Fallen From Glory
Chapter 7
~From the log of Cornelius Rikket, Captain of the Mercenary Battle Cruiser: Gun Singer~
Its been about two weeks now since our battle with the assassins and their forces, and I must say that my crew has gone above and beyond my expectations of them, from the hours after the battle till today now that the ship is finally able to be underway they’ve done everything expected of them and then so. I was more then surprised when the repair yards tug ship finally got us to the yard when I was informed that we were forth in their cue of ships to repair, so the fact that we’re now underway after only a week of downtime says a lot about their skills, and I’d like to thank the repair crews of the Huffermen Dock yard for their aid; though I have a feeling that the speedy repairs might have been a bit of my own doing. When we arrived and I met when the yard manager and the owner to pay for the repairs I informed them that our foes might come back to finish the job seeing as we’d be stuck here till we were repaired. I can only guess that the owner told the yard manager to get us repaired and get us out before damage could befall their facilities; it was not my intention to have my ships repairs rushed but you surely can’t argue with the results of the information.
With all the hassle of getting the Singer repaired we’ve put off the funeral services for the five hands that lost their lives during the battle, but I’ve planed those to be held this morning, later on I plan to send word of their passing to each of their next of kin, its not a job I enjoy, but as captain of this ship it is my duty to do so. In the meantime now that the ship is fully repaired and under its own power once more I’ve decided to make our heading to a well known mercenary Starbase in the Yeomen system, where many go to hire ships to do just about anything legal, though I have heard that illegal jobs can be found there as well; I do this mainly do to our now reduced funds, we did get a fair amount of credits from the ship we salvaged but with the cost of repairs to the ship funds have become tight and so regardless of our V.I.P still being with us we’ve no choice but to accept another job.
~end of entry~
The captain and crew of the Gun Singer stood at attention as the remains of the five hands that passed in the battle where once again placed into cold storage, so that they could be returned to their families for a proper burial in good condition, this being little more then an opportunity for friends and fellow crew members to mourn and say their goodbyes. The cat having just finished a long speech about how proud he was of both their services and that he wished that he somehow could have saved them from their fate, and after the cat had finished other members of the crew came up and talked about things they had went through with one of the dead, or just in general, not everyone had time to speak but it did take the bulk of the morning till the cat dismissed the crew and allowed for the dead to be replaced in the cryo-caskets. When he finally left the cat instantly returned to the bridge, his young charge hot on his tail as he went. The young raven had not left his side since the battles end and she likely wouldn’t till she was back with her father, said bird however had not been heard from since his call to Rikket however, the cat feared the worst however had a feeling that his friend was still alive just unable to contact them for whatever reason.
Once back on the bridge he instructed his pilot, the young red panda morph to set their heading to what was well known by many if not by all as MercBay, a Starbase unaffiliated with the Solar Alliance in Yeomen system. Whether you where a out of work man or woman looking to join a merc ship, a captain looking to make some money, or someone who needed a job done, all kinds made their way to MercBay. Rikket normally thought himself decent at managing the ships funds found it lacking when he went to pay for the repairs, its not that he was bad at it, there was just more expenses then income, he was already at the point where he’d have to pay salaries from his own pocket if they didn’t get more money coming in. Once the ships heading was in place the cat returned to his quarters where he had one last task to perform before he could put the battle behind him, contacting the last of kin for his lost five hands. He had originally told Missy to leave him to do it alone, but the girl insisted she be allowed to stay, which he did. When the first call he had to make finally connected a human woman on the other end of the video call looked on as the cat asked,
“Hello, is this Mrs. Halstmen?”
The woman responded yes in turn, the cat then asking,
“Is your husband around? I need to speak to you both.”
The woman nodded then left the phone for a moment to fetch her husband, the man then asking as he recognized the cat,
“You’re that Rikket fellow, the captain of my son’s ship if my memory serves correctly, what can I do for you?”
The cat sighs, then takes a breath, then saying as he looked up to the phone the woman already tearing up as the first of his words rolled off his lips,
“I regret that I must inform you that at eleven forty five, on October forth, your son Crewmen Michel Halstmen was killed in battle when the Gun Singer was boarded by hostile forces.”
The woman left the screen the sounds of her sobbing loudly heard as the father stood there for a few moments just about dumbstruck by the news, then asking as he fought the urge to cry,
“How . . How was he killed?”
The cat responds in turn as he pulled up the medical report on his hololog,
“Our medical reports show that he passed away do to blunt force trauma to the head.”
The man nods, a few trails of wetness running down his face as the cat then went on to say,
“I know this is hard for you, I wish I could have told you that your son was ill and needed to be picked up for leave I really wish I could, but as the circumstances stand, I’d like to ask what you wish for us to do with his body, perhaps you’d like it sent back to your family for a proper burial?”
The man nods then says as he forwards an address,
“Yes, please have his . . . .remains sent to this address, we’ll arrange a funeral for him.”
The cat nods then says as he gets ready to close the call,
“Please inform me when it is time, I’d like to be there to send him off proper.”
The man nods but just as both sides where about to end the call, the young raven speaks up, saying as she looked up to the cat,
“Can . . Can I talk to them?”
Rikket was a little bit surprised when at the end of the conversation the girl asked if she could talk to the people on the other end but he allowed it, which point she spoke with the man and his wife for a few moments, saying how it was her fault the ship was attacked and begging their forgiveness for the loss of their son, the girl crying before the end. It was the same with each of the four other calls the cat had to make, the girl letting the captain break the bad news and expressing his grief at their loss and asking their forgiveness for failing to protect his crewman or woman, then the girl asking to talk just the same as before then laying the blame on herself and asking for forgiveness. To say it was a heart wrenching moment for the cat to watch the girl repeatedly blaming herself for the attack would be an understatement, when the cat had finally finished the last of the calls he had to make, and making sure he had the information he needed as to return the bodies to their families, he then sat the girl down, the young bird still trying to dry her eyes when she looked up to the cat who said after he pulled her into a hug,
“Missy, I want you to stop blaming yourself for this, it was not your fault.”
The girl shook her head a little then said in response as her eyes threatened to tear up once more,
“But those people. . . They came after me, if I hadn’t been here then they’d be alive still.”
The cat sighed taking a seat next to the bird who had set her head on the table, then said as he pat her back,
“And if you’d not have been here you yourself would have been killed, and if the crew found out I’d no long be a captain, just a cat with a ship.”
The girl looks up, confused at his statement the cat then saying as if to answer her confused stare,
“The first rule a captain has to learn is that your command is given to you by those you command, we’re not a band up heartless pirates who‘s captain rules his crew with an iron fist, everyone on this ship is here because they wanted a chance to do some good without joining the Solar Alliance for whatever their reason, they’re all good people every last one of them and if they found out that I left child to die because I thought it would be to dangerous, they most certainly would have left the ship and I’d not have a crew anymore so rest assured, everyone here fought for you because they wanted to not because their captain told them to, it was not your fault, the ones at fault are those who attacked us.”
The girl nods, feeling a little better about it but guilt still filled her face, the cat then sighing then said as he stood up,
“Come with me.”
The girl nodded, getting up from her chair as the cat then said picking up his com device,
“All hands and officers report to mess immediately”
With that he left, the girl following behind him, and once all members off the crew had gathered in the mess hall and the hallway adjoined to it, the captain then asked,
“Where as crewmen Adam?”
A dog morph, golden retriever in breed then approached with a nervous salute worrying he was in trouble for something, the cat then saying as he put the girl in front of him,
“Missy, this is Adam Silvermoon, Michel Halstmen’s best friend.”
The girl nodded giving a bow the retriever dropping his salute as he figured that he was not in trouble, the cat then saying,
“Crewmen Adam, counting for all hands and officers on this ship would you say that you knew crewmen Michel the best, is that correct?”
The dog morph nods saying,
“Yes sir, we had been friends since pre-k”
The cat nods then asks,
“With all your years knowing him, do you think he was a good man?”
The dog morph nods then says,
“Better then good sir, he always went out of his way to help people, I remember once he got lost helping a little boy find his parents, his girlfriend then scolded him later for missing their date.”
The cat nods then says,
“I want to make this formally known to everyone on this ship.”
All hands and officers now listening as the cat then says,
“I felt it best not to say otherwise, but now I feel I must, the people who attacked the Singer last week where not just random assailants, there where assassins, their goal, to kill our young VIP here. This is the sole reason we where attacked and crewmen Michel and four others lost their lives in that battle, because Missy here was on our ship.”
Everyone nods the captain then asking as he set his hand the girls shoulders,
“Crewmen Adam, knowing what you know now and be honest with me, do you think your best friend would hate Missy and blame her for his death?”
The dog responds,
“No sir”
The cat then asks,
“Do you think he would resent her for the fact that she was the reason the assassins attacked the ship?”
Once more the dog responds,
“No sir”
The cat then asks looking around to everyone else,
“Does anyone here and I want you all to be honest, does anyone here hate this young girl for the fact that she is here knowing what you know now? That she thinks she is the reason why five of your fellows and my crew lost their lives protecting her?”
The girl looks up with tears in her eyes as a resounding call came out from everyone in the room, everyone shouting “No Sir!” the cat then turning the girl around and saying as he looked her in the eyes,
“No one here blames you for this, no one hates you for the attack, and you certainly aren’t the reason why five people died defending this ship.”
The girl nods trying not to cry as she stood before the crew in the room and those joined to it, he then says as he stands once more,
“So I want you to stop blaming yourself, and don’t feel you’re the bad guy in this situation, because if you do, you’re only insulting those five people who knowingly and willingly fought to protect this ship and you along with it, because no one here would protect the bad guy.”
The girl nods wiping her eyes, the girl then saying as she gave the dog morph a hug,
“I’m sorry your friend died.”
The crewmen nods returning the hug then saying as he stood back up,
“Don’t worry, knowing him, he would not have wanted to go out any other way.”
The dog then going on with a grin as he ruffled her feathers little,
“Besides he once told me that if he had to die, he would want to die protecting a pretty girl, so maybe I should thank you for letting him go out the way he wanted to.”
The young raven then blushes as everyone in the room shared a laugh, the girl herself then wiping her eyes then joining in with the others, in what was a short lived party to tell stories about the past and share good tidings with everyone. The makeshift party lasted for a few hours till everyone had to return to their stations, the cat then joining the bridge with the young raven in tow everyone waiting till they made it to their next destination, the Starbase, MercBay, wondering just what they would get themselves into once the arrived.
~end of chapter~
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