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The battle klaxon woke Rick up from his nap. He was up and out of his bunk in a heartbeat. As he opened the hatch a young officer came up to him. “Sir the Captain wants you on the command deck.” He turned and sprinted down the corridor. Rick followed him with a sense of urgency.
Maybe this was just a show of force, nothing more than posturing. At least that’s what Rick hoped.
As he stepped into the command deck a frustrated Jennings was talking to someone on the screen. “I have no hostile intentions. I’m here with a diplomatic envoy on a diplomatic mission.”
“So you say. I don’t understand why they would send a destroyer on a diplomatic mission. I’m not letting you anywhere near my planet.”
Rick stepped up to Jennings and said, “Captain, if I may?” Jennings stepped aside and gestured that Rick should take over. Rick turned to the screen. “Captain my name is Rick Thompson, what is yours?”
“Captain Toupalev, of the Rossom military defense force.”
“Captain,” Rick wasn’t sure if he could pronounce his name, so he just addressed him by his title. “I understand how you might be feeling right now. I’m sorry but this was the first available ship to take me on a very urgent mission. I have important matters to discuss with CEO Ridges. I have information that he needs. I respectfully request that you contact his office and get further instructions as what to do with us?”
“Let me ask you something first, are you the Rick Thomas that turned on his own CEO?”
“Yes,” said Rick defiantly. He wasn’t sure where this was going, but he didn’t like the way the question was asked.
“Why would you do that?”
“Because he was guilty of the mass murder of millions. Not only people from the Wilson corporation, but people from across the galaxy from all corporations. Rossom was being blamed for Pacifica and they had nothing to do with it. I could not tolerate that.”
Toupalev smiled. Rick got the feeling that he passed some kind of test. “I’ll make the call.” He turned cold as he spoke to Jennings. “Captain if you so much as twitch I will blow you from the sky.”
With an equally cold deminer Jennings said, “Understood.” The screen want blank. “Well, it looks like you got your meeting.”
“Maybe. Let’s wait and see what they have to say.” Rick was hopeful but less optimistic.
“I’m sure you will get in to see him. Did you see the look on the captain’s face when you answered his question?”
“Yeah, it looked like he was amused.”
“No,” said Jennings. “Above all a military man respects honor and personal integrity. When you answered his question you showed both.”
“I’m sorry that is just the way I am.” Rick was confused.
“Don’t be sorry, it just might be the only thing that keeps us out of war.”
“That is what I’m shooting for. Pun intended.” Both men laughed.
“But seriously the military in general don’t trust Directors,” said Jennings.
“Does that include me?”
“Na, the way I figure it, you were handed a pile of dirt and told to fertilize a field with it.”
Both men laughed. Rick was starting to get the feeling that Jennings liked him. It truly didn’t matter one way or another, but it was nice to know that he had support.
Rick was about to ask a question when one of the officers said, “Captain we are getting an incoming transmission.”
“Put it on.”
Toupalev came back on the screen. “Captain you will follow me into a parking orbit around the planet. The slightest hostile action will be met with deadly force.”
“Understood,” said Jennings in the same cold way he did before.
Then Toupalev turned his attention to Rick. “Director Thompson, I assume the only transport you have available to you is a fighter?”
Rick looked at Jennings who nodded once. Then Rick answered the question. “You would be correct.”
“Then I have been ordered to send a shuttle to pick you up.”
Rick could see that Jennings was about to object, but he thought better of it. “I find that acceptable, but may I ask why?”
“Well Sir, with tension between us as high as they are, it was thought that a Wilson fighter in our skies would cause trouble.”
“I see,” said Rick. He already knew the answer, but he wanted to see how Toupalev would react.
“You can also bring as many security men as you would feel comfortable with.”
“Thank you Captain. When will this shuttle arrive?”
“I’ll send it over as soon as we reach parking orbit.” He addressed Jennings in a more civilized manner. “Captain, I’ll contact you for docking instructions once we arrive in orbit.”
“Very well Captain. We’ll talk to you soon.”
“Toupalev out.”
“Did I miss something?” said Rick.
“What do you mean?”
“Well, Toupalev seemed nasty in the beginning. Then he seemed to lighten up.”
Jennings smiled. “That was a military thing. He wanted me to know that he was in control of the situation. After all we are in his space. Once I showed Toupalev the proper respect, in other words that I would follow his lead, there was no need to for him to take offence. I would have done the same thing in Wilson space.”
“Yeah, I can see that.”
“At this rate we should be in a parking orbit in about a half an hour. You should go get ready.”
“Yes Captain,” said Rick with a smile, then he turned and left the command deck.