Sabrina was not rolling over without at least a challenge. “Captain Darwin, what if I refuse?” Sabrina weighed her possible strategies. The chances of escape were slim, but if the P I’s left her an opening, she could jump out through it.
Sabrina heard the laughter in Captain Darwin’s voice. “Sabrina, dear, your father didn’t raise no fool. I fought him enough times to know. Rumor has it he retired under an assumed identity. Something about raising race horses in Kentucky. I heard he bought a run down old farm and has actually settled down.”
Sabrina sat stunned. Her father’s location was a closely held family secret. “Who are you?” This light chatter did not match the reputation for a tough, hard living tiger of a woman.
According to the legend, the two ships had crossed Lt. Darwin’s course and she still could not tell which was the pirate and which was the fugitive. She fired her last missile. She guessed wrong. She killed a ship full of refugees who had overwhelmed the crew of the pirate ship in a desperate bid for survival. Lt. Darwin killed a ship full of women and children. There were no survivors.
The real pirate had laughed at her on an open frequency. The freighter pilot would later report watching in amazement as Lt. Darwin went after the pirate armed only with her lasers. The pirate had a full compliment of missiles, but she dodged and weaved her way out of danger every time. Relentlessly she had gone after the pirate taking hit after hit herself. Concerned about leaks from damage suffered in previous skirmishes, she had had the foresight to put on her EVA suit when she first spotted the approaching ships and wore it as she engaged the pirate ship in battle. Even with her hull breached, the suit kept her alive. She continued to fight through a slug fest that lasted several hours until she finally blew a hole in the pirate’s reactor cooling panels that was big enough to cause the reactor to overheat and detonate.
Sabrina knew that at least part of the story was true. The pirate who laughed at Lt. Darwin was her brother. The legend was surprisingly close to a story told about another famous pirate hunter, Captain Greg Solomon. Solomon had disappeared not long after the incident in the legend about him only to resurface twenty years later having married another famous former pirate hunter, Captain Avelina Bardwell. They had raised two daughters who had become military powers in their own right. The similarities between the legends both added credibility and made them suspect at the same time.
Lt. Darwin had never been the same after the incident. Pirate Interdiction had become personal. Sabrina suspected that it was Captain Darwin’s personal approach to her work that saved her life in this first direct encounter. Sabrina understood that Captain Darwin studied her enemy with a level of detail that bordered on obsession. She knew the names and faces of the majority of the pirates she might ever run across. She knew their strategies, their favorite methods of attack and when they would flee. She knew their families and had pictures of them as well. Clearly in cornering Sabrina, she knew exactly what she was doing and who she was dealing with. Sabrina knew this because she was every bit as meticulous as Captain Darwin about knowing her enemies.
Captain Darwin’s tone was light and friendly without a hint of the arrogance normally attributed to her. “Let’s just say I’m your local Space Force Recruiter and you have wandered into my office. Withdraw your weapons pods so I can come aboard.”
“Just you, alone.”
“Fair enough.”
Sabrina reluctantly retracted her weapons pods. The lead P I ship attached itself to her airlock. While she waited, she secreted as many small weapons as she could around her body and in hidden places around the cabin. She was not going to be killed without a fight.
The airlock opened and the tallest, most beautiful woman Sabrina had ever seen gracefully floated weightlessly into the cabin. She was wearing a regulation gray Federation flight suit that, if anything, accentuated instead of concealing her ample curves. This was the famous Captain Alina Darwin, pirate killer extraordinaire. The pictures in the broadcast media did not do her justice. Her definitely non-regulation long dark hair would have reached to her waist if there had been gravity to hold it down. As it was, it floated in a halo around her head, a dark halo setting off her alabaster skin.
Sabrina gasped in surprise. What surprised her the most was that this woman was not visibly armed. Even more surprising was the fact that both her hands were in plain sight and her right hand was advanced in what was clearly an offer to shake hands. Sabrina gingerly took the proffered hand. The Captain gently pulled her into a hug.
“Welcome in from the dark side.” Her voice was as light as if she was greeting a sorority sister.
Sabrina knew that Captain Darwin did not need weapons to kill. There were corpses on three planets who provided graphic evidence of what could happen when she participated in a barroom brawl. In this respect she was like both Captain Solomon and Captain Bardwell who also had reputations for being lethal in a hand-to-hand donnybrook.
Captain Darwin pulled a printed card from a vest pocket. She handed it to Sabrina. Sabrina read along as the Captain recited the text printed on the card. “Sabrina Mahoney, you have been caught in the act of piracy. You have three choices. You could forcibly resist. In which case, you have a less than one percent likelihood of surviving. You could agree to be arrested and tried for your crimes as a pirate. In which case, you will be turned over to the Federation court at the nearest space port at the fleet’s earliest convenience. Your ship will be confiscated and you will remain in the brig until you can be transferred to competent authority. Your third choice is that you could agree to be drafted into the Federation Space Force. You and your ship will be inducted into the defense of the Federation. After evaluation by Space Force officers, you and your ship will be assigned to military duties as appropriate to your experience and the functionality of your ship.”
Sabrina stood with her mouth open. They were recruiting her to fight alongside the people who had spent most of her life trying to kill her. Wide eyed, she stood and stared. Everything in her training told her to fight this woman, but she knew that even with her own extensive combat training, she had met her match. The fight would be pointless. Sabrina would lose it and it would be a painful loss. However, if she was to be captured, she would not sulk and whine like others she had seen. She would stand proud and defiant. She lifted her head to look the Captain in the eye.
Captain Darwin smiled. “You would be granted full amnesty for your past activities.”
“Why?” Sabrina challenged.
“War is coming. After the mandatory cease fire as a result of the Swordsmen secession there will be a full scale war as we solidify our territorial holdings. We need experienced pilots. We need ships like yours. Common enemies make unusual allies.”
“The proverbial offer I can’t refuse.”
“Yes, indeed.”
“Then, I accept,” Sabrina said reluctantly.
“Do you have a clean flight suit?” Captain Darwin sounded more like a sister than a captor.
“Not really.” Sabrina was moderately insulted.
“Well, we can’t go meet Commodore Townsend in your jammies, now can we?”
Sabrina looked down. Woman-flesh showed through her well-worn outfit.
“No, I guess not.” She was finally coming around.
“Do you even have a flight suit?”
“Yes. It’s in the locker,” Sabrina huffed.
“Grab it. We’ll decontaminate it on my ship and clean you up for your interview.”
P I ships were designed to support a crew of two on single-ship patrol for months at a time and therefore had amenities that Sabrina’s small ship did not have. One of these amenities was the space-going equivalent of a shower that used real water. Of course, she had to use a breathing tube to keep from drowning, but she did get clean. It was much more satisfying than those stupid moist towelette things she used aboard her ship.
Four hours later, with her ship docked to a service bay on the fleet’s command mother-ship, he
r flight suit cleaned and her body scrubbed, Sabrina followed Captain Darwin to the ship’s galley. Sabrina had expected that if this day ever came, she would be lead away in chains. Not only were there no chains, the only resemblance to a security detail were the three pilots in Captain Darwin’s flight walking casually laughing and chatting behind them. The pilots, all women, often made randy comments to the men who passed them in the passageway. In the pirate social system, being led in chains was the deepest degradation. To walk to judgment unfettered was a sign of respect.
Captain Darwin stopped before they entered the galley. “We don’t have an Officer’s Mess. Commodore Townsend thought it was a waste of space and turned the one we had into a meat locker. We all eat together. It gets kind of rowdy sometimes. It takes getting used to.”
The ship’s galley reminded Sabrina of a high school cafeteria, loud and raucous. The mother ship maintained just enough spin to provide the equivalent of a quarter gravity along its outermost level. Sabrina found intriguing the fact that the ship’s outer ring was built in segments that could be rotated so that when the ship was accelerating, “down” would still be “down” in the common areas.
Commodore Townsend was standing in the open area at one end of the galley. A Space Force lieutenant stood before him with four men. Two of the men were in chains. “Hey, Gunny!” The Commodore called out to the Marine guard. “These two don’t want to join our crew. Take them to the brig and see if you can’t change their minds. It’ll be a while before we see port. They could be parked in the hole a long time.”
“Aye, aye, sir.” The Marine Sergeant motioned to a pair of Corporals who had been standing with him and they, none too gently, hauled the men away.
The Commodore looked the older of the two remaining “recruits” in the eye. “Tell me what you did for the pirates.”
“Fire control officer, sir.”
“You any good?”
“I don’t know, sir.”
“You don’t know? Why is that?”
“Never fired a shot in battle, sir.”
“Why not?”
“Never had to, sir.”
“MARGOLIS!” The Commodore bellowed.
“AYE, SIR!” A man yelled back from across the galley.
“NEW RECRUIT!” The Commodore yelled. He turned to the young man. “See that ugly short guy with the bushy black beard standing next to the tall blond guy? He’s our senior fire control trainer. You’re assigned to him.”
“Thank you, sir.”
“MARGOLIS!”
“AYE, SIR!”
“MAKE SURE HE KNOWS THE RULES!”
“CERTAINLY, SIR!”
When the new arrival arrived at the table where the other members of his new unit were sitting, he was greeted as an old friend with several strong manly hugs and lots of back thumping.
The younger man shivered with fear as the Commodore surveyed him. The Commodore stood in front of him. “Son, how old are you?”
“Seventeen, sir.”
“Lad, when will you be eighteen?”
“End of the month, sir.”
The Commodore thought for a few seconds. “All your paperwork will say that you were recruited the day after your eighteenth birthday. Do we understand each other?”
“Y-yes, sir.”
“Before the pirates snatched you from wherever they found you, what were you doing?”
“Training to be a paramedic, sir.”
The Commodore’s face lit up. “BONES! GET OVER HERE!” A rough looking woman as broad shouldered as she was tall appeared from the crowd. She had a tattoo of the staff and serpents on her right bicep.
“Aye, sir.”
“Kid’s yours.”
She looked at the boy. “You eat yet?”
“No, Ma’am.”
“It’s ‘Doc’ to you. Not ‘Sir’ and not ‘Ma’am’ and he’s the only one gets to call me ‘Bones’ to my face. Got it?”
“Aye, aye, Doc.”
“Let’s get you fed before you die at my feet.” She led him away.
Captain Darwin advanced to Commodore Townsend. She looked him in the eye and said, “I found her and I get to keep her!” She paused and said, “Sir,” as an afterthought.
He rolled back on his heels and roared with laughter. He twisted his face into a mock grimace. “Arghh! Aye, Captain,” he said imitating a pirate in a bad movie.
Captain Darwin punched him in the shoulder and said, “Stop that! I hate when you do that!”
Townsend enjoyed his own joke. Finally he settled down enough to ask, “So, who is she?”
“Sabrina Mahoney, sir.”
The Commodore stopped laughing. “THE Sabrina Mahoney? The one you’ve been stalking the last six months?” He looked at Sabrina as if expecting the answer to come from her and not from Captain Darwin.
“Aye, sir.” Sabrina said assessing this man who stood before her at the same time surprised that anyone would spend six months tracking her down. She must have been a difficult target. The thought felt good. She felt proud to be a prize of sufficient value to justify six months of pursuit.
“As I live and breathe. I’ll be the son of an old sea dog. And you came willingly?” His eyes were bright and inquisitive as he scanned her face.
“More or less, sir. My father taught me that sometimes it is smarter to retreat than to engage a battle one can't win.”
“Smart man. Tough adversary. I lost many good men and ships to him. Ladies, please have a seat.” He pointed to an empty table. They sat around the table.
“Sabrina Mahoney and on my ship.” He shook his head slowly. “In my command no less. Amazing! How is your father? Are his horses winning races yet?”
“Does everyone know about my father?”
“Those that matter do. I helped bring him in. He has been very helpful to us recently. The Federation will see that he is not disturbed unnecessarily.”
He turned to Captain Darwin. “What did you have in mind for her?”
“Either my wing or command of my second flight depending on the simulation results.”
Sabrina was stunned. To go from captive to flight command or wing to the squadron commander in a single sentence took her by surprise.
“Excuse me,” she said, “but I think I have a lot to learn from Captain Darwin. If I may say so myself, her ability to find and capture me without firing a shot is no small feat. There are debris fields scattered across the galaxy that mark where others have tried and failed. I should be interested to learn how she did it. If it’s all the same to you, I’ll take the wing position.”
“That is the lower ranked position,” the Commodore reminded her.
“I know.”
“Consider it done. Have you ladies eaten?”
“No.”
“STEWARD!”
“Aye, sir.”
“Steak and baked potatoes for the ladies and whatever cook has that passes for vegetables!”
“Aye sir!”
The Commodore pulled a well chomped cigar out of his vest pocket and was about to put it in his mouth when “Bones” snatched it out of his hand, threw it to the floor and stomped on it. She glared at him and wiggled her finger at him menacingly. “I told you no more of those!” She strode away with a heavy tread.
“Sir, if I may be so bold,” Sabrina asked. “What is going on here? This does not look like any of the Federation units my father described to me.”
“That’s because it’s not,” Commodore Townsend said as he sneaked another cigar out of an inside pocket and stuck it in his mouth. “We know the Samurai Swordsmen are going to attack the Federation as soon as the mandatory cease fire ends and we believe that they will pass by here on their way toward the Central System. Once the negotiations end, we will have five years to be ready. That’s not a lot of time given the state of our military. The problem is that we have no information as to their tactics or strategies. We don’t know how they fight. Do they fight as groups? Do they fight as individuals?
How is their battle formation structured? Until we know these things we don’t know how to deploy our forces. On top of that, there is this little matter of the Third Force. We can’t figure out who they are, but they are kicking the shit our of us whenever they please. I think they were behind the attack on Saturn Industries.”
“What does that have to do with us?”
“Look around the room. Every man and woman you see here, including myself, is either an outlaw, or has been busted for insubordination or any of half a dozen other minor infractions of the rules at some point in their career. We are renegades. We are here because we don’t think like the cannon fodder that usually populates our forces.” His voice dripped with disgust.
“Aren’t you being a little harsh?” Captain Darwin interrupted.
“Not really. Think about your ex-husband,” he sneered.
Sabrina felt like she had been slapped. Captain Darwin had been married. Pirate legends had her as a lesbian.
“I suppose you’re right.”
“My point,” he continued, “is that we need people who will think for themselves on the front line when the attack comes. We need people who will work as a team, but will react quickly enough to act independently if the need arises. We need people who will protect each other because we know that if the Swordsmen assume control of the Federation, the first people they will eliminate will be people like us. We have the most to lose if the battle goes bad.”
“With all due respect, sir, as a pirate, I fail to see any significant difference between being pursued by the Federation or by the Swordsmen. Either way I die in combat.”
“The difference is that the Federation has always maintained ways for you to come in from the cold. You could have gone to a neutral port and turned yourself in. From that point on you would have been protected. The Swordsmen do not take so kindly to former enemies and their treatment of women in general has the anti-slavery folks up in arms. I shudder to think what they would do to a pirate woman. But let’s look at the other side. Look at your father. The Federation is protecting him from, among others, the Swordsmen. The Swordsmen are looking for you, too. Sooner or later they will find you. Would you rather be alone in your inadequately armed little ship or among a squadron of P I ships with experienced combat pilots?”
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