“You’re on the level?” Whitestone asked, still looking a little shocked at the offer.
“Yes. Get me the names today, and I’ll have a shuttle going down tomorrow for whomever you can get ready. Look, a lot of your people invested in FTL-1; a lot of your people helped us build it. And, Haida Gwaii – you know damn well how we came up with that name for her. So, yes, I’ll send shuttles tomorrow. This station belongs to you, too. Don’t you want to see it finished?”
Whitestone stared at him. “It’s worse than we thought, isn’t it?”
“I don’t know. All I know is that the TPCs and a lot of the Earth governments may try to put us out of business. If we don’t get her finished, or at least to a place where we can finish her at our leisure, all of our efforts in making Haida Gwaii a going concern may be for naught. I don’t want that; the Families don’t want that, and I’m sure that you don’t want that.”
“I’ll get you the names and locations. We’ll start making calls tonight.” Whitestone stood, and Matt got to his feet as well. “I can’t promise you that some won’t still want to return to Earth, but if you get my family up here, I’ll stay.” He held out his hand, and Matt took it.
As soon as he left, Matt went to the comm.
“Bettina?”
“Now what?”
Testy.
“I need at least two shuttles prepared to go to Haida Gwaii to pick up people.”
She looked at him as if he had lost it.
“You’re sitting on Haida Gwaii, and you have shuttles, Matt.”
He laughed, feeling like going into hysterics. But that wouldn’t help anyone. “No, not Haida Gwaii, the station. Haida Gwaii the islands off the coast of British Columbia. And also Vancouver Island. Maybe Prince Rupert. I don’t know. I’ll get you the names and places.”
“What the hell are you talking about? And I don’t have shuttles available for that sort of stuff.”
“Make them available,” he shouted, regretting the act even as he felt the relief shouting brought. “Make them available,” he repeated softly, “or we may fail totally.”
Although taken aback at his shout, Bettina didn’t go off on her own rampage. “Tell me?”
He told her.
“Get me the names and locations. We’ll do our best.”
Matt cut the connection, and began laughing, tears running down his face. “Our best. God send that our best is good enough.”
* * *
Tuesday 17 August
After dropping their passengers off at Haida Gwaii, Angela piloted the scoutship back to Venture. She felt real regret as the mothership’s computer took over and brought Scout-1 back into her belly.
Carol, too, seemed a little deflated. She gave an audible sigh as she packed her belongings. “That was the best trip of my life!”
She hugged Angela tight.
“And you were a big part of it. Thank you, so much.”
“You’re welcome.” Angela hugged her back. “And, I have to confess, it was the best time of my life, too. And without you, it wouldn’t have happened. So, thank you so much right back. Come on, I’ll walk you back to your room.”
Carol laughed. “Which is right beside your room, so that’s a big concession on your part.”
Nonetheless, Carol took her hand, and they walked back to their rooms together, only to find Captain Yrden waiting for them. Angela wondered why.
“So, how did you two enjoy your little vacation from Venture?”
“Oh,” Carol gushed. “It exceeded my every expectation. You people don’t know what you’ve done for me.”
The Captain smiled. “And now, in return, I’d like you to do something for us. Can I come in?”
Carol opened her door.
“You, too, Angela.”
An uneasy feeling sent a shiver down Angela’s spine. Though Captain Yrden’s words seemed warm, something about her posture revealed another feeling entirely. The door closed behind them. Captain Yrden motioned them to the couch, where they sat. The Captain took the chair opposite them, on the other side of the small coffee table.
“I heard about your little trick with the radio messages,” Captain Yrden said.
Carol tensed. “I didn’t do anything wrong, did I?”
“No, nothing wrong at all.” Bettina said. Angela didn’t believe her. “However, Pilot Ritter breached a few minor regulations in doing that.”
“Um, how minor?”
Captain Yrden smiled warmly. “So minor that we can all forget about it entirely – on one condition.”
“Yes?”
Angela could see Carol’s distress, and felt a little herself. She, too, had been a part of it all, if only as a witness.
“You must keep it a joke strictly between you and your sister. If you tell anyone else about it – and I don’t blame you for wanting to, as I would have loved to have seen your sister’s face when it happened – yes, if you tell anyone, and it comes to the ears of certain officials, then it might cause Ken some difficulties.”
“I’m sorry,” Carol said. “If I had known...”
“You couldn’t have known. Now, do I have your word that you won’t discuss it with anyone – not even my own crew?”
“Yes.”
“Excellent.” Captain Yrden relaxed back in her chair. “Now, tell me, how did you find jump and drop?”
Within minutes, Carol had forgotten all about the incident. But Angela hadn’t. And suddenly she knew the reason Captain Yrden had come in person. The knowledge shocked her.
“And you, Angela? I hear you did much of the piloting.”
“Marvellous, Captain. As I told Carol, I’ve never had a better time in my life.”
“Excellent. We’ll have to see about getting you further training. Rolf tells me that you took to it like a duck to water.”
Angela swallowed. She could sense a whole new future opening up for her. “Thank you, Captain.”
“Well, Carol, I’m glad that the Yrdens didn’t disappoint you.” The captain stood, and the other two women got to their feet as well.
“Disappoint? Nothing in my life comes even close.”
Captain Yrden beamed at her. “I like to hear things like that. Makes me feel like what we do is worthwhile.” She stepped to the door. “And that other thing?”
Carol put a finger to her lips. “Mum’s the word!”
Captain Yrden laughed. “Excellent.”
“Now, I think I could sleep for a whole day.”
“Then I think it’s time to leave you to it. Pleasant dreams.”
“Oh, where’s Hurricane?” She looked around.
“I’m afraid I have some bad news for you on that front,” the captain said with a smile, not sounding like it she had bad news to deliver at all.
“Something happened to her?”
“Well, sort of. But it’s more what she has done.”
“Oh, no.”
“Yes. I fear she has captured the hearts of at least half the crew. And she’s slept with at least a dozen of them since you left. You might never get her back again. Crew’s been saying we need a new ship’s cat.”
Carol started laughing. “That’s my Hurricane. So, I shouldn’t worry about her?”
“You shouldn’t worry about her. Get some sleep.”
Out in the corridor, Captain Yrden turned to Angela. “And you? Can you keep it quiet, too?”
“Yes, Captain.”
“Thank you. Perhaps you should get some sleep, too.”
“Uh, Captain Yrden?”
“Yes, Angela.”
“Would you come into my room for a few minutes? I’d like to talk with you.”
The captain followed her in, and Angela felt her stomach beginning to do flip-flops again. She could just keep it to herself, but, no, the captain deserved to hear it.
“Yes, Angela?” she asked, once the door had closed.
“I know, Captain Yrden. I figured it out. I won’t tell anyone, not even Wen.”
The older woman considered her, head cocked slightly to the side. “Just what do you think you’ve figured out?”
“Your ships can speed up in hyperspace. Wen told me – way back when we were doing the preventive maintenance routines on 684’s lifeboat – that either you Yrdens had found new routes or that Jaswinder Saroya had figured out a way to go faster in hyperspace. But it isn’t either of those, is it? We jumped at a relatively low speed – partially because we were still so close to Jupiter, and maximum insertion velocity decreases near big gravity wells. So, we shouldn’t have been able to get back so fast.”
Captain Yrden didn’t say anything for a minute. Then, “Continue.”
“Yes, well, Wen thought that maybe Jaswinder had found a different layer of hyperspace, and I suppose that’s possible. But Scout-1’s controls, everything I saw, well, it says to me that there’s nothing special about the jump engines – or at least the way we jumped. And, remember, I jumped the ship several times. I didn’t do anything different than I had before.
“And that’s why you don’t want Carol or me talking about the little joke she and Pilot Ritter played on Helen White. If we told anyone that we had come back that fast from Jupiter, and they found out that we hadn’t moved several days out from Jupiter’s gravity well, they might figure it out, too. A couple of innocent questions, like, ‘How did it feel going into hyperspace at that speed?’ and the secret’s out.
“I’m not stupid, Captain Yrden.”
“No,” she said, quietly, “you’re not. If you were, I’d never have offered you continued employment on Venture.”
“And I want to stay on Venture,” Angela said, hoping against hope that she hadn’t doomed herself. “But, even if you put me down on some backward planet to get me out of the way, I won’t tell. When I came here, Mr Richardson asked me to spy for him. I told Jaswinder about it, and told her I wouldn’t. She said she believed me. I won’t break my word to her – no matter what happens.”
Captain Yrden put one hand on Angela’s shoulder. “I know you won’t. And, trust me, we don’t want to put you down on some backward planet. You’re one of the best employees we’ve ever had on board Venture, and I want to keep you. And I don’t want to lose half my crew, either.”
“Captain?” What did that mean.
“If I were to toss you off the ship, I think half my crew would follow you.” She smiled. “You’re very popular, you know?”
“I am?”
“And not just with Rolf.”
She drew back, stunned. “He told you?”
“Let’s just say it became pretty obvious pretty quickly – and that even before you left for Jupiter. So, not waiting for Wen Pearson after all?”
So, she knew. And she didn’t look displeased. “I figured that out, too. Wen never wanted me. I wanted him because he always treated me as an equal. Always proper, never trying to use me. It made me feel good. I thought I was something special to him, but he treats everyone like that. And he had Lil.”
“The nicest man on Amalgamated 684, yes, I remember.”
Angela felt her face grow hot. “Yes. I thought I was special to him, and I wanted him right back. But I’ve grown up a lot in the last few months.”
“Yes, you have.”
“And, so, I won’t say anything – to anyone.”
Captain Yrden smiled again. “I’m not going to tell you that you are right or that you are wrong. In fact, I’m not going to even hint at it, one way or the other. But, thank you for telling me. And thank you for your discretion.”
She stepped towards the door. “Oh, and thank you, also, for making the trip out to Saturn and Jupiter so memorable for Ms White.”
Angela had to laugh, and the captain raised her eyebrows.
“I think Pilot Ritter had more to do with that than I did.”
Yrden closed her eyes, and covered them with her hand. “Oh, no.”
“Don’t worry, Captain. Carol wanted it that way. She told me so even before we left Venture, before Ritter even made the smallest of moves. She asked me if he was married, and then she started it when I told her the rumours about Ken. They seem made for each other. Both just wanting to have fun.”
Angela pursed her lips. “Captain, could you tell me something?”
“What is it?”
“I overheard some stuff at Io Station. What’s going on?”
“You sure you want another secret to keep?”
She nodded, unsure, but willing to hear.
“Relations between the different nations on Earth, and throughout the system – Mars, the Moon colonies, Io Station – have become very chancy.” She looked Angela straight in the eyes. “Helen White, her sister on FTL-1, is important to us. We owe her. So we brought up Carol – who didn’t win the lottery.”
“She didn’t?” Angela’s eyes went wide.
“No, she didn’t. And there’s a good possibility that she won’t be going home for a long time. But we want her – and Helen wants her – to have a good time, to not worry about anything, to have good memories. But, sooner or later, we’re going to have to tell her something – and the way things are looking, it’s going to be sooner.”
“Oh, no.”
“And that’s why I’m telling you now. She’s going to lean on you when she finds out – if it does come to that. You should be prepared. Now, you get some sleep, too.”
With the captain gone, Angela looked to her bed. How could she sleep after that?
The door chime rang. She wondered what the Captain had forgotten. The door opened to her touch, and Rolf stood there.
She suddenly felt that forgetting about her problems wouldn’t be so difficult after all.
* * *
Venture
Wednesday 18 August
Bettina all but threw up her hands in despair as the word came in. Two full passenger shuttles – forty members of steel-worker families from Canada’s west coast. And more to come. Not wanting to disturb Matt – she didn’t think he could handle it – she called Bill Tannon.
“Bill, I’m going to have to send about sixty people your way.”
Tannon winced. “Sixty?”
“Yes,” she had a sudden nasty premonition. “Matt didn’t tell you, did he?”
“Tell me what?”
“A bunch of your steel-workers threatened to quit due to the turmoil down on Earth. The only way Matt could get them to stay was to offer to bring their families up.”
“Oh, for crying out loud!” Tannon looked like he wanted to swear. “No, he didn’t tell me. I could have gotten ready for it. Sixty?”
“Well, forty of those – with more coming tomorrow – and twenty of Helen White’s people. Hell, Bill, I’m running a transient quarters here. More of a hotel than anything else, and it’s driving me crazy. I can’t take them on.”
Tannon laughed. “You want to change jobs with me?”
“Not a chance. But I will take a transfer to another ship – even a Paxton ship – if it gets me out of this system.”
“I’ll let Fred know. He should enjoy having you on board. Or maybe you could defect and go work with Brian Richardson.”
“You’re an evil man, Bill. Anyone ever tell you that?”
“Every day. When did Matt make that agreement?”
“Two days ago. He didn’t even hint at it?”
“I haven’t seen him in the last two days. He hasn’t been eating in the cafeteria. I guess I’d better go see how he’s doing.” Tannon didn’t sound like he wanted that job, either.
“He shouted at me, Bill, shouted. Maybe you should talk to Ellen first. Or Jaswinder. If you go, step lightly.”
CHAPTER 26
Venture
Sunday 22 August
Angela left the Captain’s office, and took a deep breath. She straightened her shoulders, and walked towards the Starboard Lounge, where Carol often went to enjoy the sight of the stars. Not going to be a good day, she thought.
“Hi, Angela,” Carol said, voice br
ight.
Angela nodded in return, and forced a smile. She looked around at the unaccustomed crowd. More people arrived on Venture with each day, some of them later departing on other Family ships, some going to Haida Gwaii. Some would belong to Helen White’s group. Angela shivered, as she recalled her briefing by Captain Betts, as half the Yrdens on board called her.
“Carol, I have some news.”
“Oh? What is it?”
“Not here. I’d like to talk with you in private.”
Carol’s eyes widened. “That sounds ominous.”
Angela forced a laugh. “Well, maybe not ominous, but a little sad. We’re going to have to part ways. I just got orders from the Captain.”
Carol’s face fell. “They’re transferring you to another ship? To a station? That’s too bad.”
“Come with me, and I’ll explain everything.”
She led the other woman back up to the crew deck, and into a small reading room that the captain had reserved for her.
A meow greeted them when they walked in.
“Hurricane!” Carol exclaimed, and bent to pick up the cat. “Did you get trapped in here?”
Angela closed the door again, silently complimenting the captain on this kindness. The cat would soften the news – or at least give Carol some emotional support. She sat down in one of the reading chairs, and motioned to Carol to take the one opposite. The cat stretched, turned in a circle, and then lay down on Carol’s lap, purring. She absently stroked the soft fur.
“Where are they sending you?” Carol asked.
“Nowhere.” Angela held up her hand to forestall questions. “We – the Yrdens – have another ship that arrived in-system in to pick up supplies, passengers, and so forth. You will be transferring to Twin Star. I stay here.”
Carol absorbed that, and then, as the implications set in, she winced.
“Some of the passengers you got to know here are also transferring to Twin Star, so you won’t be totally among strangers.” Carol brightened somewhat. “And your sister, Helen, who will dock with us in an hour or so, will likewise transfer to Twin Star. This will all take place in the next few days.”
Not With A Whimper: Survivors Page 28