Hello, my name is Jack.  I gained two names during The War.  The Peloran gave all of us names of animals, and they gave me the name of Hart.  I still don’t entirely understand why they picked that name.  Still, I chose to keep it.  It has a ring to it that I like.  My fellow pilots gave me a name too.  I developed a bit of a reputation for practical jokes back then.  I do truly understand why they gave me that name.

 

 

Jester

 

It was Oh Dark Thirty and Jack was bored.

It was never good when he got bored.  Back home, people had learned that a bored Jack was a scary Jack.  Not that he was dangerous of course.  But when he was bored, he always looked for something to fill the time.  Whatever it was usually made him smile, or maybe giggle like a schoolgirl if it was particularly amusing.  And it usually resulted in other people running away.

Right now, he was bored.  Very bored.

Jasmine and Betty stood on either side of the watchtower, in their preferred clothing since they were alone with him, scanning Leif Erikson Spacebase for any irregularities.  He watched too, but in all honesty they were much better watchers than he was.  They never got bored.

Jack frowned in suspicion as an thought occurred to him.  “Are you two playing games right now?”

The two cybers glanced at each before turning to shrug towards Jack.  Betty answered with a smile.

Jack sighed.  “I wish I could.”

“That would be against regs,” Jasmine supplied in a commiserating voice.

“For me,” Jack grumped.  “You girls have it so lucky.”

The two cybers rolled their eyes in unison and returned to scanning the base.  Not that they’d really stopped when they looked at him of course.  Still, it was the appearances that mattered.  He stood up and walked around the inside of the tower, staring out at the early morning darkness that covered the base.

Jack frowned and slapped his hands on his knees.  “OK.  This is bull.  I need something to do.  Anyone up for strip poker?”

Jasmine and Betty crossed their arms, cocked their heads, and just stared at him.

Jack gave a disappointed sigh at their response.  “I’ll take that as a ‘no’ I suppose.”

Jack walked over and sat down at the watchtower’s main control console.  He cleared his throat, drummed his fingers on the console, and looked out into the darkness.  The cybers returned to watching and he felt more precious time crawl by.  He hated having nothing to do, and this was just starting to make him go crazy.  And very, very bored.

Jack sighed.  This was ridicules.  “OK.  How about we plan to do something?”

“Like what?” Betty asked.

Jack shrugged and waved his hand at the console.  “I don’t know.  Something that makes me laugh, so I can at least anticipate the end of this soul-sucking boredom.”

“Don’t like watching?” Jasmine asked.

Jack grunted in annoyance.  “There’s nothing interesting to watch.  All those guys are doing down there is sleeping!  Oh, if there’s something interesting to watch, I’m happy to, but I’ll always love doing a whole lot more,” he finished with a wink.

Jasmine laughed back.  “Duly noted.  So what do you want to do?”

Jack leaned back in his chair and furrowed his brow in thought.  Finally something came to mind and he smiled.  “What those tech wizards yesterday failed to do?”

Jasmine and Betty looked at each other in confusion.  Betty finally raised one eyebrow, questioning what he meant.

Jack chuckled.  “Scare the crap out of Leif Erikson Spacebase.”

Jasmine rubbed her chin for a moment, in deep thought.  “Didn’t Charles said not to wake him?” she asked with a sly smile.

Jack gave her an answering smile.  “Then we don’t.  We do it at Reveille.”

Betty smiled at him, brought both hands behind her back, and cocked her head to the side, asking what he was thinking about.

Jack shrugged.  “I don’t know…maybe we could start with fireworks?”

Jasmine shared a gaze with Betty before answering.  “Not very scary,” she finally said.

Betty smiled, nodding for Jack to continue.

Jack chuckled.  “Not until the fireworks start exploding at street level all over the assembled marines.”

Betty laughed and shook her head at him.  Jasmine looked at him in surprise.

“Holographic of course,” he said with a smile and a shrug.  “I’d love some better ideas.  Come on and spill if you got any,” he added with a wink.

Betty looked out at the base and shifted back and forth.  “We could get in serious trouble for disrupting Reveille,” she said with a shake of her head.

Jack’s smile broadened.  “Well, of course we wouldn’t want to disturb it,” he returned and she turned back to him.  “That’s why we start the fun after Reveille.”  He frowned as a new thought came to mind.  “Say, are the Devildogs still on base?”

Betty blinked in surprise and cocked her head to the side as she accessed the information.  “Yes.  They are scheduled to finish their packing for transport to the fleet tomorrow.”

Jack smiled in a conspiratorial manner.  “Good.  I may have a job for them.”

The cybers exchanged a doubtful glance and Betty pursed her lips at him.  “I don’t know if this is a good idea, Jack,” she warned him.

Jack chuckled at the two cybers.  “Nonsense.  It’s a great idea!” he said with upraised arms.

Betty sighed and shook her head.  “You are going to get in so much trouble.”

Jack chuckled at them.  “Not if they don’t catch us,” he said with a wink.  “Unless you think you’re not up to being able to do something like this without getting caught of course.”

Both cybers cybers bristled at the idea that they weren’t good enough.

Jack smiled at them with a face full of cherubic innocence.

Betty’s eyes narrowed.  “You don’t fool me, mister.”

Jasmine giggled.  “But he’s right,” she said towards Betty.  “It would be so much fun.”

Betty glanced at Jasmine and they shared the silent communication the two cybers always had.  Betty finally sighed and gave Jack a reluctant smile.  “Fine.  I guess I’m in too.”

Jack clapped his hands in joy.  “Excellent!  This is going to be fun.  So…any ideas on improving the plan?”

Betty shook her head and smiled at him.  “Your vision, Jack,” she said and waved a hand at him to get thinking.

Jasmine cocked here head to the side and tapped her cheek.  “I might have a few ideas.”

Betty sighed and shook her head in defeat.  “Fine,” she whispered with manifest reluctance.

Jack laughed.  “That’s the spirit!”

Jasmine laughed and began helping him plan the morning’s festivities.  After a few minutes, Betty emitted a long sigh of disapproval, and gave an idea of her own.  Finally, the minutes stopped crawling by, and Jack truly began to enjoy his time brainstorming.  They shot down most of his ideas, but in all honesty he’d always enjoyed the brainstorming as much as the actual prank.  And he so loved having conspirators who could think even faster than he could.

Jack found his eyes stopping on Jasmine, and he studied her lithe form for a long time.  A feeling of…melancholy began to fill him and he smiled.  She hadn’t been around much lately, and it felt good to have her blue jeans and tank top back here, if even for a short time.

She returned his gaze with a questioning gaze.  “What?”

Jack shrugged.  “Just thinking I’m going to miss you.”

Jasmine cocked her head to the side.  “What do you mean?”

Jack smiled.  “Norman.”  He nodded in the direction of Samantha’s house, far enough away that even he couldn’t see it.  “It’s pretty clear how you feel there.”

Jasmine blushed.  “Oh.  Well.”  She answered his smile.  “You do know we can be in multiple places at once, right?”

Jack nodded with good grace.  “Of course.  But you only ever have one place you really live.”

Jasmine shared a glance he couldn’t decipher with Betty before sitting down on the window ledge.  “That’s true.”  She stared at him for a long time.  “So what do you want me to do?”

Jack sighed and spent several seconds thinking before answering.  “Be happy.”

Jasmine and Betty shared another undecipherable look.  “The coward’s answer,” Jasmine whispered.

“Hey!” Jack erupted.  “It’s the truth!  I’ve seen how you and Norman are together!  I can’t…” the words faded away and he shook his head in anger.

“You can’t what?” Jasmine asked.  When he didn’t answer, she sighed.  “Jack, Jack, Jack,” she whispered in a sing-song tone.  “What do you want? Not what do you want for me?”

Jack shook his head, and let out a long breath.  “Honestly, Jazz, you and Drew were…awesome.”  He smiled at her.  “No other words for it.  You and Norman are the same, and he’s got a good family.  Never underestimate how special that is.  Just stay here.  You’re alive when most cybers aren’t.  Don’t throw that second chance away by following some guy that could eat a missile tomorrow,” Jack finished and looked away from her, clasping his hands behind his back.

A cyber’s feathery touch brushed his shoulder and Jack glanced over without turning his head.  He recognized Betty’s hand, let out a long breath, and brought his up to hold it.  She would never leave, no matter what.  That was her bargain.  And he would never give up.  That was his bargain.  But his only bargain with Jasmine was that he would help her live.

Jasmine slid over to sit on the window ledge before him, a soft smile on her face.  “So it really is my happiness you worry about?  And my life?”

Jack nodded without reservation.  “Yes.  You’ve got a chance to live forever with that family and be happy.  Take it.”

Jasmine laughed and shook her head.  “And there’s the rub,” she whispered.

Jack raised his eyes to look at her, one eyebrow raised in a question.

She smiled back at him.  “Do you know what I enjoy the most out of anything I’ve ever been or done?”

Jack swallowed, thinking he knew exactly what she meant.  Flying really was amazing, but it wasn’t everything.  “Jazz, I had a family and friends and everything I could ever want back home.  If I could, I’d go back to that.  That’s everything.  It’s better than flying.”

Jasmine nodded slowly and pushed away from the window, standing tall in front of him.  “I couldn’t have said it better myself,” she said with a smile.

Jack had the sinking feeling that his words hadn’t had the effect he’d wanted.  “Jazz,” he tried one last time.

She raised a hand to stop him.  “Jack,” she said over her shoulder.  “I’m just not good at playing a house cyber,” she whispered with a wry smile.  “I chose to be born a ship cyber.  I’m not going to give that up.”

Jack nodded slowly.  “I can’t talk you out of it?” he asked in a sad tone.

Jasmine shook her head with a firm motion.  “You’re not getting rid of me.  So man up, stand up, and let’s get back to work,” she ordered.

Jack came to his feet without hesitation, then shook his head in amazement.  He wondered if she had any idea how much she’d changed in the last month.  Probably.  But maybe not too.  Blindspots were never as powerful as when they covered oneself after all.  Jack smiled at her.  “Yes, Ma’am,” he said in the tone of voice he used for amazing women.

Jasmine placed her fists on her hips and glared at Jack.  “And don’t be using that tone of voice with me.  I’m not one of your scrumpets.”

Jack chuckled.  “Yes, Ma’am,” he said in his superior officer tone.

“Better.”

Jack turned to Betty and cocked his head to the side, asking her if this is what she wanted.

Betty answered with a smile and slight nod of her head.

“I saw that,” Jasmine announced.

Jack and Betty rolled their eyes.

“Well then, where were we again?” Jack asked and turned back to their work.

“The wolves,” Jasmine and Betty answered in unison.

“Ah yes, how could I forget them?  Do you think the Devildogs would enjoy chasing them away?”

They continued planning and working, industrious little jokers, until the first notes of Reveille began and they had to salute the flag rising before the base headquarters.  The marines assembled in front of it looked great, in perfect formation all the way through to the end.  Even the cannon shot went off with perfect timing, echoing across the base and declaring to all in earshot that a new day had come with the rising of the first sun over the distant horizon.

And then the fireworks began, first high up in the air, and then lower and lower and lower until they swept through the assembled marines.  Wolves howled in the distance, pandemonium split the ranked formations apart, and the Jesters ruled the base as more and more of their ideas erupted into being around the targets that really should be on their toes enough to deal with them.  This was after all a military base.

The tech wizards from yesterday would be so jealous at being upstaged.