Page 21 of The Captain's Pet
“I tried to make all of this easier on you and the others. I made sure my officers treated their pets as well as possible and gave you a place to relax. I had the healing pool installed—a great drain on our resources—knowing that we likely would hurt you even if we tried not to. I even gave you time to play, a thing Travian youths outgrow long before adulthood. And all the while you’ve been what? Plotting your escape?”
“Can you really blame us?” His pet sounded tired and resigned, perhaps.
“No, I suppose I can’t. But I must stop whatever you are hoping to do. I don’t know how you truly got out of your room, but it’s not going to happen again.”
He had an idea and kicked himself for not realizing that the humans were small enough to fit in tight places and smart enough to find the weaknesses in his ship’s design. He’d have todiscuss the possibility of it with the Firth and determine what to do to stop it from happening again.
“From now on, I’m going to have random inspections of your room.” And what a pain in the ass—and a humiliating one—it was going to be to set that duty roster up. “Any boy not there will be hunted down, beaten and chained up from that moment on. Do you understand? Do you?” he repeated with more heat when Wid didn’t answer right away.
“Yes,Master,” Wid replied without looking at him.
Suddenly exhausted from the whole foolishness, Kell stalked over to the bed and flung himself down. Closing his eyes, he willed himself to go to sleep. His mind raced, however, reliving the moment he’d been informed that his pet had been found one level down from the bridge. The smug look on Garen’s face, as if this confirmed what he’d insisted all along about the humans needing a brutal hand. The irritation of gathering his officers after their shift ended to tell them of the development and the look of relief on Narith’s face when Kell had told them only Wid was to be punished.
He wondered, though, if any of the others had taken it upon themselves to beat the lesson into their own pet anyway. He was too tired to worry about it. The ultimate burden of instilling discipline remained his alone. He’d done it without pleasure and he would do everything in his power to ensure it never needed to be done again. It was time to put it all out of his mind. Still, he couldn’t sleep. Slowly a sound penetrated his thoughts, a shaking and chattering.
Fuck!
Rolling out of bed, Kell grabbed his robe and stalked over to where his pet still lay curled up in a ball. Damn creatures were so delicate and susceptible to the cold. With more care than the disobedient creature deserved, he draped the robe over the body. He got no thanks and didn’t expect or even want any.When he returned to bed, sleep continued to elude him. At least the human had been silenced.
Cranky from his poor night’s sleep, Kell prepared for his shift in silence. His pet didn’t seem inclined to talk either, thank the Mother. He dropped the boy off in the pets’ room without either of them exchanging a word. His temper over the incident had dampened a bit, although having to set up a rotating security check first thing flared it up again. By the time he reached the bridge, he was in no mood for any trouble, which is why he scowled at Garen the moment the man entered his ready room.
“What is it?” he demanded, dropping his gaze back to the report he’d been reading.
“Captain Kell, after much deliberation, I have come to believe that you are unfit for command.”
It took a moment for the meaning of his first officer’s words to sink in. “What?” Looking up, he saw the business end of a weapon pointed at him. He raised his gaze to Garen’s face and saw both determination and yes, glee.
Kell stood up slowly so as not to give the other man a reason to shoot. “What are you doing?” Stupid question.
“Under the protocols of High Command, as your first officer, I have the right to seize control of this ship when I believe that you are no longer fit for duty.”
“On what basis am I unfit?” Kell made sure to keep eye contact and to show he wasn’t afraid, even though he was. Only an idiot wasn’t afraid of a weapon being pointed at them.
“My concerns started with the way you coddled and indulged the pets. You seemed too easily influenced by all of that prettiness. Then you let a human vessel slip by our blockade in direct conflict with our mission statement. And when your petmanaged to breach our security and wander around the ship?” Garen tsked his disapproval. “It became clear to me,sir, that too much human ass has compromised your judgment. For the good of this ship, I hereby relieve you of command.”
Damn, he’d underestimated Garen’s ambition and had fed him enough justification for this legal form of mutiny. Kell didn’t think Garen’s accusations would hold up under a formal review, but that assumed he made it back to the home world alive to have one. In the meantime, Garen would control the ship and Mother, yes, the pets. Idiot that he was, he actually allowed himself to worry about the humans when he was the one under direct fire.
“I see that you’ve thought this out quite thoroughly. Your decision to seize control won’t be supported by High Command.”
“Maybe not, but that review will have to wait. This ship has a mission to fulfill and I intend to do it. Until such time as we return home, you will be held in the brig with the others.”
“What others?”
“Firth, Narith and the other senior officers that have an unfortunate loyalty to you have already been taken by those officers and crew that have come to see things my way.”
“I see.” Of course Garen had only made his move once he was sure he had enough others backing him. Everyone else on the ship would obey whoever sat in the captain’s chair, so there would be no help coming from the ship’s complement now.
Kell allowed himself to be led out of his ready room by Garen. The second tier officers already occupied the bridge, all of whom looked away when Kell stared at them. A security team of four replaced Garen once they were past the bridge and took Kell to the bowels of the ship where they kept the brig. Normally it held a handful of males for disorderly conduct and other minor infractions. Today however it was chock-full of those officersloyal to Kell. Garen had taken no chances and cast a wide net. Kell was ushered into a cell containing too many already.
Narith occupied the cell, as did Firth. The older man came up to Kell and gave him a grim look. “Never liked that smug fucker. He was smart to lock me up too, Captain, or I’d have thrown him into my engine.”
Kell mustered up a smile. “I appreciate your loyalty, Firth. All of yours,” he said to the others. “I’m sorry I didn’t see this coming. I didn’t think he’d have the balls.”
“Surely High Command won’t support this move, will they, sir?” Narith asked.
“I doubt it, but then I also doubt it will get that far,” Kell replied.
“I don’t understand, sir.”
