Reaper Inc.

by Thomas Wright

  Snake said, "I would rather take my chances with Reaper. That is my vote." Snake never called Ben anything but Reaper. The rest of the team did the same. It was part of their bond as a team. The rest of the team gave a verbal agreement to Snake's comment.

  "The general still has his team on board. I know there is some bad blood there. I did manage to collect as many of your weapons as I could track down. Your personal belongings are locked up and I will give you your weapons later. There may be items missing. You will have to collect those from whomever has them. I believe Ben has someone's pistol. He took it off of the general's master sergeant in a confrontation on Anubis. The sergeant’s jaw is wired shut, so you will have to wait a while for answers from him." That made them all smile. They knew that statement was the truth, even if everything else was a lie. They didn’t think she was lying, but then she did lock them all up.

  The door to the bridge opened and Dr. Mathews walked in, followed by the general’s new major and two of his marines. The marines pulled their side arms as soon as they entered and disarmed the marine guarding the door.

  "Captain O’Shaughnessy, we haven’t been introduced, but that does not matter. Right now, what I need you to do is plot a course for colonial space."

  The captain didn’t flinch. "No major, as I was just explaining to the former team belonging to the general, I would be happy to let you depart for a populated world where I am sure you would be able to find transportation."

  "Captain, you are probably not aware, but they have offered a reward for the return of the Warhammer and its crew, alive if possible. So we will be taking you, your crew and your ship."

  Sergeant Major Kim looked at the three marines and then turned to the captain. "Captain, it seems you are going to be busy. I will just take my team and talk to you later."

  The major pointed his pistol at the sergeant major. "You people are not going anywhere until I find out where your loyalties lie." Aisling took that chance and hit the major’s arm hard enough to knock the pistol to the floor. Sergeant Major Kim pushed Dr. Mathews out of the way and tackled the major to the floor. Snake and the rest of the team had been ready from the time the armed men had walked in. The second the captain moved, so did they.

  "I hear you have been talking shit about us,” Snake spoke, as he twisted the marine’s arm behind his back. Gunny Smith removed the laser pistol from his hand and stepped over to the next captive. The marine on guard duty and Genius had him on the floor while Ronnie stomped his hand. He let go, the crunch sound alone hurt like hell.

  The sergeant major had picked up a few things from working with Reaper. Number one was, don’t hold back. He pummeled the major’s face until he saw the captain watching and let it go one a little longer than when she should have told him to stop. Sergeant Major Kim was a pillar of calmness most of his career. He thought things out and handed out discipline that was fair and always justified. That was then. Now, he was frustrated and angry and so was the rest of the team.

  "Ensign, get me Lieutenant Jared on the horn now!"

  "Yes, Captain,” Ensign Ellison responded, still a little overwhelmed about what had just happened.

  "Route it directly to me, ensign."

  "Yes, ma’am."

  "Yes, Captain. Jared here."

  "Lieutenant, I want you and five marines on my bridge in two minutes and the rest of your team needs to round up the general’s team of marines and put every damn one of them in the brig. Do you understand, lieutenant?"

  "Yes ma’am, on my way."

  The captain was still pissed that they had just walked in and drew down on her. She took her com-link off and threw it.

  "Ensign, do we still have the codes for the Claymore? If so, send them a message asking for coordinates and if they have time, wait and meet us to off load Major Andersen’s team."

  "Aye, ma’am. I still have the codes and sending message now."

  "Thank you, Shawna." Captain O’Shaughnessy sat down in her chair. Dr. Mathews stepped up next to her. "Captain, would you have the brig setup a cell where I can treat the major and his men? Also, a couple of marines would be nice to make sure they don’t do anything stupid again." He smiled at his captain. She hadn’t been this mad since she met that Reaper person for the first time.

  She looked up at him frowning. "Doctor, return to your duties and I will have someone notify you once we are ready for you."

  "Captain, it will only take a few minutes to organize. . ." He never got to finish his sentence. The captain launched out of her chair and into his face.

  "Doctor, it will take as long as I say it will. These assholes just tried to commandeer my ship and you stand there, worried about their injuries. Three funerals is what we should be having. Now get back to med-bay."

  The doctor turned on his heel, back rigid, not looking one way or another and walked briskly off the bridge. Lieutenant Jared and his men arrived to catch the whole conversation. He didn’t acknowledge his captain, he just got straight to business and it was none too gentle.

  "Sergeant Bagwell!"

  "Yes, Captain!" The sergeant double timed to the captain and stood at attention. She looked at him for a lot longer than he would have liked before saying anything.

  "It’s not your fault, sergeant. In all the excitement, I think I overlooked some things. Effective immediately, I want a guard on both sides of that door. Make sure they become familiar with the bridge crewmembers. Anyone else will need permission from the XO or myself to enter. Lieutenant Jared is authorized, as well as the masters at arms."

  "I am sorry I let you down, ma’am. It won’t happen again." The sergeant was feeling pretty low. He had been on bridge post for two years.

  "Hold your head up, sergeant. You did your job. Even if we didn’t have help, you and I would have kicked their asses. Shawna would have probably jumped in the fray and helped isn’t that right, Ensign?" The ensign turned around quickly smiling and said, "Damn straight, captain. We all would have. What’s a little laser burn amongst friends?"

  The Captain said, "There you have it, sergeant. We have your back." Major Andersen’s team all smiled. The console at communications beeped. Ensign Ellison turned back to read the message.

  "Captain, it’s from Captain Aok. She says they are at Hyson to meet three Trillond Naval ships then they are departing for Allond space. She would be happy to pick up the misfits on the way back and will contact us when they have an itinerary for the return trip."

  "Damn! Captain, that Claymore is one fast ship if it is at Hyson already, "Lieutenant St. James commented.

  ****

  The Prime Minister stood on the bridge with E’Aria. They were locked in a conversation about the quantity of crewmembers the three ships wanted to give up. Some previous messages they had received indicated they would be receiving five female crewmembers. That pissed the Prime Minister off as the Navy was always trying to keep the males and send the females to some duty off of their ship. The captains were purposely pushing back and technically following orders.

  They were still about two hours out of Hyson. They asked the captains about the beacons and they were told to stay away. The captains had orders to stay away, so they felt the advice was sound. There would be three shuttles delivering the new crew members. E’Aria was tired of the conversation and dismissed the captains. She turned to her aunt. "Someday I will change that bullshit way of thinking; that the females are less deserving of a position amongst the crew."

  "I hope to be alive to see it, my dear. We have no female starship captains in our navy."

  "I want to go and kick their green asses and appoint some deserving crew to better positions," E’Aria ranted. Her aunt was smiling at how she mixed her human friends’ expressions so easily into her dialog.

  "Let’s go greet our newest additions. You should ask the Senator to leave his room and join us so they know who he is. I will find Ben and bring him along."

  "Where are you? The shuttles are about to arrive with our crew." She c
ontinued walking and could feel herself getting closer to him.

  "I am in the mess with Adam getting something to eat. You can handle that without me. They are your people."

  "I thought because they are serving on your starship, you might want to look them over."

  "All right, but I am bringing my food with me."

  He made it to the door about the time E’Aria arrived at the same location. Cheeseburger in hand wrapped in a napkin, he just looked at her and walked towards the cargo bay. Grubb and Buddy were already there, making sure there was plenty of room for a shuttle to land and depart free of hazards.

  The first shuttle arrived and sat down gently. The pilot was seasoned and handled it with skill. The door opened and a young Trillond male exited. He stood, surveying his surroundings. E’Aria started to walk towards him but Ben touched her arm and shook his head. She glanced down at the greasy finger prints he left on her sleeve and scowled at him. The Prime Minister and the Senator arrived a few seconds later. He recognized her and decided to report to duty to her.

  "Third officer of the helm, Onak Kar." He saluted with his right arm across his chest. "Long Live The Empire!"

  E’Aria was getting even more pissed. First, Ben and now it seemed, the captains had snubbed her by not sharing with their crewmembers who to report to.

  "Very good, Third Officer, but you should report to the captain." She turned to stare straight at E’Aria. Onak had a sudden case of large eye when he followed her look seeing the very angry female staring at him. He swallowed and took a step in her direction.

  "Just get over here and stand." E’Aria pointed to the spot she wanted him standing in. Onak heard the shuttle leave behind him and knew it was too late to run for it. The big human who had been eating was staring at him, smiling. Why has my captain sent me here? he thought.

  Ben decided that it may be fun after all. Looking out into space through the force field, he could see the second shuttle on approach. He walked over to Onak and slowly made a circle around him as if inspecting him, then turned and walked the other way, finally coming to stand right in front of him, six inches away. Onak was staring at his chest, eyes closed. Ben didn’t know if he could keep from laughing out loud.

  The shuttle broke the force field and sat down gently on the deck.

  "Onak, do you know who your captain is?" Ben whispered. He was thinking about having sex with Andrea. That kept E’Aria out of head.

  "She is the Her Highness E’Aria Aok, Princess and successor to the throne of Trillond. If I was you, I would get on my knees and beg her forgiveness before she has her father the king find your family and cut off their heads." Ben turned to walk back and was just out of the way when he felt Onak fly past him. Two Trillond females had exited the shuttle and were walking their way.

  "Please your highness, do not kill my family. I am so sorry they did not tell me who you were." Onak was on his knees bowing up and down, talking fervently on the verge of a break down. "Kill me instead, please, but do not hurt my family."

  The two females looked back to see their shuttle departing and one started to run for it. Grubb ran out and intercepted her, carrying her kicking back towards the group.

  "What did you say to him?" she screamed at Ben. "Get up you idiot and stand where I told you!" She screamed at Onak. Grubb and Buddy where doing their best to keep the two females from spacing themselves. The Prime Minister walked over to them and calmed them down. She also told them she would stand with them while they reported.

  The Prime Minister looked at Onak. "What did he say to you?"

  "He told me she is the Princess E’Aria and she would have her father, our king, find my family and cut off their heads." She tried to hide a smile with her hand. "That is true. . ." He didn’t let her finish before he dropped to his knees and started pleading again.

  "Onak, let me finish. It is true she is who he said but she will not have your family harmed. Now stand up." He looked up at her and got up slowly. The two females were in awe now, but calm. The Prime Minister said, "Let us continue. Address her as Captain."

  Both looked at E’Aria. The older of the two spoke first. "Captain, I am Third Engineer, Elanac Selba." She saluted in the same manner Onak had.

  "What is your skill level, Third Engineer Selba?" E’Aria asked.

  "I am skill level twenty-six, captain," she answered.

  "So high and only a Third Engineer." She held out her hand. "Go ahead, Elanac," she said, as she saw the engineer looking at her hand. Elanac shook it so gently, like it was fragile and it would break. E’Aria smiled at her and said, "Stand next to Onak, please." She turned to the remaining female.

  "Highness, I am Third Tactical officer, Menah Gam." She smiled and put out her hand before E’Aria did. E’Aria returned the smile and took her hand shaking it. "Stand with the others, Menah." E’Aria took a couple quick steps and punched Ben right in the chest.

  "You keep your mouth shut and do not say a thing." The punch made a loud noise but didn’t hurt him. The newcomers were wide-eyed and tried not to show any facial expression. The third and final shuttle landed. A male and female exited. E’Aria took a couple of steps towards them and said. "I am Captain Aok, welcome aboard." The female was middle-aged and confident. She did the intro for them both.

  "Captain, I am Binda Tazon, First Steward and this is Third Technician, Shan Emon."

  "First Steward, why would the captain send you?"

  "It is simple, the captain, he does not like me. For most of my career, I worked for the Supreme Commander, Naval Affairs. He was a good man and loved our people in the fleet. When he passed, his replacement transferred me. The transfer was understandable but it was to whom I was transferred that I do not understand. That Captain is a aukjunk omferas." The translation bots didn’t know how to handle that phrase. The words were from a royal dialect and not Trillond common. The Prime Minister and E’Aria both laughed. E’Aria looked at Ben.

  "You are going to like Binda. She just called her Captain a pig fucker. At least that is as close as I can get to the meaning, having sex with fat animals." Senator Sims, who had been quiet and observing most of the time, laughed out loud.

  "During your stay on the Claymore, you will have no rank. This is not a military warship. You are all equal and will perform your duties accordingly. You now know who I am and I believe you know the Prime Minister. This gentleman is Senator Thurmond Sims of the Planet Athena in the Colonial Alliance. That is Grubb and Buddy, who have been working all your jobs and spelling us on the bridge. The officers of the ship are on the bridge and we will meet them next. You will get your orders from me or them. Are we clear so far?"

  "Yes Captain," five voices in unison rang out. Ben noticed, as did the newbies, that he wasn’t getting an introduction from the captain. He laughed and headed for the door but not before wadding up the napkin with the hamburger grease and bouncing it off E’Aria’s head. He heard a few people intake a deep breath. When nothing looked like it was going to happen, they breathed out. E’Aria bent down and picked up the napkin. Binda stepped forward and took it from her.

  "Now that he is gone," E’Aria said, "You need to know that he owns this ship and is part of four others that make up our company, Reaper Inc. His name is Ben or Benjamin and you might hear someone call him Reaper. He is a good man, right now he is very bored and may play what the humans call jokes. What you need to remember most is don’t make him angry. Now follow me and I will introduce the other officers."

  Ben made his way back to the mess and sat down. Adam was busy working on the evening meal. Grubb and Buddy arrived a few seconds later and went back to help.

  "Cook, there will be seven Trillond at dinner, just a heads up." Ben had been calling him ‘Cook’ for almost a year. Adam didn’t care and Ben figured if someone wanted him to know their name, they would tell him. "There is a female who is a steward. You may want to get her to help you. Her name is Binda. She sounds like good people."

  "Will do. Is someone going to bri
ng them around for intros?"

  "Captain has them right now but I would think so. Hey Grubb, bring me a beer!" Ben yelled.

  "Coming up, you trouble maker," Grubb yelled back. He brought the beer and went back to helping Adam.

  "What did he do?" Adam asked.

  "Scared the bejesus out of three of the new crew just by saying some shit to one of them. He was on his knees beggin’ and the others had just arrived and saw and got scared. Buddy and me grabbed them, looked like they would have just run through the force field." Grubb heard Buddy laugh, then all three of them were laughing. Ben sat with his eyes closed thinking and sipping his beer. They would be at Hyson soon and those damn beacons were on his mind.

  Chapter 11

  E’Aria led the new crewmembers on a tour through the ship. They poked their head into the mess for a second. They saw Ben and moved on quickly. E’Aria yelled to Adam to tell him to add more Trillond fare to the menu. He never looked up from his work.

  "I already informed him," Ben thought.

  "Good for you, why are you drinking a beer?"

  "Because I wanted one, just get us to Hyson." Ben felt the connection cut with a pop. That was new. She really must be pissed. Dinner came and went. The new crewmembers all thanked Adam. They told him it was better than what they were eating on the Trillond ships. He cracked a brief smile at the praise and went on prepping things for future meals. The captain decided since they had eaten late and were trying to get oriented to the ship that they would stay in place for a shift. She would rest with the new crew for four hours, then let the others rest for four hours. Everyone would then work together for the trip to Hyson and spend a shift together. It would be another week to Allond and they would get their shifts straight then.

  She hoped there were no survivors on Hyson because they would have to leave them and she would have to fight with him about leaving them. Just another cluster, in a universe full of clusters. Just not the same kind…