Soldiers of Fortune (9 page)

              "No, no, no," Kage interjected. "He tripped and fell chasing Twingo... but he is
really
fast, so Twingo sort of got caught up under him on the way down." Jason winced at the thought of being smashed to the floor underneath the hulking warrior.

              "Fine. So they broke the chair playing... What was it? Stollanari Arm Wrestling?... why is the floor covered in glass?"

              "Oh... that. Crusher claimed that the crest on his forehead was the hardest substance in the known universe... I didn't believe him, so I hit him with one of the empty bottles to see for myself," Kage was still slurring his words badly and wobbling on his legs. Jason knew he didn't have long before the diminutive alien passed out. "So, after a few more bottles, I wanted to try something more solid. I hit him with one of the supports from the broken chair... but I missed and
accidentally
," he stressed the word to Crusher, "hit him in the side of the face. He stumbled and fell back. That's what flipped the couch over."

              "So why are you hurt?"

              "I slipped in spilled booze and hit my face on the floor trying to check on him. After he started snoring I figured he was fine," Kage finished.

              "Crusher... is this what happened to the best of your recollection?" Jason asked, now trying very hard not to laugh. Crusher simply nodded, still glaring at Kage. "Alright. We have a meeting tomorrow about another high paying job with the same client that hired us this time. You two: go to bed. Doc, could you check on Twingo please?"

              "Of course," Doc was already moving towards the doorway as the other two stumbled off to their respective rooms. Lucky was standing in the middle of the common area seeming somewhat stunned.

              "So this is how they were having fun?" he asked, bewildered.

              "They thought so at the time. I've been there more than once myself," Jason said as he punched a few commands into the touchpanel on the wall by the bar. A few moments later a trio of cleaning bots rolled in through the service entrance of the suite and began addressing the mess. Even they seemed taken aback by the amount of damage. "Just clean up the glass and fluids," he said to them directly. "I'll worry about the furniture later." He got a couple soft beeps in reply and they set to work. Jason walked around them and made his way to the bar, he had been so focused on business during the reception he had declined to have a drink himself. Now he wanted one very badly after seeing the carnage from his misbehaving crew.

             
After more than a year of working in space Jason's gastrointestinal system could handle about anything he threw at it, but that didn't always mean he liked the taste. He discovered that a simple smell test could narrow things down quite a bit, so he set about sniffing all the bottles of brown liquid, looking for anything resembling whiskey. He hit pay dirt with a decanter of a light brown liquid that had a nice vanilla/smoky aroma and tasted like a fine Canadian whiskey.
Now that's more like it.
He poured a liberal shot in a short glass over ice and leaned back, watching the efficient little cleaning crew finish up their task. He looked up as Doc walked out.

              "He's fine. Going to be very sore and very hungover tomorrow, though," Doc said as he made his own way to the bar and started shuffling though bottles as well. Now that they were alone, the dam broke and Jason broke into near uncontrollable laughter. It was apparently infectious as Doc also giggled, then started laughing so hard tears were coming from his eyes. Lucky watched the two with the same bemused expression he usually had when he simply didn't understand the behavior of his biological friends.

              "Were you planning on any sort of discipline?" Doc asked when he could finally catch his breath. Jason thought on it for a moment. Omega Force wasn't a military unit, the glue that held it together was mutual respect, trust, and a sense of purpose. If, as Captain, he began dispensing punishment haphazardly he would quickly create an Us versus Them (or Us versus
Him
) mentality. But beyond that, he considered each crew member his friend, and his family, so he had no desire to impose meaningless "punishment" for something he would have likely participated in himself.

              "No," he said, "I think they've suffered enough already, and if not they certainly will tomorrow." He took a slow drink from his glass, savoring the flavor. "Besides, these guys have been cooped up on a small ship, practically on top of each other, for months on end. Add the stress of dangerous operations and then getting locked in this room when we finally do make it planetside somewhere... I can understand the need to blow off some steam. In the grand scheme of things, if all we got from a drunk Galvetic warrior is some bruises and a broken chair, I'd say we came out on top. Wouldn't you?"

              "When put that way, yes... I would," Doc chuckled. The two finished their drinks and discussed what the new job might be while Lucky made rounds to each room to check on his fallen comrades. After another drink apiece, Jason and Doc went to bed while Lucky, per his usual habit, stood guard in the middle of the common area. Jason always felt like he was taking advantage of the synth when he stood watch while the others slept, but Lucky assured him he would be "awake" anyway, so he may as well do something useful with his time. In truth, he took the time to sift through the events of the day and give each incident, each interaction, a level of scrutiny he wasn't able to as it happened. It allowed him to continue to grow and find how he fit into this new world as a free-thinking being.

             
The next morning Jason walked out and found that Doc had taken the liberty of ordering a veritable buffet from room service and had it stretched out along the bar. When he smelled it, his stomach growled in anticipation and he made his way directly to the food with only a wave of greeting to Lucky and Doc. The others were nowhere to be found.

             
"Good call on breakfast, Doc," Jason said as he grabbed a plate. "I didn't eat much last night."

              "I don't think any of us did. You want me to rouse the others?" Doc replied.

              "Nah. The smell should start breaking through their stupor pretty soon," Jason answered between bites. As if on cue, Crusher shuffled out of his room holding his head in one hand and growling softly. "Hungry?" Jason asked brightly.

              "Yes," Crusher said simply, but instead of walking to the bar he came to stand directly in front of Jason and drew himself up to his full height. "Captain. I apologize for my actions last night. I will accept any punishment you deem necessary." His rigid, formal stance let Jason know he needed to do something more than wave him off, so he stood as well.

              "Very well. I accept, and appreciate, your apology Crusher," Jason said. He actually didn't feel it was necessary, but he knew the big warrior would feel cheated without some sort of penance. "I have no intention of 'punishing' you. You're my crewmate and my friend, and you're a free man to do as you will. But I will ask that you refrain from excess for the rest of the time we're on Eshquaria, I need you clear headed and watching our backs until we're back on the
Phoenix
and flying offworld."

              "Yes, Captain," Crusher said. He didn't quite bow, but he did nod deeply. His gaze also sneaked over to the bar laden with food, the smell must have been driving him crazy. Jason smiled.

              "Go get some food," he said lightly, slapping Crusher on the shoulder. And just like that, all was forgotten. It was simply amazing how quickly his injuries from the night before had healed and Crusher wasn’t pumped full of medical nanotech that worked to heal his body like the rest of them were.

             
Kage was the next to emerge looking only slightly worse for wear. When he and Crusher saw each other they immediately started laughing, which was a slight relief for Jason. Although it seemed like harmless fun the night before, much like he had taken part in countless times in the service, it wouldn't take much to create turbulence within the tight-knit crew. When Twingo stumbled out, however, everyone began laughing raucously. Sometime during the night he had managed to make an attempt at changing clothes, with varying degrees of success, and looked like he had been dragged behind the
Phoenix
during an unpowered landing.

              "What?" The small, blue alien asked indignantly, his ears laid flat against his head.

              "Your pants are on backwards," Crusher said from his seat at the bar. His comment only increased the laughter at the engineer's expense. Twingo looked down and could only laugh himself. He shrugged and made his way over to the buffet and began loading up a plate, still a little unsteady on his legs. 

              "Ok, gentleman, and I use that word in the loosest possible terms, we have some decisions to make before we get called to this meeting with Crisstof," Jason said, getting everyone's attention. "This guy seemed to be on the level from what we could tell, and we were paid very well for picking up the Senator and his family."

              "I hear a 'but' coming," Kage said.

              "But," Jason continued, "that job was a little more risky than he originally let on, so we're going to have to keep that in mind when he pitches this next one to us. We squeaked it out, but we almost ended up on the business end of a destroyer's main guns."

              "So we have no idea what this job is?" Twingo asked.

              "No," Doc said. "All he would tell us was that it wasn't 'strictly legal', but no specifics. From what I could tell, he wasn't all that comfortable talking at all in the surroundings we were in. Lots of ears in that room last night."

              "I concur, Doc," Lucky spoke up. "He seemed to want to say more, but stopped himself short each time."

              "Let's also get something else out of the way while we're all here," Jason said. "I know you all had a good time last night, or at least started out to, and it got a
little
out of hand. Does anybody have any grievances to air before we press on? Once we leave this room, it's buried and done with." Nobody spoke and Jason was met with three very sheepish looks that threatened to break into spontaneous laughter at any moment. "Alright then, let's finish eating and get cleaned up. I want us packed and waiting for Crisstof's call within the hour." They all began to eat with more of a purpose and made their way to their respective rooms to get cleaned up and changed. Jason had no intention of staying on Eshquaria another night; either they would be flying out on another job, or they would just be flying out.

Chapter 4

              The call came three hours later to tell them that there was a vehicle waiting in front of the building. Jason marshaled his crew out the door, the room looking as they had found it... minus one chair. They walked out into the bright Eshquarian sunlight and towards a long, black ground vehicle.
Apparently government vehicles are the same the galaxy over.
They all piled in and were soon off. Jason was glad to leave the suite behind before someone presented them with a bill for the damages.

             
The vehicle drove past all of the shining government buildings, past the more mundane looking service buildings, and even past the squat, ugly utility buildings. They pulled up to a pre-fabbed style building that looked like it might be used for vehicle maintenance or storage and pulled inside through one of the large roll-up doors. Just when Jason was about to ask what they were waiting for, the floor in the stall began to lower, taking the vehicle with it. The elevator took them down at least a couple hundred feet to a large, well-lit chamber that was filled with large, well-armed security personnel.

             
Omega Force submitted to another litany of scans and questions before being allowed to proceed on towards a large set of blast doors. Once inside, they were directed to board a waiting open-air car that appeared to be on a mag-lev track. The car whisked them away through a tunnel until they arrived in another large chamber that was also teeming with armed security personnel. The crew disembarked and were led into a small but well-appointed conference room. Jason shrugged and gestured for everyone to grab a seat and wait for whatever was about to happen. As usual, Lucky declined and remained on high alert.