The Queen's Pardon (Alexis Carew Book 6)

by J. A. Sutherland

  “I’ll find a way to come back for you, sir,” Villar whispered. “I will — I swear it. I’ll tell the Navy and … sir, none of the other captains hold out much hope for a Naval expedition to come of this. They say this is Hanoverese space and Admiralty won’t risk it, not without proof of our lads held captive there, and we found none while we were on the surface. They say the Hanoverese don’t care about the Barbary, so there’ll be no force from them either. I’ll … I’ll turn pirate myself and take a bloody ship if I must! I’ll speak to your grandfather and all Dalthus to raise the funds and put together a force — I’ll — Oh, God, I don’t even know if you’re … how will I tell your grandfather … and Marie …”

  A large hand covered in red hair landed on Villar’s shoulder and eased him from in front of the camera, then the image was filled with Captain Malcomson’s bearded face.

  “If yoo’re alive, lass — an’ the lad has some hope when he’s nae pinin’ — we’ll dae what we can.” The big Scot grimaced. “It’ll nae be much, I think — New London will nae send ships, the Hannies dinnae care, an’ we’ll nae see anither boorichie ay private ships in th’ Barbary after this.” He shook his head. “A wonder ye managed these.” Malcomson grinned. “But it was a graind plan ye hud, lass, ‘til it went all tittes up an’ sideways.”

  Twenty-Four

  “So,” Kannstadt asked, “your ships have gone?”

  Alexis nodded, staring at her tablet, body and mind numb from what she’d just heard.

  Kannstadt snorted. He looked around the dining room, as though appraising things, and met Ellender’s eye before turning back to her.

  “You have killed us all,” Ellender said. His ear and neck were red and shiny with wound sealant where the rings and explosive implant had been removed.

  Alexis looked up to meet their eyes. There was anger there, as well as despair. She supposed she deserved that, but didn’t understand what he meant.

  “What do you mean? We’ve still taken this farm — we have more supplies, more men, more weapons. We can —”

  “Will you teach me to suck eggs, leutnant?” Kannstadt said, sharing another look with Ellender. “I have commanded a ship and its men, Kapitän Ellender commanded a ship and men, other officers held on Erzurum commanded ships and men. Are you some savior come to tell us what we cannot see with our own eyes? Do you think when we first came here we did not think to make our escape to more than just the swamps? Do you think my men eat schlange because they like it?”

  “I don’t understand —”

  “Some men escape to the swamps, yes, and we raid some farms for food, yes, but did you think this was the first one taken?” Kannstadt snorted. “Only your promise of ships, here now, made me take this risk — now, the pirates will make their reprisals. We were tolerated in the swamps and raiding the fields some — too much effort to root us out. But they will not tolerate this, as they have not in the past.”

  “No, they won’t,” Ellender said with a sigh. “As soon as they learn of this, the deaths will start. First, they’ll order one in ten slaves on all the farms killed outright as a warning to the others and to those who’ve escaped. Then, I imagine, they’ll turn their attention to this farm.” He nodded to the farmer and his family. “Isikli and his family will be killed for not keeping better guard — the better to encourage the other natives to be alert.” He smiled. “Some small bit of justice in that, I suppose.”

  “We will have to find another cave, far from here,” Kannstadt said, receiving a nod from Ellender.

  “How will they know that cave?” Alexis asked. “I thought it was safe.”

  “Until now,” Kannstadt said.

  “They don’t need to know where it is,” Ellender said. “They’ll turn their ships’ guns on the swamps and forest for ten kilometers around this farm in hopes of wiping out Kannstadt’s band … our band, I suppose, now. We’ve little choice but to come with you.”

  “Their ships’ guns?” Alexis asked. “But that would violate the Abbentheren Accords.”

  That she’d once skirted the letter of those Accords herself, taking her ship deep into a planet’s atmosphere to fire on the ground from a height just barely below that prohibited by the Accords, wasn’t in it — she doubted the pirates would risk that with their ships, for the friction and damage had left the crew of Belial spending hours of every orbit repairing the hull before she took it in again.

  Kannstadt and Ellender shared another look before the New London captain cocked his head at her.

  “In your experience, Lieutenant Carew, are pirates known for following the law?”

  Alexis felt herself being shuffled to the back of the decision-making process as Kannstadt and Ellender discussed their next steps. She supposed it made sense — they were both senior officers and had more experience, both aboard ships and on Erzurum. Not to mention that she’d done such a fine job bolloxing up the whole thing already.

  She’d rushed to Erzurum after convincing the Marchant Company “commodore,” Skanes, to bring her ship here, only to see that ship, Hind, lost to the pirates. Then she’d convinced the private ship captains to do the same, only to see that force outnumbered, outgunned, and, in the end, outmaneuvered by this Ness and his pirate band. Then she’d convinced Kannstadt to take this farm with the promise of rescue by those ships, only to find them gone and discover that she’d doomed Kannstadt and his men, the farm’s slaves, her own crew, and even the farm’s owner and his family to being hunted to extinction by those pirates.

  As well, if Kannstadt and Ellender have the right of it, one in ten captives on the entire planet.

  The toll of death and suffering to be laid at her feet from this endeavor was staggering to think on.

  And to no good end — the men held captive here will remain so, the pirates still hold Erzurum, and I’ve not found Delaine. Even finding that so many of our lads are here does no good if I can’t get word back to New London about it.

  No, she’d not found Delaine, but she did know he could be on Erzurum — and the thought that he might be one of those one-in-ten captives the pirates ordered killed in retribution for her taking this farm sent her even deeper into despair.

  Or some of his men captured with him — how could he ever forgive me causing that?

  So she sat in a chair to the side of the dining room while Kannstadt and Ellender made their plans. They discussed whether to move as one group or split into two, with Kannstadt and Ellender each taking one — there was no mention of Alexis, though she caught them casting looks at her from time to time. She supposed they were wishing she would leave so they might discuss her men — or, more probably, the weapons her lads still held and how to get them.

  The farm had only a half-dozen rifles, all chemical-propellant and no lasers, while Alexis’ crew had a weapon of some sort for every man, and some with two as there’d been enough pistols for all along with the few rifles. That did give her and her lads an advantage in any negotiations, but unless she was willing to set them to some sort of battle with Kannstadt’s men — assuming they’d be willing to follow her — she still had little power. Kannstadt’s numbers and both captains’ greater knowledge of Erzurum left them with the upper hand.

  Better, perhaps, too, to simply follow the more experienced captains so that she’d not get any more killed.

  That did irk her, though, for the other captains had no hope of escaping Erzurum and returning home — they talked only of survival. Of defense and not of attack, at which she thought they still must have some chance of success. It couldn’t be that their only choice was to slink off into Erzurum’s swamps and eke out what existence there they might.

  The pirates didn’t know yet that they’d taken this farm — couldn’t be certain that Alexis and her crew were still alive, even, much less met up with a large band of escaped slaves and retained modern arms.

  She pulled out her tablet and began going through the data transmitted by Malcomson’s satellite again. She’d not transm
itted since the first which activated the satellite, but Villar and Malcomson had planned for that. Once activated, the satellite kept its own encrypted transmission active — replaying Villar’s message, but also sending Alexis what information it could detect about the state of affairs in orbit and on the rest of Erzurum.

  Despite Kannstadt’s and Ellender’s prophecies of doom, Alexis was somewhat heartened by what she saw.

  The bulk of the pirate fleet, including Ness’ frigate, did not appear to be in Erzurum at the moment — perhaps sailed in search of new prey to offset the cost of their battle with the private ships.

  There were still seven ships in orbit around the planet, but only four of them belonged to the pirates.

  The other three appeared to be merchantmen, come to trade at the pirates’ market for stolen goods. They were well-armed, from what Malcomson’s satellite could detect, but with no more guns than any merchant would be wise to carry in the Barbary, and Alexis would expect them to run at the first sign of trouble.

  Four pirate ships were a goodly number, though, when paired with however many of their band were left on Erzurum’s surface and the large number of ships’ boats they had, even if they were converted merchantmen themselves and not the pirated frigate.

  Alexis started reviewing what data there was, all images taken by the satellite from its lower orbit and recorded transmissions from those ships.

  There was a brig with eight light guns, another with sixteen — more than she should bear, but the pirates had pierced her sides with more ports. It appeared they’d managed to put a hulk of some sort put to a bit of rights, though the damage she’d taken in a previous battle was still raw and unrepaired. The image of the fourth ship came up and Alexis’ breath caught in her throat, making Kannstadt and Ellender look her way.

  How?

  The satellite’s image of the ship was blurry, and there were many ships of similar type, but Alexis had the eye of all spacers when it came to such things. There were little things of note — the rake of a mast, the marks of dust and debris against the hull that, no matter the repair, one always remembered and could always see. The patchwork at her stern where shot had made it through to the fusion plant and shut that down.

  They must have tracked her all the way, to have got aboard and repaired the damage so quickly.

  And why wouldn’t they, she wondered. Pirates only got their ships from taking others, and this one was far more valuable than the typical merchantmen they’d have as a prize.

  Alexis set her face in stone and watched Kannstadt and Ellender warily. They’d neither care nor see the opportunity, only worry that Alexis would go haring off in the attempt of something other than skulking back into the swamps to hide and survive on Erzurum’s meager offerings.

  Which was exactly what she’d do, because if she could set her feet on Mongoose’s quarterdeck once more, could wrap that beautiful ship around her with even half a crew, then bugger all Erzurum’s pirates with this planet’s bloody schlange.

  Twenty-Five

  First found a captured Hannie

  And tamed him with look.

  “You come along with me,” she said,

  “And get off of this rock.”

  Alexis turned her tablet off and rose. Kannstadt and Ellender looked at her, Kannstadt’s eyes narrowed.

  “I believe you gentlemen have things well in hand, sirs,” she said, letting her gaze and head hang a bit. “I’ll just see to my crew, if you don’t mind.”

  “Your crew, yes,” Ellender said. “We should speak about that.”

  Here it comes — the demand for Mongoose’s weapons.

  “Of course, Captain Ellender, when you’re ready, and you and Captain Kannstadt have finished these more pressing matters, I’ll be available at your convenience.”

  She ducked out of the dining room quickly and then out the farmhouse door before either captain could say another word.

  Outside, the slaves from the farmstead milled around near the doorway, waiting their turn to go upstairs where Kannstadt’s man was removing the explosives from their necks and the devices from their ears — such as that removal was, with the crude equipment available to them. It was better, though, than the rougher and more dangerous methods performed by Kannstadt’s men in the swamps. At least here they had some medical treatment available and the risk of infection was less.

  Kannstadt’s men had built several fires along the dikes from the farm’s outbuildings and slave barracks, and got the wood to catch even in Erzurum’s ever-present drizzle. The warmth gave a welcome respite from the chill air and men crowded around each blaze holding out their hands or presenting their backsides to be warmed in turn. The farm’s buildings would have sheltered them from the rains, but none of those who’d spent time on Erzurum would enter the farm’s slave barracks willingly — better to be out and wet than in that place and dry.

  There were several cookpots going, as well, and, Alexis noted, an entire absence of geese.

  Her lads were all around one fire — a bit crowded, but they made a lane for Alexis as she approached.

  The mood around the fire was low, but not despondent, and she heard more than one murmur of, “Captain’s here, now we’ll know what’s what,” or the like.

  That surprised her. Word of their situation had clearly got out and amongst the men, so they must realize that they’d been abandoned on Erzurum and it was all her fault. She’d led them into this mess and could only hope they’d give her one last chance to get them out.

  Waiting, as Kannstadt and Ellender seemed content to do, simply wasn’t an option. Even with the private ships bearing word of Ness and his pirate band back to Enclave or elsewhere, what would be done about it? It was only word of the captive fleet members that would rouse New London or Hannover to take action, and no one aboard the private ships had any evidence the captives were really here — only Alexis’ band had actually seen them. The rest had the word of one Barbary merchant captain that had brought them to Erzurum in the first place.

  As well, they’d likely take that word through Enclave and Wheeley’s casino, and who knew what that man might do? He was in league with the pirates and slavers, with such utter control over Enclave’s New London compound, that it was almost certain he had measures in place to intercept and stop any message back to Admiralty.

  No, they were on their own, with little hope of rescue from anyone else.

  Dockett handed her a bowl of stew from the cookpot and the scent of cooked goose struck her — along with what she assumed was native susomun and more than a bit of cattail root to make up the balance. Either the susomun or cattail was less appealing than the goose — in fact, it reminded her of the geese when they were alive, or at least the ground under them.

  All the men crowded around her as she sat to eat, including the outermost who turned toward the fire.

  “Eyes out,” Dockett hissed. “Surrounded by Hannies and you lot turn your backs?”

  “Losin’ track o’ who we’re fightin’,” someone muttered back.

  “The captain’ll see to keeping that straight,” Dockett said. “You just watch our backs.”

  “Dint sign up for this,” another muttered.

  Dockett rose and peered into the shadows for the speaker. “You signed up, though, and this is what we’ve got — trust the captain and —”

  “And what?” another voice asked. “No ship, no captain, is there?”

  “Why, you —”

  “Mister Dockett,” Alexis said quietly. “Enough.”

  “Sir, I —”

  “Enough, Mister Dockett, they’ve a right to question what I’ve got them into.”

  There were more murmurs at that, but Dockett kept quiet and sat down. Alexis handed him her bowl — only a few bites eaten, not nearly enough to fill her — and stared at the fire for a moment. She needed these men, but would they follow her still?

  “You’ve heard some rumors, I’m sure, so here’s the truth of it. If you heard the o
ther private ships we came with are sailed off and left us — that’s true.” She held up her palm to still their words, but kept her eyes on the fire. “They thought us likely dead, I suppose. And if you heard the pirates are back in orbit, well, that’s true as well. And that they’ve a history of reprisals against escaped slaves to make the Hanoverese themselves blush?” She nodded. “True enough.”

  The murmurs grew, so Alexis lowered her voice, forcing those who wished to listen to silence their fellows and draw closer to hear.

  “And if you’ve heard, or suspected, that there’s little help coming? Well, that’s certainly true as well. The one thing to have brought help would be word of the fleet spacers, and the private ships left with no evidence of that.”

  “So, we’re bloody dead,” someone muttered.

  “You are if you give up,” Alexis said. “You can join Captain Kannstadt or Captain Ellender and chew their schlange for your next dinner instead of this fine goose.” She paused for the few, strained laughs that brought. “They plan to run off back to the swamps and hide for as long as they can.”

  She caught Nabb’s eye across the fire and her coxswain almost grinned. He glanced around at the others then loudly asked, “What else’re we to do, sir? If thing’re so dire as you say?”

  “Fight,” Alexis said. “Take the fight to these bloody pirates and get ourselves, and these others free. Most of you were Navy lads, before your ships paid off and left you loose-ends, aye? Well, you know a fight and any one of you’s the better of a dozen pirates, I say.”

  “Fight with what? There’s only the few of us —”

  “Hush,” someone else said. “Hear her out or go swallow some schlange.”

  “Aye, we’re few,” Alexis said as the few chuckles died, “but is any man here worth less than a dozen pirates like I said?” No one seemed willing to admit that. “And there’s Kannstadt’s men, and Ellender’s, and thousands more on this miserable world.”