Battleship Destroyer (11 page)

Jack sat
down in the only empty seat between two senior officers half way down the table who were finishing up their steaks with lobster shell buckets mostly empty next to them. Jack looked up and down the table and noticed that there was not a single untouched lobster or steak left on the table, except what was sitting on his brother’s plate with half eaten steak and lobsters next to it. Despair crossed his face, welling up in his eyes as he slid down trying to hide behind he hands with his elbows on the table as half the mess still stared in his direction at the table on a slightly raised stage. Still fuming but remembering his brother had said he had saved him some. His face brightened up, looking forward to steak and lobster. Maybe his brother had taken the last lobster and steak on the table because they were cold and the steward was bringing him hot fresh servings. A recruiting commercial for the navy came on the screen covering the mess deck's side bulkhead across the compartment caught his attention. An attack fighter screamed across the screen with what looked like a new kind of huge fleet carrier in the background launching fighters. "Maybe his brother was not so bad after all." He said to himself.

A plate was brought in and placed in front of Jack with several pieces of chicken
that looked like they had been in the fridge to long and a pile of cold fries on it. "Hey!" Jack looked back at the steward. "I want steak and lobster too."

"Sorry but we are out of both steaks and lobsters Mr. Turner." Said the steward
as she smiled. "Your brother said you hated steak and lobster anyway."

"Butt shit.
Everyone else got…"

"Shut up pig and feel lucky you got anything at all for being late." His brother said from the end of the table
covered in food scraps as he took a bite from the new steak, even though the other one was only half eaten. Then sat back and patted his stomach belching over half the table as he used a dirty napkin to wipe his mouth unsuccessfully. "Damn I am full" He smashed the lobster then dropped the empty shell half onto the deck and dug out a good sized piece of meat from the other half, dipped it into one of a half dozen bowls of sauce in front of him and took a bite. Dripping the sauce down his chin and the front of his uniform. "Damn it is good, it may take me all night to finish this one I am so full." Looking at Jack with a smile. "Too bad you got stuck on your stupid game and missed the special meal dad ordered for everyone. What did you do, get lost in space. You look like you had to blow up your own ship?"

"Why you lying piece of…"
As he started to stand.

"Jack!" His sister said from directly across the table from him
. "Your brother went to all the trouble to order you some food so you would have something for dinner so show some respect and eat your dinner before it gets cold." Starring at him sternly as he opened his mouth to speak. "I said shut up and eat and quit embarrassing me and the family."

His father at the head of the table in the
Captain's chair ignoring the discussion at the other end of the table, tapped his wine glass with his knife. The recruiting commercial faded into silence as someone hit the mute to the video screens as the Republic fleet's newest Battleship sailed into sight attracting and keeping Jack's eyes riveted as he looked out between his fingers mumbling with a scrawl as he took a bite off a cold drumstick then smothered a wad of cold fries with ketchup.

"N
ow that we are all here!" Giving Jack a stern look that he did not even notice. "I would like to thank everyone for such a good job this run and the cooks on doing such a great job preparing the steaks and lobsters I had specially brought in for the occasion. Everyone give them a hand before we all fall asleep after such a great meal."  Everyone from around the mess deck looked up from their tables at the Captain smiling as they clapped for a few seconds. "Now down to business. We delivered all 20,000 tons of cargo without a single item damaged and ahead of schedule, earning the ship a good 10% bonus. On top of that our tip pot is over flowing.  All thanks to all of you doing your jobs as well as the marvelous piloting of my son Dan, our First officer. I am declaring a holiday for the entire weekend for all ship's crew not essential to handling cargo." The Ship's Captain and head of the ships family smiled around the packed mess deck as it erupted into applause. Finally he held up his hands to quiet the mess deck again.  "I would also like to take this opportunity to announce that because of all the bonuses we have collected over the last couple of years we will be buying another ship much sooner than expected. Fact is; we are scheduled to look at a couple of ships at our next planet fall. You all will get a chance to take a personal tour of them before we vote on which ship to make half our crew a new home in.  You can find them on the ships webpage for a virtual tour."

The mess deck came alive
again as the crew clapped and congratulated each other and speculating on what ship.

The Captain held up his hands quieting the mess deck
again but it took several seconds. "That means that we are going to have to start forming a new crew with my son Dan here as Captain." Waving his hand for Dan to stand up. Dan stood up with stains running down his chin and the front of his uniform and promptly belched long and loud enough for the whole deck to hear him as he smiled holding up his arms waving his hands full of lobster for a few seconds before sitting back down. The Captain continued. "I will expect all of your requests for crew positions in the new ship as well as those wishing to stay with the Turner Joy by the end of next week. Enjoy your dinner and the weekend. We lift Monday morning at 0900. That is all." The Captain started to sit but stood back up again. "And one more thing. The deadline for submitting names for the new ship is next Friday as well. Thank you all."

The mess deck
erupted in a bedlam of noise as everyone talked about the new ship and their phantasy position in it as well as the new ship's name. Though everyone knew that half of the name was going to be "Turner".  It was a tramp family tradition.

Jack smiled. "All right! I want to be pilot
on the new ship Dad." He exclaimed standing up to get his father's attention without thinking and then just as suddenly regretting it.

"You pilot?
" His brother Dan said with a hearty laugh. Spewing a mouth full of lobster and sauce across the table. "I may make you sewer chief on my crew but pilot? Never."

"Now enough of that the both of you." Their father said from the head of the table. "Jack is staying
right here on the gravity board where I can keep an eye on him and he doesn't have to do anything but watch the screen with a few supervised adjustments." Looking down at him for a second baffled. "Though he does seem to be able to read the screens better than most after 5 years on them. It is a shame you can't apply yourself as well to other tasks you are not chained to."

"Now Dad, I really think you should let him come with me. I just maybe able to teach him someth
ing. After all I have been babysitting him for years now for you and mom."

"But father
, I am a better Ship's pilot than Dan." Jack said stubbornly. "It is my turn. My right to be ships pilot as he moves up." Jack suddenly regretted saying those words. After watching all the preferential treatment his brother had gotten over the years, the last thing he wanted was even a hint of the same but he was desperate. Grasping at straws without thinking.

The Captain stood up leaning over the table
on his arms as he turned red. "You don't have any rights aboard this ship other than what I give you. There is more to piloting a 40,000 ton gross weight starship in real life than what you learn in a simulator or your stupid battleship game. Besides you don't even have your license nor are you a commissioned Officer or ever will be." His father took a couple of deep breaths as he calmed down and he sat back down. "You should feel lucky to even be alive after being born where you were. Most of the kids your age died within months even if they survived birth. Neutron stars are damn deadly to new life, especially as long as we were stranded there. I just wish you would try harder to be part of the crew instead of wasting your remaining time playing that damn game…"

Frowning
as he suddenly jerked to one side, he looked over at his wife as he reached down below the table top to rub something on his leg and then back at Jack. Jack was one of only two kids born over a span of almost two entire years aboard the ship back then that were still alive. They had been stranded in the gravity well of a neutron star until their orbit took them close enough to an asteroid with enough reaction mass to get them to yet another larger asteroid they could remass from to get them to a comet to fill enough of their mass tanks so they could return to civilized space. Most babies had died during or shortly after child birth over those years, some long after they had left the system, making Jack part of a class of two stretching for almost two class years in the ship's school. Until the other survivor had decided she hated him. Most of the ship resented both of the survivors but Jack being the Captain's son, was a constant easy to remember reminder of half the crews losses during those two years. His parents did little to help matters.

"We have bent over backwards trying not to expect
too much out of you because of your handicap." His father started to preach. "Letting your grandfather try his best to teach you something and all I hear is how stupid you are when you two are arguing about some idiotic point of physics or engineering that you can't seem to grasp or think you know better. Or do you simply like to argue to prove how stupid you are with one of the smartest men in the galaxy. Stupid, and then your brother having to jerk you away from that stupid game every time he needs your help and then all you can do is screw up every job he gives you, forcing him to put in overtime to clean up your mess. Now sit down and finish your dinner. We will talk about your future as a ship's none commissioned petty officer after we get the new ship trained and running cargo in a year or so. Until then you are going to have to start pulling your weight now that you are 18 even if it is in the galley scrubbing pots and pans."

Jack
looked over at his grandfather who was busy slapping gobs of strawberry jam onto a heavily buttered piece of bread oblivious to everything going on around him. Jack slid down his chair as he took another bite of chicken. Trying to ignore the coming lecture about his failings. A lecture he was already too familiar with and had heard yet again at his little family only party for his 18th birthday only a week before.

"
Even with your handicap there should be something you can do half way well, though all I hear from your brother is how he has to keep fixing equipment you keep fucking up no matter how many times him and the crew shows you."

Jack
gave his brother a dirty look as he slid farther down in his chair trying to hide behind the officer next to him as he buried his face in another chicken leg. Hopping his father would forget about him if he could not see him. Sometimes it worked. Especially if he got distracted for a few seconds. But it did not sound like any distractions were coming this way as half the mess deck stared at him and listened. The thought of jumping ship suddenly crossed his mind just to get away from the embarrassment of everyone looking at him and thinking he was a stupid worthless screw-up.

"You are going to have to start
putting in a full day's work. Fact is, Sewage Chief is a good start for you. I am sure your brother will help you get started before he goes' since he suggested it. Maybe with repetition and detailed directions, even if you screw up, all we are looking at is a mess to clean up. The work is easy and not complicated and you don't have to worry about dealing with people much since you have such a hard time even talking to anyone."

"Now Dad." Said Dan
his brother. "He needs to start as sewage spaceman for a year and work his way up to Chief. It's the same job. Just gives him something to look forward to accomplishing before he die…."

His father
slapped the table and stood back up starring at his son Dan, daring him to finish that sentence.

"Damn it!
" Jack stood up knocking his chair over behind him. "What the hell do you think I have been doing for years now thanks to you?" Balling his fists as he screamed at his brother. "You ass hole creation. I am the one fixing everything around this fricking ship when no one else has time or can figure it out, while you party with anything that will spread their legs for you, only for you to take the damn credit." Jack kicked his chair flying back across the deck behind him as he left the table.

"There you go getting delusional again.
You need to take a look at his cabin father…" His brother said only to be interrupted.

"Sit back down
there." His father demanded. Then as Jack continued to stomp across the mess toward the hatch. "Where are you going?"

"The Silver leaf is in
port, I am going to the mall with Tom." Jack left the mess.

A thin faced girl
with spindly arms and legs but with a barreled chest and a baggy jacket (on a ship with a constant temperature of 72 degrees and short sleeves for a ships uniform), watched Jack leave. She frowned, ignoring her girlfriends around the table talking about how rude Jack was and laughing at the stupid idea of him being a ships officer, let alone a ship's pilot. The girl stared at the closed hatch for a few seconds and then let her eyes travel along the empty side bulkhead of the mess deck with the main passageway on the other side to the elevator room and then dropping her eyes to follow a line across the deck for a few seconds. Looking back up, she turned to her friends. "Let's go to the Port's Mall. I hear that there is a Streaking Gothic store in this mall that is radiations.  We need to go take a look while we are here. It sounds fabulous."