Muses, Mishaps, and Murder!

Chapter 6 Cake

Muse Silver-Green

The recording started up again, and no one was willing to answer my questions. So, I watched the video and ignored the maintenance woman attaching a reinforced door to my booth.

"I hope he doesn't come over to my table." Commander Nickel hid behind Mason as General Allen sat down with his crew. General Allen and his crew broke out into the song, Major General. "Please, hide me."

A drunk security officer fell into his tray of food, but he bolted up. "He's throwing a retirement party for himself. Thank goodness. He is a weirdo like Mason." He staggered to Allen's crew, raised his fist, and walked away.

Allen's command officers ate cake and salad. His crew consisted mostly of humanoids, such as elves, sheep, or goblins.

Goblin's skin colors varied like humans, but most of them were shades of green or blue. Their overall appearance was unusual.

Smoke-colored eyelids, pointed ears, and forehead ridges made their faces stand out, but the differences didn't stop. On the top of their heads were tiny, curled horns, usually hidden by hair. Their hair, dyed whatever color they fancied gave them a fierce appearance. General Allen cut another large piece of cake. His high-pitched laugh disagreed with his frame.

Allen stood and approached the table. "Commander Nickel, you're supposed to sit with my friends. Please, can you pretend that we're still friends and stop avoiding me?"

"Not here," Nickel said.

"Wow, you weren't kidding when you said Kitten Allen is upset at you. You shouldn't avoid him."

Lace said to Nickel. "You have proved yourself."

Nickel crumpled. "He isn't angry, just disappointed in me."

Commander Nickel's second-in-command jumped over two tables, tossed a roll at Allen's personnel, and punched a security officer. "Nickel is not sitting with filthy goblins."

She threw him to the floor. But he stood up.

"General Allen's crew are your superiors. The woman who scrubs their toilet outranks you," Commander Nickel said. "I'm bumping you down to temp!" She pointed to Mason. "He can perform your job. I'm writing you up for dereliction of duty."

The cafeteria grew silent.

"You can't do that to me. I'm a friend of the former king, and I'm exempt from dangerous jobs that require hard work." He swung his fist at Commander Nickel's shoulder.

She ducked and drop-kicked him. "I'm unable to fire you, but I'll demote anyone. The Flying Clutch is where the losers go. Look, I dread sitting with the general's crew because I'm given the dregs. I refuse to be humiliated. Command knows that this is the worst crew."

"This ship was blown up twice and had the highest fatality rates. Contrary to myth, temp deaths count," General Allen said.

He was correct. Other ships had a 0.5% non-natural death rate. The Flying Clutch's death rates were higher than Captain Kirk's before she took command. Despite her modesty, Nickel must have realized how many lives she saved and how she created loyalty with 89% of the crew. She terrified the paid commissions with her requests for stricter rules.

The commander didn't finish her meal bar. "I'd like to fire anyone who shows up drunk, high, or hungover on missions, but I have to wait until the new king takes action."

"The temp you almost let die was a model. You were ordered to hire him for a command post." Nickel's second in command backed off.

She swung around. "The pretty boy temp didn't have the short straw microchip. He was drunk and didn't follow the checklist. Mason has had the chip for months, but he never dies."

"Are you trying to get my son killed? You're such a disappointment." Lace stood up and pushed her tray away. "We're best friends, and you know I don't want my baby working here. How could you keep information from me? I'll tell you everything."

"I tried to get him to quit." Nickel's face collapsed, and her eyes glazed over for a moment.

"Mom, I knew the chips were in my weapon, and the commander informed me about it beforehand." Mason backed away from his mother.

Nickel stumbled over her words. "Lace, I adore your son. I'm saying the checklist matters more than the stupid chip. I added fifty inside his weapon last week. He was fired at but never shot. Weapons act like magnets when you don't purge the feedback, even if you don't have the chips. My little buddy is a bright kid."

"I'm twenty-six." Mason's tail dropped as it wagged.

Commander Nickel paused and half-slugged his arm.

His mother smiled and grabbed his arm. "Mason, I'm a great matchmaker."

He broke away. "Mom, I'm fine. We're not talking about my lack of a dating life. Command officers aren't allowed to date their subordinates." He stepped back even further and almost bumped into General Allen.

"Commander, do you think goblins are lesser? Is that why you made your mistake?" Allen asked Nickel.

"No, what happened between your daughter and me wasn't because I despised goblins. I wish he was honest with me."

Allen pointed to the exit. "Mason, go retrieve your laser gun from the Lock Box after dinner. Some of your crew are members of Deb's Light. You'll receive hazard pay."

Mason went about his business until it was time to retrieve his weapon.

Signs hung all over. Laser weapons won't fire in the secured area.

The ship's Rag-And-Bone Merchant swung around the corner. "Not all the temps die. Some temps have talents the government needs."

"Your name is Zander, isn't it?" Mason stepped back.

A masked woman opened a brown bottle, dipped a cloth in the chemicals, and covered his mouth with it.

Caustic aromas and vapors caused Mason to fall unconscious.

"Is he okay? Did you show this to me, so I could watch him die?" I asked.

"No, Mason is in protective custody. But what if I told you that you were right? Our lives are all in danger from Deb's Light." My supervisor showed me the next recording.

Mason's eyes darted open as he struggled to remove the chains wrapped around his wrists. General Allen and a goblin woman slept in the same cell. My notes informed me that she was his adopted daughter. Her hair wasn't half-shaved but in a single braid. She awoke and rattled the surrounding bars of the cell. Knowing which bars were electrified.

A guard removed his mask. "We've been hidden behind this asteroid belt for days..." The man's voice trailed off, and I wondered if this was the day Mason could die.

"Silver-Green," my boss with the code name Apollo said from behind. "Is Mason able to read what his lead Muse is thinking, or can he read my thoughts?"

"He reads Muses who are in his assigned room. I have ways to avoid being read, and I am not sharing them," I said.

"We'll talk outside the building, then." Apollo tugged on my arm, and I turned around.

Usually, he was dressed in a pirate cosplay outfit, but he wore a full suit. A top hat covered his bald head. Apollo's blue feathers appeared almost black when he stood in the shadows.

"Who died?" I asked. "You wouldn't be wearing your morning outfit otherwise."

"Come with me." Apollo grabbed my arm.