Star Trek: Bendross

Episode 03: Getting to Know you part one

(Summer 2072)

By

Jay P. Hailey

And

The Bendross Players

 

The first two weeks of the training were the worst for Hamilton. He was detoxing from nearly a decade of alcohol abuse and bad personal habits.

Hamilton also discovered that he wasn't nearly in the shape that he thought he was. However, after the first two weeks he was starting to show some effects of the exercise. He was also thinking more clearly than he had since some time before the end of the war.

Hamilton had discovered that he had a talent for computer coding, programming and manipulation on a virtual reality level. But instead of capitalizing on his talents and skills, he'd drifted to a condition where doing one off programming odd jobs and occasionally stealing money and data out of the net was how he got by from day to day.

Hamilton began to seriously reconsider his lifestyle and his plans for the future. He realized that he'd spent eight years sulking and filled with self-pity because they wouldn't let him fly fighter planes any more.

Hamilton also began to realize that he found himself in rarified company. Everyone agreed that the world was on its way straight to hell. A century and a half of abuse, greed and shortsighted hard use had left the planet Earth as a rattletrap jalopy. Worse the past fifty years had been a history of nearly continuous warfare, including the last big blow up involving nuclear weapons. A "limited" nuclear war meant that only *some* places were bombed out ruins deadly to all people and animals. Only *so much* nuclear fallout polluting the air. Only some many hundreds of thousands displaced refugees.

Now a Mad Scientist out in Montana had discovered the secret to faster than light travel. The stars were now open for business. People had come from the stars to reveal to humanity that things were not all that bad out there amongst the stars.

So naturally, everyone wanted off the Earth and away to a bright new future. Some mega Corps funded distant colonies because they felt that there was profit to be made out in the stars. Some did it because they wanted to survive the crash that every knew was coming. Some, like Arthur Bendross used their incredible fortunes to fund extra-solar colonies as an act of ego. Bendross wanted his name and his reputation to survive not only his death, but the death of all civilization on Earth.

The Bendross colony project was Bendross' version of a pyramid that would preserve his name for thousands of years.

To Hamilton this just confirmed the doomed status of decadent society. To the others, Bendross' ego problems was nothing more than their ticket to a better life. So if kissing Bendross' ass about it a little got them away from the sinking ship of the Earth, then Bendross got his ass kissed.

Like most people, Hamilton envied them on some level. These people would get a fresh world and a new start. Hamilton believed that he was in the training camp due to a mistake and that eventually he would be caught out and asked to leave.

Hamilton made the acquaintance of the Marine first.

"When were you in?" The Marine asked.

"Ashby. Lt. USAF. Mustered out in '64." Hamilton replied. "You?"

"Kerenski. US Marines. Space Recon. They let me go in '66" Kerenski replied.

Hamilton was impressed. Space Recon were commandos trained to go fight in orbit over possession of space based assets. They were tough and smart, and had a reputation for well cultivated violence. Hamilton had never met any before. Space combat was extremely destructive and, as it turned out, most Space Recon and similar forces didn't survive the war. Moreover, the assets they fought for were usually damaged past being usable by anyone.

"Nice t' meetcha." Hamilton grunted. "How did you wind up here?"

Kerenski shrugged his large shoulders. "I guess I had some qualifications they wanted. You?"

"Good question." Hamilton said.

There were a number of civilians that were going through their first session of basic training ever. Although in excellent condition, which embarrassed Hamilton, they showed their inexperience in other ways.

There was a thin, short little man who began the training with wildly multi colored hair. The color and most of the hair didn't last long past the first day, but the little man's body language was always tense and a little hesitant. He jumped into his training tasks with a will, but always seemed to be walking on eggshells.

"Hamilton Ashby." Hamilton introduced himself, holding out his hand.

The short man's handshake was tentative. "Rudy."

Hamilton said "pleased to meet..." Then clicked. "You mean like the shampoo and stuff? That Rudy?"

Rudy nodded. "Yep." He didn't seem to want to talk about it.

Hamilton was enthused. A contact with someone in the upper crust of wealthy, celebrity culture might mean a lot to him later. Then he realized where he was standing. "Why are you here? You have the world by the ass."

Rudy looked Hamilton right in the eye. "This was the quickest boat off planet."

Hamilton nodded. "Yeah. I can see that. So what did you do with all your money?"

Rudy shrugged. "What good is money to a corpse?"

"Yeah, but some one is going to be left behind. They could sure use it." Hamilton persisted.

"Ask Bendross. It's his now." Rudy turned resolutely away.

Hamilton shrugged. Fifteen minutes later he realized what that meant. In a situation where they were supposed to be picking the best and the brightest to go to the stars. A celebrity hair care products mogul had bought a ticket. He'd bribed his way onto the colony ship.

Hamilton shook his head. A monument to survive the collapse of a decadent society. yeah right...

 

Disclaimer: Paramount owns all things Trek. I claim original characters and situations in this story for me.