A New Beginning

The first sign that we had of unrest onboard the spaceship came three days after the explosion. Two construction workers got in a fistfight while eating breakfast in the cafeteria. One of them was explaining to a couple of his buddies at his table how there wasn't an explosion. He was claiming that the James Cook was still in one piece.

He told his buddies that the officers had sealed off the rear of the ship and that those crew members who were there were being used as human guinea pigs. He believed that the cargo hold was really just a giant space lab monitored by UNESA. He said that in time everyone onboard except the officers were going to be sent to the lab and used as specimens in different kinds of experiments.

Another construction worker sitting at the table next to him called him a foolish idiot for believing in myths and following the delusions of a troublemaker. The first man didn't like being called an idiot and threw a glass of orange juice in the second man's face.

The two of them got to hitting each other. Security was called and they both spent three days in the brig with the loss of three day's wages -- the penalty for fighting.

Under normal circumstances it would have ended there but Chantelle Dawn did some investigating into the cause of the fight and wisely thought I should know about it.

I had just gotten off watch and was in my cabin reading a science fiction story about a scientist who invented a time machine and used it to go back in time to study the dinosaurs. It's a subject I like reading about from time to time. She let herself in using her override code.

I looked up from my reading. "Hi Chantelle, what's up?"

She had a look of lost love on her face. At first I thought she wanted to have sex with me as we hadn't been together for several days.

She told me once that Victoria Rose and Josephine Jasmine were the only other persons onboard she would have sex with. She also told me that it was just lesbian sex between them. She didn't love them like she loved me. Whereas sex with me . . . well she wanted to be my lover and sex slave.

In the public's eye she was very dominant and aggressive; her job demanded it. But when we were alone together she became very docile and submissive. I guess I was her release, her safety valve. She could let her hair down with me. But like I said earlier, I wasn't ready for a commitment to a permanent relationship with anyone, especially a lesbian relationship. I enjoyed sex with men too much. Chantelle accepted my bisexuality.

I don't know what kind of dominant, submissive role she had with Vickie and Josephine. I never asked her; it was none of my business.

I stood up and she touched my cheek with her left hand. I kissed her palm and pressed her hand to my face. I smiled at her.

"We got trouble Toni," she said gloomily, pulling her hand away.

"What do you mean?"

"There was a fistfight in the cafeteria this morning. I put the two men involved in the brig. But later when I questioned them about what started it I discovered that it was more than a simple fight over nothing."

"Don't tell me we got another card cheat among our crew," I answered her half jokingly. I sat down at my desk.

"I wish it were that simple." She sat down on the edge of my bed and put her hands between her knees. I resisted the urge to sit with her.

"Come on Chantelle. What could possibly be more involved than finding a card cheat 410,000 kilometers from Mars?" By this time we had had an accurate distance on how far we were from the red planet. But we still had not contacted them over the radio. That was beginning to worry me.

"After talking to them I questioned some of the crew members. It seems that there's . . ." she didn't finish.

"There's what?" It was a mute question. I was pretty sure I knew what she was going to say.

"There's a division among the crew."

"Go on . . ." I said but something inside me made my blood run cold. I knew there were rumors floating about among the crew but I was suddenly frightened of what I anticipated she was going to say.

"I didn't question everyone. But of those I've talked to . . . more than half the crew believes in some form of conspiracy engineered by UNESA to use them as human guinea pigs. There are a couple different versions of the same conspiracy theory."

"Is Ronald the source of this?" I asked her.

"He may have been. I can't prove anything. But he does seem to have become their unofficial leader. Most believe UNESA is behind some bizarre conspiracy and that you're just helping them along. But there are quite a number of individuals who also believe that you've got some kind of plan to take over the ship."

"Oh come on Chantelle. You don't believe . . ."

"Ronald hates you enough to use them and lead them against you. That is, if he ever gets them organized." She sat back with her hands on the bed.

"And do what? Got any ideas as to what he plans to do?" Again I was afraid to hear her answer.

"No, sorry my love."

But I knew what she was thinking, the same thing I was thinking. Mutiny! If over half the crew was thinking that there was some form of conspiracy against them, then it wouldn't take much to ignite them into a frenzy; something I was terrified of. Like she said, Ronald hates me, Butler and the seven officers who acted as jurors enough to start something, just to get even with us.

A little over a half a century ago there was a mutiny aboard a routine supply ship bringing much needed supplies to Venus One. It wasn't much of a mutiny. A few extreme fanatics from among the Chaste Children for Christ snuck some guns aboard and took over the ship. It seems they wanted to start their own space colony orbiting around the sun.

It had no hope of ever succeeding. They held the captain and his crew hostage for about a month until UNESA was able to sneak some commandos aboard. These elite troops retook the ship and that was the end of it, or so everyone thought.

Several things made it famous. First of all, all guns and ammunition were outlawed back in 2063. The only people allowed to have guns since then were those who collected antique guns. No one was allowed to have live ammunition and all these collectors had to have their guns registered and made completely non-operational; in most cases the firing pin was removed and a few drops of hot led was poured down the barrel.

A lot of people complained and hid their guns from the authorities, particularly gun enthusiasts. For the next ten or fifteen years there were still a lot of guns floating around. But eventually the number of guns began to dwindle. Today it is extremely rare to find a gun that works or ammunition for one.

But the second and biggest thing that made the mutiny famous was the ship's name. It was the Spaceship Bountiful and the mutiny took place in April 2089, exactly three hundred years after the famous mutiny on the HMS Bounty, which was bringing a supply of breadfruit trees to the West Indies.

Although both mutinies took place on different days in April, both mutinies happened 24 days out of port, MC3 for the Bountiful and Tahiti for the Bounty. There were 44 men and women aboard the Bountiful and 44 officers and seamen aboard the HMS Bounty.

The mutineers executed six crew members of the Bountiful and there were six midshipmen aboard the Bounty. There were 18 mutineers aboard the Bountiful and 18 men set adrift by the Bounty's mutineers.

The first officer aboard the Bountiful was Lieutenant William Blunt. The captain of the Bounty was Lieutenant William Bligh. The captain of the Bountiful was Captain Peter Christian. The Master's Mate aboard the Bounty was Fletcher Christian. There are other similarities and paradoxes between the two ships but these are the ones that I remember.

Ever since the mutiny aboard the Bountiful historians have searched for the similarities and paradoxes between the two mutinies. One ingenious researcher claimed to have found exactly fifty similarities and paradoxes between the two ships. But from what I can remember he exaggerated his figures a little bit.

But the most glaring paradox between the two ships was their fate. The Bounty's mutineers destroyed the ship by burning it after landing on Pitcairn Island. The mutineers aboard the Bountiful vowed they would not be taken alive. They rigged the bridge with explosives. When the commandos boarded the ship they blew themselves up, totally destroying the Bountiful's bridge.

The only mutineers who survived were those who were guarding the hostages in the ship's cafeteria. These three mutineers eventually went to prison -- three of the Bounty's mutineers were eventually executed -- and what was left of the Bountiful was cut up for scrap metal.

Ever since the mutiny aboard the Bountiful captains have dreaded mutiny aboard a spaceship. In order to prevent it anyone who boards a spaceship has his or her luggage x-rayed before it is loaded and they are carefully searched. Everyone aboard the James Cook and their luggage were also carefully searched. There wasn't supposed to be any weapons onboard.

But that didn't calm my fears. Someone could have snuck a gun onboard, someone not properly searched, a piece of luggage improperly x-rayed, a suitcase overlooked or they could just steal some knives from the cafeteria.

If the numbers that Chantelle was giving me were correct then there was no telling what they could do to us. They could overpower us, kill us all and just dump our bodies outside the ship. Then make up any story they wished. That's what I was afraid of.

I told Chantelle to quietly inform the senior and junior officers over their personal cell TV-phones that I wanted to meet with all of them in the lower flight deck in 20 minutes. She advised against having Ralph and Gerald attending. The two junior communication officers both thought that I was behind the UNESA conspiracy. I followed her advice. I also didn't want George there so I asked Chantelle not to inform him of the meeting.

In order to insure that the three of them wouldn't accidentally walk in on us, I sent them to the cafeteria to make an inventory of the ship's meat supply. I called Ralph and Gerald on their cell TV phones and told them to meet George in the cafeteria; he was on duty on the bridge. I relieved him. He was more than happy to relinquish his watch.

I told all three of them that I wanted an accurate count of how much meat we had, that earlier the master chef had only given me an estimate. I told them that I wanted to make sure we had enough meat without having to ration it like we did the water.

It was a short meeting, lasting only about 20 minutes. Everyone was fearful of what could happen. None of us wanted another Bountiful. Unfortunately, the officers and I came to the conclusion that there wasn't much we could do. But what we could do I intended to inform the crew of. I decided to hold another general assembly in the cafeteria.

After everyone was assembled -- including Gerald, Ralph and George -- I asked Chantelle to ask for volunteers to act as security guards. She needed one to replace Brian who had been killed when the James Cook broke apart and two others to augment her crew due to the onboard unrest.

"Ladies and gentlemen I'm asking for volunteers from among you guys to act as security guards. If you think that you'd like to become a security guard please raise your hand. I will review your personnel files and interview each of you. If you're selected you will be paid extra."

While she was writing their names down, I informed everyone that the five security officers -- Chantelle, Anthony and the three volunteers -- would watch and make sure everyone turned in a knife, fork and spoon when they finished eating their meal.

I continued, "Anyone of y'all not turning in all your utensils will automatically be docked five days pay and whatever cabin you are berthed in will be stripped searched." I wanted to make the price for stealing a knife extremely high.

I had no idea what I was going to do about any knives or other weapons that might already be in the cabins. But I didn't tell them this.

A construction laborer asked why the extra guards and why we were doing this.

"It's for everyone's safety. I'm well aware of the division among y'all and I don't want someone else getting hurt."

"What if I don't take a knife or spoon, how am I going to turn in one if I don't take one?" another construction laborer asked.

"There will be a guard handing out the utensils and the guard will give everyone one knife, one fork and one spoon," I answered him.

While Chantelle was still taking names, I pulled the master chef to the side and whispered to him to inventory the knives he and the cooks used for cooking and then put them under lock and key.

William smiled and told me he had already done that as soon as the rumors began to circulate among the crew. I thanked him for his wisdom and his foresight. He shrugged his shoulders and told me knew exactly what to do. He got his experience as a civilian cook in a military prison.

I turned back to the assembly, "That's all I have to say. Except that any future disturbances or fights will result in ten days in the brig with a loss of ten days pay."

There were some murmurs and whisperings among the crew.

But Chantelle silenced them immediately. "If any of you would like to start your ten days now, I will gladly lock you up."

You could have heard a pin drop after that.

I then dismissed everyone. For what good I was hoping it would do, as they were walking out, I told them that there was no conspiracy, that it was all a figment of their imaginations.

It didn't do any good. Another fight broke out the next day in the TV lounge. The two men involved were arguing about political differences but I'm sure the tension caused by the division among the crew and the talk of conspiracy helped out. One crew member started beating another crew member with a cue stick. The second guy plunged a knife into his heart killing him instantly.

Anthony recorded statements from those present, while Chantelle put the pocket knife and the cue stick in evidence bags and took some photographs of the scene. She also took some photographs of the murderer's face and arms where the victim had been beating him. She put the dead man in a body bag in the meat locker alongside the other two crew members who died from their burns.

Chantelle then escorted the killer to the infirmary and Doc Yves examined him. After, she put him in the brig pending an investigation by United Earth Republic officials upon return to Earth. At which time UER could deal with his illegal knife and decide how to discipline him.

I immediately decided to take advantage of their fight.

I called everyone into the cafeteria again. Quite a number of the crew complained about this second meeting but Chantelle quieted them down by banging the butt of her taser gun on a table. Then, "as I said yesterday, if any of you guys want to do ten days in the brig, I will gladly lock you up."

As soon as everyone was quiet I began. "I guess by now everyone's heard about the fight and murder in the TV lounge. I'm also sure the tension that exists among y'all helped instigate it."

I paused and looked around the cafeteria. People were nodding their heads and whispering to each other.

"In order to help relieve the tension, I'm going to relax somewhat the regulations of who can and can not come upon the flight deck. We're only a few months away from Earth and home. Anyone who doesn't believe that we are heading toward Earth is welcome to come to the bridge and see for themselves where we're heading. Earth is clearly visible as a small blue dot and getting bigger everyday."

I paused again to let that information sink in. Then I gave them the bad news.

"In order to prevent any further deaths I'm going to search everyone's cabin for weapons."

Immediately, there were complaints about searching without a warrant or probable cause and that it was a violation of their rights. But I told them they could take it up with UER government officials when we got back to Earth.

"I remind y'all that we're aboard a spaceship where slightly different laws prevail, not on Earth where all your rights are guaranteed. I'm looking out for the safety of everyone onboard. I don't want another explosion aboard the James Cook nor do I want anyone else murdered."

Chantelle guarded one hatch and Anthony guarded the other hatch. Each had a taser gun, supposedly the only guns aboard the ship.

Then Joshua and I got with Craig, Adam and Tommy -- the three new security officers -- and went into each cabin searching for weapons. It took the five of us about three hours.

We found numerous steak knives stolen from the kitchen and pocket knives with blades longer than five centimeters -- five cm is the UNESA limit. We also confiscated three serrated hunting knives with 15 cm blades and one butterfly knife with a 10 cm blade.

But most importantly, we found a standard military M1911 .45 caliber semiautomatic pistol and holster along with two boxes of ammunition totaling 100 rounds. Joshua, who inherited a rather expensive antique gun collection from his grandfather and knows guns, checked out the nickel plated pistol. Melted led has not been poured down the barrel and it has a firing pin that works!

While we were searching the other berths asked him how he knew the pistol worked. He confessed that he also inherited from his grandfather a functional .357 magnum revolver along with all the other guns that didn't work. When I gave him a surprised look he just smiled. He told me that he built a special shooting range in the basement of his house. Then he used up all the ammunition for it target shooting when he was a younger man. It helped him to become an excellent shot.

Each of the cabins where the knives and gun were found had more than one occupant living in them. Further, all the weapons were found in areas within each berth that was accessible to more than one occupant. The gun was found in an air vent in one of the cabins; it could have belonged to anyone. Therefore we couldn't charge anyone.

But I did inform Chantelle as to which berths the hunting knives and gun were found in so that she could watch those who lived there more closely.

As I was re-entering the cafeteria after we finished searching the cabins, I held the gun high above my head. I was hoping the owner would complain about having their gun confiscated or in the very least give them self away in some other fashion. No one owned up to owning it.

Although I didn't mention them, there were three more reasons I showed the gun to the crew. First of all, I wanted its owner -- whoever he or she was -- to know that I had their gun.

Secondly, I wanted everyone onboard to know that I was taking this conspiracy bullshit and division among the crew members seriously and that I wasn't going to stand by and let it destroy the James Cook.

Finally, I wanted them to know that they might have us outnumbered but now we had them outgunned -- security's two taser guns, the hunting knives and the .45 caliber.

I know I couldn't shoot the pistol. I wasn't that good of a shot and I might pierce the outer hull. But at least I had it.

"Before I dismiss y'all I want to inform y'all that any more fights will result in thirty days in the brig with a subsequent thirty days loss of pay. If I have to I'll have Chantelle handcuff malcontents to the exposed pipes running up the middle of the living section once the five brig cells there fill up."

No one answered me. I again reminded them that we were only a few months away from Earth. Once we were home again then they could air their grievances to anyone and everyone they wanted to.

The steak knives were returned to the kitchen. Chantelle took charge of the other knives, the .45 and the ammunition. I made a note in the ship's log of the knives and gun and another note to myself to inform UNESA officials to be more diligent in searching future spaceships for weapons.