Reaper Inc. (26 page)

"Ok Harry,
let's go upstairs and see what other trouble I can get into." Ben had his
hand on the butt of his pistol. No one moved towards him as he walked back
through the crowd of onlookers with wet feet. Tazleaha stood with her arms
crossed looking less than happy. There was no one in the lab who had any idea
what to do at that exact moment but Ben. He walked up to Tazleaha and stood in
front of her about three inches away. Her folded arms were touching his chest.

Ben stared into
the black orbs of an angry queen. He leaned forward quickly and kissed her on
the cheek. "Good times baby, good times." Harry couldn’t help
himself. He had to turn and head for the door. Ben was right behind him hoping
the shock would keep them where they were. Tawniz was smiling, trying not to
let it show but all three of her brothers saw it.

Emperor Xamand
said to those around him, "I am glad he is on our side. I didn’t see that
coming. I thought he would try to take her with him. Wasn’t she his bond
mate?"

Tawniz
answered, "She was." She pointed at the clone on the floor.
"That wasn't."

"Wasn't
that a good representation, sister? It looked very human. Couldn’t he have
taught it?"

"Maybe an
Allond or some other species wouldn’t make the distinction but the humans are
still very a emotional species. That was a dishonor to her memory to
Benjamin," Tawniz explained. She saw the queen listening and nodding her
agreement.

Ben and Harry
rode the lift up. The doors opened and they stepped out. It still smelled of
death and decay. There was a work crew headed their way. Ben recognized most of
them as the champions who had shared the cage across from his.

"This
could get interesting, Harry. These guys didn’t like me too much."

Harry said,
"You might be surprised."

Ben could see
the approaching crowd knew Harry well enough but they were not sure who the
warrior in the black armor was. On closer inspection, they recognized Ben and
they all started smiling. It was unexpected but it was good to see smiles from
strangers when he had gotten so little from friends lately. E'Aria leaving
without a word was eating at him but with her gone a day already, it was hard
to make a case for her to stay.

"Can any
of you tell me if there are any transport shuttles I can get my hands on?"
One spoke up and said there was a shuttle from the human warship that had
brought visitors aboard. Ben thanked him for the info and Harry followed him to
find it.

Ten minutes
later, they found Shuttle two from the Warhammer. Ben remembered it well and
wondered if Lieutenant Wu or Chavez was piloting. The rear ramp was down. Ben
looked around to see if anyone was watching them, not seeing anyone he and
Harry walked on board. Ben walked quietly towards the front, not hearing any
talking, but after three more steps, he heard slightly loud breathing.

Ensign Ellison
slept in the pilot's chair. Had it been Aisling, Ben figured she would be on
report in about two minutes. He sat quietly in the co-pilot's seat while Harry
sat his huge bulk down in the third seat behind Ben. Ben hit the switch and
shut the ramp then locked all the doors. He leaned over the Ensign and
transferred the controls to the co-pilot's chair. Three switches later, they
moved out into space. Ben's piloting skills had improved over the last six
months; his maneuvers were smooth instead of herky jerky.

Ben put on a
headset so the com to the Claymore wouldn’t wake the Ensign.

"Claymore,
this is Alliance Shuttle two from the Warhammer. Open the shuttle bay
doors."

Lorelei
listened closely to the caller. "Ben, is that you?"

"Yeah, I borrowed
a shuttle to bring a new crewmember over to meet you all."

"Oh shit,
you know she will have a fit when she finds out you stole her shuttle."

"Lorelei,
open the damn doors so we can come aboard and get back and maybe she won't
know."

"Ok they
are opening, and don’t yell at me. You know you're not that lucky." Ensign
Ellison picked that time to wake up and started screaming.

"Yeah,
you're right Lorelei, never that lucky."

Ben looked at
the Ensign who was looking between him and Harry.

"Hey! Can
you stop screaming? No one is going to hurt you, unless you don’t shut the hell
up."

"Who are
you and what is that?"

"My name
is Ben and that is Harry and you should watch how you say things. He is kinda
sensitive, you'll hurt his feelings."

"You're
kidding me, right?"

"No! Now
shut up while I go onboard my ship for a few minutes then we will go back,
ok?"

"So you
are him?"

"No idea
what the hell that means. Just don’t talk!"

"Stop
telling me to shut up. It's rude."

Ben ignored her
this time and landed the shuttle. About the time he had the ramp down, the
welcoming committee filed through the shuttle bay door.

Ben looked at
the Ensign then made a decision. "You get up and move. You are coming with
us." The three moved to the ramp, the ensign first. Lorelei thought for a
second. Ben had found another female then the giant who had to duck his head to
get off the shuttle walked into view.

Ben met them
half way and got a hug from Lorelei. She seemed better than the other day. Ben
would talk to her later about everything. Binda stood next to her staring at
him.

Ben asked.
"What are you doing on my ship? Why didn’t you leave us like the
rest?" Lorelei started to answer for her. When Ben gave her a dirty look,
she shut up. He turned his attention back to Binda.

"When I came
aboard, do you remember when I told my story? I told you my new captain has no
use for me. It is my fear he will put me in the worst job he can find if I
return. I want to stay here with this crew on this ship." Ben remembered
and he believed her. Out of the corner of his eyes, he saw the ensign watching,
waiting for his answer.

"Ok Binda,
but I have to tell you we aren’t going straight back. I promised Harry I would
take him where he needed to go so he could take care of some personal
business."

"Ben, I
have nothing to go back to. The navy was my life and I have nothing outside of
that. I would just be starting over and alone. I would rather start over here.
You don’t ever have to take me back." Ben started to say something then
was surprised when the ensign spoke to Binda.

"Am I
understanding this? You would forfeit your career to stay with this guy and his
walking rug?"

"You mean
would I rather visit planets none of my people may ever see, meet new species,
help a new crewmember exact revenge on his enemies who have wronged him. Live a
exciting life or return to be ridiculed and sent to wash the waste traps on a
daily basis. Tell me, young one, which would you rather do?"

Ben said,
"Ensign Ellison, shut up." He walked away as she began telling him
not to talk to her that way. "Ok everyone, Binda is a permanent member of
the crew. The rest of you can do the same but if you don’t want to, I need to
make arrangements to get you home from Allond. I think I might be able work it
out between either the Warhammer or getting the Prime Minister to use her pull
and having Nick meet your transport and taking you home." Adam and Buddy
just nodded.

"Ok, we
all clear? If you're staying, we are going off to parts unknown. If you're
leaving you, catch a ride from Allond and meet up with Nick and back to Anubis.
Harry, you good?"

"Yes Ben,
thank you," Harry said nodding.

"Ok, let's
get the captain's shuttle and ensign back. I'll get a hold of you, Lorelei,
when I know what the plan is, provided Tazleaha doesn’t kill me."

They boarded
and Ben flew the shuttle back, landing it in exactly the same spot. The only
difference was the upset group of people standing around waiting on them. Some,
like the Allond, were there to just watch the fireworks. Tazleaha must have
been thinking it was going to be something fun to watch because she was
smiling.

The ramp
lowered and Ben sent Harry first. His huge bulk dissuaded the small boarding
party who thought they would rush in. They backed away, watching him warily.
Ben walked out next with the ensign right behind him.

Aisling started
yelling at him. "If you have hurt her, I will kill you. Do you hear
me?" She headed for him like a guided missile. Seeing the ensign she
changed course to look her over.

"Did he
hurt you or threaten you?" Aisling asked.

"No, he
caught me. . ." Ben jumped in to stop her from telling the truth.

"I caught
her reading a book and got the drop on her, took her at gun point to my ship. I
checked on what is left of my crew and then made her bring us back. She might
be a little shaken up but I did not hurt her."

"Is that
true?" Aisling asked looking serious

"Yes, he
didn’t hurt me."

Ben looked
around at the faces and decided he was done for the day. He turned back to the
others.

"For my
part, it was good to you see all of you. I am not sure what I could have done
to all you to warrant the cold shoulder, but if that’s the way you want to play
it, fine. Safe travels where ever the stars lead you." Ben turned his back
on them and looked at Tazleaha.

"Get me off this ship, take
me to yours or mine. I don’t care, just get me out of here." Ben looked
back for a second. "Ensign Ellison, good luck." He walked away from
the queen and everyone else to the queen’s shuttle. The door opened and he
boarded with Harry right behind him.

Ensign Ellison
kept the volume turned down trying to overhear the conversations happening
behind her. Her captain was angry, the others seemed afraid to say anything and
just let her talk. Sergeant Major Kim tried talking to her and some of what he
said made sense even to Shawna and she wasn’t aware of all the history.

He had lied for
her to keep her out of trouble. For all his rudeness he didn’t want her taking
any heat. Shawna hoped no one looked around for the book she was supposed to
have been reading. Maybe she would tell the truth now and take her punishment.
They were all fugitives so if she spent sometime in the brig or confined to her
quarters that would be a black mark on her record. She would hate to lose her
position on the bridge.

The captain was
in the process of repeating for the third time how she couldn’t believe he
would take one of her officers by force.

Shawna yelled.
"Captain, could you come here for a minute? I need you to look at
something."

Aisling sat
down in the co-pilot's seat. "What's wrong? This is a three minute
hop."

"Do you
see my book anywhere?"

"Really?
You're asking me to find your book?"

Even though the
captain was not going to look for her book, she was doing it. "Ensign, you
can look for your own book. What's wrong with you? Besides, I don’t see a book
anywhere."

Shawna said,
"Exactly."

A light went on
and Aisling sat looking at her ensign. "So he and you lied to me!"

"Um, no
ma'am. He told you I was reading and took me at gun point. I just said that he
didn’t hurt me which is the truth."

"But it’s
not the whole truth, is it ensign?"

"No ma'am,
I was sorta taking a nap. I was off shift and not scheduled till afternoon
today. I played cards all night and was in the rack about two hours when you woke
me and asked me if I wanted to pilot you to the meeting. I didn’t, couldn’t say
no. After you departed the shuttle, I sat here staring at the inside hull for
ten minutes and fell asleep."

"So he
never threatened you."

"No, he
never touched any of those weapons he carries. He flew the shuttle himself and
kept telling me to shut up after I woke up. I was pretty upset, called his
friend a big hairy rug. I don’t think it ever crossed his mind to hurt me,
captain. I watched him with his crew. He got all bad ass with a Trillond female
named Binda who didn’t leave with the others. She explained why she stayed with
his crew. It was all he wanted to hear, then he welcomed her as a permanent
member and offered up the same to the rest who were standing there."

"Well, you
don’t know him like the rest of us do. We just watched him kill two sentient
human clones."

"I can’t
comment on that, captain. All I can say is he tried to do me a solid but I
can't have that on my conscience, I respect you too much. I only let the lie
stand for a few minutes so we could talk without the others there in our
business."

"Thank you
for your honesty Shawna. We will talk later after I talk to XO Holmes."
She returned to the back to sit with the others. They were smiling but didn’t
say anything knowing it would be overheard.

                                   
****

Ben and Harry
sat in the queen's shuttle waiting. She was still in a discussion with the
Allond about what he didn’t know. He just wanted to get back and get moving now
that the ark was able to travel.

"Harry, we
need to sit down and plan out our trip in as much detail as possible. Do you
have any experience in space travel, being a part of a military organization,
anything like that?"

"I was
next in line to become chieftain of my village. Our chieftain was dying and
selected me to be his successor. My experience as you call it was on the ark.
The master kept me in the area where they kept the beasts. He knew that I
wasn't an animal but it was his twisted pleasure to keep me there. The guards
would wake me with their sticks never letting me sleep more than a few hours. I
tried laying in the middle where they couldn’t reach me but then they would use
a gun instead of the stick. After some time, I learned to wake up before they
arrived and prepared mentally for what would happen. I do not believe any of
that counts to answer your question."

"I
understand why you were crazy when they put you in the arena with me. I could
see the burns on you from the stun sticks. You are better now, I hope. I can't
have you going crazy on my ship hurting the crew."

"I am
better knowing I am going home and am not alone." Harry looked from Ben to
the queen.

Tazleaha walked
in and stood in front of them. Ben had a flashback he was in school and in the
principal’s office. Ben noticed Harry was not much shorter sitting than she was
standing but he still had to look up.

"Harry,
would you wait outside the shuttle? I will call you when Ben and I are finished
speaking."

"Yes, your
highness." Harry walked out and away from the shuttle.

Tazleaha said,
"His people, the Rohn, are a peaceful species as are the Soren who also
inhabit the planet. It is strange to find there was treachery in his village
but it is not unheard of."

"It
happens in most societies. It sometimes is a positive force for change and the
good outweighs the changes in tradition. I don’t think that is the case here.
The problem is how Harry and his family were dealt with."

"Now I
must deal with you, Benjamin. I need you to remove all your weapons and turn
them over to me. I will see you have them if needed or when you leave."

"And if I
refuse?"

"Must you
always do things contrary to the wise decision?"

"I find
when I need my weapons the most someone has taken them away. One of your people
has already tried to kill me. Have you forgotten?" Ben's tone was
beginning to elevate.

"I
explained that to you, it is an isolated incident."

"So you
say. Forgive me if I can't believe you know everything that is happening right
under your nose."

Harry could
hear the conversation escalate as well as the crack that followed. He would not
interfere with it; it was just one more thing being worked out in Benjamin's
current situation.

Ben felt the
burn and his eyes watered. It came fast with no hesitation. As the right hand
followed on through, the left grabbed a handful of his hair and pulled him into
a kiss. Someone had been studying; there was no lack of effort on her part. Ben
finally relented and returned her efforts, his arms around her waist he pulled
her in tight. They separated a minute later and she put her hands against his
chest, staring at the reaper that was staring at her. Before he could say
anything, she pushed him hard back into the seat. Putting her foot on the seat
next to him, she bent over nose to nose staring into his eyes.

"I am
going to talk to Harry for a minute then we will both return."

"Hopefully
not the way you just talked to me."

"Not
hardly, stop interrupting."

"When we
return, I expect to see a pile of weapons on the floor." She gave him a peck
on the lips and patted his face where her hand print currently resided.
"Good times baby, good times," she said walking away.

He sat feeling
guilty as he unbuckled and removed his weapons. Looking at them he decided to
keep his combat knife. Removing the long knife from his belt he put it back on
and slid the smaller one around to the middle of his back. They walked in just
as he finished buckling his belt. He didn’t have his poker face on and must
have looked guilty. Tazleaha looked at the pile then at him. She stepped into
his space smoothly and wrapped her arms around his waist feeling the knife she
knew would be there.

"You just
couldn’t do it, could you?"

"C'mon,
negotiate here. I gave you all the big bad stuff. Can't I keep the smallest
just to let me sleep better at night."

"Give or I
will have him hold you while I remove it."

Harry said,
"Ben, do as the queen asks. I will be close as well as your friend Grubb
if trouble does somehow manage to find you."

"Don’t you
have some lover who wants to kick my ass? Don’t you think I should be prepared
for anything?"

"No, he
has contacted me and we have arranged a meeting on Allond. I preferred to do it
on Cjittan but he wants to humiliate you in front of the Allond."

"Well that
is just great. What if I kill this lover of yours? Am I going to end up having
to kill more of his family or will this be settled?"

"It will
be considered settled."

"What
about the rest? I know you have more than one, you said this one was the most
popular."

"There are
others. I do not know what they will do or plan."

"How many
others?"

"Let us
get through the peace process so you are no longer my enemy and then I will
introduce you at court and educate you in the matters of a suitor."

"Do you
kiss all your enemies?" She was saved from having to answer by the pilot
announcing they were ready to depart. Ben leaned over and picked up his weapons
and laid them across his lap.

Grubb greeted
Tazleaha and Ben and popped his eyes back in his head after seeing Harry duck
coming out the shuttle door.

"You seem
to be attracting some big hairy ones on this trip."

The queen gave
Grubb a freezing stare.

"Um, did
you think, no I didn’t mean you. No you are not hairy or big, well you're tall
and shapely and perfect. . ."

"Damn
Grubb, quit stuttering. She just suckered you right into a compliment. You
could have just said she isn’t that hairy and been done."

Tazleaha turned
her gaze to Ben. "Do you have any respect for my position, for me? I had
thought to show you some things that would have proved your statement to be
false prior to your making it, but I believe you will have to wait until you
make it up to me."

Grubb and Harry both shook their
head at the same time. That little incident made the trip to Allond a long one.
Ben, Grubb, and Harry worked on a supply list and then Ben added twenty percent
overage to it. He obtained everything he needed, star charts, inhabited
planets, dangerous inhabited planets from number two who transmitted the
detailed data to Lorelei on the Claymore. Four starships traveled together
while one stayed and escorted the slower moving ark towards Allond space. The
Warhammer and the remaining Trillond ships departed returning to their duty
locations and hiding place respectively. That party was over but another would
start on Allond shortly. Ben wasn’t going to let his fledgling company go down
the drain just because of a few setbacks, broken bones, strained friendships,
kidnapping, and murder. There were some good things. . .the pencil lead in his
brain broke and he couldn’t write them on his mental list.