ALTERNATE
TALES OF THE STAR FORCE
STAR BLAZERS---A STRANGE INTERLUDE…
Being the fifth part of THE
NEW COMET--- BY: Frederick P. Kopetz
This Act is being completed with the
Cooperation and Assistance of Derek A.C. Wakefield (as usual)---Freddo
ACT FOUR: PREPARING FOR
THE DANCE…
I. QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS
The Forresters’
Apartment in the
Monday October 6, 2206
0805 Hours: Earthtime
On
Earth, Teri Forrester was on sabbatical for a semester from her current
position as Professor of Fine Arts at the
“Mommy,
Mommy, MOMMY!” screamed Aurora Forrester as she ran into the kitchen crying
with the bow on her little sailor dress uniform undone. “David’s being MEAN! He
just pulled my bow open!”
“Oh,
your poor dear,” said Teri as she kissed her youngest daughter on the forehead.
With her blonde hair that grew down to her collar and long eyelashes,
“Yes,
Mommy,” said
“You
made her cry, I made you cry, David,” snapped Teri. “Now apologize to your
sister!”
“I’m
sorry,” he said as he bowed to his sister. Karl Forrester (who had the day off
today) grinned over his newspaper and sipped at his coffee.
“Now,
you two get your bags and get your shoes on!” yelled Teri. “You are not missing
the bus again!”
“Did
Nova ever miss the bus when she was little?” sniffed
“Yes, and she got spanked too,” said Teri.
A
barefoot Teri padded over to the door and said, “
“Mommy,
the man is there!” yelled
Teri
opened the door and found herself confronted by a tall man in a green EDF
Headquarters uniform with a mustache. He wore a blue necktie, and he looked
very serious.
“Sir,
your name is…”
“Colonel
Kurama, Mrs. Forrester. I’m here on official business.”
“Oh,
my GOD!” screamed Teri. “Karl! There’s a man here from Earth Defense! Something
must have happened to Nova out there in space!”
“No’
ma’am,” he said as Karl ran up. “Your daughter is as safe as she can be aboard
a damaged space battleship. I am from Military Intelligence,” he said as he
came in and flashed a badge. “You can call Headquarters, if you wish.”
“No,
that’s all right,” said Karl as he escorted the tall officer past his awestruck
two youngest children (who were now on their very best behavior). “What
can we do for you, Colonel?”
The
officer opened his briefcase and pulled out his laptop. “I need to ask you two
some questions about your oldest daughter, Lieutenant Commander Nova Wildstar.
She is not in any sort of trouble, but she is currently the subject of an
emergency investigation ordered by the Prime Minister.”
“What’s
wrong?” cried Teri.
The
man smiled. “I’m not really at liberty to say much, except that your daughter
is being considered for a special security clearance on an emergency basis. It
has something to do with the Comet Empire’s recent attacks upon Earth. I will
need to ask you several questions about Nova Wildstar’s background, character,
adolescence, and childhood in order for her to be cleared for this clearance.”
“All
right,” sighed Karl as he looked at the officer. “What do you need to know?”
“Well,
for instance, did she ever have a boyfriend in grammar school or high school?”
Teri
smiled at that one, and said, “That is a long story…”
In
“It’s
over four years, Samantha. And I still miss her.”
Samantha
Venture, the new stepmother of Jordy and Mark, and David’s new wife, smiled
softly and bowed her head. “It’s never easy, David. I’ve lost so many people in
these wars, too. My father…” she said with a sniff. “I lost touch with him when
Jordy
turned his head respectfully as his stepmother (who had been his stepmother
only since June) began to cry. “You’re lucky…you have at least have a grave to come to for Carol. My
father…they won’t be able to bury him….they…”
“I
know,” said David Venture in a quiet voice.
“Why,
Dad…why do we have to suffer so much?” said Jordy.
“I
don’t know,” said Mr. Venture.
“I
hope that my big brother Mark is all right,” said Jordy in a quiet voice.
II. REACTIONS AND
CONVERSATIONS
Planet Gamilon
The
Tuesday October 7, 2206
1017 Hours: Earthtime
The
Capital City of the Gamilon-Garuman Empire on the reborn Planet Gamilon was
damaged, but the passing of the Emperor’s white air-limo was still able to draw
a crowd of supporters of the Gamilon and Garuman races chanting “Desslok, Desslok, DESSLOK!” over and over
again as the Leader’s car passed into the grounds of the Imperial Palace,
escorted by many Gamilon and Garuman soldiers at his flanks.
Desslok
acknowledged their chants with a nod and a smile as he sat between Astrena and
Talan in the huge aircar.
“You
have not lost their popularity, Leader Desslok,” said Talan.
“It
is a gift I do not deserve,” Desslok replied as he bowed his head. “We should
have anticipated this suicidal determination on the part of the enemy, Talan.
Even I never thought they would risk suicide by warping right into our
atmosphere without warning and launching so many of those accursed Scorpion
gunboats. It is only due to the fact that we built our new defense network and
the valour of our interceptor pilots that things were not worse. We also owe a
word of thanks to the Earthling pilots who flew across the atmospheric
prominence from their bases on Iscandar to help us and pursue the enemy planes
off Iscandar.”
“And
we also owe thanks to the Iscandarian and Pellian defense pilots and corvettes
who aided us and defended Iscandar and Gamilon at my mental command,” said
Astrena.
“Thank
you for your aid,” said Desslok as he held his mate’s hand.
“And
I thank you for your protection, as well,” said Astrena with a smile.
Then,
Desslok shut his eyes. Talan spoke. “Leader Desslok, I know it was a blow to
your pride to tell that damned Cometine Marshal Gernitz that the Empire
accepted Invidia’s offer to negotiate…”
“I
did it to save lives and gain us some space to regroup. We must find exactly
where that accursed Comet is and find an opportune time to attack it. No matter
what Invidia thinks, I will never accept a permanent peace of any sort with
her. Not when she has insulted me over and over again as she has.”
“I
reluctantly find myself agreeing with you,” said Astrena. “It would be like
accepting a peace with the ghost of Ekogaru, wherever his damned spirit is.
That monster is not dead, Desslok. I even wonder at times if he is the power
behind the throne for Invidia’s malice.”
Desslok
laughed a cold and bitter laugh. “Astrena. Invidia does not need his malice. That snake has more
than enough malice of her own. Prince Zordar’s greatest mistake was allowing that
daughter of his to amass so much power. If it were not for Invidia, we might
have been able to come to some true accomodation with House Gatlantis. Even
Dyre or Radnar on the throne would have been better than Invidia.”
“Yet,
if Zordar had not done so, Gamilon might never have come to peace of any sort
with Earth as you did once you left the service of that evil Empire,” said
Astrena. “Even if you would have someday rebuilt dying Gamilon, Earth would
have always been a thorn in your side. With their fleet rebuilt, they would
have been seeking revenge for the devastation of their world by you, just as
you were seeking revenge for what the Argo
did to Gamilon.”
Desslok
nodded. “Interesting, Astrena, how evil sometimes hurts itself. Talan, what do
we have to discuss when we return to the Palace?”
“Sir,
Keeling wants to meet with you below the Palace in the dungeons. We have
captured a few Cometine pilots who crashed and survived after the attacks from
the other day. Keeling wants you to see some of these survivors
being…interrogated.”
Desslok
chuckled. “Let us not be delicate, Talan. He wants me to see them as they are
tortured, correct?”
Talan
nodded.
“Torture
is exactly what they deserve…before we hang them in public later today,” said
Desslok.
Astrena
bowed her head and closed her eyes. “Do you disapprove?” said Desslok softly.
“After
I saw what they did to our people and those of my people who live here on
Gamilon…no,” said Astrena as she shut her eyes again. “Heaven forgive me…how
can I feel otherwise?”
“It
is a natural reaction,” purred
Desslok.
“I
know,” said Astrena. “But why do I fear for our immortal souls, Desslok?”
Desslok
chuckled again. “If that is what you fear, my love, I shall burn incense for
our souls tonight…”
“Thank
you, Desslok,” said Astrena. “But I fear only the shedding of blood can atone
for what we have done…”
Desslok
shut his eyes. He had no answer for that.
In
the depths of the Palace, old Keeling saw Desslok and his party entering the
dimly-lit dungeons and he saluted. The Leader returned the salute.
“We
have a guest here,” said Keeling as he gestured to a Cometine shackled to an
interrogation bed hand and foot, and strapped down across his chest, stomach
and legs. A spotlight shone down on the snarling prisoner. “We have been spending
the morning studying him and interrogating him. We attempted the usual and
ordinary methods first, Leaader Desslok. The ones that your Intelligence people
said worked on the Earthlings, and the ones that we used on some of the
Rikashans. That is, we attempted a direct copy and dump of his memory. But,
Cometines seem to have an unusual resistance to those methods. It seems to be
as if they can turn parts of their minds on and off from our electronic probes
at will. So, we have had to resort to…less elegant but more time-tested methods
of interrogation. He was a pilot; he will give only his name. And, he is very
resistamt to even those methods. Maybe he is specially conditioned?”
Desslok
looked at the green Cometine officer. His body was clad in only a loincloth,
and he bore quite a few bruises, punctures, and burn marks all over. “What is
your name?” hissed Desslok as he
looked at the Cometine pilot.
“Lieutenant
Bargal, and that is all you will get out of me, Gamilon!” he yelled. “May
Arishna damn you and all Gamilons and their stinking allies! I truly enjoyed bombing your city and
seeing people run for shelter! And I enjoyed strafing your women!” Then, he
spat right on Desslok.
Desslok
stood back, calmly removed one of his white gloves, and slapped the prisoner
smartly across the face with it twice. “I am sending you to be with Arishna soon, fool. I hope you
recognize that?”
“Say
what you want, you lisping, high-voiced homosexual!” snorted Bargal out of his
bleeding mouth. “Invidia told all of us about you.”
“My
wife would have something different to say to you,” said Desslok as he put his
glove back on and gestured towards Astrena.
Bargal
laughed at that. “You have electrocuted me. You have stretched me on a rack.
Your pigs used a whip on me. You burned me. You made me drink salt water and
bitter medicine. You injected me with truth serums and shoved probes into my
brain. Indeed, with this metal ring about my head, I am still having my mind
probed by your sick medical techniques. And I still resist. What makes you
think I will ever say anything to you or your forces, Desslok?”
“Talan,
do we have the GrossTeufel truth serum I invented?“ said Desslok.
“We
do,” said Talan as he handed Desslok a syringe.
Desslok
set down the syringe and removed the cover from the needle. Bargal began to
laugh again, and two blue-armored Garuman troops punched him in the mouth for
that insult to their overlord. Bargal just spat out his teeth from his
copiously bloody mouth and coughed out a deranged laugh.
“We shall
see how long you keep laughing when my serum goes through your veins, you idiot,” said Desslok as he motioned over
a female medic. The medic swabbed the prisoner’s upper arm before Desslok
shoved in the syringe and injected the serum into him.
Desslok
stood back and waited for the reaction as Bargal trembled and sweated under the
effects of the drug.
“This
should be interesting, Astrena,” said Desslok. “He will eventually break. It is
quite inevitable.”
“My
defenses may be down,” gasped the prisoner. “And I may want to talk to end the
burning pain in my blood, and the mental compulsion to speak, but I will NEVER
do it! Kill me now, Desslok! I will take my secrets to the bosom of
Arishna….damn you…I will take my secrets down with me to Hell if Arishna turns
me away…I will take my secrets to the mouth of Evil itself, but you will never
hear a damn…thing…out of my mouth….except…hatred for…”
Bargal
screamed and trembled and convulsed, with bloody foam coming from his mouth and
nose, but he still refused to talk, even though he was obviously under a
horrible physical and mental complusion to talk.
“Where
do you come from?” yelled Keeling.
“Andromeda!
You fools know that already!”
“Where
was your fleet sent from?” snapped
Talan.
“Hell!”
roared the trembling Bargal.
“What
were you provisioned with?” snapped Desslok. “Tell us about your logistical
arrangements!”
“I
ate your shit, Desslok!”
Desslok
slapped him again. “I care not if you are dying now! You WILL speak to us!
Where was your fleet based?” he
snapped.
“It
was based up your rectum, Desslok!”
laughed Bargal as Desslok nodded and two of the Intelligence men connected
electrical leads to him beneath his loincloth. Desslok nodded and he smiled as
Bargal screamed like a woman in labor as electricity was applied to a rather delicate
part of his body.
“We
have very effective means of forcing
you to talk,” said Desslok with a smile as Bargal screamed and writhed in pain.
“One of your subordinates talked after we did this to him for a full day.
Sadly, we are now dissecting him in the Pathology lab. We can take you there
next and begin the dissection while you are still alive if you persist in your
stubbornness. Interesting that I once dreamed of doing this whole range of
tortures to the Earthlings until I realized that Terrans are not
barbarians….unlike your sort.”
“Do
we need to let this go on?” said Astrena.
“You
would give him a reprieve?” hissed
Desslok. “After what he did to all of us? Talan, ready some more GrossTeufel. I
don’t care if I poison him with it; he will talk!”
“These
methods may not work, at least not quickly enough,” said Astrena. “I want to
hear from him, too. Except that I
have methods that may be more effective and more elegant…methods that are
quicker. Please make them stop the electricity. Please permit me to work on him
for a moment.”
Desslok
nodded and the electricity was turned off. As Bargal laughed, trembled, and
gasped, he said, “I won, you black-clad space witch! Cometines are superior to
Gamilons! We will never betray our secrets…never!”
Astrena
put her hands on his forehead and shut her eyes. She said, “Let us see what is
inside you, Bargal. I can break into your mind when our computers cannot! Ahhh…you
murderer of innocent children…and you rapist of prisoners! You have tortured
prisoners yourself, haven’t you? Including Gamilons and Earth people. Ah….I see
some wonderful things here…you sick criminal…yes…you have committed many, many
war crimes…let us let everything go in your mind, and…”
Bargal
then screamed in pain like a child and began to cry. He said, “I see and
feel…everything inside my mind! Everything deep inside me is…”
“I
have released your own subconscious against you,” said Astrena with a wink to
Desslok. “That will work with the serum…eventually, in a few minutes, you will
go mad in utter torment…from the dark thoughts in your own mind…from the
memories of the sick things you did to babies and pregnant women, you scum…”
“Make
them stop! MAKE THEM STOP!” cried Bargal. “Oh, Astrena, O, Arishna above…MAKE
THEM STOP!”
“I
don’t think so,” said Astrena. “Not unless you care to speak to us and
apologize to my husband.”
“I…I..All
right! We came from a Cometine base world not far from the Black Fox Nebula. We
stopped right near the New Comet and made a rendezvous with her for provisions.
The New Comet was near Melezart the last time I left, and on a course for the
Milky Way! We were provisoned for two months and there are four more carrier
squadrons we set loose near the borders of your Empire. Have mercy, Desslok!
Kill me now! I don’t know anything else! And I’m sorry! I’m so sorry! Astrena! Let me die in peace. MAKE IT STOP!”
Astrena
nodded. “We can get nothing more out of him, Desslok. That is all that is
within his vapid, empty mind. I am sorry. If you would have me connect to the
memory computers so it can be imaged…”
“We
do not need that, Astrena, thnak you.” Desslok smiled and withdrew his blaster.
“Thank you, Lieutenant Bargal. The penalty for armed resistance against the
Gamilon-Garuman Empire is death. I do have
a sense of mercy. You will not hang with the others and will not suffer anymore
in your madness. I will execute the sentence quickly, and I will execute it
immediately,” he said as he aimed the gun right at Bargal’s chest. “Give my
regards to Arishna, Bargal!” said Desslok with a laughing smile.
Desslok
fired. The Cometine prisoner screamed as the beam burned a hole in his chest,
and then he went limp with his eyes open. He was dead.
“Keeling,
take this thing to the Pathology
Lab,” Desslok said with a nod. “Study it throughly before you fling it into the
crematorium. I want results. We shall leave you for now.”
“Thank
you, Leader Desslok,” said the old General with a bow as the royal party left.
Later
on, in the Imperial apartments in the upper part of the Palace, Astrena was
having quite a time controlling the Imperial Heir Dellar as he yelled about
where he wanted to go that day.
“I
want to go with Father and see the hanging!” he screamed as he pounded his
foot. “Mother, I want to see the hanging! I want to see the hanging!”
“I
don’t want you to go,” said Astrena. Then, Desslok came in. “What is the
commotion?” he asked. “WHY are you yelling, Dellar?”
“Father,
I wish to see the hanging of the prisoners, but Mother forbids it.”
“Why?”
asked Desslok. “I promised him he would go with me.”
“You
did?” sighed Astrena. “I want to protect him from seeing death, Desslok, he is
just a child..he…”
“He
killed once already over a year ago on Ashura when he helped save us from
Yvona’s assassin squad. Remember? No. You cannot protect such a one from death.
He will sit on my Throne someday when we are dead and gone. He has inherited
much from both of us. I intend to take him to see the hanging.”
Dellar
whooped with glee with that. But then, Desslok turned to his Empress and
whispered, “I also intend to show him that Death is not “fun”. I will take him
somewhere else after the hanging.”
“Where?”
she asked.
“To
the funeral of our heroic Captain Bierer,” said Desslok in a low voice. “The
boy needs to learn that war has its costs. It will give him wisdom.”
“If
that is your plan, I do not mind,” said Astrena as she embraced him. “You are a
wiser man than I thought, Desslok.”
“Thank
you.”
Later
on, Desslok’s limo pulled up at the edge of a huge public square in Gamilstadt.
A large scaffold was erected there. On the scaffold, several ropes hung from
the gibbet above several trap doors.
Desslok
and his Heir were soon escorted to a royal box in a balcony at the top of a
building overlooking the square. When people, both soldiers and civilians, saw
their Emperor emerging from the guards, they began to chant his name again.
Desslok leaned on a huge red banner that hung over the balcony, and he nodded
to the crowds.
Desslok
stood Dellar on top of a set of steps near the balcony’s edge, and he said,
“Officers, Soldiers, Ladies and Gentlemen of the Empire, behold, once again, my
son, the Crown Prince and Heir to the Throne, Dellar!”
Dellar’s
chest swelled up with pride as the crowds then began to chant his name over and
over again. These are my people, he
thought. By everything…I will be ruling
them someday! This is so cool!
“My
son is one of the reasons why we are fighting this plague from the Andromeda
Galaxy known as the Comet Empire,” said Desslok as he pointed to the young
blond-haired Gamilon boy in his red sweater, ascot, and grey uniform pants and
black boots. “We must defend everything that is dear to us. But, recently,
these Cometine invaders have dared to even attack our sacred homeland of
Gamilon itself. They did not attack to try to save a race, nor to try to defend
themselves, as the Star Force once had to. I forgave the Star Force when I
realized we were both fighting for the same thing; the right to defend our
homes. The Comet Empire cares only for greed, for power, for aggrandizing
itself. They are a menace I can never forgive,” said Desslok into the
microphone. “Guards, bring in the pilots we captured. These men, my subjects,
are some of those who attacked our homeland. Today, they will pay the price.”
The
crowd booed as six Cometine pilots, in their light-blue uniforms, were marched
one by one up onto the scaffold and marched up onto the top of high stairways.
“DEATH TO GAMILON!” screamed one of them in the Gamilon tongue as the crowd
booed and the Gamilon guards beat him with the butts of their rifles.
Soon,
the nooses were placed over the necks of the pilots as their wrists and ankles
were bound.
“Officers
and men of the Comet Empire,” said Desslok. “You have been interrogated and
judged and found guilty of war crimes and atrocities against the people of the
Gamilon-Garuman Empire and their allies. You have been sentenced to death,” he said as he slammed down his
sceptre on the edge of the balcony and the crowds cheered. “Officers of
Gamilon, carry out the sentence!”
The
staircases were shoved away as the enemy prisoners fell into space at the ends
of their hanging ropes. The nooses soon snapped their necks at unnatural
angles, and, a moment later, six corpses dangled at the ends of six ropes. The
contortions of their faces in death could clearly be seen by all, including an
applauding Dellar. The dead faces of one of the troops would later end up in a
poster created by the Imperial Ministry of Propaganda that would later find its
way up onto hoardings and holo-screens all across the Empire.
Desslok
and Dellar smiled and bowed and then left.
“Where
are you taking me next?” asked Dellar.
Desslok
said, “To see the burning of a Captain Bierer. He was the commander of a
destroyer that was badly damaged by the enemy in the recent fighting. The man
died at his post and left family behind.”
“I
see,” said Dellar. “That sounds sad.”
“It
is,” said Desslok.
They
arrived soon at the edge of the city. Dellar saw a large pyre of oil-soaked
wood, with a silent form shrouded on top of it.
“Commander,”
said Desslok as he saluted and then embraced an officer who had his arm in a
sling. The surviving members of the crew of the Gamilon Destroyer Z-687 were gathered in ranks behind him.
A weeping woman in an orange dress (orange was the color of mourning in the
Gamilon culture) stood near the funeral pyre.
“His
widow is taking it hard,” said Commander Delvat, the surviving First Officer of
the Z-687. “Would you speak with
her?”
“After
we do what must be done,” said Desslok. “Can you light the pyre after I speak?”
Delvat
nodded.
Desslok
then took Dellar by the hand as he walked before the pyre. “Officers and men of
Gamilon,” he said. “We lost a fine officer when Captain Bierer was fatally
wounded aboard his command when the enemy profaned Gamilon with their
unprovoked attack. Today, I am here to remember him, give honors to his family,
and to help you lay him to rest. Now, I would have you mourn with me as we
remember him…”
Desslok
and Dellar bowed their heads as a member of the destroyer’s crew sang a dirge
in the Gamilon language. At the end of the dirge, an enlisted man in brown
armor brought Commander Delvat a burning torch. Delvat took the torch and
walked up beside Desslok and Dellar. Desslok looked down at his son and
whispered, “Dellar. Execute an about-face and salute as soon as the fire covers
the pyre.”
“They’re
going to burn him?” asked Dellar.
Desslok
nodded. “A proper and fit method for laying him to rest, yes…”
A
moment later, Delvat put the torch to the pyre. The pyre began to burn, and
Desslok and Dellar turned and saluted.
Dellar
looked up at his father and was a bit shocked to see that tears were running down
his face. “Father?”
“I
knew that man in the Academy long ago,” said Desslok. “He was a good man. He
will be missed. And, Dellar, remember that we cannot take war
lightly. People die in wars. They are not something to…be admired…”
Dellar
nodded as he tried to keep back his own tears. After a while, he found he could
not.
Apparently,
at a funeral, men and boys could cry, and no one would think ill of it.
Later
that day, on the Eretz Gatlantis,
Invidia was summoned to a council by Dyre and Gorse.
She came
in with one of her guards. “Hello there. What do you require of me today?”
“Gamilon
has accepted our terms for peace negoitations, and has agreed to send Desslok
himself to meet with us,” said Gorse. “Since we are not far from Melezart, only
eleven lightyears away at this point, Melezart has agreed to host the
conference there, under a due threat of anhiliation, of course.”
“Gernitz’s
fleet is on its way here,” said Dyre. “Gernitz expects to bring reinforcements
and he anticipates bringing us there to Melezart aboard the Devastation.”
Invidia
smiled. “Wonderful job, considering that you have laid the plans to attack and
wipe out the main Gamilon Fleet after we assassinate Desslok. With their head
gone, it will just be a matter of time before the Gamilons surrender abjectly
to us, and the same goes for the Earthlings. They will give in, I am sure, when
they see that Nova Wildstar or whatever her name is lies dead, and that their Argo is destroyed. I don’t want the Commodore
at the conference, but I am glad to see that his ship will be there…so we can
destroy her!”
“Except
that Gamilon might give us problems controlling it even after Desslok is dead,
Princess,” said Dyre. “We intercepted footage today from Gamilon that Desslok
is beaming throughout the Empire,” he said as a still picture of the Cometine
pilots on the hanging scaffold came up on their floor screen. “Desslok is still
inciting hatred against us.”
Invidia
hissed and seethed as the video ran, complete with Desslok’s arrogant death
sentence, followed by the hanging of the pilots.
“So,
he has an Heir, too?” hissed Invidia. “I want that little brat dead, as well.
Gorse, arrange a means to kill that boy at the same time we get Desslok!”
“This…may
work against us, in both controlling Gamilon and Earth,” said Gorse. “Desslok
is very popular among his people, who have forgotten the depths to which he
once led them. They attribute the rebuilding of Gamilon and the rebirth of the
Empire to his genius. They practicially worship their Leader as a god now, and
killing him and his son would make them uncontrollable. And, Nova Wildstar is
one of Earth’s heroines, and word has it she is pregnant. On Earth, since they
are rebuilding their population after Gamilon’s planet bombings, many people
regard pregnant women and young mothers as people to be honored and protected.
Killing someone like that, if she is
pregnant, can be dangerous.”
“So,
you are saying my strategy will make it difficult to control them as slaves?” hissed
Invidia.
“We
should, perhaps, reconsider some of our plan; not drop it,” said Dyre.
“Invidia, even I do not favor killing young children and pregnant women if it
can be avoided. After all, do we not have some
honor?”
“Dyre,”
said Invidia. “Even the Earthlings killed children at times in pursuit of
wiping out Royal Houses who were an annoyance. I was reading the works of an
ancient barbarian Terran playwright the other day known as Shakespeare to try
to learn more about the damned Earthlings and their primitive culture and
languages. In this play, a barbarian king of theirs with a hunchback known as
Richard III enjoyed killing some of his nephews, young Princes who opposed him
who were being held prisoner in a Tower. A most admirable man, their Richard
III. I would love to find Terrans like that once we enslave them and allow them
to administer my planets after they are properly broken of their regrettable
republican tendencies and then trained. That is, of course, providing we let
them live at all. If they and Gamilon give me too much trouble, I will just
wipe them out with our Comet field. It will be like killing roaches, my
friends.”
“So?”
said Dyre.
Invidia
clapped her hands. “We carry on with the plan. No more dissent! Unless you want to lose your heads?”
The
officers bowed to Invidia. “No, Your Highness.”
“Good,”
said Invidia. “I leave you now. I have much to think about…”
III. THE MAKING OF
PLANS…
Planet Earth
In Orbit Over the
Space Battleship Argo
Thursday October 9, 2206
1445 Hours: Earthtime
Aboard
the Argo, Wildstar and his crew had
just gone through an inspection conducted by General Singleton himself. It was
Commodore Wildstar’s guess that they had passed.
“Not
bad,” said Singleton as he walked towards a lift that would take them to the Argo’s
“Thank
you, sir,” said Derek as he smiled. The two officers went into the lift.
Wildstar thumbed a button, and the lift began to go up. The Argo had taken off that morning, but she
was now near an orbiting space station taking on final supplies and
replacements before she headed off on her next jourmey after having undergone
quick repairs on Earth.
“It’s
good that everything looks shipshape, Commodore,” said Singleton. “You’ll be
heading to Melezart tomorrow to take Janlits and Astra there to represent their
homeworlds at the conference. Also, it will be your job to bring this eyes-only
briefing packet to Nova.”
Wildstar
looked at the packet. “So, they selected her as our representative?”
“She
was just cleared today and given a new security clearance by the President,”
said the Commander. “I know you weren’t expecting this, but I’m sure you will
not mind seeing her again.”
Derek’s
eyes misted up at that and he turned away. “No, sir. Not at all.”
“You
will also have charge of her security, Astra’s, and Janlits’. We have selected
a very aggressive Marine Corporal to act as Astra’s personal bodyguard,” said
Singleton. “He had a fine military record in
Wildstar
looked at the dossier and said, “Sir, this
Marine? With all respect, you can’t be serious!”
Singleton
sighed. “Stone wanted a guard dog skilled in hand-to-hand fighting and I had to
concur with him. The man is a fighter. Not the best man in the space service,
but a damned good fighter.”
“Is
Marine Lieutenant Hemsford available, sir?” said Wildstar. “He would be a far
better candidate to help guard Astra and my wife than this…”
Singleton
held up a hand as the lift stopped. “No. But you may name your own man to
protect Nova. He can come from either the crew of the Argo or the
Wildstar
came to a decision in three seconds. “Is Lieutenant Deke Wakefield still
available on the
“He
is,” said Singleton as the import of Wildstar’s request came to him. “Commodore,
he is known to be an enemy of this Marine, and…”
“That’s
precisely why I want him. No
disrespect intended, sir, but he will keep this son-of-a-bitch of Stone’s in
line. And I trust the kid.”
Singleton
chuckled. “Well, Wildstar, you’re not even thirty yet, and…”
“Sir,
sometimes I feel like I’m sixty,” said Wildstar as they got off the lift, went
up a few stairs, and came onto the Bridge. Wildstar walked towards the forward
part of the bridge in his navy-blue peacoat, stopping right near Domon’s post.
He tapped the arm of Domon’s chair and smiled.
Domon
snapped up from his post and cried “Captain on the Bridge!” as the Commanding
General followed Derek onto the Argo’s
bridge.
“Sir,”
said Homer. “I have a message on video. He’s holding for you, Wildstar.”
“Who?”
said Wildstar with a look of surprise and annoyance on his face.
“It’s
from Gamilon, sir,” said Eager. “I don’t think ya wanna keep him waitin’!”
“Who?”
said Wildstar with some annoyance.
Homer
grinned and flicked a switch. A familiar image came up on the screen. “Well,
hello, Wildstar,” said a sarcasticially dulcet voice. “I’m glad that you
finally came up to chat!”
The
Argo’s First Bridge Crew and the
Commander exchanged salutes with Desslok.
“Desslok,”
said Wildstar after the Commander gave him permission to talk with a nod. “What
news do you have to share with us?”
“I
will also be leaving Gamilon for Melezart with my fleet tomorrow, Wildstar. We
expect to be there in three of your days, on the day you call October 12th
on your calendar.”
“We
anticipate arriving at the same time, Desslok,” said Wildstar.
“That
will give us three days before we first meet with the enemy,” said Desslok.
“The Cometines told us they will arrive ready at Melezart on the day you call
October 15th. They want to have an informal reception that night,
with negotiations beginning the next day, on your sixteenth of October. They
said they will extend the truce for as long as it takes to end the
negotiations.”
“They
told us the same thing, Desslok,” said Singleton. “Do you think we can trust
them to keep their bargain?”
“They
said they would, but I do not trust Princess Invidia. She is very treacherous,
and my Empress Astrena suspects a plan in her sick little mind. Unfortunately,
she states she is too far away to probe her mind at this time. I have a full
battle fleet ready to escort me in case they try anything. I would suggest the
same for the Argo and the
“If
you would not mind, Desslok, that
sounds like an excellent idea. Please bring your fleet, and I can send Wildstar
with a small task group,” said Singleton. “Since we are still reorganizing, it
will be what remains of our Second Fleet; namely, a spacecraft carrier, another
space battleship, and some cruisers, destroyers, and gunboats. I’m sure those
men and women will be aching for revenge if they try anything.”
Desslok
bowed. “Thank you, General. I am very pleased that we see things the same way.
We shall have to be on our guard, but, maybe, just maybe, we can make something
noteworthy out of this.”
“I
hope we can, too, Desslok. It will be nice to see you again,” said Wildstar to
his unlikely friend.
“Thank
you, Wildstar,” said Desslok with a nod. “I cannot wait to see you. General
Singleton, I shall pray for his success and for the success of his wife.”
Singleton
nodded, and the transmission went dark.
Becker
stood up. “I heard that they were showing a public hanging of enemy prisoners
of some kind on Gamilon on the Net the other day. Isn’t Desslok terribly cruel?
General, I wonder what we’re doing being allied with someone like that.”
“To
be blunt,” said Eager. “From what I know of the guy, he’s a right
son-of-a-bitch with ice water for blood.”
Singleton
took a pipe out of his pocket and began to pack it with tobacco. “Yes, Mister
Eager, he is a son-of-a-bitch all right. But remember, he is our son-of-a-bitch. I don’t want any of
you saying anything to offend him and damage the
“When
will the fleet be ready to meet with us?” said Wildstar.
“Tomorrrow
morning,” said Singleton. He packed his pipe and got out a lighter. Then, he
looked around. “Commodore, is the smoking lamp on?”
“Sir,
not on my bridge,” said Wildstar respectfully. “You can have a smoke in
Janlits’ quarters. The alien ambassador also indulges.”
Singleton
nodded and said, “I’ll be talking with Janlits if you need me, Wildstar. He and
I agreed to finish smoking before Astra’s shuttle arrives.”
“A
wiise idea, sir,” said Derek as he saluted the Commander.
In
the meantime, the crew of the
“I’d
love to know where we’re going,” said Deke Wakefield over dinner with his new
squadron leader, a woman known as Tatiana Lubyanska. She had been one of the
replacements that Captain Venture had been able to squeeze out of the pilots at
Sirius a day ago. “Good to have you and the others on board, ma’am.”
“We’re
not that many; just four of us,” said Lubyanska. “But at least we have ten
pilots to a squadron again. Funny the way the flights broke up; one Section of
three and one of two now for one flight, but…”
“Better
than we way we were, ma’am,” said
“Good
man,” said Tatiana as she swallowed some synthetic Prime Rib. “Cooking’s better
on this ship, too. Better than it was in
Deke
nodded. He wasn’t sure how he was going to adjust to someone who came from both
Tatiana
shook her head. “They didn’t tell us crapski.
They just sent another battlewagon to take our place at Sirius, and, Dasivadnya, off we go!”
A
moment later, Nova sat down at the table with them; with a much bigger tray
than Deke had seen her with. Tatiana looked at her as if she had suddenly grown
two heads. Nova wore her regular bridge jumpsuit and boots, but her pregnancy
was becoming a little more obvious every day.
“Nova…when
did it happen?” said Tatiana.
“Lubyanska!”
laughed Nova as she let the Russian kiss her on the cheek. “I’m going on close
to five months now. I wasn’t anticipating it, and neither was their father,
but…”
“Their?”
said Lubyanska.
“I’m
having twins,” said Nova. “Derek and I are still working on names. Oh, my
back,” she muttered.
“You
okay?” said Deke.
“Part
of the territory,” said Nova. “Wish I could get this tight suit off, but the
Skipper wants me on the bridge for a shift in two hours; they say that Aliscea
has to meditate. She says she has a funny feeling about where we’re going.
Pardon the big lunch…I’m eating for three now,” said Nova as she laughed and
dug into her pasta.
They
ate and talked for a few minutes until Venture showed up and cleared his
throat. “Sir!” cried Nova. All three of the officers at the table saluted and
Mark returned the salute. The first thing Nova said was, “Mark…any word where
we’re going yet? All I know is that only you, Holly, and Paul know our
destination, although I do know we’ve calculated some awfully long space warps,
and…”
“Nova,
you’re about to learn,” said Venture. “But no word to the others yet. Come with
me a minute. We need to have a talk.”
Nova
took a few more bites of her lunch and nodded. Then, she excused herself and left
with Venture.
The two
officers were talking on the locked and dogged aft observation deck of the
“Just
for these negotiations, at the request of the Comet Empire,” said Venture as he
shook his head. “They wanted someone who was a witness to Zordar’s last attack,
and they didn’t want me or Derek, so that left you. Congratulations.”
Nova
shook her head. “Now I know why my mother was so hysterical in her last e-mail
to me. I haven’t dared to tell her about how I’m expecting yet. You know how she gets, Mark.”
“Yeah?”
“Will
there be interpreters there?” said Nova.
“No,
they will be conducting the talks in Terran English; the one common tongue that
we, the Cometines, the Gamilons, the Melezartians, the Rikashans, the Pellians,
and the Iscandarians all know.”
“It
makes it easy,” said Nova. She looked over the highly classified report Venture
had handed her. “They don’t know much about Invidia.”
Mark
nodded, he and Wildstar had also been granted the same security clearance Nova
now had. “What they do know comes from the Gamilons and Melezartians. Of
course, it makes things a little slanted. She’s supposed to be very devious and
treacherous, and based on the way she has been prosecuting this war, she has a
definite sadistic streak.”
“My
whole brief is in here?” said Nova.
“Basicially,”
said Venture. “You will be hearing from the President once daily in
confidential transmissions at 1800 Hours each day until we get to Melezart for
further briefings. He’ll call for the first time tomorrow after you read the
basic packet. Read it only in your quarters. You will have a confidential data
pad attached to your comm screen by the end of the day so you can talk with
President Mendellsohn from your quarters.”
“Who’s
bringing the Melezartian and Iscandarian envoys from Earth?” said Nova.
“The
Argo. Derek will be there, of
course.”
Nova’s
mouth fell open and she carefully set the folder down. Then, she held Mark’s
hands and squealed! “Oh, my God, I’ll finally see Derek again! That’ll be great!”
“Yes,
you two will have some…” Venture paused. “…uh…Quality time. The Melezartians
are giving you and Derek quarters in a small guesthouse on an island a few
kilometers away from the harbor where we’ll be landing. It’s for security, and
privacy.”
Nova
laughed. “Well, at least they aren’t asking us to share a hotel with Desslok or
something! That’s great!”
Venture
then gave Nova a friendly hug. “Good luck to you.”
“Thanks,”
said Nova with a smile. “I think I’m gonna need it.”
On
the Argo, Corporal Mick Stovall sat
in his cabin, barely able to conceal his good fortune. He had just piped aboard
a few minutes ago.
“Lordship,”
he said to the empty air in a whisper as he stroked his crystal Sphere. “This
is beyond great. We can kill Wildstar here…we can wreck this ship…we can do all
sorts of neat mischief…”
“I
will want you to do none of that,”
whispered Ekogaru. “Everything here is proceeding according to MY will. General
Stone has a venal mind and he was easy for Me to seduce, thanks to how you have
killed so many in
Stovall
laughed at that. “Wonderful, Boss. You’ll have to keep in deep cover around
this Astra bitch, of course. They say she can read minds like her damn mother
Starsha.”
“Her
and Astrena,” said Ekogaru hatefully. “I have perfected means so that all they
will feel will be a deep measure of unease in your presence. Not hard to do
with a face and demeanor like yours.”
“Hey,
boss! Are you saying I’m ugly?”
Ekogaru’s
dark spirit just laughed at that. “There is room for improvement, my apprentice.
If we remain together long enough, you and I, your demeanor and presence will
improve. And I will be so pleased.”
“Thanks.”
Stovall
got nothing but silence as he knew that Ekogaru had either gone into deep cover
or had left his presence. It was hard to tell with that deranged spook.
In
the meantime, on R’Khelleva, Yvona sat in a somewhat more pleasant room than
her cell, eating dinner under guard in another part of the prison with a young
R’Khell known as Major Daklat Ginis.
Ginis
was a handsome R’Khell officer whom she had met some days ago. Ginis had
ostensibly been sent to torture her, but, when they were alone, Ginis had
confided in her and had told her a startling secret.
“You’re
on….my side?” she said.
Ginis
had nodded. “I share the same beliefs as you. I had served on the border near
the Rikashan Federation some months ago, and while I was there, I was able to
speak with two men who came from Rikasha and from Earth. It was at a base,
where we were supposed to be working out a short-term truce. While I was there,
they told me about the Terran beliefs they had both adopted, and after a number
of talks, I came to believe in secret as they did. I then worshipped the
so-called R’Khell gods during the day in a ritual filled with emptiness to keep
my position, but I believed in the Anointed from Earth and spoke with Him in
the night. Then, a dream came to me, and in that dream, I was bidden to speak
to you. I am pleased to see that we follow the same Lord.”
“So,
what does He want?”
“I
have thought hard about this, but I would advise you to reconcile with Ekogaru
only so much as you can so that you can live in peace with your…husband…and spy
on him. Perhaps you can eventually cause him to change his twisted ways over a
long period of time…”
Yvona
had agreed to that. After a “reconciliation” with Ekogaru’s spirit, the
R’Khells, while still holding the pregnant Terran clone in prison, at least
made her conditions more tolerable. Ginis himself was now in charge of her
incarceration, and he saw to it that she was properly fed and clothed. And,
when no one was around, she and the major read a Terran Christian Bible that he
had somehow acquired and they prayed. As she went over the Scripture, Yvona was
surprised to learn that so many passages had a different meaning that the
twisted “meanings” that her mother and Ekogaru had taught her. She even
justified her learning to Ekogaru by stating that she wanted to learn more
about “the enemy”. Her strange spectral “mate” had agreed to that, thinking,
somehow, that Yvona was loyal to him again when she was actually working
according to a different motivation.
Yvona’s
psionic powers had weakened, but, when she had been permitted outside under
guard in practice clothing in the prison yard to exercise with a blunted rapier,
she found that some of her old powers were coming back, although she now had a
different motivation for using them. Yvona was pleased to see that she was now
entering a different sort of covert operation…it appeared that she was being
readied for secret work of some type with the help of Ginis, the other
believers she met in the R’Khell ranks (of which there were a few-like Ginis
and herself, under fear of persecution, they met in secret in the prison), and
by the subtle leading of her new Master.
As
she learned and recovered her strength, the clone of Yvona felt grief and
sorrow over the way her “mother” had treated her niece, Nova. She eventually
wanted to meet her some day and set things right between them and bury the
hatchet. However, Ginis had warned her that trying to get a message to Earth
(at this time, anyway) would not be wise.
Yvona
continued to hope and pray that things would be better for her soon.
IV. ANOTHER GRADUATION
DAY…
Planet Earth
Saturday October 11,
2206
1300 Hours: Earthtime
Dawn
Westland hadn’t liked the military much, but, today, she felt proud as she
stood there in formation for the first time in public in modified EDF Standard
Duty Blues (albeit with the WHO cedacus symbol on her uniform in gold where the
EDF anchor usually went).
She
stood at attention in a company of thirty flight nurses, twenty of whom were
females and ten of whom were males. Three other companies were graduating
today, and they were listening to a speech by the base commander, who said, “I
am sure that you need no reminder that we are at war. It is all over the news,
and I need not mention everything that is going on. Even though we are in a
short-term truce so that we and our allies can negotiate with the enemy, we do
not know if the truce will hold. At any rate, we know that R’Khell has not
honored the truce, and that the R’Khells are still attacking our forces at the
edge of the solar system with their dimensional subs in hit-and-run raids.”
The
base commander paused as, in the bleachers, Lynn Westland smiled at her
daughter, not knowing if Dawn had seen her or not. “I anticipate that all of
you will be seeing action soon,” said the base commander. “I am assigning half
of you to on-the-job training at our Saturn-Titan Base and the other half of
you will be training on-the-job at Pluto Base in space under actual battle
conditions. It may be your task soon to actually spend part of your training
aiding real survivors of battles in the solar system from bases before you are
assigned to ships to fill the ranks of the medics and nurses we need. I know
that many of your classmates did not make it, and washed out in various ways. I
am proud of you who remain, and will be very happy to see you serving with our
Defense Forces soon under the command of Line Medical Officers in the Fleet…”
Blah, blah, blah, thought
Dawn to herself as she tried to keep a straight face in the military formation,
which she thought was inane. With her rebellious ways, she had been in trouble
a few times, and she had been forced to walk a few punishment tours with an
AK-07 EDF blaster rifle at her shoulder under the tender watch of a Space
Marine with a sandpapery old salt’s tongue along with the other miscreants.
They had even made her learn how to break down, reassemble, and fire both an
AK-07 and the Astro-Automatic sidearm. What
that has to do with being a damn Flight Nurse, I have no idea, she thought in an annoyed tone to herself. I’m not going to be shooting anyone or
shooting at anyone. If anything, the flying we learned was the most useful
part. Fly in, land the boat, do the
pickup, fly out, put her on autopilot if there is no co-pilot, stabilize your
patients, then land the boat. Seems
easy enough, even if that is not my cup of tea.
Finally,
the blasted speech was over, and Dawn was dismissed by her company commander
after they marched around a bit to the EDF
March to everyone’s applause. Dawn made a beeline for her mother, who had
on a light green sundress.
“It’s
been so long, Mom,” said Dawn as she hugged her mother. “How are you?”
“You
look good,” said
“Had
to,” laughed Dawn. “I finally look like a WHO officer now, I guess.”
“I
knew you’d make it,” said Lynn, who was wiser than her daughter. “Let’s go out
and eat, huh?”
“Okay,
Mom.”
At
dinner, Dawn was pleasantly surprised when her mother announced that dinner
would be her treat. They shared an appetizer and a salad together, and then,
Dawn felt she had to ask her mother some questions. “Mom, before Deke’s mother
died, wasn’t she a flight nurse?”
“You’re
already forgetting?” laughed
“Did
she have to carry a sidearm?”
“When
serving in the Fleet, which she did for a brief time…yes.”
“WHY?”
said Dawn. “I mean, I had to learn how to shoot….how to aim…how to…”
“In
case the enemy ever boards your ship,” said
“They
did, but…”
“Dawn,
you know Deke’s father had to wear a sidearm as part of his duties, too.. He
didn’t like it…but he had to.”
“It
seems I have to do a lot of things I don’t like these days,” Dawn said as she
pushed her salad around on her plate. “And I’m sick of hearing about the damn
war.”
“I
hope the Comet Empire wants to quit. I hear they’ve been having supply line
problems of some sort. Maybe even the green guys are as tired of this as we
are.”
“They
didn’t seem tired of it the other day when they took out
“No.”
“Why
not?”
“I
don’t feel like it yet, Mom. I have had too much to think about. Okay, I’m very
confused. I sort of have another boyfriend I’ve been writing to, but he hasn’t
written lately.”
“Okay,
write Deke some kind of e-mail,” said
“MOM!”
she groaned.
“Write
him something, Dawn. That’s what you
have to do for dinner,” she said with an evil smile.
“I
don’t remember his e-mail address on that damn ship of his.”
“I
do,” said
“You
must be paying a lot for this,” said Dawn as the PC came up.
“I
am,” said
Dawn
sighed. “I see you have his address in there already. How neat. Okay…”
Dawn
sighed and typed:
Deke:
This is Dawn. Long time no talk
with. I just graduated from
Dawn.
Dawn
sighed. “That’s all I can write for now, Mom. Is that enough?”
“Better
than nothing,” she sighed.
“Yeah,”
said Dawn as she looked down at her food. She was really mad at herself.
A
day later, Deke came in from a patrol flight and checked his e-mail.
He
nearly erased the e-mail when he saw that it was Lynn (whom he wasn’t in much
of a mood to hear from, since he had been forced to defend the
Deke
read the message again. He had just read a long message from Sasha and replied
to it (she had been worried about him, and he was worried about her). Dawn’s
flat, enigmatic message just confused him more as he read:
Deke:
This is Dawn. Long time no talk
with. I just graduated from
Dawn.
“Okay,”
he said out loud as he read the letter, ignoring the fact that Brew had just
entered the compartment. “Sasha writes me a nice letter, and I respond to it.
She really cares about me. But, Dawn writes from the middle of nowhere and
breaks a silence of nearly four and a half years with two lines? What the hell
am I supposed to think of that? ‘I will
write again soon. Let me know how you are doing?’” If she cares, man, she has a damn funny way
of showing it!”
“Squirrel
problems?” said Brew as he came in grinning.
“You
ugly slacker!” yelled Deke. “No. I’m having problems with my teddy bears! Of
course it’s squirrel problems! It’s always the damn squirrel coming back! Now,
what I wanna know is, does she care, is she telling me to bug off, is she
telling me she has a damn boyfriend, is she telling me she took a vow of
chastity? WHAT? What the hell is that woman doing, Brew?”
“First,
we need to know what a WHO (who, what?)” said Brew. “We got to find out what a
flight nurse does!”
“Yeah,
that would be a good idea!” yelled Deke as he yelled down the passage,
forgetting the hatch to their room was still open. “What the hell does a flight
nurse do?”
A
moment later, Nova stuck her head into the cabin. “Deke, I can tell you if
you’d quit screaming down the passage!”
“Sorry,
ma’am,” said Deke as he and Brew saluted Nova. “Nova, what does a…World Health
Organization Flight Nurse do?”
“It is close to my MOS,” replied Nova.
“or at least one of the three I hold.” Nova cleared her throat and said, as if
she had it memorized, “Quote…A flight nurse is a
highly trained registered nurse that normally has experience in not only
advanced life support but also critical care. They need the combined skills of
an intensive care nurse, emergency nurse and critical care nurse as they deal
with a large variety of emergencies and under numerous conditions. There are a
large variety of employers that require the expertise of a flight nurse. Some
work on medical emergency teams that reach critically injured or ill patients
in remote areas and treat them while airlifting the patient to a healthcare
facility. Other flight nurses work with teams that land at disaster sites such
as car accidents, tornados, earthquakes and fly the seriously injured to
hospital trauma centers. They perform the necessary, specialized intensive care
while transporting their critically injured or ill patients by plane or
helicopter or ship to the appropriate health care facility…Unquote.”
“Shoot,
you got that down pat, ma’am,” said Brew.
“I
had to learn that Freshman year in college,” said Nova. “Deke, why do you have
this urgent need to know what a flight nurse does at 0200 Hours in the
morning?”
Deke
pointed Nova to his PC. Nova scanned the message and said, “Is that really from
the enigmatic Dawn I’ve heard so much about?”
“Yes.
I’m really confused now,” said Deke.
“Well,
she is not asking to sleep with you, get engaged again, and she is not
threatening to cut her throat if you don’t answer. My guess is she just wants
to know how you are doing,” said Nova. “I have some very old boyfriends I write
to on occasion and Derek thinks nothing of it. Some of them are people my
mother tried to arrange marriages with, and they’re nice enough people.”
“So
what do I do?” said Deke.
“Write
her back,” said Nova. “She’ll probably write back, tell you she has a
boyfriend, and write back. Boy, they must be shorthanded, putting World Health
Organization nurses out with the Fleet,” mused Nova. “A Flight Nurse and a
Combat Nurse are similar MOS’s, but we’re trained to work in combat conditions
and to defend our charges if we have to. That’s one reason I carry this,” said
Nova as she tapped the Astro-Automatic that hung at her hip most of the time on
its belt. Nova unholstered her weapon and cleared it with a sharp snick.
“They’ve damn well better taught her how to use one of these if she’s gonna be
in the Fleet. And clean it, too. This thing needs a good cleaning tonight.”
“Why,
ma’am?” said Brew.
“I
was letting out my aggressions on the firing range, what do you think?” said
Nova. “I carbonized it to heck and back tonight.”
“It
must be frustrating, ma’am,” said Brew. He was not only not
inclined not to argue with a superior officer; he was also not inclined to
argue with one who had an Astro-Automatic in her hand. Brew was a little
relieved when Nova put the safety back on her weapon, closed the chamber, and
put it back in its holster at her hip.
One
day later, the Argo was again off to
outer space.
She
was followed by the spacecraft carrier Courageous,
the space battleship
“I
think we’ve got more than enough planes now, suh,” said Hardy as, fresh in from
a patrol with Hartcliffe’s squadron, he handed Wildstar a report in the lower
fighter bay.
Wildstar
nodded. “We have our own Black Tigers, and the Blue Devils and Red Vipers have
been deployed to the Courageous. And
the Gold Dragons are flying off the
“Close
to two hundred planes if they try anything,” said Hardy. “Plus, we’ll be
working with the Sun Tigers from the
“How’s
Hartcliffe?” asked Wildstar.
“He
and Angie seem to have patched up their differences,” said Hardy. “But, Angie
confided in me that Mister Hartcliffe has an unusual fear.”
“What?
What is that guy afraid of?”
“Getting’ Angie in a family way, suh.”
Wildstar
laughed at that. “Wait until he meets up with Nova and sees how she looks. It’s
not that noticable, but one can tell she’s pregnant.”
“I’m
glad to hear that,” said Hardy. “How’s she handling duty?”
“When
she has to serve on the bridge, she’s wearing her warp harness at her post if
anything gets hairy. It keeps her secure in her chair.”
Hardy
nodded. “That sounds fine.”
A
moment later, Bryan Hartcliffe himself came in. “Hey, Skipper!” he yelled.
“Don’t
call me that!” said Wildstar. “Call me “sir”, “Commodore”, or “Captain!””
“Yessir,
Captain Commodore Sir Skipper Sir Lord High King of the Bleedin’ Universe, Sir,”
said Hartcliffe with a grin. “Good goin’, sir, I ‘eard that ya got Nova knocked
up. When’s she gonna pop?”
Wildstar
snapped, “Hartcliffe, do you know what I might do to you?”
“The
same thing that yer did to Nova, Sir? I don’t ‘ave the equipment fer that, mate…sorry
to dissapoint ya, man.”
Wildstar
put his face in his hands and groaned. “I don’t know why I tolerate this from
you, Lieutenant?”
“Cause
I kill lotsa green guys in their planes, sir? Happiness is a warm gun, bang
bang, shoot shoot?”
“Are
you bucking for a Section Eight, Mister?”
“No,
Cap’n. If I was, I’d be wearin’ high heels and a dress! Ever seen me in a
dress, sir? Angie did it to me once when we were both stinkin’ drunk.”
“What
do I need to do to make you shut up?” snapped Derek.
“Feed
me kippered herring. I haven’t seen any on this ship in months, sir. Where are your cooks hiding the kippered herring?
Better yet, where are the cooks on the
Wildstar
laughed at that despite himself.
“Made
yer laugh, sir! I hope Nova’s all right. I know if Angie was preggers I’d be
climbin’ the bulk’eads. Why aren’t you climbing the bulk’eads, sir?”
“Because
these bulkheads have no rungs, Mister,” said Wildstar. “See me later when you’re
sane, Lieutenant.”
“Oh,
that must mean I can leave the ship, soon. I’m never sane,” said Hartcliffe as
he crossed his eyes through his glasses. “I’m formin’ a new band, sir. We’re
callin’ it the Nairobi Trio. We’re gonna do the world tour of Pluto next year,
regardless of the fact that it’s cold. We’ll be warm in gorilla suits, derbies
and overcoats.”
‘“Get
out of here,” laughed Wildstar as he shoved the goofy pilot on the shoulder.
“ARR,
shiver me timbers!” yelled Hartcliffe. He walked away after letting loose a
high, screaming laugh.
To Return to
the Introduction to The New Comet, click here