Milk Run (Smuggler's Tales From The Golden Age Of The Solar Clipper Book 1)

by Nathan Lowell

  Natalya shared a glance with Zoya before answering. “Yes. Where else would he be?”

  The woman’s face could have been carved from marble. “Who are you and why are you here?”

  Natalya held up her hands, palm out. “Easy. We need an astrogation update for Toe-Hold space. Verkol Kondur send us over and told us to say Bobo sent us.”

  Her face, so smooth and cold, seemed to melt. “Why would he do that?” She looked like she might cry.

  “Who’s Bobo?” Zoya asked.

  “Oh, nobody.” Inge shook her head and waved her hands in front of her face as if to bat away the incense. “It was a pet name for somebody I haven’t seen in decades.”

  Natalya stiffened. “Demetri Regyri.”

  Inge stared at Natalya. “Yes, but how did you know?”

  “I’m his daughter.”

  “Natalya, of course.” Her voice barely registered over the temple gong sounds still rumbling in the background. “How is he?”

  “Fine, I think. I haven’t seen him for a while. He’s back here in Toe-Hold space somewhere.”

  “And you’re flying his old Peregrine?” she asked.

  Natalya nodded.

  “I heard that a scout had docked. I had no idea it was Demetri’s ship.”

  “Mine now. He gave it to me when I went away to school.”

  Inge’s eyes narrowed a bit and she tilted her head a few degrees to the left. She looked back and forth between Zoya and Natalya. “Port Newmar?”

  Natalya shrugged. “It’s a good school.”

  “Yes, it is.” Inge smiled. She pulled a data chip from under the counter, holding it out to Natalya. “Toe-Hold updates.”

  Natalya took the drive and tucked into a sleeve pocket. “Thanks. What do I owe you?”

  Inge shook her head. “Nothing. Updates are free. Just let me know if you find anything that needs changing.”

  “Nothing?” Natalya asked. “How can you stay in business?”

  Inge’s gaze swept the gallery of charts around the wall before she looked back at Natalya. “What do you think my business is?”

  Natalya laughed at herself. “Of course. I should have seen it.”

  “Sometimes we look too hard and miss the obvious,” Inge said. “It happens.”

  “You said this was an update,” Zoya said. “We didn’t see any Toe-Hold stations on our navigation systems.”

  Inge shrugged. “Peregrine has a full set. Or at least she did.”

  “I know we must have had them,” Natalya said. “I remember using them now that you mention it.”

  “It’s not likely he threw them away,” Inge said. “They’re probably just suppressed because you were flying in CPJCT space and didn’t need them. Demetri had a pass phrase that he used all the time. Something about love.”

  “The important thing is to be in love with something,” Natalya said.

  Inge nodded. “Yes, that’s it.” Her focus turned inward for a moment and a gentle memory seemed to stir her face. “I always teased him about it because it sounded cold and distant. I thought it should be someone, not something.”

  Natalya laughed. “I asked him the same thing once. He just shook his head and changed the subject.”

  “Yes,” Inge said. “That’s Demetri. Try rebooting the navigation system with that as pass phrase. If that chip is mounted, the update cycle should trigger.”

  Natalya nodded. “Thanks. I’ll poke about and see what I can find.”

  “Is there anything else I can help you with?” Inge asked.

  “Thank you, Inge. It was nice to meet somebody who knows my father from before.”

  Inge smiled. “And lovely to meet you both. Call again. Any time.”

  Natalya led Zoya back into the cramped passageway and blinked in the brighter lights.

  “That was different,” Zoya said as they walked back toward the chandlery.

  “At least.” Natalya sighed. “Makes me wonder what my old man was up to here before he got old.”

  “You really want to know?” Zoya asked, a laugh in her voice.

  Natalya shrugged. “I don’t know. Maybe not.” She paused before pushing the door open and looked back at Zoya. “She seemed nice.”

  Zoya shook her head. “She seemed a little weird to me.”

  “Those two things aren’t mutually exclusive, are they?”

  “I guess not. She’s really talented, though. Those charts are works of real art.”

  “They are that.” Natalya pushed through the door and they headed out of the chandlery, back down the long walk to the ship. “We should be almost tanked up by now and they should deliver our replenishment order shortly. Let’s see if we can get the navigation updates done before that.”

  “Anything else we need to do before we leave?”

  “Nothing I know of.”

  “No flight plans?”

  “Nope. And given the job for Kondur, it’s just as well,” Natalya said.

  Chapter 10

  Dark Knight Station: 2363, May 27

  Natalya rebooted the navigation system with her father’s favorite phrase. “That’s disappointing,” Natalya said.

  Zoya looked over her shoulder to see “Incorrect entry. Try again.” flashing on the screen. “We know one thing,” she said. “At least there is one. Any idea what it might be?”

  Natalya pondered for a moment before typing “Natalya.”

  The error message returned.

  “Can you look it up from the backside?” Zoya asked.

  Natalya shook her head. “Already looked. Encrypted and we don’t have time to crack it.”

  “Are you sure it’s something you know?”

  “Not really. I didn’t make up my mind to come to Toe-Hold space until last stanyer. He might not have realized I’d want the charts.”

  “How long did he have the ship?”

  “Not sure. I know he had it before I was born.”

  “So he brought it back from Toe-Hold space before that. What’s your mother’s name?”

  Natalya typed “Charlotte.”

  The error message returned.

  “Suppose we can get a full chart load from Inge?” Zoya asked.

  “Probably, but if it loads it over the old one, it might just stay hidden.” Natalya bit her lip and pondered. “What did Inge say her last name was?”

  “Sonnysdottir?”

  Natalya shook her head. “Close.” She typed “Inge Sonjasdottir.”

  The system ruminated for a moment before redisplaying the error message.

  Natalya groaned. “It shouldn’t be this hard.”

  Zoya sighed. “I’m stumped. Suppose it’s just Inge?”

  Natalya tried it with no luck.

  The lock-call chimed.

  “That’ll be our delivery,” Natalya said. “Would you get it?”

  “Sure thing. Where do you want the extra coffee?”

  “Just put it in my stateroom for the moment. We’ll sort it out later.”

  “Aye, aye.” Zoya headed for the lock.

  Natalya pulled up the station net and found Inge Sonjasdottir’s contact. She fired off a message and then checked the status on the tankage before going aft. She found two stacks of coffee tubs, a few cases of foodstuffs, a case of spare parts, and Zoya thumbing the receipt for the goods.

  “We got it all?”

  Zoya nodded. “Everything we ordered and then some. When did you order parts?”

  “While we were looking up the chandlery. I kicked a spares inventory update and tagged the replenishment to the tankage.” She grabbed a case of food and headed aft to the walk-in. “Gimme a hand with this and we’ll be ready to rumble as soon as I figure out how to unlock the Toe-Hold database.”

  Zoya followed her with another case of frozen food. “You know, I can cook. A little.”

  Natalya looked over her shoulder. “I can, too, but realistically, we can be almost anywhere in the Western Annex in less than three standard days. Most places less than o
ne. I just wanted food we could grab and eat until we get docked.” Natalya pulled the latch on the walk-in and dropped the case on an empty shelf.

  Zoya looked around. “You think you got enough?”

  Natalya chuckled. “Well, CPJCT regs said I needed ninety days’ worth. It’s a good habit to get into and I was a bit short.” She surveyed the shelves. “I’ll need to rotate some of this stock. Something to do while we’re underway.”

  They stowed the remaining food and Natalya stacked the extra coffee in her stateroom before securing the spare parts in the engineering cubby.

  When Natalya got back to the cockpit, a message flashed in her queue. “I hope she had another idea.” She popped open the message.

  Zoya stuck her head around the corner from the galley. “Anything?”

  “Just one. Kristiana. With a K.”

  Natalya rebooted the system with the new key and the refresh kicked in. “That was it.”

  “Really? Who’s Kristiana?”

  “I’ll ask as soon as I get this update started.” Natalya kicked the update process and watched the data spooling out. While she waited, she sent a message back to Inge. Thanks. That was it. Who’s Kristiana?

  Zoya came out of the galley and handed Natalya a fresh cup of coffee. “We good to go?”

  “We still have a bit of tankage,” Natalya said with a glance at the status. “Maybe half a stan before we can leave.”

  “What do we do now?”

  Natalya sipped a bit of coffee before climbing out of the couch. “Now, I stow the spares and update the inventories. Wanna help?”

  Zoya gave her a very clear look expressing exactly how much she wanted to help, but said, “Sure. Why not?”

  They ambled aft. With both of them working, the stowage and inventory updates took less than the half a stan. Zoya took the excess packing materials to the lock. “Leave it here or dump it in space?”

  “Keep space empty. I’m sure they can recycle it here. Kondur’s not one to let material go to waste. I thought I saw a bin just down the passage from the docking tube.”

  Zoya nodded. “Be right back.” She stepped into the lock and triggered the cycle.

  Natalya finished her coffee and stacked the cup in the sanitizer rack. The engineering console beeped as she sat back in her couch. She smiled and started laying in the course for Odin’s.

  The lock-call chimed and she chuckled when she remembered Zoya didn’t have the access code. She trotted back down the passageway to the lock and keyed the outer door. She was halfway back to her seat when Zoya spoke.

  “Uh, Nats? We may have a problem.”

  Natalya turned around and saw Inge standing behind Zoya in the passageway.

  The woman’s skin glowed in the lights from the overhead, and Nats could swear her tattoos writhed on her white skin. She stared at Natalya, her pink eyes giving her an otherworldly appearance.

  “Inge? What is it? We’re just about to shove off.”

  “I know. It seems I have business with Bjorn. Please. Take me with you.”

  “Bjorn?”

  “Gunderson. He runs Odin’s Outpost.”

  Natalya felt her mind skip a beat or two. “We’re not exactly set up for passenger service.”

  Inge smiled and the overhead lights picked up the wrinkles at the corners of her mouth and eyes. That smile made her look much, much older than Natalya had first assumed. “I’ve slept in the navigation couch before.” She held up a small satchel. “I travel light. I don’t eat much. And you need to be there in less than thirty-six stans now if you’re going to fulfill your contract with Kondur.”

  Natalya glanced at Zoya who shrugged in return.

  “All right, then. You want some coffee? I need to get us out of the docking bay and burning for the Deep Dark.”

  “I’m fine,” Inge said. “Please. Continue with your preparations.”

  Natalya grinned. “Fair enough,” she said.

  Inge’s whole body appeared to relax at once.

  Natalya climbed back into the pilot’s couch. “Find a place to sit. I’m requesting clearance to undock in about five ticks.”

  Inge followed Zoya into the cockpit and pulled down a jump seat from its stored position in the aft bulkhead.

  Natalya buckled her harness and typed a request to undock. She finished laying in the course and waved Zoya into the navigation couch. “Double-check me, please?”

  The comms screen flashed with permission to undock. Natalya pulled the lock releases to unlatch the docking tube. The quiet thunks preceded a brief flickering of the cabin lighting.

  Zoya said, “Undocked. We’re running on ship’s power.”

  Natalya nodded and drew more power from the fusactor. She slipped on her headset and keyed the traffic control frequency. “Dark Knight Local, Peregrine.”

  “Peregrine, Local. Go ahead.”

  “We are unlatched and ready to depart, Local.”

  “Roger, Peregrine. Hold one.”

  “Local, Peregrine. Roger. Hold one.”

  They sat for just a few heartbeats before the outer door began sliding open.

  “Peregrine, Local. You are clear to depart. Use local lane alpha-two for departure. Over.”

  “Local, Peregrine. Roger. Clear to depart on lane alpha-two. Over.”

  Natalya goosed the maneuvering rockets a bit to get them off the deck and moving toward the open door. As she cleared the station, her nav plotter laid a track on the console labeled alpha-two.

  “Peregrine, Local. You are on the beam. Contact Dark Knight Control when you clear the local markers. Over.”

  “Roger, Local.”

  “Dark Knight Local, out.”

  “Peregrine, out.”

  “This course looks fine, Nats,” Zoya said. “We’re about four stans from the first jump point.”

  Natalya looked aft to where Inge sat strapped into the jump seat. “So, you’ve been aboard before?”

  “Indeed, I have. You’ve done a wonderful job refurbishing it, but it’s still the Peregrine. It brings back so many memories.”

  Natalya checked her boards. “We’re clear of station traffic. You can unbuckle if you want.”

  “How long until we reach the outer markers?” Inge asked.

  “Another stan or so,” Natalya said.

  Zoya turned to Inge. “If you don’t mind my asking, why do you need to get to Odin’s so fast?”

  Natalya turned to say something to Zoya but Inge held up a hand. “I need to talk to him about my daughter. Family business. I’m sure you understand.”

  Zoya shrugged. “Sure. No problem.”

  Inge released her harness and folded the jump seat back into the bulkhead. “Can I make some coffee for you? Tea perhaps?”

  Natalya nodded and smiled. “Thanks. That would be lovely.”

  Inge slipped into the galley and started rustling about. “Do you have enough coffee for the trip?” Her voice carried the lilt of amusement.

  “Should get us most of the way there. I’ve got some spare tubs in my stateroom,” Natalya said.

  Inge’s low chuckle reached them even over the sound of the kickers.

  “That was rude,” Natalya said, leaning closer to Zoya to speak softly. “You don’t ask people’s business.”

  Zoya scowled and her lips pressed together for a moment before she spoke. “We don’t know who she is or what she’s doing here. She could be drugging our coffee right now so she can steal the ship.”

  Natalya glanced at the passageway and weighed Zoya’s fears. “It’s possible.”

  Zoya’s eyes went wide with shock.

  “But not probable.” Natalya shook her head. “We don’t know that she could fly the ship even if she got control. She’s a well-known fixture at the station and she’s a talented artist.”

  “We don’t know that.” Zoya stared at Natalya. “All we know is what she’s told us.”

  Natalya shook her head. “No, we know a lot more than that. She and Kondur both knew my f
ather. She’s flown on this ship before. Simplest answer is she flew with my father. That’s enough for me.”

  “How do you take your coffee?” Inge asked from the galley.

  “Black for me,” Natalya said.

  “None for me, thanks,” Zoya said. She sighed and nodded. “I’ll take your word for it, but this is just reckless.”

  “Like jumping out of Port Newmar wasn’t?”

  Zoya sighed again and shook her head. “I’m going to catch up on some sleep while it’s quiet. Wake me for the jump?”

  Natalya checked the plot. “You don’t need to get up for this one. Get a solid six. We can make a couple of jumps before we need to let the capacitors recharge a bit. You can take the next watch.”

  “Fair enough.” Zoya pushed past Inge in the passageway as she slipped into her stateroom.

  Inge brought Natalya a mug of coffee and slid into the navigator’s couch with her own. “Will she be all right?”

  Natalya took a sip and let the rich brew roll around on her tongue, so hot it nearly burned. She swallowed and nodded. “She’s not used to Toe-Hold space.”

  “And you are?”

  She thought about that for a few heartbeats. “Not really, but at least I’ve been introduced to it. My father took me on a few short jaunts growing up and a grand tour for my sixteenth birthday. He always said CPJCT was the real danger.”

  Inge blew on her coffee before sipping. “He might have been right.”

  Natalya nodded. “Zoya’s afraid we’re going to get mugged and killed, and the ship stolen.”

  “You’re not?”

  Natalya sipped her coffee and gave it serious thought. “No. Well, yeah. Anything’s possible. Sure, it could happen. It’s probably more likely that we’d get the ship stolen here, but I’m not sure how much more likely than in Confederation-controlled space.” She paused. “I’ve got friends who’ve been mugged in Port Newmar. Friends who’ve been killed. Accident and misadventure don’t respect politics.” She glanced over at Inge.

  “Your father must be proud of you.”

  Natalya chuckled. “Maybe. I’m not sure what he’d think if he knew I was herded out of Port Newmar by TIC interceptors.”

  “Does it matter? Were you planning on working your way up the chain of command in a Confederated merchant fleet?”

  “No, I was actually planning on coming out here after graduation. I just didn’t expect to be bringing a crew.”