Battleship Destroyer (23 page)

Jack
refused the drink and dropped the test in the garbage on his way out.

Half way
through the first tank of the day, a third class showed up stopping Jack in his normal vacuuming rounds sucking out the water from the joints between deck plates covering the Grav Coil pits after the men had squeegeed the water section by section of deck into the drains. Looking at him baffled Jack asked him. "What am I supposed to do with you?"

"I was just promoted to Third Class
two weeks ago and finished my vacuum cart certification yesterday." Looking at Jack with a face full of pride. I am supposed to run the cart Second Class Turner." The Third Class looked over the cart checking it out as he spoke bursting with pride.

"What? Then what the hell am I supposed to do?" Jack said without thinking.

"Why I don't know but my second class in the tank team I was, in spent most of his time yelling at the guys of the team telling them where and how to work." Smiling at Jack. "We were up to 4 tanks a day so 3 is going to be easy Second Class Turner."

Jack climbed out of the seat and the Third Class jumped in and took off before Jack could say a word. Barely having time to grab his study sheet as he pulled away.

After having to spend most of his time before going between running the cart and trying to get enough nerve to give orders to the crew to get things done, Jack suddenly felt relieved to have one less job. Though giving orders was still a bitch, it was getting easier everyday but he was still usually not giving orders until after much time and energy had been already wasted.   Jack suddenly found that he could see what was going on around the tank more clearly while the added stripe seemed to make the crew more responsive to his orders as well as when he made the occasional suggestions as he pitched in to help them with problems when he did decide something needed to be done a certain way.  But still half the crew spent as much time as possible screwing off when Jack was not watching them or going through the motions even if they were the correct motions. Though, how anyone could squeegee the same dry spot for 20 minutes without going nuts escaped him.

Jack
finally had enough after the third time they had to work tell dinner call on a couple of difficult tanks. Borrowing a technique from his father and brother he hated with a passion, but could think of no alternative though he knew he would have to make plans beforehand. Then one day in desperation, he let the good workers leave at the normal end of the shift while keeping the lazy trouble makers to finish the work, including Bigfoot, while Jack sat back and just watched without saying a word as he studied. Picking a day he did not have to worry about not getting any sleep even if he did have the mid watch. The goofing off crew finally got done by midnight just in time for him to go on duty.

After they had packed up their equipment he called them to attention and smiled at them.  "From now on guys you are B crew
.  A crew gets off at quitting time even if the tanks are not done and you get to finish them up. I am not going to worry anymore about you people doing your jobs because I can study watching you work for the rest of my tour no matter how late you fuckers want to work. Though I must admit I admire your dedication too fucking off tell midnight. Maybe you can shoot for 3 in the morning tomorrow night. Revile is still at 0700. Dismissed." As soon as he said it, Jack wanted to run and hide. Expecting the men to tell him to go fuck himself and maybe even pounce on him as his brother’s crew had done once for daring to demand anything. Getting ready to run he took a deep breath as he tried to take a step back when to his surprise he simply leaned against the bulkhead behind him. With nowhere he could go, he smiled, crossed his arms and relaxed and waited for the storm.

"Yes sir 2nd Class Turner." They all said as one and left without saying another word to him though he heard a lot of bitching as they left the compartment.

He started to learn how to handle men while his confidence grew. Climbing slowly out of his isolated hole not because he wanted to but because he had no choice. As various members of his crew started insisting he spend time with them even on the mess deck not giving him a chance to bury his nose in his study sheet. Then one night Bigfoot spent dinner eating with him and being very friendly as he told jokes, talked about aircars and women and on the way back to the birthing compartment section, he patted Jack on the back with a big smile and gave him an aspirin bottle. "Just for being such a good friend Jack. I wanted to apologize for being such a pain to you and giving you a headache all the time. Talk to you later buddy." And walked down the passageway to his cabin. Jack looked at the bottle of aspirin with the seal around the cap still intact and walked into his cabin and tossed it into the drawer of his locker smiling. None of the crew had ever given him anything before. Things were definitely looking up for him.

The next day a
First class, Master at arms Sargent, Division Chief and the Division Lieutenant walked into the tank midmorning. "Second Class Turner. Please follow us to your cabin." Said the Chief.

Jack walked out of the pool of reaction mass carrying a bucket of crap that had been plugging the drain. He had only seen the lieutenant at musters in the mornings and never talked to him so Jack was a little surprised to have him in the tank
not to mention the rest. "What? Can't it wait? I am a bit busy right now lieutenant."

"No Turner.
The drug dogs have found a discrepancy with your locker. You will accompany us to your cabin."

"Ok," Jack put the bucket in the rear basket of the vacuum cart and lifted his leg across his knee and slipped off his boot emptying the reaction mass that had sloshed into it out onto the deck. "Well I could use a change of sock
s anyway."  A coughing choking half laughing noise got everyone's attention as Bigfoot bent over beating his chest trying to keep from choking as he kept stifling a laugh as one of his buddies patted his back smiling from ear to ear.

Jack put on his boot and followed the lieutenant
, chief and Sgt. as most of the crew looked on in shock.

In his cabin Jack unlocked his locker and stood back
as the Lieutenant and Chief watched the Sgt. turn to Jack. "You have the right to remain silent but it would go better for you if you told me about any illegal drugs you have in your locker before I find them. It would make you eligible for rehabilitation."

A baffled look came over Jack for a second followed by incredibility as a smile quickly covered his face before he tried to become serious with little success. "No. You go right ahead an
d look to your heart's content Sargent." Holding up his hand toward his locker. "Ah, would you mind if I took my screen out to do some studying. I don't think you have to worry about drugs hidden on it." Without waiting for a response he reached past the Sargent and took the screen with a smile then turned and grinned at the Chief and Lieutenant as a chuckle escaped his lips. He shook his head back and forth in disbelief and sat down in his chair against the bulkhead next to the hatch, took off his boots and wet socks and propped his feet up on the bunk across from his off to the side of his locker. Jack turned the sheet on and started studying, ignoring the Sargent and his locker.

Twenty minutes later with the Chief and Lieutenant still standing
rock solid without saying a word. Jack looked up at them starting to feel sorry for them having to waste so much time. At least he was getting something done. Then he glanced at his locker as the Sargent picked up the aspirin bottle he had tossed in it the evening before and he suddenly realized the ends of the tamper seal on the cap did not quite line up and the color of what he could see of the contents was off. His halfway cheerful smile left his face as his eyes grew. Jack quickly looked back down at his sheet trying to be stone faced but was not having much success at it. Taking a breath as he swallowed, realizing that he had been set up. Taking another breath he counted to ten and went back to studying, or at least looking like he was studying as he tried to smile while keeping an eye on the Sargent that was continuing to paw through the drawer he used to throw his small odd stuff in.

The Sargent took out Jacks can of
(Wound Antiseptic Healing spray Foam bandage) he had picked up ashore but had not had a need to use it since his job was not taking things apart where he could cut himself like he had a habit of doing on the Turner Joy. After reading the label the Sargent put it back and then stepped back and looked his locker over rubbing his chin. Carefully studying the different sections again. Jack was just starting to breathe easier and had gone back to studying when the Sargent said, “That’s it.”  He reached back into the drawer and picked up the aspirin bottle. Jacks heart skipped a beat as he waited for God to strike him dead and then the Sargent sat the aspirin bottle down to one side of the drawer and picked up a prescription bottle from a dental appointment he had had months before when his wisdom teeth had been pulled.

The Sargent held the bottle up to show the Lieutenant and Chief. "This is what the dog responded to sir." Turning to Jack. "It is expired so I am taking it with me to dispose of
Mr. Turner."

Jack smiled.
Relief flooding over him. "Sorry Sargent, I forgot I even had them. I only took a couple when the pain was really bad the one day. I don't like drugs. I have seen to many bad results. I usually got stuck cleaning up after the bodies were hauled off, tagging along with my father investigating the assaults and deaths and ruined lives drugs caused back on the Turner Joy."  Jack shook his head embarrassed as he took a breath. Then trying to keep his cool while smiling with relief he waited for the Sargent and the Officers to leave.

The Lieutenant turned to Jack looking down at him. "My apologies Turner. I am hearing good thing
s about you. Keep up the good work." Then turned and lead the way out of the cabin and down the passageway. He never saw the woman that had interviewed him and was responsible for his current assignment, standing just down the passageway.

Jack sat there for several minutes in shock.
He slowly got up, grabbed a pair of clean dry socks staying as far away from the bottle as possible then slipped his boots on. Taking a deep breath as he stared at the aspirin bottle still sitting in his drawer, he leaned forward grabbed a tissue and picked up the bottle trying not to touch it with his tissue covered fingers. Looking at the bottle he could see a faint line down the side of the cap’s tamper proof seal with the writing not quit lined up across the crack. He pushed on the seal with his thumb and the seal popped off falling to the deck. Swallowing he took the cap off, the tamper proof foil across the top was pushed down into the bottle and the contents were nothing like aspirin tablets.  Going to the hatch he carefully looked out, up and down the passageway, then made a bee line for the head where he dumped the contents down the toilet and flushed it, then ran the bottle under the faucet trying to clean off any trace of him with gobs of soap. Leaving it in the sink under running water he went over and grabbed a hand full of toilet tissue. Shutting off the water he let it drain then picked the bottle up holding it far away from anything of his that could contaminate it, using the tissue he took it over to the waste chute and dropped just the bottle down it then took the tissue over and flushed it down the toilet. Looking out the hatch to make sure no one had seen him, he returned to his cabin and closed the hatch leaning against it. The relief flooding over him slowly turned to shock that anyone could have done such a thing to him. Then in time shock turned to anger and then later cold blooded hate for the person who had tried to do it to him.

Jack returned to the tank after lunch. Some of the crew gathering around him to find out what happened. Jack just smiled as he looked at Bigfoot. "Well it
seems that I had some prescription pain pills left over from a few months ago.  I hear it drove the dog crazy when he entered my cabin. Luckily I had some aspirin to take for the headache afterwards so I am fine now. So let's get back to work guys and gals. Thanks Bigfoot. Your aspirin pain pills worked wonders. Great pills. You will have to tell me where you got them."

Though
the "B" crew started pulling their weight it still took many weeks before he got fed up with all the wasted time and effort as the crews still went out of their way to do only what they had to. Not doing anything when problems occurred until he finished what he was doing even if it was taking care of another problem with the other crew. Keeping him away from studying. A bit on the tired side after a long night of studying after having to work late the night before with the B crew to finish up their 3rd tank after a series of problems. He simply said enough was enough to himself.

After walking over to the side of the tank that was taking an unusu
ally long time to drain with B crew squeegeeing the same water over and over again into a large pool that did not want to drain he had to force himself not to do what needed to be done himself, since he could see another problem developing in another part of the tank with the other crew. Both problems had occurred many times before and he was getting tired of having to taking care of the some problems personally over and over again. He simply had enough.

Turning to the 3rd Class sitting on his vacuum
cart half asleep as he waited for the deck to drain Jack took a deep breath. "What the hell are you doing 3rd Class Danials sitting on your fracking butt instead of doing your job?" Jack leaned over Daniels like he had seen the First Class do many times over the months intimidating the crewman he had picked as his target. Jack suddenly started worrying about the 3rd class popping him in the mouth for getting so close and screaming at him.