Date: Tue, 04 Oct 2005 16:49:12 +0000
From: Douglas DD DD <thehakaanen@hotmail.com>
Subject: The Boys of Lady Lex Chapter 59

The "Lexington" is in a fight for survival, battling the "Orion" on a
beautiful green baseball field when real life intrudes on the games. We
hope you enjoy the new turn to our story. <Ben and Douglas>

The Boys of the Lady Lex
Chapter 59
"Fields of War"

Written By Douglas DD and Benjamin T. C.

It's funny how life works out, Douglas mused as he took his warm-up tosses
in the home team bullpen. Two weeks of games, competition, sweat, laughter,
hugs, and tears. And it all comes down to this. The Lady Lex's battle for
survival comes down to one game. The running score of the JFSA Olympics
said it all: "Orion" 300, "Lexington" 295. The championship varsity
baseball game was the last game left on the Olympic schedule; the "Orion"
versus the Lady Lex. The game was worth ten points. Even Ben can do the
math, Douglas thought with a sudden giggle, as his pitch flew wide of Ben's
waiting glove.

"Come on Douglas, concentrate," Ben shot back.

"Sorry." He's right; I'd better concentrate-especially considering who I'm
pitching against. In a final twist of irony, the boy was David Lee, his
rival since almost the first day of middle school, almost four years
ago. Thinking of him brought to mind the phone call of the night before,
and the thought of that phone call sent his next pitch sailing over Ben's
head.

"Damn it Douglas, concentrate!" Ben admonished once again.

Ben, Jesse, Scottie, Scooter, Jeff, Mike, TJ, Ryan and he were all in
Mike's room watching the highlights of the day's games. As the cadet CO,
Mike had one of the larger hotel rooms. The finals for academics,
wrestling, and hockey had been on the schedule, and they were watching the
hockey finals. Jesse was leaning against Scottie with a huge grin on his
face. He had never been happier in his life. As the clip of his game
winning goal came on, the phone rang. The boys all ignored it, cheering
instead for Jesse's heroics. Scottie gave Jesse a long, hard passionate
kiss as they watched Jesse's arms shoot up into the air, as the red light
behind the goal lit up.

They all knew what the win meant. They all knew that the only two games
left on Saturday were the baseball and basketball varsity and JV
finals. They all knew that, with the heartbreaking 3-2 loss of the JV
baseball team on Thursday to the "Spirit", the only team the "Orion" and
the "Lexington" had left was their varsity baseball team. And they all knew
the varsity baseball game the next day would not only determine the
baseball champion, but the Olympic champion as well.

Through all this the phone kept on ringing.

"So, shut-up already," Ryan yelled, but he finally picked it up with an
annoyed "hello".

"It's for you, Douglas," Ryan said, handing him the phone.

"Me? Who is it?"

"I don't know, but the voice sounds too old to be your brother."

Douglas took the phone. "Hello?"

"Hi, Douglas." There was no doubt in his mind whose voice was on the other
end of the line.

"David?"

"Smart boy. Can I call you Sherlock?"

Douglas ignored the sarcastic question. "How did you know I was here?"

"Maybe you can call me Sherlock. The front desk knew where you were, and
connected me. You Triple L juvies have to be kept track of."

Douglas was about to say he was no juvie, but figured that would be an
insult to his friends and the Lady Lex cadets. He figured his best response
was to hang up, but curiosity got the better of him.

"What do you want, David?"

Every boy in the room was concentrating on the phone call, even though they
could only hear Douglas's end of the conversation. Douglas clicked the
button to activate the speakerphone.

"Assuming you have anyone there who can do the math, you probably know what
tomorrow's game means, just like we do." TJ was about to say something, but
Douglas held up his hand and silenced him.

"Is there a point to all this?"

"Of course there is. Douglas, you have choked against me all your
life. Your little theft of my shuttle was nothing. It was there, you took
it. You had nothing to do with taking the flags. Whenever it's really,
truly, been me and you, I've always been the one to come out on
top. Tomorrow won't be any different. You and your sad ship of losers are
going down tomorrow. You all deserve each other."

Douglas had finally heard enough. He cut the connection and looked around
the room, fuming.

"Ignore him," Mike said. "He's just trying to get into your head. Talk is
cheap."

Ben came over to Douglas and put his arm around his shoulder, giving him a
kiss on the cheek. "Tomorrow, you shut him up for good," Ben said.

"Yeah, for good," Douglas said quietly. He didn't sound very convincing,
even to himself.

He was ready. The Lady Lex was the home team, so he would be pitching to
start the game. He grabbed his jacket, even though he really didn't need it
on the warm summer day. But, his dad, the doctor, insisted his pitchers
keep a jacket over their arms between innings.

The stands were packed. Tickets to this game were actually being
scalped. The baseball stadium held 21,000 people, and 3,000 temporary
bleacher seats had been installed as well. Douglas took a deep
breath. Between the packed stands, the phone call of the night before, and
what was riding on this game, the pressure on the fourteen year old boy was
incredibly intense.

Douglas and Ben went into the dugout. Douglas sat next to Trevor, who was
one of the three bat boys. Trevor had pitched his heart out in the loss to
the "Spirit" and was disappointed he wasn't playing for the JV title, which
had been won by the "Spirit". But he was happy to be one of the
batboys. Nipper and Andrew were the other two.

The line-ups were introduced and the players lined up along the foul lines
in front of their dugout. Douglas' heart was hammering as he stood gazing
into the crowd, thinking of the person he wished could be there and wasn't
- his mother.

The coaches, captains, and umpires went through the pre-game meeting and
Douglas finally trudged to the mound. It was time to determine the future
of the Lady Lex.

*****

Admiral Natter gazed over the crowded stadium, and then out onto the
dazzling green of the baseball field itself. The day was perfect, the sky a
cloudless blue, and the temperature in the low eighties. One could not ask
for a better day for a baseball game.

He, more than anybody, knew what was at stake in this game.  The game was
about more than the baseball championship trophy, or the Olympic title; it
was about the survival of a program that had been more successful than
anybody had dreamed.

If it was his decision, the game would only be about the trophies. The
"Lexington" and her cadets had proved their worth. Stephen Hatcher had
performed a miracle. But the decision wasn't his, it was Admiral Whitaker's
and, for whatever irrational reason, he was adamant that the Lady Lex had
to win in order to survive. That was what everyone had agreed on, and
everyone had known the consequence of not winning. But, Natter mused,
nobody ever thought the "Lexington" would come even close. He doubted
whether even Stephen Hatcher had had any idea of how successful his project
would be.

The calls to the talk shows had been lively. From what he heard, most of
the callers were sympathetic to the Lady Lex, and felt the project should
survive regardless of the outcome of the Olympics. But, many callers also
felt a deal was a deal and there was a lesson to be learned, win or
lose. If the reaction of the crowd to the introduction of the teams was any
indication, the fans were behind the Lady Lex.

Natter was sitting in a private VIP suite. His aides had set up a
communication center behind him, and from the messages he had been
receiving he was wondering if this all might be for nothing.

*****

Ambassador Bergen fought off the fatigue that was eating away at him. The
last week had been incredibly stressful, both professionally and
personally. Despite all the setbacks and attempts at sabotage, a great deal
of progress had been made in the peace talks. Even the antics of the Kriton
fleet and the meddling of Admiral Whitaker hadn't been able to stop things
from moving.

Then, a week ago, Ambassador Ka started coming up with new and, in his
opinion, unreasonable demands. The biggest was the removal of the "Earth
threat" from the frontier between SFA space and Kriton space.

"I'm not sure I understand what you're talking about, Ambassador," Bergen
had said when he read the demand.

"Your Earth fleet has moved to the edge of the frontier," the Kriton
ambassador replied coolly.

"Yes, in response to the maneuvering of your fleet."

"Our fleet is on legitimate military maneuvers. At no time have we
threatened you, and yet in the middle of these talks, you move your fleet
hastily to the edge of the frontier."

This conversation, of course, went on and on, as diplomatic conversations
tend to do, with little change on the position of either side. What
Ambassador Bergen did not know, was that Ambassador Ka was no happier with
the direction of the talks than Ambassador Bergen.  He was only following a
new and aggravating directive from the Kriton Military Council. And, of
course, what Admiral Ka didn't know was that Ambassador Bergen's responses
were being orchestrated more and more by Admiral Whitaker.

 The second kidnapping of his son had also taken its toll on him. If he had
had hopes of an ally in Admiral Whitaker, whose son had also been kidnapped
by Jake Masters, those hopes were quickly dashed. Whitaker's one and only
concern seemed to be how to throw monkey wrenches into the peace talks. He
left the problem of his son's kidnapping to his aides. Bergen couldn't even
begin to understand how a father could be so callous.

When the good news of Matt's rescue came, it was tempered by the news that
Matt had killed Jake Masters. Bergen quickly assigned the best lawyers
available to Matt, and was ready to leave the talks to be with his son if
necessary. A radiophone conversation with Matt left him content that his
son was okay. He assured his father he had good friends and would be looked
after. Maybe the biggest surprise was his request to become a cadet on the
"Orion" in the fall. The ambassador couldn't help but be pleased with the
request, and set right to work to make it so. When he found out that one
reason for the request was his son's friendship with Tim Whitaker, the
admiral's son, he could only muse that it was a very small galaxy after
all.

*****

Douglas couldn't find the plate. The crowd, the stakes, his dislike of
David and of the "Orion" all played on his mind. His first eight pitches
had been balls and runners now occupied first and second base. David was
the next batter. Ben came out to talk to him.

"Just throw strikes," Ben said.

"That's easy enough for you to say," Douglas replied. "You're not standing
out here on the mound."

"If you can't take the heat then get the fuck out of the kitchen."

"Just go catch the ball, okay?"

Ben wanted to say more, but he knew this wasn't the time. He trotted back
to his position. Douglas took the sign and threw. Ball one. Ben put down
the next sign and Douglas shook it off. Twice. Ben went with Douglas's
pitch. It was at eyeball level. Ball two.

Ben called for a change up. Douglas shook it off. Ben gave it
again. Douglas shook it off again. Come on, Douglas, Ben said to himself,
everybody in the ballpark is expecting a fastball here. He gave the sign
one more time; Douglas shook it off one more time.

Okay, it's your funeral. Ben signaled fastball.

Douglas smiled inwardly. Okay, David, you bastard, hit this. Douglas reared
back and threw his fastball, putting every once of energy he had into
it. Douglas watched as the ball zipped to the plate, waiting for it to do
something other than make a beeline down the middle. What David saw was a
fastball in his wheelhouse. As soon as the bat hit the ball nobody in the
ballpark doubted the outcome. The only question now, was how far would the
ball go before it came down?

***** Captain Hatcher was watching the game from his seat behind home
plate. The captain of the "Orion", Captain Chase Hunter, was sitting beside
him.

"Every time I sit next to an opposing captain, I get accused of being a
traitor," Hunter said with a laugh.

"The kids believe we should hate each other as much as they do," Hatcher
said, laughing along with Hunter.

"Well, in the case of Avery and the `Port Royal" they just might be right."
Hunter's statement brought out another hearty laugh from both captains.

"In all seriousness, Steve, and if you repeat this I will deny ever having
said it, I hope you win this game."

"Oh?"

"Yes, I do. The `Orion' will have plenty of chances to win it all. Our
seniors aren't our real talent. But in your case, this game means
survival. It's not fair that it does, but we both know what Admiral Peter
Whitaker is like."

"I appreciate the support, Chase."

"I'm not alone in this feeling. I'm not talking about the kids. They want
to kick your ass, as well they should. I'm talking about those in the SFA
who appreciate the little miracle you pulled off. They not only like what
you've done for your cadets, but they also take a perverse pleasure in your
tweaking Whitaker's nose. You heard the amount of applause your kids got
during the introductions."

Hatcher watched the second batter trot to first base on a walk. "Douglas is
going to have to find the strike zone real soon, or it all is going to
become moot really fast."

When Douglas finally did throw a strike the crack of David's bat almost
made Hatcher wish he hadn't.

*****

Ambassador Bergen watched Ambassador Ka walk out of the meeting room, his
ceremonial robes flying behind him. The walkout was not a surprise; Bergen
had been warned by Ka it was coming. Nevertheless, the walkout and its
impending consequences were depressing. The talks had been so close to
succeeding and then, suddenly, had come tumbling down like a house of
cards.

Admiral Whitaker got up from his seat at the table. "I knew all along these
talks were a sham. We had better up our alert level. I can't help but think
this is all a preliminary to an attack."

The talks went just fine until you got involved, Bergen thought to
himself. He thought back to the private talk he had had with Ambassador Ka
just an hour ago. He and Ka met in a room downstairs, watched over
carefully by their most trusted aides.

"I will be walking out of the talks. They will come to an end. It is not my
wish, but it is how it must be," Ka said. "As with you, I am no longer the
master of these talks. We both must answer to the same call, even if it is
not one we wish to answer."

"I understand and am not surprised," Bergen replied. "It is almost as if
there are those in power who do not wish to see them succeed."

"It was not long ago I was one of those. But you Earth beings have honored
our Kriton traditions like no other culture." Ka thought back to Hatcher's
presenting him with the hockey puck, a gesture with much more significance
than he could have ever imagined. It had made him start to reassess his
opinions of Earth and the Sol Force Alliance. He became more and more
impressed as he researched the culture and its history. Captain Hatcher had
been just one of many who honored and respected Kriton traditions. There
were those, however, who didn't.  Admiral Whitaker was definitely one of
the latter. Of course, there were also Kritons who turned and twisted those
traditions for their own gain; General Elihu was one of those who came to
mind.

"I believe that had you and I been left to settle our differences together,
we would have come up with a lasting peace between our cultures," Ka said.

"Of that I have no doubt. May we once again sit at a table together after
those who dishonor both of our cultures have been removed from their
positions of power," Bergen replied.

"They will remove themselves. Of that I have no doubt. I now wish to humble
myself by asking a request of the esteemed Earth Ambassador."

"I would be honored to do what I can for my friend from Kriton."

"I will be making my final demands in a few moments. You will be unable to
meet them. That we both know. I must not be allowed to wait for you to
enter the room, nor can we enter it together. It must be obvious that you
wait for me. It must happen that way for me to maintain any power and
influence I may still have. You and I will meet again when this folly is
over. At that time I will repay my debt to you."

"I will humble myself to do as you ask. I will enter the room first."

The Kriton gave the Earthman a slight not of the head. The two of them left
the room by separate doors.

And so, as the Earth negotiating team waited five minutes for the Kritons
to arrive, Whitaker was furious. "How dare they make us wait like this? The
Kritons are insufferably arrogant!"

Bergen said nothing, knowing he had made one small gesture towards
cementing a long and lasting peace.

When Ka entered, his speech was short and to the point. Either the SFA
would pull back its fleet of aggression from the frontier, or the talks
would end and the Kriton defense fleet would take every measure necessary
to defend Kriton space and Kriton honor. Ambassador Bergen replied that
Earth's fleet was at the frontier to defend itself from Kriton
aggression. It was the same speech both of them had been giving for the
past few days.

Ka stood up from the table with all of his considerable grace and
dignity. "Then Kriton, in order to maintain its honor, will no longer take
part in these talks. The consequences of your stubbornness will be upon you
all." With that, he and his contingent left the room.

*****

Admiral Elihu read the encrypted message.

"Talks broken off. Ka gone. Time for plan to be put into place."

So, the naïve admiral has now opened the door for me. The time to move is
now. With his plan, we will have our little battle out on the frontier,
lose a few ships, lose a few hundred men, show the need for a more powerful
military force, and become the most powerful men on our planet. The
problem, Mister Admiral, is that someone is about to come in through your
backdoor and make me the most powerful man on BOTH planets.

Elihu gave his order; prepare the fleet to head for the frontier. It was
time to show the power of the Kriton fleet.

*****

Ben was all the way to the mound before David had finished his homerun
trot. Like every one else, he watched the ball sail over the left field
fence.  He watched, as David tossed his bat, raised his fists into the air,
and mocked Douglas and the "Lexington" team through his entire triumphant
trot. Even some of David's teammates felt he had gone too far.

Ben handed Douglas the fresh ball.

"I threw it too straight."

"Duh. And you did because you made this game all about you. This game is
about us. It's about the Lady Lex and all your friends. It's not about you
and fucking David. I expect to hear a loud POP when I go back to home."

"A loud pop? What does that mean?"

"It's the sound you will make when you pull our head out of your ass."

Ben and Douglas glared at each other, the tension thick. But Ben was the
master psychologist behind the plate. Before Douglas could say anything,
Ben gave him a quick peck on the cheek, right there before 24,000 people
and a system wide television broadcast. "I love you."

As he trotted back to home, he smiled when Douglas yelled out, "POP!"

*****

"That was an interesting scene on the mound," Hunter said to Hatcher.

"I have interesting boys," Hatcher replied. Including my own son, Jesse, he
thought to himself.

"It will be interesting to see what happens from here on out."

"I have a feeling this game is going to turn around."

Hunter grinned at Hatcher. "I have this feeling you are right."

Up in the broadcast booth Roy Pointer said into the microphone, "He kissed
him. Ben Collins, the catcher, kissed his pitcher, Douglas Daniels, right
on the cheek."

Willie Claussen looked at his color man and said, "We all know there's no
kissing in baseball."

*****

Admiral Natter didn't see the scene on the mound. Even as David's homerun
was sailing over the fence, he was talking to his aides at the
communication center.

"The Kriton fleet is making some interesting moves, sir."

"Monitor it closely Commander, and keep me informed as to how the peace
talks are faring."

"Aye, sir."

*****

Chase Hunter was correct. The momentum did shift after the mound
conference. Douglas quit thinking of himself, of David, of the crowd, or
anything. He took Ben's signs and located his pitches perfectly. He put the
next three batters down. The Lady Lex got a run back in the bottom of the
first. He then put the side down in order in the second inning, as the Lady
Lex scratched out another run. The "Orion" could manage no runs in the
third for fourth innings either. Douglas overcame a temptation to knock
David down when he came up in the third, and stayed with the game plan,
which ended up having David reaching for an outside change up and grounding
out to short. When Ben wrapped a home run around the left field foul pole
in the bottom of the fourth, the score was tied.

Ben had an incredible urge to showboat his home run trot the same way David
had. Instead he merely looked at David who was standing forlornly on the
mound and gave him a quick smile. There was no doubt in Ben's mind that
this game was theirs.

*****

"Tie game," Chase Hunter said, as Ben's hit left the field. "Your boys are
playing with poise and class."

"They're better kids than people give them credit for. That's why I wanted
this program. And I found the right cadet officers to lead them."

Hunter let out a laugh, thinking of Rich Zimmer, his CO. "I wish I could
say the same." He did have to admit, though, that Rich was one hell of a
fine second baseman.

*****

Commander Morris handed Natter the message from Griffin. Natter wasn't
surprised. It merely confirmed what he was already seeing.

"Very well, Commander. There can be no waiting around. We start taking
action now.

*****

Douglas stood on the mound ready to take his warm up tosses. It was the top
of the fifth, tie score. He was in a groove now, mentally and
physically. His mind was locked onto his pitching, and he was now throwing
better than he had at any time in his life. He felt energized and
confident. He knew he was going to win this game. There was no doubt in his
mind that the Lady Lex was three innings away from becoming official.

As his first warm-up headed for Ben's glove an announcement came over the
PA system.

"This is Admiral Natter. This is an emergency announcement. I repeat; this
is an emergency announcement." The chatter of the crowd died down. The
warm-up throws stopped. Everybody knew this had to do with the
Kritons. "The talks on Griffin have broken off. The Kriton fleet has
started to move towards the frontier zone. All SFA crewmen are to report to
their assigned stations at the space port immediately. All JFSA cadets are
to report to the designated areas in their hotels immediately. All
civilians should return to their lodgings. This is not a drill."

*****

Captains Hunter and Hatcher stood up. Every SFA officer and crewman and
every JFSA cadet had been given a designated meeting place for their
ship. They looked for signs of panic in the crowd, but could see that the
evacuation of the stadium was taking place in an orderly fashion.

As he edged towards the exit, Hunter thought of what the injured Zjan-Ren
had told him. Had he listened to the rantings of an injured man, the lies
of a devious Kriton, or the frightening truth? He decided to take a detour.

"Where are you heading?" Hunter asked.

"I need to tell Natter something."

"Okay. I will head to my meeting spot. Good luck, Stephen."

"Same to you Chase."

*****

Douglas stood stunned on the mound. Ben and his teammates were surrounding
him.

"You mean it's over? Just like that?" Ben asked.

"I guess so," Douglas replied.

"Do we replay the game or is it over for the Lady Lex?"

"I don't think it matters right now, Ben. I think we just went to war."

To be continued.