The "Lexington" is in a fight for survival, battling the "Orion" on a beautiful green baseball field when real life intrudes on the games. We hope you enjoy the new turn to our story.
The Boys of the Lady Lex Chapter 59 "Fields of War"
Written By Douglas DD and Benjamin T. C.
It's funny how life works out, Douglas mused as he took his warm-up tosses in the home team bullpen. Two weeks of games, competition, sweat, laughter, hugs, and tears. And it all comes down to this. The Lady Lex's battle for survival comes down to one game. The running score of the JFSA Olympics said it all: "Orion" 300, "Lexington" 295. The championship varsity baseball game was the last game left on the Olympic schedule; the "Orion" versus the Lady Lex. The game was worth ten points. Even Ben can do the math, Douglas thought with a sudden giggle, as his pitch flew wide of Ben's waiting glove.
"Come on Douglas, concentrate," Ben shot back.
"Sorry." He's right; I'd better concentrate-especially considering who I'm pitching against. In a final twist of irony, the boy was David Lee, his rival since almost the first day of middle school, almost four years ago. Thinking of him brought to mind the phone call of the night before, and the thought of that phone call sent his next pitch sailing over Ben's head.
"Damn it Douglas, concentrate!" Ben admonished once again.
Ben, Jesse, Scottie, Scooter, Jeff, Mike, TJ, Ryan and he were all in Mike's room watching the highlights of the day's games. As the cadet CO, Mike had one of the larger hotel rooms. The finals for academics, wrestling, and hockey had been on the schedule, and they were watching the hockey finals. Jesse was leaning against Scottie with a huge grin on his face. He had never been happier in his life. As the clip of his game winning goal came on, the phone rang. The boys all ignored it, cheering instead for Jesse's heroics. Scottie gave Jesse a long, hard passionate kiss as they watched Jesse's arms shoot up into the air, as the red light behind the goal lit up.
They all knew what the win meant. They all knew that the only two games left on Saturday were the baseball and basketball varsity and JV finals. They all knew that, with the heartbreaking 3-2 loss of the JV baseball team on Thursday to the "Spirit", the only team the "Orion" and the "Lexington" had left was their varsity baseball team. And they all knew the varsity baseball game the next day would not only determine the baseball champion, but the Olympic champion as well.
Through all this the phone kept on ringing.
"So, shut-up already," Ryan yelled, but he finally picked it up with an annoyed "hello".
"It's for you, Douglas," Ryan said, handing him the phone.
"Me? Who is it?"
"I don't know, but the voice sounds too old to be your brother."
Douglas took the phone. "Hello?"
"Hi, Douglas." There was no doubt in his mind whose voice was on the other end of the line.
"David?"
"Smart boy. Can I call you Sherlock?"
Douglas ignored the sarcastic question. "How did you know I was here?"
"Maybe you can call me Sherlock. The front desk knew where you were, and connected me. You Triple L juvies have to be kept track of."
Douglas was about to say he was no juvie, but figured that would be an insult to his friends and the Lady Lex cadets. He figured his best response was to hang up, but curiosity got the better of him.
"What do you want, David?"
Every boy in the room was concentrating on the phone call, even though they could only hear Douglas's end of the conversation. Douglas clicked the button to activate the speakerphone.
"Assuming you have anyone there who can do the math, you probably know what tomorrow's game means, just like we do." TJ was about to say something, but Douglas held up his hand and silenced him.
"Is there a point to all this?"
"Of course there is. Douglas, you have choked against me all your life. Your little theft of my shuttle was nothing. It was there, you took it. You had nothing to do with taking the flags. Whenever it's really, truly, been me and you, I've always been the one to come out on top. Tomorrow won't be any different. You and your sad ship of losers are going down tomorrow. You all deserve each other."
Douglas had finally heard enough. He cut the connection and looked around the room, fuming.
"Ignore him," Mike said. "He's just trying to get into your head. Talk is cheap."
Ben came over to Douglas and put his arm around his shoulder, giving him a kiss on the cheek. "Tomorrow, you shut him up for good," Ben said.
"Yeah, for good," Douglas said quietly. He didn't sound very convincing, even to himself.
He was ready. The Lady Lex was the home team, so he would be pitching to start the game. He grabbed his jacket, even though he really didn't need it on the warm summer day. But, his dad, the doctor, insisted his pitchers keep a jacket over their arms between innings.
The stands were packed. Tickets to this game were actually being scalped. The baseball stadium held 21,000 people, and 3,000 temporary bleacher seats had been installed as well. Douglas took a deep breath. Between the packed stands, the phone call of the night before, and what was riding on this game, the pressure on the fourteen year old boy was incredibly intense.
Douglas and Ben went into the dugout. Douglas sat next to Trevor, who was one of the three bat boys. Trevor had pitched his heart out in the loss to the "Spirit" and was disappointed he wasn't playing for the JV title, which had been won by the "Spirit". But he was happy to be one of the batboys. Nipper and Andrew were the other two.
The line-ups were introduced and the players lined up along the foul lines in front of their dugout. Douglas' heart was hammering as he stood gazing into the crowd, thinking of the person he wished could be there and wasn't - his mother.
The coaches, captains, and umpires went through the pre-game meeting and Douglas finally trudged to the mound. It was time to determine the future of the Lady Lex.
Admiral Natter gazed over the crowded stadium, and then out onto the dazzling green of the baseball field itself. The day was perfect, the sky a cloudless blue, and the temperature in the low eighties. One could not ask for a better day for a baseball game.
He, more than anybody, knew what was at stake in this game. The game was about more than the baseball championship trophy, or the Olympic title; it was about the survival of a program that had been more successful than anybody had dreamed.
If it was his decision, the game would only be about the trophies. The "Lexington" and her cadets had proved their worth. Stephen Hatcher had performed a miracle. But the decision wasn't his, it was Admiral Whitaker's and, for whatever irrational reason, he was adamant that the Lady Lex had to win in order to survive. That was what everyone had agreed on, and everyone had known the consequence of not winning. But, Natter mused, nobody ever thought the "Lexington" would come even close. He doubted whether even Stephen Hatcher had had any idea of how successful his project would be.
The calls to the talk shows had been lively. From what he heard, most of the callers were sympathetic to the Lady Lex, and felt the project should survive regardless of the outcome of the Olympics. But, many callers also felt a deal was a deal and there was a lesson to be learned, win or lose. If the reaction of the crowd to the introduction of the teams was any indication, the fans were behind the Lady Lex.
Natter was sitting in a private VIP suite. His aides had set up a communication center behind him, and from the messages he had been receiving he was wondering if this all might be for nothing.
Ambassador Bergen fought off the fatigue that was eating away at him. The last week had been incredibly stressful, both professionally and personally. Despite all the setbacks and attempts at sabotage, a great deal of progress had been made in the peace talks. Even the antics of the Kriton fleet and the meddling of Admiral Whitaker hadn't been able to stop things from moving.
Then, a week ago, Ambassador Ka started coming up with new and, in his opinion, unreasonable demands. The biggest was the removal of the "Earth threat" from the frontier between SFA space and Kriton space.
"I'm not sure I understand what you're talking about, Ambassador," Bergen had said when he read the demand.
"Your Earth fleet has moved to the edge of the frontier," the Kriton ambassador replied coolly.
"Yes, in response to the maneuvering of your fleet."
"Our fleet is on legitimate military maneuvers. At no time have we threatened you, and yet in the middle of these talks, you move your fleet hastily to the edge of the frontier."
This conversation, of course, went on and on, as diplomatic conversations tend to do, with little change on the position of either side. What Ambassador Bergen did not know, was that Ambassador Ka was no happier with the direction of the talks than Ambassador Bergen. He was only following a new and aggravating directive from the Kriton Military Council. And, of course, what Admiral Ka didn't know was that Ambassador Bergen's responses were being orchestrated more and more by Admiral Whitaker.
The second kidnapping of his son had also taken its toll on him. If he had had hopes of an ally in Admiral Whitaker, whose son had also been kidnapped by Jake Masters, those hopes were quickly dashed. Whitaker's one and only concern seemed to be how to throw monkey wrenches into the peace talks. He left the problem of his son's kidnapping to his aides. Bergen couldn't even begin to understand how a father could be so callous.
When the good news of Matt's rescue came, it was tempered by the news that Matt had killed Jake Masters. Bergen quickly assigned the best lawyers available to Matt, and was ready to leave the talks to be with his son if necessary. A radiophone conversation with Matt left him content that his son was okay. He assured his father he had good friends and would be looked after. Maybe the biggest surprise was his request to become a cadet on the "Orion" in the fall. The ambassador couldn't help but be pleased with the request, and set right to work to make it so. When he found out that one reason for the request was his son's friendship with Tim Whitaker, the admiral's son, he could only muse that it was a very small galaxy after all.
Douglas couldn't find the plate. The crowd, the stakes, his dislike of David and of the "Orion" all played on his mind. His first eight pitches had been balls and runners now occupied first and second base. David was the next batter. Ben came out to talk to him.
"Just throw strikes," Ben said.
"That's easy enough for you to say," Douglas replied. "You're not standing out here on the mound."
"If you can't take the heat then get the fuck out of the kitchen."
"Just go catch the ball, okay?"
Ben wanted to say more, but he knew this wasn't the time. He trotted back to his position. Douglas took the sign and threw. Ball one. Ben put down the next sign and Douglas shook it off. Twice. Ben went with Douglas's pitch. It was at eyeball level. Ball two.
Ben called for a change up. Douglas shook it off. Ben gave it again. Douglas shook it off again. Come on, Douglas, Ben said to himself, everybody in the ballpark is expecting a fastball here. He gave the sign one more time; Douglas shook it off one more time.
Okay, it's your funeral. Ben signaled fastball.
Douglas smiled inwardly. Okay, David, you bastard, hit this. Douglas reared back and threw his fastball, putting every once of energy he had into it. Douglas watched as the ball zipped to the plate, waiting for it to do something other than make a beeline down the middle. What David saw was a fastball in his wheelhouse. As soon as the bat hit the ball nobody in the ballpark doubted the outcome. The only question now, was how far would the ball go before it came down?
***** Captain Hatcher was watching the game from his seat behind home plate. The captain of the "Orion", Captain Chase Hunter, was sitting beside him.
"Every time I sit next to an opposing captain, I get accused of being a traitor," Hunter said with a laugh.
"The kids believe we should hate each other as much as they do," Hatcher said, laughing along with Hunter.
"Well, in the case of Avery and the `Port Royal" they just might be right." Hunter's statement brought out another hearty laugh from both captains.
"In all seriousness, Steve, and if you repeat this I will deny ever having said it, I hope you win this game."
"Oh?"
"Yes, I do. The `Orion' will have plenty of chances to win it all. Our seniors aren't our real talent. But in your case, this game means survival. It's not fair that it does, but we both know what Admiral Peter Whitaker is like."
"I appreciate the support, Chase."
"I'm not alone in this feeling. I'm not talking about the kids. They want to kick your ass, as well they should. I'm talking about those in the SFA who appreciate the little miracle you pulled off. They not only like what you've done for your cadets, but they also take a perverse pleasure in your tweaking Whitaker's nose. You heard the amount of applause your kids got during the introductions."
Hatcher watched the second batter trot to first base on a walk. "Douglas is going to have to find the strike zone real soon, or it all is going to become moot really fast."
When Douglas finally did throw a strike the crack of David's bat almost made Hatcher wish he hadn't.
Ambassador Bergen watched Ambassador Ka walk out of the meeting room, his ceremonial robes flying behind him. The walkout was not a surprise; Bergen had been warned by Ka it was coming. Nevertheless, the walkout and its impending consequences were depressing. The talks had been so close to succeeding and then, suddenly, had come tumbling down like a house of cards.
Admiral Whitaker got up from his seat at the table. "I knew all along these talks were a sham. We had better up our alert level. I can't help but think this is all a preliminary to an attack."
The talks went just fine until you got involved, Bergen thought to himself. He thought back to the private talk he had had with Ambassador Ka just an hour ago. He and Ka met in a room downstairs, watched over carefully by their most trusted aides.
"I will be walking out of the talks. They will come to an end. It is not my wish, but it is how it must be," Ka said. "As with you, I am no longer the master of these talks. We both must answer to the same call, even if it is not one we wish to answer."
"I understand and am not surprised," Bergen replied. "It is almost as if there are those in power who do not wish to see them succeed."
"It was not long ago I was one of those. But you Earth beings have honored our Kriton traditions like no other culture." Ka thought back to Hatcher's presenting him with the hockey puck, a gesture with much more significance than he could have ever imagined. It had made him start to reassess his opinions of Earth and the Sol Force Alliance. He became more and more impressed as he researched the culture and its history. Captain Hatcher had been just one of many who honored and respected Kriton traditions. There were those, however, who didn't. Admiral Whitaker was definitely one of the latter. Of course, there were also Kritons who turned and twisted those traditions for their own gain; General Elihu was one of those who came to mind.
"I believe that had you and I been left to settle our differences together, we would have come up with a lasting peace between our cultures," Ka said.
"Of that I have no doubt. May we once again sit at a table together after those who dishonor both of our cultures have been removed from their positions of power," Bergen replied.
"They will remove themselves. Of that I have no doubt. I now wish to humble myself by asking a request of the esteemed Earth Ambassador."
"I would be honored to do what I can for my friend from Kriton."
"I will be making my final demands in a few moments. You will be unable to meet them. That we both know. I must not be allowed to wait for you to enter the room, nor can we enter it together. It must be obvious that you wait for me. It must happen that way for me to maintain any power and influence I may still have. You and I will meet again when this folly is over. At that time I will repay my debt to you."
"I will humble myself to do as you ask. I will enter the room first."
The Kriton gave the Earthman a slight not of the head. The two of them left the room by separate doors.
And so, as the Earth negotiating team waited five minutes for the Kritons to arrive, Whitaker was furious. "How dare they make us wait like this? The Kritons are insufferably arrogant!"
Bergen said nothing, knowing he had made one small gesture towards cementing a long and lasting peace.
When Ka entered, his speech was short and to the point. Either the SFA would pull back its fleet of aggression from the frontier, or the talks would end and the Kriton defense fleet would take every measure necessary to defend Kriton space and Kriton honor. Ambassador Bergen replied that Earth's fleet was at the frontier to defend itself from Kriton aggression. It was the same speech both of them had been giving for the past few days.
Ka stood up from the table with all of his considerable grace and dignity. "Then Kriton, in order to maintain its honor, will no longer take part in these talks. The consequences of your stubbornness will be upon you all." With that, he and his contingent left the room.
Admiral Elihu read the encrypted message.
"Talks broken off. Ka gone. Time for plan to be put into place."
So, the naïve admiral has now opened the door for me. The time to move is now. With his plan, we will have our little battle out on the frontier, lose a few ships, lose a few hundred men, show the need for a more powerful military force, and become the most powerful men on our planet. The problem, Mister Admiral, is that someone is about to come in through your backdoor and make me the most powerful man on BOTH planets.
Elihu gave his order; prepare the fleet to head for the frontier. It was time to show the power of the Kriton fleet.
Ben was all the way to the mound before David had finished his homerun trot. Like every one else, he watched the ball sail over the left field fence. He watched, as David tossed his bat, raised his fists into the air, and mocked Douglas and the "Lexington" team through his entire triumphant trot. Even some of David's teammates felt he had gone too far.
Ben handed Douglas the fresh ball.
"I threw it too straight."
"Duh. And you did because you made this game all about you. This game is about us. It's about the Lady Lex and all your friends. It's not about you and fucking David. I expect to hear a loud POP when I go back to home."
"A loud pop? What does that mean?"
"It's the sound you will make when you pull our head out of your ass."
Ben and Douglas glared at each other, the tension thick. But Ben was the master psychologist behind the plate. Before Douglas could say anything, Ben gave him a quick peck on the cheek, right there before 24,000 people and a system wide television broadcast. "I love you."
As he trotted back to home, he smiled when Douglas yelled out, "POP!"
"That was an interesting scene on the mound," Hunter said to Hatcher.
"I have interesting boys," Hatcher replied. Including my own son, Jesse, he thought to himself.
"It will be interesting to see what happens from here on out."
"I have a feeling this game is going to turn around."
Hunter grinned at Hatcher. "I have this feeling you are right."
Up in the broadcast booth Roy Pointer said into the microphone, "He kissed him. Ben Collins, the catcher, kissed his pitcher, Douglas Daniels, right on the cheek."
Willie Claussen looked at his color man and said, "We all know there's no kissing in baseball."
Admiral Natter didn't see the scene on the mound. Even as David's homerun was sailing over the fence, he was talking to his aides at the communication center.
"The Kriton fleet is making some interesting moves, sir."
"Monitor it closely Commander, and keep me informed as to how the peace talks are faring."
"Aye, sir."
Chase Hunter was correct. The momentum did shift after the mound conference. Douglas quit thinking of himself, of David, of the crowd, or anything. He took Ben's signs and located his pitches perfectly. He put the next three batters down. The Lady Lex got a run back in the bottom of the first. He then put the side down in order in the second inning, as the Lady Lex scratched out another run. The "Orion" could manage no runs in the third for fourth innings either. Douglas overcame a temptation to knock David down when he came up in the third, and stayed with the game plan, which ended up having David reaching for an outside change up and grounding out to short. When Ben wrapped a home run around the left field foul pole in the bottom of the fourth, the score was tied.
Ben had an incredible urge to showboat his home run trot the same way David had. Instead he merely looked at David who was standing forlornly on the mound and gave him a quick smile. There was no doubt in Ben's mind that this game was theirs.
"Tie game," Chase Hunter said, as Ben's hit left the field. "Your boys are playing with poise and class."
"They're better kids than people give them credit for. That's why I wanted this program. And I found the right cadet officers to lead them."
Hunter let out a laugh, thinking of Rich Zimmer, his CO. "I wish I could say the same." He did have to admit, though, that Rich was one hell of a fine second baseman.
Commander Morris handed Natter the message from Griffin. Natter wasn't surprised. It merely confirmed what he was already seeing.
"Very well, Commander. There can be no waiting around. We start taking action now.
Douglas stood on the mound ready to take his warm up tosses. It was the top of the fifth, tie score. He was in a groove now, mentally and physically. His mind was locked onto his pitching, and he was now throwing better than he had at any time in his life. He felt energized and confident. He knew he was going to win this game. There was no doubt in his mind that the Lady Lex was three innings away from becoming official.
As his first warm-up headed for Ben's glove an announcement came over the PA system.
"This is Admiral Natter. This is an emergency announcement. I repeat; this is an emergency announcement." The chatter of the crowd died down. The warm-up throws stopped. Everybody knew this had to do with the Kritons. "The talks on Griffin have broken off. The Kriton fleet has started to move towards the frontier zone. All SFA crewmen are to report to their assigned stations at the space port immediately. All JFSA cadets are to report to the designated areas in their hotels immediately. All civilians should return to their lodgings. This is not a drill."
Captains Hunter and Hatcher stood up. Every SFA officer and crewman and every JFSA cadet had been given a designated meeting place for their ship. They looked for signs of panic in the crowd, but could see that the evacuation of the stadium was taking place in an orderly fashion.
As he edged towards the exit, Hunter thought of what the injured Zjan-Ren had told him. Had he listened to the rantings of an injured man, the lies of a devious Kriton, or the frightening truth? He decided to take a detour.
"Where are you heading?" Hunter asked.
"I need to tell Natter something."
"Okay. I will head to my meeting spot. Good luck, Stephen."
"Same to you Chase."
Douglas stood stunned on the mound. Ben and his teammates were surrounding him.
"You mean it's over? Just like that?" Ben asked.
"I guess so," Douglas replied.
"Do we replay the game or is it over for the Lady Lex?"
"I don't think it matters right now, Ben. I think we just went to war."
To be continued.