Multiverse 1

by Chris Hechtl

  Rebecca flinched. No one did that. No one ever did that. It was in her textbooks, Khan had destroyed lesser men for even daring to do so. But Baloo did. Baloo had balls she realized. Or he was just plain crazy.

  “That's it? I hardly think you're foolish enough to blackmail me,” Khan said, crushing the crystal in his grip. It was designed to be crushed into dust. Still, it took incredible hand strength to do it. He flipped his paw, flicking the dust away as if it was beneath his notice.

  “No, I know better, Khany. I will admit to making a copy and putting it someplace secure, not on the Duck. It won't come into play unless something happens to her or my crew.”

  Khan's eyes slitted. “I see.”

  “We square?”

  “You certainly surprised me, old friend,” the tiger said with a soft rumble in his voice. He sat back and rocked from side to side, steepling his fingers. “Yes indeed, we are square. But what about the pirates?” he asked with a silky British voice.

  Baloo shrugged, tipping his hat back with his thumb. “We'll deal with them. Just don't tell them to come after us. Don Quixote is a pain, but we've tangled before. As long as I stay far away from him, there is nothing he can do about it. With the Duck, I can do that.”

  “I know. You are the best pilot in the gauntlet, Baloo.”

  “Yes, now that I've got a navigator,” Baloo teased, tugging on the little bear's hat brim. “Even more so. Just don't go throwing a reward on us. We'll make our own luck with the Duck, with each other.” He looked briefly at Rebecca and then down to the cub. Kit beamed up at him.

  Khan nodded. “Agreed. I do admire people who do things on their own, who don't want a handout. And you young lady, he nodded to Rebecca. “You have quite the partner in Baloo. Do try to keep him out of trouble.”

  “I'll certainly try, sir,” she said, bumping the bear. He hugged her to his side briefly.

  Khan snorted. “Keep him on the straight and narrow, and he'll do wonders.”

  “I'll certainly try, sir.” She eyed the bear.

  “Since we're here and all…You need anything hauled, Khany?” Baloo asked.

  Rebecca stared up at him, shocked by how forward he was.

  Khan, however, snorted. “As a matter of fact, I do. I've got a shipment waiting, but my ships are out of position due to the storm. Can your ship handle it?”

  Baloo nodded. He knew Khan would tailor the shipment to the Duck's cargo carrying ability. “I'll leave the nitty gritty details to Becky, but sure, bet your tail we can handle it.”

  “Deal. And yes, we'll leave the details for others to sort out,” Khan said in a rich voice. He was almost purring. “Good day, Baloo.” He nodded graciously to them.

  “Later, Khan,” Baloo said, turning and giving him a jaunty salute. The tiger snorted and turned to look out the window behind his desk. The others followed the bear out. Baloo was humming a ditty and was bouncing slightly, almost dancing.

  “That it?” Kit asked.

  “Yup. What'd you expect?”

  “I so wanted my own ship,” Kit said in disgust.

  “Why? You can't pilot it until you’re an adult kid, it's all legal and stuff.”

  Kit's face fell. He rubbed at his muzzle. “Oh. I didn't think of that.”

  “So, you'd get a ship, it'd sit in dock, you'd run up fees, and then they'd take her from you. I just saved you a whole lot of heartache.”

  “Gee thanks.”

  “Sorry, kid, that’s the breaks. Besides, you don't tussle with tigers. This one is liable to rip you to shreds, then spend a day having someone pick your pieces out of his claws,” Baloo said. He nodded to the manicurist passing them as she entered the Khan's office.

  “I'm seeing that.”

  “Noticed the teeth and claws?”

  “Y...yeah,” the cub drawled. He shivered.

  “Good. Word to the wise, never cross Khan.”

  <-----/^----->

  They took on the cargo at the Khan lock. It was clear Baloo had done this before. As they made the run, Becky turned to him, amused. She hadn't had to argue with Troiken; he'd given her everything she'd wanted. She hadn't gotten greedy either. Apparently, he'd respected that. “So, there is a lot more to you than just the flyboy,” she said, wrapping her arms around him as he flew. She teasingly tugged on the brim of his hat.

  “See?”

  “I see that now,” she kissed him on the cheek.

  He gushed. She smiled at his sudden shyness. “What was that for?” he said in an awe shucks voice.

  “For explaining things,” she murmured. “And for being you. Not that you are getting off your diet anytime soon.”

  “Darn.”

  “But…I might let you have an extra serving of ice cream later, if you eat all your peas.”

  He rumbled a chuckle. “Deal.”

  Molly and Kit exchanged happy looks from the hatchway behind them. They fist bumped.

  <-----/^----->

  The crew of the Duck settled in once Wildcat assured them the package wasn't going to blow up. They listened to the news media on their off time.

  Six months later they returned to Cape Suzzette. They found out in their absence the Don had hit a covert shipment loaded with military gear. That brazen theft pissed off Khan; he had owned the ship and cargo on the sly. The crew giggled over his reaction in the media.

  The entire thing had been set up hush, hush. He was on the hook for both and couldn't get the credits back from his insurance. Also, he was now in trouble with the Federation investigators and the Navy. The investigators he could spin control with the right arm twisting or bribes, but the Navy was an altogether different story. If there were holes in your logistics pipeline, they stopped doing business with you. Lucrative contracts were now on the line. Contracts worth trillions of credits, the bread and butter of Khan Industries. Which meant he had to do something to pin a certain Coyote's ears back publicly. Or at least smack his hand hard.

  “Also, dead men tell no tails,” Baloo said, nodding. Rebecca shivered.

  Khan called in his private military to deal with the pirates. That got the attention of the Federation investigators as well as the Navy when people complained about the rent-a-cops swarming the area and throwing their weight around.

  Within weeks the Gauntlet swarmed with the Navy. At first it was okay; people celebrated how safe the area was becoming. They hadn't caught the Iron Vulture, though they had gotten a piece of her before she'd gotten away.

  But the constant presence and prying eyes got old. People liked their privacy; they didn't like the intrusion once the threat had passed. Ships with questionable registry left the area. Suddenly, there was a demand for shipping again.

  The black market took a hit when prying Federation eyes turned a spot light on them. Then the media took an interest, showing up in droves to investigate and question everything and everyone. The local politicians didn't like the sudden spotlight and were forced to do something.

  Then the grumbling began, and talk of how the times were better before. Getting stopped and inspected every couple of parsecs becomes a nuisance, it interfered with schedules.

  Safety meant insurance rates dropped and cargo transport cost dropped despite the lack of hulls to haul it all. But time in transit nearly doubled. It put pressure on Loi, who had to conform to inspections from inspectors now interested in doing their jobs. Loi grumbled about it a lot. “Colonoscopy, my ass! It's worse than when Loise is here! I'm getting no peace! Health inspections, safety inspections, I've got enough violations to shut me down for good!” he shrieked, hair on end.

  The negative attention also hit the ports. The shady ships had already left, that left the cargo high and dry. Shady cargo became harder to carry, the price doubled and then tripled.

  “Ah, the price of doing business in safety,” Baloo said.

  “It's almost too safe. Our profit margin was tied to the risk. Now that it's gone…” Rebecca frowned.

  “Want me to put a call in to o
ld Don Kar'nage? Ask him to come back and liven things up again?”

  “Don't you dare,” she growled, flicking his hat off.

  <-----/^----->

  Rebecca talked with Khan briefly at a business expo in Cape Suzette. She was there to work the crowd, build contacts and try to land a regular contract. Khan was there, wandering the aisles with his guards nearby. He was there more for amusement than anything else. A circle of execs held off any hangers-on or well-wishers.

  He stopped at her Higher for Hire booth. “Higher for Hire. Quaint,” he said smiling ever so slightly. It wasn't quite a sneer, but close.

  “You should know, sir; you put the ball in motion.”

  “Ah, so you figured that part out. I always knew you had a first-class mind in that body,” he rumbled.

  “You did; you set it all up,” she accused him. She shook her head, clearly in wonder. “It is brilliantly Machiavellian, but I don't see the point. Why go through that much trouble for one tiny tramp freighter? Was it just for the fun of it?” She frowned. “Is that what we are? Ants? Puppets to play with?”

  He didn't deny it. “Very good young lady, but very unwise to show your hand,” he warned, bowing ever so slightly to her. “The best players rarely do so.”

  “I'm wondering why. The only one I can get answers from is you, sir.” She tried to be as deferential as she could.

  “True,” Shere said, stirring his drink. He sipped at it. “You'll find there is a lot more to running a business then numbers, young lady. I was quite impressed with your application and going after the internship before you had even graduated,” he said. “My, my, that did take chutzpa, which put you on my radar.”

  “So, you sent me the tip about the bear. And set him up. I thought you were his friend?”

  “My dear, in my circles there aren't any real friends. In Baloo's case I'll make an exception; he's too kind hearted. He'd never willingly stab me in the back; he's saved my life more than once. I do owe him that.”

  “I see.”

  “Which is why I saved him from his own nature. He's more likely to coast, unless someone with…vision were around to give him the occasional poke and keep him on the straight and narrow. He's also limited by his abilities, and he knows it. Most of the time.”

  “Which is where I come in.”

  “You, your daughter, and the rest of the family. Yes. Yes indeed. Baloo is an incredible pilot but a magnet for trouble.”

  “Thank you, sir, for explaining it to me.”

  “Trust me, young woman, you would excel as one of my junior managers, but you'd grow bored and stale. You can have the position if you want…” He eyed her with a raised eyebrow.

  She shook her head, smiling ever so slightly. “Thank you, sir, but no thanks. I think I've gotten used to where I am,” she murmured.

  “Indeed,” he said nodding sagely. “Do keep him on a tight leash,” he said.

  “I intend to,” she said, smiling. The tiger chuffed a laugh as he left, lazily flicking his tail.

  <-----/^----->

  Rebecca and Baloo bickered, their usual bickering over everything from his need to exercise to her penny pinching. It was a fun argument, an old one though, one they'd worn down a great deal over the past two years together. “Why don't you two just go and get married. You're like an old married couple,” Mowgli said in disgust. Bagheera snorted. “Well, they are!” he said throwing his hands up.

  “How about it, Mommy?” Molly asked, tugging at her mom's pants.

  “Um, sweety,”

  “Yeah, how about it, papa bear?” Kit asked.

  Rebecca turned to Kit, then down to Molly. She picked up the cub and put her on her hip. “You'd like that would you?” she asked, flicking the cub on her nose. The cub put her chubby hand paws over her nose and nodded.

  “It's a conspiracy,” Baloo muttered.

  Rebecca turned to him. “Yeah, how about it, Baloo?” she asked, eyes twinkling.

  He stared at her, then he felt something, saw her approval of the idea in her eyes. He reached up and tipped his hat back to scratch at his scalp. “Well gosh,” he murmured.

  Rebecca wrapped her free arm around his bulk. “Well?” she demanded in her no nonsense command voice.

  “I don't have much of a choice here do I?” he asked with a chuckle. She frowned, then reached up and hauled his ear down. He winced but she kissed him. That certainly made up for it. That and Molly and Kit clapping excitedly.

  “Well,” Rebecca demanded again, smiling coyishly. He was practically swooning.

  “Yeah,” he said. She chuckled as the kids went wild. She passed Molly to Kit to dance about while she wrapped her arms around Baloo for a better kiss.

  <-----/^----->

  Rebecca and Baloo get married on the Duck in a quiet ceremony. Molly served as both flower girl and maid of honor. Kit served as ring bearer and one of the best men. Mowgli, Wildcat and Bagheera were groomsmen. Doctor Ara served as one of the ladies, as did one of her nurses. Their husbands and families watched from the shore. It was a lovely ceremony, performed at sunset.

  Together they also filed papers and adopted Kit. Khan was invited to the wedding but sent his regrets. He did, however, send his congratulations and a nice wedding gift. An all-expenses paid honeymoon on a newly opened resort world.

  “He really means it?” Rebecca asked, clearly stunned.

  “Apparently so,” Baloo rumbled, looking over her shoulder. “Huh, New Umbria. I haven't been there. Snow though?” He shivered. “I'd rather go somewhere tropical.”

  “Think of the ski lodge,” Rebecca said, smiling. “Nice warm fire,” she murmured, stroking his arm. He froze and then chuckled. “Me in your arms,” her voice dropped lower, into a seductive husky tone.

  “Okay, you talked me into it,” he said picking her up and whirling her about. They kissed, nuzzling each other's muzzles as she laughed.

  “To happily ever after! Wherever it may lead!”

  The End

  Gottenburg Timeline story:

  Siren Call

  Crew:

  Captain Max Jericho: Black hair, terran, sides are slightly gray.

  “Luscious Lucy” Jericho: Acting XO and wife of captain.

  Percy Jackson: Chief engineer. 60s. Good with a wrench.

  Jim Teutopolis: Navigator

  Henry: Purser/owner captain

  Pete: Engineer, has wife, teen daughter Jennifer, and adolescent son

  Moe, Larry, Curly, and Shep: Four old loading bots.

  After the third interstellar war in 2514 and the second wave of colonization had left the core worlds, there was a glut of small fleet tenders and other ships on the interstellar ship market for the first time. Men and women and alien genders of any sort were able to buy ships with the right funding.

  Many of the ships were snapped up by the major shipping corporations and used for years as the shipyards changed over from building warships to civilian ships. Savvy crew members, who saved their earnings and didn't spend it all on their shore leaves, sometimes bought out the ships when the corporation was ready to replace them with newer faster models.

  Max Jericho, captain, rubbed his hands gleefully. At the ripe age of 44, his plans were finally coming together.

  Max Jericho, the new captain of the venerable medium interstellar freighter ship Yellow Bird, got married in a whirlwind courtship while on shore leave to Luscious Lucy, a beautiful blond woman with a super model body and a wicked mind. It was time to settle down he'd reasoned, and why not with the beautiful blond temptress? She too had traveled the sea of stars and had no problem with raising a family in between them.

  His bride Lucy took on the role of the first mate and XO of the ship on a probationary basis. The former exec had left to captain another ship at their last stop, leaving a vacancy. Lucy had just squeaked by qualifications, and this was her first voyage. Reluctantly, the purser signed off on hiring her. It was that or lose the captain as well, which would really mess up their chain of c
ommand.

  ...*...*...*...*…

  Newly married and quite enraptured by her erotic beauty and devilish charm in the bedroom, Captain Jericho was convinced by his new blushing bride to go back to a resort world instead of following the circuit of worlds they were chartered to follow. But he told her they wouldn't do it unless the crew signed off on the idea. She nodded, mentally cataloging the people she needed to win over to get her way. “Can we talk about it at the next meeting?” she asked. That was tomorrow afternoon.

  “I don't see why not,” he said, hugging her to his side. She smiled and then kissed his cheek.

  “Fine then, I've got some work to do,” she said, getting up. She held his face and kissed him teasingly a few times, leaving a smack on his cheek, collar and neck. It was a teasing thing to him and a clear sign to the other women on board that this man was hers.

  She left with a sensuous smile and hip bump. He wolf whistled, making her laugh. She turned, all business. She had some support to round up. If they knew what was good for them, they would do as they were told.

  Lucy had only slightly concealed, disguised contempt for the old guard as she called them. Percy the chief engineer and Henry the purser should be in rockers in an old folks home. Look how they dressed! She kept up a log of offenses, including odor. It didn't matter how good a job they did; they both stank and both were horribly inept in the social circles.

  At least her Maxy had good taste…once she used his credit line to get him the proper clothes that was. She passed the purser and wrinkled her nose in disgust. He still had on that ratty gray knitted turtleneck sweater with the holes in it. Why he didn't just throw it out…she shook her head in disgust.

  She turned, going through the crew roster. She decided to start with the easiest; those she knew would support the idea. With the right carrot, they'd each jump at the chance at the resort.