Chapter 65: Chapter 64: A Woman Scorned

The next evening, Alex found himself working in his new VDF office, the one previously occupied by Commander Rooney. There was no end to the mountain of work in front of him, which mostly revolved around all the new recruits. As of this evening, he had twenty new people to fill the ranks, giving him a total of sixty-two effectives.

And with one third of the VDF being rookies, there was much to do to get them up to speed. There was a shortage of fatigues for the newest members, many of whom would only have one official set and would have to make do without the two extra spares they were normally given. And while a good portion of the new recruits had attended Alex’s rifle training, there were still several of them who’d never even fired a weapon before.

When he was still captain, he could at least attend to their training while mixing it into his other duties but now that he was the commander, he found himself stretched a little thin.

He needed a second-in-command, and Alex knew who he was going to get to take the job.

“You called for me, sir?”

Alex looked up to see Lt. Hans Mueller saluting near the door. In the recent weeks, Alex’s relationship with Hans had undergone a rehabilitation of sorts, which began shortly after Alex killed the last bear. Up until that point, Alex sensed that Hans resented his quick ascension through the ranks, as well as the fact that he was a relative newcomer to Vesta.

That wasn’t the case anymore. Even before Rooney died, Hans had come to accept that Alex was a capable leader and turned off the hostility, proving to be an able deputy. And now that Alex had the authority to do so, he was going to make Hans’ unofficial status, official.

“Come on in, Lieutenant,” said Alex, gesturing to the chair. “You want something to drink?”

“Sure why not, sir,” replied Hans.

Alex tossed him a bottle of Vestan Ale, which despite the name, was a non-alcoholic drink made exclusively on the planet. Jenna explained it to him one time that it was made to contain added nutrients and vitamins to make it far superior to any other drink. The ale part was more of an inside joke, as the creators put in flavoring to make it taste like beer so that it had more appeal to the masses.

Hans took a sip of his bottle and grinned. “My wives hate that stuff. It leaves a bad aftertaste. You’re going to make me catch all kinds of hell when I get home, sir.”

Alex chuckled. “I’ve noticed the same. Preferably, I’d like an actual beer myself but not on the job. Can’t afford to lose my wits. At least not now.”

“Understandable, sir.”

Alex leaned back in his chair. “Hans, I’m going to get straight to the point. I’ve never been much for small talk and there’s a lot to do these days now that I’m the commander. Too much to do, in fact. I need help. I need someone reliable that can be my second-in-command, like I was to Rooney. You know any men that can take the job?”

Hans blinked several times. “Is this a trick question, sir?”

Alex smirked. “What, is it that obvious? I’m asking you, Hans, to be my second-in-command. You’ve proven yourself as a capable deputy and you have the experience. You also know what it takes to command the mining biosphere better than anyone. So how about it? You want a new bar to pin to your shoulder to show off to your wives?”

Surprisingly, Hans looked confused. “Are you sure about this, sir? I know we didn’t get off to the right start here. I’m just a little stumped that you’re wanting me.”

“It’s probably better off that we didn’t get off to the right start,” replied Alex. “That way, the men will know I’m not playing favorites. You’re a good soldier and a capable leader, Hans. I see that, and I need to know my second-in-command can handle the job. So do you want it or not?”

By this point, Hans couldn’t contain the smile on his face. “I thought I might die as a lieutenant with the way my career had been going.”

Alex chuckled. “Not under my watch, Captain Mueller. If you’re going to die, it’s going to be as the second-in-command of the VDF. That just means we’ll give you a nicer funeral.”

Hans laughed at that while Alex tossed him the bars to pin to his uniform. Just before Alex could go into detail about what he wanted, his P-com went off. A hologram of Annette appeared from his wrist.

“Alex, I’m so sorry to interrupt but Belladonna has called for an emergency Council meeting. Can you come over right away?”

“What’s the emergency?” asked Alex. “Did she find out the whole colony actually hates her and she’s resigning in anguish?”

Annette giggled. “Not quite but that’s a lovely image. I’m not sure what this is about actually. I guess we’ll find out together.”

“I guess so. I’ll be right there.”

As the hologram ended, Alex told Hans they’d reconvene later and he set off toward the Council chambers. Once there, he found that he was the last one to arrive, with all eyes on him as he marched to his seat.

“So nice of you to join us,” quipped Belladonna, barely disguising the disgust on her face.

“Some of us actually have important things to take care of,” replied Alex. “So what’s this about?”

“I could ask you the very same question,” retorted Belladonna, standing up and planting her hands on her defiant hips. “I have to miss one Council meeting on important business and I find out that you’ve allowed women into the VDF. How dare you, Councilor Hawthorne?”

“I’ve allowed women to reenter into the VDF, yes,” replied Alex. “Only because someone made the shortsighted decision to restrict their entry before I got here.”

“Women do not belong in the VDF,” snapped Belladonna. “It is the job of the men in this colony to protect it!”

“In case you haven’t noticed, we’re a little short on men,” shot Alex coolly. “Even with the new arrivals, there’s still a gap of nearly 150 between the men and the women—”

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“What did you hope to gain by this little stunt of yours?” interrupted Belladonna. “I know your companion is in the VDF now, as well as another woman. Does the thought of them dying excite you, Councilor Hawthorne? Especially the grisly fate that they would receive courtesy of the bears?”

“My ‘stunt’ is ensuring that Vesta has enough people dedicated to protect her,” replied Alex. “There is no reason to stop women from volunteering for the force if they show the skill set we need and the enthusiasm.”

Belladonna started to wave her hands in the air. “I’ve heard enough of your excuses! At least this is one travesty that I can reverse.”

“It passed with the approval of the Council,” said a defiant Annette.

Belladonna shrugged. “Then the Council will just have to have another vote to unpass it. I vote to disallow women from entering the VDF, as it should be.”

“I vote to allow, clearly,” said Annette. “As I voted the first time around.”

“My vote hasn’t changed from the first time either,” growled Alex. “Allow.”

“Very well,” said Belladonna as she looked at both Cassara and Serrano expectantly. “And you two? You’re not going to let this travesty continue, are you?”

That was when something very interesting happened. The first time around, the only dissenting vote was Cassara, who knew how strongly Belladonna felt about the subject and she was never willing to take the opposite side of her much more powerful benefactor. For the second vote, Cassara voted to disallow again, but it was Serrano that changed his tune.

“As it turns out, I’m not that big of a fan of allowing women to serve in the military,” said Serrano like it was no big deal. “I’m going to vote to disallow.”

Annette shot to her feet. “We just voted on this, Serrano and you’ve already changed your mind? What did Belladonna offer you in exchange for your vote?”

Serrano sneered at her. “Feisty little thing, aren’t you? I guess it’s true what they say about redheads.”

At that point, Alex got in his face. “Give me a reason, just one reason to punch your lights out. I’ll gladly do it.”

“I will have order in my Council!” yelled Belladonna as she started to pound the table with her hand like a gavel. When nothing further came out from Alex or Serrano, she crossed her arms triumphantly.

“At least I know we can still have proper justice on this Council,” said Belladonna. “The order passes. No more women in the VDF.”

“I’m not kicking out the ones that have already enlisted,” said a defiant Alex. “So you can stick that motion where the sun doesn’t shine.”

Belladonna glared at him. “You know what? You want to get your companion killed, be my guest. This ruling will be on any future enlistments only. And when those women die, you can face the wrath of the rest of the colony. At least I’ll have a clean conscience.”

“Are we done here?” asked Alex, pushing to his feet. “You’ve gotten what you wanted and now it’s time I got back to work.”

Belladonna smirked at him, and at that moment, he knew this meeting wasn’t finished yet.

“One more thing for you, Councilor Hawthorne,” she said. “You’ve put in a request for an increase to your discretionary budget for the VDF. A modest increase, but an increase nevertheless. Is that right?”

Alex’s stomach dropped. “That’s right. That will cover the cost of the new early warning system that was developed by Vitale. It’s a seismograph sensor that we can position around the mining biosphere to track bear movements. Based on Vitale’s judgment, it will give us seconds back on every bear encounter, which is enough time to make a life-or-death difference. I’ve paid for the first batch of them out of the existing VDF budget but I need more to set up a true defense network.”

“I bet you do,” said a sarcastic Belladonna. “But unfortunately, this colony has a lot more pressing needs than buying more of Vitale’s toys. We’re all familiar with what kind of creatures he creates in his lab.”

“What’s more pressing than safety for the colonists?” quipped Alex. “Does your apartment need a new couch or something? Or perhaps you just need some more cushion for your bank account?”

Annette snickered while Belladonna glared at him.

“I don’t find your jokes amusing, Councilor Hawthorne. You would do best to keep in mind that this Council put you in the commander’s position. It can take you out of it as well.”

“That might be a blessing so I don’t have to witness the reckoning that is in for Vesta,” replied Alex. “You take every step possible to limit my resources and prevent me from protecting my force. Sooner or later, the bears are going to attack in numbers. If you don’t think they’re capable of doing that, you’re mistaken. When that day comes, it’s going to be very ugly for all of us.”

“Thank you for your sage warning,” replied Belladonna dismissively. “This meeting is now adjourned.”

“Pencil-pushing idiots,” mumbled Alex as he marched out of the office. “They’re going to get all of us killed.”

He stormed back to his office in Biosphere Five, slamming the door so hard that it almost popped off the hinges. He stewed for the next twenty minutes before he finally got back to work, unable to ignore the mountain in front of him any longer. Just when it seemed like his mood was finally starting to turn around, he received a P-com hologram that changed everything.

It was Jenna. But it was Jenna wearing the sexiest lingerie that he’d ever seen in his life. Alex’s eyes nearly popped out of his skull as she smiled at him.

“Can you come home right now please?” she asked sweetly. “It’s time, Alex. It’s finally time.”

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