BORN OF HEROES

— by Jeff Karamales

Chapter 11
 

Jenna was still in the medical bed in the infirmary of the ship that had responded to the distress call that she and the remaining passengers of the Mintaka had been able to set up. With her arm in the cast, she found it a little difficult to take care of herself, and while appreciative of the assistance of the tiger, who was an actual doctor, the kindness that was shown to her was more than a little disconcerting. She knew how to handle an individual that was angry, aggressive, drunk or otherwise intoxicated. She knew that when males looked at her a certain way what would come next, and there were times that it wasn’t too unpleasant. Normally if she complied with what her former crew mates had wanted of her things were over quickly and she could get away sometimes with just a sharp backhand, occasionally without being hit at all.

  This, however, was something she was unaccustomed to. She didn’t know how to reply when the Doctor asked how she was feeling, or the kind manner that some of the crew of this ship showed towards her. It was beyond the realm of her experience.

  Then there was the food.

  She didn’t have to wait until others were done eating before she could scrape together enough leftovers to abate the gnawing feeling in her belly. Here she could eat as much as she wanted, and was encouraged to do so several times a day. To top it all off, she was given access to the infirmary computer and the different things that it could access. There were videos, books, all manner of things that Jenna had never seen. Most of it was useless to her, though, as no one had ever taught her how to read.

  At the moment she was engrossed in a movie about a former soldier that had found himself in a town that was plagued by bandits and galvanized the locals to take back what they had worked for. That the soldier had fallen in love with one of the town’s most attractive females and influenced his decision to help them make a stand was confusing.

  Then again, Jenna knew little of love.

  The infirmary hatch slid open and the striking white fox that was the ship’s Captain came in with a male raccoon at his side. The raccoon wore the gray and crimson trimmed jumpsuit duty uniform of the Spatial Police Force. Jenna felt a moment of apprehension. Her former crew had hated and feared the SPF, and their prejudiced stories had unconsciously ingrained in Jenna her own fear of the interstellar law enforcement agency. She took note of the holstered side arms on both individuals and wondered what they were planning on doing to her. She shrank back against the upraised portion of the bed in sudden fear.

  “It’s all right, Jenna,” the white fox, Captain Elias she remembered, said, giving her a gentle smile. He had been very kind in the couple of times that he’d come to talk to her, asking all sorts of questions about her former Captain and ship. Sometimes he just stopped by to see how she was doing. It was all very odd. “This is Commander Horace Nokes. He’s the Captain of the ship that you’ll be moved to with the others from the Mintaka. He’s going to be transporting you to Joplin, the SPF headquarters world, and from there to your new home.”

  “N-new home?” Jenna asked. “I…I don’t understand.”

  The raccoon, Commander Nokes stepped a little closer to her bed. He had dark gray colored fur, except for his throat and chin which were white with a pronounced black mask around his eyes. He smiled at her and when he spoke, his voice was peasant and warm.

  “That’s right. You are not going to be charged with any crimes as you were a prisoner of the crew of The Lucky Star. There is an individual that has taken an interest in your case and is willing to foster you and ensure that you get an education and a chance to live a normal life.” Nokes looked at her with a tilt to his head. “Does this sound like something you might like?”

  Jenna thought about it, wondering what would be required of her.

  “W-w-what would I h-have to do?” she asked, nervously pulling at a lock of her long gold colored hair, unable to meet the eyes of the two in front of her.

  “You don’t have to do anything you don’t want to, Jenna,” Elias said. “You are going to live with a friend of mine, Sander Brees. He’s a lion and a Colonel in the SPF and one of the best people I know. He and his wife, Meri, who happens to be a priestess with the Unified Light, want you to be part of their family. He will see to it that you are taken care of and get the schooling that you need to do whatever you want in life.”

  She sat up a little. The fox hadn’t lied to her once, and had been the most kind to her next to the Doctor. “School? I can go to school?” It was more than she could ever have hoped for, and the fact that it was something unexpected made her nervous. The two males seemed to sense this.

  “You will get to do more than go to school,” Commander Nokes said. “You’ll get to learn things that you want to, to choose a career that you want, all of the things that others get to do that were denied to you. And all you have to do is try to do the best that you can. That’s it.”

  Elias nodded. “You have a second chance, Jenna. A lot of decisions that should have been yours to make were taken from you. We’re trying to help make things right and give you some of those chances and decisions back. And you’ll be free. You won’t be a slave to anyone else ever again.”

  It took a while for the two officers to convince her of what they said, and in the end, all that the girl was told was confirmed by the Doctor. Most of the crew was on hand as she transferred from the Guiding Angel to the SPF hospital ship. Elias watched as the airlock hatch slid closed, his arm around Cerise’s waist, wondering what the girl would be like after a year in the care of Sandy and Meri.

  When they were back in their cabin, Cerise looked up at her husband questioningly. “Why is Uncle Sandy adopting her? I know that he would have made sure that Jenna would have wound up in a good home, but he’s adopting her. Why?”

  Elias sat down next to the coyote on the bed and pulled her close to him. “Because I asked him to. He said his children are grown up and gone, living their own lives. Torvi is off at the Alexandrius Science Academy in Alucara, Senna is married now, and Tara is attending the Copenhagen University on Earth. He and Meri told me that the house seemed too empty. So when I talked to him about Jenna, I recommended that he adopt the girl. Can you think of anyone that can help her learn to stand on her own better than those two?”

  Cerise thought about it for several moments then shook her head. “No. You’re right. She will be well taken care of. And I have to agree with you that she’ll be a different person in a year.”

  “I’ll bet any amount that you care to name that we won’t recognize her. Well, she might look the same, but as far as what she’ll be then in comparison to the shattered soul she is now? No, I think the difference will be amazing.”

***

  The rest of the journey towards the Faya system was uneventful, and Elias found himself feeling restless, as was normal for him in the quiet time after an engagement. Granted, there hadn’t been any fighting, of which he was thankful for, but it was always a hard adjustment to go from the adrenaline rush of action to the more mundane aspect of travel.

  Like he did while he was on the Scimitar, and the Manticore and Argent Star before that, Elias took to wandering through the ship. Enough time had been spent on the bridge, or in his cabin, despite the pleasant company of Cerise, and sitting down to watch a movie or read only added to the anxious stillness that he was trying to readjust to. He had taken the lift to the cargo bay turned flight deck for the Raptor class interceptor that Lena had named the Cherub. As soon as the hatch slid open, haunting notes and music enveloped the fox. He stepped out onto the deck and saw Randal sitting on a crate just outside the armored cubicle of the cargo master’s office, a small keyboard on the wolf’s lap and his fingers moving back and forth in precise strokes on the keys. The wolf had his eyes closed and rocked back and forth slowly with the music he was making.

  At first Elias was surprised to find the huge wolf playing such a delicate instrument. Then he was astounded by the quality of music that the laconic former combat instructor wove in the air of the hold. The fox stood transfixed as notes blended and complimented each other in the space of the large chamber, spinning out as fine as spider’s silk and pure as thin glass. It was several seconds after Randal finished playing, and the last notes faded before the wolf realized that he was not alone.

  “Sorry, Captain. I didn’t see you there.”

  Elias shook his head, still mesmerized by the music. “Don’t apologize. That was amazing.”

  Randal grinned self-consciously. “It’s only because of the acoustics of the cargo bay. It allows me to tie notes together in a way that I wouldn’t be able to otherwise.”

  The fox walked over and sat down on a crate that was magnetically clamped to the deck. “As I have no musical talent, I’ll have to take your word for it. I have to admit that I’m surprised by this, though.”

  “You wouldn’t expect someone like me to play music?” the wolf asked with a grin.

  “It seems a little incongruous,” Elias admitted.

  Randal chuckled. “Not at all. Kantus and Earth both have cultures where warriors were also artists. The Cassemer of the Fourth Dynasty of the Kanthian Prefecture, the Samurai of feudal Japan on Earth. It was believed by many that a warrior that also explored artistic pursuits was better for exhibiting and training both aspects. And for the Silloni, art and war are intertwined, inseparable.”

  Elias laughed. “My crew keeps on catching me off guard with hidden talents. Melise could be a chef at any resort you care to name, Sonja is a very talented seamstress, the Doctor is a master brewer, and now I find out that you’re a talented musician. I think I’m the only one without any hidden abilities.”

  “And you are quite the dancer to hear Cerise tell it,” The wolf said, still grinning. “Believe me, as one who was lucky to be able to walk without tripping over his own feet as an adolescent, that’s no small accomplishment.”

  “Feh. It’s not that big of a deal,” Elias said in dismissal.

  “You think so?” Randal asked, looking at his Captain with a sardonic expression. “The only reason that I’m not clumsy anymore is through years of martial arts and practice. From what your mate says, you out dance her, and she studied dance. It’s one of those talents, like playing music, that you either have, or don’t have. Let me ask you this, did you have any trouble when it came to zee-gee training?”

  “Not really,” Elias admitted. “I thought it was rather fun. Like….dancing, but without the constraint of gravity.” The fox began to realize the direction that the wolf was taking.

  “Exactly. It was like something that you already were familiar with, but less constraints. I had to go through the course three times. Melise twice. The only other one on the ship who was able to ace the course her first time was Lena, but then her being born in space might have something to do with that.”

  “Talk about an odd talent. I’ve never seen anyone else that could handle a fighter like her,” Elias said with a shake of his head.

  “When she gets into the cockpit, she is very aggressive,” Randal agreed. “She reminds me of a predator. She wants to sink her teeth into something.” Then he looked at his Captain. “So, what really brought you down here, Captain? I doubt it was my playing.”

  The fox shrugged. “I’m always antsy after an encounter. I used to walk the decks of my old ship after an encounter, no matter what it was. I guess it comes from all the adrenaline and tension, even if it was something as simple as an aid call. It takes a few days for me to come down off the rush sometimes. Like now. I feel like I’ve been away from the routine for too long.”

  Randal nodded in agreement. “All of us have our own little ways of dealing with it. Mine is getting lost in music. Sonja exercises until she’s almost ready to drop. Stram finds something to take apart and reassemble and Rutger plays computer games. Lena soaks for hours on end in a bath.” The wolf put his keyboard in a rigid leather case and secured the latches before turning back to his Captain. “As for the routine, you spent a lot of time in recovery after the loss of the Scimitar. I’d say give it a month and you should be fine.”

  The two talked for a long while, and it was rather late when Elias realized that Cerise was probably asleep, as he should be also. He stood and stretched, not realizing that sitting on the crate had made his legs go numb until he got up. He stretched and smiled. “Thanks for the talk.”

  “We have to be here for each other, Elias. It’s what makes a solid crew and a functioning ship. That means that we’re here for you as well.”

  Elias nodded his thanks and made his way to the lift, wincing as feeling began to return to his legs, the muscles tingling with a pins and needles sensation as blood flow increased.

  The second deck was quiet as he made his way to the cabin that he and Cerise shared. There was enough ambient light in the cabin for him to see the still form of the vixen curled up on her side of the bed, clutching one of the pillows he used to her body and the way that she was breathing, deep and regular, told him that she was sound asleep. He left the lights off and undressed quietly, putting his clothes in a small hamper next to the hatch that led to the suite’s facilities, and gently slid onto the bed and under the covers.

  It seemed as soon as Cerise sensed the warmth of his body she released the pillow and shifted closer to him, rousing to a half awake state and pulled his arm over her before sighing contentedly.

  “I was wondering when you were coming to bed,” she murmured drowsily, snuggling closer to her mate.

  “I just needed to walk off some tension. It happens after any kind of action. Then I got into a conversation with Randy. Sorry I took so long.” He nuzzled her neck and settled into a comfortable position.

  “Randy’s a good individual. You should talk to him more.”

  “You think so?” Elias asked, his eyes feeling heavy and grainy, a sure indication that he was more tired than he realized.

  “You know,” Cerise began and rolled so that she was facing her husband, “I know a great way to relieve stress.” Before Elias had a chance to respond, she nuzzled his throat before kissing him, her arms slipping around his neck.

  The fatigue that Elias had been feeling was replaced with something more urgent and primal than a need for sleep, but afterwards he had to admit that it had done wonders to lift the burden of tension that had lingered.

— NEXT CHAPTER —

Unless otherwise noted, all material © Ted R. Blasingame. All rights reserved.