Chapter 71: Another Visit Home

Forty hours later I was sitting in the command chair as Private Morrison completed the last maneuvers to link Corsica up to the docking station in orbit above Crucible. Kels and Chaz were sitting at their stations and teasingly talking about their plans for the next three days. I listened to their happy chatter and looked up at the ceiling.

“AI? Will there be any issues with putting everything into standby mode for three days? Should I leave someone to watch the ship?” I asked.

“Keeping the ship on standby will not be an issue. However, regulations state that the captain must be the last off and the ship will remain sealed until the captain returns,” the AI said.

“So I get to be the last off the ship,” I responded. “I expected that.”

“Are you upset about it?” Ensign Munfree asked.

“Docking clamps have grabbed Corsica,” Michael said. “The airlock is deploying.”

“The weapons teams can leave now if their stations are shut down,” I said. “AI can you ensure that no one who hasn’t shut down their station leaves the ship.”

“All weapons stations are shut down,” the AI said. “The only stations still operational at this time are the flow tech stations in engineering and the helm station.”

“Helm is going to standby mode,” Michael said immediately.

I looked over at Chaz, she immediately turned to her controls. “Engine room, please confirm that all stations are on standby.”

“Airlock has a good seal,” the AI said. “Opening interior airlock door.”

I nodded to Ensign White. “Go and make sure everyone is civilized at the airlock. I’ll get my station shutdown.”

“Engineering confirms all stations at standby,” Ensign Munfree said. “My station is shutting down. I’ll check the galley and concubine’s quarters to make sure we don’t leave anyone behind.”

“Go,” I said with a nod. Private Morrison was already stepped through the doorway.

Less than a minute later I was sitting alone on the dimly lit bridge. The ship seemed eerily silent. “AI,” I said. “Tell me when all other crew have left the ship.”

I leaned back in my command chair and closed my eyes. The last forty hours had not been stressful, but I was still tired. My mind started going over the systems we would be visiting in the future when the AI broke in. “Captain Parker, Sergeant Griffiths requests a moment of your time.”

“Put the call through I guess,” I said.

“Captain Parker, welcome back,” Sergeant Griffith said. “I understand that two of your crew were transferred while you were at Yularaat.”

“Yes,” I replied. “Why?”

“We have official word that the next colony transport should arrive in two days. I’ve already let Yularaat know that the transport will bring the habitation pods belonging to the two citizens you transferred. What about receiving ones for the crew you added,” he said.

“We brought them,” I said. “Corsica is old enough to have the original pod hardpoint from when it was a merchant transport. We couldn’t supply the pods with power, but we could carry them. They dropped into the atmosphere just before we docked.”

“I didn’t know the Patrician class could do that,” Sergeant Griffiths replied.

“I believe its only the ones converted from civilian use that can. The new ones won’t have the hard points,” I said.

“Makes sense,” Sergeant Griffiths said. “I just wanted you to know about the next ship. We should be getting a system commander then.”

“I look forward to meeting him,” I said. “Oh, we all have three days leave. I doubt anyone will be exploring past our home since we’ve been without our concubines for some time, but I guess you run the shore patrol.”

“The AI knows where every citizen is. I won’t need to send out search parties when its time to leave port,” Sergeant Griffiths said with a laugh. “Shouldn’t you be joining them.”

“Captain Parker, the last of your crew has entered the airlock. You are the last human on Corsica,” the AI called out.

“I just got the call that my crew is headed to the surface,” I said. “I’ll be the last man off Corsica and it will lock down until I return.”

“Got it,” Sergeant Griffiths said. “Enjoy your leave.”

I shut down my command chair and stood up. Raising my hands over my head I stretched and then turned to head for the airlock.

The eerie silence followed me though the passageway. I had just reached the airlock when the AI spoke again. “Captain Parker, there is a disturbance on Crucible involving your crew.”

“Get me through the airlock quickly,” I said as I jumped through the first doorway.

The doors seemed to open in rapid succession as I almost ran down the airlock passage. I entered the main passage for the docking station and turned left to head to the teleportal. The area was largely quiet, but I could see Ensign Daniels standing and looking back at Corsica.

“Captain?” he asked as I ran by.

I half turned as I kept moving. “Fight of some kind on Crucible.”

“A fight? Why would there be a fight on Crucible? Who’s involved?” Ensign Daniels asked.

“AI? Who is involved?” I asked as I reached the teleportal. I immediately jumped onto the pad. Warren joined me just as the system activated.

We found ourselves in the usual small alcove. As I stepped out to head out of the administration building the AI spoke. “The fight is between Sergeant Bruce and Private Swift.”

“Sergeant Bruce?” I asked. I paused in my running in shock.

“Yes,” the AI said.

I started running again bursting out of the administration building. I could see a circle of people in the large open area. I could not see who was in the circle, but two men were fighting in the center of the circle. A child’s body lay just behind one of the men.

“Fuck!” I muttered. “Warren if you can grab a stunning weapon, please do. I’ll try to break this up.”

I ran to the back of the ring of people. “Make a hole!” I shouted.

The circle started to open. As it did I could hear one of the combatants. “You had no reason to punch my son!”

“He didn’t get out of my way!” Private Swift said.

“Private!” I bellowed as I made my way through the circle. “Did I just hear you admit that you hit a child?”

“He didn’t get out of my way!” Private Swift repeated.

“That doesn’t give you the right to smack him! And why did it matter. You could easily have stepped around him,” I said.

“Why bother? His mother is a complete wimp. There’s no way that kid becomes a citizen. He might as well start learning his place,” Private Swift said.

I heard a gasp from the surrounding crowd. “Hank!” a woman screamed.

The circle of people spread out, revealing a pair of women wearing the thin white shifts. Both women looked horrified as they stared at Private Swift.

Sergeant Bruce had helped the child stand back up. They scuttled over by me as Private Swift stared at the two women.

“Honey,” he said. He sounded pleading and pitiful.

“Don’t honey me,” the woman on the right said. She was tall, blonde and busty. “You said we’d always be proud of you. What real man slaps a child? Are you in that much of a hurry to fuck us?”

“It’s been weeks,” Private Swift whined. I stepped back at just how pathetic his whine sounded.

“Private!” Sergeant Bruce barked. “Stand at attention!”

A shocked Private Swift snapped to attention. His hands were not quite at his sides, but his feet were together and his back was stiff and straight. Sergeant Bruce pushed his son towards me and marched forward to walk around and inspect the Private.

“Are you a real soldier?” Sergeant Bruce barked.

“Sir, I...” Private Swift started to say

“Sir!” Sergeant Bruce shouted. He moved to stand directly in front of Private Swift. “Do I look like an officer to you?”

“Sir, no, I mean,” Hank stammered.

I could see Hank’s concubines smiling as Robert Bruce leaned forward putting his nose right up in Hank’s face.

“What was that? Are you playing games?” Robert barked.

“No games,” Hank whimpered.

“Do you think you are playing at being a soldier?” Robert asked loudly.

I felt a hand slip under my right arm. “What happened?” Ashley whispered in my ear.

“It appears that Hank was in a bit of a hurry to get to his home and ran over Baldwin,” I said.

“Who?” Ashley asked.

“Robert Bruce’s son,” I said pointing out the young boy. He was watching his father continue to berate Private Swift.

Hank had fallen to his knees. “Please,” he said placatingly.

“Please what?” I asked. Sergeant Bruce turned to look at me.

“I can handle this kind of discipline,” the Sergeant said. “If you get involved officially, we might have to space the idiot.”

“If you are sure,” I said.

“I’ll take care of it,” Sergeant Bruce said. “With Sarkozy gone we’ll bring Swift around.”

“I don’t want to hear about this in the future. And there better be no repeats of the fight,” I said.

“I’ll be good,” Hank Swift said. He sounded sincere.

I nodded to Sergeant Bruce. “Come by my place later and we’ll talk about this. Carry on.”

I turned to face my own pod. As I did Ashley pulled me around and kissed my cheek.

“Thank you,” she whispered.

“For?” I asked.

Ashley looked around to see that no one was listening. She started walking, but pulled me along and used her left hand to pull my head down slightly.

“Honey and Sweetie both really care for Hank. But they also have seen that he wasn’t adjusting well to the pressure. By not punishing him, you give the man a chance of becoming what they believe he can be,” Ashley told me.

“He’ll be punished,” I said. “By the Sergeant, and most likely by a lot of the crew. I looked at the faces in that circle when they were still brawling. I didn’t see anyone who looked happy about the situation.”

“It won’t be the same as if you had to officially punish him,” Ashley said. “And I expect that Robbie will try to get him to sit down and talk it out over some beer.”

Ashley frowned. “Well, probably not beer. Mark, you haven’t tried the alcohol available have you?”

“Not on the ship. I’m not even sure if it’s available,” I replied.

“It is available here,” Ashley said. “But.”

“Have you tried it?” I asked, interrupting my senior concubine.

“Aine wanted us to have a girl’s night were we sit around and get drunk. No one got drunk because none of us could finish off the first beer. The wine coolers were nearly as bad and mixed drinks are horrible,” Ashley said.