by Jerry Boyd
“Dangit, Bob! When you get logical, it sure is hard to argue with you. If it’s us or Emperor Bill, I don’t see any way to turn you down. The next time we play paintball, your behind is mine.”
“Glad to hear you agree with me. How soon will you be back?”
“We just finished buying bots. We got the one Tex sent me after, and several others that looked promising. Should be back in a couple of days.”
“See you then.”
“See you, Commodore.”
I had a funny feeling when I disconnected, but I couldn’t place it, and let it slide. Nikki asked, “What’s wrong, Caveman?”
“I just felt like I had made a mistake, but I couldn’t figure out what it was. Dingus wasn’t much help either, but at least he agreed to take Captain’s training when he gets back.”
“That’s good. You’ll be able to depend on him.”
“With him, Sally, John, Diego, and Steve, we should have a good start, anyway.”
My comm rang. “Captain Wilson.”
“You’re going to have to start calling yourself Commodore, whether you want to or not, Boss.”
“Yes, Captain. I’m nearly positive that’s not what you called about.”
“I got a report back from the bots taking care of Nelly and Scott. It seems they wanted to stay with their Uncle not because they particularly liked him, but just because they knew he would be better than staying with their Grandparents. They know their Uncle did wrong, and their biggest fear at this point is that you will take them back to Earth, since their Uncle doesn’t work for you anymore.”
“That doesn’t quite match up with the reunion I saw when they saw Bill the first time. How sure are you of what they are telling you?”
“I had Mr. Mason watch the recordings of the conversations. He believes they are telling the truth.”
“That’s as good as we can do, without scaring the kids. They have been through enough already. Thanks for the update. I’ll be up to take care of things later on today.”
“You don’t want me to go ahead and do it for you?”
“We have one of the mutineers down here. They should both be sentenced together. Besides, it’s still my ship, even if you were in charge.”
“I understand, Boss. When can we expect you?”
“I’m not sure, yet. I’ll let you know when I have a better idea.”
“See you later, Boss.”
“See you.”
Nikki asked, “What did you find out?”
“Sally says the kids just wanted to be with Bill because they knew being with their Grandparents was going to be bad. They really aren’t that attached to him.”
“That’s good news, isn’t it?”
“Yes, but I wonder if they’ve been through so much crap that they won’t be able to bond with anyone.”
“Only time can tell that, Caveman. Are you ready to head to the ship?”
“I think I should go over to the village and talk with Jennie’s folks before we head up. I don’t think I can show her leniency, but I feel like I should hear them out before I pass sentence.”
“I should probably go with you. You’re going to be in a bad way, after you do what you have to.”
“You’re right about that. I hate this part of my job.” Topper called Taz and Ozzie. He said, “You fellas watch the house. I’m going with Ruth and the Boss back to the ship for a bit. We should be back by nightfall.” We got aboard the Evans, and Nikki took us to the village. I walked down the ramp and looked for a human. Will came out of his shop, and said, “Hey, Bob! Good to see you.”
“Hey Will. I have business with Jennie Stone’s folks. Do you know where I can find them?”
“Her Grandpa is in the shop. Come on in.”
I went in, and saw a fellow who looked middle aged, except he acted older, sitting with a cup of coffee. He said, “Mr. Wilson. It’s good to finally meet you.”
“You might want to hold off on that, till you hear what I have to say.”
“Jennie’s in trouble, is she?”
“Yessir, she is. Big trouble.”
“My son and his wife did all they could after they adopted that girl. She was already old enough to be set in her ways. My wife and I tried to help, but my daughter-in-law was from town. She didn’t think much of the old ways. We had high hopes when she joined the service, but that didn’t seem to help much either. We kept her on the ranch over the summers, but she didn’t take to it. What has she done now?”
“Tried to sneak into my house over on the island last night. She had a pistol, we figure she meant to kill me and my wife.”
“What makes you think that?”
“Her buddy was busy trying to take over the ship, while she was doing it.”
“I see. That makes it mutiny, doesn’t it?”
“I’m afraid so. I wish I had taken her back to Earth, instead of giving her a job, now.”
“Don’t fret about it. She would have found a way to get herself killed there too, just maybe not as fast.”
“I don’t want to be up in your business, but you’re taking the whole thing pretty calmly. I expected you to be more upset.”
“We cried over her a long time ago, Captain. We knew she would come to a bad end.”
“Who do you mean, we?”
“My wife and I. Heck, even the owner of the ranch where we used to work before we got too crippled up took an interest in her, and got disappointed when she didn’t turn out better. Would it be alright if my wife and I came along to say goodbye, before you do what you have to do?”
“That would be fine, Sir. I’d have to ask you to leave that hogleg on the planet, though.”
“That’s sensible. I won’t cause any trouble, but you don’t have any way of knowing that.”
“Thank you, for your understanding. We’re in that ship out there, whenever you’re ready.”
I turned to leave, half expecting him to draw on me. He didn’t, though. I walked to the ship and waited. Soon, he came out, looking off into the distance. I saw what he was looking for, when a woman came galloping up on a Percheron. She was out of the saddle, and on the ground, before the horse stopped. She tied her mount, and embraced the fellow I had spoken with. They started toward the ship, and I saw she was still armed. I said, “Sorry, Ma’am, I’m going to have to ask you to leave the pistol here.” She unbuckled her belt, and the fella ran it back to Will’s shop for her. Then they came on. She asked, “Permission to come aboard, Captain?”
“Please do. Sorry about your weapons, but things are going to be bad enough without lead flying around.”
She replied, “I understand. I’m sorry our Jennie caused you trouble. We did try with her, Captain.”
“Of that, I have no doubt. I wish it hadn’t come to this.”
“I do too, but I think both of us knew it would come to something like this, sooner or later.”
“If you don’t mind me asking, how did she make it into the service, if she’s that wild?”
“A therapist friend of ours told us she’s a borderline sociopath. She figures out what you want to hear, and tells it so you believe it.”
“That explains a lot. Makes me wonder which one of them was the actual ringleader, though.”
The fella spoke up. “Don’t. If there was any kind of a scheme going on, it was her idea, whether you can prove it, or not.”
The ramp came down. Scotti was there with a couple of maintenance bots. She asked, “Where’s Ruth?”
“That hardhead is guarding the prisoner. Let’s go get her.”
I went through the door with my stunner out, just on general principle. Jennie was still out cold, and Ruth asked, “What’s wrong, Boss?”
“Nothing that a few minutes in Scotti’s shop won’t fix. Did I give you permission to get yourself shot?”
“No, Boss, you didn’t. Sorry for disobeying orders.”
“Thanks for looking out for me, you silly bot. Now let Scotti fix you up.” I got out of the w
ay and let Scotti’s team carry Ruth out. As soon as she was clear of the ship, Angus came aboard, saying, “Now, Boss, you weren’t about to do something stupid, like take charge of the prisoner yourself, were you?” I realized that was exactly what I had in mind, but I said, “Keep you from doing your job, Angus? Why would I go and do that?”
“Because you’re a hardhead, Boss.”
“Ouch! The truth hurts.”
Angus and Ian went in and pulled the nighty-night. Once she came to enough to figure out what was going on, she started cussing. Then she saw me. “Oh look! It’s the mighty Captain, hiding behind his bots again. We could have run this ship so much better than you, you loser. Some dumb hillbilly who thinks he makes a better captain than Academy trained officers? What a joke!” She continued in the same vein as Angus led her off. Mr. Stone said, “That brings back memories, and not good ones. She used to give me the same basic speech every time I disciplined her. You did well, not trying to talk her down, it doesn’t do any good, and just wears you out.”
“Thanks. I almost believed her about some of it.”
“You’re a fine Captain. From what I’ve seen of her Academy classmates, I think you did at least as well as they would have, being dumped into this situation.”
“I surely don’t like what has to happen next.”
“That’s why you’re the man to do it.”
“That makes sense.” I got a text, saying that court was set up in the bay where we did weddings, and they only needed me. I said, “It’s time. Come with me.” Nikki emerged from the cockpit and accompanied us to the transit. She asked, “You ready for this?”
“Ready as I’m going to get. Let’s get it over with.”
As we entered the bay, the rest split off to find seats. I strode to the front, where Sally was standing. She saluted me, and I returned it. She said, “The mutineers are ready for trial, Sir.”
I took my seat, and said, “Present your evidence, then.” She showed the court recordings of the two of them plotting to take over the ship, and other recordings of them actually attempting it. There were more of Jennie’s speeches about how I was unfit to command, and Bill should replace me. I think Bill was a little shocked when Sally showed a recording of Jennie talking to herself about how she planned to take the ship from Bill once he got me out of the way. When Sally’s presentation was complete, I asked, “Will anyone speak for the accused?”
Jasmine stood. “I have that task, Sir. Having researched the case thoroughly, I can find no cause to plead for your leniency in the case of Ms. Stone. The plot was without a doubt her idea, and she manipulated Mr. Richards into helping her. The evidence clearly shows she intended to do away with him as soon as his usefulness had ended.
Mr. Richards, on the other hand, was not the instigator of the plot, and tried several times to get Ms. Stone to abandon the plot. In the end, he did attempt to take over the ship, and for that, he must be punished. He did not, however, make an attempt on anyone’s life, even though Ms. Stone had instructed him to kill Mr. Branham before he tried to take control.”
“I see. Is that all you have?”
“Yes, Sir.”
“Would anyone else like to speak?”
Mrs. Stone stood. “I have a few things to say, if you would permit it, Captain.”
“Go ahead. Be advised I will have decorum in these proceedings.”
“I understand, Sir.” She turned to face Jennie. “We tried to get you to understand, the way you treat people would lead you to a bad end. You chose to ignore us. Now your bad end has arrived. I will shed no tears, for I grieved you years ago, when it became clear you had no interest in becoming a decent human being. I sincerely wish we could have gotten through to you, and for that failure, I am sorry. May God have mercy on your soul.” She sat down. Nelly stood. She asked, “May I speak, Captain?”
“You may. You understand I will have you removed, if you cause a disruption?”
“Yes, Sir.” She looked at her Uncle. “Thank you, Uncle Bill, for getting us away from Grandma and Grandpa. We will always be grateful for that. We tried to tell you that the Captain was a good man, and you should do what he wanted you to do.” She turned to me, and asked, “Captain, there is something I need to say, and I don’t know a nice way to put it. Will that be considered being disruptive?”
“No, you are doing very well, so far. I am willing to cut you some slack.”
She turned back to her Uncle. “You wouldn’t listen to us, because you were thinking with the wrong head, and now, the Captain may have to send you for a walk, without a suit. You said you would be here to take care of us, but you threw that away over that woman who wouldn’t even talk to us. Some rescuer you are!” She turned to me, and said, “Thank you, Captain.”
“You’re welcome, young lady. That was nicely done, even if you did need to get a bit crude.”
She sat. I asked, “Anyone else?” No one spoke or stood. I said, “Given the facts, I find I have no choice but to, as Nelly said, ‘Send them for a walk.’ If no one else has anything to present, I will pass judgment at this time.” The room was silent. I said, “I sentence the prisoners to death, by exiting the ship without benefit of suit, to be carried out immediately.” Jennie collapsed, apparently having some sort of fit. Her Grandfather spoke up. “Don’t be fooled, Captain. This is one of her old tricks to get you close enough to hurt you.”
I replied, “Thank you, Sir. Angus, can you see that these two are returned to their Space Force uniforms? They obviously weren’t sincere when they joined up. When you have accomplished that, join us at the airlock.”
Angus said, “Yes, Sir.”
I said, “Court is adjourned to the airlock.” Sally sang out, “All rise!” I left, and people started filing out behind me. I noticed Nelly and Scott walking with Mr. and Mrs. Stone. We got to the airlock, and waited for the prisoners. They arrived, Jennie wearing a nighty-night, and being carried. Bill seemed resolved to his fate. I saw him look at the kids and mouth the words, ‘I’m sorry’. Neither of them seemed to react. Angus was one of the ones carrying Jennie. I asked, “Angus, what is the meaning of this?”
“Sir, she became violent, and we were afraid she would damage herself. We thought this was the expedient solution.”
“Sounds right. Please remove it now.”
He did, and when she came around, she started cussing, and telling us we had no right to do this. I interrupted. “Maritime law gives me every right. You have been convicted of mutiny. May God have mercy on your souls, for I shall not. Angus, put them in the lock.”
I stepped forward and opened the panel that let me override the force field. I opened the outer door, and dropped the force field before Jennie could embarrass herself any more. Once they were clear of the ship, I set the controls back to normal operation. I turned and said, “Court is adjourned. May we never have to do this again.” The crowd began to break up, and I leaned back against the wall, trying to gather myself. I almost didn’t notice Mr. and Mrs. Stone approaching, with Nelly and Scott. I stood up and tried to look respectful. Mr. Stone said, “These youngsters say they miss open sky and fresh air. Would it be alright with you, Captain, if we took them back to the planet with us?”
“I don’t have a problem with that. If any of you find you don’t like the arrangement, feel free to contact me, and we’ll see how we can fix it.”
Scott spoke up. “Captain, we’re sorry we couldn’t get our Uncle to listen to us. We knew he wasn’t thinking right, but we couldn’t get him to see it.” I knelt, to get on eye level with Scott. I said, “Young man, you have nothing to apologize for. You did what you could, but you two are just kids. There are things you can’t fix, and it’s better that you learn that lesson now. No matter how big and strong you get, there will always be things you can’t fix. Your Uncle did what he did, and none of that is on you. Nobody thinks you should have tried harder, or done more. You did the best you could. We’re all sad that things happened the way they did, but it’s n
ot your fault.”
Mrs. Stone said, “Thank you, Captain. Will we be heading back now?”
“I think so, unless there are other things I have to take care of, while I’m here.” Scotti was trying to wait patiently for me to finish. I asked, “What is it, Scotti?”
She stepped up and said, “We think we have a way for you to use the comms without the possibility of being intercepted.”
“How can you make it secure at the comm center?”
“We figured out a way to scramble the signal so the people watching the traffic can’t understand what is being sent.” Then it hit me, the mistake I had made that morning. I said, “Space Cadet, get these folks loaded up, and take them back to the planet. I just figured out what that bad feeling was about this morning. You’re going to have to deal with Mike and Tina by yourself. I need to fly out, right now.” She kissed me, and got her people headed in the right direction. I saw Sally and shouted, “As soon as the Evans is clear of the ship, go to FTL. We’re going to the Navy yard.” I grabbed a transit and headed for the bridge. On the way there, it hit me I had just sent Nikki to the planet, and we would be apart for who knew how long. I deserved it, I was the one who talked about going to the Navy yard on an unsecured comm. Nikki, on the other hand, had done nothing wrong, and my dumbass had spilled over on her. By some miracle, I beat all the regular bridge crew to the bridge. Saucy was at the COB station, and said, “Captain on the bridge.”
I answered, “As you were. Are we secure for FTL?”
Dixie answered from the helm, “Course laid in for the Navy yard, Boss. Warnings issued, going to FTL in 93 seconds.”
“My ship. Gene, how many fighters are ready to scramble?”
“Twenty, Boss.”
“Send them out, with orders to stay and help Morning Flower secure the system.”
“Scrambling, Boss.”
“Dixie, how long will we be in FTL?”
“Fifteen hours, Boss.”
Gene said, “Fighters away, Boss. They are clear of our FTL field, we are go for FTL.”