by Jay Toney
Thornton
The Queen Anne's Revenge exited hyperspace far away from the star system's sole body, a black dwarf. Aside from dark nebula gasses, dust, and a dead star, there is nothing here. It made this solar system the perfect place for a clandestine rendezvous with the Alliance representative sent to collect the government's share of treasure from Captain Roberts.
This time, Doc's starship is met by a heavy cruiser. The warship has to be at least 1000 years old. By some miracle, the starship is still in service with the Alliance military. The Ajax made Doc's starship look new by comparison. It is Doc's lucky day. If the rumors he heard are true, the Ajax's captain is training his replacement, someone named Thornton, Trenton, Tristan or something like that anyway. That would make it easier for Doc to bribe him and make deals to his advantage.
Natasha maneuvered the starship near the Alliance warship, but she stopped the cruiser when it is 100 kilometers away from the Ajax. Devon sent the recognition signal to the Ajax, and the bridge officers waited for its response.
They didn't wait long. Almost immediately, the viewscreen filled with the image of a middle-aged man, dressed in the black uniform of an Alliance military officer. His dark hair is closely cropped to his head, as is customary for military officers. The uniform is clean, freshly pressed, tailored to fit the man wearing it and highly polished platinum eagles adorned his shoulders. He scrutinized Doc while Doc returned his stare. "You are Late! We expected you here a day ago. There will be hell to pay for keeping us waiting!"
The captain's name tag read Thornton. He isn't the captain of the Ajax, at least not yet. Doc looked past the man to the cruiser's captain. Another officer, one that Doc is familiar with, sat on the command chair. This one wore a silver star insignia on his shoulders.
Doc ignored Captain Thornton and spoke directly to the other man. "I beg your pardon Admiral. There must be some mistake. I am a full day early. According to my orders, I am not due to report until 3927.227.10.00. Perhaps there is an error in your ship's chronometers. All three of my starship's chronometers are in agreement with the current galactic time and date."
"It is of no consequence," the admiral stared at the newly promoted captain. Captain Thornton was assigned to this ship to take the place of the admiral when he retired. "I trust that you have the agreed payment?"
Doc is glad that Admiral Mavis is still in command of the Ajax. He knew from prior conversations that he is a racing enthusiast. "I do, but I have something, more precisely 12 somethings, that might interest you more than the galactic credits. It could be something that you might consider adding to your private collection. If you are interested in what I have, we might be able to work out a deal that will be mutually beneficial."
The admiral raised an eyebrow before answering, "I will be over shortly with the inspection team."
"Our hangar is full, and I had to move a few of my shuttles to the upper shuttle bay. I only have enough room for one shuttlecraft. If you need more than that, the inspectors will have to land on the upper deck, suit up, and EVA to an airlock. It is that, or we will need to dock our starships together," Doc told the admiral, ignoring Captain Thornton as if he isn't on the bridge with him.
"That is a highly unusual request. It had better not be a trick. If it is, you will wish I had killed you," Admiral Mavis warned Doc.
"I assure you, it isn't. My wife and I will personally be waiting at the airlock to greet you."
"Wife? I see." The admiral took a few seconds to think before continuing, "That new, low-level mechanic that you hired had her heart set on marrying you and moving up in status since day one. I should have given her more credit for her ingenuity and determination. She succeeded where all of the others failed."
"I did not marry Jane. She is a good, kindhearted woman. Maybe I should have married her, but I had the good fortune of stumbling upon the most amazing and beautiful woman, Elaunae, and married her."
"I'll have to meet the woman that managed to thaw your cold heart in such a short time." It was a lot faster than Admiral Mavis thought. Doc took Elaunae as his wife, in Iniguar fashion, by bonding with her on the first day that they met.
"I will see you shortly. Prepare to dock and be boarded for inspection." The admiral's comm officer ended the transmission.
Alliance warships did not regularly dock with other starships due to its complexity. It isn't that difficult. Doc had done it hundreds of times himself, and his AI had done it at least a thousand more times than he had. The Alliance helmsmen are lazy and poorly trained. Doc could have done the maneuver himself, but that would be demonstrating his skills and showing the lack of talent that the Alliance helmsman has.
Doc watched the procedure on the main viewscreen. The thrusters fired to bring the Alliance warship to the same altitude as the Queen Anne's Revenge. Then the opposite thrusters fired to bring the Ajax to a stop. The heavy cruiser rotated on its pitch axis to give the ship optimal clearance for docking. Either they must have a new and better-trained helmsman or that new officer, Captain Tipton or whatever his name is, is making the maneuver himself. The port side thrusters fired bringing the starboard side of the ship closer to the Queen Anne's Revenge. The heavy cruiser stopped 20 meters from Doc's starship. Various thrusters fired to bring the main airlocks into alignment, and then a docking tube extended from the Ajax to the Queen Anne's Revenge's main airlock, locking the two starships together.
Doc ordered Devon to announce, "Prepare for inspection," to the crew. Then he and Elaunae left the bridge together to greet Admiral Mavis and the inspection team. They are standing together when the inner airlock door opened. The exterior door had been jammed open to keep the passageway between the two warships open. It is a serious breach of safety that could result in rapid decompression of both vessels. Doc is sure that the new captain had something to do with it. Admiral Mavis never broke any safety protocols in all of the years that Doc knew him.
Admiral Mavis is the first person through the airlock. The admiral stared at Elaunae taking in every detail. "You are right; she is gorgeous. I can't help but notice that she is not human." He stared at her breasts.
Elaunae tolerated the admiral's undignified stare. Her mate had warned her about the Alliance attitude towards interspecies relationships. Doc's wife is wearing one of the new outfits that she made, to impress their visitors. She is wearing a long turquoise skirt with pink and yellow flowers, a pink blouse with a yellow vest picking up the colors from her skirt. She is also wearing side pockets tied around her waist that are hardly visible. They are made from the same material as her skirt. To Doc, she looked even more beautiful than when they first met.
Captain Thornton followed behind Admiral Mavis. He led the inspection team through the docking tube. It typically consisted of between 20 and 40 low-grade crewmen that are trained mainly as security personnel and used as guards on planetside base camps. He must have pulled crewmen from all three shifts to get the 200 hundred soldiers that he is bringing aboard the Queen Anne's Revenge. Either the new captain suspected something, or he is using his authority to show Doc what an ass he is. He did not need to do that. Doc already figured out that he is a pompous ass during their first communication. Doc did his best to ignore the jerk.
"What is this doing here?" Captain Thornton said pointing at Elaunae.
"She happens to be my wife," Doc's hand found the hilt of his energy sword and firmly grasped its handle.
"Captain Thornton, we are guests aboard Captain Roberts' vessel. You will keep a civil tongue as long as you are under my command. Unless of course, you do not wish to take command of my ship?"
"My apologies, I did not mean to offend you," Captain Thornton said to Captain Roberts and his wife. It is a lie. Like Doc, he had his hand firmly grasping his energy sword. He is ready to fight a duel to t
he death over Doc Roberts' marriage to an alien woman.
"Captain Thornton has a point. The Alliance wants to keep the human race pure. It doesn't tolerate marriages between different humanoid species, and it especially doesn't tolerate hybrid offspring. The government will make life difficult for you when you choose to return. As long as you keep paying your taxes on time, I could care less what you do with your personal time," the admiral explained to Doc.
"I have always been a loyal citizen of the Alliance and will continue to pay my fair share of taxes like its citizens are expected to do. But, I have no desire to return to its territory. My family has made its life as privateers fighting for the Alliance in Collation space for the last two generations. I see no reason to not continue doing so," Doc told the admiral.
"Very well said."
"Come this way." Doc and Elaunae led the way to their ships primary shuttle bay and its waiting racing spacecraft. Captain Thornton reluctantly followed them, keeping his thoughts to himself.
Twelve racing ships, each belonging to a different racing team from different human, humanoid, and nonhuman species are centered on the hangar deck. Each spacecraft had its paint touched up, is waxed, and polished. The floor below the spaceships is spotless. Any fluid leaks had been repaired. The ships look like new.
"Are these racing ships authentic?" the admiral asked Doc.
"I assure you, they are. News of their disappearance is already spreading. A bounty of 5,000,000 credits is being offered for the return of each racing ship, no questions asked. I am sure that they are worth at least three or four times that amount to serious collectors," Doc answered Admiral Mavis.
"I am interested, but it depends on the price. How much do you want for them?" the admiral asked Doc.
"I can easily get 5,000,000 credits each for them simply by returning them to the Corriban star system, so let us start there," Doc answered.
"You would be hard pressed to get more than 250,000 credits for each of those spaceships from me," Captain Thornton said. "They aren't worth any more than what I can get for their scrap metal less the cost involved with cutting them apart."
"Then, you are stupider than I thought. For the life of me, I can't figure out what Alliance Command sees in you. Captain Roberts offered me a very fair price, one that he can easily claim for himself. Those ships will sell privately to collectors for between ten million and twenty million galactic credits each. They may even sell for more in a private auction between collectors.
Doc, I wish I had the credits. I would buy them from you in a heartbeat. As things are, we are on a tight schedule. I don't have the time to sell even one of those ships before I have to transfer your payment to a starship returning to Alliance High Command."
"If time is the only problem, perhaps we can still work out a deal," Doc suggested to Admiral Mavis.
Captain Thornton Interrupted both Doc and his commanding officer. "I just got a report concerning a room filled with valuable cloth."
"Those are my wife's personal possessions. The cabin next to mine is unoccupied, so she uses it as a sewing room and for making custom clothing and jewelry," Doc told the captain. "I will take it as a personal insult if anything is missing or damaged."
"I knew we would find him hiding valuables from us during this inspection. Captain Roberts, you are a liar and a cheat! I hope the Alliance government makes you suffer before they stretch your neck with a rope!"
"That is enough Thornton!" Admiral Mavis scolded him in front of Doc, purposely not including his rank. "I am sure that Captain Roberts has a plausible explanation."
"They are my wife's private possessions, from before we were married. I would not call bolts of cloth and a few polished stones in plain view hiding. If the good captain were ever involved in a relationship, he would know that lady friends come with their own personal property. Unless, of course, his choice of women, that is of course if he likes women; he might prefer boys, is a common street urchin and has nothing of consequence to bring into the relationship."
"I will not stand here and be insulted by the likes of a no good pirate!" Captain Thornton yelled and grasped the handle of his energy sword. Doc matched his gesture firmly gripping the hilt of his energy sword.
"Captain Robert, please contact the bridge immediately," Natasha's voice boomed from overhead speakers.
"If you will excuse me, Admiral." Doc Roberts removed his comm from his pocket and turned it on. "What is it, Natasha?"
"Devon and I are receiving several complaints from our crewmen about the Alliance inspection team tearing their cabins apart, dumping their property on the floor, smashing their possessions, and stealing their valuables."
"Admiral, you heard my comm. I must officially protest the treatment of my crew. It is uncalled for."
"You are correct. I apologize." Admiral Mavis turned to Captain Thornton and yelled, "This is your doing! Never have I been so embarrassed by the actions of a junior officer! The inspection is over! Your men are to apologize in person to every person that they have offended. Their property is to be returned, and compensation paid for any damage before they return to the Ajax. Any additional compensation or shortfall will come from your personal accounts. Anyone who fails to follow my orders will find themselves going out the nearest airlock. Now get back to the ship!"
"What about the Achilles and the freighters it was escorting?"
"I will ask Captain Roberts about its disappearance in due course. Now get out of my sight before I space you!
I am sorry Doc, but I have to ask. Do you know anything about the Achilles? Its last communication reported that it was en route to the Antares star system."
"I left Antares IV five weeks ago. I was only there for three weeks, for shore leave while resupplying. The Achilles may have arrived before I got there or after I left, but it wasn't there while I was in orbit around Antares Prime. Feel free to examine my ship's sensor logs. I am sure that they will confirm that we were the only starship in the solar system at the time, but I wasn't actively searching for another starship arriving or departing. I was only monitoring system traffic during our approach to the planet. I may have missed something." Doc told Admiral Mavis.
"Thank you, I'll have my sensor specialists review the records. Accidents have been on the rise lately, but four starships lost at once?" The Admiral pondered the loss of the ships.
"It is standard procedure to synchronize and jump at the same time using the hyperspace calculations from the lead ship. If there was an error in the hyperspace calculations, it would explain the loss of all four starships. They might be lost forever in interdimensional space, or they may have come out of hyperspace anywhere in the galaxy, Doc said to the admiral."
"You are right, of course. Occasionally, a starship returns after it has been missing for hundreds of years and presumed lost. There is still hope for the Achilles and the freighters it is escorting.
You mentioned the possibility of a deal for the spaceships. What do you have in mind?"
Doc Robert's explained, "I have enough credits and jewelry to trade that I can pay the taxes I owe for the last quarter. That will give you plenty of time to sell three or four of the racing ships for a profit and be able to keep rest for your private collection."
"I only want three of the spaceships for my collection, but I think I see what you are getting at. You want me to sell the spaceships and split the profits with you."
"Not exactly, I am still willing to sell the racing spaceships at the price I offered but instead of paying me, pay the Alliance. Call it payment in advance for the next 18 months. Sell whatever spacecraft that you don't want to pay my taxes in advance. I'm sure that the High Command won't refuse such an offer. Keep the profits for your trouble."
"I think, no, I know that I can make it work. Just to be clear, what you are asking for the spaceships is time; 18 months tax-free with the sale of the ships paying your taxes in advance for the next 18 Terran standard months. That will make your next payment due on 3929.135.10.00."
"That is precisely what I am asking for," Doc said.
"We have a deal. I will provide a receipt for payment and take care of the details." Doc led the admiral to the purser's office and called for a crewman to transport the payment to the Ajax. When they arrived, the cargo handlers began loading the stacks of credit chips onto a gravsled. Doc poured the contents of one bag of jewelry onto a table so that the admiral could see what he was getting in place of credit chips. Doc explained, "Our AI has valued each of these bags as having a net worth of between 1.2 and 1.3 million credits." Then he put six bags of jewelry on the gravsled.
"Yes, of course. I will trust its judgment." Admiral Mavis picked a gold chain, a timepiece, and an assortment of gems out of the pile and put the items he took into his uniform pocket. "To verify the quality of the jewelry," he explained.
Doc didn't mind the Admiral taking a few items that wouldn't show up on the inventory for himself. He is sure more gems and jewelry will be removed from the bags after they are safe aboard the Ajax. The bribe is a small price to pay for what he is getting in exchange. It is best to overpay a little so that the tax collector could profit on the side. Doc is sure that the admiral is going to take a cut from the credits too. If he is caught, his life would be forfeit. Doc is off the hook with a receipt showing that he had paid his taxes in full. Of course, the receipt shows that he only paid the minimum nine million credits. When in fact, he paid roughly 11.5 million credits. Doc liked dealing with Admiral Mavis. He is crooked. He regularly cheated his employers, but he treated Doc fairly.
Admiral Mavis followed the detail that is assigned to take the tax payment to the Ajax. No doubt, he didn't want any of the credits or jewelry to find its way into hands other than his. As soon as the racing spaceships were transferred to the Ajax, he could go about his business. Doc and Elaunae locked the purser's office and headed to their quarters to celebrate their good fortune.
