Smuggler's Dilemma Read online

  "That’s a lot," Nick said. "Do you think it’s a contender?"

  "I do, but I want you and Marny to take a look at it."

  Tabby’s head whipped around in surprise and she couldn’t contain herself, "Are you kidding me? That thing is the biggest piece of crap I’ve ever seen. I can’t believe you’re serious."

  "No way! It’s perfect," I said, not caring if Tabby lambasted me.

  "You’re crazy, Liam," Ada added. "There’s a million things wrong with that ship. First, it smelled like a backed up septic field. Did you see all of the rust on everything? And the bunks were practically falling apart. You’d have to totally refit the entire interior."

  "Speaking of crap, did you see the main head?" Tabby asked Ada.

  "Yes. Looked like it hadn’t been cleaned since the ship was commissioned. And that was what, a century and a half ago? When I sat in the couch on the bridge, I was nearly lost in the dust," Ada answered. Clearly the women weren’t impressed.

  "Didn’t you see how it accelerated? Even though it’s three times the size, it was faster and more agile than Sterra’s Gift. It has a six-hundred cubic meter hold AND transloc engines, three turrets, a rear cannon, missile tubes and light absorptive armor."

  Nick sighed, "Still, that’s a lot. Did he have any cutters?"

  "We saw several CA-12s today. His were the least expensive at five hundred thousand and the attack ships were all dart class. I just don’t see that working for us."

  "Frak, I was afraid of that. I’d have expected better prices this close to the core planets, but the demand must be too high. How many of the systems were working on the Hotspur?" Nick asked.

  "I didn’t have a chance to check them, but he certainly represented that they were working. He also knew about our frigate. Sounds like he might be interested. Did that guy come out and survey it?" I asked.

  "Yup. He’ll post it tomorrow. He brought quite a fleet of robots out with him and they scoured the entire ship."

  "Will he set a price?" I asked.

  "No, but he gives an inventory of all the systems, and what shape they’re in. From that he’ll be able to help us with any offers we receive."

  "Do we have any?"

  "Offers? Two, but they’re lowballs. He said we should counter them."

  "How do we get to a price?"

  "It's not hard. Algorithms use the base survey data."

  I just shook my head. "How about moving our supplies down to the frigate. We should get started."

  "All done," Nick said. "I rented a pair of robots to do it. They inventoried it all and then packed it in sections. Neatest thing you ever saw. Marny and I cleared Sterra’s Gift out too. The robots cost a thousand credits, but we’d have been at it for days otherwise."

  "You don’t have to sell me. I’m just glad I don’t have to do it. Could you and Marny take a look at the Hotspur tomorrow? I’d like to know if you even think it’s a possibility."

  "Yup, we’ll get on it first thing. Are you ready to get out of here?" Nick asked.

  We all piled into the cargo hauler. It was tight, but we only had to make it to the Puskar Stellar Space Station.

  "Ada, we’re working on a load for Colony 40. You interested? There’s a side trip in it too. Probably not the best pay on this one," Nick said.

  "That doesn’t sound like you guys. What’s this about?" she asked.

  "We’re dismantling that pirate base. We can make it worth your time," he answered.

  "I think so. Send me some details. I haven’t forgotten about your offer either. I’ve been talking it over with Dad."

  "How’s that going?" I knew he wasn’t happy with how dangerous our last trip had been.

  She grimaced. "About like you’d expect. He wants me sailing for a larger company. More stability, less combat."

  "Can’t say there won’t be issues with the run, since we took this base away from the Red Houzi. I’m sure they’re still plenty annoyed," I answered.

  "Let’s touch base tomorrow, Ada," Nick said.

  "Okay. It was sure nice to meet you finally, Tabby. I’ll send you reports on Liam if he gets in trouble." She winked conspiratorially.

  We’d arrived at the rental company dock. Ada gave each of us a hug goodbye after unloading from the hauler. I felt a little self-conscious with Tabby standing there, but figured that was just me being awkward.

  "You guys want to join us for dinner tonight?" Marny asked. "We’re going upscale tonight."

  "I think we’ll skip this time, if that’s okay. We’ve got some talking to do," I said.

  Tabby looped her arm around my own and stood closer, "Sounds interesting," she said in a husky voice. I really had meant we needed to talk, but now she had me thinking of other things.

  "So what do you need to talk about?" Tabby asked once we found a place to sit. Neither of us liked fancy restaurants and found a burger joint. "Or was that code for snogging?"

  "What’s snogging?" I asked, I had a pretty good idea, but it wasn’t a term I was familiar with.

  "Here let me show you." She placed her hand behind my neck and pulled me in gently, kissing my face. She released me after a few short moments.

  "Ooh. Yeah, that’s a keeper. I like that," I said.

  "Do I have anything to worry about between you and Ada?" Tabby asked. She’d taken me off guard with her approach and I was still reeling from her snogging lesson. Tabby was normally an attack-and-defend type of conversationalist. This new, softer side was surprising. It was a fair question, though I was certain I'd set her mind at ease earlier.

  "How straight do you want it?" I asked.

  "Lie to me and I’ll know it and cut off your nuts."

  Bingo. There’s my girl.

  "You’re right. She’s really pretty, extremely nice and I enjoy being around her."

  "You really suck at this," Tabby said scooting away from me.

  "That’s also true about Marny and, with the exception of the pretty thing, it’s true about Nick too. No, if you want rid of me, you’ll have to do it yourself, 'cause I’m not going anywhere. Well, I suppose I am - but you get the idea." I put my hand out to pull her back. "Now, about this snogging thing…"

  Sunday afternoon arrived much quicker than I’d hoped and it was a lonely ride back from Coolidge to Puskar Stellar. Nick had sent me directions to a pizzeria in the University Hills area. It seemed like an odd choice as it wasn’t anywhere close to our hotel, but I was game.

  When I entered the busy restaurant it wasn’t hard to spot them. Marny was easy to find in a crowd. She was bigger than life and her distinctive voice carried across the room. I was surprised to see two extra people at the table, one of whom I’d only ever seen on a small vid screen.

  The tall, red-blond haired, heavyset Bit Coffman caught my approach. She stood and held her hand out with a lopsided grin, "Captain Hoffen in the flesh."

  "What a great surprise," I said and pulled the large woman in for a hug. I didn’t know how she felt about such things, but to me she was family, even though we’d never met before in person. She’d had our backs when we needed it desperately in Jeratorn and I owed her a lot.

  "Hoffen, I’d like to introduce you to one of my grad students, Jacob Berandor." She looked over to the thickset man who was seated at the table. When he stood, I was surprised to see that he was even taller than Bit. His giant hand all but enveloped my own when we shook.

  "Pleased to meet you, Mr. Hoffen. Call me Jake," his deep voice rumbled. I had difficulty getting a read on his age, but he had a close-cut beard and bright blue eyes.

  "Please, call me Liam. Nice to meet you too." I took the open chair next to him, looked around the table and noticed that Nick was giving me the, 'you’re missing something' look. "So, what’s going on?" I pulled a piece of pizza onto a clean plate. I was used to not catching everything.

  "How bad do you want the Hotspur?" Nick asked. That got my attention. I was wondering what he and Marny thought about the ship after their visit.

  "
I think you know the answer to that," I said.

  "You know it’s beat to crap, right?" he asked.

  "You’re saying the hull and engines are junk?" I pushed back.

  "No. Believe it or not, those appear to be in perfect order," he said. I couldn’t put it all together. Why were we having this conversation with Bit and her student?

  "Weapons?"

  "Reasonable shape," he said.

  "You just said it’s beat to crap."

  "You want to cover this, Bit?" Nick asked, confusing me even further.

  "Wait, what do you know about the Hotspur?" I asked her.

  "Oh, you’re so cute. I love how you do that lost puppy thing, but I’ll let Berandor handle this next," Bit answered. I was bewildered.

  "Thank you, Professor Coffman," he said. "As you've already seen, the sloop Hotspur is a warship from a generation long past. It was originally commissioned the HMS Hotspur, one-hundred-eighty-two years ago in what most historians see as the golden age of galactic expansion. Basically, back when the Translocation Gates were first established. The designation HMS, standing for Her Majesty’s Service, no longer applies since it isn’t in the employ of the British."

  "I thought that was more like four hundred years ago?" I asked.

  "Good memory. And yes, the first gates were built three hundred forty years ago, but travel through the gates was ridiculously expensive. The Anino engine, named after its inventor, Thomas Anino, changed all that using commonly available elements - well, common in the asteroid belts that is. After that, it was essentially a gold rush. The Brits were all in too, sending ten different colonizing missions through the Bethe Peieris gate to the planets of Curie and Bohr. In total, they sent more than fourteen thousand citizens."

  "Didn’t a lot of those colonists die?" I remembered something from a history class about this.

  "That’s right. A well-organized pirate organization - buccaneers really - disrupted the supply runs that the colonists had contracted and the British Navy had to step in to rescue its citizens."

  "Buccaneers?" I asked.

  "Sure, it wasn’t a lot different from what the Spaniards and Brits ran into in ancient history when ships actually sailed the oceans on Earth. These weren’t just random pirates, but groups with strong military organization," Jake explained.

  "Okay, that’s good information. But, I’m not sure how that relates to you and Bit," I said.

  "Oh right, my specialization is in ship systems. I’m focused on propulsion, but I’ve got advanced degrees in communications and weapon systems as well."

  "Now I get it. So, is it a piece of crap?" I asked.

  "Hey, don’t put words in my mouth," Nick said, chuckling. "I said it was beat to crap."

  Jake looked between us and smiled, perhaps a little condescendingly, "I think that characterization is a little strong, but all of its systems are ancient by today’s standards. That said, they don’t make ships like the Hotspur today either. The engines were designed to last centuries and they have. The armor is difficult and expensive to replicate and can withstand both kinetic and energy weapons well beyond anything in use today, at least in the private sector."

  "Great information." I said. There was something else going on and I wasn’t sure what it was. I looked at Nick and said, "What? You’ve got that look."

  He answered. "If we’re going to buy that ship, we need someone who can help us bring it back to full function. Most of the internal systems need updating. This thing is a money pit, but Marny and I both see the value. We’ve never had the tactical advantages of speed and stealth."

  I looked back to Jake, "Don’t get me wrong, I definitely appreciate the information, but what’s your interest in the Hotspur beyond the academic?"

  Jake pushed his shirt sleeves up. "In short, if you’re putting the Hotspur back into active service, I’d like to help. I think I’m asking for a job."

  Nick stepped in, "Hotspur’s first run probably won’t be anything too exciting. I can’t get into the details, though. We’ve had some run-ins with unsavory types and as a result we don’t share our destinations outside of crew. We’ve got good reason to trust you two, but I don’t see any reason to talk about it just yet. I’ve got a proposal for you though, Jake."

  "No offense taken," Bit added. She sat with arms crossed, leaning back in her chair, clearly enjoying the conversation.

  "What’s your proposal?" Jake asked.

  "We’ll pay you a retainer of a thousand credits if you help us through the purchase of the Hotspur and get her ready to sail. If the deal falls through, the thousand credits are still yours. Either way, we’ll all have a chance to work together and decide if this new team is a good fit."

  "Hard to beat that," he said. "I’m in."

  ***

  The next morning I was up early. I’d spent most of the last two days either shopping for a ship or hanging out with Tabby. I needed to turn my attention to finding a load for the tug and a freighter. If we stuck with the CA-12 we’d have two hundred cubic meters and if we got the Hotspur I’d need to fill six hundred.

  Pulling up the TradeNet interface, I created two fleets. The first fleet was a CA-12 cutter and a four hundred meter T400 barge. The second was the Hotspur and a T400. I ran loads starting at one, two, three, and four weeks out, varied the burn plans and widened our arc through the solar system. There were so many variables that I couldn’t fathom how I’d ever found work without TradeNet. The permutations seemed endless and I worked with it for a couple of hours until I heard a knock at my door.

  "Come in," I said.

  "Coffee?" Nick asked as he entered my hotel room. He handed the cup that he was carrying to me and sat. "I thought I heard you awake in here. What 'cha working on?"

  "Just trying to find a load that will get us close to Colony 40 and the outpost," I said. "Paying for our own fuel sucks and the Hotspur really burns it up. I don’t think the Brits considered that in their design."

  Nick chuckled, "No, I don’t suppose they did. Jake and I just finished reviewing a recent survey of the Hotspur."

  "Jake’s here?" I asked.

  "Been here since 0600," Nick answered.

  "What’s the verdict?"

  "We offered eight hundred thousand, contingent on the sale of the frigate."

  "Did he take it?"

  "There’s more," Nick answered. "Weird Wally countered. Eight-fifty, with us selling him the frigate at nine hundred thousand, and that’s where we stand at the moment." Jake had come to my bedroom door and leaned against the frame to listen to the conversation.

  "That’s not bad," I said. "We started at one hundred thousand apart, and he’s at fifty. That’s close. Send me a contract that has eight-fifty for the Hotspur and a million for the frigate. I’ll get him to sign it," I said.

  "You really think you can?" Nick asked.

  "If I take Jake with me, we have a very good chance. Weird Wally wants to see this ship fly again. He’s a romantic and knows this is a good price. He gets to trade out something he hasn’t been able to sell in forever for a modern frigate worth a couple of million - once he fixes the engines. You up for a trip, Jake?" I asked.

  "Let’s do it," he answered.

  I didn’t even ping Wally. In my mind, if Weird Wally was one thing, he was passionate about life. His dramatic presentation of the ship, detailed stories and even his appeals to my sense of adventure were dead giveaways. I knew he was a shrewd business manager and was convinced he would have at least a hundred thousand credits of wiggle room. I just needed to get him to give it up.

  "Mr. Berandor and Mr. Hoffen together. I suddenly feel outnumbered," he said with a smile when we strode into his office. I didn’t believe for a moment that he was even remotely concerned. "How can I help you?"

  I started out as professionally as I could. "Mr. Waldorf, I appreciate your willingness to meet with us on such short notice. I’m sure your time is valuable, but wanted to impress upon you just how seriously we are considering your offer
by coming to see you personally. Before we get to that, however, I was wondering if you had a moment where I could show you a short video sequence?"

  This got his attention. "What sort of video?"

  "Well, I was putting myself in your shoes and thinking about what we could bring to the table to help you add value to the frigate," I said.

  "That’s a lot to ask from a video. But I do like your optimism." He gestured to the back wall. "Join me in my office, would you?"

  He darkened the room and the three of us sat in chairs facing one of the blank office walls. A large vid-screen appeared, brightening the room.

  "If a person is looking to purchase a frigate such as this, I believe they will want a demonstration as to its raw power. As you know, a frigate is most powerful when at broadside. There is also not very much video available from the perspective of the frigate’s foe, because as you know, its wrath is complete in its destructive power." I was hamming it up, but it felt like a good story. "So, to the extent a picture is worth a thousand words, I’ll let you be the judge of the value of this sequence."

  The video started, showing Tali and me running pell-mell through the Jeratorn docking bay for Sterra’s Gift, the nose of the frigate just entering into the picture from left to right through the end of the docking bay. I’d chosen some suspenseful music and flashed back to the engines of our ship starting to fire up, just about the same time the frigate started letting loose its terrible broadside. I followed Sterra’s Gift out of the end of the docking bay, concentrating on the damage being done to the station. The video then showed two missiles being launched from Sterra’s Gift streaking toward the frigate, contact imminent, when it activated its anti-missile counter measures, thwarting the missiles, leaving the frigate unscathed. I had spliced together an ending scene where Sterra’s Gift was sent tumbling, broken, away from the frigate to end the piece.

  Wally clapped his hands together as the lights came back up. "Oh what a wonderful piece of fiction you’ve assembled," he said.

  He had me, I’d put in that last piece, but I felt like it was best not to show that we’d taken the frigate down by disabling its engines. "Okay, you’ve got me there. That last scene came at a different time, but everything up to that point, I can assure you, happened just as it was shown. That sequence was constructed from our actual combat data streams."