Beware of kazon powder. Have fun as Ben puts the cadets of the "Orion" in their place. If you wish to e-mail us our address is TheHakaanen@hotmail.com
The Boys of the Lady Lex Chapter 31 "Blood, Sweat and Scratching" Written By Douglas DD and Benjamin TC
Mike sat under a big tree that stood on top of a tall rocky cliff. The salty breeze cooled his face as he heard the crashing of waves on the rocks below him. He looked up from what he was doing, out at the horizon. He didn't realize how much he missed sunsets until now. He sat there and watched the golden globe slowly be swallowed by the sea. Mike took a deep breath of the fresh clean air, took a bite of his peanut butter and banana sandwich and turned to what he was doing.
Ryan snuck up behind Mike and kissed him on the cheek. "Hey, sexy, you're supposed to be taking the evening off."
Mike looked up and smiled at his boyfriend as Ryan plopped himself down next him. "I'm finding out that the words `time off' aren't in an XO's vocabulary. I am just ensuring all the sporting teams have the players they need. This is hard because unlike the regular academy ships, we only have 200 boys to choose from where the other ships have over 500. Not to mention not all of our boys are athletic incline and trying to come up with teams is tough. And since a cadet can only play one sport, that makes it all the tougher. But I think we managed to get who we need where. But I will eat my underwear if we win in all the sporting events."
"Who's playing what sports?" asked Ryan.
"For the varsity baseball team we have Ben, you, Douglas, Scottie Brother, Eric Larsen, Travis Tucker, Gary Banks, Lance Pound, Mike Kwon, Dusty, Adam, Brett, Donyell and Brad. For the JV team we have Andrew Collins, Trevor Collins, Nipper, Ian, Tyler, Greg, Chandler, Grant, Danny, Aaron, Skip, Manuel, Heath and Randy."
"They seem like solid teams."
"I think they have a chance. For the varsity hockey team we have Spencer, Kyle, Dylan, Maverick, Grady, Xavier, Logan, Colby, Buster, Lorne, Lucas, Jesse Hatcher, myself as the team captain, Roc, Nigel, Marshall, Raphael, Wes, TJ, and Tad. For the JV team we have Korbin, Hayden, Carson Brothers, Leif, Reece, Niles, Keoki, Isaac, Hank, Gino, Derek, Dakota, RJ (Gerbil) Polaski, Cruz, Brock, Anson, Jerrod, Makoto, Lincoln and Santos."
"Jesse Hatcher is on the varsity team? He's only 13."
"We had no choice. It was either take Jesse or leave an empty spot on the bench. We are really hurting for players."
"How's Jesse doing?"
"Honestly, Jesse is horrible. He falls down a lot, he can barely skate backwards, he has no control on the puck and to make matters worse, his father is pushing him harder than anyone else. Captain Hatcher knows a lot about hockey and he is a good coach, except when it comes to Jesse. I honestly don't know why Hatcher is the way he is with Jesse. Jesse is such a sweet boy."
"What made Jesse want to play hockey anyway?"
"When the `Lady Hawke' ran into that ion storm and they all saw ghosts, Jesse saw his dead grandfather he had never met. From the sounds of it, his grandfather acted more like a dad to Jesse then his own father does. But Jesse took to the ice with his grandfather and actually found out that he enjoyed it. But I guess something to do with Captain Hatcher and Mark made Jesse turn away from the sport."
"What other events do we have there?"
"We have the varsity fencing team with Brian McDowell, Denny, Peter and Cliff. The JV team is Buddy, Ramsey, Phil, and Dover."
"Brian McDowell? Isn't that the kid who is quiet and doesn't talk to anyone, not even in class plus he walks with a cane and a very bad limp?"
"That's him."
"He's not a cadet; he's an officer's son, right?"
"Yes he is, but he can compete too. I honestly don't see how he can actually compete because of him being handicapped like he is, but Major Zjan-Ren insists that Brian is on the team."
"Maybe the Major knows more then we do then. After all he is the fencing coach."
"For the rowing team we have Giles, Ivan, Raynor, Thane, Earl, Lester, Burt and Tina Hatcher."
"A girl is on the rowing team?"
"Yeah, she's the one who sits up in front and keeps the actual rowers in synch. This coxswain is what I think they call her. The other academy ships have girls on their teams, so we can too. Heck the CO and XO of the `Port Royal' are both girls. I wouldn't want to be on that ship."
"Neither would I."
Mike laughed and he watched the sun disappear below the horizon, casting a beautiful red sky. He then turned his attention back to his computer pad. "For varsity wrestling we have Jerrod, Harper, Miles, Emmett and Duncan. The JV team is Makani, Sheldon, Willard, Zeb, and Jarek."
"Emmett the 250 pound freak is wrestling? I feel bad for his opponent," laughed Ryan.
"You ain't kidd'n there. The 5K run is varsity level only and it consists of Abner, Cody, Manzo, Giuseppe, Quade, Jody, Hernanado, Fabio, Ekon, and Bo."
"That is one event I wouldn't want to do."
"That makes two of us, Ry. Donkeys don't run long distances. Besides, there is no physical contact in the 5K run either." Both boys laugh. "The Varsity basketball team is Seth, Seymour, Thornton, Tracy, Vidal, Ralph, Modesto, Kane, Hugh, Gustav, Wolfgang, Lysander, Doyal, Caspar, and Callum. The JV team is Vijay, Quincy, Radford, Morgan, Montgomery, Keegan, Hyatt, Grayson, Lyndon, Lyle, Grover, Elwood, Caleb, Hiram, and Joel."
"Isn't Seth that 6'5" junior?" asked Ryan.
"Yes he is. And he is one hell of a basketball player. He used to play in Harlem all the time before getting caught for steeling and selling black market items. The only thing is that he is the only player on the team that actually has skill at basketball. The others are either average or weak players."
"I guess that what happens when we only have so many to choose from for team. What else do you got?"
"The varsity swimming team is Matt, Sandy, Kana, Gyan, Fortino, Lou, and Gianni. The JV team is Ephraim, Taylor, Taylan, Slade, Chuck, Chip, and Deetz."
"How many events are there in swimming?"
"200 meter crawl, 400 meter crawl, 200 meter back stroke, 200 meter breast stroke, 200 meter butterfly stroke and the 1600 meter relay."
"Mike, I asked you how many events there were in swimming, not what they were."
"Well, not only do you know how many, but now you know what they are. Besides, that would have been your next question."
Ryan smiled because he knew Mike was right.
"The academic bowl is varsity level only and it consists of Scooter, Toby, Stan, Joe, Wyatt, and Yuri."
"I don't like that Stan kid. I don't trust him. He keeps to himself too much and there is something about him."
"I know what you mean Ry. And finally we have the Senior Officer Tug-of-war Challenge that will be Johnny, myself, Douglas, Scooter, Ian, Ben and you."
"That's a lot of events. Not to mention that during the Olympics we all have to go through marching drills, uniform inspections, ship and work center inspection, hand held weapon shooting event, and of course the war game itself. How's that war game gonna work, Mike?"
"It's like a free for all laser tag game. They hook up special computers to our ship's systems including our shuttles. We fire simulated torpedoes, missiles and phaser shots and depending where it hits the defending ship, depends what kind of damage is simulated. The ship can lose systems and the repair teams have to figure it out. Of course the gaming computer can completely knock out a system if a shot is aimed properly. If you take good aim you could knock out the other ship's weapon's systems and they have to figure out how to get it back on line if it is even possible to get it back online."
"That sounds pretty cool. How is the winner determined?"
"Simple. The last ship that hasn't surrendered or simulated destroyed wins."
"Last ship standing, huh?"
"Exactly."
"You think the Lady Lex has a chance in the war games? After all our equipment isn't the latest and greatest in technology. She's big and she's slow compared to the other academy ships."
"I think we have a very good chance in the war games."
"How so? We have nothing compared to them."
"Most of us on the Lady Lex are boys of the street. And while on the streets we have two choices, either we survive or we don't. And if we chose to survive we have nothing in our pockets to help us other then our street wisdom. Heck, old Admiral Whitaker fuck face gave us those shitty temp buildings to sleep in while we are here, but little did realize that those shitty temp buildings are more than most of us had to live in before we were sent off to juvenile delinquent school or a work farm. Those boarded up buildings and rat infested condemn shacks, they're not eye sores to most of us. They are memories of home. I think what Admiral Fuck Face did to us with our living arrangements is just reminded us where we came from and who we are and then Captain Hatcher shows us who we have become over the past two months and all these temp buildings and condemned fire traps is a motivator for us to who those stuck up rich little snots who's egos are just as big as their big daddy's bank account. I think if we play our cards right we will be kicking some ass. I'm just glad we have a week of practice, even in shitty conditions, before we actually play the preliminary games."
"I know we have an awesome baseball team. You should see Ben catch. He is one of the best, if not the best catcher, I ever seen at this level. I think Dr. Daniels was smart making him team captain."
"I think Ben will do well. I know he is a great pilot for only being a 15 year old beginner."
Ryan snuggled in close to Mike, taking the computer pad out of his hand and setting it down. The stars above them were beginning to twinkle and the sounds of night birds started to talk among themselves.
"Mike, how about we stop shop talk and enjoy this peace and quiet and this alone time that we hardly ever get onboard the Lady Lex?"
Mike smiled and kissed Ryan. Soon the creatures of the night watched two young boys make sweet, emotional love under the stars.
Trevor walked around in the abandoned building that once was a general store at one time. There was trash, old crates, and a decade worth dust through out the building. The setting sun was desperately reaching through the cracked in the boarded up windows to keep itself from falling below the horizon.
Trevor went into the back room and his heart stopped. There was someone sitting in the back room on top of a pile of kazon powder. Each bag weighed fifty pounds. In the darkness where he saw the shadowy figure there was an orange glow that got bright and then dull.
"Who's there?" asked Trevor who was a little scared but trying to act brave.
"What the fuck do you care?" said Johnny with a very mild slur in his speech.
Trevor walked up to Johnny and saw that Johnny had found a bottle of whiskey. Johnny took a swig and then took a drag on his cigarette.
"Hey, Johnny, what you doing?"
"What do you think I'm doing? I'm getting drunk and in a minute I am going to light up this weed that I found with this whiskey."
"You're gonna smoke weed?"
"Yeah, you can join me if you want." Johnny handed Trevor the bottle of whiskey. Trevor smelled it and looked at Johnny as he encouraged him to take a swig. Trevor hesitated, but finally took a swig. He coughed and gagged and spit most of it out. Johnny laughed and handed Trevor a newly lit cigarette. Trevor took it. Again he hesitated, thinking how he be stealthy smelling like cigarette smoke, but then he remembered how Mr. Wolfe smoked a pipe. He took the cigarette and inhaled as he flopped on the sacks of kazon powder. Some white dust flew up when he landed on it.
"What's this stuff we're lying on?" asked Trevor.
"Kazon powder. It's harmless."
"What's it used for?"
"Cooking. It is the Gardeons form of baking flour. If you get any on you, make sure you wash it off with fresh water. You get saltwater on it and it will make you itch like a dog infested with fleas. And the only way to stop the itch is fully emerge yourself in 100% pure purple Gardeon grape juice for about 30-60 minutes. Then the problem is your skin turns medium to deep purple for about a week. But at least the itch is gone."
Johnny took another swig and passed the bottle to Trevor. Trevor tried it again, managing to swallow it down this time.
"Johnny, can I ask you something?"
"Sure."
"How did you get caught by the police?"
Johnny took another swig and then a very long drag of his cigarette. "A few years back I was on a job with Mike the Donkey and a few others. I was the leader of the Mustang Gang back then. As the leader I vowed to myself that everyone would always come out of a job clean. Well, during this one job, Mike got stuck and was on the verge of getting caught. The only option I had was to let myself get caught so Mike could get away."
"But you could have let Mike get caught and you get away." Trevor took a puff on his cigarette.
"That wasn't an option for me. My members of the Mustang Gang came before me. So I ended up getting caught, Mike got away. I went to a work farm where things were bad and then I ended up here in this shit hole."
Trev started to feel the effects of the whiskey. He liked the feeling it gave him. "I bet you regret for doing that, huh?"
"No Trev, I don't regret it. Back in those days I would do it again if I had to. Now, I don't know, but back then Mike was my friend and I'd be willing to get caught or even killed for my friends. There isn't a thing a friend wouldn't do to help another friend out. You remember that."
"I will."
"Enough of this bullshit. Let's break out the weed." Johnny took out the green herb and put into his make shift pipe made out of an old soda can. He pulled out his matches and lit the pipe, inhaling, holding it and then breathing it out. "Oh yeah, this is good shit."
Trevor reluctantly took the pipe. He stared at it. He wasn't sure what his brothers would think about this. He figured he would get in trouble, but Johnny was encouraging him to take a hit. Trev lit the pipe and inhaled deeply. He immediately began coughing and choking.
"Try again," said Johnny who was feeling good.
Trevor tried it a second time. He fought the urge to cough and held it in. Then he let it out. "I don't feel anything," said Trevor disappointedly.
"You will." Johnny took the pipe and took another hit. He handed Trevor the pipe. He closed his eyes and enjoyed the feeling weed was giving him.
Trevor thought it was useless and couldn't see what the big hype was about smoking marijuana, but he decided to take another hit. He breathed in deeply, held his breath and then exhaled. "WOOOOOOOOOOOOOW" said Trev as he started to feel funny.
"I told you, you would feel it soon." Johnny giggled a little bit.
Trevor took another hit, loving the feeling it was bringing him. He felt like he was walking on air. He had to share this stuff with the other members of the Birds of Prey. Trevor pounded one of the kazon powder sacks hard and a dust cloud appeared. Trevor started to giggle over it. He did it again and again giggling over the cloud that would hover over the sacks and then settle again.
Johnny and Trevor spent the remainder of the night drinking the whiskey, smoking the cigarettes and toking the weed, both of them feeling euphoria even if it was only for a few hours.
Ben stepped into the dugout and grabbed a bottle of water. He took off his catcher's mask and dumped the water on himself. The cool, refreshing water washed the hot sweat down his flush face. It was a hot day for practice. Douglas and some of the other players came into the dugout to get some water as well.
"I was looking so forward to practicing on a real field and we get this," said Douglas who was very disappointed in the playing conditions.
"At least for the games we will be playing on a real field," replied Ben who just finished taking a gulp of cool refreshing water.
"Gather around me, team!!!" yelled Dr. Daniels, the varsity baseball team's coach. All the boys joined around Dr. Daniels at home plate. "Considering the circumstance we didn't do too badly today. We'll practice again tonight after dinner. But don't worry it will be a light practice. With the preliminaries just a few days away, we need as much practice as we can get. Now go hit the showers."
The boys all ran to the haphazardly made showers that were cold water only. Dr. Daniels watched the boys. He saw some real talent out there, but he wished he had more time to develop that talent and get the boys to become more of a team.
"How did practice go?" asked Sergeant Murdock, the junior varsity head coach.
"It was good. Yours?"
"Our field sucks as bad as yours, but we managed. I had to send Cadet Collins to the infirmary though."
"Which one?"
"Trevor Collins."
"Did he get hit with a bad pitch or something?"
"No, he was complaining of a headache, dried mouth, upset stomach and being very tired."
"Just from what you told me, it sounded like he had a hangover."
"I think it was, Doctor. Mrs. Hatcher, who is manning the infirmary while you are out here, will be able to tell you better though."
"Sergeant, if Trevor Collins has been drinking, he's going to get a penalty for that. It's against regulations," said Dr. Daniels who was very concerned about this because Trevor was one of their key players for the JV team.
"I know, he will be suspended from the first game and all practices leading up to it," said Sgt. Murdock.
"Not to mention that he needs a minimum of ten practices under his belt in order to play. With the practices we had on the Lady Lex and counting the practice he had today, that is only eight practices. He's two shy of playing the last two games. But what bothers me more is not him able to play in the preliminary games, but an 11 year old boy sneaking off and getting drunk to begin with. Plus where and how did he get it?"
"I don't know Doctor, but I can find out."
"No, that's okay Sergeant, I will find out myself. Now if you will excuse me, I have a patient I need to see." The good doctor then headed to the make shift infirmary.
"Come on Johnny! Get out of bed. It's almost ten. Just because we aren't on the ship anymore, doesn't mean we still don't get up at reveille," said Mike as he pulled the covers off of Johnny. "Everyone been busy this morning preparing for the games but you. Baseball practice should be about over and so should the JV hockey team. You're supposed to be out there checking on things."
"Will you shut up!!" moaned Johnny as he rolled over and put the pillow over his head.
Mike yanked the pillow off. Johnny sat up and fell back down. His head was pounding. "Oh God, just shoot me."
"Johnny? Are you hungover?"
"Yeah, that's why I want you to leave me alone."
"I can't believe you. Where did you get the booze?"
"I found it in some abandoned building with some good old-fashioned Mary Jane."
"You smoked weed too?"
"Yes, I did. The shit you knew I had from Earth. Now get off my back and let me be!" Johnny grabbed the blanket off the floor and pulled it back over his head.
"Johnny I don't understand. After your experience on the `Lady Hawke' you were back to the Johnny Mustang I knew a long time ago. Now look at you. What happened?"
Johnny was getting angry now for Mike not leaving him alone. He sits up with his head throbbing hard. "I'll tell you what the problem is! It's this fucken place!! Look at it! Gates and barb-wire and bars, just like a goddamn prison. Just like..." Johnny trailed off as his memories from the work farm he was on surfaced.
"Just like what?" asked Mike.
"Nothing, just leave alone, would ya?"
"Just like the work farm, isn't it?" Mike could tell he hit the nail on the head. "Johnny, replace that memory with a more recent memory. The memory of you talking to your crew about how we are to forget about the past and concentrate on the future."
"Maybe I was wrong. Maybe I'm not supposed to forget the past because the past sure as hell won't forget about me."
TJ came into the small room wearing his hockey gear. "Hey Mike hockey practice is going to start soon. Coach Hatcher wants to know where his captain is." TJ was the varsity team's assistant captain along with Roc Dillinger.
"I'll be right there," assured Mike. He turned his attention back to Johnny. "I'm not through with you yet. But when I return if you're not back into the fighting mustang then I will have to hoof you and you don't want me hoofing you again." Mike then left the room with TJ to attend practice.
Major Zjan-Ren looked at the eight boys before him. He worked closely with them over the past few weeks, but he paid extra attention to Brian McDowell, the boy who had to overcome more then just learning how to fence.
"As you boys know, the way the fencing matches will work is each of you will duel with a specific weapon. Cliff you will use the epee for the varsity team, and Dover you will use if for the JV team. Peter your weapon will be the foil for the varsity team and Phil you have the foil for the JV Team. Denny, you will use the saber for the varsity team and Ramsey you have the saber for the JV Team. Now you six will have one on one duels. You get struck three times you lose the match. Each of you will play best two out of three. For every match you win, our team scores one point. The team with the most points after all the fencing events have been played, wins the game. Now my two broad swordsmen, you duels are a little different. You each will be placed in an imagemaker room. A projection of your opponent will appear before you. You will battle your opponent through this hologram image. Whatever move you make, your holographic counterpart will make the exact same move. It will be like fighting the real person, but you just don't get injured like you would if you did it for real. You will have only one match and one match only. The winner of the match earns five points for his team. And order to earn those five points you much deliver a fatal blow to our opponent. Young McDowell you will use the broadsword for the varsity team and Buddy you will use it for the JV Team. Any questions?"
"Major, what happens that after all the matches it's a tied game?" asked Dover.
"Then we have a tie breaker game. The swordsman of each team's choice will have four matches. The first match will be the epee, the second will be the foil, the third match will be the saber and the forth will be the broadsword. Whoever wins the most of those four matches, wins the game for their team."
"But Major, what happens if each player wins two matches?" asked the inquisitive Dover.
"Then they have the sudden death match. The swordsman who got struck last chooses to duel with the weapon of his choice as long as it is a sword like weapon. Now, that the rules are explained, I am told I have to name a captain for the Varsity team and one for the JV Team. My choices are final. The JV captain will be Ramsey." All the boys cheered and patted Ramsey on the back. He was definitely a people person and got along with all of his teammates, plus he was the best swordsmen on the JV team. "The captain of the varsity team will be Brian McDowell." All the boys stood their stunned. They couldn't believe it. Mr.Antisocial himself made captain. The boy who during mock games lost every time. The one who never hung out with his team or even say two words to them. Not even so much as words of encouragement when someone is dueling. "All right boys, you had a good practice. You may go and I will see you tomorrow." All the boys gave the traditional goodbye sign and left. Brian McDowell hung behind. "Something you want to say Young McDowell?"
"Yeah, I don't want the position of captain."
"But the title is yours. Wear it."
"Why me? I suck. I don't even want to fight. You seen me the past few weeks. I am a hopeless case. My bad leg, my weak wrist and my blind eye is just too much to overcome. I can't compete in these games. I'd never win."
"Not with that attitude. You go into that imagemaker room with that attitude then you already lost before the fight began. Young McDowell you need to find your balance. You are on your way to finding it, but finding your balance isn't something I can point out to you and say here go there or do this. You must find your balance yourself. I will do my best to guide you in the right direction, but that is all I can do. You Young McDowell are the only one who can find your own balance. Now I left my baklava in the imagemaker room. Go fetch for me while I put this gear away."
"Aye Sir."
Brian went into the imagemaker room and picked up the baklava. He remembered what happened last time he tried to use it. It threw him across the room. But he been learning Kriton technique over the past few weeks and even though he wouldn't admit it, his dueling technique was improving. Brian looked around and saw no on in the room. He turned on the blade but once again he was thrown hard against the wall. The power of the Kriton sword was too great to handle. Brian picked it up one more time and tried a second time, but the sword's power threw him harder across the room then ever before. He crashed through the door and into the other portion of the fencing gym. After the wall to the gym stopped his movement, he looked up and saw his teacher. Brian was fighting back tears. He got up and hobbled out of the gym, wishing he never committed himself to the Kriton.
"Jesse, get your butt over here!" yelled Hatcher. Jesse skated awkwardly over to his father. "What was that?" Hatcher was not very pleased.
"A triple deke with a 360 degree spin and then using a weak hand slap shot. Pop Pop said that will throw off your opponent's goalie big time."
"Stop talking that nonsense. I don't want you to try that again. It's no good and you missed the goal by a mile. Honestly. Stick to what I tell you. You need to learn how to skate and control the puck before you try that fancy shit that doesn't work to begin with. Now get your ass out on that ice and give me lines until I tell you to stop."
Jesse lowered his head in shame. He headed back to the goal line as the other players were called off the ice to talk to Hatcher. Jesse sprinted to the first line and then back to the goal line, then to the second line and back, and he did this until he sprinted the to and from each line on the ice. Then he started over. Mike only half paid attention to the Captain as he watched Jesse skate his heart out doing lines. Jesse was fighting the urge to throw up and tears were streaming down his cheeks. But the one thing Jesse had on his face was determination.
The varsity team left the ice to get showered. Captain Storm came out on the ice with the JV team coming out of the lockers ready for their practice.
"How's Jesse doing?" asked Ely.
"Truthfully?"
"Yes, truthfully."
"He sucks and doesn't deserve to be on this team. I would much rather take an empty seat then have Jesse on the ice."
"If he sucks so bad, then coach him. Teach him what he needs to know so he can take the place of that empty seat."
"I am coaching him Ely. But he doesn't listen to me. He tries to do this fancy shit that I tell him not to do time and time again." Jesse falls on the ice halfway through one of his sprints. "The boy can't even skate."
"That's because you're not coaching him Steve. You're just ordering him around like some fresh new ensign out of the academy. Teach him Steve. The boy is reaching out to you. Meet him halfway."
"Ely, that is enough out of you regarding Jesse. Now let's get practice in for the JV team."
"What about him?" Ely pointed to Jesse using his eyes and head.
"Tell him to hit the showers while I go talk to the JV team." Hatcher then skated over to the younger boys. Ely went over to Jesse and told him to hit the showers. Jesse finished his current set of skating lines and went into the locker room. So much of Jesse wanted to quit and give up. But he remembered the experience he had with his grandfather on board the "Lady Hawke" He wanted to experience it again, but this time with his father. He just wished his father wanted it too.
Trevor sat under the tree where Mike and Ryan had sat the night prior. Trevor watched the sun disappear below the sunset. He was mad at himself for what happened to him today. He was mad at Johnny for giving him the weed and whiskey. He was mad period.
"Hey," said Johnny who came up to him.
"Go away!!"
"I need to talk to the Hawke," said Johnny.
"Because of you I got suspended from the preliminary baseball games. Now I have to wait until the Olympics before I can play a game. Not playing these games here is going to hurt me. I won't be able to get comfortable playing a real game with my team. It's your fault."
"Trevor, I just got a donkey hoofing over this, I don't need to be clawed by you. I will only take half the blame. You could have said no or walked away, but you didn't. Hell, I will even take three quarters of the blame. But I will not take full blame."
"Just go away."
"No, like I said earlier, I need the Hawke."
"What for?"
"In a few days we will be in the middle of war games with the `Orion'."
"Yeah, so?"
"When I was the leader of the Mustang gang, before we hit up a place, we made a plan. We gathered intelligence on the place to find their weak spots so we know where to hit them. Maybe even planting a few distractions along the way."
"What does that have to do with me?"
"We need intelligence on the `Orion'. Can the Birds of Prey lead by the Hawke get me that information?" The disappointment of being suspended from the baseball team wasn't completely gone, but what Johnny said did help the wound that was created earlier. "What do you say? You up to it?"
Trevor smiled for the first time that day with a certain spark in his eyes.
The Jamaican history teacher, Dr. Kula, watched his rowing team in action. Tina Hatcher was trying to keep her team in synch, but there were oars all over the place, hitting one another. Each rower was arguing with the other on who is out of synch. Dr. Kula stood on the shoreline shaking his head. There was no way he could make a competitive team with the kids he has in the amount of time he was given. He wished that his long and dear friend Commander Hatcher didn't know that Dr. Kula once participated in the World Olympics in the eight man boat for Jamaica. He called his team to the beach to give them some more instruction.
The first day of the preliminary games grew closer and closer. Master Sergeant Flint taught every wrestling move he knew to his varsity and JV teams. Commander Creevey was back in her element as she coached and ran with the 10 boys on the cross country team who would be running 5K. Running through the fields, woods and beaches reminded her back when she ran around her family's farm back in Ireland.
The loud mouth, whistle blowing, gum chewing Italian hurricane, Lieutenant Danni Sartini, the shuttle mechanic, was busy coaching the varsity basketball team while Corporal Danzig coached the JV team. Much sweat and tears were being put out in the long, hard practices.
Both the varsity and junior varsity swimming teams climbed out of the bay. They just got done swimming laps. The Operations Officer, Lieutenant Commander McKay stood on the beach. He looked at his dripping wet river rats.
"The day after tomorrow the preliminary games begin. You boys are doing great. I just want to tell you what events each of you will be competing in.
Matt," who was the team's best swimmer, "will be competing in the free stroke 400 meter swim. Sandy will compete in the free stroke 200 meter swim. Gyan will be competing in the Breast stroke 400 meter swim. Fortino will compete in the back stroke 400 meter swim. Lou will compete in the butterfly stroke 400 meter swim. For the 1600 meter relay, Kana, our boy from Hawaii, will start us off. Then will go Gianni, Sandy and Matt will be our anchorman." All the varsity boys were pleased in what they heard. Commander McKay then told the JV team what events they would be doing.
Harrison Wolfe had his five contestants for the academic bowl. He had explained to them how it worked. For the preliminary games, it will be one on one competition. A question would be asked the contestant would have to press a buzzer before answering the question. If they answer the question wrong, they are out. If they answer it right, the get a point for their team's score. A total of 10 questions would be asked. If a player answers the question wrong and the other player answer it right, not only does that player receive the point, but the remaining questions are asked to him until all 10 questions are asked. If he answers wrong on any of the questions, then that round is terminated. If at the end of the five 10 question rounds there is a tie, then one player from each team will participate in a three question sudden death round. In the academy Olympics, same rules apply, except instead of two players contending in each 10 question round, there is a player from each academy ship participating in each 10 question round.
Mr. Wolfe looked at his five boys. Of the five, Scooter had the best chance for making a mark on the academic bowl. He was quick and he knew his stuff. Besides, he was a straight A student. Each boy had his hand next to his buzzer ready to strike it. Each hand was placed firmly on the table in front of their personal buzzer. Mr. Wolfe then looked at his questions cards. There were history questions, science questions, math questions, sports questions, questions on literature and mythology, music theory, art history, and rules and regulations of SFA general military training that ranged from safety, first aid, anti-terrorism, fighting tactics, uniform regulations, and other general military stuff.
Scooter wet his lips. He was ready for the next question. He just hoped it didn't deal with sports. That was by far his weakest subject. Scooter kept telling him he could do this. He let many people down with the watches, but he wasn't going to let his crew mates down in the academic bowl. This was something he was actually good at.
"Players, spell me the word phlegmatic."
Scooter was the first to buzz in. He began spelling the word. Once he finished he was quite confident he spelled it right.
"Master Starr, you are out," said Wolfe with no emotion.
Scooter was heart broken. He could have sworn he was right. Toby then buzzed in and spelled the word right. Scooter stood there aghast. He realized his mistake and he couldn't figure out how he could mess something so easy up. His confident level just fell a few levels.
All the boys participating in the games stood in formation listening to Colonel Stone as the stars above them twinkled heaven's light. They had one more day before the games began. He told them that he was pleased with what was going on with them. He then told them that regardless what the outcome was for the preliminary games, they could grow their hair back to normal regulation length. They no longer had to keep it bald. They earned that privilege back. Once the boys were released from formation, they all cheered, happy that they could grow their hair back.
All the boys headed to their berthing compartments. All of them did a dead stop as they looked in their rooms. All of their cots and wardrobes and night stands were hanging upside down on the ceiling. They was being held up there by Virideon magnetic strips. The bigger problem was the strips held the items and wouldn't release them unless they were neutralized by a Virideon demagnetizer, which the boys did not have.
Johnny felt rage and anger build in him. A lot of the other boys did too. It wasn't the furniture stuck on the ceiling that enraged them. It was the graffiti on the wall that read GO HOME LOSERS!!! WE DON'T WANT YOUR KIND HERE!! YOU DON'T DESERVE TO BE HERE!!!
"That's it," said Johnny. "We put up with them when they vandalized our ship. We put up with them harassing us when we went to Earth for the funeral. Now they do this."
"What are we going to do about it, Johnny?" asked Travis.
"I don't know yet."
Trevor looked up at Johnny. "I know where we can find kazon powder."
Johnny smiled. He knew what his little buddy was thinking.
Johnny and a few others loaded up six fifty pound sacks of kazon powder into the two boats the rowing team used for practice. They headed across the waters making their way to Ocean Lakes where the "Orion" crew was staying in luxury. Luckily for them it was only about a five mile row.
Once they got to the other side, they managed to find transportation, using some of their techniques that they learned on the streets and headed to the Ocean Lakes resort. By the time they reached the hotel it was almost two a.m.
Here again they used their street smarts and got into the machinery room of the hotel where the "Orion" crew was staying.. Spencer, Trevor, Chandler and Ian took the bags of kazon powder to the ventilation system. They waited for a signal before doing anything.
Johnny and the others went to the water sprinkling system. With a few adjustments and changes in the pipes lay out and running some hoses that they found in the gardening shed, the sprinkling system was now being supplied by the water from the beach on which the hotel sat.
Johnny gave Spencer, Trevor, Chandler and Ian the signal on their comm system. The four boys dumped all six bags of kazon powder into the ventilation system. The powder blew through the hotel covering everything in existence.
Most of the "Orion" cadets started coughing and gagging as they were covered with the white powder. They leaped out of bed, some of them only wearing shorts and a T-shirt. Others just one or the other, and more then less were wearing nothing at all. As they all got out of their beds, they run to their doors, only to find out that someone had tied a rope from one doorknob to the doorknob on the other side of the hall. They were trapped. The "Orion" cadets were yelling for somebody to let them out..
"Better clean off, mother fuckers!!!" said Johnny as he twisted the valve that caused the sprinkler systems to light off, sending saltwater down on the powdery white covered cadets. As the water hit the ropes, it caused a special chemical in the rope to react, eating away the ropes so the cadets could get out. Johnny could be mean, but he wasn't sadistic. He planned this so they could get out of their rooms.
The Lady Lex boys then ran from their safe haven in the machine room and outside. All of them laughing at what they had done. The Orion cadets come running out of the hotel yelling, screaming and scratching like they had a very bad case of summer fleas.
When they made it outside the wound was dug deeper as they saw a banner that read UP YOURS!!! FROM THE BOYS OF LADY LEX!!!
The sun was shining down on the "Lexington's" cadets as they all stood at attention. A handful of them were trying to stay awake. They hadn't gotten much sleep due to their night time prank. Captain Hatcher stormed out of his room and to the front of the formation. If looks could kill, every boy would be dead right there and then.
"'Lexington' cadets, there are over one hundred fifty cadets and officers from the Orion' soaking in tubs of grape juice. I know why you did it, but two wrongs don't make a right. We won't beat them in their own games or even attempt to, because that will just lower our standards to their level and we are too good for that. No, we will beat them where it hurts most. In the preliminary games about to start and then at the academy Olympics. So from this point on, if I find anyone pulling a prank like what happened last night they will be expelled from the Lexington' and sent back to normal juvenile detention center. Now you've had your fun, but it's time to get serious. Let's kick ass this week in the preliminary games."
Hatcher then left the formation. The boys wanted to cheer, but they didn't want to push their luck. They were just thankful they suffered no repercussions from their prank The boys loved what happen to the "Orion".
"You have to admit Steve, that was an awesome prank they pulled off," said Ely who was smiling as they walked into Hatcher's quarters.
Hatcher broke into laughter. "It was awesome. But I couldn't let the boys know that. The only thing I regret about it is that I didn't come up with the idea."
Both men laughed as the others coaches and officers came into Hatcher's quarters. All of them loved what had happened to the cadets of the "Orion", but none of them could let the boys know. Hatcher poured all his coaches and officers a glass of wine. They held their paper cups up.
"Coaches, Officers of the `Lexington'," said Hatcher. "Here's to this week's games. May our boys do the Lady Lex proud!!"
"Here, here" said everyone as they toasted and drank. Then all of them burst into more laughter thinking about the Orion cadets and officers soaking in purple grape juice that will caused their skin to be stained middle to deep purple for a week.
To Be Continued...