The Chronicles of Benjamin Jamison: Call Sign Reaper (32 page)

“I sent it with the shuttle pilot to the captain of the Allond ship as a gift. It seemed to fit him well during our fight.”

“What fight?” The major asked. “When were you fighting? I can’t send you anywhere without some kind of mayhem taking place. You were supposed to be having dinner and representing the Alliance as a diplomat with a new species. Somebody please tell me what happened.”

Reaper just stood silently. He would let someone else explain. He sat down and leaned his head back with his eyes closed.

They all started talking at once and were none too happy at being accused of starting trouble. The major looked at them and said, “I didn’t think any of you started anything. I was mainly talking about him.” She motioned with her head towards Reaper.

Emily spoke up. “Why do you think he is to blame?” She looked at the rest of the team. “Did he start anything or act in way that was demeaning of the Alliance?” she asked.

“Not at all,” Commander Holmes said.

“No, Major, Reaper handled the Allond with respect and identified and understood the test they put us through,”
Kim added. “If anything, we earned their respect and demonstrated a number of things to them.”

The major looked back to Emily then at Lieutenant Aok. A voice entered her head.
You are wrong to accuse him. Debrief everyone and make your determination after that.

Aok spoke. “Reaper represented the Alliance with honor, Major,” she said.

She looked back over to Reaper. He hadn’t moved or said anything.

“I am sorry, Reaper, for jumping to conclusions.” He didn’t reply or move. She stepped over and hit a button on his helmet and his visor moved up out of the way. Everyone heard snoring. There were snorts and laughter, but it stopped abruptly as the major turned and stared everyone down. She turned back and shut the visor.

She had Chavez notify the captain that everyone was aboard and that they would stick to the shuttle and rendezvous with the Warhammer in 10 minutes.

Emily sat on one side of Reaper with Lieutenant Aok on the other. Emily pushed the button on his helmet again. He was still sawing logs.

“Why did you do that?” the lieutenant asked.

“It makes me feel safe,” Emily said. “If this man can sleep while we fly into a space battle, he must not be worried at all.”

“Maybe he is too tired to care,” the lieutenant replied.

“No matter how tired he is, Lieutenant Aok, he will always care.”

“This is going to be a short battle,” Commander Holmes added. “None of the Allith ships have anything in the way of real fire power. I bet they will run once the Warhammer joins the Allond battle cruiser.”

“You’re right, commander,” the major walked back in. “They are already running and the Warhammer isn’t even there yet. There is quite a bit of wreckage floating out there. The battle cruiser is moving this way so the shuttle doesn’t have to navigate through it.”

“When is that battle group supposed to be here? We need to let them know not to come in hot.” Sgt. Major Kim directed his comment to the major.

“I agree,” she replied. “Did the Allond say when they were leaving the system?”

“No, but I think it will be very soon. They have no purpose here now that the Allith have turned on them,” Emily said.

“The shuttle has safely arrived at the battle cruiser, Major. I am heading for the Warhammer. We should be docked in about five minutes. Your team can stand down,” Chavez announced.

The lieutenant woke Reaper up when the gunship was docked and everyone was ready to go. He yawned and said he was going to finish what he started and no one had better wake him up. Everyone exited the ship and Reaper went last. He was hoping they had all walked on ahead.

He found nine people waiting on him. “Get your ass moving,” the major said, “we have things to do.

“I have to go to sleep at least for three hours, Major,” he told her. “Any of the team who wants to put in a report now can do so. Start with Emily and the commander. They both had good observer positions. The rest of us were a little bit busier.” He knew he could stay up for hours, but after everything he just wanted to lie down. She was ever the officer and he knew she had a job to do. They all made their way towards the conference room.

The major wanted to get a report to the general as soon as possible. She had the commander do a vid and then Emily. The sergeant major and the lieutenant were next. In the three hours they were gone they hadn’t seen much in the way of technology, but they had interacted well with the Allond. It was a good team. All were very smart and alert to what was going on around them.

The major transmitted the four reports she had to the general, along with a report from herself about the short skirmish with the Allith and the escort of the Allond shuttle. The captain took the commander to get her own debrief from him and Emily was waiting for a vid-com with the admiral. There was only one individual not participating and she was on her way to see him. She didn’t care about how much sleep he wanted. Everyone else was finished for now.

She stood at his door waiting for him to answer. She would give him a few more seconds then she was going in.

The captain walked out of her state room with the commander. She had finished her debrief. She saw the major down the corridor waiting at Reaper’s door and walked down to join her.

“He the only one left to give a report?” she asked.

“Yes,” the major answered, “and I am sure the general and probably the admiral will be looking to talk to us sometime soon.”

“Is he not answering the door?” the captain frowned.

“No, I think he is ignoring me.”

The captain punched her override code in and they walked in. They both could see he wasn’t in bed and they didn’t hear anything. The major was just about to suggest sending him a com when the door to the bathroom opened and he walked out. He was totally naked and had been in the shower. He had a towel draped over his head, drying his hair. His head was down and his eyes closed. He raised his head and shook it rapidly back and forth and when he stopped he opened his eyes.

No one said anything at first.

“Captain, Major, nice of you to drop in.” He started toweling off the rest of his body. He didn’t try to cover himself. “If you are here to arrest me, you can clearly see I have no weapons hidden anywhere.”

He threw the towel at the major. “Dry my back while you’re just standing there gawking.” She threw it back at him.

“Cover yourself up now!” she yelled.

“Andrea, dear, you are such a party pooper,” the captain said, turning to leave. “Nice seeing you, Reaper. I am never disappointed in our meetings.”

He had been getting clean clothes out and mostly ignoring both of them.

“I aim to please, Captain. Good to see you too.” She left and he turned to the major.

“Don’t you say a fucking word. I didn’t know you two had let yourselves in my quarters. I was cleaning up to come and see you to make my report. I knew you would be done with everyone else by now.”

“You know you could have made your report then gone to your quarters and this would have never happened,” she fired back.

“You know as well as I do it’s not about the report. You’re bent over the captain getting an eyeful and that is not my fault.”

“Just finish getting dressed and let’s get this over with.”

They made their way to the conference room. The major sat at the other end of the table while Reaper made his five-minute vid report. He knew the general would be asking him questions regardless of how much he recorded.

“That was quick,” the major said.

“I’m sure the others gave very detailed accounts of what happened,” he replied.

“You’re the team leader, and your report is the most important.”

“I think the team provided great intel already,” he said, beginning to get cross, “and I was busy part of the time trying to keep my people and myself alive. What part of that don’t you understand? I don’t think you understand that I don’t care what they think of me. Are we done here?”

“You can leave,” she said.

“Good! You can handle the general and admiral when the time comes without me, right?”

“I did before you came along and can now,” she yelled. “You think I can’t do this without you?”

“Nope, glad you can.”

He almost ran over the captain on his way out.

The captain knew they had been arguing again. “That was quick,” she said to Andrea.

“What was quick?” the major hissed, still ready to fight with someone.

“His debriefing and report. I saw you two walk in here about ten minutes ago.”

“His report is about five minutes long and he doesn’t give a fuck about anybody,” Andrea replied. “Does that sum it up for you, Captain? I’m sure you’re going to take his side, so let’s just end this conversation right now.”

“Whatever you say, Major. We have a vid-com in 15 minutes. You might want to get yourself together. Your team did a great job. Your whole team, Major — try looking at it that way for the next few minutes.”

The captain left the conference room and headed for the bridge for the next 15 minutes.

Back in the conference room, a message came through that the prime minister and his captain were requesting a com with Reaper. O’Shaughnessy called him back up.

Reaper headed down the corridor past the conference room to the bridge. The major was leaving and saw him walk into the bridge. She decided to see what was going on. She walked in to see the prime minister on the vid-com.

“Reaper,” the prime minister said, “we are leaving this system and heading back to our capital. I have already made my report to His Highness and he agrees we should return. We should be through interrogating the prisoners by the time we pass near Hyson. We are going to be leaving a pod with a beacon for you with our findings in orbit around Hyson. We will transmit the frequency to your captain that it is broadcasting on. In addition to the information we obtain, there will be a gift for you in the pod. Our God King had intended for it to go to an individual who showed courage and strength above all others. He now knows that it is going to just such a person.”

“Thank you, Prime Minister,” Ben replied, “for your words of praise. Please convey my thanks to your God King for his gift. If you ever need me, you can reach me through Captain O’Shaughnessy. She will be able to track me down.”

“One last thing,” the prime minister added, “Captain Dakkon wishes to speak to you.” The face on the screen changed.

“Captain, good to see you again,” Reaper said

“I wanted to thank you,” the captain said. “It is good when two warriors can stand side by side and fight against a larger force and be victorious. No lasers or blasters, just our wits and a sharp blade. My brother the prime minister will be cross with me, but I wanted to warn you so you and your people could begin preparing immediately. We do not have confirmation yet but we feel the Allith have reached out to the Cjittan. They are an alliance of insectoids. They are the plague of every galaxy. They will go through devastating every planet they find with life on it. I wouldn’t pass this information to you if I didn’t feel strongly about it. There are not many powers beyond your galaxy that we are not aware of. The Cjittan would be the ones the Allith would contact. The fools have no idea that even they will not be safe when they come.”

“Thank you, Captain. I hope the prime minister is not cross. Regardless of the species, what do you think the odds are that some species will show up?”

“We feel it is very good odds that you will have an invading force in the near future,” the captain replied.

“That is enough, just knowing that,” Ben said. “Is there any chance that His Highness might have a couple of those battle cruisers sitting around with a bored crew who would like to see some action?”

The captain actually laughed. “You are a bold human, Reaper. Maybe my brother can find an opportune time to ask for you.”

“That is more than we could hope for. Safe travels, Captain.”

“Safe travels to you and your crew, Reaper.” The captain cut the vid off.

Ben had a whole bridge full of people looking at him. Some had walked in behind him — the major and Emily.

The major was thinking. Emily was smiling and so was the captain. She looked at Reaper and asked, “What are your orders, oh mighty one?”

“Bring me food and wine, wench,” Reaper joked. He had been sitting in the captain’s chair while she was standing next to it during the conversation with the Allond. He looked up at her and smiled. Her crew heard a smack and an “ouch.”

“Get out of my chair, Mr. Ambassador.” The crew heard her laugh.

“The rest of you better never think about doing anything like that,” O’Shaughnessy warned, “or I’ll lock you up in the brig. This one here is getting a pass, but only this time. XO, you have the bridge. I believe the general and the admiral are waiting. Reaper, we patched this through to the conference room vid so they heard the whole thing. I’m going to enjoy this vid-com.”

“Damn, Captain,” Ben said, “I thought we were friends. You’ve even seen me naked.” There was another smack, and he just grinned. “Ouch! I’m filing a complaint with some damn body.” He had said it loud enough that half the bridge had heard everything. The captain had a very lovely rosy color to her face.

The major was on his heels. “I know I told you I would handle the general and admiral, but that was before you started working deals with galactic super powers.”

The captain was next to him. “Looks like you’re on your own, big boy,” she said, and winked at him.

Emily decided to throw her two cents in. “Looks like I have missed out on a lot,” she said.

“Don’t worry Em,” Ben said. “I have the feeling my days are numbered, and there won’t be much to miss out on in the future.”

The doors to the conference room opened and they filed in, taking seats along the table.

“Well, that was all interesting,” the admiral started out. “So am I to understand you are also in charge of our Military?”

“Someone needs to be,” Ben fired back, getting serious. “You sure as hell don’t know what you are doing. The intel your department provides is usually weeks old by the time we get it. Lots of good people have died because of you, Admiral. It’s obvious the only fighting going on in your office is your chair straining under your fat ass. Why are you sharing in our debriefings, anyway? We rescued your girl. Go find some more good soldiers to kill.”

The room was very quiet. He didn’t think anyone was breathing. The major grabbed his arm and led him out of the room. She looked upset, but not angry.

“I’ll talk to you later,” she said quietly. “Go take a nap or something useful.”

He decided he would find Natalia and spend some time with her. His first stop was the captain’s quarters, but she didn’t seem to be there. He walked on the bridge. They all smiled at him.

“XO, could you locate Natalia for me please.”

“She is down in the brig, Reaper,” the XO replied. He raised an eyebrow at him. “I think she is visiting the prisoner.”

“Thank you, XO. I may be taking up permanent residence there myself,” Ben said and left the bridge. XO Holmes shook his head. He believed him.

“Reaper, how are you?” the sergeant asked, down in the brig.

“I’m good, Sarge,” Ben answered. “I understand Natalia is here somewhere.”

“Yes, follow me. She’s with Lorelei decorating her cell, I think.”

Natalia must have heard his voice. She was flying through the air like a missile. She was in a habit now of launching herself from six feet away. It meant she was getting stronger. He caught her in a hug and she kissed his cheek.

“How does it look?” She motioned with her arm around the room. There were a table and chairs and a privacy screen. There were also pictures on the wall that Natalia must have drawn.

“It looks very nice,” Ben said. “You two want to go get something to eat?”

Natalia immediately said, “Yes!” Lorelei looked at him.

“You’re welcome to join us if your jailers will let you.”

He looked over at the sergeant, who nodded. Lorelei grinned. “Let’s go.”

They made their way to the officers’ mess. They loved Natalia there. The whole ship loved her and seemed to have adopted her. For what she had lived through, her sweet and kind demeanor didn’t seem right, but he was happy she was.

They went through the line and filled their plates. Lorelei knew everyone from working with them in the kitchen. They all waved and said hello to her. Natalia still ate like she was starving. He could only smile watching her.

They were sitting across from him. He noticed a change in their facial expressions. They were watching something happening behind him. He kept eating. He saw the sergeant of the mess looking at him and motion his head then look down. The girls had stopped eating. Lorelei looked scared.

“Captain, I asked if I could come here with them,” she said. “The sergeant said I could.”

“I’m not here for you, Lorelei,” the sergeant of the mess said. “We are here for him.”

“Why?” Natalia started crying. “You can’t take him,” she said as she got up from the table.

Reaper looked at Lorelei and motioned to Natalia. She got up and wrapped her arms around her. “Come with me, Natalia, and let them sort this out,” she said.

The staff sergeant came out from behind the food line and helped Lorelei with Natalia. “Come on, sweetheart, let’s let the big people talk,” he said.

Reaper looked at Natalia. “Go with them. It will be okay. You can decorate my new room.”

“Stand up slowly,” he heard someone say. “Put your hands behind your head.”

He stood up but didn’t put his hands behind his head he held his tray of food with both hands. He looked the situation over. The captain had Lieutenant Jared and five marines, all armed. The major and Emily stood over by the entry to the mess watching. Lieutenant Aok was there also. He looked at her.
Do you think you could get the gunship ready to go without getting caught?
he thought.

Do you want me to go with you when you leave? I would be a criminal.

How about get it ready and you stay,
he replied.

You don’t think they would figure out who helped you?

I’m sorry, E’Aria, I shouldn’t have asked. Do you think I should just give myself up?

It’s up to you,
she replied.
I believe you have lost the major as a friend and lover for now anyway. She is terribly torn and upset with you and herself. Whatever you do now may have an impact on whether you will ever be able to fix what you have broken. There are no guarantees either way. The admiral is hoping you will resist.

The major looked at Reaper and then looked at Lieutenant Aok. She looked back to Reaper as he sat his tray down. He put his hands behind his head. “Let’s go boys,” he said. “Just don’t do anything stupid. I have a long memory and they can’t hold me there forever.”

They put the shackles on him and took him to the brig. The sergeant’s eyes got wide when he saw who his new lodger was. They put him in the cell that the late Captain Rolo had occupied.

He lay on the bunk thinking about the people who had stood at the entrance when he was taken out in chains. The captain had walked next to him. The major was speaking harshly to E’Aria. He stopped walking.

“Andrea! Leave her alone,” he said. The major turned to him with hurt in her eyes. Emily just stared at him. He smiled at her and shrugged his shoulders.
E’Aria, go so if she decides to talk to you it will be more private. When she asks you what we talked about tell her the truth, but only if it’s just you two and no recordings.
She blinked to let him know she understood.

He was nudged from behind and he took the hint to start walking again.

The captain was there but she wasn’t saying anything. He didn’t blame her. It was probably best to keep her head down while the bombs went off.

He lay there letting it run through his head. Then he thought he should decide what he would do when he got out. He should already be the owner of the gunship and the shuttle. He had E’Aria petition the Trillond government for co-ownership. Considering his current status with the Trillond government, they were happy to transfer title to him. He was a hero to one empire and a respected soldier to a new species whose empire dwarfed the Alliance. It just seemed he couldn’t do anything right with his own people. He had met the most beautiful woman and was crazy about her, but just couldn’t seem to work with her.

He needed to be working on his own. He could deliver freight and people with the small fleet he was putting together. They could make a good living from that. He would take Natalia to live with the Vander Hoyt’s and maybe Lorelei and Jen would want to work as part of the crew. He had been gone roughly over a month and was already in jail. He started thinking that maybe some of the misfits would be nearing the end of their enlistment soon. They would make good crewmen. He knew Andrea wouldn’t go anywhere, so he might as well forget about trying to reconcile with her if he was just going to leave.

He heard a sob and a sniffle. He looked to see Natalia and Lorelei standing at the bars. A second later the door popped open remotely and Natalia entered. Lorelei looked down the corridor and nodded. She pushed the cell door shut, locking it. She walked away looking sad. Natalia lay down next to Reaper and started crying. He held her, stroking her hair and talking softly. He told her everything would work out. He asked if she wanted to leave and go live in a house on a farm. He told her they were wonderful people and would love her. She could go to school and then to university if she wanted to. She was smiling through the tears now.

“When can we leave?” she asked.

“It will be a few weeks at least, but not too long,” Ben said. He asked her if she would like to work on a ship when she wasn’t in school. She got excited about that. She went to sleep and soon he did too.

Lorelei stood at the cell door looking at them. The major walked up and stood next to her. Neither of them said anything for a few minutes. Lorelei finally said something.

“You are the one that he is in love with, is that true?”

“Who told you that?”

“That child told me that, and she wouldn’t lie. She described you to me.”

“She is mistaken,” the major said coldly.

“I doubt that. You’re standing here, aren’t you?”

“He is part of my team, I just came to check on him.”

“That makes it harder, doesn’t it?” Lorelei said softly. “Being part of the team? He is a true leader. His decisions can be harsh, even deadly, but they are just. Then you see him holding a child he saved from a monster. The only reason that child can sleep at night is because he killed the monster. He had to do it to save her sanity. I was a pirate and we did some terrible things, but we treated each other better than you people treat your heroes. This whole ship owes their lives to him, I can tell you that. The Allond are powerful. They could have blown us to space dust, yet I hear he made friends with the prime minister and the captain of their God King’s flagship. I hope I am off this ship when they find out what you people have done to him.”