Star Man 2: Star Rise

by I. G. Roberts

  After her last comment, Sonya turned and left Colin standing there, wondering what she meant about reorganizing the command structure and how that would impact him. Just then, Henry Fraser appeared at Colin’s side, asking if they could have a quick private chat. Colin wondered about all the people wanting to have private conversations with him that night as he led Henry to the study.

  When the door was firmly closed, Henry asked, “Is this room secure?”

  Colin took the surveillance scrambler from the desk draw and activated it before replying, “It is now Henry. Is something wrong?”

  “No, nothing is wrong. It’s just I know the people who owned this house before you purchased it. Do you know about their secure hiding place?”

  “Yes, Julia and I were preparing the house for the party a few days ago when we found how to get in. Why did they build it?”

  “They were slaves. We freed them as teenagers and after some rehabilitation, and retraining not so different to what you’ve been doing for Julia, they started a cleaning business. It was something they knew how to do and allowed them to make a living while they gained some education. Over the next ten years, their business grew into quite an empire, and they built this house to live in. The secure room is nothing more than them trying to alleviate a deep-seated fear of being recaptured by the Pirates. With all the unsettling news in the last two years, they decided to sell their business, and this house to move somewhere else, I’m not completely sure where, but they’ve gone off the grid and are somewhere in a remote location. I see them from time to time when they come to town for a visit. Apparently, their new home is even more secure than this one and better hidden. Since moving in, they’ve been accumulating stores to keep themselves alive and hidden for years if necessary. More recently, they’ve been busy buying weapons, even quite heavy ones. I think they are planning to gather survivors together to form the core of a resistance if Cambridge is ever invaded.”

  “I hope it turns out they’ve wasted their money. If the planet is invaded, things are going to become very messy, and it’ll take years for us to clean the mess up.”

  “I’d have to agree with you there Colin. Have you done anything to prepare Julia for a possible invasion?”

  “Yes, since we found the way in, or I should say since Julia did. We’ve been stocking it with enough supplies, furniture and other essentials to keep the place going for about a month to six weeks with four people in there. She knows to go in there as soon as Pirates enter the System and stay there till she knows it’s safe to come back out. I’ve told her she can take a few friends in there as well if she likes, but not to tell them about it till they actually agree to go somewhere safe with her.”

  “Good, did you find the emergency escape tunnel?”

  “No Henry, that is something we did not find.”

  “Colin, I’ll come out and show you and Julia everything the day after tomorrow. You’ll be departing in about a week or so to escort Destiny and Shurana back to Cotoni. FNS Loki with Captain Riley commanding will be your teammate this time. Suzanne is an excellent Officer and will follow your orders so teach her what you can during the trip. We’ve all noticed how the Officers who’ve been deployed with you come back better than they were before, more responsive to changing situations. It’s almost as if you unlock their hidden talents. I don’t know how you do it, honestly. Personally, I don’t even care, but however you do it, I’ll make sure you have the opportunity to improve as many or Cambridge’s Officers as possible before the Pirates come, and I think they will come. I just hope we can finish our preparations before they do. By the way, that was a good find when you identified those three young Ensigns. They are effectively working several levels above their current ranks, and they’re doing an excellent job. We start preparing the first four replenishment bases tomorrow. I plan to put them on the fast track to promotion. I agree with you, when we identify talent, we should be rewarding it. I retired at least partly because we’d slipped into being a peacetime Navy. The timeservers and bureaucrats were being promoted, and the people who achieved things done were being stifled. Then you arrived on the scene. The Navy, no, the entire Federation began to realize we were under threat, we were at war with someone who for the most part, we don’t fully understand. That realization only came about because of the media attention you garnered when you returned with FNS Destiny.”

  “Henry, I think you know by now, I’ll do anything in my power to help. How are things going with the static missile emplacements near the Jump-Points? And the Point-Defense and Shielding for the shipyard and Cambridge Station. We can’t afford to lose either of them.”

  “Those two projects are well advanced. During the exercises before you and Anne went off to the Academy, you had the people responsible for defending Cambridge in cold sweats. Those two targets have a lot of extra power available now, intended solely for self-defence. Because of the shape of the structures, we could implement multi-layer Shields. Each layer is about twice as strong as the ones you have on the Cobras, and there are three layers. I’m more concerned with the planet itself. Of course, we’ll empty the city and larger towns as soon as the Pirates enter the System, but even if we can evacuate everybody, if they nuke the city, or even just rain KEWs down on it, we’ll be knocked back thirty or forty years in our development. It would be better to let them land and loot the place till we can clear their ships from the orbitals, then hit the ones on the ground with the troops we have here.”

  “Sounds like a plan Henry.”

  Just then, there was a light tap on the door, and Julia timidly opened it before poking her head inside.

  Julia said, “I’m sorry to interrupt you Colin, some of your guests are a little drunk, and they are becoming raucous. Both Anne and I have tried to settle them, but neither of us had much luck.”

  “Okay Julia, no problem, I’ll come and pull them into line. I think we have nearly finished here anyway.”

  Colin and Henry followed Julia out of the room. The two men could see, or rather hear where the trouble was almost immediately after they exited the study. A couple of the younger guests were becoming a little drunk and argumentative. Thankfully they weren’t violent yet, but when Colin saw them, he thought violence wouldn’t be too far off without intervention. Colin could see Anne between the two worst offenders trying to calm them down without much success. He could quickly see one, in particular, seemed to be determined to pick a fight with the other. Colin realized he didn’t even know who these two were, but knew that situation was about to change. Shock and awe tactics were called for here so before either of the two main protagonists even knew what was happening, Colin swept in, grabbed them by the scruff of their necks, and frog-marched them back to his study with Anne and Julia following close behind and Henry following her.

  When Colin reached his study with his victims, he shoved them roughly through the door. Both of them hit the door jambs to either side of the opening and stumbled as they went through with Colin stalking closely behind them and a look of thunder on his face. Anne and Julia both followed Colin in but Henry stayed outside to make sure nobody interrupted them. One of the youngsters was also one of Henry’s nephews. The boy’s parents had spoiled him rotten, they had blinders on when it came to their child’s obnoxious behaviour, always claiming it was somebody else’s fault. By the time the door was shut behind him, Colin had shifted into his command persona as he stalked to one side of the room so he could watch the door out of the corner of his eye and stared the two troublemakers down. He could see one, a boy, was one of the Fraser clan, the other was a very pretty young girl he didn’t know.

  The boy opened his mouth and said, “How dare you manhandle me that way.”

  Colin bellowed, “Shut your trap punk, did I give you permission to speak?”

  “You can’t talk to me like that!”

  The young boy got nothing more out because with two steps Colin was across the room, backhanding him across the mouth. The boy’s head snap
ped sideways, and he whimpered but didn’t say anything more.

  More calmly, Colin stated in an ice-cold voice, “This is my home, you are at my party. It was me who invited you. What makes you think you have a right to disrespect me or any of my other guests by starting a fight here.”

  The girl was clearly much more contrite as she answered, “I’m sorry Sir, you are right, we should not have been having this argument here, especially in front of your guests. I apologize, it won’t happen again.”

  Colin turned his gaze on the boy, but he stood there mute with a sullen look on his face. Colin could hear a bit of a commotion building just outside the door but ignored it for the moment.

  Without taking his eyes off the boy, Colin said, “Julia, which one gave you the most trouble out there.”

  Julia hesitantly replied, “It was James, he told me to fuck off when I tried to ask them to settle down.”

  Colin’s eyes were already on fire from this bit of news when the door burst open, and James’ parents rushed into the room, demanding to know what Colin was doing to their baby. In general, they were obnoxious, just like their son. Their approach pushed Colin over the edge. Till now, his angry behaviour was about teaching the youngster a lesson. Now, he shifted into battle mode. Anne had seen this before and hoped everyone was going to walk out of the room on their own two feet. Colin spun on his heel and went for James’ father. On the way, he flicked out one open palm and spun James’ mother onto a settee with her legs in the air. Anne moved over to keep her there for her own protection. Colin continued on and grabbed Cameron Fraser by the throat pushing him back against the wall and lifting him off the floor one handed. As Cameron dangled there, Colin turned an ice-cold stare on him, not saying a word for a full minute.

  Then, his voice barely above a whisper, Colin said, “Cameron, you have raised a grubby little brat who has no respect for anyone around him. If somebody complains, you refuse to listen, well now, you, and Samantha will listen to what I tell you. Then, you will apologize to my guests for ruining my party by not bringing your child up with a little self-control. You will do this for no other reason than the fact you are a frightened little shit with an over inflated ego who doesn’t deserve to carry the name Fraser. You come from a family of decent people, of great people, people who care about others and are willing to put their lives on the line to try to protect others. But you are totally self-centered and think the universe owes you something. I have already told James to apologize to my friend Julia for insulting her in her home, and trust me, although I own this property, while she lives here, this is her home. I will not tolerate disrespect from you, your wife, or your children in my house, whether that disrespect is toward my guests or toward me. Now when I release you, you will apologize to my guests, then once James has apologized to Julia, you will take yourself, your wife, and your brat and go home. You will reflect on the fact you are nothing more than a failure as a parent and as a human being. Perhaps you will learn the humility you really need to have. Do you understand?”

  After Colin had finished telling Cameron his opinion of the man and his family, he lowered Cameron to the floor and released him. Cameron's face was as white as a sheet, and he started rubbing his throat. Colin thought Cameron really needed to wake up and smell the roses. Colin could never understand people like these, and had no patience with them.

  Without taking his eyes off Cameron, Colin said, “James, don’t you have something to say?”

  James dropped to his knees in front of Julia and with his head bowed, apologized to her for his behaviour and his language. Nobody had ever struck James before. Certainly, his parents never hit him. James had never been forced to face his own limitations like this before. Never before had someone so succinctly made him realize what a small person he’d become. His parents certainly never did, James knew they would do anything for him, the boy was, after all, their baby. James knew it was wrong, he was wrong, so the apology was made. It was even a genuine apology because James knew Julia did not deserve to be treated that way. James’ mind was in a whirl as he realized he needed to grow up

  While his son was making his apology, Cameron looked at Colin Gordon and felt a chill run down his spine. There was no doubt in Cameron’s mind, Colin could’ve killed or seriously hurt him without any trouble at all if he’d wanted to. Cameron was not a brave man, he knew they would need to apologize to escape this place in one piece. His wife Samantha was finally allowed to rise from the seat and joined him. When they left the room, they both felt humiliated, but Cameron and Samantha both knew deep down in their hearts they deserved it. There were a lot of people from the Fraser clan here, and none of them looked happy with Cameron, Samantha or James. They apologized as Colin told them to, not because they wanted to but because Colin had terrified them into it. Neither Cameron or Samantha had ever experienced anything like this before. After making their apology, they left with their son, just as Colin had instructed.

  When they were gone, Colin turned to Henry and said, “I’m sorry Henry, they’re your family, I shouldn’t have done that.”

  “No Colin, an apology is not necessary, not from you. You only said what the rest of us have been thinking for a long time now. Those three have been a great disappointment to us. Not because they are not military, not everyone is cut out for the life, but because of the way they’ve always looked down their noses at us. Nobody should ever look down their noses like that at the people who protect them. That’s the core of their problem, Cameron and Samantha needed to hear what you said. They needed to hear that being so self-centred is not acceptable in our society. Come on, you need to go back to your guests.”

  Colin turned to Julia and held out his arm. She grinned and took it before they left the study to a party that had grown silent. Colin could see Julia was becoming more self-confident with each passing day.

  Colin grinned at his assembled guests, and said, “Well everyone, the drama is over now, so how about we all go back to enjoying ourselves. Who turned off the music, let's get this party rolling.”

  The music started up again, and within about ten minutes, it was almost as if Cameron, Samantha, and James had never been at the party. Edward Constantin approached Colin with a big smile on his face.

  The President said, “Colin, this party is the most enjoyable I have been to in a very long time. Thank you for your invitation, even though I know you had your arm twisted to invite me, I hope you will consider me a friend in the future. Please. Come and visit me sometime when you can. This is my private line, call this, and you will reach me directly.”

  Edward handed Colin a card, then turned and made his way to the door, still smiling, apparently happy. Sonya appeared at Colin’s side.

  She said, “You know Colin, you’ve made a friend there. He’s not a bad friend to have. I’ve had to do battle with President Constantin on more than one occasion to convince him we needed the Cobras and Taipans. He’s a true believer now. The President has even contacted me to thank me for badgering him into approving the project. It’s taken six years to make it this far, but now the investment is paying off for Cambridge handsomely.”

  “He gave me his card Sonya. He said to call him if I ever want to. I must confess, I like the man. I only had a few minutes to talk to him tonight, unfortunately.”

  “You impressed him somewhere along the way, I think Edward finds your approach refreshing. I suspect your little run in with James, and his parents was an eye opener for Mr. Constantin. Edward had seen the urbane Colin, looking after his guests, then when trouble brewed, he saw the warrior dealing with a problem. If you want to, you should call him, I think he would appreciate the contact.”

  Chapter 12

  The day after his party, Colin woke in the morning to find the cleaners already hard at work, dealing with the detritus from the night before. He showered and dressed before going outside to find he was the last one out of bed. Colin saw James’ ex-girlfriend looking uncomfortable, sitting on the Patio with Anne
and Julia. Anne and Julia were laughing about something when he joined them.

  Julia looked up at him when he arrived and asked in a bright voice, “Breakfast?”

  Colin nodded, so Julia and Anne went off to put something together. Colin looked over at the girl who was still sitting on the edge of the seat, appearing decidedly nervous.

  He said, “How did you sleep, Aaah. Sorry, I didn’t catch your name last night.”

  When Colin spoke, she Jumped then looked at him nervously before replying, “I slept quite well thank you, Sir. My name is Katie, Katie Sinclair.”

  “Katie, is that short for Katherine?”

  “Yes, Sir, it is, why?”

  “My wife’s name is Katherine. You know Katie, I’m not going to attack you. We dealt with all that unpleasantness last night. I’m willing to forget it ever happened if you are, at least as far as you’re concerned. You had the courage to admit you made a mistake and apologized for it. Now, you’re just my house guest. James, on the other hand… his parents have a lot to answer for there. They’re completely blind where he’s concerned, so they’ve never instilled any self-discipline in him or respect for others. I think you were probably as much of a victim of his behaviour as Julia and Anne were”

  Colin could see the girl beginning to relax though she was still on edge, looking as if there might be tears at any moment.

  Katie said, “I feel I messed up badly last night. I’d started to feel like James and I were right for each other, but last night I saw a side of him I’ve never seen before. Up until last night, he’d always treated me well. Then when Julia came over to ask us to quieten down, he was so rude to her, I started to feel frightened. I don’t know what I’m going to tell my parents when I get home.”

  “The truth is always a good place to start. If you tell too many lies, it’s too easy to forget what lies you’ve told and who you’ve told them to.”

  “I’ll have to go to James’ house to retrieve the things I left there last night. I’m not looking forward to that. They just left me here without a way to get home. I’m angry with James about that. He should’ve at least offered me a lift home.”