Chronicles of the Stellar Corps: Sassy

by Bernard Paul Glover

  In the end, Sarah demonstrated her identity again by accessing the elevator for the paramedics. Frank had Digby lead the way. He followed with Sarah by his side. He did not put her in handcuffs. “From what Digby told me about your last encounter, they wouldn’t be much good anyway.” Sarah smiled at him. She still had a winning smile.

  “What will happen to Jessica?” Sarah asked as they rode to the station.

  “She’ll get a new arm,” Frank assured her. “That Brannock/Goren method of limb cloning really works. We certainly can’t return her to Brooklyn as she is. She’ll probably get a good dose of therapy while she’s here, too,” Frank told her. Sarah found some comfort in that.

  Within moments they arrived at the station. Waiting outside was a crush of reporters. As Frank turned toward the precinct garage the crowd pressed in on the police pod to get a look at Sarah. He activated the privacy circuit, and the outer dome went black until they were inside.

  Inside the station was a smaller crowd. World-Gov’s Secret Service was protecting her father, and at the centre of the agents, three people waited for Sarah; her parents and her brother Peter. To describe the scene as emotional would be an understatement. Tears flowed, long hugs, both individual and group, and then the catching-up began.

  Her mother sobbed. “When I woke at New Belleview they said that you were taken by the Eaters… They didn’t want to tell me why they were called that, but I made them. Then I cried so hard they were going to sedate me. Everyone on board said that you were a hero; that after I fell, you exploded. Gangers were falling left and right; some unconscious, more were worse. They told me that the Guardsmen arrived only seconds too late.” Again, her tears flowed. “But here you are, my precious baby, you’re, alive, oh Sassy…”

  Then it was Sarah’s turn. “I was rescued by Mandy, Amanda Running Deer,” Sarah explained. “Her great grandparents came to New York from Iowa in 2250. They had a small business making traditional native ware that they sold in a small souvenir shop in Manhattan. When Mandy turned eighteen she volunteered to work with the Brooklyn relief crews. She helped out on the skimmers that deliver food and supplies to the enclaves.

  “One day as they were flying back from Bedford-Stuyvesant she saw a group of Shivs menacing a family of scavengers with small children. The skimmer was only a few feet above the ground. She literally jumped out and took them on. In an act of pure cowardice her co-workers left her there. That’s how Running Deer the Hunter began.

  “The night she found me, the night they cancelled the MMCs, she saved me from the Eaters, and gave me a place to live. We trained each other, and did some great work together. Those mercenaries hired by the predator pervs took her, and most likely killed her. She was only there helping me stop the predators from taking our kids.”

  She turned to her father, a look of rage on her face, “And now, what about the Galorans?” she demanded. “What will happen to them? They’re eating terran children; young girls and boys, and after those kids have already been through hell. I saw the bones of at least three children in the Galoran basement kitchen-prison-slaughterhouse. Jessica tells me that they buy them from the paedophiles; the pervs who come into the zone two or three times every month hunting for new ‘toys’.

  “After the pervs tire of them they sell them to the Galorans. That’s why I fought Officer Digby there, I hunted those pervs who took our kids, and they hired Digby and his crew to stop me. That was the real reason he wanted to kill me back at our place. He needed to shut me up so I wouldn’t expose him and his merc buddies.” As she told the story Sarah’s voice got louder and louder. When she made that accusation, nearby officers who heard her immediately advanced on Digby.

  Sarah was really getting worked up. “These guys come into the zone, do as they want, and then sell our children to the Galorans to be slaughtered – very possibly being cut to pieces in front of each other. Daddy, no one is doing anything! It’s like Brooklyn was just abandoned after that bomb went off. More than seventy years and still no one fights the gangs, and apart from the supply relief skimmers, there’s no other help for the enclaves; none at all for the scavengers. No one cares about Brooklynites except for the hunters, and if we get caught we go to jail or forced into the Stellar Corps. Who looks after the people of Brooklyn?”

  “Sarah, you’re definitely not my little eleven-year-old ninja anymore,” her mother told her, hugging her close again. She looked at her daughter, bursting with pride. “The night they took you is forever burned into my memory. That night you saved us all. If you hadn’t been with us on the MMC, I wouldn’t be here; but at what price?

  “Then the police put your name on the ‘Presumed Dead’ list and we knew that you wouldn’t be able to get back across the Bridge, even if you were still alive... I think that’s the real reason that your dad ran for Vice-Chancellor alongside Morgan Davies. Chancellor Davies promised that she would do something about Brooklyn and its gangs.

  Her father picked up the narrative. “Only politics still got in the way. The opposition, and even some members of our own party blocked us. There are still many who think that it’s best to let the matter sort itself out rather than to risk bloodshed; like there was during the ‘Siege of New York’ in 2070. Truth is that they were just afraid of the bad press if the Guard failed again. That’s why they chose to seal it up rather than clean it up.”

  “Well, there’s blood alright,” Sarah told them. “I’ve spilled a lot of it myself. The enclaves have ‘jails’ for minor offenses, but major offenders are simply expelled into the outer-zone. Out there’s no organized justice at all. It’s the law of the jungle.

  “If a hunter or hunter team comes upon a bunch of gangers attacking one of the enclaves, or some scavengers, we take them down. If they run, they live. If they resist, then we have no choice but to use deadly force. I have killed or injured so many Knockers, Shivs, Bangers, and especially Eaters.

  “For years I didn’t know if you survived your wounds. When I came across any Eaters they never got mercy, unless they were very very young.” She looked at her father again. “Daddy, something needs to be done. Something should have been done a long, long time ago!”

  “You are right,” her father said resolutely. He picked up his phone. “Maybe now we can.” He pressed the speed dial for the Planetary Chancellor, as he momentarily stepped away from the family. He returned after a few minutes. “She didn’t take much convincing,” he told Sarah, “Morgan has issued an executive order to take definitive action in Brooklyn...”

  For a long time everyone left the Maloneys alone, but eventually Officer Frank Delaney returned. “I’m sorry, folks, but we need to process her now. It’s procedure, by her own admission she is a hunter.”

  “She is also my daughter,” Francis Maloney said, “And she’s right. If we had done something more to stabilize the borough immediately after the blast sixty-eight years ago there would have been no need for hunters. We would never have lost our daughter for the last seven years, and you wouldn’t have to arrest her now.”

  “If it’s any comfort,” Frank told them, “that call you made a few moments ago worked light-speed fast. NYPD has just been mobilized for 0900 tomorrow. We are to back up the National Guard in a major push to clean up the zone. Also, a huge rebuilding project was just announced from London. The resources of the World Government are being mobilized.”

  He looked at Sarah. “If it is any consolation, what you said over the phone earlier has galvanized the whole planet. The Chancellor has already expelled the entire Galoran delegation from Earth, and filed a motion with the League of Planets to have Galor Prime kicked out of the confederation. An emergency session of the League Council has been convoked for tomorrow at 9:00 AM. The motion is expected to pass. Nothing like this has ever happened before.”

  “What about the rest of the hunters?” Sarah asked. “Will they all be arrested? What about the scavengers? They are in danger of getting caught in the crossfire.”

  “Actually, w
e have learned a lot since the Park back in 2070. Thanks to the League, we have new specialized weapons and better tactics. Earlier we were restricted from using them. The powers-that-be were afraid that they might fall into ganger hands,” her father told her.

  “Truth be told, why we couldn’t use them before was essentially political will,” her Francis explained. “You just gave us the will. The Chancellor is now on-board and, in her words, ‘Politics be damned!’ You lit a real fire, girl. I am so proud of you right now. I am just so glad that you are alive!” Sarah could see the tears welling up, again, in her father’s eyes.

  “No one wanted to admit that the problem was as great as it is, Sassy,” he explained. “It was expedient for those in power to tell people that the borough was stabilized and would correct itself. You have no idea how long I have been fighting for that to change. That is what you changed tonight. No one can deny the truth anymore. The situation won’t go away by itself. There is no stability.”

  “I’m sorry Mr. Vice-Chancellor,” Frank said, but I do need to process her right now.”

  “Is there no other option?” Mary Maloney asked.

  “Stellar Corps” Frank replied. “We’ve never tried it this way before, but I think that Judge Thanning might go for it. Heck, after learning about Judge Morrat’s activities and proclivities, any judge would agree. No one wants to be lumped in with him.”

  “Go for what?” Sarah asked.

  “Stellar Corps, now! Usually a defendant needs to be convicted before they are offered the chance to sign-up. However, I’m sure that I can get Judge Thanning to let her go now – no trial, no plea; so no scandal of sending a hero to jail.”

  “But,” Sarah countered, “if my trial and conviction can push matters forward for the people of Brooklyn, then I’m willing to face it.”

  “Spoken like a true hero,” said Judge Thanning from the doorway. Alongside the judge stood a man in the uniform of a Stellar Corps’ commander. “I am very impressed Ms. Maloney, but that kind of hero can sometimes cause more damage. A guilty plea usually demands allocution to the ‘crime’.

  “You telling your story will certainly inspire many, but it will surely prejudice others. In short, you could do as much harm as good. A trial might be even more damaging. A rapid disposition of this case is the soundest way to go.”

  The judge indicated the man to his left. “Let me introduce Commander Thomas Grissom of the Stellar Corps. If you agree, he will swear you in right now, and you will leave this station in the uniform of the Corps Academy.”

  Commander Grissom spoke up, “Normally you would enter the program as a normal student, a grunt. The term we use is a ‘programmer’. But in about five percent of the programmer cases we find candidates with real leadership qualities. I believe that you are a ‘five-percenter’. I can make you no promises other than a chance to serve your world and the League of Systems, and to live up to those high ideals that you seem to hold. I hope that you’ll agree.”

  Sarah considered the offer for a few moments. She glanced at her mother, father and brother. She considered what her allocution or trial would mean for them. She also thought about what she might achieve in the Corps. The judge was correct; Sarah was a hero. She agreed.

  The Academy

  As a hunter, Sarah was used to going to bed after 3:00 AM and waking in the mid-morning, so when the call to turn out for morning exercise came at 0530 she was not exactly ready. However, Sassy the Hunter was always fast on her feet, and she rose to the occasion, even if her performance was not her best.

  Sarah was in great shape, but the workout was grueling. By the time it was over she was anxious to grab a shower before breakfast. The warm water, she told herself, would feel good on her sore muscles. That was her first surprise.

  Hygiene at the Stellar Corps academy was a two-minute session in a sonic shower; effective at cleaning the dirt off, and even soothing her sore muscles, but nowhere as good as twenty minutes of hot water would have been emotionally.

  Following a short, nutritionally sound breakfast, Sarah began a series of evaluation sessions. Even though Commander Grissom had accepted her as a five-percenter, the regulations required that she prove his evaluation was correct. The Corps also needed to see where she would place academically in their program, and what her true level of fitness was.

  The first few days consisted of series of examinations in mathematics, physics, chemistry and tactics. There were also banks and banks of psychological evaluations. Sarah was not totally surprised when there was also a rather extensive questionnaire and discussion on her philosophy. By the end of her first week Sarah felt wrung out, physically and emotionally. Then, the following Monday, came “the meeting”.

  At 0900 hours Monday morning Sarah was ordered to meet with her evaluation committee. The committee consisted of Commander Grissom; Lieutenant-Commander Halcyon, psychologist; Lieutenant Nelia Grifn, training officer and tactician; and Captain Louis Halpern, M.D. Grissom opened the meeting.

  “Cadet Maloney, this meeting is to give you the results of your evaluations, and decide on where you will begin your military and academic education. As I am sure you realize, duty on a starship is a lot more complex than planet-bound life. What you need to know, and how you need to comport yourself, greatly differ from the life of a hunter in the zone. The reason for this gathering is to work with you to find the best placement within our program for you. We are also here to listen to your thoughts and ideas, but ultimately this is a military establishment. The final decision is ours. Do you understand this?”

  “Yes, Sir” she answered. She had learned in her first week to use the proper responses when speaking to officers.

  “Very well, we’ll begin with Lieutenant Grifn,” Grissom said, turning to the Drixian Tactical Officer.

  The Lieutenant acknowledged Commander Grissom before beginning her report.

  “Evaluating Cadet Maloney has been an interesting exercise,” she began. “In hand-to-hand combat the Cadet is a force to be reckoned with. Indeed, she can be most lethal, but she is not a blunt instrument. She informed me that her early training was in formal martial arts from the Asian tradition. Her proficiency is at the highest level.

  “The Cadet also has a repertoire of street moves that would be most efficient under battlefield conditions. Any further training that she might undertake with the Corps should be on a cooperative basis. There are still many techniques that we need to teach her, particularly in the area of non-human species. Having said this, I hasten to point out that she also may have tactics that she can teach us.

  “In closing, I also would like to comment on her ethics vis-à-vis lethal engagement. Cadet Maloney has no problem with the use of lethal force against an opponent, but this is coupled with a strong moral ethic. Her choice to kill is never lightly taken. She has a strong respect for life. Nonetheless, if the necessity arises the Cadet is lethal in the extreme. She will, of course, need the full course in starship battle tactics, though I expect a great deal of transfer of skills will occur.” She looked down at Sarah. “Thank you, Cadet, for a most interesting week.” Grifn retook her seat.

  Grissom turned to Sarah. “Cadet, do you have any comment, or anything that you would like to add to the Lieutenant’s report?”

  “No, Sir,” Sarah responded, “other than to say that it was a most invigorating week.” She turned toward Nelia Grifn, “Thank you, Lieutenant.”

  Grifn nodded her acknowledgement.

  “A very positive beginning,” Grissom commented, “next we’ll hear from Dr. Halpern.”

  The doctor rose to his feet. Even at his age, Dr. Halpern was still an imposing officer. He looked down at the tiny Sarah, from his lofty six foot five frame, and smiled. He then turned to Commander Grissom.

  “I am pleased to report that Cadet Maloney’s health and physical condition is far superior to most incoming recruits. Body scans did reveal some long-healed breaks in her arms and legs. One or two would do well with proper repair before
beginning her formal training.”

  When Sarah showed signs of distress at this evaluation, he added to her directly, “Nothing too serious – a week’s recovery time at most and you’ll be as good as new.”

  Then to Grissom, “Either way, Cadet Maloney is more than fit for service.”

  The final report came from the psychologist, Lieutenant-Commander Halcyon. Janet Halcyon was a young energetic officer who, despite a rather austere manner and appearance, had struck Sarah very favourably. Now she was about to find out if the feeling was mutual. Commander Grissom turned to her.

  “Lieutenant-Commander, your report please”

  The young officer rose, glancing briefly at Sarah, but then spoke directly to Grissom. “Cadet Maloney proved an interesting client, on her tests and in her interviews, Commander. Seven years as a hunter in the zone has undeniably altered her psychological makeup. This I expected. What I did not expect was an under-layer of optimism that she undoubtedly developed as a young child. She carries in her makeup an enormous amount of hope, and despite her harsh life in the zone, she is still willing to trust when her trust is earned.

  “What the zone contributes to her makeup is a realistic approach to life. She looks for the best, but handles whatever life hands her with aplomb. She will not allow herself to be defeated by harsh or negative events or circumstances.

  “She is fiercely loyal to her comrades; to the other hunters in the zone, and especially to a partner who saved her life, and fought beside her until just recently. Her anger toward a certain NYPD Officer, George Digby, when she recently re-encountered him is directly related to that incident.”

  Halcyon glanced at Sarah again as she spoke. To everyone else Sarah was emotionless, but the Lieutenant-Commander’s professional training told her otherwise. That night was still an open wound for Sarah.