I replied, “Thank you, Sir. Angus, can you see that these two are returned to their Space Force uniforms? They obviously weren’t sincere when they joined up. When you have accomplished that, join us at the airlock.”
Angus said, “Yes, Sir.”
I said, “Court is adjourned to the airlock.” Sally sang out, “All rise!” I left, and people started filing out behind me. I noticed Nelly and Scott walking with Mr. and Mrs. Stone. We got to the airlock, and waited for the prisoners. They arrived, Jennie wearing a nighty-night, and being carried. Bill seemed resolved to his fate. I saw him look at the kids and mouth the words, ‘I’m sorry’. Neither of them seemed to react. Angus was one of the ones carrying Jennie. I asked, “Angus, what is the meaning of this?”
“Sir, she became violent, and we were afraid she would damage herself. We thought this was the expedient solution.”
“Sounds right. Please remove it now.”
He did, and when she came around, she started cussing, and telling us we had no right to do this. I interrupted. “Maritime law gives me every right. You have been convicted of mutiny. May God have mercy on your souls, for I shall not. Angus, put them in the lock.”
I stepped forward and opened the panel that let me override the force field. I opened the outer door, and dropped the force field before Jennie could embarrass herself any more. Once they were clear of the ship, I set the controls back to normal operation. I turned and said, “Court is adjourned. May we never have to do this again.” The crowd began to break up, and I leaned back against the wall, trying to gather myself. I almost didn’t notice Mr. and Mrs. Stone approaching, with Nelly and Scott. I stood up and tried to look respectful. Mr. Stone said, “These youngsters say they miss open sky and fresh air. Would it be alright with you, Captain, if we took them back to the planet with us?”
“I don’t have a problem with that. If any of you find you don’t like the arrangement, feel free to contact me, and we’ll see how we can fix it.”
Scott spoke up. “Captain, we’re sorry we couldn’t get our Uncle to listen to us. We knew he wasn’t thinking right, but we couldn’t get him to see it.” I knelt, to get on eye level with Scott. I said, “Young man, you have nothing to apologize for. You did what you could, but you two are just kids. There are things you can’t fix, and it’s better that you learn that lesson now. No matter how big and strong you get, there will always be things you can’t fix. Your Uncle did what he did, and none of that is on you. Nobody thinks you should have tried harder, or done more. You did the best you could. We’re all sad that things happened the way they did, but it’s not your fault.”
Mrs. Stone said, “Thank you, Captain. Will we be heading back now?”
“I think so, unless there are other things I have to take care of, while I’m here.” Scotti was trying to wait patiently for me to finish. I asked, “What is it, Scotti?”
She stepped up and said, “We think we have a way for you to use the comms without the possibility of being intercepted.”
“How can you make it secure at the comm center?”
“We figured out a way to scramble the signal so the people watching the traffic can’t understand what is being sent.” Then it hit me, the mistake I had made that morning. I said, “Space Cadet, get these folks loaded up, and take them back to the planet. I just figured out what that bad feeling was about this morning. You’re going to have to deal with Mike and Tina by yourself. I need to fly out, right now.” She kissed me, and got her people headed in the right direction. I saw Sally and shouted, “As soon as the Evans is clear of the ship, go to FTL. We’re going to the Navy yard.” I grabbed a transit and headed for the bridge. On the way there, it hit me I had just sent Nikki to the planet, and we would be apart for who knew how long. I deserved it, I was the one who talked about going to the Navy yard on an unsecured comm. Nikki, on the other hand, had done nothing wrong, and my dumbass had spilled over on her. By some miracle, I beat all the regular bridge crew to the bridge. Saucy was at the COB station, and said, “Captain on the bridge.”
I answered, “As you were. Are we secure for FTL?”
Dixie answered from the helm, “Course laid in for the Navy yard, Boss. Warnings issued, going to FTL in 93 seconds.”
“My ship. Gene, how many fighters are ready to scramble?”
“Twenty, Boss.”
“Send them out, with orders to stay and help Morning Flower secure the system.”
“Scrambling, Boss.”
“Dixie, how long will we be in FTL?”
“Fifteen hours, Boss.”
Gene said, “Fighters away, Boss. They are clear of our FTL field, we are go for FTL.”
“Good work, Gene.” It was then I noticed Jackie, hovering. I asked, “Yes, Jackie?”
“Your ship, Boss.”
“Sorry, I should have waited for your acknowledgment before I started issuing orders. I’m trying to fix a mistake I made, and I got ahead of myself.”
Saucy asked, “Mistake, Boss?”
“I mentioned going to the Navy yard on a comm the Squirrels have tapped. If we’re lucky, we might get there before whatever contingency plan they have
