Reaper Inc.

by Thomas Wright

  Three different groups from two different governments converged on Anubis to tell him he needed to take them to Allond for a summit concerning the Cjittan. He threw Emily and General Grey out of the meeting for trying to spy on his property. Maybe not his finest moment, but they weren’t going to be allowed to get away with it. He would give Emily Brous a chance to redeem herself because no matter what, he loved her like family. She was always there for him after his family had been killed until he left to join the marines over five years ago.

  Ben walked outside and took out his com. He looked up Emily's code and hit enter, waiting on her to acknowledge and answer.

  "Um, hello, what do you want?"

  Ben smiled. "Nice, did I wake you?"

  "What do you want?"

  "I want to talk to you. Can you come out to the farm?"

  "Oh, I am planning on it but when I'm damn good and ready."

  "I was hoping we could talk and you could make me feel better about asking you to come along. Seems I was mistaken." He pushed the power button and hung up on her. A second later, it vibrated an incoming com from her. He shut his off and stuck it in his pocket. No sense doing anymore damage, he thought.

  He walked back into the house. Andrea looked at his face. She didn’t need to ask but did anyway.

  "So, how did that go?"

  "It was one of the possibilities I thought might happen."

  "Did you expect her to have forgiven you already? You embarrassed her in front of some important people and called her out. Maybe you should have beat her up too while you were at it."

  "Whose side are you on?" Ben asked, with a touch of hurt.

  "I am always on your side, never forget that. But you are not always in the right."

  "She betrayed me. What if the Claymore had been there on property? What do you think would have happened?"

  "I don’t know Benjamin, but I do know she was following orders, whether she agreed with them or not, I don’t know. She isn’t like you, and did you ever think that if she didn’t follow orders they would lock her up in a cell and maybe throw away the key."

  Ben got up and walked out. He went to the barn to get some of the weapons he had placed in strategic locations. He wasn’t going to leave them all. He needed to think about how to handle Emily while he gathered them up. Leave it to Andrea to know and explain exactly what he had done wrong.

  "Damn, damn, damn," he mumbled, irritated. Why does she always have to be right? He needed Andrea in his life to ground him. He had to think of Emily differently. Andrea was right. As long as she worked for MI, she had to do what she was ordered to do. He managed to keep busy for almost an hour. He heard the sound of a large hover transport approaching. He knew that sound, it was military. At least he was right about something, sometimes. He walked out to meet whatever was coming down the road.

  Chapter 2

  Ben walked out of the barn to find Andrea approaching him. He was right in his assessment. It was an armored military hover that would carry at least a dozen men. It had to have huge drives to lift the armored body and was a lot louder than the civilian version. It pulled up and parked out on the road. A large door lowered and armed soldiers came running out. Ben laughed. "Go inside and arm everyone. I'll go talk to them." Andrea looked at him and nodded. There was nothing to say that he would listen to. Ben walked out into the front yard. His katana in his hand, but sheathed.

  "Drop your weapon!” a soldier yelled, as Ben walked up. General Grey walked down the ramp last, with Emily in tow. It didn’t make any difference to Ben who walked out of the hover. The general walked over and stood by a Major; more than likely Andrea's replacement, who stood next to a master sergeant with a cocky grin. Ben ignored the soldier who yelled and kept walking towards the general. The soldier ran up to intercept him and found himself on his back. Ben stepped over him and kept walking.

  "Stand down!” the general yelled at his men. Ben kept walking. He heard the doors to the house open and close and the whine of the rifle version of a rail gun as well as laser pistols. He saw the soldiers reacting to what they saw. He was sure there were three attractive women all decked out in weapons. He was surprised to see later that there were four. About that time, Ben noticed the master sergeant had an identical pistol to his in the house.

  "Nice pistol. Where did you get it?” Ben asked. The general looked and winced at what he saw.

  "Some chump Gunny Sergeant got himself locked up in the brig and he isn't going to be needing it where he is going." Ben looked at the general.

  "So, is that how you’re treating your people? What about the rest of the team? Are they all locked up?”

  "Those losers are where they belong,” the master sergeant spat out before the general could answer.

  Ben had been inching closer to the general. Emily situated herself to get between them, hoping she could stop him. In the end, it wasn’t the general who needed to worry. Ben’s fist hit the master sergeant, who hadn't expected one man to start trouble with a dozen armed soldiers. He was wrong. Ben looked at the general and hit him again. He heard the rattle of a number of weapons but didn’t care. The grinning asshole went down in a heap and didn’t move. Why do so many people feel so secure in numbers? The general had told them all to stand down so they were ready to shoot anyone immediately. Everyone who currently lived and trained with him knew to hit the opponent first and as hard as you can. Then hit them again. If they are busy talking then they aren’t ready for you.

  "That chump happens to be a friend of mine and a damn good soldier." He knelt and pulled the pistol from the holster then quickly pointed at the closet soldier and hilt of his katana towards the general's throat. He was just making a point using the hilt.

  The major on the other side of the general was unsure of just what to do.

  "Emily, stand behind me please,” Ben asked. Emily did as she was asked which was surprising to Ben after the conversation they had earlier. Ben walked two steps and confronted the Major.

  "You get two men and get that piece of shit out of my yard now or I'll get four men to move them both when you join him.”

  "Ben, the general just came here to talk,” Emily said. Ben turned slightly to look at Emily.

  "Really? Then he shouldn’t have let a bunch of dumb asses do his talking for him. I bet the two of you tried to get the rest of the team to incriminate us, didn’t you?" he said not taking his eyes off the major, and they wouldn’t. "That would be what military intelligence would do. You put good soldiers in the brig, for what?"

  The Major must have found his balls because he got up in Ben's face and started reaching for his sidearm. Ben dropped his katana and stepped on it so no one could pick it up. He grabbed the major's wrist, pulling his arm away from his weapon. The major must have thought it was a test of wills and pulled down with all his strength. That is exactly what Ben wanted the dumb ass to think. As he let go, the major jerked his hand down and Ben landed an upper cut, knocking the major back against the hover transport. He still had the pistol pointed at some poor private.

  "Where do you get these idiots, General? At least the next group you decide to screw over will deserve it for being so stupid." Ben growled, turning to the general.

  Ben heard footsteps behind him. "Ben, honey, you need to stop breaking the general’s toy soldiers," Andrea said putting her hand on his shoulder.

  The general looked at his former officer. He had spent so much time grooming her. It was her team in the brig, his hands were tied. The new director of intelligence wanted payback for what happened to the former director. That same person convinced a review board that Andrea's team had gone rogue and the dead officers were trying to stop them. He needed to diffuse the current situation. There was no way these soldiers could stop them if they decided to take action, or more action as it were.

  Andrea had been studying the general's face. She noted the pain and change in his overall demeanor. She held up her pistol and started talking. Inside, she was seething, overhearing
that her team was in the brig. She knew she couldn’t afford to get to angry.

  "So, how many of this group do you want left standing when your visit here is over? I would have thought you would have learned something about him and us by now." She motioned with her head to Ben.

  Ben looked up on the porch to see E'Aria, Alona and Natalia holding some form of weapon. The Prime Minister of Trillond, Alona Aok, looked at the group with a stern expression of anger and disappointment. Her presence hadn’t escaped the general's notice, as well as her being armed.

  Another hover vehicle pulled up and parked near the barn. Senator Thurman Sims exited, dressed in casual clothes instead of the 3000 credit suit he was sporting just a couple of days ago. He took in the scene that must have looked like a Mexican standoff. His aide unloaded their luggage and hadn’t really noticed yet how serious things were. He started walking towards the house.

  Smart man, Ben thought as he watched the senator walk towards the porch. He stopped and spoke softly with Alona.

  Ben looked at Emily. "What are you planning on doing? I will work with you but I am running out of patience. I love you like a sister but I won't let you endanger, or in any way undermine, what we are about to do."

  "And what exactly are you about to do, Benjamin?"

  "Emily, dear, we are going to save all your sorry asses whether you deserve it or not," Ben answered staring her in the eyes.

  "General, were you or were you not attacked by the Cjittan on the Morningstar?" the senator asked, walking up warily.

  General Grey looked like he wanted to tell the senator the truth. "Senator, the incident involving the Morningstar is out of my hands and I am ordered to offer no response to any inquiry about the same. You will have to put forth a formal inquiry to the board handling the incident."

  "General, why would they strip the complete operating system out of the Morningstar and currently be en route to do the same to the Warhammer?"

  "Senator, you will have to request that information from the board of inquiry," the general repeated.

  Ben decided to end the senator’s questioning with one of his own. "General, does Aisling know? Have you told her they are coming to tear her ship apart?" The senator looked like he would like to hear the answer to that himself.

  General Grey's head dropped and when he looked back up it, was to give the order to load up. He turned his back on Ben, Emily and Senator Sims walked into the hover craft.

  "That’s just great. Walk away!" Ben yelled. The next time you come around at least bring someone who doesn’t have a jaw like a woman!"

  Ben turned to find himself facing the most beautiful blue eyes. "Damn." He mouthed, as he looked at five women, four of them armed, staring at him. "Um…sorry."

  The senator was making his way towards the farmhouse laughing and not trying to hide it.

  Andrea had the expression on her face of someone waiting to hear a good explanation. Ben knew the expression on his face said ‘I got nothing.’

  "We may not be as tough as you buddy, but we are not the one sleeping on the couch tonight or maybe forever." She turned to Emily. "Come on, before he tries to make you feel sorry for him." They walked away together.

  "You really going to make him sleep on the couch?" Emily asked.

  "Maybe the day is young and he still has plenty of opportunities to screw it up some more."

  "I'll be along in a minute. I need to talk to the couch jockey," Emily said.

  Chapter 3

  Emily stood and watched the hover transport depart, leaving her behind. The general must have thought that she would want to stay or maybe, if he just left her, Ben would work something out with her. She wasn't sure of anything anymore.

  She wasn’t finished with Ben yet. She knew when he said things like ‘get behind me’ it was a good idea but it didn’t mean all was forgiven.

  Ben walked towards Emily. He was already in the shit with the whole household now and feeling like a heel. He thought he would try to have a civilized conversation with her.

  Emily led off with; "Who do you think you are anyway?"

  It seemed civilized was not on the table right now. "Most of the time, I’m nobody important but right now, I am the guy with the ship and the big green reptile friends. But, that is not the problem, is it Emily?"

  "No, Yes, there are a lot of problems."

  "Well, if there are that many, then I didn’t create them, you people did. I keep things simple. My actions and responses are not complicated." His pot was boiling over. "You people have taken everything from me. My family, my career, all for no reason, and you tell me there are problems. Keep pushing and I will show you problems like you have never seen before."

  Emily was beginning to wish she had got on that hover with the general. He had so much anger inside. He had never ever been angry or raised his voice to her, but it was happening more and more.

  Ben took a deep breath. "Sorry, all I want to know is if you want to go to the summit, can you be ready by the end of the day? I am limiting the number of people, so if you need an assistant, you can take one, but that’s it." Ben exhaled, trying to calm himself. Andrea had heard him from inside and walked out. She walked up and put her hand on his arm.

  "Let's see if we can work this out without you threatening your best friend, honey."

  "Really." . . .Ben decided not say what he was thinking.

  Emily was hurt that he would include her in what happened to his family. Andrea could see it written all over her face.

  "Benjamin, Emily was a child like you when your parents and sister were killed. Including her in your suspicions of who might be behind it is wrong and you need to get that worked out on your own. You don’t get to lay all your anger and pain at her feet." Andrea's tone was firm and implied there would be no argument.

  Emily looked at Andrea in a new light. Ben dropped his head and walked away. Again, she was right, but Emily would have to choose someday. He was going to rip the heavens down around the people responsible for killing his family and if they were her leaders, she really would have to pick a side.

  Everyone on the porch watched, not knowing what to do. Doing nothing proved to be the best idea. Ben heard it coming before he saw it. This was one of few planets where you could fly a starship of the Corvette/Frigate configuration and not have to leave it in orbit if it was designed for atmospheric travel. There were going to be some huge divots in the ground because it would sink due to the weight but not enough to cause complications. Lorelei sat it down in the empty field behind the barn and Jen sat the gunboat down next to it.

  ****

  They had been loading the ship all afternoon. They picked out quarters and stowed their belongings. Andrea and Ben shared a cabin, or at least he hoped they were. E'Aria and Natalia, Jen and Lorelei, Grubb and Buddy. Adam had one reserved, but he had not arrived yet.

  "Who is Adam?" Ben asked picking up on their conversation 10 feet away.

  "You'll see," was all Andrea said.

  "Ok, sounds good." He would wait and find out. "It seems everything is under control so I'll be back in the hold." He walked back to the hold that, in the recent past, had been occupied by prisoners and refugees. The long narrow bench that passes for seating was his destination and with no one else back, there he lay down, hoping something would happen to improve his day.

  The time passed as Ben napped. The lowering of the ramp woke him. He had slept in places a lot worse than the steel bench he now lay on but it surprised him he didn’t wake up sooner. He was staring at the metal cross members above him when everyone began to walk through.

  Andrea said, "You’re awake! I was beginning to think something was wrong, except we could hear you snoring all the way up front."

  "I think all the nagging and female hormones just tire me out." Ben replied trying not to smirk. He wasn’t expecting her to sit on him and she didn’t do it gently. He laughed as he tried to catch his breath. Everyone had walked on by not paying any attention to them, except Alo
na.

  Andrea said, "We received a message from the Warhammer. There is a small attack group on its way and will be arriving soon. It seems there are those who don’t like that you were picked by the Allond and given the ship, which we know. They also don’t like being told they can't attend the summit, and we knew that too. Aisling has been ordered to stay in orbit until their arrival. If we don’t leave before they get here, we may have to fight our way out of Anubis space."

  "They are going to try and stop us from going, there is no doubt. We should have packed and left right after that damn meeting. If the Senator and Prime Minister attend the summit when they return, the news will be broadcast and the truth will be out. Someone is trying to undermine the President and our government and has enough power to use our own military against itself." Ben summed up the news, as Alona joined them.

  Alona said, "They evidently do not care about the Alliance or the agreements made between the Colonial Government and the Trillond Empire." She was watching Ben and Andrea's horseplay.

  Ben looked at Alona then Andrea got suddenly serious again. "I want to be gone tomorrow as planned, no changing anything now. We will be sleeping on the ship tonight. We can depart early in the morning if we work through the night getting everything loaded. E’Aria and Lorelei are exempt from helping. I need them rested and sharp. Tell the Senator, as of right now, there is a communication black out. No one transmits anything until told that they can do so."