Tasha Pauley of the Bakersfield and my old navigator, Lawrence Silver. He and Ashley shared a bunk for a few months before he broke it off and left the ship when I quit hunting.”
“Poor girl, no wonder she couldn't keep it together.”
“You know the game!” The image of Wheeler exclaimed excitedly. “On your Civicomm you have the names and crimes they've been convicted of and it's up to you to decide which one gets a dose of pain or should be given the final, merciful jolt that will burn their brains from the inside out and end it all! Remember! It's not just your decision, only when seventy percent of the votes call for the death of one of Jacob Valance's co-conspirators will they be put out of their misery, so make sure you don't press that red button too early! Make sure the people watching across the galaxy see how we treat pirates, looters, and mass murderers. Anyone who signs up for his crew can expect the same! Now let's have it! Mob justice! Mob justice!” he shouted, raising his arms, clapping his hands.
The crowd joined in, calling for blood, stomping their feet to the rhythm of their repetition; “Mob justice! Mob justice!”
“I can't hear you!” Wheeler prompted tauntingly, cupping a hand behind his ear.
The stadium erupted with renewed fervour as his hand hovered over a large red button and the band struck up an upbeat marching tune. The prisoners behind were exhausted, their heads hung low, forced to stand upright in the rack restraints. The brown haired woman on the left wearily shook her head as the other two wept, their shoulders shaking, bodies trembling with fear.
Tens of thousands of people cheered as Wheeler's hand came down on the red button and the rack lit up. In the next instant the prisoners were twitching, writhing, incoherently screaming and wailing as the audience manipulated controls that sent pain to one of them at a time. Wheeler took a deep, slow bow as he was lowered into the stage.
Jacob turned it off, exhaling shakily. His jaw was clenched, eyes cold, his hands clutched the arms of the Captain's chair. No one had ever seen him that angry, few had ever seen anyone so angry in fact. Jake's gaze was fixed to a point somewhere in the air in front of him as he spoke quietly; “Repair the ship. Harvest what we need, open trade talks with the raiders or clear them out so we can work with the station. I don't care who we're dealing with, just get us back in shape. Tell the crew what they can expect if they're captured.” His head turned mechanically and those cold eyes met Jason Everin's. “Find Wheeler.”
“That transmission is four days old, he could be-”
“Find him!” Captain Valance shot to his feet and pointed at the front of the bridge, his outburst so sudden and furious that everyone on the bridge jumped. “If you can't find him then find us something to hunt down and tear to pieces! They want a menace? I'll give them one!” He turned and stalked off the bridge, his long black and crimson coat flipping out behind him.
Chapter 4
There was a moment's pause before Ayan was admitted inside the new Captain's ready quarters. She was a bundle of nerves. Waiting for the door to open gave the knot in her belly a chance to grow and make her even more uneasy about approaching Jacob, who had become more of a mystery to her over the past two weeks.
The extended test results of the wormhole generator systems would wait, besides Finn was focusing on it and would tell Chief Grady if there were any problems. Preparations for the installation of two of the Triton’s main engines were complete and the other, less important internal repairs she was supervising had finished the day before. She was the only one on the bridge who had time to approach him.
She wanted to, but at the same time she couldn't avoid the feeling that somehow she'd done something wrong. He was distant, difficult to speak to and never around when she had a spare moment. Oh, come on! You're a trained military officer, have seen war at point blank, survived more than most could imagine and have led engineering crews through damage control during actual combat. You used to have enough confidence for four officers! What's more, we were overjoyed at being reunited two weeks ago. If there's been a tumble away since there can't be much to getting back to where you were! She admonished herself inwardly.
The new ready quarters were larger than the old. After the hull in front of the bridge was repaired the decision was made to make the forward Officer's meeting room and ready quarters into another armoured layer to further fortify the bridge. The new ready quarters were located above the bridge with a one man elevation pad so the Captain could be there at a moment's notice. There was also a private hallway that led directly to the captain's and first officer's ready quarters. That was the route she had chosen. For some reason she didn't want everyone on the bridge to know she'd gone to see him, as though she didn't want her worry to become public knowledge. From what she'd seen few people aboard ever worried about Captain Valance. She didn't know what would happen if they started.
He was in his dark long coat standing in front of the thick forward transparent bulkhead. Through the transparent wall the seemingly endless expanse of rotating grey, white and blue asteroids stretched out. The light of a white star made them glitter like they were encrusted with gemstones as they moved past.
Ayan stepped inside and let the door close. “Are you all right?” aloud the words seemed thin, her voice was that of a shy petitioner in her ears.
“I'd ask you to sit down but they haven't brought the furniture up yet. Not a priority,” he replied. His voice was different, lower, devoid of emotion. It was the sound of the wall she'd watched slowly build between them.
“I'm sorry about your old crew members. I wish I had known them.”
“Silver was a nervous pretty boy.” He let the statement hang in the air before sighing. “You would have gotten on well with the rest,” he continued in a near whisper. He sounded much older somehow, tired. “Good people, trustworthy, steady.”
Ayan watched him for a moment, catching a reflection of his face in the transparent metal for a moment. It was etched with deep worry. Slowly she crossed the broad room and leaned against the hull beside him. Seeing him that way at least gave her an idea of what was going on, of how to approach him. “Talk to me Jake, what's going on?” she asked as his expression started to harden, the wall was going up again.
“It's over. I can't keep the Triton running with a crew this size, let alone finish recruiting a full crew for her. It's true; Regent Galactic has petitioned the Core World Trade Council and had my accounts frozen. It went through and my accounts may as well be empty. I have the repair cash stowed under the Samson’s reactor and that's it.”
“Oh, is that all?” Ayan couldn't help prod him. She was starting to understand what had been happening since she'd come aboard with Oz, Jason and Minh. He was keeping all his worries, all his problems to himself. Running the ship day by day wasn't difficult for him, but handling the larger issues like the direction the ship was taking were weighing him down. He needed to find a confidant, to vent, and she'd been around enough stuffy officers to know how to guide someone into investing that trust in her.
“They'll mutiny! These aren't Freeground troops or some government outfit I have running the ship, they're mercenaries!” He exploded as he turned away from her and started pacing.
“Are they? You treat them like they're mercenaries, but are they really?”
“Of course they are! Most of them have no ties, half or more come with combat training, if they don't like what's happening aboard then they'll take action.”
“I doubt it.”
“What?” Jake looked at her as though she'd just switched languages.
“They're refugees. A few of them are mercenaries, sure, but I've met most of the more questionable crew members and they're in their glory here. A lot of the crew have never lived so well. They get three meals, a safe warm place to sleep, security to help them find their way and watch over them and four days out of five they have an eight hour shift. There have been a lot of double shifts recently but you should see them Jake. They're working shoulder to shoulder knowing that this is their home. Some don't want leave, they just go virtual the moment their shift ends. I think the prevalent complaint is that you're not allowing leisure programs to run on the sim
