Tales Of The Rocket Patrol Read online

  Tales of the Rocket Patrol

  Written by P.J. Lowry

  Published by P.J. Lowry at Smashwords

  Copyright 2013 P.J. Lowry

  License Note:

  Thank you for downloading this ebook. This book remains the copyrighted property of the author, and may not be reproduced, copied and distributed for commercial or non-commercial purposes.

  If you enjoyed this book, please encourage your friends to download their own copy at Smashwords.com where they can also discover other works by this author.

  Thank you for your support.

  When his rocket descended towards the planet, its pilot couldn’t help but feel apprehensive. He wasn’t afraid of fire but re-entry always made the hairs on the back of his head stick up.

  “Commander Roderick.” the system called out. “You are not breathing.”

  “I’m just holding my breath.” Roderick replied. “I’m nervous.”

  “Structural integrity is holding at ninety-seven percent.” the rocket replied as it continued to dart through the flames. “There is nothing to fear.”

  “Except fear itself.” Roderick whispered to himself as he closed his eyes and took a deep breath. While he was confident in the machine and its ability to take a beating, Roderick always feared that the ship would break down and he would burn to death. It never did, but that never stopped him from worrying about it every time he entered someone atmosphere. But as usual, his fears were for nothing as the ship broke through and the flames faded out of sight.

  “We have entered the atmosphere of Vector Twelve.”

  The pilot breathed a little deeper and sighed as the worst was over. “Set course for landing zone five.”

  “Course has been set, approaching landing zone five.”

  Roderick waited as the ship made its way to the desired location and then made a perfect touchdown.

  “We have landed on Vector Twelve.”

  “Thank you.” Roderick said as he unstrapped himself from his seat and began to remove his space suit. Vector was a name that the pilot and his fellow workers reserved for moons that were capable of sustaining life. This moon was actually located near a gigantic planetary mass known as Sub-Prime Alpha. The massive planet, which was roughly the size of Jupiter, was uninhabitable so it was ironic to discover that four of its seventeen moons were. It was his job to patrol the moons, to make sure there were no problems, no conflicts that would result in bloodshed and possibly the loss of life.

  As Roderick stepped out of the rocket ship, he took with him a bag that held rations for a few days travel, a change of clothes, weapons and other things he needed to bring with him for his mission. “How long until sundown?” he asked the rocket.

  “Sub-Prime Apha will block the sun in three hours, seventeen minutes.”

  “Guess I better get going then.” Roderick replied as he put the bag on his back. “Lock up.” The doors closed and the ship closed all it’s windows with a thick plating of metal. It was locked down to prevent anyone from breaking in. Once the ship was secure, Roderick began what was going to be a decent hike into town.

  There were several colonies on the moons of Sub-Prime Alpha. Some of them were small like the one he was visiting today, while others were pretty much mega cities. Usually when he was visiting a mega city or a colony that was open to unlimited technology, there was no need to park outside of town. But this colony was a settlement that scowled on technology and only used a sparse amount of it, only enough to help them live a simple life. Rather than upset the folks with his space ship, the pilot always did the respectful thing which was to park his contraption far out of the town limits and walk in on the two feet God gave him. It was an approach that hadn’t failed to keep tensions low whenever he came into town.

  Roderick took different paths into town, so it would be more difficult for people who were curious to find his ship. He didn’t mind the walk either as he could use the exercise after sitting on his arse in a spacecraft for so many hours a day. As Roderick was coming down a hill, he stopped as he could have sworn he heard something. “Did you hear that?” he asked.

  “Someone is crying for help.” Even thought he was away from it, Roderick always kept in constant communication through an interface that was inserted behind his ear directly into his brain. This was a secret that was only kept between Roderick and his fellow pilots. He even carried a radio to fool people into thinking that is how he communicated with his ship. I rouse that often saved his life.

  “Where is it coming from?” Roderick asked.

  “I am picking up a life form south east of your location.”

  “I’m going to investigate.”

  “I should warn you that Sub-Prime Alpha…”

  “I’m aware of the time.” Roderick replied as he didn’t care. “Someone’s in trouble, you can guide me to town after I take care of this.”

  “Affirmative, Commander Roderick.”

  Roderick was aware that he was already running late, but this wasn’t something a man of his statuette could ignore. This was after all his job, to protect people. He deviated from his trail and began to move towards where he though the cry had come from. Soon there was another sound that caught his attention. “What the hell was that?”

  “That was a Sabre Lion, Commander.”

  Roderick kept moving in that direction, but drew his sidearm to be prepared to defend himself. Once the situation came into sight, Roderick was able to see what was going on. A small child, no more than ten had climbed into a tree to get away from the Sabre Lion. The creature chased the child and was clawing away at the tree but unable to climb after what it was hoping would be its next meal.

  “I am detecting that the Sabre Lion’s adrenaline has its heart racing at top efficiency. Hitting it with a stun ray will have no effect.”

  “I was afraid of that.” Roderick replied as he set sidearm to lethal. He didn’t like to take life any kind of life, but never backed away if the situation deemed it absolutely necessary. There was a child that needed his help and if that Lion refused to retreat, he would put it down. As Roderick approached the situation, he picked up a stone and tossed it in the direction of the Sabre Lion to get its attention. When the lion finally noticed he was there, it began to charge.

  “The Sabre Lion is attacking.”

  “I can see that.” Roderick replied as he quickly aimed his gun at the approaching beast and fired. A small pale blue fireball exploded out of the small gun and hit the beast square in the chest. Upon impact the animal exploded as if someone had shoved a grenade down its throat. A light green ooze, which was the beast’s blood splattered in all directions at least twenty feet. Roderick wasn’t close enough to get drenched, but some of it caught his boots. “I just had those cleaned.” Roderick said as he walked closer to the tree.

  “There were two more Sabre Lions in your area, but they retreated after you discharged your weapon.”

  “Affirmative” Roderick said as he slowly approached the tree. He slowly lowered his gun and put it back into its holster. “Hi there.”

  “Hello.” The child called back. Roderick could now see that the child in the tree was a small girl.

  “Are you all right?” he quickly asked. She didn’t respond but based on what he could see she only had a few scrapes and bruises. Roderick held out his arms to her. “You can come down now. They’ve all run off.”

  After a short pause, the little girl reached out and took his hand and fell into his arms. Roderick carried her a few feet from the tree so she wouldn’t get green ooze from the deceased lion on her feet. He then put her down on the ground. “My name is Commander Benjamin Roderick of the Rocket Patrol.”

  “I’m Emma.” the little gi
rl replied.

  “It’s nice to meet you Emma.” Roderick said as he shook her hand. “Can you walk?”

  “Yes, Sir.” She answered.

  He offered her his hand. “Let’s get back into town before the sun is completely blocked out.”

  “Two hours, eleven minutes.”

  “Thank you for the update.” Roderick called out.

  “Who are you talking to?” she asked.

  “It’s not important.” Roderick answered. “Let’s get going.”

  It took Roderick and Emma close to an hour to walk back to town and the sun was just starting to get blocked out by Sub-Prime Alpha. The problem was when the sun was blocked out by the planet it would take three days for it to come back out on the other side of the massive planet. It was going to be dark for quite some time and Roderick preferred to be back in town by the time the sun was completely out of the picture for the next seventy two hours. He had nothing to worry about as both he and Emma made good time and were back with sunlight to spare. Usually, Roderick would b-line for one of the salons for something to eat, but considering that he had a child with him, it was probably best to return the little girl to her home first.

  The township of Huntersville was not exactly something you would expect to see considering the technology that was available in the twenty-fifth century. Much like the Amish of the past, these folks preferred to live off as little technology as possible. They used technology help them with their food supply because the seasons were too out of whack to grow a crop on their own. That still never stopped some from trying. Walking into Huntersville, you would have sworn you walked back into the Wild West, which was always why Roderick volunteered to come out to this colony. He liked them and their simple ways, and they liked Roderick for not being a judgemental prick like the some of the other members of the Patrol. The town looked very nostalgic, something that his fellow patrolmen just couldn’t appreciate.

  Once they strolled within the town limits, Roderick took one knee. “Emma, I need you to walk me to your parent’s house. I’ll make sure they go easy on you. Okay?”

  The young girl nodded. “Okay.”

  Roderick walked with Emma as she led the way to a small cabin that near the outskirts of town. Once they reached the door, Roderick softly knocked on the door and waited. A few moments later, a lady about twenty years older than Emma opened the door.

  “Emma! Where have you been?” a moment later she realized that her daughter wasn’t alone. “I’m sorry, who are you?”

  “Good evening Ma’am.” Roderick replied. “My name is Commander Benjamin Roderick of the Rocket Patrol.”

  “Commander.” She acknowledged. “Is Emma in trouble?”

  “No Ma’am.” Roderick replied. “I just bumped into her outside town and since I was heading this way, I wanted to make sure she got home safely.”

  “Oh, thank you.” the lady replied as she opened the door a little more. “Emma, go wash up for dinner.”

  “Have a good night, Ma’am.” Roderick said as he began to back up.

  “Good night, and thank you for bringing Emma home.” She replied.

  “My pleasure.” Roderick said before walking back toward the road. As he strolled down towards the salon, he calmly whispered. “Inform command that I have arrived in Huntersville for assignment.”

  “Confirmation sent.”

  Things looked the same as they usually did in the rural town. People were doing their business, walking around. Motorized vehicles were not permitted in town, only horses and carriages. It was a custom Roderick went out of his way to respect every time he came to visit and conduct his monthly reviews. “Monitor all channels and contact me if there are any unauthorized life signs within two hundred miles of town. Maintain radio silence unless something urgent comes up or until asked.”

  “Affirmative, Commander.”

  Roderick had been here many times before, so he was getting a good feel for how the town was mapped out. He was polite and greeted every person he passed with a nod, wishing them a good evening. As a member of the Patrol, he wanted to be friendly and outgoing so that when people did have problems, they would not be afraid to approach him. Sending the same patrolman into Huntersville was also a wise move as it built trust among the townspeople who were very untrusting of the people who lived off of advanced technology. Roderick has been making this run into Huntersville for almost two years and compared to the first time he showed up, he could tell the folk here were getting used to him. It was a gradual process and while the other patrolmen couldn’t grasp the idea of living out on the moon with only the most basic tech, Roderick enjoyed visiting Huntersville as the simple life was almost like a vacation to get away from everything and recharge his batteries. Finally Roderick could see the Saloon where he always stayed when he was in town. While not the fanciest place in town to stay, Roderick has a soft spot in his heart for the old place as they not only provided a decent room to stay but having a bar and a good poker game only a few feet away didn’t hurt either. The salon’s staff was always very friendly to him as well and giving as much business to local shops was a good thing too.

  As Roderick strolled through the swinging door, he could hear the barkeep call him from bar. “Ben! About time you showed yer face!”

  “I had to make a detour.” Roderick said as he approached the bar. “How are things going around here Jethro?”

  “Not much changes ‘round here, Ben.” Jethro replied as he set up a shot glass and filled it with homemade whiskey. “Welcome back, Commander.”

  “Thanks, Jethro.” Roderick said as he picked up the glass and drained it. “Damn it, Jethro! That’s some strong shit!”

  “Puts hairs on yer chest!” Jethro joked.

  “That it will.” Roderick agreed.

  “Magg Pie is a little upset.” Jethro said. “She doesn’t like it when you’re late. Dinner might get cold.”

  “Ah, I forgot about dinner.” Roderick said as he handed his bag to Jethro. “Put that behind the bar, I’ll be right back.”

  Roderick walked back to the kitchen where an older lady, around her late fifties was slaving in the kitchen to make food for the patrons. “Maggs, I’m sorry for being late.”

  “You had better give me a good excuse to go with that apology, Ben.” Maggs called back out. Roderick liked Maggs. She was a hard working woman that everyone looked up to like a mother. She was also hard on him when he didn’t make his bed in the mornings. He thought it was cute.

  Roderick put one leg up on the chair beside her. “Look at my boot.”

  Maggs turned around and looked at his boot. “Ew, what is that shit?”

  “A Sabre Lion, or what’s left of it.” Roderick said as he took his foot off the chair. “It was trying to eat a local girl who had wandered too far out of town. That’s why I’m late.”

  Maggs responded by giving him a smile. “I believe you. There’s no way you’d muck up your boots just to get out of trouble.”

  ”That is true.” Roderick confirmed.

  She gave him a hug and then playfully slapped him on the shoulder. “Now go wash up for dinner.”

  “Yes, Ma’am.” Roderick said as he walked out to the bathroom to wash up. He didn’t mind her mothering as it was part of the charm that he liked so much about the saloon. He went back to Jethro and took his bag and the key to his room before going upstairs. Once in his room, he changed his shirt, put his bag in the corner and went to think in his room to freshen up. Roderick had an electronic console on his left arm. It looked like a digital watch that covered over half his forearm. It was used to keep in touch with the ship as well as other things. He usually almost never took it off, and chose to wear a dress shirt so that he could hide it at the dinner table. Roderick then washed his hands as Maggs had asked and straightened out his hair before coming back downstairs for dinner.

  Maggs always went all out the first night Roderick came to town, and tonight was no different. Roast beef, mashed potatoes, Corn on the
cob as well as Yorkshire pudding, which Maggs made only for him. With gravy slathered all over it, Roderick enjoyed ever bite. The only way he could have complimented Maggs more would be to lick the plate. When everything was finished, Roderick helped clear the table and went back to the kitchen to help Maggs do the dishes. “Once again Maggs, that meal was to die for.”

  “Thanks hun.” Maggs said without turning away from the dishes. “Is there something I can help you with?”

  “Nope.” Roderick said as he grabbed a clothe and nudged her out of the way. “I’ll clean and you dry. You know where to put everything so we’ll be able to finish this a lot faster.”

  “Thank you, Ben.” Maggs said with a smile as she grabbed a dish towel to do the drying.

  “I’m the one who should be thanking you.” Roderick said as he started scrubbing the first plate. “You and Jethro make this trip well worth the effort. I feel like I’m visiting family, which is why I happily volunteer to come out here for the Rocket Patrol.”

  “Thanks hun.” Maggs said again. “You’re proof that not all those Space Cowboys are full of themselves.”

  “Some are.” Roderick confessed. “I could give you a few names.”

  “Not necessary.” Maggs said as she slapped him in the arm with her dish towel. “Not pick things up or we’ll be here all night.”

  “Yes, Ma’am.”

  Roderick woke up around seven that morning. He could have slept in if he wanted to but for some reason, his body was used to waking up that early everyday no matter what planet or moon he was on. He hooped out of bed, splashed some water in his face from the sink and cleaned himself up. As a neutral arbitrator for the territory, Roderick dressed himself in something a little more formal, just to give people the impression that the Rocket Patrol was taking the people’s grievances very seriously. When he came down the stairs, Maggie was eager to offer him something for breakfast. “I’m not too hungry right now Mags.” Roderick said as he came down. He paused for a moment and took a deep breath and sighed as a pleasant aroma filled his nostrils. “Are those biscuits?”