Free A Call to Arms by Robert Sheckley Page B

that’s true. But it’s still my God-given right to throw away my money if I’ve a mind to. And we need our R & R.”
    “True enough, Flagler, and I wish I could accommodate you in this. Unfortunately, we need to go to Babylon 5.”
    “Yes, sir, so you say, sir. But I was looking at the ship’s schedule--it’s posted, sir, I wasn’t trying to sneak anything--well, sir, that posting says we go to Vega.”
    “That’s where we were going. And now we’re going somewhere else.”
    “Yes, sir. But by whose orders?”
    Anderson stiffened. His normally cheerful face became harsh with anger. “Are you questioning my orders, Flagler?”
    “No, sir! That is, not exactly. But those orders of yours were never countermanded, sir. Sparks received no orders to the contrary. A fair-minded man, sir, might think you were taking us to B5 on a whim of your own, or maybe on some personal business.”
    “Be careful what you say, Flagler. You could get yourself into a lot of trouble with this line of talk.”
    “I don’t want to do that, sir. But at the same time, we have our rights, all of us, officers and enlisted. We got a right to our leave on Vega. Maybe you got a right to go to B5 to pursue whatever interests you. No one’s denying that. But the Vega run is important to us, and if it’s just a case of your whim against ours--well, sir, a good officer will listen to a complaint like that. No offense intended, sir, but it’s not right to whip us halfway across space just because you want to visit with somebody.”
    “That’s quite enough,” Anderson snapped. “I’m not going to explain my actions to you. I’ll just tell you that this move of mine is far from a whim. I have reason to think that EarthForce security is involved. That’s reason enough for this trip.”
    “Yes, sir. But EarthForce doesn’t seem to feel that way. That is, they never authorized your change of plans. They’re going to be very surprised when they find out.”
    “That’s between me and them,” Anderson said.
    “Yes, sir. You and them and the inspector general.”
    “Are you threatening me, Flagler?”
    “I wouldn’t dream of it, sir! But there are set routines for differences of opinion between officers and commander. I mean, you aren’t Captain Bligh and this isn’t the British Royal Navy.”
    “Right. And you’re a long shot from being Fletcher Christian. That will be all, Mr. Flagler. Unless you care to pursue it further. But I warn you, you do so at your peril.”
    “No, sir, I haven’t anything more to say. I just wanted you to know that there are appropriate measures for this sort of thing, and I intend to follow them.”
    Flagler stared at Anderson defiantly.
    “That will be all,” Anderson said, and he watched, stone-faced, as Flagler saluted and left the wardroom.
     

Chapter 17
     
    Leonard Anderson. A skilled player of the five-string banjo. Phi Beta Kappa at the University of Kentucky at Lexington. With a doctorate in astrophysics from Dartmouth. A colonel in EarthForce, commanding and piloting Charon , a first-class destroyer.
    Leonard Anderson, sitting back in the command chair in a dimmed room, found himself thinking back on the long way he’d come to achieve all this.
    Where he’d grown up, a few of the old electric trains had still been operating. His father had been a conductor on the Delaware-Lackawanna railroad, running between Hoboken in New Jersey and Central Station, Philadelphia.
    Back then, when he was little, Anderson had sometimes ridden with his father. He had loved the old cushioned seats in the passenger cars, and the way his father had reversed their backs at the end of a run, setting them up for passengers going the other way, back to Lackawanna station in Hoboken. When they left Brick Church station, Leonard would always watch for the big Sherwin-Williams sign, which stood on a hilltop near the tracks, just before they entered the tunnel.
    It was a neon sign, and it showed a big globe with