Part 24
Fox, Fara, and Jack walked the decks of the Medway, taking in the sights of the ship as Jack rambled on about the glories of the HSF. Their conversation was interrupted by a human walking toward them and calling for Jack. He was dressed in casual civilian clothing with the HSF logo on the front of his shirt and was flanked by several younger humans dressed the same.
"Jack? Is that you? Jack Roberts." The man said while Jack turned to face him. "I'll be damned, it is you. It's me Taylor Webb, we went to junior academy together."
"I remember you." Jack said coldly. "How have you been?"
"Better than you as always. Just got back from an assignment on Tos'Hadar, ever heard of it?"
"Can't say that I have." Jack replied. "There are too many conflicts to keep track of these days."
"Not on Tos'Hadar. They need help repopulating after some kind of natural disaster or virus or something killed off a bunch of people. We were asked to volunteer and taken to the planet for one hundred eighty days of hard labor. They wanted to do things the old fashioned way if you know what I mean. They're like us, just with some crazy skin colors, so it worked out well."
"So you helped expand their gene pool?" Jack said. "I fear for that planet's future."
"I served proudly. By the way, I'll need you to salute and stand at attention. You can call me Captain Webb now." Taylor replied smugly. "I see you've found your place. It looks like you're on escort duty."
"Fox and Fara are Cerinians, their home world was rendered uninhabitable by an asteroid impact, very few of them survived. I'm taking them on a tour of HSF space so they can evaluate our society and possibly integrate."
"So it's escort duty." Taylor said with a chuckle.
"More or less, but like all jobs, it needs done. It's odd you're not in uniform, Captain." Taylor looked at Jack for a moment then turned his attention to Fara and Fox.
"You two having a good time?"
"Yes, we are." Fara replied.
"That's good to hear. Let me tell you a bit about your tour guide here, it will help give you some perspective where you stand with the HSF. You see the HSF doesn't think your people are important, so they sent you out with a junior academy reject that couldn't pass his first evaluation."
"We've been traveling with Jack for quite some time." Fox told Taylor. "He's proven more than capable time and time again."
"You have no idea what you're talking about Taylor." Jack interrupted. "I recommend leaving the past where it belongs."
"That's Captain to you. Did you ever make rank Jack, or did you quit after they hauled you out of the academy?"
"I made Ensign." Jack said while standing at attention. "I was taken elsewhere and trained."
"Ensign huh, so I'm 5 ranks above you then. Care to follow some orders? I'd like to show these young cadets behind me some of the advanced combat moves they teach us in training. You're going to help me demonstrate these moves."
"I'm on an assignment already and you're not in uniform, I'm afraid I'll have to decline." Taylor looked at Jack with disgust as he finished speaking and turned back toward Fox and Fara. Taylor then attempted to continue the conversation as if Jack had agreed.
"The type one take down is a combat move used to subdue an opponent before they have the opportunity to counter, it is best used from behind on an unsuspecting opponent. You begin with a basic take down, like so.." Taylor grabbed Jack from behind with his arm and kicked his feet out from underneath him before releasing and shoving Jack to the floor face first. Jack caught himself before his face hit the ground and rolled onto his back as Taylor lunged forward and pinned him down.
"If your opponent continues to struggle you may need to apply additional corrective measures until they submit." Taylor struck Jack in the face several times before returning to his feet and facing the group of cadets.
"Any questions?" He said with a smile.
"Care to try that again?" Jack said as he struggled to his feet. The left side of his face was swollen and red. "Maybe the cadets would like to know the vulnerabilities of using a basic combat move on a trained opponent."
"Sure." Taylor replied. "Just get me a trained opponent." Jack turned around and motioned for Taylor to attack him again. Taylor looked back at the cadets who stood silently behind him. He approached Jack and reached for his neck once again, Jack quickly jammed his right elbow into Taylor's stomach then did the same with the left. Winded, Taylor staggered back as Jack turned around and grabbed Taylor before raising his leg and slamming Taylor's head into his knee. Taylor dropped to the floor howling between labored breaths, his hands covering his face. Jack looked up at the stunned group of cadets and the small crowd that had gathered nearby.
"The type one take down leaves you open to several simple counters, a quick jab with your elbow can stagger your attacker and quickly gain you the upper hand. In combat, you are limited to the number of actions you can take before your opponent strikes, every movement needs to have purpose, either to stun or to subdue. They don't teach you that in basic, but they do in CS."
"Wait." One of the cadets said. "You're Core Strike? Why did you let him hit you?"
"Yes." Jack replied. "I wanted to see how far he was willing to go to impress you. If he stopped at the take down, nothing would have happened."
"Why didn't you tell him you were CS?"
"He already thought I was a dropout, if I told him the truth he would not have believed me. I didn't fail junior academy, I was hand picked for CS training and taken out for that purpose. CS don't carry any indicators of our training or a normal rank, we are assigned one and answer only to the highest ranking officer in whatever region we're in."
"I'm sorry for the disturbance sir." The cadet stood at attention and saluted with the others following right after.
"You have nothing to be sorry for, you didn't know. Besides, none of us are in uniform and we're all here to have a good time. So pick up your officer and go have a good time."
"Yes sir." The cadets said in unison before helping Taylor to his feet. The group walked away from Fox, Fara, and Jack with Taylor repeatedly glancing over his shoulder as they went out of sight.
"Sorry you had to see that." Jack said to Fox and Fara. As they walked toward the elevator at the far end of the retail deck and stepped inside. "It's getting near dinnertime, we should go to the upper deck and find a table."
"I'm glad you got back up." Fara said. "I wasn't going to let him hit you again."
"Neither was I." Jack said. "He's got one hell of a punch."
"You said if he stopped at the take down, nothing would have happened. What did you mean?" Fox asked.
"By hitting me, he broke one of the most basic rules of sparring, don't attack without purpose. After that, I'm allowed to retaliate in whatever way I see fit, short of killing him or dealing serious injury. They all learned a lesson."
The elevator doors opened, revealing a small lobby with several elevators along each wall and a staircase at each end of the room that led up to the Medway's main dining room. The staircases came up in the middle of the dining room, a large open space nearly one hundred meters across and double that in length, it took up most of the ship's upper deck. Hundreds of tables were arranged around the inner parts of the room with rows of private booths along the walls, a huge panoramic window covered much of the ceiling and upper half of the walls, revealing the darkness of space and thousands of tiny stars. Servers, some mechanical, some human and alien rushed from doors situated at the corners of the room bringing food and drink to the tables. Jack led the trio to a booth along one of the walls and took a seat, Fox sat across, and Fara sat beside.
"Sit on the other side." Jack told Fara. "You're traveling together." Fara shrugged her shoulders and moved over beside Fox.
"I thought you said our food would be here." Fox said.
"It should, they must be running behind. This place is packed."
"Ladies and gentlemen." An announcer's voice over the intercom interrupted their conversation. "We'll be rotating the ship to give you a view of Magnus IV. Enjoy the view and thank you for visiting with us on the Medway."
With the interior lighting dimmed, the ship slowly rotated until the gas giant Magnus IV filled the windows above. The planet bathed the entire room in a swirling mix of reds, pinks, and violets back lit by the frequent flashes of lightning from the massive storms that endlessly raged below the thick layers of clouds.
"Wow." Fara said. "I've never seen a planet glow like that."
"Magnus IV is a brown dwarf, a star that didn't have the mass or intensity to fully develop." Jack told Fox. "Those types of planets aren't uncommon but Magnus's color makes it one of a kind."
"It's beautiful." Fara said. "I'm glad I had the opportunity to see it."
"Pardon." A raspy voice interrupted their conversation. "You food is here." Fox looked up to see a Kelden holding a tray with several plates of food. She quickly placed the plates on the table one by one and struggled to speak between labored breaths.
"Will there be anything else?" She asked.
"Drinks please." Jack said as the Kelden rushed off toward a corner of the room and disappeared into the doorway there.
"A Kelden, here?" Fox said as he looked at Jack. "She looked exhausted."
"She was." Answered Jack. "She's out of place. Kelden don't do this kind of work, they can't handle all the running."
"Think she's up to something?" Fara asked.
"She's watching us for someone. When she comes back we'll see what she knows."
"Will she tell us?" Fox asked.
"A Kelden won't lie, not to a human anyway, they have too much respect for us. Being nice to them helps as well. Sadly, they aren't used to being treated as equals." Jack said. "She might deflect the question or simply not answer, but they will never lie." A short time later, the Kelden returned with several glasses of water, she placed each on the table with a shaking hand then stood beside and spoke.
"Will there be anything else?"
"You look tired." Fox said.
"Yes." The Kelden replied. "I am tired. I was told I would be waiting. There is too much running to be waiting."
"Would you like to sit with us?" Fara asked.
"It is not allowed. My master would be disappointed with me."
"You are welcome to sit here with us as our guest. If your master takes issue with it, he can talk to me. You will not be punished." Jack stood up, put his arms around the Kelden, and held her for a moment before sitting back down. The Kleden recognized the gesture and glanced around the room before taking a seat beside Jack.
"Help yourself to anything at the table." Jack told the Kelden. "You're our guest here."
"Please, eat with us." Fara said.
"I will get into much trouble for this." The Kelden replied as she began to pick pieces of food from each plate on the table and placed them on a plate in front of her.
"What brings you to the Medway Miss... I don't believe I caught your name." Jack said to the Kelden.
"Deetra." The Kelden replied. "I am here for work."
"What kind of work do you do?" Jack said.
"I wait." Deetra replied.
"What are you waiting for?"
"Nothing." Deetra replied, clearly dodging the question.
"Maybe it's not what, maybe it's who." Jack said. Deetra looked up from her plate, turned to face Jack, and gave him a smile revealing her tiny razor sharp teeth. She leaned toward him nearly touching her face to his and spoke in a soft but very stern tone.
"I know what you are trying to do. It will not work on me." Deetra said to Jack. Jack looked at Deetra with a stunned expression.
"Imagine that, a Kelden with a backbone. Now I've seen everything."
"I thank you for your kindness." Deetra said to the group. "But I cannot sit here any longer."
"I'm afraid you don't have a choice." Jack said grabbing Deetra's hand and pulling her toward him. "One hand on you, the other is on a weapon pointed at you. Do you understand?"
"Yes." Deetra replied, her voice quivering.
"I don't want to do things this way, but the people you are working for mean to do us harm. I need to know what you were told to do and who told you to do it. Tell me what I need to know and you can walk away from here."
"They will kill me." Deetra said, her voice strained and raspy. "I didn't know you would hurt me. Please let me go, I don't want to do this anymore."
"Answer me." Jack said, jerking Deetra toward him. The Kelden's entire body was shaking violently and she could barely speak.
"Tell them when you are here, tell them you are eating, get out of the dining room before dinner ends. That's all I know, please let me go now!"
"Who were you to tell?"
"Everitt. I tell Everitt these things. Please let Deetra go now!" Jack pushed Deetra away then turned to Fox and Fara.
"We need to get out of here. Now! Run for the stairs!" Jack yelled to Fox and Fara as the room filled with the sound of breaking dishes and screams. The temperature in the room began rising rapidly as the glass panels overhead distorted and glowed. Jack grabbed Deetra and ran behind Fox and Fara, who were making their way through the panicked crowd by jumping from tabletop to tabletop, eventually reaching the railing around the stairwell. Fox helped Fara down then climbed over himself with Jack right behind carrying Deetra who was barely conscious from the excessive heat. They ran down to the elevators with a crowd of guests as a panel extended over the stairwell and sealed the dining room. The sound of screams, shattering glass, and a rush of air followed shortly after.
"What the hell just happened." One guest said, gasping for breath in the stuffy confines of the elevator lobby.
"I don't know, it just started getting hot, then everyone panicked." Said another. Fox and Fara climbed into one of the elevators with Jack, still carrying Deetra following after.
"Jack, what happened back there?" Fox asked.
"They cut the ship's shields." Jack said. "The shields kept the heat and radiation of Magnus IV from heating the ship when it's orbiting close. When they failed, the heat from Magnus melted the glass and exposed the dining room to open space."
"So everyone that was trapped in there when glass shattered was pulled into space?" Fara said.
"No." Jack replied. "There's not enough pressure to create that much suction. They would have been incinerated."
"If the shields are down why isn't it still getting hot?" Fox asked.
"Every HSF ship is equipped with an emergency shield that triggers in the event of a hull breech. By now the ship's hull has absorbed most of the heat and the crew will have moved the ship away from Magnus."
"So what are you going to do with her?" Fara said, pointing to the now unconscious Deetra.
"I haven't decided yet." Jack replied.