Making of a Starship Captain Ch. 15

[Note: This Science Fiction story is an intense character study with occasional sex scenes.]

The Westerner

It was nearly two years later.

Taylor had been exonerated at his court martial. He had been put on trial for assuming the role of a God and burning thousands in a fiery death. The Survey Service military tribunal acquitted him on all charges, and he was even promoted as a result, to Lieutenant Commander.

However, Taylor was nothing if not controversial after the incident on PR-52981. This was now the second time he had been on a ship where the entire crew either died or went crazy and he had assumed command. Not everyone was as understanding of his reluctant actions in taking on the role of a God, even with the best of intentions.

And so he was exiled to the transportation branch of the Survey Service. But a certain Admiral Von Windhoek took pity on the newly minted Lieutenant Commander, and got him a command of his own, even if it was a merchant ship. And so for two years Taylor plied the stars, and if he didn't have a military vessel under his command, at least he did have his own ship. And the USS Westerner was a good ship.

The experience on PR-52981 had changed Taylor. He had been a God, worshipped and admired by thousands.

Gone was his lack of confidence. He still felt fear--all people except psychopaths felt fear--but it was on a leash, firmly under his control. Bravery, strength, determination, these were all heavyweights inside his mind. Inadequacy was now a tiny voice to be laughed at.

And something else was new. Now Taylor felt confidence with women. He looked them in the eye more now, and spoke confidently, even seductively to them. He could flirt with women. He could seduce women. He could make love to them in a strong way. Alexis had trained him only too well. Now Michael Taylor was a certifiable ladies' man.

This served him well, especially since his first officer was a lady. But not just any lady.

Taylor's first officer was Lieutenant Jennifer Hale. Jennifer Hale was gorgeous. She had long, smooth dark hair which reminded him a little of Cherry Oteri's, but Jennifer's was even thicker and more luxurious. She had large perfectly round breasts that showed absolutely no sag, even when she was in gym clothes.

But most of all, Jennifer was a terrible flirt. She knew the effect she had on Taylor and she loved it. She enjoyed touching him ever so casually on his arm, or his hand, or his shoulder as they talked. She loved the way Taylor looked at her in her pudex tights in the ship's gym, while everyone else was wearing casual, looser workout clothes. She would give him sexy grins as she ran on a virtual treadmill, right next to him, watching him watch her as her gorgeous melons bounced up and down and a sheen of sweat worked its way down to her chest, forming a magnificent triangular stain on her white tights, between her breasts, which neatly mirrored another triangular formation farther below. She had him so conditioned, so infatuated with her, that she could smile at Taylor and give him an erection from across the room.

Of course, being attracted to one's first officer was terribly, terribly awkward. And it was even more awkward considering a certain experience both of them had shared on a certain moon of Sirius 4. Taylor and Jennifer had been on a shuttle which crash landed on the planet and Taylor had been pricked by a thorn and developed a life threatening fever. Jennifer, sensing that Taylor was on the edge of death, told him that she loved him, and Taylor had told her truthfully that he loved her.

But when they got back to the ship, it turned out that Jennifer was not willing to act on her declared feelings. The problem was Michael. The other Michael. Jennifer's husband was also named Michael. She couldn't be persuaded to commit adultery.

Not that Taylor tried very hard. He was terribly, terribly attracted to Jennifer. But his experience on PR-52981 had left a bitter taste in his mouth. He remembered how Alexis had corrupted him, step by step, until he was having sexual relations with married women. He thought back with shame how he had seduced one married woman after another. So he was caught between two competing impulses--the immorality of luring Jennifer into betraying her husband, and his intense sexual and emotional attraction to her.

Such was the state of affairs when they heard that a ravaging plague had struck Tarsis IV.

********

"Bessemer's Syndrome has only one known cure, based on the rare mineral known as Birtallen," said Rear Admiral Von Windhoek. His holographic projection appeared on the bridge of the Westerner. "The plague is estimated to kill thousands if we don't synthesize enough of the drug in time."

Taylor nodded. "How can we help, sir?"

"We have a team on Korana which is mining the mineral. But we lost contact with them."

"Korana?" said Taylor, frowning.

"One of the 23 moons of Ramada."

"Why there, sir?"

"Because we've exhausted our own sources of the mineral due to this emergency," said Von Windhoek. "At the moment, this is the only easily accessible source."

"If we can call extracting anything from Ramadhan space easy, sir," said Taylor.

"Yes," said Von Windhoek. He paused. "The leader of the mining team, Doctor Hardiman, has missed several check-ins."

"Do you think the Ramadhans might have had something to do with this?" Taylor asked.

Von Windhoek shrugged. "Officially, we are at peace with the Ramadhans. But Korana is one of their lawless moons."

"One of their many lawless moons," said Taylor.

"Yes," said Von Windhoek. "I want you to go there, find out what happened to the miners, and get that mineral."

"Sir, I'd love to help... but we're already on a mission of mercy," said Taylor. "We're already scheduled to deliver a cargo of perishable medical supplies to Ujamaa II."

"You're the closest available ship, Taylor. The Scunathorpe is the next closest ship, and it will take nearly a week to get there. We don't have that kind of time. Can't you do two things at once?" The eyes of the Admiral bore into him.

"I... suppose we could go to Korana, then go down in a shuttle and investigate while the Westerner goes on and makes the delivery to Ujamaa II. The Westerner could be back in less than four days."

"That sounds like a plan. Make it so, Commander," said Von Windhoek.

"Yes sir. I'll get the Birtallen," said Taylor.

"I'm sure you will," said Von Windhoek, giving Taylor an unfathomable look. "Keep me informed, Captain." His holoimage faded.

Taylor turned to Jennifer, who looked hesitant. "So we're going to Ramada," she said cheerfully. "I wonder what burka fashions they're wearing there this time of year, black, or black?"

********

Ramada.

As Taylor looked at the giant, desert planet on the holodisplay, he reflected that Earth had fought three wars with the Ramadhans, and nothing had been solved. The Ramadhans, all of whom were followers of Laquinta, the God of Blood, still wanted to invade Earth. They still wanted to enslave the women, kill or enslave the men, and convert the children to Laquintaism. Theirs was a very warlike ideology.

Korana was one of the 23 moons of Ramada. The moons, like most of Ramada, were almost entirely lawless. There was a weak central government on Al Sa-Naa which controlled very little. The entire planet was broken into factions, tribes, and religious ideologies. Ramadhans were constantly at war with each other.

There were two main factions, Suttis and Shiars. The Great Book of Blood states that the God of Blood is to be worshiped on the Seventh Day of Dagmar, and every seven days thereafter. Suttis believe that falls on a Sunday; Shiars believe that falls on a Saturday. For that, and other subtle differences, the Suttis and Shiars had been slaughtering each other for centuries. But even within their subfaiths, Suttis have been slaughtering Suttis, and Shiars slaughtering other Shairs for even more subtle religious differences.

It was a mess down there, and Taylor didn't relish going into it.

Korana, one of the moons of Ramada, was reputed to be sparsely inhabited. That might be a good sign. But what had happened to the miners?

They got a voice only transmission as they came into orbit.

"... can you hear me?" said the voice.

"Yes, who is this?" said Taylor.

"I am Doctor Jonathan Hardiman of the Karamco Mining Consortium. Who do I have the honor of addressing?"

Jennifer and Taylor exchanged startled looks.

"I am Captain Michael Taylor of the Survey Service ship Westerner," said Taylor. "We were worried when we lost contact with you, Doctor Hardiman."

"We've had enormous trouble with our communication equipment. It's all the sand down here, it gets into everything. It's amazing we were even able to get audio working. Perhaps one of your people can look into it."

"Perhaps," said Taylor. "What is the progress of your mining?"

"Almost done," said Hardiman. "Would you like to come down and observe our progress?"

"Very much," said Taylor.

"I'll provide coordinates on a sub-band," said Hardiman. "Captain Taylor, why don't you come down for dinner with us? In fact, I invite you and all your senior officers--your first officer, your engineer, doctor, security officer--all for dinner. We don't often get visitors here, and it's a real treat when we get to see new faces."

Taylor's eyes narrowed. He looked around for reactions. Jennifer looked thoughtful, but shrugged her shoulders. Taylor's second officer, Roger Talent, looked uncertain.

"Doctor Hardiman, that's a very generous officer, but I'm afraid my crew are needed elsewhere," said Taylor. He paused. "I'll bring my first officer down, Jennifer Hale, we'll take you up on that dinner offer."

"A woman! We look forward to it, Captain. Hardiman out."

As the signal faded, Jennifer grabbed Taylor's arm. "A woman, Captain! Just think of it!"

Taylor smiled. Jennifer always made him laugh.

"Should I bring a compression rifle, sir?" she asked playfully.

"No," said Taylor. "Just compression pistols, I think. And tell Ensign Jioto from Security that I want him to accompany us."

"Trouble, Captain?" Jennifer asked, cocking her head.

Taylor looked at the holoimage of dry, dusty Korana and shook his head. "I really don't know," he said slowly. He turned to his second officer. "Lieutenant Talent!"

"Sir?"

"You are in command. After we leave, make top speed to Ujamaa II and deliver those supplies. Then get back here as fast as you can."

"Trouble, sir?"

"You never know, Roger," said Taylor.

********

Taylor piloted the shuttle himself. Jennifer sat in the copilot seat. Jioto was in the passenger compartment. "Remember the last time we were in a shuttle together?" she said, batting her eyelashes at him.

The time when they had gotten stranded on the moon of Sirius IV. The time when Taylor had been burning up with fever, and Jennifer had said-

I love you.

"I remember," said Taylor tensely. Why was she bringing that up now? Jennifer had made it quite clear that she wasn't going to betray her marriage to Michael, her Michael.

But Jennifer was a flirt. A terrible, terrible flirt. Taylor saw it right now in the way she smiled at him, the way she looked at him. It was almost as if she was an emotional vampire, feeding off of his sexually frustrated energies.

"I remember," said Taylor evenly.

*********

Korana was a hot, dusty moon, baking in the heat of Ramada's sun. They followed the coordinates Doctor Hardiman sent them, which was a mining encampment at the base of a hill. Not far from it was a series of colorful tents.

"The miners?" Jennifer asked.

"Looks like locals," said Taylor grimly. "I hope they're friendly."

He set the shuttle down at a clearing near the mining camp.

But when he and Jennifer and Jioto emerged, there was no one there. He and Jennifer were wearing their Survey black and blue uniforms; Jioto was wearing his red security vest over his.

"Hello?" said Taylor, calling out to anyone who might be there.

They walked around the camp site. "It looks like no one's been here in a while," said Jennifer, looking around.

Jioto said, "Captain, I think I hear something from over there-" and as he pointed to a bunch of rock outcroppings, they heard the sound of blaster fire, and a smoking hole appeared in Jioto's red vest. He dropped to the ground like a sack of potatoes.

"Down!" Taylor cried, drawing his compression pistol. Jennifer did the same.

They were being attacked by men with blasters behind the rock outcropping. But in moments they were being attacked from the side as well.

"Crossfire!" Jennifer shouted.

"Stay down!" Taylor cried. Keeping low, he started running around the miner's camp, to out flank the second front. In moments he was looking at three black garbed men, aiming blaster rifles. But he saw them before they saw him. Taylor's compression pistol fired three shots. That's all he needed.

Then he raced back to Jennifer's position. Jennifer was pinned down, but firing back. Taylor jumped down to the ground next to her. "I took care of the second front," he said.

"Good," said Jennifer. "But what about these guys?"

Taylor tried to raise his head, but almost got it blasted off.

"They're too well under cover," said Taylor. "When I give the word, I'm going to lay down suppressing fire. I want you to withdraw and-"

"Halt!" came a loud, feminine voice.

The blaster fire continued.

"I said halt!" the voice cried.

The blaster fire ceased.

A woman came into view, a dark haired woman wearing a rugged looking furry cream blouse and equally furry cream trousers. She was accompanied by guards, all of whom were women dressed in the same fashion, all armed with primitive weapons like bows and spears.

"Stand up. Stand up, all of you," said the woman, in a commanding tone.

Taylor and Jennifer watched as three men in black behind the rock outcroppings stood up.

The woman turned to the mining encampment. "You as well. You will not be harmed."

Taylor looked at Jennifer, who nodded uncertainly. They stood up.

One of the men in black immediately raised his blaster rifle. One of the women threw a spear, which landed in his chest. He went down wordlessly.

The woman turned to the leader of the men in black. "You said you could eliminate them, Abduellah."

"And I can!" said the man called Abduellah. "Leave them to me, Ankara!"

"You had your chance," said the woman called Ankara scornfully. "You told me you could handle them by yourself."

"What's going on here?" Taylor demanded. "My name is Captain Michael Taylor of the United Survey Service. We are here to find Doctor Jonathan Hardiman and his mining expedition. What is the meaning of this attack?"

Ankara gave Taylor an evaluating stare, looking at him from top to bottom slowly and deliberately. She licked her lips as she admired his broad shoulders and manly chest. "Well, Captain Michael Taylor of the United Survey Service, we can't leave you wondering about the meaning of this attack, can we?" And the way she smiled at him, and said 'meaning of this attack' in such a derisive way, made it clear she was mocking him. Her female soldiers laughed.

But Taylor didn't. He looked furious and bravely handsome, which impressed Ankara. She strode up to him. "My name is Emiri Ankara. All you see around you," she gestured with her hands to the desert, "Is mine." She paused, to let the implications of that sink in. "Your men came here, looking for our rocks. They offered us food and clothing for them." She nodded her head to the man in black. "Abduellah here made us a better offer." One of her women soldiers laughed. "We let him take care of the miners."

"You murdered them?" Taylor said.

And now it was Adbuellah's turned to laugh. "It was hardly murder, Captain. More like slaughter. They surrendered to us without firing a shot. Then we executed them, in a wonderful ceremony to honor Laquinta. The sands of Korana flowed richly with blood on that day!"

Taylor, with murder in his eye, took a step forward. Jennifer put a restraining hand on him, and he froze.

Ankara saw the look in his eye, and nodded. She could sense Taylor's determination. It excited her. "Abduellah was supposed to take care of you as well," she said. She turned to Abduellah. "You knew exactly when and where they were coming. You had them come exactly where you wanted. You had more men. You had the advantage of surprise. But still, you could not kill them."

"I would have. Given enough time," said Abduellah.

"When? In two moons?" Ankara's soldiers laughed again, and this time it was Abduellah who was forced to conceal his rage.

"Let me kill them for you now, Emiri," said Abduellah.

"Perhaps," said Ankara, turning back to Taylor and smiling at him.

"Or let me kill the Ramadhan for you," said Taylor.

Ankara raised her eyebrows as she studied Taylor's face. "We have heard much of this.... Survey Service, even in an isolated place such as this. You are reputed to be the fiercest warriors your planet has to offer."

Taylor stared Ankara straight in the eye. "Emiri, Let me fight that one, and you'll see exactly how fierce we are."

"We shall see," said Ankara. "Surrender your weapons and communication devices, and we shall talk further."

Jennifer looked hesitantly at Taylor. "What about them?" Taylor asked, indicating the Ramadhans.

"All of you," said Ankara. "Now," she said, raising her voice. Her archers raised their bows.

Taylor and Jennifer dropped their weapons, as did the Ramadhans.

Ankara looked pointedly at Taylor. "But where are my manners? Welcome to Korana, Captain Taylor." She gave him a hard smile.

********

They were led to the largest of the colorful tents, which happened to be red in color. Ankara sat on a high chair, attended by her aides and guards. The Ramadhan men stood sullenly to one side.

"I'm a little... surprised to see women in charge here," said Taylor. "I thought the Book of Blood clearly indicated that men were supposed to be running things, and women-"

"Women are supposed to be in burkas, hiding in the kitchen for fear of being beaten by their loving husbands," said Ankara. "Yes, Captain Taylor, we are quite aware of the Book of Blood, even here in the hinterlands," she said, looking at him with a gleam in her eye.

"So... you are not followers of Laquinta?" Taylor asked.

"We are Telumchaar," said Ankara, with a harsh emphasis on the 'r' sound. "We subscribe to a slightly different interpretation of the Book of Blood. We believe the Book, properly read, states that women should be in charge, and men subservient to them."

"I have read some of the Book of Blood," said Taylor, remembering his experiences on PR-52981. "There are passages stating that husbands should beat their wives for disobedience-"

"A typographical error. In reality, wives should beat their husbands for disobedience."

Taylor looked uncertain. "And the passage stating that women should be kept at home, and cover their bodies-"

"That actually referred to men, not women, Captain."

"And the passage which stated the supremacy of men over women... that was a transcription error too?" Taylor said.

Ankara said. "You are beginning to understand. You are not nearly as dumb as most men, Captain Taylor."

"Thank you. I think," said Taylor. He smiled, and he could see that Ankara liked his smile. "I'm curious, Ankara. From a theological perspective... how do you account for so many... transcription errors... in the Great Book of Blood?"