Metal Boxes

by Alan Black

  Stone laughed, “I can imagine that even I could spot a fake cow.”

  Melendez laughed heartily and then quieted. “Please take this as a compliment and in the spirit it was given, but you may be the most enjoyable captain I have ever served under and it may be because you don’t know what you are doing. It leaves me able to move about and run the ship without the burden of appearing aloof and apart like a captain. You are really getting the hang of that haunted captain look, Mister Stone.”

  “Thank you, Commander. It is not as hard a look to come by as one would imagine.”

  Melendez said thoughtfully, “The one really big fly in the ointment is the arrests under the E.M.I.S. orders. I wonder if I would have taken these so hard a month ago. Now I feel like each arrest is like a stab in my back. These are my people who have betrayed not just the Emperor and the navy, but me.”

  An exceptionally loud voice brought Stone back to the present.

  “Captain!” Melendez shouted over the din. He had spotted Stone coming into the bridge conference room. “Goobie figured it out!”

  “Good for Goobie! What is ‘it’, Commander?” Stone shouted back.

  “That ‘it’ Captain, is the question of the day, the week and the month. Your question from day one; can we hijack the IFF on Hyrocanian mines,” Melendez laughed. “Goobie figured it out.”

  Goobie laughed, “I can’t take all the credit. I’ve been playing ‘Iron Commander’ for days on end, trying to figure out how your cousin beat you. I found a spacer third class in tower four on the third watch who kicked my rear end for three days in a row until she showed me how to manipulate the signal. We rotated it against the Hyrocanian signals until we found a match and with a little twisting and prodding we managed to pervert and hijack the signal. We not only can shut off their IFF, but we can turn their own mines back on them.”

  “That is very good news, Commander Gubicza,” Stone said. “I hope you gave credit to the spacer third class for her help in your reports.”

  Goobie laughed. “Credit? I am going to marry her and let her have my children. A woman that talented is sure to make me rich and will give me children who are smart enough to take care of me in my old age.”

  Stone was not sure whether the man was joking or not.

  Melendez said, “The first watch bridge crew has run dozens of simulations using every Hyrocanian signal in our database. They are sure it works.”

  “That is outstanding news, Commander. Everyone involved deserves more thanks than I can give them.”

  “You deserve credit too, Mister Stone,” Melendez said. “This was your idea from the beginning. You started the ball rolling. Still, there is one minor problem for the engineers. The interference signal must come from within a few thousand kilometers of the broadcasting Hyrocanian ship.”

  “Ooooh,” Stone moaned. “That doesn’t sound like fun duty at all. I think I would rather go back to third watch warehouse three whiskey.”

  “It is practically in the enemy’s laps, but they will lick the problem, Mister Stone,” Melendez laughed. “The engineers are saying it should only take a few weeks and they can rig up a signal relay probe that we can shoot into the area.”

  “Weeks?” Stone said. “We only have days until we jump into a combat zone.”

  “Weeks, Captain,” Melendez replied. “Navigation tells me we only have twenty-two hours until we jump back to normal space. Plus, the odds are very high against us meeting any Hyrocanian fleet. Besides, we wouldn’t be the test crew anyway. Navy research and development will work all of the bugs out of the signals and the probe relay. The Admiralty will plan its use and, if we implement it right, we can bring the Hyrocanians to their knees in one fell swoop.”

  “Still, we have reason to celebrate.” Stone said. “With only twenty-two hours to normal space jump we don’t have much time to party. We may have to hold off partying until we leave the combat zone.”

  “Of course, Captain,” Melendez grinned. “I swear Mister Stone, you think more and more like a real captain every day.”

  “Thank you, Commander, I think,” Stone grinned back. “By the way, how are the fleet supply bundles for load out going? Can you get them finished in time?”

  Melendez laughed, “We are done now. Once the crews got the idea behind what we were doing they jumped into it with a will. Um…you may owe a couple a crews a keg party as a reward for their work.”

  “I think I can afford a few kegs.”

  “Oh no, Mister Stone. I am buying the kegs. I just let them think it came from the captain. I hope you don’t mind. It carries more significance that way.”

  “Whatever you think best, Commander,” Stone said. “Who am I to argue with success?”

  Melendez looked at Stone carefully and lowered his voice. “Then don’t argue with me now, Mister Stone. We are more prepared for a combat insertion than I ever have ever seen on this ship. We are ready and we have very little to do between now and the jump. So, you go relax: watch a vid, read a book, write a letter, eat some ice cream, take a long shower, get some sleep. No work between now and 0700 hours tomorrow. Do you understand me, Mister?”

  Stone nodded, “Yes, Commander: ice cream, shower, book and bed.”

  “Good, then you get out of here and let us celebrate with Goobie. No offense, but a captain can be a downer on a good party.”

  Stone wandered down to the galley that served goat’s milk ice cream. He hoped to run into Commander Wright or her crew. He hoped against hope that if he ran into them he would also run into Allie. The dining area was almost empty when he walked in. What few diners were there finished quickly and left as soon as they realized the captain, his security team and his drascos had invaded their quiet facility.

  Stone sighed, grabbing some ice cream and wandered to a table. After his third spoonful he tossed bowl onto the table with the single scoop of ice cream half eaten. As much as he hated to admit it he was coming to the point where he agreed with Grandpa that ice cream lost its flavor after the third spoonful. Still, this batch seemed to be flavorless from the start.

  He stared into the distance for a while, not actually thinking of anything except home and how comfortable it would be to go back to a time when no one expected anything of him and strangers did not run away when he walked into the room. It took him a while to realize there was a petty officer standing at attention waiting to be recognized.

  “I am sorry, Petty Officer,” Stone said. “My mind was elsewhere.”

  “Sir, I am sure that the captain has many things on his mind. I am sorry to interrupt,” she said.

  “That is fine, Petty Officer. It is a welcome interruption,” He almost corrected the woman about calling him ‘sir’. His rank demanded that he be addressed as mister. His station meant that he should be called captain. When he saw the earnestness on her face he forgot the correction.

  “Well, sir. A lot of us been studying your drascos. I mean as much as we can. You know Commander Wright? Well, yes you do, anyway, she comes in here a lot. She says that Jay and Peebee breath carbon dioxide and breath out oxygen, right?”

  Stone nodded. “That is correct, Petty Officer. It is just the opposite of human lungs.”

  “And she says they eat plants that are rich in carbon dioxide, too. So a couple of us got together and built this generator thing.” She gestured at a crude contraption on the deck at her feet. “It puts out carbon dioxide, and see, if you put vegetables in there it will infuse the CO2 into the vegetables. Do you think they would like that?”

  Stone looked at the generator. He thought it looked like the remains of a deck buffer. His security team had swept the room before he came in, so he doubted it was dangerous. “Petty Officer, turn it on and let’s see how it works.”

  The woman grinned and waved a couple of stewards over. Each carried a huge tray of fresh vegetables. The Petty Officer dumped one tray into a hopper and pushed a button. She put the other tray on a nearby table.

  Jay raised her head and
looked at the machine. Peebee jumped to her feet and hovered over the machine causing the petty officer to back up a few steps. The stewards scurried from the room.

  “It is okay, Petty Officer,” Stone said. “They won’t hurt you. How long does it take to work?”

  “Seconds, sir. It should be done now. All you have to do is lift the lid.” She pointed but refused to come closer.

  Stone flicked the latch on the hopper containing the vegetables. Jay jumped up next to Peebee. The two drascos spent the next few seconds trying to get their heads in the hopper at the same time. They emptied the hopper, but did not touch the second tray of vegetables.

  “That looks like a success, Petty Officer,” Stone grinned. When the woman grinned back he almost invited the woman to sit with him for a while, but Peebee let out a loud wonk. That sent the Petty Officer racing from the room back to the kitchen.

  “She is just saying thank you,” Stone shouted.

  Peaked around a hatchway the woman grinned back, but would not come any closer.

  Stone dumped the second tray of vegetables in the hopper and pushed the button. When the processing was done the girls snapped up the food with abandon and wonked for more.

  “Maybe later. You two gluttons just finished lunch in tower one and now this.” Stone shouted into the kitchen. “Petty Officer, can I take this with me?”

  “Of course, sir. We made it for you.”

  “Thank you. It is very kind of you.” Stone made a note in his p.a. to write up a commendation to the woman as well as send a personal written note of thanks.

  He wandered back up to his temporary quarters on Bravo Deck. It was a huge suite of rooms, designed to accommodate travelling VIPs. He parked the carbon dioxide generator in a corner. It might come in handy when he transferred back to midshipman’s quarters where he could not control the oxygen levels in a room. But here in the guest suites, the atmosphere dials could adjust the CO2 levels to make his drascos happy and still leave him healthy. After all, the two of drascos breathed out oxygen that was more pure than what was filtered by the life support systems.

  He tried to read, but could not. He tried to watch a video, but was too restless. He settled on doing some paperwork and personal correspondence to home. He stretched the little work he had for as long as he could. Then, he showered and went to bed. Sleep came late and was fitful. So much so he was grateful when 0500 hours came and he could get up.

  It was earlier than he normally got up, but Jay and Peebee were up and eager to get out. They knew that after sleep came a quick breakfast and a romp in the park. The drascos might strip a tree bare if he let them. He planned on giving them as much time in the park as he could this morning. It would be a long day even if everything went perfect with the jump into normal space.

  He grabbed a burrito out of the refrigerator in the small galley and ate it cold. He pulled open the hatch and shooed the girls into the corridor. He nodded at the marine and navy escorts standing duty at his door.

  “To the park, please,” Stone said.

  The navy guard trotted forward along the empty hallway and called an elevator. When it came, he checked the interior and waved Stone forward.

  Jay and Peebee tumbled over each other in their eagerness to get to the park. They jostled each other with wild abandon. Stone followed slowly behind the drascos, the elevator was not going anywhere without him, so he was not in a rush to get there. The guard held the door until he and the marine following got aboard.

  The park was empty at this time of the morning except for a few runners moving along a foot path. Stone sat on the bench and watched the drascos graze on a patch of grass near a small pond. He could feel his escort standing behind him, but he did not turn and look.

  He sat and watched a fake dawn creep into the tower’s fake sky.

  “Crap!” he thought. “Melendez says we can do a load out to the whole fleet in a week or so. Then, we have five weeks back to Lazzaroni Station before I can give these captain’s collar tabs back and I can go back to being me.”

  A small electric cart whizzed up to him and Commander Wright jumped out.

  “Hey, fellow castaway!” she grinned. “I see the girls are doing well. Peebee is looking positively fat.”

  Stone grinned back. “Hi, Commander, it is good to see you.”

  “You too, Captain,” she looked behind him and waved at the marine guard. “Hi Allie, it is good to see you too.”

  Stone spun about just as the marine escort raised an arm and waved back. “Hi Goat-Girl, did you get it all wrapped up like you thought you were going to?”

  “Yep. All done,” Wright answered with a nod. “Tower one reports all ready for hyperjump to normal space, Captain.”

  Stone ignored her and stared at the marine. He was so used to having a marine and navy escort that he had stopped looking at them. He blushed bright red when he realized he had not even recognized Allie. Not that there was that much to recognize; one set of ceramic combat armor looked like every other set.

  “Um…,” he stuttered. “Yeah, okay Commander.”

  “Do you think I can sit through the hyperjump on the bridge? My normal general quarters is in tower one, but with most of the animals gone there isn’t any reason for me to be here.”

  “Sure, come along. I would welcome the company.”

  Wright lowered her voice to a whisper. “Problems between you and Allie?”

  Stone grimaced. Even navy combat armor had hearing enhancements. Allie would have heard Wright’s whisper from a thousand meters away.

  “There is nothing wrong that a change of command won’t cure,” Stone said in a normal voice.

  “Ah that,” Wright said.

  “That,” Stone agreed. He checked the time on his p.a. “We might as well head up to the bridge. If we leave now we can get there before the general quarters call and miss all of the traffic.”

  Wright talked all the way to the bridge, but Stone could not remember a word she said. He nodded and grunted at what seemed like the appropriate times. He was feeling overly conscious of Allie at his back. She was so close, yet still so untouchable.

  They were in the atrium when they spotted Maggot hurrying to the bridge conference room.

  Wright said, “Oh…um…Mister Stone. Do you mind?” She pointed in the direction Maggot had taken.

  Stone frowned, but nodded.

  Wright followed Maggot into the conference room.

  Allie’s voice came from right behind him. “She is a little bit sweet on Agent Storovitch, you know.”

  Stone looked shocked as he glanced up at Allie. She had her face plate open and was looking back at him. “Danielle likes Ivan Storovitch? That’s weird.”

  Allie smiled and rolled her eyes. “It is just a matter of taste; that is all. Look who is talking. I am a bit sweet on you and that is no weirder than the Goat-Girl and Maggot.”

  They stepped onto the bridge just as Melendez ordered Gubicza to call general quarters.

  Melendez smiled and called out “Captain on the bridge.”

  Stone smiled back, he was as happy as he had been in weeks. He had Allie at his back, his drascos at his side and he actually knew what to say next. “As you were.”

  “Does the Captain want to take the con?” Gubicza asked.

  Stone laughed, “The Captain does not want to take the con. He wants to sit quietly in a corner and see how the real professionals do a hyperjump.”

  “There isn’t much to see, Mister Stone,” Melendez said. “Oops, I forgot you have done this from the bridge of an escape pod.”

  “Yes Commander, as a matter of record, I have done this twice from hyperspace and once back in.”

  “Well, you won’t see anything you haven’t seen before,” Melendez said. He pointed at the blank bulkhead on the bridge. “We have the external cameras on so you can see.”

  Stone looked at the bulkhead, “Huh. Looks like a familiar shade of gray.” He dropped into a seat.

  A speaker announced �
�Ten minutes to normal space.”

  Stone watched the flurry of activity on the bridge. He had learned which display on the table matched which workstation, but he could not make heads or tails out of most of them. He tried to figure out what all of the activity was, but he did not want to interrupt to ask. He remembered every jump he and Commander Wright had made. They were terrifying, but it was a simple matter of a power level dial and a button. The bridge of the Golden Boulder was not much more complicated.

  “Perhaps the larger the ship the more complicated things became,” he mused to himself.

  In the final seconds, Stone swiveled his chair around to watch the blank gray bulkhead. He expected that at the count of zero the gray would disappear to be replaced by the black blanket of space sprinkled with stars. He was not disappointed. What he did not expect to see was a large cluster of spacecraft packed into a tight ball. It did not matter what he had expected, there they were and they were surrounded by a swirling circle of ships moving at impossible speeds in a tight dance around the interior cluster. The whole thing was only a few thousand kilometers away and filled the bulkhead before him. Flashes of light burst all across the shields of the interior ball of ships.

  Voices began shouting.

  The Hyrocanians had contained the navy fleet and were pounding away at them.

  The room became quiet. Stone had his back to the bridge crew looking at the disaster on the huge screen. He could feel all of the eyes on the bridge looking at him. He knew they had been at cruising speed going into hyperjump back at Tamvor Station. They would have exited at the same speed.

  Stone watched a couple of Hyrocanian warships peel away from their frantic dance around the fleet. They would be on them in seconds. He could see a burst of light flashes as the warships shot a series of mines in their direction.