"Options?"
He had apparently caught up. I sat, waved the Magistrate to also sit, and Jane took up position behind my chair again.
"Options," I repeated. "As your Magistrate has been kind enough to point out to me, I did damage Enterprise whilst trying to stay alive. At the very least, I can repair that damage for you, and remove the biohazard if you have not already done so."
"We would appreciate your doing so, of course. But you suggested there was more than one option?"
"Indeed. Let me ask you a question. What would you say is the biggest problem this colony faces?"
He looked at me, glanced over to the Magistrate, who nodded to him, and looked back at me.
"We lack just about everything. Very few traders come here, so we lack luxuries most people deem essential. The French ignore us, unless they see a reason to be able to force us to join them, which we have steadfastly refused to do. We have to buy in most of what we need, but lack the funds to do so. Our ancestors were forced to create a colony here, and most of us would never leave. But life here is harder than it should be. Especially so because our population base is small, and we lack the ability to create enough of anything to be an effective export."
"How do your people regard those descended from the other two Explorer ships?"
"We are cousins. Although as far as we know, we have never come into contact with anyone descended from the other ships."
"My name is Hunter."
"From the Galactica Hunter's?"
"Yes."
"Well, call me a liar, and make me happy about it!"
His face had lit up now, and out of the corner of my eye, I could see the Magistrate was also looking a good deal happier. A hand was offered, and I shook it.
"I think I can offer you some help in the trade department. Would part of your problem be you cannot get anyone to bring you the things you need the most, unless at excessive freight charges?"
"Yes. Also those who will deliver, want to charge well above market rates."
I nodded, and waved Jane to my side.
"Jane, what freighters do we have anywhere close by?"
She was still for a few moments.
"One of the comnavsat freighters is not far away, currently doing only trading work. But Admiral, Hurndalls Stallion is currently unloading at the Earth Torus."
"Would you be interested in being regularly visited by a Cruiser sized freighter? The ship belongs to me, and the captain is a friend. I can make sure you're deliveries are timely, and at market rates."
"We would be in your debt if you could organize this. But there is the matter of having the funds to pay for such large cargoes."
"I have some ideas."
"Please, we would love to hear them."
"I have another friend, who might need a base in this area of space. With the right words in his ear, he might be able to supply a small station for the colony. He would use it as a base, and for a modest rental, allow you to run the station for your profit."
"This would be wonderful, if not for the fact very few people have a reason to come here."
"What if we made living here, and basing here, worth it for people?"
"I cannot imagine how you would do that."
"Let's get to that in a moment. I would also be interested in refitting Enterprise. Not only back to her former glory, but bring her completely up to date."
"Why would you do this?"
"I have my reasons, which are not relevant here."
"What's the catch in all this?" interjected the Magistrate.
"Yes," echoed the Governor. "What is it you want?"
"I want you to join the Duchy of Hunter's Run."
Both mouths dropped open.
"The current government structure remains as it is, under the supervision of my AI. The tax rate drops to a single ten percent transaction tax, making your colony an instant attraction to those in the nearby sectors looking to lower their tax payable. The colony will be supplied with what it needs, when it needs it. If lack of labour is an impediment to creating an export industry, automation will be supplied to make it happen. I will see to it the planet has its own station, and see to the defense and policing of the sector. Enterprise will be taken to a suitable shipyard and refitted."
I purposely didn’t mention when she would be returned.
"I should also mention I intend to claim the Sirius system, and leave a blockade force there. As such, I would need your approval as the next door system. With it, the French should not object."
"Ah. You found something in the Sirius system you wish to protect? And you need a base to operate from?"
Credit symbols were lighting up the eyes of both men now.
"Something like that. Let's just say, having Enterprise join Hunter's Run would be helping both of us."
"I can see it would. But we would need to put it to a vote. Might take months to organize."
"Or hours."
Both men looked surprised. I looked at Jane, and she nodded.
"Their computer is old," Jane said through my PC, "but serviceable. I can clone myself to it easily, and the clone can poll the entire population in minutes."
"Minutes even," I went on.
"How?" came in stereo.
"As I said, government here would be under the supervision of my AI. With your permission, I will have it installed immediately into your computer system, and a poll of all residents can be done shortly thereafter through their PC's, or via any interface attached to the network. The poll would need a message from you both recommending the system joining the Duchy of Hunter's Run, and a statement of the potential benefits. With a majority in favour, you can accept my offer."
"And if the majority are not in favour?"
"I will remove the AI. We will depart, leaving a military force on the other side of the Sirius jump point, and the freighter I mentioned will arrive in three or four days after you transmit it a list of what you need."
"You would still organize that for us?"
"Sure. I will also repair the hole in Enterprise. My AI will send you a copy of the laws and other pertinent information about how Hunter's Run operates. You can take a short time to review the information and make a decision on the poll."
"Why the hurry? While you appear to be genuine, rushing into things is always a bad sign."
"I'm on a tight timetable. We were delayed in Sirius for much longer than I expected, and I have commitments I must be present for at the far end of the spine. I'm a long way away from where I'm supposed to be."
"Very well. I have the file from your AI. We will consider your offer. Where will you be in the meantime?"
"We'll return to my ship. I'll start the repairs to Enterprise immediately. With luck, the repair will take no longer than your deliberations."
"We will be in touch shortly then."
We all stood, I shook both their hands, and strode out. The girls fell into formation behind me.
"Holly shit," said the Magistrate, unwittingly loud enough to be heard down the passageway.
"Which God's arse did you kiss to make this happen?"
Thirty Three
Three hours later, BigMother left for Earth.
Following along behind was Enterprise, a dozen station tugs attached to her, with five Hives in each of her flight pods, for protection. The hole I'd made had been patched, and the frozen remains of Palffy moved to BigMother's morgue. Jane had installed a new computer to replace the one we removed, but it was mainly to allow her to be present on the ship and control the tugs centrally. We also hooked up a fighter sized power plant, to power the gravity generator. If someone tried to board, they would need to enjoy high gees. The ship would take a while to reach Nexus, which was as well, since Janine was having to make some significant changes to the shipyard in order to accommodate a ship her size. It also gave us a lot of time to consider the best way of refitting her, which first needed a decision as to what role she should play.
The announcement
of Enterprise System joining Hunter's Run had been made, and the nearby sector media were in a frenzy about it. The claim for Sirius had also been backed by the Enterprise government, and the French had already responded to the effect they didn’t care less. The media were in a frenzy about this as well. The announcement of Sirius now being a blockaded system, was greeted with more frenzy. Things must really have been boring around the place if this was all it took to frenzify the local media. When I said it, Amy couldn’t stop laughing for a good hour after.
The French fleet supposed to be escorting me, bypassed the Enterprise planet altogether, and proceeded back towards French space. The blockade force was also on the move homewards. I shifted two of the Missile Cruisers, leaving the other two to blockade the Sirius jump point. One of the Missile Cruisers was moving to the Toulon jump point to act as a border force, and the other was to patrol around the planet. All of them had avatars on board in case they needed to present a human face.
The Hurndalls had promised to have a shipload to Enterprise within a week, although Richard had pointed out without a station to dock with, offloading was going to be slow and difficult. I assured him the colony had enough cargo shuttles to do the job, albeit slower than normal. I was going to suggest he try hovering at ten thousand meters up, and letting his salvage droids do a lot of the work. But on second thoughts, I doubted he had the nerve to try it. He was a good solid captain, not an adventurous one.
Jane and I had discussed the potential of certain industries for export. One of these was a rare mineral in the ground, which no-one off-planet knew they had yet. Jane hurriedly built a starter kit of bulldozers, trucks and cargo droids, to enable mining operations to be stepped up. More was ordered from Nexus, but it would be several weeks for a freighter Cruiser to arrive. For now, getting them started was enough. We also sent a message back to Nexus to see if any of the miners there would prefer to work on a planet instead. Those who were, could be brought in my Liner, which currently wasn’t doing anything important. Jane also sent down a mixed collection of droids for use in other industries. It was also only a start.
Getting the planet up to a viable operation was going to take a lot of work over a lot of time, but I felt it was worth it. At the back of my mind though, was knowing nothing would remain once the Darkness came. In the meantime though, in a way, these people were my cousins, and it was worth helping them. Added to that, it did give me a base within two days of Earth.
The response from John Slice came very quickly.
"Jon, I was wondering when I’d be hearing from you again. I have some news about that system you asked me to check out. But I'm not transmitting it, even with encryption. Your ears only mate."
He grinned conspiratorially at me. Then changed to dead serious.
"You went into the Sirius system? Are you insane? I lost a ship in there early on, and it's been listed as no-go ever since. It's one of a hand full of systems I won't let my people go into. Even with the Camel's. It's not worth the risk. Since you came back, I assume there's a really good story to be told at a really great party? Consider the party a goer, just tell me when."
He paused.
"Enterprise? I had to look that system up. Never been there myself, although one of my people drops through there every few years or so. It’s a bit off the beaten track. But you are right. I'm sick of paying through the nose for docking and office space in the sectors around Earth. I've never been able to have a proper base anywhere there. So. As it happens, I built a new station for Apricot, along the lines we talked about last time I saw you. This leaves me with a smaller station which needs a home. I'm more than happy to send it to Enterprise to use as a base for my operations, and yours. I'm also happy for the locals to run it. I've already cloned Apricot One's AI to the old station, and it's on its way already. I expect to see you before it arrives there, but you can tell the locals they are getting one."
His grin came back.
"I believe you're acquainted with Gertrude Simhausen? She's agreed to meet the station a few jumps from here, and act as a security force for it. She even admitted she might be tempted to stay and be a police force for the system, at least in the short to medium term. I told her you now owned the system she was headed to, and had Missile Cruisers at the other end to back her up once she arrived. She laughed very hard." His grin widened. "Gotta go my friend. See you soon. Slice out."
It had been a long productive day, and I headed to bed early. I'm not sure Aline was impressed when I dropped straight off to sleep the moment my head hit the pillow.
* * *
"GOOD MORNING CAMPERS. IT'S TRAINING TIME!"
For once, the morning wakeup blast wasn’t Jane, but BA. And she wasn’t using the coms, but standing in my bedroom doorway.
Angel cocked an eye open, and closed the eye again.
Aline bolted out of bed, and was half way to the shower before I'd even had time to realize Angel wasn’t moving, come what may. I rolled over, and fell out of bed on my left side.
"MOVE IT!" came from the doorway, and I moved it.
I'd managed to miss training for the last few days, but alas, Jane had us moving in the right direction, and apart from a mountain of emails to drown in, there was no good reason for missing training again.
BA was gone when Aline and I exited the bathroom a few minutes later in 'slinky red'. We hurried after her.
Training was training. Breakfast was breakfast. Work was work.
The morning was interrupted by Doctor Carter.
"Got a minute?" she asked from the doorway.
I waved her to a lounge chair, and moved to one myself.
"What do you need?"
"It's what you need, I think."
"What do I need?"
"Medical staff for that hospital you have down there."
"Why would I need more than the doc-droids?"
She gave me the look. The one which casts doubt on your sanity.
"What sort of mercenary company doesn’t have a medical staff?"
"A damned good one!"
"That’s bullshit, and you know it. Even really good merc units need medical attention periodically. Not to mention the people you keep rescuing."
"So I gather you're all overworked at the moment?"
"No, but that’s not the point."
"What is the point?"
"We could be at a moment's notice."
"The universe could end at a moment's notice."
"And if it did, you'd need good doctors and nurses to tend to the injured."
I'm not sure she had a grasp of what the end of the universe entailed.
"It has already ended," interjected Jane over the coms.
"What?" we said together.
"Didn’t you know? The universe ended in 1984, but we're still waiting for the paperwork to catch up."
I chuckled, considering I'd heard that one before, and delivered it a few times myself. Jane had caught me off guard, is all.
Carter thought it was hilarious.
"Stop trying to sell me something, and tell me what you really want," I said when she finally settled down again.
"We want to stay. When you get to Earth. On this ship I mean. Skye and Obi don’t have a choice, and have to return with the shuttle. But the medical team all have contracts which expired a month ago, and all of us are sick of being cooped up on a medical station, or some shuttle going somewhere too slowly."
She paused, and I nodded her to continue.
"This ship is going places. You need a medical team. We need a new employer, and somewhere to work that gives us some variety of life. You may be young, but you take care of your people. And more than that, you genuinely care about other people. For a head of state, who is also Admiral of his own fleet, it's almost unheard of."
"We could drop into a war at any time. This is not the safest place to be."
"Safe is highly overrated."
"What about your daughter?"
"I haven’t seen much of her to te
ll the truth. First day on board she complained long and loud of having nothing to do. Jane visited her, and ever since, she complains there isn’t enough hours in the day. I'm not sure I want to know what she's up to though, but she seems to be happy. When I told her we would be leaving the ship in a few days, she almost took my head off. I took that as a sign I needed to rethink things, and called a meeting of the team. I didn’t need to ask them, they asked me to ask you. So here I am."
"Welcome aboard," I grinned at her.
We shook hands formally.
"Any of your people have any sort of military rank?" I asked.
"No. But we all have a relevant medical rank, if that helps."
"Get together with Jane, and see if you can turn medical ranks into military ranks. I'll look over the final recommendation."
"Confirmed," came through coms.
"Great." She leapt up. "I'll let everyone know. Oh, um…"
"Let me guess, you want to recommend some upgrades?"
"Just a few. The facilities themselves are top grade. But we'll need to add in the people stuff you left out of the design. Proper reception, nurse's station, duty doctor's office, that sort of thing. Plus a lot of consumables doc-droids are obviously not familiar with."
"Talk to Jane. After you talk to Alison. She needs to process you all into Hunter Security."
"You rang?" said Alison from the doorway.
"No, but yes. Take this deluded person away and process her, before she comes to her senses."
"This way Liz."
They left me alone to my emails.
Lunch was lunch. At least I think I had lunch. Drowning in emails tends to keep you focused.
Sometime in the afternoon, Jane interrupted me.
"Better have a look at this."
"Which this is that?"
A screen popped up. It was obviously from the pilot's simulator. Six Dropships were fighting their way to an RV on the ground below them. They were up against a squadron of Sabres, making the Dropships evenly matched, but outnumbered. A seventh Dropship was already below the battle, and doing what Dropships were designed to do. Drop.
Hunter Legacy 8: Hero to the Rescue Page 20
