Metal Boxes

by Alan Black

  “Probably pretty poor odds. I didn’t even think I was going to graduate. Senior Chief Tsosie said I would most likely spend my whole navy career trying to get out of midshipman’s school. You can see in my records I wasn’t doing very well on the academics side of training.”

  “You are indeed your father’s son. He doesn’t do math well either. Here look at this attachment. Why would Senior Chief Tsosie, who has such a low opinion of you, personally recommend you to the admiral?”

  “What?”

  “Right here; he says that you are exactly what the admiral is looking for. Of course, it could read like typical navy b.s. filler on standard authorization forms, but it also reads like a recommendation.”

  “I don’t get it.”

  “I think I do. Don’t get mad at me, Mister Stone. I think the Senior Chief and Admiral Shalako deliberately set out to find a midshipman who wasn’t very bright that they could put in charge of third watch warehouse. I think they wanted someone who wouldn’t rock the boat.”

  “And I fit the bill perfectly,” Stone said.

  “Not exactly, Mister Stone. You are a good boat rocker from where I sit.”

  “Okay. Thanks I think. Since it doesn’t sound like you are giving me any choice in the matter of command I will try to do this. How do I get anyone to listen to me? I am just a midshipman?”

  “I will hand them an EMIS writ. That allows me to put you in charge. Honest officers will follow you as the writ has the force of the Emperor’s backing. The others may have to be coerced. How friendly are you really with this Lieutenant Vedrian?”

  “I don’t know what you mean, signore. I am not about to kiss and tell.”

  “Good. You are friendly enough to have kissed her. Don’t deny it. I can see it in your blush. Good for you, Mister Stone. And this Hammermill? Do you think they would lend support if I show them a writ?”

  “Yes I do. I trust them both. Their commander is a Major…”

  “Numos,” Maggot supplied. “Fair man?” At Stone’s nod, he continued. “All we can ask the marines to do is to stand guard duty. Not just guard you, but a few of the ship’s vital systems will need to be watched and all of the shuttles and pods will need to be locked down.”

  Stone grinned, “Major Numos should be able to call on all transient marines for help. That will give you a large contingent of marines. I shouldn’t need guards. I have these two.” He gestured with his free hand at the drascos. Jay still held his other hand although she seemed to be asleep.

  “I will admit they look scary but how will they stand up in a gun fight? Frankly I would rather have your friends Vedrian and Hammermill at your back…and mine. But they will not be my marine contingent Mister Stone. They will be your marines. Make no mistake. As of right now you have a very large target on your back.”

  “Bring it on, Maggot. They tried to kill me once and they screwed up. It is my turn.”

  Aunt Ruth’s voice blared over the ships comms. “Prepare for hostile egress. The station master has denied us clearance to leave the docks. Clear all doorways; all inner hatches to seal in ten seconds.”

  “Main airlocks dogged shut, Mom” Brenda’s voice responded calmly. “All external hatches locked and sealed. Bravo-six hatch is open to atmosphere, but the inner air locks are shut tight. All hanger doors to station’s service corridor decks are on lockout.”

  “What can I-” Stone started.

  “Shut up and stay put,” Aunt Ruth interrupted. “No one tells me where I can go and when I can leave. Jim Junior, are you on comms?”

  “Yeah, Ma. We are clear of the station. Someone tried to shut the hanger doors on us. Andy jammed the control open on our way in. We are going to get dinged on the bill for the repair. We are about halfway back to the Ruby.”

  “No. You head out toward your father. He is working the container load we have parked in outer orbit. We will pick you up on the way. Brenda left bay Bravo-Six doors open for you.”

  “Okay, Ma. You are going to get out okay?”

  “Not a problem, son. Jamming that door control is going to be the least of the dings on our bill by the time I get done.”

  Stone looked at Maggot and shook his head. “I don’t know about your family, Maggot. Mine can be a bit touchy.”

  “Is your Uncle Jim going to be okay?”

  Stone nodded. He explained that the part of the ship they were in was mainly a control module with cabins for crew plus a dozen or so hanger bays. The remainder of the ship was a trailer filled with shipping containers, both the small ones and the huge type clamped to the outside. The Stone Freight Company routinely parked the large trailer portion in a high orbit and parked only the control module in a station hanger. Most stations were not large enough to hold joined freighters in hangers. External parking on a station’s hull was very expensive compared to not having to pay any charges for high orbit parking.

  Uncle Jim and a small crew would routinely rotate through the container portion as maintenance and security. All he had to do was prepare the docking clamps and wait for the Ruby Rock to show up and take them away.

  “So how is Ruth going to get us out of this hanger if the station master won’t open the doors?” Maggot asked.

  “Let me have my p.a. Thanks Maggot. Okay let’s tap into the Ruby Rock’s external videos. This is a family secret so I am not sure you should see this…”

  “Don’t worry, Mister Stone. I am paid by the Emperor to keep secrets and this is a private facility. What you do is not my concern! Getting us to Tamvor Station is and if we can get there before the Ol’ Toothless finishes her business and leaves, so much the better.”

  Suddenly a series of charges exploded around the hanger’s external doors. There was not any noise. They could feel the thumps vibrating through the hull. The vibrations ceased just as quickly as they began.

  Aunt Ruth reported over comms. “We are off station systems. Inertial dampeners on and shields up in twenty-five seconds.”

  Maggot shouted, “No! You can’t raise shields inside a hanger. You will rupture the station’s hull. There are innocent civilians in there.”

  “Give her time, Maggot,” Stone replied calmly. “Aunt Ruth is angry, but she is not a killer.”

  “We are leaving in ten seconds. Nine. Eight,” Ruth’s voice counted down over the comms. “Seven.”

  The visual showed the hanger’s space doors explode with a second series of directional charges. The metal crumpled as if a giant fist had grabbed it from the outside, squeezed and yanked it away from the station. The twisted metal doors shot away from the station as any residual atmosphere blew into space.

  “Crap!” Aunt Ruth said. “It went early. Ruby Rock lifting off now. There we go. Clear of station, shields up. Brenda, I am swinging by Jim Junior’s position. Let’s get him inside and close the door before we pick up any kind of company. We need to pick up your father without station security around.”

  “Okay, Mom. Jimbo, let Alex bring the sled and the pod into bay Bravo-Six,” Brenda said.

  “Aw, Mom said-”

  “I know what Mom said,” Brenda interrupted. “We are doing this on the fly. Alex is better than you or me at parking a sled on a moving object. Just do it. If we don’t get to Dad before station security ships get there we won’t be able to lower the shields and then we can’t pick up the container section and get Dad.”

  “Yeah I know that, but-”

  “You’re the butt-”

  “Shut up, you two,” Ruth interrupted them both. “Junior, do like your sister says. Alex get in quick, don’t worry about any niceties or fender benders. Then everybody get down to section two for docking with the container section.”

  “Aunt Ruth?” Stone asked. “How about having Jimbo escort Commander Wright to your sick bay? She will be in the way down in section two. Maybe she can start looking at…what’s his name?”

  “Oliver,” Ruth said. “His name is Oliver. He is just a mutt we picked up. I need Jim Junior in section two. W
e have to lower shields to attach the container section. It will take him, Brenda, Alex and Andy to set the docking clamps and get us sealed up so we can re-establish shields. Mel, hustle down to get Commander Wright and guide her back to sickbay.”

  “Can I help?” Stone asked. “I have helped with this maneuver once or twice on the Golden Boulder. I think I can remember how.”

  “Can the sarcasm, nephew,” Ruth said. “We got this. I may not be as smooth a jockey as your Uncle Jim, but I do know how to engage the automatics to guide us in for a clean matchup. You just sit down there and talk military. Crap!”

  Ruth was silent for a while.

  Stone heard the sound of rending metal over the comms. Then silence.

  CHAPTER NINETEEN

  The exodus from Brickman’s Station had been swift and almost without accident. The Ruby Rock’s approach to Tamvor Station was on schedule. The Tamvor Station Master had just given them approach vectors when James uttered a cry of pain that echoed throughout the ship over the open communication system.

  Aunt Ruth shouted over the comms, “James, are you okay?”

  Uncle Jim shouted back, “No, I just banged my finger. Don’t shout at me, woman. I am trying to concentrate here. I am trying to fix that communications antenna you sheared off when you forgot to lower it before you put the shields up.”

  “I am not shouting. I am yelling with concern,” Ruth shouted in response.

  “I am not shouting either,” Brenda yelled into the open comms.

  Soon everyone was shouting over the comms.

  Stone grinned at Commander Wright. She and Melanie were with him in Ruby Rock’s bay Bravo-Six. He had taken Jay and Peebee into the bay for a walk and to give them lunch from the vegetation they had stored in the ex-navy pod.

  Wright reached down and patted Oliver on the head. The little white dog was bandaged around the middle but was not in any obvious pain. He was wriggling with anticipation.

  Wright nodded at the floppy eared mutt. “Okay, Oliver. You can go play.” She pointed across the deck where Jay and Peebee were rolling and tumbling together.”

  “Oliver seems to be doing better,” Stone commented.

  “Yes,” Melanie said. “I was really worried about him. But Danielle fixed him right up.”

  Wright nodded. “It wasn’t complicated. Dogs have been getting kinks in their intestines for years, probably been doing it for as long as there have been dogs. It is the post operation infection that might have been a problem. I had plenty of human anti-biotic, but not much suited for Oliver.”

  The three watched as Oliver streaked across the open bay deck. He leapt at the two drascos yapping furiously. Peebee caught Oliver in midair and tossed him to Jay who set him down and streaked away from the little pup. Both drascos wonked happily as the little dog chased them in circles.

  Stone looked around at bay Bravo-Six. It was empty except for the ex-navy pod and a salvage sled. The pod looked old and dirty from the time on Allie’s World and the sled was beat up with one front corner crumpled and torn. There were corresponding gouges in the bay’s bulkhead from Alex trying to park a sled in a moving ship back at Brickman’s Station. Stone knew that given enough time Uncle Jim would be here with a crew to pound out the damaged bulkheads, fenders and to repaint.

  There did not seem to be anything the man could not fix or at least try to fix. It was a trait the Stones held in high regard for freighter crew. You can’t always pull into a dockyard if something breaks in space, especially if you are in deep space and there aren’t any dockyards. You fix it or do without it. You read a manual to learn how to fix it if you did not know how. You made the spare parts if you did not have them in stock. And Stone’s Uncle Jim seemed to always be up to his elbows in some repair project or another.

  Fortunately the damage from the rapid exit at Brickman’s Station had not caused as much damage to the ship as it could have. The Ruby Rock had been able to lower shields, pick up the cargo section, and perform a hyperjump to Tamvor Station without any sign of station security.

  The weeklong voyage through hyperspace had been a series of meetings, showers, meetings, meals with real food, meetings, more showers and more meetings. No one was happy with Maggot’s plan, not even Maggot. No matter how many meetings they held no one had any better ideas about how to take over a fully functioning navy spacecraft.

  Aunt Ruth had tried to patch up Stone and Wright’s uniform utilities but the material resisted every attempt to sew it closed. They were wearing reconditioned crew utilities. They were clean and smelled nice even if they were not regulation issue.

  Stone gestured to the pod. “We need to get some empty containers and take all of Jay and Peebee’s food and golden ooze with us. I know you said they can eat any of the grass or bushes growing in tower one, but they certainly won’t get any more golden ooze over there.”

  Wright shrugged. “It won’t hurt. I would like to run some tests on it with better equipment than I have had to make sure we are not missing something in the drasco diet.”

  “Melanie, can you wrangle us a couple of containers?” Stone asked.

  “Sure, Trey. There should be a bunch of empties in Bravo-Three. Will four be enough?”

  At Stone’s nod, Melanie said, “Okay if I get your containers will you let me try my new saddle on Peebee?”

  “Peebee is not a horse,” Wright said.

  Melanie snorted, “I may not be a veterinarian, but I can tell the difference between that thing and a horse.”

  “Okay, Seven. Here is the deal. You bring over enough containers to strip out all Allie’s World vegetation from the pod including the ooze bricks, put it in the containers, drag those containers to the main freight hatchway and I will talk to Peebee. You can rider her for a few minutes if we can get the saddle on her.”

  “Done,” Melanie raced out of the room.

  “Mister Stone, are you really going to let that little girl climb on one of the drascos and try to ride it?” Wright asked.

  “Yes, Commander. I said I would so I will. I am not sure Peebee will hold still for wearing the saddle but I don’t see it could hurt to try.”

  “It could hurt your cousin if Peebee does one of her fifteen meter back flips.”

  “I will just have to be here to keep a tight rein on Peebee. Believe me, my hands have just healed up from handing leaves with all of those thorns. If Melanie loads all of that for me then I am more than willing to hold Peebee’s hand while Mel sits there.”

  Wright shook her head, “I don’t think-”

  “Commander Wright and Midshipman Mister Stone to the living room area please,” Maggot interrupted over comms.

  “Aye, aye, Maggot,” Stone replied.

  They bumped into Melanie at the hatch. She was riding a container.

  “Remind me to show you how to chain those containers together in a train. That will save you time running back and forth,” Stone said.

  Melanie grinned, “Okay Trey. You two go ahead to your meeting. I will watch the drascos and Oliver while I load up your stuff.”

  “Get some heavy work gloves on first,” Commander Wright said. “There are some thorns on those bushes.”

  “You better git,” Melanie nodded. “It doesn’t pay to be late for a meeting with Maggot. He gets real impatient sometimes.”

  “Thanks for the tip, Seven,” Stone said

  Wright looked at Stone as they walked down the corridor to the living room. “I still don’t see how this take-over is going to work. I hope Maggot has come up with a better plan to get in the front door.”

  “I know, Commander. If anyone sees us coming all they have to do is not let us on board and we are done.”

  “I have been reading the law Maggot suggested, but none of us are lawyers. We should be able to call ahead and tell them we are coming with a writ.”

  “I know. I don’t understand why Maggot has to place the writ in their hands to activate it,” Stone replied. “I think the Emperor’s writ should be l
ike his word. If he says stop and stand still then you have to stop and stand still. No fuss and no muss.”

  “Maggot has said repeatedly that His Writ and His Word aren’t the same thing. If they see us coming then they won’t even have to let us get aboard a shuttle to the Periodontitis. They can just shut their hatches and depart for areas unknown.”

  “So we have to be sneaky?” Stone shook his head. “That doesn’t seem right. If Maggot is the Emperor’s representative then we should be able to walk in and slap them in chains.”

  Commander Wright looked thoughtful. Then she shook her head. “No, I thought I had an idea but I guess not.”

  Stone grinned. “I thought I had an idea once. It turned out to just be gas.”

  Wright laughed, “Yes it was and look how that turned out. Your uncle has deciphered our scribbled notes from the sub-light engine conversion. He says the modifications you designed will change engine rooms across human space. You made us rich whether we get on the Ol’ Toothless or not.”

  “Commander, I was already rich, remember?” Stone laughed. “This isn’t even icing on the cake. The Danielle Wright Propulsion Modification is worth developing even if we never make a dime off it-”

  “Speak for yourself, rich boy!” Wright interrupted. “I could enjoy a little extra cash.”

  “I would give that much money away to catch everyone involved in killing us and locking Allie and Hammer away.”

  “You give it to me and I will see that it gets done whatever it takes.”

  “I still don’t see why you need to go with us,” Stone said.

  Wright stopped in the corridor and looked at Stone. “You better not try and stop me, bub. All kidding about money aside, I am not any happier about being murdered than you are. Someone is going to pay and pay hard.”

  Ruth’s voice bellowed down the corridor. “Would you two get in here!”

  “Sorry, Aunt Ruth. We were just searching for an alternative way to get onto the Ol’ Toothless.”

  “You still don’t like my idea?” Ruth said.

  Maggot said, “There is no way am I going to authorize you to ram the Ruby Rock, cargo load and all, at full speed up the Periodontitis’ backsides.”