“Kiss me,” she said and Thomas quickly obliged her. He had minimum experience at close encounters with women so his hands delightfully began exploring the curves and surface of her skin. Somewhere around that time her bra hit the floor followed almost immediately by his shirt and suddenly they were kissing deeply and passionately. She pulled back from his kiss and gasped for breath while Thomas sank to his knees, kissing her beautiful naked breasts. Both his hands and hers worked furiously to remove their remaining clothes.
“What if…” she gasped as he continued kissing her breasts and bared stomach. “What if you and Glen can’t get the CAS Drive fixed? That means we’re trapped in this gravity river.”
“Oh we’ll get it working again,” Thomas promised. “And if we don’t, then I guess I’m spending eternity with you!” Laughing, he picked her up – Kari took the opportunity to wrap her legs around his waist. She giggled uncontrollably as Thomas took a step forward and nearly fell.
“Don’t quite… know if I’m… made for this,” he chuckled as they stumbled toward the bedroom. He paused, noting that George was walking curiously toward them, his feline instincts sensing something interesting developing. “Sorry cat,” Thomas said firmly before shutting the door. “This is strictly a matter for the human animal.”
*
Early the next morning, Kaufield arrived for the early watch in the Command Dome and took his usual seat. Each day since their arrival within Poseidon’s influence, he had taken the time to carefully study the overhead monitors, admiring the breathtaking scenery that continually surrounded them within the gravity river. A substantial amount of matter continually poured into its clutches and the visible stars coming along for the ride kept everything brilliantly lit up in a spectacular display of patterns and color. If their CAS systems weren’t so thoroughly damaged the Captain would have been overjoyed at this opportunity to study the natural wonder. However, the undeniable fact that many of their computers were still non-functional simply reinforced his initial conclusion that the power of this natural phenomenon needed to be respected.
Dennis was not comfortable within Poseidon and never would be as long as they were trapped and unable to generate a stable singularity. Of course there was the option of using shorter, standard PTP transits to move the Pathfinder back into normal space. He was simply not ready to choose that option yet since the ship would expend massive amounts of fuel in the process. A non-CAS journey back to normal space would require years of continual travel and almost certainly force them to stop periodically in order to locate additional sources of fuel. He was proud of the Lab team that they had assembled and confident that only time and patience was needed in order to fully restore their CAS systems.
Of course there was also the issue of just who had brought them here. That was yet another reason he hesitated to begin moving out of the celestial river. Someone unknown to them had obviously been observing their progress very closely since the Pathfinder left the Milky Way and had even gone so far as to ask for their trust. Waiting to see whether a CAS singularity could be generated within Poseidon’s gravity addressed at least three immediate issues: (1) Could they CAS transit out again given the conditions of the environment surrounding them? (2) Would the unknown person or persons observing them show themselves or at least attempt to make contact? And lastly, (3) It was the Captain’s experience that patience was almost always rewarded in the long run. Taking their time in this case gave Julie and her staff in the Observatory wing what they had most longed for since their journey started – the opportunity to conduct a detailed study of a marvel like Poseidon up close.
Thus far they had detected no direct threat to the safety of the ship or its crew… that was what mattered most to Kaufield at this point. The unexpected battle in the wasteland galaxy had left him more than a little bit cautious. It had reinforced the need to be watchful and mindful of the unpredictable dangers that surrounded them so far from familiar space. The speed and precision of the alien attack had shocked him, making the Captain more determined than ever to be ready for anything – any danger – that might appear and threaten them again.
Dennis glanced up sharply, noticing that Adam had snuck in sometime during his silent study of the glittering nebulae on the monitors. The elder Roh was busy reviewing information on the helm console with one hand while attempting to maintain his grip on a hot cup of coffee with the other. The Ensign he relieved nodded gratefully and headed toward the nearest exit, probably on his way to grab a bite to eat and almost certainly to get some rest. The Comm-link next to the Captain lit up and he quickly acknowledged the signal.
“Good morning, Captain Kaufield, this is Murray,” Colonel Neeland said, his voice breaking the peaceful silence that – until now – had dominated the Command Dome. “I hate to bother you this early, but we’ve got a situation in progress down here on deck four and I could really use your help.”
“What’s going on?” asked Dennis curiously.
“There’s another potential security breach in Patrick Warren’s quarters. We’ve got a level one alert in place down here and armed troops on the scene since people are naturally a bit edgy where Mr. Warren is concerned.”
“I’m on my way,” Kaufield replied. “I’ll be down in ten minutes.”
“Oh, and Captain?” the Colonel asked quickly.
“I’m still here,” said Dennis reassuringly.
“Before you do come down, I’d suggest you take a look at security file ‘Murray100’ in the computer log. It will explain a lot.”
“Acknowledged,” replied Kaufield. He snapped the Comm-link closed and activated his work station, using it to quickly call up and review the information that Neeland had drawn his attention to. He shook his head in dismay at what he saw before shutting down the computer and rising to his feet. “Adam, I’m going down to deck four to see what all the fuss is about. I’d be most grateful if you would mind the store for me while I’m gone.”
“We’ll keep your seat warm, sir,” Adam grinned cheerfully, taking a slow sip of coffee.
Kaufield found chaos on deck four, but not at the high level he had expected. The marines had forced most of the civilians back from around Patrick Warren’s quarters, but there was still a large enough crowd of angry civilians to make the situation dangerous.
“Traitor!” someone shouted angrily. “Freaking child killer!” Other people joined in, shouting their own insults and heated comments. The situation was definitely in danger of escalating and would certainly have done so by now if the marines had not aggressively formed a protective circle, their backs to each other, at the crowd’s center.
“Our Council gave you a second chance!” Jack Dandridge pointed out, standing at the forefront of the crowd in the doorway to his quarters. “You Brotherhood murderers think you’ve beaten us, but in the end you’ll find out that Americans cannot be held down for long!”
The Captain wasn’t the least bit surprised to see Jack leading the mob – his outright hatred for his Brotherhood neighbor was well known amongst the crew. Dandridge pointed at Patrick Warren, who was standing next to four armed marines and still wore an apron from his morning shift in the restaurant.
Noticing Kaufield’s arrival, Colonel Neeland hastily stepped forward to join him. His expression was concerned but so far his troops had maintained the peace.
“Someone found a small black rock lying in the corridor this morning,” Murray said informatively. “They reported the find to Security, so we ran a priority check and it turned out to be fuel ore. I immediately initiated a security alert and we searched Warren’s quarters. These were found in his desk drawer.” He carefully handed Kaufield three more dark-colored mineral stones.
“That certainly explains our current situation,” Dennis decided, glancing curiously at the stones in his hand. “Thanks for taking charge and keeping things under control.”
“You’re welcome,” replied the Colonel.
In front of them, Dandridge pointed an ang
ry finger at Warren. “We should shove you out a damned airlock for this!” he shouted. “That will put a stop to your private little bomb-making business.” He waved his arms and tried to start a chant of “Airlock, airlock, airlock…” Some members of the crowd began to chant with him but were abruptly silenced as Kaufield stepped forward. He grabbed the hand Dandridge was pointing with and yanked the man toward him, staring fiercely into the other man’s eyes as he did so.
“Are you finished?” the Captain snarled angrily. “I don’t appreciate people trying to form a lynch mob on my ship.”
“He’s planning sabotage again,” objected Dandridge furiously. “They found more fuel ore in his quarters this morning – ask your marines if you don’t believe me!” Fuming, he pointed at the troops standing next to Warren.
Kaufield carefully held up the stones in his hand. “Do you mean these particular rocks?” he asked curiously.
“Yes. He thought he covered his tracks this time, but he dropped one in the corridor and the marines found those in his quarters while he was working in the restaurant.” Behind them, the crowd had quieted some but most of the passengers still had murderous expressions on their faces. It was definitely an unpleasant situation to be faced with and it certainly could not be allowed to escalate into violence. Dennis sighed patiently and held up a hand for quiet as the Colonel and his troops ordered the crowd to back up some more. This helped to abruptly calm everyone down as passengers had to jockey for new positions to watch from.
“We checked, Captain,” said one of the marines. “There’s no sign of forcible entry into his quarters. And we really did find the mineral stones in there.”
“Mr. Warren no longer has security clearance to be in the Pathfinder’s hangar bay or in our Laboratory,” Kaufield pointed out. “So a curious guy like me is wondering just where he got these stones from.”
“What does it matter?” someone in the crowd shouted. “He had the stones and we know from experience that he likes to sit in his quarters and make bombs.” Murmurs began in the crowd and the cries of protest began to start up again.
“Yes it does matter,” Dennis replied, quieting the crowd again through sheer force of will. “Because as soon as we abandon the rule of law and due process, that’s when the Brotherhood will have beaten us spiritually as well as on the battlefield. Their society annihilated ours and many of them are guilty of murder, but this man is not…” He pointed at Patrick Warren for emphasis. “This man has not killed anyone.”
“Give him time,” one of the hangar bay technicians said spitefully. “He’ll renew his commitment to kill us all.”
“Quite the contrary, actually,” objected Kaufield. “The Council and I met with Mr. Warren many times after his initial mission of espionage was revealed to us. We found him quite guilty of those crimes and he agreed to meet all of our conditions in return for limited freedom aboard the Pathfinder. One of those conditions was that he fully cooperate with our efforts to learn more about the Brotherhood – a project that I think you’ll all agree is absolutely critical if we’re ever to find a way to fight back against them.”
“That doesn’t excuse his crime!” retorted Dandridge. “You’ve had plenty of time to study him… it’s time for justice! Throw the bastard out an airlock, I say!”
“Yes, give him the airlock express!” the hangar technician agreed. “Space the Brotherhood saboteur!”
Dennis continued to calmly look Dandridge directly in the eyes. He noticed that the man was sweating profusely, with large drops of moisture noticeably running down his forehead. “You use the word justice,” said Kaufield angrily, “But you have no idea what it actually means. You simply distort it to justify your hatred… and I think you’d willingly sacrifice this man’s life whether he’s guilty or not – as long as it satisfies your craving for vengeance.”
“He’s not a man! That genetically enhanced freak was caught red-handed again,” Dandridge insisted.
“Was he, Jack?” asked Kaufield carefully. “Are you absolutely certain of that?”
“Yes! You’re holding the evidence,” spoke up one of the marines.
“I’m holding three stones,” the Captain replied. “Any system of justice worth its salt takes its time to search for the truth… not by reacting wildly based on appearances and circumstantial evidence. You’ll note that I pointed out earlier that Patrick Warren willingly agreed – as a part of his sentencing by the Council – to a series of conditions. Another of those conditions was that he leave his door unlocked at all times… hence the lack of forced entry.”
“And the fuel ore?” Dandridge seethed. “How do you explain that?”
“He also agreed to 24 hour, internal video surveillance of his quarters,” Kaufield said flatly, continuing to observe Dandridge carefully. He normally didn’t get too personally involved in situations such as this one, but he truly enjoyed watching the man squirm with visible discomfort. “Just before I came down here I watched a video log taped earlier this morning. It shows you, Jack Dandridge, entering Patrick’s quarters shortly after he reported for work. I watched you carefully search his room and then plant the three stones in his desk drawer. If you like, we can go up to the Command Dome and I’ll let you watch the video yourself.”
Dandridge fell awkwardly against the corridor wall while the crowd surrounding him became absolutely silent. “You video tape his quarters…” Jack said slowly with obvious disbelief.
“…24 hours a day. That’s correct. And from what the Colonel tells me it’s not the first time you’ve been in there without his permission while he’s not at home.”
“You did this, Jack?” asked one of the female hangar workers. “You did this?”
“Patrick agreed to let us monitor his activities in order to guarantee to the Council that he would not continue the Brotherhood’s agenda of violence against our people,” continued Kaufield. “Jack planted the stones, Jack tried to frame him, and Jack tried to work you all into a feeding frenzy so that he could form a lynch mob to execute Patrick without a trial. He did it because, despite everything he claims to stand for, he doesn’t give a damn about something as simple as justice. All he cares about is revenge… and in this case the revenge should be directed at the Brotherhood Triumvirate we left behind in the Milky Way, not the man standing before you. Patrick is voluntarily cooperating with us, and we still badly need his help to learn more about our mysterious Earth enemy.”
“Take this man into custody,” Neeland said, pointing at Dandridge. Two of the guards moved over and each of them grabbed an arm.
“Wait…” Jack said nervously, holding up a hand. “I beg you – I have responsibilities in the hangar bay. I have to go to work in an hour.”
“That’s right,” Kaufield said, still holding the mineral stones in his right hand. “You do have to go to work… but not in the hangar bay. As of this moment your security clearance is revoked and you will be reassigned to work side by side with Mr. Warren in the restaurant.”
“What?”
“I’m serious. Go grab an apron and get to work.”
“Captain, you can’t…”
“Don’t tell me what I can and can’t do,” Kaufield snarled, his fist closing around the three small stones with sudden, burning rage. “Not after what you’ve pulled. We’re in enough trouble drifting along helplessly in this gravity river, and you call out most of our Security personnel and have me pulled off my shift in the Command Dome for what – to come down here for this?”
Dandridge rallied up what remained of his courage. “Suppose I refuse? I have that right.”
“No you don’t actually,” the Captain disagreed. “You’re so fond of pronouncing summary judgment against someone – fine. Here’s a decision for you. You’re the one who decided that stealing fuel ore is a capital crime and now we’ve learned that you stole some of them yourself. Breaking the law is no way to enforce the law, not to mention that the entire crew is just plain sick of listening to you bitch about the
conditions on this ship. So I order you to work in the restaurant with Mr. Warren. If you decline to do so then the sentence you chose for him applies – we’ll have you thrown out the nearest airlock.”
“Captain, please… you don’t understand… show some mercy, for God’s sake.”
“I understand perfectly,” Dennis growled furiously. “Now all of a sudden – when it’s you who’s guilty of the same crime that you accused Patrick of – the word mercy is suddenly available in your vocabulary. Get to work in the restaurant or take a close-up tour of the gravity river… it really makes no difference to me.”
“I deserve a trial…” Jack objected. “Captain, I deserve a trial – you said I do.”
“And you’ll get one,” Kaufield promised. “We’ll give you a really nice trial with a judge and jury and video-taped evidence that clearly shows your guilt.” He handed the rocks back to the Colonel. “But as Captain I get to make a recommendation to the Council as to your sentence if you’re found guilty, and – just so you know – they haven’t overruled any of my suggestions yet.” He turned and walked angrily through the crowd and headed off down the corridor toward the lifts at the front of the Pathfinder.
“All right everybody, we’re done here,” Colonel Neeland said loudly. “Let’s get back to your quarters or on to your jobs or wherever you’re supposed to be.” He began motioning sharply for compliance and the crowd immediately began to break up and disperse. “You!” he said, pointing at Dandridge, “Come with me. I’m personally going to escort both you and Mr. Warren back to the restaurant.” He noticed the look of shame that came over Dandridge’s face as he glanced nervously at Patrick – the man had remained quiet and said absolutely nothing in his own defense through the entire affair. “Well what do you know,” grinned Neeland with wonder. “Is that a hint of remorse, perhaps? And here I thought I’d seen everything already this morning…”
The Pathfinder Trilogy Page 33
