Battleship Destroyer 2 (Battleship Destoryer)

by Larry Roberts

  Another Dumont, Zap, spoke inside Jack’s mind. ‘I do not understand this human. He demands that you build this massive Command deck to rival even the God Officers whims and then dismisses most of the servants not even keeping one for his own bed. Did you not pick at least one of the many sex servants to fill his needs properly?’

  ‘He did not demand the construction of the Command deck or anything else. We constructed it for him to show our appreciation for freeing us from slavery. Most of the races contributed to the design and outfitting of the deck trying to please and make him feel at home. And I did not demand any slaves for there were far too many volunteers wanting to serve or to use the human’s terms, work for the Captain. I had to use the human’s lottery system to choose members from each group wanting to contribute. We still know too little to predict them yet. As far as sex companions the Captain has another human as his companion and as is most of our couplings, he seems to be monogamous. Rejecting all those who have shown interest fulfilling his desires.’ Pan seemed to hesitate or a moment. ‘But then I am not sure he even realized that most were even offering.’

  ‘So then he is Alien phobic, dismissing most of his workers. I strongly sense his hate for this deck and the work they have done here for him.’ Said another Dumont Jack labelled Chump when he simplified his name upon meeting him earlier.

  ‘That is not necessarily accurate. His hate may be for something else and not the deck itself. I am investigating the possibilities now. As for the staff, he has shown a lack of tolerance for waste and said that he was sure that the workers had more important jobs to do than get in his way doing things he could do for himself. Accordingly I have rescheduled the workers around the deck to avoid contact as much as possible.’

  ‘Yes I have noticed many of the workers I have passed on this deck have feelings of disappointment and resentment at something and being forced to work in the shadows again could be most of it.’

  Jack had sat on the pot trying to relax but having to force himself not to feel surprised or shock at what he was hearing as Pan and the Dumonts discussed things. Though he could not help feeling overwhelming pride and then shame at himself as he listened even though he was trying to force himself not to feel any emotions that would leak out to the group he knew were damn good at feeling emotions. He had realized as soon as he had first seen the deck that it had been built for humans but had thought it as just a humanized version of the Gods design. The thought that the whole deck had been designed by dozens of different races making contributions had not even crossed his mind. Though he had to admit it looked like a committee or several comities had designed different sections of the deck. What was worse was that he had seen several workers briefly only for them to rapidly disappear even when he had tried to complement them or ask them questions the few times he had slept in his new cabin but had been too busy and disgusted at the opulence of the Gods to give the encounters much thought.

  The conversation continued from there to cover humans generally and their oddities and trying to understand them. Even getting into the fact that they were starving to death in front of their eyes which led to the Alien’s efforts to find something the humans could eat out of the thousands of tons of food they were producing for themselves. The aliens not believing that they had failed to come up with even one food that offered even basic nutrition and not poison the humans. The talking had degenerated (or advanced) into the specifics of looking for something to feed the humans when Jack decided he had spent why too much time in the head and flushed the toilet and washed his hands.

  Still embarrassed by his not understanding or even knowing everything the aliens had tried to do for him Jack stepped out of the head.

  ‘The human is embarrassed.’ Said Chump in Jack’s head. ‘I have noticed that the humans perform sex in privacy to relax their nerves and tension and then become embarrassed afterwards.’

  Another said. ‘I have noticed several get embarrasses around others simply vacating their bodily wastes. Especially if they respect those that may have noticed.’

  ‘I do not believe this human respects us or he would not have kept us here wasting our time.’ Chump said with what Jack felt as mild disgust.

  Though Jack tried his best to simply listen without reacting or even really thinking about anything they were now saying. Instead he tried to consciously think of what needed to be done to bring the new reassigned crews of the Destroyers up to speed while simply cataloging what was said. But he could not help letting it influence what he said as he sat back down at the desk and tapped a few keys before looking up and speaking.

  ‘Please forgive me ladies and gentlemen for my rudeness. I know you have been on the station for a while know but as you have probably heard, things are moving along at a rather rapid pace at the moment with all the new bodies thawed out and trying to get this Station operational and moved with the other Hulk Station having its own problems. Then with the death of one of our Squadron Commanders and most of his staff and the arrest of half a trampship’s former crew and its Captain for those murders and other crimes threw another monkey wrench into the works.” Jack took a breath shaking his head before he continued. “The good point about the little raid is that we have discovered several thousand tons of food for us humans that should last a few months. Hopefully until a transport from The Rock arrives. And just as important hopefully it will stop anymore poisoning deaths from crewmen trying to eat your foods. I have a few other things on my mind as well but I simply could not put off meeting all of you any longer. I would like to assure you that I hold no ill will toward you or any other Dumonts for what Yeti and her clones did. But the complete trust like I have with Pan will take some time. All that I ask of you is for you to do your jobs as best as you can and bring any of yours or your crews questions to Pan. Or me if you do not like her solutions or advice. My office is always open to each of you.”

  Jack stood up and walked around the desk to sit on the corner facing the Dumont next to Pan. “It is customary for the Captain of any ship or business to get to know the senior officers or workers that are working for him. Please Ms. Sleeten, if I may call you that, tell me a little about yourself and your family.

  The Dumont looked up at Jack as fear flooded over him from her for a few seconds but then she got ahold of herself and started speaking English. “I, I have 2 children still living. Two have failed the exams in the past and are dead. My oldest remaining, Sleven, is about to take the qualification exams for Overseer. My husband has high hopes for his successful passage. My youngest Sanchees is 6.” She swallowed as trepidation washed over her. “Is it true that you humans do not execute those that fail to pass or do not have a job opening? She has no marriage opportunity at this time with no prospective Overseers available for her not to take the tests.”

  Jack looked at Pan wondering why she had not told her something as basic as the answer to that question but then realized that that specific topic had never come up. Taking a deep breath Jack smiled. “Well now I am sure she will pass but even if she doesn’t or even decides not to take the test and go for another occupation we will not execute her or anyone else for failing. Hell, if we humans executed everyone that failed a test the first time around we wouldn’t have much of a population.”

  “Failed the first time around?” She said baffled.

  “Yes I know several people that have taken the flight test a bunch of times and failed it only to eventually pass with flying colors. Though some never pass the test and go on to do great things in other careers.” Jack frowned. “Oh and my condolences on the loss of your other two kids. Could you tell me what their names were so I may honor them?”

  Tears started running down her cheek as she gave Jack their full 30 character names instead of the shortened versions Pan had agreed on letting the humans call them.

  Jack took her hand into his trying to be sympathetic and was flooded with thousands of images and scenes concerning the two kids as they had grown up and then their ex
ecutions when they had passed their tests but failed to find an opening in the fleet for Overseers. Jack tried to keep his emotions in check as her grief tried to overwhelm him finally having to let go of her hand when the desk’s Comm beeped getting everyone’s attention.

  Taking his time moving back around the desk Jack took a few seconds to compose himself before having to tap the Comm and even then he found he could say nothing and simply grunted. “Ya.”

  “Captain, we are having a few problems here. We have only limited space to store the food at this time. There really isn’t much room yet around the Galley we are trying to put together on this tub and too many cooks with different lists. I am sending you the food lists now and need your decision on which to unpack from the storage pods.”

  “We are just going to have to keep most of the food in the pods for now under guard and take out what is needed each day.” Jack looked at the row of Dumonts. “If you would excuse me for a few minutes please I will be back with you shortly. Please make yourselves at home with the snacks and drinks on the back cupboard. Again I am sorry for the losses of loved ones you all have suffered and beg you to tell me about each of them when your turn comes.”

  Jack started concentrating on the lists. Not that they were made up but they could have waited. They spent the next 20 minutes talking between themselves about their families and how some had been lucky enough to find job openings on the various ships of the God fleet while others became spouses for those that had been successful instead of taking the tests. The more emotional conversations or statements coming out verbally instead of simply between minds. Jack was shocked to learn that several had taken jobs or spouses on ships that Jack had then destroyed without being able to rescuer their slave crews.

  Jack thanked Godstar that most of the Dumonts were females throwing off huge waves of grief and sorrow and hopefully covering his shocked emotions. Even though the two male Dumonts were less effected than the females their concentrations seemed to be on the females for the moment.

  Jack finished the lists and sat patiently at his desk as several took a while to compose themselves. Jack not needing an excuse not to notice as Sleeten continued to cry for a while before being able to compose herself.

  The female Dumont next to Sleeten finally patting her comfortingly as she looked at Jack and started talking about her own family and the loss of her children and husband to a God officers wrath.

  Jack hesitated coming back around the desk but decided that not too could show lack of respect for the others. He was glad when the Overseer did not get as emotional as Sleeten or reach out to take his hand even though he thought he would be ready for the flood the next time.

  Jack did not give the Ensign the signal again until after they all had finished talking about their families. Jack feeling like he had to spend a few minutes talking about his grandfather as well but keeping it short.

  He got them discussing the ship when he again gave the Ensign the signal and he became busy with another ship’s problem.

  Jack was a little surprised when Chump started making derogatory comments about the ship and Pan’s decisions. Though each comment started a round of debate amongst the Dumonts giving Jack tons of information about both how the Overseers worked and thought as well as the Godship itself. Jack was also glad that Pan was giving the rest of the Dumonts a lot of information about what Jack expected of them and how to work with the humans.

  And then the subject of freedom came up and how strange and scary freedom was. What started Jack wondering was when Pan started explaining how freedom was different than the old slave and master routine and several just simply could not seem to grasp the concept or the differences except that now they got paid money that they were not sure what to do with even though Jack got the impression that a healthy Black Market economy was in full swing both on and between ships of the Godfleet. He also got the impression that several were starting to think of replacing the God Officers Dictatorial way of doing things with their own dictators. Some as themselves or others as the Dictators.

  Jack had studied in history classes how hard it was for groups of people on Communist and Slave planets to go from being told what, where and how to live their lives at the whim of only a few at the top, to having to not only decide what job they wanted and where they would live but figure out how to pay for and then actually pay for everything on time over and over again, month after month in their daily lives. Most slaves even on Communist planets not only found the transition impossible to make but could not understand the most simplest of election concepts such as changing the people running things simply by voting them in or out every few years. All they had ever known and ever lived with was that whoever was on top running things controlled everything forever, including life and death for those not in favor. To them elections were never temporary (Ohhh well, next election) but life and death issues that warranted life and death actions and doing anything including cheating, ballot stuffing and even murder to insure that their leader won even if it meant killing the opposition else they would again be on the bottom dying at the whim of the winners. Not even knowing how to pick a leader to support and falling easily for platitudes and emotional lies. This attitude not only extended to the elections but as to how things were run by the winners feeling all to justified in taking as much as they could by any means possible including corruption while enslaving and killing those that lost.

  Unless a strong outside force could police the ex-slaves over at least a generation, they would vote themselves right back into Communism and slavery simply from stupidity. History had shown that the outside force had to be viewed as benevolent while making slow changes in government, teaching them from the bottom up in many local elections and slowly working up the governmental chain, teaching the populace that losing elections did not mean dying at the hands of the winners and that it was stupid to tolerate corruption because winners always became losers eventually. It took time for societies to realize that free trade and limited Government made Corruption impossible to maintain while strong centralized Governments always degenerated into Communist or Dictator Slave states that bread high intolerable levels of Corruption and poverty and not the utopias for all that were always promised.

  The shame was that all too often total Democracies voted themselves into large government Communist Slave States over time, using the excuse that the few Rich had all the money even though 70 to 80% of the population were either Rich or in the middle income brackets and easily able to buy cheaper versions of all the luxuries the (superrich villains had). While a few demanded that the Rich needed their money taken away from them to feed the 2 to 5% pour (that mostly refused to or couldn’t work) until eventually the only rich were the Communist Government (Masters) and 80 to 90% of the people (slaves) could barely afford to eat let alone buy the few luxuries only the 10% in the Government (For the People) Masters were given for free. The people objecting to the Government being the only rich, were always sent to reeducation camps that few returned from. Eventually, the 5 to 20% that the activists considered pore that used to have cars and Videos and 2 and 3 bedroom houses with garages, living to a hundred or better with cheap versions of everything the rich had, where suddenly starving to death in gutters by the time they were 30. The middle classes that used to be rich were lucky to buy clothes and food with multiple families in small apartments or shacks. Once the Government has control of all the money, they never worry about how many little people and the pore, starve to death or die to keep them living the rich life.

  Jack had seen too many planets dying after the money was taken from the Rich in the mistaken belief that wealth was a big fixed sized Pie with the Rich taking too big a share. When reality showed that the pie of wealthy free trade economies was able to grow infinitely large as needed. That everyone working creating products whether machines or art or food and earning money grew the size of the wealth pie. That few realized that no matter how much money you spend, there would always be a few people
living on the streets or homeless, who simply could not handle a complicated life or even wished to. Using them as an excuse to steel from the Rich to give to the pore who were mostly not the homeless starving pore often talked about, was never more than an excuse to take power from the masses to give it to the few. There would always be some pore no matter how much money the government taxed. Even if you stole enough from the rich to put every homeless person in a world into hotel rooms with unlimited room service, you would still have those that refused to come out of the cold or hold a job even if all that job was, was sitting in a chair pushing a button and doing nothing else.

  Only many others would say, “Why work if the government will pay for everything I want simply for sitting in a chair for a few hours a day. Especially if they allow simple excuses to not even have to do that little bit of work?” Why vote for anyone that would not let you get paid for not working? Welfare and the Dole always degenerate into terminal cancer and excuses to steal even more money from the Rich until there are no longer any Rich left to steal from. And you have even more pore and homeless than before. Not because they can’t handle society or complications of life as before but because they have no jobs. No Rich to provide jobs. No Rich to buy anything the pore may develop and produce themselves. No Rich to buy even the basics of life let alone luxuries that provide the jobs for the masses to afford to purchase the basics of life such as food and a roof and Cheep luxuries the Rich pay fortunes to develop. Suddenly with the Rich Free Trade gone and a huge Central Government controlling everything including what everyone does or says in the name of The People, (Communism, Dictatorship, Fascism), the Pie is damn small and shrinking and only the few Communist, Corrupt Big Government Masters, get to eat from it.