Of course, a Popeye is just slang for the three mechanized infantry suits we'd brought with us from home.
"What do you think about recruiting Sendrei?”
"For what?"
"He's good in a pinch. What if Tabby doubled up in a Popeye and Sendrei came with me for the hand-off?"
"He's seen his share of tough situations. If he's in, I'd say that's a solid plan."
The perimeter alert for the bungalow chimed and I jumped off the couch. The tone indicated friendlies so I skipped the blaster rifle and pushed through the front door.
On the lawn stood Tabby, Sendrei, Munay and five uniformed Mars Protectorate officers. Except for Tabby, they were all expelling long, frosty vapor clouds as they fought to catch their breath. Tabby gave me a quick smile and a waggle of her eyebrows.
"Good morning, Commander. Did you enjoy the scenery on your jog?" I asked.
"You call this place civilized, Hoffen?" he puffed. I noticed he was holding a blaster pistol in his hand.
"It's a little rough around the edges, but I like it."
"I believe the commander wasn't impressed with the local fauna," Tabby said. "We collected quite a pile of hatchlings this morning and left 'em up the road next to Hogback trail."
"Didn't the Navy inoculate all of its officers during the war?" I asked.
"We are," Munay answered.
I looked to Sendrei, who was not obviously armed, but had the telltale stains of Kroerak hatchling blood on his vac-suit. "How about you, Sendrei? I don't suppose anyone thought to inoculate the good folks from Ophir before running through the mountains?"
"No inoculation, but I found the morning's activities to be refreshing," Sendrei said, his voice calm as ever. "While I do not enjoy the idea of killing, I will admit I harbor resentment toward that species as a whole. I am at peace with my actions."
I nodded. There wasn’t much to say. Sendrei had watched the Kroerak slaughter many of his friends and family as if they were livestock.
"You knew this would happen, Masters?" Munay asked.
"I told you to bring weapons," she answered. "It all worked out."
"Indeed," Munay answered, frowning. I suspected bad things would have already been meted out to Tabby had she been in his chain of command. "Mr. Hoffen, if you are amenable, we have supplies to offload and then we will be on our way."
The sound of a ship passing overhead using only arc-jets caught my attention as the M-Pro sloop slowly dropped from the sky and settled next to Intrepid. She landed such that the cargo bays were directly adjacent.
"Agreed, Commander. I'll be along in a moment," I said and turned to Sendrei. "Flaer and the kids are in town?"
"That is correct. Tabitha was very clear about the danger posed to visitors," he said. "She also assured us we were adequately protected within town walls."
"I suspect that’s why Tabby ran you around the mountain this morning. She was using you to flush the bugs out. How many did you run into?"
"A total of eight. They attacked in small, unorganized groups — nothing like mature warriors. I almost felt pity for them."
"Don't be surprised if chili is on the lunch menu today," I said, as we walked across the road and into the field where the ships rested. "I hope you don't have a sensitive stomach."
"I have heard of selich root," he said. "I particularly enjoy spicy foods — as does Flaer."
"Were you and Flaer together while on Cradle?" I asked. "I don’t recall."
"Flaer was from a different village and we met after settling on Ophir. She brings me joy that I thought I had lost forever," he said.
I patted the big man on the back and smiled. "She has a passion for life, Sendrei. The fiery ones are always the best."
"Your Tabby is an accomplished warrior," he said. "I had not realized this when our paths crossed before. I feel she would provide a challenge if we were to spar. I find this intriguing."
"Don't take this the wrong way, but do you really think you could stand up to her?" I asked. "I'd be careful saying that in front of her."
"You are serious?" Sendrei asked. "Or are you making a joke? I admit to having lost some of my ability to understand humor."
"Oh, he's serious, big man," Tabby said, joining in. "And you'd best prepare your A-Game if you're going to talk smack."
"I wasn't looking to be provocative," Sendrei said, his face flushing with embarrassment. "I was impressed with your speed and conditioning this morning and intended a compliment."
"Tabbs is used to being top-dog around here," I explained.
"I look forward to training with you, Tabby," Sendrei placed his hands together as if praying and bowed slightly to her.
Instead of smarting off, she echoed his gesture, including the bow. "I'll admit, I'm curious about your moves this morning. Is that a specific form or just something you picked up?"
"Before I was captured by Kroerak, I was North American armed forces martial arts champion three years running. My skills are rusty, but I have been working on conditioning my body. The Kroerak are not human form, so many of my skills must be adapted when engaging their unique physiology. This morning was primarily Tae Kwon Do as it allowed me to maintain distance and to control more than one target."
"We'll be disembarking shortly," Munay interrupted, returning from overseeing the transfer of supplies from Gaylon Brighton to Intrepid.
Over his shoulder, I saw Mom exit the sloop’s hold and approach. While I hadn’t seen her arrive, I wasn’t surprised she wanted to oversee the transfer of the Ophir group’s belongings. Unexpectedly, she handed me a writing pad which had a contract loaded on it.
“What’s this?”
“Contract for the transfer of Petersburg Station to Loose Nuts Corporation,” Mom said.
I nodded at the prudent precaution. I took the pad and waited a moment for my AI to process the legalese. A positive chime sounded, prompting me to sign and hand it to Munay for his signature.
Munay looked skeptically at the pad. "Son, that rock has been in transit for almost twenty days. I don't believe a contract will change much. M-Pro would have no ability to maintain their claim on that rock once TransLoc is shut down."
"Why you dirty dog," I said, looking from Munay to Mom. "Just like Nick said — you had no control over what was being done with Petersburg Station."
"It was beneficial that you believed I did," he said.
"Honor in all things," Sendrei said quietly, as if to himself. It was a phrase I'd heard Marny use more than once.
"Excuse me, Lieutenant?" Munay challenged, using Sendrei’s old Naval rank.
Sendrei nodded and smiled tightly.
"Tell me, Commander," I said. "If I hadn't agreed to your deal, what would you have done?"
He signed the contract. A flurry of details scrolled across my HUD, including acknowledgement of Petersburg Station and a release of claim on Intrepid by the Navy.
"Good luck to you, Captain." Munay thrust his hand forward as he held my gaze and ignored my question. "On behalf of a grateful nation, I extend my warmest thanks to you and your crew."
Chapter 4
Twisted
"Can you believe that guy?" I asked from the port-side pilot's chair in Tuuq's cockpit. I’d brought Tabby, Sendrei and Mom along, mostly because they’d been close by when it was time to leave.
I had to accelerate hard to keep pace with the Gaylon Brighton’s ascent from Zuri's surface. I’d agreed to accompany Munay out of orbit, but it didn’t look like his pilot considered that particularly valuable.
"He underestimated you, but his heart is in the right place," Mom said. "Greg is very much a patriot."
I chuffed a harsh laugh. "That’s an optimistic view. He was prepared to seize Intrepid."
"Mars Protectorate and the Earth governments are scrambling in light of heavy military losses. After the war ended, Greg refused to return control of Petersburg station and I thought I’d made a critical mistake in not following you to Zuri. You have Admiral Sterra
to thank for Greg being as civil as he was. He lobbied to bring multiple ships and even more troops so they could retrieve Intrepid."
"Mars acknowledged our ownership of Intrepid well before the war," I said.
"People find ways to justify their behavior, Liam. The war brought out both the best and the worst in people.”
"You liked him," I said. "You know, I'd have been okay with that."
She reached across the aisle that separated us and laid her hand on my forearm. "Your father casts a long shadow, Liam. There was a time I might have considered Greg. He was enjoyable to talk with and share dinners with, but his ambition is greater than his capacity for love. I am too old to compete for a man's affection."
"I'm glad you joined us," I said. "This place is wide open for opportunity. It’s like we're back in the days of the wild west from those old vids I used to watch."
Mom's laugh caused me to smile. "I hear House Mshindi gave you a shiny new deputy badge."
Our business might be on the edge of ruin, but there was something about having Mom’s approval that made me feel like everything was going to be just fine.
"It'll be interesting to see how that works out," I said as we broke through the upper atmosphere. Our sensors showed there were no ships within range. "The Abasi government is different from Sol governments. Houses claim what they control. The central government cedes power to those houses and only fills in where there are gaps."
"What house controls Zuri?"
"The big four houses all have claims," I said. "But they're limited to smaller regions. York and Azima are outside of house control and fall under the general government. Manetra is the biggest city and that falls under House Gundi. Bottom line is there's not much oversight."
"It is that type of loose control which allows for thugs like Goboble to rise up," she said.
"And make for a lot of opportunity for folks like us."
"You've a lot of your dad in you, Liam Hoffen. Where other people saw danger, he only saw opportunity."
"Incoming hail."
"This is Tuuq, go ahead," I replied.
Commander Munay's voice came over the comm. "Captain Hoffen. Silver. I wish you all the best."
"Safe travels, Commander. Pass along my best wishes to Admiral Sterra if you cross paths," I said.
"Godspeed, Greg," Mom said.
"Munay out." Munay closed the comm channel.
I pointed through the armor glass of the cockpit. "There they go." Along the path where the sloop had been accelerating slowly away from us, we could see only a faint orange trail that quickly faded.
"Welcome to Dwingeloo, Mom," I said.
"Thank you, Liam."
"Sendrei, what do you think of our little ship?" I asked. While we were close enough for him to hear me, the AI chose to pipe my voice back to the gunnery station where he sat.
"I am surprised at how limited Pogona technology is. There is much that could be improved, but the ship is quite workable. How offensive would it be if I were to unlimber the turrets?"
"Grant Sendrei Buhari full weapons control," I directed Tuuq. "You have control. Tabby, you want to toss out some targets? You should try to keep in mind he was talking trash about you earlier."
Tabby guffawed at my undisguised attempt to cause trouble. "You're a bad man, Hoffen." She used the distraction of the conversation to launch three melon-sized targets all on different trajectories and at different speeds.
Tuuq responded with a staccato thwup-thwup-thwup as her turrets spun and chased down each target in turn. The period between each blaster bolt was shorter than Intrepid's turrets.
"Too easy, small one," he said. "You would not respect me if I were to miss those."
"You really are a trash talker," Tabby said, her interest piqued. "Put some stick to it, Hoffen. Let's give him something to work for."
"Mom, you feel like running a ghost attack against Tuuq?"
Soft amber lights pulsed around the ceiling, simulating the general quarters warning that showed in red when we were under attack. I resisted the urge to look out the cockpit; I knew the attacking ships on the forward vid-screen weren’t really there.
Mom's job was more difficult than mine, as she had to ignore everything she was feeling and seeing as a passenger on Tuuq. She flew the ghost ships while relying entirely on information within her HUD.
Apparently, Mom thought we were most vulnerable to light ships, as a squadron of darts launched from the sloop that had appeared only ten kilometers from our position. The squadron split into two attack wings and raced at us while the frigate slowly turned.
"Now, prepare for combat burn." My announcement required everyone aboard ship to acknowledge the order once they were safely strapped in. Green acknowledgements checked off on my HUD and I tipped the stick and accelerated hard on an angle that would keep both attack wings to one side.
"We're taking fire," Tabby said. "Armor is holding."
The smaller ships were extremely fast and I pushed the sluggish Tuuq to evade their lines of fire. Apparently, I wasn't perfect in my execution, as the AI was recording hits along our belly on portside.
Thwuppity-thwup-thwup-thwup. The energy gauge showed the batteries dipping as Sendrei responded. I would love to have paid attention to his accuracy, but Mom was really handing it out and I had to focus to work around the smaller craft. Mom could multi-task better than I could, but I was annoyed at how easily she used the small ships to herd me toward the larger sloop.
"Two down," Tabby exclaimed excitedly. "Nice shooting!"
I flipped Tuuq end for end just as we grazed the frigate's firing range. I knew Mom wouldn't be able to resist and wondered if Sendrei would see the opportunity. Neither of them disappointed me as a neat line leapt from Tuuq's turret at just the moment the sloop opened fire with two of its own turrets.
It's not like ordnance becomes useless when it hits optimum range. The range is much more about aim than effective punch, although in the case of blaster bolts, it’s a little of both. My HUD lit up the tail of Tuuq as imaginary bolts struck the stern. I attempted to expand the distance between the smaller ship I sailed and the bigger sloop.
Mom pressed her advantage and brought her fighters in close, laying into us with fire. One by one Sendrei popped them off us, but damage to Tuuq mounted. Finally, we pulled far enough away from the phantom sloop that I gained full maneuverability. Arcing to the side, I snapped around unexpectedly. The g-forces within the cabin pushed me against my flight harness and I fought to keep my wits about me as I raced back toward the pursuing fighters. In quick succession, Sendrei destroyed the remaining fighters.
"I think we'll leave that sloop alone," I said, pulling back on the throttle. We were a third the size of our heavy opponent and I'd need missiles to end the match.
"I'm claiming mother abuse," Mom said, rubbing where the combat harness had dug into her shoulders.
"Your reputation as pilots are well earned, Captains Hoffen," Sendrei said.
"Thanks," I laughed. "How'd he do, Tabbs?"
"High forties," Tabby said. "No recorded lost opportunities. Marny will want to see this."
"The controls are surprisingly responsive. It took a few moments to get used to the mechanical nature of their action," Sendrei said. "It is a joy to work again with this equipment. I have missed being in the chair."
I swung Tuuq around. Zuri filled the view screen in front of us and I set a navigation plan back to York. "I was hoping to talk to you about that."
“I can’t believe you’re recruiting my people already.” Mom’s voice conveyed that she wasn’t entirely serious, but she wasn’t completely joking either.
“Technically, I think Munay transferred the station to Loose Nuts,” I said, raising my eyebrow in mock challenge.
“And you are my son,” she said, as if that was the end of the matter.
Tabby’s laughter rang through the bridge. “I’m not sure you want to open this can of worms, Liam. Even I know better than to get on t
he wrong side of Mrs. H.”
“I am quite satisfied with my position on Petersburg Station,” Sendrei said, unconvincingly.
“Oh Sendrei, please don’t listen to our family squabble,” Mom said. “There are many ways to fill the security role on Petersburg. I just know if I don’t lay down the law with my boy, he’ll make decisions without my approval.”
"Is this something you would consider, Mrs. Hoffen?" he asked.
"I see no reason to stand in your way," Mom said. “I’m confident we can work out security once the station arrives.”
“I would very much like to join the Loose Nuts crew again,” Sendrei said. “I will need to talk with Flaer, though.”
I slowed our descent through Zuri's atmosphere using the gravity systems. Munay’s arrival had been punctuated by sonic booms which I could avoid by decelerating beneath the speed of sound before the sonic waves reached York.
“You know,” Mom began. We jiggled and bumped as Tuuq’s anemic gravity and inertial systems attempted to adjust to the atmosphere. “Sometimes men and women get married after they’ve been engaged.”
“Really? You’re starting that up already?” I asked.
“Well, I’d like to be a grandmother someday,” she said.
Tabby coughed. “No way.”
"Mom, can you take the helm?"
"Copy that. I have the helm," Mom said, smirking.
I turned and snaked my hand out around Tabby's narrow waist, pulling her toward me. "Baby doll, do you have something you want to tell me? Don’t you want to get married and have five kids like the Lichts?”
"Married, yes. Babies, absolutely not. I'm not ready for that," she said, furiously. "My family is so screwed up, I don't think I’ll ever be ready for those."
"Damn," Mom said.
"I just. Well. Frak. Why do you have to be so difficult, Hoffen?" Tabby asked.
"You're my girl, Tabbs. I promise that when you are ready, you’ll be a great mom," I said.
"You're full of crap, Hoffen."
I pulled her over on top of me and we wrestled for a few minutes while Mom set Tuuq down next to Fleet Afoot.
Corsair Menace (Privateer Tales Book 12) Page 6
