Smuggler's Dilemma Page 7

  Escaping the gravity of Mars takes work when near the surface. Fortunately, the Wellington factory had figured out that ships didn’t need modified gravity (typically .8g for most habitation zones) and left the landing pads at Mars natural .38g. It made for an easier lift-off.

  I preferred to be outside of Deivid’s walls as quickly as possible. I didn’t like the less than warm welcome we’d originally been given. Once we cleared, I pulled back on the stick and forward on the thrust. We would use a fair bit of fuel escaping the atmosphere, but that had been factored into the price of delivering the equipment. I took it easy, knowing that I was saving money by doing so.

  "What’s that?" Tabby asked as two blinking lights showed up on the center display.

  Ships approaching on intercept course, the AI announced in the cockpit.

  "Don’t know and I don’t want to." I pushed the throttle down to a hundred percent which sat us back in our seats. I hadn’t engaged combat controls but the Hotspur had some serious nuts and we accelerated fast. I was disappointed to see that the two ships continued to close the distance between us, albeit not as quickly as they had been.

  Hail ships that are approaching and get an ident scan on them.

  Ships are not registered, the AI replied. Frak.

  "Pull on your combat harness and take the helm," I said to Tabby.

  "Got it," she said after buckling in. I followed suit.

  Bring turrets online, track incoming ships with auto-targeting, I instructed. There was a good chance they thought we were an unarmed freighter and a simple target lock would be enough to scare them off. Unfortunately, that didn’t seem to be the case.

  Broadcast a message to unknown ships, I instructed. "Unidentified ships. Please know that we’re armed and will take defensive measures to protect both our crew and cargo."

  They continued to close on us while the Hotspur struggled against Mars gravity.

  Fire across their bows using top turrets, three second burst. Muted thup-thup-thup sounds resonated through the ship as the blasters fired. My HUD immediately displayed the main battery’s energy reserve which dipped to ninety-six percent and then recharged. Fortunately, it was enough. The ships peeled away from their pursuit just as we came free of the atmosphere.

  Send data-stream to Deivid Air Defense. I didn’t know if they cared, but it was their neighborhood.

  "You think they’re done?" Tabby asked.

  Engage silent running. The lights in the cockpit turned off and the vid screens dulled to their minimum display levels. Our rate of acceleration slowed considerably but according to Wally and Jake, we were now emitting less than a hundredth of our previous signature. If someone wanted to find us, they’d have to work really hard at it.

  Engage navigation plan 'quiet-night,’ I instructed after we’d sailed clear for twenty minutes.

  "What’s quiet night?" she asked.

  "I don’t like sitting in port with a full load, so I find a quiet location and heave-to until we’re ready to get going," I said.

  "You’re making this up," she said. "Did you pay those guys to chase us?"

  I laughed. She was giving me entirely too much credit.

  "Want to get something to eat? Marny said she left a surprise for us," I said.

  Tabby unbuckled her combat harness and allowed it to spool into the back of the seat. She reached over, unclipped my harness and climbed onto my lap. Dressed in our armored vac-suits it turned out to be a little clumsy, but I wasn’t about to complain. She grabbed the back of my head and pulled me in for a long kiss. "I think we need to get out of these suits," she said.

  And just like that, I was unable to think of just about anything else. To say it was confusing would be an understatement. We’d made a commitment not to go too far, but here we were alone on a darkened ship with my girlfriend wanting to get me undressed. We ended up on the couch of the bridge, just down from the cockpit. We had a beautiful view of Mars - when we thought enough to look out at it.

  As normally happened, we ended up in a snuggling position on the couch. It wasn’t overly comfortable but neither of us wanted to spoil it. It was well after 2300 when Tabby finally suggested we find out what Marny had left for us. The ship had reached its destination and we were hove-to for the night.

  "Are you kidding me? There are chocolate cupcakes with sprinkles on them in here," Tabby exclaimed from the open door of the new refrigerator unit. "And something called calzones. Sounds Italian. Here, throw them in the Galley-Pro." She handed me two plates that would stack neatly in the food preparation device. "Do you like Corona? Looks like beer." She didn’t wait for my answer and handed me a transparent bottle of light golden liquid.

  I’d have to remember to thank Marny as the food was beyond delicious. Being able to share it with Tabby was everything I wanted in life. At 0100 we were back in the bed in the captain’s quarters. Tabby lay in the crook of my arm and my eyes drooped, finally shutting. It had been a perfect night.

  The peace didn’t last long. Something in Tabby’s bag started whooping and flashing brightly. She awoke immediately at the sound. "Frak, that’s the Academy."

  "You’re not late," I said, defensively.

  "No. That’s the emergency signal. Quiet for a minute. I need to call in," she said. I watched as she gestured and listened, finally replying, "Aye, aye, ma’am. I’ll be right there." She terminated the call.

  "What’s that about?" I asked.

  "I’ve been assigned to the Theodore Dunham and I’m shipping out tomorrow," she said.

  "Wait, what? You said you were going to finish the semester," I said.

  "Welcome to the Navy. But I’m to take every precaution getting back," she said.

  "What does that mean?"

  "We’re on an alert status. Can you take me to Coolidge Space Station?" she asked.

  "Of course," I said. "I’ll get us going and you take a shower and pack up."

  "Thanks." She gave me a peck and hopped out of bed, stripping off her vac-suit. I wasn’t about to turn away without being asked and was pleased that she didn’t. Once she closed the door, I tossed her suit-liner into the suit freshener and headed for the cockpit.

  Navigate to Coolidge Space Station, negotiate closest, temporary berth to elevator.

  I slid into my chair and did a quick systems check. As expected, everything was green. We weren’t too far out and would be there in thirty-five minutes. Ten minutes later, Tabby slid into the chair next to me in her dress-whites.

  "Sorry it’s got to be like this," she said.

  "Whatever it takes," I patted her leg. "And I had an awesome night."

  "Yeah, not exactly what everyone else talks about on their dates, but I wouldn’t have it any other way."

  TAKE ME HOME

  It was hard to let her go, but if I was honest, it was getting easier. We were in a good place.

  I had two low priority comms in my queue, one from Nick and the other from Jake. It was 0530 and I’d only had a couple hours of sleep. I had three more hours in the temporary slip so I set an alarm for 0800 and lay back in the chair. I swear, no sooner had my head hit the back of the chair than that frakking alarm went off.

  With only a few minutes before I had to push off, I took the lift down to the berth deck and started a fresh pot of coffee. I sat at the long table Ada and I had installed for the mess, waiting for the coffee to finish and pulling up Nick’s comm. It was short and to the point: he and Marny would be ready to go any time after 0800. It wasn’t surprising, we often used 0800 as start of the day’s business. The comm from Jake was asking how much room we had available to Terrence.

  Open comm, Jake Berandor.

  "Good morning, Captain." Jake’s deep voice reverberated in my ears.

  "We’ve got almost two hundred fifty meters open. I can send you the geometry," I answered. I directed my AI to send the ship’s cargo hold current cargo layout.

  "I don’t need anywhere near that much. Can I speak for fifteen cubic meters? I’ll nee
d it to Terrence."

  "Sure can. I’m in Coolidge right now, about to head to Puskar Stellar. Where’s your load?"

  "I’ll send you the contact. It’s a beer distributor in orbit over Puskar Stellar. Are you willing to pick it up on your way back?"

  "Roger that, just as long as you don’t have me doing an atmospheric entry," I said. "Meet at Puskar Stellar Space Station, 0930?"

  "I’ll be there. Berandor out." He closed the channel.

  Open comm, Ada Chen, I requested.

  "Hiyas, Liam," she said. "You ready to get going? I’m already loaded and clear of traffic." It was hard not to smile when talking with Ada. I wondered if I’d awakened her. It was impossible to tell as her hair didn’t seem to moosh down like everyone else’s when she slept - or she was quick to brush it out.

  "Hi, Ada. I’ve got one more pickup and we’ll be ready for burn by 1000. Why don’t you start your burn for Valhalla and we’ll catch up."

  "Yes, sir. See you later, alligator." Ada closed the comm channel.

  Send comm Nick James.

  Pulling out of Coolidge station right now. Have one pickup for Jake and then I’m headed for Puskar Stellar station. I’m estimating 0930. Let me know if that will cause a problem.

  By the time I got to the cockpit, Jake had sent me the coordinates of the distributor’s space-side warehouse.

  Navigate to Mid-Mars Distribution warehouse. Request space loading bay.

  I sat back and allowed the AI to pick its way through the congested Coolidge traffic. Twenty minutes later my HUD highlighted the Mid-Mars Distribution platform. It looked straightforward enough and when I got closer a glow appeared around my designated landing pad.

  Incoming hail from Mid-Mars Distribution, my AI intoned.

  Accept. "Captain Hoffen, Loose Nuts Corporation," I answered.

  "Greetings, Captain. We’ve got twenty five crates of our finest ale, ready to go."

  "Roger that. Down in a minute." I cut the comm, not a big fan of idle chatter. I pulled on my armored vac-suit, pushed my Ruger flechette into the holster and waited for the AI to complete the landing and depressurize the hold.

  A single man waited as I lowered the loading ramp onto the landing pad. He waved when he caught my eye.

  "That’s a beautiful ship, Captain."

  I approached him and he bumped our reading pads. The expected fifteen crates showed up on my list.

  "Thanks. We’re proud of her."

  Three bots appeared, loaded with the crates. I wasn’t sure what a pale ale might be, but it looked like Jake was getting quite a bit. I want to talk to him about how he set the deal up - maybe I could learn something.

  Twenty minutes later, I was sealing up the loading ramp and re-pressurizing the cargo bay. I didn’t like our current configuration. The starboard entrance hatch was the only airlock on the ship. The door between the living space and the cargo bay didn’t have its own airlock. I was spending too much time waiting for the entire bay to pressurize before I could open the door to the rest of the ship. I hoped we’d never get holed like we had on Sterra’s Gift. Without that separating airlock, we’d have fewer options if the hold lost pressure.

  Hail Nick James, I instructed as I slid back into the pilot’s chair.

  "Where are you?" he asked.

  "Just taking off from a beer distributor platform. I should be at the station in less than ten minutes."

  "Great. We met up with Jake and have breakfast for you."

  "Roger that," I answered and closed comm.

  It wasn’t difficult to find an open slip and I transmitted the location to Nick. I nosed in and saw three suited figures waiting for me. I took the lift down to the berth deck and waited for them to cycle through.

  Jake was first through the door. "Whoa, what’s with the armor?" he asked.

  "Our security officer requires us to be armored when we take on cargo," I answered.

  "Darn right I do and don’t you forget it." Marny handed me a cup and a bag that smelled of fresh pastry.

  "You’re an angel, Marny," I wrapped my free arm around her in a quick hug. We took the lift up and I sat at the table in the bridge, pulling out a cylindrical pastry with almonds and glaze on top. When I bit down, there was a sweet filling inside.

  "Are you ready to roll?" Nick asked.

  "Roger that," I answered trying to enunciate around a mouth full of deliciousness.

  Establish navigation plan to overtake the Adela Chen in no more than ninety minutes.

  "So what happened last night? Did you guys get in a fight?" Marny asked, once we were cruising along.

  "Nothing like that. Tabby was called back to the Academy in the middle of the night. Said she was being deployed," I said. "She didn’t really know what was going on. Any ideas on that?"

  "Hard to tell. An elevated security status could be issued for a number of reasons," she said. "It’s probably not a big deal unless you happen to be wherever the action is. The Navy just doesn’t want the cadets getting into trouble and pulls them all back from leave."

  "Do you think it has anything to do with those ships which chased us when we left Deivid?" I asked.

  "You were chased?" Marny asked. I'd surprised her, which she didn’t like, especially when the topic involved crew safety.

  "Yeah, two ships tried to intercept us while we were burning for orbit."

  "What’d you do?" Marny asked. I definitely had everyone's attention.

  "I tried to talk 'em out of it and when they wouldn’t turn away, I lobbed a three-second volley across their bows. That made them scurry," I said.

  "That’s a pretty wild part of Mars. I shouldn’t have let you go by yourself. Even so, I can’t imagine that has any relationship to the recall. Let me do some checking. Most of the time there’s news about that sort of thing," Marny said.

  "By the way, thanks for the goodies," I said. "Those cupcakes were amazing."

  "What’d you think of the Corona?" she asked.

  "A little easier to drink than Guinness. We liked it."

  "Doesn’t really go with cupcakes, but I had limited time, so I had to improvise," Marny said.

  "It was excellent. Thanks again." I appreciated that she was looking out for me, like the big sister I’d never had. I got up and slid into the pilot’s chair.

  Engage navigation plan, I directed. The ship slowly backed out of the slip, turned and accelerated into a stream of traffic leading away from Puskar Stellar.

  Ninety minutes later - almost to the second - we pulled up on the Adela Chen.

  "Knock, knock," I said after opening a comm channel with Ada.

  "Who’s there," she played along.

  "Can you cut your burn, please?" I asked.

  "Can you cut your burn, please, who?" she asked.

  "What? Oh... uh, sorry, I don’t know any knock, knock jokes," I said.

  "You’re hopeless," she said. The tug’s engines shut down.

  "Anything to report?" Nick asked. It was the formal opening to our shift change routine. We’d agreed that I’d sail the tug out with Ada to the Valhalla Platform, which was a quick three days out. My responsibility, after being asked for a report, was to point out any significant changes to ship or navigation status.

  "Negative. All systems are green. The Adela Chen and Hotspur are both gliding with zero Delta-V and both ships report no burn."

  "I relieve you," Nick said.

  "I stand relieved. See you guys in a couple of days."

  "Aye, aye, Cap," Marny said. "I’ll see you out."

  I already had my pack ready to go. I clipped it onto my chest and slid my AGBs (arc-jet gloves and boots) over my vac-suit. "Here’s hoping for a quiet ride," I said to Marny as I stepped into the air lock.

  "Always the dreamer, eh Cap?" she said as the door closed.

  I looked back at the Hotspur as I arc-jetted between the two ships. I wished I could stay and pilot her, but I wasn’t about to separate Nick and Marny just because I liked the ship better. Moreover, Nic
k didn’t have any real experience with the tug. I cycled through the Adela Chen’s airlock and walked to the base of the ladder leading to the cockpit.

  "You need coffee?" I said into my comm.

  "Got one," Ada’s cheery voice replied. I grabbed a cup for myself, took the lift up to the cockpit, and slid into the open chair.

  "Ready?" Ada asked.

  "Not quite," I said. "Ever heard of John Denver?"

  Ada groaned.

  Open comm with Hotspur bridge. Cue playlist 1.

  …Country roads take me home

  to the place, where I belong…

  PASSAGE TO VALHALLA

  Ada and I fell into a comfortable rhythm of shifts. At first we were both working to catch up on lost sleep, but by the time we’d flipped around on approach to the Valhalla Platform, we were back to hanging out and chatting during the day cycles.

  "Are you making any progress on your master’s license?" she asked.

  "Nothing more than time in the seat." I hated to admit this to her. She was going to push me now. "I bought the course, I just haven’t started it yet."

  "Let’s get going on it so I’m not the only who can move this tub," she said.

  "What would you think about training Nick on the tug? He’s probably got as much time with a dual stick system as I do, albeit much smaller craft."

  "Sure, why not?"

  "Heh, I’m not sure he’ll like that I sicced you on him. To your point though, we need more than a couple of people who can sail this rig if it’s going to be part of our fleet," I said.

  "That sounds good, but you’re not changing the subject. Pull your course up and let’s work through the first section."

  I sighed, obviously unsuccessful in derailing her interest in getting me back into the course. I tossed the chapter outline onto the center vid screen.

  "Propulsion Dynamics," I said, reading off the first section heading. I wanted to bang my head into the console. It wasn’t that I couldn’t do the math, but it was going to be laborious.

  "Ooh, this is a fun one…" Ada clapped her hands excitedly.