"Cease Fire!" A disembodied voice erupted from every surface of the passageway. My HUD showed the command had been broadcast from Freedom Station Security Services.
I still hadn’t taken a shot, but nodded affirmatively to Tabby and Marny, complying with the station's request. Tactically, three of the five who'd attacked us were down, but they still appeared to be moving. I was impressed with my team's moderate response. I had intended to do some damage.
"You will not move from your positions and you will put your arms on the ground," the woman's voice announced.
I sighed as I placed my weapon on the ground. I'd read enough of Freedom Station's laws to know that disobeying a directive wasn't an option.
"What's going on, Liam?" Nick asked.
"We got jumped. We're being detained. I'll update you when I can," I said.
"Understood."
It took several minutes before Lieutenant Wilmarie Fuentes rounded the corner, accompanied by ten uniformed security personnel. I was surprised to see that she was both responsible for security as well as Captain of Freedom Station’s second largest ship. Although, I knew from experience, that on a remote station people had to wear multiple hats.
"Captain Hoffen, you appear to be having quite a night," she said as she approached, offering her hand. Mentally, I sighed with relief. If she was shaking my hand, it didn't seem like she'd be looking to put us in the brig.
"To be honest, I'm not exactly sure how we've gotten on the wrong side of this group," I said.
"A question we'll spend some time getting to the bottom of. Jens, take them away," she said. "I assure you, this is not representative of Freedom Station. It is true, we enjoy our freedoms and do not desire much oversight by our government. We also do not allow the type of lawless behavior you've seen this evening."
"If you learn anything from them, I'd be interested," I said.
"It is the least we can do," she said and turned away, motioning to the remainder of her guard to follow.
"Cap, you think she came along so we wouldn't Shanghai those boys?" Marny asked as we approached the elevator.
"Is that a thing?" Tabby asked.
"Illegal procurement - better known as kidnapping? Yes, more than you would expect," Marny answered. "North American Navy lost more than a few sailors to pirates that way."
"Do we need to set out a guard tonight?" I asked as we stepped onto the elevator that would take us to The Collet and Intrepid.
"Scooter Beers' people are working around the clock and have significant ship access. I'll post an interior sentry to keep track of their movement. You hired a local to care for the livestock; I believe that's Ferrante's wife. I've temporarily revoked her access. I'm not counting on good behavior there."
"What are you doing with Ferrante?" Tabby asked.
"Good conversation to have on Intrepid," I said as we stepped from the elevator. I had no doubt our conversations were being monitored.
It would have been a long walk to the end of the concourse if Tabby hadn't been so keyed up. As it was, she made us double-time it and we arrived in short order.
"Captain! Master Chief." Ortel stiffened as he stood at the end of the pressurized catwalk joining Intrepid to Freedom Station. He'd changed into an armored vac-suit and was holding a blaster rifle. It momentarily gave me flashbacks to when I'd first boarded the Kuznetsov. It was obvious he was enjoying the moment.
"Well done, Ortel," Marny answered. "Is everyone aboard?"
Ortel's confidence cracked. "I'm not sure."
"Aye. It's one of the responsibilities of this particular watch. We have to know who's aboard and who's ashore at all times. No harm, this is a training cruise. Take a minute and see if you can find the information. Cap, go ahead. I'll work with Seaman Licht."
"Thank you, Marny," I said. As I passed Ortel, I clapped him on the back in a friendly gesture. We might be adopting a formal reporting structure, but that didn't mean I had to lose who I was. I hadn't even gotten to know Mark-Ralph and now he was dead. Never again.
"I can't believe you let Mie-su come along," Tabby said as we walked toward the medical bay.
"I don't know how to explain it, but I need you to give me some room on this. It's not that I trust her implicitly; it's just that I feel like I understand her. She's like Celina. Life crapped on her and she did what was required to survive. We owe our lives twice to Xie," I said.
"She tried to kill you and Nick."
"I get it. I just can't discard her," I said.
"I don't know if I love you more or if I want to break your neck," Tabby said. "You have a blind spot where women are concerned."
"I certainly hope not." I pushed her shoulder, spinning her into the passageway's bulkhead just outside the medical bay. She was annoyed and defensively blocked my approach. There was little I could do if she wouldn't allow it, but there was always the matter of how hard she wanted to resist. I pushed her arms away and slid inside her defenses. "Some of my favorite people are women and I'd hate not to be able to see them." I gave her my best lecherous look.
"You're an ass," she whispered huskily, turning her mouth onto my own. It'd been days since we'd shared a moment of intimacy and I felt the strain of it.
"Cap, we've a problem," Marny's voice sounded through my earwig.
"Go ahead, Marny," I said, closing my eyes, accepting the responsibility.
"Moonie isn't aboard."
"What happens when you ping him?"
"No response. Technically, he's still on leave, but he should have his comm unit available," she replied. "We could send a search party."
"Contact Freedom Station and let them know we're looking for a crew member. And no, we're not doubling down tonight by going back out," I answered.
"Aye," Marny cut the comm.
"What's that?" Tabby asked.
"Moonie is off comm and still on station," I said.
"Figures."
"Let's do this," I said and palmed my way into the medical bay. I found Mom seated in a chair, laser pistol clipped to her waist with Zebulon standing guard in full armored vac-suit. Vince Ferrante was resting on an incline table, his vac-suit open with a thick med-patch where Tabby had shot him three times and then ripped the darts from his breast bone. He glared at me as we entered.
"Thanks, Mom," I said.
"He's not very happy," she said, then gave me a once over. "What's wrong with your shoulder?"
For the moment, I ignored her question. "Give me a reason not to drop you in the deep dark." I crossed the room to stand next to the restrained man.
His glare said everything. "You'll never leave here alive."
"Your gang is in the brig. They made their move and failed. The thing I don't understand is why all the anger. You and I didn't know each other thirty hours ago and now you're gunning for me and mine. What’s more, I gave you a couple hundred grams of platinum you didn't earn," I said. "Clear up for me how we got to this point."
Ferrante leaned forward as if to speak and instead spat on me. Tabby, quicker by twice than either of us, caught him in the jaw with a right cross.
"Stop," I rested my hand on her arm. "Don't get pulled in."
"Disrespect has to cost him something," she replied.
"He's just the messenger," I said. "One more chance, Ferrante. Tell me who sent you."
"Frak off."
"Lean forward," I said, placing my hand on his back. He resisted, choosing instead to push against me. "I'm not going to hurt you, Vince." It was to no avail, however, he just thrashed around, pushing harder.
Suspend medical treatments. Apply tranquilizers to render patient immobile for transport.
"Zebulon, would you take Mr. Ferrante down to the brig. Tell Marny what's going on," I said as Ferrante collapsed onto the table. "He's to come to no harm."
"Copy that, Captain," Zebulon replied, easily lifting the spacer-born Ferrante over his broad tree-cutter shoulders.
Alert me if Ferrante's medical condition worsens.
"I don't like you getting shot at," Mom said when the door finally closed. "Now, off with your suit."
I pulled back the shoulder of my vac-suit where the charred wound looked a lot worse than it felt. I was fairly sure it was because the suit had administered a dose of anesthesia and I was about to hate life.
"It looks worse than it is."
"Pretty sure that's not true," Tabby poked her finger into it and got my attention immediately. “Does that hurt?”
"Tabby. Stop," Mom came to my rescue.
"Just wanted to see how deep it went." Tabby laughed.
"Try this," Mom placed the medical sensor onto the wound. I watched the readings on my HUD. It wasn't great, but a good old fashioned patch or two would do the trick. Tabby located the correct one and applied it.
"Liam, sorry to interrupt. Juanita Ferrante is here looking for Vince," Nick said, connecting via comm.
"Not unexpected. Invite her to the civilian conference room and I'll be right there," I said. "No show of force if we can avoid it."
"She has Lieutenant Wilmarie Fuentes with her," Nick replied.
"Understood." As I pulled my vac-suit back on, I explained the situation to Mom and Tabby.
"What are you going to do?" Mom asked.
"Listen to what they have to say, I guess."
The civilian conference room was so designated because it was Intrepid’s largest and nicest, rivaling Strumpet's fit and finish. Baker stood outside the door in an armored vac-suit with a flechette pistol at her side. I wondered if she had any training with it, but at a minimum, she looked impressive.
"Lieutenant Fuentes, Juanita." I held my hand out in greeting. "This is Tabby Masters. You've already met Nick James. I know it's been a long night for everyone; how can I help?"
Juanita's eyes were puffy and her nose was red. She'd obviously been crying. I understood the feeling. Her life had been turned upside down and I recognized my role in that. No doubt, Vince wasn't all bad.
"What do you intend to do with Vince?" Wilmarie asked.
"He killed my man. When asked who hired him, he refused to answer. I have no choice but to take him with us," I said.
"Do you intend to kill him?" Juanita asked.
"So far, he is unrepentant and believes Intrepid will be stopped before we leave Freedom Station," I said, not answering.
"I brought your platinum back, at least as much as we had left," she said and laid it on the table. It was less than a hundred grams and it broke my heart. I bit the interior of my cheek so as to not give in to the raw emotion.
I pushed the platinum back to her. "This is not about money, Juanita. It's about the survival of more people than you can imagine." It didn't escape me that I sounded like Tullas, justifying my actions in the name of the greater good. "I can say that he will be treated humanely."
"Would you allow Juanita to accompany Vince?" Lieutenant Fuentes asked. "I vouch for her character."
I looked at Nick. Of all the crazy things I'd expected to hear, I hadn't anticipated this.
"As crew," Nick replied. "She'll earn passage, just like everyone else."
"I can't say it will change Vince's outcome, but perhaps you can talk sense into him," I said.
"I accept," Juanita replied. "Thank you."
Before she could say more, Fuentes stood up. "The night is young and I've my own brig-full to deal with."
"What now?" I asked after seeing the two women off the ship.
"I've watch in four hours. I should probably get some sleep," Tabby said.
"Scooter Beers will be here at 0600 to inspect the repair progress and we're getting a load of missiles about the same time," Nick said.
***
Scooter Beers was an affable man on a mission, which I appreciated. Upon arrival, he tossed me a map of the repairs his team was affecting to the hull. He immediately flitted off in an open sled that he straddled. It was nothing more than arc-jets and a bench seat and I idly wondered if the sled was how he'd received his nickname. I struggled to catch up to him, laying hard into my grav-suit.
"I've not seen this type of repair bay before," I said as we approached the first section that was currently being worked on. Armor was being set onto the ship by a device that was fixed to Intrepid's hull.
"About the only way to do it without a full shipyard. It's a Chinese design, don't see 'em too much with Mars and the North Americans. But those Chinese are clever; don't waste a lot of energy building unnecessary structures. See over there?" He pointed to a similar machine lifting a pock-marked piece of armored hull. "We're able to remove the damaged armor while fabbing a replacement. Be close to good-as-new when we're done. Only better if you were in orbit over Mars. But if you could do that, I'd guess you wouldn't be here," he said, winking at me.
"Ballpark amount … what do you have wrapped up in this gear?" I asked.
"Each one is four billion yen, give or take," he answered. "That's all purchased new, of course."
My HUD immediately converted that to Mars credits which put it at forty million credits. I whistled to myself. "You get a lot of call for these kinds of repairs out here?"
"This is a big project for us. Got to say, you have the boys and girls all in a titter. Most of them never worked on a big warship like this," he said. "Not me. Bard plucked me from a contract on the moon. I saw this - and much bigger - day in and day out. Mind telling me what's got Belirand's panties in a wad?"
"Let's say there's a disagreement on registration."
"That'd do it." He laughed as we arrived at the last repair. "Looks like we're well ahead of schedule. Two hours and we'll be out of your hair."
"That's quite a bit ahead," I said.
"Let's say I got a call from the Admiral requesting we give you our best service."
"Appreciate the help."
"My pleasure."
I moved around to the other side of the ship, cycled through the airlock next to the cargo hold and made my way to the bridge.
"Nick, you get the latest from Beers?" I asked as I entered the bridge.
"Yup. Just updating things now," he said. I turned to Moonie, who was also seated at a bridge workstation. "Moonie, what happened yesterday?"
"Sorry, Captain, I pulled my earwig out when I was sleeping. Bad habit; won't happen again," he said.
"Make sure it doesn't. If we'd needed to move out, you'd have had a permanent new home," I reprimanded, not believing his explanation for a nano-second.
"Ada, any word from Juanita Ferrante?" I asked. "She should have reported for duty."
"Marny checked her in this morning," Ada answered. "I assigned her to oversee the livestock in place of Mark-Ralph." Ada's voice choked at the end at the mention of his name. I mentally kicked myself. I needed to give the crew a sense of closure regarding Mark-Ralph. We couldn't just let him die with no words being said.
"Marny, how many missiles are we down?"
"Full load, Cap," she said.
"How about the two Belirand prisoners?" I asked.
"They're sharing a cell next to Ferrante," Marny answered. "Have you given any thought as to what you're going to do with any of them?"
"I figure the Belirand crew can live on Ophir," I said. "As for Ferrante, I'm going to get him to tell me who paid him to come after us. I owe Mark-Ralph that much. Beyond that, I don't know."
Two and a half hours later, Nick arrived back on the bridge with an announcement that couldn't have been more welcome. He'd inspected the final repair and Intrepid was once again ready to roll. It would take weeks for the one reno-bot we had to repair all of the internal damage, but with our limited crew, it would be merely inconvenient.
Hail Freedom Station.
"Go ahead, Intrepid."
"This is Captain Hoffen, requesting a departure vector," I announced.
"Copy that, Captain. Catch you next time." The man's reply was professional and a navigation path was embedded with his message.
"All hands, this is Captain Hoffen. We're about to ge
t underway; please prepare for departure," I announced.
"Ada, the helm is yours once we're green," I said.
"Copy that, Liam." She switched the vid screens to the exterior view we all preferred. Freedom Station was an odd little piece of the universe and I wondered if we'd ever find ourselves back here.
I avoided looking at the cannons as we passed them. If Ferrante's predictions were right, we’d deal with it. We couldn't be held hostage by the ravings of a madman and if those cannons targeted us we were done.
"We're out of range," Marny finally announced and I let go of a breath I didn't know I'd been holding.
"Set course for Ophir," I said.
"Already plugged in," Ada replied.
"I guess we now find out what livestock feel about fold-space," I said.
STOWAWAY
"Liam?" My earwig chirped with Xie's voice as we finished the transition to fold-space.
"Aye, Xie, welcome to fold-space," I replied.
After a long pause she finally got back to me. "Belirand will hunt you with every last credit in their accounts. You are beyond crazy."
"Welcome to the biggest lie perpetrated on humanity," I said. In the background, I heard the sound of chaos erupting.
"I must go," Xie said, terminating comm.
Locate Xie Mie-su. Put on bridge projector. The forward projector changed to show the hold of Hotspur where Xie, Juanita and Zebulon were all struggling to maintain order with the animals, all of which looked to have simultaneously defecated upon entering fold-space. I didn't blame them; I felt the same way.
"Juanita, are you surviving down there?" I asked.
She looked up at my voice, astonishment apparent on her face. "Captain, what happened? I've never experienced anything like that in space flight."
"Long story. Will the livestock survive?"
Give No Quarter (Privateer Tales Book 10) Page 13