by Ward Wagher
Franklin closed the unit and shoved it back in his pocket. He grinned at the guard captain. "See, Alex. It's no trouble at all. I would suggest, however, that you stay out of her bed tonight.”
Alex turned bright red. “Sir, I have never been in her bed.”
“Fine. This is not the time to begin. Now, goodnight." And he marched past Alex and left the room.
Nesmith grinned at Blakely. "I'd better go rescue the crew from purgatory. If she tries to run any more simulations today, they will probably mutiny."
Blakely broke loose with one of his high-pitched giggles. "I dare say, Guard Captain, you will want to be careful around her when she gets this way."
"Not to worry, Seneschal, Daphne is always very sweet around me."
Blakely snorted as Alex turned and left the room. "Better him than me." He walked across the room to the desktop and punched a button on the screen. "Eden?"
The deep voice rumbled from the speakers. "Yes, Gerry?"
"I just managed to put the Margrave down for the evening. Can you pass the word for everyone to keep the castle quiet tonight?"
"I will do so. The Margrave is working much too hard."
"That he is. He believes he has no choice. I'm not sure I disagree."
"He has a lot on his plate," rumbled Prary.
Blakely tapped to disconnect Prary, then scrolled through a list on the screen and tapped another connection.
"Modest Marple," came the voice from the speaker.
"Gerry Blakely, Modest. I need a favor."
"And what can I do for the Seneschal tonight?"
"I have finally got our leaders to retire early. I was hoping maybe you could come to the keep and help me straighten out the Margrave's books."
"Got them in a mess again, Gerry?"
"It's not funny! With the lieutenant's current mental condition, she would probably rip my head off if she discovered what I have done."
"Say no more. I'm on my way." And Marple disconnected.
A little while later and Marple whistled. "Good heavens, Gerry, you sure know how to mess up a set of books."
"Can you fix them?"
"If you'll stop with the plaintive whining I'll see what I can do. I honestly didn't have anything else to do tonight anyway."
"I owe you a big one, Modest," Blakely said.
"And you know what they say about payback," the younger man laughed.
Blakely watched as Marple moved numbers around on the various worksheets. "You're pretty good at this."
Marple shrugged. "Honestly, this is not as complex as the hotel accounts."
"Is it costing you business to have the conference rooms tied up with the crew running simulations?"
He shook his head. "The business pretty well dried up after the pirate raid. After we get the castle wall put back together in another couple weeks, I think the tourists will start returning. I am putting our expansion plans on hold, however."
Blakely nodded. "I think that's smart. We really don't know what's going to happen over the next several months."
"Well, we're better off than Louie. His main tourist attraction got burned to the ground in Cambridge. His business just about evaporated. And his overhead is higher than mine."
“The castle didn't burn to the ground, Mode.”
“A figure of speech. The whole building was gutted. It's an open question as to whether they can rebuild inside the shell, or if they'll just have to demolish the whole thing.”
"You think Louie will go out of business?"
"Nah. Louie doesn't like to talk about his business, but I think he probably has deep pockets. Plus he's got family, or whatever they call it, backing him. He's in this for the long haul, and I think he can hang on until the people there get their act together again."
"I hope so," Blakely said. "He's really a decent chap, aside from the pink skin and the awful smell."
"Oh, man. The first time he came to visit me the smell got to me and I ended up blowing chunks."
"In front of him?"
"No, I made it to the can in time. But it was close. I think Louie was amused about it. Let me get these books finished for you, Gerry. I do want to get to bed tonight."
chapter eleven
"There's no reason for you to avoid me, you know." Franklin was walking into the Cambridge Arms Hotel and turned at the sound of the voice.
"Well, hello, Signe. Long time no see."
"So you were avoiding me."
"I have not been trying to avoid you, Signe. I've just been busy."
"You can't have been that busy. It's been three weeks!"
Franklin raised an eyebrow as he gazed into her dark brown eyes. The tall shapely brunette was very nearly as tall as he. He felt himself swaying on his feet and didn’t know if it was from the weariness, or from looking into those eyes. "Honestly, Signe. I've just spent the last three weeks trying to get a warship and her crew ready to depart. Given the opportunity, I would have called you."
She looked at him carefully. "You're tired."
"We're all tired." He started to turn away.
She reached out and held his arm. "I want to thank you for what you're doing -- going out to rescue my parents."
"I'm not just doing it for you, Signe. I'm doing it for Hepplewhite. We need Glenn and Monica here."
"I am on the crew, you know."
"I remember that. Everyone will think Honor Hawthorne has come to save the day."
She snorted. "Some of the pirates may be stupid enough to believe that."
"I can only hope you are smart enough to obey orders. The only thing heroics will do is get a bunch of people killed. Now excuse me, please, I really do have to go."
“Well,” she sputtered, “thanks a whole lot!”
He saw the hurt in her eyes and sighed. "This is where Daphne would be swearing at me for being an insensitive lout. Look, this is serious business. We are getting ready to sail into harm’s way. If we get into a shooting contest with a pirate cruiser, things will get ugly in a hurry. The only thing that will save us is the cohesiveness of the crew. That will require everything Daphne has to give and then some. It will require the same from the crew. Now, there are people waiting on me. I need to get into the meeting."
She said nothing further as she watched him walk away.
Two Baltic regiment corporals guarded the door to the conference room. When they saw Franklin Nyman walking toward them they stiffened to attention. Then one of them stepped aside and pulled the door open.
"Thank you, Corp.," Franklin said as he stepped through the door.
The corporal eased the door shut behind him and assumed his position again.
"How are things up on the hills, Margrave?" Joe Wilson said.
"If you're talking about Montora, Joe, I think we'll have most of the damage cleaned up in the next couple of weeks. But that's not why I called this meeting."
"The WahlFlauer is in orbit. Yeah, I heard."
"She is only staying long enough to tank up and to exchange passengers." Franklin nodded to Commander Hyde. "And the Commander will be aboard, unless I can finally convince him to stay."
Along with Nyman, Wilson, and Hyde, Major Martin Boodles, Mayor Fenton Aldersgate and Louie were gathered around the table.
Hyde nodded to Franklin. "You do me a great honor, Margrave. But, from what I've seen the past few weeks, I believe you're fully up to the task of commanding Canopus."
"If you're determined to leave, Commander, then you'd better get to the starport. Captain Zetsche won't hold the WahlFlauer for you."
“I know Captain Zetsche," Hyde said with a slight grin. "I'm almost tempted to stay here."
Wilson laughed. "Okay, Louie and I will tie the Commander to his chair, Franklin. You call Zetsche and tell him he can break orbit any time."
Hyde jumped to his feet. "I'm on my way, gentlemen. Thanks for the hospitality. It's been real."
After he left the room Franklin looked at Aldersgate. "There is liable to be trouble at
the starport, Mister Mayor. Justin Voss told me there's a full load of passengers wanting to get off planet. The incoming passengers are apt to want to turn around and leave again when they find out what's been going on."
Aldersgate turned pale. "I really don't think my police are in any shape to manage something like that."
Franklin looked over at Boodles. The major gave a deep sigh and slowly climbed to his feet. He pulled his comm from his pocket as he walked towards the door.
"The Baltic Regiment to the rescue once again," Franklin said as he looked at the mayor. "You realize, of course, Mr. Mayor, that Major Boodles is not as unhappy with you as you might think."
The mayor tilted his head as he looked at Franklin.
"The regiment will keep things calm, peaceful, and under control. There will be no trouble. Then," Franklin grinned, "by and by you will receive an invoice from Colonel Putin for services rendered."
Aldersgate leaned forward and rested his head in his hands. "Oh. My. God!"
Wilson burst into raucous laughter. Louie gurgled along with Wilson. He thought it was funny too.
Thirty seconds later Boodles walked back into the room. “I’ll have a crew at the starport in fifteen. They’ll keep things orderly, Mr. Mayor.”
“Mr. Mayor, why do you look like you’ve been poleaxed?” Franklin asked innocently.
The mayor just shook his head.
Louie spoke from the voice synthesizer strapped around his middle. "To business?"
Franklin nodded. "To business."
"Are you ready to go, Franklin?" Wilson said.
"No. A wise man would wait another six months before moving that bucket from orbit. I'm not ready, the exec is not ready, and the crew is not ready. But, we absolutely cannot wait any longer."
"We still have not received a ransom note or anything," Aldersgate said.
"I have a pretty good idea where they are," Franklin said. "If we can slip in before they get around to sending a note, they might not expect company."
“I’m still concerned about leaving Hepplewhite uncovered while you are gone,” Wilson said.
“Honestly?” Franklin said. “I am too. I’m not happy about taking Canopus’ shuttle with me either, but we will probably need it.”
“That leaves us with Baltic's one and Justin's two,” Wilson said. “We'll just have to manage. It does impact the security situation, though.”
“There is some risk,” Boodles said. “But I believe it to be manageable. I will keep a quick reaction team on standby. We can be on the ground anywhere on Ducat in fifteen or twenty minutes.”
“And if we have multiple landings?” the Mayor interjected.
“If somebody hits all three cities, we are cooked anyway.”
“All of the alternatives are worse,” Franklin said. “And we’ve already talked about this.”
“On schedule, still?” Louie said.
“Close enough. If we have a consensus in this meeting, I intend to start ferrying the balance of the crew up to the ship today. I want to break orbit by midnight local time. That depends on the final checkout of the ship’s systems.”
“I go aboard, then,” Louie said.
“I missed something here,” Wilson said. “What’s Louie doing on the ship?”
Franklin grinned. “Allow me to introduce you to Chief Engineer Louie.”
“The Woogie?”
“Yep. We have a Woogie of many talents. Not only does he know how to manage hotels, but in a prior life he was a starship engineer.”
“Nothing, it’s really,” Louie gurgled. “Hepplewhite is my planet now. Want to help.”
“But who is going to take care of the hotel while you are gone?”
“Bridgitte to come down from Wahlflauer.”
“But I thought Bridgitte was going to build my hotel.”
“To wait a few weeks is nothing,” Louie said. “Bridgitte is worth for waiting.”
Wilson looked confused and Franklin chuckled.
“Margrave laugh at the Woogie?”
“Never, Louie.”
“Next phrase is ‘What are friends for?’ Woogie predicts.”
Wilson started laughing. “I think your friend has you pegged.”
“Square peg, round hole,” Louie said. “All things as they should be. Business complete?”
Franklin looked around the table and everyone nodded. “Okay. Let’s do it.”
He pulled out his comm and punched a button.
“Canopus, Chief Barrett.”
“This is the Skipper, Chief. Is the Exec aboard?”
“Yes, Sir. One moment.”
“Bridge, Lieutenant Locke.”
“Lieutenant, we have final approval from the Council. Commence departure prep and load the crew.”
“Aye, aye, Skipper.”
“Notify the department heads I want to meet at 1600. Any problems from your end?”
“Nothing we don’t already know about.”
“Okay, I expect to come aboard around 1500. Nyman clear.”
“Clear, Skipper.”
Franklin snapped his comm closed. “Louie, do you need a ride out to Montora?”
“Bridgitte will bring me. I go to Starport now. Much dirt to cover.”
“I think you mean ground to cover, Louie,” Wilson said.
Louie spun around and fixed his pale blue eye on the Earl. “Woogie likes to talk dirty.”
Wilson choked.
Franklin shook his head with a smile. He then nodded to the room. “Gentlemen.” Without another word he walked from the room and was stopped by two girls wearing Press badges.
“Margrave Montora, can you comment on allegations that you used Montoran funds to cover your personal expenses?” The younger of the two, a redhead, held a recording device in his face.
The interruption caught him by surprise and he was a bit slow to change gears. “Who are you and what the devil are you talking about?”
“Myra Breckle, Cambridge News. Surely you are aware the Duke's Court is investigating charges of your misusing Montoran funds. Can you comment?”
Franklin reared back. “Montoran funds? I own Montora. Good heavens, I am Montora! If you don't realize how ridiculous your question is, you must be dumber than dog...”
“But what is your response, Sir?”
“Get out of my way!” He shoved them apart and walked between them. “Some people are almost too stupid to be allowed to live.”
# # #
Franklin Nyman scanned the walls of the castle as he walked into the courtyard with Martin Boodles. The stonemasons worked from scaffolding, which ran the length of the wall on the courtyard side.
"Looking good, guys," he called as he walked across the courtyard.
Several of the workers looked down and waved or nodded appreciatively.
"I am surprised how quickly they got the wall back up," Boodles said. "We had a pile of rubble here, what, two weeks ago?"
"More or less. Since they now have seen what a little bit of tourism does for the local economy, everyone is motivated to get us back in business."
"Any ideas on how they are going to replace the castle in Cambridge?"
Franklin stopped midway across the courtyard and turn to Boodles. "No, Martin, and I'm glad it's not my problem. Based on the size of the thing, it's going to chew up four or five million Centaurans before it's over and done with."
"It's not going to help Louie's business, though."
"It's not going to help anybody's business on Hepplewhite," Franklin said. "Perhaps I should rephrase myself. What is probably the biggest tourist attraction on the planet has to be rebuilt if we are going to keep things going. I'm just glad Glenn Foxworth is going to have to figure out how to finance it. With what I have had to contribute to getting Canopus ready to go, I'm scraping the bottom of the barrel here."
"You sound very confident you're going to locate and rescue the Prime Minister," Boodles said.
"Yes, and that bites. I have to sound con
fident for the crew and the people on Hepplewhite. I hope I'm not just whistling in the dark."
"For the record, Margrave, what was your specialty in the Navy?"
"I came up through tactical. When dad and Admiral Krause pulled me out to drop me in Montora, I was a tactical department head."
“I thought you said you were an ATO.”
“I was, but for some reason the Navy never got around to filling the Tac Officer's position. So I had to wear that hat. So there I was, first time in a tactical slot and they had me running the show. A good thing we never saw action too.”
“How did your FITREP look?”
“Lieutenant Commander Fallon sang my praises, which, as you know, in the League Navy means nothing.”
"So you were headed for a command anyway, right?"
Franklin grinned at Boodles. "Oh, in about 10 or 15 years; assuming I didn't screw up in some spectacular fashion."
The Major put his hands on his hips as he looked at the Margrave. "I think you have the makings of a great ship driver, Franklin. I've seen you in action over the past few weeks and I think a lot of my concerns have been laid to rest."
Franklin gazed at Boodles for a few moments. He briefly chewed on his lower lip and raised an eyebrow. "Do you pray, Major?"
"No, Margrave. Do you?"
Franklin looked at him for a moment longer. "We need to get inside and start the meeting."
Franklin and Boodles walked to the small conference room in the keep. Around the table sat Yasmin Gris, the Mayor of Montora Village, Modest Marple, the manager of The Village Inn, Gerard Blakely, the Seneschal, and Alex Nesmith, the Guard Captain.
"Thank you for meeting with me today," Franklin said. "This will have to be quick. I need to be on the shuttle to Canopus in about ninety minutes."
Gris and Marple nodded, but no one said anything.
"Okay, everyone in this room, except for me of course, will function as an informal Regency Council while I am gone. Mayor Gris will act as the public face of the Montoran government."
He looked at Gris and she nodded.
"You will also handle most of the routine adjudication. If anything big comes up, or anything you can't handle, kick it up to the Council. You can discuss it and take a vote. Gerry will handle the treasury and record-keeping functions as he does now. He has a five thousand Centauran signing authority, which should cover most anything that needs to be done. Anything bigger than that, once again, take it to the Council. You can discuss and vote. Alex covers security for the castle and the village; Martin is responsible for the entire Margraviate. Any questions?"
