Captain's Share (Trader's Tales from the Golden Age of the Solar Clipper)

by Nathan Lowell

  We latched on and I suppressed a sigh. It was quiet enough on the bridge and I didn’t want to have to explain it.

  “Secure from navigation stations, Ms. Thomas. Feel free to declare liberty when the Customs people have cleared us to leave the ship.”

  “Aye, aye, Captain.”

  It was just about 1700 when I got back to the cabin and ran through the docking protocols. The formal customs declarations had been filed long since. We just needed to go through the inspection routine. The Agamemnon was a known entity and they cleared us with a only a perfunctory look at the embargo locker and formal examination of manifest and crew.

  A message from “A. Pacquette, Solicitor” showed up in my inbox. She requested that I contact her office when convenient. I did treat myself to a sigh then. It would have been nice if she’d said why. My paranoid side said, “Uh oh! There’s a problem.” My rational side said, “Don’t borrow trouble.” Luckily I had a practical side that got me into a fresh undress uniform and headed for the lock to go find out what Ms. A. Pacquette, Solicitor, wanted to see me about.

  On the way off the ship, I stopped in the mess deck. I found Mr. Wyatt putting out a light dinner. Ms. Thomas sat in her spot at the table watching the ready cargo list while he prepared. She smiled when I came in. “Going ashore, Captain?”

  “Yes, Ms. Thomas. I need to tie off some loose ends before they trip me. I’ll miss dinner mess, I expect, Mr. Wyatt.”

  He grinned. “No problem, Skipper. I didn’t make much. I think almost everybody will be ashore tonight except for the duty section.”

  “What about you, two? Heading out after mess?”

  Ms. Thomas shrugged. “We haven’t really talked about it yet.” She glanced at him coyly. “Perhaps we’ll find something to do.”

  He caught the glance and I thought he colored a bit.

  “Well, I’ve got watch in the morning, so if you’d like to sleep in, Mr. Wyatt and take the day off tomorrow? I can cover through the dinner mess tomorrow night. I’m hoping it’ll be a quiet watch.”

  “Thanks, Skipper. I’ll take you up on that.”

  Mr. Pall came onto the Mess Deck. His cast had peeled off after about three weeks. The small sensors embedded in it determined that his leg was strong enough on its own and had triggered a chemical change in the compound of the cast. The change allowed Mr. Pall to basically wash the cast off in the shower and, after a couple of weeks of climbing the ladders, was showing no outward signs of his ordeal.

  “Heading out, Skipper?”

  “Yes, Mr. Pall. I have to take care of some business. I should be back in two or three stans”

  “Understood, Captain.” He nodded and smiled at me before relieving Ms. Thomas.

  I headed down to oh-one. Ms. Pacquette was with a client when I entered, but the staffer showed me a quiet waiting room with some comfy chairs. “She’ll be only a few more moments, Captain. Please make yourself comfortable and let me know if you need anything?”

  I thanked him and settled into the nearest lounger. I took the opportunity to check on the ready cargo list. We hadn’t picked cans yet. The bet was over and we were waiting for the final tally to come in from DST on how much the latest shipment had grossed the ship. It would have an effect on our shares, but more important, it would determine the winner of the bet. So much had changed in the eight months since I’d made that bet with Mr. Hill. I recognized that the balance of luck was definitely on my side, even with the setbacks on the priority cargo and personal issues that had brought me to the lawyer’s office to begin with.

  The staffer returned after only a few ticks and escorted me to the inner sanctum.

  Ms. Pacquette rose to shake my hand before settling back into her chair behind the desk. “Thank you for coming so soon after docking, Captain.” She smiled.

  “I have duty tomorrow. I thought it would be expedient to find out what you needed as soon as possible.”

  She nodded and accepted a packet of paperwork from her assistant with a smile and a nod of thanks. The assistant left us alone while Ms. Pacquette opened the package and started pulling out papers.

  “As you expected, your ex-wife signed the papers, Captain. The divorce hearing was held on August 1st with no objections placed by her council. Your ex-wife took the settlement and made no counter demands on her own behalf. Since you made none against her, the adjudication hearing was pro forma and the decree finalized on September 1st.” At each step she held up a particular sheet or form. “As of that date your marriage was ended and you owed no legal obligations under the contract.”

  I took a deep breath and let it out. Hearing it all laid out like that–cut, dried, done–reminded me that while I might be mostly healed, it was still a sore subject. “The apartment?”

  “The lease was terminated effective September first. We hired a moving company to pack up. Your ex-wife took the furnishings and household gear. Your clothing and assorted memorabilia were placed in storage.” She pulled a key card out of the packet and added it to the pile.

  It was on the tip of my tongue to ask where Jen was, but I’d forfeited the right to know that with the divorce.

  “Do you have any other requirements for my firm, Captain Wang?”

  “No, Ms. Pacquette. Am I overlooking something? From a legal standpoint, is there anything that you think I should be considering?”

  “No, Captain. I think it’s all over now, unless you find something in that storage locker that’s a problem. You do have some recourse if there are things missing, but there’s a limitation on how long you have to file a claim. I’d check that as soon as possible if I were you.”

  “Thank you, Ms. Pacquette. I’ll do that. There shouldn’t be too much there. Frankly, I doubt that there’s much there that I want.”

  She nodded and gathered up the package of materials again, putting them all neatly back in the folder. “In that case, Captain, there’s only the matter of your final billing. Would you like me to send you an invoice?”

  “Do you have it ready?”

  “One moment and I’ll see.” She went out into the outer office and returned with a tablet a few moments later. “We’ve just added this visit to the total, Captain.” She handed me the tablet.

  I scrolled down through the listings. It wasn’t an inconsiderable list, but each item seemed proper and appropriate. The total at the bottom was rather hefty, but not as much as I’d given Jen as a settlement. I thumbed it for payment and handed it back to her. “If you’d forward an electronic copy of that showing payment, Ms. Pacquette? Thanks for your help.”

  She smiled and shook my hand. “My pleasure, Captain. Would that all my cases were as readily handled as this one.” She handed me the packet of official papers and walked me to the door.

  In the passageway outside the office, I looked down at the packet. It seemed too thin and light to hold the end of a marriage. I snorted a short laugh. Given the history, thin and light probably was a good description after all.

  The storage locker turned out to hold just a few boxes with “Ishmael–clothing” scrawled on the ends. I made arrangement with the storage company to have them delivered to the ship the next day and headed down to the chandlery. I needed to see a man about a hot tub. I was still waiting for the final numbers, but I was pretty sure how it was going to go.

  By the time I got out of the chandlery, it was nearly 2100 and I was running on empty. When I got onto the lift, I punched the down button and set a course for Over Easy. When I pushed through the door, the place wasn’t exactly packed but there was a good crowd. Customers filled almost all the booths and a good number of the tables. I dithered for a moment just inside the door and my luck held as a stool opened up at the counter. It wasn’t my normal stool but it was better than nothing. I could have taken a table, but it wasn’t the same.

  The guy behind the counter looked familiar and his name tag read “Seth.” I thought I’d seen him before but they all had a very similar look. He gave me the normal chin-
up, reverse nod and I spieled off my standard order. He grinned, poured coffee, wrote it down and slipped it into the clip with a hearty “Order, Frank.”

  I sipped the coffee gratefully and scoped out the place. The crowd appeared largely sober. In spite of being an around-the-clock operation, most people still did their serious drinking later in the evening and into the early morning hours. It always struck me as odd, each time I observed it. As a land rat, it seemed normal to me, but as a spacer used to watch standing, I found it interesting that even watch standers tended to carouse on a day-worker schedule.

  My food slid onto the counter in front of me and Seth warmed the coffee. The rest of the room faded away as I tucked in. It was delicious, filling, and gone in about four ticks. It never ceased to amaze me how quickly a plate of food could disappear. I was certain that some of it must melt into the air while I was chewing. I sighed in satisfaction and slid the plate back across the counter.

  Seth gave a knowing smirk as he cleared away and offered another refill on the coffee. I nodded to accept it and he topped it off. “Anything else, Captain?”

  I gave my head a little shake and he held the tab for me to pay. A quick stroke of the thumb and we were square. I sipped my coffee and looked around a bit more. This was not my usual seat and it gave me a different perspective on the room. Normally I sat on one end or the other so I could get a good look at the other patrons without appearing to gawk. The seat midway along the counter kept my back to the door, and most of the room. It gave me a good look into the kitchen though and I could see the back of Frank’s head bobbing about back there as he shuffled food and plates, dealing out the orders like a blackjack dealer on a hot Saturday night. I wondered how long he’d been doing the job. There’d always been a Frank in the kitchen. Well, almost always. I knew there were other cooks and sometimes there were a couple of them on during the busiest times.

  I drank off half the mug of coffee and pushed the remainder toward the back side of the counter. A new party of spacers came noisily through the door and I took that as my cue to leave. With a nod to Seth, I vacated the stool and headed back to the ship and my bunk.

  Chapter Fifty-Four

  Diurnia Orbital:

  2372-September-09

  Mr. Hill and I relieved the watch at 0545 and I opened the breakfast mess at 0600. Mr. Pall and Mr. Schubert stayed around to eat. Even Chief Gerheart joined us, looking bright eyed and chipper compared to Mr. Pall’s still rather pallid and rumpled appearance.

  We were the only ones aboard and we shared a quiet meal before sending the midwatch off to sleep. Mr. Hill took his station at the brow and the chief helped me clear.

  “Have you given any thought to the hot tub, Chief?”

  She grinned. “Actually, I’ve had several thoughts, Captain, but I’m guessing you’re not talking about those.”

  I chuckled a bit. “Actually, I was referring to the installation issues.”

  She shook her head. “No. Why? Are we going to have a hot tub?” She turned to look at the unchanged status numbers. “Did Mr. Hill win?”

  I glanced at the entry and shook my head. “Not yet. The final numbers should be down today, and we need to get a cargo lined up for departure before tomorrow.” I grinned. “I’m used to having the cans lined up and locked down by now. Maybe we should keep the arrangement going.”

  She considered that and gave a little shrug. “Maybe, but do you think he’s going to win?”

  I gave my head a little shake. “No, I don’t think he will. Mr. Wyatt was in the lead on the preliminary numbers.”

  “Then why would I be thinking about installing a hot tub, Captain?” She looked at me out of the corner of her eye.

  “I thought it was such a good idea, we oughta have one anyway.”

  Her face lit up and split in a grin. “I like the way you think, Skipper.”

  “Thanks, Chief.” Her approval felt better than I thought it should have, but I smiled back.

  Just then my tablet bipped and I opened the message. “Well, I’ll be.”

  “What is it, Captain?”

  I held up the tablet so she could read it. “Mr. Hill won.”

  She frowned at the numbers and then looked up at the scores posted by the cargo list. She looked back and forth several times before laughing loudly. “By one cred?”

  “One cred is as good as a million.”

  “Well, not if I’m getting paid share of it, Skipper. I’ll take the million.”

  She made me laugh at that. “Good point, Chief, but for the bet? We didn’t say he had to win by a particular margin.” I shrugged. “You better go start prepping the area back there for a hot tub.”

  “We have a little while before we need to worry about that, don’t we, Skipper?”

  I looked at the chrono. “I’d guess about ten ticks, Chief.”

  She blinked in confusion. “How can that be?”

  “Because I expect the chandlery crew to be up here about that time and looking to install a hot tub.”

  She finally caught up with me. “You already ordered it?”

  “Last night.” I shrugged. “Either way, it was a sure bet.”

  She frowned and snickered a little. “How do you figure that, Skipper?”

  “Well, either Mr. Hill won,” I held up my tablet, “and I pay off the bet by getting a hot tub for the crew. Or Mr. Wyatt won, and I get a hot tub for the crew.” I made a show of considering it. “I don’t see a down side to this, do you?”

  She hesitated for just about four heartbeats. “If there is, I don’t see it, Skipper. Let me go see what kind of shape the room is in and start some of the prep.” With that she ambled out of the mess deck and I followed her out, heading for the lock.

  “Mr. Hill, congratulations!”

  He looked up as I approached. “Thank you, Captain. For what?”

  “You beat Mr. Wyatt after five trips. Your picking beat his.”

  He blinked in disbelief. “How is that possible, Captain?”

  I shrugged. “When the dust settled, your total was higher than his. By one credit.”

  He barked a laugh. “One? Over five picks I beat him by one miserable credit?”

  I shrugged and held up my tablet so he could see the numbers. “One credit, Mr. Hill. It’s all you needed to win.”

  He shook his head. “I can’t believe it.” He leaned in to look at my tablet more closely, then he looked me in the eye. “You beat us both by ten kilocreds, Captain?”

  I shrugged again. “I got lucky.”

  “We should be taking cargo picking lessons from you, sar!”

  “We’re all the same crew, Mr. Hill, and we were operating under artificial constraints.”

  He scratched his nose and glanced at me sideways. “So, we’re getting the hot tub, Captain?”

  I smiled. “Yes, Mr. Hill. You won the bet. We’re getting the hot tub.”

  He beamed. “That’s excellent, Captain. Do you think we’ll have it before we get underway again?”

  I made a show of considering the question. “I believe that can be arranged, Mr. Hill, yes.”

  The call buzzer broke into the conversation.

  “That should be the delivery now.”

  He keyed the lock and we went out to meet the shipfitters. “Charlie! Good to see you again.”

  “Hello, Captain.” He grinned back. “More remodeling?”

  “Well, I need to pay off a bet with my crew. They delivered and now I need to.”

  He nodded. “I’ve got the equipment and I brought a couple of piping specialists today. Where do you want it?”

  We led them into the ship and I took Charlie and his gang back to where the chief was pulling exercise equipment out of the workout room. I left them to the details and headed back to the mess deck. Mr. Hill called to me before I made the turn and I went out to the lock to see what he needed.

  “Yes, Mr. Hill?”

  “Captain? How did that crew get here so fast?”

  “I’m
not sure I follow, Mr. Hill.”

  “You haven’t been keeping up with your lying practice, Skipper.”

  I shrugged apologetically. “I haven’t had much cause to lately, Mr. Hill.”

  “You just got those final numbers on the bet, Skipper, but that crew showed up within a dozen ticks.”

  “True, Mr. Hill.” I smiled at him. “And you find that odd?”

  “Well, Skipper, it sort of implies that you must have ordered that hot tub sometime yesterday at the latest.”

  “Why, yes, I believe that’s a valid assessment, Mr. Hill.”

  “Before you knew if I won or not.”

  “True again.”

  “And last night it looked like Mr. Wyatt was going to win it.”

  “Yes, Mr. Hill. It did. Your logical construction leads you to only one conclusion, I trust?”

  “Yes, Captain. You were going to get the hot tub whether I won or not.”

  “I believe that would be a fair conclusion, Mr. Hill. Do you have a problem with that?”

  He frowned. “Why, Captain?”

  “I thought it sounded like a great idea, and win or lose, the ship has made more than enough profit to cover it. For the last couple of weeks I’ve been thinking how nice it would be to take a nice hot soak after watch.”

  “You don’t expect me to actually be Mr. Wyatt’s apprentice in return or anything do you, Captain?” He looked a little wary.

  “No, Mr. Hill. A bet’s a bet and this one is over and paid off. You’re under no obligation.”

  That seemed to mollify him and he nodded. “Okay, then, Skipper. Thank you, and thanks for the chance to try to beat him.”

  “Thanks for laying the challenge out there. It’s paid off handsomely for all of us, I think.” I started to head to the galley but another thought struck me and I turned back to him. “Will you be taking your cargo rating and trying to find another berth, Mr. Hill?”

  “I thought about it, Captain, but unless something drastically better comes along, I think I’d like to stay here and see what happens next.”