Brinus paced back and forth in the living room while chewing his nails. His vape pen sat on the kitchen counter charging. However, he did not pace because of nicotine cravings. His prize money from both Kabochi matches on earth, the Battle of the Caliver System, and his illegal business had been confiscated. He was going to order alcohol and get shitfaced, but his credit card was denied. Realizing that part of his punishment was to have food and drink deliveries suspended for the duration of his sentence, he cussed. Brinus wondered if he was the problem.
There was a knock on his door ten minutes later. He ran and answered it. The person who knocked was Commander Tom. The cold air of the hallway tickled Brinus’s bare chest and back.
“The system detected that you tried to buy 10 cases of alcohol on delivery.” Commander Tom pushed past Brinus and then the living room and sat on the couch. “Care to talk about it?”
Brinus took a deep breath and sat down. “Am I the problem?”
“Let’s take a look. You have an unmanageable nicotine addiction, you’re mouthy, and you’re a rebel.”
Brinus looked at his mentor with hardened eyes and a curled left lip. “That’s a bit harsh, ain’t it?”
“You’re also loyal to a fault, hardworking, and highly intelligent, and if I were in a crisis situation, I would rather have you under my command than half of my men and women. We all have things we need to work on. Where’s your husband?”
Brinus was shaking his leg and biting his nails on the loveseat across from Commander Tom. “He’s on a hazing ritual for newly promoted lieutenants and takes command of robotics in a week.”
“I heard. He just completed his lieutenant’s exam? You didn’t go to his graduation?”
“It wasn’t work, school, or home, so I wasn’t allowed to go to his graduation.”
Commander Tom whistled and stood. “You have two choices at this point. You can continue on the path you’re going and end up in prison. I’m sure the syndicate will murder you to make an example. Or you could take this as a learning experience and improve your behavior.”
“More than likely, they’ll just cut the tattoos off of my body and then set me on fire in the yard as a traitor.”
“Food for thought next time you engage in criminal behavior.”
Brinus put his hands in his face, “I thought I would get to explore new planets and travel the galaxy.”
Commander Tom laughed and slapped Brinus on the shoulder, “Maybe if you stop being such a rebel, you will get to see the galaxy, haha! Being a rebel is okay when you’re a captain or an admiral. Not when you’re a lower-ranking officer. You need to remember the malicious compliance lessons you’ve been getting on the weekends.”
“Yes, sir.”
“Part of being a rebel is knowing when to follow orders and when to speak up.”
Brinus rolled his eyes. “But, sir, I am being punished because of a meltdown at the pharmacy.”
Commander Tom laughed for several seconds and then sat next to Brinus, putting his arm around his bare shoulders. “You’re being punished because of the embarrassment to the service and ’cuz your nic fit went viral. If no one had recorded you, nothing would have happened. From what I understand, that type of outburst is routine..”
“I need my vape…but it’s charging.”
Commander Tom ruffled Brinus’s hair and slapped him on the back. “You know the Navy isn’t going to let you vape now. They will force you off nicotine or drastically cut your nic rations. I know in the past you have difficulty quitting, so they are going to work with you, but you need to meet them halfway. I have to oversee the calibration of the ship’s plasma cannons on the gun decks. We’re shipping out now. I have to go and think about what I said.”
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The commander walked out of Brinus’s quarters. He felt a chill come over him and could feel the hairs on the back of his neck. He stood up as he walked over to the kitchen and saw his medical pen was halfway charged, so he connected it. He then went to a cabinet counter and opened it. Inside was about a pound of white powder. It had the consistency of sugar. For a moment, he thought about what the dealer he bought it from said:
“Just put some on a mirror, use a razor blade to make a line, and then snort it.”
Brinus had experienced bliss addiction when he was a teenager and wondered if energy powder was worth it. He grabbed the bag and put it in the replicator. Staring at it, he had one last thought — was it worth it? Was life in prison worth a few hours of an orgasmic high? He pressed the button for the replicator, and it disappeared in a flurry of bright purple light.
Just after Brinus disposed of the powder, a red alert was called, and the ship stalled. The lights went out, and his emergency lights came on.
Brinus changed his pants, put on his socks, boots, and uniform shirt, and ran out of the quarters. Running through the halls, he noticed how dark it was. He conjured a fireball so he could see. Attempting to call the chief engineer was pointless. His triquarter was disabled. That would likely mean everything electronic wouldn’t work. They were in a federation energy trap.
The jeffery’s tubes were shrouded in show-day darkness, with his blinding torch illuminating the pathway. They were eerily silent, and the deafening stillness was overwhelming. Brinus began singing his favorite gangster rap song to break the creaking of the emergency tubes. He filled the dim, claustrophobic space to the brim, and being on the icy cold metal made his heart pound in his ears from fear.
He made it to engineering by using the jeffery’s tubes. The engineer had glow sticks on the computer panel while cussing.
“Sir, Brinus Helios is reporting for duty.”
The engineer in charge of the warp core was glad to see Brinus, but the Chief engineer was not. “Midshipman Helios!! What the fuck!? You’re supposed to be under house arrest!!”
Brinus rolled his eyes, and then Commander Theodore noticed the plasma ball in his hands.
“Can you conjure a mini star in the warp core?”
“Yes, sir.”
“Well, fucking do it! Now!”
“Sir, yes, sir!”
Brinus walked over to the warp core entrance and waved his right hand. The door popped open. He then closed that door and opened the other door with magic. He entered the warp core. It was deafeningly silent and completely dead. It also felt warm. He was comfortable for the first time he had been on the ship. The radiation levels and the heat were perfect. He smiled with pleasure.
He moved the fireball into the center of the core. He pointed his left hand at the plasma, and it began forming layers. He used the meditation technique the Magi taught him. One layer at a time was added. The crushing need for nicotine slowed the progress and made it difficult to focus, but he was able to push through.
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Commander Theodore noticed the power meter had reactivated. It showed 20% in ten minutes.
“Active emergency power!”
The tech pressed the red button, and the lights came on.
“Sir! How is that midshipman alive?!”
Commander Theodore looked at the warp core temperature and saw that it was at 120,000 Celsius with radiation levels at 5 billion rads.
He pressed the comms button for the warp core. “Hey, Brinus, are you still alive?”
“Yes, sir but I could use a cigarette really bad!”
Commander Theodore snapped his fingers at one of the techs who had a cig behind his ear, and they left the control room.
The engineering bay sensors detected two battlecruisers closing in on their location.
A few minutes later, the midshipman returned with a pack of vanilla coffee and nicotine-infused cigarettes. Commander Theodore handed the tech four credits from the petty cash fund.
“Sir, power is at 60%!”
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“Activate auxiliary power and call battle stations!”
Captain Plato’s voice broke over comms. “What the fuck?! How did we get hit with an ion weapon and have 60% power in twenty minutes?”
“Sir, Midshipman Helios is making a miniature star in the warp core, sir!”
“This is one time where I am glad he’s a rebel! Make sure he gets his share of the prize money from the battle. I am also putting him up for commendation.”
“Yes, sir!”
Ten more minutes passed, and then one of the techs shouted, “Sir! The enemy ships are five minutes away; we have 70% power! Most of the crew and officers are at battle stations!”
“Well, I’ll have to make do.” Commander Theodore pressed the intercom button, “Brinus, get to your battle station now! That is an order!”
“Sir! If I don’t finish the chromosphere of the mini star, it won’t hold.”
“You have five minutes!”
There were a few moments of silence, and then Brinus said, “Sorry, sir. It won’t be finished in five minutes. I need ten minutes!”
“You have five minutes.”
“Well then, sir, we’re fucked.” Comms were cut.
Commander Theodore opened comms with the bridge. “Sir, Midshipman Helios won’t be finished with the mini star for another 10 minutes.”
“We thought that might happen.”
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The Bridge
Captain Plato turned to his chief science officer. “Any systems with life we can hide in?”
“Yes, sir! Stellaris! It is three minutes by warp travel.”
“Helmsman! Punch a course for Stellaris!”
The helmsman had a wide-eyed look, and his mouth was open. “Sir, what about Brinus?”
“He knew the risks when entering the warp core. Punch a course! Now! That’s an order!”
The helmsman nodded and began calculating a course to Stellaris.
After 60 seconds, the ship jumped to warp and, after three minutes, entered Stellaris. At near-relativistic speeds, the ship positioned itself to hide in the magnetosphere of Stellaris.
A few minutes later, the enemy battlecruisers entered the Stellaris system along with four heavy cruisers.
The comms officer shouted, “Sir, Stellaris is hailing us!”
“On screen.”
The leader of Stellaris was a humanoid woman with red hair, green eyes, and green skin. She had a frown on her face and hardened eyes. She started screaming into the comms device, “We demand you leave at once! HOW DARE YOU USE OUR PLANET AS A SHIELD!! WHERE IS YOUR ADMIRAL!?”
“Petty officer cut coms and block transmissions from that planet.”
The screen cut off before the woman could sound another word.
As the enemy ships searched for The Victory the comms officer yelled out again. “Sir, cent comm is hailing us!”
Captain Plato rolled his eyes and made a cat hiss. “On screen.”
The view screen showed Brinus’s mother in a suit sitting at her desk in the Admiralty. She looked blank, but her eyes burned with the rage of a thousand stars.
“What is this about you using a planet of a neutral world as a shield?”
“Ma’am, we are currently recharging the warp after being hit with an ion weapon. We still have three minutes until it is fully charged.”
Marci let loose a string of profane verbal abuse that Captain Plato didn’t know a duchess was capable of. The amount of F-bombs dropped over the next 3 minutes made even the most hardened naval personnel blush. She ended the verbal tirade with a warning to never do something like that again, or he would be court-martialed and demoted to midshipman. She then terminated the call.
There were sixty seconds of total silence, during which time only the low hum of computer consoles could be heard. Finally, an engineer spoke, “Sir, the miniature star is complete.”
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The engineering bay
Brinus had his sleeves rolled up to his elbow and a coffee cigarette in his mouth as he sat on the floor leaning against the wall watching a video on his triquarter.
Commander Theodore watched Brinus smoke in the engine room as the ship went underway from the enemy squadron. They began chasing The Victory. Commander Theodore looked at the techs.
“Sir, we have a 100% charge and a completely self-sustaining reaction. We don’t need fuel.”
“How long until the star dies?”
“It looks like it is a G-type star and will run for about a week. We will need stellar cartography to be sure. You know, sir, the engine room is a non-smoking area. There are a lot of flammable chemicals down there.”
“So? Let him smoke a few cigs. Then he needs to get to his battle station.”
After taking some time as a respite, he finished four cigarettes back to back. It took twenty minutes to get out of the Stellaris system as the five ships fired their bow chasers at The Victory.
The cigarettes tasted like burnt coffee and overcooked vanilla. It also had a slight charcoal taste. He preferred the tarken tea cigarettes, which had an organic taste and a smoother flavor, but then again, there was a reason he switched to the medical vape.
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Once they left the system, Brinus reported to his battle station on the gun deck. He was putting time fuses on proton torpedoes and percussion caps on concussion missiles. He glistened in a layer of cold sweat and could taste the acrid smell of chemicals from the fuse box as he donned his PPE. The equipment was humid and heavy, and he needed two people to help him with it.
The ship turned a full 90 degrees and let loose a barrage of plasma bolts on the enemy ships. Then, one after the other, ten thousand fighter craft and fighter-bombers flew out of the main hangar bay.
The plasma bolts impacted the shields, creating a blue ripple on the invisible bubble. However, the next barrage overwhelmed two of the heavy cruiser’s shields. They made holes with orange edges around them. Forty fiery bolts hit the hull of the lead cruiser, sending grungy metal shrapnel floating in all directions. The cruiser responded by launching four tricobalt torpedoes in a sparking flash of red and orange light at The Victory from her bow.
They impacted the fourth gun deck, but the new armor plating absorbed most of the damage, sending white-hot metal splinters in all directions into the gun deck. One of the turbo cannons exploded in a fiery explosion, burning the gun crew to a crisp.
Brinus caught some shrapnel in the arm with a large piece of metal sticking out of his left shoulder and a smaller piece in his right arm. A medic ran to him and pulled him to the side where the casualties were. She pulled out quick-clot bandages and soaked them in 100% ethanol alcohol. She put the pad over the wound and wrapped surgical tape around the bandage. Giving Brinus a shot of Demerol and another shot of antibiotic nanties, Brinus finally stopped screaming and relaxed.
Some field medics took him to the medical bay.
Meanwhile, as the battle raged, The Victory let loose waves of plasma bolts and sent them flying into the squadron. The enemy attempted to warp off the battlefield as the starcraft pounded away at their thrusters; however, their engines sustained too much damage. Plasma bolts, missiles, and torpedoes flew in all directions.
Admiral Nelson entered the bridge as the battle progressed and hailed the squadron’s commodore. Who answered? “What do you want? You goddamn furry?”
“I am going to turn around and pretend you did not call me a furry.” Admiral Nelson turned in a circle while flicking his tail rapidly, and his fur became poofy. He then addressed the enemy officer. “Now, on behalf of the Confederate Navy, I wish to extend an offer of surrender.”
“Are you surrendering to me, furry?”
“No you surrender to me, pattabanist.”
The commodore screamed, “How dare you call me a pattabanist!”
Admiral Nelson made a cat howl and hissed with his ears down to his head, “How dare you call me a fucking furry! Are you going to surrender to me or not?!”
The commodore suddenly fell dead to the ground. He was shot by his captain of the fleet and three other members of the bridge crew. The captain took over the comms.
“As captain of the fleet, I accept your offer of surrender.”
“Order the fleet to stand down, and I will withdraw my spacecraft. Do you have any wounded crew we can treat?”
“No, sir. We can manage our casualties.”
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Three days later, Brinus was in his quarters later after being discharged from the medical bay. He had some nerve replacement surgery and a bionic hand, which was camouflaged to look like a real one. He saw the letter that was hand-delivered to him and read it. Simmie was in the bed next to him, asleep. Unable to sleep because of nightmares, he started reading it:
Dear Midshipman Helios
In recognition of extreme bravery, you will be awarded the Navy Cross and the Purple Heart. You will also receive a commissioned lieutenant’s share of the prize money, which amounts to 450 million credits. They will be transferred to your account after your award ceremony, which is scheduled for the first of next month or in five days.
Signed,
Central Command
There was a knock on his door. Brinus came up from the bed. He was still sore after two days of regeneration therapy in the ICU and having a new prosthetic on his hand, so he groaned and moved slowly.
He opened the door, and it was Commander Tom at three a.m. “Brinus stood at attention and slated.”
“May I come in?”
“Yes, sir.”
The commander came into quarters and removed his dress shoes and socks. “I understand you have physical therapy tomorrow.”
Brinus sighed and sat down on the couch. “Yes, sir. I also start ketamine therapy next week.”
“What is that going to be like?”
Brinus looked at his commander blankly. He had no idea. The truth was that he didn’t know what to expect. His research showed that it was an Erath drug made as a horse tranquilizer during the pre-collapse era. It was a popular club drug from the 2000s to the 2020s on earth. The confederacy found that it was useful for moderate to severe depression and PTSD. It was shown to rewire the brain and allow humans to reprocess the trauma around memories.
“I don’t know sir.”
Commander Tom shrugged his shoulders. “Fair answer. Got any beer?”
“There’s a 12-pack in the fridge. Just grab one.”
Commander Tom walked to the fridge and ground after opening it. “You have Earth IPA.”
Commander Tom tossed Brinus a beer, who dropped it and yelled out in pain.
He closed the door after grabbing his beer. “Let’s just get to the point ...why did you do it?”
“cuz it was the right thing to do, sir.”
Commander Tom laughed for sixty seconds and then said, “Nerfshit! People like us rarely do anything because it is the right thing to do. I will ask again…and you better tell the goddamn truth.”
Brinus sighed and sat down. He reached for his medical vape on the coffee table, took a few pulls to calm down, and then said with an evil smile, “Because I love my husband. And I wanted to protect my friends.”
“We’re getting warmer…but that isn’t all of it. What is the full reason.”
Brinus stood and went nose to nose with the commander. “I will be damned if any of my friends and family are killed by pattabanist criminals!!”
Commander Tom smiled. “And there it is. You love your husband, don’t you? And you have a close friendship with Godfrick? I know he comes by your quarters every Friday. He told his professor the other day that he enjoys gaming with you.”
“Me and him have a lot of common interests. He even was a white hat hacker before joining the navy.”
“I saw he visited you in the medical ward.”
“We were talking about the new Marco-book graphics chip. My husband was there as well. We just spent a few hours discussing computer parts.”
“You would kill to protect your husband, wouldn’t you?”
Brinus made an evil smile and rubbed his hands together, creating sparks. “You saw the lengths I went to save the ship to protect him.”
Commander Tom whistled and said, “At least you’re on our side. I regret the day the Federation tries to hurt Simmie.”
“The day some pattabanist lays a finger on Simmie will be their last day in this galaxy.”
Commander walked over to the fridge and tossed Brinus a beer, which popped open and began drinking. “Take a beer. You earned it. Why are you awake anyway?”
Brinus smiled as he put his vape in the charger. “Why are you awake?”
“I have to oversee the repairs to the gun deck. We lost eight cannons, and deck four received a lot of torpedo damage so that I won’t be sleeping for a week. Anyway, I heard you were discharged from the medical ward, and I knew you wouldn’t be sleeping, so I thought I would check on you.”
“Thank you, sir.”
“No problem, kid.”
They tapped their beer bottles together and spent 20 minutes drinking beer together.