The Chronicles of Benjamin Jamison: Call Sign Reaper

by Thomas Wright

  “In two days we will arrive at Hyson. It is governed by the Trillond. There are reports of a large build-up of warships in Allith space. There are a few hundred humans from corporations as well as a group working in our small embassy. The Destroyer Morningstar will be evacuating all of the corporate employees who still may be there. Our mission will be to evacuate or rescue, depending on circumstances, a member of military intelligence at the embassy. We may take additional personnel if they are ready to leave and it will not jeopardize the mission. We are going to take the stealth shuttle under cover of darkness, get our target and return to the ship. I have read all your jackets and know you know how to do this. All maps, building plans and info about our target will be uploaded to your com prior to departure. We are hoping that it might be as simple as asking the target to meet us at a landing site, make the pickup and go.”

  That statement got a few chuckles from around the table. The major laughed with them. “Yes, I know,” she said. “We will do what we do best to complete the mission. We will take a look at all scenarios and make entry and exit strategies for each one. Are there any questions about the team?” Snake raised his hand. The major nodded at him to go ahead.

  “What role does the ensign have on our team?”

  “Good question,” she said. “Reaper, would you like to take this one?”

  “Let’s all note that the ensign is now a marine,” Ben said, “so we’ll address her as Lieutenant Aok. She just gave you the legal jargon — that’s her job. I am going to knock the shit out of you if I hear anything out of line with what we have told you. Now, the lieutenant would never tell you this, but I will. Her IQ is several times higher than everyone in this room. Hillbilly, do you know what that means?”

  “Yes sir! She’s smart,” Hillbilly answered.

  “Exactly! Good answer. So that being said, we have decided to have our own tech, com, and intelligence officer. She is going to find us tech outside of what we have supplied from the Colonial Military, which will make our lives easier. Also, as we prepare and execute our ops, we are going to run all information through her. The lieutenant will then be able to calculate probabilities using mathematical formulas. What this means to you is if she tells you something, it is not a guess or a gut feeling. She will be doing these calculations in real time, instead of the intel we currently get, which is usually very old by the time we get it. The bottom line is, we will be better armed and informed and have better odds of coming back alive.” He let them think about that for a minute.

  “Something else I have learned about the lieutenant is that she is a master with a blade. Keep that in mind if we go into close quarters combat. She does lack experience in combat, although she racked up a few kills in the last week.” That got a couple of nods from the team. “She will need your support as she learns. Lieutenant, do you have any questions for any of our team?”

  “Yes sir, I have one for you. What’s going on in the gym tonight at 1900?” The major’s head dropped forward as she laughed.

  “Well, boys and girls, there are two Navy Junior Lieutenants in need of some lessons in etiquette. I will be instructing them both at the same time. It’s free admission for anyone who wants to attend. I do ask that you don’t heckle them or any other of the Navy personnel. I think the captain will be there and will be embarrassed enough as it is. Come to think of it,Lieutenant Aok would you like to teach those Navy boys a lesson.” He played the com recording for all of them to hear. Aok had a look of apprehension on her face until she heard the recording. Her face changed, growing hard and angry.

  “I accept, Reaper, and will do my best,” she said.

  “Good,” he said. “Let’s all show up tonight and support her.”

  The major stood up. “That’s all I have for now, team. Sergeant Major, you are in charge for the rest of the day.”

  “Major, can I have the lieutenant?” Ben asked. “I would like to work with her for a few hours if you have nothing for her.”

  “Good idea, Reaper. I’ll talk to you later.” She left the room.

  Let’s go, E’Aria, he thought, just to see if she was scanning. He turned and started walking and she followed.

  “Grab your things for the gym and meet me out here in a minute,” he said.

  “I will be there, but you better make that five minutes at least.” He turned and looked at her and thought, why?

  Because she is waiting in your quarters. Sucks to be you. He laughed and went in. She has a good sense of humor, he thought.

  “What are you laughing at?” the major asked in a commanding tone.

  “Just thinking to myself about the match later,” Ben answered.

  “You think it’s funny you put her up against two opponents? This is the second time you have done this to her.”

  “If I didn’t think she could handle it I wouldn’t have suggested it,” Ben said. “She learns something new and gets experience — that might help her out in two days when we go on the mission. Would you like to join us in the gym? I know you have a couple of skills you might be able to show her.”

  She got up in his space. “I’ve knocked you on your ass plenty of times, and furthermore, I don’t want to show anyone but you my skills.”

  “Fair enough,” he said. “See you there later?”

  “You can count on it.”

  Reaper knew E’Aria could fight two opponents. She already had moves, offensive and defensive. He had to get her to visualize her arm and fist being the sword. At the gym, showed her how to get the most power into each punch, how to use her forearm and knee as well as kick. They had a small audience of off-duty navy personnel who were working out while watching. Her moves were fluid and her timing was good.

  The time flew by and it was 1845. She was walking on a treadmill and he stood by talking to her softly. He didn’t want her to cool down, so she walked at an easy pace. The team came in and sat down. They were checking out the gym. The captain came in and sat down; she had Natalia with her. The two navy lieutenants walked in, looking around the gym. They saw Reaper talking and walked out onto the mat to stretch. They didn’t look too happy when they saw the captain sitting with Natalia.

  Ben and Aok walked out onto the mat together and stood facing the officers. “Glad you showed, gentlemen,” Ben said. “I’m feeling a little under the weather today but don’t worry, Lieutenant Aok is my second and she is going to take my place. Same deal. Nothing changes but your opponent.” They started smiling and E’Aria started feeling her anger rise. She took a couple of breaths and stepped back three feet from them.

  Reaper walked off the mat and sat down next to the captain, who had a puzzled expression on her face. “Thought I would save you the trouble of being short-handed and give her some practical experience,” he said. “Although she is kind of angry so you still may have to find replacements for their duties.”

  E’Aria was ready. The officers circled around her. One of them kept trying to get behind her. She thought they might both come at her at the same time, and they did. She chose the short one. Her timing was perfect. She stepped back and swung. Her arm extended straight out from her body in a classic clothesline, catching him in the throat. His head snapped back and his feet flew out from under him, landing on the back of his head and shoulders, feet in the air.

  She leaned to her left as the fist and arm of the tall opponent sailed past. She grabbed the wrist and used his momentum to throw him over her hip and onto his back. She twisted his wrist with her right hand, making him yell in pain until her left hand connected with his face three times in rapid succession, shutting him up.

  She let him go and turned her attention to the short opponent. He was on his hands and knees when her foot connected with his mid section. Reaper thought he saw his body lift totally off the mat. The team was providing commentary. The tall opponent started working his way to a standing position. E’Aria looked over at Reaper.

  Let him stand up. They are fair game as long as they decide to stand
, Reaper thought. E’Aria turned back to face her opponent. He shook his head to clear it and raised his arms, making fists. She was counting on him charging her. She turned sideways, stuck out her left arm and motioned for him to come, a trick which Reaper had told her would piss her opponent off. Reaper was right; he yelled and charged. She took two steps forward, which he hadn’t anticipated and therefore he had no way to block the fist that hit his ribs. There was a crack and he staggered off-balance. She pivoted in a full circle, catching him in the back of the head with the back of her forearm.

  His head snapped forward and his body followed. He went down and decided that was the best place to be. She turned to find the shorter one on his hands and knees again with his head turned, watching. She took two steps towards him, and he fell to the floor, curled into a fetal position.

  She took a half dozen steps and a voice spoke.

  “It’s not over yet.” Everyone looked over to see a huge man stand up from within a group of personnel who had been watching. Reaper looked at the captain, who was sitting stone still, staring forward and purposely not looking at the man. He noticed a small twitch at the corner of her mouth. She set this up, he thought. Let those two get what they deserved and then try to salvage the reputation of the ship. This guy looked like he had muscles on his muscles. Reaper had actually seen him a few times in the gym working out. The captain was soon going to find out that all those muscles didn’t mean shit. The other two were being helped off the mat. E’Aria walked back out into the middle. It was very quiet in the gym.

  The major gave him her evil look. “Are you just going to let her go through with this?”

  “Give her a chance,” Ben said. “If things go south I will be out there in two seconds.” What the audience didn’t know was that he was coaching her mentally, preparing her for this larger opponent.

  E’Aria watched the big man walk out onto the mat. She noticed he walked favoring his left leg. She could see scars of a surgery or injury around his knee. She would work that side of his body. He would have to continue putting more weight on that leg as he shifted to the left to stop her. She estimated he had 100 pounds and several inches of reach on her.

  She felt Reaper’s thoughts. Take him out quick. He may try and tire you out. He knows we were working out all afternoon.

  Aok attacked with a barrage of punches and kicks. She wanted to see how fast he reacted. Not too fast, she thought. He countered and threw some punches; she blocked them all, but one she blocked from her face hit her in the shoulder instead, knocking her back. That’s going leave a bruise, she thought to herself. She went at him again but this time brought a low kick to the left knee. He didn’t fall, but he hobbled around, cursing. She attacked again and he worked hard to keep that leg protected. He used the same pattern of punches and nothing came close.

  She went at him a third time, hitting him in the chest but just getting him madder. He threw a wild right. It was exactly what she had been waiting for. She grabbed his arm as his punch missed and used it to launch herself up and onto his back. She wrapped her arm around his neck in the choke hold that Reaper had shown her and wrapped her legs around him, locking them. She squeezed with everything she had. She had to do this before he figured out a way to knock her off.

  She felt when he lost consciousness and started falling. He landed on his side but rolled back on top of her. She let go and unlocked her legs, trying to catch her breath. She heard a huge cheer and lots of footsteps. The audience grabbed him by his arms and legs and pulled him off of her, asking her if she was alright. She heard someone telling them to move as Ronnie knelt down and started checking her out. She heard her name being yelled by a child-like voice and recognized Natalia.

  “Are you okay, E’Aria?” The girl was touching her face, looking like she was going to cry.

  “I’m okay, Natalia. Just had the wind knocked out of me,” E’Aria said. The major was standing next to Reaper, who was still sitting next to the captain.

  “Any more surprises, Captain?” he asked. She shook her head. “Well, thank you,” he said. “You did E’Aria a great favor.”

  She turned and looked at him, not understanding. “You just gave her some major credit with the team,” he explained, gesturing to the admiring huddle. “Look at them.”

  A group from the med bay came in with a stretcher. Nurse Tanaka was with them. She walked up to the group of officers.

  “I should have known you would be here,” she said.

  “Well, yes and no. Lieutenant Aok put the beating on the three sailors,” Ben said. Nurse Tanaka just shook her head, reminding him to schedule his next session in the tank.

  Reaper went to Med bay for his treatment. He brought Snake along to watch the door to his room. The three idiots would all be there and he wanted to make sure they didn’t do anything stupid while he was in the tank.

  Snake enjoyed the two hours, chatting up any female staff who happened to pass by. Nurse Tanaka checked on Reaper twice while he was in the tank. When his time was up, she helped him get disconnected and looked his wounds over. They were healing up very nice. He had worked his upper body a little more each day in the gym, so most of the soreness was gone.

  Nurse Tanaka liked his broad shoulders and strong arms. Each muscle group was well defined. Reaper sat there as she pushed on the wounds, asking if he had any pain. He felt good other than some itching. He asked Nurse Tanaka if she would get Lieutenant Aok on the com and have her report to the med bay. She had taken a pretty good punch to the shoulder and he wanted her looked at, even though he thought it wouldn’t be anything more than bruising. He didn’t want her distracted when they went on their first mission. He told the nurse that he wouldn’t be back for any more treatments till their mission was over.

  Snake headed to the mess for a late snack and Reaper went back to his quarters. He laid down to think about the mission, but he didn’t. His mind drifted off to his friends on Anubis, wondering what they were doing. He sent a com to E’Aria. An answer popped into his head, but not from his com. She was in her room.

  Can I come over?

  Sure, she said.

  Ben got up and walked across the corridor. The door opened before he could put his hand on the panel. He just laughed. He was getting used to her knowing things. He walked in and the door shut behind him. She was sitting, waiting for him.

  “Are you using your gift more now than you have in the past? Is it hurting you to do so?” Ben asked.

  “Yes I am,” she answered, “and no, it doesn’t hurt. I think it’s actually better now than it ever has been. Using it lets me exercise my mind some. You and I are syncing. As time goes on, I will be able to communicate with you from further away.”

  “What is your range now? Can you find me anywhere on the ship?” Ben asked.

  “I can,” she said. “We are all different, and so each person’s mind is different. We all have our own unique signature. The longer we work together and communicate with our minds, the stronger the link will become, but only because we are communicating this way. If I work with the team for the same period of time but with little to no communication telepathically, I would still need to be in very close proximity to pick up their signature.”

  “Makes sense,” Ben said. “What I wanted to talk to you about are the things we took off of the pirate ship. Do you think you can go to my quarters tomorrow and catalog everything, then set up a account and deposit all the credits, then start a search for potential buyers?”

  “I can do that,” she said. “The catalogue and banking won’t take long, but the research will take some time. The buyers are going to be a bit of a problem.”

  “Maybe we find someone who has a legitimate business in dealing with high-end merchandise for clients,” Ben suggested. “They usually get a commission or finder’s fee. Hyson won’t be a good choice with all that’s going on, but maybe on our next mission we will be on a planet where we can meet a purveyor and unload some of it. How does that sound?”
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br />   “Easier than trying to do it in the middle of a rescue op,” she said with a chuckle.

  The light was on in his quarters. Andrea was waiting for him. He undressed and climbed in next to her.

  “Send a com out to everyone and tell them they will be getting some gear about 0730,” he said. “Then ask them to fall out in the cargo hold in full battle dress by 0800. I want to see how they look and what they brought along.”

  “Hand me my com, please,” she replied. Ben got up, got it off the desk and handed it to her. She spoke quickly and sent the message. She took it out of her ear, not waiting for the replies. She would check it in the morning.

  Andrea kissed his chest as she laid her head on it. This was her favorite time, she thought. She had been experiencing a whirlwind of emotions in the last two weeks that she had not felt in a long time. She knew that it showed. Tomorrow, they would get their final orders and prep for the mission; that would help her and the rest of the team.

  With a smile on her face, she drifted off to sleep.

  Ben woke up to the sound of the shower. As he lay there, he realized he had fallen asleep the night before almost immediately. It was probably the effects of the regen tank, he thought. It totally relaxed your mind and body, which helped in the healing process. He wasn’t sure of all the technology involved; he just knew it worked.

  He got up to take a clean thermal suit out of his wall locker. He was surprised to find some smaller uniforms hanging in his locker. He wasn’t sure, but he knew it meant something when you moved your things into your lover’s closet. Andrea came out of the shower and saw him staring. She continued to dry off and let it all sink in. Letting the towel hang over her face, she dried her hair, hiding the smile that she didn’t want him to see at the moment.

  Ben didn’t know what to say. It didn’t bother him, but he wasn’t going to let her know that. “You could have at least brought your own hangers,” he said in mock defense. He pulled open the top drawer to see if he had given up space for her underwear and socks and such. Of course he had. Half the drawer now held soft, silky things.