Scrapyard Ship (22 page)

“You’re welcome, Nan.” He replied, wiping his own eyes.

Billy and Orion had joined the group—towering over everyone. By the goo-goo eyes they had for each other, they’d definitely progressed past playing footsies under-the-table stage.

The music stopped and a hush came over the crowd. A detail of ten marines entered the courtyard surrounding three people: Admiral Crawford, Secretary of State Walker, and the President of the United States, Howard Ross. The president was a stout man in his mid-fifties and wore glasses. He had a brusqueness about his manner. He’d been compared to Teddy Roosevelt and now Jason could see why. Like the parting of the Red Sea the crowd, which had opened wide to the dignitaries, now came together to encircle them. The desert had returned to quiet stillness.

“Thank you for letting me be a part of your celebration, Captain. I will not be here long, but I felt it important to personally extend my gratitude to you and your team,” the president said, shaking Jason’s hand. He slowly turned to look at the crowd, then back at Jason. “In a matter of days, you’ve accomplished a staggering amount of success. My advisors had briefed me on the approaching Craing fleet. It was a foregone conclusion that an invasion was imminent. A dire situation for the country and the world. What their occupation would mean, I wasn’t really certain. Perhaps slavery, mass-genocide…? But now we have hope, Captain, and sometimes that’s all that’s needed. A little hope.” The president turned and looked at the small fleet of alien ships encircling the camp, smiled, and shook his head.

“Thank you, Mr. President. No victory would have been possible without the crew of The Lilly and perhaps, most importantly, that of my father, Admiral Perry Reynolds, who’s been fighting the Craing in other star systems, light years from ours, for over fifteen years.”

Jason knew what the next question would be and he was about to signal Ricket on his NanoCom when he spotted a Dodger baseball cap already moving in his direction.

“Mr. President, I’d like to introduce you to several people. This is my daughter, Mollie, and my former wife, Nan. And this is Ricket, our Science Officer aboard The Lilly.”

Smiling, President Ross shook Mollie’s and Nan’s hands. “I am very pleased to meet you both. I heard we nearly lost you. I’m looking forward to hearing the details of your adventures.”

Mollie stepped up closer to the president and gestured for him to bend down. “I was shot in the heart and actually died, Mr. President.”

“Well, you’re a remarkable young lady, Mollie, and that goes for your mother too,” the president said with an appreciative smile. The president’s eyebrows rose when he noticed someone shorter than Mollie looking up at him, someone not quite human.

“Mr. President,” Jason said, “This is Ricket, our Science Officer aboard The Lilly.”

The president took the mechanical being’s hand while the crew held their breath, knowing their introduction was not merely a formality but an indicator of how far, possibly, the Craing had infiltrated into the highest levels of government. Jason watched the president’s smiling face. It became obvious to Jason that he knew he was being tested; the admiral and Secretary of Defense Walker must have briefed him that his would be a necessary next step.

“Nice to meet you, Mr. President,” Ricket said, and as quickly as he’d arrived, he scurried back off into the crowd. All heads turned to Jason, alarm on their faces. Jason put two fingers to his ear and spoke quietly for a moment then turned back to the group. Knowing there may never be another opportunity to screw with the President of the United States, Jason hesitated, face stern.

The president stood there, brow furrowed in anticipation. “Well?” he asked.

“Oh, the handshake. Yes, yes—we’re good, all good,” Jason answered, maintaining the act.

President Ross looked relieved and turned to the Secretary of Defense as if to say,
see, of course, I’m human.

Jason was hailed. “Please excuse me for one moment, sir.” Jason turned and acknowledged the call.

“Captain, we have a problem on Craing ship 1. We’re at the cages,” Lieutenant Morgan told him.

“On my way,” Jason replied.

“I need to attend to a small problem, but I’ll catch back up with you shortly.” Jason bent over and whispered something in Mollie’s ear then stood back up. “If possible, please stay a while longer, Mr. President. Mollie here is our most experienced tour guide. She’d love the honor of giving you an abbreviated tour of The Lilly, if that would be acceptable?” Jason asked. He noticed the president had already turned around and was looking at The Lilly with growing interest. President Ross looked over to one of his aides off to the side, who reluctantly nodded.

“Well, let’s get this show on the road then,” he said, excitedly. Jason shook the Commander-in-Chief’s hand one more time and promised to reconnect shortly. He then ran off in the direction of the first Craing vessel. He wasn’t exactly sure which ship was Craing vessel 1.

* * *

Jason arrived at the bottom deck courtyard area beneath the hundreds of metal Craing cages. From up above on the fifth deck he saw Morgan signaling down to get his attention. He took the lift and got off on the fifth deck, crossing over and joining Lieutenant Morgan. To his surprise, Dira was there too. She averted her eyes when Jason got closer. She was wearing a long silk dress that left little to the imagination of what her slender body looked like beneath. She had applied her makeup in a way that must have been customary on her home planet of Jhardon. Her accentuated eyes and lips, her whole face, was nothing short of breathtaking. It took a conscious effort for Jason to break his stare and concentrate on the issue at hand.

The cage before them barely contained the seven foot tall rhino-beast. Blood dripped from around his large six-inch diameter horn. A bandage had been wrapped around his right thigh. Morgan had his weapon pointed at the rhino-beast. Jason noticed the gate at the front of the cage was distorted and bent out of shape—its broken latch mechanism lying on the deck floor.

“These cages won’t hold them for long, Captain. There are a hundred and fifty of them and this is the second breech in the last hour,” Morgan said, eyeing the large beast.

“And they’re hurting themselves in the process,” Dira added, now looking at the captain. “I bandaged his leg earlier while he was unconscious. But he won’t let me attend to his injuries around his horn.”

The huge rhino creature stood before them, legs apart and hands on hips. His eyes were on Jason. “Can he understand me?” Jason asked.

“I understand you,” the beast replied, before the others could answer. The Lilly AI had been initiated earlier and was translating real-time.

“Why do you fight with the Craing?” Jason asked.

“To save our mates and offspring. Our planet has been conquered by the beings you call the Craing. Our male warriors must fight to ensure our species will endure.”

“What is your name?”

“I am called Traveler. I do not have a mate or offspring, but I fight for those of my kind who do.”

Jason looked up at the powerful warrior for a few moments before speaking again. “What if your world could be freed from the Craing. What if your warriors could regain their honor? What if we gave you back your weapons—your heavy hammers?”

The rhino-warrior stared back at Jason, blood still oozing from around his horn. “That is not a decision I can solely make for our warriors, our people. We loathe the Craing. Breaking the bonds of our captivity would mean everything. But the Craing are many in numbers. Thousands of planets have come under their tyranny. We fear for the lives of our kind. The risks of opposing the Craing are too great.”

A booming voice came from an adjacent row of cages directly across the center open area.

“No! Traveler! It is time to regain our honor. It is time to bring freedom to our people.” The other rhino-beast bellowed in a commanding voice. Like Traveler, he was standing at the front of his cage, with legs apart and hands on hips. Jason looked back to Traveler.

“The one who speaks is one of our leaders. He is called Three Horns. A great warrior and decision-maker.”

Jason wasn’t sure, but he thought Traveler was smiling—although his mouth was mostly hidden beneath several folds of gray skin. Jason turned to look across at Three Horns, and sure enough, he had two additional, albeit smaller, horns above his primary horn. He was nodding his large head and also appeared to be smiling.

“Can I trust you?” Jason asked, directing his question toward Three Horns.

“Can we trust you?” The beast replied back.

“Your warriors will fight with our warriors, until we defeat the Craing, or die trying,” Jason asked. “It may be a while before we can save your world.”

“We will fight side by side with you, as brothers. But we will not be caged.”

Jason took a step forward and swung open the gate to Traveler’s cage and stepped aside. “You can release Three Horns, then follow us,” Jason said to his crewmembers.

“Captain, I don’t think that’s such a good idea,” Morgan said, blocking the rhino-warrior from leaving the cage.

“Stand aside, Lieutenant. These cages won’t hold them long anyway, and we need to trust them. It’s in our mutual best interest to work together.” Jason gestured with a nod of his head for Morgan to step aside.

Because of their significant weight, the two rhino-warriors needed to be taken down the lift separately. Jason had an idea brewing—something that just might work.

Chapter 17

Jason had forgotten about the presidential tour in progress. He saw the small group had arrived at the Zoo and that Mollie stood in front of them, halfway down the corridor. She was talking and pointing up toward a rocky plateau fifty yards out. Two blue, eight-foot tall carnivores were shredding a large side of beef.

“These guys in Hab 12 scare me. I think they’re called Serapin-Terplins; we just call them Serapins and they’re native to several planets. They look like raptors to me, but have fingers on their hands. Oh, and they have really pretty baby blue skin. Jack says we need to make sure they always have fresh meat in their habitat and lots of it.” Mollie shrugged and was about to move on to the next habitat when Jason, Morgan, Dira and the two giant rhino-warriors entered the Zoo.

Earlier, the rhino-warriors had requested the return of their weapons; Jason agreed to their hammers but not to their energy weapons. Jason smiled and held his hands up letting everyone know that things were well under control. Just the same, the president’s marine detail moved in front of the crowd with their weapons raised. Jason spotted Nan peering around one of the soldiers. Her expression was similar to that of the president’s.

The rhino-warriors were fidgety, staring first at the multiple rifle barrels trained on them and then at the two blue carnivores in the Zoo habitat.

“Please lower your weapons. I’d like to make some introductions,” Jason said, as calmly as he could muster. Both Admiral Crawford and Defense Secretary Walker looked at the two rhino-warriors with concern and irritation showing on their faces.

“What the hell you doing, Reynolds? Do you realize how inappropriate this is—bringing two armed –uh -aliens near the proximity of the president?” Admiral Crawford fumed.

“I didn’t bring them here to meet President Ross. No offense sir, but we have other business to attend to. Just the same, please meet our new allies. Traveler and Three Horns are joining forces with us to defeat the Craing. We’ve learned that their world was conquered by the Craing, and their mates and offspring held captive while the male warriors have been forced to fight with the Craing or suffer the consequences. They have over one hundred and fifty warriors here and I need to find them accommodations.”

Jack, the Zoo’s caretaker, standing quietly off to the side had listened in and Jason now had his full attention.

The president bullied his way through his armed detail and stood before the two rhino-warriors. “I’m Howard Ross and I’d like to personally thank you. On behalf of the country, welcome.” The president held the stare of the two rhinos.

Traveler and Three Horns waited for the AI to complete the translation and then nodded. Three Horns looked over at Jason and did his version of a shrug. “Who is this small man who welcomes us to this strange place?” he inquired, sounding confused.

“Three Horns, he is our country’s leader, our primary decision-maker.”

Realization set-in and the two warriors lowered their heads. “Forgive my rudeness, I meant no disrespect.”

“Over the coming days I’d like to talk with you more, discuss our mutual goals and together plan how to defeat the Craing,” said the president.

The two warriors did not answer; instead, they raised their hammers, knocking them together high over their heads. Instinctively, everyone covered their ears against the intense noise.

I’m sure that’s just a high-five gesture in their culture,” Jason said to the group, not actually knowing any such thing. “Please, go on with your tour while I speak with Jack about the Zoo.” Jason winked at Mollie and walked with his two new allies further down the corridor to where Jack was waiting for them.

“I have a strange request for you, Jack. Three Horns and his warriors do not do well in confined spaces. I’d like you to work with him. I’m assuming there are open, unused habitats available?” Jason asked, looking around at seemingly endless miles and miles of varying eco-habitat space. Jack did his customary scratching of his beard and appraised the two rhino-beasts.

“What are the living conditions on your planet?” Jack asked them.

Three Horns thought for a moment and then strode off toward the far end of the corridor. He stopped and stood gazing, hands on hips. Before him lay one of many ten-foot wide openings into a massive habitat beyond. Three Horns pointed: “Much like this land. We stay here.”

Jack shook his head, “No, no, that’s already occupied.” Jack and the rest of the group hurried down the corridor and stood next to the large beast.

“I’ll find you a more suitable habitat, perhaps Hab 23. Let me check—”