The Chronicles of Benjamin Jamison: Call Sign Reaper (11 page)

The alarm went off at 0700. Ben shut it off. He slipped out of bed and covered Andrea up while he got dressed. He sensed her about the time he felt two arms wrap around him. He turned and put his arms around her waist and held her. They kissed.

“Good morning,” she said softly. On the floor by the door was Andrea’s black bag. He got it for her and put it on the bed. “I’m going to take a shower,” she said, and walked into the bathroom.

He told her he was going to go downstairs and make them some coffee. The Vander Hoyts and Jen were having coffee sitting around the table. All three had different expressions on their faces. Harold looked proud. Janet looked amused and Jen looked amazed. Nobody said anything. Harold and Janet went back to watching the news vides.

Jen looked at him, mouthed “good job” and gave him a thumbs up. Ben started smiling and turned a little red. Ben made two cups of coffee and put some bread in the toaster.

Andrea came downstairs, walked over to Ben and kissed his cheek. She picked up her coffee and said, “Good morning!” in a very cheery voice.

“My, aren’t we in a good mood this morning,” Janet said. “Did you sleep well dear?”

“I slept great,” Andrea replied.

“At least someone did,” Jen said.

“Now Jen,” Janet said, looking at Andrea’s face turning two shades of red. Andrea walked around the table and put her hand on Jen’s shoulder.

“Sorry, these things happen sometimes,” she said. Looking at Ben, she thought,
and will, again and again and again.

Ben went back upstairs shaking his head to get his things packed. He didn’t have much. He would have it all packed in his footlocker. He put Andrea’s bag on top and carried them both down. His shoulders burned.

In the kitchen, Janet was crying and Harold wanted too but was doing a good job holding back in front of everyone. Ben hated goodbyes. The Vander Hoyts hugged both Ben and Andrea. The sergeants arrived to pick them up and saved Ben from having to answer too many questions. It was time to go to Gus’s. Jen went with them as planned.

They walked out to the hover car. The ride was quiet. Ben was still thinking about leaving his surrogate grandparents.

They walked into Gus’s and Ben helped Cindy push two tables together. She brought two carafes of coffee and a tray of cups. Nick and Val walked in a minute later and sat down. Cindy went to get Gus, and they walked back a minute later. Ben took charge of the meeting. Cindy and Gus were eye-balling Jen.

“Gus, Jen is going to be staying with the Vander Hoyts while I am gone,” Ben said. “We had a heart-to-heart the other night and it is my belief she is genuinely sorry for her part in the fight Friday night. I am willing to take a chance on her and would like you to do the same, and possibly put her to work.”

He could tell Cindy liked the idea of having a third person almost immediately, so he continued his explanation. “She only needs to make enough to cover room and board and have a little for personal things. You can contact her at the Vander Hoyts’ after you have had a chance to think about it.”

“I need to talk to these three,” he motioned. “We will sit over there and be back in a few minutes.” Gus and Cindy moved off to discuss Jen.

“I will share my ideas with everyone and then we can discuss them,” Ben said. “I don’t know what we will end up doing so let’s keep this simple. Nick, I want you and Val to be 51 percent owners of the ship. This will allow you to make decisions without me. I have no idea where I will be so I don’t want to hold up any business decisions. I would like my 49 percent to be divided up, with the Vander Hoyts getting 15, Gus getting 15 the remaining 19 percent to me. It’s not ownership, just a gift from me to them. Regardless of whether you sell the ship and all the cargo or start a freight business, this will be the breakdown. There will be no need to tell anyone anything until it’s a done deal. I will have an account number for you by the time things are finalized.” He paused to let that soak in.

“I am sure that ship has a safe. Captains usually have one. There may be some credits and valuables inside it. Talk to Jen after I am gone and find out what her cut would have been on the sale of the cargo, then pay her double. That will give her some credits until she can find work. Take it out of my share. Any expenses should come off the top before anyone is paid. Any questions?” Everyone looked at him but had no questions.

“You are a very generous man,” Andrea said, reaching over and taking his hand.

“Sometimes I am and sometimes not,” Ben replied.

“Nick, anything that I need to sign can be forwarded to Andrea’s private mail. If no one has anything else, let’s go join the others,” Ben said.

Nick shook Ben and Andrea’s hands and was nudged out of the way so Val could hug them both. They left smiling. They had work to do. Life was going to get interesting. Ben and Andrea sat down with the sergeants and Jen. Gus and Cindy walked back and sat down; it looked like they had come to a decision.

“Jen!” Gus said. “Can you start tomorrow?”

“Certainly,” Jen replied.

“Good,” Gus grinned. “We will see you then.” Jen pulled the door open and walked towards the dirt road.

Everyone said their goodbyes. The ride to the spaceport was a quiet one. Ben had not been in space, in uniform or in a barber shop in almost a year. Andrea messaged the Corvette. She let the captain know they would be on schedule. They stopped at the hotel so Andrea could change into her uniform, pack and check out.

They drove to the docks where a large transport shuttle was parked. It had Navy marking. The loading ramp was down. Matt messaged the shuttle to get permission to bring the hover car aboard. He provided the shuttle captain with the names of all the passengers. Bill, Andrea and Ben exited the car and removed all of their belongings and bags.

A corporal walked down the loading ramp. He gave a crisp salute. “Good to have you back Ma’am,” he said. He looked Ben over, then said, “Welcome back Gunny,” to Bill. He walked back the driver window and spoke to Matt who then pulled the hover car up into the shuttle.

He returned and took the major’s bags onto the shuttle while Ben and Bill brought the remaining luggage. The team made its way out of the cargo hold and into seating area of the shuttle. The major made her way to the bridge and greeted the pilot and navigator. Ben sat down; the sergeant major sat to his right and Gunny sat on his left He turned his head slowly from one to the other, ignoring their shit-eating grins.

The shuttle lifted off with ease. It would slowly keep rising until the tower signaled they were clear to depart. Once in flight, it was a short trip to rendezvous with the Corvette in orbit above Anubis. They would land in the shuttle dock next to the cargo hold of the Corvette. The entrance was to the rear, under the engines in the rear belly of the ship. The hold had a force field that would maintain gravity inside it. The same force field was used to seal hull breaches in battle. The shuttle transmitted a code that would allow it to pass through the force field. If the code was not correct, it would hit it like a brick wall.

They had cleared the planet’s atmosphere and were running at sub-light speed to catch the Corvette. Lt. Chavez, the shuttle pilot, contacted and received his docking codes from the captain of the Corvette. Lt. Wu, the shuttle navigator, input the coordinates and the docking codes. The autopilot would now ping the Corvette to accept the codes and take over. Everyone could sit back and relax.

The shuttle entered the cargo hold and landed gently. Lt. Chavez lowered the loading ramp. The cargo bay doors were closing on the Corvette. Ben walked down the cargo ramp of the shuttle and looked out into the blackness of space. He watched until the doors came together and the green lights came on, indicating a secure latch.

He turned to see the major and sergeants staring at him and smiling. In life there is always something that brings the reality of your situation to light, Ben thought. The cargo doors had just done that for him. Been looked past the team, to a group of approaching Navy officers and personnel. The woman leading the group was stunning. Her hair looked like it was on fire. It was thick, wavy and a beautiful auburn red. Her skin was white like porcelain and her eyes were emeralds. Her posture was perfect; she walked like a queen. She looked like she was all business.

“Welcome back,” she said to the major, who saluted.

“Permission to come aboard?”

“Permission granted,” the woman said. She was Captain Aisling O’Shaughnessy of the Colonial Corvette Warhammer. She stepped up to Matt and Bill and shook their hands.

“Gentlemen,” she said.

She stepped in front of Ben. Her emerald eyes started at his feet and worked their way to his face. She did not offer him her hand or a greeting. She turned to the major.

“Is this why we were here?” she asked. The major just nodded, not saying anything. The captain made a sound and spun, walking away and dismissing his very existence. She was a few steps away when Ben turned to Gunny Bill.

“How far do you think that stick is up her ass?” he said in a voice loud enough for everyone to hear. The captain stopped dead. Her people looked around as if they were checking for escape pods. Her arms were at her sides and she clenched her hands into fists. A few seconds went by, and she started walking again like a freight train down a mountainside. She didn’t look back; her people were sprinting to catch up with her.

Ben watched them leave. In his mind they were even. He found the major staring holes in him and the sergeants looking at their feet, trying not to laugh. Andrea’s vid beeped; she had a message. It was Captain O’Shaughnessy letting her know they had a conference with General Grey in a hour. She relayed that to the men, except for Ben who she told to meet her there in 45 minutes. They had a few things to discuss.

Gunny told Ben he would help him find his quarters. Ben picked up his foot locker and followed Gunny through the ship. Word must have already been spreading. He was getting a lot of different looks from the crew. Ben stowed his foot locker under the bed and stripped off his clothes. He wanted to wash up before the meeting. He went into his bathroom with a washrag and towel.

Ben exited his bathroom to find Matt sitting in a chair and a pile of new clothes on the bed. “Thought you could use these,” Matt said. Ben grabbed a new black thermal suit and socks. There were black BDU pants and black boots. As he was getting dressed, the sergeant major started talking.

“Ben,” he said. “I know you have not forgot in the last year about respect and the chain of command.”

“No, Sgt. Major, I haven’t.”

“Okay, well?”

“Well what? Spit it out, Sarge.”

“You can’t insult the captain on her ship in front of her crew,” Matt said with an exasperated sigh. “I know the major and she is going to tear you a new one. First of all, the captain is her friend. That lady has pulled us out of some shit storms in the past. Even if what you said was true,” he said, smiling, “you just cannot say things like that. I’m just here trying to give you some friendly advice.”

He watched Ben for a few seconds to see if any of what he was telling him was sinking in. “I have to go,” Matt said finally. “ I don’t want the major to catch me here. She might drag my ass down there with you.”

Matt stood and walked towards the door, then turned briefly. “She likes you, Ben,” he said. “She likes you a lot. Don’t embarrass her like that again.” Matt left and Ben moved the clothes onto a shelf and lay down.

The door chime woke him up. “Enter,” he said. The door opened to reveal the major, but she didn’t enter.

“Come with me,” she said, and started walking. Ben got up and headed for the door. He had to jog down the corridor to catch up. He walked a couple steps behind her. She paused at a door and pressed her hand against a panel. The door opened to reveal a conference room.

There was a long table with about 20 chairs. A vid screen took up half the wall on the far end of the room. Andrea walked in and stepped off to the side as Ben walked in past her. She shut the door and punched in a code; a computerized voice confirmed the door had been locked.

Ben turned towards her. Andrea took two steps and slapped him across the face. His eyes watered and his face burned. He stared in the eyes. Her hand came up again but he caught her by the wrist. She swung with her other hand and he caught it too. Neither had said a word. He held her until he could feel the tension ease and he let her go.

“She is my friend, Benjamin. You embarrassed me and the team as well as insulted the captain of this ship in front of her crew. Two minutes on the ship and I already have to apologize for you.”

Ben knew he had screwed up with Andrea. He didn’t care about the rest. “I will talk to the captain,” he said.

“Oh no you won’t,” Andrea snapped. “Not now anyway. She’ll have her marines locking you in the brig. You will sit down and listen to the general and when we are through you will go back to your room.”

His anger was dissolving and so was hers. He kissed his finger and put it to her lips. “Good talk,” he said, sitting down at the table.

The door chimed as crew members were trying to get in. Andrea walked over and unlocked it. The captain walked in and stopped. A marine sergeant posted himself outside the door.

“My XO will be here in a minute,” the captain told the major, not bothering to acknowledge Ben. She decided to sit directly across from him at the table. Ben sat studying the fake wood grain of the table He turned his head slightly in the major’s direction as she sat down next to him.

The captain was studying him and she noticed something. She got up and walked around the table, stopping next to Ben. Ben didn’t like her standing over him, so he stood to face her. Andrea stood up behind Ben. The captain slowly raised her hand to his face and turned his head to the side. She could see the hand print, clear as day. She also took in his good looks and broad shoulders.  She saw the scar that had been left behind when they removed his interface and hardware from his head.

This man is a very attractive mystery,
she thought.
She let his face go and walked back to her chair. She looked over to Andrea and smiled. Andrea nodded and the captain knew the situation had been addressed. The XO of the ship, Commander Holmes, arrived, and the captain introduced him. About the time he sat down, the bridge chimed that they had a incoming vid.

The major had received a message from General Grey prior to the meeting. She had orders for her and the team not to divulge any information about their new asset. They were to address him by call sign Reaper. The general had already briefed the team members on Ares.

The major acknowledged receipt. The major copied the message to her sergeants, who acknowledged. The only person who didn’t know was Ben. She had intended to brief him after she dressed him down but time had run out when the captain arrived. The general started the meeting.

“Good afternoon, Captain, Lieutenant Commander,” the general said. “It’s good to see you. Major Andersen, Reaper.” All eyes were on Ben. He knew he wasn’t any of the other three names, so he must be Reaper.

“Reaper?” the captain said. “Reaper what?”

“Captain,” General Grey said, “all information is on a need to know basis. You and your crew may address him as Reaper. That is all you and your crew need to know, is that clear?”