The Chronicles of Benjamin Jamison: Call Sign Reaper (28 page)

“I don’t think so, General. I see no purpose in it,” he said. Everyone sat very still. The general didn’t react immediately but the admiral did.

“Whether you see a purpose in what I asked or not is not relevant. You will comply or I will have you locked in the brig,” she fired at him, her face getting a little red.

“Admiral! If you want to play a game of who has the biggest balls, rock on,” he said, standing up quickly and startling the three officers in the room. “I’ll play with you.” He reached for his sword and dropped it on the table. He unlatched his belt with his pistol and knife and dropped them on the table. The big broadsword was next and it hit the table, making a very loud racket.

“Major,” he said, “would you make sure my weapons are taken to my quarters please. Captain, would you call the brig and have my new quarters made ready.”

He headed out the door and started walking towards the brig. The admiral must have known about his and Emily’s history. She was playing games, games that had no useful out come to him or Emily or the team.

The general did not look happy, the major thought, but not with Reaper. He was unhappy with the admiral. She wasn’t sure what kind of game was being played, just that there was one in progress.

“Is he always this volatile?” the admiral asked no one in particular. The officers nodded and laughed. “Captain,” she said, “are you going to send a escort with him to the brig?”

“If you order me to I will, but otherwise no. I expect he will be there in a few minutes,” the captain answered. “My NCO on duty will contact me once he is secure.”

“Well, a cooling-off time will do him some good,” the admiral said.

“He won’t be cooling off, admiral, because he is not angry,” the major said. “That was his way of diffusing a situation he didn’t want to be in. In addition, you just locked up a returning hero in the eyes of this ship and the Trillond citizens he saved. When they tell their government you had him locked up, they are going to be asking questions of people much higher in the food chain than you. You know politicians love a hero.”

“What was so important about him taking his helmet off anyway?” the captain asked.

“With all due respect,” the major said, “aside from Emily and yourself, we all know what he looks like and my understanding is he is supposed to be a ghost. Revealing his face to everyone that thinks they can order him to do so is not going to work well for the ones who try or for him.”

“He has arrived at the brig and is secure,” the captain reported to the admiral.

“I must say, General, your briefings are a lot more exciting than mine,” the admiral said in much lighter tone, now that she had had a chance to reflect on what the major and captain had said.

“How long does he have to stay locked up?” the general asked.

“That is up to you,” she answered. “I may have been a bit rash in my decision to push him. The last order of business I have is assigning Emily Brous to your ship on a permanent basis until I need her somewhere else. I think the assignments the general will be sending his team on will provide you with plenty of things to do, Emily.”

The captain and the major looked at each other at the same time.

“General, I need to go, It seems that the team has heard about Reaper and they are at the brig,” the major said.

“Yes, General,” the captain said. “But protesting is not what my men are telling me.”

“Damn, go take care of things,” the general told them “I will contact you later. Grey out.”

The officers got up quickly and hurried down the corridor. They got there just in time. The two parties were still in a stand-off.

“Why is he locked up?” Snake yelled at the two officers. “They’re saying he came voluntarily and put himself in the brig.”

The major, with the sergeant major and Gunny now behind her, confronted the rest of her team.

“Stand down!” she shouted over the yelling. They quieted down but were still tense.

“Now listen up. Reaper had a difference of opinion with an admiral. The admiral threatened to put him in the brig. He voluntarily decided to be locked up. You will apologize to the sailors here in charge of the brig for your behavior, and if you cause another disturbance like this ever again you will be seeing these sailors on a daily basis from behind their bars. Am I clear on this?”

“Yes sir,” they responded. Snake stepped forward and apologized to the staff sergeant in charge and his men. They relaxed and nodded their approval of his apology.

She turned to the sergeant major and Gunny. “Would you take this bunch of misfits and find out if there is anything we can do to help the guests we now have on the ship?” she said. “Captain, do you have any suggestions?”

“I think they should all go volunteer their help to the sergeant of the mess with the food and or the clean-up,” the captain said. “He has a lot of extra work.”

“You heard the captain,” the major said. “Sergeant Major, take our volunteers and make sure they work.”

With that out of the way, the captain and the major entered the brig. They walked in with the thought that Reaper would be in the empty cell, but they didn’t get that far. They stopped and stared in the cell that Lorelei occupied. She had been a model prisoner and the men had given her books and things to read, a chair and foot stool and a curtain to pull across the bars for privacy. Emily had been in to see her a couple of times to get information out of her and she had told her a lot. Reaper was lying on her bed, sleeping or resting they assumed, and Lorelei was sitting in the chair reading. She jumped up and shook him, waking him up.

The captain opened the cell and she and the major stepped in. Reaper didn’t get up.

“Are you okay, Lorelei?” the captain asked. “He didn’t threaten or try to hurt you, did he?”

“No ma’am, he ‘s been very nice,” Lorelei answered. “I was worried when he first walked in but he told me he needed my help.”

“What did he need your help with?” the captain asked.

“He just wanted me to guard him while he slept. He said someone may come and to wake him if anyone showed up.”

“Get up Reaper, it’s time to go,” the major said. “Let’s get your sorry ass cleaned up and fed. All your adoring fans are waiting to see you.”

“And what about you two?” he said, not moving. “Are you two of my adoring fans?” The major said no, and the captain said yes at the same time. They looked at each other.

“I don’t know, Major,” the captain said. “Anyone who gives the director of Military Intelligence a hard time is a star in my book.”

“Or just stupid,” the major responded sourly to the captain’s infatuation with Reaper.

“I’m a fan,” Lorelei said from her chair.

“Thank you Lorelei,” Reaper said kindly to her. The major just looked at her and the captain smiled.

“So this is where the party moved to,” Emily said, walking into the brig. She saw the captain, major, Lorelei and Reaper, who was still lying on Lorelei’s bed.

“Making yourself at home, aren’t you, champ?” she said with her hands on her hips. Reaper knew the tone and the look. He had seen it ever since they were children.

“Emily will be staying with us for a undetermined period of time, Reaper,” the captain told him.

“Great,” he said. “I am sure the ship, team and mission will benefit from having her along.”

“What’s that supposed to mean?” Emily said with a little heat.

“I thought it was a compliment,” he replied.

“Sounded like one to me,” Lorelei said.

“Whatever,” the major said, throwing in her thoughts on the conversation.

Reaper sat up. “Ladies, do you mind if I have a few words in private with Ms. Brous before I walk through the doors a free man?” Eyes rolled. The major decided she wasn’t waiting around.

“I am heading to the mess, so when you’re done with your private conference you can find your team there,” she said.

“Come on, Lorelei, let’s wait outside,” the captain said. Inside she was curious about what was going to happen. She knew the major was jealous. Emily stepped inside the cell as they left of the brig.

“Okay, you got me in here,” she said. “You going to try and use that mojo you’ve been using on these poor women? I have had training to resist things like that.”

He laughed. “Is that what you think I have done?”

“I’ve spent a week with those two women and they are professionals, except when they are around you.”

“They are still professionals, even around me. We just interact differently,” he replied.

“I would say so,” Emily said.

“Well I remember you jumping right in on top of the pile,” he said.

“It looked like they needed help,” she said, smiling. “So what do you want to talk to me about? How to kiss my boss’s ass and get on her good side now?”

“Not really, I don’t really care one way or another about your boss,” he answered. “I understand you’re going to be on our ship for a while. I thought I would get to know you.” He stood up and closed the curtain to Lorelei’s cell.

“Hey buddy, I don’t know what you’re thinking but you are about to make a big mistake,” she said getting nervous.

“Really,” he said. “Just add it to the long list of mistakes I’ve made all my life.”

She took a step back from him. He took his gloves off and unsnapped his helmet. He lifted it off his head and tossed it on the bed. She looked at his face for a second, then another. Then the light went on and she recognized him.

She couldn’t move for a moment. He put his finger to his lips and she nodded, a little of the shock fading. He took her and hugged her tight.

“We can catch up later, okay?” he said. She nodded, on cloud nine. She had just found her best friend again after so many years apart. She left the cell smiling and happy.

Emily went through the brig door with rosy cheeks and a big smile on her face. The captain and Lorelei looked at her but didn’t know what to say.

The two women walked back into the brig and saw the curtain was still half closed. Reaper had put his helmet back on.

“Whatever you just did for her, we want the same,” Lorelei said.

Reaper raised the shield on his helmet and looking at them both said, “I just revealed myself to her,” and winked at them. “Gotta go now,” he said and walked out of the brig.

“He’s a nice guy when he isn’t trying to kill you,” Lorelei said, smiling.

“He is a nice guy. He has simple rules about life,” the captain replied. “It’s a kind of chivalry. He looks at each individual before he judges. If he thought all pirates were bad and needed killing, then we wouldn’t be here talking. You tried to help Natalia. That’s what saved your life.”

“He came into my cell when he could have just used the empty one,” Lorelei said.

“Maybe it was a test of character. I don’t think there was anything you could have done to him and he knew that,” the captain said. “You still have a long road to travel, Lorelei. You’re a pirate. You will probably go to prison or get hard labor on a mining planet.”

“How long do you think I will be onboard?”

“I don’t know,” O’Shaughnesy answered. “It will depend on how fast we get another mission. Your friend saved a teammate and rescued a lot of Trillond and Colonial citizens. They are supposed to get commendations from two governments.”

“Can you give me a job?” Lorelei asked. “I don’t expect anything, I just want to do something useful.”

“Let me talk to my senior staff and legal officer. If I can assign you a work detail as a prisoner then I will consider it.”

“Thank you,” Lorelei said, smiling.

Reaper went to his quarters and found his weapons lying on his bed. He set them on the desk and went to take a shower. He showered, dressed and headed down to the mess. The place was packed and he found his team helping in the kitchen and cleaning tables. He didn’t have his armor on and only a few people recognized him. He thought he might get to sit and eat in peace. He sat next to the major. She just looked at him. It wasn’t the homecoming he was expecting.

“Are you going to talk to me, or should I just go sit somewhere else?”

“Do whatever you want,” she said. “You always do.”

He got up, left his food on the table, walked back to his quarters, locked his door and climbed in bed.

Tomorrow will be another day
,
he thought.
She will get over it or she won’t.

He had gone for years with no real female attention. He bled, fought, sweated and buried friends on shit planets for the marines. It was hard to have something real when that is your life. Now he wasn’t going to play psych games with admirals or take bullshit from generals. He was part owner of a ship. He could quit this shit and set up a real company with Nick. The team could finish their enlistment and come work for him. They could haul cargo and passengers or be mercenaries. Maybe E’Aria would want to resign and come along.

The captain made it to the mess. She thought she would mingle with the people. The crew and the survivors were all sitting around talking. Some were going to make it back to their families, while others weren’t sure what they would do yet. She sat down next to the major. There was a tray of food next to her but no one sitting there.

“Some of them have lost everything,” she said to the major.

“Yes, it’s sad,” the major said.

“They seem to really like your two team members. They can’t stop talking about them,” the captain replied.

“Yeah, so I hear,” the major said.

“You’re real talkative tonight,” the captain said, eyebrows raised.

“Things on my mind, is all.”

“Is that his food?” the captain asked, gesturing to the empty tray. “He didn’t eat much.”

“He didn’t eat at all.”

“You should take it to him.”

“He knows where the mess is,” the major said. “He can get his own food.”

“If this is what he got for a reception then I see why he left,” the captain said. “He has probably missed you the whole time he was gone. Are you going to let some ideal of yours get in your way of doing the right thing?”

“Thanks for the pep talk. I think I’ll be going,” the major said coldly.

“Me too,” the captain replied. “I still have work to do.”

Ben rolled around on his bunk. He couldn’t sleep. He wasn’t sure what he could do to fix things with Andrea. Her biggest problem with him, he thought, was his lack of respect for authority. She represented that authority as well as the other officers. He had to handle things differently. They weren’t going to make it, no matter how they felt, if there was no give and take.

His door cut through his thoughts. He was surprised to see it was the captain. “Enter,” he said.

“You’re in bed early.”

“Yes, just enjoying the peace and quiet.”

“I wanted your opinion on something,” she told him.

“Sure, sit down Captain.”

“Lorelei has asked if I would put her to work on the ship. Do you have any issues with me setting up a prisoner detail and giving her odd jobs?” the captain asked.

“No, Captain, it sounds like a good idea,” Ben replied. “Rotate her around and give your people some additional down time. I think the shit is going to hit the fan soon. That species which is supporting the Allith is going to make up their minds one day whether to get involved or not. If they do, it will test all of the strength of the Alliance Military. No one system will be able to handle them by themselves.”