“How did the pilot assignments go?” Jake asked, leaning against his modest bunk. He had the larger captain’s bed removed, opting for a bunk pair instead.
Minh guessed that Jake was turning the bottom one into cupboard space, judging from the mess and the lack of a mattress. “I got some of the more experienced pilots, not all the best, but they’re not too green. Have you talked to Ayan about taking Samurai Squadron with you when you leave?”
“I put it up on the assignment board,” Jake said. He brought up another hologram and it hovered above his tool-strewn workbench. “Captain Berkovitz, an old friend of mine, sent me some intel on an ideal port. It’s not a human port, and everyone goes there, no matter what side, but they have the firepower to make it a very bad idea to break the peace there.”
“Can you trust him?” Minh asked, looking at the image of the man. Judging purely from the head shot he looked like he was probably tall and fit. He reminded Minh of Oz.
“He’s a long range courier, and generally hates bounty hunting. I was lucky enough to help him out by stopping a robbery. I was only there because the moron who tried to rob him was a bounty target of mine.”
“He was a moron but able to corner a courier with military gear?” Minh asked.
“The mark was a very heavily armed moron,” Jake said.
“Ah. So this captain is paying you back.”
“Maybe, but I get a feeling that he’s interested in touching base, considering the shape the galaxy’s in right now. It helps to have friends.”
There was a firm knock on the hatch and Jake turned off all the holograms in the room before shouting, “enter!”
The hatch opened to reveal Ruby Sima, who looked around, wary. A sort of false joviality overtook her the moment she saw Jake in his long coat. “Never thought I’d see the day that I got to meet the legendary Captain Valent.”
She barely got a foot over the threshold before Jake nodded absently and started for the door. “We’ll have more room if we meet in the officer’s lounge.” Jake led the way, Minh, Ruby, and her first officer Lombardo following. The pair of guards that were assigned to the foreign captain brought up the rear.
Minh barely caught Jake’s hand gesture, so quick and barely noticeable. He flicked one finger at his side then let his hand open casually. There was someone they couldn’t see in their group. Minh quietly released the retaining clasp on his holster, feeling that old excitement rise in his chest that told him something was about to happen. It was familiar, and suppressing it in favour of staying cool-headed was second nature, but he almost wanted to hold on to that energized feeling. Never did he feel more alive.
They followed Jake into the room, where there was an old table with four chairs around it and two more against the wall. Against the far wall were four stasis tubes, one already occupied by Leland March and a fairly non-descript man. Minh knew him as the only surviving member of the group that tried to kidnap Jake, the one that had his neck crushed. He had been seen to by medical personnel and restored, but instead of waking him, Jake had him put into deeper stasis. Beside that captive was March, the lower half of his face was still frozen in an expression that was a mix of shock and fear. Whether they were there as some sort of trophy or example, Minh-Chu wasn’t sure. He wasn’t going to ask, either.
The hatch closed behind them. Jake turned around casually, his gun drawn. Minh-Chu hadn’t even seen him draw. He supposed he used his cloaking system with a hologram to mask the act, or somehow slid the huge sidearm out while everyone was behind him; it was something he’d ask later. The looks of surprise on everyone’s faces were extreme, no one knew what was going on. Jake’s other hand came to rest on something no one could see for a long moment.
A soldier in dark blue Carthan armour became visible, Jake’s hand on his shoulder. “You’re an idiot,” Captain Valent said. “I knew you were aboard the moment I saw you through my uplink with the ship.”
“How?” asked the soldier, slowly raising his hands as he looked down the barrel of Jake’s handgun.
“There’s a scale attached to every boarding ramp on the Samson. It’s just an old fashioned way to track cargo and passengers coming aboard.”
Ruby laughed lightly, nodding. “So you knew Lombardo, me, and the guards here didn’t add up to the measure.”
“Repeat after me,” Jake said, looking at the man in armour. “I’m an idiot.”
“You’re kidding-“
Jake shuddered a moment and the soldier’s armour seemed to collapse in on itself, the heavy plates giving in to the will of gravity. He crumpled to the ground with a heavy exhale as though he were a marionette with his strings cut. Minh-Chu knew that his friend was growing more and more adept at connecting and manipulating computer systems, but he had no idea he could deactivate something like a suit of armour. “What do you think that armour weighs?” Jake asked. “The exoskeleton I just deactivated takes, what, seventy kilos off your shoulders?” Jake knelt down beside the soldier, who was on his face, tapping his hand on the deck more frantically as time passed. “You can’t breathe because of all this weight on your back,” he said, barely touching the heavy back plates and supply casing. “You have no power here, you don’t have the authority to board my ship without permission, you don’t have the intelligence to do so and not get caught, and you had better deliver whatever message your misguided government has sent you with.” Jake reactivated the exoskeleton in the man’s armour by touching the back of his helmet. The suit came back to life, plates moving back into place and he was breathing again.
“I’m here to check your status,” the soldier said in a rush. “I’m also fulfilling a contractual obligation: that a Carthan representative must meet with you before the contract negotiated by Ayan Rice the Second is valid.”
Jake yanked the soldier’s belt hard, snapping it and his holster. He tossed it into the corner. “Why the hell would you start off by following Captain Sima in a stealth suit?” He grabbed the soldier by the under arm and pulled him up as though he were a toddler, planting him firmly on his feet.
The soldier paused a moment, glancing at the door before going on. “I knew you wouldn’t allow me aboard and my orders are to get a look at the inside of your ship,” he replied.
Jake holstered his weapon and looked to Captian Sima. “You know about him?”
“Didn’t have the faintest idea he was along,” Ruby replied.
Frost opened the hatch and came through. “I see why your call was urgent, Captain,” he said to Jake. “Got here as fast as I could.”
Jake nodded at him then returned his attention to the soldier. “I don’t care who you are, what your name is, who specifically issued your orders. I need nothing from the Carthan government but for them to leave me the hell alone. I won’t sell to them, they won’t interfere with my business, and they won’t send any more rats onto my ship. You’ve met me, and I’m giving you one chance to represent your government, right now.”
The soldier hesitated a moment. “The Carthan government does not support your recent actions. You are not being included in our trade with Ayan Rice the Second. However, the Carthan government are also not placing limitations on your access in our held space, nor do we intend on limiting your access to any trade network. While you are not permitted to attend any government function, we do not intend to bar access to a proxy.”
“Is that everything?” Jake asked.
“Yes.”
“Did you see what you had to here?”
The soldier seemed surprised by the question but answered, “Yes.”
“Then go with my associate here, Frost. He has new registration information for this ship that he may as well give you personally.”
The soldier was escorted out, followed by the pair of security guards who came in with Ruby Sima and her first officer. Jake motioned to the table and Minh sat beside him, Ruby and Lombardo across from him. Lombardo had a big grin on his face.
“Did you enjoy the show?” Jake
asked.
“Much,” Ruby replied. “Surprising, that. I’d think you would be anxious to mend things with the Carthans.”
“After this conversation, I don’t think I’ll need them,” Captain Valent said.
“Right you are,” Lombardo said, leaning back in his chair. After he heard a worrying creak, he leaned forward again.
“Your man here, Ronin, has made quite a name for himself while you were out of sight,” Ruby said. “Before we get to the heart of this meeting, I’d like to say it’s a pleasure to meet you both.”
“Thanks,” Minh said, honestly complimented. “I’ve heard you’re quite the privateer.”
“Thanks loads,” Captain Sima replied, fixing him with a winning smile. “Have to say it’s partly thanks to this bumbler here.” She patted Lombardo’s arm and continued. “Seems there’s nothing he won’t knock over or bump into on land, but you get him into space, on the deck of a ship, and he’s as steady as a star is hot.”
“Now that we’ve all appreciated each other, what can I do for you and Patrizia Salustri?” Jake asked.
“Patrizia sent me with a gift for your dear Ayan. I’m here to see you on my own business,” Ruby said. “Seems Salustri’s interest in you is passing.”
“That’s a relief,” Jake said.
“Aye, thought that would be good news,” Ruby said.
“What does she want with Ayan?”
“She sees a leader emerging in her, and Miss Rice seems to be one of the very few people who have negotiated a land deal with the Carthans without having known them before arriving here. Salustri admires her, and as your Ayan’s influence grows, I’m sure that admiration will too. Patrizia seems to get hot and bothered by the combination of beauty and power, and your Ayan’s a stunner. She should take advantage of that, but carefully.”
“I’ll pass that on,” Jake said.
“I’m here because I wanted to talk to you about something more important to me,” Ruby said. “I see you installed some pop droppers on this old girl, great thinking, but I’m wondering if you have an interest in weapons beyond what you’re building into your own ship.”
“Why?” Jake asked, one of his eyebrows arching upwards.
Ruby looked to Lombardo and nodded.
He brought up a holographic manifest attached to a ship called the Lazy Breeze. “We’ve got a roving base out there, not much of one, but she’s good for moving storage and hiding it. Our contract with the Carthans keeps us from selling captured weapons, and we happen to have nine bulk containers full, all hitched up to the Lazy Breeze.”
“Where’d you get the weapons?” Minh asked, looking at the list of various firearms and ship-to-ship weaponry.
“Took out a converted customs corvette five weeks ago,” Ruby said with a proud smile. “Didn’t get much from the database since it was secured, but we did get a couple patrol routes from their nav system. Took down an undermanned Galleon next. There wasn’t enough to fly home when we were done, but my cutters salvaged a bunch of weaponry from the wreck. Between that and the customs corvette, we filled the Lazy Breeze’s storage train up with weapons, Regent Galactic contraband, and xetima.”
“So everything on the Carthan no sale, no trade list,” Minh-Chu said as the manifest continued to scroll to the section highlighting luxuries manufactured by Regent Galactic. “Must have been some Galleon.”
“She was the Stellar Prince. Her captain signed up as freelance patrol and treated the job like a pleasure cruise,” Lombardo said. “Right knobhead, he was. Ransomed him back to-“
Ruby elbowed Lombardo, interrupting him.
“You’re in the right room,” Jake said. “Talking to the right people. I don’t care how you’ve broken Carthan law.”
“Well, we ransomed the survivors back to their families. That worked out, mostly,” Ruby said. “Won’t bother in the future though.”
“Well, I can tell you that the only thing I want are the pair of particle accelerator beam sets you have listed there. If I had more ready cash I’d buy a few things for the crew from the Regent Galactic list, but that’s about it,” Jake said.
“This isn’t that kind of sales call,” Ruby said. “But I’ll take a good offer on the P.A.B. pair and throw in a few extras for your crew. Maybe a crisps machine?”
“Put it beside the slush machine when the galley’s done,” Minh said, setting his almost empty drink on the table.
“We’ll see,” Jake said.
Lombardo made eye contact with Minh-Chu and nodded, offering a little smile.
“If we get caught selling any of this stuff,” Ruby said, leaning back. “Our privateering contract gets revoked. It’s worth a good packet in Galactic Currency, but not if it’s just tossing about in a nebula flying in figure eight.”
“You want me to play salesman,” Jake said.
Ruby shook her head, jingling her platinum and gold necklaces as she leaned into the conversation. “You’ve put a call out for captains to go fight the Order, to make their mark and earn big for themselves. I’m making a prediction that they won’t want to do that alone, and the first one they’ll come looking for is you, clever devil. Before long you’ll have your own fleet, and it may be like herding cats at first, but you’ll have an organization before long. When these captains need supplies and equipment of a volatile nature, there’s going to be a real opportunity, especially for the things that they can’t just trade for on the Mackey Exchange.”
Jake let the notion hang in the air, not saying a thing, offering only the slowest of nods. Minh wanted to explore the idea, to hear his half of the conversation, but had to wait for Ruby to continue. She did.
“I don’t know where you’re going, mate, but I see a ship that may be ugly on the inside and ready to go regardless. I look around the Samson and can only come to the conclusion that you’re hours away from taking off, even if most of your crew have to bed down and eat in the cargo bay. Take us with you – these runs are easier and safer with two.”
Jake’s eyebrow arched again, a smile forming beneath. “How about we show you to a port that comes from inside information. A port where freighters stop in for some R and R before making the last big push to the Order worlds?”
“And we take down a target there?”
“And we both find targets,” Jake said. “This isn’t my first time to the show.”
“I know, I checked your record,” Ruby said. She was smiling back at Jake openly. “It took over a month for Lombardo to get an answer back, but the Damelian government’s still pretty grateful for your privateering days.”
“All this,” Lombardo said, gesturing to his face and body. “And brains, too.”
For the first time that day, Minh saw Jake laugh. He stood and offered Ruby his hand. “We leave tomorrow night.”
“We’ll be ready,” Captain Sima said as she stood and shook his hand.
“One more thing,” Jake said.
“Aye?”
“If you find any information on Lucius Wheeler, Carl Burke, or Tamera Thurge, pass it to me and I’ll reward you if it leads to making one of them a permanent resident in my trophy case,” Jake said.
Ruby Sima looked at the four containment tubes as if in an entirely new light. “If only I had so few grudges.”
“Oh, I have one more,” Jake said. “But I already know where Edward is, and he won’t be in a tube like this after I catch up to him.”
“Poor Edward,” Lombardo said.
“Thank you, Captain Valent,” Ruby said. “I’ll start readying my ship and settling business here. It’ll be good to see the Samson off the ground.”
“You won’t,” Jake said before she could turn away. “She’s being re-christened as the Warlord.”
Ruby only nodded once before leaving the room. Minh-Chu waited until the hatch was firmly closed before regarding Captain Valent. “Good meeting.”
“It was,” Jake said. “She’s right. There will be other Captains looking to collaborate. I’m not the
only one who doesn’t like the way the Carthans are doing things.”
“I’m wondering what Ayan will think of all this,” Minh said. A hint of something crossed Jake’s face. Was it pain? Sadness? Disappointment? Whatever it was disappeared before Minh could interpret it. “Things aren’t good.”
“Not right now,” Jake said. “No, she tore me a new one and I think I had it coming.”
“What for?” Minh asked.
“I didn’t take her side in settling,” Jake said. “And things got bitter. I’d like to think I owe Wheeler, and whatever happened in that hotel for what she said, but in the end, Ayan just went for the jugular. Hit pretty hard, too.”
“What did she say?” Minh asked.
Jake thought for a moment then sighed. “It doesn’t matter. I need to talk to her again before I leave, check the water and at least say goodbye. I may be a free agent after that talk though.”
“Give it time, some space,” Minh-Chu said. “You guys are still getting to know each other, and this fight is just a bump in the road. Whatever she’s pissed at you about must be off her chest, judging from the damage. It takes a lot to get you down.”
“Good thing,” Jake said. “Looks like we have permission to board the Triton.”
Minh-Chu’s comm unit chirped with the alert after Jake finished saying it. “Wow, you’re really jacked in.”
“Not like I’ve ever been before,” Jake said, “but I am. I hear communications like they’re spoken to me though, not like mental pictures. When I touched that Carthan’s armour I could see the circuitry, looked right past the software.”
“That’s how you were able to hit his kill switch,” Minh said. “Because there’s gotta be some kind of code protecting it, otherwise fighting a Carthan would be pretty easy.”
“Yup, there was a code protecting it, so there’s nothing I could have done to him wirelessly, but touching the armour gave me access to the circuitry, and I just flipped the switch.”
“So the framework is evolving,” Minh said.
Spinward Fringe Broadcast 7: Framework Page 20