Free Hellfire (THEIRS NOT TO REASON WHY) by Jean Johnson Page A

it doesn’t matter, so long as it doesn’t affect their performance while on duty. If it’s privates versus corporals or yeomen, not within the same Squad. Between privates, corporals, and yeomen versus the sergeants, not within the same Platoon. Between officers and enlisted, or even among ourselves…sorry,” Ia apologized to her cadre. “Get used to being celibate for now.”
    Helstead snorted. “Ha! As if I’ve been anything
but
, all my life.”
    “If we never get any Leave or reprieve, some of us might end up asking for a transfer,” Harper muttered. “Since you implied we’d be acting like a deep-range scouting ship, with little chance to stop and mingle with others along the way.”
    Ia didn’t have to be a telepath or a precognitive to guess why he said that. Parts of Meyun Harper’s future possibilities were still cloaked in misty grey; he could still mess up her plans if she let him affect her on a personal level, if either of them indulged in fraternization. In fact, one of those featureless nodes lay in the hour immediately after supper. Most of the paths leading out of that grey spot weren’t irretrievably bad—at least where her long-term goals were concerned—but Ia wantedto be cautious nonetheless. That included changing the subject right away.
    “Rico, Helstead, Spyder, now would be a good time to go meet and greet your Platoon members,” Ia encouraged the others. “Doctor Mishka, I’m aware of your ongoing objections to your new duty post, but please understand that I selected you to serve on this ship because we
will
need a Triphid in charge of our health. If you prefer, you can go have fun overseeing the refitting of your state-of-the-art infirmary, though I’d appreciate it if you could bring yourself to get to know the others. Bennie and Harper, I suggest the two of you circulate as well. I’ll stay here at the table and handle any questions aimed my way. The crew can get to know me in the coming months. I already know them.
    “Grizzle…you’ll have a lot of paperwork to start processing, now that I’ve officially assumed command,” Ia added, nodding politely to their Company sergeant. “I’ll see if I can snag you one of your clerks for a little preemptive strike on the ongoing pile, and give you some help with it myself. Remember, dinner in the officers’ mess in less than an hour—oh, and Grizzle,” she added, addressing Sergeant Sadneczek, “you’re included in tonight’s dinner invitation, since as our quartermaster, you’ll need to know about the main cannon as well, and why it requires so much hydrofuel.”
    “Thank you, sir,” he acknowledged. “Will the other sergeants be included?”
    “Not for this one since they don’t need to know at this time, though they may be included at later dates. Remember, gentlemeioas,” Ia cautioned the men and women clustered around her. “Do not discuss the capabilities of the main cannon with anyone of lesser rank than yourselves, and nowhere else but on board this ship, under secured circumstances. The fewer people who know about it, the fewer chances there are for the information to be leaked.
    “In the meantime, these meioas will be your brothers and sisters for the foreseeable future. Have fun getting to know each other,” Ia warned her staff as she finally sat down. “Dismissed.”

CHAPTER 2
    When it came to putting my crew and ship together, most of the important decisions were made behind the scenes. Things like minor design flaws and the few faulty components I could foresee were fixed or replaced before the
Hellfire
ever left dry dock. The wrinkles in the staff and crew would take a bit longer to smooth out, but the raw material was always good.
    Some things could be fixed right away. Others took time, and some butting together of heads. Mishka, for example, did
not
like being pulled away from her single-patient cases, and her resentments lingered for quite some time. She was professional even at the