Tommy’s Tale a-4

by Saxon Andrew

  Rose broke down in tears and didn’t care who saw her. She needed her family and now all of them could see just how important they all were to each other. Tommy looked at his parents over Rose’s shoulder and said, “It’s time to go home.” Tag and Danielle nodded and hugged each other.

  Danielle and Rose went out and met a news reporter to address the huge crowd. Danielle told them how Tommy had been brought to Earth eight years earlier to be educated in a normal school. They thanked everyone for the great treatment he had received.”

  While Rose and Danielle were outside addressing the crowd, Wes looked at Linda Kay and said, “Would you mind if I come back to see you.”

  Linda Kay smiled at him and said, “My heart will break if you don’t.”

  Wes’ face broke into a huge smile and Tommy saw that his best friend had found the one for him. “Time to go, Wes.”

  Wes hugged Linda Kay and they left to board Rose’s ship.

  Chapter 3

  Tommy saw the castle below him and focused on the present. He saw the crowds outside the castle and wondered why there were so many gathered. He was used to the attention that all members of the Gardner family received whenever they went out into public but this was just more than he would have ever anticipated for this ceremony. He shook his head and thought, “Rose, I’m coming in on the speeder and I’ll be landing on the pad at the central spire.”

  Tommy could hear Rose’s laugh in her thought, “Oh Tommy, you’ll never like being the center of attention will you?”

  Tommy smiled and said, “No, I guess not.”

  “I’ll get Mom and Dad to meet you,” Rose said.

  “That would be great, Rose.”

  Tommy brought the speeder in and landed it in the center of the pad. He opened the small port and saw Tag and Danielle walking toward him. Tommy got out and his mother embraced him. “Welcome home stranger,” Danielle said. “We expected you an hour ago. Did Atlas slow you up?”

  Tommy smiled and said, “You know better. If you look up compulsive punctual in the dictionary you’ll see Atlas’ picture. I just didn’t want to get here too early. You know I don’t want this title.”

  Tag looked at his son and said, “Sometimes the time chooses the servant. The very fact you don’t want it makes you the best choice.”

  Tommy looked at his father and said, “I’m going to have to ponder what you just said. However, I obviously don’t have the time to do it now.”

  Danielle smiled and said, “No, you don’t. Why don’t we go and get this over with. By the way, you are rather handsome tonight in your uniform.”

  Tommy thought at Danielle, “Aww Mom, now you’re embarrassing me.” Danielle laughed and took Tommy’s hand and led him down to the main ball room.

  The coronation ceremony was really quite simple. Rose touched Tommy on his shoulders with three swords, a Glod long sword, a Cainth short sword, and an Earth fencing sword. He was declared Duke of the Starts Realm and Defender of the Realm. Tommy swore to protect the Realm against all enemies and then stood and turned for the guests to come forward and bow. Tommy suffered the entire time. After the last guest had bowed he was led to the top of the central tower and stood where the gathered crowds could see him. He was announced as Duke Thomas Anglo Gardner, protector of the Realm and the crowd erupted into cheering and celebration.

  Tommy stood there mystified at the crowd’s reaction. He felt someone standing next to him and he glanced to his right and saw Tgon-Gee. The huge Glod Prince towered over him and Tommy heard him say, “You wonder why they love you?”

  Tommy looked quickly at Tgon-gee and said, “What do you mean love?”

  “Tommy, when you left Castle Gardner and went to earth to be educated as an ordinary citizen, you became one of them. You spent eight years and no one knew you were a Gardner. The Realm knows that you have their heart. You’ve lived their life and shared their experiences. They know that your decisions will be wise because of what you did. The Realm loves you and they trust you.”

  Tommy looked at the old Glod and thought about what he was saying. He knew in his heart he only wanted the realm to be safe, prosperous, and happy. For himself, he only wanted to help Atlas end his anguish. Then he really looked at the crowds and could tell they were really happy in their celebrations; he could mentally feel their happiness. Just like Wes learned his value when Linda Kay pointed it out to him, he now felt his value to the realm. He looked up at Tgon-gee and said, “Thank you.” Tgon-gee nodded and Tommy turned to the crowd and raised both his arms over his head. The crowd went crazy.

  Standing in front of the Castle inside the garden wall, Wes and Linda Kay watched the crowd cheering Tommy. Wes looked at her and said, “Tommy really doesn’t understand how much he means to the citizens of the Realm.”

  Linda Kay snuggled under Wes’ arm and said, “He needs a woman to tell him.”

  Wes laughed and said, “Like a fourteen year old I knew.”

  Linda Kay smiled, leaned in and kissed him on the cheek, and said, “Exactly like that.”

  Wes looked out at the crowd and thought, “I truly hope Tommy finds his love. If anyone deserves it, he does.” Then the fireworks started and he lost himself as he held her close.”

  Danielle and Leila were standing on the balcony observing the crowd and they saw Wes and Linda Kay standing close in the garden below them. Danielle smiled and said, “It seems your son has found the one.”

  Leila smiled and said, “She certainly is a remarkable woman.”

  Danielle laughed. “The old Special Forces Team said the same thing about you.”

  Leila smiled and looked at Danielle, “We’ve had a wonderful life so far, haven’t we?”

  Danielle embraced Leila and said, “Yes we have.”

  Tommy was sitting in Castle Gardner’s map room the next morning thinking about the previous day when Atlas broke his train of thought, “Tommy the two Algean adolescents have arrived and are looking for you.”

  “Thanks, Atlas.” Tommy then pushed a button on the table com and said, “I’m expecting two Algeans. Please bring them to the map room when they arrive.”

  The system operator said, “They are here now; I’m sending them up.”

  Tommy stared at the maps and thought about the aliens holding Atlas’ brothers captive. The door opened to the map room and two Algeans walked in. They were not tall but Tommy knew that the two had decided not to reach their full height. He had seen adolescents in the sun reach twelve feet in height. They could also assume many different forms. Today they actually assumed the form of a human with two legs and two arms. Where a face would be was a large bloom like a sunflower. The two Algeans walked up to Tommy and the smaller of the two thought, “Good morning, Your Highness. We are pleased to be here for our education.”

  Tommy looked at the two and said, “Good morning. Have either of you been given names yet?”

  The shorter one again answered, “As you probably know, we don’t receive our names until we return home at the end of our education.”

  Tommy knew the answer to what he was about to ask but he was curious to see if they did, “Why is that?”

  The taller Algean thought, “Because so many of us are killed during our education that it doesn’t make good sense to waste a good name.”

  Tommy smiled and said, “Why do so many die?”

  The shorter one said, “Because we let our curiosity put us in circumstances that are often quite dangerous.”

  Tommy looked at them and said, “Is that what happened when you destroyed a megaship?”

  The two looked at each other and the taller one thought, “Well, sort of, I tried to understand the workings of a black hole reactor and the black hole fell out onto the ship’s deck.” Tommy just stared at the Algean and the obviously nervous plant said, “It took forty five minutes for the ship to be consumed, so everyone escaped successfully.”

  Tommy shook his head, “You couldn’t resist taking that reactor apart, could you?”


  The poor Algean said, “I promise, I tried my hardest not to do it but I gave in to the temptation.”

  “Did you learn anything?”

  “I actually did but it’s going to take a few months for the information to work its way through my mental storage.”

  “Well I hope whatever you learned is worth a billion credit starship.” Tommy looked at the two adolescents, “Well, let’s get our rules straight. First thing, I need a name to call you even if your own people don’t grant you one.” He looked at the shorter Algean and said, “Your name is Twig.”

  The shorter one seemed to contemplate the name for a moment and thought. “Ok, I will answer to that name.”

  Tommy then looked at the taller adolescent and said, “Your name is Sprig.”

  The taller one said immediately, “You can name me whatever you choose. I’m just happy I’ve been given another chance.”

  Tommy leaned back in his chair and said, “I know that ultimately your mentor will be Atlas. However, before you will be safe enough to take on board Atlas we must fill some of your mental storage to reduce the power your curiosity has over you. I know that you are powerless to really stop your studies. This is how we will try to make it safe while you learn. A crewman on the ship will be assigned to be your companion at all times. If they say no to what you want to study, then that means no. There will be hours during the night shifts where you will not have a crewman assigned. That is when you will process what you learned that day.”

  Sprig looked at Tommy and said, “Captain Dodd has already told us that we will have a crewman assigned to us.”

  Tommy froze. Then he said, “Who told you that?”

  Sprig seeing Tommy’s reaction said, “The Captain of the Dorg-Ross.”

  “What is the Captain’s name,” Tommy asked?

  The two Algeans looked at each other and Twig said, “Captain Cassandra Dodd.”

  Tommy stood up and thought, “Atlas! You didn’t tell me Cassandra Dodd was the captain of the ship I’ve been assigned with these adolescents.”

  Atlas thought, “Oh, crap!” Then he thought to Tommy, “Tommy, you have been assigned to the highest rated ship available at this time. The high ranking of the two adolescents and you made fleet control choose our best ship.”

  “Well I’m not going to do it. I’ll make them choose another.”

  Tommy, you might want to think that through.”

  “Why!”

  “Tommy. Do you have any idea of the power of your opinion? If you reject this ship then it will be given a black mark and the probability of any of the crew’s chances of future advancement will be totally jeopardized. All fleet command will see is that one of the Gardners doesn’t like that ship.”

  “Atlas, I don’t really care. She deserves to rot in…”

  Atlas interrupted by saying, “Wes is the sensor officer on that ship and Colonel Ortiz’s son is the communications officer.”

  Tommy stopped. “How did they draw that ship Atlas; the Captain is a tyrant.”

  Atlas gave a mental sigh and thought back, “Even though you don’t like Captain Dodd, she had the highest graduating score in the history of Fleet Academy. She has earned her way to the rank she now holds and her ship is considered the best in the fleet. That’s why it was assigned to you.”

  “Atlas, I don’t want to hurt the crew because of my feelings about her but I don’t honestly know if I can work with her.”

  Atlas gave a mental smile that Tommy felt in his mind and said something that changed Tommy’s mind, “Tommy, she no longer outranks you; she reports to you.”

  The two Algeans had been listening to the back and forth between Tommy and Atlas and they both saw a huge smile split Tommy’s face. Twig looked at Sprig and thought, “This may be more fun than we thought.”

  Sprig was moving slightly in the room’s ventilation and thought back, “Uh huh, we’re gonna have a good time.”

  Captain Cassandra Dodd was on the com with Fleet Admiral Mikado. She had been arguing with him for fifteen minutes and she was not making progress. “Admiral, you just can’t assign me to report to Tommy Gardner.”

  Mikado looked at his best ship commander and said, “Cassie, you will address him as Your Majesty, Duke Gardner, or Your Highness. You give him the respect his title demands just as your crew members do you.”

  Cassie bit her tongue and said, “Yes Sir, I’ll try.”

  Mikado looked at her and said, “There will be no try, Captain. You will do as you’re ordered.”

  Cassie knew Mikado’s patience was wearing thin but then she decided to tell him why she wanted another assignment. “Yes Sir, I will address him properly. Admiral, you must assign another captain to this assignment.”

  Mikado aid, “You have not given me a valid reason to do so.”

  Cassie took a deep breath and said, “Admiral, Tommy Gardner was one of the freshman cadets in my company at the academy.”

  Mikado looked at her and he could see where she was going. Upper classmen always made life hard on freshman. “So you were tough on him. He should understand the reason for that.”

  Cassie sighed and said, “Admiral, I was more than a little tough. I actually received my only reprimand for using very harsh behaviors on Freshman Gardner. I made him do two hundred pushups because I didn’t like the way he made his bed and that was one of the easy punishments I made him endure.”

  Mikado narrowed his eyes and said, “I’m sure you had a good reason, Captain.”

  Cassie said, “Everyone knew who he was. I was determined that he would not get preferential treatment.”

  “So you over did it.”

  “Sir, it seemed no matter what I made him do, it didn’t seem to faze him. Everything was funny to him. I guess I decided I was going to break him.”

  Mikado said, “I know Duke Gardner personally, Captain and I have never met a finer individual. He is so much like his father that it’s uncanny. Did you ever stop to think that by treating him as unfairly as you did that you singled him out to punish him for who he was?”

  Cassie lowered her head and said, “I didn’t at that time. It was after I graduated that I learned I was called 3B by my peers.”

  Mikado looked at her and Cassie said, “Biggest Bitch in the Brigade. My mentor at the Academy told me that every one of the graduates in my class was ashamed of me. Admiral, you’ve got to transfer me to another ship.”

  Mikado looked at Cassie and said, “Captain, there are always consequences to our behaviors. It looks like yours are coming home to roost. You had your fun at a good man’s expense. Now it’s his turn. Your request is denied and if I hear of you being anything but respectful to Duke Gardner I will bust you out of this navy. Do you understand?”

  Cassie looked at the com and meekly said, “Yes Sir.”

  Cassie turned off the com and worried about the coming storm she was going to have to endure. She hoped she was as tough as Tommy Gardner had been when she had put him through a living nightmare. She knew that whatever he chose to do, she deserved it. Apologizing for what happened at this point would make it look like she was doing it only out of fear and that her apology would be insincere. She didn’t sleep well that night anticipating Tommy’s scheduled arrival the next day.

  Chapter 4

  Captain Dodd had the entire crew of the SR Megaship Dorg-Ross standing at ease in the landing bay waiting for Duke Gardner’s arrival. Wes stood there waiting for his best friend to arrive and worried about how Tommy was going to deal with Captain Dodd. He remembered all the punishments she had imposed on Tommy, most of which he didn’t deserve, and knew that Captain Dodd had to be sweating her new assignment. Wes had to admit that Captain Dodd ran a well organized ship and held her crew to an extraordinary high level of performance. The most recent fleet review had the Dorg-Ross ranked number one. He had learned a lot from her but he could never forgive her for making Tommy’s first year at the Academy unbearable. When he learned he had been assigned to her ship he t
hought about resigning from the fleet but Linda Kay had told him that if Tommy was strong enough to stand up to Captain Dodd then she knew he could do it too. Now after six months, Wes had to admit that it wasn’t as bad he thought it would be. The shuttle entered the landing bay and Captain Dodd ordered, “Crew, Atten-shun.”

  The crew came to attention and Captain Dodd saluted as Tommy exited the shuttle. Tommy walked up to Captain Dodd and looked her right in the eye for a long moment and then returned her salute. Right behind Tommy stood the two Algean adolescents. Tommy was going to make Captain Dodd sweat for a few moments before he said anything but he could feel the anxiety of the adolescents. They were barely able to restrain themselves. Tommy said, “At ease.” The crew assumed an at-ease stance but Captain Dodd remained at attention. “Captain, I need these two adolescents taken to the ships library immediately and have them started assimilating the contents.”

  Captain Dodd said, “Yes, Your Highness.” She turned and said, “McAnn, Ortiz, take these two Algeans to the library and show them how to use the readers.” Tommy noticed that she had chosen two of his friends. The message was clear, if Tommy made life tough on Dodd; she would do the same to his friends.

  Tommy thought about that a moment and then said, “Captain, I would feel much better if you took them yourself. These Algeans are from very high families and I know you’ll give them extra consideration.” Captain Dodd looked in Tommy’s eyes and knew that her plan to hold Wes and John hostage was not going to work. She didn’t really like the idea anyway but she had to try. She bowed and said, “Yes, Your Highness, I’ll take them at once.” Then she turned and said, “Crew, dismissed.”

  She turned to the Algeans and said, “If you will kindly follow me; I’ll take you to the library. I know you must be hurting after the voyage.” The Algeans thought their thanks to the Captain and stiffly walked out of the hanger.

  Tommy was surprised. Captain Dodd actually sounded sincere. Obviously he was wrong. That woman had no heart and no feelings for anything but herself. As the Captain left Tommy said to her, “As soon as you have them on the readers I want to have a meeting with your command staff.”