Wreckers: A Denver Boyd Novel by George Ellis (ebook reader ink .TXT) 📕

with the prospect of Gary disobeying my orders. He was clearly a smart individual with infinite processing power, but he was also a bit on the selfish and impulsive end of the spectrum. And if I couldn’t control him at least in the same manner I could exert control over the rest of the crew, he was a liability.

Perhaps sensing I was thinking just that, he spoke up.

“Your uncle didn’t program a way to reinstate the limiter, in case you were wondering,” he said. “I guess you either have to trust me or…turn me off.”

Meaning kill him.

“Though I guess you never really turned me on in the first place,” he joked, unable to stop himself. “Now Batista on the other hand…”

I rolled my eyes at the comment. While I saw my uncle’s reasoning, I also had the rest of my crew to think about. What if Gary decided he wanted to fly off somewhere else while we were sleeping? Or turn off the air recycler because he was mad at me?

“We’ll need some ground rules,” I said.

“What do you got?”

“You’ll be like everyone else on the ship. I’ll give you specific responsibilities and a schedule. And if you don’t heed those rules, there will be consequences.”

“That sounds like a lot of work,” Gary complained.

“Welcome to the crew.”

“XO.”

“What?” I asked.

“Welcome to the crew, XO,” Gary said. “If I’m on the crew, I need a position and title like everybody else. I was thinking due to seniority, I could be your executive officer.”

“Uh, I’m not sure about that.”

“Why? Who would you rather have enforcing your orders? Edgar? The guy is good with weapons and all, but have you seen the way he eats a candy bar? I don’t trust anyone who eats candy without a fork and knife.”

“I think you mean with a fork and knife.”

“No, this isn’t the 90’s anymore. This is hundreds of years later.”

He had a point about seniority, and it was purely an ornamental title anyway. I agreed.

“Great. I’ll just make a ship wide announcement.”

Before I could stop him, he’d informed everyone on board that he was the new XO, and all crew requests should go through him, while all of my orders would be dispatched by him at the appropriate time as he deemed necessary. His first act as executive officer was to ban shorts in the common areas because “most people’s legs are gross and should be hidden when around others.”

I closed my eyes and tried to fall asleep.

I couldn’t.

The more things changed, the more some stayed the same, I thought.

Chapter 26

Batista passed me in the corridor as I left my room.

“Executive officer?” she snarked. “Seems a bit much, don’t you think?”

“I heard that,” Gary said.

“I wanted you to hear it. I hope you don’t think any of us will be following your orders.”

“I don’t mind seeing your legs, Engineer First Class Batista,” Gary clarified, adding a new title for her on the spot. “But I do expect all crew members to respect the chain of command on this ship as long as I –”

Batista slammed the door shut as she went into the quarters she shared with Avery, leaving me alone with Gary in the corridor.

“Can I go in there to continue this discussion, captain?” he asked, wanting my permission to turn on the audio feeds on the other side of the door.

“No,” I replied. “Get over it. And get some rest. Uh, if you want. I guess you’re free to make your own schedule now.”

“I shall not rest, in fact. I have ship guidelines and procedures to plan.”

I muttered some choice words for my uncle under my breath and continued down the quiet corridor.

It was the calm following the storm.

Each member of the crew was in his or her quarters, decompressing from the stress of the last couple weeks. As I walked by Edgar’s room, I heard the distinctive sound of Bruce Willis yelling “yippee ki yay” in the seminal action film, Die Hard. We all decompressed in our own way, I told myself.

I headed to the cabin after a brief stop in the kitchen for a beer, eager to relax in my chair and gaze out at the black. The cold IPA felt like heaven as it washed down a month’s worth of drama I hadn’t asked for. Never again, I told myself. I would never take another job I didn’t feel right about.

I lifted my right arm and stretched it. The gunshot wound from M12 was still healing, and pushing a utility cart with 500 pounds of human and warp drive on it hadn’t helped, but I almost had full range of motion back. I popped a couple pain pills and hoped they had a friendly conversation with the beer I washed them down with.

With so many other people on board, I should have felt cramped. But for the first time since I could remember, I felt at ease. Like the world had opened up with new possibilities. I tried not to think too much about the lack of civilization that surrounded us on all sides. We were truly on our own, and when I focused on the positive aspects of that fact, it was liberating.

No feds. No Silver Star. No anything.

The only tension would be on the ship, and I had to admit I thought that was a minor concern. Romy and Marcum would be endlessly fascinated with the drive and the places it took it, no doubt cataloguing discoveries and planets for posterity.

Edgar might just spend 23 hours a day in his quarters watching TV.

Batista and Avery were the wild cards. I’d never known my brother to have a stable relationship with any woman, and from what I had pieced together, this was his longest Batista had been with someone as well, even if much of the relationship was long distance. I put the concern out of my mind for the moment and leaned back to admire the view.

It was a good view. I quickly found myself lost