Ghost Ship

by Kathryn Hoff

  Lili turned to Charity. “I’m sorry, sugar, but your pa’s lied to you, too. There ain’t no price on his head—nobody on Barony gives a damn about him anymore. All they want is Grand Duchess and he’s just too burzing selfish to give her to them.”

  “So they let him go,” I guessed, “and set you to follow him.”

  “Yuh.” Lili’s hardened expression crumpled. “And they still got two of my crew in that burzing hellhole to make sure we don’t forget to come back.”

  She turned again to Charity. “Davo’s not the only one who cares about his young’un. My boy Pietro’s still in that Barony prison. So you see, we got to bring Grand Duchess back to Barony or my boy and young Alis will be there till they die.”

  I felt sick. Davo had lied to us from beginning to end. He’d said he’d found Duchess only days ago, when he’d actually known her resting place for months. Holding out on his crew, hiding a valuable find. And then abandoning his crew—his friends—to a hellish prison rather than give up his treasure.

  Kojo rubbed his chin. Charity sobbed quietly in the corner.

  On the viewscreen, the misshapen lump of moon rotated below us, craters pocking its surface. The scanners showed no energy, no sign of life—and no sign of Davo’s skimmer.

  Archer, still pale, sat up gingerly, breathing deep. “What were you planning to do? If you knew Davo was going after Grand Duchess, you must have known your runabout wouldn’t be powerful enough to manage her.”

  “An old runabout was all Barony was willing to trust us with,” Lili answered. “We were planning to follow Davo, figure out where Grand Duchess had ended up, and report back to Barony. But instead of heading into the Gloom, he went straight to Kriti and picked up his girl to copilot for him. We hung about the Road a bit till we seen his skimmer, hanging like a limpet onto your cutter.”

  “You had a tracer on his skimmer,” I guessed.

  “’Course we did. When we seen him with you, we figured he’d cut a deal with your crew to recover Grand Duchess. Beggin’ your pardon, Sergeant, us not knowing as this was a Corridor Patrol matter.”

  Being a Patrol officer was getting to be a nuisance.

  I waved a hand grandly. “It seemed urgent to salvage a valuable ship in danger of being despoiled by brigands.”

  “Despoiled,” Lili repeated, eyebrows cocked skeptically. “Yuh. After we lost track of you in the thicket, I says to my crew, ‘Mates, maybe old Captain Davo’s gonna make good on his duty to his crew, bring that derelict back to Barony and free our mates. But maybe he’s gonna bargain it away to Troy for his own benefit, so let’s head to that dark star and see which way he runs.’ And sure enough, we catch sight of his skimmer on the Troy side of the signpost.”

  “He seen us, too,” Fargo said. “He dashed off into the Gloom before you could say boo. We’d just started to chase after him when we see you bumbling along with our prize, Grand Duchess.”

  “Our prize,” Kojo snapped. “And you decided to jump us.”

  Lili eyed me nervously. “Taking a Barony ship to Troy—we figured that made you a lee-gitimate target, all square with our remit. All we ask now is that you finish what you started, take Grand Duchess to Barony.”

  Kojo risked a glance at me, one eyebrow raised in a question. Even if we could somehow divert our course to Barony, trading Duchess for the Hellbender crew might cut us out of any reward. True, I’d made promises to the crew of Duchess, but they were dead and we were alive.

  I struck a judicious pose, rubbing my chin Kojo-style. “The Patrol is officially neutral in the dispute between Troy and Barony. Our only interest is to investigate the circumstances of Grand Duchess’s demise. I’d prefer to do that in her home port, but if the only available route leads to Troy, I will take her there. The disposition of the vessel afterward is not our concern.”

  Being a stuffy Patrol officer was wearing on me.

  “Disposition. Yuh. But see, if you take Duchess to Troy, won’t Barony think the Patrol is taking sides? I know a way to get to Barony from here that skirts Troy space. You might not have to deal with Troy militia at all.”

  I raised my brow. “Indeed?”

  “Yuh. There’s a Troy checkpoint—but they wouldn’t dare stop a Patrol mission, would they? Besides”—Lili licked her lips—“I know the Patrol wouldn’t be interested in a bounty, but Barony’s offering a big one for return of Grand Duchess.”

  I nodded sagely. “The law recognizes that fair compensation is appropriate for salvage of a valuable ship.”

  “How big?” Kojo asked.

  “Three hundred thousand rhollium.”

  Kojo’s eyes widened to saucer-size. “Three hundred thou?”

  Archer gave a low whistle. Hiram closed his eyes as if in prayer.

  “Yuh. And we’d split it with you. Say, a quarter of the bounty to you, three-fourths to us for helping you get her there. That’s seventy-five thou for your end. You wouldn’t get near that much from Troy.”

  “What about Davo?” Charity wailed.

  Fargo spat again. “To hell with him.”

  Kojo looked interested—too interested. I touched the back of my hand to signal him that I wasn’t convinced. “Captain Lili, you have already admitted to smuggling. Why should Captain Babatunji—or the Patrol—trust you?”

  “Not smuggling, beggin’ your pardon, Sergeant. Running supplies during wartime, that’s all. Some folks would consider that hee-roic.” Lili raised her chin as if posing for a statue. “As for trustin’ me, you can take a look at my letter, if you want. It’s in my jacket.”

  I reached into her volumes of clothing and pulled out a palm-sized tablet of some dense material.

  Lili grinned, showing the spaces where teeth were missing. “Genuine wood, that is. Barony teak, only grows there. Can’t be counterfeited.”

  The wood was polished to a warm, bronze glow, its dark grain as fine as fingerprints. Silvery inlaid letters curled elegantly over its surface.

  I read the good bits out loud. “By the order of the Barony High Council…the Council hereby commissions Captain Lili and the crew of Nemesis to prey upon the enemies of Barony wherever found…In furtherance of the recovery of expeditionary vessel Grand Duchess unspoiled with all logs and records intact, a bounty of three hundred thousand rhollium sovereigns…”

  A codicil at the bottom specifically mentioned pardon of the Hellbender crew for services rendered should Grand Duchess be recovered through the efforts of Nemesis.

  “It appears genuine.” I handed it to Kojo.

  “Genuine, yuh,” Lili said. “So you see, Sergeant, we was acting within our authority. Davo’s proved hisself unreliable, but if you let us guide you out of the Gloom, we’ll see you get your derelict to Barony safe and sound.”

  If we could find a way to get to Barony, get Hellbender’s crew released, and still make money on the voyage, I was all for it.

  I touched my ear to signal Kojo. He gave me a subtle nod—he’d have no more appetite than I did for leaving any of Hellbender’s crew in prison.

  “It would be preferable to return Grand Duchess to her port of origin,” I said, “if it can be done without a military confrontation. As for the division of the bounty between your two ships, that is a matter between the two captains.”

  I folded my arms and tapped two fingers against my sleeve, then three.

  “We should get two-thirds,” Kojo said. “We’ve already done all the work to recover the derelict and we’ve got possession.”

  “You wouldn’t!” Charity’s little fists clenched, her eyes bright with fury.

  We would. Kojo shook hands with Lili on splitting the bounty half and half.

  CHAPTER 20

  Under cover

  We sent Lili and her crew back to Nemesis but kept the runabout grappled to Sparrowhawk’s side. I had no wish to be under her guns again.

  As we prepared to reenter the current toward Troy, I helped Archer limp to the engine room.

  “Here’s a cold compress,
and I brought you some herbal tea for the cramps.”

  He reclined on his cubby-bunk and gingerly placed the compress on his belly. “Ahhh, thanks.”

  His thin face was pale, closed eyes circled in shadow, bushy hair flattened by one of my warmest hats—a pink one with a pompom. Ancestors, he looked pathetic.

  He stared balefully at his coatrack, now clamped onto his workbench. Two of the harrow teeth were bent into useless angles.

  “I’m sorry I ruined your artwork,” I said. “Maybe it can be fixed?”

  “Maybe I’ll just chuck it. No one’s going to want to buy this junk.”

  “Sure they will. Collectors will be clamoring for an original work by Archer, the notorious pirate-turned-artist.”

  He closed his eyes and sighed. The lack of hand and foot tremors told me he was either very tired or deeply depressed.

  I leaned over to rest my sloped forehead on his temple. “You were brave, facing the Nemesis crew,” I whispered.

  “Yes, I was.” He turned his head to kiss my lips.

  He opened one eye. “You know, I’ve never kissed a Corridor Patrol officer before.”

  I’d forgotten about the borrowed uniform. “I’d take the coat off, but it’s too damn cold.”

  “Mmm. I know a way to keep warm.” He moved over to make room on his bunk.

  Tempting. I leaned a little closer.

  “I hate you.” Charity stood at the door to the passage. “You’re going back on your deal with my daddy.”

  Archer groaned and pulled a blanket over his head.

  I straightened to face her. “Charity, Davo betrayed his crew. You don’t get lower than that.”

  “You can’t believe a pirate like Lili! Maybe he was going back to help them.”

  “By way of Troy?” I shook my head. “He lied to us. When he saw Lili, he ran and left us to face Nemesis alone. He even left you behind. I’m sorry, Charity. We can’t wait around for him.”

  Hiram spoke on the com. “We all ready, lads and lassies? Heading four-seven by nine-oh.”

  I moved to the consoles and began to ramp up propulsion to take us out of orbit and back to the current.

  Charity collapsed into one of the console seats. “What am I going to do?”

  Poor kid. She’d lied to us, or at least failed to tell the truth—but I would have done the same for my father. She couldn’t help it if Davo was a scum bucket. Now she was alone among strangers, with no way to get home except to rely on our generosity.

  Archer watched me, peeking over his blanket. When I turned to him, he winked. I could tell by the way his eyes crinkled that he was smiling.

  Damn. He always had a soft spot for someone in trouble.

  “All right,” I sighed. “Bring some more tea, and we’ll figure it out.”

  Charity cocooned herself in the console chair, only her face and my yellow cap showing above the blanket nest she’d made.

  “I hate tea,” she said, but she took small sips from the mug. “Daddy’s not all bad, no matter what you think.”

  “I know that. Davo saved Sparrowhawk, a long time ago. And I believe he loves you. But really, Charity, how well do you know him?”

  She shook her head. “Not as well as I thought, I guess. My ma tried to warn me. Said he could charm the spots off a toad’s back, but he was like to disappear when something better come along. That’s what he did with her.”

  I rebalanced the propulsion in response to a ping from the helm.

  “My father was like that,” I said. “He loved his ship better than he ever loved my mother or Kojo’s. He could never stay dirt-bound for long.”

  With a jolt, I realized that I was the same. No matter how many wonderful ports we’d visited, my home would always be aboard Sparrow.

  “Davo’s your father,” Archer said. “He’ll come back.”

  “Sure he will,” I lied. And if he did, Lili and her shipmates would shove him out an airlock the first chance they had. “But even if he’s…delayed, Hiram promised to see you treated fair, and Kojo and I will hold to that—as long as you stop lying and covering up for Davo.”

  Charity sniffed. “No more fibs, I promise.”

  Archer smiled, the softy.

  I adjusted the rockets to keep our congregation of ships on course. “What was Davo’s plan, anyway? How long have you known he was sending us to Troy?”

  Charity balled her hands into fists. “I thought he was headed for Barony until just before he boarded Mudpuppy when we took Duchess out of orbit. He gave me the heading to take at the dark star—just in case we got separated, he said. That’s when he told me about Barony having a price on his head. He said the current would take us past a Troy outpost, and they’d take the derelict off our hands and give us a payoff. I was supposed to wait there for him.”

  “Why didn’t he just tell us the truth from the beginning?” Archer asked.

  “He knew Patch didn’t want to do the job. He figured she and Kojo were more likely to go along with it if he wrapped it up like something noble.”

  “Returning the dead heroes to their home,” I said. The bastard had read our signals and even read our weak points.

  “He was gonna tell you about Barony putting a bounty on him after we had Duchess broke out of orbit. He figured that by then, you’d have sunk enough into the deal that you wouldn’t care where your money came from. All he had to do was park Duchess somewhere close to the Troy outpost, negotiate a price, and turn her over.”

  Archer sat up a little straighter. “But according to Lili, there isn’t any bounty on Davo—they let him go. And with the huge reward they’re offering for Duchess, why wouldn’t he take her to Barony?”

  “You saw what they done to him. He hates them, hates them bad.” Her mouth tightened, Davo’s hatred spilling over to the next generation.

  I spoke gently. “Hates them enough to abandon his crew? Leave them in prison, suffering, when he had the power to save them?”

  Tears flowed onto Charity’s cheeks. “I don’t know. Honest, I don’t know anything about that. I only know that he’s my daddy, and I love him.”

  Humph. Davo wasn’t my daddy. If he’d sell out his own crew, then he was likely to sell us out even faster. Lili was beginning to look downright friendly in comparison.

  I patted Charity’s hand. “Whatever happens, we’ve got no quarrel with you.”

  It was on the tip of my tongue to promise to see her safely back to Kriti—but it might not even be safe for Sparrow to return to Kriti.

  Damn, but I was making too many resolutions on this voyage. I’d resolved to help ease Hiram into a schedule he could handle. I’d promised the dead crew of Grand Duchess that I’d get them home to Barony. For sure, I wanted to get Lili’s crew away from the Barony prison. If possible, I’d love to help Charity get to flight school. I’d even resolved to be more honest with Archer. All when I didn’t even know if Sparrowhawk had a future.

  Charity raised her chin. “I appreciate that. I’m willing to help out, too, but I don’t know how to do much.”

  “First thing you can do,” Archer said, “is clean the thistledown out of the cargo hold. And then clean the air filters. And the water filters, and the passages…that thistle gets everywhere.” He plucked a bit of down from his teacup.

  “You can pass out rations at mealtime,” I added. “Keep Hiram company in the wheelhouse. And, um, keep letting Lili and Nemesis’s crew think that I’m a Patrol sergeant. Maybe it will keep them on good behavior.”

  Charity giggled. “You look fierce enough, what with those black eyes and the stitches over your forehead.”

  I’d forgotten about that. I gingerly touched the puckered welt.

  “I’m sorry I didn’t do a neater job.” Charity bit her lip.

  “Doesn’t matter.” I shrugged. “I kind of like the idea of looking fierce. It may come in handy.”

  Fierce. That could work for me. As the current bore our combined ships toward the outer checkpoint of Troy space, I spiffed
up myself and my Corridor Patrol jacket as well as I could, re-pinning my braids and covering them with a tight knit cap—brown to approximate a Gavoran pelt.

  At Sparrowhawk’s watch station, I adopted the irritated expression that every Patrol officer seemed to wear.

  I rehearsed on Hiram. “This is Sergeant Pata of the Corridor Patrol. You are ordered to stand down and permit safe passage.”

  Hiram grinned. “Zub’s pitchfork, missy, you almost have me believing you. If nothing else, it’ll confuse ’em long enough for us to slip past.”

  I kissed the bald spot on the top of his head. “Hiram, when this job is done, and we have some money in our pockets…”

  “Hush, missy. You’ll jinx it if you start spending that money before it’s in hand. You just concentrate on the task in front of you.”

  From Sparrowhawk’s wheelhouse, I had a fine view of Duchess’s flank. Although her command deck was dark, the shadowy forms of her captain and first mate in Duchess’s gun turret were barely visible in Sparrow’s reflected lights.

  Kojo had gone to Sparrow’s turret to man our own guns, although I hoped like hell he wouldn’t have to use them. In any case, he’d be handicapped by Duchess’s fat bulk blocking any view of an adversary coming from starboard.

  I keyed the hailer. “This is Sergeant Pata. Com check. Captain Lili?”

  “Yuh.” Nemesis, sailing in parallel on the other side of Grand Duchess, edged forward enough for me to see her. The little runabout had activated her stealth mode, emitting radiation to camouflage her signature. In the turbulence of the Gloom, she’d be practically invisible.

  “Captain Kojo?”

  “Com working.”

  A ping on the scanner caught my attention—we’d come into range of a Ribbon Road beacon. Relief surged through me. Ancestors, but I’d missed the comfort of a definite sign that we were sailing toward the right heading.

  “See that, Sergeant? I told you I’d bring us back to the Road.”

  “Hailers silent, please,” I answered sternly.