“Vulgarity,” the automated voice of the ship went out.
Garret looked around. “Thought we had a deal, Cerberus?”
“Oh no, I turned that back on,” Trevor said with a smirk.
“Listen you little…” Garret bit his lip before he continued, “…nerd. What are you doing?”
“I was playing around with Cerberus and seeing what I could do.”
“Why?”
“Its fun to cause a little chaos.”
“Give me a good reason to not kill you?”
Garret’s wristband shocked him hard enough to tighten his muscles. “Threatening a fellow crewmember is a court-martial offence. Release him or one hundred—”
Garret pulled at the clenched hand with his free hand, dropping Trevor.
“Thanks,” Trevor gasped out. “As for the reason, you’d be court-martialled.”
Garret stood over the teen. “You read my file, kid?”
Trevor nodded.
“Then you know I give a fuck about that.”
“Vulgarity.”
Garret growled as his wristband shocked him again. He went to the edge of the Induction tank and slammed his arm into a support beam, slamming the wristband into the thick heavy metal again and again until it finally cracked and stopped shocking him. “With that taken care of,” Garret said, turning to look at Trevor and grabbing him by the collar again. Garret punched the teenager in the nose. He dropped Trevor after he heard the satisfying wet crunch of Trevor’s nose and smiled.
“Why’d you do that?” Trevor asked, though it was difficult at first.
“More could happen,” Yamahara said from the entrance.
“I want his—”
No,” Yamahara said, “He is needed on this mission.”
“Same here,” Trevor said, rising up, but still covering his face with a hand. Blood leaked around his fingers, and that made Garret smile more.
Yamahara looked at Trevor. “PFC Garret is an animal. Our animal. Perhaps you should keep that in mind.”
Trevor ducked out of the room when Garret made a move towards him.
“At ease, Garret.”
Garret looked at Yamahara. “Giving him a lesson, Cap. That is all.”
“Make sure of it. And see Gupta about that wristband. She sent me here. And be nice.”
“I’m always nice,” Garret said as he left the captain in the Induction Room, a raised eyebrow on her delicate face.
The hologram rose above those assembled on the bridge. Garret leaned against a bulkhead, sucking away at the plastic filter of a synthetic cigarette. It was supposed to help him with his smoking, yet he missed the feel of the actual thing in his fingers. Gupta had forced them into his hands when she checked him out and fixed the wristband. Plus, Trevor thought it was practical. So the only smoking Garret did was in his bunk.
“Pay attention, you Neanderthals,” Trevor said from his position at the front of the room. “I am only going to say this once.”
Captain Yamahara spoke up. “You know you can catch more flies—”
“Bite me,” Trevor said. He shook his head and looked at the crew. “Sorry, I have been with the Eridani for too long. I apologize. They see us as primitive, and it kind of got under my skin and part of my lexicon.”
“Meaning his word choice, PFC Garret,” Lt. Cyrus said with a smirk. A few of the crew let out a laugh.
Garret sucked at the filter a bit more, his free hand balled up into a fist and started to bang against the bulkhead, yet he stopped when Yamahara cut him a look. He already wanted the wristband off again, so he could tell them what he thought of the plan and the kid.
“As I was saying, the planet we are looking for is of some importance to the Eridani. They used it as a research base and as a weapons manufacturing planet.”
“So, where did it go?” Garret asked.
Trevor glared at Garret for a moment. “The rogue A.I. took it to some place in this sector of space,” Trevor said. He gestured, and a small point of red appeared in the hologram of the quadrant of space that moved with Trevor’s finger. There was a general grumble from the people of the bridge.
Garret looked around confused. From where he stood, that was a great place to be. Not part of the I.S.S. and not part of the Eridani collective. It was free space. “Why is it a problem?”
Trevor looked at Yamahara. “Where has he been, under a rock?”
“No fucker, I was in cold storage because of the Battle of the Belt. Where were you then?” In diapers, probably.
Trevor gave Garret a stare, as did most of the people on the bridge.
“Yeah, I thought so. Most of you were probably getting the finer points of not shitting in your diapers at the time. Why don’t you just explain it—”
“It is Wild Space, Garret,” Yamahara said.
“What is Wild Space?”
“No laws, pirates, rebel scum from the Uprising of Deimos,” Cerberus said, listing things off in a flat neutral voice. “I could go on.”
“Pirates and rebels? Sounds like a great—”
“As well as rogue Eridani, ones who aren’t part of the Truce of Mars,” Yamahara said.
“And, I take that as a bad thing?” Garret asked.
“Yes,” Cerberus said. “They are not as kind as the Eridani we met the other day.”
“Wonderful,” Garret said. “When do we start?”
“Are you mad?” Yamahara shouted. “There is no way we can go into Wild Space with—”
“Captain Yamahara,” Trevor interrupted. Garret saw that she wasn’t pleased, but gestured for the kid to continue. “The Alliance needs us to go into Wild Space. We have to go in.”
“How are we—”
“We go in as we are,” PFC Garret said. “We’re on the Starkiller, the news would be that we are a rogue group anyway. Isn’t that what the Leader’s simulacrum said, Cap?”
Yamahara looked as though she was holding herself back from shouting at him. She quirked her mouth to the left and right. “PFC Garret makes a point. Alright, ditch the uniforms and—”
“Can’t do that yet, cap,” Garret said.
“Why?”
“Seems to me, if we want them to think we are rebels, and we go in dressed as them, they’ll think—”
Lt. Cyrus stopped Garret. “That is a stupid idea. We ditch the unis, get on some civvies and blend in.”
Garret shrugged his shoulders. “Your funeral, buddy.”
Cyrus walked up to Garret. “What was that?”
Garret stared down the lieutenant. “I said your funeral. If this is Wild Space, our best chance is—”
Cyrus held his hand up to silence Garret. “Listen you goat-fucker, we are on the edge of known space. You think you know what is going on out there?”
“Better than you, bitch.”
Cyrus balled up his fist and punched at Garret. Garret took the punch to the face, snapping his own hand back into Cyrus’s throat. Garret let out a bitten-off cry as the wristband shocked him, and Cerberus said something about violence. Cyrus and Garret went down from their own injuries. Yamahara stood over them. She rolled her eyes as Garret passed out.
“Get the medic up here.”
Garret came to while looking at the dark eyes of Dr. Gupta. The dark-skinned doctor shook her head when he opened his eyes. “You have to stop doing that, Garret.”
The smell of antiseptic told him he was in the infirmary again. “Got to stop meeting like this, doc.”
“Then, stop acting like an idiot.”
“Hard for me to do that, all I know how to do,” he said, trying to push himself up.
“If you would acclimate.” She pushed him back down. “You need to rest.”
“I need to get ready for this mission.”
“Why?”
He looked other blankly. “Why do you mean?”
“You hate the captain, Lt Cyrus, even Trevor. Why do you care about this mission?”
“A bit closer to the wife and kids.”
/>
“Ahh,” Gupta said with a shake of her head. “Then, maybe you should try and work as part of the team more? I thought that is what the Corps did?”
“The Corps isn’t what it used to be.”
“Then, why not be what it used to be?” Gupta asked. She brought a small hypodermic towards him and injected him with something.
“What was that?”
“Activating your comm sensors in your ear,” she looked down at a small screen. “Good, they are active. You can go play hero.” She gave him a smile.
“Thanks doc.”
“Welcome.”
“Why in the fuck am I stuck with you alone here?” Garret shouted.
Trevor shrugged.
“That is Station Cornelio. It’s a kind of way-station for the Wild Space,” Trevor said.
“You know, for a place you’ve never been to, you seem to have lots of—”
“You think all the Eridani here are rogues? Some are agents of the Alliance. They work with us,” Trevor said. “Neanderthal,” he whispered under his breath.
Garret grabbed the kid by the lapel of his jacket and slammed him into the bulkhead. “Alright kid. I am going to teach you a lesson. What is your I.Q.?”
Trevor looked at him and frowned. “Umm, thought you were going to—”
Garret cracked his knuckles as he brought a fist up to Trevor’s eyeline. “I still can, answer the damn question.”
“197.”
“And that gives you the right to look down at those without the genius I.Q.?”
“Well, umm, yeah, it—”
Garret punched Trevor in the stomach. The kid doubled over and gasped for breath.
“Violation,” the droning voice of Cerberus said. Garret felt the sting and didn’t care.
“Trying to teach the kid a lesson, Cerberus. Don’t interfere.”
Trevor looked up, still gasping for breath. “Why did you—”
“You should know kid, just because you are smarter than everyone else in the room, doesn’t mean you lord it over them. Use your head,” Garret tapped Trevor on the forehead. “Do you think people like to be reminded of the fact we are pretty much at the bottom of the sludge pile in the galaxy?”
Trevor shook his head, raising up to stand more or less on his feet.
“Then, why do it every five seconds? And if you say it is because of the Eridani, I’ll punch you again.”
“But it is because of the—”
Garret punched him again, harder. Trevor dropped to his knees, and Garret felt the shock increase on his wrist. “The Eridani aren’t here. You are. You are a human, act like it. Give a solitary fuck about someone else besides yourself.” Garret winced through the increased pain and glared at Trevor. “Understand?”
Trevor nodded.
“I don’t think you do. You just don’t want to get punched again, right?”
Trevor nodded.
“Good,” Garret said. “Now, there is something on this ship you fear.”
“Huh?”
“Cerberus fears you. You haven’t given a solitary…care about the crew. But, now I have shown you have to fear me. We are back in balance again.” Garret smiled at Trevor, liking the look of fear in the kid’s eyes a little too much. But he knew that he had to quell the kid’s rampant ego if he wanted to even survive much longer on the ship.
“You still hit me,” Trevor said, looking at Garret with a small tear rolling down his cheek.
“Your point?”
“You hurt me.”
“Kinda the point, kid. Let me guess, your folks didn’t punish you?”
“They took away the ‘net. They would give me a time out—”
“Stop,” Garret said, holding his hand up. “Kid. You know absolutely nothing about the world. The world is full of pain, and the only way to stand it is to carry it. You have to—”
“I’m going to make sure you are punished for—”
“For what?” Yamahara asked, coming into the cargo bay. She eyed Garret and Trevor. “What is it that PFC Garret did to warrant a punishment?”
“He struck me.”
Yamahara looked between the two. “And?”
Trevor looked between the two adults, his eyes started to tear up. “It isn’t fair.”
Yamahara let out a bark of laughter. “What makes you think that this is fair? Life isn’t fair. Did you think that you would be allowed to do whatever you want?”
“That is what my parents did.”
“And, who gave you over to the Eridani?” Yamahara asked.
He gave her a sniffle and then looked away. “My parents. But, they weren’t doing it because they wanted to. They—”
Trevor was quiet, his eyes looked far away. Trevor saw something click in Trevor’s head.
Yamahara squatted a little to look Trevor in the eyes. “What did they…”
Her voice died away as Garret touched her shoulder. “The Eridani were contacted by your parents, weren’t they?”
Trevor only nodded.
“They gave you up to help you,” Garret said.
“No. They sent me away.” He turned and ran off.
Yamahara looked at Garret. “Way to go.”
“Ease off cap. The Eridani turned him into a genius, yet he also is an asshole. I would rather try and make sure he is a bit more caring about us than just pieces on a board.”
“He’s has a 197 I.Q., they aren’t always—”
“If he sees what pain is like, it might help a little.”
“They are asking for identification, Captain?” Leigh asked.
“Drop the Intergalactic Solar System part,” Yamahara said.
“This is Starkiller, requesting docking.”
Garret watched the space station, a strange metal contraption that looked like it started as a wheel, then more and more was added to it until it was a large floating mass of humanity and who-knew-what-else living there. Place looks like a warren, this will be great fun.
The space station docking clamps were harsh. Garret was sure that they would also refuse to move unless the docking fees were paid, with interest. He took one look at the dock master and knew that they would be wiped off before they left. The groups from the Starkiller left at random intervals, though Garret was sure that if someone was watching, they would see a pattern.
Garret felt the sidearm on his hip and felt a bit of relief. He looked at Cyrus and shook his head. “You stick out like a sore thumb.”
“Uh-huh,” he said, tugging at a sleeve of his torn and dirty uniform. The jacket over it was a civvie one, but Garret knew that he’d be spotted a mile away. Going to get us all killed. Garret looked back over the other two that came. He was about to ask if Trevor was watching, when there was a buzz in his ear.
“Yeah, I’m still watching, PFC.”
“I have a name, you know. Two actually,” Garret said.
“I am watching as well,” Cerberus broke into the comm link.
There was something unsettling about the fact Cerberus could talk to him without an earpiece. The implant had been installed while he was in cold storage. A small piece that had a connection to the others of the team. He had heard about these for years, but he remembered using the small earbuds. Heck, he still remembered when he and his squad had to use ancient throat mics when he first got training.
“Garret, stop antagonising him,” Yamahara said. She was a klick back, yet she came in loud and clear. Garret was impressed.
“Cap, what is the plan?” Garret asked while he looked over at some of the food stalls, not sure what he was smelling. It was an odd melange of fried oil, smoked and cooked meat, and motor oil. There were a dozen people wandering around the food stalls. Dressed in anything from the same civvies he was in, to a body harness and little else that made him shiver. Then, he saw another of the Eridani.
This one was in his grav chair, as most of them were. He was still shocked about 57-Kor when they dropped Trevor off. Then Garret detected the scent of peppermint and kn
ew that there were more.
“Problem, human?” another Eridani asked from off to Garret’s right.
Garret turned his head to see this one had seen better days. One eye looked like it was melted and covered with a bandana badly. The thin lips of the Eridani pulled back to reveal orange teeth and green gums. A thick, forked tongue flicked out.
“Garret, don’t react,” Trevor said. “That is a mutant. Keep walking.”
“What if there is?” Garret asked, ignoring the kid.
“I’m telling you, you don’t want to mess with him,” Trevor said.
Garret gave the Eridani a once over. His thin body was a touch more robust than most. Yet the grav of the station was Earth normal, hence the chair. The mutant Eridani leaned forward, his tongue flickering out, tasting the air. “You smell wrong, when are you from?”
“What do yo mean?”
“You taste like the past. I can read your aura. You aren’t a merchant. You are a solider. A fighter…mercenary?”
“Yeah,” Garret said, giving the mutant a half smile.
“Dammit Garret, stop! He can—”
Garret cut the comm with a thought. Damn that is a great feature. “What is it to you?”
“I have need of one such as you. Come closer, please.”
Garret leaned in closer. “What do you—”
The forked tongue shot out and struck Garret in the side of the neck. The last thing he saw before unconsciousness wrapped him up was the Eridani mutant’s body writhing and tentacles slithering out from the robust body to drag Garret onto the grav chair.
Yamahara let out a curse. “Cyrus, Cerberus, private channel.”
“Why Cap?”
“Do it!”
The three were linked on their own comm channel moments later.
Soon as the three were linked, Cerberus said, “Captain, I think that is a swear in Japan—”
“I will nuke your mind, Cerberus, stop your fucking ‘vulgarity’ protocols and tell me where that damned private is.”
“I can’t find him, Captain. He turned off his tracker when he turned off his comm.”
“Didn’t anyone tell him about how that was…” She stopped herself. Of course not. No way someone told him about it. He had been dragged aboard Starkiller right out of cold storage. There were many things he didn’t know, like his family. No time for that now, Jaime. “Where was he last seen?”
I.S.S. Starkiller Chronicle Bundle: Parts 1-3 Page 3
