Steven Gordon 3: The Modloch Empire (46 page)

The two ships separated and travelled
at top speed towards the great barrier. They weren’t heading for
the Modloch home world, instead they were heading for the third
Modloch planet. The Emperor had finally began the tour of his
empire. Before Steven could start exploring the galaxy, his role of
ambassador had to be endorsed. He also had to pick up his honour
guard.

A week before they reached the barrier,
they were forced to make a small detour to pick up a couple of
passengers.

Commander John Logan and Commander
Alfie Lloyd sat at their ease in the officers’ lounge. Beside them
sat their bags. Word came down from the bridge that Steven Gordon’s
ship had docked, but they had to wait a little while longer for his
ship to prepare accommodation for them that wouldn’t leave them
blind. That morning their squadrons had given them a hearty
farewell and the officers had got them blind drunk the evening
before. A good blast of oxygen this morning had sorted the
hangovers.

The Captain hadn’t been there the
evening before but she had taken them into the office that morning.
She had thanked them for all that they had done. Logan had taken a
chance and asked about a transfer. She had told them that they did
not normally do advanced fighter training, so a transfer would be a
waste of their talent. Logan was still quite upset about it.

Steven found his way to the officers’
mess. ‘A pleasure to meet you again gentlemen.’ He was carrying two
boxes and had to put them down to shake their hands.

‘
The honour is ours
sir.’ Logan reassured him.

‘
I am sorry about the
delay, but we have to prepare quarters that won’t blind you. We
also have to convert the corridor between your quarters and the
mess hall, along with the mess hall itself.’

‘
That’s too much
trouble sir.’

Steven laughed. ‘No it isn’t commander.
Trust me. I have to go see the Captain now. I just wanted a quick
word. I will catch you both later.’

Steven then followed his escort to the
Captain’s office. He was shown straight in. What he didn’t expect
was the frosty reception.

‘
Captain Gordon I
presume.’

It took a moment for Steven to get over
the shock. He shook it off and smiled. ‘Captain Wilson, a pleasure
to finally meet you after hearing so much about you.’

The stern look slipped slightly. She
had to admit he had got over her looks pretty quickly. ‘From
whom?’

‘
Your greatest fan I
believe: Charlie. He told me all about you and how you took an hour
each day to talk to him. I would personally like to thank you for
finding my friend, and these are from Charlie as his thank you.’ He
piled them onto her desk. She ignored them.

‘
I am not very happy
with you Captain Gordon. In fact, I am furious. We may lag a little
behind the times here, but it is blatantly obvious that the man who
actually saved Earth, and who almost died in the process, wasn’t
even mentioned in dispatches. In fact, according to official
records you managed to plant your bomb on the asteroid. I know for
a fact that your tether broke as you accelerated too quickly to
light speed. Give me one reason why I shouldn’t make a formal
complaint.’

Steven’s smile slipped. ‘Ah! I’m afraid
that’s how Charlie wants it.’

She stood. ‘Really? Then why don’t we
go ask him?’

‘
He uh... he isn’t
expecting you.’

‘
I want to know what
the hell is going on. He doesn’t so much as get a mention in
dispatches, and then you whip him away from under our noses without
so much as a by your leave. I want to see him and I want to see him
now.’

Steven raised his hands. ‘I apologise.
He did want to see you when he knew we were going to meet but I
refused him permission. I was only expecting to be here a few
minutes. We are on a tight schedule.’

‘
Untighten it then.’
Her tone was uncompromising.

Steven closed his eyes. ‘He will meet
you at the airlock in ten minutes. He is undergoing training at the
moment.’

‘
Ten minutes.’ She
sat back down and looked at the parcels. ‘Did you say these were
from him?’

‘
You may call him
Charlie, if you wish.’

‘
Do you?’

‘
We were childhood
friends. He doesn’t call me sir or Captain, even when I’m kicking
his arse.’

It brought the first flicker of a smile
to her face. ‘You like him?’

‘
Very
much.’

‘
What kind of a man
is he?’

Steven shook his head. ‘Do you have a
spare week?’ Now she smiled and reached for the parcels. ‘I think
he slipped a note in with one when he thought he wasn’t going to
get to meet you again.’

‘
I always judge a man
by the gifts he buys me. Can you guess the kinds of gifts I
normally get?’

‘
Call me Steven,
please.’

Her eyes flicked up. ‘Maybe later.’

Steven shrugged. ‘I would imagine the
gifts you receive would be... diamonds and pearls.’

‘
I’m not old enough
to receive pearls yet, at least I hope I’m not. But diamonds
certainly. I also receive a lot of lingerie. These are from men who
hope to win me out on a date. I have always returned them. Many of
them were from married men. To those I sent the gifts to their
wives.’

‘
Ouch!’

‘
Do you sympathize
with them?’

‘
Not in the
slightest.’

‘
I wonder what kind
of gifts a man who has never seen me would buy me. This is a
novelty for me.’

‘
I actually advised
him to buy you some jewellery and perfume.’ Steven looked up to
avoid her eyes. ‘Needless to say he ignored me. Charlie has
peculiar ideas sometimes.’

‘
You don’t say.’ She
unwrapped the smallest box and a note fell out of a fold in the
paper. It was a large wooden case with her name, rank and medals
stencilled in gold on the front. A key was taped to the top. She
peeled it off and inserted it into the lock. On lifting the lid she
found a piece of foam and moved it. She almost choked at what was
underneath. ‘OH MY GOD!’ She exclaimed.

Steven rolled his eyes.

Jean took out the Desert Eagle pistol.
It was so blue it was almost black. Intricate scroll work was
inlaid with silver. The handle was chequered ebony and contoured to
fit her hands. Which it did, beautifully. Along the top of the
slide her name and rank was etched in silver. There was a red dot
on the foresight and the rear sight had green dots. They seemed to
glow.

‘
I knew he should
have gone with the perfume.’ Steven smirked. Jean barely glanced at
him; he didn’t notice the gleam in her eye. She lifted it and aimed
it at something on the wall. Laying it back in the case, she picked
up the small laser sights. Grooves were cut on the left side below
the slide for it. She laid them back down and took out one of the
four magazines that were loaded. She depressed the top round. They
were full.

She lay everything back in the case,
plucked a tissue from a box and wiped the gun oil from her hands.
She found the folded piece of paper and opened it.

‘
Dear Captain
Wilson,

Please accept this gift as a small
token of my appreciation. I had little hope of surviving the
ordeal. To not only survive but to be rescued by one of my all-time
heroes was more than I could ever have expected. I also wish to
thank you for the time you took to talk to me each day. I will
cherish those memories for the rest of my life. Thank you.

I remember you told me how much you
enjoyed pistol shooting and that you had taken the junior officer
trophy while in training. You also told me that your personal
weapon was a Browning nine millimetre.

It is something that has bothered me
ever since. I have fought some of these aliens in hand to hand
combat and have met many more. In my professional opinion as an
infantry soldier, that Browning just doesn’t have enough stopping
power. This does. It is a shortened version of the Desert Eagle,
designed specifically for female shooters. It isn’t quite as
accurate at longer ranges as the full length version, however it is
probably more than enough for fighting aboard a space ship.

I sincerely hope that you will accept
this gift in the manner it is offered. I hope you never have to use
it in anger. If you do and it saves your life, or that of any
others around you, then I will feel fully vindicated in my choice
of gifts.

I think the only real problem you will
have with it is ammo. I know the yanks use them a lot and, as we
are all one big defence force now, it may be as simple as
requisitioning some. Good luck with that anyway. There is some
spare rounds in the gun belt. A cleaning kit is included, hidden
under the foam.

I was going to hold on to this until we
reached the great barrier then send it back to you through military
channels. However, our rendezvous has given me this opportunity to
pass it to you a little earlier. I am simply gutted that I’m not
actually going to be able to give them to you personally. Life in
the military sometimes sucks.

Yours sincerely,

Sgt C Murison.’

She lay the letter down, tore open the
bigger of the parcels and took out the gun belt. The leather was
supple and dyed almost the same blue as the pistol. She studied the
intricate tooling and found her rank, name, and the name of the her
ship woven into it. A dozen shiny .50 calibre rounds studded the
belt. On the holster was a picture of the Sir William Wallace.

She stood slowly and Steven thought she
was going to blow her top. ‘I can always have it disposed of
discreetly if you wish.’

Her eyes flicked at him again. Steven
was confused when she began to strap the belt on. She tied down the
holster, plucked the Desert Eagle from its case, checked the breach
was clear, eased springs and then slapped in a magazine. She slid
the Desert Eagle into its holster as if she had done it a thousand
times before.

At the far end of her office was a full
length mirror. She posed in it for a few seconds with a big stupid
grin on her face before grabbing her cap from her desk. ‘Let’s
go.’

She got more than a few looks and
admiring glances as they walked towards the airlock. For once the
men weren’t looking at her boobs; it made her smile all the more.
Steven was confused and she knew it. When she reached the airlock
she stopped.

‘
For your information
Captain Gordon, I have never received such a beautiful gift before.
I will not be returning it.’

‘
Oh!’ He scratched
his head. ‘Alright.’

‘
You look
confused.’

‘
I have to admit to
not being very well-versed in buying gifts for ladies. Komoru did
tell me that if I bought her one she would shoot me with
it.’

‘
Different folks,
different strokes.’

‘
Aye you’re not
kidding. Be prepared for a very bright light. You won’t be able to
see much of anything. Charlie is waiting on the other
side.’

They stepped through and Jean’s hand
immediately came up to shield her eyes. Someone caught her wrist.
‘This way ma’am. The canteen has already been altered. We can talk
there.’

‘
Is that you
Sergeant?’

‘
Aye ma’am it’s
me.’

‘
You sound
different.’

‘
Hardly surprising.
You will see in a moment.’

She managed to get her wrist free and
grabbed his hand. Her heart began to flutter a little. It was the
first time Charlie had been able to hear her thoughts. All the time
he had been on board her ship the migraines had prevented him from
hearing anyone’s.

He guided her through to the canteen.
She blinked as she reached it and her eyes focused. ‘Oh! He is
quite ordinary looking.’ Was the first thought that went through
her mind. Charlie switched it off and let go of her hand.

‘
Would you like a
quick coffee ma’am?’

‘
Yes please, two
sugars.’

She followed him to the coffee machine.
‘You look totally different.’

‘
Hardly surprising.
My body was encased in metal the last time you saw me.’

‘
That is
true.’

‘
Catch you later
Charlie,’ Cookie shouted as he left the canteen.

Charlie waved. ‘They are giving us a
little privacy.’

‘
Do we need
it?’

‘
Steven ordered
it.’

‘
Did he!
How?’

‘
We all have neural
links and can talk to each other with our minds. No words
necessary.’

‘
I get
it.’

Charlie suddenly grinned. ‘You like it,
don’t you?’ He looked down at the pistol.

It took her a moment. ‘Yes I do. It is
the nicest gift I have ever received.’

Charlie frowned. ‘I somehow doubt that.
Let’s sit down.’ They took a seat and Charlie sipped a coffee. ‘I
believe you have some concerns you wish to discuss.’

She took a deep breath. ‘You should
receive recognition for what you did.’

‘
I don’t want
it.’

‘
Why on Earth
not?’

‘
Because I am trying
to keep my head below the radar.’

Jean shook her head. ‘I don’t
understand.’

‘
I know. Give me a
moment to gather my thoughts.’ It was a simple case of how much to
tell her. He pulled up one of his sleeves. ‘Please touch my skin
and tell me what you feel.’ She looked concerned. ‘Don’t worry, I’m
not being a pervert.’