Rookie Privateer

by McFarlane, Jamie

  "Crazy, huh? So what's on the list today?" I handed Nick a pouch of water, since he had no interest in coffee.

  "Believe it or not, I think one of us should drill on the slug-thrower while the other sails an easy zig-zag pattern. I figured out how to get the turret into simulation mode. We have a few more things to fix, but they can wait until we're underway. If we're going to fly with a turret, we better make sure we can use it."

  I got Nick comfortable with the flight systems and headed to the armory. I entered the code, climbed up the ladder, and settled into the chair. I tested the operation of the turret and it swung around easily. I had quite a lot of freedom and a great view of everything on this side of the ship. "Go ahead Nick, I'm all set."

  "Roger that." Nick accelerated on a zig-zag pattern and my AI projected a simulated attacking ship. I dragged the red line of the projected slug path along the side of the ship. It was hard to orient to the target, but after a few minutes I finally began scoring hits. After thirty minutes, we switched positions and I zig-zagged our way back the same way we had come.

  "I scheduled a fuel-up at 0400 tomorrow morning. We’ll top off water and atmo crystals, too. Your list is in your inbox," Nick informed me.

  We worked the rest of the day. Nick was a task master. Most of the jobs required considerable direction by my AI, but I was pretty good at following instructions. That night we lay on our beds, completely exhausted. I wouldn't have thought I’d be able to sleep before such a big day, but Nick had worked us hard and we hadn't slept that much the night before.

  It had become our routine to talk about the next day as we decompressed, waiting to get to sleep. "I sent a comm to Xie Mie-su to remind her to meet at the loading bay at 0600 tomorrow."

  Nick replied, "Oh, good, I forgot about that. Alarm is set for 0330, I even programmed the coffee brewer to fire off shortly before that."

  "I'm gonna need that," I agreed.

  Confusion coursed through my brain as I heard the warbling sound. I hated waking to an alarm. Nick bounced out of bed and hit the lights in the room.

  "Shoot me now," I muttered.

  "Coffee's up, Captain. Let's meet our destiny." Geez he was cheerful this morning. Nick was normally reserved, always thinking and almost never annoyingly cheerful.

  It took me nearly ten minutes to get my suit on. I was starting to smell a bit. I wondered how I had ever thought that not having a suit freshener might work. I stumbled aft to the galley and poured a cup of coffee. At least that smell was amazing. What was I going to do when we used the last of it? That single kilo wouldn't last forever. I made my way forward to the bridge and found Nick in his normal morning position.

  "We need to be at the fueling station at 0400. Engines are online and all systems are go," he said.

  I sat in the port pilot's chair. "How about dampers?"

  Nick grinned at me. "Roger that, Captain."

  I followed Nick's navigation plan and we arrived at the fuel station within a minute of 0400. I eased Sterra's Gift into a fueling bay. A robotic attendant expertly connected the hoses, topped us off, and I watched our account balance dwindle. Now, we were pretty much carrying our entire net worth with us.

  I eased back from the fueling station and made my way to the open door of the docking bay. Even though the bay was twice as tall as Sterra's Gift, it was a tight squeeze for the ship. I came in as slowly as a ship could be sailed, but I didn't care. I wasn't about to dig a crater into the station with my entire net worth. I extended the landing skids and set the ship down. I set the perimeter system to chime when it noted movement and leaned back into the chair, closing my eyes.

  I woke up to a chime. The time was 0555. Xie Mie-su made her way across the docking bay with a duffel over her shoulder. She saw me through the armor glass and gave a small wave. I met her at the airlock and attempted to grab her duffel, but she wasn’t having any of that.

  "Ready for some coffee?" I asked.

  "Oh, hell yeah," she responded.

  "Cups are in the top cupboard. I'll drop your duffel in your bunk room. You have it to yourself."

  "Oh, that's a shame," she replied slyly.

  That got my attention, but I ignored it. Was she flirting? Okay, for now I would ignore it. I heard another chime and looked out the window to see four guys pulling large, loaded grav-carts toward the ship. I strapped on my holster and checked the magazine. I had reloaded and was holding thirty-five rounds. I raised my helmet and loaded the security routine.

  "Nick. Look sharp. Stevedores are here." Colony 40 didn't have a stevedore union, but there were a couple of companies who specialized in loading ship cargo.

  "On it."

  The ship layout was simple. The two cargo bays were located in front of the engine room. Next came the galley and airlock on the port side, opposite the armory on starboard. Forward of the airlock on the port side was BR-3, the main head, and then the captain's quarters. Xie would be using the BR-1, opposite the captain’s quarters. We were already using the other two bunk rooms to store overflow cargo.

  Each of the two cargo bays held ninety-six cubic meters, provided they were packed tightly. The value of the cargo bays was they had an exterior loading platform that lowered from the ship. They also had the added advantage of having an audit record of access which prevented pillaging by a crew. We would have to overflow forty-five cubic meters or better of cargo into BR-2 and BR-3, depending on how well the crew did their job.

  I stood several meters away from where Nick was talking with the stevedores. There was a lot of nodding and pointing. In the end, Nick lowered the cargo lifts to the loading bay floor. The cutter wasn't specifically made for hauling cargo, but like most long-haul ships, it needed to have some capacity. Its real advantage was that it was well protected with both missiles and the turret. Of course its primary defense was superior acceleration.

  My job was to make sure no one got out of hand. We had too much on the line at this point and I couldn't afford for someone to make trouble for us. The plan they came up with was to put the overflow onto the starboard lift first and move it through the hallway into the bunk room. We would have to vent all of the atmo from the hallways to make it happen, but it would save us two hours of cycling through the ship's small airlock with the extra cargo. I moved inside the ship to watch the stevedores load the bunk room while Nick oversaw the loading of the port lift.

  The crates were all loaded by 0730 and we had signed paperwork accepting responsibility for the load. Since this wasn't a bonded load, Ordena would have to bring a civil or criminal suit against us if the cargo wasn't delivered.

  With the stevedores gone and the paperwork signed, we were significantly heavier by twenty metric tonnes than when we had landed. This was only 20% additional weight to the ship, overall. I grabbed a reading pad and loaded the pre-flight checklist. It just took twenty minutes to get through the checklist, mostly because I was familiar with the process.

  "Pre-flight complete," I said into the comm.

  "Roger that. Pre-flight complete," Nick replied.

  Public Address. "Xie, we are about to get underway. Please have a seat."

  "Ready gravity push."

  "Go for gravity push," Nick replied.

  Xie stuck her head into the bridge. "Mind if I sit up here?"

  "Grab one of the two stations back there if you don't mind." I answered, still watching systems status stream by on the vid-screen.

  Xie Mie-su dutifully sat in one of the chairs at the back of the bridge

  I gently brought the thrust up, not wanting to knock into the ceiling of the loading bay. I felt quite a bit of stress, given my lack of experience. The pressure on the skids reduced to zero kilos and I gave it a small bump to lift off of the floor. For some reason, seeing the top of the ship in relationship to the ceiling made it easier to figure out how much thrust to add to the arc-jets beneath the ship. I decided to back out along the same path we had entered on instead of trying to turn around and fly out straight. It seemed
to take forever before the armored glass cleared the lip of the docking bay. The good news was that by the time we got there the entire ship was out of the bay. For good measure, I continued backing until I was a ship's length away from the station.

  I turned the ship on a familiar heading and steadily accelerated.

  "Captain, are you looking at the navigation plot I set?" Nick called up from the engine room.

  "Not yet, just want to do one thing." Free of the congestion around P-Zero, I accelerated a bit harder and felt the same joy at being pressed back into my seat.

  Hoffen Channel One. The AI connected me to my family's primary channel. "Hey Dad, Mom, look up."

  I spun the ship over as we passed over the top of Big Pete and Silver's claim number forty-two. We were moving pretty fast at that point.

  "Godspeed," Big Pete said over the channel.

  "Love you," Mom said.

  "Good luck and see you on the other side," I said and closed the channel.

  Nick had joined us on the bridge and took his spot in the starboard side pilot’s chair.

  "Alright, east bound and down," I said and pushed the stick to line us up on the heading Nick had laid out in the navigation system.

  "East?" Nick asked, confused.

  "Old movie from Earth history." Play East Bound and Down on Bridge. My ever listening AI caught the command and piped the audio of a twangy sounding singer named Jerry Reed.

  East bound and down, loaded up and truckin',

  We're gonna do what they say can't be done.

  PASSAGE TO BARU MANUSH

  Engage Automatic Burn Plan A.

  The flight control stick slid forward automatically and came to rest in a slot in the bulkhead directly in front of my chair. The insistent pull of the stick initially startled me until I realized it was purposefully sliding out of the way. For the next 178 hours, the auto pilot would coordinate with the navigation system to most efficiently reach Baru Manush. We would experience 14 hours of hard burn, 150 hours of free sailing, and then 14 for deceleration.

  Hard burn was not extremely well named. The experience is relatively pleasant compared to the motion felt during combat maneuvers. During a hard burn, the gravity and inertia stabilizing systems work together to redirect the effects of acceleration into vertical g-forces. As passengers, we feel as if we are walking around in 1.5 gravity. The effects are quite different if you are used to .6 gravity. We wear our vac-suits to help with circulation, but we can move around, even if it is a bit sluggish.

  I grabbed the console as the ship jerked beneath us. For a second, I thought it was possible the auto pilot might have broken. The vid screen display to my left was unfamiliar to me, since this was our maiden flight. I finally located the acceleration display and realized we were okay. The ship was still accelerating, but the auto pilot was choosing significantly different settings than the ones I had been using for manual control.

  "Fourteen hours of burn. Gravity at one point five," I announced to the bridge. Nick had designed the flight plan, so I was really giving the heads-up to Xie Mie-su.

  "When will we make Baru Manush?" she asked.

  "Plan calls for 178 hours, give or take," I answered.

  "You told Ordena 250 hours."

  "I did. Under promise, over deliver."

  Nick handed a reading tablet to me. "Here is your task list. I figured four hours of productivity each twenty-four hour cycle. I prioritized cleaning public spaces first since we have a guest."

  "Two hour watches?" Nick and I had previously discussed making sure we always had someone on the bridge.

  "Yup."

  I scanned the list and the very first item on my list was the head. Sterra's Gift was like most other small boats. Each head was a combination shower and toilet with zero-g attachments. While in-station, I had carefully avoided bringing up the subject, but both heads were completely wrecked. I found the idea of Xie using either one embarrassing.

  "Did we remember to get cleaning supplies?" I asked.

  "Panel G-14," Nick replied.

  The first letter of a panel indicated which room of the ship and the number kept things unique. In this case G stood for galley and I'd have to search for the 14th panel. Paint was missing from the panels and it was unlikely I would find it without referencing the ship diagrams. I was glad I had first shift on the bridge.

  Nick stood and walked up the small ramp to the back of the bridge where Xie was still seated.

  "Ms. Mie-su, if you don't mind, I would like to clean out your bunk room during my first shift," Nick said, sounding all professional.

  "Let me get my bag out of your way." Xie stood up in front of Nick, barring his way out of the bridge.

  "It should be fine, I can move it if necessary," Nick replied.

  Xie laughed like Nick had told a joke. "Don't be silly, I will just grab it and hang out with Liam while you do your work."

  "It's not a ..." Nick started.

  Xie reached toward Nick and put her index finger on his lips, effectively stopping him from talking. "Never you mind a girl and her bag." With that she turned and exited the bridge, presumably to fetch her bag.

  Nick looked over his shoulder as if I might offer some help. I just smiled.

  I turned back to look out of the armored glass. The view hadn't changed significantly from what I was used to at home, but it felt completely different. We were hurtling through space at speeds I had never gone before and we would continue accelerating for the next fourteen hours. It was mind boggling.

  I spent the next two hours rearranging the vid-screen displays so that I was comfortable. Sterra's Gift had a lot of unfamiliar systems, but I had every confidence in my AI's ability to prioritize issues and present solutions. At some point we would need to upgrade software for advanced ship controls, but for now I hoped we had things reasonably under control.

  Nick's voice broke my concentration, "Ms. Mie-su, your bunk is ready." It was weird to hear him be so formal, but it made sense. She was a paying customer. "You can use either of the foot lockers to stow your personal items. Can I carry your bag for you?"

  Xie had been very quiet for the last two hours. I realized she had been sleeping in the chair and I'd completely forgotten she was there. She answered Nick with a subdued, just-been-sleeping voice, "Oh, no. I have it. Thanks." She stood before Nick could reach her bag and picked it up. "I think I might take a rest, I haven't slept much the last few days." Xie gave me a polite smile and exited the bridge.

  Nick didn't feel that needed a response, so he turned his attention on me. It was then that I realized his vac-suit was covered in grime.

  "What in the frak did you get into?" I asked.

  "I think they transported animals," Nick answered without humor.

  "No way." I felt a little sorry for him, but I also remembered that he had me signed up for cleaning the head and I knew it wasn't in any better shape.

  "Glad we got that suit freshener. I don't think I've ever smelled this bad. I know I asked Xie to install it, but I think I will take that one on next shift."

  "Are you sure you don't want to do that now?" I glanced from his filthy vac-suit to the pristine fabric of the pilot chairs. He followed my eyes and nodded his head with a look of understanding.

  "Yeah, it will probably take me less than an hour. I was thinking of putting it in the galley."

  "Sure. Come up when you are done."

  An hour later Nick showed back up on the bridge. While he was gone I set the ship to alert my AI for any issues that were lower than a green status. Unfortunately, this showed twenty yellow issues that I had to filter out. Most of these were related to missing ship systems and a general lack of combat readiness. I set up a filter to prioritize life support and navigation issues. They were all green, so I relaxed.

  Nick's vac-suit looked and smelled better than it had in weeks. His thick black hair was still a mess, but the rest was a vast improvement. Nick sat down heavily in the chair I had just vacated. I had already sen
t him my ship system's query while he was installing the suit freshener.

  "I am showing important systems as green. Let me know if you think we should be watching anything else. I set it to ping me if there is a problem. Why don't you see if you can get some rest?" Nick looked pretty beat. He had been pushing hard for days to get Sterra's Gift launched.

  "I'll be okay. Feels good to sit down. 1.5 G is rough, but at least we only have nine hours left. We might want to change the work schedule under hard-burn." Nick started working on the vid-screen displays to show a running status of different systems. I didn't mind. I had my preferences saved off. "Left the cleaning stuff in the head. Have fun with that." Nick didn't sound like he thought I would.

  I sighed and turned to walk through the door of the bridge. "The bridge is yours."

  "Aye, the bridge is mine."

  I supposed that we needed to adopt some sort of formal bridge hand-over protocol. I had read that military and corporate ships required strict control of who was in charge of the bridge. It was one of a million things we would have to work out.

  I had been sitting for an extended period of time and I could use a trip to the head. My vac-suit could be configured to take care of liquid waste, but I didn't have the software for that yet. I think it also required some additional material - possibly nano-bot upgrades. I didn't like the idea of using my suit that way.

  The main head was on the port side and positioned between the captain's quarters and BR-3. There was a secondary head forward of the armory on the starboard side.

  The walls, ceiling and floor of the room were one continuous surface of a low-gloss silver-colored alloy. Integrated into the walls were a few strips of lighting that could be dimmed depending on the sleep cycles of the passengers. The floor's higher friction surface had a definite propensity for holding onto grunge.

  The shower head was broken off and it looked like someone had simply compressed the end of the tube to give it a level of spray instead of a constant stream of water. The toilet wasn't in any better shape. It was dinged, dented and covered in layers of things we won't discuss. The null-gravity attachments hung loosely and I suspected they weren't working, which would explain some of the grime that coated the walls. The sink looked like it might have been used for the wrong purposes. In short, it was nearly the worst possible scenario that I could come up with.