Privateer Tales 3: Parley (4 page)

“Hey, Liam. Can we talk?” Ada’s voice came from the doorway of the bridge.

“Sure, come in, we’re all friends here. You’ve already met Marny, and this is my partner, Nick.”

Nick stood and shook her hand. It was less awkward than I might have expected.

Ada took a breath and said, “We’ve got a problem. I talked to my dad and then to a lawyer. The contract was oddly written and it doesn’t allow us to sub out its fulfillment.”

“Did you contact the company?” I asked.

“Precast Products. Yeah, our lawyer contacted theirs and they aren’t budging. We stand to lose three hundred fifty thousand in bonds not to mention the loss of
Baux
.” The stress in her face was clear.

“That sucks.” I said.

“We’ve got an incoming hail from the frigate
Banny Hill
,” Nick said.

“On forward holo.”

An older naval officer appeared, centered and forward of the two pilot’s chairs. His features were strongly oriental. He had short black hair that was graying at the temples and the fit build I had come to expect from naval personnel.

“Greetings, Captain,” I said.

“Greetings. Lieutenant Commander Pablo Veras. With whom do I have the pleasure of addressing?”

“Thank you, Lieutenant Commander. Captain Liam Hoffen. You are being broadcast on my bridge in front of my crew and a survivor of the attack.”

“Appreciate the heads up, Captain Hoffen. We’re currently a thousand kilometers from your location, would you submit to a turret lockdown?”

Accept turret lockdown from
frigate Banny Hill
. “There you go, Lieutenant Commander.”

“Thanks, Captain. We’re only a few minutes out
and aren’t tracking any hostiles in the area. Do you concur?”

“Roger that. All’s quiet.”

“We’ll get right down to business once we arrive, if you don’t mind. Thanks to your combat data streams we will process the scene quickly and let you get on about your business. We’d like to dock up with you and provide a temporary catwalk between ships. Is this something you would be amenable to doing?”

“Certainly. Have your engineer work directly with my partner, Nick James.”

We tracked the frigate as it arrived. It didn’t immediately stop next to us, but slowly sailed a long arc around the combat area. At forty-five meters, the
Banny Hill
wasn’t a lot longer than
Sterra's Gift
, but it was three times as thick and shaped more like a triangle, with several decks above and below the centerline. The amount of firepower on display on the flat side of the triangle was outrageous - turrets and missile tubes fairly littered the side that faced us. I imagined the other side was similarly outfitted. I would hate to run into the
Banny Hill
under the wrong circumstances.

The Navy pulled alongside
Sterra's Gift
and extended the pressurized catwalk. It didn’t take long for two figures to cross over and press the ‘hail’ button on the exterior side of our airlock.

A stout Marine in full armor stood in front of Veras as I cycled the locks. With the pressurized catwalk, we didn’t have to worry about de-pressurizing and re-pressurizing
, but safety dictated that at least one door be sealed just in case either ship were to move suddenly and disconnect the catwalk.

“Permission to come aboard?” Veras requested from behind the armored
Marine.

“Permission granted. If you’d join us on the bridge
, we can make introductions there.”

“Lead on.”

When we arrived on the bridge, Marny snapped to attention and announced, “Captain on the bridge.” Once the Marine had surveyed the bridge and apparently decided we were of a limited threat he moved to the side and stood rigidly. We all shook hands and made introductions.

“If you are amenable, Captain, I would like to interview Ms. Chen first. We can either do that back on the
Banny Hill
or, if you have a private space, we could do it there.”

I offered him the use of the captain’s quarters. Ada looked at me with concern.

“Ada, I believe Lieutenant Commander Veras would like to meet with you privately to make sure that you aren’t being coerced or held against your will. I suspect he will also want to take a statement from you on the events that occurred here today. I know it’s a lot to take in, but he is honor bound to make sure you are safe, first and foremost.”

I caught Veras’s eye and he nodded affirmatively. Ada, mollified, walked off the bridge with Veras and his Marine guard in tow. I was pleased to see that the door remained open. The Marine took up a position where he had a clear view of Veras and Ada, while blocking our exit from the bridge.

“Nick, any comm?”

“Not a thing. Are you going to claim salvage?”

“Not sure what other option we’ll have. I’m guessing it’ll tie things up for a few months, greedy bastards.”

“Are you serious about heading back to Colony 40?” Marny asked.

“We can talk it over, but it would give us the greatest leverage. I bet Precast Products wants to call my bluff and see if we’ll actually file the salvage claim.”

“Why wouldn’t we?” Nick asked.

“I’ve got an idea that might keep Ada and her dad from taking too much of a financial hit.”

We waited for Veras and Ada to finish. I was itching to get moving again. All of this sitting around was driving me nuts. Finally, Ada returned to the bridge.

“How’d it go?” Her eyes were red and her cheeks puffy. “No fun, eh?”

“He’d like to talk to you now.”

Veras stood when I entered the room and we shook hands again. “I had a nice conversation with Commander Sterra on the
Kuznetsov
. She speaks very highly of you.”

I wasn’t sure how to respond. “Thank you.”

“My staff reviewed the combat data streams and provided we don’t find anything to the contrary with the physical inspection that is currently taking place, Mars Protectorate will find the crew of
Sterra's Gift
acted within the law. Further, you and your crew will be commended publicly for quick and decisive action which resulted in the preservation of the life of one Ada Chen.”

“I sense a ‘but’ in this conversation,” I said.

“Not really. I just don’t understand why you let those pirates go. They fired on your ship and you were well within your rights to take action. To some, it will look like you wanted that tug and didn’t care if a couple of pirates got away.”

“It seemed like the right idea at the time. I’m not sure I would do the same thing again.”

“Are you going to request the tug as a privateer prize? I couldn’t help but notice its proximity.”

“Yes.”

“Surely you see how that looks,” he said.

“Let me put my cards on the table. I’m not concerned with how other people view this, but I am concerned with how you see it.”

“Oh? By all means, put your cards on the table, then.”

“Did I consider the tug when making the deal with the pirates? Yes. Was I worried about exchanging fire with two ships? Yes. I was out of missiles and we were outnumbered. Did I think we could win? Absolutely. Did I think we might take casualties? Absolutely. The people on this ship are my family and if I can keep someone from shooting at us, I’ll do it every time. Am I a merchant? Yes. I’m looking out for me and mine.”

“Some might say you had less than honorable intentions.”

“They’d best not say that to my face. The reason we responded to the mayday was simple.
Adela Chen was being attacked and about to lose everything, including her life. Do the math. I launched three hundred thousand m-creds worth of missiles before I even knew there was a tug. Smart money said - fly on by.”

“Alright, no need to get hot." He gave me a slight grin. "I have to ask the questions and get them recorded. For the record, I think you should have blown them to bits, but I don’t have mouths to feed. As for the matter of the tug, it is not registered which, as you most likely know, means it
was probably being used in criminal enterprise. I am awarding Loose Nuts Corporation the Fujitsu Freighter – Model FF718 as a prize under the Mars Privateer Act.”

Off the record
. Veras stopped the recording.

“Between you and me. I get that you had a hard decision to make. What I want you to think about is what those two pirates are going to do now. Do you think they’ll turn away from their illicit activities? How many others will die at their hands? You can comfort yourself all you want that you didn’t put your crew in danger. I think that’s crap.”

Veras’s words hit me like a ton of bricks. My face flushed, was I just greedy? I started to talk but he cut me off.

“Look, you’re young and just getting started. I saw you in action back on Colony 40 and read about your attack on the pirate base near Baru Manush. I believe you came here to help Captain Chen. You are an honorable man. The thing I’ve got stuck in my craw is that, dammit, you let me down. Like it or not, you’ve got a lot of people watching you and we need heroes, Captain Hoffen, not mercenaries. Straighten up.”

Veras pulled his jacket straight.
Back on the record
.

I was too stunned to respond. He couldn’t have shut me up better if he had whacked me in the forehead with a two kilo spanner.

“As to the matter of the string of barges, would you like to file a claim of salvage?”

My mind whirled with emotion. How could he switch gears so quickly?

“Yes.”

“Very well.”

“No, wait.”

“Pardon?”

“Could I have a minute with Ada Chen?”

“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.”