Give No Quarter (Privateer Tales Book 10) Page 4

  "I think you just wanted to get between my legs," she said, lying next to me on the mat. I smiled. She had a filthy mind and I liked it. I twisted around and slid up on top of her, my arms trembling from our workout. From the look on her face, she thought my shaking was something else.

  "Carry me," I said and collapsed. I kissed her neck and made my way to her earlobe, nibbling gently. Not one for being on the bottom, Tabby rolled us over. She was considerably friskier than I could manage at the moment; kissing and groping me. I did my best to keep up with her until she abruptly popped upright and pulled me to my feet.

  "I bet the head is amazing." She sprinted to an open hatch, throwing gloves and protective gear to the deck as she did. I scooped up her vac-suit and suit-liner as I followed the trail of clothing to a brightly lit public shower room. I counted fifteen individual streams of water shooting from the walls as she ran naked through them splashing and whooping it up. A more beautiful sight I couldn't imagine. I cursed my body's failing muscles and removed my own vac-suit. Once naked, I fended her off just long enough to feed the clothing into the oversized suit fresheners.

  Once we finished showering and were dressed, I still didn’t want to move. "I’m exhausted," I said. We'd burned two of my six-hours of rest and were standing in the galley of the general mess-hall wolfing down meal bars and electrolyte juice.

  "We should check out the Forward Observation Lounge." Tabby stuffed a thousand kilo-calories of bars into her suit.

  My HUD informed me that we were only a single hatch away, so I led her forward. For a moment, I'd forgotten we were in fold-space. I looked out, expecting the ordinarily serene view of space I was used to on long trips. The jumping view in front of me was less disturbing than it had once been, but it still wasn't my favorite.

  The lounge was set up with reclining seats embedded into the sloping deck, giving its occupants a place to comfortably sit or lie while staring out at the stars. I pulled Tabby down as I slumped into a padded chair.

  Set alarm, fifteen minutes before my next shift.

  She lay next to me and rested her head on my shoulder, hand across my midsection. Her earlier words haunted me. I had just made us all into pirates. Tabby was right; it wouldn't just be Belirand who had it in for us now.

  "Yar," I murmured as I slipped off to sleep.

  DESCARTES CO-OP

  I was always grateful to drop out of fold-space. For whatever reason, the thought of slicing through the fabric of space still freaked me out. It wasn't as if we didn't have the capability to recover from such a drop, but the idea of where we might end up bugged me.

  "Jonathan, are we picking up any nearby ships other than Strumpet?"

  "No, Captain. The sensors on Intrepid are extraordinarily sensitive and there are no ships in near space," he answered.

  Establish bridge-to-bridge link with Strumpet. A pleasant chime acknowledged the command's success.

  "What's your sit-rep, Strumpet?"

  "We're tired, but status is green." Ada’s reply wasn’t surprising. With just her, Nick and Marny, they were sailing ridiculously short-handed.

  As promised, Jake Berandor had packed and moved the three defensive cannons to this arbitrary location in space. We were relatively close to Descartes, but far enough away that no one would just happen by the location.

  "Let's raft up while the bots load the crates and we can have a confab. That work for you all?"

  "What kind of food you have on that tub, Cap?" Marny asked.

  "Meal bars and protein powder." I wasn't complaining. While I'd learned to enjoy the food Marny cooked, I'd grown up on meal bars and could go either way.

  "I just pulled out chocolate cupcakes," Marny said. "And a fresh pot of coffee." She really knew how to hit below the belt.

  "We'll be over just as soon as we establish zero-delta," Tabby answered for me. Mom and Tabby had joined Jonathan and me for the final hour of our approach into local-space.

  "How about you bring a cupcake back for me," Mom said. "I'll man the bridge here. I feel squeamish leaving the bridge empty."

  As soon as she said it, I recognized the wisdom in her words. "You're right and I'll get Moonie to oversee the loading process."

  It took twenty minutes to arrive at the exact location Jake Berandor and I had agreed on. I transmitted a low power encoded burst and the packages, previously dark, illuminated on our sensors. With Mom on the bridge and Moonie in the hold, Tabby, Jonathan and I walked across the catwalk that joined Intrepid to Strumpet.

  Ada and Marny met us on the other side and we exchanged hugs before heading to Strumpet's well-appointed bridge. We might be pirates now, but this was my family. We joined Nick at the highly polished conference room table next to the bridge where Marny had thoughtfully placed cupcakes and mugs of coffee in anticipation of our arrival.

  "What's next?" Nick asked as I tore into a cupcake. I might not dream of normal meals, but chocolate and coffee were a combo I found irresistible.

  "We've enough fuel for a mission," I said. "After we deploy these guns back on Ophir, I'd like to carry on with what Anino started. Though he tricked us, I think I speak for everyone when I say Anino had a righteous cause."

  "Most of the comm crystals he left have some sort of activity on them," Nick said. "One is persistent and I'd like to check it out. It could be a dead end, but it’s sending a periodic signal requesting assistance."

  He was, of course, referring to the ninety-three quantum communication crystals Thomas Anino had given his life to protect. Each crystal represented a failed exploration mission where Belirand had abandoned a ship and its crew. Belirand had the technology, but was unwilling to retrieve their people, stating each mission's failure to meet ‘corporate objectives.’ The deeper we dug into Belirand, the more we discovered what this giant corporation was willing to do to protect its bottom line and keep its secrets.

  "I think we should leave Strumpet on Ophir," I said. "If we leave the command codes with LeGrande, we can be assured it will be in good hands. We can't afford to sail Intrepid with such a short crew. It's dangerous."

  "Intrepid?" Ada asked. "I thought she was Peace Bringer."

  "I renamed her. It's not written in stone, though. If you have a better idea, I'd be okay with a vote."

  "I think it fits," Marny said. "You’re right. We can sail three ships poorly or one ship well. I'd prefer the latter."

  "Should we recruit?" Tabby asked. "You know, from Ophir? They'd be green, but anyone is trainable."

  "We could open it up," Nick said. "I'm not sure how many of Cape's old crew I want, though. Some of them hold grudges about being stranded on Ophir. Could cause hard feelings."

  "With Moonie and Jonathan, we have seven. I'd like at least twelve. We should get LeGrande’s take on it," Marny said. "At a minimum, three gunnery mates would help."

  "So minimum three and a maximum of five?" I asked.

  "I'd say as many as ten," Marny replied. "But yeah, minimum three."

  "All right, plan is: set up the guns, recruit locals from Ophir, leave LeGrande in charge of Strumpet, and check out Nick's signal?" I asked.

  "We feel we should warn you about this mission," Jonathan said. The side conversations that started after I summed up our plan stopped and all eyes turned to him. "As you know, the four settled solar systems that represent humanity are all relatively close in terms of the overall universe. Each system settled by humanity is located along the Orion-Cygnus arm of the Milky Way and all within four hundred parsecs of each other. The location of the signal Master James refers to is in the Dwingeloo galaxy. The Aeratroas region is home to four hundred twelve inhabited systems occupying a roughly tubular shape only three hundred parsecs long with a diameter of a hundred parsecs."

  "I'm not following how that's dangerous." Ada posed the question we were all thinking.

  "They're really close together," Nick said. "Close enough that some of them would be aware of each other."

  "Precisely, Master James," Jonathan said
. "There is a concentration of these planets at the heart of the Aeratroas region. They've formed a confederation and established laws related to trade and acceptable treatment of sentients."

  "How concentrated?" I asked.

  "One hundred twenty-three planets within a radius of thirty-eight parsecs." Jonathan answered.

  "What's the confederation called?" Ada asked, sitting on the edge of her chair.

  "As no one speaks a human language, it is very much up for interpretation. Perhaps the most succinct answer being The Confederation of Planets." Jonathan said.

  "This confederation. Are they the danger?" I asked.

  "No. Master Anino found them to be agreeable, as I believe Belirand does. A simple registration process and an agreement to abide by their laws while within their territory is all that is required to trade within The Confederation. Most species simply want to trade for items they require for survival or aesthetics. The danger comes from a small, but dangerous minority of sentient species. Where we are planning to travel, that minority is represented by the Kroerak."

  Jonathan flicked instructions to the holographic display in Strumpet's ready room and a biped that looked like something between a human and a blue cockroach with big ugly bug-eyes, antennae and short pincers for hands appeared. "This is a Kroerak warrior. They're fast when compared to humans, have an exoskeleton which is a natural armor that rivals your steel, and most importantly, cannot be reasoned with. As a species, they have little respect for other sentients. Beings they deem to have any value at all, they enslave."

  "Do you have information about their tactical capabilities?" Marny asked.

  "Some," Jonathan replied. "We're sending it to you now."

  Marny nodded her thanks.

  "What of trading in this Confederation?" Having currency in a new system could be critical.

  "Metals are in high demand, especially zero-g formed nano-crystalized sheet and beam," Jonathan replied.

  My eyes glazed over for a moment as an idea hit me. It was nuts, but my current company was all of that and then some.

  "Jonathan, have you ever TransLoc'd an asteroid?"

  "What?" Tabby sounded scandalized.

  "The Co-Op is one forge from making nano-steel. It was Big Pete's dream; he even cleared the shelf for it," I said. "So is it even possible?"

  "You can't sail a rock," Tabby said.

  "We did once when we moved it closer to the claims. Besides, TransLoc isn't about speed, it's about the fold-space wave." My simplistic position might be ignorant, but I wasn't ready to give up on the idea.

  "It is possible, but why wouldn't we simply purchase the necessary equipment and transport it?" Jonathan asked.

  "How long would it take to purchase, transport and set it up? There's no platform or materials near Ophir. We push that rock out there, we'll have a ridiculous amount of iron and the means to smelt it. Add a nano-crystal steel forge and we're in business." I felt like I was losing the battle, but I had one more shot in me.

  Jonathan turned the full length of his gaze on me. Sometimes I could swear I saw every single one of its residents in those eyes. "We had not considered bringing iron to Ophir. The engines required are similar to what we had on Mastodon, of which we have two replacements that no longer have a purpose. We foresee two problems. First, we would need to leave a supply of Aninonium with whoever is tasked with retrofitting the asteroid - the volume of which would be extremely valuable and highly sought after by Belirand. Second, Thomas Anino's company is under constant surveillance. Moving the engines would require a level of deceit we are not capable of."

  "How would the asteroid be navigated?" Ada asked.

  "A simple AI could be configured. It's not like we're worrying about the ban on autonomous vehicles," Nick said.

  "Break out your checkbook, Jonathan. I know just the guy," I said, looking at Nick with a grin.

  "Berandor," we said in unison. He was the perfect choice, with his advanced degree in propulsion systems. Just as importantly, he didn't mind working on the grey side of the law.

  "You'd trust Berandor with enough Aninonium to send the Co-Op from Descartes to Ophir?" Ada asked. We all knew and even liked Jake Berandor, but that much temptation might be more than he could resist. Not only that, I wasn't completely sure we wanted Jake to become aware of the element’s existence.

  She was right, but I wasn’t out of ideas yet.

  "So, why not pay the Lichts to load the Aninonium? They're beyond honest. I'd like to run Mom over there anyway to say goodbye to her friends and pick up a few personal items," I said.

  "That works," Nick agreed. "Would you mind if I tagged along?"

  ***

  Two hours later, Hotspur dropped from hard burn as we approached the Descartes asteroid belt. We'd left Intrepid behind, but had taken advantage of her sensitive long range scans which hadn't picked up any large ships in the vicinity.

  Hail Licht family claim.

  "Liam Hoffen, as I live and breathe. We hadn't expected to hear from you so soon." The voice belonged to Annalise, wife of Frimunt and the head of the Licht family household.

  "We were hoping to drop in for a visit, Annalise," Mom answered.

  "Of course. I'll tell the boys. I’m sure they'll to want to see you," she said.

  "We'll be there shortly," Mom said and terminated the comm.

  Fifteen minutes later, I circled the ruined Co-Op. MacAsgaill's jackboot, Ahmed Mussa, had obliterated the habitation domes on the topside of the shoe-shaped rock, doing little to the mostly iron-cored asteroid. I was shocked by the damage. My cheeks grew hot as the horrific events of my father's murder rushed back at me. The strike had been cowardly, my father not even knowing who his enemy was. Then again, most of my anger was inwardly pointed; guilt at not having sufficiently warned him.

  The bottom of the asteroid, or sole of the shoe, was still piled high with ore owned by Loose Nuts. The refining equipment stood covered, not having been utilized for months. Under orders from MacAsgaill, Mussa hadn't fired on the equipment; his entire purpose had been to destroy my family. It was something I would never let myself forget.

  "He'll get his," Mom said, laying her hand on my arm. "Seeking vengeance will hurt you, Liam."

  "I know. That's not where I'm at." It was a lie; nothing could be further from the truth. I would have my vengeance on MacAsgaill and Belirand and would give no quarter when the time came.

  I veered away from the Co-Op and sailed over to Mom and Dad's claim. All of their equipment had been cleaned and neatly arranged. I suspected we had Frimunt Licht to thank for that. He was a man of few words, but had been a good friend to my dad. It was a final show of respect that he had arranged Dad's homestead so everything was in order, as if it were waiting for him to return.

  "I was thinking," I said, interrupting the solemn moment. "Once we relocate the Co-Op, we should call it Petersburg Station, as a tribute to Dad."

  Mom didn't respond. When I looked over, she was quietly wiping tears from her face. "I think he'd like that." Mom said when she was finally able to talk.

  A few minutes later, I set Hotspur down on the shelf I'd helped clear in front of the habitation dome where Mom and Dad had lived. They'd been splitting their time between their claim and the Co-Op. I wondered what would have happened if they hadn’t been at the Co-Op when Mussa arrived. Would Dad still be alive or would MacAsgaill have pursued them both back to the claim? It was the sort of question that drove a person nuts.

  Nick stayed behind on Hotspur as I followed Mom into the dome and waited while she gathered small items in a bag. Mining families rarely had many possessions other than equipment due to the transient nature of their lives. Mom collected the few things both she and Dad would have considered keepsakes. I watched as she wiped fresh tears from her eyes and looked around one last time. I hugged her and we walked out of the dome together and back to Hotspur. Once aboard, Nick wordlessly lifted off and sailed toward the Licht family claim.

  "Have you been eati
ng enough, Silver?" Annalise worried out loud as she inspected Mom, much like she would a daughter. Mom had always been thin, as most spacers were. With new eyes, I recognized that Annalise was right. Mom had lost a few kilograms - ones she didn't have to spare. "You have to look after yourself, dear. I'm not there to do it for you." I found it comforting to hear my mom being scolded by the caring woman as I was led away by Selig and Ortel.

  "You don't want to get in the middle of all that. Once she gets going, it can take her hours to slow down," Ortel said. I swore he'd grown four centimeters since I'd last seen him. At sixteen stans, he was nearly as tall as his older brother Selig. For brothers, they couldn't be more different. Selig was reserved like their father and responsible to a fault. Ortel was quick to speak and had an easy smile.

  "Liam!" I was pushed forward into the family's living space by the two smaller boys, Ulran and Merley. I grabbed them and used my grav-suit to float the three of us to the ceiling. "Hey, what's that about?" Ulran asked. "No fair!" Merley complained, pinwheeling his legs.

  "New tech." I lowered us slowly to the ground.

  "That's cool!" I couldn't tell which of them had said it.

  We rough-housed for a few minutes, finally settling back onto couches. I noticed Wilma, the youngest daughter, and Milenette looking into the room from the hallway. I'd forgotten that the Lichts had taken in the two orphans from Grünholz. I looked around and found Milenette's brother, Priloe, leaning against the wall, observing, standing next to a thin girl I didn't recognize.

  "Hey, Priloe. How's mining treating you?" I asked.

  "I miss Big Pete," he said plainly.

  The statement hit me like a hammer to the gut and I saw loss in his eyes. Big Pete had opened up a new world for him and Belirand had closed it down just as quickly. Only through the kindness of the Lichts was he allowed to stay and help on their claim, but even I could see that allowing Priloe and Milenette to stay could only be a short-term arrangement. There would be too many mouths to feed and not enough O2 to go around without more paydays. Without Big Pete, the mining colony was foundering.