Metal Boxes - Rusty Hinges

by Alan Black

  His brain cognitively connected the cinnamon and garlic odors. He’d smelled the combination twice before. Once, before the ocean safety nets were in place and once again, when a marine shuttle killed and dragged a creature they called a needler to shore for the scientists to autopsy. The needler was the size of a shuttle with thirty centimeter spikes on the end of a dozen tentacles. The spikes were needle sharp to skewer their meal and drag it to a toothless maw. A needler looked like a squid, an appetizer Stone was fond of, except a squid was small and tasty.

  The needler had somehow broken through the nets. Stone didn’t have any desire to meet a needler face-to-face anywhere outside of an occasional nightmare, but he couldn’t stop. Getting his feet under him and a few splashes later, he grabbed Spacer Dollish by the shoulders.

  “Wha—” Dollish shouted. He’d been so intent on finding something to cover himself with after losing his swim trunks he’d missed the activity around him.

  Stone uttered an incomprehensible shout. A thick tentacle breached the surf with seawater dripping back to the ocean from its tentacle. It hovered slightly, taking aim at Dollish. The bonelike spike, sharp as a needle, glinted in the sunlight. Other tentacles slithered around, bracketing them, cutting off their escape in every direction except straight up.

  He spun Dollish around. Wrapping his arms around the young spacer, he hunched over trying to protect Dollish while bending them face down in the waist high water, barely a bubble over the mild surf. He felt a sharp pressure in the middle of his back, pushing him under water. He jerked his face up, pulling Dollish back up for air.

  The spacer tried to pull away, recognizing the danger. Trying to get to the beach and away from the needler, he struggled to free himself from Stone’s grasp.

  Stone held him tight. Neither man moved.

  Two lifeguard stations opened fire. Streams of hard-shelled projectiles generating a crossfire, churned the clear water to an angry white froth. A second tentacle rose from the water toward them. Stone twisted, keeping his body between Dollish and the needler. Before the needler could strike, the lifeguard’s bullets cut through the tentacle, severing it.

  Dollish finally pulled away and raced toward the beach. Disregarding his nudity, he ran across the sand. Though the young spacer was a low ranking cook, he grabbed a weapon from a navy specialist at the shack doubling as a beachside snack bar and armory, running back to the water’s edge. He pointed the weapon in every direction, along with a dozen other people, but there wasn’t anything to shoot. The lifeguard stations had already turned the needler into chunks.

  Stone sighed and walked out of the surf onto the beach. “The beach is shut down and off-limits until we find out why the safety nets failed. Sorry to mess up your picnics, folks.” He turned to walk back to his office, pulling at his trousers. They were not designed to be worn wet and were crawling up his crotch, binding some rather important parts that he preferred not to have bound too tight.

  Dollish said, “Hold up, Ensign.” The young man put a hand on Stone’s shoulder. “Thanks, Boss.”

  “It’s what we do, Tim. Besides, I think this makes us even.”

  “Oh, hell no, Boss. We aren’t even close to what I owe you and I ain’t talking about your getting me promoted to Spacer First Class ahead of the zone and helping me with my night school. Hold still, sir.”

  Stone was surprised Dollish called him sir. He was authorized a personal chef on his staff as governor and selected S1C Tim Dollish. Rarely did the young cook call him anything other than boss or ensign. Sir must be an indication of something important. Dollish grabbed Stone by the shoulders and turned him around. He felt Dollish’s hands on his back, but with his thickened skin, he didn’t feel more than a light pressure.

  Dollish grunted and Stone felt a brief stinging sensation. He turned around and Dollish handed him a bonelike needle about twenty centimeters long. It had snapped off the needler and stuck in his back. He tried to look over his shoulder, but all he could see was a ragged tear in his wet shirt, flapping in the light breeze.

  “Must not have stuck in very deep, Boss. You ain’t bleeding.”

  Stone nodded, swearing silently that he wasn’t ever going swimming again and he would immediately stop wishing for something to happen.

  CHAPTER TWO

  Stone stood on the tarmac waiting for the representative from the emperor’s shuttle to land. Vice Admiral Temple, the system’s leading military commander, stood waiting with him to greet whoever the emperor had sent. Neither man knew the reason for this visit, nor questioned the lack of reason. Both men knew it wasn’t a career-enhancing move to question something the emperor did, said, or even thought.

  No one had openly questioned an emperor since Emperor Selligman two hundred years ago — a maniac who had to be deposed by the military and a new emperor placed on the throne. Crazy was crazy whether the loony was an emperor or not. Everyone says that power corrupts, but few people mention that power can also drive a man or woman insane beyond redemption.

  After Emperor Selligman, Empress Shin Zhu added behaviorists and psychologists to the emperor’s college to review all potential candidates for humanity’s top leader — and to keep an eye on her. Shin Tzu had personally executed Selligman for his excesses and after a few years she abdicated and installed the next candidate when her own college determined she was succumbing to post-traumatic stress syndrome.

  Although she determined he had to die, she hadn’t been able to order anyone to kill the ex-emperor, so she ended his life by her own hand. The trauma of personally killing Selligman caused her to hesitate in ordering anyone to do tasks that might get them killed. Not a good mental state for the commander-in-chief of humanity’s military forces.

  No one knew for sure, but the rumor said Shin Zhu was a gentle soul still residing in a little mountain cabin on a backwater planet in the Regulus sector. She was comfortable, but isolated in her retirement, still unable to bear the thought of a security guard risking his life to save hers.

  Stone shivered, remembering those history lessons. He’d met Emperor Alberto Garza a few times when he was younger, before joining the navy. The man seemed to be a nice guy, unless you beat him at tennis. Still, those were social occasions with a lot of family around, the emperor having married some distant cousin. Stone wondered how the emperor would react if Stone did something other than claim victory when the man hit a double fault. Personal snits were one thing; professional anger was something else and something he didn’t want to tempt.

  Stone shifted from one foot to the other. Acting in his capacity as governor he was in full dress uniform. The heat from the plasticrete tarmac was cooking the bottom of his feet and the humidity was high, as it always was on their island retreat. The island was big, huge by island standards with almost ten thousand square kilometers of land — but not large enough to dissipate the ocean’s humidity.

  “Quit fidgeting, Ensign,” Temple snapped.

  “Yes, Admiral.” Stone froze. Even though he knew he couldn’t stand still much longer, his body and muscles reacted to the admiral’s command. His training kicked in and his body became motionless. He blinked, but his eyes focused on a hilltop across the landing pad, did not flicker to the left or the right. They were cemented into a static glare. He continued to breathe, with his breaths so shallow his ribcage barely registered the change.

  Sweat trickled down the back of his neck and he could feel some insect crawling up a trouser leg, yet he didn’t move. He smiled inwardly. His toughened skin had its benefits. Not only did it keep him from being impaled by a mutant sea creature, it meant he could feel the bug on his leg and the running sweat, but they didn’t tickle.

  “Dammit,” Temple snorted, shifting from one foot to the other. He looked over his shoulder and snapped. “Butcher, where is that shuttle of yours? I thought they were supposed to be here already?”

  CDR Thomas Butcher started to speak, but interrupted himself, “Sir, they — there they are.”

 
; A shuttle dropped from the clouds, settling on the tarmac with a gust of breeze. The landing didn’t stir any dust. The admiral had ordered the tarmac swept clean and washed so the emperor’s representative wouldn’t get the bottom of their shoes dirty. The enlisted team had grumbled about the duty, but the tarmac sparkled in the noon sun.

  Three lines of officers mumbled and shuffled into order. Stone didn’t move. Every off duty navy officer on the base was in the formation, from the base commander to the newly assigned ensign in administration, even lower ranking than Stone, a real newbie. There was a long row of senior officers from every ship in system, including the captured Hyrocanian ship, Rusty Hinges commanded by Butcher and the captain from Temple’s own carrier, the fleet’s flagship.

  The only marine officers in line, MAJ Dashell Numos and 1LT Theo Hammermill were resting comfortably in their huge combat suits. Missing were 2LT Rainne Escamilla who was on duty and 1LT Allison Vedrian was off planet on leave. Squads of marines remained at attention — or rather their huge suits stood at attention, although everyone knew they were probably napping, playing video games, reading books, or just chatting.

  Rows of navy ranks stood in line snapped to attention, including those in combat suits. Few people had seen the emperor in person and only a slightly larger number had seen an official representative. Volunteers to stand formation swelled until almost everyone on the island was on the tarmac.

  Jay and Peebee stood between the marines and the navy. Their shiny armor glittered in the sun. Jay’s blue filigree on her chest plate sparkled as did the red flames on Peebee’s armor. Standing in formation behind each of them were their daughters. Behind Jay, in matching but smaller armor were Charlotte, Emily, and Anne. Their blue colors ranged from almost a dark purple on Charlotte to a pale watercolor blue for Anne. Behind Peebee were her three daughters: Ell, Tee, and Bea. Each wore slightly different red flames on their armor, from Ell’s fire engine flash to Bea’s sunset soft red.

  Behind the drascos were rows upon rows of piglets standing in such perfect formation it should have embarrassed the navy ranks. Stone had been surprised at their numbers when they arrived, but Shorty and Sissie chivvied them into position with the barest of nods in Stone’s direction. Every piglet head was covered by a strawhat and their dark, mirrored sunglasses reflected the noon sun.

  Stone hadn’t thought to invite the drascos or the piglets to this welcoming ceremony. He hadn’t wanted to be here. He wanted to be on vacation with Allie. So, why force these creatures to stand in the hot sun waiting for who knew what, why, or even who. Drascos and the piglets were intelligent, but no one ever claimed they were subject to the emperor, though they all followed Stone whether he wanted it or not.

  The final contingent awaiting the emperor’s representative was Doctor Emiliano Wyznewski with a few civilian scientists. Most were dressed in their finest suits, dresses, ties, and scarves as their personal fashion sense dictated. Whizzer was his usual non-conformist self. Ignoring any formation, he simply gathered a few friends together. He was even holding hands with his friend, Doctor Kat Emmons. They were laughing over something another scientist had said, ignoring the somber formal ceremony unfolding around them.

  A loud chime sounded from the shuttle and the door lowered slowly and stately. The emperor’s emissary was the first person through the hatch. She stumbled and barely caught her balance by grabbing the hand of a man just behind her.

  Stone laughed, “Oh no! Not her.”

  CHAPTER THREE

  In violation of all tradition and orders, Stone broke ranks, rushing across the tarmac. He wrapped his arms around former navy CDR Danielle Elizabeth Wright. Still laughing, he squeezed, happy to see his old friend. His growth to six feet four inches still surprised him as he looked down into her shining face.

  She said, “You’ve grown a few feet, Stone.”

  He stepped back and looked her up and down. “Either I’ve grown or you’ve shrunk.” He reached over and patted her distended belly. “Well, Mrs. Ivan Storovitch, it looks like you are doing some growing yourself.”

  She smiled and patted his hand as it patted her stomach. “It takes a lot of work to get this fat, but I get away with it since I’m eating for two.”

  Her husband stuck a hand in to interrupt. “Can anyone join this reunion? Good to see you again, Admiral Stone.”

  Stone laughed and shook the man’s hand. “Not anymore, Maggot. I’m just a simple ensign.”

  Maggot replied, “Simple nothing. You’re the governor of a whole solar system.”

  Stone nodded, suddenly all business. “Yes. We have a permanent base on Allie’s World with a couple of growing civilian towns. We also have two permanent installations on a couple of moons surrounding the closest gas giant. I’ve been fending off the emperor’s not-so-veiled suggestions that I upgrade from governor to king. Gaaak! I have enough trouble being an ensign. I sure don’t want to be a king.”

  Danielle nodded. “Now that you’ve got some profits rolling in on this world, I’ve given up my veterinary practice and am planning on taking a nice long retirement in some big city where I can go shopping and out to fine dining whenever I want.”

  Stone looked up at the shuttle hatch. “You are the emperor’s representative? There aren’t any other surprises?”

  Maggot shook his head in confusion. “I didn’t think we were his representatives. We were just going to be in the area and wanted to check out Danielle’s holdings. We got a message from him asking us to deliver a message to you.”

  Danielle just nodded.

  Stone hooked an arm through each of theirs and turned to walk them across the tarmac. “Well, everyone here is expecting an official representative of —”

  He was interrupted by the wild wonking of excitement from Jay and Peebee. He could hear them shouting.

  Jay was yelling, “It’s Dani. It’s our friend, Dani. Mama, can we come see her?”

  “Mama! Mama! Mama!” Peebee yelled.

  Stone said, “We have a couple of your old friends who want to see you, too. Jay and Peebee, come here. Leave your girls behind.”

  Before Danielle could react, she was surrounded by a bounding horde of drascos. All eight of them had rushed forward, despite his orders. They banded around the three humans like a brood of wild puppies. Wooting, hopping from one foot to the other, tails wagging, and smelling breath was the order of the day.

  Danielle said, “My word! They’ve gotten so big.” She looked at Stone in amazement. “I get all of the updates from your civilian scientists studying the drascos, but until you see them up close, it’s hard to imagine how big Jay and Peebee have gotten. And their babies are beautiful.”

  Stone noticed Maggot standing frozen, not daring to move. “Don’t worry, Agent Storovitch. They’re pretty housebroken by now.”

  “As I recall, they didn’t like me much the last time we met.”

  Stone grimaced, “That was probably my fault. Sorry, but you jumped in and told me what to do all the time. That didn’t really sit right with me. I’ve got a behaviorist friend here — he waved a hand in Dr. Emmon’s general direction — who told me it was just normal teen angst. It would seem I was — and probably still am — at the tipping point of giving up being a child and turning into an adult. I’m sorry, I guess I was tired of everyone telling me what to do and I took it out on you. The drascos took their cue from me.”

  Jay said, “Mama, Dani is going to have a baby like Peebee and me did.” She made a little huffing noise that Stone could only interpret as a drasco giggle.

  Stone said, “Danielle, Jay and Peebee are happy that you’re pregnant.”

  Peebee said, “Not like us, Jay. We had three girls. She will have only one boy.” She patted Danielle on the head in sympathy.

  Danielle looked startled. “What was that?”

  Stone said, “Peebee is sad for you. She and Jay had three baby girls each.” He waved a hand at the six younger drascos, who after the initial excitement of meeting and
smelling their mothers friends, had dropped into a defensive circle around the small group. “She’s sad that you’re only having one baby boy — oh, you didn’t know?”

  Danielle looked at him with a wry face. “Of course, I knew I was having one baby. We just hadn’t told anyone that we were having a boy. How did …?”

  Stone tapped the side of his nose. “We can smell it.”

  “We?” Danielle and Maggot said in concert.

  Stone ignored the question and said, “Jay and Peebee, why don’t you take your girls down to the beach and take the day off.” Even if he phrased it that way, it wasn’t really a question. “The nets have been reset and the beach is open for business again.”

  Jay shook her head in a replica of a human shake. “I want to stay and talk with Dani, please, Mama?”

  Peebee added, “Me too.”

  Stone smiled. Even after a couple of years, he still didn’t broadcast he could talk directly to his drascos, although he was sure a few close friends guessed. He found it amazingly helpful to leave a drasco in a room. The drasco could recite some pretty surprising conversations after he left the room, as most people didn’t imagine they were any smarter than a large guard dog and would talk freely in front of them.

  He said, “You can stay if you want to, but go ahead and let your —” He was interrupted as Jay and Peebee’s daughters raced toward the beach.”

  Maggot said, “The beach sounds good to me. Mind if I follow them?”

  Stone said, “We have a greeting ceremony for the emperor’s representative that we have to get through. I’m sorry, but I’ve left an admiral standing at attention on the tarmac far too long already.”

  Danielle laughed, “From what I remember of my time in the navy, that’s a bad career move for an ensign junior grade.”

  Maggot pointed at Danielle. “She’s the emperor’s rep. I’m just her consort. Do I just follow your herd of drascos to find the beach?”