She saw the shock on the other woman’s face. Then all expression disappeared. “Clay?”
“One of the eighteen.”
* * *
As Captain, Colleen Yrden led the services for those who had fallen and those who remained missing. A weeping Bev Yrden had left the ship for station quarters. With her husband, Teemo dead, she could no longer function in her position. She needed time to recover.
Telford attended the services only to provide the support his presence gave to Colleen. She presented two faces to him. First, the remorseless avenger who would hunt down those who had attacked her family; second, the wounded spouse who walked the knife’s edge between strength and collapse.
“I’ll hunt him down and kill him,” Brian said. “He killed my father.”
Brian had heard Clay’s last words, his dying attempt to inform the rest of them of just who had betrayed them.
“Your father isn’t dead,” Colleen told him. “If he were dead, they would have left him, like they left Teemo.”
Brian didn’t buy that – and neither did Telford.
Jackson Pelburn would have fought to the death. He and Andy Cosgrove held the safety of the ship and its crew and passengers above their own. They would not have surrendered. And the blood that he had found at the site of Pelburn’s stand argued that he and Cosgrove had taken several of the Damargs with them – and that they had not survived the assault. So, dead. Yet they had not left those bodies behind.
Clay would have died on the bridge. He had heard the evidence of that.
“Adrian?”
He forced his thoughts back to the present. “Yes, Ms Yrden?”
Everyone else had left the services.
“I’m going to find Clay, get him back. But everyone thinks I’m delusional.” She peered up at him. “What do you think? Do you believe he’s dead?”
And if he said yes, leaving no one to back her, would she survive? “We have eighteen crew missing, Ms Yrden. Some of them died on the ship, but not all of them. I would bet my life on that.” And he would.
“I don’t know that Mr Yrden survived; I don’t know that he didn’t. None of us do; they destroyed the cameras on their way in, wiped the vids. And what happened to the survivors that the Damargs removed, only the Damargs can tell us.”
She stared bleakly at him, willing him to say something positive, something that wouldn’t destroy her dreams. He knew about dreams.
“I can only say that I will stand with you until we get him back.” Either dead or alive, but he didn’t say that last. She straightened up, and he knew that his words had brought her back from the knife’s edge. And those same words might have killed his own dream. For she would now never believe her husband dead until they found his body – if they ever found his body. And she would remain true to him until that day. She would never look at him before then.
“We’ll find them, Adrian. We’ll find them.”
* * *
Blue Powder came out of Jump at Daiovan Station.
“Daiovan reports Solar Wind docked at the station,” Brint Yrden reported. “Scout-1 also docked.”
“Take her in,” Colleen ordered.
With Adrian Telford at her shoulder, Colleen marched up to the Damarg Trade Desk, who balked at giving them permission to go to Pallinteth without a trade cargo.
“Your Mr Korsh sabotaged my ship, lay her open to pirates,” she told the shocked Damarg delegation, through Tra Vella, the Pagayan interpreter.
And she had not only shocked the Damargs, but Tra Vella, too. Had she known Korsh?
“They can give no answer to your questions, Tra Yrden,” Tra Vella said. “The thought of one of Hittorsh in the pay of pirates has stunned them.”
“But they admit to having pirates with hyperspace-capable ships?”
“Oh, yes. They – and we Pagayans – have known about that for over a century. They have never before – to our knowledge – operated outside of Damarg space.”
“Why not?” Adrian asked.
Tra Vella gave a human-style shrug. “You would have to ask the pirates.” She looked at Adrian. “You say they boarded you in numbers?”
“Yes.”
“Strange. They rarely do that. The threat of three ships should have worked to keep you from doing anything which they might consider stupid.” She shrugged again. “In other words, resisting. They just want the cargo at least threat to themselves.”
Adrian gave her a smile that had a shiver running down Colleen’s back.
“They overstepped. We have good evidence that they lost at least a dozen in taking over the ship, and we killed sixteen taking it back.”
Tra Vella’s eyes went wide.
“And we won’t rest until the all of them have paid for their transgressions,” Colleen added. “You can translate that for them – including the cost to the pirates so far.”
To her surprise, the translation didn’t shock the Damargs. Instead, they showed more respect than she’d received thus far.
“They congratulate you on your successes, and wish for your continued success,” Tra Vella reported. “Unfortunately, no one from Space Patrol is available here on station. If you wish to talk with them, you’ll have to go to Pallinteth. However, they warn you that you will not be able to travel freely in Damarg Space. If you ignore this, Space Patrol will treat you as pirates or smugglers, too.”
“Space Patrol?” Adrian asked.
“They look out for smugglers, for ships in distress, for pirates. They patrol the Damarg Spacelanes, tow in damaged ships, do what needs be done.” Tra Vella said.
“I see. Thank the Damarg Trade Desk for their help in this matter. We will go to Pallinteth to present our case to those higher up.”
They left the Trade Desk after obtaining the permissions needed – permissions given willingly. Their defeat of the pirates had done that for them.
“Tell me, Tra Vella, did you know Mr Korsh? You seemed surprised when I mentioned that he had betrayed us.”
Tra Vella nodded, human style. “Yes. I met Mr Korsh when he first arrived on Daiovan Station. He seemed a very mild person. I find it difficult to reconcile what I saw with what you reported.”
She seemed distressed. She had probably translated for him with Tony Paxton and Max Treverston.
“He fooled us completely, too, Tra Vella. Completely. We won’t get fooled again.”
CHAPTER 30
Blue Powder
Blue Powder dropped out of hyperspace.
“Shields up; weapons heated,” ordered Captain Colleen Yrden. “Detectors?”
Brint went through the routine. “Close range – nothing; Medium range – nothing; long range – nothing. Detectors clear.”
Colleen breathed a sigh of relief. They had dropped in Damarg space on the way to Pallinteth, and she had a bad feeling about the Damargs overall.
“Begin cruising to the next jump point,” she ordered.
A very mild thrust, almost nothing to disturb a walking crewmember, slowly accelerated the ship ahead.
Sean Williams, at First Pilot station, adjusted the course just slightly. “We don’t want to be anywhere near where Solar Wind drops,” he said.
Colleen glanced at the chrono. “Still two hours.”
But she knew he had only spoken to relieve his own tension. They had planned it all out with Solar Wind’s captain. Solar Wind would follow Blue Powder two hours behind, and would drop about forty thousand kilometres away from where Blue Powder dropped. If Blue Powder encountered pirates, she would draw them further away from Solar Wind’s drop site before jumping.
With no pirates in system, Blue Powder would wait for Solar Wind to drop before jumping again herself. And they would repeat that at the next drop point, and again at Pallinteth – just in case.
Almost exactly two hours later, Brint reported from Detectors.
“Emergence wave; ship dropping.” Everyone waited, tense. “Solar Wind.”
“Good, call them up and give th
em the all-clear. Pilot, proceed to jump.”
* * *
Pallinteth Station appeared in the viewscreen.
“We come without trade goods, Manager Portash,” Colleen told the Damarg. “Solar Wind, following us, will arrive with goods in approximately two hours.”
Portash remained silent for a minute while he thought it through. “Why do two ships come, only one for trade?”
“We’re the bait, Manager,” Colleen replied.
“Bait?”
“Pirate bait.”
“You expect pirates?” He sounded offended.
“We have experienced pirates, Manager, and we come to make a full accounting before the relevant authorities – as the pirates were Damargs.”
“You have proof of this?”
“We do.” Colleen said.
“What sort of proof? Be aware that a false accusation can bring down punishment. If we find files manipulated, the – as you called them – relevant authorities will become very angry.”
Colleen gave him her best smile. “We have fifteen bodies.”
“Bodies?”
“They took our ship. We took it back, killing fifteen in the process. If you can prove the bodies are not Damargs, we will apologize profusely.”
Manager Portash froze, and did not make the slightest movement for over a minute. Colleen began to wonder if the vid had malfunctioned. Then the manager jerked his head slightly.
“I will contact the relevant authorities – in this case, Space Patrol. An officer will go out to your ship to investigate.”
“The officer will come unarmed,” Colleen said.
Portash blinked. “You are in Damarg space. You will submit to Damarg Law, and will not give orders.”
Colleen saw Adrian Telford raise an eyebrow. He wondered at her actions, no doubt. She would not keep him in suspense.
“If your officer comes armed, we will kill him. We have faced Damarg treachery, and will not fall victim to it again.”
“What treachery?” Portash sounded offended.
“That’s between us and the relevant officials. Let us just say it includes Hittorsh Company.”
“Impossible!”
“Just pass the conditions to your Space Patrol. And know that any attempt to illegally take this ship will result in us driving it into your station.” She cut the connection.
“Take us in, Sean, and point Blue Powder directly at the station when we achieve orbit.”
She looked around the shocked bridge crew.
“We’re done playing games,” she said.
* * *
Four unarmed Damargs stepped through the airlock. Telford as senior security left on the ship met them. He carried weapons.
The two Damarg males looked suspicious, the female – carrying a small one, a child – seemed relatively unperturbed.
“I am Lieutenant Rallinith of Space Patrol,” the female said in English. “I will interpret for Captain Torronth of Space Patrol and Captain Friln of Hittorsh Company.”
Telford nodded to each in turn. “Captain Yrden awaits us. I will escort you to her.”
“Her?” asked Torronth through the interpreter. “I understood that a Captain Clayton Yrden commanded this ship.”
Telford wondered if he should inform them of what happened. Better, perhaps, to let them know so as to prevent Colleen from taking any more damage from an unwitting question.
“Captain Clayton Yrden fell to Damarg pirates. We did not recover his body. His wife, Captain Colleen Yrden now commands Blue Powder.” He turned to Captain Friln. “If you wish to anger her, just mention her dead husband. Your employee, Mr Korsh killed him.”
The interpreter stumbled over the translation, and stared at him. Friln said something.
“The Captain wishes to know why you think this.”
“Tell the captain that almost two hundred witnesses heard Captain Yrden name Korsh before he died. Mr Korsh sabotaged our ship, and then opened us up to pirates. Unfortunately, he did not remain on board. That would have made it somewhat easier. Now, we’ll have to hunt him down and kill the bastard.”
Again the female tensed before she translated. Perhaps she wasn’t used to violence. And why had she brought a baby with her.
He asked.
“A young one needs its mother,” Lieutenant Rallinith told him. “And I am the only speaker of your language available.”
“Many of our people, including Captain Yrden and myself, speak Pagayat.”
“Captain Torronth does not. Thus he would have to rely on Captain Friln – who does not belong to Space Patrol, but to Hittorsh, whom you have accused of complicity – for translation. My captain does not think this a reasonably solution. Thus, I come.”
“Where are you taking us,” Captain Torronth asked.
“To Hold Number 4,” Telford replied. “Captain Yrden awaits us there.”
“To a hold?”
“That’s where we have our evidence.”
And that stopped all conversation.
Colleen greeted them without extending the hands of friendship. She raised her eyebrows at the sight of the Damarg child.
“Belongs to their interpreter, Lieutenant Rallinith of Space Patrol,” Telford told her, wanting to inform her that they couldn’t feel secure talking amongst each other in English. “She speaks English. With her are Captain Torronth of Space Patrol, and Captain Friln of Hittorsh Company.”
Colleen’s eyes narrowed at that last, and she peered at Friln. “We met,” she said in Pagayat. “Your colleague, Korsh, introduced us.”
“True,” he answered. “And I have come to find out what happened.”
Colleen took them through the timeline, showed them the device that Korsh had used to disable their ship, played for them the recording that they had made in the Catastrophe Core of their conversations with the bridge.
While the Damarg interpreter did her job, Telford took Colleen slightly aside.
“Something strange here, Captain Yrden,” he murmured.
“Yes, Adrian?”
“This Lieutenant Rallinith has some previous knowledge of Korsh. Watch her. She flinches slightly every time we accuse Korsh of violence and treachery against us.”
Captain Friln made an angry gesture, causing Telford to regard him once again.
“The Captain wants you to know that Korsh did in no way operate with any direction from Hittorsh Company in this,” Lieutenant Rallinith said. “Hittorsh Company extends its deep regrets for the losses caused through his malfeasance. Captain Torronth declares that Space Patrol will hunt down these pirates and justice will be served.”
“I will see Mr Korsh executed for murder,” Colleen said. “If your people catch him before I do, I expect to be informed and invited to the execution.”
She caught Telford’s eye as she witnessed the reaction of the Lieutenant.
“You speak our language well,” Colleen said.
“I learned from a native speaker,” the lieutenant replied. Then she spoke quietly. “His class included several members from different backgrounds. It included Mr Korsh, as you call him. I find it difficult to believe that he would have done what you say. He seemed a good person.”
And that explained that. Telford nodded to himself.
“And so he seemed to us – until he betrayed us,” Colleen said. “Now, perhaps the two captains would like to see the remainder of our evidence. Your child should not see this, Lieutenant. Either leave him or her here with one of my people, or you stay here while we go into the cold storage.”
Colleen waved over Yvonne, who had previously explained exactly what Korsh had done to disable the ship.
“Yvonne will look after the little one, if you decide you must accompany us.”
“I fear that I must, and I thank you for your consideration.”
Together, they went into Cold Storage, where the fifteen bodies waited them. The medical crew had placed each one in a body bag.
“These are the prize crew,”
Colleen told the Damargs. She unzipped one of the bags and exposed the face of the dead Damarg. “We cleaned them up first. Their effects, we have put in the pouches attached to the bags. They may have been murdering scum, but they had families. We would not have it said that we dishonoured their bodies, nor stole from them.”
Captain Friln winced as he saw each face. “Fifteen?” he asked.
“ Unfortunately, the sole survivor decided it better to kill himself by jumping out an airlock in hyperspace than to face justice.”
Shock registered on three faces.
“If I might ask,” Captain Friln eventually said, “why did you resist? When pirates have boarded our ships – not often, though too often for our liking – we preferred to save lives rather than lose them for goods that we can replace. You say you lost twenty. Did you think your cargo worth twenty lives?”
Colleen laughed harshly. “We didn’t resist. We opened the holds for them. Then they boarded us with about one hundred armed personnel. That’s when we knew that we had to fight or die.”
“I don’t understand.”
“You don’t board with one hundred unless you intend to take over the ship. They already had us under the weapons of three ships; what could we do against them? They didn’t need to board us like that to take our cargo out of open holds. We had passengers on board, Captain Friln. We count their lives as our responsibility. We had to defend them against murderers.” She gave him a long look. “Tell them, Adrian.”
They all turned to him.
“A message,” he said.
“We don’t understand.” Rallinith pressed her lips together. “I don’t understand.”
“We want you to make this public – very public. Pirates have to understand that if they attack our ships, they can only expect death. No matter how long it takes, we will find them. They will get no easy cargoes from us. So, we’re sending a message. Here,” he indicated the body bags, “are fifteen such messages. They already have received several others, for we found evidence that many of the pirates died in the taking of our ship.”
One Trade Too Many Page 25
