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On the Rim, Ch 3: Archibald "Cap'n" Tervuren

2019 copyright comidacomida

Archie never liked the idea of taking prisoners. In both the corporate world and in the case of deep space exploration having the additional line item on an expense sheet was usually a liability, and that included expending medical provisions and food when both were in short supply. If it were up to him, any opposition not killed in combat would be left to their own devices or executed. Despite his hardline approach to the issue however, he was not heartless and, honestly, was glad that the decision was not his to make.

What he did know of the attack against the camp was that the man who came at him and the Lynx did so with intent to harm through the use of a club with jagged metal spikes hammered into it; although it was low tech, the spiked club was certainly a lethal weapon. While being treated by the group's doctor, he revealed his name was Andre and that he was a member of an outlaw band that made it a point to take advantage of deep space raids on corp ships-- which included the Venture; apparently his four-man attack shuttle was one that had been shot down by the point defense guns. Other than that he'd said nothing else.

When the second pirate had been discovered by the Lynx it was an obvious move to put the Fox in with the Human. The Gen's injuries were worse than that of Andre but they had apparently been inflicted by the pod that carried him to the surface of the planet. Archie wasn't there when the Fox regained consciousness, having traded out guard shift with Corporal Grizz. Once he was free, the Dog sought out the survivors' team lead, Sandra Simpson.

Archie had worked with her several times when their paths crossed on board the Venture. While he appreciated her no-nonsense attitude she was nevertheless, a non-combatant and that meant that their points of view would occasionally come into contact. He was pleasantly surprised however with how accepting she'd been of his input with regard to keeping everyone safe, and that continued as he came upon her providing planning details to Cole.

The two were just inside the entrance to the cave and she was motioning to two walls, speaking to the Stallion as Archie approached. "Room for a door at the entrance to the tunnel there... we need something closer than the bunker and I want a storage area of the same size."

The 'bunker' was the unofficial name several of the group had given to the concrete structure they'd been using as a makeshift storage area; Archie didn't find it a suitable nickname considering bunkers were supposed to be reinforced and defensible while the building that had the name was barely suitable as a warehouse. Setting his opinion of the matter aside, he inserted himself into the conversation. "Ma'am... regarding the prisoners..."

Without missing a beat, Ms. Simpson turned to him and pushed fabricated wood-pulp paper into his paws. "Oh, Captain-- good to see you. Please, tell me... would this be the best place for a holding cell?"

Pausing in his prepared discussion of needing a prison, he looked down at the rough blueprints written onto the paper. Her foresight had saved him the trouble of having to bring the topic up, and he decided that providing his opinion on the matter would be thanks enough. He only really found one main problem. "We could easily fit a dozen prisoners in here. A few separate cells would be more secure."

The executive nodded as she accepted the paper back. "Thank you for the input, Captain. Anything else?"

The Dog glanced between the wall and the woman. "Am I correct in having read that you want the supply area to be next to the holding cells?"

She nodded. "Holding cell, though I may not be opposed to cells once I discuss the matter with Coal."

Captain Archie bit back an objection and instead chose a question. "What does Cole have to do with planning?"

He knew Ms. Simpson didn't owe him an explanation but she provided it. "We have limited manpower and he will be doing the majority of the excavation and fabrication. Originally I chose one room because making a single door would take less resources, which are at a premium right now."

He couldn't argue with the point, but he was still concerned about the security. "Having multiple prisoners housed together increases the likelihood of an escape attempt, or having the guard overpowered."

She took his guideance in stride. "Then having a suitable holding area with the right kind of security precautions will definitely have to become a priority, thank you, Captain... but for now, we just need 'serviceable'."

Despite the fact that he was always focused on the tactical approach he had to admit that she did see the bigger picture. "Understood, Ma'am. Will there be anything else?"

Ms. Simpson motioned to where Coal was already starting some excavation further down what Archie believed to be the northern wall of the cave. "As you can see, Mr. Nine is already starting on the excavation project and additional help will be useful. Will Corporal Holfield be available to support him?"

Archie nodded. "Yes Ma'am... and he goes by Grizz, if you please."

She offered a professional smile of deference. "Of course. Please see to it that Corporal Grizz provides him some aid when he's not on watch."

The Dog took his leave and made a quick circuit of the cave before heading outside; although he'd just finished his own shift standing watch over the make-shift prison the sooner the interim one was completed the sooner he'd be able to focus on other activities. Approaching the bear standing outside 'the bunker', he addressed the officer. "Grizz-- management wants you inside to help with excavation."

The Bear offered a quick salute. "Copy that, Cap'n."

Although Archie wasn't involved in the excavation process he saw occasional glimpses of Grizz, who was making regular trips to carry chunks of rock out of the cave; Dr. Zimmerman appeared a few times as well weighed down by smaller, more Human-sized hunks of stone. Carol Drann, the group's wild-card non-employee helped for awhile but it wasn't long before joined him at 'the bunker'. "How're things here?"

Not one to complain, but also not one to sugar-coat things, Archie answered "Quiet, thankfully... but with Grizz working and me standing guard there's nobody left to patrol."

The Lynx didn't even hesitate; pulling the strap of her gun up on her shoulder she offered a sloppy, casual salute. "Fortunately you have me. I'll be back."

Before the Captain could even interject, Carol sprang over a fallen log and had disappeared into the undergrowth of the surrounding forest. Although he was ready to shout after her, she returned a moment later. "There's a hole in the canopy 100 yards out... looks like some more debris came down some time since last night."

Ears perking up, Archie was immediately curious, but he also realized he still had a job to do. "Don't go too far, but see if you can identify what came down."

She was all smiles. "I already did-- looks like it was part of the bio-capacitor cells."

As a long-range habitation recon ship, the Venture had a collection of micro-ecology pods that provided a variety of benefits to the ship including but not limited to oxygen, food, herbal medicines and recreation. Archie didn't know much beyond that, but if anything survived the reentry then it was almost all certainly useful. "Did you see if anything is still intact?"

Nodding, she then shook her head. "It was an aquatic tank-- everything's dead... but that's not an entirely BAD thing."

The Dog caught onto her meaning right away. "Edible?"

She didn't bother providing an answer but, instead, spent the next hour lugging large fish, eels, and shellfish into the cave. On one of her final trips she was joined by Cole, and Archie heard their discussion as they passed him carrying what looked like a sunfish between them. The Stallion was leading the way, speaking over his shoulder. "I have the butcher station set up, and the engine cooling tank from the shuttle should help keep the side storage cool enough for refrigeration."

The Captain would have spoken up to ask a question about the addition to the camp but he noticed that Grizz was approaching, offered a salute and spoke up as he motioned to 'the bunker'. "Ms. Simpson asked for you, Sir... I'm going to help Dr. Zimmerman get these two transferred into the cave."

Archie nodded. "Fine. We'll move them both, and then I'll speak with her. You get the door."

The Dog waited patiently with his weapon casually readied. Even as the two security officers roused the prisoners and began to march them toward the cave, half of the survivors came out to join them. Sandra Simpson was at the front. "Oh, Captain-- change of plans."

He asked for elaboration in the most professional way he could think of. "Ma'am?"

She motioned to the two prisoners. "We have limited supplies and they are extra mouths to feed. The have no weapons so we're showing some good will and letting them go."

Grizz wasn't quite so professional. "What the fuck?! They know where we are and they probably have FRIENDS who have weapons? Cap'n, you can't--"

Archie held up a paw and his subordinate fell silent. Turning to the executive, the Captain addressed the issue. "They can still pose a threat. If there are other pirates out there then these two will know where we are and can lead the others back here."

The Fox, who had regained consciousness since Archie had seen him the previous night spoke up. "The combat shuttles don't have transponders and there aren't any outposts within miles of here. To be honest there isn't much chance we'll get back to one alive."

The Human prisoner turned and shoved his fist into the Fox's stomach. "So you want em to just keep us here? Fuck off, Duct-Tape! I'm not gonna sit here and take scraps from these corp bitches."

Even as the Fox doubled-over, Grizz was right there to grab the Human by the back of his shirt and hoist him off the ground. Although the prisoner struggled, all it took was a casual shake from the Bear to get him subdued. As an additional threat, the Corporal set him down, adding "Next time you try it I'll take off your arm and hit YOU in the stomach with it."

The group's manager stepped up, offering a hand out to assist the Fox with standing again. "Are you saying that you don't want to leave?"

The gray-furred Gen accepted the hand and rubbed his gut. "To be honest? Yes. Although I hope you don't feel the need to keep me locked up, the proposition of staying here with you is far better than going back to... well... them."

When the Fox gestured his way, the Human prisoner spat at the ground. "You ungrateful mongrel... after all we did for you?"

Although Dr. Zimmerman was whispering from beside Ms. Simpson, Archie could still hear him say something about bruising, trauma, malnutrition, and other indications of abuse. Before she could say anything else, the Fox added "I used to work on a DRC colony ship... I'm familiar with hydroponics and fabrication. I can and would carry my own weight."

The Captain paused. "DRC? They closed up business almost a decade ago."

The Fox glanced toward him. "I was pulled off of the ship by these pirates almost twenty years ago... in exchange for my life they had me working for them ever since."

The pirate spat at the Gen again. "And still didn't teach you any loyalty."

Grizz made good on his threat but, rather than tearing off the man's arm to use as a weapon he just struck him in the gut with an enormous fist instead. Ms. Simpson nodded and held out her hand. "My name is Sandra Simpson; we're from The Relegra Corporation, and I'm acting manager of this group."

The Fox held out a paw and gave her a gentle shake. "Bernard Balboa... but I've been called Duct-Tape for a few decades now."

Cole, who'd been silent up until that point raised his ears. "Duct-Tape? Why?"

The newcomer shrugged. "They didn't want to bother learning my name and I can fix just about anything."

Rather than any further discussion or ceremony, Carol walked right up to the older Fox and, wrapping an arm around his shoulder, motioned back toward the cave. "Well then, Duct-Tape, welcome to the team. Lemme show you 'round."

Archie didn't particularly like the idea of inviting a stranger into the group, but apparently Sandra didn't object. Rather than obsess over it, he turned back to the Human pirate and began planning on how best to release him to the wild. Turning toward Grizz he announced "Corporal... go get me some cloth-- we'll need a blindfold."