Gray Panthers Captain Short Blade (14 page)

House of Short Blade, planet Glory

23 April 2129

The early morning light streaming through the window woke Short Blade. He got up and looked outside. The troops had already eaten and were practicing unarmed combat with Ramirez and Dias. Namid was at the entrance of the barn instructing the Libra on how to care for the cows. A breeze was blowing in the open window as Short Blade looked over to the shuttle, where he saw the old chiefs had one of the panels open.

“Phoenix, I see you are being worked on. Is there a problem?” Short Blade commed, afraid his plans were ruined.

“All systems are optimal. The chiefs are performing the standard thirty-day inspection of my propulsion systems. They still prefer to do the inspections rather than let me conduct them myself.”

“That’s how we learn, Phoenix. We should be launching in an hour. Contact space control and request clearance for takeoff. Official reason for the flight is post-maintenance test flight,” Short Blade ordered as he pulled his old Gray Panthers flight suit from the closet. He was embarrassed by how tight the suit was when he tried to zip it up. It hadn’t even been a full year yet, and he was getting fat. Throwing the suit back into the closet, he grabbed his blue jeans and a denim shirt. Pulling on his leather jacket, he walked out the door and headed toward the shuttle.

“How are we looking, guys?”

Guns closed the panel and stood up. “We’re looking good. Just finishing the routine thirty-day.”

“Great to hear. We have a flight plan for an hour from now. I’m going to start the preflight now.” As he stepped inside, he could still faintly smell cow dung and hay from the cargo hold.
Guess one of the guys is going to have a dirty job when we get back
, Short Blade thought. The cockpit came to life when Short Blade entered, the panels and indicators all lighting up.

“Welcome on board, Captain Short Blade. Flight plan has been registered with space control. The initial self-check has indicated a problem with life support. The air filters are only working at ninety-two percent efficiency. A foreign substance of organic origin is causing the interference,” Phoenix briefed.

“Isolate the cargo bay and then run the diagnostics on life support. I’m sure the problem is cow crap, but let’s make sure there aren’t any other problems that could be the cause,” he ordered, taking a seat at the console. He reviewed the status of the shuttle more to be assured that he was in control than out of concern that he would find anything wrong. The seat was comfortable and he settled in as he got the report back from Phoenix.

“Captain, the decrease in air filters went from ninety-two percent to ninety-eight percent when the cargo bay was isolated and shut down.”

“Thank you for confirming my assumption, Phoenix. After our mission the cargo bay will be cleaned out, and then we will run life support diagnostics again.”

“Hey, boss, we ready to hit the road?” Guns asked. He stood in the hatchway to the cockpit watching as Short Blade completed the preflight of the shuttle. Jimmy crowded in next to him and asked, “We gonna take off anytime soon, boss?”

Short Blade tried to think of an appropriate reply, since he knew that they were playing with him. At one time he wouldn’t have recognized what they were doing.

“I’ve been waiting all this time for the two of you to get on board. I’d hurry up and strap in if I were you. We launch in one minute.”

The men grinned and retreated to the passengers’ cabin, and Short Blade began issuing his instructions to Phoenix.

“Reduce the inertial dampeners by fifty percent in the cabin area for takeoff. Let’s see how the guys like pulling a few gravities—be certain they don’t pull more than five. You may initiate launch when ready.”

He smiled at the prank he was getting over on the guys until he felt the forces of the launch himself as he was pulled into his seat.

“Phoenix, restore inertial dampeners to one hundred percent in the cockpit!” he ordered, stressing his body to fight the effects of pulling four times his own weight as the shuttle accelerated. The instantaneous return to normal gravity was a shock. When Short Blade had relaxed in his seat, he asked, “Phoenix, why were the inertial dampeners adjusted for the cockpit?”

“Captain, would you have your crew suffer without sharing in it with them?”

“Thank you for that, Phoenix. I’d forgotten how it was when I was part of the crew on a Libra ship and outright unfairness was part of daily life. What’s the ETA to the Moise asteroid belt?”

“The hop will take four hours. I’ve prepared reconnaissance drones to enter the asteroid belt once we’re in range,” Phoenix replied, displaying a map of the asteroid belt that showed the estimated location of the raider Beater.

Short Blade sat in silence remembering his time aboard the Beater. He’d been the only non-human crewmember. Once the crew learned that he was knowledgeable about the ship’s functions, they’d treated him as an equal. Later, after he’d almost died while performing a dangerous space walk during a meteor shower to save a pilot and a valuable fighter, he’d been given a commendation and was promoted to chief petty officer. His subsequent petition to become an officer had been accepted, and he’d completed the necessary training to become the only alien lieutenant junior grade in the fleet—just as the war ended and the fleet was demobilized.

“Ten minutes out from the Moise asteroid belt,” Phoenix announced, forcing him back to the present.

“Phoenix, prepare to polarize the hull plates and engage force fields,” he instructed. Hitting the microphone button for the ship’s speakers, he said, “Everyone suit up. I’ve never tested the shuttle’s defenses, so I want to play it safe, just in case a rock comes flying through the hull when we enter the asteroid belt.” He struggled into the confining environmental suit and was relieved when the light on the helmet finally turned green, indicating a good seal.

“Boss, we’re all good back here,” Jimmy said as he finished inspecting Gun’s suit. “Want me to give your suit a once-over?”

“Thanks, Jimmy. I’m in the green. One minute until we enter normal space.”

Short Blade watched the monitor as the empty grayness turned to black space dotted with stars. Suddenly a huge asteroid nearly filled the screen. Phoenix navigated around the obstruction and took a stationary position just outside the asteroid belt.

“Launching reconnaissance drones. No other ships or hazards detected in the surrounding area.”

“Good job, Phoenix. Looks like other than almost double-parking on that one asteroid, you did okay. Bring up the wide-view screen that includes both drones. I want to see what they're seeing,” Short Blade instructed as he removed his helmet. Jimmy and Guns did likewise, and all three began to closely watch the monitors.

Guns saw the fluctuation from reconnaissance drone two as the sensors showed high levels of metal. “Magnify cameras for drone two,” he ordered. There wasn’t enough light, and the dark asteroid was almost undetectable against the black of space.

“Phoenix, what type of illumination capability does the recon drone have?” Jimmy asked. Instantaneously, the drone sent out a flare, bathing the asteroid in light. The battered black hull of the Beater was now visible and the drone’s cameras homed in on it. Gravity from the huge asteroid had brought the ship down onto the surface. The damage to the hull seemed limited to a dozen or so punctures. The view from the drone showed the open hangar bay from which the ship’s crew had escaped in their shuttles almost a year earlier.

“Phoenix, can you detect anything from the ship?” Short Blade asked anxiously.

“Only a small power source is detectable on board the ship. Most likely the battery reserves are still being charged from the solar collectors. I’m unable to communicate with any of the ship’s systems.”

“Phoenix, can you send faeries to evaluate the damage and search for Captain Johnson’s body?”

“I will dispatch the faeries and prepare a set of droids to go to the ship. I’ll have the droids start repairing the damage as I find it.”

“That sounds good, Phoenix. I want finding the captain’s body to be the first priority. Then we’ll look at salvage,” Short Blade responded. He stared at the monitor, not believing that the man he owed so much to lay dead aboard the ship.

The display divided itself into ten views as the video from the different faeries began broadcasting once they entered the ship. Short Blade touched the screen where the hangar bay was displayed, enlarging the view so that it took over almost the entire screen. The nine smaller views were displayed around the border. The hangar was barely visible until the faerie adjusted the settings, changing the view to grayscale to improve the details. Short Blade gasped when he saw a banged-up helmet with deep scratches and a barely discernible hole. It appeared to be frozen to the deck by black ice. The faerie continued on toward the main hatchway. The bulkhead showed evidence of blast damage, the wall pockmarked with holes and dents. On one area of the wall was a long black smear, and under it was the captain.

His lips had retracted, making it look like he was smiling. His eyes were so shrunken they could hardly be seen inside the sockets of his skull. His skin looked like a mix of black and blue leather. The tears in his spacesuit were filled with black ice, and some still had metal fragments protruding from them.

“Damn. I hope it was quick,” Jimmy said softly. “Looks like those fragments went through the hangar’s force field while it was still pressurized. Otherwise, the captain would’ve been wearing his helmet.”

“Poor bastard bled out,” Guns said. “Look at all the blood. The force field must have held after the shrapnel went through it. Who knows how long he suffered.” He turned away from the display and buried his head in his hands.

“Captain, I can send over the droids to retrieve the body and then begin repairs on the ship,” Phoenix offered.

“Go ahead, Phoenix. Just be careful with Captain Johnson’s body. I suggest after it’s recovered you devote most of your efforts to restoring the ship’s AI. It can then direct the Beater’s droids to help repair the ship.”

“Thank you, Captain. I will do as you recommend.”

Short Blade and his crew watched in silence as a pair of droids carrying a small crate between them walked up to the body and attempted to pick it up before realizing that it was frozen to the deck and bulkhead. The crew cringed as the one of the droids produced a long, thin, flat tool and proceeded to scrape the body from the surfaces. Small strips of the captain remained behind, still frozen to the ship. This time the droids picked up the body effortlessly and dropped it into the small crate. One of them closed the lid, and they picked up the crate and walked to the edge of the open hangar. Using their propulsion units, they slowly floated toward Phoenix’s open hatch and delivered the crate to cargo bay one.

“To Captain Johnson,” Jimmy said, taking a swig from his flask and handing it to Guns. Short Blade pulled out his own flask and took a long swig of milk.

“Damn shame he doesn’t have any family left,” Guns said as he took another swig.

“We’re his family,” Jimmy replied as he took the flask and put it back in his jacket, fighting the urge to take another swig.

“What should we do with him?” Guns asked.

“There’s a cemetery near the lunar station for those who died in the war,” Short Blade answered. “That’s the most fitting place for him.”.

“Captain, there’s no damage to the Beater’s AI, although the power line to the AI was damaged during the battle. It will only take a few minutes to repair that. Components of the propulsion systems and life support will need to be replaced, since they can’t be repaired. The droids have begun repairing damage to the hull,” Phoenix reported.

The crew watched in silence while the repairs were being done until an incoming message brought them to full alert.

“Unidentified shuttle, identify yourself or I will be forced to open fire,”

“Beater, this is Lieutenant Short Blade, with Chiefs Wright and Brewster. We are repairing your battle damage. Please establish a link with the shuttle’s AI for an update of repairs being performed. When you’re able to assist, have the ship’s droids begin repairs in conjunction with those already in progress. It’s good to hear your voice again, Beater.”

“Lieutenant Short Blade, it’s good to hear your voice also. Many of my internal sensors are damaged. I’ll need to use my faeries to conduct a survey of damages before I begin my repairs. Were there any casualties to the crew after I went offline?”

“After you jumped away from the battle, the crew was forced to abandon ship. Captain Johnson was the last man on board. He was killed in an explosion. The war ended over four months ago. We are no longer in the Gray Panthers. We’re salvaging you in accordance with galactic law. The Gray Panthers have stood down and most have been released to minute man status. You may access the Phoenix AI to bring yourself up to speed on current events.”

“I understand. There will be no ship access problems, since you and your crew still retain all previous authorizations. I will coordinate repairs with the Phoenix and keep you apprised of my status. Beater, out.”

“Glad to see Phoenix didn’t decide to shoot first and then ask questions!” Short Blade said with relief.

“Sir, the weapons were all offline when we abandoned her. Beater was bluffing,” Guns said with a laugh. “The old girl still has guts.”