Dark as Daylight Ch. 09

Everyone, from the Senior Captain on down, has remarked on your brilliance. The way you went around setting up false flags was absolutely remarkable. For example, the scratch on the interior wall of the rocket, nearly let the C-4 slip by, because everyone thought the scratch was the major concern. A brilliant piece of work Doctor."

"Yes it was, but not as good as what I did in elevator 3."

"Absolutely Doctor, if you want to talk about brilliance, nobody saw that coming. Laura Schiff accidentally found it, while looking over the electrical system in the landing gear access room. She only found it because she tripped over her own feet. Apparently you left something exposed, or it got loose somehow. Her hand touched something she was not familiar with. She had to call Colonel Daniels to find out what is was. Even he couldn't figure out where you learned how to do that. Sheer brilliance Doctor, sheer brilliance."

"Yes, everyone knows they are run by electricity, so that's the first place they will look for a bomb after they check all the other electrical systems. They can check the wiring all the way back to the circuits and the circuit breakers, and they won't find anything. So what they'll try to do is lower the elevators, and just let the fluids push them down by using its own weight. However, what no one realizes, is when you use the pneumatic system in this fashion, there is a .7-amp charge that lasts 8 milliseconds as it begins. That is just enough to set off the blasting caps. The explosion will destroy the elevator, and the whole side of the ship by elevator number 3. You will be stranded on Atwater Luck forever, with no chance of leaving, or communicating with anyone, ever again."

"As we said Doctor, from the Senior Captain down, sheer brilliance, we have never known the likes of a man like you, ever. We don't understand why you could not put that brilliance into motion, as did Da Vinci, Einstein, Kepler, Newton, and the other geniuses who line our history books. Your name would have come before each of them, because of your intellect."

"They have my family. Not just my great grandparents, grandparents, parents, and wife, but down to my youngest child. They have my aunts, uncles, and their children also. They told me if I did not do this, they would eradicate my family name from the face of the Earth. I didn't have to kill anyone, all I had to do was make this mission seem like a failure. I have failed to do that, and they will all die because of me."

"Who are they Doctor Aubrey, do they have names?"

"Of course they have names. I worked with, and for them for many years. We were friends. They supported me in my work. They funded my research when no one else would. They reaped the rewards, when my research proved to be correct. For more than 20 years they groomed me for success. Then they did this to me, and I failed."

"Who are they Doctor; their names?"

"Friedrich von Bierman, Otto von Osterhagen, and Arthur Schultheise. My friends, and now my tormentors."

"Doctor Aubrey did you plant any other explosives around the ship?"

"No, just in elevator 3, and at the base of the rocket being sent to Earth."

"Go to sleep Doctor, rest easy, we will see if we can help you."

"Let him sleep Hannah. He's had an awful lot on his mind, since he's been on board."

"What the fuck do I do now Jack?"

"As much as I hate to pass the buck Monty, you are the Senior Captain; it's up to you to decide."

Monty keyed her communicator. "Communications, I want 3 copies of that interrogation made instantly. I want one delivered to me, one delivered to Colonel Daniels, and one kept for our files. Set up a quorum call for 45 minutes. Everyone not involved in critical duties has to be there. This is not a request; this is in order."

"Jack, I don't care what you have to do, but I want the part of his confession, where he says those people have his family, and he says the names of those men to get to Earth. I don't care if you have to take that rocket apart one more time; I will keep this ship moving towards Earth, until it's ready to fly."

"Monty, on my life, that bird is ready to go."

"Then change the message on that disc, we will make the turn, verify the solution to Earth, and send it off with a bottle of champagne attached to its ass. We want everyone to know we are alive and well. Tell them where we are going to land, but tell them to try and help the family of Doctor Aubrey, if at all possible. Put that in clear language, I want the world to know what they did to him."

"I will have the corrected message loaded in one hour. Tell the science section, and Callie to figure out the turning point, and then the best firing solution so I can reprogram it into the rocket. I will have to firing crew ready to go. Adam can go into Landing Gear 3, and remove the explosive device from the pneumatic tube, where Doctor Aubrey hid it. Then, this ship is ready to go to our new home, at 4.3 light speed."

"One favor Jack; send one of your senior engineers to number 3 to keep an eye on Adam. If he winds up flat on his back, holding the C-4 in one hand and the blasting caps in the other, Laura will wind up fucking him to death in there."

"There are worse ways to go. However, from the way she treated him the last time he found an explosive, I think I'll send the engineer as you requested."

"Thanks Jack, I don't want to oversee a murder trial."

********************

"Members of the quorum, we meet again on the matter of Doctor James Aubrey, and his conviction on High Treason. He would not speak to us as to why he did this, but we knew it had to be something so terrible he was willing to give up his life for it. Using a combination of drugs, Doctor Daniels was able to put Doctor Aubrey into a state of relaxation, where he would only tell the truth. In other words, he received a truth serum. I am not going to preach to you about the efficacy of using this medication, I want you to listen to the words of Doctor Aubrey, as he is being interrogated by Laura Schiff. I want you to know that it is my sole authority, according to our bylaws, to expunge his sentence. However, I want you to give me guidance on this extremely serious matter. Please listen closely, and help me decide."

The 48-minute interrogation was played for the quorum. During it many people could be heard gasping at what he did to the ship. Then, in the last 12 minutes, they heard the reasons why. Their mouths opened wide and tears were falling down cheeks. 'What had they done to this man, and what would they have done in his stead.' These were not easy questions to answer, after the testimony heard earlier in the day.

"Members of the quorum that is the extent of our interrogation of Doctor Aubrey. The medical reason for keeping it under an hour, is because the drug is very powerful, and could do harm to his body. It could also cause a psychotic break from reality, and our bylaws say you cannot execute a person who is insane. I ask you, at this time, for your guidance.

"Should I carry out the death sentence, or commute the sentence, and put Doctor Aubrey into the Science Section, as a Junior Member?"

"All in favor of my carrying out the Death Sentence, please rise."

"I count to 33 in favor of carrying out the Death Sentence."

"Betty what about you?"

"I Count 33 also, Captain."

Under her breath Monty said, "I hate this fucking job."

Even whispered into her ear, "Why do you think I needed you here? You are the only one strong enough to do this job. Pull yourself together, and take command this room."

Without realizing it she said out loud, "I don't like you Even."

"Captain, the quorum couldn't hear you."

"It's better that they didn't, because there are children here."

The audience laughed.

"All of those in favor of my commuting Doctor Aubrey's sentence, due to extenuating circumstances, please rise."

"Betty would you like to bet the number of people who just rose is 33?"

"No Captain, because I was thinking the same thing."

"Make your count and make it accurate."

"I count 34 Captain."

"That's amazing, because so do I"

"Laura shouted, "Why should It be so amazing, Captain? I wasn't here for the last quorum call, because I was with the patient."

Jack yelled, "The disc is ready Captain. Do you want me to vote, or do you want me to put it in the rocket?"

"So help me God Jack, if you open your mouth, you won't be able to pleasure your wife for a year, or more. Go, leave, you are dismissed; put the disc in the rocket, get the updates from Callie and the Science Division, and call me on the bridge. Move your ass Colonel, now."

Jack didn't respond, he ran to engineering to install the disc. On his way, he told the Science Division, and Callie what he needed, and when he needed it.

When he entered engineering, Delicious, Mark, and Jerry were fully suited up, and waiting to put on their helmets. Gordon was helping with a minor problem with his backpack, and was wearing his spacesuit wrapped around his waist.

"There you go Harry; we're back up to full pressure. Now let me get this monster on and we can test it."

"What the hell did you do Gordon?"

"Apparently, the last time I wore it, I must have been sweating a lot more than I thought. The moisture got into this line, got mixed in with a little dirt, and formed a blockage. After we come in from this little trip, we're going to have to take that complete line out to see if it's salvageable, or replace it with a spare line. I hope it salvageable, because plastic tubing is going to be hard to come by out here."

"In that case, why don't I just make a stiff little brush, and attach it to a thin wire. We can push the wire through, because there will be no resistance. Once we have the wire end out, we can grab it with a small vice lock, pull the brush end back and forth through the tubing cleaning out all the dirt. We can use a high pressure hose to blow the dirt out, and brush it again, and then hook it up to a pressure valve to see if it's working properly."

Gordon had a big grin on his face. He jumped up on a chair and shouted, "I am putting Harry up for this month's genius award. He has just found us a way to clear every tube in this marvelous machine, without wasting one inch of plastic. It was so amazingly easy, and so amazingly smart and ingenious, I can't imagine why no one thought of it before. Harry you're my man of the month.

Harry did not know what to say or do. He was stunned. Normally the cheers went towards Gordon or the other senior scientists. This time, he, a lowly laboratory assistant, had come up with a way to save a precious resource, which they would not be able to replicate on this new planet for a few centuries, or more. Finally, he began to grin.

************

Members of the Quorum it has been decide that ...

"Captain Jamison."

"Yes Doctor Daniels."

"Doctor Lincoln Aubrey has died. He was resting comfortably, and then his heart stopped for no apparent reason. I believe he lost his will to live, once he realized what he'd done, and failed to accomplish his goals."

"Thank you Doctor Daniels."

"Communications, this is the senior captain. Open a ship wide channel please."

"Channel is open Captain."

"Crew members, and families of the Good Luck 1. We have just lost a member of our crew. Doctor Lincoln Aubrey, was found innocent of the charges against him, due to extenuating circumstances. I believe any of us, if we were put under the same strain he was under, might have done the same thing he was attempting to do to this ship. You will be afforded the opportunity to listen to his statements, either in the privacy of your own rooms, or in the auditorium at the times that will be posted. I ask you now and ask our Lord for Her kindness upon his soul, and to help those he left behind, and was trying to help be saved from the men who were tormenting him. In your own way, 'Let Us Pray.'

There wasn't a sound in the ship. The babies didn't cry; the turkeys didn't gobble.

"Thank you very much; you may continue on with your duties, and your lives."

************

"What do we do with his body, Monty?"

"The same thing we would do with anyone, while we are in space. He will be floated over the side, and cast him into the heavens forever."

"We could bury him on Atwater Luck."

"No; that would be too much of an honor for him. I understand what he was going through, but he was trying to keep all of us from getting there safely. I won't have him be the first one buried at our new home. He goes out, when the rocket goes out, and then there's nothing to stop us from going home."

"Very well Captain, I will get his body ready."

"He goes out the way he was born, naked. If anyone finds him in the future, I don't want them to think we were all born in a suit and tie."

"Aye, Aye captain."

"Thank you Doctor, thank you for what you did for us today, and hopefully for what you did for him, when this message gets to Earth."

"Senior Captain to Landing Gear 3, senior captain to Landing Gear 3 immediately.

"I'm on my way."

********************

Landing Gear Access Area 3

"I'm telling you there's nothing in here, and if there is, I'm blind."

"He said it was in here. He told us everything he did from the books, to the C-4 in the back of the rocket. How could he lie to us about this one thing when he was under the drugs?"

"Laura think of what you kept saying to him? Every time you said it, you also told him how brilliant he was. You kept reinforcing that one message, 'Doctor Aubrey, you are so brilliant.' Could he have realized, from the very beginning what we were doing to him? Could he have faked everything up, after that point? Could he have fed us false information? Did he know that there was no way for C-4 to explode, while throwing it around? Could that have been the clue to him that he was being put under hypnotic drugs? Could he have fed our egos, while we were feeding his from that point on? Was this thing about his family true or false? Was it a message to his handlers on the ground that he was going to be successful, or he had failed? Right now we have one problem; we still have to find the last package of C-4."

"Landing Gear 1 is clear. There is no sign of tampering, and there is definitely no sign of any explosives in here."

"Number 2 is also clear. If he screwed up and didn't use gloves in engineering, you would think he wouldn't have used them in here either. There are no fingerprints any place in here."

"I found something in number 4."

"What is it Newton?"

"I have a spider web."

"Remind me to lock you in there."

"Gordo, if you think your pregnant wife misses sex when you are not available, think about mine. Your wife has already had one child, and is reasonably aware of how to control herself, now that she is expecting her second.

My wife, on the other hand, is new to all this. If she finds out you are the culprit, and are keeping us apart, she will eat through lead to get to you, and when she does it won't be pretty."

Adam asked, "What's happened to all the ferocious men in this world? Where have they all gone to? When we were single, we were at the top of the heap. We fall in love, with the most beautiful women in the world, with dainty habits, and pointed pinkies. They take us by our noses, and other protruding parts of our bodies, and lead us around for the rest of our lives. What's worse about all this, is we let them do it! They beat the shit out of us, and we come back for more. Why! Where did all the John Wayne's and Gene Autry's go? Where did all the single men go, who left the women crying, with dainty handkerchiefs dabbing at their eyes, as we rode off into the sunset go?

Now we are left with the likes of the Justin Timberlake's, and the Jonas Brothers of the world; men's men, if you've ever seen them.

On the other side of this equation you have Rocky, who can't speak English, without tripping over his tongue, and Bullwinkle, who played governor, and drove California into recession, depression, philandering, divorce, and then went back into acting, if that's what you can call what he does.

We take our lovely women on the trip of a lifetime. We take them out of the world we live in, and into the next world, and the next world, and so on... Do they change their habits, heck no! They find themselves in an enclosed space, and they blame us for it. It's not like it was a secret to any of them, because they watched it being built. My darling wife, may she live forever, was instrumental in getting this adventure off the ground.

Elizabeth used her mental acuity to get on board this ship as a way to escape from the horrors of the life she knew before. Then she met Newton. She wiggled her tiny behind, blinked her eyelashes, used a coy smile, and Newton was dead in the water. He went from 4 dates in an hour, to a one lady man in 5 weeks. He thought it was a secret, but he didn't count on his little sister.

Teddy is known as the little bugle. Zoey is known as the big bugle. Between the 2 of them, nothing is sacred aboard this sphere. The 2 of them spread it around that Elizabeth was being courted by Newton.

There were only 2 people on the ship that didn't know about it. They were Newton's parents, Delicious and Gray. Nobody told them; it would have been too great a shock.

When Newton finally got around to asking Elizabeth to marry him, hardly a murmur moved around the ship. Another man bites the dust. Another woman has a punching bag, all that's needed now is the paperwork.

Monty has it notarized, waiting for their signatures. What's a little informality for the bride and groom?"

Laura asked Adam, "Darling, do you remember that tool you gave Jack to work on Gordon's head with, and have been trying to make a replacement for because of where it needs to go?"

"Yes I do, but there is very little extra metal on the ship to make it with, because of its shape, and size."

"Would bone do; specifically, a head bone? You will not be needing yours if this line of thought continues."

"You would miss a particular part of me."

"There are always your forearms, your thigh bones, your..."

"I understand, and I will cease my statement at this point. I just hope my message got through."

"May I continue that line of thought, Adam?"

"Sure, go ahead Gordon, if you dare."

"When I was in Charleston chasing Zoey, I found out if I stayed still I could catch her. She would run away from me, as fast as she could, and I would lay down on the sand, in the sun, not move, and I could catch her. There were miles and miles of beach, and I would always catch her by staying still.

I find it amazing now that we are in this little spaceship, for some reason or another, she can always catch me. I have found the reason and it took me a long time to reason out what it is. It's this."

Gordon raised his left hand and pointed to the little gold ring around the third finger.

"This is the great equalizer. When you mentioned, 'when we were single', we didn't bear this weight. This little ring may weigh one fifth of an ounce on a jeweler scale, but if we meant what we said on the day we were married, it weighs everything. It weighs on our hearts, on our minds, on our body's, and on our soul's.

We take the abuse simply because we know it's not abuse. We love them to death, because we would protect them unto death, if anyone threatened them. They are us, and we are them. Just wait until you have children Adam, and watch how your view of life and the world changes."

"Was that my son talking?"

"No that was just Gordon."

"Oh good, because if that was my son Gordon talking, I would be running to the infirmary to get some tranquilizers. I know I would be on my way to having a stroke."

"Grandma, they lied. It was Gordon and your son. Those were also original words coming out of his mouth. So if you were to count all those Gordon's up and hit him now, it would be a 3 for 1."