Greeting loyal readers. Thanks for hanging with us and our slow posting schedule. This is the last of Ben's trilogy of chapter on Trev the Hawke. How far does our feathered friend fall? Ben will take you on a nice ride to find out.
I will be on vacation for a week, so unless I can sneak one more posting in before I go, the next one wont be for a couple of weeks, so please bear with us. As I said before we keep a seven chapter reserve, though I might cut in it by a chapter since I'll be gone. It depends if I can get it prepped by the time I leave.
For those of you who have written to us, thanks for you kind thoughts and comments. It's nice to know you are enjoying the adventures of our space faring deliquentns.
The Boys of the Lady Lex Chapter 37 "The Fall of the Hawke" Written By Douglas DD and Benjamin TC
Chaplain Kyle looked at his calendar. It was Wednesday, May 23, 2277. It's been two days since the Lexington left Phosphorus Prime. Chaplain Kyle noticed that the general mood was of the ship wasn't the best. The boys were excited to hear that Ian had brought back the Orion's flag and their own flag, but soon that wore away. The reality of them losing the preliminary games, some personal defeats and setbacks, and the idea of being stuck on the dull gray ship again was beginning to weigh heavily on the boys. He knew he wanted to get the boys' minds off of their defeats and start focusing on things they could accomplish in the future. He had an idea. Although it wouldn't involve all the boys of the Lady Lex, it would involve quite a few. And now it was time to propose his idea to Captain Hatcher.
Chaplain Kyle grabbed some paperwork from his cluttered desk and went to see Hatcher. He had talked to Hatcher many times before over the past few months on matters such as morale, the spirituality of the boys and crew, chapel services, and other issues, but he had never been nervous talking to Hatcher. This time it was different. He was going to recommend something he knew wouldn't sit well with Hatcher. Chaplain Kyle had stood silently and watched certain happenings around the ship. He had labeled them as family business, not ship business, so he had left it alone. Now he knew that with his recommendation he would be setting a course for both worlds to collide. Chaplain Kyle just hoped he was ready to pick up the pieces.
Trevor stood in front of Commander Creevey's desk. She was sitting at it looking over a few items. Trevor just stood with a blank look on his face. He hated standing in front any person in authority.
"Cadet Collins, do you know why you are here?" asked Creevey.
"Because I was captured?"
"N, that is not the reason, not that the capture was one of your shining moments as a cadet. I have been looking over the grades to the cadets. I notice that you are failing History and Math and barely passing Science."
"But I am doing good in English and phys ed."
"Yes, you are doing WELL in those classes. I must commend you on that, but that doesn't make up for your shortcomings in the other three subjects. Excelling in English will get you far in your life. But phys ed has its limits. Excelling in phys ed won't have the profound impact on your life as math, history and science will."
"It will if you want to be a professional baseball player. And that is what I want to do."
"I am glad you have a dream like that and I encourage you to keep aiming for that dream. But it is always wise to have a back up plan. And a backup plan isn't any good if you are failing three subjects in school."
"But I'm not failing three subjects."
"Okay, failing two subjects and barely passing the third. But the point of the matter is failing classes regardless how many is totally unacceptable. I wish you put your energies and spirit into math, history and science like you do with English, sports, and being the Hawke." Trevor showed a look of surprise on his face when he heard the word Hawke mentioned. "That's right Cadet Collins, I know about the Hawke. Being an XO, it is my responsibility I know everything that is happening on board this ship. It is also it is my responsibility to ensure that the cadets on this ship sets their priorities straight and to excel in their studies. So I feel the best course of action here Cadet Collins is to suspend you from all extracurricular activities and put you on academic probation."
"You can't do that!!!" yelled Trevor.
"Oh yes I can, cadet. And I just did."
"But I didn't get to play baseball last week. This is totally unfair."
"Say what you want, but it is my decision Cadet Collins."
"History sucks!!! There is need to know it. And I hate Sister Agatha. She is meaner then the Marines. I bet Sister Agatha put you up to this because she don't like me. Nobody likes me. Everyone hates me!! Well I hate everyone and you can go fuck yourself. I don't give a shit anymore about school, baseball or this ship. I quit!" Trevor stormed out of Creevey's office.
Creevey sat at her desk. She felt badly for the boy, but facts were facts. She had made a decision and she had to stick by it. She knew that Trevor would calm down in due time and hopefully this would get him to work harder to get his grades up in his classes. She didn't want to take him off the baseball team again, but she had no choice in the matter. It was the right thing to do. Besides, at all the schools back on Earth, you need to be passing all of your subjects in order to be on a sports team. This was no different. She straightened her desk and decided to make her rounds around the ship. Once Trevor had a chance to calm down, she would deal with his temper outburst.
Chaplain Kyle walked into Captain Hatcher's ready room. Hatcher was busy going over some paperwork and planning out the course for the ship. There was so much to do and never enough time to do it in, yet some how it always get done.
"Good morning Captain," said Chaplain Kyle happily.
"Good morning Chaplain. What can I do for you?"
"I understand that on August first, second and third we will be hosting an open house during our layover in Earth."
"That's right. During those days shuttles will be coming to and from earth bring people to see our ship and the boy's accomplishments. It will also be a time for parents and guardians to come on aboard and have parent/teacher conferences."
"How many parents do you think will show up?" Chaplain Kyle knew most of the boys didn't have parents to speak of and even if they did most didn't care about academics and parenting."
"I hope all of them, but realistically, probably a third if we are lucky."
"Maybe with Gordon Starr renting out a cruise liner to orbit Earth during this time and offering shuttles to and from the `Lexington' will help encourage parents to come. I mean spending three days on a luxury cruise liner for nothing is quite an incentive."
"Hopefully it will. But something tells me that most parents will take advantage of the cruise liner, but not of the shuttles that will be transporting them to and from the `Lexington'. Any how, what can I do for you?"
"Captain, over the past few months I been working with the ship's orchestra and they are coming along pretty well. Plus, I know there are some boys out there who have other talents, like acting."
"My nephew Ben is an actor. His parents say he is pretty good."
"I understand your son is an aspiring actor as well."
"Who Mark? Nah, he's a hockey player like his old man."
"I meant Jesse."
"His mother does say he is a ham on stage. I wouldn't know."
"I have an idea that will give you a chance to find out, Sir. I thought on the evening of August first, we would have a concert. My orchestra has been practicing hard and doing a performance will sure raise their morale. Then on the second evening, I thought we could have a dinner theater. A group of boys would put on a play while another group of boys cooks the meal and a third group of boys serves the meal to the guests. Then on the third we can have a talent show with refreshments afterwards. We can even hand out prizes for the top three best talents."
"I don't know Chaplain, I am not big into the fine arts. I am a sports kinda guy."
"With all due respect Captain, not everyone is a sports kinda guy. This will give the boys who don't excel in sports to excel at something they are good at. I for one can't score a touchdown in baseball to save my life. And I probably wouldn't make it through the first round in hockey if you gave me cleats and a five iron. But you put a musical instrument in my hands and that is where I come to life. That is where my talent lies. When I am playing my instrument and giving my God given gift to others, it brings great joy to me, which I assume is the same kind of joy you experience when you score a basket in hockey."
Captain Hatcher laughed. "Chaplain, I do hope your knowledge of music is better then your knowledge of sports. I know for a fact that your boys been working hard in the orchestra. Dr. Daniels been bragging about Nipper and his violin. So your concert is a go. I think that will be good. As for the play, I don't know about that."
"Captain the play will be so much fun. Boys can get involved with it so many different ways from stage crew, to acting, to working in the kitchen, to serving the guests and many many other ways."
"But don't plays have girls in them? We don't have any girls to fill those rolls. Tina is the only girl on board and I know she isn't into acting."
"I thought about that. I came up with two ideas. The first one was we could do a Shakespearean play and act it out like they did in his time where men played the parts of women."
"Absolutely not!" insisted Hatcher.
"Don't worry Sir. I chose a play called `Twelve Angry Men'. It is an all male cast."
"'Twelve Angry Men'? I never heard of it."
"It's a most excellent play Sir. It's about a jury. The entire play takes place in the jury room. The audience will learn all about the trial through the discussion and, yes, arguments the twelve jury members have."
Captain Hatcher thought hard about the Chaplain's idea. He could already hear his wife telling him it was be a good idea. Chaplain Kyle was right. Not everyone was into sports like him. "Okay, Chaplain, you can have your concert, play. and talent show. But there will be some conditions."
"What's that Sir?"
"Rehearsals don't interfere with school."
"No problem, Captain."
"Secondly, under your supervision, I want this to be done completely by the cadets. Let them plan the menu, let them cook, clean, build the set, organize everything."
"I already planned that, sir. These boys will make you proud."
"They already do, Chaplain, t hey already do."
Brian McDowell sat on his bed wishing his father never accepted this job. He was wishing that he never met Zjan-Ren. He was wishing he never started sword fighting again. He just wished that his life was over.
"Young McDowell," said Zjan-Ren as he entered Brian's room uninvited.
"Go away," said Brian not looking at his visitor.
"You haven't been to practice since your last match on Phosphorus Prime."
"I'm done. I quit. I can't do it."
Zjan-Ren left out a long sigh. "Is that your final decision?"
"Yes it is."
"Very well Young McDowell. I will honor your decision." Zjan-Ren turned and started to head out. Brian went to say something, but had second thoughts about it and didn't. He just sat on his bed as he watched Zjan-Ren leave.
Trevor was lying on his bed with his face buried in his pillow. Ian came walking in wondering where Trevor was. He hasn't seen Trevor all day.
"Hey, Hawke!!"
"I'm not the Hawke anymore," sniffled Trevor through his pillow.
"What do you mean?"
"I'm not the Hawke anymore, okay?"
"What's wrong?"
"Nothing, now leave me alone."
"It's about being captured because you rescued me, isn't it?" Ian was the only one on the Lady Lex who knew the real reason why Trevor was captured. Trevor didn't want anyone to know the real reason. He knew Ian had a hard enough time fitting in and he didn't want the boy he loved being blamed for the Hawke being captured.
"Just leave me alone!!"
Ian turned and left, stunned and hurt by Trevor's outburst.
Jesse and Ben stood in the music room. They have been asked to meet the Chaplain there. As they entered the music room, Chaplain Kyle was sitting at the piano banging on the keys, taking time to scribble something on a page filled with musical notes and then back to the keys. Chaplain Kyle made one final notation on his page and then turned his attention to the boys.
"Sorry Boys, but I had a new tune enter my head and I wanted to write it down before I lost it."
"That's okay," said Ben and Jesse as they marveled at the Chaplain's musical talents.
"The reason I called you to see me is that I need your help."
"You need our help?" asked Jesse.
"Yes I do. I understand both of you love to act and entertain."
"I love to act," said Jesse.
"Me too," Ben said, "but I haven't done any of it since I got here."
"Now you will have your chance. In August we are hosting a three day open house with a teacher's conference. On the first evening the ship's orchestra will be putting on a concert. On the second evening I convinced Captain Hatcher to let us put on a dinner theater and finally the third night we will put on a talent show. Now I need two boys to head this up. They will be in charge of making all the arrangements, getting the actors and setting up the talent lists and being responsible to ensure everything is covered in all aspects. I would like you two to be co-chairs. So what do you say? I will be here to help you and guide you both in the right direction."
"I think that's great," said Ben. "I'll do it." Ben couldn't wait to tell Douglas that they could do a play. Ben loved acting and he missed it a lot.
"Jesse?" asked Chaplain Kyle.
"I don't know. I have to think about it."
"That's fine. You can let me know by Friday."
"Okay,, thanks." Jesse then left with Ben.
"You're going to do it, right?" asked Ben.
"I don't know Ben. It will be a lot of work. I have school work and hockey practice......"
"You're afraid that your dad is going to get mad at you for doing it, aren't you?"
"My dad isn't a big fine arts fan."
"Jesse, you love acting as much as I do, if not more. You and I both know that if you don't do this you will regret it. Come on, let's show the ship what the dolphin and beluga can do. Let's give them the best entertainment possible. You and me."
Jesse took a deep breath. Then he smiled. "Okay,, I'll do it."
"GO AWAY!!" came a muffled voice as Trevor had his head buried into his pillow. The door open and in walked Harrison Wolfe.
"Master Collins, other than in class, I haven't seen you all week." Trevor didn't answer. He didn't want to see his teacher. He was ashamed and embarrassed. "How come you have been avoiding me?"
"Because," said Trevor as he lifted his head slightly off his pillow. It was obvious that Trevor had been crying.
Wolfe sat down at the foot of the bed. "Would you care telling me what happened on the Orion?"
Trevor buried his head into his pillow again. He just knew he had let down his favorite teacher, his mentor, by being captured.
"Master Collins, I just had a talk with Ian. He told me what happened. You have nothing to be ashamed of."
"But I got captured."
"You did it to save your friend from humiliation. Let me ask you this, if Ian would have been caught instead, how would things be different?"
"I don't know."
"Did the Orion cadets try getting information out of you?"
"Yeah, but I wouldn't tell them a thing. They wanted to know how I got on the ship and if there was anyone else with me, but I wouldn't say a thing."
"And if Ian had been captured instead, how would have he done?"
"I don't know. He might have told just to try to keep out of trouble. But Ian isn't a bad person."
"I didn't say Ian was. Ian is a very good person, but in this case you were the better person to be caught, because you saved your friend as well as the rest of the Birds of Prey. You stayed strong and you didn't give anything away."
"But I was captured."
"And why were you captured? Did you do something wrong?"
"Well, not really. Ian fell through the vent shaft and I jumped down to help him get out. But then those creeps came in before I could escape myself."
"Then you were captured while in the act of saving a friend. There is no shame in that. There is no embarrassment in that. There is only honor in that. I'm proud of you Master Collins. You may not know it now, but I believe you made the right decision. Most of the cadets on this ship would have left Ian to deal with the lions on his own. But you jumped into the den with him and helped him out of it. I am proud and honored to have you as my student."
Trevor smiled a little bit. He thought for sure that Mr. Wolfe would have been mad at him and disappointed at him for being captured, but it was not the case. Trevor was starting to feel a little better now, but he still felt awful because he was on academic probation.
"Beep, beep, beep." Harrison Wolfe looked at his watch and turned it off.
"I have to go Master Collins, but I expect to see you in class tomorrow."
"I'll be there."
Harrison Wolfe smiled and left.
Harrison Wolfe went back to his cabin. He went to the bookshelf that had the hidden radio transmitter in it. He removed a few books and he read the message that was coming in from Myrna. He knew what had to be done after reading the message. But he knew he couldn't do it alone. Because if he did, he would risk exposing his past to the SFA and he didn't want that. It was almost time to bring in some help. But not quite yet. He needed to find out some more information before he moved his next piece.
All day Thursday, Ben and Jesse were busy spreading the word about the dinner theater and talent show. Chaplain Kyle pretty much took control of the orchestra concert. Ben and Jesse felt that they needed to hand pick certain people to be responsible for certain aspects of the dinner theater. But for other participants, like waiters, kitchen help, and set crew they would look for volunteers. When it came to casting the play, they would hold auditions.
Their first choice to be on their dinner theater committee was Gary. Ben had heard that Gary liked to cook and hoped that one day he could go to culinary school. So Ben and Jesse asked Gary if he would be in charge of the kitchen and come up with the menu and of course help prepare the food. Gary volunteered instantly.
There next stop was someone to be the maitre'd and responsible of the waiters serving the guests. He would also be in charge of getting volunteers to help serve and set up the dining room and to decorate the dining room as well. Their first choice was Toby Boswell the sophomore department head. But he respectfully turned them down. No sooner had Toby said no then Mike came up to Ben and Jesse and said he wanted to help out with this new theater adventure. He said he didn't want to be on stage, but wondered if there was a position for him. Ben told him about the maitre'd position and the Donkey gobbled it up in a heartbeat. Mike started making plans for setting up the dining facility. He had visions of elegance. His servers were going to wear tuxedos if he could figure out how to get them.
Jesse knew from hockey, that one of their goalies, Tad Evans, was very talented at building things. He and Ben went to see him. He agreed to be in charge of building the set. He said he never worked stage lighting and recommended someone else do that. Jesse and Ben took his recommendation and Ryan agreed to use his engineering skills to create stage lighting and be in charge of it.
Ben and Jesse already knew that Chaplain Kyle would be the main director for the play, but they needed a cadet director as well. Neither Ben nor Jesse wanted this role because they both wanted to be on stage and they knew that it would be too much to try to be a director and actor, not to mention all the other work they have to do. They thought it over and discussed it with Chaplain Kyle. After talking to him, TJ the Hamster agreed to be the cadet director. He had never directed before but he was game to try anything. Ben and Jesse both told TJ that they will be trying out for the play, but that he wasn't to give them a part just because they were in charge of the entertainment. They wanted everything to be fair.
By the end of Thursday, all the positions except for the actors and serving and cooking staff was filled. Scripts were being passed out so the boys could look over them before tryouts on Monday would happen. Ben was hoping to get the part of Juror three, the loud mouth, hot tempered, asshole. Jesse was hoping to get the foreman who was a mild mannered man. They both knew that they had to earn the roles. They couldn't wait for tryouts.
The senior staff came out of a staff meeting late Friday afternoon. It was a typical boring meeting, but a lot of items were covered. Amanda Creevey sat at her spot at the conference table reviewing some notes. Everyone had left except for Major Zjan-Ren.
"Commander?"
"Yes, Major."
"I was just thinking about that academic probation study group lead by the teachers that you are developing to help out those thirteen boys on academic probation."
"Yes, did you want to help out with it?"
"Not exactly. I was thinking about Brian McDowell."
"Brian McDowell isn't on academic probation. According to my reports, he is at the top of his class."
"Oh no, I wasn't thinking of him needing academic help. But I was thinking about him helping the other boys. Especially one in particular."
"You want Brian McDowell to become a tutor to the boys?"
"Only to Cadet Trevor Collins."
"Why only to him?"
"I have my reasons Commander. But I think it will benefit both of them."
"All right, I will allow Trevor Collins tutor time with Brian McDowell as long as Brian is willing to do it."
"Thank you Ma'am. I will discuss this with Brian tonight and let you know first thing in the morning." With that said, Zjan-Ren left.
Brian was sitting on his bed reading. There was a knock on the door. "It's open," said Brian expecting to see his father. He was surprised to see Zjan-Ren standing in the doorway. "I told you I quit and you can't talk me into taking up the sword again."
"I didn't come in here to convince you to continue on with your lessons. I came in here asking for your help."
"My help?"
"There is this cadet who isn't doing well in his studies. He needs tutoring. But most boys around here are too busy with sports, studies of their own, and shipboard responsibilities. Since the only thing you have to worry about is your studies, I thought maybe you could tutor this young boy."
"Who is it?"
"Cadet Trevor Collins,"
"The boy who was captured?"
"Yes, that's him."
"How often would I have to help him?"
"Every night for at least an hour. More if you need it."
"And if I don't help him?"
"Then he risks the chance of failing school."
Brian thought for a minute. He was wondering if Zjan-Ren was trying to pull something over on him, but as much as Zjan-Ren was a thorn in his side, he felt the Kriton was on the up and up. He agreed to sign on as Trevor's tutor.
The first few tutoring sessions went smoothly. Trevor fought the idea, but Commander Creevey told him that if he attended tutoring every night he would be allowed to attend baseball practices. However, in order to play in the Olympics he had to be passing all of his subjects.
Trevor and Brian did their best to get along. Trevor kept wanting to talk about sports and baseball and being the Hawke, while Brian tried to focus on academics. Trevor was also trying to find out more about Brian and why he had a bad leg and arm, but Brian ignored the questions every and got Trev back to studying. Neither boy wanted to be there, yet something inside told them they needed to be there.
They days went by slowly for the boys even though things were very busy and hectic. Auditions for the play was held and soon the cast list was hung on the wall. Ben, Jesse and Douglas were the first to see the list.
"YES!!!" yelled Ben. "I got the roll of Juror Three. That is the role I wanted."
Douglas looked down the list, but he didn't have to look down too far, for his name was the first one on the list. He was given the part of the Foreman. Douglas smiled and was happy he made it in the play. He looked down farther and saw that his brother, Nipper, got the role as Juror Eleven the juror who spoke with a German accent.
Jesse's heart stopped when he saw his name. He had received the role as Juror Eight, the lead role. He couldn't believe it. He was all smiles and totally excited. He couldn't wait to start practice. He never thought he would get the lead role.
Later on that day, Greg and Tyler checked out the list to see if they made the play. Greg was excited. He received the role of the quiet Juror Five while Tyler got the role of the guard. Even though the guard only had four lines and was on stage no more then ten minutes, he was excited that he got a role.
Rehearsals would begin soon and everyone in the play couldn't wait to start.
It was Saturday evening, June ninth, and Harrison Wolfe was sitting in his recliner reading a book. The buzzer on his watch went off. He calmly got up and went to his book case. He had expected to hear from Myrna over a week ago, but she had never contacted him. He looked at his transmitter. It had the message he was expecting. Myrna had done well. It was time to see Captain Hatcher.
Trevor was crawling through the vent shaft. He was going to return a book that Mr. Wolfe had given him. As he passed a vent, he stopped. He heard Mr. Wolfe's voice. He kept very quiet and peeked through the slits in the vent. He could tell that Mr. Wolfe was talking to Captain Hatcher, Colonel Stone, Master Sergeant Flint, Commander Creevey, and Kalon Masters.
"How do we know if this information you received is reliable information?" asked Stone.
"Trust me it is. If my source says the acting ambassador to Kriton's son was kid napped, then he was kid napped. I trust my source 100%," said Wolfe. "The ransom is simple; the Ambassador does exactly as ordered if he wants to see his son alive again."
"Why should we trust you? After all Mr. Wolfe, you are just an English teacher."
"Colonel, you have no reason to trust me. I'll give you that. But this young boy, Matt, is in trouble. We can't go to SFA for help, because as I had told you, I believe someone in SFA is behind the kidnapping."
"Hey Wolfie," said Kalon. "I understand not having Zjan-Ren in on this meeting because the Kriton's could be behind this kid napping. But why am I here?"
"Mr. Masters, if Captain Hatcher and Colonel Stone agree to send in a rescue team to save Matt, they will need you. According to my source, this is where Matt is being held." Wolfe pushed a palm computer pad across the table to Kalon. He picked it up and glanced at it.
"I can see why. I use to go there all the time when I was growing up. This was one of Jake's favorite spots to hide."
"It's still is," said Wolfe.
"What do you mean still is?"
"Jake Masters is still alive," said Wolfe in a matter of fact tone.
"That's bullshit!!" said Kalon as he stood up in protest. "Jake died almost ten years ago. I saw it with my own eyes."
"Jake Master still lives, Mr. Masters. He is the one who kid napped Matt."
"That is a fucking lie!" Kalon was losing patience..
"Did you ever see a body?"
"Huh?"
"You said you saw Jake die. I was curious if you ever saw a body."
Kalon hung his head down low. "No."
"Ensign Masters, I know you are being pulled apart by so many mixed emotions right now," said Hatcher. "But if this young boy is in trouble, we need to rescue him. Ensign, will you help?"
"I don't now if what this English teacher is saying is true or not. But for argument sake, if it is true, you're asking me to betray my father. I can't do that."
"You mean you would let a boy stay locked up and probably killed just so you didn't have to betray a man who deceived you into thinking he was dead?" asked Stone.
Kalon thought for a minute. "All right, look. I will fly the rescue team to this place. I will get you on the planet. I will even get you off this god forsaken place. But during your time on the planet, you're on your own. I stay with the 'Raptor'."
"Raptor?" asked Commander Creevey.
"She's a stealth ship. The 'Raptor' is our best chance on getting into this place undetected.
"Colonel Stone, I want you to work with Ensign Masters and Mr. Wolfe in coming up with a rescue plan. Have it on my desk first thing in the morning."
"Yes Sir," said Stone who still wasn't sure if this was a kind of mission he wanted to lead his Marines on.
Trevor waited until everyone left the room before he scurried down the shaft. He couldn't believe a rescue mission for some unknown boy was going to take place. He was wondering if they needed the Hawke.
To Be Continued.......