The Belt Loop_Book 3_End of an Empire

by Robert B. Jones

  Holli had taken the opportunity to change into her wedding dress, a simple light blue frock with tiny straps that matched the color of her eyes. Nothing too elaborate and with just the right amount of skin showing. Her crew quietly recorded the event with both stills and video, and Palis was concerned as to how he was going to justify the extra processing costs. Holli had stopped his mild protests by simply holding up her hand in a stop sign. By the time she was at the altar of the chapel, Palis was sullen and gracious at the same time, offering suggested poses both before and after the one-minute ceremony.

  When all was said and done, Haad kissed his new bride and Chaplain Bell presented the couple as man and wife to the few onlookers. Not the typical military wedding for someone of Haad’s senior stature but they were now married nonetheless. No crossed swords over their heads, no ringing of bells, no one to throw rice or decorate their rented ground-car with streamers and signs. Gertz and Yorn made it to the door while Haad was signing the chaplain’s book and Yorn noticed a few tears in Milli’s eyes. When he mentioned it to her she told him that weddings always made her cry and he just looked away. Deep down he was wondering what on earth could have come over his friend to make him do something so brash. He returned his gaze to Gertz and waited for the door to the chapel to open with the new admiral and his lovely wife. He practiced some clever things to say in his mind and when the moment came, when Haad pushed out into the bright sunshine of the Bayliss afternoon, all of his thoughts left him.

  Instead of offering witty advice or making carnal innuendo, he simply saluted. “Congratulations, admiral,” Yorn said warmly. “I must admit, you two make a wonderful couple. I’m just glad I was around to see this.”

  “So am I, Davi. Better here than doing this in your hospital room.” Haad twirled him a two finger salute and turned to Gertz. “Take care of Captain Yorn, Milli, and try to keep him out of trouble. He’s got a hard head but it’s a good thing his heart’s not there. I know you will help him find it,” he offered. She gave him a quick hug and moved over to Holli. Isaacs and Admiral Paine came out next followed by Palis and the BayCom production crew. The little group lingered on the steps for a few more minutes until all goodbyes were said, handshakes and salutes were rendered, and the cameras stopped clicking.

  Holli tossed her small corsage to Gertz and smiled before turning her attention to the waiting car. Haad opened the passenger door for her and once she was safely inside he closed her door and went around to the other side. He looked over the top of the car and slowly removed his cover. One last look around and he got in and drove off. He rapped the horn twice as he disappeared around the admin building. He was gone.

  “What do you think, Captain Yorn?”

  Yorn looked at Admiral Paine and shrugged. “Time will tell, won’t it? He looked happy enough.”

  “I don’t know,” Paine said. “What’s she going to feel like come Monday morning when he has to sail for Wilkes? A two-day honeymoon at a bed and breakfast going to be enough to sustain that pretty woman until his ship gets back in who knows when?”

  “Like I said, sir, time will tell,” Yorn said, trying to be as diplomatic as possible.

  Milli Gertz started to say something but thought better. Men didn’t really understand matters of the heart, she was sure, and Navy men understood them even less. Doctor Issacs stared at the empty drive for a long time after the car had disappeared and said, “Smooth sailing, Uriel.”

  “Captain Yorn, I understand that you are certified as fit to return to duty. You know the Christi made the PA dock last night at 1100 hours. She’s being loaded from stores as we speak and I expect her to be ready to sail first thing Monday morning. Barring any unforeseen delays, your crew will be expecting you on the bridge by 0600 hours.”

  Yorn’s heart started to skip a beat or two. His first command was two days away. “Aye, aye, sir,” he said, quickly reverting back to his Navy demeanor. “I expect to be ready to depart as per my orders, sir.”

  “You’ll see some familiar faces on her bridge, captain, and your new XO here will make sure you get your scheduled PT. I know you passed your physical,” Paine said, holding up a hand to forestall Yorn’s budding protest, “but just barely. Do yourself a favor and get yourself back in top form. I’m sending you to Wilkes with the task force that’s going to meet the Great Black Fleet. It’ll help you get your feet wet behind the wheel of the Christi and help you shakedown your new crew. Use this cruise as an opportunity, captain, and prepare your team for the hardships ahead. Sooner or later this battle goes to the heart of the Varson Empire and I want all of my senior officers at 110 percent.”

  “Will do, admiral,” Yorn said and watched as the new three-star moved away across the quad with Doctor Issacs matching him step for step. Niki Mols came out of the admin building door and headed for the chapel. Before she could get within ten meters of where Yorn and Gertz stood, Yorn pointed a finger at her uncle’s back. “You just missed him,” he shouted. Mols waved and trotted after Admiral Paine. Finally the BayCom guys gathered their equipment and headed for their transportation, leaving Yorn and Gertz together on the chapel steps.

  “So, Commander Gertz, just how did you manage to arrange getting onto my bridge?”

  They started walking toward the car park and she managed to walk as close to him as was militarily proper out in the open. “Actually, Admiral Haad arranged it. Back when he was captain, back on Elber, just after he was notified of his promotion. He wanted me to attend classes here, you know, to become an unrestricted line officer, but the Varson attacks changed all of that. I’ll have to get my combat ranking the hard way, I guess.”

  “That, Milli, is something I can assist you with,” he said.

  “Tell me more, Davi. Over dinner?”

  He smiled and hooked an elbow at her. “Follow me,” he said, comfortable with his role as an officer and a gentleman.

  She slid her arm, glove and all, into his outstretched arm and together they walked along the path in slanting sunlight and gentle cool breezes.

  The calm before the storm.

  Chapter 31

  By the time Ken Royal and company joined the party at the Wayfarer’s Inn in Narid most of the recent promotees were already three sheets to the wind. The ballroom was in full swing with a live band and an assortment of food and drink lavishly displayed below huge carved ice sculptures depicting screaming eagles and Navy ships. “Oh, my,” Max said as they entered the room. Most of the tables had been pushed to the side bulkheads and the center of the floor was occupied with dancers and stumblers of all stripes and ranks. Ken had the foresight to get the boys changed into utility working uniforms and Max had followed suit. At the end of the room an open bar had been set up and the line was long and boisterous. Even Admiral Geoff had stopped in for a drink or two with his men.

  “Can I get you a drink?” Ken asked in a voice loud enough to be heard over the steamy rhythms coming from the bandstand.

  “I’ll wait, I’m not going to let you stand in line all night,” Max replied in a loud voice. Har and Cory looked around the room and Har pointed to a table against the south wall.

  “Let’s get that table, Mother, before someone else snags it.”

  Without waiting for her approval, the boys headed off on their own. Max surveyed the room and noticed most of her ship mates knotted in little groups of a half-dozen or so, most with plastic glasses in hand, many out of uniform. She got waves and salutes as she walked past them and Cain Washoe yelled at her to hurry up and join the party, reminding her that she was seven drinks behind. After so many months on the staid bridge of Captain Haad’s ships, she was delighted to see so many of her friends let their hair down. She yelled a reply to Washoe but her words were carried away from her mouth by the loud music like so much spit into the wind. She finally just waved him off and mouthed something akin to “I’ll see you all later” and followed her men to the table.

  “Boy, this is some party, isn’t it, Mister Royal,” Cory said
as soon as he sat down. “What’s that big bucket for?” he asked, as he pointed to a large stainless bucket situated on a table near the bar.

  “Probably sea water, Cory. So the newly promoted men and women can dunk their stripes or rank insignias in it. Helps to age the things so when they put them on tomorrow they won’t look so brand new. Ancient Navy tradition dating back over a thousand years.” He leaned in and told the boys how the tradition started on Earth when the various navies were composed of wooden ships sailing on saltwater oceans. He then went on to explain the “wetting-down” aspect of promotion celebrations. Har cupped his hands around his ears and leaned closer to Ken. “Back when men were still sailing on ocean water, the new officers and men would throw the newly promoted over the side to wet down their entire uniforms, to give the new stripes a patina of age,” Ken explained. “Of course, now, since we sail in vacuum, that little formality is not possible. Wouldn’t want to shove some poor seaman out of the airlock without a suit, now would we? In the interest of keeping time-honored traditions alive, most of the wetting-down parts of the celebration is done with ‘imported’ sea water from a nearby ocean, or sometimes, from a swimming pool.”

  “What? You mean they dump water on all the new officers? Man, I’d bet that starts some fights,” Har said over the noise.

  Ken and Max laughed. “Oh, trust me, most of the wettings are agreed upon beforehand. When I made lieutenant junior grade, my captain told me what to expect at the party, so I just came prepared. Like tonight. Old utility uniform, nothing valuable in my pockets. Before this night is done, I expect to get wet from something, either a bucket of briny water or a shower from somebody’s beer,” Max said.

  “Maybe not so much the beer, Max,” Ken said. “Back in the old days, using alcohol was frowned upon, since the men didn’t get too much of it on ship. They were reluctant to waste any beer or rum. Indoor port-side ceremonies usually had men running around the room with buckets of sea water. It was all done in fun.”

  “I’m impressed by your knowledge, Ken,” Max said. “I read a lot and I study history, too. Not so much Navy history, but, you know, just general stuff I have on my reader. Where did you learn all of that wetting-down nostalgia?”

  He smiled and looked at her. “Just things I picked up along the way. I was going to try to follow in my father’s footsteps and become a history professor until I got bitten by the law bug.”

  Har’s ears perked up. “You were bitten by a bug? Was it an alien bug, Mister Royal?”

  Ken laughed and explained how he got interested in becoming a lawyer. The information seemed to disappoint Harold.

  “Hey, come on, Har, let’s walk around some,” Cory suggested. “Let’s go over and look at those ice things.”

  Har looked at his mother. She nodded almost imperceptibly and the boys took off. “He’s becoming quite the man, Ken,” she said, watching her son disappear into the crowd.

  “Amazing transformation, isn’t it. In a few short months he’s really grown, not only in stature, but also in maturity. I know he still has that killer imagination lurking just beneath the surface, but the ‘new’ Harold is slowly coming into his own.”

  She turned to face him. “What do you see in his future, Ken? I mean, long-range. Do you think he has what it takes to become a Navy officer?”

  “Absolutely. If my instincts are correct, he’s really going to make you proud someday. The only thing he has to focus on right now is applying himself to the best of his present abilities. The rest will take care of itself. He’s a smart kid, Max, and I don’t see him having any serious trouble academically. Once he learns to control his wanderlust and need for adventure, he’ll do just fine. The military should be able to supply him with ample quantities of both.”

  Max reached out and put her hand on his. “Well, I think a lot of it has to do with you, Ken. You have been a remarkable influence on him in such a short time. If I haven’t already told you thanks, I’ll say it again now.”

  “Only a hundred times, already,” he said with a smile. She leaned closer to him and closed her eyes. He was just about to part his lips slightly when all of a sudden she was gone. He opened his eyes when he heard her chair scrape back.

  “Come on, Lieutenant Commander Hansen, let’s show them how it’s done,” a slightly inebriated Blaine Diggs said, as he literally dragged her onto the dance floor. She stumbled after him and looked back at Ken with a wide-eyed stare and a shrug.

  He smiled and waved to her as she disappeared into the throbbing legion of dancers. He felt good about her getting out on the floor and having some fun. After all, he thought, this is her celebration, her time to enjoy herself with her friends.

  Ken pushed away from the table and headed for the bar. The line was still rather long but there were six bartenders up front and it seemed to be moving along at a good clip. Off to his left a group of sailors were coming up to the big bucket of sea water and scooping out glass after glass of the murky water. Then they dumped their new rank insignias — embroidered breast patches, sleeve stripes, shoulder boards, collar badges — into the water and danced away. Behind him he heard the first of the night’s many wettings taking place: the sound of a large quantity of water hitting the deck followed by screaming and clapping.

  Fun and games, just what the doctor ordered. Many of these men and women would be back to the rigors of war in a few hours, he mused, inching his way toward the head of the line, and this night would be a solid memory of good things past.

  For a lot of them, this would be the last good time they had the joy of sharing.

  Ken looked around the room and wondered how many of these sailors would not be coming back.

  In a far corner, he spied Lieutenant Commander Mols with a plastic bag, collecting used cups.

  Strange, he thought, a little early to be starting the clean-up.

  The line moved forward and Ken returned his attention to the back of the man in front of him.

  Chapter 32

  “So, you knew about Berger’s little hideaway north of Narid? You said nothing?”

  Inskaap let his head fall back onto the pillow on his elevated hospital bed. “I didn’t see it as being important, Lieutenant Mols. After all, she was locked up somewhere on the base and could no longer affect events.”

  “It’s Lieutenant Commander Mols.”

  He raised his head slightly and looked at her uniform. “Pardon the error, commander, I had no idea you could obtain rank so easily.”

  If the two armed lance corporals had not been watching through the observation window she would have been tempted to reach out and smack him. Easy rank? Serving twenty-four hours a day, seven days a week, in harm’s way — the price she paid for her “easy rank” and quick promotion. Her demeanor changed and she started the fire under the grill.

  “You didn’t hear? Coni Berger escaped the brig. The crash that put you here also knocked a hole in the wall of her cell. She crawled out, stole a vehicle and headed to her farm. Why didn’t you at least mention that she had a place near here?”

  “I wouldn’t consider seventy-five kilometers as being near.”

  “Who was she going to meet, Inskaap?”

  “I know of no such meeting.”

  “I’ve got an intercepted voice transmission, over a scrambled land line, and she was expecting company.”

  Inskaap twisted in his bed. His hands were strapped to the side rails and Mols knew it irritated him. Cooperative or not, this Varson spy was still her prisoner and until he decided to come clean with all things involving Coni Berger, she was content to watch him squirm.

  “Maybe a relative of hers, someone trying to help her out.”

  “Listen, colonel, you’re beginning to outlive your usefulness. Either you tell me everything you know, right now, or I’m through with you. If I walk away now, you will never see me again. As soon as the docs tell me it’s okay to move you, you’re going right back into solitary confinement and I’ll make sure you never see the su
n again.”

  “I have told you everything you wanted to know,” he said.

  “Is Robi Zane one of your operatives? Is he on your Piru Torgud’s payroll?”

  “That name is not familiar to my ears, commander.”

  “This man withdrew a large sum of credits from a local bank, rented a ground-car, then disappeared. He even missed his own promotion ceremony.”

  “And you think he went to assist Berger?”

  “You tell me,” Mols said sharply. She paced around the bed and stabbed her good finger at Inskaap as she spoke. Her other arm was still immobilized in the pressure cast. “I know what you’re doing, colonel. Dribbling out little bits of information slowly over time, hoping that will keep you alive longer.”

  “No, I —”

  “It is time you stopped fucking with me on this, Inskaap,” Mols snarled. “If I had wanted you dead, you would already be shaking hands with your Deliverer. Quit playing games with me and tell me everything you know.”

  He said nothing. This was the point in the game of hynoopt that the violence usually started. Both sides were finished circling each other, sacrificial skirmishes were concluded. He had to decide to tell all or be banished to a human prison for the rest of his days. Had he come so far in his effort to escape Bale Phatie that this ignoble end was all he had to look forward to?

  “Your silence speaks volumes, Inskaap. I’m out of here,” Mols declared.

  He watched her turn on her heels and head for the door.

  “Wait,” he croaked out. “Come back. I will tell you about Berger. All of it.”

  Her hand was on the latch. “Give me the names, colonel. Let me put an end to this.”

  Inskaap took a deep breath and sighed it out through his nostrils. “Yes,” he said, “the time has come.”

  Mols walked back to his bedside, pulled a chair close, sat, and listened.