shouldn’t take long to get you all back up to speed — and I want you to hurry, because as soon as your suit quals are current you can expect to begin training a bunch of med techs with little or no suit experience. They’re going to have to be suit-qualified. If nothing else they’ll have to be able to get to and from the bio lab.”
He turned to Gran. “How long before the head med tech is thawed?”
Gran smiled and glanced at his ring watch. “He should be regaining consciousness in about an hour, sir.”
Kas nodded. “Good. Let me know as soon as he’s conscious. I’ll need to talk with him as soon as possible.”
Gran nodded. “Yes, sir.”
Kas dismissed the group. Lady Jane and Lar approached him. “You forgot to give us jobs, Commodore,” she said with a grin.
He answered her grin. “No, I didn’t. You don’t work for me. You’ve kept your part of our bargain. From here on out you’re passengers.”
Lar snorted, and Lady Jane got a dangerous expression. “You mean you just want us to sit around on our hands? Don’t tell me you’re going to pull that ‘military business’ crap on me!” A flush began creeping up her neck.
Kas could see trouble coming. “No, no! That isn’t what I meant, at all! Uh, I just meant that you’re not under my command. You don’t have to do anything. No, I’d be delighted to have your help!”
The flush began to recede. Lar, standing behind Lady Jane, was struggling to suppress laughter. Her eyes suddenly narrowed, and she whirled to confront him, hands on hips. “And what are you grinning at, you elongated slith?” She demanded.
Lar raised his hands in front of his face. “Nothing, Lady, nothing at all! Uh, Commodore,” he continued in a desperate attempt to sidestep her anger. “Both of us have current suit quals. I’d be happy to help Toj get that bio lab set up.” Kas nodded, and Lar fled. Now Kas was the one struggling to suppress a grin.
Lady Jane turned back to Kas, and her expression relaxed into a smile. “All right. What do you want me to do?”
Kas shrugged. “You could help Rom run that refresher. Based on what I've seen so far on this mission, I suspect that Edro and Tera, at least, are pretty rusty.” He relaxed. “I’m really going to need them shortly. And once their quals are up to date, you can help teach a bunch of civilian med techs.”
She rolled her eyes. “Now that could be a challenge!”
Tera was waiting outside the door. “Sir, could I borrow that poor boy’s diary chip? You tell his story so well that… well… I’d like to hear the original.”
Kas nodded and she accompanied him to his cabin, where he gave her the copy of Lieutenant Fan-Jertril’s memoir.
He’d barely returned to the wardroom for a cup of caf when Gran hailed him to tell him that the head med tech was awake. “He’s screaming to be taken to his lab and demanding to see the person in charge immediately.”
Kas rolled his eyes. “Oh, no. All right, tell him I’ll be there shortly.”
The man shouting at Gran was not physically impressive. He was short and pudgy, with thinning black hair trying vainly to cover his gleaming pate. Clad only in a sheet, he did not appear to be having notable success in intimidating the Lieutenant.
Gran turned to him with obvious relief. “Thank you for coming down, sir.”
The small man whirled to face Kas. “Are you in charge here?” He demanded, interrupting Gran. “Tell this cretin to fetch my clothes immediately! This is intolerable! I demand to get dressed and be shown to my room immediately! If this is any indication of how the fleet operates, it’s no wonder the Empire’s going to the canines!”
Kas clamped down on his temper. “I’m Commodore Kas Preslin,” he replied. “And you are…”
“Doctor Ver Ro-Lecton,” Gran hastened to supply. “He’s in charge of the medical team.”
The man sniffed. “Hmph. I am Director of Epidemiology at the Empire Center for Disease Control,” he proclaimed, “not just head of some team. Preslin, eh? Outerworlder, no doubt. Hmph. Now please have my clothes fetched immediately and begin resuscitating my staff. Some of us have work to do.”
Kas’ eyes narrowed, and his seething temper threatened to erupt despite his efforts at control. “You don’t have any clothes here, Doctor,” he explained. “You will be wearing a shipsuit like the rest of us.”
The little man waved dismissal. “Don’t be ridiculous. Of course I have clothes. I brought three suitcases aboard.”
Kas suppressed an evil smile. “Oh, yes. I remember, now. You’re the fool that brought all that luggage to the field despite strict instructions that you would only be permitted a small canister of personal effects.”
Ro-Lecton snorted. “Certainly that requirement didn’t apply to me!”
Kas shook his head in mock sadness. “Certainly it did apply to you. As far as I know your bags are still sitting on the blast apron at Prime base, if they haven’t been stolen by now.”
The little man looked stunned. “Impossible! You wouldn’t! You didn’t!”
“I would. I did. There was a reason for that limitation, Doctor. We were well searched on our way here. If your luggage had been aboard it would have betrayed the fact that we were not what we claimed to be. Your vanity would have endangered the entire mission.”
Ro-Lecton started to reply, but Kas bulled on. “Now, I suggest that you put on your shipsuit. Then you and I can go to my cabin, where we have much to discuss.”
Shaking with anger, Ro-Lecton donned the shipsuit, muttering the whole while about uppity barbarians.
As soon as they reached Kas’ cabin, Ro-Lecton began repeating his litany of outrage before he even sat down.
Kas whirled on him. “Shut up and sit down!” He snapped, seething with anger. The startled Doctor, stunned by Kas’ obvious fury, sat.
He opened his mouth to speak, but Kas forestalled him. “All right, Doctor,” he spat, “Let’s get this situation clarified right now. First. You are not in charge here. I am. This is a military operation and I command it. That man that you were ordering around like a servant down there is a highly trained Fleet officer. He does not have to tolerate that kind of abuse from a civilian, and I will not permit it to happen again. There are no servants here, and except for two guests you are the only civilian now awake. You will treat all Fleet personnel with courtesy and consideration. Is that clear?”
Ro-Lecton jumped to his feet. “You can’t talk to me like that! You have no right…”
Kas keyed the intercom, interrupting the man’s tirade. “Rom, would you come to my cabin, please? Bring a sidearm.” He turned back to the small man. “Now, I don’t know if this pompous ass routine is just an act you use to intimidate subordinates, or if you are really as stupid and fatuous as you seem. But either way it will not be tolerated here. You are under military authority out here — mine. And that means that I will enforce military ideas of discipline. Is that clear?”
The little med tech sputtered in speechless outrage. “How dare you talk to me in such a fashion? I’ll have you cashiered for this!” Kas let him continue his tirade until there was a knock at the door. At Kas’ growled “Come in”, Rom stepped through.
Kas nodded and winked at Rom before roaring, “Silence!” at the still-complaining Ro-Lecton.
“Doctor,” he resumed when the man fell silent, “You obviously have no concept of the meaning or extent of military discipline. Rom, aim your weapon at Doctor Ro-Lecton.” Suddenly the doctor was staring openmouthed at the belled muzzle of a blaster only centimeters from his nose.
“Now kill him.” Kas continued.
Ro-Lecton’s head jerked to stare at Kas, then back to Rom’s finger, slowly tensing on the firing stud of the blaster. He snorted derisively, but there was an edge of fear in his eyes. “You wouldn’t dare harm me!” He exclaimed. But his eyes were glued to Rom’s trigger finger as it continued taking up slack in the trigger stud. “No!” He suddenly bleated. He slipped from his chair to his knees, a dark stain spreading at the crotch of his shipsuit. “Please!” he begged.
“Stop, Rom,” Kas said softly. Rom’s finger relaxed but the blaster remained sighted on the civilian’s head. Kas felt a flood of pity, shame, and embarrassment for the man’s obvious terror. Rom’s expression mirrored his own feelings.
Ro-Lecton slumped in relief. Then he raised his head to stare at Rom. “You were really going to kill me!” he
