by Jerry Aubin
The officer pushed her hand away brusquely. “I’m not going anywhere without the cadet.”
Imair looked at Zax’s tear-streaked face and his twisted leg. “He doesn’t much seem like he can manage to go anywhere. Leave him be and I promise no one will harm him. The sooner we get this over with, the sooner we can get him proper medical attention.”
The Boss, ignoring Imair’s directive, knelt down and scooped Zax into his arms. Zax felt wildly conflicted. The Boss was willing to throw all of their fates to the mercy of these horrific civilians, but for some reason he still attempted to protect Zax. His body initially recoiled at the man’s touch, but he fought to calm himself and eventually settled into the Omega’s arms.
Imair frowned. “Fine. Have it your way, but he better not disrupt things again or he’ll have more to worry about than a busted leg.”
CHAPTER THIRTY-NINE
Please open the hatch.
The Boss carried Zax and followed Imair to the hatch. She held it open as they passed into the FTL anteroom. It was a nondescript compartment, though Zax knew it was adjacent to the most heavily armored space in the Ship and multiple meters of exotic alloys stood between him and the engine. The FTL device itself was benign, but the Ship’s designers were well aware of its strategic value as a target. The armor was intended to protect it from all enemies both alien and Shipbound. Only the Ship’s total annihilation would penetrate all of its layers of protection. That, Zax rued, or one of the Omegas with access deciding to hand it over without so much as a whimper.
Once the Boss provided his biometrics to the reader which controlled the final hatch, it would open and the civilian scum would pour in and rig their explosives around the engine. The Captain would never risk the destruction of the FTL and would be forced to acquiesce to the civilians’ demands. The distances involved in interstellar travel were so vast, only the engine’s ability to instantly jump from one star system to another allowed the Ship to move far enough fast enough that humanity could survive. Their food and energy reserves would be depleted long before the Ship reached another system at sublight velocity.
Imair continued towards the interior hatch which led to the FTL, but the Boss halted. She realized he was no longer behind her, turned, and snapped.
“You’re the one who told me we needed to rush. Get moving!”
The Boss looked around the compartment and gestured towards its many occupants. “Not until you get all of them out of here. There will be plenty of time for your team to load in the explosives later. When I speak with the Captain, I don’t want anyone present except you and the boy.”
Imair stormed back to the Boss and forced her face as close to his as she could without crushing Zax between them in the officer’s arms. “What makes you think you’re in a position where I should give a damn about what you want? How about I send someone to grab the controller and we can have a little fun with your collar?”
Zax held his breath in suspense for nearly a min as Imair glared at the Boss and the man stared impassively back at her. The civilian finally gasped in surprise when the lighting in the compartment switched to amber and a loud klaxon wailed. She swiveled her head all around trying to identify the threat. The Boss grinned.
“That is why you should give a damn about what I want. The Captain has disabled the life support systems throughout the Ship. The alarm here and in Engineering Control is only informational because we’re covered by an emergency system and will be fine, but oxygen replenishment is about to cease almost everywhere else. You don’t have to worry about any of your people running out of air, though, because the Captain is also preparing to vent the entire Ship and send all ten million of them into space. Assuming she continues to follow the procedures to the letter, it will all be over in less than three hundred secs. You’ll eventually figure out how to force me to open that hatch and get you into the FTL, but I’m beyond confident that I can hold out against any torture for at least that long.”
Imair paused for a moment, but then stepped back and bellowed over the combined din of the alarms and the civilians’ activity. “Clear the compartment! Everything’s going according to plan, but I need everyone to leave. Now!”
The civilians initially froze from indecision, but Imair’s final exclamation sent them scurrying out of the compartment. Rege herded everyone out and then shut the hatch as he was the last to leave. The Boss gently placed Zax down on the deck and held out his hand to Imair. The civilian handed him the communicator and stepped back. The Omega fiddled with the controls for a moment, and then the Captain’s image appeared on the vidscreen mounted on the wall. Zax could see the Boss was broadcasting his own image as well. The Captain recognized her fellow Omega and smiled.
“I didn’t expect to see you right now, Boss. You must be aware of what I’m doing, so I hope you can understand this really isn’t a great time for a chat.”
“My apologies, ma’am, but that’s entirely why I’m calling. I need you to put a halt to your plans and stand down.”
The Captain appeared confused for a moment but then grinned. “That’s a good one, Boss. I’d almost think you were trying to make a joke if I didn’t know you so well. I really do need to get back to business right now.”
“Ma’am—I regret to inform you that Alpha has invoked Order Sixty-Six, and as the second highest ranking officer I’ve concurred. You’re being relieved of your rank effective immediately.”
The Captain’s mouth dropped in response to the Boss’s statement. She paused for a moment until she regrouped.
“Where are you right now, Boss?”
“I’m in the FTL anteroom, ma’am. The civilians will be entering the engine compartment momentarily to rig it with explosives. I’ve negotiated with their leader and Alpha to craft a solution which will end this uprising without any further loss of life. I will retain my position and command of the Crew, albeit under the oversight of our new civilian President. The civilians will use their ability to destroy the FTL engine to guarantee Crew compliance going forwards. You’ll rescind the order to vent the Ship, reengage all life support, and return to your quarters immediately.”
Zax could not believe his ears, but the rationale behind the Boss’s actions had become crystal clear. He not only saved his own skin by allowing the civilians to enter the FTL compartment and take the device hostage but also maintained his position of power even with the transition to civilian control.
The Captain grimaced. “I always figured you had something like this in you, but Alpha insisted I support your rise to command every step of the way. What happens if I refuse and press this button here to commence the venting?”
“Frankly, ma’am, the same thing that happens if you agree. In either case, you’re going out an airlock. The difference is that if you don’t cooperate, it will only happen after you’ve endured ghastly retribution. I urge you to do the honorable thing. Halt your orders. Step aside. Our time has passed, ma’am. We need to give the civilians a chance to run the show now.”
The Captain cracked a wry smile. “I honestly have a hard time disagreeing with your sentiment, Boss, but it seems strange that you’ve somehow managed to finagle things so you’re still effectively in charge.”
“Ma’am, this is not an outcome I sought. I’ve spent the day doing everything I could to block the civilians from achieving their goals. Once I was captured, it became clear to Alpha this was the best remaining outcome. I urge you to stand down, ma’am. We lost. They won. The best thing you can do now is accept your own death and with it spare the lives of ten million innocents.”
The Captain looked pensive for a moment before she spoke. “I will do it on one condition, Boss. I want you to be the one pressing the button which sends me out the airlock. No coup is rightfully complete until the new leader is baptized with the blood of the old.”
The Boss looked to Imair for her approval. The civilian had watched the back and forth with intense interest and smiled when the Captain bitterly spat out her
final words. She nodded to the Boss, and he repeated the gesture to the Captain. The video connection with the bridge went dead and a few secs later the klaxon silenced and the lights returned to normal.
“Well done, Boss,” Imair said. “I can see we’re going to work very well together moving forward. I must say, though, how surprising it is to learn the depths of the Captain’s mistrust of you. It’s clear I need to keep an eye on you, even more so than would be obvious given the way in which we’ve been thrust together. Regardless, it’s time for you to deliver the last part of our deal. Please open the hatch.”
The Boss didn’t look at Imair but approached the hatch in response. As he did so, a small control panel lit up blinking red and he placed his hand upon it. After a moment, the panel flashed yellow and the Boss spoke, “Alpha-1178-Zeta-07291.” With the access code completing the process, the panel glowed green and the hatch began to slide aside. What had appeared to be a normal hatch from the outside slowly cracked open and revealed itself to be unimaginably thick.
The Boss returned to Zax and scooped him up once again. The man’s expression was one of remorse initially, but he switched to a tight smile as he spoke to Zax.
“Come on, cadet. We might as well get you a glimpse of the FTL engine as long as we’re here. Who knows how long it will be before it gets destroyed.”
The hatch had completed its ponderous opening process by the time they approached it. The Boss stepped into the compartment, and Zax was underwhelmed as he looked around. It was even more boring in appearance than the anteroom which preceded it. The Boss carried him near the device which stood alone in the middle of the room. Zax’s breath was taken away as he viewed the FTL engine up close.
It was a sphere which measured a meter in diameter and from afar appeared to be dark and lifeless. Zax’s first glance had suggested it was of uniform color and density, but a closer inspection revealed it shimmered with twinkling lights. The more Zax focused, the more he saw the lights actually appeared to be stars, constellations, and nebulae. It was almost as if someone had captured a galaxy within that sphere, and Zax was thoroughly mesmerized as he stared deeper and deeper into the device.
Zax reverie was broken when he felt the Boss jostled. The civilians had begun to stream in. The Boss turned to exit the compartment, but he crashed into a civilian as he did so and lost his balance. They both fell to the deck and their combined mass came down on Zax’s shattered leg. The pain was so intense that he lost consciousness, but not before he made note of the gleeful expressions on the faces of the civilians as they carried in their crates. Crates filled with explosives which guaranteed their control of every decision which would be made on the Ship going forwards.
CHAPTER FORTY
I'm making good on that promise.
“Cadet—it’s time to wake up.” Zax ignored the male voice. There was a dull ache from nearly his entire body, with the exception being his right leg where the pain was more intense. He had vague memories of civilians and blasters and klaxons, but thinking about any of that seemed like it could wait until he had slept for a few more days. Zax scrunched his eyes tight and wished he could somehow do the same to his ears. He felt a transdermal injector against his arm and a moment later his eyes opened with a start. Whatever drug he had been given took effect and sent him into instant arousal.
A medic smiled down at Zax—the same man who had cared for him a year ago when he came back from the alien planet and was subsequently Plugged In. “Welcome back to the land of the living, cadet. You’ve been out for thirty-six hours and only eight of those can be attributed to the effects of the anesthesia we used. You’ve already been hit with five hundred demerits for oversleeping, and I figured that was enough. Plus, someone really wants to speak with you.”
The medic left the compartment and Zax took inventory of his condition. His right leg was encased in an aerogel cast, and he thought back to how it had been broken. The pain he felt must be the aftereffects of the bone being knit back together. He found himself grateful for the idea of being stuck in the medbay for a little while longer as it meant he could avoid returning to duty.
Duty. Zax wondered what exactly his duty even was any longer. The civilians had captured the Ship. Correction—the Boss had let the civilians capture the Ship. Was Zax supposed to report back to Waste Systems once he was healthy as if nothing had happened? The hatch opened and Sergeant Bailee entered.
“How’re you feeling, cadet?” The gruff Marine continued without waiting for any reply. “I’ve heard about what went down after I got knocked out and wanted to commend you. I know how badly you wanted to shoot that civilian and protect Kalare, but you did the right thing by not doing so. I also wanted to assure you that no one blames you for missing your shot and not killing the Boss. After all, it’s not like you’re a Marine or anything. Maybe I’ll get a chance to beat some more training into you, and we’ll make a proper marksman of you yet.”
The sergeant turned and walked out without a further word. Zax was flooded with emotion. On one hand, he was dumbfounded by the Marine’s words. Why had he made any mention of Zax getting “blamed” for missing that shot? It was impossible for anyone to think Zax could have done anything better. The Boss would surely be dead and the Captain would have successfully ended the uprising by venting the Ship if the Omega had not revealed the presence of Zax’s blaster at the very last moment.
The more dominant emotion was grief at the memory of Kalare being killed by the civilians when he could have shot Rege and given her at least a temporary reprieve. He chose his mission to save the Ship over protecting his friend, only to see that mission fail due to the actions of its intended target. He closed his eyes and fought back his grief. The hatch started to open again, and Zax rolled over to face away from it. He desperately hoped the medic would take the hint and come back later.
After a few secs of silence, a chair was pulled up next to the bed and someone sat down. His curiosity finally got the better of him, so Zax rolled over and came face to face with the Boss. The man smiled around a cigar which was once again clamped between his teeth. As was often the case, Zax didn’t think the expression quite reached all the way to the Omega’s eyes.
“Greetings, Zax. How do you feel?”
A million different potential responses flooded Zax’s mind. The most prominent was jumping out of bed and killing the man with his bare hands. That didn’t seem feasible given the state of his leg, so Zax simply remained silent and stared blankly at the officer. The man’s expression tightened slightly, but he maintained the smile.
“No need to say anything. I understand you’re probably still feeling groggy from being unconscious for so long. Not to mention whatever pain meds they have you on. It’s been a pretty crazy day and a half around here while you’ve been recovering, though you probably could have guessed that. I don’t have too much time because I’ve got a meeting with the President, but I asked them to notify me as soon as you were awake so I could come and formally thank you for everything you did.
“Before we left Waste Systems on our way to the Marine garrison, I had promised you would be rewarded if you kept me out of the hands of the civilians. I’m making good on that promise. We know things didn’t quite go according to plan, but there’s no way you should be held responsible for the final outcome.”
The Omega paused for a deep breath and continued. “I will be awarding you 50,000 credits. I’d like you back in the Threat chair once we finish getting Flight Ops restored, and I’ve arranged for you to receive a spot in the Pilot Academy. Finally, I’m offering once again to be your mentor. I believe you have the capacity for true greatness, and I want to do everything I can to be sure you achieve your potential. Hell, you might even get to be Captain some day if we ever actually have one again. What do you say, cadet?”
Zax was speechless, but his rage had been displaced by absolute shock. He quickly did the math and concluded that 50,000 credits would move him all the way to the very top of the Leaderbo
ard. Not only would he be back working in Flight Ops, but he’d also be back on the path to achieving his lifelong dream of being a pilot. It was everything he had fantasized about for the past long year of working in that hellhole Waste Systems. Except—
“I hope you can understand my confusion, sir. I’ve been sitting here worrying about how I didn’t accomplish what I was told was critical to save the Ship. In fact, Sergeant Bailee was just in here a few mins ago to reassure me that no one blamed me for missing the shot and not killing you like I was supposed to. It seemed odd, though, how he thought I would feel responsible given how the outcome of that shot wasn’t the least bit my fault. It was yours.”
The smile faded from the man’s face. He appraised Zax for a few secs before speaking.
“I told you at the time, Zax, that I didn’t expect you to understand my actions and that’s still true. I did what I did with the firm conviction I chose the best option for the Ship out of what was available. For what it’s worth, the civilians have been true to their word and everything is getting back to normal. Accept what I’m offering. Let me teach you the lessons of true leadership and I promise that someday you’ll look back on all of this and it will make perfect sense.”
For the second time in a year, Zax found himself at a turning point in his life which entirely hinged on how he responded to the Omega. Was he be capable of setting aside all of his concerns and doubts about the Boss?
Was the man responsible for Mikedo’s death and did he then try to have Zax and Kalare killed as well, or had that all been a horrible coincidence? Kalare was convinced the Boss was innocent, but she’d never provided an explanation sufficient to assuage Zax’s concerns. And what about how the Omega effectively handed control over to the civilians without a struggle? He claimed that Alpha initiated the order and he only agreed out of his duty to protect the Ship, but Zax had a hard time looking past yet another coincidence where the Ship’s interests also happened to align perfectly with what was best for the Boss. Did Zax really want to ally himself with someone who might ultimately prove to be a murderous schemer, someone prepared to do anything to retain his power?