Chapter 701

Ship

...”Sir?” the First Officer said over the intercom.

“Please come take over. I needed to pee when this started, and I really need to go now.”

The First Officer chuckled. “I’ll be right there, Sir.”

Jeff left the Bridge and stepped into the Captain’s quarters. When he finished in the restroom, he washed his face and hands and stepped back into the common room of the suite to smile at Adrienné, his chosen of the Miadax women, who was now sitting on his couch.

As soon as she saw him, she rushed over and locked her arms around his neck. While pressing her body firmly against his, she kissed him fiercely.

Jeff reluctantly moved back a few inches. “Whoa, Girl. There’s a whole Bridge crew not far away, not to mention that the General is in there too, and he’s sometimes prone to forget about knocking.”

“But he can’t leave the Bridge if you aren’t there, can he?”

“Oh, but he can. He refuses to take a position aboard Ship. As far as he is concerned, he’s just a passenger, but come to think of it, he certainly took part in the fight. Back to you, though. Why the blush? Did you do something naughty?”

“No, my Prime,” she answered with a mysterious look, then with a rush, “I was the first to manage to lock my weapon onto the last boarder ship. When I achieved the lock, I never let up on the firing button until the boarder exploded. I was not the only one, of course. Several of my sisters locked on as well, but I was the first to get the lock,” she said, her face flushed with pride. “I would never have been able to do it without the many things you and Ship have taught me.”

“Baby, I didn’t do that much. I just walked you through the basics and showed you a couple of tricks. You and Ship did the rest. Besides, I thought you were going to stay at the Retreat.”

“I ... changed my mind. I wanted to be where you were. At least I would be aboard Ship if not exactly with you.”

“Okay, but you don’t have to stay with the other Miadax women. Ship will prepare a suite for you.

“Ship, would you please direct Adrienné to a suite near mine.”

“Yes, my Prime.”

“You can stay there or with your sisters. As soon as I have a chance, I’ll come find you.”

After a brief kiss, Jeff ushered her on her way.

A moment later, he was again on the Bridge, and after relieving his First Officer, walked over to Helen’s position. “Engineer, how are our Warp engines faring?”

“Rock solid so far, Captain,” Helen answered, “and I think my engineer is gaining confidence. You have to remember what he, as well as the others, has told us about the Miadax Captain who sometimes killed for the slightest infraction or error. And yes, I’ve repeatedly told him and the other Miadax that you do not do that, but it will take time before they trust their new Captain not to lose his temper.”

“Do you see any reason why we can’t go to Warp 4 safely?”

Helen motioned for him to wait as she conferred with her assistant in the engine room — more to show confidence in him than any actual need of his advice.

A moment later, she turned back to Jeff. “Everything checks out perfectly, so I see no reason to hold back as long as Ship concurs.”

Ship? Jeff asked her mentally.

As you well know, I am, at least theoretically, capable of speeds far beyond Warp 4, but I wish your crew to make all the decisions on this trip.

I hope you don’t wind up regretting that, Jeff thought with a grimace before returning to the Captain’s seat. “Navigator, is our course plotted?”

“Yes, Captain. Plotted and sent to the Pilot.”

“Pilot, prepare to go to Warp 4 with the course the Navigator just sent you.”

“Course laid in, Sir.”

“Very well. Initiate.”

As the sound of the warp engines built, “Engineering, should you note any abnormalities, notify me immediately.”

“Affirmative, Captain,” Helen responded. “I will continue monitoring and will advise you should anything change.”

There will not be any abnormalities, Ship said in Jeff’s brain. Nor will there be any past Warp 10.

I know. But we have a crew that has never worked together on this ship, nor are they accustomed to the new technology. You agreed to give your new crew full control, but they are going to make mistakes. Within reason, perhaps it would be best to allow them time to learn before you step in and right things — barring damaged to yourself or the like.

But it is so easy to resume control...

And then they would always expect you to dig them out of trouble when they get in over their heads. I hesitate to say it, since it worked, but I wish I hadn’t assumed control and destroyed the last two Graex ships with your deflection field. The crew didn’t get to come up with the idea and make the decision on their own. Now they might well expect you or me to take over when the shit gets too deep.

My Prime. I do not think that will be a problem.

It was an error on my part, and I should have discussed it with you prior to the trip. I will reiterate to the crew that the diversion field is an option under certain conditions that you will determine. Remind me to put that into our next training exercise.

Yes, my Prime.

On the intercom, the Prime addressed his First Officer. “Return to the Bridge and resume command. We have another fifteen hours or so before we arrive in the system, and I want to be alert when we make our approach to the planet. If you are okay for now...”

“I’m fine for now, Sir.”

“Good. I’ll take a nap, and then you can. After we are both rested, we’ll sit down together and make a preliminary plan. Once we are within radio range and can, hopefully, speak to the stranded crew, we’ll have a better idea of what we need to do to help them accomplish their goals. Hopefully, it will be just to deliver the supplies, but if the quake has shut them out of that cavern, they may want to set up somewhere else. That will be up to the General and them, and us if we are needed to move the goods or provide security past what their people can accomplish.”

“That seems logical to me. Uh, Sir, I have heard enough to know that you used to lead a team that was sometimes assigned to rescue a science team of some type when they were attacked by larger forces. Other than one on one combat when someone tried to kill me in order to advance through the ranks, or toward the last, where a few were sent by the Captain to assassinate me, I have no true combat experience. At some point in the future, would it be possible for me to receive some combat training? I don’t mean to imply that I expect to be in a league with your combat team, but...”

Jeff thought for a second, not wanting to hurt his First Officer’s feelings. “The makeup of the teams goes something like this. Sometimes someone from the ranks stands out, not just with one capability, but they are generally better across the board, and not just physically, but mentally as well. Also, they, no matter how good they are, can’t be arrogant, because arrogance makes for strife among the team members, whether they are truly better or not. And most of the time, the arrogant ones are not better, overall. We have to be a team. Yes, certain individuals will excel in certain aspects, and those aspects can be used to advantage in combat, but someone who is arrogant about that slight little bit better usually doesn’t make a productive member of a fighting team — at least in the fighting. That’s on a regular team. They are the best. But the General wanted something a little bit better than that. Somehow, I got sucked into the system and before I knew it, I was in charge. I kept telling them that there were better people to lead that elite team, but my words fell on deaf ears.

“We kept being sent out on mission after mission, and when the objective was won, I found myself training the security aspect of the research teams. I got pissed and demanded that every one of the research teams from the lowest member to the highest doctor who was too ‘good’ to bother fetching his own cup of coffee, be trained to fight. Oh, they didn’t have to be up to combat standards, but they damn sure had to know which end of the rifle did what.

“We had some that must have thought that they were too high up the food chain to have to be trained in something as physical as firing weapons. To my amazement, the General fired them. No fuss. No muss. They were just out the door. Suddenly, I had willing students, and some of them became damn good, at least on the range. After a while, we had less nursemaiding calls and more requests for ammunition. Then the ass that was a Colonel decided to do something really stupid, and he was sentenced to death. But ... we have an option of duel to the death. He demanded that he fight his accuser in the ring. Since it was my family that he was going to kill, I felt that I should oblige him with his request.”

A look of embarrassment passed over the First Officer’s face, easily noticeable even though he was Miadax. “Arlene brought us the video. I hesitate to say that I emptied my stomach in the aisle beside me, but none of my people saw fit to laugh at me. You can be assured of one thing though ... no one who watches that video would ever consider challenging you to a fight to the death with a knife.”

“I hope it never happens again, and I know that I was extremely lucky. He was a master with the blade. If I had missed, I would not be here now,” Jeff admitted.

“Could I...” the First Officer began, but when he hesitated, Jeff answered what he knew the First was going to ask.

“I don’t have that knife. I used a borrowed one. The General and I have duplicate knives, so it was a privilege to use his knife. It had been some time since the General used his knife in combat, and he asked me to allow her to fill my hand in the duel. I took it as a great honor to do so. The General would do as much for me.”

“It took more than a sharp knife to split that man the way you did. It required a lot of strength as well.”

Jeff took a sip of coffee while he thought for a second. “When you and your people came aboard Ship, you received a partial enhancement. Nothing like what my family has received, but you are no longer completely normal. Despite you and your crew being part of the race that attacked Earth, you refused to be part of it at your own and your crew’s peril. Ship has given all of you some very subtle tests, and she thinks you are loyal to me and to Earth. My gut, and that of the General as well, agrees with her. It goes against logic, but I find myself trusting you.

“You must realize, though, that General Whitworth is probably the smartest man I have ever known. Oh, it might not show on an IQ test, but he has outsmarted politicians and high-level people in all branches of the service until he, more or less, runs his own branch of the army. Oh, he has done many politicians and high-ranking military people favors ... which gave him the opportunity to put blocks into their brains. Unbreakable blocks that tend to call home when someone is consistently trying to break theirs. Those few people tend to have things happen to them. Those who are blocked and don’t try to screw over him, tend to have very nice things happen to them on occasion — not personal gain per se, but something that enhances what they are doing for this country. It boils down to the General running his army and assisting other divisions — under the table, shall we say. But ... his greed isn’t greed that puts something into his pocket, but some of the profits from his many companies find their way into different units, not to mention the advent of better weapons and ways of improved training.