The worst part was that Sabrina had seen it coming, but too late to stop it.
The man, muscular, with broad shoulders, taller and heavier than the very tall Alina Darwin, came up from behind her as she danced alone in front of the bandstand. The band was hideously bad, but none of the dancers cared. The band only needed to be loud and they were that. He had put his arms around her and, for a few seconds, it looked as if she would be willing to dance with this stranger. Sabrina could tell from the movement of his lips what he was saying to her. He had seen the charm on the end of her necklace nestled deep between her ample breasts. Captain Alina Darwin was Jewish, one of a growing number of Jews in the Space Force and somehow the rumor had been started that Jewish women were aggressive and passionate lovers just waiting for a man dominant enough to take them.
Sabrina was wending her way through the dancers as fast as she could. When things went south they went south so fast Sabrina had to reconstruct what she thought she saw to figure out what had gone down. Still holding Alina from behind, the man had rested his chin on her shoulder. His hands slid down forward and she reacted. Left elbow to the ribs, right elbow to the ribs, quick back kick in the balls, spin around, a smooth chop to the throat and a dying man lay choking on the floor. It had taken a few seconds and it was over. Even drunk, years of training made Captain Alina Darwin a very dangerous woman. Of course, where she had grown up, being pretty was a hazard and being beautiful was life threatening. Unless she was willing to be raped a couple times a week, martial arts had to be part of her daily life.
They raced down the street at first out of fear of being arrested by the Shore Patrol, but now out of fear of whatever blew up the bar.
Fire sirens jerked Sabrina back to the present. Emergency vehicles raced toward the block of stores that had once held the “Space Lizard’s Thrust Lunge” now completely engulfed in flames. Sabrina and Alina appeared to be the only ones headed away from the inferno. Emergency vehicles and personnel were converging on the scene. Sabrina reached for her comm unit. She called her ship. “Tina, prepare for immediate departure!”
“We’re ready! Waiting on you!”
Tina and Pam were the two fire control officers. Tina worked with Sabrina and Pam worked with Alina. Where Alina and Sabrina were warriors, Tina and Pam were “girly girls” who happened to think that operating the teeth in a small warship was something one did for fun. Where Alina and Sabrina sought out the “action” in each port, Tina and Pam would find the fanciest day spa in the immediate vicinity. They would get manicures, pedicures, facials and massages. They would play with the pretty boys that worked there who knew how to make a woman feel warm and womanly inside as well as out.
They had returned to the ships long ago and waited for their crew-mates Sabrina and Alina had started the day at an art festival. They had gone from there to an amateur soccer game in a public park. They had found their way to a concert and that’s where Alina started drinking. Something in the music started her thinking again. Sabrina knew Alina was uncontrollable when she was drunk, but by the time Sabrina realized how much Alina had been drinking, it was already too late.
Sabrina approached the spaceport’s guard gate running as fast as she could. At least Alina was running on her own now although her pace was ragged. The flames that started in the lounge were voraciously consuming huge chunks of the city. A convoy of fire trucks raced out the spaceport’s gate to assist their beleaguered civilian colleagues. In the confusion, Sabrina dragged Alina past the guard. As she did she looked up at the video monitor over the entrance to the space port’s main terminal. The Constant News Channel was announcing that Sabrina, Alina and their entire crew had died in the blast at the bar. Sabrina quickly turned away. She was angry enough as it was.
The reason Sabrina had originally attempted to pull Alina out of the bar had nothing to do with the unfortunate man she killed. The ship’s sensors had detected an incoming missile and sent her the alert. The ship’s threat assessment system had located the homing beacon the missile was tracking as being inside the bar. Someone was trying to kill them. That, in itself, was not news. Being shot at was a routine occurrence for P I pilots and crews. What was news was that someone would stand off in space and lob a missile which would cause so much collateral damage in an attempt to get at them. Even more surprising was that they shot at the bar and not at the ships. Although, Sabrina reflected, if the ships had sensed that the missile was aimed at them they could have shot it down on their own with their lasers before their human crew knew what was going on. Why the planet’s defensive net had let the missile through even though it was not aimed at the spaceport was a question that would need to be answered later.
Pam and Tina were waiting outside near the ships. They helped drag Alina into her ship and strapped her into the fire control seat. Pam climbed into Alina’s seat and started pre-flight procedures. Sabrina and Tina raced for Sabrina’s ship.
Tina headed for Sabrina’s seat. “You sit in the back, I’ll get us out of here.” Sabrina slumped in the back seat and braced for lift off. The two ships lifted off together and, ignoring the warnings from the control tower, headed into space at full throttle.
“Did you see who threw the missile?” Sabrina asked.
“Third Force,” Tina replied.
The mysterious Third Force. Not the Federation and not the Swordsmen and feared by both. Pirates told of mysterious readings on their sensors. They believed the third force was an alien life form. Soon one of the intelligence services would get a break and figure out who they really were. A few had been captured. They weren’t organized crime and they weren’t pirates, but they were human and their crews were “contractors” recruited from a variety of military services. They were well funded and had huge manufacturing capabilities. They built small space ships and drones like Detroit had once built automobiles. You knew a third force ship immediately when you saw it. Even though it was made of glass, it looked unfinished. The ships were awkward and stodgy to fly although even a novice could fly one if need be. A few ships had been captured, but there was no indication of the location of the manufacturer. None of the parts could be traced back to other manufacturers. Someone had built a completely vertically integrated space ship manufacturing facility to the point where they apparently even mined their own metals.
“I suppose he got away,” Sabrina said.
“Lobbed the missile and split,” Tina replied.
“Take us to where we can couple the ships and we’ll decide where we’re going from there,” Sabrina said.
“Not going home?” Tina asked.
“Would you go home under these circumstances?”
“Probably not.”
“Me neither.”
The sounds of docking interrupted Sabrina’s debate as to their course of action. The two ships were combining so they could travel as one. This meant one ship’s computer controlled both ships and watches could be split four ways instead of two.
They gathered on the flight deck of Alina’s ship.
Alina was still asleep in her seat.
“Where can we go that’s safe?” Sabrina asked.
“I think we need to find help for the Captain,” Pam said.
“You know,” Sabrina thought out loud, “I think we can do both.”
“How?” Tina asked.
“Eretz, the planet of the Jews. Someone there will know how to deal with her,” Sabrina said.
“What about us? We’re not Jewish.” Tina asked.
“I don’t think that matters as much as it used to. We can go there and be safe,” Sabrina said.
Alina revived enough to ask, “Where are we going?”
“Eretz,” Sabrina replied.
“My cousins moved there. Why are we going there?”
“You need help, the kind of help we think only they can give you,” Sabrina said.
“I didn’t mean to kill him. I didn’t even see his face. I’m sorry.” Alina started to cry.
�
�No matter, he would have died in the blast even if you hadn’t killed him,” Sabrina replied.
“Was it a missile?”
“Yes, third force,” Tina said.
“You’re right. Please, set in the course.,” Alina ordered.
The other women nodded and set in a course for Eretz.
DEPLOYMENT - CHAPTER FIVE
THE TWO P I SHIPS traveling as one dropped out of hyper drive a short distance outside the Eretz defensive perimeter. They identified themselves and requested safe passage.
The girl who greeted them and escorted them to the freight depot on the moon of the system’s only habitable planet identified herself as Mimi Abrams. To Captain Darwin, she sounded young, but there was a hardness in her voice that spoke of combat experience. She advised them to wear their dress whites and not their flight suits when they reached the depot.
Two young, heavily armed men greeted the travelers as they exited the air locks to the pressurized gate ramps. Their smiles and greetings were formal, but not challenging. Welcoming surprise guests was their job. The travelers were impressed by the pristine cleanliness of the depot and its environs. A sense of order and unhurried purpose permeated the atmosphere. They had arrived at the start of first shift, the “day” shift although the facility ran full-time without regard to day or night on the planet below.
Signs of welcome and instruction in a half dozen languages were prominently displayed along their path. At the end of the ramp they came to what was clearly an immigration processing facility. A row of workstations extended the width of the far side of the room. Between each pair of stations a walkway lead to wide doors. Over the doors a large sign read “Welcome to The Land – The Planet, Eretz” translated into a half dozen languages.
Four very old men sat behind the workstations. Each of the travelers was directed to chair in front of a work station. After stating their name and raising their hand to affirm that everything they were about to commit to the forms they would fill out was the truth to the best of their knowledge, they were instructed to sit. The forms were devoted to questions about their health, their job skills and the names of their nearest relatives. After filling out the forms, they were directed to small enclosed glassed in rooms. Sabrina was the first to finish and the first to be directed to one of the rooms.
The man who waited for Sabrina was wearing a Federation Space Force uniform and had the insignia of a chaplain. He stood as she entered the room.
“Lt. Sabrina Mahoney, it is my pleasure to meet you. I am Father Andrew D. Hadalski.”
“A priest, sir? I thought this was a Jewish settlement.”
“It is and I am. The Federation Space Force maintains a weapons research facility here. Five chaplains of different denominations service the assigned personnel. It is a delightful assignment. We conduct comparative religion seminars as part of our duties and I find the discussions invigorating. But enough of that. Let’s talk about you. As you know everything you say to a Chaplain is privileged and cannot be divulged without your permission. This is why one of our duties as Chaplains is to interview arriving military personnel before they have had a chance to talk to anyone else.”
“Is it like confession?”
“Sort of. It is your last opportunity to change your mind without consequences.”
“Consequences?”
“Technically, you are either AWOL or a deserter and can be punished for that fact. However, this planet has become such a magnet for many of the Space Force’s brightest officers, the Federation has agreed to some exceptions. For, example, any member of a flight crew except the commander can claim that they were brought here by their commander and not necessarily of their own volition. They merely sign a statement to that effect and we put them on the next ship headed for New St. Louis. From there they are redeployed to a regular Space Force unit. Alternatively they could claim that they thought it was a good idea when they left wherever they came from, but now that they have arrived, they are not sure and wish to return to regular duty.”
“What happens when they return to duty?”
“They are docked accrued leave from the time they left wherever they came from to the time they arrived here and their enlistment contract is extended by the difference between the accrued leave and the time away.”
“Is this offer available to me?”
“Yes.”
“What if I elect to stay?”
“A review board will assess your skills and determine if they have use for you or if there is some pressing reason they would like to keep you around. In your case, that would not seem to be an issue. Our intelligence folks are circling like hawks to debrief you within an inch of your life. They are very excited that you have dropped in and wish to learn as much as you have to teach them.”
Sabrina shuddered at the thoughts of long interrogations. “By force?”
The priest laughed. “No sweetheart. They will be so helpful and attentive to your every wish that you will want them to go away and leave you alone. I think they call it killing with kindness. I can think of worse ways to live.”
“Then what?”
“Most likely patrol duty, test pilot or combat instructor. I understand your flight skills are outstanding.”
“How long can I stay?”
“Forever or until a Federation ship comes along and you sign on with them. Although if you wish to stay, the pressure to marry and have children is impressive, and, you know, I thought Catholic parents were masters at guilt. These people make us look like amateurs.” He grinned. “Of course, I would prefer the babies be brought up Catholic.”
Sabrina smiled. “I certainly understand. What will happen to Captain Darwin?”
“As commander, she can't claim coercion or that she has changed her mind. If she tries to go back, she will be tried for AWOL or depending on the circumstances of her departure, even desertion in the face of the enemy.”
“What if she stays?”
“If she is allowed to stay, she will lose all time in grade, accrued leave and her enlistment contract will be extended by the time away. She could request political asylum, although as a Federation officer, that probably won’t work. It frequently does for civilians. The review board will determine if there is some compelling reason for her to stay or that if she were anywhere else she would be a hazard to others. It is important that merely being a hazard to oneself is not good enough. She must be a hazard to others.”
“That’s why I brought her here. She’s a walking time bomb.”
“You brought her? She didn’t come on her own?”
“Sort of. She knew we were bringing her to get help, but she was passed out drunk at the time.”
“You better tell me the whole story.”
Sabrina told Father Hadalski everything starting when Captain Darwin captured her at the decoy freighter and ending with her decision to bring Captain Darwin for help. The priest only interrupted when he did not understand something Sabrina had said or needed clarification on the sequence of actions.
“My child, I never would have expected one brought up as you to be so sensitive and caring. You will need to tell the story to the review board exactly as you told it to me. I am sure you will be accepted into our community. I expect to see you every Sunday at Mass when you are not on patrol.”
The review board convened a few hours later. Pam and Tina had elected to return to regular duty and were already on a shuttle that would take them to a freighter for the trip to New St. Louis.
Sabrina and Alina answered a battery of questions. Some of the questions were clearly standard questions for which standard answers were expected. Others were not. Sabrina repeated her motivation for bringing Alina to them twice before the panel members were satisfied with the story. Dazed and confused by the ordeal, they were relieved when the woman who chaired the panel looked at her peers and asked them to vote using their workstations.
They were conditionally accepted. They were to proceed to the planet’s surface
where they would undergo physical, psychological and skills testing. Pending the results of the tests, a secondary review board would make the determination as to whether they could stay and if so, in what capacity.
P I ships are capable of entering a planet’s atmosphere and landing on the surface, but Sabrina and Alina were instructed to retrieve their luggage from the ships and take a passenger shuttle to the surface. The freight yard’s traffic controllers had determined that the P I ship Sabrina flew was indeed one that they had believed lost in a training exercise and were delighted that it had shown up.
A squad of Marines flew on the same shuttle and other than making gentle amorous passes at the ladies, left them alone. Once on the surface, they were more than happy to escort the ladies to the Visiting Officer’s Quarters.
After settling in to their rooms and collapsing exhausted on their beds, Sabrina and Alina awoke the following morning absolutely famished. They headed for the Officer’s Club and breakfast. While they were eating, a young lady in a flight suit approached them.
“Captain Darwin?” The young lady looked like she could be Alina’s kid sister.
Alina looked up. “Yes?”
“Mimi Abrams. I escorted you to the freight depot. It’s a pleasure to meet you. You are a legend around here. May I join you? I’ve already eaten.”
“Certainly.” Alina looked carefully at the insignia on the flight suit. “Are you a civilian?”
“Yes,” Mimi replied. “I’m under contract. In less polite times, I would be called a mercenary.”
“So young!” Sabrina exclaimed.
Mimi grinned. “I learned from Rachel and Wendy Solomon and they had the best teachers of all, their parents. Sabrina, may I call you by your first name?”
“Yes.”
“Sabrina, you should know all about being young in combat. Your reputation precedes you.”
“But, I was not a normal child and I did not have a normal childhood.”
Solomon Family Warriors II Page 69