Blackthorn (Taurian Empire)

by Nate Johnson

  The skipper gripped the door opening and brought himself back under control. He would have to keep it together a little bit longer.

  “In here,” the skipper snapped as he pulled himself into his cabin.

  Chief Bowen escorted both Miller and Miss Williams into the room then put himself at parade rest. His hands folded behind his back.

  Lieutenant Commander White examined the two young people before him. Both dressed in unknown space suits. Both of them looking as if they had been keelhauled across an asteroid belt.

  “Sit down,” he barked, probably more forcefully than he should have.

  “Sir,” Miss Williams began as she sat down. “I wanted to say how sorry I am for what happened to young Drake.”

  The skipper closed his eyes and nodded. This wasn’t her fault, he reminded himself. And it definitely wasn’t Miller’s fault. It was a minor miracle the two of them were still alive.

  Folding his hands in front of him on the desk. He asked them to tell him everything that had happened since they had gotten onto the paint raft days before.

  The two of them looked at each other. He could tell they were silently communicating with each other. Not hiding things, just coming to an agreement.

  Petty Officer Miller began. As the young man talked, the skipper leaned back and let the story wash over him. Occasionally, Miss Williams would add an incident, or a different perspective. But it was Miller who provided the details.

  His report was thorough, yet concise.

  Somewhere during the middle of the story, Young Stevens snuck into the cabin and stood next to Chief Bowen. Both men were entranced by the story.

  Miller didn’t stop at the young officer’s interruption. It was as if he was worried that if he’d stopped, he’d never start again.

  The skipper slowly shook his head as the story unreeled.

  When Miller got to the part about putting a block on the beacons that stopped all message traffic about them, the skipper laughed and shot Steven’s a quick look.

  That explained so much.

  Miller quickly moved on. Their trip to Corona, the dumping of parts and trash and how they’d stopped one pirate ship. Then the long fight with the Black Pearl.

  Everything was revealed. Well, almost everything, the skipper thought as he watched his crewman look at Miss Williams with tender eyes.

  Don’t go there, he thought to himself. They deserve their privacy. Heaven knows that was probably the last time they were going to have any.

  At last, Miller finished with the Blackthorn coming between them and the pirate ship.

  When he was done, a silence fell over the room.

  The skipper slowly nodded as he brought his hands together and his fingers to his mouth. He had a lot to think about and not much time to do it. They would be entering Taurus space early tomorrow morning.

  “Okay,” the skipper said as he stood up. “Grab a shower, get something to eat. Have the corpsman check out that shoulder.”

  “Sir,” Miller said. “It is almost healed. Really.”

  “Good, then it won’t take the corpsman long.”

  Miller nodded and stepped aside to let Miss Williams through.

  “Miss Williams, I’ll be out of here in a second, and you can have these rooms.”

  She froze for a second then looked at Miller. The skipper could read the emotions flashing behind her eyes. She didn’t want to be separated from Miller. The fear and panic were actually palpable.

  Miller looked as if someone had kicked him in the gut.

  She grimaced, then nodded and said, “Thank You.”

  The skipper sighed. It was best that it happen now, he thought. Because, once they reached Taurus, these two’s lives would no longer be their own.

  .o0o.

  Kaylee took a tray from the rack and got into line. The crewman, in front of here, Smith? she thought, saw her and gave her a small smile as he stepped aside to let her go through first.

  Kaylee nodded her thanks and stepped forward. The last thing she wanted was to get into an argument with these men. Everyone was so nice, so worried about her. Even after all the pain and misery, she had caused them.

  They had lost a shipmate because of her. They had their liberty in Montlake pulled. The ship had been delayed from returning home. Now they were being diverted to Taurus.

  All because of her.

  Once she had her meal, she turned and looked out over the mess deck. Where was Logan? she wondered. Probably sleeping, happy to be in his own rack again.

  A shower, and a fresh change of clothes that she had retrieved from Logan’s case had made her feel like a new woman and as if she could face life again.

  Her insides released just a little as Peterson waved her over. As she approached, he moved aside so she could sit down next to him, across from Jonesy.

  It was only after she was seated that she saw the empty spot next to the spacer. Drake had sat there during their poker game, she remembered as she fought to hold back a tear.

  Where was Logan?

  Jonesy smiled at her and said, “Welcome back, what’d you do with my clothes? I’m running short. This patrol is taking a little longer than I planned for.”

  His abrupt statement made her freeze for a moment until she saw the sparkle in his eyes and realized he was teasing her.

  “Oh shut up Jonesy,” Peterson said as he took a bite of food. “Forgive him, he’s got the class of a Valerian bear and just as much sense.”

  Kaylee laughed. It was so nice to be here where things were normal. She realized that they were purposely teasing her so that she would know they didn’t blame her for Drake’s death.

  The kindness almost overwhelmed her as she fought to not breakdown in front of them. That would be the worst thing she could do to these men. These friends. They would beat themselves up for a week if they thought they had made her cry.

  “I’m sorry, Jonesy,” she said. “I left them on the Princess. If you want. You can have some of mine. I’m sure they will fit.”

  Peterson choked on his food as Jonesy turned beet red.

  Smiling, Peterson bumped her with his shoulder. “You are going to ruin any chance of me ever understanding women,” he said with a hearty laugh.

  Kaylee smiled to herself and glanced at Jonesy to make sure he wasn’t mad at her. The young crewman caught her glance and winked back at her.

  Life was good, she thought.

  Well, most of it. There was one minor detail. What did Logan think of her? There had been times, looks across the room. Tender moments. That kiss. Surely there was something there, she prayed.

  “Have you guys seen Logan?” she asked as innocently as possible.

  Jonesy looked at Peterson and smiled.

  “Why?” he asked. “Missing him already. Well, he had you to himself for weeks. The least we should get is the last few hours together. Or, is there some special reason you need our shipmate.”

  She tried not to blush. They had seen through her instantly.

  Peterson shook his head at his friend’s teasing of her. “The wastewater separator has been on the blink for days. He’s probably buried up to his shoulders trying to fix it.”

  Kaylee nodded slowly and resumed eating as a comfortable silence fell over the group. She had to accept reality, she told herself. She no longer had Logan all to herself.

  “Hey,” Jonesy said, pulling her out of her quiet funk. “Did you hear? We’re going to get liberty in Taurus. We’ve never pulled liberty there. Where is a good place to find women?”

  “Yeah,” Peterson added. “The kind that will go for a short, spacer in town for only a few days. You know. Women with low standards.”

  Jonesy shot him a death-ray stare then shrugged his shoulders and looked at her. His eyebrows rising as he anxiously awaited her answer.

  Kaylee laughed. “I don’t think I know such a place,” she said.

  Jonesy’s smile turned into a frown as he shook his head.

  “Although,” K
aylee continued. “I do have a couple of friends. But, I don’t know. They are a little wild. Probably too wild for you two.”

  Peterson laughed. “We’re spacers who have been out for two months. There is no such thing as a woman too wild.”

  Kaylee slowly shook her head. “I don’t know. You don’t know these girls.”

  “What do you mean by wild?” Jonesy asked as he held his breath waiting for her answer.

  “You know. Partying all the time, a different man every night. You know ... wild. You’ve got to realize. These girls don’t want forever. They just want to have fun and then move on. But, you guys wouldn’t be interested in girls like that.”

  Jonesy started to levitate out his chair, but Peterson reached over and pushed him back down. His expression told his friend to cool it.

  Turning to Kaylee, he frowned and asked, “So, what do these girl’s look like?

  Men, she thought. Always the first thing they thought to ask.

  She shrugged her shoulders. “I guess you’d say they were pretty. Prettier than me for sure.”

  “That’s impossible,” Jonesy said as he shook his head as if what she said had been absurd.

  “You are sweet,” Kaylee said with a smile. “I think you should call Clarissa, she likes sweet.”

  Reaching over, she removed the tablet from Peterson's arm pocket.

  “I’ll give you their names and numbers. But this will only work if you follow my instructions.”

  “What are those?” Jonesy asked as he leaned forward to watch her write.

  Kaylee smiled as she thought of her two friends. They were going to owe her.

  “You’ve got to tell them that I told you to call them. I went to school with them when my father was stationed on Taurus. We’ve kept in close contact ever since.”

  Both men nodded, easy enough.

  “And, you’ve got to tell them you’ve been out for two months and that you are in port for only a few days.”

  Both men looked at her as if she were a goddess bestowing a blessing upon them.

  “That’s it?” Jonesy asked as he snatched the tablet and downloaded the file to his. Kaylee almost laughed. No way was he letting Peterson be in charge of the numbers.

  “Yes, but you’ve got to understand. These girls like to have fun. They especially like new and interesting men from far-off places.”

  “I don’t know,” Peterson said as he stared down at his tablet. “These don’t sound like most of the women I know.”

  “You’ve been looking in the wrong places,” Kaylee said. “You need to focus on the rich, beautiful women. The ones who have gone through everything in their area and are looking for new and different. Believe me, they are going to love you.”

  Jonesy shook his head in disbelief. “Kaylee, if this works out. I will owe you my second born son.”

  “Not the first?” she asked with a laugh.

  “No,” Jonesy answered. “He’s promised to Washington. Poker debts.”

  She laughed and got up from the table to return her tray. “If it doesn’t work out,” she said. “You call me. I know a dozen women who would love to meet such handsome heroes as you two.”

  Peterson gently held her back for a moment.

  “But, not you?” he asked.

  She smiled and said, “Sorry, I’ve already found my hero.”

  Chapter Twenty

  Logan stood at the back of the bridge at parade rest. His familiar stations, ready to fix things that went wrong.

  The two long retrieval arms moved out from the dock and pulled them into locking position.

  He glanced over at Kaylee standing next to him. Did she have any idea how much trouble he was in? The captain had let him know that Headquarters staff would be meeting the ship on their arrival. He hadn’t been able to keep it quiet any longer. Once the Blackthorn had entered Taurus space, he had informed the fleet of their situation.

  “I just gave them the basics,” he had said. “I am sure they are going to have a million questions for us when we get there. But, at least they didn’t blast us out of space. Not yet anyway.”

  Logan’s mind raced with possibilities. Perhaps being locked in the brig for the next dozen years. Or maybe the best he could hope for was a quiet transfer to some armpit of a world where he would push papers until his enlistment ran out.

  Either way. Things didn’t look that great.

  Regardless of what happened in the future. He was relatively sure it was not going to include Kaylee. She would go back to her world. Back with her rich, powerful family.

  Luckily, she hadn’t really done anything wrong except follow her father’s instructions. They couldn’t hold any of this against her. It was he who had stolen the vessel. It was he who assaulted those two pirates on Montlake. He who had destroyed that ship with his junk pile. It was he who had missed movement and been AWOL.

  None of this would come back on her. He would make sure of it.

  “Crap,” the skipper said, as he jumped back from the video screen.

  Each crewman on the bridge held their breath. The skipper did not curse, ever.

  “What is it?” Lieutenant Stevens asked.

  “Admiral Harris,” the skipper said, unable to pull his stare away from the screen.

  “What about him?” Stevens asked as his brow furrowed.

  “He’s on the pier, waiting for us.”

  “What?” Steven exclaimed as he moved to get a look at the screen.

  The young lieutenant’s face drained of all color.

  “Admiral Harris is the man in charge of the Imperial Navy,” Logan whispered to Kaylee. “He’s been around so long when God proclaimed - ‘Let there be light,’ - Admiral Harris threw the switch.”

  Kaylee smiled as she bit her lip.

  What was the man doing here? Logan wondered. No way could this be good.

  As the crew busily started securing their stations. The skipper sighed heavily and said, “I better go see what he wants. Chief Bowen, there is an ambulance on the dock waiting to take Drake. Full Honors.”

  “Yes, Sir,” the Chief said as he grabbed four men and hurried them aft.

  “Lieutenant Stevens, you have the con. Secure from space. Our stores and fuel should be ready for us. I’ll be back in a minute,” he said, then added “I hope,” under his breath.

  Logan swallowed hard, he hated things like this. He didn’t know what he was supposed to do. Was there shore patrol on the dock waiting to arrest him? Was he supposed to stay here, or should he go with the captain?

  “You two with me,” the captain said, indicating Logan and Kaylee.

  When they reached the gangway, Logan saw Admiral Harris on the dock. He stood there with his galaxy famous scowl, his hands folded behind his back, waiting. A large Imperial Marine stood at the Admiral’s vehicle, also waiting.

  This cannot be good, Logan thought to himself. He seemed to be saying that a lot lately, he thought.

  The skipper hesitated for a moment, then took a deep breath and started down the gangway.

  Logan followed Kaylee down the metal gangway. At the bottom, he quickly saluted the Imperial Shield painted on the stern of the vessel, then stepped off and saluted the admiral.

  The old man returned his salute, all the while scowling at him as if he wanted to send him to the inside of a star somewhere. Preferably far and distant star.

  Logan dropped his salute and glanced at the skipper. The man’s face was dead calm. Obviously, he had already accepted his fate. Gritting his teeth, Logan decided to follow his captain’s example.

  Before anyone could say anything, a high-pitched Boson’s pipe called alert, then shifted tone to render honors. Chief Bowen stood at the top of the gangway with a brass Boson’s pipe to his lips as four spacers walked down the gangway, each holding the corner of the black body bag

  Every military person on the dock shifted to face the Blackthorn, Each snapped to attention and saluted. Logan noticed that Admiral Harris had been first and fast
est to render his salute. Holding it in place until the dismiss was piped.

  As the body was loaded into the ambulance, Logan noticed that Admiral Harris’s scowl grew even deeper as he looked off into the distance for a moment.

  At last, the admiral turned to address them. He smiled faintly, held out his hand and said, “Kaylee, it is nice to see you again.”

  Logan’s heart dropped to his knees. She knew Admiral Harris.

  “It is nice to see you as well, Sir,” she said as he pulled her into a quick embrace and a fast peck on her cheek.

  Logan was scrambling in his mind. Wow, he must have looked like a dunce. Of course, she knew who Admiral Harris was.

  The admiral continued on, as if he were meeting guests for dinner.

  “I ran into your mother just last week. At your Aunt Carol’s. I believe your mother is staying with her.”

  “Thank you, Sir,” Kaylee said. “I will make sure to let her know I am here on Taurus.”

  Jesus, Logan thought. Do these people ever say what they really mean? He knew the look behind Kaylee’s eyes. She was looking forward to seeing her mother as much as he was looking forward to seeing the inside of the brig.

  The admiral’s smile dropped as his attention shifted to the young spacer in front of him. “You must be Petty Officer Miller.”

  Logan swallowed hard as he came to attention and said, “Yes, Sir,”

  The admiral studied him for a long moment, his eyes boring into him as if trying to discern the meaning of life itself. Logan remained at attention, his eyes focused a few inches above the Admiral’s.

  The admiral’s close scrutiny continued for quite a while. Logan could feel his knees locking up as his mind raced. Why was a full admiral even talking to him? Why wasn’t he in cuffs and being led to the brig? Maybe they wanted to do it in private. No need to make the Navy look bad.

  “White,” the admiral said to the skipper from the corner of his mouth as he continued to stare at Logan. “Take care of your ship, I will see you in my office in two hours for a full report.

  “Aye, aye, Sir,” the skipper said as he came to attention. He hesitated a moment then said, “Sir, I think you should be aware that Petty Officer Miller ...”