As the doors opened, we found ourselves looking out over a green field of grass. In the center of the field sat a long table with a stark white table cloth. Two men were already seated at the table and were being attended by three others. A fourth man, in a formal looking vac-suit stood stiffly by the elevator door.
"Jasper, we have Ms. Marny Bertrand, Captain Liam Hoffen, and Mr. Nicholas James for breakfast," Fuentes announced formally, without responding to Marny's offer to share information.
"Very well, Lieutenant Fuentes," he replied. "If you'll follow me." He looped his arm through Marny's and led us across the surreal landscape. From the angle we found ourselves, the armored glass was nearly transparent and it very much looked like we were walking across a field hovering in the middle of space.
"Ah, Captain Hoffen, Mr. James. Welcome." Penna stood as we approached. "And this lovely woman must be the much talked about Marny Bertrand." His accent was, if anything, thicker as he welcomed us. "Please allow me to introduce you to the founder of our beautiful station, Mr. Bard Sanderson."
Sanderson wasn't a particularly large man and had straight black hair and a fair complexion. He wore an easy smile as he extended his hand to Marny, turning it over as she accepted and kissing the back with a mischievous grin.
"Oh," Marny giggled. "Very nice to meet you."
I looked at Nick. I'd never seen Marny flummoxed before and his wide eyes told me he hadn't either.
"Please, please, have a seat," Sanderson said after we'd shaken hands and completed introductions. "To be honest, I like to pull this little stunt when I want something. I find it puts my trading partners on tilt. Is it working?"
"The view is amazing," I said, looking out toward where I was sure Mars was.
"I'm from farm country on Earth, Mr. Hoffen, and I love the idea of living in the stars. This station was the best way to achieve both objectives. Would you care for a cup of coffee?" He nodded to the man who stood behind where we'd sat.
"I'd love one," I said, hoping the coffee was as good as the surroundings were unbelievable.
"How did our livestock travel? Did they make it okay?" Sanderson asked.
"They did and the people we delivered them to were appreciative," I said. "We even brought a few tonnes of milo back with us, hoping we might trade with one of your distilleries."
"Mr. Sailer will be pleased to hear that," he said as plates filled with eggs and sausage links were placed in front of us. A thick white sauce with black flecks covered two lumps on the plate, but I wasn't about to ask what I was looking at.
"You mentioned you might be interested in parting with Justice Bringer, Captain Hoffen," Penna said once we started eating.
The sauce covered a biscuit and I discovered the combination of the two items to be delicious. "That is true. We're not looking to expand our fleet and as you've probably been informed, Intrepid has taken quite a beating," I said.
"Are you just looking for repairs?" Penna asked hopefully, to which Nick coughed inadvertently, most likely gasping at the suggestion.
The table had become very quiet and I knew I had both men's full attention. "No. I don't think that would make us very good trading partners. Let me be clear; I'm not looking for full value of the ship but I'm also not about to give it away. My guess is that Freedom Station would have a very difficult time procuring a ship as well outfitted as Justice Bringer, what with all of the military grade systems."
"We're not without our resources," Sanderson replied, stiffening slightly.
"You mind if I just lay out what I'm thinking?" I asked. "Maybe skip all the normal posturing?"
Penna blinked twice, as if in astonishment. "That would be refreshing."
"Kind of takes the fun out of it though," Sanderson answered. "But I suppose there is something to be said for laying one's cards on the table."
"Especially if it benefits both parties," I said. "For Justice Bringer, I'd like ten pallets of missiles, four General Astral Mark IV Defensive Cannons or their equivalent, two of Justice Bringer's engines transferred to Intrepid - you'll find we've lost one engine and the other needs repairs that will take longer than we have patience for, a full set of repairs to Intrepid's armor and one of Robert Beer's Chinese portable armor repair stations."
Sanderson picked up a white napkin, blotted his lips, and placed the napkin carefully on his plate. "Mr. Hoffen, I believe you over-estimate the value of your frigate. A Mark IV Cannon is worth nearly twenty million credits on the open market and a portable armor repair station is worth forty million. And that's not considering the missiles," he said. "If my math is right, you've valued your ship at one-hundred fifty million credits and that's with substantial repairs required and two broken engines."
"We also removed two of the smaller bow turrets," Nick added.
Sanderson smiled and shook his head. "You're off by twice."
"A frigate of this class is worth six-hundred million credits," I replied. "My offer is more than fair. The repairs required can't add up to more than sixty million credits, most of that being in the engine. Wouldn't you like to have one of the fastest warships produced? You've built an incredibly well defended installation, but with this ship, you'd be able to confidently strike out. What you can't swat down, you can outrun. It's the best of both worlds."
"Two cannons, the Chinese portable repair facility, armor repairs, engines moved and fifteen palettes of missiles," he answered.
"Make that three Mark IV Cannons and I'll throw in the milo grain," I said.
Sanderson laughed and held his hand out. "Three cannons and I'll even send you back with ten cases of Sailer's best stuff. Believe it or not, he calls it Contraband."
CARDS ON THE TABLE
"I can't help but feel you gave that ship to Sanderson," Nick said once we were back aboard Intrepid. "Conservatively, a damaged Justice Bringer is worth four-hundred million credits. Your trade is worth one-hundred-thirty million, max. You left two-hundred million on the table."
I smiled. "Listen to us. Arguing about a hundred million credit trade. You're right, of course. We got taken. It's also all he was going to offer. We showed up with a ship he hadn't asked for and traded for his critical supplies. Look at the bright side. We'll finally have a decent stock of missiles and the capability to do structural repairs on larger ships. That's freedom if you ask me. I’ll pay a lot for that."
"I suppose if you look at it that way," Nick replied. He was grumpy, but he'd get over it.
"We need to take off in six hours," I said. "I'd like to bring the four of us, Jester Ripples, Jonathan and Sendrei."
"That would just leave Ada and crew," Marny said as we approached the station-side of the catwalk where Baker was armed with a blaster rifle and fully dressed in an armored vac-suit.
"Don't forget Xie," I said.
"Are you sure, Cap? I think you need to talk with her. I walked past her bunk this morning and it looked like she was packing," Marny replied.
Locate Xie Mie-su.
"Xie Mie-su is currently in her assigned quarters," my AI replied.
"What are you going to do?" Nick asked.
"Talk to her, I guess," I said. "It's not like I'm going to require someone to stay on the ship as a prisoner. Well, that is with the exception of our actual prisoners."
"This is a mess," he said. In all of our time together, he had always been one step ahead and now twice in the same day he was struggling. It occurred to me that we might need to consider just how hard we were pushing the envelope.
I wrapped my arm around his shoulders. "I agree. We just need to keep our eye on the goal. We have ten thousand people whose only hope for survival rests in our hands. We need to block everything else as noise. So what if Xie talks about Kroerak or Norigans or even Ophir for that matter? People will believe what they want. We didn't create the secret and we have proof that the secret is hurting people."
He sighed. "I suppose. Do you want help talking with her?" We passed through the ship-side airlock and started af
t, toward the bridge.
"Nah. I got this." I peeled off to the port where Xie's bunkroom was located.
When I knocked on the open hatch to her room, she looked up. "I was expecting you," Xie said. Her voice lacked the normal sultry lilt she used when in a larger group.
I looked at the single duffle on her bunk. "All packed up?"
"I'd like permission to disembark, Liam," she said.
"You're a valuable member of the crew, Xie. Are you sure?"
"The universe as we know it is about to change," she said. "Your crew is on the front line of a war I'm not sure we can win."
"Never known Xie Mie-su to run from a fight."
"But then, you've never really known me, Liam Hoffen," she purred, the silky quality returning to her voice.
"I think of you as a friend, Xie," I said. "I don't buy this image you portray to everyone around you."
She nodded. "You're a strange man. I've given you no reason to trust me, but you see good in me that even I'm not sure exists."
"Will you stay on Freedom Station?"
"For the time being." She took a deep breath as she stood. "There's work here with Beth Anne."
I pulled her into a hug. "I'll miss you, Xie. You need to believe in yourself."
"We would make a formidable team, Liam. Look me up," she said and brushed my cheek with her hand as she broke free and sauntered from the room. I walked out behind her and watched her disappear down the passageway.
"A jealous woman might make something of this." Tabby's voice caught me by surprise, causing me to startle.
"Shite, Tabby," I said. "I thought you were asleep."
"Let's just say I have a subroutine that tells me when you enter another woman's bunkroom." She suggestively slipped her hands around my waist.
I glanced sideways at her, wondering if she was telling the truth. "Seriously?"
"Don't worry, you're in the clear," she said, tapping my nose with her finger. "I think I might skip the trip to Valhalla Platform."
"Oh?"
"Too many memories. I just don't want to go back there," she said.
***
"Transitioning to normal-space in three … two …," I warned. I hoped Buckshot Alderson had taken me seriously and left open the coordinates I'd provided. In a close-in trans-location like we'd just done, our accuracy was within a kilometer. Longer transitions were less accurate, but we'd yet to miss by more than twenty kilometers, which is relatively pin-point when you consider the distances we were traveling. According to Jonathan, the accuracy issues were caused by our inability to measure time as accurately as required. He'd wanted to explain with more detail, but I'd suggested I was okay with some variance.
"We have multiple hostiles targeting the ship," Nick announced as my vision cleared.
"Incoming hail, Battle Cruiser George Ellery Hale," my AI announced.
The forward holo-display showed three ships. The George Ellery Hale was flanked by two destroyers that looked positively puny next to it.
"Hotspur, Captain Liam Hoffen, go ahead," I said.
"Captain Hoffen, I'm Captain Gregory Munay. I'll need you to accept our turret lockdown before we proceed." The man who appeared was everything I'd come to expect from a senior Naval officer; neatly dressed, polite and straight to the point. A blinking acknowledgement flashed, which I accepted.
"Thank you," he replied in response to my acceptance. "That was quite an entrance you made. You made my gunnery chief rather nervous. Mind explaining how you accomplished showing up in that manner?"
"That's much of the reason for our visit," I said. "Can I count on you to share your observations with Admiral Alderson?"
"Son, that's the reason I'm out here," he replied. "To that end, I'm sending navigation instructions for docking in fighter bay twelve. If it's all the same to you, I'd appreciate it if you'd proceed to the flight deck the good old-fashioned way, to avoid any misunderstandings."
"Copy that, Captain Munay. We understand the pecking order here and will comply," I said, to which he smiled and gave a curt nod of acknowledgement. "Hoffen, out."
As we sailed closer to the large ship, it just seemed to continue to grow. At two hundred and twenty meters in length and with a mass in excess of sixteen thousand tonnes, I couldn't imagine how anyone aboard would be made nervous by any action we took.
"Look at that," I said in wonder as we sat down in a bay that was empty except for two stubby Tison-4X Bumblebee fighters that had been pushed to one side. It was the same fighter Tabby had been training for. There was nothing extraneous or subtle about a Tison-4X. Large engines, externally mounted missiles and a single, forward, articulating turret were all built around a heavily armored cockpit that was filled with gel and surrounded by inertial systems. Perhaps most striking was the complete lack of anything resembling armor glass. The entire shell was armored with nary a peep hole. In all, it was ten meters of death for anything smaller than a frigate.
"I like the paint job," Nick said. The Bumblebee designation was lost on most spacers, but Tabby had shown me pictures of the rounded insects that were their namesake. The two ships were brightly painted with black and yellow stripes.
"Are you ready for this, Jester Ripples?" I asked as we descended to the bridge level. The Norigan had been playing a castle defense simulation game I'd shown him on the bridge's table next to the couch where he sat.
"I get to meet more humans?" he asked.
"Trust me, they'll be very interested in meeting you," I said as he scrambled up into my arms, wrapping his spindly legs around my waist. I stroked the back of the coarse, yellow stripe of fur that surrounded his bulbous eyes in greeting. His wide eyelids blinked in appreciation.
"The bay is pressurized and we've equalized, Cap," Marny announced as we approached the external hatch. "I'm going to stay behind with our guests, however." She was referring to the six crew we'd recovered from Justice Bringer as well as Moon Rastof, all of whom were in Hotspur's hold with restraints that kept them from approaching the airlocks or control systems.
"Thanks, Marny," I said.
"Good luck." She popped the hatch after allowing the external stairs to descend to the deck.
A squad of Marines in armored vac-suits stood at attention in a line at the bottom of the stairs, perpendicular to Hotspur. A group of three officers stood at the end of the line, facing us. I immediately recognized Captain Munay standing forward in the middle.
"Welcome aboard, Captain Hoffen, Lieutenant Sendrei, Mr. James, and Jonathan," he said as we descended the stairs. He'd certainly been well-briefed. "May I introduce you to my senior officers, Lieutenant Commanders Carmine Jandry and Jensen Biggwort."
"I'd also like to introduce a recent addition to our crew," I said as I shook the proffered hands. "This is Jester Ripples. Say hello to Captain Munay, Jester Ripples."
Jester Ripples squirmed on my hip and I released him to the ground. He quickly approached Munay and lifted his thick, three fingered hand. The Captain didn't miss a beat and extended his own. Unfortunately, Jester Ripples took this as an invitation for closeness and climbed the surprised man, spurring the Marines into action.
"Stop!" I exclaimed, jumping between Jester Ripples and the flood of Marines coming to their Captain's aid. I was knocked to the ground before Munay was able to intervene.
"Hold!" Munay recovered his composure. "Release Mr. Hoffen, please."
"What is wrong?" Jester Ripples asked in his child-like voice, clinging to the grey-templed captain, unwilling to believe that anyone would mean him harm. The Marine who dropped me helped me back to my feet, but didn't look the least bit apologetic.
"It's okay, Jester Ripples, people aren't used to Norigan closeness. The Marines thought you might be trying to hurt Captain Munay," I explained. Fortunately, my grav-suit had absorbed most of the blow that had knocked me down, although I’d be sore for a few days.
"I would never," he said.
"Would you care to explain?" Munay asked. "I thought you had si
mply brought an exotic pet along."
"Jester Ripples doesn't understand human issues with physical closeness. He is a Norigan, a sentient species. He's also a valuable member of my crew. Jester Ripples, perhaps its best if you came with me," I said.
"But you said I'd get to meet more people," he argued.
"True, but I think you're making Captain Munay uncomfortable," I said. "People take a little while to get used to Norigan closeness. Remember we talked about this?"
"Yes. I apologize. I got excited," he said glumly and released his hold on Munay, clambering back into my arms.
"Our flight deck is probably not the right place for this discussion," Munay said with a shake of his head. He continued to stare at Jester Ripples with wonder. "Would you follow me?"
Passing guards at each intersection, I wondered just how much of a threat Alderson really thought we were.
"Here we are," Munay announced as we arrived at a spacious conference room. Gregor Belcose was already in the room and talking in a low whisper with Admiral Alderson and Commander Sterra. I mentally kicked myself for not recognizing why the show of force, including a full battle cruiser. I'd assumed our meeting was on Valhalla Platform, but it looked as if we'd be meeting right here.
"Liam Hoffen," Commander Sterra said as we entered. She looked exactly as I remembered her, a petite ball of energy with a presence that demanded respect.
"Commander Sterra," I said, smiling and closing the distance between us as the three stood to greet us.
"Mr. Hoffen," Admiral Alderson's deep voice caused me to pause. I wasn't sure of the correct order of introductions. Sensing my hesitance, he gave me a break that I hadn't expected. "Don't be shy, Hoffen, we're not standing on formality today. But for the sake of expediency, assume we've been watching you since you entered our vicinity and know all your names and can skip all the pleasantries."
Sterra smiled, ignoring the Admiral for a moment and gave me a quick hug, eyeing Jester Ripples as she did. "Good to see you well, Liam. I've been worried," she said quietly, but not quite in a whisper.
Give No Quarter (Privateer Tales Book 10) Page 27