Defiance

by Sean Liebling

  "Now that will come in handy," grinned Jack again, as they kept walking.

  *****

  Henricus sighed and rubbed his forehead as he finally shut down the communicator. This last call was to one of their ships building yards on yet another star system, the one building the Prometheus, and he was informed the ship would be ready within the two years previously projected that a full crew would be assigned too it, as it was shipped to Paradise. That was part four and the most time consuming of the calls he made this evening, as he had to go over all the current engineer reports and check the progress of each stage of development.

  The first call had been to the council. There, he argued Andros case for promotion to Captain and the assignment of the Prometheus as his first vessel of command. While the council had been in favor of the first, they balked at the second and it took two long hours to finally get them to agree. The Prometheus would be the Gentes newest and most advanced ship, capable of a sustained sixteen thousand lights. This meant that once the battleship entered 'slip', it would instantly be accelerated to that same light speed until either going out of slip, or reducing the energy input, which would slow them down. The Odyssey was only capable of eight thousand lights and that was still fast. With the new ship, a crew could cross the galaxy within the span of a normal tour, or two. Henricus knew that much faster ships were needed, if they were to reach the other galaxies and the engineers were working on that.

  The second call was to Naval Procurement, where he informed them of the council's new orders. They then forced him to wait while those orders were verified. He then he had them create full access for Andros into their databanks now. Andros would need to start selecting his crew as it would take him some time. This would be the same crew that would fly the ship to their current location, and where Andros would assume command.

  The third call had been to what the Gentes Naval Command simply referred to as stores, where he ordered a full planetary defense and incorporation kit. These were unimaginably large container ships that transported everything, a fleet of them, and each dwarfed the Odyssey, as an elephant dwarfed a flea. These great ships would remain in a nearby pocket dimension for that moment when the Odyssey took out the sentry's of the Malum. That in itself would be tricky, but doable. However, it was essential that defenses were laid in starting from day one, as it would take years to fully protect the solar system. Simply bringing the equipment here, did not place it, program it, or man it. Those of Paradise would man the facilities that needed a human complement, but that was quite easily done with hypno training.

  Slated for shipping were mines, inner system and outer system fortresses, unmanned of course, mining ships also unmanned, ore processing ships, gene therapy centers and hypno training centers along with a full planetary complement of fabricators. These items were essential to a new member's survival against the Malum, as any undefended world would be sucked dry overnight. The Gentes had learned their lessons the hard way in this regard, much to their sorrow. The cost might have been considered prodigious but Henricus's race did not view it that way. The year was thirty six, four fifty nine, A.D. and there was no money, only position and survival. Unmanned fabricators and unlimited energy and materials were not a cost per sey, when even fabricators could rebuild themselves after they broke down. Still, every man and woman worked if able, as there were always plenty of jobs.

  A standard selection of advisors would also be assigned to Paradise, as well as an embassy for the near future. Paradise would not be incorporated into the Federation, until they had unified their planet. As Henricus had told Jack, they had learned their lesson the hard way. But right now, he needed food, then a shower, then his bed.

  *****

  Chapter 22:

  Jack woke and yawned. He was still a bit tired but exercise would solve that for him. He picked up his new communicator and made a simple inquiry without pushing any buttons. "Andros." Immediately the small unit beeped and Andros sleepy voice came over the device.

  "Who is this and do you realize what time it is in the morning?" Jack grinned as he answered.

  "It's your new buddy Jack. Wake up, get a shower, let's grab what you call a light breakfast and show me where your training area is."

  "Ahh, training area? What did you have in mind?" Andros voice sounded more alert now and uncertain.

  "Why where the men spar of course. I always do morning exercises. Blade play, hand to hand, wrestling, that sort of thing. Don't your military?"

  "Oh yes, that. Of course and I'm sure they'll be happy to work out with you. Be sure to wear those gravity restraints though, I don't want you killing them."

  "Will do, see you in fifteen and thanks for the outfits."

  "You bet and you're welcome, see you in fifteen or twenty." The device beeped again signaling that the connection was severed.

  Last night, Andros had taken him for his first meal aboard ship. It looked like nothing he had eaten before, but it was delicious, filling and Andros had informed him it was highly nutritious. It was also served on a white tray, that he was told was made of a substance called plassteel, supposedly a substance as hard as the hardest steel and as malleable as plastic, whatever that was. He did not concern himself with the names and simply enjoyed the meal. They also had a close approximate to the mead of his world and he ordered two of those. Andros partook of one, much smaller and simply shook his head at Jacks largess.

  "I'm building up energy for tonight with Caitlin, he quipped as he wolfed down his food, causing his new friend to laugh.

  Now, twenty minutes later and dressed in a new outfit. A loose pair of pants and shirt of medium grey color, he had left the jerkin vest back in his room, because this was to be a workout. As he walked back and forth in the hallway before his door, he finally saw Andros appear, dressed in something similar.

  "About time, friend. You rise too late in the day. Hell, the sun is already up!"

  "The sun is always up where we currently reside," replied Andros back as they shook forearms in greeting. "Come on, I'll introduce you to some of the men. We'll be going to the senior army officers training area and I'm sure they'll want to meet you."

  "Wait. Which training area has the best fighters?"

  "Oh, well the enlisted facilities of course. We have several top units stationed on the ship. Why?"

  "Let's go there."

  "Wait, what? Seriously? I don't want you hurt," sputtered Andros, as he looked alarmed. "These guys are really good."

  "Excellent, I'll hand them their asses then," smirked Jack, as Andros simply shook his head and led the way.

  After a quick snack of what tasted and looked remarkably like fluffy pancakes and eggs, they entered the training area, which was vast, a cavernous room where hundreds of men were working out. Off to one side, were thick mats laid out on the floor, along with several square, raised platforms surrounded by red ropes. Inside all of them, men were striking each other in a variety of ways. On the mats, Jack saw wrestling and other fighting styles as the men here honed their bodies to perfection. He kept looking and finally turned to Andros, a perplexed expression upon his face.

  "Is there no swordplay with practice swords?"

  "Well, there is some, but not here. Only the masters of certain disciplines carry swords into battle in our time and they are a very select group. Most have been training for hundreds of years. They are honestly a cult, they're that good."

  "I'll save them for later. Right now, I want to warm up. Yo men! I need a partner for some warmup. Who's considered pretty good here?" Jack shouted out the last as he saw out of the corner of his eye that the face of Andros turned beet red. He grinned as a young appearing black man walked up to them wearing what appeared to be form fitting, yet padded gloves.

  "I'm pretty good old man, who are you?" The reply was cocky, Jacks answer, was even cockier.

  "I'm Jack of Ashton, of the planet Paradise. Who are you?"

  "Ha, a primitive. They call me jungle, because I like jungle
s, but my name is actually Paul. You sure you want to mix it up? I've been training for two hundred years." Now the man appeared to be unsure of Jack and looked askance of Andros. "Greetings Ships Second. Is he up to this? I heard they were heavy worlders."

  "Well, I think so, and the gravity bands and boots force his body to respond to ours, but he is large and well muscled. He is one of their greatest fighters so I would say, I think so," said Andros repeating himself.

  "Alright, I can deal with that and the bands can't be broken no matter how hard I hit." The man nodded and waved for Jack to follow him. Shortly they found themselves on one of the large mats and the man handed him a pair of gloves similar to his own after searching a nearby box. Jack tried them on and found they fit snuggly and oddly felt good.

  "Here wear these, they will protect us slightly, enough usually to prevent broken bones but if that happens there are the healing machines. What rules do you wish?"

  "You men practice with rules?" Jack asked in surprise, causing Paul to grin.

  "Oh, I like you better already. Anything goes then. We walk to the edge of the mat then come in fighting. Oh, and try to go easy on me," the smirk was directed at Jack and he simply nodded in return. What would happen would happen. He walked to the edge of the mat and waited. Presently Paul did the same and then slapped his fists together and started walking forward in a cocky manner. Jack copied him and they met near the center.

  The first strike was Pauls and it came in fast, yet to Jack, quite slow. He easily batted it away with his right hand, using the knifes edge to hit the forearm hard and demanded. "Faster Paul, a child could hit better than that on my world." The last was said with a grin as he made a come to me gesture.

  The next strike was a blow with the opposite fist, with an initial leg faint. Jack approved at the deception and the fact the blow came in at least twice faster. He still could have blocked, but did not. He wanted to see how hard the man hit. Landing, the blow hurt slightly, but really wasn't what he was normally used to receiving from his own guardsmen. He hoped Paul was not the best they had. He stepped back as Paul did and worked his jaw a bit, making sure nothing was damaged.

  "You done, old man? I know that hurt. You could not even block a full blow." The gloating was unmistakable and Paul was hopping up and down on both feet like some kind of circus animal, causing Jack to simply shake his head. During this period of two strikes, the men in the room had crowded around the mat, at least 10 deep, all watching and most smiling.

  "Paul. I did not block because I wanted to see how hard you hit," he said as he raised his hands again.

  "Well how hard did it hit?" demanded Paul as he advanced on Jack again.

  "Like a weak woman," responded his opponent and moved in.

  The next strike from Paul was marginally faster than the last, yet still not fast enough. As it was traveling through the air, Jack simply stepped inside the swing and swung upward, delivering an uppercut to Paul's chin then as the man was rising off his feet, he followed through, landing four lighting quick strikes upon his upper torso while shuffling forward as the other was propelled through the air. Finally, he scythed Paul's legs out from under him as he fell, with a low leg sweep, causing his combatant to hit the mat on his upper back. Jack did not even put his full strength into the blows and saw this other was dazed. Quickly, he reached down and dragged Paul to his feet, and began clapping him on his back to get him breathing again a bit quicker.

  "You okay, Paul?"

  "Wow, what did you hit me with?" slurred Paul, as he turned an accusing eye on Andros who shrugged and replied while Jack continued to hold his training partner upright.

  "He hit you with his fists. You know he's earth normal with the gravity restraints, but his muscles are denser, much denser and his reflexes quicker, because on his world it's kill or be killed from childhood. You really should have suspected this." Now Andros was openly smiling, with a relieved expression on his face.

  "Don't worry about it Paul, your good. Pretty good. You need to work on your speed though and I think you tap instead of actually punch an opponent. You need to envision your fist going through their head or body," remarked Jack as he finally released Paul then grabbed his wrist in a handshake. "Good spar."

  "Shit, damn good spar. Can I come down and train with you?" inquired the other man. "You have some major skills. How much do you train each day?"

  "Not with me no. I would put you in a second year class. We train for five years before I let them see battle, as they simply aren't ready yet. It's rough and demanding and they train for twelve hours a day, the same as I do. However, you are welcome, if you can get permission. You will learn...or get hurt a lot. Not sure if your muscles can take the additional gravity though," remarked Jack.

  "Oh, those gravity restraints work in reverse you know, I can easily work out on your world with them on, and they can't be broken," replied Paul with a grin as he held onto Jacks arm in a friendly way, now.

  "There are plenty of women down there that would like to meet you also," whispered Jack with a wink, causing Paul to laugh.

  "I'm all in, can you arrange it, Andros? I need a break before we spar again, though, give me five."

  "Actually, I was thinking of three on one, then we'll go with five probably. Any takers?" he called out. Instantly dozens of men crowded close and he selected three.

  "I'm just warming up. Make it good men," he called out as he went to the edge of the mat and came in swinging.

  Two hours later, he had vanquished over forty of the men and while breathing hard, was hyper excited. By the time they were done, hundreds of men were watching and Andros informed Jack that the matches were being broadcast ship wide. A statement, Jack did not understand exactly, yet assumed it mean the entire ship was watching. The last match took him down, to his chagrin, yet all the five men assembled before him shook his wrist with thanks and vowed to be in that training class.

  "Jack?" said Andros, as he stuffed Jack into a nearby shower unit in the men's bathroom, then laid out a new set of one of Jacks outfits for him, when he was finished.

  "What?" mumbled Jack, under the spray of water as he doused his naked body. He had to be very careful in the shower after removing the gravity restraints and as Henricus said, move in baby steps.

  "How big is your warrior training ground?"

  "Not sure. Several hundred feet on a side at least, why?"

  "You may have to enlarge it because I think half the men are going to follow you down once we remove the Malum sentries."

  "Well if we need too, we need too. I'll take them all. Many fine men here, they just need a better edge and to train more. They are sloppy with only an hour or two a day. They need more to be truly superior." Jack laughed at the words of Andros and finished drying himself off, then quickly dressed and asked. "Where too next, and thanks for the workout?"

  "Now we go see the Captain. By the way, I got my ship, so I'll be the next Captain on site for ten years after Henricus leaves."

  "Good news, now lead on."

  *****

  Ivy woke with a fuzzy head, unsure where she was for a moment, then realized she was in Andrea's tent, with Andrea drapped over her and sucking on Ivy's left nipple in her sleep, which was probably what woke Ivy. The sensation was more than stimulating but she knew she had work to do and plenty of it. Pushing the other woman off her, she demanded.

  "Wake up, Andrea. Time to rise and shine and start our chores."

  "Nooo, let's snuggle for a couple hours, see what happens," murmured the Amazon with a lazy smile and eyes still closed. Ivy rolled over on top of her and pried those eyelids open, demanding again, "No, get up. We get dressed and I need to see to our men and you girls need to bath and start training, I'm sure the guard is already here as they get up really early." It was already light outside as sunlight peaked through the cracks in the stitching, causing Ivy to groan. She hoped Conrad was not too disappointed in her but she'd had more to drink last night than at any time in her short lifes
pan.

  "Oh fine. Where is my tunic and pants," grumbled Andrea, sitting up with eyes still closed and felt around for her clothing. Ivy ignored her as she found her own folded and put away clothes, dressed quickly and exited the tent. Nearby, she saw at least twenty of the guard, building the fire up higher and beginning to roast meat over its flames while they sat around the central fire pit.

  Oh by the Gods! No no no and no!" she shouted as she charged forward and grabbing a leather handle, struggled to pull the carcass of what was obviously a dear from the spit. One of the men took pity on her and grinning, helped her remove it to place on nearby ferns. "What is this? Meat for breakfast? We need fresh bread, cheese, fruit and mead. What are you men thinking? My master goes away for a couple days and you fall apart? What am I going to do with you?" she shouted, her face beet red, then noticed they were all laughing at her.

  "Ivy, calm down, we brought all that, we were just starting to slow roast the meat. We shot the deer on our way in," laughed a senior sergeant as he patted her on the back. "Relax, we got this. Are there any slaves around here? We could use some help in setting up the grub for the guys. We left before breakfast and are a bit hungry."

  "No, but we have better, wait one master, please." Now Ivy raised her head and shouted. "I need women at the cooking fire, we have warriors to feed and I want my sisters to feed them. Andrea, get your ass out here!"

  "Ivy, why are you wearing clothing?" remarked the same sergeant, as he eyed her wardrobe with a puzzled look.

  "Because the Amazons insisted on it after I beat their leader in a dual and master Conrad and my master, both said it was okay."

  "Alright then, but understand, we prefer you naked," grinned the guard, as he sat down while she simply stuck her tongue out at him, causing all the men to laugh again.

  By this time, many of the Amazons were awake, as well as most of the servants and they busied themselves preparing the morning meal for the guard and others. Tables were set up and food prepared, the deer carcass was cut up into smaller segments and roasting begun while the bread was warmed in a nearby clay oven. The fresh fruit was diced and the cheesed sliced into thin wafers, then as the meat was almost done, the warm bread was removed from the oven and cut into thick slices. Then wooden platters, that were normally reserved for special guests and in this case the guard applied, were loaded up with an assortment of food and served to each man, along with large mugs of mead.