Messinants

by S. H. Jucha

  “So, what do we have?” Liam asked, when he stopped back into the sergeants’ office. “Commandant wants an update on the YIPS incident.”

  “Odds are, Captain Harbour has the guilty party,” Cecilia said. “He wiped his comm unit and server account.”

  “Trouble is that what we have is circumstantial, at best, Major,” Miguel added. “Too much coin flowing into his account from multiple sources, whose accounts were opened and closed after each transaction.”

  “Our David Yersh is working for some high-level operators,” Liam surmised.

  “Downsiders,” Miguel added.

  “I’ll talk to the commandant,” Liam said. “In the meantime, I want the two of you searching security vid history. Find out the period when David was last on the JOS. Then track him. Get the monitoring team to assist you.”

  As Liam walked to Emerson’s office, he made a quick call to Jessie and updated him on their findings.

  * * * *

  “What did Liam have to say?” Harbour asked, when she found out the major had called.

  “His evidence is circumstantial, nothing directly ties David to the gas attack,” Jessie reported. “In anticipation of being investigated, David wiped his comm unit and server account. Security discovered that David has a luxurious lifestyle, which he’s careful to hide. He also has two accounts, and one of them shows a history of large deposits.”

  “Could Major Finian trace the sources of the deposits?” Harbour asked.

  “Accounts were opened, coin deposited, entire amounts transferred to David’s account, and then they were closed,” Jessie replied.

  “Then young David isn’t as innocent as he pretends. He’s been playing with some bad people,” Harbour surmised.

  “The major believes he’s been working for downsiders,” Jessie said.

  Harbour loosed a strangled chuckle. “No doubt,” she said, with disgust.

  “The major requested we transfer David to JOS security immediately,” Jessie said. He watched Harbour stare at the nicely decorated walls of her study and waited for her to speak.

  “If David is handed over to security, we’ll have lost the opportunity to find out anything of value from him,” Harbour said thoughtfully, leaning against the front of her desk. “David will request counsel and go through the motions of a trial, and that will waste a great deal of time.”

  “What’s the alternative?” Jessie asked. He watched Harbour’s eyes lose their thoughtfulness and develop a gleam.

  “I think David has enjoyed our hospitality long enough,” Harbour said, with a grin. She picked up her comm unit and called Dingles.

  “Dingles, wake David. Give him a cold shower to clear his head, and then bring him to the bridge’s small conference room. Once he’s there, stand in the room with a couple of hard-looking spacers. Give him the silent treatment. I’ll get Tacticnok and join you after you’ve been there a while.”

  “Can I assume we have the guilty party, Captain?” Dingles asked.

  “It would appear so, but we’re about to find out conclusively,” Harbour replied and ended the call.

  Harbour’s next call was to the bridge comm operator. She requested Tacticnok be located and brought to the captain’s quarters. Over the course of the next three-quarters of an hour, Harbour discussed her plan with Tacticnok and Jessie. When everyone was satisfied with their roles, Harbour led them to the conference room.

  “Captain, I’m glad to see you,” David said, with relief. He started to rise, but a spacer shoved him into his seat. “See. This is what I mean,” David added, spreading his arms in supplication. “I’ve been cooperative, and I don’t understand why I’m receiving this treatment. I insist you return me to the YIPS.”

  “You’ve been a naughty boy, David,” Harbour said, as she took a seat across the conference table from David.

  “I don’t know what you mean,” David protested.

  “Too late for the innocent act, David,” Harbour said, fixing a cold gray-eyed stare on David. “Security’s been in your cabin and found your stash of expensive toys. And, they’ve discovered your private account, the one with the large deposits and expenditures.”

  “It appears you’ve been well paid for your treacheries, David,” Jessie added. He’d taken a stance behind Harbour’s shoulder. “How many people have you betrayed, injured, or killed?”

  “Being paid coin means nothing,” David replied, with a smile. “You’re trying to make me admit to something I didn’t do.”

  “David, your story is so full of holes that you’re bound to be convicted of multiple charges, and I can tell you that you’re one individual I won’t rescue for service to the Belle,” Harbour ground out.

  David’s smile never waned. He was confident of his position and wanted everyone to know it. “If we’re done here, then you’d better get a move on and turn me over to security.”

  “We would, David, but, see, there’s this problem,” Harbour replied, switching to a sweet tone. “Here, you’re going to need this,” she added, handing David a Jatouche ear wig, and he quickly inserted it.

  “What problem?” David asked. For the first time, his bon vivant was missing.

  “We know you gassed the engineers, David,” Jessie said. “Your target was probably Olivia Harden.”

  “True,” Harbour added, nodding. “But here’s where you went wrong, David. You gassed two humans and a Jatouche.” Harbour waved her hand toward Tacticnok, who’d stood just inside the door with Jaktook.

  “You shouldn’t have done that, David,” Jessie warned, shaking his head in a lament.

  “Yes, David, you see I’ve received a request from Her Highness. She demands you be punished by her father, the Jatouche ruler, for your attack on one of her subjects, not that I know how these aliens do that,” Harbour said.

  David glanced toward the Jatouche, who displayed their teeth and then abruptly snapped their jaws closed.

  “You can’t do that,” David objected. “I’m a human; I have rights. You have to turn me over to security.”

  “Do I, David?” Harbour asked innocently. “And here I thought I was the captain of this ship, which isn’t docked at a station. Captain Cinders, doesn’t that make me the arbiter of justice aboard this vessel.”

  “It does, Captain,” Jessie replied matter-of-factly.

  “You see, David,” Harbour said, with a sense of finality, “The Jatouche are my guests. They reside aboard the Belle, and, as such, they’re my responsibility. Furthermore, the Jatouche have come here to fix our planet, and you come along and try to screw up our budding relationship with these helpful aliens. My choice seems clear. If I give you to our new friends, things will be back on track.”

  “Can we have him now, Captain?” Tacticnok asked, stepping forward and flashing her teeth.

  “No, no,” David yelled.

  “Then give me something worthwhile,” Harbour cried harshly, pounding a fist on the table. “Or the Jatouche will be the ones punishing you.”

  “I don’t know any of their names,” David blubbered. “They keep their contact brief, show me a target, indicate what to do, and that’s it. I’ve got to figure out the rest, and there’s no record of communications.”

  “That’s not helping your case, David,” Jessie said from behind Harbour.

  “Honestly, they keep me in the dark,” David insisted. That part of his story was true. David knew who was behind the coin. He also knew that if he ever gave up that name he was a dead man.

  “You can have him, Tacticnok,” Harbour said in disgust.

  Tacticnok whistled, and the door opened to reveal six Jatouche. All of them wore hungry expressions.

  “Wait, wait,” David screamed. “I can tell you when we met.”

  “Talk,” Harbour said, mettle in her voice.

  David gave up the details of his last meeting with a contact at the Latched On, date, time, and location within the store.

  “One meeting, that’s it?” Harbour asked dubiously. “T
hat’s not enough.” She glanced toward Tacticnok, who took a step forward.

  “I can tell you how I got the gas cylinder,” David said quickly, holding up his hands in protest to being handed over to the Jatouche.

  “Keep talking,” Harbour said.

  David explained how the man he met gave him a date, time, package number, and contact name at El cargo. “I don’t know how they get the cylinder through inspections.”

  During the interrogation, Harbour carefully monitored David’s emotions. She detected the tiniest element of anxiety from him, but nothing significant. Her conclusion: David’s display of fear was a performance. His intent was to be handed over to security and force the interview to restart.

  “You’re a clever young man,” Harbour said, the façade of anger on her face replaced by an eerie calm. “You pretend well, but I’m unconvinced. We’re offered a few underlings who’ve helped you, but no one of importance, and you hope that by sharing this meager information you’ll be turned over to security.”

  David’s expression of terror swiftly morphed into a gentle smile. “And I applaud your performance, Captain. You have no intention of turning me over to the Jatouche. It would destroy your reputation among the citizenry. And, yes, I’m expecting to be taken to JOS security. There, they’ll begin their own interrogation, because everything I’ve said to you will be considered hearsay and inadmissible before a Review Board.”

  “You’ve been well schooled about the legal process,” Jessie said, stepping from behind Harbour and laying his comm device on the table in front of Harbour. “Hasn’t he, Major?” Jessie added.

  “I would say so,” Liam said, over the comm unit.

  The smug smile fled from David’s face. He frowned but quickly schooled his expression. “And you’re a clever woman, Captain, but you’ve neglected two important points.”

  “I would appreciate you educating me, David,” Harbour said graciously, leaning back in her chair.

  “You’ve threatened me to pry information from me. And you’ve compounded your mistake by having security eavesdrop on our conversation, and they’ve failed to read me my rights,” David announced defiantly.

  “I think your first objection might be up to interpretation,” Jessie said, smiling, “but you’re welcome to contest it before the Review Board. However, I’d defer to the major’s opinion on your last point.”

  “David, whoever taught you failed to educate you on the fine details of security regulations,” Liam said. “At the time you shared your information, you weren’t charged with any crimes, much less arrested. As such, there was no requirement for security to read you your rights. And, as to your first objection, no legal precedence exists. It would be up to the Review Board to determine whether an alien race’s royal member had the legal right to claim your punishment for intentionally harming her citizen. All in all, David, I would say you’re about ready to exit an airlock without a vac suit.”

  “Thank you, Major,” Harbour said. “Danny will notify you when he’s on approach to the JOS.”

  “Thank you, Captains and Your Highness Tacticnok, for your efforts today,” Liam said and ended the call.

  Dingles and the spacers led David out of the room. On the way to the bay, Dingles called Danny to ready the shuttle for a flight to the JOS.

  When Danny heard who his passenger would be and what had transpired, he said, “We could save everyone a great deal of trouble, you know, Dingles. Accidents occasionally happen with airlocks.”

  “Understandable sentiment, Danny, but the captain has ordered him delivered to JOS security.”

  “It was just a thought, Dingles.”

  “And one I approve, Danny, but orders are orders.”

  In the conference room, after taking a moment to regard Harbour and Jessie, Tacticnok said, “This has been a most informative exercise. May I suppose we were successful?”

  “Yes,” Harbour replied. “David Yersh has incriminated himself and will face a trial in front of the Review Board.”

  “What is liable to happen to him?” Jaktook asked.

  “More than likely, he’ll be convicted of numerous charges and incarcerated,” Jessie replied.

  Jaktook chittered to Tacticnok, but the humans didn’t receive a translation. In turn, Tacticnok asked Harbour a question, but the captain politely stared back at her. When Tacticnok didn’t receive a reply, she presumed the translation app wasn’t broadcasting, and she engaged Jaktook in conversation, with the ear wigs online.

  Harbour let the Jatouche converse for a few minutes before she interrupted. “Now, you understand, Your Highness, how we feel when you converse in front of us with your ear wigs tuned to a private channel.”

  Jaktook’s jaw snapped shut, and Tacticnok nodded her head serenely in understanding. “For our arrogance, I apologize, Captains. In the future, we will conduct personal conversations in private.”

  “Will we be able to control the ear wigs one day?” Jessie asked.

  “When you are members of the alliance, many things will be open to you, Captain Cinders,” Tacticnok replied.

  -39-

  Recoveries

  Persistent fear lingered in the back of Drigtik’s mind despite the pleasant sensations flowing through him. He’d dreamt of home and his mate, but there was an ever-present tendency to turn toward the dark only to revert and embrace the light. After enduring an interminably long period of tension, the embraceable dreams persisted longer, and the subversions dwindled.

  Drigtik saw the cool, gray eyes of Captain Harbour. She leaned over him, and he struggled to differentiate dream from reality.

  “Am I awake or is this another dream?” Drigtik asked.

  Harbour laughed. “You’re awake, Drigtik. Welcome back,” she said.

  The sound of their voices woke those lying on pallets, and Gatnack, Aurelia, Sasha, Olivia, and Pete struggled up and came to Drigtik’s side.

  “Gatnack’s appearance, I understand,” Drigtik said, after examining the faces above him. “But, I sincerely hope I don’t look as poorly as the four of you, the captain excluded, of course.”

  “Olivia and Pete woke just hours ago,” Harbour said, standing up and stepping back. “And, I attended you only for today. Credit for your mind’s healing goes to Aurelia and Sasha.”

  “How long have we been unconscious?” Drigtik asked.

  “It’s been three days since Sasha located us,” Olivia said.

  “Such darkness,” Drigtik said and his body shivered.

  “We’ve been told the empaths kept us unconscious to prevent our struggles against the terrorizing hallucinations,” Olivia said. “While we slept, they could more easily focus their powers on us.”

  “Here, young one, drink,” Gatnack said, offering Drigtik water. “Once you’ve wet your throat, we’ve prepared juice for you.”

  “Yum,” Pete said, with disgust and hoisting an empty juice glass. “I can’t wait to get back to the cantina and have a hot sandwich and a real drink.”

  “That’s because you’re a disgusting human, Pete,” Drigtik replied. He tried to display his teeth and indicate his humor, but he coughed and was forced to sip on his water tube.

  “And you, you furry thing, have the sharpest nails I’ve ever felt,” Pete replied.

  “Apologies, Pete,” Drigtik said. “I remember two humans in vac suits morphing into Crocians and coming for us. I was frozen in terror, but you snatched me up, and we ran. I was determined to hold on to you. I’m sure my legs would have failed me if my feet touched the deck.”

  “It’s okay, Drigtik. Next time, you can carry me,” Pete replied, with a grin.

  “I will try, Pete, but I don’t think we’ll get too far,” Drigtik replied, chittering his humor.

  “Here, Drigtik,” Gatnack said, passing him a glass of juice.

  After a few grateful sips, Drigtik said, “Terror’s grip had me for so long, I felt an annual had passed. Then this wonderful blanket of calm smothered the dark thoughts. I was sur
e that the ugly images would return, tearing through that coveted covering, but they never did. The pleasant sensations continued, and I was so tired that I welcomed oblivion.

  “Sasha found the three of you, Drigtik,” Aurelia explained. “She chose not to open the door of the utility room, where you hid, and frighten you. Instead, she transmitted her power through the door.

  “You can send, with your mind, through a door?” Drigtik asked in surprise.

  “Doors, walls, bulkheads —” Sasha started to enumerate.

  “Sasha,” Harbour said quietly, ending the teenager’s listing. The teenager was sharing more information about empaths than she wanted the Jatouche to learn.

  “I’m grateful for your attentions,” Drigtik said, looking around. “For you, Olivia and Pete, who chose to keep me safe rather than abandon me; for you, Sasha, who sought us out; and for you, Captain, who have accumulated truly wonderful beings in your orbit.”

  Before anyone could respond to Drigtik’s generous words, Sasha blurted out, “What’s a Crocian?”

  “That’s a discussion for another time,” Gatnack said. He glanced toward Harbour, and the engineer’s old eyes warned of a sensitive subject.

  “Except for Gatnack, I think the rest of you should get some food and rest,” Harbour said. “I’ll keep Drigtik company for a while longer. Gatnack, please inform Her Highness that Drigtik is awake.”

  After Drigtik’s supporters left, he finished his drink and dozed off. While he slept, Tacticnok quietly eased into the cabin.

  “Gatnack shared your words, Captain,” Tacticnok whispered. “He thought Drigtik was lucid and his thoughts ordered. I would hear your opinion.”

  Harbour closed her eyes and focused more of her power on Drigtik, searching for the darkness she had detected in the early hours of the morning, when she relieved two drained empathetic sisters.

  “His body has been clear of the gas for more than a day, Tacticnok, and, at present, his mind shows no indication of dark dreams,” Harbour reported. “We talked for a while before he fell asleep, and Drigtik was in good humor. Will he have bad dreams about the episode? I imagine he will. In time, those will fade.”