The Vow I made was broken
I have brought dishonor upon my name
As a reminder I will bear this token
I will forever wear the Mask of Shame
Captain Shaft
Second Mate Matthew was not a happy man. But it was not for any reasons one would usually suspect. He was not upset that the Vae Victus was sitting in the Javat Prime docks awaiting extensive repairs. He was proud that he was able to assist his Captain John Shaft in bringing the ship to safety after the disastrous encounter with the Cadar Captain Fromage. He was not upset about the crew having been reduced to himself, First Mate Cutter, and the Captain. He knew his Captain was charismatic enough he would easily be able to recruit new crewmen.
He was only slightly put out with his experience with the Technologist Doctor. As the end result was his Captain being whole and healthy again, he could now understand why Captains sought out their forbidden and dangerous artistries. He was not upset at the Captain spending over a thousand Credits on his first Promotional Ceremony with Clan Javat. Back when he was Matthew the Sheepherder back on Tundeedor the idea of spending over a million Marks on a party would have sounded insane but he was in a different lifestyle now. A thousand Credits was small potatoes compared to what many Captains spend for business and pleasure.
But still a thousand Credits got you one heck of a party. It was being held in one of the many ballrooms of the Jade Blossom, the residential palace of Prince James Amygdala, the Javat High Consul. This "small" room was as large as a narfball stadium and held numerous courtiers and sycophants, all here to see the new darling of the Javat Court, Captain Shaft. It was the most opulent thing he had ever seen, with walls lined with actual sheets of jade highlighted with emeralds and gold trimmings. Rich carpets and wall murals annotating Clan Javat's successes accented the room. Entertainers from all over were in attendance and were singing, dancing, and enlivening the evening. Normally only the elite would be allowed to physically attend with commoners such as himself only able to see the proceedings by holoscreen on one of the entertainment channels. However Captain Shaft used his privileges to allow not only himself and Cutter to attend but also Dr. Gupta and her family.
Even that last detail was not why he was upset. Dr. Gupta and her family were the "cargo" the Captain promised to get safely to the Rift Trading Camp on Rift-Leporis 4 all the way from his Thulun frontier home planet of Tundeedor. Normally they should stay on the ship hidden in their saferoom in case an enemy faction tried to kidnap or murder them, but with the Vae Victus so compromised, Captain Shaft felt it best they stay under his watchful eye at all times.
Therefore Matthew was not upset he was attending Captain Shaft's Promotional Ceremony wearing a costume that made him look like a antropomorphic sheepdog, complete with a Shepherd's crook and garb, "furry" gloves, and an anamatronic tail jutting from the back of his pants. First Mate Cutter was dressed just as he was but with a wig with blond ponytails and the Guptas were dressed as sheep people to complete the theme. Of course everyone at the Ceremony were costumed in various outlandish costumes including Prince Amygdala himself. The Captain's idea was apparently a hit with the court and was sure to bring a welcome change from the Naked Orgies that had started to fall out of fashion.
Thankfully Matthew and Cutter's masks were actually holomasks, bands they wore on their heads that projected the illusion of a mask over their faces. It allowed them their full visual and auditory fields while projecting a dog's face over their own. More advanced devices could mimic almost any shape even up to other people's faces. In addition their Shepherd's crooks were actually disguised shock staves, just in case the Gupta's encountered any trouble. Of course the Gupta's and their guardians were staying in a balcony suite overlooking the Ceremony with a locked exit door and a privacy screen preventing anyone from peering in while letting the Gupta's observe the events.
No, what made Matthew unhappy was what had happened just before the Ceremony. Back when they were desperately trying to repair the Vae Victus in Deep Space, Captain Shaft insisted on making sure the remains of his crew were collected and stored in the cargo hold. From Matthew's earlier discussions during the journey he had come to understand the custom was to cremate any remains and eject them into space, a proper spaceman's burial. But Captain Shaft was breaking tradition, insisting his men be "returned to their homelands."
The day before the Promotional Ceremony, Captain Shaft, Cutter, and Matthew went to the Restful Shores Cemetery, a graveyard for retired spacers near the Javat Prime docks. They brought urns bearing the cremated remains of crewmen Jim Ticker and Barnaby Sims, the only Clan Javat-native crewmen identifiable from the disaster. Cutter and Matthew were dressed in their new officer's livery, clean and white in contrast to the gloomy atmosphere surrounding them. Cutter had even let her hair grow out to a proper crop cut completely hiding her scalp tattoos. She had washed out the blue dye thus revealing her naturally raven black hair. She now looked like a proper First Mate. The Captain was wearing a somber grey military uniform with gold piping and a matching peaked cap for the occasion.
At first everything was proceeding normally. They had placed the remains in a small mausoleum, a minster said the appropriate things, and the funeral director sealed the tomb's face and placed a nice wreath. But the Captain stayed well past after everyone left, puzzling his remaining crew. After about an hour it began to rain and still the Captain stayed, seeming to mutter under his breath the whole time. Matthew, feeling uncomfortable about the whole situation reached up to touch his Captain's shoulder saying, "Captian, don't you think we need to be going befo..."
On feeling Matthew's touch Captain Shaft turned his face swiftly to him. His face, cortorted in a grimace of sorrow, was stained with water. Matthew tried to rationalize it as just the rainfall but he knew what it really was.
"Of course you're right Mister Matthew. Come on you two, let's get back to the ship," Captain Shaft said in a hushed voice as he ambled to the graveyard exit. Cutter was giving her Captain a concerned look as she followed behind him. By the time they had arrived at the Vae Victus, Captain Shaft was back to "normal," animatedly and eagerly talking about his plans for the upcoming ceremony down to every detail. It was as if the anguish he had displayed earlier had never happened.
Matthew made excuses of needing to have a night on the town alone and was allowed a shore leave for the night. He immediately made his way to the spice district and made contact with the man who had earlier brought him to Doctor Ardway. On finding the Technologist he discussed Captain Shaft's behavior at the graveyard.
"Very interesting but not at all uncommon," said the Doctor. "You must understand that a Captain is a unique type of person; they must have not only the physical strength and stamina to handle a hostile galaxy but the mental strength and persona to withstand the many pressures on them. No ordinary person could survive what they must handle. Thus it is not unexpected that some "quirks" will begin to show up over time."
"Your Captian suffered significant burns over his body, the near annihailation of his crew, and the near destruction of his ship. I suspect he is suffering severe guilt combined with depression and is internalizing his feelings over it," the Doctor concluded.
"Is there anything you can do for him?" Matthew asked, concern on his face.
"Well, there are a few things I can do, but it would all require his consent," he replied. "The problem is I have a hard time believing you will be able to convince him to see anyone about this. He could easily kill you just for suggesting there is something mentally wrong with him. If you think he is a danger to himself and his crew you would be safer abandoning him."
Matthew stood up and glared down at Doctor Ardway. "I would never abandon Captain Shaft. He's been good to me since I met him and now he needs my help to complete this mission." He calmed down. The Doctor was only being practical. "Hopefully once the mission is over and he has paid his self-imposed debt he will go back to normal."
But now, as he stood on guard over the Guptas while watching the panoply of courtiers greeting Captain Shaft down on the main floor, he felt that "normal" might be a long time coming. The clues were in the Captain's behavior and the Mask he wore.
Captain Shaft used to drink just as any ordinary man did but the entire party he stuck to nonalcoholic drinks. Did he fear a loss of control if he let his inhibitions go? The Captain kept to his Seat of Honor and rarely caroused around, keeping to a minimum the amount of people communicating with him. He seemed to deflect conversations to focus on the interesting personages near him instead of allowing himself to be the topic of discussion. This did work in his advantage as it made him seem mysterious and exotic, a rare commodity apparently.
But his Mask was what really worried Matthew. Captain Shaft was dressed in the brilliant green formal robes of a Clan Javat Recruit complete with a light blue band running down the right edge of the matching cloak. His mask was configured to appear as the Javat Sun, golden and even gleaming with rays of light emanating from the sides. The face had a permanently benevolent stare. It never changed. Everyone's elses holomasks were designed to mimic their facial expression, blinking, staring, frowning, even opening when they ate or drank.
He could not tell what the Captain was thinking with that Mask on. Was he happy, bored, or irritated? Or was he still grieving and keeping to himself in a room full of masked strangers? Matthew thought to himself it didn't really matter what happened at this party tonight as long as the Guptas were safe. Tomorrow they would start repairing the ship, gathering and training new crewmen, and after a few days they could be off to Rift-Leporis 4.
Matthew's worries were cemented the next morning when he met Captain Shaft in the mess room now in a more standard Javat captain's ensemble but still wearing his Holomask. The Mask was now synchronized to his facial expressions and the radiating light had been muted down considerably, but it was still disconcerting to see a sun greeting you with a "Ah, Mister Matthew! Come join Mister Cutter and I as we discuss the morning's business."
Matthew sat down as ordered. The Javat Sunface turned to Cutter and continued an interrupted conversation. Matthew looked at Cutter for clues but she was keeping her facial expression as neutral as possible. As if nothing was wrong the three put together a plan to have the solar sails and engines fully repaired while leaving the more extensive gun battery and hull repairs for their return to Thulun space, where the expenses would be less burdensome. Captain Shaft seemed to be in a great mood, even excited to get everything underway. Of course Matthew knew he would feel better if his Captain would just take off the Mask.
Sated from his meal and the conversation, Captain Shaft stood up, his face beaming on his officers. "Now if there is no other business, I believe we need to get our plans into action." He started to push his chair under the table.
Cutter looked at Matthew with a now worried expression and then towards her Captain. "Well, there is one item, Captain," she said. Captain Shaft paused in his motion. "Sir, when are you planning on taking off your party mask? I know the party was fantastic and more than I had ever experienc.."
The Sun of Javat changed into a frowning white skullface. Captain Shaft stood upright and stared with dull brown eyes at them. "I am NEVER taking off this Mask." He began to intone:
"The Vow I made was broken
I have brought dishonor upon my name
As a reminder I will bear this token
I will forever wear the Mask of Shame"
"Do either of you have a problem with this?" the Captain asked.
Matthew and Cutter slowly looked at each other and then to their Captain. As one they replied, "No, Captain."
With that the Sun of Javat returned and his eyes brightened again. Captain Shaft finished replacing his chair under the table. "Well then! Now that it's settled, let's get to work!"
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