Reaper Inc.

by Thomas Wright

  An android approached from another intersecting hallway. Ben and Harry went on alert. It stopped in front of Tazleaha, she spoke and it turned, leading them down the corridor. The tension eased out of Ben. They must have reprogrammed them or he sure as hell hoped so. The android stopped at a door, entered a code and moved out of the way as the group entered the room. When Ben and Harry got to the door, it stepped in front of them blocking their entry.

  Ben stopped and took a step back. The creepy, faceless android just stood. "What! You remember me? If that’s the case, you better move or there won’t be enough of you to put back together asshole." Ben was about to shove a knife under its chin when Harry grabbed the android with all four arms and threw it against the steel corridor wall behind them. There was a huge dent in the shiny metal. Ben walked through the door smiling for the first time in weeks. They faced a stunned crowd. Gormazan walked up to him, not feeling as good about what just happened as Ben did.

  "You damage the queen's property!"

  "Do you want to be next? I don’t think you will sound the same when you hit the wall, more like a splat!"

  "Do you threaten me?" Gormazan growled.

  "Are you standing in my way? What's wrong with all you freaks today? Your android was not going to let us in the room. You need to check its programming." Ben saw Tazleaha approaching, looking unhappy. "Your boss is here."

  Tazleaha looked at them both; her displeasure equally bestowed not saying a word for a few long seconds. She turned her attention on Gormazan. "Get that cleaned up and find out why it acted against its programming." She turned and walked away, not saying anything to Ben. Harry was smiling when Ben looked up at him.

  "What are you smiling about?"

  "You live dangerously, my friend."

  "You are the one who smashed her toy into the wall. I got the blame. How does that work?"

  "You have much to learn about females."

  A number of startled gasps and quick conversations got their attention. The group, all standing around one of the clear tanks filled with green liquid, seemed very agitated. They glanced back at Ben while they continued their hushed conversations. Ben led Harry in their direction.

  Tazleaha met him, blocking his way. "Ben, you need to leave this room. I am sorry, I didn’t know."

  "Didn’t know what? What don’t you want me to see? I was prisoner here remember, I saw all kinds of things that were just wrong. This is the third time in five minutes someone has stood in my way, now move!" Everyone tensed up as Ben yelled. Tazleaha moved and stood by Harry. Ben walked towards the tank and the crowd parted and moved back. Ben stopped and stared for a second then walked forward to the glass-like tank.

  She floated in the solution, hoses connected to the mask covering her nose and mouth. Ben recognized the setup from his experience on Tazleaha's ship. She wasn’t being held by the mechanical arms her body, just floated, natural like. It made sense to Ben. She had been born there and had never walked in the grass barefoot or breathed the fresh air after a spring rain. The other Andrea he called Blue Eyes was mixed DNA but this Andrea looked perfect.

  The crowd was silent behind him, all captivated by his reaction. Harry walked up and stood closer to Ben than everybody else but sensed it best not to stand next to him. Ben took out his combat knife and tapped on the tank with the pointed glass breaker on the pommel. He tapped again and her eyes fluttered. Ben waited, then tapped a third time.

  The eyes were just as beautiful as he could remember when they finally opened. He slid his knife back in the sheath. She seemed a little panicked at first then Ben placed his hand on the glass, fingers spread and waited. She kicked her legs and moved next to the glass and put her open hand in the same spot as Ben’s fingers and lined up. She studied him, cocking her head sideways like a dog might do. Ben felt something warm inside him. Could he. . .

  Ben never finished the thought. The Andrea in the tank blinked and the blue eyes changed to beautiful blue cat eyes. She blinked again and they changed back. The warm feeling disappeared and he slowly moved his hand away moving around the circular tank, his eyes no longer on the occupant but on all his surroundings.

  Ben saw the next tank and couldn’t believe its occupant. A copy of Senator Sims floated in the same way as Andrea. Interesting. Everything else looked like things he had never seen before so he paid them no attention. He walked back toward the crowd. His face didn’t give away anything. He stopped and looked up at Harry.

  "I have a couple of things to do then I want to get out of here. We can go up. I would like to see who is still around and find another friend."

  Tawniz was standing with her brothers in uniform looking much better than she did four days ago. She watched Ben's every move like everyone else but the conversation with Harry caught her attention. It was very calm, unlike the way he had acted just a few minutes before trying to get into the lab.

  Ben caught her staring and made eye contact with her. He smiled at her while he pulled his pistol, never taking his eyes off her till the last millisecond he turned and fired. The tank exploded in a flood of green with red streaks. The clone flopped out onto the floor, the top of its head missing. It twitched as the nerves reacted to the lack of a brain sending them signals. The superheated tungsten steel penetrator rod hit the next tank ripping the leg off the senator's clone at the knee. Ben walked through the calf-deep solution toward the clone, pushing the button on his belt to release his battle axe. Twenty seconds later, he walked back looking for something to wipe his axe off with.

  "Ok Harry, let's go upstairs and see what other trouble I can get into." Ben had his hand on the butt of his pistol. No one moved towards him as he walked back through the crowd of onlookers with wet feet. Tazleaha stood with her arms crossed looking less than happy. There was no one in the lab who had any idea what to do at that exact moment but Ben. He walked up to Tazleaha and stood in front of her about three inches away. Her folded arms were touching his chest.

  Ben stared into the black orbs of an angry queen. He leaned forward quickly and kissed her on the cheek. "Good times baby, good times." Harry couldn’t help himself. He had to turn and head for the door. Ben was right behind him hoping the shock would keep them where they were. Tawniz was smiling, trying not to let it show but all three of her brothers saw it.

  Emperor Xamand said to those around him, "I am glad he is on our side. I didn’t see that coming. I thought he would try to take her with him. Wasn’t she his bond mate?"

  Tawniz answered, "She was." She pointed at the clone on the floor. "That wasn't."

  "Wasn't that a good representation, sister? It looked very human. Couldn’t he have taught it?"

  "Maybe an Allond or some other species wouldn’t make the distinction but the humans are still very a emotional species. That was a dishonor to her memory to Benjamin," Tawniz explained. She saw the queen listening and nodding her agreement.

  Ben and Harry rode the lift up. The doors opened and they stepped out. It still smelled of death and decay. There was a work crew headed their way. Ben recognized most of them as the champions who had shared the cage across from his.

  "This could get interesting, Harry. These guys didn’t like me too much."

  Harry said, "You might be surprised."

  Ben could see the approaching crowd knew Harry well enough but they were not sure who the warrior in the black armor was. On closer inspection, they recognized Ben and they all started smiling. It was unexpected but it was good to see smiles from strangers when he had gotten so little from friends lately. E'Aria leaving without a word was eating at him but with her gone a day already, it was hard to make a case for her to stay.

  "Can any of you tell me if there are any transport shuttles I can get my hands on?" One spoke up and said there was a shuttle from the human warship that had brought visitors aboard. Ben thanked him for the info and Harry followed him to find it.

  Ten minutes later, they found Shuttle two from the Warhammer. Ben remembered it well and wondered
if Lieutenant Wu or Chavez was piloting. The rear ramp was down. Ben looked around to see if anyone was watching them, not seeing anyone he and Harry walked on board. Ben walked quietly towards the front, not hearing any talking, but after three more steps, he heard slightly loud breathing.

  Ensign Ellison slept in the pilot's chair. Had it been Aisling, Ben figured she would be on report in about two minutes. He sat quietly in the co-pilot's seat while Harry sat his huge bulk down in the third seat behind Ben. Ben hit the switch and shut the ramp then locked all the doors. He leaned over the Ensign and transferred the controls to the co-pilot's chair. Three switches later, they moved out into space. Ben's piloting skills had improved over the last six months; his maneuvers were smooth instead of herky jerky.

  Ben put on a headset so the com to the Claymore wouldn’t wake the Ensign.

  "Claymore, this is Alliance Shuttle two from the Warhammer. Open the shuttle bay doors."

  Lorelei listened closely to the caller. "Ben, is that you?"

  "Yeah, I borrowed a shuttle to bring a new crewmember over to meet you all."

  "Oh shit, you know she will have a fit when she finds out you stole her shuttle."

  "Lorelei, open the damn doors so we can come aboard and get back and maybe she won't know."

  "Ok they are opening, and don’t yell at me. You know you're not that lucky." Ensign Ellison picked that time to wake up and started screaming.

  "Yeah, you're right Lorelei, never that lucky."

  Ben looked at the Ensign who was looking between him and Harry.

  "Hey! Can you stop screaming? No one is going to hurt you, unless you don’t shut the hell up."

  "Who are you and what is that?"

  "My name is Ben and that is Harry and you should watch how you say things. He is kinda sensitive, you'll hurt his feelings."

  "You're kidding me, right?"

  "No! Now shut up while I go onboard my ship for a few minutes then we will go back, ok?"

  "So you are him?"

  "No idea what the hell that means. Just don’t talk!"

  "Stop telling me to shut up. It's rude."

  Ben ignored her this time and landed the shuttle. About the time he had the ramp down, the welcoming committee filed through the shuttle bay door.

  Ben looked at the Ensign then made a decision. "You get up and move. You are coming with us." The three moved to the ramp, the ensign first. Lorelei thought for a second. Ben had found another female then the giant who had to duck his head to get off the shuttle walked into view.

  Ben met them half way and got a hug from Lorelei. She seemed better than the other day. Ben would talk to her later about everything. Binda stood next to her staring at him.

  Ben asked. "What are you doing on my ship? Why didn’t you leave us like the rest?" Lorelei started to answer for her. When Ben gave her a dirty look, she shut up. He turned his attention back to Binda.

  "When I came aboard, do you remember when I told my story? I told you my new captain has no use for me. It is my fear he will put me in the worst job he can find if I return. I want to stay here with this crew on this ship." Ben remembered and he believed her. Out of the corner of his eyes, he saw the ensign watching, waiting for his answer.

  "Ok Binda, but I have to tell you we aren’t going straight back. I promised Harry I would take him where he needed to go so he could take care of some personal business."

  "Ben, I have nothing to go back to. The navy was my life and I have nothing outside of that. I would just be starting over and alone. I would rather start over here. You don’t ever have to take me back." Ben started to say something then was surprised when the ensign spoke to Binda.

  "Am I understanding this? You would forfeit your career to stay with this guy and his walking rug?"

  "You mean would I rather visit planets none of my people may ever see, meet new species, help a new crewmember exact revenge on his enemies who have wronged him. Live a exciting life or return to be ridiculed and sent to wash the waste traps on a daily basis. Tell me, young one, which would you rather do?"

  Ben said, "Ensign Ellison, shut up." He walked away as she began telling him not to talk to her that way. "Ok everyone, Binda is a permanent member of the crew. The rest of you can do the same but if you don’t want to, I need to make arrangements to get you home from Allond. I think I might be able work it out between either the Warhammer or getting the Prime Minister to use her pull and having Nick meet your transport and taking you home." Adam and Buddy just nodded.

  "Ok, we all clear? If you're staying, we are going off to parts unknown. If you're leaving you, catch a ride from Allond and meet up with Nick and back to Anubis. Harry, you good?"

  "Yes Ben, thank you," Harry said nodding.

  "Ok, let's get the captain's shuttle and ensign back. I'll get a hold of you, Lorelei, when I know what the plan is, provided Tazleaha doesn’t kill me."

  They boarded and Ben flew the shuttle back, landing it in exactly the same spot. The only difference was the upset group of people standing around waiting on them. Some, like the Allond, were there to just watch the fireworks. Tazleaha must have been thinking it was going to be something fun to watch because she was smiling.

  The ramp lowered and Ben sent Harry first. His huge bulk dissuaded the small boarding party who thought they would rush in. They backed away, watching him warily. Ben walked out next with the ensign right behind him.

  Aisling started yelling at him. "If you have hurt her, I will kill you. Do you hear me?" She headed for him like a guided missile. Seeing the ensign she changed course to look her over.

  "Did he hurt you or threaten you?" Aisling asked.

  "No, he caught me. . ." Ben jumped in to stop her from telling the truth.

  "I caught her reading a book and got the drop on her, took her at gun point to my ship. I checked on what is left of my crew and then made her bring us back. She might be a little shaken up but I did not hurt her."

  "Is that true?" Aisling asked looking serious

  "Yes, he didn’t hurt me."

  Ben looked around at the faces and decided he was done for the day. He turned back to the others.

  "For my part, it was good to you see all of you. I am not sure what I could have done to all you to warrant the cold shoulder, but if that’s the way you want to play it, fine. Safe travels where ever the stars lead you." Ben turned his back on them and looked at Tazleaha.

  "Get me off this ship, take me to yours or mine. I don’t care, just get me out of here." Ben looked back for a second. "Ensign Ellison, good luck." He walked away from the queen and everyone else to the queen’s shuttle. The door opened and he boarded with Harry right behind him.

  Chapter 34

  Ensign Ellison kept the volume turned down trying to overhear the conversations happening behind her. Her captain was angry, the others seemed afraid to say anything and just let her talk. Sergeant Major Kim tried talking to her and some of what he said made sense even to Shawna and she wasn’t aware of all the history.

  He had lied for her to keep her out of trouble. For all his rudeness he didn’t want her taking any heat. Shawna hoped no one looked around for the book she was supposed to have been reading. Maybe she would tell the truth now and take her punishment. They were all fugitives so if she spent sometime in the brig or confined to her quarters that would be a black mark on her record. She would hate to lose her position on the bridge.

  The captain was in the process of repeating for the third time how she couldn’t believe he would take one of her officers by force.

  Shawna yelled. "Captain, could you come here for a minute? I need you to look at something."

  Aisling sat down in the co-pilot's seat. "What's wrong? This is a three minute hop."

  "Do you see my book anywhere?"

  "Really? You're asking me to find your book?"

  Even though the captain was not going to look for her book, she was doing it. "Ensign, you can look for your own book. What's wrong with you? Besides, I don’t see
a book anywhere."

  Shawna said, "Exactly."

  A light went on and Aisling sat looking at her ensign. "So he and you lied to me!"

  "Um, no ma'am. He told you I was reading and took me at gun point. I just said that he didn’t hurt me which is the truth."

  "But it’s not the whole truth, is it ensign?"

  "No ma'am, I was sorta taking a nap. I was off shift and not scheduled till afternoon today. I played cards all night and was in the rack about two hours when you woke me and asked me if I wanted to pilot you to the meeting. I didn’t, couldn’t say no. After you departed the shuttle, I sat here staring at the inside hull for ten minutes and fell asleep."

  "So he never threatened you."

  "No, he never touched any of those weapons he carries. He flew the shuttle himself and kept telling me to shut up after I woke up. I was pretty upset, called his friend a big hairy rug. I don’t think it ever crossed his mind to hurt me, captain. I watched him with his crew. He got all bad ass with a Trillond female named Binda who didn’t leave with the others. She explained why she stayed with his crew. It was all he wanted to hear, then he welcomed her as a permanent member and offered up the same to the rest who were standing there."

  "Well, you don’t know him like the rest of us do. We just watched him kill two sentient human clones."

  "I can’t comment on that, captain. All I can say is he tried to do me a solid but I can't have that on my conscience, I respect you too much. I only let the lie stand for a few minutes so we could talk without the others there in our business."

  "Thank you for your honesty Shawna. We will talk later after I talk to XO Holmes." She returned to the back to sit with the others. They were smiling but didn’t say anything knowing it would be overheard.

  ****

  Ben and Harry sat in the queen's shuttle waiting. She was still in a discussion with the Allond about what he didn’t know. He just wanted to get back and get moving now that the ark was able to travel.