Crineal Chronicles 1: In Hera's Service

by Raymond L Jennings

  “General, with respect, you are such a pain in the ass I would like to keep you here for a month as a punishment. But I’m just not that much of a masochist. You’re out of here as soon as I can get one of these hyenas to find a grav chair to cart you away on,” he said, ending with a stern look at the two laughing med techs. One of the techs took the hint and staggered off to find the required chair whilst the doctor sent mock glares around the room.

  Chapter Ten

  Major Strieger sat at a table in one of the cafes dotted around the transit ring of Earth Orbital Three. She sipped a cup of coffee and thought it was very similar to the kafe she liked but a little harsher. Her leave had been great, she felt so much more relaxed now. She’d seen some of the sights of Earth, eaten well, met a few people. She smiled to herself at the memory of a particularly nice, handsome and energetic young man she’d left asleep in a hotel room two days ago. A few days of dealing with personal chores onboard ship and she’d be ready to get back in the saddle again. Thumbing through the news on her data pad, a conversation at a nearby table made her prick up her ears.

  “…so I heard that the Imps lost a bunch of ships again yesterday. Lots of upset navy types running around. Someone said they lost a whole squadron, some big shot general, too…”

  A cold weight settled into Strieger’s stomach and she paid for the coffee and left immediately for the shuttle docking port. Strieger got there just as a shuttle from the Annihilator docked. Looking around at the departing passengers she spotted a lieutenant, his section badges marked him as engineering, but he was the highest ranked crew member she’d seen so far. Strieger grabbed his arm and pulled him out of the flow of sailors.

  “Hey!” he protested. “What’s the…,” then he saw the rank insignia on Strieger’s uniform and came to attention, saluting. “Sorry, Ma’am. How can I help you?”

  “At ease, Lieutenant. I apologize for manhandling you. But I need to ask you, was there a battle yesterday?”

  “That’s what I heard, Ma’am, I think we lost most of a squadron, but that’s just a rumor, Ma’am.”

  “And was General Crineal involved?” The tension leaked from her making the lieutenant nervous.

  “I think so, Ma’am. I don’t know what happened to him though. Someone said he was dead, but I really don’t know.”

  The feeling of dread in her stomach grew larger. “Thank you, Lieutenant. Sorry to delay you.”

  “No problem, Ma’am. Sorry I couldn’t be of more help.” He saluted her and walked away.

  As soon as the last of the passengers had disembarked, she boarded the shuttle. After throwing her carryall onto one of the chairs in the front row of passenger seats, Strieger headed to the cockpit. She punched a switch on the comm panel by the cockpit door.

  “Yes?” came a voice.

  “This is Major Strieger. Let me in. I need to talk to you.”

  There was a short delay, she guessed they were confirming her identity, and then the door opened and Strieger entered the cockpit.

  The pilot and co-pilot saluted her as she entered. “Ma’am. What seems to be the problem?”

  “At ease, gentlemen. I just need to know what happened yesterday,” she asked whilst bracing herself against a bulkhead.

  “Ares Squadron got ambushed, Ma’am. They lost over half of the squadron. I don’t have the exact figure I’m afraid, but I heard they lost between twenty-five and thirty fighters.”

  “And General Crineal?” Strieger prepared herself for the answer.

  “I don’t know, Ma’am. I’ve heard that he made it in and then he piled up on landing and died. I do know that Bay Gamma Ten is a mess. They have a Hunter embedded in the back wall of the bay and half the flight deck is torn up. I’ve seen the bay myself, Ma’am, and I can’t believe that anyone walked away from that wreck.” Strieger nodded numbly. Crineal normally touched down last and in one of the number ten bays. “We’re scheduled for docking at Shuttle Bay Two, Ma’am. Gamma Ten is right next door. One of the flight techs might be able to help you.”

  “Thank you, Lieutenant. How soon before we depart?”

  “Thirty minutes, Ma’am,” the pilot replied after glancing at the clock.

  Half an hour of hell, she thought as she made her way back to her seat.

  Forty-five minutes later the shuttle touched down in Shuttle Bay Two. As soon as the door unsealed Strieger headed down the ramp with her carryall over her shoulder and made for Bay Gamma Ten. Opening the door to the bay, she was appalled at the sight of the Hunter. The right wing was a crumpled mess that had made a huge dent in the thick rear wall of the bay. The two landing skids she could see were twisted pieces of scrap and she couldn’t identify where the cockpit should have been. Her carryall slipped to the floor as she numbly surveyed the mess. One of the senior techs saw her looking at the tangle of machinery.

  “Ma’am? Can I help you?” he asked as he approached her.

  “Whose ship is that, Chief?” She gestured to the pile of metal that had been a fighter.

  “It’s the one that General Crineal borrowed, Ma’am. Eta One.” He followed her gaze. “A real mess. I’m surprised the general made it back this far considering how much damage it had taken. Reverse thrusters had been shot up and he just couldn’t dump enough speed. He gave it a good try, Ma’am, skidding it along the deck to kill more velocity.”

  Strieger felt a lump in her throat. “He was the best, Chief. If anyone could have made it in it was him.”

  “Yes, Ma’am," the tech nodded in agreement and then frowned. “Was the best, Ma’am? Did he die?”

  “What?” Strieger asked in confusion. “Didn’t you say he died?”

  “No, Ma’am, it took us fifteen minutes to cut him out of the wreckage, but the docs were patching him up when they took him out of here. Last I saw he was on his way to med bay.” Before he had finished the chief was talking to Strieger’s back as she turned and grabbed her carryall on the run.

  Breathlessly, she palmed the door control to the med section and squeezed through as it opened. Her gaze swept the room but failed to locate the general. She did see someone she knew though.

  “Ma’am!” Lieutenant Feldea said in surprise. “I didn’t know you were back.”

  Strieger trotted over to the lieutenant sitting up in bed studying her data pad “Where is he, Lieutenant?”

  “The general, Ma’am?”

  Restraining herself from throttling the young woman, Strieger ground out. “Yes, the general. Who else would I mean?”

  “He’s back in his quarters, Ma’am. The doc discharged him about two hours ago. Don’t worry, Cyndy is there to look after him and a guard is outside the door.” She smiled brightly at having been able to reassure the major that the general was being well looked after.

  Strieger stood there for a moment and then half collapsed onto a chair, trying to take in what Feldea had said and making no sense of it. “Lieutenant, I have had a really, really bad hour. Now you are going to clearly and concisely answer my questions, or so help me, I will transfer you to the cargo shuttles.”

  “Yes, Ma’am.”

  “Is the general ok?”

  “He’s injured, but recovering, Ma’am.” Strieger felt the weight lift from her, next question.

  “Why does he have a guard?”

  “To protect him and Cyndy before the trial, Ma’am.” Strieger’s head started to spin.

  “What trial?”

  “Commander Del’Tarim’s, Ma’am. He broke into the general’s quarters and tried to rape Cyndy.”

  “Lieutenant,” Strieger said in a dangerously quiet tone, “who the hell is CYNDY?”

  “Ummm… Cyndora, General Crineal’s recreation assistant, Ma’am,” Feldea replied as if this was a perfectly sensible answer.

  Strieger sat there for a moment and then leaned forward to rest her head in her hands “I’m really, really hoping that the doc has you on some powerful hallucinogenic meds, Lieutenant. The general does not have a recreation ass
istant.”

  “Yes, he does, Ma’am. She comes and visits me every day. She’s very nice. She has long red hair and gorgeous green eyes. Plus she knows so much about Earth fashions. I can’t wait to get down there and do some shopping.” She beamed at Strieger.

  As Strieger looked up into the earnest face of the young lieutenant, convinced that either Feldea or herself was having a mental breakdown, Dr. Marrash entered the ward and wandered over to where she sat dazedly.

  “Major, if I get anymore Hera pilots in here I’ll start thinking you’ve annexed my med bay as part of Hera’s mess room,” Marrash said peevishly.

  Gathering her scattered wits she looked up at the doctor. “Doc? Can you give me a sensible answer, please? How is General Crineal?”

  “He’s a bit battered but not enough to keep him in here.” This set Feldea giggling for some reason before Marrash glared at her and she adopted a straight face.

  “Thank you, Doc. I’ll pay him a visit.” At least someone around here was sane, Strieger thought as she started to stand up.

  “No reason to keep him here when he has that young lady to look after him. Waste of our time and she can call or send the guard if there’s a problem,” Marrash said dismissively.

  Strieger’s legs gave way and she sat back down heavily onto the chair as the Doctor walked away. Feldea was watching her with concern. “Are you ok, Ma’am?”

  Strieger sat there silently for a little while. “No, Fel. I’ve just had a really bad hour because I thought that the general was dead. Now I think I must be in some alternate dimension. So I want you to take me very gently through what’s been happening. How long has the general had this Cyndora?” she asked quietly.

  Nodding sympathetically, Feldea thought for a moment. “I’m not exactly sure, Ma’am. He first brought her to visit me… ummm… six days ago. So at least that long. I get the impression that it was just after our last patrol.”

  Ok, thought Strieger, that would make sense. Apart from Crineal wanting a recreation girl at all.

  “And the bit with Commander Del’Tarim?”

  “Well, Cyndy didn’t want to say too much about it, but apparently he caught her in a corridor and threatened her. She was supposed to let him into the general’s quarters the following day because he wanted to rape her. Cyndy told the general and he, Colonel Jaynes and two marines were waiting for Commander Del’Tarim when he broke into the general’s quarters after Cyndy didn’t let him in. I’ve heard that they are going to court martial the commander on a bunch of charges, but that the charge of breaking into the general’s place is listed as a capital one.”

  Strieger sat there with a glazed look as she tried to assimilate the story. It certainly sounded like that rat Del’Tarim. Probably trying to get back at the general. Her mind kept sticking at the Cyndora bit. “Thank you, Fel. I think that makes sense now except for one thing and I want you to go over it again just once more for me,” she paused and gathered herself. “The general has a recreation assistant…?”

  Feldea nodded and after a moment realized she was supposed to fill in the rest of the sentence. “Yes, Ma’am. She’s very nice. She’s from Earth and she seems to genuinely like the general. Not like him in that puppy dog slave type way or like as in the general is a good deal type thing, but really like him.”

  From Earth? Wait… that last day we were looking at the new batch of prisoners coming on board and Crineal seemed to go a bit funny. Was she one of those? If so then… hmmmm… “Thank you, Lieutenant. You’ve been most helpful despite me thinking that you were completely delusional. I’d better go see how General Crineal is doing… and meet Cyndy.”

  “Yes, Ma’am. One more thing? Mus and Stal are back early and they were in here yesterday to check up on the general. They met Cyndy, too.”

  Strieger closed her eyes again, feeling a monster headache building. “And they’ve been loose for almost twenty-four hours with this information? You didn’t have them arrested or shot or something?”

  “No, Ma’am, sorry. I didn’t seem to have any justification for doing so,” Feldea said miserably.

  “Lieutenant, Staller and Muscovy are reasons in their own right. What are they doing back here anyway? I thought I’d have to send the Shore Patrol out for them.”

  “They’re broke, Ma’am. They lost all their money at some place they went to on Earth.”

  “Terrific. Loose and in need of making some money. The day just gets better.” She picked up her carryall as she stood. “I’ll see you later, Lieutenant. I’ll probably be carried in with a straightjacket on me.”

  After dumping her carryall in her quarters and taking just a few minutes to freshen up and pull herself together, Strieger made her way to the general’s quarters. As she approached she saw that there was indeed a marine posted outside. Strieger came to a halt in front of him and returned his salute.

  “Corporal, I’m here to see General Crineal. I’m Major Strieger, his second in command.”

  “Yes, Ma’am.” Instead of opening the door, however, he consulted his data pad then looked at her carefully before looking at the pad again. Seemingly satisfied he activated the door comm panel. “Assistant Cyndora? A Major Strieger here to see the general. She’s on the approved list.”

  There was a pause before a pleasant, slightly high-pitched female voice that Strieger didn’t recognize answered. “Thank you, Sir. I’ll be just a minute.”

  Following a very brief wait the door opened to reveal a woman in the standard short dress of a recreation assistant. She matched the description of Cyndora that Feldea had given her in the med bay. Her eyes were striking and she was pretty, but nothing that Strieger could see would have made Crineal change his attitude towards recreation assistants.

  “Cyndora? I’m Major Strieger, General Crineal’s second in command,” she said politely.

  The woman stepped back to allow her to enter. “Yes, Ma’am. Please come in.” As the door closed behind her, Cyndora asked “How can I help you, Ma’am?” Strieger thought that she was most polite and respectful, but not servile or cowed, interesting.

  “I’d like to see the general.” It was somewhere between a request and an order.

  “I’m truly sorry, Ma’am, but he’s sleeping at the moment and the doctor’s instructions were not to disturb him from rest in the next few days.” Some steel there, too, Strieger noted, or a strong desire to protect the general. She wasn’t about to fault either trait.

  “I understand. I don’t want you to wake him I just want to see him with my own eyes.”

  The redhead hesitated a second and then nodded. “Yes, Ma’am. Please be quiet though.” She led Strieger to the bedroom door and palmed it open. Crineal was asleep on the bed and snoring lightly, his entire left side swathed in bandages. The major looked at him for a long moment before nodding. She spared a quick glance around the rest of the room and picked up on a few oddities. There was a cot bed next to the main bed that the general was sleeping on. It didn’t seem to be that recently installed. Also, there was a pair of women’s long shorts and matching top that were resting on a cabinet. They appeared to have been hastily dropped there. Curious and curiouser, she mused. Strieger stepped back into the lounge and allowed Cyndora to close the bedroom door.

  “So, you’re Cyndora. Lieutenant Feldea has a lot of good things to say about you.” Strieger stood with her hands behind her back scrutinizing the girl with the practiced eye of a woman who had been around a bit. No marks, bruises or anything else to suggest abuse, or physical contact of any kind come to that. The woman looked healthy and fit.

  “Lieutenant Feldea is very nice, Ma’am. I enjoy talking with her. Can I get you some refreshment?”

  “A cup of kafe would be appreciated. Thank you.” Strieger sat down in an easy chair and studied the other woman as she went about supplying her drink. Her bearing didn’t match that of the other recreation assistants who were favorites of someone or another, either. They looked comfortable, but underneath there was
always a nervousness, a fear of being discarded and losing the little extras. Cyndora had been on board less than two weeks, if Strieger had it right, and the girl should have been unsure of her position, awed at serving a general and generally scared out of her wits after being assaulted by another officer. She was none of these things. She had all the poise of a woman who knew she was cared for and totally secure. Strieger accepted the cup from Cyndora and studied her as the other woman sat down opposite her in the other easy chair.

  “I understand that you only came on board recently?” she asked with a casual air.

  “Yes, Ma’am, less than two weeks ago,” Cyndora nodded.

  “And how are you finding life aboard the Annihilator?” Strieger sipped her kafe whilst constantly appraising the young woman.

  “It’s been mixed, Ma’am. Some of the people, like the general and Lieutenant Feldea, have been very kind to me. Even the admiral was most polite and pleasant.” Strieger’s eyebrows rose a notch, she’d met the admiral. She had been getting around. “Of course, there have been incidents that weren’t nearly so good.” I bet, thought the major. “And I didn’t expect to be separated from my friends in the dorm like this. But the general allows me to visit them so I’m not really cut off,” she smiled at Strieger. So, Crineal was giving her an awful lot of latitude for a newcomer, even for an old hand for that matter.

  “And you like the general?” Strieger knew the answer to that one but wanted to see the body language that went with it. She took another drink from her cup.

  “Yes, Ma’am. The general is very good to me. I’m lucky to have been assigned to him.” Hmmm, the answer she’d expected but something was wrong about the last part of it and she felt that Cyndora didn’t feel just lucky but exactly the way Feldea had described her, happy and content. Totally devoted to Crineal, and you didn’t get that feeling built in eleven days.