Brinus and an assistant were smoothing the welds on an alloy support truss for the deflector dish. One of his assistants had just spent two hours building a rebar system for a spacewalk on the deflector dish. He’d come out of his Civic AI systems class and had just completed his final to make some code for basic AI code for a city of 50,000 to 200,000 people. He was filling in for a fourth year who was taking his lieutenant’s exams.
A Lieutenant came up to Brinus and tapped him on the shoulder. He jumped and then looked at the officer.
Brinus stood at attention and saluted.
“Smokestack, did you finish the mini support for the deflector dish?”
“Yes, sir. Just smoothing out the welds now.”
The lieutenant jammed his finger into Brinus’s chest. “I want it delivered now, Smokestack! I don’t care about the welds!”
“Sir, yes, sir!”
Brinus removed his apron and protective equipment and put them on the bench. He then pressed a button on his triquarter, which called a smoke break. However, as the smokers left, He pointed at three of the crewmen and one crewwoman and flicked his head. They groaned but saluted Brinus and came to him. Brinus saluted them back.
“I want y’all to carry this truss to the couriers outside.”
“Sir, it’s been two months now. When does our probation end?”
Brinus sighed and then shouted, “Y’all were put on final notice for three months. In fact, you’re lucky y’all are even still in the service! Now follow your damn orders and do as you’re told! I cleared out most of the people out of the workshop, so it should be easy for y’all to move this here, truss! I am going to vape outside! I’ll be back in 15 minutes!”
He left to go outside but got a ping on his phone. He looked at it, and it was the auto grader. The Sentient AI programming class he had gotten a 98; Warp Bubble Calculus III he had gotten a 95, It said he made some mistakes in the work he showed; IT neural network systems 101 he made a 95. No, this had to be an error —a 70? Seriously? He would have to talk to the professor about that. Civic AI Systems 101, he made a 99. It turns out that on one of the homework assignments, he was ten minutes late on turning it in.
After the smoke break ended, he returned inside and the truss was gone. He didn’t trust the crewmates, so he began looking around the room for the truss, and it was gone. The four young people were also gone. Whatever, Brinus didn’t have time for their tomfoolery. He would chastise them later.
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After an hour, The four kids still weren’t back. He decided to Message his direct superior and was midway through typing his message when the kids came into the workshop laughing. He cussed, deleted the message, and came into the workshop holding a megaphone.
“Mo! Curly! Jo! Rey! What the Fuck!?”
The entire workshop fell silent.
The kids stood at attention as Brinus screamed through the workshop megaphone on the catwalk beside his office. “What the fuck is y’all’s fucking malfunction! You just went A.W.O.L for an hour! WHERE THE FUCK DID Y’ALL GO!?!”
The four teenagers were horrified. Brinus knew they weren’t going to respond, and he could also guess they would likely try some way to get even with him.
“GET BACK TO YOUR POST!!!!! NOW!!!!”
Brinus came back to his post and saw a text from his petty officer first class on his regular shift. He had pneumonia and wouldn’t be in the office for a week. Brinus said he could take two weeks off, and he would put it down as personal leave so it wouldn’t count as sick leave. The officer sent a thumbs-up emoji and then said thank you.
He cleared two weeks of the petty officer’s calendar for “Personal reasons.” Brinus knew what he did was against regulation, but he didn’t care.
The four crewmates team leader, the crewwoman, came up to the office door for her assignment.
“Enter.”
“Sir, Crewwoman Rey Skywalker is reporting for duty, sir.”
Brinus growled and then began twirling his vape pen between his fingers really fast. “We got an order to cast ten moonstone pipes for the reconstruction efforts below. I need you to use brass rings around them.”
“Yes, sir. I want that order in writing, sir.”
Brinus could tell, based on her posture and smug look, that she was planning something. By this point, he was well-trained in malicious compliance.
He flashed his teeth and said, “You will get your orders within twenty minutes.”
Brinus made an email on his computer terminal, CC' ing Commander Theodore and his Direct superior. The exact instructions of what he wanted were in 8-point font at the bottom, and the order was in 12-point font in Navy format.
His triquarter pinged in a group chat involving both the commander and his direct superior. Commander Theodore sent him a message.
Commander Theodore:
What are you doing?
Brinus:
I think some of my crewmates are planning to fuck me.
Commander Theodore:
I know you, you’re planning something.
Brinus:
You’ll see.
Commander Theodore:
Do I need to send the police to your workshop to remove the four crewmates?
Brinus:
For what? They just gave me the creeps and wanted a verbal order in writing. The law doesn’t cover thought crimes.
Commander Theodore:
I am going to call the police and tell them to keep a few cops close to your workshop.
Brinus:
Technically, we could remove them for being A.W.O.L. They were gone for an hour and came back laughing.
The direct supervisor joins the conversation
The Lieutenant:
Sir, might I add that I saw these four crewmates hanging by the torpedo room, taking selfies in front of the bombs while coming back from the bathroom?
Commander Theodore:
I am calling the police. I am going to have a bomb squad sweep the workshop. Brinus, you’re under orders to evacuate the workshop now!
Brinus pressed a button on his triquarter to end the work shift early. He pressed another button to lock the doors where the Four crewmates were located.
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The Spies
The four crewmates were mixing the moonstone cement when the workday abruptly ended.
Mo looked at Curly. “I guess we get off early?”
Rey walked up to the double doors in the cement room and they were locked. “What the fuck?”
“Do they know?” Implored Jo.
“It is our duty to die for Pattaban. Rather, they know or not,” said Rey
“For Pattaban,” said all four teenagers.
Rey pulled out a blasting cap she had stolen from the torpedo room and put it on something she had stolen from the workshop's explosive material room two months earlier. She then attached the blasting cap to the item and slammed it against the workbench.
A fireball engulfed the room, incinerating everything. Its burning heat could be felt throughout the entire workshop. The blast doors were closed and locked, so the cement room was completely destroyed. Three layers of metal walls had melted, and the drywall had turned to ash. The equipment was gone, and the fire quickly ran out of oxygen.
The fire department responded and came into the workshop. They forced open the blast door to the cement room, and the smoke flashed over it in a second fireball. The fire engulfed two firefighters who were burned alive in seconds. It took an hour to get the flames under control.
Overall, a tooling shop next to the cement room had some fire damage, and half of the tooling machines were totaled. All fire suppression systems were never activated because they were sabotaged. Furthermore, The replicator room and the 3D printing room received some smoke damage.
The fire crew’s master chief came up to Brinus. He saluted Brinus, and Brinus saluted him back.
The master chief began speaking. “You’ll get a damage report in the morning. Also, we will need to analyze the explosive material used, which will take a couple of days. But based on an initial visual assessment, it looks like we will need a dry dock to refit.”
“I will take it up with the commander.”
Commander Theodore came to the workshop, where Brinus was outside talking with the fire inspector and giving his statement. He approached Brinus and then jabbed his finger into his chest.
“What are the names of spies?!”
“Mo, Culy, Jo, and Rey.”
“If you say the fourth one was Rey Skywalker, I will slap you silly.”
“She was. Why does that matter, sir?”
The Commander slapped Brinus across the face, leaving a red handprint across his face. “You idiot! The names of the three male recruits were the stooges from 20th Century Earth, and the woman was named after the worst character in a corporate franchise called Star Wars.”
“Who were the three stooges, sir.”
“They were famous slapstick comedians from the 1920s to the 1960s. Seriously? You didn’t look up their names?! WHO THE FUCK NAMES THEIR KID REY SKYWALKER!?”
Brinus said nothing. He stood at attention and looked off the side.
“I am glad you saved most of the workshop, but I think you need remedial training in detecting covert operations. I am going to sign you up for a six-week counterintelligence course. Dismissed Smokestack!”
An hour later, Brinus waited outside his programming professor’s office. He activated the record function on his triquarter. The professor opened the door a few minutes later and let him in. He sat across them and then sat in silence for 20 seconds.
“You wanted to discuss your final?”
“Yes, sir. Why did I make a 70?”
They leaned across their desk and laughed. “Yes. You did make the lowest score in the class. Felons don’t belong in the Navy. Now, do you have any questions about your place in society?”
Brinus stood, saluted, and left before the professor could say anything else. He filed a dispute with the dean and submitted the recording he secretly made.
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Brinus was standing before Captain Plato in his office. The Captain had his paws behind his back and was looking out of the window.
“I told your commander you weren’t ready for command. I understand he is sending you on a six course at the Saffron Admiralty on counter espionage while we are in the drydock.”
“Yes, sir.”
“And you have two fights while on saffron.”
Brinus nodded but said nothing.
“I will be taking the money you earned from both fights to pay for the damage. Also, whatever isn’t covered will be added to your debt. Just note this incident will be added to your permanent academic record.”
Brinus tensed up but said nothing.
Captain Plato saw Brinus’s reflection in the force field. “What is it, Smokestack?”
“Sir, I wasn’t negligent or directly responsible for sabotage.”
Captain Plato turned and faced Brinus. “No, you weren’t, but you were the officer in charge, and your failure to stop the plot resulted from inexperience and lack of training. You are liable. You have been in the military for two years, so you should know by now that the credit stops with the commander in charge.”
“With respect, what will happen to Commander Theodore, sir?”
Captain Plato approached Brinus and extended his claws, running his index claw over his left cheek. “I think you need some further training in counter-espionage. I just want you to know we don’t hold you to the same standard as a commissioned officer, but don’t mess up on this scale again.” Captain Plato scratched Brinus, leaving a claw mark on his left cheek.
Brinus didn’t flinch.
“Are you familiar with the Terra Station Research Base?”
Brinus shook his head.
“They need help with one of their projects. The damage to the workshop will take five months to repair. I volunteered you as punishment. When we dock, you will report to the base. One of their marines will take you there, and you will receive your orders. Dismissed Smokestack.”
Brinus saluted and left.
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That Friday night, Brinus was playing his Game with his gaming buddies. He had his medical vape in his mouth and was in a boss battle. His bare back and chest felt cold with the air conditioning as Godfrick sat beside him. Godfrick had just recently joined the guild and would spend 6 hours gaming with Brinus and his guild every Friday. They both stared at the screen and screamed into the mics. The ice dragon’s tail hit Godfrick, and Brinus stepped in just as the ice dragon launched a second attack. It sprayed everyone on the team with deadly ice, and then on the screen appeared: “You died.”
Brinus cussed and threw his controller against the wall, smashing it into bits. Godfrick pulled out his cigarettes and lighter and then slapped Brinus on the back. “Maybe you should lay off the Vape?”
Brinus pulled from his vape and laughed. “What?”
“Bro, you’ve been suckin’ on that thing for thirty minutes. I’ll be back in a few minutes.”
Brinus rolled his eyes. “Whatever. Like you’re like your one to talk. I’ll get us some beers. What do you want?”
“You got any of that pink ice?”
“Simmie got it yesterday. When you get back from the smoking area, there is a six-pack in the fridge for you.”
Godfrick and Brinus slapped their hands together, and then Godfrick left.
The raid leader spoke over the mic. “You realize you were hot miking, right?”
“So? Did I say anything?”
“How the fuck do you afford to replicate four controllers?! What the fuck, bruh?!”
Brinus laughed. “I’m in the Navy, dumbass.”
A third raid member spoke, “Come to think of it, your voice sounds familiar. I think I heard it on the sports streamers before.”
The raid leader changed the subject. “We’re gonna take a 15-minute break and then returned for a different boss.”
“Cool. Alex! Pause the mic for 15 minutes.”
“Command accepted.”
Brinus entered the kitchen and prepared a cheese sandwich. He also replicated a new controller and a glass of milk.
The next boss battle began, and Brinus had his vape in his mouth. Brinus grew increasingly frustrated with the boss battle. Brinus had used so much nicotine over the course of the next hour that he got nauseous and dizzy. This high threw off his aim. he missed the giant worm’s mouth with his missile and hit the ground. The worm sprayed acid at the enemies, scoring a second team-kill.
Brinus cussed even louder, throwing his controller at the TV and smashing both of them. He then walked over to the replicator and replicated another controller. He then smashed the second one against the marble kitchen floors, screaming cuss words at the controller.
Godfrick put his controller down, put on his shoes and socks, and left his quarters without a word. Everyone on the gaming team was stunned into silence.
Finally, the raid leader spoke. “Mind explaining what that outburst was about?”
“Not in public.”
There was about sixty seconds of silence, and then the raid leader said, “I am going to call the raid for tonight. Brinus, I want you to stay behind.”
One by one, everyone left until it was just Brinus and the guild leader.
“Okay, Brinus, what the fuck? I have never known you to act like this.”
After a few seconds of silence, he said, “My workshop was sabotaged today, and I’m bein’ held responsible. I am being fined hundreds of thousands of credits. A professor gave me a low grade because of my felony status despite the fact I made a 99 on the final. I am disputing it now.”
“There is something else, though.”
“It’ll be on the news tomorrow, and most of the podcasters will likely cover it. I will likely be put on probation and could have my parole revoked by the admiral if I screw up again during the probation period.”
“The sabotage of a workshop on a command ship? That’s a pretty big deal. Will you lose command?”
“More than likely. I made an offering to the fire gods that I won’t be put on probation at the fire temple.” Brinus laughed and noticed a large cut on his hand oozing blood. “I just realized I doxxed myself.”
“Don’t worry, kid, everyone knows who you are. You’re quite a famous fighter.”
A knock came on the door
“Police!! Open up, or we are coming in!!”
“I have to go. The cops are at my door.”
They opened the door with a universal code, and two cops stood in the foyer. “Mind if we come in?”
“No.”
They entered the kitchen without Brinus’s permission and saw him with a bleeding hand. He was shirtless, barefoot, and had gym shorts on.
The first cop stood behind Brinus, and the second approached him with his hand on his shock stick. “Do you have a first aid kit?”
“It is under the sink to the left.”
The first cop reached under the sink and pulled out a dermal regenerator, some Medi Honey gauze, surgical tape, and sterile saline.
The second cop crossed his arms as the first cop tended to the wound on his hand. “Is everything okay? We got multiple calls about a noise disturbance, and then your friend called for us to do a welfare check.”
“It’s been a long day.”
The cop tending Brinus’s wound asked, “Can I see your I.D.?”
Brinus produced his wrist, and the cop scanned his microchip, reviewing his information.
“I heard about the sabotage of the workshop. For the record, it says on your file you’re being put on a formal reprimand for negligence and remedial training and are being made financially responsible for the cost of repairs. You’re not on probation. Is there someone you need us to call?”
“No, officer. I can manage.”
“If we get any further calls, I will call your therapist. I am going to give you a warning for now, but no more disturbances. Have a good night, and stay safe.”
The cop finished wrapping Brinus’s hand after washing out the cut with the saline and applying the regenerator. He put the leftover supplies back under the sink, and both cops left.