Sydney Chambers

by B. T. Jaybush

  The captain smiled. “‘Aye,’” she said, gently mocking. “Two simple terms that I suspect you will find quite to your liking, once you think about it.”

  The pirate sighed. “Aye. And these terms’ll be?”

  “One,” Sydney said, holding up a finger. “You will cease all pirate activity, anywhere in the 16 Cygni trinary system. I understand,” she hurried on, holding up a hand to stop him when O’Shaugnassey seemed about to protest, “the actions you’ve been taking over the past few years may not be ‘piracy’ to your way of thinking. I also understand why you’ve been doing them ... and believe me, Mr. O’Shaugnassey, now that I am the TSM authority at 16 Cygni, those actions — especially the ones you’ve taken in support of Aerieland — will very quickly become unnecessary.”

  O’Shaugnassey frowned. “Are you sayin’...” he began, but Sydney again cut him off.

  “Two,” she announced, now holding up two fingers. “You and each of your ... employees ... will sign documents that will be forwarded to you by —” she hesitated for a moment, then continued, “by way of your niece, Chloe. Once I have those signed documents in my possession — and once Chloe has assured me that all of your people have signed, or been removed from your company — a blanket clemency will be issued for any acts committed by those signing the documents that may smack of piracy, up to and including today. In the interim, I will intercede on your behalf with Admiral Lord Alexander.”

  Sydney added an almost predatory smile. “It is Admiral Alexander in command of ‘that monster of a ship’ that you mentioned being worried about. And as it happens, I will be briefing the admiral as soon as you and I are finished here.”

  “Blanket clemency?” O’Shaugnassey looked almost stunned. “What kind of documents?”

  “Consult with Ms. O’Shaugnassey if you have questions,” the captain said simply. “But on the assumption that you comply and sign, I have only one thing left to say.”

  O’Shaugnassey’s eyebrows rose in silent question.

  “Welcome to the Cygni militia, Commander O’Shaugnassey,” Sydney said, her voice both soft and gentle.

  2

  “I have a connection ready to Shades of Glory, Captain.”

  “Thank you, Mr. Rieger,” Sydney acknowledged through the comm. “Oh, and Mr. Rieger —”

  “Ma’am?”

  “Contact Chloe O’Shaugnassey on the Brigid Delaney. My regards, and would she please bring her vessel to berth in our landing bay with all due and deliberate?”

  “Yes, Captain. Do you need to know her reply?”

  “Only if she declines, Mr. Rieger, which I doubt. I’m ready for Shades of Glory now.”

  She could almost see Rieger nod through the voice-only comm. “On your terminal, Ma’am.”

  As her terminal lit she found a lieutenant in view, just turning toward the camera. “Ah, Captain Chambers,” she said. “The admiral is on his — pardon me, is here now.” The officer stood and moved out of view, replaced a moment later by a view of Admiral Lord Steven Alexander plopping himself into the comm chair and sighing heavily.

  “Ah, Sydney,” he began. “This mop-up work is for the birds, but at least no one is still shooting. What’s your situation?”

  “No casualties on the Morrigan, Admiral, and only a handful of injuries,” she reported, “though the ship itself will need more than a little drydock time before she’s worthy again.”

  Alexander frowned. “You’ve found drydock facilities out here?”

  “We have,” the captain acknowledged. “Fortunately, Morrigan is old enough that they even had all her specs.”

  The admiral nodded. “I was wondering if I would have to call in a full repair squadron. Good to know that the frontier isn’t as wild as advertised.”

  “Oh, most of it is still pretty wild,” Sydney drawled, “though I’m already taking steps to make that a thing of the past. I do believe this system has a lot of promise for the future.”

  Alexander’s eyebrows rose. “You’re planning to be here a while, then?”

  Sydney hesitated a moment — it wasn’t a decision she’d made consciously, but it did feel like the right one, right then. “I believe ... well, let’s just say that both 16 Cygni and I could use the continuity right now, sir.”

  The admiral considered a moment, then nodded. “Very well, then. What can I do to support the military attaché to 16 Cygni?”

  Sydney’s breath caught in her throat for a moment; though it hadn’t been in her formal orders she had of necessity been acting in that capacity since she’d arrived. Well. Nice to have the title to go with the job, she decided as she took a breath and plunged ahead.

  “Two things come immediately to mind, sir. First, the marines I’ve got securing Vattermann’s ship report that the temperature is beginning to fall below acceptable levels because the power has been out so long. While the marines themselves are insulated by their combat gear, the prisoners are apparently in danger of turning into popsicles. The problem is that Morrigan’s brig was damaged in the battle. If you could add those detainees to your brig....”

  “Done.”

  Sydney nodded. “Thank you, sir. Secondly, about that time Morrigan’s going to have to spend in drydock....”

  “I would imagine you need backup.”

  The captain sighed. “While the Cygni militia is extremely capable, I doubt any of the survivors are in any better shape than Morrigan is. Moreover, they are sadly short-handed, even with a number of new recruits I have just signed on.”

  Alexander chuckled. “Would those ‘new recruits’ be the erstwhile pirates who turned to your defense during the fight?”

  “They would be, Admiral,” Sydney nodded, “though calling them ‘pirates’ is only technically correct. Patrick O’Shaugnassey and his crews were originally described to me as ‘Robin Hood and his merry men,’ and that description seems apt from what I’ve learned. In any event, their days of robbing from the rich are over. They are now Cygni militia, like it or not. In fact, you should know that O’Shaugnassey has detained and boarded one of the two pirate vessels that had attempted to breach Outpost Station — on his own initiative, but I approved the action after the fact. If you could….”

  Alexander nodded. “I’ll make sure the — recruits — are treated as militia should be.”

  “Thank you, sir,” Sydney acknowledged. “The thing is, O’Shaugnassey’s craft took as much damage as the rest of us — and even if they were up to it I couldn’t exactly turn defense of the whole trinary over to them this soon after their ... recruitment, now, could I?”

  “I would think not,” the admiral agree equably. “Very well, temporary backup for the duration of Morrigan’s repairs. How about long-term?”

  “Long term?” Sydney frowned. “What do you mean?”

  “Cygni’s original appeal for TSM support was for a minimum of three ships,” Alexander said. “That you’ve been as successful as you have with just one ship speaks more to your own competence than to one ship being enough.”

  “Ah ... thank you, Admiral.”

  “So, in your opinion as the new military attaché to this system, do you think the fleet would do well to commit more ships to 16 Cygni?”

  Sydney drew a breath, exhaling it slowly. “Yes, sir,” she finally allowed. “If Cygni is to become properly integrated into the Confederacy, an appropriate TSM presence will be required. Cygni is a large area, Admiral. Morrigan can’t be in more than one place at a time. Three ships would seem like a reasonable minimum — though as we get more organized, I don’t believe we’ll need three ships of Morrigan’s class.”

  Alexander favored his protégée with a lopsided grin. “Not likely I could shake loose two more ships of that size, anyway, Captain,” he told her. “But as it happens, I have a couple of Wolf class frigates just coming on line and looking for homes. In fact, the first of them is in shake-down right now — and I think you’d be a particularly good mentor for her ship’s captain.”

 
“Wolf class?”

  The admiral nodded. “It’s an entirely new design — small, but capable. And, as I said, with a commanding officer who needs guidance. A promising lieutenant, newly promoted to ship’s captain. Something you think you can handle?”

  Sydney considered a moment, then nodded. “Absolutely, Admiral. When would this ... reinforcement ... be on station?”

  “As I said, the one has just begun an extended shakedown, so six to eight weeks barring any problems. You should be out of drydock by then. The second one will come along a few months after that.”

  “Ah....”

  Alexander nodded. “Though I joked about it earlier, I did call in one mobile fleet repair vessel — a temporary presence, I assure you! Think of it as reinforcement for your local drydock. You’ve got a lot of ships in need of repair, Sydney, and the repair scow will be available for your militia fleet as well as Morrigan. The sooner we get things back to a relative state of normal, the better. I’ll also twist some arms to make sure that you are ready in the necessary time frame.”

  “Yes, sir.”

  “Besides, I want to see this local drydock facility for myself. Now that 16 Cygni is Home Fleet territory, having local access to a first-class repair and construction facility could prove to be a real plus going forward.”

  “Understood, sir.” Sydney nodded, hearing not only what Alexander said but what he left unsaid. “I suspect Arega Heavy Industries will more than welcome the work.”

  “Good. Details of all this — and the relevant orders and other documents — will be forwarded to you before Shades of Glory leaves. Your appointment as military attaché is already being filed at Outpost Station.”

  The admiral paused for effect. “Cygni is officially your command now, Captain Chambers. Three ships isn’t a fleet, or even a battle group, but I think you’ll find there’s a lot more involved in commanding multiple assets than you might expect. Be sure that you make yourself ready.”

  Sydney braced herself to attention, as best she could while seated at her desk. “Aye-aye, Admiral,” she said, then executed a picture-perfect salute.

  “Alexander, out.”

  Her terminal blanked.

  CHAPTER NINETEEN

  1

  “Captain, the Brigid Delaney is on final docking approach.”

  Sydney touched the response button on her comm. “Thank you, Mr. Rieger,” she said, her attention divided between the comm and a report on her terminal screen. “Add the XO onto this link, if you please.”

  “Yes, Ma’am,” Rieger responded, adding after a moment, “Mr. Garvey is now in channel.”

  “Captain?”

  “Mr. Garvey,” the captain echoed. “Please notify ship operations to prepare Conference One for a small ... reunion party. Basic refreshments, and such. When all is ready, have Ms. Sperry escorted there from her quarters.”

  “Of course, Captain,” the XO replied, a smile in his voice. “Ah, speaking of Ms. Sperry, Captain — she asks if we could loan her some clothing.”

  The request dragged Sydney’s attention fully away from her report. “Clothing?”

  “Yes, Ma’am,” her exec replied. “She arrived with only items that Vattermann had chosen. They are — ah, shall we say....”

  “Repulsive?”

  There was a brief pause. “Let’s simply call them ‘scanty,’ Captain.” Garvey’s tone expressed far more than the word itself could convey.

  The captain sighed. “By all means, XO,” she said, suddenly feeling tired. “I suspect we’ll be cleaning up that man’s mess for a long time to come. Issue her something — we must have a spare ship suit or two in her size?”

  “We do indeed. Thank you, captain, on our guest’s behalf. Garvey out.”

  The captain refocused her full attention on her terminal. The report on Morrigan’s battle damage was daunting — would have been depressing, she thought, had Hailey Kristoff not taken pains to note how much of the damage was covered by their “arrangement” with Arega Heavy Industries. In fact, the vast majority of the damage should be taken care of in short order by parts and materials already fabricated by the supplier. With the aid promised by Admiral Alexander — which would mostly involve Morrigan’s engines, a system newer than the locals yet had information on — the goal of having Cahan Morrigan back in service within two months seemed eminently doable.

  Sydney always worried about glitches and contingencies. Still, at least on paper, the fallout from Vattermann’s little rebellion seemed to be contained.

  With a sigh, she signed off on both the damage report and related work orders, then OKayed a series of shore leave directives suggested by Anna Sorensen. The PA made it quite clear in her report that stress from the past month of action, coming so soon after Morrigan’s shakedown cruise, was beginning to weigh on the crew. The medical officer also suggested that, since the ship would be in drydock for a month, shore leave could easily be rotated among the entire ship’s complement, to allow everyone at least a week to sample whatever delights the planet Arega had to offer. Her paperwork tiger tamed for the moment, Sydney blanked her terminal and headed for engineering.

  She barely noticed that she’d stopped thinking of the world as Cygni B-3.

  Lieutenant Hailey Kristoff was busy whipping her crew to their peak performances when her commanding officer arrived, but the engineer — always aware of everything and anyone entering her domain — immediately broke from what she was doing and made a beeline for Sydney.

  “Captain,” she said as she approached, “did you —”

  “Reviewed and approved, Ms. Kristoff,” Sydney assured her, bringing a smile to the younger woman’s face. “And thank you for the cross-checking you did against our AHI inventory. It made the bad news a bit easier to take.”

  “Of course,” Kristoff said, glowing a bit from the praise.

  “How long will it take to get us ready to transit to Arega?”

  The engineer’s smile flagged. “Transit, Captain? We shouldn’t be ‘transiting’ until the drydock is done with us.”

  The captain frowned.

  “Ma’am, we’re lucky to have even two engines running,” Kristoff explained, “and those two can’t possibly be balanced enough for a hyper jump — they’re just not aligned that way. We’re going to have to take the slow, normal space route.”

  “Ah, hell. You’re right, of course.” Sydney exhaled disgustedly at the news, but her face brightened a moment later.

  “Unless....”

  It was Kristoff’s turn to frown. “You can’t seriously be thinking to move one of the engines.”

  “Tell me that it can’t be done, Ms. Kristoff.”

  “Well, of course it can be done, Captain,” the engineer replied. “We’re running on engines two and three, with one and four dead. Swap two with one, or three with four, and we’d be balanced enough for a short hyper hop. But....”

  Kristoff sighed as she saw her argument failing to change the set of her captain’s face. “Yes, Ma’am, it would gain us some time. I can swap the engine in under a week.”

  Sydney nodded, “And the transit at space normal would take about two weeks. Ms. Kristoff, I wouldn’t ask if it wasn’t important. The fact is, in roughly two months we’re scheduled to be ‘reinforced’ by a ship of a completely new design, commanded by a lieutenant newly-promoted to ship’s captain. I can’t say that I want that combination loose in my domain for very long without being able to check up on them.”

  The engineer’s eyes had widened somewhere between the words “lieutenant” and “ship’s captain.”

  “I do see what you mean, Ma’am,” she said, shaking her head at the thought. “Right, then, I’ll set the kids to working on it first thing tomorrow. We should have the other damaged systems sufficiently patched by then.”

  “Good.” Sydney started to turn away, then had another thought. “By the way, Ms. O’Shaugnassey is about to dock with her Brigid Delaney. I remember how much you liked that ship — you’re w
elcome to come with me to meet them.”

  Kristoff looked momentarily tempted, but then sighed. “Thanks for the invite, Captain, but my hands are full here. Give Ms. O’Shaugnassey my regards, but I’ll have to admire her Boxter another time.”

  “Understood.” Now the captain did turn, making a beeline for the docking bay.

  2

  Chloe O’Shaugnassey seemed surprised to find Captain Chambers waiting for her as she debarked from Brigid Delaney.

  “Captain!” The young woman’s brogue was as thick as ever, but her eyes flashed with disbelief. “’Tis more than a shock to be findin’ you here to meet me. I’m hopin’ that you’re not bearin’ bad news?”

  Somehow, Sydney found it easier to wade through the woman’s heavily accented speech when they were face-to-face; she also found it more satisfying to deliver good news in person ... which was the reason for her pleased smile.

  “No, no bad news at all,” she told her guest. “Just the opposite — though we do have a couple of things to discuss. Walk with me, if you would.”

  “About my uncle,” Chloe guessed as she began pacing alongside the captain.

  “Yes. Ms. O’Shaugnassey —”

  “Captain? Could you please be callin’ me Chloe?” She gave Sydney a dazzling smile by way of apologizing for the rude interruption. “‘Ms. O’Shaugnassey’ was me mum. You make me feel old when you’re callin’ me that.”

  Sydney chuckled. “All right ... Chloe. I did promise to do that when we last met, didn’t I? I guess I can continue bend protocol, since you aren’t in my chain of command. Yet.”

  Chloe’s eyes widened and she stopped walking, turning to her host. “Yet?”

  The captain grinned. “That’s one of the things we need to talk about. Your uncle has agreed to — well, let’s call it ‘enlist’ in the Cygni Militia, along with every man and woman in his company. While his commitment doesn’t necessarily bind you, I would ask — no, Chloe, I need — you to act as my representative to your uncle in the matter. I can’t spare the time right now. Take him the paperwork, make sure every person signs, and return the signed documents to me.”