by Alan Black
Butcher nodded, “I forgot Tressa.”
Thomas laughed, “I would like to forget Tressa.”
Admiral Temple said, “I think we would all like to forget Tressa. Nevertheless, let’s get this show on the road.”
Butcher didn’t sit. He displayed a set of orders on the desktop. “I have been sent a packet of orders. I will be taking command of the Vasco de Gama, a class three explorer ship.” He pointed at the lieutenant in the corner. “Lieutenant Bhutros will be my XO. On our first deployment, we will be transporting an ensign junior grade and Master Chief Petty Office Thomas with a contingent of navy support personnel and a platoon of marines with their officer to their next duty station.”
Vice Admiral Temple hadn’t taken a seat and they were standing at as-you-were status so Stone pulled up the specification on his dataport for the Vasco de Gama. He was becoming familiar with many of the navy’s ship types, but the unfortunate incident at Point Alpha-Beta had skewed his studies to combat vessels. The legal wrangling around UEN Periodontitis charted out all manner of warehouse and supply ships. Explorer class ships were almost an unknown type to him. Of course, specifics about the Vasco de Gama itself were classified, nevertheless there was a great deal of information available about the type of ship.
Stone wondered where the Vasco de Gama was headed. Marines weren’t sent on explorer craft, certainly not one as small and middle class as a level three. A full platoon of sixty-four marines, with their officer, would be more cramped than usual, even having to sleep in shifts due to available bed space. The thought was brief. He felt a surge of joy hearing the master chief was going with the commander to babysit an ensign jg instead of a lowly midshipman. Butcher hadn’t said anything about taking a midshipman along, and a class three didn’t need more than three officers, one of whom was the chief engineer. Neither Butcher nor Bhutros wore engineer insignia.
He doubted he’d been called into this meeting to get an assignment on the Vasco de Gama. He didn’t expect reassignment anytime soon. The legal wrangling about the events swirling around UEN Periodontitis was almost done and he didn’t have any scheduled meeting with the Empire’s Military Investigative Service, the Navy, or the Marine legal departments. However, they had said they wanted to keep him around for any follow-up questions. There always seemed to be more follow-up questions, although, at this point, their questions were becoming annoyingly repetitious.
Butcher selected a set of orders from the displayed packet on his desk. He pressed a finger against one, tapped it twice to make a copy for his own files, and then flicked his finger, throwing the document’s cyber bits at LTSG Bhutros. Bhutros caught the bits with his dataport and glanced through the form with the experience of a man who had seen more than his share of official documents.
Butcher copied and threw a second set of documents at Thomas. He de-stacked a couple of records and flicked the documents across the room, adding, “We also have an amended packet of orders to transport PO3 Ryte as a dedicated communications technician.” He looked unhappy that an officer of his rank and stature was dispensing common transfer orders to a low-ranking NCO instead of Ryte going to BuPers like all other enlisted and low ranking officers. He sounded like he wasn’t happy her assignment was added to his shipboard complement after the fact, even for transport. The small ship was scheduled to be packed and stacked with people like an unopened jar of sliced pickles.
Ryte looked surprised at receiving shipboard orders. Her look of disappointment faded quickly since it was considered bad form for any low ranking enlisted to complain in the presence of a commander, to say nothing of griping in front of a vice admiral. She glanced through her orders, didn’t appear happy with the transfer, but she nodded acceptance.
Stone was even more baffled. Ryte hadn’t filed sexual harassment charges against him, so why was he in this meeting? Butcher hadn’t said anything about taking a midshipman with him, either as ship’s complement or for transport. Maybe he was going to be passed to another supervisor. He had to be assigned somewhere on Lazzaroni Base if Butcher left.
It dawned on him. Often, vice admirals were as close to retirement as they can get without holding a fruity umbrella drink on a beach somewhere. Temple must have requested Butcher transfer Stone to the admiral’s staff once Butcher deployed shipboard. It wouldn’t be difficult for an admiral to find a place on his staff for a midshipman who was at least four years away from his next promotion. The thought didn’t surprise Stone. There were as many admirals trying to curry favor with Stone as there were women trying to become romantically entangled with him. Except for Barb Tuttle, the women were looking for rich boyfriends and husbands. Barb made it clear she only wanted a sexual encounter, and certainly nothing more entangling than “a quick slap and tickle, thanks, and see ya around”. The admirals were looking for comfortable second careers with the Stone Freight Company, except one admiral who’d expressed his interest in Stone, interest that was little different from most of the women looking for husbands.
He decided it might not be so bad to be on an admiral’s staff. He wouldn’t have MCPO Thomas riding his ass all day since the man was taking transport with Butcher. Maybe he wouldn’t have to watch people scrub pots, sweep floors, or empty the trash. He’d complained to his father and mother at a family dinner before their spaceship took off for a freight run. After all, they had sent him to the navy to learn leadership so he could take over the family business when the time came. Grandfather wasn’t going anywhere soon, not for decades, but time wasn’t Stone’s issue. He already knew how to scrub pots, sweep floors, and empty the trash. He had done those same things on their ship, the Golden Boulder, for as long as he could remember, certainly for most of his seventeen years. He suggested he might learn more following some career path other than the navy.
Dad had said, “The fact you mention this means you haven’t learned what we sent you to learn.” He and Mom refused to discuss it further except to say, “Keep at it.”
He would be glad to let some admiral try pandering to him for a while.
Temple said, “This next part is mine. This is most unusual. By special request of the Emperor himself, we promote Midshipman Blackmon Stone to Ensign Junior Grade. This below-the-zone promotion comes because Ensign Stone is one of the two known experts on Allie’s World. The Emperor requested him by name for the exploration and exploitation of this new planet. His missive designates Blackmon Perry Stone as the planetary governor. As such, Ensign Stone will be the liaison officer with Commander Butcher’s ship while in orbit, the commander of both the navy and marine ground detachments and all assigned medical corps, and the manager of the civilian survey crew. This posting requires an officer rank beyond midshipman.”
The admiral stepped across the room. Pulling off Stone’s midshipman insignia, he applied ensign junior grade rank with a heavy slap on each shoulder. Butcher stepped up, slapped the rank tabs with a stinging flat hand, followed by LTSG Bhutros. Having been vetted by all officers in the room, Thomas and Ryte rendered hand salutes. Stone returned the salutes by rote. He was stunned. This was the worst possible assignment.
Temple said, “I envy you, Ensign Stone. Or should I say Governor Stone? Your first planetary command and a fresh world to explore. How exciting!”
Stone tried to keep his face passive. He wanted to tell the admiral how Allie’s World may be Earth normal in mass and environment, but every available inch was populated by animals who could rip out chunks of flesh with huge teeth to eat you, rip you to shreds with claws and talons for no reason at all, or just swallow and shit you out whole as a present for a horde of huge dung beetles on steroids with claws, hooks and pincers of their own. He wanted to explain how the planet was filled with plants covered in spikes, spines, thorns, and barbs, each sharper than the last. Worst of all, the whole planet was completely outside.
SIX
Stone was still baffled by the sudden turn of events as the meeting ended. His dataport beeped, reminding him of his appoin
tment in medical. The time was long past immediate, but it didn’t matter. A navy commander had delayed him, if medical didn’t like it, they could complain to Butcher.
Ryte followed him from Butcher’s office into the corridor. She glanced over his shoulder at his dataport, checked her own dataport, and slipped an arm through the crook of his. “Gosh, Midshipman, I mean, Ensign Stone. I have to go to medical, so we might as well walk there together.” Her grin was more predatory than sexy.
Arriving in the medical corps section, he was greeted by yet another new doctor. Since all three of the military commands used Lazzaroni Base as a transient point, his medical records had ping-ponged around to half a dozen doctors passing through on their way to somewhere else. This doctor met him in the waiting room, not even bothering to let him sit and wait. She didn’t seem to care if anyone waiting for appointments heard her or not.
“I’m Lieutenant Senior Grade Doctor Menendez, your new physician for the time being. Where the hell have you been, Midshipman Stone?” She stared at his medical file, flicking through dozens of pages and charts. She glanced back at the rank tabs on his shoulders. “Dammit, are these the right files?” She shouted at no one in particular.
Stone was about to reply when Ryte interrupted, “Ensign Stone was promoted just a few moments ago, Doctor.”
“No one tells me anything. Who the hell are you, Petty Officer?”
“Tammie Ryte, sir. I’m from communications and I have data requiring hand delivery to you about your next deployment.”
“Next—? I was told I would be here for—never mind.” She shouted at a corpsman. “Get Doctor Triplett back in my office. She’s around somewhere, just stepped out for coffee or something.” She waved for Stone and Ryte to follow her. “That woman is a real pain in my…” Her voice faded away as she realized where she was and who was with her. “Civilians! What are you going to do?”
Stone was soon completely lost as they wandered through dozens of corridors, turning every direction until he would either require a guide or his dataport to tell him how to get back to the navy section of the base. When they arrived, an elderly civilian woman in a long white lab coat already occupied the tiny exam room. The woman was obviously annoyed, but refused to look up from her reader.
Stone wondered why he needed to be seen by another doctor, a civilian one at that. This woman must be a specialist of some kind called in to consult with the Military Medical Corps. She was too old to be military, but had the lean, wiry look of a long distance runner despite her shoulder length grey hair.
Ignoring the woman in the room, Menendez ordered Stone to sit, pointing at the exam table,. He didn’t mind being examined with multiple people in the room. He was often examined, poked, and prodded by groups of medical corps and researchers, each claiming he was ill, whether he said he felt fine or not. Still, PO3 Ryte had followed along and he wasn’t comfortable even talking about his medical issues with a low ranking communications NCO in the room, certainly not a pretty, sensual one. He couldn’t say why she made him more nervous than the others, she just did.
Menendez gestured toward the civilian woman in introduction. “This is Doctor Triplett. She is the Empire’s preeminent xeno-biologist and the leading expert on your drascos.”
Stone snorted in derision, not even bothering to cover up his mockery. This civilian could claim to be an expert, but he was the only one who had lived with drascos in close quarters for more than a year. He knew things most scientists studying drascos could only guess at. Even Danielle Wright was more of an expert having been the only person to autopsy a dead drasco. Triplett could only review Wright’s files.
Menendez turned to Ryte. “Give me the files and get out.”
Ryte nodded, opened her dataport display, tapped a few files, and with a finger, flicked the files at the doctor’s dataport. She said, “I also have some special files for Doctor Triplett.” She threw files at Triplett’s dataport, turned, and disappeared down the corridor.
Menendez flicked through the files she’d received, scanning them quickly, and said, “Ensign Stone, I expected to have more time reviewing your case to see if we can find something my colleagues might have missed. In that regard, I requested Doctor Triplett’s assistance.”
Stone smiled. “Yes, sir. I assume Doctor Triplett has made a study of drasco spit’s analgesic properties?” Triplett nodded and he continued. “Your next question is ‘how often have I let my drasco’s put their spit on a cut, scrape, scratch, or any other open wound’. Well, my answer is, I don’t know. I guess about a couple of times a week over the past year.”
Menendez shook her head. “It shouldn’t work.” Triplett nodded in agreement, still not looking up from her reader. “Different planets evolve using different DNA strings. At best, drasco bodily fluid shouldn’t have any effect on a human. At worst, it should have killed you long ago.”
Stone poked himself in the chest. “Nope. Still here.”
Finally looking up, Triplett said, “This is no time to be flippant, young man. Those drascos need to be turned over to me for study. I have been put in charge of a new team to investigate them.”
Stone all but shouted, “No. I have talked to enough lawyers in the past six months to know you can’t take them without proof they are a danger to everyone, not just me. Such a confiscation is a direct violation of my chartered rights. Besides, all you want to do is dissect them. So, no.”
Triplett said, “They are a danger. One of them actually bit a researcher. I have the report by Doctor Emmons.”
“I don’t blame Peebee one little bit. I would bite you too if you poked me in such a sensitive area without my permission.”
Triplett shook her head in absolute denial. “Be that as it may, you have a serious medical condition made worse by your constant contact with those creatures.”
“I’ve heard about my medical issues. I know somehow the drasco spit has rapidly mutating DNA and I have drasco DNA strands in my system.”
Menendez said, “Fortunately, the alien DNA isn’t making any attempt at this point to combine with your human DNA. It remains free floating.”
Stone said, “So, no harm, no foul at this point.” He’d been scanned by every medical device on the base and one doctor had actually gone so far as to take an actual blood sample rather than trust the scanners.
Menendez shook her head. “Not exactly. We don’t know what’s going on. Drasco DNA is wildly flexible. Surely, you’ve seen this in their own rapid growth. Something has caused them to become larger than our database indicates they should be and their DNA is designed to enhance said growth.”
Something caused Jay and Peebee to grow stronger and larger than their mother. He had his theories and doubted DNA was the entire culprit. He thought maybe their current environment triggered something in their system, some internal growth mechanism enabling them to overcome the size of their most predominant challenger. Suited marines most often challenged his drascos on Lazzaroni Base. Their growth to such an unusual size in such a short time may have been from exercising with a squad of combat armored marines after lunch, their nitrogen enriched meals, or this was just normal and his experience with drascos on Allie’s World was too limited to know any different.
No one knew much about drascos, his was the only known pair anywhere in the galaxy except those found on their native planet. All scans indicated they both had drasco-sized wombs filled with both fertilized and unfertilized eggs. As a species, he and Danielle Wright had discovered drascos shortly after discovering Allie’s World. Wright, a veterinarian, noticed that drascos were born ready to give birth even if there weren’t any male drascos nearby to impregnate them. While trapped on the new planet, he and Wright only encountered one male; a huge, angry, mindless, beast bent on killing. Stone didn’t want to ever repeat that meeting.
Yet, his drascos were far beyond the size he thought they should be. He had to remind himself, they were still only a little over a year old and he didn’t have any clue h
ow big they would get, except for his memories and Doctor Wright’s videos of their mother and her size. Those videos were proving more irrelevant by the day.
Their growth couldn’t be due just to the competition. Marines were tough competition, but their native planet, Allie’s World, was a nightmare, where all plants and animals were covered in spikes, thorns, claws, fangs, and needles. A casual stroll through the jungle would shred a human. Native animals needed tough skins to survive. His drascos also wore human-made armor protecting their most vital parts, including covering those tender soft spots, from inadvertent contact. Their home planet was beyond tough, and should have made Jay and Peebee’s birth mother grow larger than she had if growth was determined solely by competition.
He admitted he also overfed the girls, giving them carbon dioxide infused vegetation whenever they were hungry. Their replicators had long since synthesized the golden ooze bars the girls loved and gobbled down like candy with abandon at any opportunity. They exercised at least once a day and didn’t appear fat. Mass or weight wasn’t the only change; they were taller and longer than their mother had been.
Menendez said, “Doctor Triplett advises you to separate yourself from those drascos to avoid any continued exposure. I concur, however—”
Stone interrupted, “However, this has been suggested before and has been overruled as being just guess work. I already have their DNA in my system.”
Menendez said, “I was going to say, this free floating alien DNA isn’t the biggest issue we face. Some moron of a medical corpsman thought the way to fix your issue would be to upgrade your military nanites.”
Stone smiled. “Doctor Menendez, I’ve never felt better.” His new enhanced nanites coursed through his system, keeping him healthy, even healing scrapes, scratches, or cuts faster than drasco spit ever did. He could pack on muscle without much exercise. Ice cream no longer settled around his middle. He no longer grew tired in the middle of an afternoon, an abundance of energy constantly coursed through his body, and yet he slept at night more soundly than ever before.
