Badlands_Defenders of the Rim

by Randal Sloan

  Quickly glancing at his personal com station, Jason told Jarra, "All recording devices are turned off. You can speak freely in this room." Unspoken was the request to talk to the Princess and not to the lieutenant.

  "Jynks, please verify that is correct and no overrides are in place," Jarra said out loud for Jason's benefit.

  "That is correct. No recording overrides and no other devices detected," Jynks replied.

  "Good enough," Jason said as he dropped to one knee. "I am yours to command, Your Highness."

  "Please rise," Jarra told him with a smile, "I thank you for your service."

  As he rose to face her, Jarra gave him a glare. "That's the last of those you're allowed. I'm supposed to be undercover."

  "As you wish, but you will always be the Crown Princess, no matter what uniform you wear or what mission you are on. If I may, what is your mission and what can I do to assist you?"

  Jarra's gaze had softened quickly, although it hardened again just as quickly with the last question. "I'm here investigating Admiral Janson. We suspect he is in league with the rebels and with the pirates."

  Jason whistled. "You don't do anything with half measures, do you? I knew something was fishy around here, but I never suspected the Admiral. Do you believe others are in league with him, or is he acting alone?"

  "So far, I believe it's just him and perhaps some of his staff. I got a good read off of the Captain and XO this morning. They appear to be on the level and top notch. I would expect nothing less from the Relentless, which is still one of the premier ships of the Empire. Some of the other officers, I'm not so sure."

  Jason couldn't argue with any of that. He had the same feeling. "Speaking of the XO, I really do owe him a report. I can keep it to the bare bones minimum, but I suspect he's going to want to see you."

  Jarra nodded. The XO was already suspicious, so this would probably push him over the edge. "My cover story should be sufficient, although it will be a hard sell I suspect."

  She smiled. "You get to deal with the Master Sergeant. Do you trust him enough to tell him the truth?"

  Jason nodded. "I suspect he'll see through anything else. He would be a good resource to have on our side if things were to go sideways."

  "You have my permission to do so with the stipulation you secure the room before speaking."

  Jarra initiated an implant to implant transfer. "You'll need these command codes, They'll allow you to verify that no overrides are in place. We can't be too careful, not knowing more than we do at this time."

  Jason just stared at her a moment in disbelief. "Those are Imperial command codes. I could take control of the entire ship with such. Are you sure you trust me with them?"

  Jarra nodded. "I'm absolutely certain. I'm not sure why, but I trust you completely." She was still struggling to figure out her feelings about Jason, but she knew that much.

  Seeing the look on his face, she went on, "I feel like we already have a connection. I know you would never do anything to harm me." She smiled. "As you pointed out, if things go sideways, it doesn't hurt to have all the weapons in our arsenal."

  Jason gave her a grim smile. He hoped it didn't come to that. Then he brightened. "It will be mealtime in a few minutes. As your liaison to the Navy, I believe it would be quite appropriate for me to escort you to the officers mess. If you wish to return to your quarters to freshen up, I'll meet you there shortly, say at 1800 hours."

  "I would consider that an honor," Jarra told him. "I'll let myself out. I believe you have a report to write."

  Jason's smile turned to a grimace. "Such is the duty of us lowly Lieutenant Commanders. You'd think you could have waited just a few more hours before you got into trouble."

  "I tried. I really did," Jarra told him contritely. She hurried to the door. The discussion was now hitting too close to home.

  CHAPTER EIGHT

  Friends are Better than Enemies

  A few minutes later, Jarra had changed into her ship's uniform and was waiting for Jason to arrive. For some reason, she was nervous. Gosh, girl, you'd think you were going on a date or something. Just then her door entry chimed.

  "Come in," Jarra answered, perhaps just a little too quickly. Dang, she was much too apprehensive for just a simple dinner.

  A smiling Jason hurried in; he seemed to be a little anxious too. "Good, you're ready to go. I've heard we're having Corsica prime rib again."

  Jarra couldn't help but laugh, relieving the tension a little. "I can't believe you remembered that. I was just trying to break the ice. That was a tough audience."

  They were both referring to the first time they had met. Jarra was MC'ing the medal awards dinner aboard Prince John's flagship. The audience had consisted of a large group of the Navy's finest and very few of them had had any knowledge of their Crown Princess. Jarra had suggested their dinner was Corsica prime rib. Although it had only drawn a few laughs, it had accomplished what she wanted.

  Jason had been seated at Jarra's table as a surprise dinner guest, freely admitting he'd used his father's influence to get the prime location. At that first meeting, the two had really hit it off, Jarra revealing things to him that she had told very few others. This would be their second time to dine together, albeit not in quite as elegant a setting this time.

  Their current relationship was still evolving, made even more complicated by the current situation aboard ship. Technically, since Jarra was here as the Lieutenant Jarra Carsean, she was below Jason in the chain of command. Of course, since Jason would always regard her as his Princess, that meant nothing to him other than that they would have to keep up the illusion of her lower ranking to maintain Jarra's cover. Luckily, Jarra wasn't in Jason's line of command, so it wouldn't cause any difficulty for them to be seen together. Such liaisons were common aboard ship. It was all a little strange but still both were glad they had this time to get to know each other.

  Jarra was secretly pleased that Jason offered her his arm as her escort and she gladly accepted. She might have even had a bigger smile than normal on her face as they traveled to the officers mess. Despite her father's wishes, Jarra didn't have a lot of experience at dating. She'd never had time before. Heck, if Father had his way, I'd already be married off.

  It didn't take long to arrive at the entrance to the officers mess. In a logic that defied the norm within the Navy where too many inefficiencies had already taken root, the officers mess was somewhat centrally located within officer country. Giving Jason a last quick smile, Jarra preceded him inside to be pleasantly surprised by what she saw. The room somehow had a warm comfortable feeling about it and the food she saw looked delicious, even if not Corsica prime rib.

  "I may have to steal your Chief Steward if that food is as good as it looks," Jarra whispered to Jason, who was following her maybe a little more closely than normal.

  "Oh, it is. Despite its problems, this ship does have its perks." He gave her a smile.

  "That's good to know." Jarra returned his smile. "I may have to extend this mission in that case."

  Jason just shook his head. He would be quite happy for her to do that. "Maybe. I should warn you, our very good XO has already informed me he wishes to see you at the beginning of your watch tomorrow morning, so you'd better get your story straight."

  "Oh, well," Jarra said. "At least we have tonight. You will visit me in the brig, won't you?"

  Jason laughed. "I don't think it'll be quite that bad." He waved his hand at the food selection, "Shall we fill our plates? I have a couple of fellow officers I would like to introduce you to."

  Jarra didn't need a second offer. She quickly complied, the smell of the food causing her mouth to water. I did work up an appetite, didn't I?

  Following Jason's lead, they joined several young officers who were seated nearby. Jarra was pleased to see a couple were female. "Gentlemen and ladies," Jason intoned. "May I introduce you to Lieutenant Jarra Carsean. I have been assigned as her liaison to the ship, and despite the lot of you being a b
unch of misfits and rascals, I felt it would be good for you to meet her."

  The group quickly introduced themselves. Last to introduce herself, one of the young Lieutenants gave Jarra an envious look. "Lieutenant Amy Swanson," she told Jarra, balancing her look with a smile.

  "Since when does liaison duty include accompanying one to dinner, Jase," she told Jason, her smile turning a little snarky. "I suspect a little more than that is involved here."

  Jason just held his hands up. He knew he had no real answer for her. He chose the next seat over, leaving Jarra to sit beside Amy. Jarra was pleased to see Amy was not holding a grudge against her, the girl giving her a genuine smile as she settled into her seat.

  "I've been trying unsuccessfully to get Jason to notice me, but he always seems to be thinking of someone else," Amy explained. "Now I know why."

  "It's not like that," Jarra told her. Might as well tell her the truth, nothing else was getting by this girl. "At least, not yet. We've only just met a few weeks ago and this is only the second opportunity we've had to spend time together."

  "Trust me. I know what I see," she told her, giving her a genuine smile. "It's good to have you aboard; perhaps we'll get the opportunity to work together."

  Jarra gave her a smile too. She already liked the girl. "I'd like that. This sudden transfer has me a little on edge. Plus, so far, this looks to be a tough ship to adjust to." Jarra couldn't resist fishing a little.

  Amy shook her head. "It's not that bad. All the problems are due to only a handful. That, and with the Admiral on board, there always seems to be strife between his staff and the ship's crew."

  "That's not good," Jarra told her. "We're all supposed to be on the same side."

  "She's already met one of the worst of them," one of the other Lieutenants interrupted. Sam Kirchoff, Jarra remembered from her fast introductions. "Kicked his butt, too. I'll tell you this. I'll never stand across from you, Lieutenant. I didn't think anyone could beat Mad Dog, not even the Master Sergeant."

  It was Jarra's turn to shake her head. "That was my fault. I shouldn't have lost my temper. But Sergeant Gershaw isn't really that good with his staff; he just tries to intimidate everyone and uses much too much brute force. The biggest problem was I couldn't get him to back down. That's why I had to eventually hurt him to end it."

  Most of the group just stared at her for a moment. Not only had she beaten Mad Dog, she made it sound easy. Used to dealing with Marines, Jarra didn't know what to say to make them understand. She wished that none of it had happened. Maybe she wasn't so good at this undercover stuff.

  Sam smiled, trying to relieve the tension. "If that's what they teach in the Rim, maybe we all should take a stint over there. I've never seen anyone move like you did there at the end."

  Jarra gave him an intense look. "I will admit I've had some advanced training, but I'm serious. Except for there at the last, when I wanted to end it quickly, it was all basic moves." She looked around the group. "If you or anyone else want to learn more, I could teach you in our off time. It would be good for me too. I've gotten kind of lax in all my time traveling and I need to keep in shape.'

  Sam immediately perked up. "If that was out of shape, I'd hate to see you when you're up to full speed." He gave her a smile, "You're on. Time permitting, I'll be there."

  Jarra looked around the group, noting a number were showing interest. "Alright, I'll tell my AI to find the best time."

  Sam gave her a serious look. "One more thing. You'd better be careful. That one is the kind to hold a grudge and I wouldn't put it past him trying to ambush you somewhere when you least expect it."

  Jarra nodded. "I'm not surprised. I'll be careful. Thanks for the warning." She wasn't really worried, although it would make her job more difficult. But, she reminded herself, it would be arrogance on her part to not be prepared, something she'd been taught over and over in her training.

  Jason wisely kept quiet. He wanted to let them get to know Jarra a little without his interference. The Princess really didn't know the effect she had on others. Without intending it, she had already captured the attention of the entire table. But Sam's warning gave him a bad feeling. He knew Sam was right. He would have to make sure that he kept an eye out for her.

  But for the table, best to change the subject. "I've heard from a reputable source the ship's going to be traveling into the edge of the Badlands this trip." Everyone groaned. There was nothing there but a whole lot of nothing, a huge space that was nearly unnavigable, so no one ever went there. Jason smiled at their reaction, although personally he agreed with their unspoken assessment.

  His smile grew as he told them the rest. "I did hear we will make a short stop at Sigmus Station first." When he mentioned Sigmus Station, their eyes lit up as they thought of all the possibilities.

  Then he dashed their dreams. "Sorry, don't get your hopes up. We won't be there long and with the Admiral on board, most of you probably won't get shore leave." That drew a second round of groans.

  Jarra smiled in remembrance. She remembered well her one visit to Sigmus Station. It was one of the most unique places in the galaxy. Among other things, it was home to the most bars in any one location. Actually true, Jarra knew, because she'd had her AI verify it when someone told her that. She'd been there with her Marine squad to celebrate the completion of their training. Even then she'd known she would be parting ways with them, but she still hadn't decided where she was going to go.

  But on that visit with her squad, they ran into a group of Marines assigned to a Rim Patrol cruiser. They were talking about their time while on patrol and among them had been an older lieutenant from the Rim Patrol. Of course, older was a relative term. Lieutenant Richard Warner had probably only been in his late twenties, but to 16 year-old Jarra, he seemed old.

  Rick talked about his life in the Rim Patrol. Serving on a cruiser, they spent weeks alone out on patrol. "It's often quite boring," he said. "But when we tangle with pirates it gets rather busy. Despite what most people believe, piracy has been on the rise and it's our duty to stop them. This lot," he told her, pointing to the Marines accompanying him, "have had more real experience in the field than 95 percent of the Navy. Just on our last patrol, we had three separate incidents where we boarded and took pirate ships. I had a small part in two of those operations."

  "Don't let the Lieutenant fool you," the Marine sergeant spoke up. "He was in the thick of it all on both of those boardings where he was involved. He's quite capable despite those Lieutenant's bars. Probably saved my life more than once."

  He looked around the bar. The bar they were in was full of Marines and very few others. "Why do you think we let him hang around? He's earned the right to be here and we'll challenge anyone who tries to say otherwise."

  The old sergeant left her with one last line. He didn't know it, but it was the money line. "The only non-marines in the room are all like him. I bet you every one of them is from the Rim Patrol."

  They had gone on to talk about other things, but Jarra had left with that on her mind. Within the week, she'd made her decision, applying and quickly getting accepted in the Rim Patrol OCS. The rest was now history.

  Jason spoke, bringing her back from her musing. "Lieutenant, maybe after dinner I could show you around the ship. I imagine coming aboard such a large ship after being on a Rim Patrol cruiser is quite a shock."

  Jarra smiled at him. "Commander, I would like that very much." Jarra knew it was just an excuse to spend time alone with her, but she relished the idea.

  The rest of the meal went rather quickly.

  #

  Amy watched as Jason and the new girl left their table for her tour. She already liked Jarra, despite having just met her. It was obvious to her, if not to the two in question, that they already had strong feelings for each other. She should be jealous, but how could she be after seeing the two of them together?

  There was just something about Jarra that made her like the girl. Just who was she, already a Lieutenan
t at what was obviously a very young age even for the Rim Patrol? She didn't even look nineteen or twenty, but she must surely be. The youngest lieutenant Amy had met personally had been twenty-one and he'd actually looked old for his age. Whatever her age, even looking so young, she had a commanding presence about her.

  Amy hadn't seen the incident in the Marine workout area, but the girl had to have amazing talent to be able to so soundly defeat that Marine. Amy had seen Mad Dog around before and she really didn't like the way he looked at her. If Jarra could teach her how to defend herself better, she was all for it. She hoped Jarra went through with the offer she'd made to teach them.

  Only half listening to the others, Amy wondered about the girl that was Lieutenant Jarra. Maybe she had a family member highly placed within the Imperial government, someone who had the pull to get her promoted early. Not that she didn't obviously deserve it.

  And Jason was certainly smitten with her. Maybe she's some kind of Princess, one of the Emperor's nieces. Wouldn't that be fun? That would mean if they get married, Jason would become a prince or something like that. I could really give him a hard time then. She couldn't help but suppress a laugh at the thought.

  Amy's mental wandering was interrupted as the others started to leave the table. She looked up to see Sam standing next to her chair.

  "Are you coming, or are you just going to sit there?" Sam asked, waving the others to go on ahead.

  "Sorry, I was far away. Where are we going?"

  "There's an informal Space Ball game being played this evening in the big rec area. We thought we'd go and watch."

  "Why not? Sounds like fun."

  Later Amy would remember her daydreaming about Jarra with a little laugh. Unbeknownst to her, she'd been spot on. She would never admit it to Jarra, though. A girl had to keep some things secret, even from her friends.