CAPTAIN'S DIARY
By the time we managed to return to Chrama, the Pilgrim had already left! Would you believe it? Apparently, Judith was in a hurry to get back to Earth, so she contacted her father and asked him to tell Captain Rogers that he had to go home immediately. I did give some thought to chasing the Pilgrim and forcing Rogers to hand her over, (women are always impressed by that gung-ho/I couldn't live another second without you stuff), but I decided not to. Rogers plays a mean hand of poker, and anyway, we've received orders ourselves to return to Earth. Maybe Judith's decided to get her father to order me to marry her - women in love will do anything!
Jason Steadfast sat in the Captain's chair and smiled, a satisfied look in his brown eyes. He'd worked out that they would arrive on Earth only two days after Judith. As they were on their way back, he'd decided that his plan to have the Captain declared insane should wait until they had reached headquarters, if Judith were there then Dashing's behaviour would surely show the Admirals and shareholders of Stellarfleet that Dashing was not to be trusted with a starship. And especially with diplomatic missions! The whole debacle over the Viganian Ambassador's wife was still fresh in everyone's mind - except Dashing's of course. His mind could barely retain enough knowledge to work the intercom, let alone remember his humiliations! No, the plan would have to wait. Luckily, since Dashing was such an idiot, He'd never realise anything was going on until the medics strapped him into one of those ever-so-stylish white jackets.
It was at this point that Steadfast was interrupted by Dashing himself coming to the bridge to take command of his ship. Dashing had decided that since this might be his last mission - he had never believed in long engagements - then he might as well finish off his starship career in style by bringing the ship home personally. Not by flying the thing (how many officers bothered to learn how to operate the navigation console?) but by supervising the lowly ensigns and lieutenants as they struggled to live up to Dashing's standards.
~o0o~
CHAPTER SEVEN
It was two days later that they came upon the wreck of the Pilgrim. None of the crew had been hurt, just stunned while the dastardly pirates who attacked it had carried out their evil plan. Even the Captain was physically unhurt. Apparently a group of Urgons, (who were not at war with Earth or humans in general) had contacted the ship and asked for assistance. Upon the Pilgrim's attempting to aid them in their non-existent distress, the Urgons had boarded the ship, taken everyone prisoner, kidnapped the daughter of a major shareholder in Stellarfleet, released everyone else and then left. They'd also sabotaged the ship so the crew could not even chase them.
It was part of Judith's charm that every single person on the ship, including the women, had been prepared to give their life to save her.
The Urgons had stated that they would contact Stellarfleet and offer their terms.
CAPTAIN'S DIARY
Judith has been kidnapped! I can't believe it. How am I going to manage to marry her now? If we don't get her back then I might have to find another eligible shareholder's daughter - and there's not that many of them!
Steadfast, of course, just over-reacted. He attempted to throttle Rogers for not protecting her better. It took three of the crew to hold him back. For some reason, Rogers is refusing to lay charges. Pity. I could have done without Steadfast's stupidity while we, no - I, save Judith. She'll be so grateful she'll insist on getting married immediately. Maybe I should let Rogers come along - he can perform the marriage ceremony!
Actually, I know a few Urgons. I know one Urgon very well. Maybe I can persuade them to let her go.
Wonder why Steadfast over-reacted like that? He takes his duties so seriously.
Meanwhile, back at Stellarfleet headquarters, Christopher Elliot had just received the news that his daughter had been kidnapped. Needless to say he was rather angry, very worried and willing to blow up Earth if that's what it would take to get Judith back unhurt. Never make a seriously rich man desperate.
~o0o~
CHAPTER EIGHT
The Urgons and Judith were getting on quite well. Once she had discovered that they had no intention of hurting her in any way, and in fact only saw her as the means to a very desirable end, she enjoyed herself quite a lot.
The female leader, Bak'ton by name, had invited Judith to her very magnificent palace, and once the two females got together, they discovered that they had quite a lot in common. One of the things being madly in love with a Stellarfleet officer and a determination to marry the said officer.
To put it bluntly, Bak'ton (who was no fool, in spite of her love for Dashing), had decided that if Dashing were not prepared to return to Urgonia voluntarily, then she would have to force his hand slightly. She offered Judith the choice of a fast ship that would take her to Earth there and then, or a fast ship that would take her to Earth after the marriage ceremony. Judith was quite pleased to offer any help that she could, as long as it resulted in Dashing being removed from the Endeavour. Permanently.
The bargain struck, she contacted her father and told him the entire truth, not neglecting to mention the part about the burning table and Steadfast's rescue.
Mr. Elliot shook his head. "I can't agree, Judith - it's immoral."
"How?" Judith demanded.
"Well...with all due respect to Madame Bak'ton, surely getting Dashing to marry her is her problem."
Judith spoke very calmly, "Bak'ton is aware of that. But she feels that if she were to approach Captain Dashing directly, it could only lead to trouble between Earth and Urgonia." She allowed her impatience to seep through. "Oh, Daddy. You know what he's like. If he were cornered by Bak'ton, well, he'd order his crew to fire upon her ships. If they refused they'd be done for mutiny - including Jason! And, if they did fire, there'd be war between our planets. You don't want that. Do you?" Judith finished on a pleading note, and crossed her fingers behind her back.
Mr. Elliot gazed at his daughter through narrowed eyes. He had to admit she had a point. He also had to admit that her acting abilities were quite good. He sighed.
"I admit that Dashing is rather heavy handed with his torpedoes. But..." He stopped. He could not actually think of any argument against this, except that it was immoral. And he'd already used that. "Judith, it's not Stellarfleet's policy to get involved with their officers' private lives. What Dashing does is his business. Even if he is, well, no, if he is bringing Stellarfleet into disrepute, then we have to interfere. But not by forcing him to marry!"
"How would you stop him then?"
"His superior would have a word with him, possibly an official reprimand...If he continued, then it could even lead to a court-martial. But with his uncles being Admirals it wouldn't come to that." Mr. Elliot stopped. Thinking about it, there was no way to stop Dashing unless they shipped him off somewhere. His uncles...and his father...would be very pleased if Dashing were to become the consort of a world leader. So pleased they might not kick up a fuss over the methods used to persuade him.
Judith waited in silence. She knew that her father would come to see the advantages of this. He might even agree to point out those advantages to the other shareholders.
"All right." Christopher looked at his daughter and knew she was right. "I will put Madame Bak'ton's proposal, if you see what I mean, to the board." He straightened suddenly. "After all, war with Urgonia would only bring misery to thousands of people. If not millions. And it is the duty of every Stellarfleet officer to sacrifice himself in the line of duty, if necessary."
Judith smiled. "I knew you'd see it our way, Daddy. But I want you to tell Commander Steadfast and Doctor Lipton the truth. Jason will be furious if he finds out that it was all a ploy - unless you tell him first. And," she added triumphantly, "with Dashing gone, Jason is bound to be promoted - and I always wanted to be a Captain's wife!"
After consulting with the rest of the shareholders, who were all sick of Dashing making a laughing stock of Stellarfleet, Christopher Elliot informed Bak'ton that in view of the circumstances they had no choice but to hand Dashing over. Oh, there would be no reprisals.
Bak'ton assured him that her marriage would only bring them all closer together.
~o0o~
CHAPTER NINE
"Oh my God!!!" Dashing's screech echoed around his office and even reached through the doors to the bridge. He had just read Bak'ton's terms and conditions of handing Judith back - and he was the sacrifice.
The doors flew open and Steadfast burst into the room, followed by a security guard, with the rest of the bridge crew peering over their shoulders.
"Captain, are you hurt?" Steadfast had never felt so fond of his beloved Captain as he did at that moment.
Dashing cleared his throat. "Just tripped and banged my ankle. It's nothing." He rubbed his ankle and glared round at them all, a furtive look in his eyes. "Hadn't you all better get back to work?"
"Well, if you're sure you're alright..." Steadfast paused, then said, "Perhaps you'd better get the doctor to check out your ankle." And sedate you until we hand you over, he added silently.
"Good idea, good idea. I'll go down there now." He headed for his own private lift while Steadfast headed back to the intercom to ask the doctor what he thought of his brainwave.
The doctor loved it. Given a choice of Judith or Dashing, the doctor was prepared to perform a lobotomy on Dashing if that was what the Urgons wanted. Unfortunately, Dashing had other ideas.
At the very moment that Lipton was congratulating Steadfast on his forthcoming promotion, with the bridge crew hearing and loving every word, Dashing was changing the schedule. Instead of heading for the medlab, he was a little bit busy stunning two ensigns and a lieutenant and stealing a shuttlecraft. He intended to head back to the nearest planet and beg a lift from any passing shipowner (male or female - he was prepared to go without sex to escape his destiny) and disappear into the vast universe.
He figured that the Urgons would not actually hurt Judith - it was stupid of Stellarfleet not to see that, the Urgons would never risk war with Earth! They would have to hand her over sooner or later and when they did, he would return and say he had been trying to raise his own ship and crew to go and rescue her. She would be impressed by that - so would Stellarfleet. And Steadfast would have to admit that he was a good Captain since he was prepared to risk his own life rather than damage their careers by asking them to disobey Stellarfleet orders. He flew on in his shuttlecraft, dreaming his smug, sad little dreams.
~o0o~
Once Steadfast realized that Dashing had gone, he swung into action, enthusiastically aided by the crew who were hoping to get invited to the wedding.
"Mr. Kirenkov!"
"Yes, sir!" The young ensign turned in his chair and regarded Steadfast. Andrei Kirenkov had only been on board for a few months but all of his youthful enthusiasm was turned towards delivering that son-of-an-Admiral to the marriage ceremony, plus Steadfast would make a really good Captain.
"Scan for the shuttlecraft. Let me know the instant you detect it."
"I've already scanned, sir. The shuttlecraft is out of range, but I am picking up its carbon-monoxide emissions."
"Well done. Feed the coordinates into the navigation console and follow. Top speed."
The good ship Endeavour sped after its errant Captain. The entire crew determined to bring him back - dead or alive.
Steadfast retired to his quarters, filled with fury. When he got that...that...Captain back he would throttle him. He didn't know that Judith was in no danger. So far as Dashing was concerned he was leaving her to whatever fate the Urgons decided to hand out. Steadfast had been ready to kill Dashing and offer to take his place if that was the only way to save Judith, however Christopher Elliot's private message had made it obvious that that would not be required. But if it cost Steadfast the whole ship he would get Dashing to Urgonia.
Definitely alive. Maybe in one piece.
~o0o~
CHAPTER TEN
"Commander Steadfast." Bak'ton regally inclined her head in greeting to him.
Jason was rather taken aback. Even considering her pale blue skin and antennae, the Urgonian leader was exquisite. The only question was, what had she ever seen in Dashing? Remembering his manners, he bowed to the viewscreen which showed her face and wished for the fiftieth time that he had Dashing on the floor in chains. "Madame Bak'ton. I fear that I have bad news."
Her brow puckered. "Captain Dashing. Is he unwell?" Her heart beat faster. In spite of all his faults she loved him, although she could not have explained why. (A fault common with most of Dashing's conquests - Stellarfleet was considering funding research to see if he used hypnotism.)
"No, Madame Bak'ton. He is, so far as I know, extremely well. He is...missing."
"Ah." She smiled slightly and dismissed his euphemism. "He has escaped."
Steadfast smiled with relief. "Yes." His tone hardened, "But I give you my personal assurance that I will find him and bring him to you."
"I know you will, Commander. I have heard many things of you." Her eyes conveyed a sense of mischief, unusual in a world leader. "From a friend of yours, and mine. Perhaps you would like to speak to her."
"Thank you, Madame Bak'ton, I would like that."
"She has been sent for. One question, Commander. Why did you contact me yourself? You must have known that Stellarfleet would communicate this news to me."
"Yes, Madame Bak'ton. But it was my fauLieutenant I did not believe that he would be capable of betraying Miss Elliot - he doesn't know she isn't your hostage. I should have made sure he couldn't escape. I'm sorry."
"Judith was right about you. Do not apologise. Peter can be very cunning - he managed to fool me, too." She smiled wryly, then turned her head. "Here she is. Goodbye, Commander, I know that I can rely upon you to do your best." Turning to Judith she added, "We will leave you alone, my dear."
Judith waited until Bak'ton and her large entourage of servants had gone, and then turned to the viewscreen.
"Has Captain Dashing escaped?" she asked.
He nodded. "Yes, we're following his carbon monoxide trail now." He smiled. "Madame Bak'ton didn't seem surprised."
"Oh, she knows him. She was worried that he might get away. I know you'll catch him, Jason. Do you think it will take long?"
"I don't know." Steadfast sat down so he could be closer to the viewscreen, and appear closer to her. "He knows a lot of places, and people. But I know them too. I'll find him." He paused. "How are they treating you?"
"Didn't Daddy tell you? I'm not a hostage. I can leave any time I want." Then she smiled. "Oh, doubting Jason. No, Bak'ton isn't going to throw me into her dungeon or have me executed. Disappointed?" She wrinkled her nose at him.
"Devastated," he smiled.
"Liar," she whispered.
"I know."
~o0o~
CHAPTER ELEVEN
"What a beauty!" The exclamation escaped Captain Peter Dashing without his intending it to. His gaze slid over the sleek hull, his soul was filled with admiration (and envy). Considering some of the rustbuckets he had seen in this spaceport, he'd take a ride in that any day.
"Like my ship?"
He turned startled. There was a tall brunette standing just behind him, her eyebrows raised. She shrugged. "Daddy gave it to me last month - but I've seen a better one, so he'll have to give me that one instead. I don't know what he'll do with this. Scrap it maybe." Her eyes were totally disinterested. Bored with her ship, bored with her life. A sudden flicker in her eyes took him by surprise.
"Aren't you Peter Dashing?" she demanded.
"Yes?" He thought, do I know you? Then - not another ex-girlfriend!
"I saw your picture in one of those electronic magazines. You're going to marry that Urgon woman - Bak'ton!" She smiled suddenly, and extended her hand to him. "I'm Amber Monteroy. My father knows Madame Bak'ton extremely well."
"I'm charmed." He kissed her hand. And in luck, he thought. A social climber - perfect!
"We'll probably be at the wedding, after all, events like this don't happen everyday. Are you here with Madame Bak'ton?"
"No, no. I'm all alone." Until now, his eyes suggested.
She preened herself slightly.
"My shipmates decided to throw a party for me and part of the entertainment involved leaving me in an awkward situation," he explained.
Her finger poked him in the chest. "Like one of those old stag night things!"
Clever girl. Any cleverer and she'd cut herself. "Mmm. I'm supposed to try and make my way back with nothing to rely upon but my wits. Of course, if an old friend happens to offer me a lift, then that's my good luck isn't it?"
"No luggage?" she asked, smirking slightly. Wow, the fiance of a ruler - on her ship! That was worth waking up for.
"Not a thing. What will I wear while the laundry's being done?"
"I'm sure we can find something." Taking his arm they sauntered towards last month's gift. Both extremely pleased with the situation.
~o0o~
CHAPTER TWELVE
The crew of the Endeavour arrived at the spaceport just thirty minutes too late. Dashing had gone (along with Amber, her servants and her soon to be discarded ship). Deciding that going through official channels was a waste of time, Steadfast dropped a few hints to Lieutenant Hashimoto, who decided to hack into the spaceport's computer and ask it a few questions.
A few questions later, and Hashimoto presented a list of recently departed ships, their crew, owners and flight plans, to his Acting Captain. It is to be noted that Steadfast did not ask him where he acquired the information and Hashimoto did not volunteer to tell him.
There were seven ships on the list. Steadfast cursed. In desperate straits, Dashing might have decided to sign on as a crew member with a male shipowner, unlikely though that was. He analysed the list. It was virtually impossible for anyone to stow away now, and the deprivations such a person would have to suffer to avoid being detected made it extremely unlikely that Dashing would try that. Plus a lot of shipowners had acquired the habit of forcibly ejecting any stowaways from their ship through the nearest airlock. Steadfast shook his head. Dashing wasn't that desperate.
Seven ships. Seven crews. And seven owners. Ah, one of the ships was owned by a Korgal. The Korgal were well known throughout the galaxy for being convinced that their race was the most superior. They would never allow a mere human to join their crew - not even a human with an ego which was every bit as big as theirs. Dashing didn't have any money so he couldn't buy passage either, so that meant that the Korgal ship could be crossed off the list. One down - six to go.
Steadfast decided that it would be better to tell the bridge crew, at the very least, the truth concerning Bak'ton and Miss Elliot. As he had expected the bridge crew were in favour of following Madame Bak'ton's plan. They had been quite prepared to help him get Dashing declared insane, (something which they suspected was true anyway), but they all agreed that this was a much better opportunity. Steadfast had some trouble calling the meeting to order, as they were all united in vilifying Dashing and a couple of them were busy debating whether or not his parents had been married, and what species they had belonged to, married or not.
Knowing that Dashing did not know that Judith was in no danger only added spice to the challenge of locating him.
Steadfast presented the list of ships. One crew member, who will remain nameless, was in favour of finding each ship and blowing it out of the cosmos on the grounds that Dashing might be on board. He got quite enthusiastic about his plan and had to be forcibly reminded by a fellow crewman's fist (also nameless) that they wanted Dashing alive, blowing up innocent ships wasn't Stellarfleet policy and how were they going to get Steadfast as Captain if his crew murdered several people? The crewman saw the error of his ways (and several stars) and the meeting continued.
"Excuse me, sir," Ensign Kirenkov looked at his Acting Captain. "Wouldn't it save time if we went after one of the ships while we have this meeting? I mean, we might be able to eliminate one ship at least."
"Clever lad," the Doctor murmured.
Steadfast chose the slowest ships to start off with. The fastest, Amber's Pride, was headed straight for Earth and he doubted if Dashing would be so stupid as to head for Stellarfleet Head Office - or even go near it.
The bridge crew had managed to list the ships in order of probability by the time they caught up with the first ship. It was not very big, and not in very good condition. In fact, it was a good job they had chosen that one, as it had broken down less than three days out of spaceport. Steadfast helped them as best he could, and sent out a call for general assistance. The Explorer was the nearest ship and as soon as they arrived, the Endeavour left, sped on their way by the thanks of the stranded crew and a few pieces of information.
Lieutenant Commander McFadden had gone to their engine room and while helping to fix their propulsion system had overheard two of the stranded crew talking about the Endeavour and one of them insisting it was the same ship. Being a good natured man, he offered to settle their argument and was astounded to be asked whether his was the ship that Dashing had commanded.
"And how did you know that?" he asked.
The young crewman pulled out a copy of an electronic magazine, the Cosmic Interrogator, the scourge of the rich and famous. It was considered by some to be a trashy magazine, filled with gossipy articles about successful actors, various tycoons and royalty. It was considered by others to be highly informative and downright interesting. It was also well known for having the latest news.
McFadden took the magazine. Flipping past a long article on "head replacements - whose were natural, whose were fake" and a short article on whether or not Chip 'the hip' Presley was living on Mars, McFadden found himself gazing at a picture of his Captain, with the headline "Stellarfleet Hero Unfaithful to Fiancee Queen" screaming at him. Reading the blurb, McFadden discovered that Dashing had been seen boarding the ship of a certain Amber Monteroy, daughter of Cleveland Monteroy, owner of a fast food chain. While the Interrogator had not been able to determine where Miss Monteroy's ship was, it speculated wildly on what exactly Dashing was doing aboard her ship - and hinted that his marriage was not of his own choice. Grinning widely, McFadden handed the e-mag back to its owner, and left the ship.
As soon as the Explorer arrived, the Endeavour left.
~o0o~
CHAPTER THIRTEEN
Amber Monteroy lay on her bed and sighed. She was bored although there was nothing new in that. For some reason, Captain Peter Dashing had been insisting on their avoiding other ships and was very much against going straight to Earth. Amber had seen the Cosmic Interrogator (sent electronically to all subscribers - and she had every issue) and although Dashing was still being discussed in each day's supplement, she knew that if they didn't get interviewed soon, the Interrogator would lose interest and stop featuring them. Also, she hadn't managed to contact any of her friends to see how they were enjoying seeing her in a twosome with the Galaxy's most eligible bachelor. She lay on her bed as she glanced through the newest copy. The Interrogator was attempting to list all of his ex-girlfriends but in the editorial, the writers had explained that their database was having trouble coping with the amount of information.
She threw the e-mag on the floor and rolled over on to her stomach. She wanted to go home. She wanted to see Daddy. And she had nothing to wear! Her sniffling stopped as she remembered that the latest fashion shows would be starting. She hadn't missed the shows since she was three! She wasn't going to miss one now! She knew that Peter wouldn't be pleased if she flew straight to the Moon (the fashion capital of the universe - the designers could be a lot more adventurous with much less gravity to contend with) but this was her ship, not his.
~o0o~
"Where the hell are we going?" Dashing had looked at the consoles in Amber's up-to-the-minute ship and realized that the circles they had been flying around in had become a straight line heading for a definite destination.
The navigator looked up, startled.
"Well? I asked you a question!" Dashing said, imperatively.
It was unheard of for Amber or any of her guests to actually speak to any of the bridge crew. The only people they spoke to were each other or their actual servants. But to speak to any of the people who actually worked on the ship was beneath them, so the navigator was rather confused.
"Are you speaking to me, sir?" he asked hesitantly, even though he and Dashing were the only ones on the bridge.
"Of course I'm speaking to you - you idiot!" Dashing shouted, "WHERE ARE WE GOING?"
"The Moon, sir."
"The Moon? The Moon?"
"Yes, sir. It's a small planet. It circles Earth," the navigator offered nervously.
Dashing was outraged. Did this pathetic specimen of humanity think he was stupid? He bawled, "I know what the moon is - I went to Stellarfleet Academy!"
His face was puce. The navigator, Johnson, was torn between fear and total fascination. It looked as though Dashing's head was about to explode.
"Why are we going to the Moon?" Dashing screamed.
"Er...er...Miss Monteroy's orders, sir."
Dashing was actually vibrating with rage. "The Moon!" he howled. "I can't go to the Moon! Turn the ship around!"
"Er...er...." Johnson wanted to explain that he couldn't turn the ship around without direct orders from his Captain, who took his orders from Miss Monteroy, but he didn't dare.
"Are you deaf? TURN THE SHIP AROUND!"
"Yes, sir." Johnson altered the ship's course and breathed a sigh of relief as Dashing left the bridge. As soon as the lift doors had shut, Johnson contacted the Captain and explained everything to him. The Captain was less than happy. When he had first got this job, it had seemed like a good idea. He had naturally assumed that Amber would spend most of her time visiting friends. She did, but she also had a bad habit of turning up whenever she wanted without any notice and expecting the ship to take off there and then. If he hadn't signed a year's contract (her father had had trouble keeping any crew on board the ship until he'd thought of that), he would have quit.
When Amber heard what Dashing had done, she was furious. She ordered the Captain to head straight for the Moon and went to see what Dashing had to say for himself.
As soon as the doors opened she shot through them. Dashing looked up and scowled. He had had enough of this spoilt brat and was very close to saying so.
"Why did you order my navigator to turn back?" she demanded.
He stiffened. Who did she think she was talking to him like that? He had kindly allowed her to have the prestige of having Captain Peter Dashing on board her ship - and in her bed - and here she was, demanding things of him.
"I thought we'd agreed to stay away from Earth!"
"I wasn't going to Earth - I'm going to the Moon!"
"The Moon isn't very far from Earth though, is it?" He glared at her.
She glared back. "I'm going to the fashion shows and if you don't like it, you can get out and walk!"
"Walk? In space? Are you stupid? I'm Peter Dashing! I'm a Captain! I can take command of your piddling little ship!"
"My piddling little ship came to your rescue though - didn't it?" she sneered. "Your friends left you at that spaceport and I gave you a lift! I didn't have to, I could have left you there!"
"You were too impressed with who I am to leave me there! You're a social climber," Dashing shouted.
Amber was furious. No one had ever dared to say that before. Her father was too wealthy for her to put up with insults. "I'm not a social climber - I felt sorry for you!"
"Sorry, for me? You couldn't feel sorry for a dead mongoose!"
Amber was flummoxed. No one had ever dared to argue with her either. In a fury she reverted back to her original stance, knowing that it infuriated him. "We are going to the Moon whether you like it or not!" she screeched.
"Right, that's it! I've had enough of pandering to you. You are the most boring woman I've ever come across! And..." he delivered his ultimate insult, "you're bad in bed!"
"Maybe I would have been better if I'd been having fun!" She noticed that his eyes were starting to bulge. "I might as well have been in bed with a corpse!"
He choked. No-one had ever even hinted that he might be bad in bed - he'd had too much practice for that.
Her voice rose by several decibels, "Now get off my ship!"
Captain Peter Dashing was not one to take defeat lightly. He stole a shuttlecraft instead.
~o0o~