"A genuine pleasure to meet you, Captain Burke," his rich, deep voice seemed to hang in the air. "And you as well Dr. Ma'Fredich and Lucky."
"If you don't mind my saying, you seem quite familiar with us Mr. Dalton," Jason said smoothly, hiding the alarm he was feeling.
"Please, call me Crisstof... And do not be alarmed, I've been tracking your exploits for some time now, but not for any nefarious purpose," Crisstof said. "I believe we can be mutually beneficial to each other in the future, but for now let us get acquainted, settle up our account, and discuss the possibility of discussing another job you can do for me soon." This guy is smooth.
Soon, Kross left the four of them to talk quietly at the far end of the hall while the reception went on around them. Jason got the impression Crisstof was what he would call a "trouble shooter:” someone who found ways to accomplish things when official channels either broke down or were unavailable. He practically confirmed this when he explained why Omega Force had been hired to get the Vongaard family off Corran instead of any number of military units that were probably not only better equipped, but already on the payroll.
"You see, Corran is being subjugated by her sister planet, Kellaan. Kellaan shares an orbit very similar to Corran, in fact they overlap each other in some places. Kellaan was settled by the Corranians nearly a millennia ago when the technology was still quite primitive. There wasn't regular commerce, just a steady stream of settlers and refugees that wanted to escape the pollution and overcrowding of Corran's cities." Crisstof paused to take a long drink of a clear something that smelled like a distilled spirit before continuing.
"After the last planetary war on Corran, the two worlds lost contact with each other and set off down two very different social evolutionary paths. When they finally were able to communicate and visit after the technology caught up, there was a constant tension between the two.
"In recent years, an increasingly vocal contingent within the Corranian government has been advocating the more totalitarian, militaristic methods of the Kellaanians," he paused to take another drink.
"Let me guess," Doc filled in the silence, "the movement caught on and before long were advocating a takeover by the Kellaan government."
"Correct," Crisstof confirmed. "Through creative manipulation of the media, and in turn the population, they were able to convince people that it was in their best interest. This put the opposition in a dangerous place; if the Kellaanians actually attacked then they would be in serious danger. The Kellaan regime doesn't allow much in the way of dissenting opinion."
"So as soon as the attack and blockade happened you hired us to extract Senator Vongaard," Jason finished. Crisstof simply nodded as he looked out over the crowd.
"Senator Vongaard is crucially important if we're to ask the ConFed Starfleet to step in. As the most respected member of the opposing minority, he would be the obvious choice to approach the council to plead his case. The Eshquarian government, while sympathetic, isn't a voting member of the Confederated Systems. Not only could they not petition the council on behalf of Corran, but any active assistance would be a violation of the treaty they entered.
"We're spinning this to look like the Senator escaped by his own ingenuity, and the story being told by the agents you left behind mostly confirms that," Crisstof finished his lengthy history lesson and leaned back.
"I guess I'll ask what we're all thinking," Doc said. "What's this next job about?"
"Ah... If you're open to the possibility, we'll discuss that tomorrow in a more secure locale," Crisstof said with a smile. "What I will promise you now, however, is that this job is in line with your code, your ideals. While it won't be strictly legal, it will help a lot of innocent people if you can pull it off." Jason opened his mouth to answer, but was cut off by a little girl's voice screeching in delight.
"Lucky!!" They all turned and saw that Seleste, Senator Vongaard's youngest daughter, was almost at a full run before she flung herself into the arms of a very surprised battlesynth. Only his preternatural reflexes allowed him to bend quickly and break her headlong rush into him by picking her up.
"Seleste," he said, seeming genuinely happy to see her. "How are you enjoying your party this evening?"
"It's great! But where's Crusher?" She asked.
"He is off protecting the others right now as I stand watch over Captain Burke and Doc," he answered with a wink. Once he placed her back on the ground he noticed the attention he had garnered and moved back a step further from the light of the table lamp. He was saved from further scrutiny as the Senator and the rest of his family approached the table. Out of respect for him, many of the partygoers turned away to give them their privacy. The tale of their harrowing escape had been spreading and everyone was full of sympathy. Or the closest thing to it the political class can manage.
"Forgive me, Captain," Vongaard said with a smile. "She got away from us as we were getting ready to leave."
"No apologies necessary, Senator," Jason said, returning the smile. "I'm sure it made Lucky's evening."
After Senator Vongaard had collected his errant daughter and departed, the others agreed that it was a good time to adjourn their own deliberations as well. The three members of Omega Force agreed to meet with Crisstof the next day and then made their way around the perimeter of the ballroom to the side exit they had come in through. At least they didn't make us sneak in through the kitchen.
Once outside, they stood in the cool night air and looked around. So far as they could tell, there was no sign of the vehicle. "Fucking typical," Jason quipped. "How far is it back to our rooms, Lucky?"
"Two-point-one-seven kilometers," he answered without hesitation.
"Walk?" Jason asked. When the others nodded they set off down the side street, letting Lucky and his impeccable sense of direction (and active sensors) lead the way.
When they walked into their suite, there was evidence that there had been what could be called a struggle. Either that or a bomb had gone off in the room. “What. The. Fuck?” Jason asked to nobody in particular. “I’m assuming there is some sort of rational explanation for this.”
“Look, Captain,” Kage began, holding a rag to his nose that looked to be soaked in greenish blood. “I know this looks bad, but almost all of it was an accident.” Jason held up a finger, demanding silence as he took in the rest of the room. One of the sofas was completely upended and a set of enormous feet, that could have only have belonged to Crusher, were sticking up in the air from the other side. Another large chair was smashed flat and there was broken glass covering much of the floor.
“Where is Twingo?”
“He’s in the bathroom… in his room,” Kage said. “But he’s probably wanting to just sleep it off,” he finished hurriedly. Jason stomped out of the room as Doc and Lucky rushed over to check on Crusher. Crunching over more broken glass, he went into the indicated bathroom and found Twingo unconscious, beat up, and laying in the shower stall with a wet rag on his head. After checking to see that he was still breathing, Jason decided to leave him where he was and walked back out into the common area. As he entered he saw that Lucky had Crusher sitting up on the one couch that wasn’t flipped over.
“Ok, Kage,” he said calmly. “I’m going to go out on a limb and say this didn’t happen because three platoons of hardened marines charged into the room. So… start talking.” He leaned against the door frame to Twingo’s room and crossed his arms over his chest.
“Hmm, where to start…” Kage said, looking for support from anyone in the room. “You knew the bar was fully stocked, right? Ok. Well we started drinking after you guys left, and then we started to get bored. We knew you’d be mad if we went walking around outside, so we started playing drinking games from our own homeworlds.”
I can already see where this is going…
“It started off tame enough, but then Crusher said we couldn’t handle the games his people played, so Twingo challenged him to play what he called ‘Stollanari Arm Wrestling
’. He had Crusher make a fist and told him to pull it towards him with all his strength while he held onto it with both of his own hands. If he could get his fist out, he won.”
“Then what?” Jason prompted.
“Well, Crusher starts pulling towards himself, almost lifting Twingo off the floor,” Kage continued. “Then, Twingo just lets go and Crusher punched himself in the face as hard as he could. Twingo yelled, ‘You won!’ But then Crusher came after him, that’s what happened to that chair,” he pointed at the flattened piece of furniture, “and Twingo’s face… and body.” Crusher was sitting on the couch glaring at the smaller, four armed alien out of the eye that wasn’t swelled shut as he recounted the night’s events.
“That explains one chair,” Jason said, still angry, but suddenly trying hard not to laugh. "Crusher, you actually beat up one of your own crewmates?" Jason was stunned.
"No, no, no," Kage interjected. "He tripped and fell chasing Twingo... but he is really fast, so Twingo sort of got caught up under him on the way down." Jason winced at the thought of being smashed to the floor underneath the hulking warrior.
"Fine. So they broke the chair playing... What was it? Stollanari Arm Wrestling?... why is the floor covered in glass?"
"Oh... that. Crusher claimed that the crest on his forehead was the hardest substance in the known universe... I didn't believe him, so I hit him with one of the empty bottles to see for myself," Kage was still slurring his words badly and wobbling on his legs. Jason knew he didn't have long before the diminutive alien passed out. "So, after a few more bottles, I wanted to try something more solid. I hit him with one of the supports from the broken chair... but I missed and accidentally," he stressed the word to Crusher, "hit him in the side of the face. He stumbled and fell back. That's what flipped the couch over."
"So why are you hurt?"
"I slipped in spilled booze and hit my face on the floor trying to check on him. After he started snoring I figured he was fine," Kage finished.
"Crusher... is this what happened to the best of your recollection?" Jason asked, now trying very hard not to laugh. Crusher simply nodded, still glaring at Kage. "Alright. We have a meeting tomorrow about another high paying job with the same client that hired us this time. You two: go to bed. Doc, could you check on Twingo please?"
"Of course," Doc was already moving towards the doorway as the other two stumbled off to their respective rooms. Lucky was standing in the middle of the common area seeming somewhat stunned.
"So this is how they were having fun?" he asked, bewildered.
"They thought so at the time. I've been there more than once myself," Jason said as he punched a few commands into the touchpanel on the wall by the bar. A few moments later a trio of cleaning bots rolled in through the service entrance of the suite and began addressing the mess. Even they seemed taken aback by the amount of damage. "Just clean up the glass and fluids," he said to them directly. "I'll worry about the furniture later." He got a couple soft beeps in reply and they set to work. Jason walked around them and made his way to the bar, he had been so focused on business during the reception he had declined to have a drink himself. Now he wanted one very badly after seeing the carnage from his misbehaving crew.
After more than a year of working in space Jason's gastrointestinal system could handle about anything he threw at it, but that didn't always mean he liked the taste. He discovered that a simple smell test could narrow things down quite a bit, so he set about sniffing all the bottles of brown liquid, looking for anything resembling whiskey. He hit pay dirt with a decanter of a light brown liquid that had a nice vanilla/smoky aroma and tasted like a fine Canadian whiskey. Now that's more like it. He poured a liberal shot in a short glass over ice and leaned back, watching the efficient little cleaning crew finish up their task. He looked up as Doc walked out.
"He's fine. Going to be very sore and very hungover tomorrow, though," Doc said as he made his own way to the bar and started shuffling though bottles as well. Now that they were alone, the dam broke and Jason broke into near uncontrollable laughter. It was apparently infectious as Doc also giggled, then started laughing so hard tears were coming from his eyes. Lucky watched the two with the same bemused expression he usually had when he simply didn't understand the behavior of his biological friends.
"Were you planning on any sort of discipline?" Doc asked when he could finally catch his breath. Jason thought on it for a moment. Omega Force wasn't a military unit, the glue that held it together was mutual respect, trust, and a sense of purpose. If, as Captain, he began dispensing punishment haphazardly he would quickly create an Us versus Them (or Us versus Him) mentality. But beyond that, he considered each crew member his friend, and his family, so he had no desire to impose meaningless "punishment" for something he would have likely participated in himself.
"No," he said, "I think they've suffered enough already, and if not they certainly will tomorrow." He took a slow drink from his glass, savoring the flavor. "Besides, these guys have been cooped up on a small ship, practically on top of each other, for months on end. Add the stress of dangerous operations and then getting locked in this room when we finally do make it planetside somewhere... I can understand the need to blow off some steam. In the grand scheme of things, if all we got from a drunk Galvetic warrior is some bruises and a broken chair, I'd say we came out on top. Wouldn't you?"
"When put that way, yes... I would," Doc chuckled. The two finished their drinks and discussed what the new job might be while Lucky made rounds to each room to check on his fallen comrades. After another drink apiece, Jason and Doc went to bed while Lucky, per his usual habit, stood guard in the middle of the common area. Jason always felt like he was taking advantage of the synth when he stood watch while the others slept, but Lucky assured him he would be "awake" anyway, so he may as well do something useful with his time. In truth, he took the time to sift through the events of the day and give each incident, each interaction, a level of scrutiny he wasn't able to as it happened. It allowed him to continue to grow and find how he fit into this new world as a free-thinking being.
The next morning Jason walked out and found that Doc had taken the liberty of ordering a veritable buffet from room service and had it stretched out along the bar. When he smelled it, his stomach growled in anticipation and he made his way directly to the food with only a wave of greeting to Lucky and Doc. The others were nowhere to be found.
"Good call on breakfast, Doc," Jason said as he grabbed a plate. "I didn't eat much last night."
"I don't think any of us did. You want me to rouse the others?" Doc replied.
"Nah. The smell should start breaking through their stupor pretty soon," Jason answered between bites. As if on cue, Crusher shuffled out of his room holding his head in one hand and growling softly. "Hungry?" Jason asked brightly.
"Yes," Crusher said simply, but instead of walking to the bar he came to stand directly in front of Jason and drew himself up to his full height. "Captain. I apologize for my actions last night. I will accept any punishment you deem necessary." His rigid, formal stance let Jason know he needed to do something more than wave him off, so he stood as well.
"Very well. I accept, and appreciate, your apology Crusher," Jason said. He actually didn't feel it was necessary, but he knew the big warrior would feel cheated without some sort of penance. "I have no intention of 'punishing' you. You're my crewmate and my friend, and you're a free man to do as you will. But I will ask that you refrain from excess for the rest of the time we're on Eshquaria, I need you clear headed and watching our backs until we're back on the Phoenix and flying offworld."
"Yes, Captain," Crusher said. He didn't quite bow, but he did nod deeply. His gaze also sneaked over to the bar laden with food, the smell must have been driving him crazy. Jason smiled.
"Go get some food," he said lightly, slapping Crusher on the shoulder. And just like that, all was forgotten. It was simply amazing how quickly his injuries from the night before had healed and
Crusher wasn’t pumped full of medical nanotech that worked to heal his body like the rest of them were.
Kage was the next to emerge looking only slightly worse for wear. When he and Crusher saw each other they immediately started laughing, which was a slight relief for Jason. Although it seemed like harmless fun the night before, much like he had taken part in countless times in the service, it wouldn't take much to create turbulence within the tight-knit crew. When Twingo stumbled out, however, everyone began laughing raucously. Sometime during the night he had managed to make an attempt at changing clothes, with varying degrees of success, and looked like he had been dragged behind the Phoenix during an unpowered landing.
"What?" The small, blue alien asked indignantly, his ears laid flat against his head.
"Your pants are on backwards," Crusher said from his seat at the bar. His comment only increased the laughter at the engineer's expense. Twingo looked down and could only laugh himself. He shrugged and made his way over to the buffet and began loading up a plate, still a little unsteady on his legs.
"Ok, gentleman, and I use that word in the loosest possible terms, we have some decisions to make before we get called to this meeting with Crisstof," Jason said, getting everyone's attention. "This guy seemed to be on the level from what we could tell, and we were paid very well for picking up the Senator and his family."
Soldiers of Fortune Page 6
