by Reiter
It had been a grueling thirty-two days; the crew eventually came to the conclusion that the Malgovi had no concept of the weekend, and they had come to hate the sound of his name and voice. Z had been relentless, and had driven them so hard that Pristacia had posed the question of whether they would have been better off as slaves. But Pristacia could do pull ups now, at least five, and she was by far the weakest of the group. She wore dark brown leather and a yellow faux-skirt with matching leggings and over-the-knee dark brown leather boots.
“It’s not even Entyar anymore,” she said, adjusting her weapons belt. “Christmas was last month. But it sure makes a body happy that we were here when it came!”
“Does the man sleep?” Llaz asked, looking at himself and his crewmates. He really liked the two-gun rig Dungias had given him. More than that, he appreciated the subtle gray and black of his clothing. It was a nice contrast to his white hair and light brown eyes.
“Sleep is overrated,” Annsura thought, checking her med-kit for the addition of a vial she had been told would be there. “Sleep is where you find dreams; the good ones… and the bad.” On several occasions during her training, violent dreams had interrupted her sleep-cycles. They were memories of her fights in the pit and the many kills she had made. On the more tumultuous recollection she had been awakened by the First Mate.
“Eventually, you will need to resolve this,” he had said before giving her a vial of purple liquid. Three drops would allow her to sleep peacefully, but never so deeply that she could not hear the comings and goings of her fellow crewmembers. Annsura was relieved to see a full vial in her kit.
“If he does sleep, he does it standing up at a workbench,” Mel said, leaning back in his new hoverchair, tugging on the sleeve of his khaki jacket. His pants were of the same material. The form-fitting dark brown shirt felt like a second layer of body armour.
“He better not!” Silnee quickly added as the doors to the War Room opened. “He’s had us on full shifts with four-hour sleep periods for the past three weeks!”
“Not to put too fine a point on it,” Nulaki said as he walked in with his protégé Dugger in tow, “all of you needed it. Also, don’t go thinking you’re ready for the Rims. You may be armed for a calamity, but right now, you know just enough to get yourselves into some real trouble! So keep your heads and your attitudes low.”
“It would seem that wisdom is indeed universal,” Dungias said as he walked into the room. “Fine words, Mr. Conadier, and I agree with your assessment. I can say that no one here has failed their training just as easily as I can say none of you have completed your training. Be that as it may, the Captain is going to make landfall in the Gulmar System. That which passes for law enforcement in this system will be boarding the ship at Portcullis Station. They will scan the ship to assess our technological capability. The scans they will make will be erroneous, but I doubt they will simply be using machines. Therefore, all of you will be required to wear your goggles, in some fashion, at all times until otherwise notified.
“Does that mean we have to wear them to bed?” Llaz asked.
“No, he doesn’t mean the all times when you’re asleep, Llaz,” Olkin remarked. “That’s outside of ‘all times’.”
“One can hardly expect one to learn if they are so grievously chastised for an errant thought,” Dungias said, lifting his hand to get Olkin to stop. “It would have been easier for you to simply say, ‘did he not say all times’ and allow Llaz to focus on the words he had already received.”
“Wow!” Nulaki thought. “You gotta love how he just slipped in lessons on teaching, leading and recognizing that all Kot stinks all in one fell swoop! I wonder if these greeners are sharp enough to catch it.”
“Suffice to say that we are all extensions of our thoughts and beliefs,” Dungias continued, choosing to stir things inside of Nulaki’s somewhat open mind. “Just like the blades you have been issued, we are all training and forever sharpening our edges. What you are not sharp enough for today, you may find within your realm of possibility tomorrow. No one blade is greater than any other… it all comes down to how they are applied.
“Silnee,” Dungias called and she promptly stepped forward. It was easy to see she loved the sky blue leather she had been given to wear and was eager to impress Z and the Captain. “Your pirate name is Tolip.”
“Aye, sir,” Silnee replied, masking quite well her distaste for the name.
“Make preparations then, Tolip. You will find the lander-shuttle in Upper Hangar.”
Silnee looked around and desperately did not want to make a Llaz mistake. “Excuse me sir, but I don’t understand what you mean.”
“I am sorry, I have never made that assignment before, have I?”
“No sir.”
“Once the screening has been completed and the ship is allowed into Gulmar space, you will go to the hangar and make the shuttle ready for departure. That is the customary duty of the pilot of the ship.” Dungias looked down at his computer board but he could feel the light coming from the young woman as a smile of surprise formed on her face. Mel reached up and patted her left arm congratulating her, but it also served to bring her back to the moment.
“Aye sir,” she said in an airy breath. “Thank you for explaining that. I’ll see to it immediately after the screening.”
“Very good, Tolip,” Dungias said. “Annsura, your pirate name is Cutter.” Silnee looked to her right and smiled at the young woman.
It had been an interesting time between the four of them. To say that the relationship had been immediately made harmonious would be a flight of fancy, if not an out-and-out lie! Annsura had made her approach to the other three, but it had only yielded a second brawl, one where Annsura had remembered not to take them too lightly. She had wound up having to drag all three of them to the infirmary, whereupon Z had placed them in regenerators and squared off against Annsura before stuffing her in the fourth and final unit.
The First Mate had taken it upon himself to remedy the matter, and after eleven days of grueling training, he had taken them as they slept and put them each into a simulation. He had had to use gravity fields for Mel and Annsura as there were only two actual simulators; he had scheduled the drones to install six other units during the Away Mission. He had then initiated a scenario which had made it appear that the ship had been attacked and crash-landed on a planet. The environment had been anything but hospitable to human life, and the four had only each other to depend on. While they had tried to focus on their anger and started in-fighting, Dungias had simply cued the appearance of the next hostile creature. Eventually, with the running and the fighting, the liability of Mel’s legs had become something that could no longer be ignored. Following the impulse he had felt from the Stars, Dungias then had the ground give from beneath the group. Annsura had risked her life to save Mel’s and the seed of change had been planted. When they were removed from the scenario, Annsura and Silnee had been keeping watch over the boys as they slept. It was then Annsura had shared her history, finding a very sympathetic friend in Silnee. There was, of course, quite a bit of resentment in realizing they had been duped, but Dungias could not be bothered with such sentiments. Giving them a single enemy to hate had been a tool which had brought them together.
“Aye, sir,” Annsura replied, failing at her attempts to suppress her smile.
“Should there be a break in ranks, you will be in charge until either the Captain or I arrive.”
“Understood, sir!”
“Hey, what about Nulaki?” Dugger raised his voice and stepped forward. It might have been the black clothes he was wearing… or something else that had been brewing for some time… even before the young hopeful had come aboard the Xara-Mansura. Either way, it had remained dormant until now.
“Easy, kid” Nulaki whispered, tapping his student’s shoulder.
“I said, what about Nulaki?!”
Dungias lowered his computer board and set his gold eyes on the young man, Ephaliun
T’Moojhun. Per Nulaki’s request, some of Ephaliun’s training had been separate from the young man’s fellow hopefuls. Dungias knew Nulaki was trying to establish a bond with the young man and he also understood the potential easily seen in him. None of that allowed for a break in discipline.
“Your training has been different from the others, Ephaliun,” Dungias stated. “Therefore, it is easy enough to conclude some things have been missed. Mr. Conadier has proven a very capable operative, but perhaps a questionable instructor.” Without touching Alpha, Dungias focused a low level gravity field around Dugger and he came away from the floor. The young man cried out as he tumbled out of control. “In pirate terms… actually in many social settings, you would be considered high-strung. Currently, I am without any suitable string. It is my most sincere hope that this suffices.”
“Oh Kot!” Olkin muttered.
“He brought it on himself,” Annsura was quick to counter at the same volume. “A little over a month ago we were wondering where our next beating was coming from. Now we’re free and decked out in new clothes, body armour and energy weapons! Talking about biting the hand that fed him!”
“Okay, when you say it like that… out loud and all… yeah, that’s pretty damn stupid!”
“Better be glad he did it with Z,” Mel added. “Imagine what the Captain would’ve done to him!” Everyone in the line winced in sympathetic pain imagining the proposed interaction.
“Satithe, if you please,” Dungias said softly. The ceiling panel opened as the ventilator fans increased in speed. “Thank you.”
“My absolute pleasure,” Satithe replied.
Dungias suppressed a smile. He would have to address her cold tone at some later date and congratulate Satithe on her timing and application. He looked up at the young man as he continued to ascend. Forgetting every bit of his zero-gravity training, Ephaliun kicked and screamed as he looked up at the massive fans that were beginning to steam with the speed they had attained.
“Oh, Satithe, you test even my limits,” Dungias thought, biting the inside of his mouth to keep from smiling.
“I am confused, Mr. Dugger. You address me as if you are my superior… of a higher standing than mine. But it would appear that the actual positioning does not agree with you.”
“No sir!” the young man shouted. “I am not your superior, sir! I swear I’m not!”
“You are certain of this?” Dungias pressed, sounding genuinely inquisitive.
“Gods, yes!”
“Then I suppose it is your order that I lower you back to the floor,” Dungias stated.
“Yes sir,” Ephaliun yelled before realizing what he had said. He was now a good twelve meters above the floor with another three before he would meet with a very painful reception. “I mean, no sir! I mean, it isn’t a order, sir.”
“You mean an order,” Dungias corrected.
“It’s a fucking request!” Dugger screamed. “Please let me down, sir!”
“Since you said please,” Dungias said and Ephaliun’s body dropped. Nulaki winced and Pristacia gasped. His body stopped five centimeters from the ground and remained there for a moment as Dungias approached. Ephaliun was then levitated so that he could look into the eyes of the First Mate. “Without making commentary regarding the demonstration of your zero-gravity training, I have been informed that you have received a very passionate initiation into the skills of acrobatics. Do you know the limitation to acrobatics, Mr. T’Moojhun? You need gravity to make it worthwhile! Do not, ever again, force me to make you worthless.” Ephaliun started to answer, but his words slurred into a short yelp of astonishment as he was dropped to the floor.
“Look to your brace-coms for your assignments,” Dungias directed as he exited the War Room. “Please let me know if there is anything wrong with the fit of your clothing or the feel of your tools and or weaponry. I cannot adjust what I do not know requires adjustment.”
“Thanks, Dugger,” Llaz said, helping the hopeful off the ground. “For a minute there I thought I was going to be the dumbest guy in the room. Questioning Z? After all this time?! That was by far the dumbest thing I’ve ever seen.”
“Dumber than Broggyn?” Pristacia suggested.
“Broggyn had no clue what he was getting into,” Llaz remarked. “We’ve had training time with the man! He was always stretching before we got to the room and then he makes this stuff after we file out. I don’t think the IA has it this good! You take that level of brains and put that body under it… that spells no mess with to me!”
“And still he follows JoJo,” Pristacia added.
“Don’t let those blue eyes fool you,” Annsura quickly responded. “I was raised in a fighting pit, and even my teachers didn’t have hands as fast as hers! Put those two in a room together… I really don’t care who’s on the other side; my money’s on the Captain and Z.”
Nulaki folded his arms as the young crew filed out of the room. Even Ephaliun had forgotten his dojo master was still in the War Room, but it was no matter. Nulaki was not training the boy to be a thief or a fighter. As he had told JoJo, he needed a driver and a pilot. The other skills were for the situations where he might be caught outside of a vehicle. But it was the camaraderie he saw developing which had his attention, and even more importantly, what the hopefuls thought of their Captain.
“And so it begins!”
Do not share all that you know, and do not expect that all has been shared with you! Anticipation is a useful tool, but not so potent as realization.
Queen Galvasti Thuuna BaKedia
(Rims Time: XII-4201.22)
The shuttle rocketed away from the Xara-Mansura as the bay doors closed. Satithe made a ship-wide sweep with her internal sensors. Aside from the module left behind by the officials that had boarded the ship to gauge its technological ability, she was quite alone aboard the ship. The module had been, by suspected design, placed in a position where it would not be readily seen and made intermittent sensor sweeps, transmitting its findings back to Portcullis Station. CK had altered Dungias’ standing order and instead of hiding everything on board the ship from the module, it was simpler to close the ship off around it and fake its transmission. Such a ruse also allowed CK his own away-mission, broadcasting himself within the message and into the systems of the gateway station of the Gulmar System.
Dungias remained silent, though he would have preferred to have his Vi-Prin at his side at the moment. While the Star Chaser was able to detect and defend himself against ThoughtWill, he was not a practiced Telepath. He could engage in mind-to-mind communication and even read the unprotected thoughts of others, but what he felt was a veiled presence, barely noticeable at all. It could have been a scanning exercise, given that the technological capabilities of the Brigade – the given name of the militia dedicated to the protection of the Gulmar System – were sorely limited.
“It could be,” Dungias thought, taking steps to ensure his concerns did not show on his face or in his eyes. “… but I do not believe–”
“So, you can speak of your beliefs again,” Cihpares projected. “That is good.” Dungias was seated with his back facing the port wall of the shuttle, opposite the starboard door. In the middle of the door was a portal, and in the distance Dungias could see a single star flaring brighter than the others.
“It is not like you to be so… theatrical,” Dungias thought.
“No, Star Chaser,” Elbon announced himself. “That she leaves to me!” The star flared again and Dungias deliberately kept the smile away from his face.
“Our visitation must be brief,” Cihpares projected. “… but your awareness has made it quite necessary. Suffice to say that you are not in error with what you feel, and you already know it is not passive ThoughtWill. The real question, Star Chaser, is whether or not you should act. Often it is considered wise to let your opponent move first.”
“So there is an opponent involved,” Dungias concluded.
“Darling Traveler, even when you are alon
e, there is an opponent; it just happens to resemble you!” The star dimmed and Dungias could feel their combined presence slowly depart from him. He breathed in deeply and steadied himself. This was not going to be a boring landing.
“You all right up there, Tolip?” Jocasta asked, stepping up to the rear of the elevated seat of the cockpit.
“Doing just fine, Captain,” Silnee answered. The smile was still very clear in her voice. “We have clearance all the way to Oasis City’s Southside Spaceport. I’ve received my third warning telling me what happens if we diverge from the given course.”
“Feel like giving their fighter squadrons a run for their money?” Jocasta suggested.
“Just give the word, Captain!” Silnee exclaimed and Jocasta chuckled as she headed out of the cockpit.
“Was that the response you were hoping for?” Dungias asked.
“It’s the response she needed to give if she wants to keep driving me around,” Jocasta said as she sat down beside her First Mate. “One thing I cannot abide is a pilot with an over-developed sense of reservation.”
“I see.”
“It’s not natural, is all,” she continued. “Piloting and reservations… makes no damn sense whatsoever.”
“Hey guys!” Olkin called out. “Over here! I can see the planet!” Most of the hopefuls crowded at the window to get a peek at what Olkin was talking about, and Jocasta looked at Dungias.
“Tell me again why it’s a good idea to bring them along,” Jocasta requested.
“Oh, it is most assuredly not a good idea,” Dungias replied. “But most certainly your idea.”
“Right. I just remembered that,” Jocasta said, swallowing hard. “Well, they don’t get experience until they get experience. We either pin a medal or a flower on the chest. Either way, we celebrate and move on.” Jocasta patted Z’s leg as she got up. There was something she needed to handle and she had spent too much time in the simulator to address it before they left.