The Wages of War Read online

  “I think I’ll need to take more time to determine what telepaths have respect from the others,” Charlotte answered.

  “What about you, Gerald?”

  “I guess I’ll need to do the same thing.”

  “There’s an easier way to do it.”

  “What is that?” Charlotte asked with a frown.

  “What is it that all telepaths respect?” Charlotte and Gerald looked at each other and were at a loss as to how to answer the question. “Let’s put it another way, who is the most respected telepath?”

  Gerald instantly answered, “Phil Gandy.”

  “Why is he the most respected?”

  “Because he lived among normal humans for more than fifty years without being discovered. Every telepath knows how difficult that is and he managed to do it longer than any other telepath,” Charlotte answered.

  Justin smiled, “Just look for the oldest telepaths in your commands and they will carry a high level of respect. Don’t waste your time looking at all of your sailors; focus on the older sailors and decide which of them are best suited for command. I suspect those older telepaths will also have an affinity for staying hidden which is exactly what you want out of a scout commander. They’re accustomed to not taking any risks that would get them noticed.

  Charlotte stared at Justin and blinked before replying, “Many of my sailors are older than me.”

  “That’s true; they’re also older than me. But the three of us have something they don’t.”

  “What is that sir?” Gerald asked.

  “Experience. And that trumps staying hidden. We have a history of taking great risks to defend humanity and our telepathic community respects us quite highly.”

  Charlotte stared at Justin and said, “You’re different.”

  “It comes from worrying about the safety of my fleet. There is another issue you are going to have to deal with shortly.”

  “What is that?”

  Justin turned to Gerald, “Both of you are going to be assigned a command ship which is specially modified to meet the needs of large unit commanders. It will be larger than the standard Garrion and your ships will carry a crew of four.”

  “Why does it need that many on board sir?”

  “You will not be able to fly and fight your ships and still keep track of what’s going on in your commands. You’ll choose a pilot and weapons officer that you believe in to operate your ship. You can’t afford to divide your attention between your task forces and the sailors flying your ship. It’s absolutely imperative you choose a pilot and weapons officer that you can count on and not require your attention. The fourth member of your crew will be your Second-in-Command and won’t be a telepath. The only Resource telepath is being assigned to my ship.”

  “Oh!” Charlotte replied.

  “The Resource Officers will all be graduates from the Academy in the top of their class. They will also have been trained after graduation on our new warships and they will know more about your ship and its systems than anyone in fleet. They will be a resource for your pilot and weapons officer teaching them things about the Garrions that they don’t know. They will also be responsible for your communications. The pilot and Weapons officer will look in their mind for assistance whenever they need it.”

  “That will require this Resource Officer to allow them to enter their mind at will.”

  “You’re right Charlotte and that’s been covered with the three chosen for the position.” Charlotte’s eyes narrowed, and Justin smiled, “I will certainly have one on my ship as well. Except I’ll have five crew members on board; Cami will remain my Second and the Resource Officer will have a chair between my flight crew.” Justin shrugged, “My ship will be larger than your ships, I have twice the number of ships to track.”

  “When do we have to make this decision?”

  “I’ll need it in two days, Charlotte. You should start working on your new task force and you can let me know your choices while you’re doing that. You are dismissed.”

  Charlotte and Gerald walked out of Justin’s office and Charlotte was shaking her head. “How are you going to make your decision on your crew Gerald.”

  “That’s easy; I’ll have fleet give me a list of the top ranked pilots and weapon officers. I’ll take one from the top of each list. How are you going to do it?”

  Charlotte shook her head, “I’m not sure.”

  “Is there a problem?”

  “I believe Johnny was counting on being my Second-in-Command.”

  “Well, that’s off the table. Good luck.” Charlotte nodded.

  Chapter Three

  Charlotte went to her office in Fleet Operations and logged in to Fleet Records. She hesitated but knew she had no choice. She pulled up the file on Lt. John English and went directly to his quarterly evaluations. She started reading them and started shaking her head; they were awful. His former ship commanders all agreed in the summary of the evaluations that Lieutenant English should never be promoted.

  She paged down and looked at Johnny’s standing in the Fleet Weapon Officers Ranking. He was third from the bottom. Charlotte lowered her head and now understood why his former commander was more than willing to allow him to transfer to her ship. She sat up and thought about the mission to scout the Triangulum Galaxy a year ago and remembered that she had to constantly order Johnny to shut down his targeting system every time they detected a Triangulum Warship; he was very trigger happy. She had to keep her eyes on him through out the mission. She blew out a breath; she’d have to do the same thing if he was the weapon’s officer on her ship. Her attention would be divided and that was a recipe for disaster. What was she going to do?

  That night, she told Johnny that he was going to be assigned to another ship. She said her Second-in-Command was being assigned by fleet and that her flight crew would be chosen from Fleet rankings. He went off the deep end and yelled at her accusing her of trying to get rid of him and go back with that admiral!! She tried to reason with him and finally gave up. She left the next morning before he woke up.

  • • •

  The next morning, Justin was discussing the previous day’s activities with Cami when the office door swung open and Johnny stormed into the office. He stopped in front of Justin and snarled, “I won’t allow you to force Charlotte and I to be separated and move in on her in my absence! You have another thing coming if you think I’ll stand by and do nothing about it!!”

  Justin stared at Johnny shaking his head and turned to Cami, “What’s wrong with this picture?”

  “Do you mean a lieutenant telling a fleet Admiral what he can and cannot do?”

  “Yeah, something like that.” Justin pushed the PA button on his communicator, “Commodore Kessler, report to my office immediately!” Justin then turned to Johnny and stood up, “Lt. English, take a chair on the front wall and shut your mouth!” Johnny looked up at Justin and didn’t realize he was so tall. He was also built like an athlete and he immediately went to a chair against the wall.”

  Charlotte rushed into Justin’s office two minutes later and went to attention. It was clear something was wrong from the tone of his voice over the PA. “Commodore, is it customary for a member of your crew to barge into an Admiral’s office and start issuing orders to him?”

  Charlotte’s eyes narrowed and Justin nodded toward the front wall. She turned around and saw Johnny sitting in a chair. “I won’t let him get away with this, Charlotte. He’s not allowing me to be your Second-in-Command so he can move in on you in my absence!! I won’t stand by and let it happen!!”

  Charlotte’s mouth fell open and she started shaking her head. She turned to Justin, “Why didn’t you discipline him for this!?”

  “I allowed personal issues to prevent me from doing it. However, you will be held responsible for his behavior in the future!”

  Cami snorted and everyone in the room turned to her, “Ask him why he wants to be your Second so badly.”

  Charlotte and Justin turn
ed to Johnny and he snarled at Cami, “You invaded my privacy by looking at my thoughts!!”

  Cami smiled, “I sent a message more than four weeks ago that any sailor reporting to Commodore Kessler would have their thoughts examined at any time without permission; I believe that you still report to Commodore Kessler and I have full authority to examine your thoughts. Are you going to tell them…or should I?” Johnny glared at Cami with a hate filled expression and Cami smiled, “Ok, I’ll do it.” Cami turned to Charlotte, “He wants to be promoted to be your Second-in-Command and get a Senior Captain’s rank. He intends to make life miserable for his former Commanders for writing such bad performance reviews about him. He even hopes you mess up, Charlotte so he might get the chance to take your place. Then he’ll really make them pay.”

  Charlotte’s eyes narrowed and Johnny shouted, “I haven’t given you permission! We promised not to do that to each other!!”

  “I can see why now.” Charlotte turned to Justin, “Sir, I am recommending that he be kicked out of the Navy with a dishonorable discharge. I need your approval to make that happen.”

  “CHARLOTTE! DON’T DO THIS! WHERE WILL I GO?”

  Justin stared at Charlotte and then turned to Johnny, “Lieutenant, you have four days to convince Commodore Arnold to find a place in his task force for you. Failing that, you will be reassigned to Fleet Communications with a one rank reduction to Ensign. I highly recommend that you get your story together before you approach Commodore Arnold; he will confirm it with me, and I will not lie about you like your former commanders did to get rid of you. You are dismissed and don’t enter my office again unless I call for you! If you do, you’re out of the Navy! Now get out of here!”

  “Charlotte, I’m sorry.”

  “You heard the Admiral! Get out of here and don’t come near me again or I’ll have you court marshaled!” Johnny quickly left the office with his head down.

  Charlotte lowered her head and Justin said softly, “Please sit down.”

  Charlotte sat down and Cami said, “How you could have ever been attracted to that piece of crap is far beyond my understanding.”

  Charlotte blew out a long breath before saying, “I should have been suspicious when he made me promise neither of us would look at each other’s thoughts. He’s managed to hide this side of his personality from me.”

  “He did that deliberately.” Charlotte turned to Cami, “He realized he would lose you if you did and he knew you were his ticket to get ahead.”

  Charlotte turned to Justin, “You saw who he is.” Justin stared at her for a moment and then nodded. “Why didn’t you tell me!?”

  “Because you didn’t want to know.”

  “How can you say that?”

  “Charlotte, did you even take a moment and look at his file in Personnel before you had him transferred to your ship? You had the right as his commanding officer?” Charlotte lowered her head and shook it. “You would have instantly seen who he is if you had done your homework.”

  Charlotte looked up, “Did you look at his file?”

  Justin sighed and nodded, “I did right after you left me. I had to know who you found that was so much better than me. I couldn’t stop myself.”

  “You could have told me.”

  “And what would you have believed? You’d have thought I was trying to control you and force you to stay with me. I knew that he would eventually reveal who he is and there was no good reason for me to mention it.”

  “What shocks me is that he has the personality very similar to that of your father. Are you that stupid?!” Cami asked. “He’s abrasive, demanding, and ego driven. He’s poison!”

  Charlotte chuckled slightly, “That’s Cami; cut right to the bone!” Charlotte paused and said, “He was handsome, and he hid who he really was. I was in a weak place at the time and I fell for his story.”

  Cami was shaking her head, “Well, next time a telepath tries to get you to agree not to look at each other’s thoughts, don’t walk away; RUN!”

  Cami sighed and asked Justin, “Why didn’t you kick him out of the service?”

  “I almost did. But I remember the night Grady Henricks gave me a ride back to the hotel when Charlotte left me in disgust with our shuttle. I told him that he really didn’t think much of me and he agreed saying that I was not a good person and a user to boot.” Justin paused and then said, “I asked him why he didn’t kick me out of the Navy if I was such a bad person and I remembered what he said before I disciplined Lt. English.”

  “What did he say?”

  “He said that I chose to come out of hiding to defend humanity and I deserved to be treated respectfully for that decision. I told him I really had no option and he said there is always an option. He would allow me to retire in comfort if we won this war because I deserved it because of my choice. How can I throw English out of the service when Grady didn’t do it to me?”

  Charlotte nodded and stood up, “I need to get back to my work.”

  “Are you ok?”

  “That’s my problem, Sir. I’ll handle it.” Justin nodded and Charlotte walked out of his office.

  Justin looked at Cami and saw her expression, “Don’t even think I’ll get involved in this!”

  “She knows she made a mistake.”

  “As I said earlier, we are all responsible for our actions and their consequences. I had to accept the accountability of my behaviors when I called myself Funny Man. She’ll have to deal with the fall out of her decisions concerning us.”

  Justin stood up and left his office. Cami sighed and wondered why good people get trapped in bad situatioins. She stood up and went to Charlotte’s office. She knocked on the door and heard, “Enter.” She walked in and Charlotte had clearly been crying. She saw it was Cami and said, “Cami, I can handle this.”

  “I have no doubt you can, Charlotte. But sometimes it helps to have someone to listen.”

  Charlotte stared at her and said harshly, “I’ve been such a fool!” Cami sat down and nodded. “I forced the best man I’ve ever known out of my life because I couldn’t forgive and forget. And I chose one that is…is…abominable! I’m so stupid!” Cami shrugged. “Now, I’m alone and I don’t trust myself to even start to look at anyone else; I make horrible decisions.”

  “That comes from your inexperience.”

  Charlotte’s eyes narrowed, “What do you mean by that?”

  “You always avoided men growing up and thought they were monsters. Justin was your first relationship and you just weren’t prepared to handle it. That idiot you chose over him was due to your unwillingness to look into his mind to see who he really is. If you had been in more relationships, you would have never agreed not to look at his thoughts. The fact he didn’t want you to look was a red-flag that you should have immediately seen.”

  Charlotte sat back in her chair and shook her head slightly, “I guess you’re right.”

  “It’s like Martha Gandy told you, you have to get to know a man and realize that the fantasy is what initially attracts them to you. Once they start communicating with you, the real man comes out.”

  Charlotte sighed, “I guess I decided to not look at men’s thoughts because of the fantasy stage where they’re only physically attracted to you.”

  “And that is a good idea, but once you start to get to know a man, you should look at his thoughts to see his true motivations.”

  “How did you get to be so wise for someone so young?”

  “It’s common sense, Charlotte.”

  “Have you been in a relationship Cami?”

  “Not yet. I’m only seventeen and being the Henricks daughter scares off most of the young men my age. I’m in no hurry; I have enough on my plate now.”

  “I just couldn’t forget Cami.”

  “Justin disgusted me when he called himself Funny Man and I decided he wasn’t worthy of being in a relationship with anyone. But I saw his thoughts after he witnessed the destruction of New Britannia and he was changed. It t
ook something traumatic like that to cause him to change who he was. I’ve continued to look at his thoughts since then and there is no doubt that Funny Man died at New Britannia. The man that came out of the experience is quite extraordinary. You should have seen that Charlotte.”

  “I just refused to look at his thoughts when we were together.”

  “Why?!”

  Charlotte raised a shoulder, “I don’t know. I still don’t feel completely comfortable with a man.”

  “That comes from the horrors of your father. You just weren’t ready for a relationship at the time.”

  “I see that now…but…he’ll never allow me back in his life.” Cami stared at her in silence and Charlotte looked into Cami’s eyes, “I have looked at his thoughts since he promoted me as I’m sure you have.” Cami shrugged and nodded. “Every time I’m around him, all he feels is the pain I caused him by walking out on him. He’ll never get over what I did and that’s my burden to bear.”

  “I wish I could disagree with you, but I can’t. He chose you to command a task force even though he knew seeing you would be painful; but he did it because you really are the best one for the job. The best advice I can give you is to put the past behind you and learn from it. Weeping over what could, or should, have been is a waste of tears. Focus on the moment and move forward.” Charlotte lowered her head and nodded. “You have a task force to organize and that should keep you busy and entertained; focus on making that happen.”

  Charlotte looked up, “That’s good advice.” Cami stood up, went to Charlotte, and hugged her before leaving her office.”

  • • •

  Justin moved to his new Command Ship and sat on board going over the software on his console. Cami entered the bridge and went to her chair beside him, “How’s it going?”

  Justin shook his head, “I’m overwhelmed with all the things my console can do. I’m going to need the help of my resource officer to get a grip on how to use it. How about you?”

  “I went by Uncle Joshua’s office and had him give me everything on how to operate my console before coming here.”