13 Degrees of Separation (92 page)

“Oh we will, you can count on it. Maybe not soon, but
eventually there will be reckoning. Of that you have my word,” Logan replied
grimly.

The Captain nodded. “Good.”

Taking turns with his other 3 officers, the Captain relayed
second and third hand accounts of admiral Irons activities in Triang, Antigua
and Gaston. Logan nodded politely, listening.

When they were finished the chief engineer also relayed
indifferent news of the Yard Dogs project. “We were actually curious to see if
they were getting anywhere.”

“Weren't when we left,” Knuyuk said with a click of his
mandibles.

“True. Maybe you've got competition now,” the Captain said
with a shrug.

“With that girl working for them? Very possible,” Peter
replied. “She's a damn sharp cookie. I wish I could have hung onto her, she
kept the boys in line by not taking any guff and by getting the job done.”

“Ah, that she did,” Knuyuk replied with a first degree of
agreement motion of his true hands. “Though her mother was a liability.”

“You didn't worry about taking her credits though,” Peter
accused. The Veraxin chattered in humor. Peter shrugged. What was done was
done. Yes they'd soaked the girl for all her hard work, possibly why she left
the ship, but he could see why also in that Antigua prime was full of promise.

“Yard dogs?”

“Yard dogs inc. Apparently Admiral Irons set them up just
before he skedaddled out of the system in that ship of his, or so we were told.
Gave control of the entire project to a pair of former military sleepers who
are now cybers helping to run the station. The Warners.”

Logan nodded.

“Anyway, this lass we had, picked her up in Senka. She had
an asteroid tug and was looking to come here but well, we diverted when we
heard about Antigua.”

“Understandable,” the Commander replied with another nod.

“Right, well, she had to unload her ship. She found out the
hard way about all their fees and such. Got a job with the Yard Dogs because
they were the only ones that'd hire her. They hadn't started much yet but with
her to give them a push...” he shrugged.

“That's actually the only way we heard about them. We were
interested when we heard, I mean who wouldn't be? A shipyard?” the Veraxin
chattered, waving a true hand to indicate the Navy yard.

Logan nodded. “And they were working on it?”

“Starting to do so when we left,” the Captain admitted.

“They had a lot of the pieces but lacked someone like Mairi
Jersey to put them together.”

“Mairi?” Logan asked. “Excuse me?”

“The young woman we mentioned. Kid really, tiny little
thing. Sixteen if she's a day. Expressive eyes. Smart cookie like I said,
initiative, good hard worker. She doesn't give in easy, has a stiff backbone.”

“To go along with that hard head. I heard she stood up to
Toodles a time or two,” Knuyuk said with a chatter.”

Peter snorted. “True. All the lost boys stood up and took
notice when she grabbed him by the balls and told him to be polite. They gave
her a wide berth after that.”

“A lady after my own heart, much like my daughter Shelby,”
Logan replied with a chuckle.

“Yes sir,” Peter said nodding. “I think I remember her
vaguely. We were here what? Twenty years ago?”

“Something like that,” the Captain said with a nod. She was
a toddler I think.”

Logan blinked. “I'd forgotten you'd been here before,” he
murmured.

“Is she running Anvil's engineering department now?”

“No, she's an officer. Executive officer on a warship,”
Logan replied with a smile. “I can't go into details, but I am proud of her.”

“Ah,” the Captain replied with a nod.

“So, this Antigua prime, do you have the records of it?
Imagery? Any details...”

“I'll have the information for you on the shipment and
personnel going to Seti next shift. Any limit on numbers?” Thornby interjected.
Logan frowned. “Sorry Horatio, I've got to go. I just need a quick and dirty
answer.”

“251 cubic feet of space. We have two cabins. If they're
friendly we could squeeze up to 8 people but they would have to hot bunk. I'm
not sure what they would do in the off time.”

“That's interesting. I'll get back to you on an exact
number. Let me see how much stuff we can turn over to make up that cubage. I
want to max it if at all possible.”

“Don't go pulling packing material again Doc, breakage is a
bitch,” the intel officer said to Thornby. She nodded, sobered.

“Yes, I understand. It does the recipients no good if it's
all damaged or destroyed in transit. We've learned from that, I assure you.”

“Thanks doc,” the intel officer said as the doctor signed
off. “Now, about Prime...”

...*...*...*...*...

Jane and Wendy had it out after Jane's latest and very
unauthorized return to Anvil. Wendy met her at the lock, seething. Her little
brother was there talking with his niece, he caught his sister's look and beat
feet out of the area.

Jane looked at her mother and sighed. She really was a
miniature version of her mother, Wendy thought, the whole, I wish you grow up
and have a daughter that's just like you curse rang through her head. She
couldn't help it, she had to smile a little as her daughter got up on her high
horse and started to lay out her case for staying.

That threw Jane off of course, the last thing she'd expected
to see was her mother smile a little. Wendy pointed out that she was young.
There wouldn't be many to support her, and the ship wouldn't be coming back for
another decade.

Jane in exasperation pointed out Mairi Jersey as an
example. “Look mom, I didn't really get along with her, despite trying. She was
a nice girl. But one thing I did pick up on is that she had started flying her
tug when she was 12. She was supporting herself and her mother, and providing a
service for her colony before puberty. If she can do it I can too.” Her mother
blinked at her. “Hey, wasn't it you that said a Darling can do anything they
put their mind to?”

I just, I... I don't want to see you hurt.”

“Mom, we have to let go sometime,” Jane said rolling her
eyes and brushing her hair out of her eyes. Her mother flinched, that had stung
a bit. “I'm 15, I can handle it.”

Wendy bit her lip. Her daughter was growing up fast. She
was always a bit of a tomboy, what with her ponytail, hat, and air of mischief.
She didn't hesitate to dive into engineering project and get her hands dirty.
And she loved to fly, she said flying was her happy thought. “We'll talk about
it some more, we've got time.”

“Not a lot. They are finished with the hull, Pete's testing
systems now. I need to get this planned. Either way mom, I'm going.”

“Where did all this spunk come from?”

Jane smiled, tipping her hat back. “You know where,” she
poked her mother gently. “You see it in the mirror all the time, you just don't
use it unless you want something out of dad. Well, I'll put mine to good use
too.”

Her mother chuckled and wrapped her arms around her,
hugging and kissing her. “I know you will baby, I know,” she said fiercely,
softly crying. “It's just hard.”

“I know mom. Leaving the nest always is. And don't even
think about following me! This I can do on my own!”

“I know,” her mother said.

...*...*...*...*...

Logan ordered Fuentes and Hecate to go to Agnosta, and then
on to Antigua.

“Are you sure that's wise sir? Um, isn't Governor Walker
and his party going to kick up a fuss?” the intel officer asked.

“I for one could care less,” Logan growled. The intel
officer winced. “Walker has no say in naval deployments. Besides, we need to
get the word to Agnosta now. Hecate can backstop the system with Firefly. If
Mayweather hears about the system she might go off on her own initiative. I'd
rather send Vargess in Fuentes. A tin can and a frigate can hold the fort
there.”

“Yes sir. Against a few ships.”

“Which is why I'm also ordering the frigate on picket duty
to go with him after they refuel in Agnosta. They can make a stop in Triang and
check on things before heading to Antigua.”

“What about the political considerations in the system?”

“That may be a problem. I'm leaving discretionary orders
with Vargess. If they give him any flack he can say that he is passing through
and it is a good will stop.”

“Yes sir.”

“You are still digesting the downloads from MM?”

“Yes sir. I have the files for you from the admiral.
Unfortunately they are encrypted,” the intel officer replied, making a
puckering face.

“And implant signature keyed,” Logan replied. Tricky, if
anything had happened to me it would have been a problem. Pass them to me and
I'll go over them.”

“Yes sir, um...”

“No, you aren't getting them. The admiral encrypted them
with me as the key for a reason. Get over it,” Logan growled. He'd been so
wrapped up in gloating over the prized equipment and new recruits he'd
forgotten that. He hated paperwork, but he kicked himself for not seeing to it
sooner.

“Aye sir,” the intel officer replied. He hated not knowing
something, it might after all, be vital. He slid a chip across the table.
“Since it's encrypted and most likely classified, this is the only copy sir.
Don't lose it please.”

“I see,” Logan said nodding.

“Is there anything else?”

“Go over what that freighter said again. I want a thumbnail
brief on each ship they've encountered, each star system. Make sure you log all
the movers in each chain of command for future reference. Cross reference with
our other source material.”

“Aye sir. The AI repairing their net is almost finished.
Apparently Miss Darling has kept detailed notes on all their visits. It is a
lot of information. We're sifting it now.”

Logan nodded. “Good.”

“They were remarkably free of viruses. Apparently someone
had a go at cleaning them out a few times in the past. The last time was a year
ago.”

“Anything else?”

“Nothing relevant,” the intel officer replied.

“Dismissed then,” Logan replied, opening a port in his arm.
“Tell my yeoman not to disturb me for the next hour,” he said as he plugged the
flash chip into his arm.

“Aye sir,” the intel officer said, snapping too and then
doing an about face as he left. When the hatch shut Logan tapped the security
lock and then sent the signal to the memory chip.

“Okay, John, what do you have on your mind now,” he
murmured, closing his eyes as the decryption began.

One of the messages was a series of orders to get a ship or
ships to Antigua ASAP, detailing everything that had happened there, and the
admiral's reasons for wanting a ship there to babysit. Logan nodded, relieved
he'd gotten the ball rolling already. He just hoped it was fast enough.

There was another set, detailing the admiral's political
problems in the system. Horatio frowned. He bookmarked them to send to the
intel shop. Randall seemed a piece of work, though from John's viewpoint he
might be worth salvaging. A lot better than that prick Walker at any rate.
They'd all but proved he'd been up to his neck involved in the admiral's exile.

The admiral's image was replaced by a star map. Pyrax was
briefly highlighted, as was Epsilon. A line ran from that system to another
across from Pyrax. Horatio frowned. That was quite a long jump, a jump through
space without a chart. He wouldn't attempt it.

“Horatio, I'm tempted to pass through Pyrax, I still might.
But my current plan is to do a long jump from Epsilon Triangula to B100omega.
From there I want to head south to B101a and see if Bek is still alive and
kicking. If it is, and I'm hoping it is, I want to set up shop there.”

“Interesting,” the Commander murmured softly.

“I was in Bek before I had my long nap. They had a small
yard, just a support yard, but if it's still around it would be another ace in
the hole for us. And a damn good place to get the ball rolling once more. I am
seriously getting tired of swanning around the sector looking for some place to
hang my hat.”

Horatio snorted. “Me too,” Sprite interjected. That got a
wan smile on the old man's face.

“Bek is a long shot, if it doesn't pan out I'll either stop
by your shop on my way to something else, or figure out another place to go.
I'm expecting a jump to Omega to happen within six months of you getting this
message. Give or take whatever time I spend in Epsilon getting ready of
course.”

Horatio nodded. He knew how things like that were subject
to the whim of fate and luck.

“I've sent supplies on Destiny, you should of gotten them
by now. Also supplies on the Lieandra and the Kiev 221, you should be hearing
from them shortly. I tried to get some stuff out on Cassidy but I ran out of
time in Antigua, and besides,” he shrugged. “I wasn't sure they were headed
your way anyway.”