“I’m Colonel Carson. I don’t have time to explain, but we need a thousand bottles of the ceremonial wine, immediately. The government will pay you for it as soon as you remit an invoice.”
Brother Stahl almost fainted in relief. He rang the emergency bell, and with a quick explanation to the other monks, who also were immensely relieved, they sprang into action. Using two forklifts, they transported pallets of the wine to the shuttle, two hundred bottles at a time. Colonel Carson watched with amazement as they completed her request in less than half an hour.
“I’m surprised you had such quantity on hand, Brother. I thought it was rarely produced?”
“The good Lord provides. We have many other wines, as well, if you have any other needs.”
The colonel just shook her head. She preferred to avoid talking about religion and wasn’t interested in listening to the monk’s attempts to sell her wine.
Brother Stahl smiled to himself as he turned to walk back inside. It was always so easy to manipulate the outsiders. He hadn’t even had to suggest a donation to the monastery to get the woman to leave. On top of that, he’d gotten rid of a vintage that had both a poor taste and too high of an aphrodisiac stimulant. His prayers had been answered once again.
“Get us moving, pilot,” Colonel Carson ordered. “Do you happen to know where the Culpepper Plantation is?”
“I can get us there, ma’am.”
Colonel Carson stood next to the two unneeded security troops, all of them holding straps from the ceiling as the shuttle took off. The wine filled the entire bay, and the way the pallets were rocking made her nervous. The last thing she needed was for any of them to fall over.
Back at Culpepper, Guns woke up with his ear vibrating. He looked around for his wrist computer but didn’t see it anywhere. He was lying naked under an orange tree, with an equally naked red-haired woman cuddled up next to him. He started piecing together what had happened the night before and then remembered that he had to get moving. His partner moaned as he untangled himself from her, but she refused to wake up. He found all of his clothing except his underwear and one sock. Looking down on the most beautiful woman he ever remembered sleeping with, he covered her with her clothes and forced himself to leave.
Jimmy woke up sore, his ear vibrating. He’d slept on a picnic table. A woman was sitting on the bench, asleep, her head and an abundance of red hair covering his abdomen. He found when he tried to move her head that they were stuck together, so he had to wake her. She smiled at their predicament and carefully managed to free herself. After giving Jimmy a kiss, she walked back to the plantation, naked, as he took in a last view. Rushing to get dressed, his back ached with every movement. He got to the front of the plantation in time to see a cab pull up, just as Guns walked out of the orange grove.
“Nice party, wasn’t it?” Guns asked, none too loudly.
Jimmy smiled at the question as he tried desperately to remember the party, and the woman.
“Would have been better if I could remember it. How was the orange grove?” he said with a snicker.
“I think we should stay on this planet,” Guns replied, his grin speaking volumes.
They got into the cab and Jimmy told the driver to hurry, but neither of them could remember the name of the hotel. They began describing the hotel, hoping the driver might recognize it, and then Guns found the keycard to his room in his pocket. After the driver assured them that he knew where he was going, both men proceeded to go to sleep.
The driver wasn’t happy about having a pair of drunks sleeping in the back of his cab, but he recognized their uniforms and decided to not throw them out, especially since they’d come from the Culpepper Plantation. He knew you didn’t mess with that family—or their friends.
“Wake up, gentlemen. You’re at your hotel,” the driver announced a short time later.
Jimmy came to life and handed the driver his credit card, instructing him to add a twenty percent tip. Guns was already making a beeline for the front door of the hotel. The men hustled to their rooms and grabbed their bags without taking the time to freshen up.
The front desk clerk frowned at them when they walked up to check out. Both men reeked of sex and alcohol. He sent them on their way as quickly as possible, though he did tell them to help themselves to the complimentary coffee on the way out.
The driver was still there when they walked outside, and he was happy to take them wherever they wanted to go now that he knew they were good tippers. Tipping was an Earth custom not typically followed on Dixie. The men rode in silence, the night’s activities fading from memory by the minute.
Colonel Carson could feel the shuttle descending. She looked at her timepiece and saw that it was 0600. Things were working out better than she had expected. The shuttle pilot announced that they would soon be landing as he maneuvered to get as close as he could to the other shuttle without putting them at risk.
Short Blade heard the other shuttle descending and did one last check of the cargo hold, wondering if he would have a crew. He watched as the shuttle landed closer than he liked. A pair of identical red-haired women sat in a grassy area off to the side of the parking area, watching him in silence.
The other shuttle’s hatch rose at the same time he heard a ground transport coming from the direction of the city. Short Blade peered into the shuttle and saw the colonel ordering two troops to move the wine.
“Here, Colonel Carson. This should help,” he said, pushing a grav sled in her direction. She thanked him and told the troops to get moving.
Short Blade was feeling good. He had his cargo. He had a crew of close comrades. Everything was fine—until the guys got out of the cab and the two women ran to them and began hugging and kissing them. His mood turned black as he watched his men. They took for granted what he wanted most, and most likely would never have.
“Colonel, it looks like we’re done here,” Short Blade said when the wine had been loaded into the cargo hold. “I’ll return as soon as I can with as much transfer gel as I can get or fit into my shuttle.”
He looked over at the guys and thought they were going to start mating with the women right there. After the smaller shuttle departed, he decided to walk over and prompt them to get a move on.
“Good morning, guys. Ready to launch?”
The women looked at Short Blade with unveiled hatred. He wasn’t sure if it was because he was a Jacka, or because he was going to take their men. Jimmy saw the look they gave his buddy, and immediately his mood changed.
“Girls, this is Short Blade, our captain. We met during the war. Not only is he our captain, he’s also a very dear friend.”
Gabriella stiffened her grip on Jimmy for a second, then looked at Short Blade. “It’s a pleasure to meet you, Short Blade. Please excuse our manners. Scotty has told us a lot about you. Please consider the plantation your home when you’re here on Dixie.”
Relief swept over Short Blade as the men said their goodbyes and picked up their bags to follow him to the shuttle. He had a crew and a profitable trip ahead of him.
After they entered the shuttle, Short Blade ordered the Phoenix to contact Dixie Control and declare their departure. He showed Guns and Jimmy where their bunks were and then ordered the shuttle to launch. There was no sensation of movement as the shuttle rose, thanks to the inertial dampeners.
“You guys look like shit,” Short Blade told the weary men. “In half an hour we’ll be heading for Earth. Go grab a shower, if you want, and then crash, since I don’t have anything important for you to do at the moment.” He saw the gratitude on their faces. Without a word, they disappeared into their cabins.
“Phoenix, when we’re in position, set course for Earth with the FTL. Also, do you know of any entities on Earth that would be interested in buying our wine?”
“Earth governments are very strict about importing alcohol and often charge a high tax. Gray Panther Industries has a tax-exempt status in many countries. I recommend delivering the wine t
o Peary Crater Lunar Base and have them act as your agents. There is no wine on Earth similar to what you have. The combination of it being from Dixie and containing an actual aphrodisiac will command a high value. I suggest you ask five thousand U.S. dollars per bottle.”
Short Blade was stunned when he realized how much he would make. He was very happy now that he had gone to the wedding. He decided that he should get another load of cows while he was on Earth to take back to his home world. Now he just had to sit through the five-day trip to Earth.
Planet Viz
14 April 2129
Harve was inspecting the ship’s engines with a mixed team of Libra and Jacka. He could tell from the Libras’ body posture that they were bored and already knew what he was explaining. The Jacka, on the other hand, were giving him their undivided attention. They wanted to learn. Harve knew what he had to do.
“I want everyone to break into teams of two—one Jacka and one Libra.” The sailors looked at him with suspicion, not believing the order.
“The only way we’ll get this to be the best ship in the Fire fleet is to work together as a team. I want each of you to learn all you can about your new teammate. I’ll conduct a test to make sure you’ve followed my orders. You will learn about your new teammate’s family, his family history, and any interests he has, including sports. Your teammate may save your life, or save the ship in battle one day. You’re released from duty so you can start learning about each other now. When we come back on duty, you’ll also be responsible for your partner knowing as much as you do about the ship and engineering. Dismissed.”
Harve watched as the sailors began to pair off and wondered if he’d made the right decision, since he would lose a day of training.
Chief Edge sidled up alongside the maintenance officer. “Sir, that was the smartest thing I’ve seen in my twenty years in the Jacka, er, Fire fleet.”
Harve looked at the old chief and was still surprised at how well the two of them had hit it off, from the very beginning. The old chief had been on patrol ships from both Libra and Jacka fleets. The ships for both fleets had been built in Libra factories.
“Chief Edge, I’d like you to ask the sailors about their teammates to make sure they’re complying. At the end of the month, we’ll have them swap partners.”
“Sir, if I order that, the Jacka will feel they’re being disloyal to their mates. They’ll continue to be mates with the original sailor and then try to learn about the new one.”
Harve looked at the chief and wondered if he’d eventually see the beauty of the plan. Before he could say anything else, a message blared from the ship’s speakers.
“All ship’s officers to the wardroom immediately. All ship’s officers to the wardroom immediately.”
“Looks like you’re in charge for now, Chief,” Harve said as he turned to hustle for the wardroom at the far end of the ship.
As soon as all of the officers had arrived and taken a seat, Superior Captain Thrust began to speak. “We’ve been given orders, finally. Our mission is to take a flotilla of destroyers and cargo ships and start stripping out the remote supply depots before any pirates or other groups can. We’re lucky in that all of the ships have FTL drives, so we should be able to complete our mission in a month. Commander Fang will now give you an intel update.”
The captain sat down and Fang got up. “Many of you know the old Libra Alliance consisted of fifty planets. A dozen of those planets are what we consider hard core. They were active participants and had strong fleets of their own. The other planets either joined out of fear or were captured and absorbed into the Alliance. After the destruction of the Libra home world, the other planets sued for peace. Now they’re starting small wars among themselves. We don’t care about that, but some of our cargo ships have been destroyed while supplying the warring planets. It’s in our interest for there to be peace, so after we consolidate our resources, we’ll start to encourage the planets to join the League Of Planets. That way we can have real peace for everyone.”
All Harve heard was that there would be more war—only now, instead of the Libra, it would be the League taking over its neighbors. He was surprised that no one laughed or pointed out the similarity.
The Phoenix, en route to Earth
17 April 2129
Short Blade could feel his crew’s excitement as he told them the cargo of wine should lead to a profit of roughly one million dollars for each of them.
“We’ll need to drop off the wine at Peary Crater Lunar Base. The Gray Panthers are going to resell the wine down on the planet. They can import the wine and absorb the taxes because they have resources we don’t have. After we drop off the wine, we’ll head to Wisconsin to pick up some cows and then deliver them to my ranch.”
“Guess we started something when we called you ‘cowboy’ a few years back, huh?” Guns said with a laugh.
Short Blade remembered when he did his first space walk to save a Dart pilot who was having engine trouble. When the shuttle he was in was destroyed by micro meteors, he’d had to ride outside, on top of the fighter, like a cowboy on a horse.
“Captain, it’s time to drop into normal space,” the AI announced. Short Blade checked his wrist computer and silently swore at himself for not tracking the time better.
“Drop into normal space, Phoenix.”
“Gray Panthers Control to unidentified ship. Please identify yourself. You are now in Earth space.”
“Gray Panthers Control, this is the Phoenix, Captain Short Blade commanding. Destination, Peary Crater Lunar Base. This is an unscheduled trip.”
“Phoenix, you are authorized to proceed. We are transmitting a narrow navigation beam. Please stay on it so we won’t need to replace any space mines that might accidentally be triggered.”
“Phoenix copies. Stay off the space mines.”
Short Blade wondered who he would need to contact to get rid of his load, since this was his first visit of a civilian nature. The shuttle followed the navigation beam and before long the main spaceport door opened. A docking beam was being transmitted. Because of its larger size, the Phoenix was docked amid the ships in the port instead of the other shuttles.
“Wow! Look at those babies!” Guns said, pointing to the seagoing ships that had been converted to spaceships.
“Yup, I hear there’s now a dozen different ports on the moon alone to avoid what happened on Dixie during the war,” Jimmy replied as he watched the different ships coming and going.
“Shuttle has docked. There is positive pressure on the other side of the hatch,” the AI advised.
Short Blade opened the larger cargo hatch, hoping he could get his cargo offloaded soon.
“Welcome to Peary Crater, Captain Short Blade. I’m Lieutenant Bowers from security. How can we be of assistance to you today?” The young officer had a smirk on his face that was begging to be rubbed off.
“I need to see an officer from Gray Panthers Industries for cargo purchase.”
“That will be difficult. You’re on the Gray Panthers’ military side of the base,” the officer replied, his smirk growing as he spoke.
“Selene, this is Short Blade. Are you monitoring the situation I’m having here?”
When the AI that controlled the entire lunar base replied, the message came through a ceiling speaker so that everyone there could hear. “Captain Short Blade, an economics procurement officer is already en route. Security Commander Major Patricia Paulsen has requested that you join her for lunch if you’re free.”
“Hey, Guns, that kid’s smirk is missing. Should we contact security to report it?” Jimmy said, trying his best not to laugh at the lieutenant’s new expression.
“Naw, Jimmy, I think he knows.” The security officer made a step toward Jimmy, only to find Short Blade in his way, looking up at him.
“A warrior usually has a choice of attack or retreat,” Short Blade told him. “Measure your options carefully, Lieutenant.”
The security officer looked down
at the little alien with contempt as he considered his course of action.
“If you gentlemen will all wait here please, a procurement officer will arrive soon. If you need any assistance, the base AI Selene can assist you,” he said, his voice even and controlled. He then turned to leave and had only taken a few steps when Jimmy and Guns broke out in laughter.
“The kid’s too tough and doesn’t have a war to prove himself,” Guns remarked dryly.
“I hope he doesn’t get one,” Jimmy replied. “I saw enough shit during the last one.”
Within ten minutes, the procurement officer, a small, precisely groomed man with close-set eyes, was walking briskly toward the Phoenix. Short Blade was so eager to hear what kind of offer he would receive for the wine he exited the shuttle and met the man halfway.
“Captain Short Blade, I’m Mr. Peters,” the officer said as he started to extend his hand to shake Short Blade’s paw. He quickly pulled it back, unsure of what the protocol was for greeting a Jacka. “I hear you have a cargo you wish to sell. Can you take me to it?”
“Yes, please follow me, Mr. Peters. I have managed to acquire ceremonial wine from Dixie. It is extremely rare and has a strong aphrodisiac quality that affects both men and women. It is served only to the bride and groom after a wedding ceremony to encourage the couple to have children.”
“That’s very interesting. Have you got a price in mind for it?” Peters asked as he started doing arithmetic in his head.
“Sir, because it’s so rare, I was thinking eight thousand a bottle. It could take up to four years to have a shipment this size again. The process is very long and time-consuming, since only one order of monks on the planet makes the wine.”
Guns, who’d been standing off to the side along with Jimmy, flashed the officer a grin and started his own sales pitch. “Mr. Peters, imagine having a nice little dinner with the hottest ball-breaker you know. You pour her a little wine, and then you pour yourself a little, and the next thing you know, well … you get the picture.”
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