“I will if you just stop talking. Geez, you never let me get a word in.”
I mimed locking my lips and tossing the key then crossed my arms.
He sighed. “I said you hadn’t changed, and I meant that as an insult because I was mad. But it is true because you are a really good captain. A lot of people would have never recovered from the trial, but you did. Your parents would be really proud.”
“Uh, thanks. We need to go talk to the fleet and get that over with.” I discreetly wiped at my tears and cursed James under my breath. He knew my biggest fear was not living up to my parents’ expectations. He had no right to use that information against me, even in the form of a compliment.
The sooner I could get away from him, the better. I made a beeline for the far end of the hallway, where a guard was gesturing for us to follow him.
Once I had gathered my crew around, James initiated the connection to fleet.
The rest of fleet panel was grim faced as the president talked. He spoke as though the words were hot coals that burned his mouth. “Captain Elizabeth Laika, in light of the unfortunate turn of events, we will need you to sign paperwork stating that in exchange for none of this going on your record and interfering with your future service, no future action can be taken against the fleet or spoken of publicly.”
“Cutting right to the chase, I see.” The words were out of my mouth before I even realized I was saying them out loud.
The president’s mouth tightened.
I briefly considered apologizing but decided against it. He had witnesses, and I needed to make a stand that I was willing to play the game but not be pushed around in the process. “My crew must have the same deal. No negative marks on their records. And I want our previous mission marked as successfully completed.”
“You blew up a ship full of cargo!” he barked.
I stared at the screen with my heart in my throat. “We didn’t. And if you really want to go into it, I will gladly go to fleet court and plead my case publicly. All of it.”
“Fine. Agreed. Officer James Markswell, have them mark the agreement, and we will have it recorded as such.”
James passed around a pad for us to sign and mark with a fingerprint.
The president continued. “In accordance, we are willing to offer you, Captain Laika, a station on a new explorer vessel in the Nighthorse Galaxy to commence three days hence.”
If there was any shock left in me, I would have fallen over at the offer. My dream assignment was being handed to me on a silver platter. I nodded as though I had expected it all along, and I was glad I had the chance to play my cards. “Then since my last mission was marked successful, as captain, I invoke my right to article 104B, otherwise known as Laika’s Legacy.”
The president’s face slowly turned red, and the microphones were muted. I could tell because an excited conversation broke out at his table, but no sound was transmitted.
Behind me, Chloe asked, “What is Laika’s Legacy?”
Raph answered, “Cap’s parents had a rule passed that after a successful mission, a captain or senior team member could request to keep his or her crew together. Up until then, they were at the risk of being broken up after each mission.”
I nodded in agreement, though I kept my face pointed toward the screen. My parents had considered it their greatest achievement, something they could do to protect what they felt was their family. The same sense of preservation for those that served under their command was what led them to leave their ship and sacrifice themselves. Their actions had won the war.
I shoved that away, focusing on taking deep, slow breaths. I would show no weakness. Not in this battle of wills.
The sound came back on, and the president had mostly retained his color. “The position you are being offered is for an existing ship where the captain had to step down. It is set to start exploration on a new planet immediately, but only that one position is available. We will make sure that your crew members will be given equally generous offers at whatever place and type of assignment that most interests them. Or…”
He adjusted in his seat before continuing. “You can invoke article 104B, but we will need to find an open ship, and we cannot guarantee that it will be a step up from your previous job. And obviously, your crew members will be welcome to find new positions if they wish. In fact, we have found dozens of open jobs that I am sure they will jump at. But it is your decision, and you must make it now.”
I took a slow breath and announced my decision. I hoped I wouldn’t regret it.
CHAPTER THIRTY-SEVEN
I sat by the pool in the shade, perusing the news on my tablet. I had mostly adjusted to the heat on Cerulea and had to admit that it was growing on me, especially when I had traded running for my life for “sitting by a pool, drinking and relaxing.”
Pox lay on a chair next to me, making little grunting noises in his sleep. Other than his small sounds, it was achingly quiet, and I could practically hear my eyelids blink in the stillness.
There had been nothing published anywhere in the galaxy about an exploding ship, murder, or the attempted framing of a fleet captain. It had been completely and totally covered up.
Fortunately, until a fleet shuttle arrived, the king had given me use of his vacation home to rest in. The full-time staff was a nice bonus I had thoroughly enjoyed. In private, the king thanked me for my handling of the situation and for the suggestion of his new bride. He told me if I ever wanted to leave the fleet, he would be honored to have me as his employee, which was the best offer I had received in quite some time.
The events of those days had been plaguing me. James’s apology, negotiations with the king, and my final decision had crept into not only my days but into my dreams at night. I just wanted to move forward.
I checked my notifications and discovered I had a message that contained my ship manifest, which would list my crew. I still didn’t know what ship I was assigned to or the exact details of our mission, but that should arrive any minute.
“Hey, guys! Get out here!” I shouted to the house behind me. “The manifest is here.”
Raph came running past me and cannonballed into the water. When he surfaced, he asked, “We going to be hauling trash to the nearest star? Delivering convicts to prison? What terrible horrible job do we have this time?”
Chloe walked over and handed me a plate of food. She squeezed in next to Pox as she finished off her colorful drink. “Don’t give her a hard time. She gave up the Nighthorse Galaxy so we could be together. It will be fun no matter where we go.”
“It’s a job, not fun,” I corrected, though I couldn’t deny that having them by my side was better than not.
Horton slinked past me and fell face-first into the water. He hadn’t been himself since we said goodbye to Eugene. He was putting on a brave face, but we all knew he missed his friend. Horton swam lazily across the pool, his tail extended behind him.
“I don’t know what we are doing just yet, and this crew list doesn’t help much. Medical technician, three custodial staff, this is all pretty basic stuff except… Cerulean ambassador? Why would we—” I lost my breath when I saw the name attached to the position.
“Ambassador Eugene Basaltic reporting for duty!” a thin mechanical voice declared. From an opening in the wall around the pool rolled the wooden box. Eugene now had continuous track wheels set up on each side and two thin arms. I spotted a few other accessories, but I could only guess at their use.
“Eugene!” Horton screamed, launching himself from the water and racing across the distance.
“Careful, Tonny. I just cleaned my optical lens.”
They took a few minutes to catch up in private before Horton put him down. They joined us a few minutes later, and Eugene greeted each of us in turn.
I was so happy to see him that I didn’t immediately notice the flashing light on my tablet. When I did, I checked to see what I had received. Reading over the details, I couldn’t help but smile. “Guys, it’s
here. I have our next assignment.”
Sign up for my newsletter below to hear all the details and new releases, sales, contests and ebook giveaways. As a thank you, receive a link to down a short story set in the Casino Witch Mystery world. The story occurs about six months before the events in Of Murders & Mages: Casino Witch Mysteries 1
The Case of the Exploding Luck Pumpkin
Vanessa is home in Rambler, Nevada for the biggest holiday of the magical calendar, Halloween and some time off from her mage training. When the traditional Luck Pumpkin disappears prior to the party, Vanessa makes a bet that she can find it. What’s at stake? Only midnight’s kiss with a handsome man! She will have to out navigate spells gone awry, slippery desserts and an exploding pumpkin if she wants to win the bet.
Click Here to sign up for my newsletter http://nikkihaverstock.com/newsletter/
http://nikkihaverstock.com/
Author Page on Facebook : https://facebook.com/nikkihaverstockauthor
Reader Group on Facebook:
https://www.facebook.com/groups/NikkiHaverstockReaders/
Nikki Haverstock’s Amazon Author page with all her books
https://www.amazon.com/Nikki-Haverstock/e/B014GIZH0Y
Casino Witch Mysteries
Of Murders and Mages
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B074X8L6S9/
Which Mage Moved the Cheese?
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07BF7MCLC
There’s No Business Like Mage Business
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07FK18MZ8
Nice Day for a Mage Wedding
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07KV4VK9F
Dragons are a Mage’s Best Friend
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07SD24Z82
Target Practice Mysteries
Death on the Range
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B014GDO5C0
Death at the Summit
www.amazon.com/dp/B016CX2RZO/
Death at the Trade Show
www.amazon.com/dp/B017HWLGNS/
Death Indoors
http://www.amazon.com/dp/B01C0NTKRI
Death in the Casino
http://www.amazon.com/dp/B01EPE1KEQ
Death from Abroad
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B06XZ96GM2
Reality TV Cozy Mysteries
Lights, Camera, Murder
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B01GQRGDCY
Crossover Murder
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B01N51U14G/
Nikki Haverstock is a writer who lives on a small ranch high in the Rocky Mountains. She has studied comedy writing at Second City and has published 13 cozy mysteries that are heavy on the humor.
Before fleeing the city, she hosted a competitive archery reality show, traveled the world to study volcanoes, taught archery and computer science at a university and worked on her family’s ranch herding cattle. Nikki has more college degrees than she has sense and hopefully one day she will put one to work.
Nikki likes to write comedy pieces that focus on the everyday humor of family, friends and the absurdity of life. She tried stand up but the cattle weren’t impressed.
© 2019 by Ranch Dog Entertainment, LLC
All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, distributed, or transmitted in any form or by any means, including photocopying, recording, or other electronic or mechanical methods, without the prior written permission of the publisher, except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical reviews and certain other noncommercial uses permitted by copyright law.
This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, businesses, places, events and incidents are either the products of the author’s imagination or used in a fictitious manner. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, or actual events is purely coincidental.
Space Murder Page 17
