Lost Era 05_ Deny thy Father - Jeff Mariotte [45]
The two squadrons were facing one another now, and Fish Market customers stepped aside for them. Boon shouldered his way to the front of Zeta Squadron’s pack. “Maybe you’re just stupid,” he said. “Did you consider that possibility?”
“Stupid?” Kul Tun Osir came from Quazulu VIII, where intelligence was highly valued, and he usually placed first, or nearly so, in his classes at the Academy. “I must have mis-heard you. You wouldn’t have called us stupid, would you?”
“I think your hearing’s just fine,” Boon shot back.
“Boon,” Dennis said, urgent warning in his tone. Boon ignored him, though.
“Anyone who thinks we cheated is blatantly stupid,” Boon continued. “And anyone who’s so far from done on the last day is doubly so.”
Hasimi Thorp moved on Boon then, faster than anyone could prevent. Will and Paul eyed one another helplessly, both realizing at the same moment that their friendship couldn’t put the brakes on what hot words had inflamed. Hasimi snatched a large frozen fish by the tail off the nearest display table and smacked Boon’s face with it. Boon, stunned by the assault for a moment, gathered his wits and responded, scooping up another fish and throwing it at Hasimi. Naghmeh reacted quickly, grabbing two fish and tossing them both at Boon’s head.
Chaos broke loose, as every member of both squadrons-except Will and Paul, who fruitlessly tried to bring their friends under control-started pelting one another with cold wet seafood. Felicia was cod-walloped, flounder flew, grouper and herring were hurled. Naghmeh pummeled Dennis with a sea bass, while Estresor Fil chucked fistfuls of king crab legs at her. Will recognized what was happening-stress, pressure, and all the tensions of the week exploding into insane release. He was a little worried about injury-those half-frozen fish could be hard, and already he could see blood flowing where Dennis and Ross had been cut-but he figured all in all they would have some innocent fun that would dissipate their anxieties. He was almost tempted to join in.
But that was before he saw the uniformed police officers circling them, phasers out-set to stun, Will hoped, considering the nonlethal nature of the combat. “Guys!” he shouted, and then much louder, “Zeta Squadron, attention!”
That did the trick, for his group at least. They snapped to, well trained enough to respond appropriately to the command. Their sudden surrender alerted Omega Squadron to the presence of the police, as well. Fish were returned to their rightful spots on the display tables, but the damage was done: seafood parts littered the ground, and the cadets-even Paul and Will, who had stood by without participating-were covered in scales and guts and fishy residue.
One of the police officers, who seemed to be in charge, separated herself from the pack and stepped forward, holstering her weapon. “What’s going on here?” she demanded, her nose wrinkling involuntarily at the stink.
“Sir, we’re cadets from Starfleet Academy,” Paul explained quickly. “We’re on a special project, and, well, I guess we got carried away with the competitive spirit. Obviously, we’ll reimburse for any damages.”
“You will at that,” the police officer agreed. “And if I had my way, you’d serve some time as well. But if you’re all from the Academy, I think I’ll just turn you over to Starfleet Security and let them deal with you. Save me some time and trouble.”
“Just wonderful,” Boon muttered, but Estresor Fil silenced him by stomping down on his instep.
“You shut up, Boon,” she hissed. “You got us into this.”
The police officers herded both squadrons to a waiting transport vehicle. Just before leaving the Fish Market stall, Will set down the canister he had held onto throughout the whole fish fight, and pocketed the slip of paper that had issued from it. He had already memorized its brief message: “Congratulations, Zeta Squadron, on the successful completion of your mission.”
Superintendent Vyrek perused her ten charges with the keen eye of an experienced appraiser. They all stood shoulder to shoulder, at attention, in her office,