THE RELIANT

THE LATE CAPTAIN YAGER

"Captain," said ship's android Roger, "there is a ship approaching us."

"Can you identify the ship, Roger?" asked John.

"Yes, sir." He looked right at the Captain. "It is a morgue ship."

John raised his eyes at Roger. "A morgue ship?"

Roger nodded. "Yes, sir."

"Why in the world would a morgue ship be approaching us?"

"I'm afraid I wouldn't know, sir," said Roger.

"Captain," Tamala said, "the ship is hailing us."

"Put it on the viewscreen."

"Aye, sir."

Within seconds, this portly gentleman with a receding hairline and a scraggly beard came upon the viewscreen. The morgue detail didn't normally attract the most handsome or most glamorous of people. But, the question most on John's mind was, why was someone from the morgue detail approaching his ship? Before John was able to say anything to the man, he said, "Hello. I'm Corporal Larry Digger."

"Hello, Corporal. What can we do for you?"

"I'm here to pick up a body."

John raised his eyes at him. "A body?"

Larry nodded. "Yeah, a body."

"I'm afraid we don't have a body for you to pick up, Corporal."

"Are you sure of that?"

"Yes," John said, nodding at him. "I'm quite sure. Are you sure you got the right ship?"

"Well, this is The Reliant, isn't it?"

"Yes, it is."

"Then I have the right ship."

"Whose body are you supposed to pick up?"

"Hold on, let me check the death certificate." John watched as he looked over the death certificate he was holding. "According to the death cerfiticate, I'm supposed to be picking up the body of a Captain John Yager."

John nearly lept out of his chair when he told him that. "Captain John Yager?"

Larry nodded again. "Yes, that's what it says on the death certificate."

John narrowed his eyes at him. "Is this a joke, Corporal?"

"No, this is no joke. Why would you say that?"

"Because I'm Captain John Yager."

"But you're not dead."

"Thank you for noticing, Corporal."

"Oh, sir, this is all wrong."

"How does it say I died, if you don't mind my asking?"

Larry looked over the death certificate again. "It says here that you were killed during a mission on the planet Ferbon."

"Ferbon?"

"Yes, sir." Larry nodded once more. "Why?"

"That mission was nearly three weeks ago."

"Well, that's what it says on here, Captain." 

"Well, as you can see, Corporal, I wasn't killed. I was shot in the arm by an arrow, but I didn't die."

"Damn," Larry muttered.

"I'm sorry to disappoint you, Corporal."

"No, Captain, it's not that. It's just . . . listen, you wouldn't happen to have an extra body lying around your ship, would you?"