Smoke on the Wind

by Sean Benjamin

  During this informal gathering, Hawkins made it a point to talk to Riki Takahashi about Maclyn Yardley. He was told she was doing fine as far as being a good captain who knew how to run her ship. Riki couldn’t say how things were aboard Gawain herself. Hawkins talked to Kit Kinkaid, and she reported she had to kick some people in the ass to get them in line, but she could handle it. Finally, Rafe walked toward Yardley. She smiled a tight smile as he approached. She had a drink in her hand, but it was hardly touched. She was not socializing with the other attendees. “I saw you with Riki and Kit Kinkaid. I thought you would get here eventually.”

  Hawkins asked, “How is it going?”

  Yardley was honest. “The crew hates me more or less. Kit Kinkaid is a godsend. No idea what I would do without her. I figure I’m semi-safe until the battle. Someone might make a move against me during the fight. If we survive, then it will be really dangerous for me. On the plus side, I am so happy to be out of jail and have a ship, I would gladly do it again regardless of what happens.” She stared at Hawkins. “Thank you. I really mean that. Thank you.”

  Raferty almost smiled but didn’t. “Don’t be so fast to thank me. You haven’t had a missile barrage come at you yet.”

  Yardley shrugged. “The chances we take. I can live with it. Maybe die with it too. All the same, thanks.”

  Hawkins nodded and moved on. He knew Yardley would be fine, come what may. He moved to Admiral Barrett and Killian O’Hare standing alone to the side. Rafe shook hands with the Admiral. He looked at O’Hare. “I will only stay a minute,” he promised her as he didn’t want to interrupt their time together. He turned to Barrett. “I’m sorry about the command assignments. I know you would rather be out in vacuum fighting a battle, but nobody knows Wanderlust like you do. It made sense for you to command there.”

  Barrett shrugged. “You’re right. I would rather be out on the prowl, but I understand.” He gave a slight smile. “I suspect there will still be plenty of opportunities to get killed in the future.”

  Hawkins nodded. Noting O’Hare’s deadly stare boring into him, Rafe excused himself and wandered off. He continued to make the rounds, talking to Admiral Levant and Captain Jack Wilson. He and Tactical had a long conversation with Brigadier Dunwater and his staff. Finally, Hawkins talked to each pirate captain. They seemed to have retained their enthusiasm for the upcoming missions. He was happy about that and proud of his people.

  His final visit was with Blondie. Jack Wilson quickly joined the two of them in a quiet corner. Blondie smiled at both men. She looked at Raferty. “Thank you for the opportunity, Captain.” She then looked at Wilson. “And thank you for the support you are giving me.” She continued by addressing both of them. “I’m not wearing my uniform while in command. I see no need to remind them I’m a lieutenant j. g. I figure if I’m not wearing my uniform, I should go all the way and not do any of the uniform regulations. After all, I didn’t get this job as a junior officer, I got this job because I’m a pirate.” She looked at both men while awaiting their reactions.

  Wilson said, “I have no problem with that. I’ll take you over to Jib for the first time. I’ll also send a message telling Jib’s XO he is in temporary command and to gather all the former captain’s gear together and offload it with their shuttle transfer so the stuff will end up at Wanderlust. You don’t need his gear on the ship.”

  Hawkins said, “That crew will know all about you before you get there. Information travels fast in situations like this. There will be one officer who will try to be the biggest pain in your butt. It might be someone who is closest to the former captain. If there is nobody like that, it will probably be the XO as he or she will view himself or herself as the keeper of the flame for all that is good and right aboard Jib. I’m telling you now so you can be ready. You won’t be able to win this person over so don’t waste the time. Just burn him or her down. It will be a warning to the others that you are not to be screwed with.”

  He smiled at her now. “Your experience is engineering so make that your first topic of conversation at your first meeting. People will see that you may be young, but you know your stuff. I’m not worried about your abilities, Blondie. You have what it takes. Whenever things get tight, your first reaction will probably be the right one so don’t waste time second-guessing yourself.”

  Blondie nodded. “Thank you, Captain. I’m looking forward to the challenge.”

  Hawkins turned to Wilson. “Well, Jack, you happy with the mission brief now?”

  Wilson had recommended one major change after he reviewed his mission brief via message hours before arriving at Hartley. The change was put in. He nodded at Hawkins. “You know I’m right, Rafe. The original attack with the Royal Navy over the floating docks and the pirates snuggling up to the Moon won’t get it done. There are more Royal Navy ships so they should have the Moon.”

  Rafe smiled. “That’s true, but it isn’t the real reason you wanted the switch. The force floating over the docks has the easier mission and more protection from incoming enemy fire. The Moon ships will be taking the greater risk.”

  Wilson smiled in response to Hawkins. “That’s true, and it is only proper. We should be taking the greater risk. You all are taking a risk you don’t have to take just by coming here and being in this war. It is our own ineptitude that requires your presence. We should take the bigger risk here.”

  Hawkins bowed slightly to concede the point. Wilson smiled and moved off as Baby Doll walked over.

  She brought up a new subject. “I got one question, and I figure one of you knows the answer.” She looked at Hawkins. “You just spent half the mission brief dodging peers. How many damn peers are there?” She scanned the other two faces. Blondie said in an instructive tone, “There are three hundred and sixty-one peers of which one hundred and four are in the Upper House.” She smiled as her two companions stared at her. “Knowing peer numbers is a social must at The Academy. Everyone knows everyone’s pedigree.”

  “Why aren’t they all in the Upper House?” asked Baby Doll.

  “Two hundred or so years ago, there were only eighty-eight peers. When they decided to set up the Upper House, all the planets in the Empire at the time saw the advantages of having as many peers as possible in the Upper House so they started designating everyone and their pet unicorn a peer, thinking they would all get into the Upper House. The monarchy at the time put a stop to it. After threats, bribes, negotiations, and what-not, it was decided the Upper House would be restricted to the original eighty-eight peers. These peers represented all the important planets in the Empire in various numbers. As new major planets joined the Empire, they were allowed to designate one peer to be in the Upper House so there are one hundred and one permanent peers now. The other three peers in the body are life peers. They earned their titles through their life’s work and after they die, the title expires. Only life peers who have done work that can be used in the Upper House are invited to join. There are life peers who earned their peerage because they do great things in various fields but are not invited to join the Upper House as their expertise is not viewed as adding anything to the body.” She paused and then added, “The other hundreds of peers have all the same privileges as the Upper House peers except they aren’t in that body.”

  “So, they still get the best seats in restaurants and stuff like that,” said Baby Doll. Blondie nodded.

  Hawkins added, “And in addition to that, they all get to be pains in my ass.”

  Blondie nodded again. “That too.”

  Baby Doll thought for a moment and then said, “Hundreds of peers with brothers, sisters, kids, cousins, best friends, lovers, and so on. That is a big group to constantly accommodate. That would be a pain in anyone’s ass.” She looked at Rafe. “I guess you’re the only peer we can trust.” She smiled at the thought.

  Blondie excused herself and moved back to Jack Wilson. Now alone, Baby Doll looked at Hawkins. “I’m surprised you picked Blondie rather than one of our more exper
ienced officers.”

  Hawkins knew this was a concern beyond Baby Doll. Others in Flot 1 would also have that question. He answered, “We have more experienced officers but none with a Royal Navy background. Jib will have at least one officer who will be a pain. One of our pirate officers would run the ship like a Flot 1 ship so would just shove that person out an airlock. That would create questions and heartburn. Blondie knows the nuances of her navy and will handle it in line with their regs while still achieving the desired results.”

  Baby Doll nodded. “Good point.” Rafe knew she would pass that answer on to others in Flot 1, and the questions regarding Blondie’s selection would go away.

  Soon enough, the group secured for the evening. Everyone moved to their assigned pirate ship as Raferty thanked the base commander for his hospitality. He provided final guidance on the headquarters group who would be guests for a week. The base commander promised no communication would be allowed.

  Captain Wilson, Blondie, and four death-squad members would be traveling in Nemesis. The Royal Marines, Admirals Barrett and Levant, Tactical, and Raferty would be riding in Dragon while planning the marine operation at Rurik. Just prior to leaving, Hawkins returned to Predator for his gear and then went on the bridge for a final check of the watch. Tactical was at her ops station for one last update of the situation and Baby Doll was at the intel station checking incoming messages. Mason Reed sat in the command chair.

  Hawkins looked around the bridge as he stood next to the command chair. “Where’s Logan?”

  Tactical talked from the ops station. “When Logan assigned four people to support Blondie in Jib, he assigned himself as one of the four. He’s getting his gear together and briefing the other three people going with him before moving to Nemesis.”

  Rafe turned to face his OpsO. He smiled slightly at her. “You knew he was going, of course.”

  Tactical nodded. “He asked me, and I agreed to the plan.”

  Raferty held his smile and said, “If anyone in that crew gets cute, Logan will splatter their guts on the nearest bulkhead.”

  Tactical matched the smile. “Here’s hoping. If the Jib crew is anything like their quitter of a captain, they will need shaping up.”

  Hawkins nodded and switched subjects. “Does Preacher know he is the chief engineer now?”

  Mason Reed spoke up from his chair. “I told him when we got back. You know how quiet he is, but he is happy as hell. He’ll do just fine.”

  Rafe nodded. He was glad to see Mason taking command of Predator as Hawkins focused on his new job. Raferty said to him, “With Tactical in Typhoon and Logan in Jib, you’re a little short in the ops department here on Predator.”

  Mason shrugged. “Baby Doll and I can handle it. I’m your old OpsO from Bandit days and Baby Doll is adequate. We’ll make do.”

  Baby Doll gave him a glare. “Adequate, my ass.”

  Reed looked at her and shook his head. “Baby Doll, don’t sell yourself short. Your ass is way better than adequate.”

  Tactical looked at Raferty and shook her head. “And the fun begins aboard Predator. The kids are in charge of our ship now.”

  One hour later, all the passengers boarded Dragon and Nemesis. Each pirate ship, except Nemesis, had transferred her shuttle to the freighters. The shuttles would be transferred later to the Rurik attackers when Rafe, Tactical, and Admiral Levant changed ships. Pirate Flotilla One broke into squadrons and departed Hartley. The warships, traveling by different routes to avoid attracting attention, were headed to a rally point in open space in Orion territory. The five pirate freighters set course for Wanderlust. If that base was being monitored by a spy ship or passing commercial ships, the arriving freighters would rate little notice.

  Chapter 15

  Admiral Noah Wu was livid. He reread Hawkins’ message on his floating screen. Who in the hell had sent a damn contingent of staff officers from HQ to Hartley? He was amazed that anyone would do that. He knew it wasn’t the Defense Minister. Douglas Cunningham was fighting for his political life and wouldn’t get involved in such details. Also, Wu was sure Cunningham was keeping a safe distance from this Hawkins operation. If the mission failed, he would claim he had nothing to do with it. If it succeeded, he is the defense minister and would happily accept congratulations on a great victory. Omitting Cunningham meant the instigator of this little foray was a military officer.

  Wu didn’t know who the culprit was, but the list was short. It had to be a senior officer in a section head position, the chief of staff (COS), or the deputy CME. There just weren’t that many people briefed on the meeting at Hartley and who could order people from several HQ departments to Hartley. Even if a section head wanted to do it, he or she would have to convince the other section heads to cooperate as he or she couldn’t order them to do anything as they were all equal. The only people who could order it done were himself, the deputy, and the COS. Wu frowned as a new thought came to him. Now there were a lot more people in on the Hawkins plan than anyone envisioned. That whole damn group that went to Hartley were now privy to it, so the chances of a leak to the media just increased exponentially. Wu shook his head in disgust. There is always someone on his or her own agenda. He would get to the bottom of this. He sent an order to the commanding officer of Hartley to hold those staff officers for one week per the Duke of Black Hallow’s wishes. They were to be allowed no outside communication whatsoever.

  Wu wanted to talk to the two clear frontrunners for ordering this particular act of idiocy. He decided to start with the chief of staff, the more likely candidate. He called Admiral Lachlan Currie to his office. The two sat at his conference table. Wu conducted himself in a formal manner rather than the friendlier fashion that was his normal style. “I have a topic that pains me to bring up, but I need the truth here.” He looked at Currie intently. “A group of two dozen officers from this HQ will be out of the office and out of communication for one week. The reason why is someone ordered them to attend the Duke of Black Hallow’s briefing at Hartley. Did you do that?”

  Admiral Currie paused as he gauged the CME’s mood, and then spoke up in his usual gruff manner, “Yes, I sent them. They are to provide support as needed and bring the plan back here for staffing. We haven’t had a cut on it yet.”

  Wu stared at Currie. “We aren’t getting a cut on the plan. We have never reviewed or modified any field commander’s plan, and we aren’t going to start now.”

  Currie stared back at him. “Of course, we need a cut. You are the only one here in HQ to see the complete plan. That man may be in charge due to the Queen’s edict, but he is a rank amateur and so is his staff. We can’t just support this while hoping for success. Professionals need to review, evaluate, and, probably, make improvements to this so-called plan. Lives depend on it, Noah.”

  Wu’s eyes narrowed. For some reason, he didn’t like Currie using his first name right now. He shook off the irritation. “Your actions were out of line. The Duke does not need or desire our input on his plan. Now those officers you sent are staying at Hartley for a standard week. After that, it will take two days to get back here. They will be out of comm for the entire time. Operational security. Pass on to the headquarters staff that they will have to work without those people. Do not tell them why.” Wu stared Currie in the eye and spoke in a low voice. “Don’t ever do that again, Admiral.”

  Currie looked him at him for a long time. Wu knew what he was thinking. Did he want to make a stand over this? Wu was sure he wouldn’t do that although he wished he would. That would give Wu the excuse he needed to fire him. Currie read the situation correctly. He stood up and bowed slightly. “Very well, Admiral.” He departed. Wu sat and quietly seethed. He added Currie to the list of people who needed to go. Currie’s nephew might be a duke, having inherited the title from Currie’s brother, but there were ways around that.

  Chapter 16

  Dragon and her four freighter companions arrived at Wanderlust five days after departing Hartley. Hawkins wa
nted to stop at Wanderlust to review the battle plans for its defense against the OrCon raiders. Also, if events went the way Hawkins hoped, these people would get their own battle against the OrCons, and they needed to see the guy in charge. He would walk around the surface base with Admiral Barrett just so the people stationed there would know he took an interest. Word would get around.

  Rafe had been tempted to take Predator to the base, but if a spy ship or a passing freighter were around Wanderlust, the arrival of an Edinburgh built Clan class destroyer would be noticed. Hawkins had no doubt that the ships of Flot 1 were well known to the OrCon high command after their last two excursions to this warzone. There was no reason to risk recognition and have it reported back to the enemy.

  While Hawkins was travelling to Wanderlust and spending time there, all the ships under his command were moving to rally points individually or in small formations. It was a drawn-out process that would take seven days. Levant’s Electra System force had begun moving out on orders Hawkins had issued while still at Hartley. Ships would recover their captains en route. The transfer of shuttles from the Royal Navy destroyers going to the Metal Moon was also accomplished en route. Hawkins was convinced the major mistake made by the Zekes prior to their Excandor defeat was the massing of their ships in bases and then moving out in large formations. Once en route, the chatter from various commercial ships or OrCon spy ships reporting the formations passing them would mark the course of the two Zeke task forces as they moved toward their objective. All the OrCons had to do was look at a star map and figure out the likeliest targets. Rafe suspected that the OrCons had narrowed it down quickly and had put large forces in range of Excandor. Of course, they had been right and had won a major battle. Raferty was determined not to repeat that mistake.