The Whole Nine Yards

          Interesting thing about being brought up by the Bernatelli family is that you learn all sorts if interesting fighting techniques. For instance, I know how to render a man unconscious with lawn decor, thanks to study of Universal Wrestling Federation. But the folding chairs were at the other end of the large room. So I made do with my arm, and with a simple head lock, my opponent was out.

          "What were you gonna tell him?" My target asks of me. At this point in time my crew are tying all the guards up, plans are to leave them and the ship for dear old dad to find. "Oh just a line from on old swashbuckling fantasy. But." I stand up to face the pup, "There's no point in living out dreams if the whole thing can't come true."

          At this point in time, the man in black has placed himself between me and his charge. "Madam, as caretaker for the young Hawkins, I must inform you that I will not allow any harm to befall the boy. If you wish to attempt to do so, you must go through me first." He squares his shoulders, holds his hand behind him, and simply waits.

          "And if I mean him no harm? After all, being born into his family was not a move he orchestrated. His father is my target."

          "However, using the boy would maneuver his father to whichever playing field you have set up for your target practice."

          "Hey, you can't do that." Young Horace pipes up.

          "Indeed. However, I have something else in mind. Would you say the boy's education about history is lacking? Particularly the history of, The Great Exodus."

          "Hm, I believe I know what you speak of, and if I had your word on his safety, some lesson may be arranged."

          I present my knife to him, it is an heirloom blade, carved in intricate patterns, and step forward. His eyes widen as though he recognizes it. "I am Nica jekkame'a Sinmoral, taken in by the Bernatelli as Roni, bound by the blood of my forefathers to my oath to protect Horace Hawkins. He will not die by my hands, or by my crew, we will watch over him, and help him whenever we can."

          He whips out his own knife, with a replica of the imprint of my own blade. "I am Geoffrey Gregory, child of a melding between Helen Gregory and Ha` Gentai, oracle of the Qui clan of the Corane. I accept your oath."

          "I see we have much to speak of." I feel a smile crawl across my face. "Let us return to my ship and get down to business."

          "Don't I get any say in this? Geoffrey! Are you gonna let them just kidnap me? And when where you gonna tell me that your half bloody Corane?"

          "Sir, this is not a kidnapping." Geoffrey replied. "It is an opportunity of a lifetime, one I had been waiting for. You see, I was given a task when you were just a young lad. Today, fittingly as you enter manhood, you will learn the truth."

          My comm buzzes in my ear. "Capt. We have enemy ships approaching. One of the escape ships passed the message along."

          "Which one?" I had an inside man one the ship, if it was from him, I know the message was safe.

          "Some concierge fella, name was Cousteau." That's the one.

          "Alright everyone, time to clock out." My crew runs for our docking point.

          "I'm not going anywhere. I don't trust her." Horace pouts.

          "But do you trust me Sir?"

          "Of course Geoffrey."

          "Then we must be off. Trust me, all will be explained aboard the other ship"

          "Alright. I'm just saying, I might not need this field trip."

          Geoffrey quirked an eyebrow at the young man. "I'd be surprised if you knew what I have to tell you, though I am intrigued as to what it is you do know."

*                  *                  *

          Back on board my ship, the Cutlass, my officers, my guests, and myself are arranged comfortably in the mess hall.

          "Alright kid, you say ya think you might need an extra credit course from me? How bouts you tell us, what it is you do know."

          "Okay." The kid looks down at his hands, and bites his lip. "I'll start with the obvious. My dad isn't a nice guy, he ,a bunch of his buddies, and some guys he don't like hatched a plan a while back. They were all gonna grab up as much of the planets and power as they could and keep it for themselves. 75% of the colonized zone belongs to a corporation, and 20 percent of whats left is on its way to becoming a monarchy".

          "You pay attention to the universe around you. Good; now I won't have to break down any preconceived notions for you." I motioned with my hand for him to continue.

          "Here's the secret part. They also want all the planets of the explored zone."

          "What about the generational ships? Greedy as they are, those still have enough armament to take a planet by force. It was all part of the contingency plans."

          "They found a loop hole. As Humana United began losing power as a governing body over the colonized zone, it is all but forgotten in the generational ships. In most cases, the current crew don't give a grat's hide whether or not they arrive. Should they happen to make landing, arrangements have already been made. This is what they refer to as, Operation Seawall. Commanding crews have been paid to sabotage the ships. On top of that, viruses have been set loose in the computers of all the ships. They're going off course. If my father has his way, they'll all die, and I become a king." Through his discourse up to till now the kid only looked at his hands. Now he looked me straight in the eyes. "Can you stop him?"

          "Horace, you're the kind of king I'd give my sword to. Thing is, I've been trying to stop your father my whole life. My crew and I, we need help. If you join up with us, you're gonna have to go the whole nine yards. Might even need to kill pops. Are you up for it?" I could feel my shoulders shaking from the tension.

          "Were you gonna tell me about how my dad's really a saint, under cover in a pack of wolves?" All I could do was shake my head in the negative.

          Without looking away, or even blinking. "Yes"

          "Horace," I reached out to grasp his hand "this looks the beginning of a destructive friendship."