Owner's Share (Trader's Tales from the Golden Age of the Solar Clipper)

by Nathan Lowell

  I ran a hand over my head and down the back of my neck. “You’re talking like you think I’m going to be in actual, physical danger.”

  She gave half a shrug. “That, too, Skipper, but I didn’t expect I could convince you of that.”

  “I’m going to be unemployed. How can I afford you?”

  She shrugged. “You’re not without assets, Captain, and in a week you’re going to be independently wealthy.”

  I considered her for a moment before taking a new tack. “What about the ship? Have you talked to Captain Thomas about it?” Even as I asked it, I knew the answer.

  “Of course, sar. I talked to her first. The ship can find any number of qualified ratings to take my place. There’s a waiting list at home office. By the time a new first mate is in place, Captain Thomas can have three replacements for me.”

  “You’ve given this a lot more thought than I’ve had time to consider, Ms. Arellone.”

  “Yes, Captain, and one more reason why I think you need me.”

  I crossed my arms and frowned at her in concentration. “All right, Ms. Arellone, you’ve tried hard to convince me that I need you, why do you want to do this job? I’ve got no job, a future dependent on the outcome of an auction that hasn’t even been completed yet, and the very real feeling that I’m stepping into the abyss in terms of my career. Why do you want to come along?”

  “Two reasons, sar. First, you’re a winner. Whatever you do, you do okay. It’s not always the top, and it’s almost never what you think, but you always come out ahead, if only a little bit. Always.”

  “But I don’t even know what I’m going to be doing tomorrow, let alone next week. How can you tie yourself to that?”

  “That’s the second reason, sar. I believe in you.”

  “You believe in me, Ms. Arellone?”

  She nodded. “You took a chance on me, sar. It wasn’t that long ago, if you’ll remember.”

  “I remember, Ms. Arellone.”

  “Nobody ever took that kind of risk for me before, Captain. Nobody.”

  “So, this is some kind of gratitude thing...?”

  She shook her head. “No, sar. This is a very selfish thing. You’re going to go a long way, and you need somebody to watch your back. I want to be that somebody because then I get to go along for the ride.” She grinned, and for the first time, she looked more like the Arellone that I knew. “I expect it’s gonna be one heck of a ride, too, Skipper.”

  “Assuming I agree—” I held my hand in the face of blossoming hope, “—and I haven’t yet. If I do, what do you want?”

  “Want, Skipper?”

  “Pay, Ms. Arellone. Fiscal remuneration. How much will your services set me back?”

  She took a deep breath, and I feared what she’d say.

  “Quarter share salary until you get a ship again, Skipper. When we can set sail, I’d like a full share berth and to continue with you.”

  “What if I don’t get a settlement from the Chernyakova? What if I can’t get ship?”

  She scratched her head. “Well, the settlement is a done deal, except for just how rich you’re going to be. You’re going to get another ship. Either as an indie, or by signing on with somebody. I can’t see you sitting around burning oxygen when you could be out there, Skipper.” She tossed a nod in the direction of the Deep Dark. “Tell ya what. Give me a month? If you’re not happy with the arrangement after a month, I walk away. You owe me nothing and you never hear from me again.”

  “Are you that certain, Ms. Arellone?”

  She nodded solemnly. “Yes, Captain. I am.”

  “Would you let me chat with Captain Thomas and Mr. Wyatt a moment?”

  She blinked at the sudden shift in direction. “Of course, Captain.”

  I walked back to the table and took my seat. “You two knew about this?”

  Gwen grinned. “Of course, why do you think it took so long for you to get away?”

  I coughed a sharp laugh. “You were stalling me?”

  Avery nodded smugly. “’Fraid so, Captain.”

  “You seem to approve of this little drama. Can I ask why?”

  Gwen nodded and leaned in on her elbows. “She spoke to me this morning. She’s right. You need a bodyguard, or you will soon. You’ll need a personal assistant at least. Somebody to keep the world at arm’s length until you can get back out into the Deep Dark.”

  “Everybody keeps saying that,” I muttered.

  “Maybe it’s time you started listening.”

  I looked back and forth between them. They both seemed utterly convinced. “What’ll this do to the Agamemon?”

  Gwen gave me a disapproving look. “That’s my problem, Ishmael, not yours.” She grinned. “But we’re fine. There are several nice young people who’ve said they want to work here, and I can have my choice of a half dozen as early as tomorrow morning.”

  I hung my head and sighed. “Sorry, Gwen. Old habits.”

  I heard her laugh softly. “Is it the credits?” she asked.

  I looked up at her. “The credits?”

  “The reason you don’t want to hire her?”

  “I don’t have a ship. I’d take her on in a heartbeat if I had a ship.”

  “Rent one,” Avery said.

  We both looked at him. “Rent a ship?”

  He shrugged. “Look, you think you don’t have a job for her, right? You’re going to be unemployed?”

  “Well, yeah. That’s kinda the point of being beached.”

  “You’re not going to be unemployed. You’re going to be starting a business. Whether you succeed at it or not, your job is going to be to secure your funding, get the ship, line up a crew, and get sailing.” He ticked the items off on his fingers. “You know that young woman out there is tough, resourceful, street smart, and absolutely dedicated to you. Seems pretty straightforward to me. Rent an office, and think of it as a docked vessel. All your work will be here for a while.”

  As the enormity of what he said hit me, I sat heavily on the bench again. “Crap.” It wasn’t very elegant but it expressed my feeling.

  They both snickered.

  I held out my hand to Avery. “Thank you, Avery. It’s been an honor to serve with you.”

  He took the hand and smiled. “The honor has been mine, Captain. You’ve given me more than you’ll ever know.”

  I extended the same hand to Gwen. “Safe voyage, Captain. Thank you for all you’ve done.”

  She gave my hand a gentle shake. “Thank you, Captain. Safe voyage.”

  I untangled myself from the bench for the last time and walked back to where a nervous looking Stacy Arellone was trying not to bite her lip as she waited in the passage.

  “All right, Ms. Arellone. Welcome aboard. You know how to maneuver a grav trunk?”

  The grin that splashed onto her face threatened to overwhelm her. “No, Skipper, but I’m willing to learn.”

  “Well, let me get them out of the ship and you can practice out on the docks where there’s room to maneuver.”

  I went back and snagged the control handle on my grav trunks and gingerly dragged them out from behind the ladder. They skated free of the deck and followed obediently along behind me.

  “Come along, Ms. Arellone. We need to find a place to sleep, and I need to get changed for dinner. Somewhere along the way we need to figure out how to deal with calendars and comms and credits.”

  She snagged her dufflebags, hooking one over each shoulder. She waved to Gwen and Avery, still seated at the table, but smiling at us as we walked away.

  In a matter of a few ticks we’d checked out of the ship for the last time, and our mass records had been zeroed. As I worked the grav trunks down off the ramp and onto the docks, it occurred to me that I hadn’t seen Chief Gerheart since lunch. “Just as well, probably.”

  I must have muttered it aloud because Ms. Arellone asked, “Excuse me, Skipper?”

  I shook my head. “Nothing, Ms. Arellone. Just thinking aloud.” I pointed
to the back of the last trunk. “There are some clips back there. You can clip your duffles to them.”

  She looked carefully and found them, latching a bag to each clip. The grav trunks didn’t so much as wobble.

  “Okay, now, come take this handle, and I’ll show you how it works.”

  We had a few giggles, and only had to drop them once to keep the whole mass from skidding into a party of spacers standing outside one of the locks. By the time we got to the lift, she’d mastered the basics. She did better than I usually managed by gently backing the trunks onto the lift rather than towing them on and getting caught between the trunks and the back wall of the lift.

  As she locked the trunks down, I pressed the button that took us up to the eight-deck.

  “Up, Skipper?”

  I nodded. “Yes, Ms. Arellone.”

  “I thought we’d be going down to transient quarters.”

  “We’re not exactly transient are we, Ms. Arellone?”

  She thought about it for a few heartbeats while the lift moved smoothly up the shaft. “I guess not, Skipper.”

  The lift opened on eight and I held the doors while Ms. Arellone gently slid the trunks out onto the promenade. When she was clear, I stepped out behind her and headed off to starboard around the orbital.

  “Where are we going, Captain?”

  “Lagrange Point.”

  “The hotel?”

  “Yes, Ms. Arellone.” I felt her stiffen, and she missed a step that almost caught her foot on the grav trunk behind her. I caught her before there was any serious damage, and looked into a pair of worried eyes. “Is there a problem, Ms. Arellone?”

  She stopped and shook her head, as much as if she were trying to clear it as much as in negation. “No, Captain. It just...well...You took me by surprise. I thought we’d take rooms down on oh-four.”

  “We may wind up there, Ms. Arellone.” I grinned at her. “I don’t have reservations at the Lagrange.”

  She looked at me curiously. “Then why?”

  “Something Mr. Wyatt said just before we left the ship.”

  “What was that, sar?”

  “I’m not unemployed. I’m starting a business.”

  She digested that for a moment. “Okay, I can see that, I guess, sar, but what has that got to do with a room at the Lagrange Point.”

  I smiled. “First rule of business, Ms. Arellone.”

  She arched an eyebrow.

  “Location, location, location.”

  She grinned at me. “Skipper, you never cease to amaze me.”

  “I’m still working on amuse, Ms. Arellone, but I’ll settle for amaze on an interim basis.”

  “Sar?”

  “Never mind, Ms. Arellone. Let’s see if there’s a room at the inn.”

  We made it to the Lagrange Point without further incident, and the concierge greeted me as I walked through the door. “Captain Wang. Welcome to the Lagrange Point.”

  I stopped in confusion for a moment before Ms. Arellone whispered, “Shipsuit.”

  Chagrined at the obvious answer, I nodded to the concierge, and returned the favor by reading his name tag. “Thank you, Robert. Is there a place we can park these while I see to accommodations?”

  “Of course, Captain. If you’d just slide them over here, they’ll be quite safe.” He indicated a sheltered alcove just around the corner from the main door.

  Ms. Arellone gingerly maneuvered the trunks without bashing any of the trim on the bulkheads, or crushing any of the decorative plants. I admired her skill and privately doubted I could have done as well.

  “The front desk is straight ahead, Captain. They should have your suite ready.”

  “Thank you, Robert,” I said already looking ahead to the front desk and letting his comment wash over me.

  “Your suite, Skipper? I didn’t think you had a reservation.”

  “I didn’t think I did either.”

  The walk to the desk was too short to allow further speculation, and the desk clerk also greeted me by name.

  “Welcome to the Lagrange Point, Captain Wang. Your suite is ready for you. We hope you’ll enjoy your stay with us.” He held out a tab for me to thumb. “The room charges have already been taken care of, of course, but if you’d just sign for incidentals...?”

  “Already been taken care of?” I asked even as I reached for the tab without really thinking about it.

  “Of course, Captain. Ms. Kingsley alerted us that you and your guest—” his eyes flickered to Ms. Arellone very briefly, and I got the distinct impression that she wasn’t exactly what he was expecting, but he didn’t quibble,“—would be arriving this afternoon.”

  “And did Ms. Kingsley say how long I’d be staying?”

  He smiled his best desk clerk smile. “As long as you want, Captain.”

  The clerk’s very polite gaze flickered back and forth between the two of us. “If you would like to register as well, Ms. Arellone? Having your name on file will permit you to order room service, and take advantage of all the other amenities offered by the Lagrange Point.”

  She reached forward and thumbed the tab as well, if somewhat more cautiously than I had.

  “Thank you, miss.” He turned back to me. “We’ve put you in the Forest Suite and hope you enjoy it. If there’s anything we can do to make your stay more enjoyable, please don’t hesitate to call. My name is Jules, and I’ll be on until midnight should either of you need anything.”

  “Thank you, Jules.”

  He leaned forward and with a flattened palm held vertically he indicated a passage to our right. “Just follow the corridor. At the end of the hall, take a right and the Forest Suite will be on your left. Robert will deliver your luggage, unless you’d rather convey it yourself?”

  I glanced over my shoulder, and saw Robert expertly maneuver the grav trunks out of the alcove and head in our direction, expertly avoiding every obstacle without even looking over his shoulder.

  “Thank you. That will be fine.”

  “Enjoy your stay, then, Captain.” He nodded to me. “Ms. Arellone.” He nodded to her and we sashayed off down the corridor.

  As we picked our way through the maze of passages Ms. Arellone spoke softly. “They must want something very big, Skipper.”

  “Yes, Ms. Arellone. They do.”

  “You know what it is then?”

  “Yes, Ms. Arellone.”

  “Okay, then.” The doubt in her voice came through clearly.

  It was a long corridor but eventually we came to a door marked “Forest” and I thumbed the lock. It popped open and I pushed into a large and sumptuously appointed living room with sofas, easy chairs, a large entertainment unit, and even windows opening onto an amazing view of the planet below. Discrete doors on either end of the room opened into sleeping accommodations. The one I could see into looked as large as my whole cabin on the Agamemnon. As we stood there, just inside the door, I heard a discrete cough and stepped aside as Robert maneuvered the slaved trunks through the narrow door and into the suite.

  “Which way for the luggage, Captain?”

  Ms. Arellone seemed to snap to alertness at the question, and I watched her scan the room briefly. “You’re down there, Captain.” Her voice was flat and commanding as she pointed to the far door.

  Robert looked to me with a question in his eye, and I nodded to the far door.

  “Very good, Captain.” He slid the trunks around the furnishings, and disappeared into the far door without incident. In a moment he came back. “May I show you the amenities of the Forest Suite?”

  “Please.”

  He spent a full five ticks showing us how to deal with food, laundry, entertainment, and even hot and cold running personal servants should we desire them.

  When he finally ran down, I made a little thumb pinch gesture, and he offered his tab for me to code, and then press. “Most kind, Captain, thank you.” He swept out of the room, pulling the oversized door closed behind him as he went. I heard the electronic l
ock snap as he did so.

  “So, Ms. Arellone? Room choice? You’ve got a method in your madness.”

  “Security, Skipper. You don’t answer the door. That’s why I’m here. Since I have to answer the door, I sleep next to it.” She pointed out the proximity of the main door to her room. “You sleep down there. If there’s a problem, you’ll have more time to get out, and a better chance of escape.”

  I looked at her. “Are you serious, Ms. Arellone? You’re planning escape routes?”

  She sighed and gave me a disgusted look. “Someone has to, Skipper.”

  I wasn’t entirely certain if she was serious, or if she’d just spent too much time with Mr. Pall.

  She shook her head. “If you never need them, what’s the harm? If you do, won’t you be glad you’ve got them?”

  “You frighten me a bit, Ms. Arellone.”

  “I think that’s fair, Skipper. You frighten me, too.”

  Chapter Thirteen

  Diurnia Orbital:

  2372-December-20

  By 1900 I knew that dinner was going to be a challenge.

  “Do you expect you’re going to loiter about in Marcel’s, Ms. Arellone?”

  “Of course not, Skipper, but I am going with you, at least as far as the door, and I’ll be there when you come out.”

  “I don’t know how long I’ll be.”

  “Neither do I, I’m sure, Skipper. And I’m also sure it doesn’t matter. We’ve got to work out these procedures before we need them, and this is a perfect chance.”

  “Do you think somebody is going to mug me between here and Marcel’s, Ms. Arellone? It’s two decks up and near the lift.”

  “I think, Captain,” she said with just a touch of asperity in her voice, “That if I were going to mug somebody, it would be a rich somebody. Like, for example, somebody leaving a high-end restaurant who might have had just a bit too much to drink, and was on his way to a high end hotel that he was close enough to be careless about.”