Duty and Obligation

by Sean Benjamin

  “I forget, exactly why are you two with us?” asked Scarecrow as he looked at both women in turn.

  Gabby got up and moved to his lap. She made herself comfortable before replying. “Because you don’t do those things.”

  Dylan looked at her and Jasmine. “That’s because we don’t have the money.”

  Jazz smiled. “Thank god. Besides, you two show us a much better time than they ever could. We spy across the galaxy, nearly get killed on a regular basis, help liberate the Badlands, sneak in and out of enemy ports and planets, fly important people around for profit, and get to beat you guys regularly at cards. Who can top that?”

  Scarecrow nodded as he tightened his arms around Gabby’s waist. “You’re right. We are heroes and you are lucky to be with us.”

  Gabby picked up the half-empty bourbon glass from the table and poured the remainder over his head.

  Chapter 15

  Shane Delacruz read through the report again. Riki Takahashi in Dragon had found Fusilier or one of her sisters. Shane smiled to himself. Fusilier’s two sister ships were Musketeer and Chasseur, and any of the three would do as a target. Shane wanted Fusilier, but all three light cruisers did dirty work for anyone who paid for it, so he would take either Musketeer or Chasseur as a consolation prize.

  Delacruz forwarded the report to all ships now under his command which was most of Flot 1. In addition to his own squadron, he had operational control of six other ships and the three freighters. The freighters had taken legitimate cargo loads into Brie space and had offloaded on each of the three habitable planets within New Brittany. They had picked up a return load and then had wandered around Brie space searching for the targets. They operated in the open as they were indistinguishable from the hundreds of other commercial ships or ore ships in Brie space at any given time. Sooner or later, one of the light cruisers would be found.

  Rogue, Rebel II, Renegade, and Corsair, were going about their assigned duties while waiting for word on the search. Once the quarry was found, these ships were to make best speed to the New Brittany border along the Badlands quadrant.

  Delacruz had assigned Outlaw, Marauder, and Gunfighter the mission of staking out likely destinations for any AC freighter. If any freighters were found, the corvettes were to intercept and board them. If they were modified as slave ships, they were to be taken under Measure 200 and their captains arrested. Once the Brie mission was complete, Shane would have all the ships under his command fan out in search of AC freighters.

  Delacruz was holding the two other destroyers of his squadron, Blackheart and Cottonmouth, with him as a ready reserve. The three ships were patrolling along the Brie border as they waited on the freighters’ search. If a target was located, and he could not gather his forces fast enough, he would move to contact with his three destroyers. Not an ideal answer, but fighting was not an ideal endeavor. Fusilier had been out of contact for a long time. Several months ago, a media blitz by Flot 1 had highlighted atrocities done by people on the Goth payroll. One of the episodes was Fusilier’s ambush of the unarmed Redemption and then tagging her two escape pods as they departed the dying little ship. Since that became public knowledge, the Bries have kept Fusilier and her sisters in home space and out of sight. Dragon’s report might herald the only chance they would get to hit any of the three warships for the foreseeable future. Shane knew what Rafe and Killian were doing, and he wanted to do his share in clearing the books of old past due accounts.

  The Brie light cruiser appeared to be on routine patrol. She was alone. Shane ordered the other two freighters to proceed to Fusilier’s position and the three merchant ships would set up a rotating watch on the light cruiser so as not to arouse suspicion. They would also maintain surveillance on the surrounding space in case one of the sister ships showed up.

  Shane moved with Cottonmouth and Blackheart into Brie territory. Nine hours later, the trio of ships were joined by Corsair. Flint Colfax and his crew had been given the closest patrol area to the Brie border so would be sure to be in on any fight. They looked forward to it. The four ships moved to intercept the light cruiser. They expected to be joined by Rebel II, Rogue, and Renegade within thirty hours. Contact with the enemy in thirty-six standard hours.

  Chapter 16

  “Lord Cunningham, do you have a minute?”

  Cunningham didn’t turn around as the footsteps approached behind him and then stopped. He continued to close up his desk as the Upper House quit for the day. He knew who it was. Viscount David Van Drucker was a peer but also a media mogul who was always on the hunt for a story. Cunningham took a deep breath. He turned around and smiled. He extended his hand as he greeted the man. “David, how are you today?”

  Van Drucker took up the handshake. “I’m excellent, my Lord. Do you have time for a quick couple of questions?”

  Cunningham nodded and then asked, “Are you asking as a peer or a media man?” Questions from peers are kept among peers. Questions from a media representative meant the answers would be flashing around the Empire before Cunningham left the Upper House.

  Van Drucker looked a bit abashed. “I turned into a media man the second the gavel fell closing our session for today.”

  The Defense Minister nodded. He thought as much. It was reasonable. There were rumors swirling regarding a big naval offensive, and Van Drucker would want to gather any facts he could for the ever-spinning news cycle.

  “Go ahead,” Cunningham said as he lined up vague generalizations and “no comment” replies in his head.

  The media man’s questioning began. “Your family started the Aeonian Conglomerate and still owns the majority of the company. You serve as the CEO. A freighter named Tristan is owned by this entity. She sails routes in an area informally known as the Badlands. Are you aware this freighter was recently quarantined, and the captain is standing trial for slave running under Measure 200?”

  Cunningham was caught completely off guard. A point of fact was he was not aware of that at all. Another point of fact was, although he was listed as CEO, his younger brother ran the conglomerate on a day-to-day basis as Douglas Cunningham performed as Defense Minister. Those facts briefly flashed through his mind as a response, but he knew that it sounded like a dodge so he went with the truth. “No, I did not know about this particular ship or her current troubles. I will certainly check into it.”

  Van Drucker went for a follow-on question, but Cunningham cut him off with a smile. Any more questions would only serve to irritate him since he didn’t have any answers. “I’m sorry, David, but there is a war on.” He leaned toward him as if to speak confidentially. “I hear there is a big offensive coming.” He grabbed his carrying case, turned and climbed the steps to the back of the room and the exit doors. Van Drucker watched him depart without bothering to throw out any more questions at his retreating back. He knew he would get no answers as he suspected Cunningham was telling the truth about not knowing. He also knew the younger Cunningham brother, Albert, was really running the Aeonian Conglomerate. Due to the great distance to the Badlands, if Albert did know about the ship, he only found out recently. This would mean he was still gathering facts so would not have informed his older brother about the incident. Of course, there was always the possibility Albert knew the whole story and was keeping it to himself until he came up with a solution to this situation.

  Van Drucker smiled to himself. He only knew about the ship because a well-placed informant had told him. That informant worked on the staff of the Queen. He suspected the Queen knew all about this informant’s activities and used him to get out information while maintaining her own deniability about any leaks. The informant knowing about the ship episode meant the Queen knew about it. Van Drucker had learned long ago the Queen was not happy with Cunningham holding back two composite squadrons as his own personal navy. The Queen was not somebody to have as an enemy. If the Tristan story was true, Douglas Cunningham could find that episode used against him for reasons having nothing to do with slave runn
ing. Cunningham had enemies beyond the Queen. Several were in the Upper House. Even if this Tristan episode could not be used legally against the Defense Lord by charging him with a crime, it would still be a great embarrassment to him and his family if their corporation was found to be running slaves. Douglas Cunningham had opposed Measure 200 every time it had come up for a vote. Now that one of his corporate ships was found in violation of that law, it seemed as if Cunningham had opposed the law, not as a matter of principle, but because it was bad for the family business. That would be an easy jump to make, and his enemies would be more than happy to help people make the leap. Cunningham could use the defense of “I knew nothing about it.” That tactic might very well work in a courtroom but wouldn’t carry much weight within the Upper House or the media. If you let one person get away with that excuse, then everyone would use it. Van Drucker would use his media outlets to ensure that wouldn’t happen. He had always been in favor of Measure 200 and would employ his influence to see it applied as envisioned. This Tristan episode might be the first case that could have ramifications high in the pecking order within the Aurora Empire. As such, the episode needed to be done right as it would be the blueprint for all subsequent cases involving the rich and powerful among the elite class.

  Van Drucker returned to his desk and began writing the story. He continued to smile. He knew it was unprofessional of him to take such delight in this but, after all, he could be numbered among Cunningham’s enemies in the Upper House. Cunningham had been a law unto himself for a while now. It was time to do something about that.

  Chapter 17

  Douglas Cunningham returned to the Defense Ministry and went straight to his office. He got on his personal communications and called his brother on his private channel. After a few seconds, Albert’s image was on screen and the two of them looked at each other with no expressions. The Defense Lord did not indulge in small talk with his brother but got right to the point of his call. “I understand one of our ships named Tristan was taken by the Royal Navy in the Badlands, and her captain is to stand trial for slave running under Measure 200. What have you got on that?”

  Albert took it all in as his mind raced. He wondered how his older sibling found out about the event so quickly as he had just learned about it yesterday. He had kept the information within a small group at corporate headquarters, and they wouldn’t have talked. His brother’s tone left no doubt that he was not going to be put off by excuses about gathering all the facts. Pleading ignorance would be absolutely the worst move, so Albert went with the truth. He tried to sound and look authoritative. “The ship ignored a Royal Navy attempt to search it but was seized a couple of hours later by a pirate corvette from Raferty Hawkins’ group. The Tristan’s captain is Maclyn Yardley, and she will be tried in Admiralty Court at our new navy base on the planet of Agra 2 in the Cinnamon System in the Badlands. The trial date is not yet set.”

  “What’s the evidence?” The Defense Minister maintained his direct manner as they talked through an unpleasant situation. His question showed he wasn’t concerned about the ship, the captain, or the crew. He was concerned about his family’s commercial holdings and how this event would impact that. A conviction would be bad for the ship’s captain but it would also be bad for the family corporation, and that interested Douglas Cunningham.

  Albert made to respond but then paused and the silence grew. Finally, he talked before his brother had to repeat himself. “They have some good evidence. The ship’s third bay was modified by having a bulkhead put in to create a hidden compartment. The… cargo was in that—sixty-two people. The pirates found them and then executed three crewmembers. Apparently, Hawkins’ people put all crewmembers in slavers in a facial recognition system, and they have a rule that any repeat slave runners caught by his flotilla are to be executed immediately. One of those killed was the second officer. Before dying the guy babbled about four slave runs. It was all recorded. Yardley was taken to Agra 2. The ship and cargo were impounded, and the ship’s whereabouts are unknown at this time.”

  Douglas Cunningham knew Hawkins and his people would keep both ship and cargo and, right now, he didn’t much give a damn. Not for the ship, not for the crew, and not for the dead. That was all in the past, and caring about it now would accomplish nothing. There were much bigger stakes at risk here. He took in a deep breath, then leaned toward the floating screen and spoke in a low hiss. “How in the hell did one of our ships magically get a fake bulkhead and start running slaves? Someone had to approve and pay for the work. Someone had to schedule the slave runs. Someone had to roll the slave profits into the money flow while covering up its origins.” He stopped and stared at his brother. “Or did someone just pocket the money?” His voice grew in volume. “I guess my main question is—how in the hell did this happen without you or someone there in headquarters knowing about all this? This looks like our company actively engages in slave running. The fact the ship is modified is damning. There is no way to pass this off as an ad hoc type of operation done by low-level employees acting on their own authority for their own personal profit.” Douglas did not mention the effect this story could have in the Upper House. He knew he had enemies there, and they would jump on this like a cat on a mouse. He also knew his brother knew that.

  Albert nodded. “We are checking into all that. For several months, we have discussed the low profits and high operating costs coming out of the Badlands with the regional office there. The regional manager seems to have taken our concern as a threat to his job and this whole scheme to boost profits is his doing. That’s the initial view here. Can’t prove that yet, but it’s the working theory until we get something better.”

  The defense minister found that conclusion a little too convenient and said so. Albert nodded in agreement. “I know. The guy isn’t here to defend himself, and we come out of this saying we have none of the blame. I am pulling records, audits, work orders, and all pertinent records to see if there are any clues here that should have tipped us off. We just found out about this yesterday so are still in the beginning stages. Regional out there took their sweet time about informing us.” He paused and then leaned in to speak quietly to his screen. “I think they were trying to fix this so kept the information to themselves. That’s one of the reasons that make me think they are deep in this. Also, they are the only ones who can get the ship modified. As you say, that takes time and money. No ship’s captain could do that on her own.” He added as an afterthought. “And no captain sets up the ship’s schedule.”

  “The regional people are trying to minimize the damage,” speculated Douglas Cunningham. He didn’t like that idea. These were the same idiots who created the problem, so it was difficult to believe they could clean it up by displaying some sort of great aplomb they haven’t shown up until now. He spoke quietly to his brother. “Whatever they are going to do, there is one aspect to it that has to be true for all their potential plans.” He paused and stared at his brother. Albert nodded in response. He knew exactly what he meant. Dead people can’t talk and are well suited to take the blame for any situation.

  “I don’t know what they have planned in that particular area,” Albert said obliquely.

  “We don’t want to know. Besides, given the time lag between here and the Badlands, they probably already have done something or are about to do it so we can’t stop it from here. Whatever. They just better be successful.” The defense minister looked his brother in the eye. “There is not much that we can do about this one ship, but we can try to contain it.” He stared at him now. “We need to know how widespread this is and how much our Badlands regional office is involved. I doubt there is only the one modified ship. If more modified ships are uncovered, it will be more difficult to claim ignorance about the scheme. I am sure I will be asked questions about this by the media and the government. I want you to go out there and personally get involved. I can report to all interested parties that we are taking this so seriously that you have gone to the Badlands to t
ake charge of our internal investigation yourself.”

  Albert nodded. “Makes a good comment if the media finds out.”

  Douglas interjected, “The media already knows. They’re the ones who told me.”

  Albert grimaced. “Just goddamn great. That means it will be a major story tomorrow or the next day at the latest.” He looked at his brother. “I’ll get out tonight and will get the real facts when I get there. I’ll send an arrival message as soon as I get to the regional office and update you as information becomes available.”

  The defense lord nodded in agreement. “Excellent.” He thought for a moment and then added. “If this is all on the regional manager, fire him. We will sacrifice him to the media and the legal system if it comes to that. After all, he is the one who got us into this, and he probably is guilty. Of course, he had to have help so you need to get all of them too. Fire the whole damn office if you have to. Overkill is better than letting some guilty people get away.” He paused for a second and then continued. “Also, find out how many ships have been modified and pull them out of service so the fake bulkheads can be torn out. Do that quickly and quietly. You can bet the Royal Navy Badlands squadron and goddamn Raferty Hawkins knows there is more than one modified ship, and they will be gunning for the others.” He sat back in his chair as he concluded his remarks. “This will not be pleasant over the short haul, but swift action will insulate us from some of the blame. With the war, and the fact that the Badlands is on the far side of nowhere, there should be a short span of interest here. We need to take steps to clean this up. If we have to take some minor damage over it, that’s acceptable.” He smiled at his brother. “You’re good at damage control, and this is a big one. We will get only one shot to make this right. There can’t be any more surprises once we put our version of events into the media. If there are more revelations, we will look inept or that we are covering up.”