Chapter 16: Own Personal Hell
Posted: Sat Jul 17, 2021 2:24 am
Mr. Creepy sat in his quarters, facing the door, with his back against the wall. Two marine guards kept watch outside of the room. He wasn’t paranoid or fearful in the least; it was a simple matter of fact that this was the way he slept. The idea of lying down in a bed was something he had long forgotten. And truth be known, he didn’t care anymore. Giving a slight yawn and stretch, he shrugged off his stupor and glanced at a clock. With displeasure he noted the time and wondered why his appointment had not yet arrived. Sometimes things happen and he decided to wait an extra 10 minutes. The time passed and he wondered to himself if his rendezvous had suddenly developed a case of shyness. It hadn’t made any difference before, but then again, a lot had happened in the past few days. Indulging his hunch, the spy decided to chase away his chaperones and opened the door to his room. Looking at the big tall man to his left he greeted him with a big toothy smile and then spoke softly. “Good morning private. You know I had a dream last night. It was about a silver bicycle, kind of like the one your father gave you when you were 13.”
The large soldier began to slightly swagger in his stance and tears rolled across his cheeks. As he looked to the second man he continued in the same mannerism. “Dreams are sometimes scary things. Remember how you used to mock your little sister when she cried to you about her scary dreams.” The result was similar and now both men were fighting an internal conflict to control their emotions. “Oh shucks. Look what a terrible person I am for making the both of you cry. Why don’t you two go freshen up, and take your time, say, one hour”. And as if they had been given a direct order, the two guards disappeared.Not even a minute transpired after their departure and his appointment arrived; the spy smiled to himself because of his correct assumption. He opened the door and ushered in lieutenant Lapointe.
Nervous and shaky the Lieutenant entered the room amidst abundant apologies for being late. Mr. Creepy reached up and touched his cheek with a loving caress. “It’s ok. I understand and forgive you.” Lapointe smiled nervously; slightly relieved he sat down saying that he was ready for another session. “Of course you are ready and I’m so proud of you for everything you have done these past few days. Let’s talk a little bit and then I’ll have a reward for you.” 20 minutes into the session of what appeared to be meaningless conversation about Mr. Lapointe’s family and past was somehow started to take an emotional toll on him. “It’s like a shadow when I think about my father and mother. I can see them in my mind but I can’t remember what it was like to hold them. And my younger brother died when I was 15 but I can’t see what his face used to look like.” He finally broke and began openly sobbing and his antagonist began to push the issue intensifying his discomfort.
“That’s right they are all disappearing. All your memories are going away and the only thing left will be the pain and horror of what a monster you are.” The Lieutenant began to beg and plead asking to be allowed to keep his family in his heart. “There is nothing I can do to help you. They have to vanish so you can become a monster, that’s what you secretly desire.” Lieutenant Lapointe screamed out saying that only wanted to serve on a battlestar and not hurt his parents. Finally he threw himself to the ground and protested that he wants the evil in him to disappear. Mr. Creepy simply stood over him and watched the display in disgust.
“Well lieutenant you know what you have to do if you want your family to re-enter your heart and thoughts. You need to take your medicine and heal your soul.” The emotional scene occurring on the floor of his quarters was becoming boring and the spy didn’t think he needed to continue much further today. Instead he walked over to a small box in the corner of the room and produced a small plastic bag of white powdery narcotics. With a razor blade and a hand sized mirror he sectioned the drug into 3 rows and called over Lapointe to take his medicine.
The Lieutenant jumped up, began to blow his runny nose and wipe the tears from his eyes. He then descended upon the narcotics and snorted all 3 lines in quick succession. The spy then wrapped his arms around him and softly mothered him. “Good boy. I know taking your medicine is hard because it defies all logic. But see, there is your brother’s face and I bet you can now remember your mommy’s last hug.” He then helped the man sit down in a chair and folded his arms. “Ok, now we are ready to begin. Let’s start with what you know about the Admiral and this planet we are going to be visiting for food.” He paused for a moment to activate a small media player from his pocket and record the information. “Oh, and if Hallis asks you again, you can tell him you found out my name is Leoben Conoy.”
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“Good morning captain, is there a particular reason why you appear tired and smug at the same time?” Hallis asked the question as he and the doctor pushed past Reeves into the ready room. Saying they would find out momentarily, he continued to hold the door open for Cupcake and Bridgeford. The Admiral took his seat and prepared to hear the synopsis of the recent events and undertakings, but the Captain stood behind the old man waiting for a chance to speak. It was quickly given to him, as the Admiral disliked having someone over his shoulder and just wanted the report as fast as possible, so he could go back to looking the man in the face.
“We have nukes, they are loaded and ready to go.” Everyone sitting at the table looked up in shock. The colonel protested that in an early meeting, it had been determined that the ship wouldn’t be able to accommodate the cylon warheads without the use of a fully equipped weapons plant to adapt the launchers.
“Give the men a little food and you will get a lot.” Admiral Hallis thought this was somehow too good to be true and pressed Reeves to explain. “We didn’t refit the ship, we refitted the bombs themselves. It required concentration and steady hands, which under a normal diet is much easier to attain. The bombs were simple to strip of their casings and we simply built them new ones. We are just waiting for the refuel process to finish. The Argus is fully armed and ready to go.”
As the Captain went to take a seat next to major Assuras, her face cracked a smile and without thinking, she jumped up and threw her arms around Reeves. She squealed, “Scotty did anyone tell you you’re my hero?” As she let him go, her face flushed red, and what could have been brushed aside as a simple comment, was know to be truth by her telltale reaction. The doctor chuckled with unabashed joy at the viper jockey.
As both officers sat down with reddened faces, the colonel snorted about the crew behaving like teenagers in love. Behind Hallis’ eyes was a certain amount of bemusement but nevertheless he demanded a return to professionalism and for the doctor’s daily report. Straightening his uniform captain Lewellyn began. “I’ve got 2 fraking problems and I want solutions, because these fall outside of my job description.”
The Admiral made a hand gesture for the man to proceed and as he did so, the doctor stood up to emphasize his points. “I’ve got to release lieutenant Ford. He isn’t well enough to fly, but I’ve got him pushing a broom in medical. I’m not a babysitting service and the man is on his feet.” Reeves looked at Bridgeford and in a soft growl spat out that he could use someone for airlock maintenance.
Admiral Hallis looked quickly at the Captain, but before being able to say a word, doctor Lewellyn slammed his fist on the table. “Hey! I don’t save people just to have them executed or murdered.” The hush that momentarily fell over the room was broken when colonel Bridgeford decided to take the man once again under his care. “He will have to be kept away from Forester and I can put him to work, but otherwise he will be confined to the brig”.
The medical report continued with information about the health of Private Parts. He was expected to live and make a full recovery. But having personally checked the airlock, the doctor argued the man was lying about his condition arriving by accident. Admiral Hallis looked at colonel Bridgeford with a cold and impassioned stare enquiring about the results of his investigation. The Colonel cleared his throat “It wasn’t an accident. But it involves our resident spy. He isn’t answering questions and because he is outside of our jurisdiction, we can’t touch him.” The Admiral nodded, looked at Reeves and noted that although the Captain was a busy man, he wondered if he had managed any investigation of this matter.
Bridgeford’s eyes appeared shocked and he stuttered something about why a 2nd investigation was occurring. Reeves spoke up, “I haven’t really dug into it. But I concur, it’s between the spy and Alchemist. However, there is more involved.” The Captain focused his eyes on the old marine and paused. It was obvious to everyone in the room he was making a silent statement. “Admiral, I assume the matter is finished. But if there is anything you need to know I’ll make certain you are told before there is an incident.”
Hallis studied his XO, as he pushed the meeting ahead. Never lifting his gaze off the Colonel, he asked the <ajor what she was doing with the newly procured raiders. “Chief Forester and I are looking into options. The planes are old, but they are still war birds and tests show they can hold their own. We are toying with two options, the possibility of making them single pilot controlled or equipping them with raptor equipment. Then perhaps, we can push them behind enemy lines for surveillance. But at the very least, they are full of spare parts.”
The doctor started scratching his head, noted that they certainly seemed well equipped for battle and enquired if they were intending to re-commission the Argus when they jumped back into colonial space? The response was that the battlestar and crew had to be prepared for anything. “FTL isn’t up to snuff; we did in 1 jump what would have been 3 for the Poseidon. We have mechanics not jump drive engineers aboard the ship. These repairs are a best-guess-scenario and that’s why I’m not using raptors to plot the jump; I want exact numbers. We could end up lost again. And to be blunt, when we left the war, we were getting our butts kicked. The Argus might just find itself back on the active duty list.” It made sense to Lewellyn and now understood why there were going to tow the captured enemy basestar back. However Hallis grinned, “The tow line is so the Captain can space walk over here instead of dealing with questions from the raptor pilots.”
The meeting then quickly closed after a couple of questions about lieutenant Lapointe.
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Ford was escorted down to the brig by two marines of the former Poseidon. The one was a tall, black muscular man with a black goatee. As they approached the cell he was bluntly hostile toward the former major. “Well now… Let’s see…. The hotshot pilot isn’t so hot out of the cockpit. No more orders huh major? Oops… sorry, I meant to say lieutenant. Perhaps you should have confined your fun to a viper instead of playing in the Alchemist’s cockpit?” Lieutenant Ford looked at him with hatred but remained silent. “Go ahead you drugged out murderer. Start something! I fracking dare you!” The disgraced officer put his head down and shuffled into his prison. “Yea, you’re still my superior officer but in here, I call the shots. Don’t you ever forget it.” The second guard, a woman, tapped her companion on the shoulder and the two of them sat down and began discussing the prisoner in the 3rd person.
“I hear he’s got organs and blood of the woman he murdered in his body.” It was a statement of concern from the woman. The black man responded, “Yup, that dumb-ass doctor will save anyone’s life at any cost. I would have just gutted the man and iced his parts for people that needed them more.” The Ford rolled over in his bed and faced the wall. Every night, since the incident he found himself crying about what he did. Regret was a new emotion to him and he too wished he had died. Sadly, it wasn’t so much that he wanted to undo what happened to Cain, but to rid himself of this emotional pain.
“He bitched me out a couple of times on the Poseidon and over stupid crap. One day, I had done the buttons up wrong and I got a 10 minute speech about not disgracing the uniform.” The male marine laughed at the woman’s statement and quickly added that the former major most likely just wanted to look at her boobs. “I don’t doubt that for a second. You know, he is the reason why the Persius crew thinks we are a bunch of jerks.
I mean they save our butts and major A-hole repays them by making them drink piss water instead telling them about the comet. Then he turns around, gets stoned and kills the one who found his mistake.” Her companion sat there nodding his head in agreement. Lieutenant Ford dozed in small spurts. With the emotional turmoil, the pain in his body and the comments of his guards, it was anything but a comfortable rest.
A knock occurred at the door and the dark marine answered it. A tray of food was delivered to the prisoner. Accepting the tray the guard looked down and spat in the cup of water and smiled at the person who delivered it. Much to his pleasure he received a congratulatory thumb up.
The woman stood up and banged on the cell door with the butt of her rifle. “Hey fly boy Wakey, wakey. It’s time to get up and feed lieutenant Cain’s stomach.” Ford rolled over and said that he only had the deceased’s kidneys, nothing else. Much to his surprise his captor became crudely hostile. She blew her nose into what was a reasonable facsimile of mashed potatoes. “Those things don’t taste all that great. So I hope you don’t mind, I added a little spice. I understand that Alana didn’t like hot food, but since it’s your gut I thought I might help with the flavour.” She then took the tray and slid it into the cell. “Doctor said we had to make sure you eat. Don’t make me spoon feed you like a baby.”
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Unlike the captain and his space walks, the admiral decided to use a raptor to visit Toaster One. He had already toured the enemy ship and didn’t feel any compulsion to spend any length of time on it. As far as he was concerned, it was the enemy’s garbage and if it weren’t for the fact they needed stuff from it, he would have preferred to destroy it. His business today was with captain Reeves and he wanted some reasonable assurance of privacy and confidentiality. Checking on the state of the affairs aboard the basestar provided a plausible reason for the meeting and kept the scuttlebutt down onboard the Argus.
The Captain met Hallis on the flight deck and the two made relative small talk toward a room Reeves had set up for briefings and meetings. As the Admiral was sitting down and about to speak, captain Reeves discreetly put a hand on the man’s shoulder and gave it a firm squeeze to signal him to remain silent for a moment. He then took a seat himself and folded his arms inside his uniform. After a few seconds he unfolded them and withdrew a small handheld remote. “I’ve looped the bugs in this room with some edited footage from our last meeting. We have just under a minute to talk.”
Admiral Hallis simply said to make it fast and tell him what he needed to know. “The Alchemist is Bridgeford’s son. And the spy has been busy building surveillance devices and installing them all over the Argus and here. I had Lapointe hack into his system and construct a media player. You don’t have time to look at the footage today. There is something else you need to know….”
Captain Reeves took a deep breath, and spoke as he let it out. “Recently I have been finding bombs installed all over the Argus. And that’s the real reason I’ve installed the rope for space walks. Not to get away from the questions.” The Admiral quickly enquired if he had time for an explanation, the Captain glanced at his watch and quickly continued.
“
Clubber and Dancer make a daily trips here in a raptor. I believe I can trust them and I gave them some forged orders from you to make this a classified operation. Sorry, was no way around it sir. In short, Dancer and I change clothes, he does the space walk if needed and I sneak aboard Argus.” The Captain folded his arms again and then switched conversation to discuss the enemy’s FTL system. The Admiral got up and asked for a tour of the engine room.
Partially continuing with the charade the admiral made what he thought were reasonable enquires about installing this ship’s FTL aboard the Argus. Reeves responded, “We can strip it to the bare bones and pretty much have. But we need jump drive engineers to do anything more. We will just destroy ourselves with anything we attempt.”
The snipes in the engine department continued their work in silence. It was obvious that some of the younger men were uncomfortable with the idea of Hallis looking over their shoulders. But the older crewmen didn’t flinch and busied themselves with their tasks. “I would like to spend a couple of extra days or so before we jettison this junk. I think I can get some of her haul plating stripped and heat exchangers too.” Admiral Hallis thought about the tequest for a moment told the captain he planned to leave for Gomorrah in the next 48 hours.
“Well, after re-fueling the battlestar this won’t be empty, if I fly it along to the planet, I’ll have five more days to go over everything while the Argus is fully stockpiled”. Hallis concurred the idea might be wise. Having finished the tour of the engines and making several comments about constructing some stand-alone computer systems on the Argus. The two men re-entered the flight deck. Hallis turned his conversation to Mr. Lapointe.
“The lieutenant has always been a good officer and I have no doubt he won’t abuse drugs again. Nevertheless, he is an addict and you can’t trust him. Use him if you must, but don’t trust him fraking more than you need to.” The captain agreed and noted that he wouldn’t use him at all, if it weren’t for his technical skills. “I may want to tour this rubbish again before we go to pick up food. My only concern is the colonial ships, so if there are any emergency problems, you have my permission to ignore the normal change of command and do what you deem necessary. I don’t want anything happening that might make Toaster- One our new home.” Exchanging a salute, admiral Hallis then entered the raptor and left the basestar.
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“So I hear that you hugged Scotty today.” Sasha had consumed a couple of glasses of the volatile cider drink and was every bit the antagonist in the conversations. Cupcake on the other hand was adeptly playing the role of the victim. “I know, I can’t believe I did that. The Colonel is right, I’m a teenager in love! I go to bed at night thinking about him and I get up thinking about him. Frak! I even drew a heart and wrote the words Mrs. Lillian Reeves in it.” Max walked over and topped up her glass, commenting that alcohol made all the problems disappear.
Ladies’ night was popular and 8 more off duty female crewmen had showed up. Sobbing Lillian put her head down, “What am I going to do?” One female crewmember patted Assuras on the back and told her things would only get better after she fraked him. “He will do what all men do. Enjoy the hell out of you a couple of times and then get bored and dump you. Then you will think he is a jerk and never talk to him again.”
Maxime became insulted and attempted to defend not only his friend but also the male gender. Sasha supported him noting that not all men are the same. And that some could cook, clean, sew and take care of babies. She then gave her lover a small pat on the behind with a mischievous grin. “Sure some men are different, but they are also gay. Let’s face it, men and women aren’t supposed to get along.”
The Chief shook his head, noted the woman who insulted his gender was a rank below his and so he took her drink away. The corporal protested but Max only responded that since this was 24hr old home brew, they had to be careful drinking it or they could get sick.
“Lillian, I’ve known Scott for several years. Never once have I see him in a relationship and I’ve never seen him pursue one. I’m pretty certain he isn’t gay because some of the guys used to borrow his porn stash. I think he is just shy.” Sasha looked up at Max and almost choked on her drink wondering how the man could possibly be shy. “Yea I know he looks like he is always in control. But I can’t help but think he is a virgin.” Cupcake blinked twice, put her drink down and wondered if he was serious. “Yup, I am. Maybe he is saving himself for marriage. He can be pretty old fashioned about such things.”
Lillian put her head down on the table and began to gently thud it against the hard surface. “Not only is he an older man, but also an old fashioned one. He is never going to want a tramp like me.” She began to cry gently and several others tried to console her. Sasha staggered toward the kitchen saying it was time to bake some bread. Following her, Assuras noted it was time she lived up to her call sign, “Cupcake the baker.” and dropping her voice, “hopefully virgin breaker.” Her friend began searching for something to use as a mixing bowl, found a stick for stirring and started to slur about Reeves again. “Lill.. I’ve seen the man in a towel and trust me, you are going to have awhole lot of virgin to break in.” The Major quickly retorted, “I don’t care about that.
Scotty is just like no man I have ever met and I can’t figure out what it is.” Max entered the kitchen and immediately found the bowl to make bread. “Major, if you don’t mind my saying, I think I know what it is. You’re the CAG, it’s your responsibility to go out and risk your life to save others. And everyone needs you. The Captain is not only the first person to not need you, but probably the first one to rescue you.” Lillian started to sob and slumped to the floor with her drink still in her hand, “You are right… Not only is he my hero. But he is noble, kind, and can take care of himself and others. “And”, her sob became more of a squeak, “He also looks good in a towel! By the gods I’m in love with a gay man”. The Chief reached down and took the glass away from Assuras and several others protested that he was allowed to attend ladies night because he was like one of the girls. But that he wasn’t permitted to chaperon.
The large soldier began to slightly swagger in his stance and tears rolled across his cheeks. As he looked to the second man he continued in the same mannerism. “Dreams are sometimes scary things. Remember how you used to mock your little sister when she cried to you about her scary dreams.” The result was similar and now both men were fighting an internal conflict to control their emotions. “Oh shucks. Look what a terrible person I am for making the both of you cry. Why don’t you two go freshen up, and take your time, say, one hour”. And as if they had been given a direct order, the two guards disappeared.Not even a minute transpired after their departure and his appointment arrived; the spy smiled to himself because of his correct assumption. He opened the door and ushered in lieutenant Lapointe.
Nervous and shaky the Lieutenant entered the room amidst abundant apologies for being late. Mr. Creepy reached up and touched his cheek with a loving caress. “It’s ok. I understand and forgive you.” Lapointe smiled nervously; slightly relieved he sat down saying that he was ready for another session. “Of course you are ready and I’m so proud of you for everything you have done these past few days. Let’s talk a little bit and then I’ll have a reward for you.” 20 minutes into the session of what appeared to be meaningless conversation about Mr. Lapointe’s family and past was somehow started to take an emotional toll on him. “It’s like a shadow when I think about my father and mother. I can see them in my mind but I can’t remember what it was like to hold them. And my younger brother died when I was 15 but I can’t see what his face used to look like.” He finally broke and began openly sobbing and his antagonist began to push the issue intensifying his discomfort.
“That’s right they are all disappearing. All your memories are going away and the only thing left will be the pain and horror of what a monster you are.” The Lieutenant began to beg and plead asking to be allowed to keep his family in his heart. “There is nothing I can do to help you. They have to vanish so you can become a monster, that’s what you secretly desire.” Lieutenant Lapointe screamed out saying that only wanted to serve on a battlestar and not hurt his parents. Finally he threw himself to the ground and protested that he wants the evil in him to disappear. Mr. Creepy simply stood over him and watched the display in disgust.
“Well lieutenant you know what you have to do if you want your family to re-enter your heart and thoughts. You need to take your medicine and heal your soul.” The emotional scene occurring on the floor of his quarters was becoming boring and the spy didn’t think he needed to continue much further today. Instead he walked over to a small box in the corner of the room and produced a small plastic bag of white powdery narcotics. With a razor blade and a hand sized mirror he sectioned the drug into 3 rows and called over Lapointe to take his medicine.
The Lieutenant jumped up, began to blow his runny nose and wipe the tears from his eyes. He then descended upon the narcotics and snorted all 3 lines in quick succession. The spy then wrapped his arms around him and softly mothered him. “Good boy. I know taking your medicine is hard because it defies all logic. But see, there is your brother’s face and I bet you can now remember your mommy’s last hug.” He then helped the man sit down in a chair and folded his arms. “Ok, now we are ready to begin. Let’s start with what you know about the Admiral and this planet we are going to be visiting for food.” He paused for a moment to activate a small media player from his pocket and record the information. “Oh, and if Hallis asks you again, you can tell him you found out my name is Leoben Conoy.”
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“Good morning captain, is there a particular reason why you appear tired and smug at the same time?” Hallis asked the question as he and the doctor pushed past Reeves into the ready room. Saying they would find out momentarily, he continued to hold the door open for Cupcake and Bridgeford. The Admiral took his seat and prepared to hear the synopsis of the recent events and undertakings, but the Captain stood behind the old man waiting for a chance to speak. It was quickly given to him, as the Admiral disliked having someone over his shoulder and just wanted the report as fast as possible, so he could go back to looking the man in the face.
“We have nukes, they are loaded and ready to go.” Everyone sitting at the table looked up in shock. The colonel protested that in an early meeting, it had been determined that the ship wouldn’t be able to accommodate the cylon warheads without the use of a fully equipped weapons plant to adapt the launchers.
“Give the men a little food and you will get a lot.” Admiral Hallis thought this was somehow too good to be true and pressed Reeves to explain. “We didn’t refit the ship, we refitted the bombs themselves. It required concentration and steady hands, which under a normal diet is much easier to attain. The bombs were simple to strip of their casings and we simply built them new ones. We are just waiting for the refuel process to finish. The Argus is fully armed and ready to go.”
As the Captain went to take a seat next to major Assuras, her face cracked a smile and without thinking, she jumped up and threw her arms around Reeves. She squealed, “Scotty did anyone tell you you’re my hero?” As she let him go, her face flushed red, and what could have been brushed aside as a simple comment, was know to be truth by her telltale reaction. The doctor chuckled with unabashed joy at the viper jockey.
As both officers sat down with reddened faces, the colonel snorted about the crew behaving like teenagers in love. Behind Hallis’ eyes was a certain amount of bemusement but nevertheless he demanded a return to professionalism and for the doctor’s daily report. Straightening his uniform captain Lewellyn began. “I’ve got 2 fraking problems and I want solutions, because these fall outside of my job description.”
The Admiral made a hand gesture for the man to proceed and as he did so, the doctor stood up to emphasize his points. “I’ve got to release lieutenant Ford. He isn’t well enough to fly, but I’ve got him pushing a broom in medical. I’m not a babysitting service and the man is on his feet.” Reeves looked at Bridgeford and in a soft growl spat out that he could use someone for airlock maintenance.
Admiral Hallis looked quickly at the Captain, but before being able to say a word, doctor Lewellyn slammed his fist on the table. “Hey! I don’t save people just to have them executed or murdered.” The hush that momentarily fell over the room was broken when colonel Bridgeford decided to take the man once again under his care. “He will have to be kept away from Forester and I can put him to work, but otherwise he will be confined to the brig”.
The medical report continued with information about the health of Private Parts. He was expected to live and make a full recovery. But having personally checked the airlock, the doctor argued the man was lying about his condition arriving by accident. Admiral Hallis looked at colonel Bridgeford with a cold and impassioned stare enquiring about the results of his investigation. The Colonel cleared his throat “It wasn’t an accident. But it involves our resident spy. He isn’t answering questions and because he is outside of our jurisdiction, we can’t touch him.” The Admiral nodded, looked at Reeves and noted that although the Captain was a busy man, he wondered if he had managed any investigation of this matter.
Bridgeford’s eyes appeared shocked and he stuttered something about why a 2nd investigation was occurring. Reeves spoke up, “I haven’t really dug into it. But I concur, it’s between the spy and Alchemist. However, there is more involved.” The Captain focused his eyes on the old marine and paused. It was obvious to everyone in the room he was making a silent statement. “Admiral, I assume the matter is finished. But if there is anything you need to know I’ll make certain you are told before there is an incident.”
Hallis studied his XO, as he pushed the meeting ahead. Never lifting his gaze off the Colonel, he asked the <ajor what she was doing with the newly procured raiders. “Chief Forester and I are looking into options. The planes are old, but they are still war birds and tests show they can hold their own. We are toying with two options, the possibility of making them single pilot controlled or equipping them with raptor equipment. Then perhaps, we can push them behind enemy lines for surveillance. But at the very least, they are full of spare parts.”
The doctor started scratching his head, noted that they certainly seemed well equipped for battle and enquired if they were intending to re-commission the Argus when they jumped back into colonial space? The response was that the battlestar and crew had to be prepared for anything. “FTL isn’t up to snuff; we did in 1 jump what would have been 3 for the Poseidon. We have mechanics not jump drive engineers aboard the ship. These repairs are a best-guess-scenario and that’s why I’m not using raptors to plot the jump; I want exact numbers. We could end up lost again. And to be blunt, when we left the war, we were getting our butts kicked. The Argus might just find itself back on the active duty list.” It made sense to Lewellyn and now understood why there were going to tow the captured enemy basestar back. However Hallis grinned, “The tow line is so the Captain can space walk over here instead of dealing with questions from the raptor pilots.”
The meeting then quickly closed after a couple of questions about lieutenant Lapointe.
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Ford was escorted down to the brig by two marines of the former Poseidon. The one was a tall, black muscular man with a black goatee. As they approached the cell he was bluntly hostile toward the former major. “Well now… Let’s see…. The hotshot pilot isn’t so hot out of the cockpit. No more orders huh major? Oops… sorry, I meant to say lieutenant. Perhaps you should have confined your fun to a viper instead of playing in the Alchemist’s cockpit?” Lieutenant Ford looked at him with hatred but remained silent. “Go ahead you drugged out murderer. Start something! I fracking dare you!” The disgraced officer put his head down and shuffled into his prison. “Yea, you’re still my superior officer but in here, I call the shots. Don’t you ever forget it.” The second guard, a woman, tapped her companion on the shoulder and the two of them sat down and began discussing the prisoner in the 3rd person.
“I hear he’s got organs and blood of the woman he murdered in his body.” It was a statement of concern from the woman. The black man responded, “Yup, that dumb-ass doctor will save anyone’s life at any cost. I would have just gutted the man and iced his parts for people that needed them more.” The Ford rolled over in his bed and faced the wall. Every night, since the incident he found himself crying about what he did. Regret was a new emotion to him and he too wished he had died. Sadly, it wasn’t so much that he wanted to undo what happened to Cain, but to rid himself of this emotional pain.
“He bitched me out a couple of times on the Poseidon and over stupid crap. One day, I had done the buttons up wrong and I got a 10 minute speech about not disgracing the uniform.” The male marine laughed at the woman’s statement and quickly added that the former major most likely just wanted to look at her boobs. “I don’t doubt that for a second. You know, he is the reason why the Persius crew thinks we are a bunch of jerks.
I mean they save our butts and major A-hole repays them by making them drink piss water instead telling them about the comet. Then he turns around, gets stoned and kills the one who found his mistake.” Her companion sat there nodding his head in agreement. Lieutenant Ford dozed in small spurts. With the emotional turmoil, the pain in his body and the comments of his guards, it was anything but a comfortable rest.
A knock occurred at the door and the dark marine answered it. A tray of food was delivered to the prisoner. Accepting the tray the guard looked down and spat in the cup of water and smiled at the person who delivered it. Much to his pleasure he received a congratulatory thumb up.
The woman stood up and banged on the cell door with the butt of her rifle. “Hey fly boy Wakey, wakey. It’s time to get up and feed lieutenant Cain’s stomach.” Ford rolled over and said that he only had the deceased’s kidneys, nothing else. Much to his surprise his captor became crudely hostile. She blew her nose into what was a reasonable facsimile of mashed potatoes. “Those things don’t taste all that great. So I hope you don’t mind, I added a little spice. I understand that Alana didn’t like hot food, but since it’s your gut I thought I might help with the flavour.” She then took the tray and slid it into the cell. “Doctor said we had to make sure you eat. Don’t make me spoon feed you like a baby.”
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Unlike the captain and his space walks, the admiral decided to use a raptor to visit Toaster One. He had already toured the enemy ship and didn’t feel any compulsion to spend any length of time on it. As far as he was concerned, it was the enemy’s garbage and if it weren’t for the fact they needed stuff from it, he would have preferred to destroy it. His business today was with captain Reeves and he wanted some reasonable assurance of privacy and confidentiality. Checking on the state of the affairs aboard the basestar provided a plausible reason for the meeting and kept the scuttlebutt down onboard the Argus.
The Captain met Hallis on the flight deck and the two made relative small talk toward a room Reeves had set up for briefings and meetings. As the Admiral was sitting down and about to speak, captain Reeves discreetly put a hand on the man’s shoulder and gave it a firm squeeze to signal him to remain silent for a moment. He then took a seat himself and folded his arms inside his uniform. After a few seconds he unfolded them and withdrew a small handheld remote. “I’ve looped the bugs in this room with some edited footage from our last meeting. We have just under a minute to talk.”
Admiral Hallis simply said to make it fast and tell him what he needed to know. “The Alchemist is Bridgeford’s son. And the spy has been busy building surveillance devices and installing them all over the Argus and here. I had Lapointe hack into his system and construct a media player. You don’t have time to look at the footage today. There is something else you need to know….”
Captain Reeves took a deep breath, and spoke as he let it out. “Recently I have been finding bombs installed all over the Argus. And that’s the real reason I’ve installed the rope for space walks. Not to get away from the questions.” The Admiral quickly enquired if he had time for an explanation, the Captain glanced at his watch and quickly continued.
“
Clubber and Dancer make a daily trips here in a raptor. I believe I can trust them and I gave them some forged orders from you to make this a classified operation. Sorry, was no way around it sir. In short, Dancer and I change clothes, he does the space walk if needed and I sneak aboard Argus.” The Captain folded his arms again and then switched conversation to discuss the enemy’s FTL system. The Admiral got up and asked for a tour of the engine room.
Partially continuing with the charade the admiral made what he thought were reasonable enquires about installing this ship’s FTL aboard the Argus. Reeves responded, “We can strip it to the bare bones and pretty much have. But we need jump drive engineers to do anything more. We will just destroy ourselves with anything we attempt.”
The snipes in the engine department continued their work in silence. It was obvious that some of the younger men were uncomfortable with the idea of Hallis looking over their shoulders. But the older crewmen didn’t flinch and busied themselves with their tasks. “I would like to spend a couple of extra days or so before we jettison this junk. I think I can get some of her haul plating stripped and heat exchangers too.” Admiral Hallis thought about the tequest for a moment told the captain he planned to leave for Gomorrah in the next 48 hours.
“Well, after re-fueling the battlestar this won’t be empty, if I fly it along to the planet, I’ll have five more days to go over everything while the Argus is fully stockpiled”. Hallis concurred the idea might be wise. Having finished the tour of the engines and making several comments about constructing some stand-alone computer systems on the Argus. The two men re-entered the flight deck. Hallis turned his conversation to Mr. Lapointe.
“The lieutenant has always been a good officer and I have no doubt he won’t abuse drugs again. Nevertheless, he is an addict and you can’t trust him. Use him if you must, but don’t trust him fraking more than you need to.” The captain agreed and noted that he wouldn’t use him at all, if it weren’t for his technical skills. “I may want to tour this rubbish again before we go to pick up food. My only concern is the colonial ships, so if there are any emergency problems, you have my permission to ignore the normal change of command and do what you deem necessary. I don’t want anything happening that might make Toaster- One our new home.” Exchanging a salute, admiral Hallis then entered the raptor and left the basestar.
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“So I hear that you hugged Scotty today.” Sasha had consumed a couple of glasses of the volatile cider drink and was every bit the antagonist in the conversations. Cupcake on the other hand was adeptly playing the role of the victim. “I know, I can’t believe I did that. The Colonel is right, I’m a teenager in love! I go to bed at night thinking about him and I get up thinking about him. Frak! I even drew a heart and wrote the words Mrs. Lillian Reeves in it.” Max walked over and topped up her glass, commenting that alcohol made all the problems disappear.
Ladies’ night was popular and 8 more off duty female crewmen had showed up. Sobbing Lillian put her head down, “What am I going to do?” One female crewmember patted Assuras on the back and told her things would only get better after she fraked him. “He will do what all men do. Enjoy the hell out of you a couple of times and then get bored and dump you. Then you will think he is a jerk and never talk to him again.”
Maxime became insulted and attempted to defend not only his friend but also the male gender. Sasha supported him noting that not all men are the same. And that some could cook, clean, sew and take care of babies. She then gave her lover a small pat on the behind with a mischievous grin. “Sure some men are different, but they are also gay. Let’s face it, men and women aren’t supposed to get along.”
The Chief shook his head, noted the woman who insulted his gender was a rank below his and so he took her drink away. The corporal protested but Max only responded that since this was 24hr old home brew, they had to be careful drinking it or they could get sick.
“Lillian, I’ve known Scott for several years. Never once have I see him in a relationship and I’ve never seen him pursue one. I’m pretty certain he isn’t gay because some of the guys used to borrow his porn stash. I think he is just shy.” Sasha looked up at Max and almost choked on her drink wondering how the man could possibly be shy. “Yea I know he looks like he is always in control. But I can’t help but think he is a virgin.” Cupcake blinked twice, put her drink down and wondered if he was serious. “Yup, I am. Maybe he is saving himself for marriage. He can be pretty old fashioned about such things.”
Lillian put her head down on the table and began to gently thud it against the hard surface. “Not only is he an older man, but also an old fashioned one. He is never going to want a tramp like me.” She began to cry gently and several others tried to console her. Sasha staggered toward the kitchen saying it was time to bake some bread. Following her, Assuras noted it was time she lived up to her call sign, “Cupcake the baker.” and dropping her voice, “hopefully virgin breaker.” Her friend began searching for something to use as a mixing bowl, found a stick for stirring and started to slur about Reeves again. “Lill.. I’ve seen the man in a towel and trust me, you are going to have awhole lot of virgin to break in.” The Major quickly retorted, “I don’t care about that.
Scotty is just like no man I have ever met and I can’t figure out what it is.” Max entered the kitchen and immediately found the bowl to make bread. “Major, if you don’t mind my saying, I think I know what it is. You’re the CAG, it’s your responsibility to go out and risk your life to save others. And everyone needs you. The Captain is not only the first person to not need you, but probably the first one to rescue you.” Lillian started to sob and slumped to the floor with her drink still in her hand, “You are right… Not only is he my hero. But he is noble, kind, and can take care of himself and others. “And”, her sob became more of a squeak, “He also looks good in a towel! By the gods I’m in love with a gay man”. The Chief reached down and took the glass away from Assuras and several others protested that he was allowed to attend ladies night because he was like one of the girls. But that he wasn’t permitted to chaperon.