by Reiter
“Usually the Captain sends someone else to do this sort of thing,” Tiebault commented.
“You still don’t get it, do you?” Jocasta asked.
“Get what?”
“That I’m not like what you think or feel a Captain should be,” Jocasta said as she stopped and turned. Both men stopped and Tiebault noticed that Nulaki was no longer behind them… he was no longer with them at all! When they looked back at Jocasta, she was wearing her goggles. “I’ve also had enough of leaving enemies alive when I’m done with them. It’s two on one. You score a headshot with those puppies, you can still live to see tomorrow. I’ll even let you make the first move.”
“And if we chose not to move at all?” Tiebault teased.
“Then that will be your first and last move.”
Hunro looked at the woman. She had already shot him once and he had not seen her draw then. He knew she was fast, faster than both men combined… even if she chose to shoot Tiebault first, she would still beat Hunro to the shot.
“In case you’re wondering,” Jocasta said, adjusting her gloves, “you’re getting this chance because you inquired about the apology.”
“So you’re just going to cut us down?!” Tiebault snapped.
“That’s the plan, Tiebault. You can stand there, cry, and shit yourselves into the next eternity for all I care. You went against one of mine, and that right I reserve for only two. You ain’t either one of ‘em!”
“But Cutter took us down for that!” Tiebault yelled. “I got whomped good! Now I’m gonna get shot for the same damn thing?!”
“Where was your sense of right and wrong when you put it to the hilt the moment I was out of sight?!” Jocasta asked as her eyes squinted. She tucked her thumbs into the front of her belt and breathed deeply. “I think you’re jawing because you know your shooting’s not going to get you out of this… so you want mercy. And you can’t give me one good reason why I should show you a kindness you didn’t show my crew until a blaster was put to your head. And at that point, I think we both know it’s not kindness! And get it straight; you’re not about to get shot… you’re about to die!”
“Take two steps away, Bone,” Tiebault directed.
“There you go!” Jocasta cheered without raising her voice. “Make it harder for me to nail you both! Sure you don’t want him four steps away? That would just about put me in a crossfire!”
“Take two more,” Tiebault ordered. “I reckon that puts us at a damn near ninety degree pivot.”
“Damn near,” Jocasta agreed as she opened her coat.
“And both your guns draw to the right hand.”
“That they do.” A horn sounded and Jocasta allowed her eyes to look up. “Last ferry’s leaving, boys.”
“You ready, Soft Bone?”
“I’m ready,” the large man said as he breathed in and out through his mouth. “Let’s take this bitch!” Jocasta flashed a smile at Hunro and she stood so that she faced the space midway between the two men.
“Goodbye, boys,” she said with an evil grin. A cold shiver ran over Hunro, but he shook his head clear of it.
“Now!” Tiebault yelled after he started to draw. He was hoping the combination of his action and his words would throw Jocasta off. His pistol had cleared the holster when he screamed in pain, dropping his gun.
Hunro was already yelling, as if he were trying to scare away the fear welling up inside of him. His hand fumbled the grab and he had to make a second attempt. The pistol remained in its holster as he choked.
Both men fell to their knees with throwing daggers in them; Tiebault’s in the genitalia and Hunro’s in the neck. Jocasta slowly let her hands return to her sides before tucking her thumbs into her belt again. She reached for her shoulder holster and pulled the pistol there, thinking of the word ‘photonic’. The gun beeped as her goggles scanned and locked in on two targets. Jocasta walked between the two men – headed for the exit – and fired up toward the ceiling, the energized projectile quickly turned and exploded the moment it made contact with Hunro’s skull.
“I wonder why they called him Soft Bone?” she thought as she fired a second shot ahead and to the right. The round again made a tight turn and sought out its target. Had he been one to take a look, Tiebault would have been able to see through his chest before he died.
Nulaki waited at the door of the manager’s office. He had paid the man for his discretion and the removal of the waste. At five hundred credits a body, the station manager did not really care. The maintenance robots were going to clean it up anyway. Nulaki fell in behind Jocasta as she made her way back to the lander.
“Any chance I can get Z to make me a gun like that?” he asked.
“There’s always a chance,” she replied. “Satithe, what is the location of Siekor?”
“He was watching everything through your uplink,” Satithe reported. “While what happened did not agree with him, his reaction was not emotional. He simply turned off the monitor, said the words ‘idiots’ and reported to the simulator.”
“Good enough, Sati. Thanks.”
“I am happy to be of service to you, Captain.”
“You left your uplink open?” Nulaki asked.
“I’ve got nothing to hide,” Jocasta replied as her brace-com beeped. “That would be Z. Go ahead, big guy.”
“Captain, are you all right?” Dungias asked. “I am reading a loss of signal from Tiebault and Hunro!”
“I’m fine, and there’s nothing to transmit. You should have saved the transmitters.”
“They would have degraded in a week, Captain,” Dungias advised.
“Let me guess, something you put together from the plants, right?”
“Very good, Captain,” Dungias answered. “The last ferry has just arrived and I will oversee the transfer of materials.”
“No lip from Z?!” Jocasta said, lowering her brace-com. “There went the last chance for doubt!”
By the time the shuttle was locked down, her First Mate reported that the ferry was pulling away. Jocasta had requested that Agatha, Marlene and Siekor meet her in the hangar. When she stepped off the shuttle, two of the three looked genuinely hopeful and glad to see her. Siekor was going to need some lessons on how to fake it.
“It didn’t work out,” Jocasta said as she hit the button to close the door of the shuttle.
“What do you mean?” Agatha asked. Marlene looked down and Siekor noticed how quickly the gunner had caught on.
“The biggest headache I’ve got right now is an Inner Rim family with Imperial influence that keeps dodging the kill shot,” Jocasta reported. “Now, we left a bomb with them the last time we locked horns, but with a Chevalier on their side, teleportation is too much a possibility. No word’s come from the Inner Rim on the passing of a high mucky-muck family, so I’m voting that they somehow pulled it out... again. I don’t need to add to the number of enemies left in my wake.”
“You just… killed them?” Agatha pressed.
“Let it go, Aggie,” Marlene suggested.
“It was two on one, and they had the first move,” Jocasta said. “They lost.”
“I’m sure it was a fair fight,” Siekor commented.
“Interesting choice of words,” Jocasta thought. “He hasn’t told them he was watching the whole thing. Is he covering for me?!”
“I can’t even say that I disagree with your position, Captain,” he continued. “‘If you’re not going to go in, don’t throw in’ is what our former ship’s commander used to say.” Siekor lifted his head and looked at Jocasta. “Might we have a moment?” he asked, motioning toward himself, Agatha and Marlene.
“Take your time,” Jocasta replied as she started out of the room. “It’s two weeks to Black Gate. If you want time off from training, just advise Cutter.”
“That won’t be necessary!” Agatha quickly said. “But thank you anyway, Captain.”
Jocasta gave a two-fingered salute as she walked out of the hangar. When the doors close
d behind her she stopped, closed her eyes, and let the moment fall away from her. Part of Beta-Alphexeous’ training again: the ability to step back from the moment and understand it. Emotions be damned, as they tended to clog up thought processes. She sighed as she still could not come up with a reason to have allowed two able-bodied men to develop a fire for revenge and come after her ship and her crew.
“They could have chased me to hell and back for all I care,” she thought. “But I’m not about to leave my ship and my crew vulnerable to the back door of vengeance if I have the chance to stop it.
“If that’s your understanding, kid,” she said, repeating the mantra for the lesson, “then close your eyes and take a psychic shower. Rinse and move on! Satithe, zero surveillance on those three until they re-engage with their training.”
“Are you sure that is wise, Captain?”
“Shit no!” Jocasta answered as she walked for her room. “But we can’t leave every action we take to the category of wise, Sati. Adventurous is hardly ever wise. Death-defying is never wise. If you never take a walk on the wild side, what’s the point of walking at all?”
Over the next twelve days, the remaining hopefuls started to come together with the crew. Siekor outshined both Agatha and Marlene during the training classes. He was like a man possessed during instruction, and everyone’s middle brother, thus easily overlooked, the moment class was dismissed. Dungias provided Jocasta with the easily-gathered files on all three hopefuls, and she was impressed by what she found. While Siekor was not the best in any one particular category, he placed in the higher echelon in every field. Jocasta told Annsura and Dungias that she was most pleased with the way the crew was being whipped into shape.
Hoping to cement the morale of the crew, Jocasta gave the order to have something of a feast before putting into Black Gate. With Nulaki’s soup leading the event, it was a very fine affair and crewman sat across from crewman, drinking, eating and laughing together. Dungias was the only exception to that description, but after his departure he became fair game. Jocasta thought she might pass out from laughter at Llaz’s impersonation of her First Mate. He did not have the girth, but he had the voice and every bit of the mannerisms as he proceeded to give Annsura and Olkin instruction on how to engage in proper coitus. The line of, ‘I am called Z because I never finish first,’ knocked Jocasta from her chair and she was not alone. Cackling about on the floor, trying to see through tears, she looked up to see that the first hand offered to her belonged to Siekor. She took it, and once back to her feet, the crew toasted Llaz for his talent.
“Adleon,” Jocasta called out as things started to settle. “Walk with me, please.” Jocasta made her dismount from the event. “Everyone is off the clock tomorrow to recover from tonight. Let’s make it worth that much recovery time!” A few cheers escorted Jocasta to the door and into the corridor. She waited for Adleon who was also having a pretty good time.
“Sorry to pull you away from the event, Adleon,” she said softly as she started to walk.
“In truth I should be thanking you,” the young Gallant replied. “I think Marlene has intentions with me tonight. This gives me a credible reason to deny her advances. And before you ask, I am saying no because I want to say no.”
“Good enough for me,” Jocasta smiled. “She doesn’t seem to be your type anyway.”
“Another point upon which we agree, Captain,” he replied. “Though I believe it will be academic once we reach Black Gate. That is where you are planning to cut me loose, yes?”
Jocasta stopped and lowered her head. “No, that is not my plan. My plan is to set you free. You’re no pirate, Adleon, and you have no wish to be a member of my crew.”
“Is it so obvious?”
Jocasta stuffed her hand into her pants pockets and started walking again. “Look, I appreciate you helping out with Tuitonn and the swordsmanship lessons with the crew. It’s just very clear to me that your heart and head are trekking another path. I promise you that your departure will not be anything like Tiebault and Hunro’s.”
“I and my life ambitions appreciate that, Captain.”
“And who knows… maybe somewhere down the line I’ll have the privilege of being chased by a real Chevalier!”
“A real Temple Chevalier would never chase you, JoJo Starblazer,” Adleon admitted. “There’s no way to win, chasing you!”
“You need to get to wherever it is you’re going and start shouting that from the rooftops!” Both of them laughed for a few strides.
“You want to know what I found digging around in Tuitonn, don’t you?” Adleon asked.
“It’s not like you’re coming to me with your findings,” Jocasta pointed out.
“Excuse me, Captain,” Dungias interrupted, carrying a rather large crate that was a bit awkward for him to carry. Both Jocasta and Adleon had to move quickly to keep him from falling over them.
“Maybe you should have one of the drones help you, Z!” Jocasta stressed.
“This is a personal matter, Captain,” Dungias said. “Believe me, I can manage.” He huffed his way around the corner and down the hallway.
“Everyone is at a feast celebrating, and he is working,” Adleon remarked.
“That’s Z for you.”
“Yes I suppose it is,” Adleon agreed. “Is there a place where we could talk about what I’ve found?”
“My Ready Room should do the trick.”
The doors to the storage chamber opened and Jocasta walked into the room with Adleon following behind. “Satithe, lights.” The chamber lights came up and Jocasta walked directly over to Tuitonn’s holding bin. She grabbed a crate, positioned it in front of the bin and sat down.
“Out with it!” she demanded, glaring at the orb.
“Out with what, Captain?” Tuitonn asked.
“Little glow-ball, I’m armed. It’s long on range and I’m short on patience.” A flare of light came from the orb and Adleon’s face lost all expression… as if his mind had simply been turned off. “Oh hell!”
“Do you like what I’ve done with him?!” Tuitonn asked, glowing with excitement. “Surely he is more than the naïve young Gallant you took under your wing!”
“Keep going, Tuitonn.”
“I believe that with some meditation, he will be able to find the post-hypnotic suggestion and remove it. After all, he put it there himself,” Tuitonn stated.
“What suggestion?” Jocasta inquired, beginning to rub her temples.
“That he must question everything!” Tuitonn answered. “Not just the beliefs of the Temple, but everything! He will investigate every nuance of existence he comes in contact with for the rest of his life. He will accept nothing at face value any longer. I have improved him for you!”
Jocasta closed her eyes and cringed in sympathetic pain. “Tuitonn, I didn’t ask you to change anyone. And how did you manage that trick anyway?”
“In the simplest terms, I erected a mirror to his probing efforts,” Tuitonn explained. “I altered the images his mind perceived, the look of things as it were, so that it appeared he was in my mind, when in fact, he was in his own.
“What?!” she exclaimed, lowering her face into her hands. “That’s one serious mind fuck, T-Ball! Do you mean to say, that for every door he thought he was opening in you, he was actually opening a door in his own mind?”
“Which means he has come to know quite a bit about himself in the past few days,” Tuitonn pointed out. “Once his mind is truly clear, he will realize that the wondrous things he reported to you as chambers inside me were truly chambers in his own mind. It will take some time, but that realization, along with what he and I have been discussing, and Adleon will find himself well on the way to creating a system of beliefs worthy of his sense of loyalty.”
“Is there a short version of what you two have been talking about?” Jocasta asked.
“While we were on Gulmurr, he used ThoughtWill to touch the effects of MajiK,” Tuitonn explained. “He wanted to know if
the same could be done with other energies. In effect, he will try to develop a means by which ThoughtWill can cast spells and evoke nuclear energies. It is not exactly what you wanted, or what Zeu Rex practiced, but it is a very strong beginning.”
“Son-of-a-bitch,” Jocasta smiled.
“What is it, Captain?”
“Oh, nothing, Tuitonn,” Jocasta giggled. “I guess you could just say that I’m feeling a slight southern charm comin’ over me! I do declare, what I would not do for a Mint Julep on this here pahticulah occasion!” The orb of ThoughtWill completely understood the reference of the change in Jocasta’s voice or demeanor, and it would not argue her perspective.
“You are certainly enjoying yourself, Captain,” Tuitonn stated.
“I’ve got to!” Jocasta huffed as she stood up. “One, set things right with Adleon and make it quick! Two, if you and I are going to share the same space, do not assume what I want you to do when it comes to someone else’s mind. We’ll work out a code or something.”
“Does this mean you will allow me to stay?”
“Personally, T-Ball, I don’t much like the idea of letting you out of my sight! But I’m not in a frame of mind to plug you either so… welcome aboard. Satithe, release Tuitonn, but let’s keep a monitor on him for the duration. He can interact with the crew, but any unsolicited application of ThoughtWill will result in alarms and interior defenses frying his ass. Understood?”
“Very much so, Captain,” Satithe replied.
“You read me?” Jocasta said, pointing at Tuitonn.
“You were clear on every point, Captain.”
“Good. Well, after you fix Adleon you might as well float on down and have some fun. Things’ll turn a helluva lot more serious once we reach Black Gate.”