’re hiring for some expansions. The pay’s very good, and I thought I’d look up some of my old friends who would be perfect for this.” The voice held something Jack couldn’t quite grasp. Her voice was happy, but her tone had something else in it.

  “Don’t you know I’m living the high-life here?” he laughed back. “Old Sparky and me are doing pretty well.”

  “Sparky? You mean Johnson?” She was referring to James ‘Sparky’ Johnson, who was a wizard at electronics and engine systems.

  “No, no, no. I have a Siamese cat named Sparky, but he’s named after the same person.” He switched to video and her face popped up on the screen, as pretty as ever. “Wow!” he said out loud, not realizing his exclamation would have an effect on her.

  “Do I look alright?” Her shocked face at his exclamation made her check her clothes and hair in a nearby window or shiny object, Jack couldn’t tell which. But he was glad to see her.

  “Oh, you look just fine to me. I wasn’t prepared for such a
beautiful view, that’s all.” Dammit! Get yourself together, Jack. You ain’t a young buck no more!

  “I...ahem!...was just wondering if you’d be interested in a position...uhm...a job...working me...I mean, working with me.” She visually gulped, hard. “Here at Indera Station.”

  “I’m doing okay with my pension and investments, so I don’t really need a job. But I’m tempted to visit for other reasons. I’ll admit, they’re selfish ones.”

  “I’d love the visit! Too bad about not being interested in a good job, though. Buuuuuut, maybe you could pass it along to others who’d need one.” She looked away for a second, then back into the camera. Her look became very serious. “I need all the help I can get here, Marine.” There was a bit of noise and some shouts in the background as the screen went blank.

  Jack sat there for a few minutes and let the conversation sink in. His gut said she was in trouble and reaching out for help. “Call Saully,” he ordered the comm unit.

  A few seconds later Saully Jenkins, a fellow retired Marine from Jack’s old outfit, was on a vidcall with him. He discussed Donna’s call and the fact he hadn’t spoken with her for several years now.

  “Maybe she just wants her some of that Marine Corps hardbody, Jack?” he verbally poked at Jack. The dark-skinned retired Marine data-jock was a bona fide businessman with over a hundred employees doing investigations, data recovery, and even helpdesk support to most of the stations within a few light years. And business was very good.

  “Even if she could handle it, she wasn’t making a booty call.” Jack ruffled his short beard and absentmindedly rubbed Sparky’s fur.

  “How do you know that? She was just offering some jobs for old pals. Inside contacts are nothing new.” Saully continued to work while he was talking to Jack. The man was a data-mining machine.

  “Well, for one odd thing, she used her own money to pay for an FTL link. Otherwise, if it was a Company link, she wouldn’t have mentioned the cost.”

  “That doesn’t mean anything, Jack.” Saully tried to dismiss it. “She could be doing this independent of the company. Bigger reward, most likely.”

  “No, I don’t think so. She was a stand-up officer. Good at her job, and fearless where it counts.” He sighed and continued. “She said, ‘I need all the help I can get here, Marine.’”

  “And?” Saully hunch his shoulders to emphasize his point.

  “She said it like an order, Saully. Like a final fuckin’ order.” He was getting grumpy now. He didn’t like being grumpy.

  “Shit!” The meaning hit Saully full force. Hands on his bald head, he leaned back and then rubbed his face. “I’ll see who I can get and we’ll make arrangements to meet up at your place.” He did some quick calculating. “I can be there in about three days. I’ll send you a message with the details later.” The call ended.

  Saully wasn’t kidding around, as he found three of the old assault team still alive, willing enough and well enough to go along. Tito, who lived on the same planetary orbital as Saully, was an assault weapons specialist with a knack for scrounging things. Sherry, a hot little Italian gal who’d kick your ass in close physical combat. Then there was Phil. Why did it have to be Phil, the metaphorical crazy demo guy who loved his work a bit too much? Okay, maybe Phil wasn’t crazy. But his knowledge of chemistry and material physics was inhumanly scary. That’s what they had to work with, and they’d be there in just under two days.

  That’s when Jack decided to visit Mama Joe’s Cartage and Stowage on the outer hub. Near enough to the docks for convenience, but far enough away from the prying eyes of customs and tax agents who had scruples. Not that many agents had any scruples. Mama Joe’s was a veritable smörgåsbord of whatever was needed for a price that was usually reasonable, though hefty if the item was more difficult to obtain.

  The trip in the tram didn’t take more than twenty minutes or so to get to the outer ring. The place of business was as gray and inviting as a morgue, with a sign in plain script and a few other languages hanging on the overhead above the entrance. ‘Mama Joe’s Stowage Company. Offices throughout known space’. Convenient and tidy for dealers in just about anything you could get, legally or illegally. Business was business with Mama Joe’s. Even when finding a very rare Siamese kitten.

  Jack opened the door and walked into the middle of a heated video discussion about some goods being delivered to the wrong system. After a few seconds and some assurances about timely return of the goods, the clerk behind the counter turned and smiled at Jack.

  “Welcome to Mama Joe’s Cartage and Stowage Services,” the clerk offered with a smile.

  “Heh! Funny,” Jack replied with a grimace.

  “You!” The clerk practically reeled away from Jack and tried to flatten himself against the back wall. “What do you want?” he squeaked.

  “I need a list of supplies. Quiet-like.” Jack plopped down a payment crystal. “A little extra for...insurance purposes.”

  The clerk swiped the crystal and ran it through the database checker. It came up clean and untraceable. He relaxed some and started talking without the high pitch in his voice.

  “I see. The list?” Jack handed him another crystal, and a piece of paper with a long list of things that were to be marked as ‘Industrial Parts’ and delivered to a station near Indera Prime. After a few minutes and a quick call to upper management, the man helped Jack make the final arrangements and payments. Spending so much money didn’t bother Jack much. Kincaid’s investments had helped make sure he’d have plenty. He’d also charter a vessel to Indera as soon as possible. Now to gather their meager crew together and brief them.

  Per Saully’s promise, the group met in Jack’s quarters on schedule, which surprised Jack, because Marines seemed to hurry up and wait almost as a requirement. The group was spread out among the chairs and couches he had around the apartment’s cabin, and Sparky was having the time of his life with so much company. Moving from person to person, having his head scratched or back rubbed, pets were his and he was having it all.

  Jack poured another round of drinks after the usual greetings, ‘how you been’s, and the tall stories. He set the pitcher to the side and lifted his cup.

  “To those that made it, and those that didn’t.” The group drank the toast in silence before Jack disturbed the moment. “Here’s the deal. On my last assignment, the Isengard, I worked under Lt. Commander Donna Smith. She was top notch, and the men loved her ’cause she looked out for her own and the Marines. Damn fine officer. Navy Cross level of fine.” Jack paused. “She’s in trouble, and I intend to help her. You know everything Saully told you, but we have no idea what we’re headed into.”

  “Like Jack said, we don’t know. It could be a fluke in what she said, but I knew her for a while before Jack served with her. She was an ensign back then and took care of business. Jack and I served together on several assignments, and I trust him with my life. Some of you we served with over the years, so we trust you implicitly.” Saully dropped a download into the crew’s datapads. “That’s everything we know about the Indera System, STRAGEM Corporation, the UN presence, and just about everything, including the menus from the local food vendors.”

  “Wild goose chase to save an old girlfriend?” Sherry scritched Sparky on his head as the cat was rubbing insistently against her legs. “I’m down with that. Most likely it’ll be nothing more than a vacation to see the sights anyway.” The leggy Italian was as tawny and fit as a leopard. Tall, elf-like in physique, lean-muscled, and with a wicked spinning back kick, as Jack had found out during a sparring session before he’d left the Corps. Sherry was no joke when it came to martial arts and hair design.

  “Well, I suppose.” Sparky moved on to Tito, who felt it was his turn to add a cred or two of thought. “The question should be, who’s in charge there and why? These could be some bad hombres we’re dealing with here.” Tito was short and stocky. Light brown hair, light brown skin, with the bluest eyes you could ever imagine. He’d nail yo
u from a thousand yards away with a crew-served weapon, if necessary. Portuguese heritage and good with languages. He was presently unemployed, so that would help their cover.

  “Good question, and good observation.” Saully brought up the face and facts of the man in charge. “Dominic Cray. No known alias. Used to be an analyst for the UNES before coming into some wealth via his uncle, Benny Wilson.”

  “Oh, yeah! Major tycoon in the ship building industry. WilCorp Engines, if I recall.” Sparky had worked his way around to the crazy demo man, who was busy giving the cat a wondrous belly rub. “They got some contracts for the industrial tugs and long-haul cargo ships the UN procured a few years back. One that was worth billions, from what I read.”

  “Exactly. But his record is clean. Not so much as a hint of sin on this guy. He’s angelic, according to the official and some unofficial records I found.” Saully said unenthusiastically. “I’m not sure he partakes of any vice whatsoever.”

  “Well, hell,” Tito spat. “If this guy is so squeaky, why would Quincy’s girlfriend go all covert ops?”

  “Sorry, Jack. I can’t go on a goose chase if I don’t get to play.” Phil continued to rub on Sparky, who was in heaven as his thrum hit a crescendo.

  “Oh, you’ll get to play. Trust me.” Jack threw a small disc into the table’s data interface. It was an old DVD disc of some sort. “It’s a surprise. Dated as hell, but valid. I took the liberty of getting it through my contact locally.” He hit the download for the team and they nearly pissed themselves.

  “Holy shit!” said Sherry. “Is that the UN Secretary General and Dominic boinking kids?”

  “Madre de Dios!” Tito choked out.

  Saully just stared at the video with his mouth gaping in disbelief.

  “Well, fuck me sideways and call me Shirley! Playtime, boys and girl!” Phil smiled ear to ear. “Pardon the pun.”

  “Now who wants to beat up the big bad wolf with his own ass?” Jack pressed the play button on the OPS plan file.