“It’s a little out of the ordinary, but I don’t see a problem, I would like your conversation to be on the record, however.”
“Okay.”
“Sergeant, would you request Ms. Chen’s presence?”
Ada entered the room and looked uncomfortably between us.
I started, “Ada, Loose Nuts Corporation has recently come into possession of a Fujitsu Freighter Tug. It so happens that we don’t have any pilots available currently to fly this tug for us. Would you be willing to contract with us to pilot it back?”
“Uh, couldn’t you or Nick sail it?”
“No, we have our duties aboard Sterra's Gift.” I winked at her, hoping she'd clue in. She looked at me with some confusion.
“Well, okay, yes.”
“We can discuss a price later,” I said. She just looked at me. I glanced at Lieutenant Commander Veras conspiratorially.
“The Loose Nuts Corporation declines to file a claim of salvage on the string of barges. It is well beyond our capability to maneuver.”
Veras’s face broke into a wide, knowing smile. “I see, Captain.” He turned to Ada. “Ms. Chen, since you are the only other captain in the area capable of filing for a claim of salvage, would you like to do so?”
Ada caught it. “I would.”
“So granted. And Captain Hoffen, for the record, that was a very honorable thing to do.”
Veras stood and I stood with him. “With that, our inquiry is complete. We have a second piece of business to discuss.”
“Oh?”
“Yes, but we need to have the conversation on Banny Hill. Security issues, I’m sure you understand. Would you join us at 1900?”
“Certainly. Uh, there’s also a small matter I was hoping to get your help with.”
“How’s that?”
“The pirates left three unarmed scuttling devices on the Fujitsu tug. We don’t really know what to do with them.”
“Now that’s something we can take care of. Sergeant Hawthorne, please coordinate a disposal team and while you’re at it, make sure there aren’t any additional surprises.”
“Aye, aye, sir.”
After escorting Veras and Hawthorne back through the airlock, I rejoined the crew on the bridge.
“Captain on the bridge,” Marny said. I couldn’t help but notice it wasn’t with quite the verve it had been when Veras and Hawthorne were on board.
“Is that strictly necessary?” I asked.
“No, but I like it,” she said.
“How’d it go?” Nick asked.
“You probably should have been in there with me.”
“Yeah, probably. Felt like you had it though.”
“Okay. They did award us the tug. Ada has salvage since we are contracting her to fly the tug back for us.” I looked to Ada who nodded her agreement.
“Veras wants a meet on the Banny Hill at 1900.”
“What’s that all about?” Marny asked.
“He wouldn’t say - something about security. I’d like you both there.”
“Anything else?” Nick asked.
“Navy agreed to remove the scuttling charges from the tug. They’ll probably need to coordinate with someone.”
“I’ll take that,” Marny offered.
“One more thing. We need to come up with a name for the tug. Any suggestions?”
I was surprised when Marny spoke up first. “In the Navy there is a long history of naming smaller ships after heroes. Ada, I know it’s probably too soon, but what would you think if we called her the Adela Chen?”
“Yes, I’d like that.”
TWO POINT FIVE KILO TONNES
The corvette Kuznetsov was the only other naval ship I’d been on and it seemed very similar to the Banny Hill from the inside. On the outside, they couldn’t be more different. Where the Banny Hill was shaped like an overstuffed angle fish (according to Marny) the Kuznetsov was shaped much more like an arrow. On the inside there were immaculately maintained hallways with sharply dressed, hustling sailors.
Sergeant Hawthorne met us at the airlock and led us to a meeting room. Once in the room, I recognized the setup from a previous meeting with military personnel. We’d arrived a few minutes early and were the first in the room. Hawthorne posted himself at the door and took the position I associated with Marines; feet spread to shoulder width apart, hands clasped behind the back and a mile long stare, straight forward.
Marny had excused herself from the meeting, insisting someone stay aboard and look after things. We probably would have been okay, given our present company, but she felt strongly and I didn’t see any need to push it. Nick and I knew better than to sit down right away. Some senior ranking officer would undoubtedly come in and then everyone would stand up. I knew from past experience this would be a perfect opportunity for Nick and me to find a new way to embarrass ourselves.
Right at 1900, Lieutenant Commander Veras entered the room, followed by a woman we hadn’t yet met. Hawthorne snapped to attention at their entry. Nick and I had done enough research to discover that no expectations were placed on civilians under these circumstances, but I still felt weird about it.
“Dismissed, Sergeant,” Veras said.
“Captain Liam Hoffen, Nickolas James. May I introduce you to my first officer, Lieutenant Qiu Loo.” Her first name sounded like ‘Tso.’ We took turns shaking her hand. She had a thin, spacer build with strong Oriental features.
“Pleased to meet you.” She had a clear voice and a firm grip.
“We aren’t much for decorum here, grab whatever seat you like. Qiu, would you fire up the holo-comm?” Veras asked.
“Yes, sir.” she said.
I wasn’t particularly surprised when Lieutenant Gregor Belcose’s muscular shape appeared from the waist up on the holo projector. He was our primary contact with Mars Protectorate Navy since we’d been issued our Letter of Marque, giving us privateer status.
“Greetings, Lieutenant Belcose,” Veras said.
“Thank you, sir. Greetings to you, as well.” Belcose was sitting rigidly, somehow able to communicate a sense of almost being at attention.
“At ease, Lieutenant. Let’s keep this informal.”
“Thank you, sir.” Belcose shifted slightly but he seemed anything but informal.
“We’re all here. Let’s get on with it.”
“Yes, sir. Mr. Hoffen and Mr. James, our intelligence division has requested that we find suitable clandestine transportation with possible light fire support for an upcoming mission. Commander Sterra, upon hearing of your prize claim of the Freighter Adela Chen, suggested your team would provide the perfect cover.”
“That was fast, we just named her an hour ago.” I tossed this out, hoping to give Nick a moment to process.
“I have to be honest, I just saw the name pop up, I doubt Commander Sterra is aware of it yet.”
“What does this have to do with the Banny Hill?” Veras sounded impatient.
“Nothing more than we discussed, sir.” Belcose had not let down his guard much.
“Lieutenant Loo, I’m not needed here.” Veras stood, and she rose with him. Nick and I pushed up from the table.
“Gentlemen, good luck to you.” He held out his hand. Nick and I shook it in turn and he exited the room.
I wasn’t sure what to make of all that, so I turned back to Belcose’s image. “What does light fire support mean?”
“If our intelligence asset is compromised, you might have to get creative in getting her out of there.”
“At the risk of being annoying, what’s this got to do with Nick and me?”
“We think a mining colony’s been taken over by Red Houzi. We’ve lost several assets to so-called accidents. Somehow they always figure out who we are. With your new freighter, no one would think it odd that you show up. It’s a great cover for our operative.”
Nick stepped in. “Aren’t all the colonies tied up with M-Corp contracts? What’s a tug going to do for us?”
“Je
ratorn’s not,” I answered.
“Jeratorn is barely under Mars Protectorate from what I hear,” Nick said. “I’ve heard it’s anarchy. Are you nuts?”
“It’s not that bad,” Belcose said. It was telling that he didn’t completely deny that Jeratorn was out of control.
“I still don’t get why you’re thinking about us,” I said.
“Harry Flark,” Belcose answered.
That got my attention. Harry Flark had been the administrator of Colony 40, our home, when it was attacked by pirates. It was never proven that he had anything to do with the attacks but I, for one, was certain of it.
“What about Harry Flark?”
“He’s the new station administrator on Jeratorn.”
“What happened to the old one?” I couldn’t help but ask.
“We’re not sure.”
“How many people are you looking to transport over there? And how long would we need to stay on Jeratorn?” Nick asked.
“One person, ten days on the outside.”
“You cover fuel, and we’ll need repairs, missile replacements and a short term, high value bond, preferably not issued by Mars Protectorate, I’ll send a list,” Nick said.
“Just like that?” I asked and looked at Nick.
“No chance you’ll turn down a shot at Flark. If we don’t have to pay for fuel, I don’t see how we could ignore this.”
“That’s almost in PDC space.” It was no secret that the People’s Democracy of China and Mars Protectorate were uneasy neighbors.
“We might need a couple of temporary crew,” Nick said. I felt like I wasn’t completely in the room.
“We’ll cover it,” Belcose answered.
“So we’ll pick someone up on Mars?” I asked. Nick gave me his, ‘prepare to feel stupid’ look, which confused me all the more.
“That’d be me.” Qiu Loo said. “And Belcose, I’d like to be clear with you that I’m not on board with this civilian crew. I’ve lost too many colleagues and we don’t know where the leak is.”
“Oh …” I wasn’t sure how to respond to that. She clearly didn’t trust us, but it was a sure bet we weren’t her leak.
“The decision’s been made, Lieutenant. This is a first rate crew and they’re good in a pinch. More importantly, they’ve got a vested interest in seeing this through,” Belcose responded.
“I understand and I get it. I just want everyone to be on the same page. This isn’t how we should be doing it. Don’t forget, it’s my ass on the line.”
“Do you want to pull the plug?” Belcose asked.
She paused for a full minute before responding. “No. There’s too much at stake. You better be right about these guys.”
“I am,” he said and turned to Nick and me. “What do you think?”
“She’s right. We’re not even close to being Navy,” Nick said. “But if Flark was responsible for the attack on Colony 40, I’d like to be part of taking him down.”
“So you’ll take the job?” Belcose asked, looking at me.
Nick didn’t often drive a conversation, much less a deal. If he wanted this mission, then I would back him. I nodded slightly.
“We’re in,” Nick answered.
“You mean after we discuss it with the crew, right?” I said with a slight grin.
“Frak, right! After we discuss it with the crew.”
“I’ll have Sergeant Hawthorne escort you back to your ship and I’ll be along in twenty minutes.” Loo said.
Back on the bridge of Sterra's Gift, we found Marny alone.
“I think Ada’s down for the count,” she said.
“Thanks for staying with her,” I replied. “Any word on the tug?”
“They’ve got a team aboard right now. Team leader said they’d be done within the hour.”
“Nick, you have any idea how to link up a tug with those barges?”
“Same idea as the ore tenders at the refinery. You get close and the tug takes care of the rest.”
“I don’t want to wake Ada and I want to get out of here as soon as Qiu gets on board.”
“Qiu?” Marny asked.
“We’ve got a job offer,” Nick quickly interjected.
“Saddle up!” Marny replied.
“It might be kind of crazy,” I said.
“Oh, do tell …”
“Well, truthfully there aren’t a lot of details. We’re dropping a passenger off on the colony of Jeratorn, using the tug as cover.”
“I can help.” We all turned to see Ada standing in the bridge’s doorway.
“Come on in. Only Nick and Marny ask for permission.” I enjoyed the uncomfortable look on Marny’s face. She wanted to correct me, but I suspected Ada’s recent hardships kept her quiet.
“I thought you turned in,” Marny said.
“Can’t sleep.” Ada sank down into one of the chairs.
“We’ve arranged to bring your mom home with us,” Nick said.
“Where is she?”
“She’s in the cargo hold next to the lifepod. Do you want to see her?” Nick asked.
“No. Not like that.”
“We’ll be getting underway in the next hour or so,” I said.
“Let me help,” she said again.
“Ada, I don’t think …”
“What do you know about sailing a tug?”
“We’ll get along.”
“I’m sure you think that. You might even be right, but each of those barges are two-point-five-kilo tonnes. The tug merely makes suggestions - you can’t make quick adjustments. You won’t be allowed to dock anywhere on Mars and you’ll have to hire an operator once you’re within a thousand kilometers of any port unless you have your Class-A license.”
“Ada, it’s just so soon.”
“Mom wouldn’t have gone with that. Besides, what difference does it make which ship I’m on?”
“Any word from the Navy on the tug?” I asked.
“They’re clearing out now,” Nick said.
“I’d like to get rolling with the tug, you come along with Sterra's Gift once Qiu shows up?”
“Yup. Take some bars with you. Who knows what kind of food they’ve stocked.”
“Ada, if you’re riding with me, grab your gear and meet me in the airlock in five.”
Coming from Sterra's Gift, the Adela Chen was like stepping into a closet. Surprisingly, the ship was in immaculate condition. It was obviously a new ship and every surface was spotless, not the smallest bit of grime or trash to be found.
The layout of the ship was straightforward. The airlock was at the back of the living space and right next to the galley. The galley was a meter and a half wide by three meters long. Built into the long wall of the galley was a suit freshener, large refrigeration unit, meal preparer (called a galley-pro), coffee machine and water supply. There was a half meter wide countertop that folded down at a standing height as there was no room for chairs. It was extraordinarily efficient, if not particularly comfortable.
The bunk room had a wide two-person mattress on one side, with a fold-down single mattress above that was currently in the up position. A small nook held a permanently attached overstuffed chair. Opposite the beds was a bank of built-in drawers and shelves hidden behind latched doors. The large bed was neatly made and a couple suit-liners were folded on the shelves.
A narrow ladder connected the living space to the cockpit. The cockpit was nothing more than two well-padded chairs with a small console between them and a bank of vid screens in front.
“Where’s the flight stick?” I couldn’t imagine a ship without some sort of flight yoke.
“What would you use that for?” Ada asked. The smile on her face made me almost forget how horrible her day had been.
“How do you steer?”
“I’m just messin’ with you. We had a stick, but you really don’t use ‘em that often. These babies are a one-trick pony. They push. Sometimes we push a little more on top, on bottom or one side or the other, but mostly
we just push.”
“How do you fly around?”
“Yah, you’re not really getting the concept.”
“Right, we just push.”
“Now you’re getting it.”
“Teach me?”
“Told you, you’d need me.”
“Which side you want?”
“Always sat on the starboard. Mom liked to sit on the port side.”
I watched as Ada grabbed a bar above the starboard side chair and nimbly swung her body over the back and settled in. I imagined that she had executed this maneuver a million times. At .6 gravity I was in my element and mirrored her move. I wasn’t as graceful, but made it into the seat just fine. Surprisingly, it was considerably more comfortable than my chair on Sterra's Gift.
Hail Sterra's Gift.
“Heya Liam, you all loaded up?”
“Roger that. We’re going to get underway shortly.”
“Sounds good. We still haven’t heard from Qiu. I wonder if she ran into problems with Veras. He didn’t sound too happy with the arrangement.”
“Yeah, you get a contract from Belcose?”
“Sure did. Covers fuel to/from Jeratorn, full missile load, repairs and a million cred bond for six months.”
“Man, you’re hardcore.”
“Wish I could take credit. He rolled over too easily. It feels like we’re walking into something bad. Might want to step away from all this. We can reject the contract, it’s not too late.”
“Not with Flark in the mix. Belcose knew he was involved in the attack on Colony 40, but held that little piece until now. Pisses me off, but it worked. I want that piece of crap. You want out?”
“Nope.”
“Okay, come find us. We’re gonna get under sail.”
“Roger that. Sterra's Gift out.”
“You care if I put some music on?”
“Sure, what do you have in mind?” Ada asked.
“Trust me, you’ll like it.”
Play Dave Dudley Six Days on the Road.
The twangy sound of cowboy Dave Dudley filled the cockpit.
Well, I pulled out of Pittsburg, Rollin' down the Eastern Seaboard.
Six days on the road and I’m a gonna make it home tonight.
ONCE A ROOKIE …
Privateer Tales 3: Parley Page 4