First of the First

by Andrew Maclure

  “No it’s bloody not! It means I’ll get everyone a drink,” he said crossly.

  “We already had drinks.” Simon said. “Or is that why you wanted us to empty our drinks on you, so you can get us fresh ones?”

  “I’m getting showered and changed!” Mark said and blinked out.

  There was a moments silence in the dining room before everyone burst out laughing.

  ◆◆◆

  Freshly showered and changed, but in no better mood than when he had left, Mark blinked back into the dining room. Seltet and Simon had both left.

  “So what’s your AI done?” Sally asked as Mark got himself a coffee.

  “Nothing.”

  “Don’t sulk. It must have done something to get you so excited.”

  “I don’t want to talk about it now.”

  “Come on mammal boy, tell us.” Mike said.

  “Piss off.” Mark replied.

  Bekkreshan and Touren put their empty plates and glasses into the synthesizer for recycling, then stood. Touren put her large clawed hand on Marks shoulder and said, “Why don’t you come to the bar with us?” Then she and Bekkreshan blinked out.

  Mark looked at Sally, she gave an almost imperceptible nod.

  “I’ll see you both later.” Mark said as he stood, then blinked to the bar.

  As he moved to the table where Touren and Bekkreshan were sitting, he noticed Simon and Orange at a table, Simon with a large glass of some kind of alien beer, Orange with a flask of something bubbling and giving off sulphurous fumes. Simon turned to face him and called out, “Are the drinks on you again!” and burst out laughing. Orange glanced at Mark then looked away and took a drink from his flask.

  “Ignore him.” Bekkreshan said. “I’ve ordered you a fresh coffee. The bar bot will bring it over in a moment.” She put her huge hand on top of Mark’s. “You’ve had a tough time of it lately. It’s not that long since you left Earth and a lot has happened to you since. We’ve talked a lot with Sally since we joined your crew. She’s wrestling with her own problems at the moment and she knows she’s not being as supportive to you as she should be. As for Mike, she’s really struggling and though she’s obviously very fond of you, part of her coping strategy is to give you a hard time.”

  “What about Simon?”

  “Simon? He’s just a dick.” Bekkreshan said.

  “Simon is driven by his own demons.” Touren said, giving Bekkreshan a sharp look. “He seems to be a lost soul, completely beyond help, but nobody who joins an independent army is whole and undamaged. We’re always happy for you to talk to us, in confidence. Take advantage of us while we’re here.”

  “Are you planning to leave?” Mark asked.

  “No, despite every one’s problems, you’ve got a good crew and we like it here, but nothing lasts forever.

  “That’s the second time you’ve referred to ‘my crew’, but we’re all part of Sally’s team.”

  “Do you know why we all call us your crew?”

  “Because it’s my ship?”

  “Because that’s what Sally calls us, your crew.”

  “No shit!”

  “Yes, shit.” Touren said.

  “My little translation joke.” Marks AI said.

  “But you both threw your drinks over me. That’s not what I’d expect my ship’s crew to do to the Captain.”

  “We genuinely thought it was an Earth custom. So did Mike. It was only Sally and Simon who knew it wasn’t. We’re sorry, aren’t we Bekkreshan.”

  “Yes, we are. But it was quite funny.”

  Mark smiled. “I suppose it was. OK, you’re forgiven. I’m not sure about Sally and Simon though.”

  “Rise above it Mark. Put it down to a bit of hazing from two people who are very fond of you.”

  “What, Simon?”

  “You sound surprised.”

  “I am.”

  “Everybody on board is fond of you Mark. We think even Orange is, but we can’t really tell. Do you know what he is or where he is from? We’ve never come across anything like him and our AI’s can’t find out anything about him.”

  “All I can tell you is that even the People don’t know for sure, but they have a theory. I can’t tell you what it is because the People keep a lot of secrets from me and that’s one of them.”

  “That’s a strange thing to keep secret.” Touren said.

  “Drink your coffee and go back to Sally and Mike. They both need you right now. Bekkreshan said.”

  “I never had anyone who needed me back when I was on Earth.”

  “That’s the disadvantage of living in a primitive culture.” Touren said. “An individual’s true worth is rarely recognized. Remember to come to us, but go now, they need you.”

  Mark stood up and said, “Thank you, both of you.” then blinked out.

  Touren looked across the table at Bekkreshan. “It’s as well we came and joined them. They really, really need us. Let’s go and join Simon and Orange and get completely wasted.”

  ◆◆◆

  Mark blinked into the dining room and before he sat down said, “We need a plan. We’ve got to collect Brog – is that his whole name? And we can drop off ex Colonel Drad Si Jass at the same time. Would you arrange that Sally? We need to get those Herassan ships out of Dock Two. Mike, arrange that with Bryd and tell him we’ll be bringing Brog – what did you say his name is?”

  “You didn’t give me a chance. His name is Brog Dant. And yes, I will arrange a time to collect him and yes I will arrange with Colonel D’Nesh for us to deliver Drad Ki Jass into his custody.” She turned to Mike, “I told you it wouldn’t be long before he started giving orders.”

  “Any more orders for me Sir?” Mike asked.

  “Yes. Set up a meeting with Sha and her team and the Senior Secretary. We need to meet Bryd first, then Sha, then the Senior Secretary. I have an agenda for each meeting, but we need to resolve the issue of how the Freedom Movement’s security force fits in with the Police and Combined Armed Services. I’ve got an idea for that.”

  “I was wondering what we’d do with them.” Mike said. “The situation was different when we set them up.”

  Mark smiled. “A lot has changed very quickly. It was only a few days ago that you thought your biggest problem was that weird Gretton who thought he was going to take over the Herassan Empire.”

  “So when we’ve done all that, what needs to be done next?” Sally asked.

  “When we’ve finished here, we take that break we were supposed to be having right now and go to the resort planet you spoke about.”

  “Are you forgetting something?” Mike asked.

  “I don’t think so. Have I?”

  “Those soldiers you nearly killed when you cut their troop carrier in half at the Palace.”

  “What about them?”

  “I heard you had them brought up to the Swift because only the Peoples medical technology could save them.”

  “Yes, I remember that. It’s not the sort of thing you forget in a hurry. Have you finished?”

  “When will they be recovered enough to return them to Tefran?”

  “By yesterday. A lander took them back to the City Hospital yesterday afternoon for a final check up by Herassan doctors before being taken into custody by Bryd’s people.”

  “Why didn’t I know that?”

  “You’ve been under a lot of stress lately…”

  “I meant, why hadn’t anyone told me? Why hadn’t you told me?”

  “I have now. Happy?”

  “You are such a dick.” Mike said. “And we can go to the resort planet after we go to the place Touren told us about, where she said we could start a fight before we got off the lander.”

  “Absolutely not!” Mark said. “We need a nice, peaceful rest.”

  “The wild lawless planet is a good idea Mark. It will give the team a chance to blow off a little steam first, then we’ll go to the resort planet.” Sally said.

  Mark sighed. “OK, but whi
le you’re all enjoying yourselves getting into fights, I’m going to be sitting by the pool doing crossword puzzles.”

  “OK brave leader.” Mike said, “I’ve messaged Bryd and Sha, the meeting with Pem, the Senior Secretary, is already in place. Bryd has replied, he’s OK to meet at first light on Tefran, and he’ll have pilots for the captured fleet ships ready for us to bring back here tomorrow morning. I’m still waiting to hear from Sha.”

  “Brog has been preparing to leave since I spoke to him yesterday, he’s ready to leave now. D’Nesh is not happy that we’re taking away Brog and leaving him with Drad Ki Jass. He said, ‘We don’t do prisoners.’, but as I pointed out, we do have a prison facility which we occasionally use to hold our own soldiers in. Simon knows all about it, he’s been in there a few times. Anyway, D’Nesh said he’ll be ready to do the swap in about four hours.”

  “Good. Are either of you on sleep suppressors?” Mark asked.

  “I’m not.” Sally answered.

  “Or me.” Mike said.

  “Why do you ask?” Sally said.

  “I just think that while we don’t need them we should all be off them. Then if we need them for an emergency, we can use them for longer.”

  “You’re really starting to think like a leader. Nobody should be on them, it’s a standing order that they are only to be used while on a mission, but it gets ignored sometimes. I’ll send a reminder to everyone. I don’t know what’s weirder, Mike acting like a normal person, or you acting like a leader.”

  “The weirdest thing is you taking orders from Mark.” Mike said.

  “They aren’t orders,” Mark said, “just suggestions.”

  “I know an order when I hear one. You know what they say, ‘if it looks like a krangon and it wriggles like a krangon and it snorts like a krangon, then it’s a krangon.” Mike said.

  “A better idiomatic translation might be ‘if it looks like a duck and walks like a duck…”

  “Yes, I got that Kate.” Mark subvocalized to his AI.

  “We’ve got four hours before we need to do anything.” Sally said. “I’m going to find Ranesh and see if she would like to do some sparring.”

  “Great idea. I’m going to find Kar Fen and see if he wants to do some sparring.” Mark said.

  “Yeah, that’s a great idea.” Mike said. “I’m going to find the pool and see if it wants to be swum in.”

  Chapter One Hundred

  Brog

  Mark was showered, dressed and feeling a bit tender. He thought that maybe he ought to increase the strength of his phase shift protection when sparring with Kar Fen.

  “Are you ready?” he asked Sally.

  “Just got to pull this boot on…. there. I’m ready.”

  Mark picked his towel up from the bed and threw it at her. “Your hair is still wet. And it needs brushing.”

  “It’s not a social visit.”

  “Do you want to look like a General or a sloppy civilian?”

  Sally pursed her lips and strode into the bathroom. Mark lay down on the bed and closed his eyes, twisting his back to left and right and stretching the muscles. ‘They’ll be sore in the morning.’ He thought.

  A few minutes later Sally came out and bellowed, “On your feet, you idle civilian!”

  Mark’s eyes snapped open and looking up at her said, “I wish you wouldn’t do that.”

  Sally grasped his arm and pulled him to his feet. “Can you stand long enough to blink to Dock One?”

  “I might manage to, but before we go, how are we getting Drad Ki Jass there?”

  “Orange and Kar Fen are escorting her. She’s got hand restraints on. She won’t attempt anything stupid with those two either side of her. Is the Swift at my headquarters yet?”

  “Yes, with Dock One connected with an energy tube to your Dock Four, as you ordered.”

  “Good. Dock Four doesn’t get much use, so apart from a detail from Army Security to take possession of Drad Ki Jass, there shouldn’t be anyone there. As soon as she’s gone we’ll go to D’Nesh’s office. It’s a long way up from Dock Four – by gravity tube. You’ve only used one before, and that was only a few meters from the Great Hall to the tunnels. This is going to be a lot longer. They can be scary when you’re not used to them.” Sally said, remembering her first experience of using one.

  “That’s not a problem, I thought the one on Tefran was great, just like being at Chessington World of Adventures. We had a couple of team bonding days for the IT department there.”

  “Really? Did you have fun on the rides with your friends?”

  “Of course not. I went on the rides by myself. We didn’t do much bonding. Apart from the ride home on the bus, Gary Stevens was sick at the back, so the rest of us huddled together at the front. Sheila May and Ian Staples didn’t bond much. She punched him in the mouth and kicked him in the balls, accusing him of touching her boobs.”

  “Had he?”

  “Probably, he was a bit of a perv.”

  “I really don’t know why I just asked that.” Sally said, shaking her head. “Are you ready now?”

  ◆◆◆

  As they left Dock Four and walked to the nearest gravity tube, Sally said, “I’ve just realized, this is your first visit to my headquarters habitat. It’s not that long since we met up on Alan’s ship. A lot has happened since then.”

  “Yes, in just a few months I’ve been kidnapped and forced into fighting with your army, I’ve been assaulted, abused and bullied and generally treated like shit.”

  “Yeah, and you’ve become the most powerful person in the galaxy, got your own starship, made more friends than you made in the whole of your life on Earth and you get to sleep with the most ravishing female in the galaxy.”

  “The most ravishing female in the team, and considering one was an Ant and the other a reptile, you didn’t have a lot of competition.”

  Sally laughed and gave him a playful punch in the arm, much harder than necessary.

  They reached the gravity tube, but before they stepped into it, Sally said, “If you get nervous in there, grab my hand. There’s no shame in it, you’ll soon get used to using them.”

  “Don’t worry, I’ll be fine.”

  “One other thing. Don’t fart in there. It will follow us all the way up.”

  “You’re so classy.”

  “I’m serious. You’ll realize that if you ever get into one with Simon. I’m sure he saves them up until he gets into a gravity tube.”

  “Isn’t there an army unit I could join that has a bit more class?” Mark asked. “Something like the British Army’s Household Cavalry Mounted Regiment?”

  “I saw them when I visited London when I was on Earth. Their horses fart like thunder. You wouldn’t want to get into a gravity tube with one of them.”