Gray Panthers Captain Short Blade (23 page)

As he looked into her eyes, he thought,
I wonder why I didn’t notice earlier how cute she is? I’d bet she’s not even a sociopath like the one I just left. Boy, her hand sure is soft and warm. I wonder if
—

Namid rose and took his hand firmly in hers, afraid to let him go as she turned to go back to her cabin. He stood but didn’t follow her. Instead, he pulled her to him. She arched her back and he had to bend down to reach her. As their lips met he reached behind her, cupping her ass cheeks and picking her up. She wrapped her legs around his waist and pulled herself tight against him. The last thought Poland had as he made his way to his cabin with her was how good her breasts felt as they pressed against his chest. At that point, neither could think of anything besides coupling with each other.

As the hatch closed to Poland’s cabin, Short Blade walked into the eating area and saw the half-eaten food and the empty wine bottle.
Aw, crap. Where did that bottle of marriage wine come from?
he thought
. At least, I no longer have to worry about Namid and Poland trying to kill each other.

Twenty-four hours later, when he still hadn’t seen either of them come out of the cabin, he asked the AI for a status report. “Phoenix, can you tell me if Namid or the commander are in any physical trouble?” He braced himself for bad news.

“Captain, they both appear to be in fine health. I suspect they’re slightly dehydrated, as they haven’t had anything to eat or drink in the last twenty-four hours. Neither has had more than a catnap in that time. Both are showing strong stamina in—”

“That’s enough information, Phoenix!” Short Blade blurted out. He didn’t want any additional details as his mind began to fill with erotic thoughts of the dancer he hoped would be waiting for him. “This is crazy. Phoenix, what’s the estimated time until we reach the Hades Nebula?”

“We should reach the nebula in one hour when we depart the worm hole.”

Short Blade figured he’d use the opportunity to try and cool off things between Poland and Namid. “Communicate to Poland that when we reach the nebula he’ll be taking the helm to navigate us out of the wormhole and through the nebula to regular space. Tell him that I usually do it, but I want him to get some experience with the Phoenix.”

While he waited for Poland to report, Short Blade went to the cockpit and reviewed the status of all systems. After fifteen minutes had passed, he got up to go find Poland, but Poland met him as he walked through the hatchway.

“Sorry, Captain. I have no excuse for arriving so late.”

Short Blade noticed a string of small wounds on his neck that looked like they continued under his shirt. His eyes were bloodshot, and a day’s growth of stubble was on his cheeks. The cologne he was wearing didn’t hide the scent of recent sex from Short Blade’s acute sense of smell; his body odor was mixed with Namid’s. He carried a large bottle of water and seemed to be parched.

“There’s always a first time, Commander. You’re familiar with the layout of the controls, I assume? They’re slightly different from the Beater’s.” Short Blade noticed that the commander appeared to be more like his old self as he sat at the console.

“I designed the console so it was more user-friendly for human operators than the Beater’s, Captain. There shouldn’t be any problems. Looks like I just made it. Sensors are showing that the exit of the wormhole is less than five minutes out.”

The hatch slid open and Namid stepped into the cockpit. Short Blade smelled soap and shampoo on her and noticed that she was still wet. She was wearing Poland’s smelly T-shirt from the day before, and when she leaned over to give Poland a kiss on the cheek, Short Blade was surprised to see that it was the only article of clothing she had on. She also had numerous small bite marks on her legs and around her neck.

“This is so exciting to go through the Hades Nebula. I can’t believe how beautiful it is!” Namid said as she stood behind Poland and rubbed his shoulders.

Short Blade was concerned about Poland’s ability to concentration.

“Namid, please get me some water from the chef unit. I need to observe the commander, and I’m very thirsty.”

Namid looked at Short Blade as if she had just noticed he was there. Suddenly aware of her attire, she simply nodded yes and backed out of the cockpit.

“Phoenix, please delay Namid for at least five minutes. Sorry, Commander. I think she’s too much of a distraction for you while you’re navigating the nebula.”

Poland nodded slightly as he tried to thread the needle between a pair of gravity wells. According to the sensors, the shuttle was being pulled toward them both. He adjusted his course and increased power to pull away from them, and once the hazard was behind them, he visibly relaxed.

“Thanks for letting me navigate through the nebula. Having to concentrate so intently on what I was doing really helped clear my mind. I can’t believe how I spent the last twenty-four hours. It was wilder than either of my honeymoons. Even now, my mind keeps going back to her.”

Short Blade debated telling him what had happened, but Namid returned, this time fully clothed, and handed him his water.

“You're most kind, Namid. This'll hit the spot. How are you feeling? You look tired.”

Namid gave him a huge smile and then leaned down and gave him a hug. “That’s so sweet that you care. I’ve never felt better in my life.”

Turning and dropping to her knees next to Poland’s chair, she watched as he maneuvered the ship.

“Captain, permission to engage the FTL drive for the remainder of the trip to Glory?”

Short Blade nodded yes, then rose to his feet and stretched his arms. As the FTL drive was engaged, he watched the screen go gray.

Daniels World

30 April 2129

Dan was pacing back and forth in his command center, wearing only an old pair of running shorts and drinking a beer.

Damn. Where the hell is Short Blade? There was a time when I used to be able to get anyone I wanted, when I wanted them. I wonder if he’s ignoring my hails
, he thought.

“Honey, you need to get out of this hole in the ground. Let’s go up to the surface and watch the stars. It’s a beautiful night.”

Dan turned around and saw Juanita standing in the open hatchway, wearing only a short, simple, white shift. He let his eyes linger, appreciating how beautiful she was. She turned and walked down the hall, then stopped and glanced at him over her shoulder before continuing on her way. He decided she had the right idea and caught up with her as she sat down on the wicker loveseat. A small pail of beers on ice sat on the ground next to it. He started to reach down and pull one out.

“Not so fast, Romeo. Before you sit down, get the fire pit going. Show me you’re useful for something.”

Dan thought of a dozen snappy comebacks, but instead he pressed the igniter and a blue fire started instantly. He sat down next to Juanita and she scooted closer to him, handing him a bottle of beer after she’d taken a sip.

“So, what has you so anxious that you’re spending all this time down in your cave? You’re supposed to be semi-retired, you know. You have to let somebody else start taking care of things.” She laid her head on his shoulder and looked up into the sky, not expecting an answer to her question.

“I have to coordinate the search for a couple of Dixie ships that were hijacked in what used to be Libra space. The space has been claimed by the League of Planets, and they’ve declared that if Dixie sends any warships into their space, they’ll consider it an act of war. The league has been losing ships too and has had little luck recovering any of them, which has to be embarrassing. I want to send in Short Blade with the  permission of both sides, but I haven’t been able to get hold of him. I have a rough idea of where he should search but no idea how many ships the pirates have or any other pertinent information to give him.”

“My guess is the pirates are from the planets that were part of the Libra Alliance but decided to go rogue after the war,” Juanita said. “Can you access data on how big the Libra navy was when the war ended, and how many ships are now unaccounted for? Then you could figure out which of those ships most likely went back to protect their own home worlds, and whatever number of ships is left is probably the number of pirate ships.”

Dan tensed as he realized that something so simple had been overlooked, and that no one from his own staff or from the League of Planets had brought it up. Someone had the numbers, but whoever it was, was hiding them. He decided to break the promise he’d made to himself about not spying on his neighbors.

“Grub, are you monitoring us?” Dan knew the answer, but he still waited for the AI to reply.

“I am, sir, and have anticipated your request. We have a complete copy of all data captured during and after the capitulation of the Libra Alliance. The data is still in its raw form, but I’m in the process of categorizing and cross-referencing it for easy access. That will take at least two to four hours. One of the main problems is that the government of the Libra Alliance was highly dysfunctional. The civilian side of the government wouldn’t release information about ships lost, and it inflated the total number of ships for propaganda purposes. And there are still records that haven’t been deciphered. I have another AI devoting his time solely to that task. Those files were encrypted using special programs that originated from the Republic. Much of their coding procedures are unknown to anyone outside the government.”

Dan rubbed his temples, annoyed that he couldn’t get the information he wanted right away—on top of not being able to contact Short Blade. The smack to the side of his head took him by surprise, and he turned to look at his assailant.

“Don’t pout!” Juanita chided. “Now drink your damn beer, hold me in your arms, and forget about work—or I’m going back inside, dammit!”

His surprise turned to amusement, and he took a swig of his beer before tightening his grip on her. She melted into his side, and he tilted his head back to look up into the night sky, letting his mind go blank. The temperature started to drop slightly and Juanita moved just enough to reach the light blanket she’d brought out. She covered them both and put her head back on his chest. Before long, Dan started feeling drowsy. When he felt her hand slowly slide from atop his chest to the top of his shorts, the unexpected move brought him back to full alertness. Juanita felt him respond and decided to warn him before it went any further.

“Settle down, cowboy. You’re not going for a ride tonight. I just want to cuddle.”

Dan looked down into her face, and she looked up at him and gave him a chaste kiss on the lips. He took another swig from his beer and accepted defeat, relaxing once again into the cushions of the loveseat. Juanita once again let her hand trail downward to Dan’s waistband. Her fingers moved through his pubic hair and she began to touch him. As she opened her hand to grasp him, Grub spoke.

“Sir, I’m sorry to interrupt your plans to have sexual intercourse, but I knew you would want this information immediately.”

“Argggh!” Juanita jumped to her feet and stormed off toward the house. Dan sat holding his beer, confused, as he watched her go.

“Okay, Grub, you have my undivided attention, I guess. What do you have for me that’s so important?”

“Sir, as you’re most likely aware, the Libra Alliance had a certain amount of contempt for the League of Planets, and for humans. They didn’t keep any of their frontline ships as part of the home fleet. Instead, they were all assigned to another area of the alliance, where they were deemed more valuable. I haven’t been able to get the specs for those ships, but I have been able to get a rough estimate of how many there are. More than a thousand frontline ships are unaccounted for, and they’re all either heavy cruisers or battleships. I obtained this information from a report that had been filed incorrectly. The report was about an increase in the consumption of beverages among the ships’ crews and the concern over dereliction of duty as a result. Fortunately, the report hadn’t been marked as classified yet, so it wasn’t encrypted. I haven’t found any other references to this fleet, but I decided it was too important to wait until I could decipher other files to substantiate the information.”

“Encrypt that information and send it in a message to Hercules and the Gray Panthers’ senior staff. Tell them to analyze their copies of the data and get back to me as soon as possible. I trust your judgment, but I want two teams working on this to see if the results are the same. Order them to elevate to Bravo Alert status unless or until this can be disproved. Looks like some of the guys will get called back to active duty. I’m going to bed now, though it remains to be seen if I can get a good night’s sleep.”

The ramifications of this new information worried Dan as he headed for the bedroom. Dropping his drawers and climbing into bed, he felt the warmth of Juanita’s body beside him under the covers. Juanita faked being asleep to see what he would do when he realized she was naked. When he made no advance toward her but didn’t fall asleep, either, she knew the news he’d received wasn’t good. She decided to wait for him to share it with her when he was ready.

House of Short Blade, planet Glory

30 April 2129

Short Blade was ecstatic to get off the shuttle and be back home. The seven-hour trip from the Hades Nebula was awkward, with Poland and Namid constantly making the flimsiest of excuses to avoid him. After he caught them in the cargo bay going at it like animals, he didn’t tell them he’d seen them—he just went to his cabin to prevent any other accidental discoveries.

“Come on. Let’s get the ship unloaded. It’ll be one less thing we have to do,” Guns urged the work detail. The thought of a nice ice-cold beer had him work the detail harder than he ordinarily would have.

Namid had only said a simple hello before disappearing. Poland had also been distant, shaking hands all around and then heading straight for Namid’s quarters. The guys figured he must not be acclimatizing well as they proceeded to unload the medical supplies, which they carefully stacked in the corner of the barn, since Namid hadn’t given them any instructions. The cache of alcohol was unloaded and stored in the equipment building in minutes. Guns was impressed—Namid had included equipment to set up two taps for all the kegs of beer she had brought back, along with several cases of bourbon and tequila, and an assortment of bottled beers. The important thing now was to get the beer refrigerated. Jimmy looked over the load of booze and laughed when he saw the cylinders of cola. Namid had made sure she’d get her fix as well.

After checking with Ramirez to make sure everything had gone smoothly in his absence, Short Blade went directly to his office, where Phoenix advised him that he had three priority messages from Dan Daniels. He figured he was busted for providing the AIs to the Fire fleet.
Well, I can give him back his shuttle, now that I have the Beater,
he thought.

“Project the messages in the center of the main room, please, Phoenix. Let’s see how much trouble I’m in.”

Dan’s face appeared in the center of the room. He skipped the pleasantries and immediately got down to business.

“Short Blade, I have a difficult mission that I believe only you can perform. Pirates in the area previously controlled by the Libra Alliance have captured a couple of Dixie cargo ships. The League of Planets has informed the Dixie government that if they try to rescue the ships and crew, the league will consider it an act of war. I’ve suggested that I would hire an intermediary familiar to both sides to investigate the disappearance not only of the Dixie cargo ships, but all other ships that have disappeared from that area as well. I’m aware of your transaction with the Dixie government, and if you agree to this assignment I’ll have a thousand units of transfer gel sent to them on your behalf.”

Short Blade wasn’t surprised that Dan had found out about his Dixie deal, or by his generous offer if he agreed to the mission.

“Let me know if you choose to accept, and how soon you can depart. I have additional details I can provide you, as well as some other incentives. I’ll understand if you prefer to wait until the Beater is space worthy. This mission could be dangerous. Take care. Dan, out.”

Short Blade tried to read between the lines. Dan was offering him a small fortune simply to attempt the mission, which he admitted could be dangerous. And he didn’t bat an eye when he acknowledged that Short Blade now had one of his ships. The mention of additional rewards didn’t excite Short Blade the way he would have expected. The idea of going into a dangerous situation just made him worry about what might happen to his crew. But, his loyalty to Dan won out, and he had Phoenix send Dan a reply stating that he accepted the mission and would depart as soon as the Beater was mission-ready.

“Comm, Commander Poland.” Short Blade didn’t like the orders he was about to give.

“Poland here.” He was glad the transmission was audio-only, since Namid was bouncing up and down on his lap, totally naked.

“Commander Poland, I’ll need the Beater mission ready in three days or less. We’ll be going on a rescue mission. We’ll have to wait to do a full inspection of the ship when we return. Use anybody or any assets we have to speed you along. I’ll be coming by for updates. Short Blade, out.”

“Damn. I have to get moving,” Poland told Namid.

She ignored his words and sped up her movements, her body glistening with sweat. Her face scrunched up and she mouthed a silent “O” before collapsing on him. He felt himself respond as her body spasmed violently on top of him. He rolled them both over so that he was now on top and ground himself into her one last time. A force from within him made him get off of her and start searching for his clothes, which were strewn around the room.

“At least hop in the shower with me. You stink,” Namid suggested as she watched him.

“If I stop to take a shower with you, I’ll never leave. They’d find our dehydrated bodies in your bed and try to figure out how we managed to die from malnourishment in the middle of a working farm.”

“Damn party pooper. Well, shit, I have to check on my babies anyway. I can’t believe I didn’t do that first thing when we got here.”

As her words registered, Poland stopped and looked at her, his face aghast. Laughing at his reaction, she quickly explained, “My babies are four collies. I can’t imagine what they’ve been up to since I left.” She didn’t catch what he muttered as he left her bedroom. Suddenly feeling exhausted, she decided it was a good time to catch up on some sleep.

The sunlight felt extra bright to Poland as he stepped outside. Blinking and squinting. he headed for the Beater. As he approached, Jimmy was pushing a grav cart with a huge piece of bulkhead on it. The damaged panel reminded him of a strainer, with all the holes that were in it.

“Hey there, Jimmy. I thought all work was on hold until I got here to coordinate the rebuilding.”

Jimmy looked at first like a kid who’d been caught with his hand in the cookie jar, but then he explained.

“Commander, Guns and I would’ve gone nuts with nothing to do while Short Blade was gone with the Phoenix. We don’t milk cows, so instead we started working on the structural damage, since those repairs were a gimme, and—”

“Whoa. You did good. And from here on out, it’s John, not commander, or sir. Looks like we have a mission, so Short Blade needs the Beater mission-ready as soon as possible. We’re going to replace anything damaged and make sure everything that doesn’t look like it was damaged is actually good to go. You and Guns continue with the structural repairs while I take a look at all systems. Soon we’ll be once more unto the breach, old friend.” Poland’s attitude improved after removing his old commission as a barrier with his shipmate.

He entered the ship through the hangar area, greeted by the smell of cleaning supplies and an overall musty odor. Jacka warriors wearing camouflage uniforms were spraying down anything that didn’t move, pushing mops, and cleaning up residue he couldn’t identify. The passageway seemed clear of any damage as he made his way to his cabin. When he got there, he was surprised to see that the bunk was made and the room was cleaner than it had ever been when he resided there. Opening the locker doors and cabinets, he found that someone had cleaned and folded all of his clothing and uniforms. Glancing at the flight suit, he decided it would be better to wear that while he worked instead of the clothing he had on, which was becoming quite rank. He gave himself a quick whore’s bath in the sink, enjoying the hot water and the feel of the washcloth. He felt like a new man as he headed for the bridge. He felt like he was once again a Gray Panther. The stations on the bridge looked exactly like he had left them.

“Beater, how are you doing today?” he asked as he sat at the commander’s station. An apparition appeared before him that looked like a naval officer from the ancient War Between the States.

“Commander Poland, it’s nice to see you back with us. I feel ready to go. Alas, I accept that I have damage that still needs to be repaired. Captain Short Blade is apprehensive about my navigation and sensors. We had some problems on the return to Glory. I hope the fact that I’m here before you speaks volumes in itself.”

“It does, Beater. I want you to coordinate with Phoenix and have it connect to you and run full diagnostics. That way, if something’s wrong with you, it won’t unintentionally hide any problems. I know you don’t like having another AI look you over, but it has to be done.”

“I have no problems with Phoenix reviewing my systems, Commander—”

“Bullshit, Beater. I’ve worked with you and on you for too long. I know it’s going to bruise your ego. Just make the best of it. If it makes you feel any better, ask Phoenix about its secondary air filtering system. Now, until I order different, begin playing music in all sections of the ship. I’ll be able to tell if the sound is off in the least.”

As Poland opened the checklist from the station in front of him, he heard the first few notes of “I wish I was in Dixie.”
Well, I guess Beater’s personality is still intact
, he thought as he began to softly sing along with the old song while he worked.