“Perhaps. I don’t think you have the temperament, Mr.
Carr.”
He flared. “Please explain.”
I was tired and frustrated. “You have no manners. You expect the world handed to you on a spoon. You’ve never had any discipline and you couldn’t handle any. They’d eat you alive in the middies’ wardroom and spit out your bones.”
I stood up. “Cadets get hazed, Mr. Carr. I was; we all were, and sometimes it’s brutal. One has to be able to take it. You can’t. Thank you for your interest.” I turned the hatch handle.
“You have no idea what I can take,” he said coldly. “I should have known better than to talk to you.”
“Good evening.” I stalked back to Level 1. As I began to cool I wondered if I had been too hard on him. I’d asked his reasons; he’d given them. I couldn’t expect him to join for love of the Service. He had the math, he was intelligent...
And he was an obnoxious snob. I could do better.
I entered the bridge. Vax and Alexi both rose. I now had middies standing watch together, to avoid exhausting the Pilot and the Chief. I myself expected to be exhausted. I took pity on the dark smudges under Vax’s eyes. “Mr. Holser, you’re relieved. Get some sleep.”
He didn’t argue with his good fortune. “Aye aye, sir.” He saluted and hurried out before I could change my mind.
“Carry on, Alexi.”
“I’ve got double watch tonight, sir. Sandy comes on at changeover.”
“I know.” It was one of the reasons I was there. Vax and Alexi were one thing; Sandy and Alexi quite another. But we watch-standers had little to do; we were only present in case something went wrong. Most of the ship’s systems were automatic: hydroponics, recycling, power. With the fusion drive ignited we couldn’t navigate, and our only danger was boredom. I thumbed through the Log in silence. Mercifully, Alexi interrupted only a few times.
Sandy reported for duty an hour later, in good spirits. I decided not to tell him he had a smudge of lipstick on his neck. Regrettably, Alexi told him for me, and the result was a fit of giggling between the two boys that even had me joining.
“Back to duty,” I told them. They settled down. The silence of the night watch stretched longer and tighter. Suddenly Alexi choked back a snort of laughter, trying to hold in a watch full of accumulated nervous energy. It got Sandy started too, but he subsided quickly under my glare.
Alexi brought himself under control. My tone was cold.
“Mr. Tamarov, you’re standing watch. Check your instruments and save the skylarking for later.” I was red in the face when I ended, because my composure had started to slip about halfway through; if I hadn’t held on with all my might, my little speech would have been punctuated by explosive laughter. It was contagious. But I was also angry. The ghost of Captain Haag stalked the bridge. Giggling on watch? He’d have tossed us out the airlock.
I went back to the Log; I’d been reading the entries from the start of our cruise. I had thumbed through to our docking at Ganymede when Alexi lost control once more. He covered his mouth, but a snort escaped him and his body shook.
It was more than I could bear. “MR. TAMAROV!”He leaped to attention. “My compliments to the Chief Engineer, and would he please advise me how to deal with a midshipman who refuses to pay attention to his work. Go!”
“Aye aye, sir!” His face a compound of embarrassment and dismay, Alexi saluted and hurried away.
Sandy was busily running practice calculations on his screen.
Twenty minutes later I heard a subdued voice. “Permission to enter bridge, sir.” Alexi waited in the corridor, hands held tightly to his sides. Tears glistened.
“Granted.”
He walked with care, coming to attention two paces from my seat. “Midshipman Tamarov reporting, sir.” It was almost a whisper. “The Chief Engineer’s respects, and if the Captain pleases, he should just send the midshipman to him whenever necessary.” His look was bewildered and miserable.”Thank you, Mr. Tamarov. You are relieved from watch.”
“Aye aye, sir. Thank you, sir.” He saluted, did an aboutface, disappeared into the corridor. I writhed in shame. I had proved myself no better than Vax. Worse, I’d just made another enemy out of a friend. Alexi had meant no harm.
Quietly I went to the hatch, peered outside. Alexi leaned against the bulkhead, sobbing, his hand pressed to his buttocks. I stepped back in. I had stolen his dignity; at least I could leave him his privacy. On the bridge, Sandy tapped diligently at his keyboard.
Rather than risk a rebellion by Mr. Vishinsky, I let the master-at-arms send a sailor armed with a billy accompany me into the brig. The cell had no chair, no table, only Herney’s mattress on the deck. I had them bring me a seat. The sailor stood against the hatch, billy clasped in front of him.
“Mr. Herney, I am Captain now.”
“Yes, I know, sir, Mr. Seafort.” The prisoner, a scrawny, tired-looking man of fifty, stood .at ease. His mop of dark brown hair covered a hairline that had receded far back.
“I have a few questions about the, um, incident. How did it come about?”
He seemed pathetically eager to please. “Mr. Tuak and the others, they were fighting. I weren’t involved in no drugs, honest. I didn’t even know they had none.”
If that was going to be his line there was no point listening.
“Mr. Herney, hear me well. In a few days we’re going to cuff you, gag you, and hang you. Then we’ll push your corpse out the airlock.” He gagged. “I’m the only one who can stop it. This is the only time I’ll talk to you. Lie again and I’ll walk out.”
“I’m sorry, Captain, sir,” he babbled. “Only the truth, I swear it!”
“Start again.”
“I knew about the goofjuice, a lot of us did. I’m sorry, Captain. Tuak, he was passing it around. I tried it, just once, honest! It cost too much, it weren’t worth it. I’m sorry, Captain, honest I am. After that I stayed out of their way.
Weiznisci, he got tanked, and you know that stuff, there’s no talking to a man, he’s got some in him. He was happy as a quark, but he was beating the crap outta two joes, we all sorta jumped him. An’ that got Fraser going, he was on it too.
Tuak figured to get ridda the stuff before the brass come down, only he couldn’t, there was too much goin’ on all at once.” He scratched himself, thought for a moment.
“Mr. Terrill, he come in, told us to pull ‘em apart, I just wanted to stay out of it. But I waded in like he said, and boom! I got one right in the side of the head, made me pretty mad. I didn’t know who done me, I was just swingin’ my arms, you know? I din* care what I was hittin’, I just tried ta stay ahead of how often I was gettin’ hit. Then the lights goes out, and I wake up, I’m all cuffed, they say I slugged Mr. Vish.”
He started to whimper, tears running down his face. “I don’ know about that, Captain, sir. Maybe I did. I ain’t sayin’ I din’. But I din’ mean to. It was a mistake. It’s all some kinda mistake. It’s got to be!” He began to sob. “Please, Cap’n, make it be a mistake! Get me outta this, I won’t give no trouble, I promise, I--”
I banged on the hatch. The voice had to stop. I’d give anything to have the voice stop.
“Oh, please, sir. I won’t fight no more, I’m so scared! Or the juice, neither, if you just--”
The hatch opened. I got out. I could hear his begging halfway down the corridor.
Ricky Fuentes stood at attention waiting to be dismissed, my breakfast tray on the table beside him.
“Good morning, Ricky.”
“Good morning, Captain, sir!” I knew he frolicked. I knew he laughed. But in my cabin he was tighter than a coiled spring.
“Ricardo, I’d like you to think about something.”
“Yes, sir, Captain!” His eyes were locked on the bulkhead in front of him as he stood at rigid attention.
I felt my temper fray. He was keyed tight, in no condition to listen. “Ricky, belay that. At ease. Act like the joey I used to know.”
“Aye aye, sir!” His voice remained stiff.
I roared, “By the Lord God, you will stop this bloody nonsense!” Ricky’s mouth dropped open. He began to tremble.”Stop standing at attention!” I screamed. “Behave yourself, boy!”