Tanager's Fledglings (The Tanager Book 1)

by Cedar Sanderson

There was no time to chat about it, another man was waiting for his place. Jem made his way to the pup, fielded questions about why the dog had no name, and made his escape.

  Chapter 14: Always on the Road

  Mac was hard to track down, so Jem wound up taking the dog back to the Tanager and leaving a message for Mac on his comm. The Tanager looked and smelled different. It wasn’t that she’d been dirty, but now she smelled of cleaners and paint and there were shines in places he was used to seeing scuffed and worn. The pup sniffed and explored like he’d never been there before. Jem was relieved to discover that they had left his cabin alone. In there, he felt more at home. The men who had repainted the hold which had been used for sick bay were gone. They’d finished up that, and the entry hold. The other holds had been cleaned, or at least mucked out, in the case of the beeves.

  Jem put his head in the bridge, seeing that the cleaning crew had been through here, too. With the pup on his heels, he went back to the galley. There, he made himself a sandwich and got more coffee. The pup was offered food, which he sniffed, then declined it.

  “You were spoiled, weren’t you?” Jem chuckled and sat at the table. He was starving again already. This had to be an aftereffect of whatever the Doc had given him. He wasn’t going to complain - this was minor compared to what the men he’d been transporting were enduring.

  The dog, with a little snuffling sigh, draped himself over Jem’s feet and fell asleep. Jem didn’t mind. It was very quiet, and he liked that. It had been very noisy, the past few days, and he hadn’t thought about it, hadn’t had time to think about it, but it was there, all the time. Taking on Moskvin as a passenger. He put his fork down. That took a lot of his appetite away. The dog lifted his head.

  “I’m not giving it to you.” Jem informed him. “I’m betting you’ve been overfed enough.”

  Jem went back to contemplating the near future. He was looking at a very long passage to Tianjin. He didn’t have cargo from Flinders. He did have a fully stocked, cleaned, and even painted ship.

  His train of thought was interrupted by the sound of approaching footsteps. With the dog on his feet, Jem didn’t go to meet the person, just looked up to see Mac in the hatch.

  “I would have come to you.” Jem said. “But at the moment I have a dog using me as a pillow. There’s coffee.”

  “Don’t mind if I do.” Mac got a mug and came back to sit across the table from Jem. “You’re headed out?”

  Jem shrugged. “I don’t think you need the Tanager anymore.”

  “You. We needed you. The Tanager just happened to come along.” Mac pointed at him as he spoke. “And no, we don’t. The Tassies are mopping up.”

  “Then I will get back on my route.” Jem finished his cup. The dog sighed and rolled off his foot.

  “Anything you need from us?” Mac asked.

  Jem stood up, stretching. “I can go without a cargo. I’ll be back in a season.”

  “Bring dogs.” Mac pointed at the sleeping puppy.

  Jem said, laughing, “not you, too!”

  “Before you go, can we buy a datadump on them?” Mac tapped on his tablet.

  “You and Mags?” Jem pulled his out - he’d found it in the bridge when he’d gone looking - and opened the invoicing.

  “Mmm... with licensing for resale.” Mac sent him a bid.

  “Horning in on my business, I see.” Jem checked it and raised an eyebrow, looking at Mac. “Really?”

  Mac shrugged. “Well, normally I don’t have time to play shopkeeper, but you’re in a hurry to get on the road, and info on dogs will be a hot commodity.”

  Jem shrugged. He thought the older man was puffing the amount up, but he’d take it. “Deal, and when orders come in, send them here.” He entered Peter’s information. “So I can pick them up and bring them next season rather than waiting.”

  “Good plan.” Mac thumbprinted the contract after a quick glance. “I hear you picked up a passenger.”

  “News travels fast.” Jem ran a hand through his hair. He really needed to get a cut in Tianjin. He wasn’t going to take time here.

  “Mags was a bit concerned about it.”

  Jem gave Mac a level look. “I think I can handle him. I just don’t know much about him.”

  “Well, for starters he’s a spy.” Mac lifted his cup, discovered it was empty, and put it back down with a disappointed look. “I don’t know much about him, either. He’s never caused trouble here.”

  “A spy.” Jem picked up his friend’s cup. Somehow, he wasn’t surprised. He filled it with fresh coffee, thinking. “I’m not sure that I want to get involved with politics.”

  “You don’t have to. Keep it cool and professional. Besides, he’s not the one you have to worry about. It’s his boss who is the spooky one.”

  “Who is his boss?” Jem felt a twinge of concern. “I was under the impression he worked for Altressa.”

  “Not to sound like a galactic conspiracy theorist… I mean, you sort of inevitably hear all the crazy stories, out here with the nuts who chase lodes for the Big One. But really, the rumor is that he works for some shadowy outfit, and they do span the whole galaxy. This arm of it, anyway. And his boss is a super freak, maybe an alien, she’s immortal…” Mac shrugged and took his cup back and Jem sat back down.

  Jem decided he wouldn’t mention that he’d carried a package for Moskvin. “That does sound crazy, you know. But I plan to keep my distance. I’m about socialized out.”

  Mac chuckled. “I’ll take the hint and finish my coffee. Got a potload of work on my desk back in the shop and most of it,” he shuddered theatrically, “is paper, not metal.”

  He chugged his coffee and headed for the hatch. Jem followed him. “Who’s in the control room?” he asked.

  Mac checked his wrist for the time. “Bryan until midnight.”

  “All right. I’ll file a plan with him.”

  Mac stopped at the hatchway. “Captain Raznick, it’s been a pleasure.”

  He threw Jem a quick salute, which Jem wasn’t certain how to respond to. After and awkward pause, “Mac, it’s still me.”

  Mac thumped him on the shoulder. “You grew up. Accept it.”

  “I’m working on that.” Jem hitched his shoulder to ease the sting, and Mac was gone.

  Jem sent a quick text to Moskvin that they would be leaving in two hours, and headed to make the data gem with all the dog information on it. It wouldn’t take him long, he’d tabbed and indexed it for later retrieval during his initial research sessions. He’d learned long ago that indexes were vital to quickly find information again, and it was part of why he could sell the data. With a sea of knowledge, drinking from it could be overwhelming. He was essentially in the business of bottling it and giving his clients a manageable portion.

  He was in his cabin burning the data to a gem when he heard Moskvin come in. Jem had left his door open just so he could hear the other man coming, and now he went out into the corridor to meet him.

  “Moskvin, welcome aboard.” Jem said.

  “Aye, aye Cap’n.” Moskvin was holding a small case. “Ready to go?”

  “I am. I have to leave this with the dockman. But we don’t need a tug in smaller docks, and I’ve already filed a plan.” Jem closed the hatch behind him and headed for the outer hatch. Moskvin didn’t follow him. Jem handed his package to the man, and then closed and sealed the hatch. The lights flickered green, and he felt a double thump as the docking magnets disengaged. The man on the other side would manually disengage the hatchway. The Tanager’s extendable passageway wasn’t needed here, where they had a flush mate with the Flinder’s dock.

  Jem headed for the bridge. Once there, he eyed the captain’s chair with a slight sensation of distaste. He had spent entirely too much time in it in the past days. The dog flopped down on the decking behind it, ears sprawling inelegantly. He knew his place. Jem sat, and toggled the intercom. “The Tanager is beginning undocking procedures. Last chance to leave the ship.”

 
; Distantly, he heard Moskvin’s voice, “Not getting rid of me that easy.”

  Despite himself, Jem smiled. He talked to the control room, where Bryan was no doubt watching sensies and resenting the interruption. And then they were back in space. He pulled away from Flinders, headed to pick up his drone. There was no longer a need for it with the ships from Tassie on a planned pattern and using one another as repeaters. Launching it had been relatively easy. Finding it again and bringing it back onboard would be another matter.

  Moskvin was quiet enough that Jem almost forgot he was onboard as they approached the point where the drone had been left. It was visible on the scans, and Jem focused on bringing the bulk of the Tanager close to it, without smacking into it. His ship was good, but not designed to be a precision flyer. Adding the maneuvers to the process of bringing the ship to a dead stop in space, and it was fully another hour before he was happy with it.

  Now came the fun part. Jem set the controls to remote, and headed for the outer hatch. The one he almost never used. Part of the design of the Tanager was intended to allow her to dock from either side. Because the extendable passage to port was buckled from an incident that predated Jem’s stint on her, the Tanager always docked starboard. He’d asked Walter, once, about repairing it. The old man had shrugged. “Costs more than it’s worth. One door’s enough.”

  Now, Jem opened the compartment and pulled his suit out. For a man who’d refused to repair the ship’s other hatch, Walter had been careful about the suits. Jem had two, one for EVA on solid ground but hostile conditions like the airless Flinders, and this one, for EVA in space. Walter’s suit hung next to it like an empty husk. Jem checked his suit carefully, making sure that it was fully fueled for maneuvering, and then, once it was on, that it was holding atmosphere. His heads-up lights were all green, so he stepped into the lock with a deep breath.

  Even with Moskvin aboard, Jem felt like he was alone and doing this. He had no backup. He’d never enjoyed this part, stepping out of the ship into the infinite largeness of space. He loved to look at the stars. He’d never had the urge to try and touch one. The hatch opened, and he hung in it for a moment, scanning for the drone. Once his onboard computer had locked onto the location of it, he kicked off the ship and slowly headed toward it. He wasn’t going to move fast, that was a recipe for disaster.

  Three hours later, the drone cradled in the tiny launch bay for full recovery once he was back in the ship, Jem was very ready to get out of the suit. This was taking a long time and even though it had gone off flawlessly, he just wanted to get back in and take the suit off. Maybe go stand in the garden and smell dirt. He walked over the surface of the ship, each step feeling the effort of pulling the boot magnets free to move. Back at the hatch he stepped in, then leaned against the wall, watching the clock as the cycle filled it with air. It only took a couple of minutes, and then he opening the lock, and coming face to face with Moskvin.

  Jem held up a finger. He could see the other man was talking, but until he took off the helmet couldn’t make out the words. The expression was clear, though. Moskvin was very unhappy. Jem got his helmet off.

  “While you were out there could have done a Dutchman...” Moskvin was near shouting, and Jem realized he’d caught the other man in mid-rant.

  “You were perfectly safe.” Jem racked his helmet. “I’d have done it if I were alone, and what would you have done had I told you?”

  “I could at least have kept watch over you!” Moskvin was red in the face.

  “And done what?” Jem was tired, and having trouble keeping his voice reasonable. He’d never been in danger, unless there was a freak accident, and if there had, Moskvin would not have been helpful.

  “Something!”

  Jem sat on the bench and finished wriggling out of the suit. He connected it to recharge ports. He didn’t need to flush the waste system, but that meant that the first thing he needed was the ‘fresher, not to argue with Moskvin.

  “It’s done.” Jem walked toward the small ‘fresher opposite the airlock. It was handy for times like this.

  When he came out, Moskvin was sitting on the bench. “Look. I’m sorry I yelled at you.”

  Jem shrugged. “This ship is my responsibility, and chores like retrieving the drone are all part of the job. I put a lot of time into training, and it’s not like I have crew to push it off onto.”

  “I respect that. You run a one man show and you’re doing pretty well.” Moskvin stood up. “Just... tell me next time, ok?”

  “It’s unlikely to happen again on this leg of the route, but yes.” Jem rubbed the back of his neck. “Look, I’m tired and I have to bring the drone in all the way. I’ll do something about din... no, breakfast, after that.”

  “Ship’s time is off a bit.” Moskvin looked at his wrist and the mini-comm there. “I’ll cook food. You finish up.”

  “You’re a passenger. A paying one.” Jem pointed out.

  “I can cook. And I will pay you, I don’t know why you let me onboard without that.” Moskvin grinned.

  Jem laughed and headed for the tiny bay that allowed for storage of the drone. It was large enough to hold a single-man vehicle, like the scooters the miners used, but there had never been one on the Tanager that he knew of. He made a note on his wrist comm to look up the prices of one. It had to be a better way to retrieve the drone. He punched the code into the panel to cycle the drone in, and then stopped, his hand poised over the screen. What was in the compartment where the drone should go?

  Opening it wasn’t a trivial task, and he finished the cycle without looking. There were a total of three compartments set up like the cylinder of a revolver, and they all should have been empty until he’d retracted the drone all the way into the ship. It would wait until he’d eaten, Moskvin would worry if he vanished a second time. Jem headed for the galley. He was still trying to get used to the changed appearance of his home. He stopped long enough to feed the beeves, who were looking suspiciously plump. He didn’t go into the galley when he reached it, just calling that he’d be there in a moment. The bridge was his destination, where he started the auto sequence to get them moving again, and toward the foldspace point nearest Flinders.

  Then, he joined Moskvin. The older man got up when he saw that Jem was coming all the way in, leaving his plate on the table. “Sit down, Captain, take a load off.”

  Jem headed to the coffee pot instead, and was just sitting when Moskvin came back out. He put the plate in front of Jem with a flourish. “We’re eating pretty good right now.”

  “I’m learning to like it.” Jem dug into his food.

  “So what’s the plan?” Moskvin asked after a few minutes.

  Jem swallowed. “I have a stop to make, then I’ll take you to Tianjin.”

  Moskvin looked startled. Jem expected that reaction. He hadn’t said anything about it before, and there wasn’t a mapped planet on their route. “What?”

  Moskvin shook his head. “You know, there are always rumors about tradeships. Secrets. I never put much stock in it.”

  Jem got up with his empty plate. “I’ll do the clearing since you cooked. There’s nothing secretive about the Tanager, and I have no obligations to file a route map anywhere.”

  He headed into the galley with both plates and his coffee mug. Moskvin didn’t follow him. Jem cleaned and stowed everything neatly. Walter had trained him that although the Tanager’s gravitics allowed for a smooth ride, there were special circumstances that could change that. Jem liked the orderly set-up even if he’d never felt the ship so much as quiver. He went back to the dining area.

  “Other than the stop, which I’m assuming you don’t plan to tell me all about, what do you do while underway?” Moskvin asked. He was leaning back, his tablet propped up on the table.

  Jem shrugged. “I have chores. I’m a little afraid to look at the garden. The beeves need cleaned out and their feeder filled. The dog...” He looked around. “Who is probably asleep on my bunk, needs fed and played wi
th. I have a PT program. I study.”

  “I think I’d go crazy bored always on the road like this.” Moskvin poked at his tablet, waking the screen back up. “So much downtime.”

  Jem shook his head. “I thought you traveled a lot. And I usually have enough to do that I need to manage my time carefully. Since I pick up mail only in-system, analysis for cargoes can be a challenge.”

  “I can see that, since you have to plan so far ahead.” Moskvin looked at his tablet. “Well, I guess I have some reading to catch up on. Say, would you have time for cooking lessons?”

  Jem thought about that. If Misha were to join him... His heart gave a weird flutter and he hoped he wasn’t blushing. Learning to cook would be a good skill to show off. He tried to keep his voice nonchalant. “Yes, I’d like that. We’ll work out a trade?”

  “Give me a bit, I’ll come up with something.” Moskvin grinned, then went back to his reading

  Jem nodded, and went to look for the dog. He was asleep on Jem’s bunk, just as he’d suspected. Jem smiled at the puddle of fur, amused at the dog’s ability to seem boneless when he was relaxed, and then headed for the bridge. He didn’t need to be there sitting on the board, since the computer was set to remote and would alert him if needed, but he liked to work there, rather than have to run in case of an alarm. While he’d been flying so close to Flinders he’d had to stay here, to keep an eye on near-space objects. Now, that risk was minimal. Jem grabbed his tablet and hesitated. He didn’t want to sit. He was sick of the bridge still. Instead, he went to the common area.

  This set their pattern for the days to come. When they finally crossed into foldspace, Jem asked if Moskvin wanted to be on the bridge, the only time he’d extended that as an invitation. Moskvin shook his head and yawned. “I’ll sleep, thanks.”

  It was night, ship time, but Jem had noticed that Moskvin seemed to be sleeping a lot, or at least very quiet in his cabin. Jem never really enjoyed the passage from one part of space to another. He didn’t fully grasp the mathematics behind the transition, but the foldspace generator had never failed him. He wondered, watching the screens blank, nothing to report out there, what that would be like. Probably very fast and final, he decided, watching the screens light back up with different stars.