Metal Boxes

by Alan Black

  Two more security men jumped on Hammermill’s back. Suddenly it was a melee with security forces trying to get past Hammermill and marines pushing through to get to Hammermill’s side.

  Stone grunted and without thinking, rushed forward. He grabbed a man by the collar and yanked him away from Hammermill. The man came up swinging. Stone ducked the punch. He swung a fist into the man’s gut. He heard a swish, a clang of steel and was knocked to the deck as Peebee barreled past him into the riot.

  Stone heard a bellow and a screech. He saw a navy man swing a rifle at a marine in combat armor. Even faster than the marine could react with his combat enhanced neural net, Jay’s tail flashed forward. It crashed through the rifle splintering the unsplinterable stock. The spiked tail crashed sideways into the man, sending him flying across the hanger deck.

  Peebee grabbed two men with her bare hands and tossed them away like rag dolls. She did not seem to care that one was navy and one was marine. She barreled into a knot of swinging fists, plowing the combatants apart.

  Stone tried to call Jay and Peebee back, but a fist came out of nowhere and slammed against the side of his head. The next thing he knew, he was sitting on the deck. Jay and Peebee were standing over him, not allowing anyone to get close to him. They were both in their fighting stances with tails quivering, the chrome flashing in the overhead lights. He levered himself to his feet and patted each of the drascos on the head.

  He did not know how long he had been sitting on the deck, but the fight seemed to be over. Hammermill had the junior ensign in a headlock, holding him off the deck with his feet dangling. Marines held security personnel all over the deck. One marine was holding her arm, obviously broken. A few navy personnel were lying on the deck getting first aid from their marine counterparts.

  Hatches clanged shut all around the hanger deck. The main hatch door shot open and two naval security officers stepped into the hanger. One man stood by the door, ready to slam it shut. The second one, a light commander, walked calmly across the hanger to the shuttle. His uniform had a security badge on his shoulder, ringed in red, showing he was in charge of the ship’s security forces component. He walked up to the small knot of officers. He nodded at Numos and Obregon. He started at the sight of Vedrian still holding a rifle against the admiral’s chin.

  The man cleared his throat. “Admiral? We were told you were being held by Hyrocanian agents?”

  Stone stepped forward. He wobbled a bit, but put a steadying hand on Peebee.

  “Commander, I am Midshipman Stone. You have received a broadcast of an Emperor’s Writ?”

  “Yes, I have received the writ, Mister Stone. I know who you are. I was in charge of investigating your accidental death.”

  “Sir, as you can see. I am not dead, nor was in an accident. Also, do you see any Hyrocanians here?”

  The ensign squeaked out around Hammermill’s headlock. “They are holding Admiral Shalako hostage. Why are you just talking to them? Gas the whole lot and we can sort it out later.”

  “Ensign,” the commander said. “I would be inclined to do just that. Consider for a moment that we know for a fact Mister Stone is dead and so is Full Commander Danielle Wright, yet she is standing over there as alive as anyone has ever seen her.” He pointed at Vedrian and Hammermill. “That marine and that one were in lock up on Tamvor Station. I put them there myself. Yet, here they are. I do not see any Hyrocanians or any of their known agents. I will admit I don’t recognize those creatures with Mister Stone, but they are not Hyrocanians. So I am more inclined to talk first.”

  Stone said, “Thank you, Commander. I can-”

  The commander held up his hand interrupting him. “Why am I talking to a midshipman? Who is the highest rank here?”

  Stone shrugged, “I am, Commander. Please take a quick moment and read through the Emperor’s Writ.”

  “All right,” the commander said. “Everybody just stay calm. And you, Hammermill, put my junior ensign down. I promise he will behave himself.”

  He tapped open his p.a. “Mister Stone, this is several hundred thousand bits of legalese. It will take me a week to work through this.”

  Stone noticed Maggot had changed back to civilian clothes already as he stepped up to the commander.

  “I am Empirical Military Investigative Service Agent Ivan Storovitch. This is the relevant part of the writ for you.” He pointed at the screen, scanned down and pointed at another place.

  The commander nodded, “I have never seen one of these writs in real life, but I have seen dozens of examples in training. This seems clear to me.” He turned to Stone. “What are your orders, Captain Stone?”

  “Thank you, Commander,” Stone said. “First, please get some medical assistance here for the men that may need help. Second, please clear a way for me and my staff to get to the bridge. Third, please place yourself and your staff at the disposal of Major Numos in his efforts to secure this vessel.”

  “Aye, aye, sir.”

  Everyone crowded around Stone.

  Wright grabbed Stone by the hair, twisting his head around and looked at his temple.

  “Ow! What are you doing?” Stone grunted.

  “You took quite a shot to the face there, Stone. I just wanted to make sure you are okay. Did you lose consciousness?”

  “What?”

  “Did you pass out?”

  Stone shrugged, “I don’t think so. I got dizzy for a bit, but I am okay.

  “Maybe you are okay and maybe you are not. See a doctor as soon as you can, okay?” Wright said.

  “You’re a doctor,” Stone smiled.

  “You know what I mean. You aren’t a goat, you know,” Wright said.

  Allie dragged Shalako over. “I will make sure a doctor gets to him,” she said.

  Maggot pointed at the hatch. “You need to get to the bridge, Stone. The marines can lock this ship down, but you need to get us back to Lazzaroni Station, the faster the better.”

  “No. You need to see a doctor first,” Wright said.

  Hammermill asked, “Hey! What are we going to do with all these security forces who attacked us? Have ‘em locked up, Mister Stone!?”

  Stone shook his head and winced at the pain. “Hold on people. Major Numos, can you and the Commander clean up this…misunderstanding?”

  The men looked at each other and shrugged.

  “Yes, sir,” Numos said. “Damages due to inter-service training exercise.”

  “Sounds good to me,” the commander grinned.

  “Okay, everybody else walk. We are going to the bridge.” Stone turned and stumbled slightly. He braced himself against Jay, but lost a layer of skin on his forearm. “Crap! Sorry Jay, that wasn’t your fault.” Suddenly Allie was standing next to him bracing him up.

  Stone had to admit she was a lot more comfortable to lean against than Jay or Peebee. He walked stiffly across the hanger. He wanted to look back to see if anyone was following, but he was afraid that if they were not following he would not know how to make them.

  He looked up at Allie. “I got my rear end kicked back there didn’t I?”

  “Yep, you got your clock cleaned like a trooper,” Allie smiled. “Nice try, though.”

  “You’re not disappointed in me?”

  “Why? I don’t like you because you are a fighter. If that was my criteria I would be all over Hellboy instead of panting after a scrawny midshipman like you.”

  He parted a sea of enlisted security forces in the corridor beyond. When the crowd saw Jay and Peebee behind him, they parted farther. Spotting a bank of elevators at the end of the corridor, he checked his p.a. and selected an elevator to take him to the bridge level. He had his p.a. call for the elevator before he got there. It opened just as he arrived and they stepped in without breaking stride.

  He turned around and was pleased to see quite a group had followed along with him. He squeezed into the back to make room for a dozen armored marines with Major Numos, plus everyone from his party on the shuttle.
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br />   Hammermill had Shalako by an arm. “Excuse me, Captain Stone. What do you want me to do with this?”

  “I want to keep Admiral Shalako with me. I had hoped he would help to avoid incidents like what happened in the hanger bay, but I guess we will need to find someplace to put him. And Hammer, please try not to twist that arm out of the socket, okay?”

  “Oops. Sorry, Admiral.” There was no hint of apology in Hammermill’s voice.

  Stone tapped his personal assistant’s communications device. “Bridge, this is Captain Stone. Do you know who I am?”

  The voice came back, “Yes, Mister Stone.” There were voices arguing in the background, but the voice did not say any more.

  “Good,” Stone said. “Please stop the red alert, but keep everyone at their stations.” With a nod to Wright, he added, “And ask a doctor to meet me on the bridge.”

  “I would like to be dismissed to go to farms and check on my animals,” Wright asked.

  “No,” Stone said. “Not until we get a report from Major Numos that the four men who attacked us have been arrested and detained or he is able to provide a sufficient security detail to protect you.”

  “But you have to let me go, I am not doing any good here,” Wright said.

  Stone turned to Numos, “Major, I thought you had things to do in the hanger and yet you left it?”

  “Yes sir. Colonel Obregon can handle things there. Marines are used to being at the pointy end of a sharp stick. In your case, it is more like the curvy part of a spoon as you stir things up. I thought I should be near you for now. Should I have done different?”

  Stone shrugged. “That is your call, Major. I was just asking out of curiosity and so I will know next time. Dad always says that the best way to learn is to ask questions. Of course, Grandpa says that experience is the best teacher. That kind of sums up my family in a nutshell. Still, I am not qualified to question your duties.”

  Shalako snorted, “But you think you are qualified to run a spacecraft? Ha!”

  Stone ignored him. “Have you heard from Heller?” he asked Numos.

  “He has detained three of the four men,” Numos answered. “He grabbed them at their stations. The fourth man wasn’t at his general quarters station.”

  “Send Heller to check for the man in sick bay,” Stone said.

  “Sick bay?” Numos smiled. “I should have thought of that.”

  Stone smiled back. “In my short time on the Ol’ Toothless I had more men show up for sick call during general quarters than showed up at their station. I guess that doesn’t happen in the marines?”

  Before he could answer, Shalako snorted. “It doesn’t happen here either. I see the reports. If there were malingering on this vessel I would know about it.”

  Stone just looked at Shalako.

  “I can detail a couple of marines to Commander Wright, if you want, Captain?” Numos offered.

  Stone nodded, “Please do. She has been away from her goats entirely too long. It makes her grumpy. Please have someone with her until Agent Storovitch completes his investigation.”

  “Yes, Captain.”

  The elevator doors parted into a large atrium and the group filed off the elevator. According to his p.a. the command bridge was straight ahead. To the left was Admiral Shalako’s quarters, his ready room and a conference room. To the right was a series of other offices for senior officers. A ring of security forces in combat suits lined the bulkheads of the atrium.

  “Lost, little boy?” Shalako laughed.

  Hammermill asked, “How about I gag this old guy, Mister Stone?”

  “Thank you for the suggestion, Lieutenant Hammermill,” Stone said. “But, he is an admiral and he hasn’t been found guilty of any crimes. He is to be detained, but not abused. His quarters are that way. Can we sweep his quarters for communications devices?”

  Bob said “Yes, Mister Stone. Jake and I can handle that for you. We can disable the comms on his p.a. as well.”

  “Good. I don’t want him making any calls in or out. Stick him in there, Hammer. Then come meet me on the bridge. Maggot, there is a conference room over there. I suggest you and your team use that for your investigation.” Stone looked around, but Commander Wright was already gone.

  He looked up at Allie. He was glad she was there. He really felt alone. Even surrounded by Major Numos and ten marines in combat armor he felt naked. He grabbed Jay and Peebee around their necks and squeezed them. He reached to grab Allie’s hand, but she pulled it away.

  “Major Numos, I intend to enter the bridge. I am very confident I will not be welcomed there, but I do not want it to look like an invading force,” Stone said.

  “I understand, Captain,” Numos said. “Marines are not allowed on the bridge anyway. On the other hand, you have tasked me with your safety. I can’t do that out here.”

  Stone nodded. He walked away from the group and stepped up to a spacer third class standing at attention along the bulkhead of the atrium. The spacer’s faceplate flipped open in salute when Stone was exactly three meters away. The spacer was a young blonde woman encased in the best combat armor the navy had to offer. She held a loaded rifle in her hands, yet, her eyes looked as if she wanted to be anywhere but here.

  “Spacer, do you know who I am?” Stone asked. He spoke loud enough that his voice carried across the atrium.

  “Yes sir. You are Midshipman Stone, the captain of the Tooth…I mean, the Periodontitis.”

  “Thank you, Spacer. Relax, would you? You’re making me nervous, okay?” Stone laughed. “I am already scared enough without you making it worse.”

  The woman started to laugh, thought better of it and stopped. Then, she giggled anyway.

  “You keep an eye on my back, okay?” Stone smiled. “You and the rest of your buddies out here. Okay? It is a strange day, but things will get better.”

  A red dot appeared on the Spacer’s breastplate. It slid quickly toward Stone. He flung himself sideways as a shot rang out. The spacer was knocked over by the impact of the bullet, but Stone knew she wasn’t hurt. Navy armor could stand up to a hail of bullets, but it was not built to dissipate the impact force.

  Stone rolled to his feet and dove behind a row of potted plants as a second shot spanged off the deck where he had been a second before.

  Marines and navy personnel pointed their weapons in all directions, but no one fired.

  Stone jumped to his feet at a human shriek and then a woman screaming. He was knocked off his feet by Peebee as she slammed into him and held him to the deck. Weapons clattered as they swung to bear on the drasco.

  “Hold fire,” Stone shouted. “Cease fire!” He pushed against Peebee but was unable to budge her. “Peebee, get off me.” He finally wiggled free, leaving patches of his uniform behind and the odd patch of skin.

  Across the atrium, Allie had jumped at the shooter. Rather than use her own weapon she had pulled Stone’s survival knife from her belt and removed the shooter’s trigger hand. It was a tall, chief petty officer that Stone did not recognize. The man was standing staring at the stump of his arm, watching the blood spurt out.

  Allie stood ready with the knife at the man’s throat in case he twitched. The guns of the surrounding armored security forces pointed at the man.

  One of the security forces bent down, picked up the man’s weapon and tossed it aside. A huge gauntleted hand grasped the man’s wrist and wrapped a clamp on the stump. A touch of a button and the clamp squeezed the blood flow to a stop. Pulling a tube from a thigh storage bin, the person in the suit spread biogel across the stump. It picked up the severed hand and spread the rest of the biogel on the wrist. It dropped the hand in a bag and handed the bag to another navy suited figure. At a gesture, two other security forces grabbed the man and hustled him onto an elevator.

  The security force pointed at another security force, swirling a finger at the puddle of blood on the deck. The second man sprinted to a closet and dragged out a wet-dry vacuum. In seconds, the vacuum was mopp
ing, sweeping and drying the deck tile.

  Stone heard a woman shriek and he spun to face the sound. At the opposite end of the atrium a woman was holding her rifle above her head in surrender. Numos had the muzzle of Hammermill’s rifle pointed at the woman’s right eye.

  But the woman was not concerned about Numos or the other security forces rifles pointed at her. Her eyes were glued to Jay. The drasco was hugging the deck with her tail up over her head. The chromed point was inches from the woman’s chest.

  “Jay,” Stone called softly. “That is enough. You come back over here with Peebee and me.”

  Jay’s spike inched forward and gently tapped the woman at the base of the throat. It was so gentle the woman could barely feel it, but it was too much and she lost bladder control. Jay pulled back her tail and opened her mouth to sniff the woman from head to foot. To anyone unfamiliar with drascos it looked as if Jay was searching for a place to take a bite.

  Jay shook her head as if in disgust. She did not turn her body, but continued to watch the woman as she walked over to Stone.

  Major Numos tapped open his comms. “Hellboy, shag your can up to the bridge atrium area. We have a prisoner for you to lock away in marine country. It is a female, so bring a corresponding marine type. A second prisoner has been taken to the sickbay on…”

  “Baker Deck, Major,” a voice called out.

  “Baker, Lieutenant Heller. Get someone to pick him up as soon as he has gotten the doctor’s clearance. It might take a few minutes for the doctor, they have to reattach the man’s hand.”

  Everyone in the atrium could hear Lieutenant Heller’s response. “Yes, Major. I am on my way to the Atrium now. I have Corporal Omaha with me for the female prisoner. I dispatched two men to sick bay on Baker. Missing hand, huh? Sounds like Vedrian has been busy.”

  “Roger that, Heller. Our little Allie has been dismembering the competition again. Numos out.”

  Stone looked at Allie.

  She shrugged.

  Numos looked appreciatively at Jay and Peebee. “Mister Stone, those things are fast. They beat every marine by two steps.”

  “Yes, sir. I imagine it comes from being bred on a planet where if you don’t move fast you get eaten.”