Starfire
Copyright© 2025 by Mark Randall
Chapter 38
“Captain Sullivan, we’re being hailed again.”
“Well, I’m pretty sure it isn’t Keseburg.”
“Correct, Sir. It’s Captain Eaton, of the Battle of Durna.”
“Put him on.”
“Battle of Durna calling Seward’s Folly.”
“Go ahead, Durna.”
“This is Captain William Eaton, commanding the Battle of Durna. Who do I have the pleasure of speaking to?”
“Hello, Captain. This is Henry Sullivan, commanding Seward’s Folly. Thanks for your help just now.”
“I’d like to say it was my pleasure, but there was some discussion among my command to stay out of the situation. That is, up until Keseburg called you. That changed things immensely for my people. Keseburg was well known and universally,,, disliked; it isn’t a word that quite describes my people’s feelings. They were disappointed when the Captain of the Invictus removed him from the punishment he so richly deserved. But that’s something that can’t be helped.”
“So, Captain, what are your plans concerning us? Should we be expecting similar actions?”
“Oh, lord no, Captain. We have no dispute with you. We want to welcome you to the neighborhood. We don’t get many visitors out here, and the ones that do show up tend to be a bit, well, antisocial. If necessary, we’ll provide them with a lesson in good behavior and then send them on their way. Most of the time, they soon seem to be in quite a rush to return to the inner system. But occasionally, we do get folks who are polite, and then we welcome them as neighbors. We are hoping that you fall into that latter group.”
Henry chuckled, “I can assure you, Captain, that we have no intention to disrupt your operations. But I don’t think we will be joining you in your normal occupations. We are just simple miners looking to establish new territories.”
Henry could hear the laughter in Captain Eaton’s voice, “No, I didn’t think you would be joining us. But I’m sure that we could work out a mutual aid agreement. We could use some of that mining expertise of yours. We are getting a bit tight in our housing situation and would like to expand our homesteading operations a bit faster than we can do now.”
“We also are not in favor of slave labor. I hope you don’t plan on putting the crew of the Invictus to work involuntarily.”
“No, as I told Captain Kaplan, those crewmen who want to return to Feddie territory will be returned. Unless they have crimes that they need to answer for, we have many people who the Federated Nations have abused. If I were to set them free, we’d probably have a mutiny. But if they’re clean and choose to stick around, we’ll accept them.”
“That’s good to hear, Captain. I think there has been way too much bloodshed over this incident.”
“Yes, I agree. I am truly sorry we couldn’t stop what happened. But they caught us as unaware as you probably were. Is there anything you have a pressing need for? We are a bit light on supplies, but I can call for some friendly help if needed.”
“I appreciate the offer, Sir, and I’ll keep you in mind if something comes up. Right now, we are still evaluating the situation.”
“Understandable, I’ll send you our comm codes, and if needed, I will be more than happy to help out. Just give us a shout.
“Thanks, Captain, I do appreciate the offer.”
In the Agriculture section, Mary and Floyd were working in the sweet pea zone when her communicator beeped.
“Mary Holt, here.”
Mary, This is Arabella. Could you come to my office? I need to talk to you.”
“Nothing bad, I hope.”
“No, nothing like that. This might be something good for you.”
“OK, Ma’am, I’ll get started as soon as I get cleaned up.”
“Good, Oh, and tell your friend that he needs to finish up his chores before shift end.”
Floyd could hear the conversation and said, “Aww, why can’t I come along?”
“Floyd, Ms. Thorne said you had to finish your chores first. I’ll meet you at the apple orchard later for lunch.”
The big man’s face brightened up, “Can I have an apple too?”
“You can have one apple, but only one. You remember what happened that time when you ate a whole bushel.”
“Yeah, I got a tummy ache. I promise, I’ll only eat one apple.”
“Good man, Floyd,” Mary said as she walked away. She waved over her shoulder to her friend. “We’ll have lunch together, I promise.”
When Mary arrived at Arabella’s office, she was unsurprised to find that Monty was also there. She politely knocked on the open door. Arabella looked up and said, “Mary, please, come in, have a seat. Would you like some tea?” She indicated the teapot.
As Mary sat down, she answered, “No thanks, Ma’am. I’ve never really had a taste for tea. Can I ask why you sent for me? Did I do something wrong? Am I in trouble?”
“No, dear, nothing like that. There is something that you’re going to be happy about. Something you’ve been waiting for.” Arabella paused for a moment and then continued. “You know that with all the repair work that’s going on, the Engineering department has been shorthanded. This morning, word went out from Chief Golden’s office that she is suspending her training requirements. She specifically asked me if you still wanted to join the engineering department.”
Mary paused for a moment; it was obvious that there was a conflict going on under the surface.
“Um, Ma’am, is it possible that I can stay here? I know I’ve been a pain in the backside before, but I’ve, well, I’ve kinda gotten used to the place. I mean, to tell you the truth, it’s a lot easier to wash off dirt than grease.”
Arabella laughed, “And the occasional fresh veggies and fruit are a plus too, right?”
Mary blushed, “Yes, ma’am.”
Monty spoke up, “This reluctance to leave wouldn’t have anything to do with Floyd Turner, would it?” He wasn’t smiling.
Mary got a shocked look on her face, “I won’t deny that Floyd has a part in my decision, but I don’t think it’s what you are insinuating, Sir. I like Floyd, but not in ‘THAT’ way. I know that he will never be mature enough to be a lover or even a husband, but I also know that I owe Floyd a debt that I will never be able to repay. Because of that, I feel that I need to stick around and keep an eye on him, keep the people who would take advantage of him away. Kind of like you do, Sir. I remember our first conversation.”
Monty leaned back, smiling. “OK, Mary, Mary, quite contrary, I’m satisfied.” He looked over at Arabella. “How about it, Ara? Do we keep her around?”
Arabella was smiling, “I’ll draft a response to Miz Golden explaining my regrets, but that at this time you are essential to the smooth operation of the agricultural department and unavailable for transfer.”
“Thank you, Ma’am, you won’t regret this.”
“Oh, I have no doubt. Now run along.”
After Mary left, Arabella leaned back in her chair. “Well, that went about like you said it would.”
“Oh, c’mon, Ara. How many of these kids, forced to put in time here, end up sticking around?”
“Yeah, yeah. Still, I thought she was one of the ones just marking time.”
“Yeah, well, enough of this business. You remember that honey surplus we had a couple of months ago? I’ve been doing a little experimenting.”
“Oh, really? What concoction have you come up with this time?”
“Oh, just a tasty little beverage called Mead. Why don’t we head to my workshop, and you can sample my latest batch?”
The two left Arabella’s office, arm in arm.
The repairs of Seward’s Folly were a priority mission for all hands, but the damage was not always physical. Some repairs needed extra special attention.
11 of the 12 members of the Mothers Council were gathered in the temporary council chamber, a conference room previously used as an elementary school classroom. This was a temporary situation until the repairs to the real council chamber were completed.
“Well, where is she?” one of the members spoke up. The speaker was a middle-aged woman with bright red hair. Among the other council members, there was running speculation about the source of that color.
“Patience, Janice. You know that Ellen was injured in the attack. This is the first opportunity that we’ve had to meet. You also knew that Doctor Holland had confined her to her bed.” Said a younger woman, Betty Johns. She was the second youngest on the Council.
“I just don’t like wasting time. She scheduled this and then dawdles arriving.”
The rest of the Council didn’t say anything, just looked at each other. Some were trying to hide smiles.
Before anything else could be said, the doors opened, and an elderly lady in a wheelchair was wheeled into the room.
“It’s about time, Ellen. We’ve been waiting hours for you to arrive.” The redhead barked.
The older woman grinned, “Nonsense, Janice. I know for a fact that you arrived 15 minutes ago, not hours. Besides, do you have someplace more important to be? Is some task more important? Everybody is aware of the purpose of this meeting.”
There were muted snickers from around the room.
“Fine, but let’s get this over with.” Janice pouted.
“Very well, Ladies, we are here to formalize the selection of the new Grandmother for the Seward’s Folly. You’ve all been given the statements of Dr. Holland and Elisabeth Palmer, Agnes’ secretary. Their statements were quite specific in naming Agnes’ preferred selection.”
“Yes, we’ve all read that, but do we want to put this ‘Person’ in as our Grandmother?” Janice air-quoted the word person.
“Just what do you mean by that, Janice?” asked Betty.