by Daniel Gibbs
"I know."
"I'm going to check up on the repair progress. It's almost time for Yanik to be relieved, so…"
"I'll be on the bridge shortly," Henry promised. "Just let me finish up these calculations for our repair bills. Then I can see how screwed we are."
"Yeah." Tia sighed.. She turned to leave and got to the door before looking back. "Do you think Ms. Gaon's testimony will work, given all of this? She's right that her corp will consider her suspicious for leaving Harron without a word."
"It's out of our hands," was his reply.
25
ISV Shadow Wolf
Magella System, Neutral Space
10 August 2560
The wounded Shadow Wolf burned into orbit of the gas giant Trinidad, the biggest of the gas giants in the Magella star system. The gas giant's particular mix of elements in its atmosphere gave it a blue and brown hue that now showed on one side of the Shadow Wolf's bridge display. The holotank gave a more complex picture, showing all of the gas miner ships loitering in the atmosphere, using tethered collection arrays to draw up helium-3 and other useful elements from Trinidad.
Trinidad Station itself was in far orbit of the gas giant. It was an O'Neill cylinder of over ten kilometers in length and a little over two kilometers of diameter. Internally, it was a pair of cylinders rotating in opposite directions, eliminating gyroscopic effects that could alter the station's orientation relative to Magella and Trinidad. The exterior of the station was divided into six sections. Three were transparent, allowing for the giant mirrors arrayed from the end of the station to reflect sunlight into the interior during the station's scheduled daylight time. The other three provided the interior ground space. On the outside, they were colored navy blue, with running lights along the spine of each section. While one far end of the station provided the framework that supported the mirrors, the other end was tipped by the docking area for the station, which extended outward in eight arms that did not turn as the station's interior cylinders did.
"They don't make stations like that anymore," Miri remarked. With the permission of Henry, she was watching their approach. "Most stations use gravity generators exclusively now."
"In the Coalition, sure," Henry remarked. "But out here in neutral space, torus and cylinder stations that generate their own gravity with centrifugal force are still worth building. They're easier to provide power to without the need for big graviton generators and the fusion cores to run them."
"The design's a century and a half old too," Tia added. "The Coalition was probably building them back then too."
Henry heard a snappish tone in her voice. He knew she was still unhappy about his choices and their situation, and a chance to get in a dig at the Coalition on behalf of non-Coalition worlds like her own was not something she was going to avoid in this mood.
"Trinidad Traffic Control has cleared us," Cera said. "They're givin' us a repair dock on th' third arm."
"Khánh's arm," Tia said with relief. "Good. I didn't want to deal with her peers."
"Neither did I. A good thing we stay in with the harbor controllers here. Speaking of which…"
Felix, standing in a corner quietly watching Miri, nodded. "I've got that case of bourbon. I'm sure ol' Chief Hagerty'll love it."
"And keep us in good with the harbor controllers." Henry set his arms on the arms of his command chair. "Cera, take us in."
"Aye, sir. Conformin' t' traffic control instructions now."
Cera's piloting was skillful, as always. She applied just enough thrust as the Shadow Wolf needed to negotiate her course to the arm in question. Some of the docks were external, mainly made for big ships that couldn't fit inside an internal dock. The Shadow Wolf was just small enough to squeeze in, however. Cera used thrusters to bring the vessel in, port side facing the opening dock doors. A forcefield gently resisted their landing, but it was made for keeping atmosphere in, not keeping medium haulers out. Said resistance only slowed the process. Cera adjusted and finished bringing the ship through. With seemingly little effort, she set the Shadow Wolf down on her landing struts smack in the middle of the repair dock.
The moment the ship was down, gantries swung into place. They secured the vessel and provided the means for repair crews to move over the ship's hull and do their job. One gantry also worked to secure an umbilical tube to the waiting external support port for the Shadow Wolf's life support and power systems. The universal-fitting umbilical ends detected the ship type and conformed the ending appropriately, resulting in a physical link that would provide the Shadow Wolf with the atmosphere of Trinidad Station while topping off the ship's life support tanks. The attachment also provided electrical power to the vessel and a hard-line to Trinidad Station's GalNet uplinks and quantum entanglement transceivers.
"We're secure. Shuttin' down engines," Cera said.
Henry keyed the intercom. "Engineering, we're landed. Go ahead and shut everything down."
"Doing so now, Captain," answered Pieter.
Henry triggered the intercom for shipwide address. "Okay, everyone, we've made it to Trinidad. While we don't have cargo to move, we do have repairs to make, and all hands will be on deck for that. Yanik will give you shift assignments. Off-shift, all I ask is you come back sober enough to work."
"Like I'll be drinkin' any of that swill th' moonshiners make." Cera guffawed, wincing as she spoke.
Henry smiled back at her but ignored the remark. "I'll call a crew meeting before we get underway again, give you all a chance to get things off your chest. Henry out." He flipped the intercom off with a flick of the switch on his armrest. "Tia, if you'll join me?"
"Of course," she said.
The two left the bridge and made their way to the upper deck airlock, now adjacent to the gantry walkway. By the time they stepped out, a small group of figures clad in green jumpsuits was approaching the ship. One was a Tal'mayan, another a Matrinad—his suit joined by a conformal helmet that contained the high-moisture atmosphere his species' physiology demanded—and the rest were human.
The lead was a woman of Tia's coloration, although darker in skin tone, with brown eyes and short-cut dark hair. A toolbelt hung around her waist, and her right hand was conspicuously ungloved and dark gray in color. Its gleam in the light of the dock was the shine of metal and not skin. "So how'd you get it shot up this time?" she asked pointedly. With a hand motion, she sent the others onward to finish their examination of the ship.
"You act like I always show up with my ship shot up," Henry replied. Although he didn't grin, he hoped his tone showed he was taking the teasing barb as it was meant to be taken.
"It is his fault this time. Partially." Tia approached and took the lead woman in a hug. "Comrade Linh."
"Comrade Tia."
"I ran into Felipe in Gamavilla. He sends fraternal greetings."
"No, he doesn't, because the son of a bitch has gone Leaguer on us," Linh Khánh said hotly. "He came through here six months ago to ask me to sign the amnesty, go home, and join the Social Solidarity Party. I nearly threw him out the airlock."
Tia winced. "I hoped to spare you that. He did the same to me."
"You told him no?"
"Yes, and I changed the subject rather than throw my Thanh liquor in his face."
That caused Linh to chortle. "Who are you, and what have you done with my dear Comrade Tia, who spat a shot of Thanh into the face of the company security agent sent to arrest her?" she demanded jokingly.
Tia laughed herself. "Like I'm going to waste even a shot of good Thanh on Felipe's idiocy. Besides, I have learned some restraint." With that, she cast a look at Henry.
Not particularly caring about Hestian exile politics, Henry remained quiet through the exchange, even if it was becoming time-consuming. Given the look on Tia's face, he still grinned and nodded with a wordless reply. He didn't need to say anything.
After another giggle, Linh finally got to business. "So, who shot you up? If it was any of ours, I'll have their re
productive organs rendered into lubricant."
Tia shook her head. "We had a run-in with the Tash'vakal."
Linh frowned. "You did? What did they want?"
"A passenger we took on," Henry said. "It might be for the best if we don't go into detail, Khánh. It's a complicated thing."
Tia's expression turned neutral, and Henry had the feeling he'd only delayed the inevitable. Linh answered with a nod and let out a sigh as she beheld some of the damaged hull on the Shadow Wolf. "Well, you got your girl shot up, and we can fix her, but it's going to cost. Materials are scarcer these days, prices higher."
Henry nodded. He pulled a tablet from his pocket and handed it to Linh. "Here's our damage list, and what we'll need."
Linh looked it over. She shook her head. "Your estimate's about fifteen percent off," she said, sympathy in her voice. "Price hike just went through the guild. Thanks to shortages from all the missing ships killing trade."
Tia gave Henry a concerned look as numbers went through her mind based on what her friend said. The same went through his and with it the same conclusion: the repairs were going to actually bankrupt the Shadow Wolf's operating accounts.
It was clear Linh recognized what was wrong. "I know independents run on a tight budget, usually, and jobs aren't too easy to find."
"Tell me about it." Henry sighed. "I, well, I'll need time. If I can get her spaceworthy to get back to Lusitania…"
"Jim, the trouble's not over; we can't go back out if half our holds are hulled," Tia said. She gave a pleading look to her old friend. "Is there any way to shave something off?"
"You know the rules, Tia. The station can't afford welfare. Given your drives, you're stuck here anyway until some repairs are made. You won't be making many more jumps with holes in your ship."
"We'll have to make do, then," Henry said. "Focus on the jump drive and minimal structural repair. When we run out of money, well, we'll cross that bridge when we get there."
Linh bit into her lip at that. It was clear she sympathized with their plight. "Listen, let me make a call. I know you're a couple hands short for your engineering staff, and I've got someone who can help with repairs who's not formally on our crews, so you don't need my full team. I can give you a cheaper labor cost that way."
Tia gave her friend a worried look. "How will the dockworker guild take it?"
Linh answered initially with a sardonic look before speaking. "I'm not talking about sneaking you a scab, Tia. I've got an up and coming fetch tech who knows her stuff, I mean, really knows it. She’s more interested in becoming a spacer than working the docks."
Henry could see where this was going. Fetch techs were the station's children who were interested enough in spaceships that the dock repair teams and engineers, ever in need of more hands, "hired" on to help in small ways. They weren't paid in money or food, usually, but rather in knowledge, as they got to observe the actual repair teams do their jobs and learn them for themselves. Typically, the fetch techs were no older than seventeen and as young as ten, and some wound up in the dockworker guild in some capacity as a result of what they learned. "Well, as you said, we've got openings for Engineer's Mates," he said, showing his recognition of Linh's thinking. "If you think she'll work—"
"She will. Enthusiastically. Hartzog may have to pry her away from the fusion drives. She worked on my last installation, so she knows them a bit."
"Send her to me. Pieter and I will talk with her," Henry said.
"I will, after you come with me and we recalculate these figures," Linh answered.
"Yeah, I figured it was going to come to that." Henry grinned and followed Linh toward her office, leaving Tia to observe the examination crew as they continued to check the Shadow Wolf's wounds.
With the crew of the Shadow Wolf taking a break from repair work and letting the dock crew do their jobs, they found the time to see to their needs for sustenance or rest. Miri watched most of them in the galley, sharing a meal and talking amongst themselves. Only Felix and the ship's Boer engineer were missing from the gathering.
Impressive bunch, especially for independents. From what she'd overheard, this core group was unchanged over the prior two or so years, with the two Leaguers and Felix Rothbard being the newest members of the crew. They showed the cohesiveness Miri heard was common for independent crews, especially those who were used to relying on each other and scrambling to cover for everything. Perpetually understaffed, alone without a corporate support network, just the business, and trade contacts they enjoyed at legitimate and not-so-legitimate ports across the neutral systems. There was something viscerally exciting about it, without going to the extent of being involved with pirates.
At the same time, she was unsettled. Yes, Miri was confident that the ambush and this station being their destination in the escape was not pre-planned, but it did have the side effect of limiting her options. That left a part of her wondering if there was an intention involved here. They'd know that as a corporate-employed spacer she had nobody to trust on Trinidad Station, no means to ensure safe passage—the ISU was many things, but they were not a charter service. She’d remain reliant on the Shadow Wolf crew for her transport, and they still intended to take her to Lusitania, not New Cornwall.
The thought made her think about making a dash anyway. Trinidad Station reportedly had over a quarter of a million residents. She could slip into their numbers and go to ground. Use the skills she'd learned to find a way to communicate her situation to P&Y and see what she could do.
They won't send someone for you, Miri. As things stand, Okon is already suspicious of Karla Lupa. If you reveal you're suddenly on a pirate station, she's not going to believe your story about being attacked. She'll immediately presume this is a trap of some sort. You'll confirm you're a pirate, and your testimony will be ignored.
Miri's fist clenched. She owed it to her fellow crew on the Kensington Star to try and help them in some way. Whatever she disliked about them didn't matter anymore; they were fellow human beings, fellow spacers, going through the hell of a League socialization camp. If the League got away with whatever they wanted her old ship for, their suffering would be for nothing.
"I really wouldn't recommend making a run for it."
The male voice prompted Miri to turn. Felix Rothbard was standing outside the galley entry, staring at her with a quiet expression.
She returned it with a neutral expression. "What makes you think I am?"
"I was CDF, Gaon. I had occasion to work with CIS agents in my career," Felix replied. "Enough to know how you think. Right now, you're considering how to get yourself extracted from this situation. You still want to get to the Astra Mater or P&Y HQ."
Miri kept her expression blank. "If you say so," she said quietly.
A small, wry smile formed on his lips, "Oh, I more than say so," he answered. "I know so. Understand, I don't blame you. I want the League stopped too. But we're your smart play."
"Are you?" Miri folded her arms and didn't hide her skepticism. "Mister Rothbard, how do you think my employers will take it when they find out Karla Lupa disappeared from Harron? Or when Patricia Okon of Corporate Security investigates my legend enough to prove Karla Lupa isn't real?"
Felix tilted his head to one side. "Before the latter, they won't know what to think. Your disappearance indicates either guilt or that the attackers found you first. Now for this Okon lady, yeah, I can see her deciding you were a pirate agent."
"And then my testimony is useless. The League goes right on attacking ships until they're ready for whatever they're up to."
"That's what gets me." Felix crossed his arms in front of his chest. "Just what're they doing hunting down ships in neutral space? Especially since they're talking about making peace now. Something doesn't add up."
"The most obvious answer is that they have a large operation in mind for those ships. They captured Kensington Star," Miri pointed out. "They didn't destroy her. They want those vessels for something."
&n
bsp; "Right. And that, well, that's pretty downright scary if you ask me." Felix's face twisted into a frown. "Just what the hell do you do with that many civilian trading ships? No way in hell you make a combat fleet out of them. Even a single-system space navy with hundred-year-old Coalition ships are going to have a fair chance of kicking their asses up between their ears. The bigger targets like Lusitania or New Cornwall have modern fleets that would pulverize them."
"The League would not risk discovery and turning the neutral worlds against them on a foolish mission," Miri insisted. "They have a plan, and if my testimony does not reveal their involvement, they’ll have a chance to implement it."
Miri watched Felix's expression. She could see he agreed, but only to a point. "Of course, you are not an objective observer here, from what I've heard."
"Yeah. My brother's life is on the line too." A pensive expression came to Felix's face. "Jewish, right?"
"Yes."
"Orthodox? Reform?"
"Orthodox. Once." As Miri spoke, she considered all the ways she'd violated the rules of her people in her life. Her rabbi uncle, Shlomo, would be horrified at how much pork and other unkosher foods she'd had, even if he would understand the circumstances. "Honestly, I don’t observe anymore. I know He is out there, but—"
Miri saw how the pensive look turned sympathetic and knew she'd met a kindred spirit. "—you did things that God says you shouldn't," he said. "You have, you had good reasons. Reasons that any preacher or rabbi would tell you were justified. But it gnaws anyway. Makes you feel unworthy."
Miri nodded. "Yes."
"I know that, God knows I do," Felix said. "Assuming He's listening."
"He is."
"Jim says otherwise, whenever we talk about it. My brother, though? He believes. He knows in his heart God's with him, that he's doing Christ's work, and he'll walk to a Lusitanian gallows with a smile if it comes to it."
