2

Kyle knew what was upsetting the Captain, their location. He knew they needed to unload their cargo and he knew where they could and couldn’t do it. That didn’t change the fact this was his decision, and he wouldn’t make it lightly. He didn’t when his crew was involved.

He poured himself a glass of scotch. Three fingers to be exact. He left the other glass empty.

As he turned and walked towards the empty bed, he took a sip. He sighed, and headed towards the cooler instead. He wondered how mad the Captain was while he grabbed a single piece of ice and dropped it into his glass.

He felt bad for Calen, but knew that they didn’t really have much of a choice.

As he laid down on the Captain’s bunk to savor the sweet elixir, he took a minute to look around the room.

Spartan, like the Captain.

The table was bare, save the bottle of scotch and empty glass. The desk only had a touchpad on it, two chairs with an empty coffee table between sat in front of it. The bookcase was half empty, and there was nothing on the walls. With one exception, a picture of him with a woman and two kids, a boy and a girl.

The Captain wasn’t the open type, but he was sentimental. The Captain had that photo for as long as Kyle had known him, almost ten years now. He was a different man back then, the whole crew was.

He had wanted to stay home and raise a family. He missed his vineyard, tending to the horses, herding the cattle, he even missed cleaning the stalls now. War had a way of making everything change.

Kyle sat up when the door hissed open and the Captain walked in. “Thanks for pouring me that glass like I asked,” Nathaniel quipped as he spotted the bottle, he walked over, picked it up and filled the empty cup.

He’s pretty mad, Kyle thought. “I didn’t know how much you would want, but I did know that whatever I poured wouldn’t be enough.”

“True,” Nathaniel responded as he lifted the glass, he downed it in one gulp.

He’s pissed. “Woah sir! Slow down, this is meant to be savored, not chugged,” Kyle exclaimed.

“I’ll savor the next one.”

Setting his now empty glass back down on the table, Nathaniel poured two fingers worth into it from the bottle.

“That’s better,” observed Kyle, “Now why would you waste such an amazing experience? Does it have something to do with where we are headed?”

“Rosemary” Is all he said as he took off his tattered leather jacket and draped it over the back of a chair, as if by habit.

“I know.” Kyle replied. Offering the Nathaniel a way out he added, “Columba isn’t far off though.”

Grabbing the other chair, he spun it around and dropped down on it with a sigh, like he was still a school boy. After taking a slow sip of the scotch he replied, “This is amazing,” he paused to revel in the taste before continuing. ”Did you ever run away from home when you were a kid?”

Raising an eyebrow, Kyle lowered the glass from his lips. “No, I thought about it though. Guess I never felt like it was worth it.”

Kyle thought about his dad, a no nonsense type when it came to work, but when the work was done he was all play.

Nathaniel replied. “I did, once. My dad found me after being gone for three days. He beat me so hard, didn’t think that I was gone live to make it home.” He paused to take a sip.

Kyle began to squirm in his seat. He almost never saw the Captain like this, and every time he did, it took everything he had not to leave. Instead of running, he took a gulp of his scotch.

When Nathaniel continued, he was looking away. “I was locked in my room for a week. Mom would let me out to go to take a shit or piss, and would bring me food, but other than that, no human contact for a whole week. On the day I was freed, Dad came in and sat down on the end of my bed.” Nathaniel looked at his glass as his eyes began to water.

Kyle began to think about the most pivotal conversation he had with his dad, when he found out what happened to his mom. She and a young Kyle were playing in the barn, having fun with the chickens and pigs. Mud was going everywhere, they were making a racket. His dad, not wanting to miss out on the fun, decided he would come in and scare her. Kyle stifled the memory to listen.

Nathaniel continued. “He asked me why I did it. I told him that I was tired of having all those stupid rules, being told what to do and what not to do.” He chuckled. “I told him I was ready to be a grown up. I thought I could make it on my own. I knew how to work hard, he made sure of that. I knew how to cook and clean up after myself, Mom taught me all of that. I really thought I could make it.” He paused to take another drink.

Kyle noticed his glass was empty. He wanted to get some more, but he knew that if he did then he would interrupt the Captain. So he just sat there, waiting, doing his job; he was supposed to listen.

“My dad was something else Kyle. I mean it. That afternoon he made me a man. He told me that he knew I could do it. That I could make it out there. He said that I was something special and even at twelve years old I could do it. If I really wanted to, he would let me go. I wanted to take him up on it right then and there. I said as much. He said he would after we finished our conversation.” Nathaniel downed about half his glass. “He told me that every man has responsibilities, that men are here to step up and do the hard things that other people don’t want to do. Real men do it, fake men don’t. Men have become soft, he said. That they don’t want to do hard stuff, they just want to be lazy and let other people do it. We men have to make choices that might hurt other people. We men have to do things that everyone else refuses to do. If I wanted to be a man, I would have to do those things. I have to take care of not just myself, but the people who can’t take care of themselves either.”

Kyle thought about his dad taking him to church after his mom had died. He remembered the pastors saying the same thing, that Christians were supposed to take care of people who couldn’t take care of themselves. He thought how empty those words sounded with what they had experienced since they had left home.

Nathaniel paused to finish off his scotch, a tear coming down his cheek as he continued. ”He told me that I could do that, and ask me if I thought I could. I said yes. He asked me if I could ask for help when I couldn’t do something, even when I didn’t want to admit that I couldn’t do it. I said of course. He asked me if I could keep my room clean, even if I didn’t want to, but because it needed to be done. I said yes to that too. He asked me if I could feed the dogs, because I love the dogs and don’t want them to be hungry. I nodded my head. He asked me if I could skip a meal so that Mom could eat if we didn’t have enough food. I nodded. He asked me if I could shoot someone if they were trying to kill one of us. I waited a second before I replied. I didn’t like the idea of killing anyone, but I would do anything for my family.”

Nathaniel sniffled. Kyle kept silent, trying not to acknowledge the awkwardness of the Captain crying . “As I said yes, I realized what had been happening with my father. He was working hard to take care of us. Sometimes he had skipped meals, and I didn’t even think about it until then. I had to feed the dogs most of the time because Mom and Dad weren’t always home to feed them. I had to keep my room clean, because Mom didn’t have time to clean it. I might have to shoot someone like Dad had one time when I was young and someone broke into our house. Dad told me that if I thought that I could do what needed to be done, even if I didn’t want to it, that I was ready to be a man. He told me that he needed another man in the house, and that he really wanted me to stay at home and help him. He didn’t want to admit that he couldn’t do it on his own, but that he had to tell me. Mom was not able to help him enough, he needed me to be a man and do what needed to be done.”

Nathaniel sipped from a cup with nothing but ice, looked at Kyle while wiping the corners of his eyes and said, “We need to go to Rosemary. We don’t really have a choice. It’s the closest system where we can offload and refit. Yes, Columba isn’t far off, but customs asks too many questions there. It’s safer, but it’s not where we need to go.”

Kyle waited a second before he replied, getting up for more whiskey as he did so. “You think that the Prelate will just let us show up and be off with nothing but a wave? You’re crazy sir. You’re not stupid.” He was trying to lighten the mood a little bit.

“I didn’t say it would be easy, but we don’t really have that much of a choice.” the Captain replied. “If we could make it to Lynx, that would be perfect. We need to refit, but I have a feeling that Maria would shit bricks if I suggested waiting that long.”

Kyle, having returned to the bed, sighed before replying, “Well should I have Jamie set coordinates for Rosemary?”

Standing up, Nathaniel refilled his scotch and replied with a sigh himself, “Yeah.” Before heading towards the bunk.

Kyle took a sip of his glass as he laid back down.

“Now,” quipped Nathaniel, “I want to take a nap, and I don’t want you it to be with you.”

“Awe Cap, I miss the days that we would cuddle in our sleep,” Kyle replied with a grin.

Nathaniel smacked him on the leg as he arrived at his bed, “I hated those days. Now off, and out.”

“Yes sir,” Kyle responded as he hopped up and headed to the door.

“One more thing,” Nathaniel said as he laid down on his bunk.

Kyle turned as the door opened.

“Put one of the bottles in the mess. We want to share our spoils with the rest of the crew.”

“Aye Aye sir,” was Kyle’s reply as he turned back towards the door and walked out. The door shut behind him as he entered the garishly painted red and yellow corridor and turned right towards the bridge.

He wasn’t worried about the Captain. Nathaniel took his job seriously; he had to. Sometimes he just needs another person to just talk to. He was, on the other hand, worried about Calen’s reaction to the news about their destination. It was his affair that started their problems on Rosemary. One night at the bar, and on their next visit two years later, he was in prison. Calen, the most level headed person on the crew. No one would have guessed.

Arriving on the bridge, Kyle looked out the transteel window. As he expected there was nothing to see because of the bubble around the ship. Jamison wasn’t in the pilot’s seat, there wasn’t really any reason for him to be, so Kyle sat down in it. Jamison was sitting at the navigator’s station, staring at the screen, playing a video game.

On the screen there was a craft flying in atmo. It was a small craft that could only fit one person, so it had to be a fighter. It was odd looking, there was a long center section with a wing going across the bottom of it. It was painted light grey, almost silver in appearance. Another similar looking craft appeared to cross his path. This one was painted with a green camouflage scheme on top and grey on the bottom. Jamison’s grey plane turned in pursuit of the green one. After maneuvering in closer, fire suddenly erupted from Jamison’s fighter, but it wasn’t on fire. Smoke appeared suddenly from the green plane as it caught fire. Jamison turned from his pursuit, and started following another green plane that was flying past.

“You and your anachronistic fetish,” Kyle said.

Jamison glanced over his shoulder for a second before replying, “It’s not a fetish, it’s a passion. If we forget about our past, we’ll be lost in our future,” he opined, “Besides, it’s fun.”

“Sure it is. We do have better games now, and better technology. As in, not 2D.” Kyle said, pointing at the screen.

“This isn’t 2D, this is early 3D. Without this, we wouldn’t have developed the holograms that we use today. You see, when this game first came out in 1996 almost everything that humans had seen had been 2D. All videos, games, hell they had just started to adapt to computers…”

“You know I don’t really care about details from what life was like from 200 years ago much less almost 2000 years. Cap’n wants you to take us to Rosemary whenever you get a chance to put that in the computer.” Kyle leaned forward the activate the intercom.

Jamison turned from the screen to look to Kyle. “Rosemary? You can’t be serious!”

“He is.” Kyle stopped. He didn’t want the news aired to the crew like this.

Completely ignoring his plane crashing into the ground on the screen behind him, Jamison kept probing. “What about the Prelate? If she finds out that we’re in the system she’s gonna have our heads.”

“Cap says that it won’t come to that.” Kyle tried to quiet Jamison.

“Well Calen is gonna…”

“It don’t really matter,” Kyle said flatly. “Just put it in the fuckin computer.”

“Yes sir.” Jamison turned back to his screen, closed the game, and brought up the nav screen.

Kyle reached out and pressed a button, there was a ding from the intercom, “All hands meet me in the mess. Calen, bring a bottle of scotch.”

Kyle released the button and turned to leave. Without stopping to look over his shoulder he said, “Except you.” Knowing full well that Jamison was getting up to follow him out, “Enter the coordinates, and go back to your fetish.”

The door hissed behind him as he left.

Life was complicated enough for them. There was no need to add anymore. A lesson that Calen was learning, and one that the Captain was forgetting. Of course, there are other reminders of lessons learned and to be learned. There are some lessons can never be forgotten. Kyle did not find it a coincidence that it would take them two days to get to Rosemary. He really wished the Captain would delay one more day.

One stress at a time.

Just then, Kyle entered the mess area. The roomiest part of the ship, this was really the place everyone went when they weren’t working or in their quarters. Jamison and Allyson had decided to repaint it after the last refit, they both wanted a reminder of the beaches they lived near. The floor was green with randomly painted flowers on it. The green ended in the aft section of the room where it changed to a sand color; the passway floor was coral instead. Most of the walls in the room had green near the bottom of them, corresponding to the green on the floor, but the rest of the walls were pink. There were white splotches throughout the pink. They had a fully equipped kitchen, which now had plenty of food in it. The kitchen was painted in vibrant reds, greens, and blues.

Maria was standing behind the counter that separated the kitchen from the rest of the room, munching on a peach she had taken from a bowl on the counter. Calen was standing behind the table, near the passage to the rear, hands in his pockets as he leaned against the wall. The whiskey bottle in front of him sat untouched. Allyson was sitting down with her feet resting on the table sipping a glass of red wine, the bottle sitting on the table in front of her.

“I hope you don’t mind. I’m not really that into whiskey,” she said.

“No, I don’t. I don’t think Cap will either,” Kyle replied.

Apathetically, Maria interjected, “So what’s goin’ on?”

“What makes you think I know?”

Allyson dismissively replied for her, “‘Cause Cap always tells you first.”

“No he doesn’t,” Kyle stated innocently before adding, “Sometimes he tells Jamie first.”

“Well, what is it?” Allyson asked.

“We’re headed to Calen’s favorite place to chill,” he replied while looking at him.

Calen hung his head, Allyson chuckled knowingly, Maria looked at them in turn. “I’m missing something.”

“Why there?” Calen asked.

“Worried about back pay on child support?” Allyson teased.

“No, I think he’s worried about going back to his six by six,” Kyle said.

“You have a kid?” Maria asked.

“How old is she now? Three? Four?” Allyson asked with amusement

“She’ll be four in two months,” Calen responded.

“A daughter?” Maria asked.

“At least one,” Kyle added.

“There’s more?”

“Of that, we don’t know,” Allyson replied, “There’s no telling. But we do know of this one for sure.”

“What don’t I know? ”

“Well,” Kyle began

“Is there anything else you need me for?” Calen interjected.

“No, you’re dismissed,” Kyle replied.

“Thank you sir.” Calen said as he left.

After he left, Allyson explained, “He knocked up the Prelate’s daughter, left her on planet, and got stuck in prison the next time we stopped by.”

“What?” Maria was baffled.

Kyle was shaking his head chuckling, “Cap sprung him, and we had to hotfoot it outta the system.”

“If we go back there, we’ll all have cells with our names on ‘em,” Allyson added. “I wouldn’t be surprised if she tried to shoot us down as soon as we get in system,” she muttered.

“Cap’ll find a way to keep us flying.” Kyle looked at Allyson. “We just have to stay outta trouble this time.”

“That’s my job though,” Jamison interjected from in the passageway, before he went for the whiskey sitting on the table.

“No, your job is to pilot the ship. Don’t get confused,” Kyle corrected.

“Six to one,” Jamison dismissed as he filled a glass with the scotch.

“I thought I told you to stay on the bridge,” Kyle stated matter of factly. “Didn’t I tell you to stay?”

Jamison took a sip from his glass, “And miss out on this wonderful conversation? Never. Besides, there’s not much for me to do in there ‘til we exit the ‘hole, which will be in about, oh,” He glanced at a clock above the table as he headed to a group of lounge chairs around a coffee table beside the kitchen, “say an hour.” Finishing, he plopped down on a chair and propped his feet up on the table.

“Then don’t get too comfortable,” Maria said. “I need to head to engineering. Anything else Kyle?”

“Not for now.”

Maria finished eating and dropped the pit in a container on the counter. “I guess I’ll get back to work.” She pushed Jamison’s feet off as she walked past.

“Ok,” concluded Kyle, “well in that case, Ally can you get a list together of anything you might need?”

“Sure.”

“Maria, wait.” Kyle said. “Did you finish the inventory?”

Maria stopped and turned. “Yeah, it’s all been logged into the system.”

“Thanks, carry on.”

With that Kyle sat down at the table and poured himself another glass of scotch. He figured that the captain would want a summary of their haul. Bargaining for passage is always tricky, especially in a hostile system.

“I guess it’s just me and you.” Jamison said as he leaned back and put his feet back up on the table, taking a sip of his scotch. Kyle didn’t reply.

Kyle sipped as he thought. He knew that the Prelate couldn’t really shoot them down, they had become an invaluable asset for the SAF. One of the cheapest and most reliable of the mercenary crews in the sector.

“So why Rosemary?” Jamison asked between sips.

What Kyle didn’t know was how long they might be in prison before they would be free to continue.

Jamison leaned forward in the chair as he put his feet back down on the floor. “Kyle?”

As Kyle looked over the inventory, he looked over their possessions with mixture of hope and disdain. Hope that there was enough here to free them from some of their dependence on planets like Rosemary. Disdain at recognition that fully half of the inventory was from his home planet, some of which was from his farm.

Jamison got up, brimmed his glass and left for the bridge.