BORN OF HEROES

— by Jeff Karamales

Chapter 19
 

“It’s not our fault that no one’s coming to the party,” Randal said as he hefted his scuba tank over the transom of the boat. He pulled off the diving mask and hung it on the valve of the tank. As he swung his legs over and planted his feet on the gently swaying deck, he twisted to give the others a hand up out of the water.

  Treena was first, then Saul. Lena was content, floating in the warm water a few feet off from the dive platform attached to the aft of the watercraft.

  “It’s still bloody frustrating!” Saul said. “With all of the reports that we hear about, you think we’d be running into pirates, raiders and brigands in every star system we hit.”

  “Patience, Saul,” the wolf said. “Despite the number of reports, you have to consider the number of ships that are plying the trade lanes, the number of star systems, and then consider the actual encounters with pirates and raiders. There are enough out there to cause issues, but they’re going to be fairly elusive. That and we only really hit the Faya system so far, and two ships down is nothing to turn your nose up at. We must be patient.”

  The jaguar flopped down onto a padded bench along the gunwale and sighed. “You’re right. I don’t like it, but you’re right.”

  “I’ve been thinking about this,” Treena said as she wrung the water from her hair. “We’ve been lax on something that we should all have thought of. And when I tell you what it is, you’re going to feel as stupid as I did.”

  Saul was only half listening to her as he watched the svelte ocelot move around the aft deck in her pale green swimsuit. He hadn’t had a chance to talk to her since they had shared a cup of coffee on the bridge what seemed so long ago, and he was distracted by his increasing feelings and attraction for the female.

  “What’s that?” Randall asked as he turned and took Lena’s scuba tank in one hand and lifted her up onto the diving platform with the other.

  Treena gave the wolf a sardonic smile. “We haven’t listed any cargo manifests.”

  The other three furs looked at her, then one by one started to laugh.

  “I’m sure that there are individuals with the port authorities, even in the SPF, that are more than willing to let little bits of information slip out,” the ocelot continued as she toweled her hair and fur dry. “A few credits to find out what ships are listed for arrival and departure, a few more ticks on a credicard for manifest information. Sure, it seems harmless enough at first, and let’s be honest, there are very few individuals that can’t use extra funds. Especially as depressed as the PA economy is right now. And isn’t piracy all about economics anyway? Greatest gain with least amount of risk? And what is the one thing that we haven’t done since we launched? Submitted a cargo manifest. The SPF is fairly stringent on having a list of cargoes filed for every ship, just in case of an emergency.

  “Then there are the companies that are hiring the freighters to haul their goods. A disgruntled employee would be a great target to get information from, a careless delivery driver that’s had too much after-work liquid relaxation. Then there are the substandard computer security precautions that a lot of businesses utilize because they are either unable to obtain good security, or ignorant of the problem of having easily accessed files. Look how easily Cerise hacked the Quet Air Traffic Control network.”

  Saul was the one that nodded and looked thoughtful despite the sun glasses that he wore. “You’re right, Treena. I do feel stupid at the moment because one of my first duty postings was as a cargo inspector. We always had a copy of the manifest before boarding a ship.”

  Randy sat against the transom of the boat, and Lena, never one to be concerned about what others thought about her or her proclivities, sat down between his knees and leaned against the wolf’s broad chest as she closed her eyes and let the sunshine dry her fur.

  “All things considered, it might look a little weird to have us bouncing all over known space without filing a cargo manifest. That might have raised some red flags right there,” the rabbit offered the group. Randal tried to shift position, but Lena smacked his knee playfully. “Stop squirming. I’m comfortable.”

  The wolf’s expression was slightly chagrined, but he looked down at the doe with a soft expression, letting one hand rest on her shoulder while he absently stroked her ear with the other.

  Silence descended on the group before Saul and Treena eventually went into the cabin, wanting to get away from the other pair for their own comfort and each had the idea of fixing a light lunch for everyone.

  “I should have put money on them pairing up!” Treena whispered, trying hard not to laugh out loud.

  “Really? I would never have guessed it,” Saul admitted.

  “Hmm. Maybe it’s because I spend a little more time around the others.” The ocelot was slicing up a loaf of dark bread into perfect half inch thick slabs. “After something Melise told me, I’ve been paying more attention to the rest of the crew. They’ve been a pair for almost the past month”

  Saul stopped stacking slices of meat and cheese to look at Treena. “A month? And I missed something this big?”  He pulled a variety of cheeses and other ingredients from a small refrigerator before turning to look at the ocelot. “Something Melise told you? What was that?”

  Treena ignored him for a moment, smiling mischievously to herself before answering. Finally, once the loaf was completely, and thoroughly cut up did she speak. “Oh, that she and the Captain had shared a bunk back before all of this started,” she said in an offhand manner. “I suppose that it’s no real secret. I mean, Cerise knows. So I guess it’s all right.”

  Saul was stunned by this and managed only a simple and fairly inarticulate, “Huh!”

  Treena began to assemble the sandwiches with the jaguar’s help. But when their hands touched momentarily, Saul jerked away like he’d been burned. Tired of the tension that was between them, the ocelot turned and looked at him squarely.

  “Saul? I know you’ve been wanting to ask me something, and I’m right here. There isn’t anyone else with us. So, for both of our sakes, would you just spit it out?”

  The jaguar was caught off guard and looked at Treena with surprise and a hint of panic in his gold eyes. “Um…well, I just wanted you to know… that... um…”

  Treena smiled and shook her head then began to chuckle. “Ah. So that’s what you wanted to tell me. I didn’t think that you’d be so eloquent about it.” She moved closer, but a swell caught the boat and threw her the last few inches.

  Without thinking, Saul caught her and tried to help her stand on her own, but couldn’t seem to move her. It took several moments before he realized that it was because she had her arms around him and hadn’t let go yet. Without hesitation, she stood on her tip toes and kissed him soundly.

  “Is that the answer you were waiting for?”

  The jaguar simply looked at his shipmate with a dumbfounded expression that eventually melted into a broad grin. “I’ve been wanting to talk to you for weeks,” he admitted.

  “So what stopped you?” she asked, her eyes large and round.

  “It just never seemed to be the right time,” the larger feline said weakly.

  “It never does, Saul,” the ocelot said, kissing him again. “But sometimes we have to make the best with what we have, anyway.”

  “So you knew that I was attracted to you?”

  Treena threw her head back and laughed. “Are you kidding? What kind of investigator would I be if I didn’t? I know that you like it when I wear that purple and black outfit to work out in.” Saul sputtered in weak denial, which only made the ocelot laugh harder. “C’mon, Saul! You didn’t  blink your eyes for almost my entire workout! And how many reps with the weights did you actually get through?”

  With the insides of his ears turning bright pink in embarrassment, Saul also began to chuckle. “Guilty as charged.”

  “That’s all right. I forgive you. In fact, I’ll show you just how forgiving I can really be.” She took his hand and started to lead him to the forward cabins.

  “But what about the others?” he asked, his ears growing even hotter and brighter, and his heart hammered in his chest.

  Treena shot a sultry look over her shoulder. “They’re all grown up. They can get their own lunch!”

***

  Lena sighed as Randal began to massage her shoulders. Between his ministrations and the sun beating down on her, the delicious fatigue in her muscles from the dive, she felt completely at peace and let everything flow over her as she drifted into a half doze.

  She had been a little nervous at first when Randal suggested the dive with scuba tanks. She’d always loved bathing and swimming, but it was her first experience with something like that. The wolf promised her that it wasn’t all that different from a spacewalk, but some of the rules were reversed. With a little instruction, and the promise that he’d be right with her the whole time, Lena agreed. And she was so very happy that she did.

  It was like another universe under the water, and the rich oceans of Crescentis teemed with life that was strange and beautiful. The colors were clear and vibrant as she and the others moved through the warm waters, a feeling of freedom that was similar to what she felt when she flew her fighter swept over her, and she was surprised when the wolf tapped her shoulder, pointed at his watch, then at the surface.

  Lena promised to listen to all of his instructions, but there was no way an hour had already passed! She didn’t believe that they had stayed down that long until they broke the surface and the doe saw that the sun had definitely moved further along on its westward track.

  That was inconsequential now, though. Randy knew just where to knead the muscles of her shoulders and back, and she relished the feel of her lover’s strong hands on her. He lulled her into a totally relaxed state, and she felt safe and secure with him. As she sat there, she let her mind wander. She hadn’t expected to form any romantic liaisons while she was on the Guiding Angel that was more than the occasional tryst, and her feelings for the wolf had caught her off guard. She’d dated males of her own and other species. They had been pleasant distractions at the time, but nothing earthshaking.

  When she’d first met Randal, she hadn’t really noted anything about him that made him stand out to her. Granted, he was fairly handsome, and certainly brave. But he seemed so quiet and aloof. Then late one ship’s period she couldn’t sleep and decided to run her next duty shift’s planned diagnostic of her fighter. The lift doors parted and she had taken a single step from the elevator when she stopped dead. Music the likes of which the doe had never heard flowed around her from everywhere in the converted cargo bay. Notes pure and electrical washed over her with emotions bold and subtle. She hadn’t realized when the music stopped she was so transfixed. Next thing Lena was aware of was Randy standing in front of her, a strange shaped case hanging from one hand.

  “Are you all right, Lena?” the wolf asked with deep concern on his face.

  He reached out a large hand and gently brushed the moisture of tears from her eyes. She hadn’t known that she’d been crying.

  “I’m fine,” she told him. Then with a sniff and supreme effort of will, she regained her senses. “Was that you?” she asked simply.

  “The music? Yes. I like to play when there’s no one else around.” He lifted the case he carried as if to emphasize his words.

  “Would you play something for me?”

  He smiled and nodded, taking her hand in his and leading her into the middle of the bay. The gesture was simple and unconscious, but it amazed Lena how so large and strong an individual, one whose life centered around physical combat, could be so tender and gentle. He let go of her hand to move a crate over so that she could sit down, then opened the case and pulled out his keyboard. It looked so tiny and fragile as he held it. Randal looked at her for a moment then nodded, set the instrument on his lap, made a few adjustments and began to play.

  The notes were so soft and subtle that Lena had to strain to hear them, then as he began the tune in earnest, the beginning notes came back, and the entire sound was altered in to something surreal. She watched transfixed, as lost in the music as he was in playing it. Lena felt as if it were taking her somewhere beyond the gray bulkheads around her, beyond the ship, beyond anything she had ever known. Then he was done, and Lena was certain that there would never be another individual in the universe that could make her feel as she did right then.

  Acting on impulse and emotion, Lena went to the wolf, throwing herself into his arms and kissing him deeply.

  When she finally relented her grip around his neck, she found that Randy was holding her up. He lowered her gently to the deck and looked at her quizzically.

  “What was that about, Lena?”

  They had spent the next several hours talking, and the few after that in his cabin. The rest, as is often said, is history.

  They kept their pairing quiet and discreet, though they wouldn’t hide it either. Melise had known almost immediately, but had kept the knowledge to herself. “It’s nobody else’s business,” the panda had told them gruffly, though Lena suspected that the other combat non-com was happy for them.

   Now they sat together, no duty shifts, nothing being required of them but to simply enjoy the moment, and Lena had to admit that she felt more content than she ever had at any other time in her life.

  “I wonder what happened to lunch?” Randy asked after several long minutes.

  Lena opened her eyes and looked into the area that had the galley and saw that it was empty. “It’s about time!” she exclaimed with a smile.

  “What’s about…oh.  Never mind,” the wolf said with a chuckle. “Maybe they’ll both stop moping around the ship with their melancholy expressions when they’re not on duty.”

  Lena got up, reluctantly, and finished the work the other two had started, bringing a tray of sandwiches out along with a couple of bottles. She handed the wolf a sandwich and bottle after opening it. “They have been rather mopish, haven’t they?”

  “’Mopish’? Is that a word?” Randal asked with a grin.

  “It is now. I just made it up.” She grabbed her own food and drink before she resumed her original position with a sigh of contentment. She retrieved her beer and took a long swallow, enjoying the strong wheat flavor tinged with honey. It was a little warm, but utterly refreshing.

  The drink was also potent, and she felt the effects even as she finished the bottle despite the food.

  “Wow. If I’m not careful, I’m going to get tipsy enough to let you take advantage of me,” Lena said and leaned further back against Randal. “That or I might try to seduce you.”

  The wolf chuckled, a deep, rich sound. “You can’t seduce the willing.”

  “Oooo. Then you can take advantage of me. It’ll be less work.”

  “Lena, there are times you are incorrigible.”

  She tilted her head back and smiled. “I know. It’s one of my better qualities!”

 ***

  Rutger returned to the ship a day ahead of schedule. He had systems that he wanted to check out before the Guiding Angel lifted again. Besides, Stram was always telling him that the best way to get promoted was to show initiative instead of waiting to be told to do something. So he was following that advice.

  Besides, the pair of lovely and intoxicating Persian females he’d met had left the day before, but not before giving the tuxedo tom a very memorable farewell. He smiled as he thought of them, and the memory of the way their soft white fur felt against him. With a shake of his head and another smile, he focused on the task at hand.

  During their entry into the Crescentis atmosphere Rutger thought he’d felt a change in the vibration of the deck. He’d kept a close eye on his gauges at his station in the engine room, but nothing had shown that would have caused alarm. Still, it was his job to stay on top of things, and while it might be the fittings for the engine mounts settling in, he wanted to make sure. He and Stram were no less responsible for the other lives of those onboard than the Captain, or anyone else was.

  And as far as that went, Rutger wanted very much to please Elias Tivnan.

  There was a quality about the fox that instantly garnered respect and a desire to please. The best way for that to happen was for the cat to do his job the best he knew how. Elias had a way of making a person want to be better than he was, and Rutger planned to do just that.

  After shucking on a set of work overalls, he strapped his tool belt on and slung a diagnostic pack over his shoulder and shimmied into the port engine access way. He moved around the huge drive unit, plugging the equipment into various ports for machine-to-machine interface, then double checked the readings himself. It was almost an hour before he found the first loose coupling for the primary mounting brackets.

  The large fasteners were meant to absorb and dampen vibrations along with the brackets from the huge power and propulsion plants. The problem was that the mounting bolts were a little loose, and while still doing their job, they wouldn’t be as efficient and the resulting vibrations would eventually shear through the huge bolts. He tightened those down, making sure that the setting on the power-torque was set to the specifications Okami had established. Rutger then moved to the others in sequence. The last one, however was more of a problem than just loose bracket bolts. The vibration collar, a material that was flexible and nearly indestructible when cast into a three inch thick, eight inch diameter ring, was slightly scored and crystallized.

  No wonder he’d felt a change in the deck plates. If this had been left alone for too long, it could have actually caused other problems, like generating stress fractures in the hull around the unit, or even damaged the rib members and keel. With a sigh, Rutger slid around so that he could retrieve a replacement ring and bolts. He wouldn’t know if the bolts were fractured until he removed them, and it was better to have them on him instead of continuously crawling in and out of the engine compartment.

  It didn’t take long for him to find the necessary stores, and within fifteen minutes was back to the affected mounting bracket. As he set to work, he let a fraction of his mind that wasn’t bent to the task at hand roam.

  Rutger was still ecstatic to have been selected for service on the Guiding Angel. The first of a whole line of pirate hunters! It was like a dream come true for him. Granted, the engineers on any vessel were never given the credit they deserved, but they knew that their job was as vital as any other on a ship. More so, even. It was they, the grimy wrench-turners that kept everything, EVERYTHING, running on a ship. From the engines, weapons and life support, to things like reading lamps, terminals, and even the plumbing. All of the items on a ship were vital, and it was those like him that ensured the others could do their jobs.

  And it didn’t hurt to have a superior like Stram to work under either. The badger was easy going, and his demeanor was as calm and cool as one could want. He was a thorough professional, and Rutger was learning things that he’d never thought about. Like the Captain, the grizzled old badger made you want to do your best.

  As he slipped the new ring into place, and then inspected the bolts with a spectral imager for fractures, Rutger recalled how Stram had welcomed him onto the crew. After the party that Elias had thrown, the badger had taken the cat to one of his favorite bars, complete with some of the most exotic dancing girls the cat had ever seen, and explained how their ship was like a fine Lady. You didn’t force her to do anything. One had to talk to her, and listen when she talked back. She would have her good days, and her bad ones, but first and foremost, she needed to be treated with respect.

  Stram had even gone so far as to prove to the cat that at the end, when all was said and done, it was the engineers that got the best girls to go out with them. Not the pilots or navigators, or even the captains. It was the wrench-turners. Why? Because they knew how to treat a Lady with the respect and affection she deserved. Just to prove the point, Stram had coaxed six of the girls away from the other male patrons. And no matter how those same patrons tried to wheedle or coerce the girls to pay attention to them, no matter how much money they flashed, none of them would leave Stram and Rutger’s table. They left the bar, the badger with five of the girls surrounding him and all having a grand time dancing and cavorting down the street. The one that stayed with the cat had done so because she thought he was just the cutest thing ever, and had said so repeatedly.

  It was a lesson well demonstrated, and Rutger had taken what he’d learned. Thus his most enjoyable shore leave with Charlotte and Simone. While not related, the two felines could have easily been mistaken for sisters. He had done something that all of the males that had tried to warm up to them had failed to do. He talked to them and shown them respect instead of just treating them as a couple of insipid pretties.

  Satisfied that the fitting was secure, and pocketing the bolts that had proven sound in a pocket, Rutger finished his inspection and satisfied himself that all was right with the engines and their mountings. After crawling out of the access, he went ahead and began a full diagnostic of the engines, a process that even the dedicated VIP 25 computer would need a couple of hours on and set about inspecting other areas before grabbing an engineering DataPak to check the systems of the Raptor class interceptor after setting the two other computer cores on diagnostic cycles for the rest of the ship.

  The cat was literally curled up in the forward landing strut bay when he heard the personnel airlock cycle open. As per Captain Elias’s standing orders, he carried both a stunner and 7 millimeter semiautomatic sidearm. Opting for the stunner, even though he had been trained extensively with the pistol, he dropped out from underneath the fighter, hanging upside down, but his weapon pointed in the right direction in a two-handed grip. At the last moment, he realized that it was Elias and his mate, Cerise, and immediately pulled the weapon up.

  “Sorry, Captain! I wasn’t expecting anyone back yet,” the cat said feeling his ears turning red, and not just with the blood that was rushing to his head.

  “Don’t apologize, Rutger,” Elias said. “You are doing what you are supposed to do.”

  Rutger grinned at the fox. “Thanks, Captain. If you can give me a few minutes, I can go ahead and get full power going to the upper decks.”

  “Not if you’re in the middle of something. Finish what you’re doing. I can get that set up.” Instead of moving to the lift, which was drawing its power from the cargo deck circuits, the fox set his bag down and knelt so that he could observe what the tom was doing. “How’s she checking out?” he asked.

  “Oh, she’s just fine, Sir. I wanted to do a basic service diagnostic before we launch tomorrow. I’m also running a diagnostic on the engines, so if you need to access anything from that core it might be a little sluggish. The other cores are defragging.” Rutger adjusted the fitting on a hydraulic line so that it was more to his satisfaction. “I did find a problem with one of the port engine mounting brackets. Some of the fittings were a little loose, and one of the vibration rings had some scoring and had crystallized. I replaced it and checked all of the others on both engines. It didn’t come from anything in the housing well. From what I could tell, the surge occurred when we took on the Incubus, and some of the backlash energy from the shields arced through the hull plating and insulation to the nearest ground point. I ran a test on the shield emitters for the aft quarter and found that one was a little off and the frequency wasn’t quite in sync with the others.”

  “You’ve been busy, Rutger. When did you get back?” Elias asked, nodding appreciatively.

  “About 0500 this morning, Captain. My company left yesterday, so I figured I’d get a jump on things instead of having them get worse and needing to fix them while we were in the air.” The cat put the spanner he’d been using into the loop it normally rested in and dropped from the strut well. “Oh, and I went ahead and cleaned the filters and purge assembly. I know you had Mister Reese do that when we hit atmosphere, but there was some condensation that I wanted to get rid of before it fouled the internal air. I didn’t think that you and the rest would like the ship stinking of mildew.”

  Elias smiled and clapped the young cat on the shoulder. “Rutger, when everyone else is getting ready for launch tomorrow, I want you to enjoy sleeping in. Those are my orders, considering you have seen to it that Stram won’t have anything to really do!”

  “He’ll have plenty to do, Sir! I can’t let him work alone,” the feline protested.

  “What? You don’t think I can handle this Lady on my own, boy?” asked a gruff voice from the airlock.

  Elias and Rutger turned and saw a smiling Stram standing in the cargo bay in a horrid red and floral shirt and white shorts with sandals. A straw hat was crammed on top of his head and looked as if it had seen better days.

  “Not at all!” Rutger said, swallowing. “It’s just that there’s going to be a lot to get done and-“

  “And not nearly so much with everything you’ve already taken care of. I have to agree with the Cap’n,” the badger said still smiling. “Sleep in tomorrow, lad. You’ve earned it.”

  As soon as Stram got closer, Elias’ nose wrinkled as a wave of overpowering perfume hit him with enough intensity to make his eyes water. “By the Maker! Did you fall into a vat of cheap perfume, or wallow in a spill at the local cosmetics shoppe?” Elias asked as he put his hand over his nose.

  “Wallowed, Cap’n. But with’n those that wear it,” he said with an impish grin.

  Elias stepped away from the badger. “Blood, Stram! Shower. Now. That’s an order.” The badger laughed as he walked to the lift. “And burn those clothes! Plus shots from the Doc when he gets back!” Elias yelled as the lift doors shut.

  The fox turned when he heard Cerise laughing and saw that Rutger was grinning broadly as well. “You know, there are some traits of your beloved mentor that you really don’t need to emulate.”

  Laughter rang through the cargo bay.

— NEXT CHAPTER —

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