“Isn’t that just handy; more imperialist dogs.” Li muttered without heat.
Zed sighed. “Handy had nothing to do with it, Science Officer Tong. The princess and her party were in better made hibernation units. The rest were probably researchers at the station. The biggest problem that I foresee will be the Princess trying to take command of this vessel because, you see, her father, the Emperor, was the one who financed this ship.” There were frowns all around, and Dimitri mumbled.
“Fat chance she’ll take over.”
Zed looked at them all in turn. “There is NO chance of that. Lola supports us completely. You had a few comments to make, Lola?”
From the faraway look in their faces, Zed could tell that Lola was speaking to them all.
“Offering either peace or war.” Kat murmured at Zed’s side. “I like it.”
“How soon can we do that, Lola?”
“It is already being done, Zed.”
“I should have known. Thank you.”
“You’re welcome. The emblems will be ready on your uniforms tomorrow.”
“Do you have anything further to discuss, Lola?”
“No Zed. It has been a long day and a good night’s sleep will do you all good. You may need your wits about you, tomorrow.”
“Yes mother.” He looked around the table. “If there is nothing else, I advise that we take Lola’s suggestion. We can go back to the surface to take care of the dead after we’ve talked to the survivors.”
The Captain and First Officer stood stiffly, shoulder to shoulder in the small room just off the main Medical Bay, their new midnight blue uniforms crisp, the Rose emblems shining silver on their chests.
“We might as well get this over with, Lola. You can wake up the first contestant.” Lying on the white bed in a loose white robe, a young brown haired girl opened her silver eyes. Zed blinked.
< Great.> He returned sourly.
The girl blinked her eyes. “Where am I?” Her voice was soft and musical.
“You are in the sick bay of the Terran Space Fleet warship Rose of the Dawn. We discovered you and others of your party still alive on Cybele when we landed.
“The others!!” Her thin white hand flew to her mouth. “Is the Princess…?”
“The Princess and the other five in your party survived.”
The girl sagged in relief. “I suppose those horrid researchers all survived too? Why, they wouldn’t even take the Princess out skiing or Thark hunting. Can you imagine that? And all they offered us to eat were those horrible rations they all ate. We would have brought our own kitchen if we’d known conditions were so — crude. And then we were marooned. You took your sweet time getting…”
“I believe that you’re operating from an incorrect assumption.” Katherine Johansen took a step forward, cocking her head to the side and staring at the girl like a bird of prey would stare at its next meal. “We aren’t here to rescue you. We don’t care who you are, and if your attitude doesn’t improve we’ll leave you back on Cybele, in your hibernator with all the other DEAD PEOPLE. Have I made myself clear?”
“But… but…”
Zed rolled his eyes. “You might as well wake the next one.”
The young man opened eyes that were jet black: iris, sclera and pupil. His eyes looked as dead as the eyes of a shark. He inhaled deeply, flexing his pectorals and biceps, then swung his legs over the edge of the bed and stood—or tried to. His legs folded and he slowly collapsed to the floor. “What??” His voice sounded hoarse.
“Your muscles are weak from being in hibernation for so long. Get some exercise and you’ll be fine, in a month or so.” Zed reached down and took the limp young man by the arm. The boy jerked the limb away.
“You will not touch me. I am sacrosanct!! I am an Imperial Guard!”
“Yeah, right.” Zed took hold of the front of the boy’s robe with one hand, and lifted the guard from the floor, depositing him back on his bed. He pointed at the bed. “Stay.” The black eyes were threatening to pop from the youth’s head. “This isn’t going well at all. Which one is the Princess?”
“The one to the rear of the room.” Lola’s voice was flat.
“Long blond hair?”
“That’s the one.”
Zed sighed again, and took a deep breath. “Wake them all up. Let’s get this over with, it’s starting to bore me.”
“As you wish, Captain, but just to let you know, I’ve sent for security.”
“Wonderful.” His voice was flat.
Zed and Kat stood with their backs to the wall and watched the remaining five wake up. The princess, he noted, had golden eyes, the other women silver, and the two guards black. It was easier than remembering their names, he supposed. When the volume of the shouts reached ear splitting level he stepped forward and cleared his throat. They ignored him. Then he shouted. They ignored that too. He looked over his shoulder and gave Kat a lopsided grin as he pulled his pistol from its holster. The shot he put into the ceiling quieted the room abruptly. He slid the gun away.
“Now that I have your attention.” The door hissed open behind him, and the three people who had been about to say something shut their mouths, eyes growing wide. “My name is Fernandez Edwardo Raphael Daniel Yates, Captain of the Terran Space Fleet Heavy Destroyer, Rose of the Dawn. You may call me Sir.” He glanced over his shoulder. “The young woman on my left is Katherine Johansen, My First Officer. Don’t let her apparent age fool you. She is probably the most intelligent person on this ship. You will call her Ma’am.” He glanced over his other shoulder. “The man at my rear is Head of Security, Officer Dimitri Galygin. Don’t let his cheerful demeanor, or irresistible Russian charm fool you, though. He IS deadly and he WILL kill you if he feels it is necessary.” Dimitri’s face was hard enough to split stone. “That applies to any or all of you. Have I made myself clear?” Seven pale faces stared back. “Good. We’re making excellent progress. Now, to cover a few misconceptions. We have NOT been sent to rescue you. We just chanced upon you.” There were several startled murmurs. “We are not part of the Imperium, but from a distant system many hundreds of light years to the galactic west. From all the indications we’ve seen, the Imperium has collapsed and is no more.” There were several gasps and a startled ‘What!’ from the princess. “And lastly, according to the records on your own hibernation caskets, you have all been asleep about eighteen thousand years, give or take a few millennia. You may have been a princess when you left, Nerina Foy, but now you and your retainers are just so much extra cargo. There is a lavatory and bath off this room. Your dinner will be served here, eat it or not, I really don’t care. I will be back tomorrow and we can talk.” He turned to head for the door, and stopped. Dimitri was standing behind him with what looked like the meanest rifle he had ever seen in all his days. The Russian stood glaring at the stunned seven until both Zed and Kat had cleared the room, before leaving himself. “Lock the door please, Lola. Command key to Kat, Dimitri or myself.”
“As you wish, Zed.”
“And I’m sorry I had to put a shot into the ceiling. I hope I didn’t break anything expensive.”
“No Zed you didn’t, but thank you for asking.”
“You actually put a shot into the ceiling?” Dimitri looked more envious than surprised.
“It seemed the appropriate thing to do at the time.” He shrugged. “I couldn’t get their attention.”
“I’ll bet they’re all a-quiver about your visit tomorrow, then. The ugly space barb
arian.”
“Playing that role is rather fun though.” Zed remarked thoughtfully.
“Isn’t it?” Dimitri gave him a wink as he continued down the corridor to his own quarters. “Russians have been playing it for years.”
“Oh, Dimitri?”
He turned. “Yes Captain?”
“Tomorrow morning when we visit our little friends, leave the rifle and bring the pistol…” He paused for a moment. “and wear black leather gloves.”
“Black gloves? Why would I want to wear black gloves?”
“Intimidation factor. In their eyes you will move from being the Security Officer to being the Captain’s private killer. It should cut the arguments to a minimum.”
Dimitri gave him a toothy smile. “Captain’s killer. I like that.”
“Khorosho spat' Dimitri.”
“Good night to you also, Captain.” He turned and was gone.
“He isn’t nearly as tough as he puts on, is he?” Kat was watching the back of the retreating man.
“Inside I suspect he is even tougher than he lets on. Dimitri is a very dangerous man.”
“And you called him out in front of everybody and publically humiliated him. Not a very wise career move.”
He gave her a wide-eyed innocent look. “Me?”
The door to the Med Bay room slid open, and seven sets of eyes stared at them. Dimitri put his black gloved hand on the butt of his pistol and gave the group a chilling smile. The temperature in the room seemed to drop ten degrees. Zed could feel the danger radiating off the dark haired man, and they were on the same side. He was glad Kat wasn’t with them today.
“Good morning. I hope you slept well and that the food was adequate.” He could see trays of untouched food piled in the corner.
The princess struggled to her feet and gave him her best imperious look. It was all he could do to keep from laughing. “How could we sleep in this... this cell? I am Imperial Princess Nerina Foy, and I am due the respect you would give the Emperor.” She looked down her nose. “The food I wouldn’t feed to my dogs.”
“Ahhh.” Zed gave her a smile as chilling as Dimitri’s. “I thought the steak quite good, and the vegetables were fresh, grown in our own hydroponic gardens. I will have the untouched trays removed from this room. After a few weeks on bread and water perhaps you will feel a little more, appreciative, shall we say?” He turned to the door.
“Are you going to leave us like this? Chained in misery?”
Zed chuckled. “If you would like to be chained to the wall so you can feel appropriately repressed, I can arrange that. If not, then you can look on it like a spoiled child being sent to her room without supper for being bratty. I’ll be back in a few days. We have to go down to the planet and bury your dead countrymen.”
“You’re not going to…” The door slid shut.
“Lola, would you please remove the unused trays, and see that our guests are put on a nice diet of bread and water for the next few weeks. Please make sure they have plenty of water though, and you might want to drop some vitamins in their bread.”
“As you wish, Zed.” Lola’s voice was soft.
“You are big marshmallow, Zed.” Dimitri was grinning as the door slid shut behind them. “Vitamins in their bread?”
Zed stopped walking and gave him a flat look. “Is it different from what you would have done?” He held Dimitri’s dark-eyed gaze, but the big man didn’t flinch.
“I would have given them no food. When they started to chew on each other I would have fed them.” The man’s dark eyes were icy. “Maybe.”
Zed shuddered at the cold blooded way he said it. “I thought so. Please have First Officer Johansen keep an eye on the folks in the dungeon while you, Li and I go on mortuary duty.”
The security officer gave him a small nod. “Da, Captain.”
“You make an excellent Security Officer, Dimitri. I’m glad you joined the party.”
The smallest hint of a smile flicked at the corner of the Russian’s mouth before he turned to leave.
After two days of searching, they found another ten failed caskets, and one more still functioning casket, containing a…
“… a cat you said?” Kat’s usually pleasing voice went up several octaves. “Are you telling me that you buried twenty eight human beings, while our spoiled princess kept alive a furry, sit-in-your-lap CAT?”
Zed stretched his legs out in front of his command chair as he watched a small cutter tow a section of destroyed ship to the recycling area. Cybele glowed like a blue gem in the background. While they were in orbit Zed and Katherine had a tendency to use the bridge as a lounge, sitting there for hours watching the recycling operations or simply staring into space. It was safer than sitting in the living room with Kat, trying hard not to stare at the dimples in her knees. For some reason her skirts seemed to be getting shorter and shorter. He’d have to talk to Lola about that someday, and come up with a shrink-proof material. “Furry, yes. Sit-in-the-lap, not so much.” He reached for his ever-present cup of coffee. After another day of burying bodies, he wanted to forget about the planet for a while. “Think twenty five kilos, colored like a Bengal Tiger, but in shades of gray with startling blue eyes like a Siamese. We’ll bring it up tomorrow so that you can see for yourself.”
“There is also something else you should know about the cat, Zed.” Lola murmured in a considering voice.
“Oh wonderful, I can hardly wait. My day has been just topfilled with pleasant surprises. What else could possibly go wrong?”
“You’re being cynical again, Captain.”
“So? After today, I think I’m entitled. Now, about the cat.”
“The creature you call a cat,” Zed frowned at the word ‘creature.’ “is really a Dramul manufactured being called a CatTrace, or cat with a trace of intelligence. The actual result of their engineering was a bit more profound than the genetic designers anticipated, but by then it was too late and dozens of kittens were out into the general population. Genetically engineered, and created with the ability to breed true, the creatures are insanely expensive, even for royalty such as the Foy.” Lola’s voice held irritation and not a little disgust. “We should destroy the creature right away.”
“Why?” He asked, curiously. “The cat has life through no fault of its own. If someone is to blame it should be Nerina Foy. She should pay the price, not the cat.”
“REALLY??”
Zed was shocked at the note of anticipation in the computer’s voice. He sipped down half the coffee, enjoying the slightly bitter taste of the Columbian beans. The computer in the ship’s food replicator had finally gotten it right. Halfway across the galaxy, and he was still drinking coffee. “No you can’t destroy her for something she hasn’t done. I’m not a murderer, even though she really deserves it.” A wicked glint came to his eyes. “A spanking might be in order, however.” He looked thoughtful. “I wonder if Princess Nerina Foy has ever had her bare bottom spanked.” He finished the drink, set the cup on the table, thought about a second and rejected the idea. “I’ll save reprimanding the princess until tomorrow. It will give me something to look forward to. Now, Lola, what’s our status?”
“Rose of the Dawn is at ninety eight percent readiness. Construction of the Frigate Chesapeake is under way, and should be completed in six weeks, along with the other auxiliary craft.”
“Postpone construction of other auxiliaries and concentrate on the frigate. How soon will it be completed now?”
“A month, Zed, or a bit less.”
“Good, make it so. How about refueling, rearming and salvage operations?”
“Rearming has been completed. Refueling will be completed tomorrow, and all salvage work for the Rose will be completed in two days.”
“Excellent. Make sure that you fill the fuel tanks of the Chesapeake before we leave. I would hate to have to drain our own supply for that.”
“As you wish, sir. Thal’ark Station is thirty percent operational and fifty percent
completed in her own salvage operation. I assisted the station in constructing a single tug for her to use while we are gone, although her own construction bay is now operational and has the ability to create whatever ships she wishes.”
“Her?”
“The computer on Thal’ark Station is, like the planet below, named Cybele. I’m afraid that much of her self-awareness came from me. Sorry…” Zed couldn’t help laughing.
The door to the Medical Bay room slid open, and a second later the unbreakable plastic water pitcher bounced off the wall, seven or eight centimeters from Zed’s head. He brushed the liquid off his face and bore down on the princess, fire in his eyes. In a room smelling of unwashed bodies, the seven occupants looked somewhat the worse for wear. Obviously they preferred not to wash themselves, usually leaving that chore to someone else. The aggression suddenly left the eyes of the seven detainees when Larisa Borisyuk, another of the Russian Security Officers, walked into the room, and picked both imperial guards up by the front of their robes, holding them suspended a full meter off the floor. In her own way, Larisa was as imposing as Dimitri. Dimitri and Kat calmly backhanded the four silver-eyed women out of the way as Zed closed on the princess. He winced as the girl’s piercing voice hit a particularly virulent note. Sitting on the edge of her bed, he jerked her over his knee, pulling her robe up to her waist and yanking down the lace bit of nothing she wore for underwear.
“This is what we do to disobedient and naughty children where I come from.” His hand hit the soft pink skin of her derriere with a sharp SMACK! “They usually learn better by the time they hit ten.” SMACK! Nerina Foy’s screams made his teeth ache. SMACK! One of the silver eyed girls giggled, and then flushed scarlet. SMACK! The screams were rapidly turning to sobs, but Zed continued grimly until he had given the girl thirty stinging swats, one for each of her thirty years of age. His own hand burned from the effort, so he could imagine how her bottom felt. He could almost feel the heat radiating from her glowing skin. Standing, he dumped the sobbing girl to the floor. “When you can talk nicely we might discuss improving your food, but until then, I hope you enjoy the bread and water.”
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