The Chronicles of Benjamin Jamison: Call Sign Reaper

by Thomas Wright

  “Sergeant Major,” Andrea continued, “I would like you and Gunny to start training the ensign immediately in weapons and hand to hand. I want this to be your priority until we reach our mission destination.”

  “Welcome to the team, Ensign Aok,” Matt said.

  The sergeants took the ensign and headed for lunch. The major waited till the room was clear before saying anything else.

  “This has gone better than I expected,” she said. “I thought we would have more problems with the captain and the general.”

  “Maybe the general already knows we are going to need all the help we can get,” he said. Then he remembered something else. “The captain asked if I would be working out tonight in the gym. I told her I didn’t know. I will be in Medical from 1700 to at least 1900.”

  “I can’t tell you who you can be friends with,” Andrea replied. Ben knew that was a loaded statement.

  “I still need to have a conversation with her,” he said, “so we will see whether we are friends or not after that. Let’s get some lunch.”

  The rest of the afternoon was uneventful. At 1630 Ben made his way down to the Medical bay. Nurse Tanaka was still on duty. She smiled this time when he walked up.

  “You’re early,” she said.

  “Slow afternoon.”

  “Let’s get you back in the exam room.”

  Ben sat down and pulled off his shirt. He could see in the mirror that some of the bruising was already getting lighter. She came back a moment later.

  “The doctor asked me to go ahead and start removing your stitches,” the nurse told him.

  “Go ahead,” Ben said.

  “Where did you have these put in?” the nurse asked, curious. “I didn’t think stitches were still done anywhere in the galaxy.”

  “On Anubis,” he answered. “They still do many things the way it was done hundreds of years ago.”

  He was watching her in the mirror. She looked as if she was trying to decide the best way to remove the stitches.

  She wiped the wound down with sterile wipe, lifted each stitch with tweezers and cut it with small pointed scissors. She continued until all the stitches were out, then wiped all the wounds again.

  Dr. Mathews walked in with ten small bags in his hand. Each bag contained a precut piece of synth skin. Ben had seen it used plenty of times during his enlistment. The piece of skin was in a jelly like substance. The doctor would lay it over the wound and smooth it out. A special light was then placed above the patch and would cause the skin to stick and shrink, holding the wound closed. The patches would eventually dissolve, leaving almost no scar. By the end of the five days he would be almost fully healed.

  Dr. Mathews worked on each wound individually. He examined each one for infection then completed the process with the synth skin. The doctor finished all the wounds and told Ben that Nurse Tanaka would take him to the tank.

  Ben followed her to a larger room where the regen tank was kept. She asked him to remove all his clothing. She applied a gel to his temples and chest where electrodes would be hooked up to monitor his vitals. She fitted a breathing mask over his face; the sensors in it would monitor his respiratory system. Nurse Tanaka looked Ben over as she worked attaching his electrodes and mask. He had numerous scars on his thighs and arms.

  Ben stepped over and into the tank. Nurse Tanaka attached the breathing hose. He would receive oxygen and a mixture of gases to help him relax. He felt the gas start flowing. Dr. Mathews walked up to him and told him to lay down in the tank. His breathing was steady and relaxed. The doctor checked all of his readings and turned on the tank. It turned into a whirlpool, moving the thick liquid all around his body.

  An hour later, Andrea decided she would look in on Ben. She wanted to talk to the doctor and get his opinion on how long it would be before Ben was healed fully. She was afraid he wouldn’t tell her if it would affect the mission. She walked into Medical and was greeted by a young corpsman at the duty desk.

  “Is the doctor available?” the major asked.

  “No Ma’am,” the corpsman said, “he is gone to the mess for dinner. Nurse Tanaka is here, so can she help you. She’s in the regen tank room.”

  “Oh, one of my officers is in there, so I will just go on back,” Andre said. “Thank you.”

  Nurse Tanaka was watching Ben’s vitals. She could tell he was sleeping and dreaming. His heart rate, breathing, brain waves and full erection told her he was enjoying something. She heard footsteps approaching and dimmed the lights on the tank and the room. She started to walk out when the major arrived at the door.

  “Can I help you?” Nurse Tanaka asked.

  “You have one of my officers in the tank,” Andrea replied. “How is he? Can I talk to him?”

  “ He’s asleep,” the nurse said. “We will be waking him in an hour if you would like to come back.”

  “ I will be back in an hour, thank you.”

  Andrea received a message from the chief of engineering that he had the results of the tests on Ben’s armor. He said he had been trying to get a hold of Reaper but couldn’t reach him. Andrea headed to engineering and found the chief staring at a piece of breast plate that was full of holes.

  “Hello, Major,” the chief said as he saw her walk in. He took a second breast plate and laid it next to the first one.

  “Major, as you can see this first breast plate represents laser fire and the second is weapons of the hand-to-hand variety. In a nutshell, there is about a 30 percent improvement over the standard issue when fired upon with a laser. There is about a 50 percent improvement in protection against edged or spiked weapons penetrating the armor.”

  “ How much heavier is it?” the major asked.

  “I am estimating about a 10 percent weight increase,” the chief said. “Your marines may not notice it much. I was thinking of adding a couple more layers to the chest, back and helmet to give us higher improvements on the critical areas.”

  “Go ahead and make the changes and start fabricating. I will have supply send you the suit and shoe sizes for my whole team so you can get all the plates to the correct size. I want you to make a set for the captain also. And, I want this etched across the breast plate.” Andrea pulled up a picture of a ancient warhammer. The hammer head had a square face with spikes on one side that tapered to the shaft then continued to taper into a long curved spike. Under the picture she wanted the word “warhammer” written in an elegant ancient script. She sent the picture and the script to the chief.

  “I will let Reaper know what we discussed.” She headed back towards the Medical section.

  Ben was out of the tank and in the shower. It was nice to be able to shower without having to cover the stitches. He was able to raise his arms without as much pain as he had previously. He got dressed and used his fingers to comb his wet hair back. He felt better than he had in days. The bruises had been fading and seemed to be gone now. The sleep in the tank made him feel refreshed. He was already looking forward to his nap tomorrow.

  Andrea met him, and they walked out of Medical and into the corridor towards their quarters. The major filled him in on the armor as they walked. He was happy with it. She also filled him in on the suit that the chief was making for the captain and showed him the picture and inscription.

  “I was thinking about doing something like that myself,” Ben said. He called up a picture he had saved of the grim reaper holding a scythe.

  They went to Ben’s room so he could. Ben slipped his shirt off and went to the closet to get a clean one. Andrea walked over behind and put her hands on his back. She ran her fingers over the existing scars and studied the new ones. She wrapped her arms around him and kissed his back and squeezed him. He stood motionless for a moment, enjoying the touch of her face against his skin.

  “Let’s go eat something,” he said. “I’m really hungry. Then let’s come back here and let me show you how much better I am feeling.”

  Ben and Andrea ate in the mess then walked back to Be
n’s quarters. The major sent messages to the sergeants and Ensign Aok. They were in the conference room quizzing the ensign on different weapons. They were going to call it quits at 2000 and start again tomorrow at 0700.

  When she walked in, Ben was lying in his bunk. Andrea walked over, putting her com unit on the desk. Andrea straddled him and pulled her shirt off. She leaned down and kissed him while he unhooked her bra. He felt her full chest against his. She was kissing his neck and biting him softly. The door chimed.

  It was Ensign Aok. Ben slid out from under Andrea, who pulled a blanket over herself. He left the lights off. He opened the door and the ensign came in.

  “I am sorry Reaper,” Aok said hurriedly, “but I tried to com both you and the major. I was leaving the conference room and got a feeling of great anxiety from the bridge. I walked toward the bridge and could hear their thoughts; they have received a distress signal. I wanted to notify you both.”

  “Thank you for your discretion, ensign, and for looking out for us,” Reaper said. The major stood up and started putting her bra on. The ensign turned away quickly.

  “Major, you and the ensign may want to go to your quarters and put on a thermal suit. I am going to put mine on now,” Ben said. “I expect we will hear the announcement in just a moment.”

  “Come on, Ensign,” Andrea said. “Let’s go suit up.”

  Chapter 9: Pirates!

  Ben heard the whole ship’s com beep three times.

  “Crew of the Warhammer. We have received a distress signal and are obligated by Galactic and Colonial law to offer and render assistance if it is requested. We have altered course and will be dropping out of FTL in 45 minutes. All hands to battle stations. Senior staff report to the bridge.”

  The message repeated a second time. Ben left his quarters and went to Andrea’s. They were ready to go.

  “Ensign,” Ben ordered, “you stay behind me and keep your ears open and mouth shut. If you feel you have something important, you know how to tell me, understand?”

  “Yes Reaper,” she replied.

  Andrea stepped in front of Ben and locked her icy blue eyes on him. “You take her along,” she said. “If the captain gets bent you deal with her.”

  “Whatever you say darling,” he replied. “I know exactly how to adjust her attitude.” He got punched in the stomach for his wolfish smile.

  The major, Reaper and the ensign stepped onto the bridge. They stayed at the back of the bridge. The captain was facing her staff. “Let’s make this quick,” she said, and started shelling out her orders.

  “Dr. Mathews, get all your nurses and corpsmen together. We may have casualties. Get two corpsmen to report to Lt. Jared.”

  “Lt. Jared, get ten marines ready to go in the shuttle with the two corpsmen.”

  “Chief Miller, keep everything hot until we can determine what the hell is going on. We may need to make an immediate departure.”

  “XO,” she said over her shoulder. “Full ship weapons check.”

  “ Aye Captain, already on it,” he said.

  “Any weapon that doesn’t come online in the designated time period needs to be reported to the bridge and engineering immediately. It has been over a year since we have engaged in a battle and I hope we continue our streak of good luck.”

  Everyone exited the bridge with their orders.

  The captain turned to the major.

  “Is your team ready?”

  “Whatever you need, Captain,” the major replied.

  “XO, drop us out of FTL no more than 2000 kilometers from the distress beacon with shields up. Start a scan. If there is nothing detected but the beacon, proceed at full sub light speed.”

  The captain spun her chair back.

  “Ensign Aok. How was your first day on your new team?” she asked.

  “It was informative, Captain.”

  “What are you going to do if we go into battle?”

  “Whatever Reaper tells me to do, Captain,” she said “Good answer, Ensign,” the captain said. She smiled, turning her seat back to the main bridge. The major smiled to herself. Is this guy going to wrap every woman on this ship around his little finger?

  The ship dropped out of FTL and started scanning. Shields were up and everyone was at their post.

  “What do you think, Reaper?” the captain said unexpectedly.

  “Hard to say, Captain,” Ben answered. “This area of space hasn’t been known for any hostility. There isn’t much of anything around here. Most ships are at FTL when traveling through this area. They may have had a malfunction and had to drop out of FTL right here. There are no planets nearby that could provide help so they hit the distress beacon.”

  “So do you think having the ship stand ready for battle was the wrong call?”

  “Absolutely not, Captain. The end result of standing down from battle stations is much better than being caught with your pants down. I for one am glad we are going in ready.” Ben heard the ensign take a deep breath but it was soft enough that no one else heard. He glanced at her.

  The thought appeared in his head. The captain would love for you to catch her with her pants down.

  Suddenly, they could all see the freighter clearly floating dead in space. There was a good sized hole in the side of the ship. Debris floated around the ship.

  “It looks like she has been torpedoed,” the weapons officer said.

  “Power up our lasers and load torpedoes,” the captain ordered.

  “Captain, look at the jagged edges of the ship’s hull,” Ben said. “They are bent in an outward angle, meaning the explosion came from inside the ship. I agree with you though, we should have the lasers powered and the torpedoes ready. I’m thinking pirates.” He paused. “There are probably a few crewmembers left alive over there also. The pirates probably paid a crew member or two to set a charge while they were in FTL. The charge goes off and the ship drops out here in the middle of nowhere. They can take their time, because no one comes through here at sub-light. Once they have looted the ship they will take the crew who were involved, and if the rest are lucky, leave. If not they all may be dead. The pirates may be hiding nearby.”

  “Reaper, were you a pirate in another life?” the captain asked.

  “No ma’am, but who knows what the future holds,” he said.

  The Warhammer was 500 kilometers away from the Roland. The captain had turned the large vid off when it was clear there were a lot of bodies floating in space. Ensign Aok had a sad look on her face but she held it together.

  “Captain, we are not picking up anything for light years in any direction. The asteroid belt is playing havoc with our scanners and sensors so information from that direction is sketchy at best. There are lots of heavy metals in the asteroids.”

  “XO,” the captain said, “launch the shuttle with the marines and put the Warhammer in space between the freighter and asteroid belt. I want the asteroid belt on my bow. Have a couple of the marines wear vac suits, go into the hole in the ship and open the cargo bay doors. Tell Chavez to back the shuttle inside the ship. That will give them some cover if there is a attack.”

  Behind the largest asteroid, three ships sat while their captains discussed their options.

  Lt. Chavez saw the cargo bay door opening and positioned the shuttle to back in. It looked like the marines had the force field turned on and had the ship establishing atmo in the cargo bay. Lt. Jared was giving his team their orders. The shuttle sat down and they prepared to enter with their vac suits until the atmosphere was regulated.

  “Captain, would you tell Lt. Jared to lock up anyone they find alive and post guards?” Reaper asked. “Wounded and all go to the same place. Also, put a guard on the corpsmen who are tending the wounded. The saboteur is probably still alive.”

  Corporal Higgs told Lt. Jared he had seen the forward airlock when they were on approach to the freighter. He asked if he could take five marines and secure the ship. They all had mag boots on so they could walk to the airlock. The co
rporal grabbed the boarding equipment they needed to get the airlock doors open. The Lt. notified the shuttle commander and the bridge of the Warhammer that they would have six crew traversing to the outer airlock and would try to gain entry.

  “Captain,” Ben said, peering at the screen, “we have three ships approaching from the asteroid field, a frigate and two heavy assault gunboats. They have no transponder signals and are not hailing.”

  “Target engines of the first gunboat to engage. Send everyone else to their maker,” the captain said.

  “Helmsman, take the ship 300 kilometers from the freighter and bring her about. XO, pound the frigate with laser cannons and don’t let up. I want her shields weakened when we send the torpedoes at her.”

  Ben could feel the laser cannon hits on the shields from the gunboats, but they had no effect. They didn’t have enough power to cause more than a 5 percent drop in shield integrity. Even then, the ship could recharge faster than they could deplete them. The frigate could do more harm, but the tactical officer had not let up as the helmsman was keeping the frigate in his range and sights the whole time.

  Cpt. Scotch, one of the pirate captains, was screaming at his bridge crew as the frigate jerked and bounced with every hit on their shield. The ship rolled as the lights went out and the crew members were mostly thrown to the floor.

  “Captain Scotch, we have lost our engines and shields. We’re on backup power,” his engineer yelled. The captain never got to respond, as three torpedoes hit them 30 meters apart down the side of his ship. There wasn’t much left