Smuggler's Dilemma (5 page)

"Take a turn, Tabby?" I asked.

"Sure. That okay?" she asked Wally.

"Yes ma'am, but let me make a small adjustment," he said.
Revoke control Hoffen. Initiate silent running. Grant Tabitha Masters pilot control
.

Tabby started working the controls and I noticed that we’d lost a significant amount of acceleration. The ship was still sailing smoothly, just not as performant as before.

"What’s silent running?" I asked.

"That’s part of being a blockade runner. The emissions from the engines and other systems have been reduced a hundred-fold under this mode. You’re still visible, but nothing like before."

CRAZY LIKE A FOX

"One point one million." We’d caught up with Nick and Marny, who had been working on the frigate.

"That’s a lot," Nick said. "Do you think it’s a contender?"

"I do, but I want you and Marny to take a look at it."

Tabby’s head whipped around in surprise and she couldn’t contain herself, "Are you kidding me? That thing is the biggest piece of crap I’ve ever seen. I can’t believe you’re serious."

"No way! It’s perfect," I said, not caring if Tabby lambasted me.

"You’re crazy, Liam," Ada added. "There’s a million things wrong with that ship. First, it smelled like a backed up septic field. Did you see all of the rust on everything? And the bunks were practically falling apart. You’d have to totally refit the entire interior."

"Speaking of crap, did you see the main head?" Tabby asked Ada.

"Yes. Looked like it hadn’t been cleaned since the ship was commissioned. And that was what, a century and a half ago? When I sat in the couch on the bridge, I was nearly lost in the dust," Ada answered. Clearly the women weren’t impressed.

"Didn’t you see how it accelerated? Even though it’s three times the size, it was faster and more agile than
Sterra’s Gift
. It has a six-hundred cubic meter hold
AND
transloc engines, three turrets, a rear cannon, missile tubes and light absorptive armor."

Nick sighed, "Still, that’s a lot. Did he have any cutters?"

"We saw several CA-12s today. His were the least expensive at five hundred thousand and the attack ships were all dart class. I just don’t see that working for us."

"Frak, I was afraid of that. I’d have expected better prices this close to the core planets, but the demand must be too high. How many of the systems were working on the
Hotspur
?" Nick asked.

"I didn’t have a chance to check them, but he certainly represented that they were working. He also knew about our frigate. Sounds like he might be interested. Did that guy come out and survey it?" I asked.

"Yup. He’ll post it tomorrow. He brought quite a fleet of robots out with him and they scoured the entire ship."

"Will he set a price?" I asked.

"No, but he gives an inventory of all the systems, and what shape they’re in. From that he’ll be able to help us with any offers we receive."

"Do we have any?"

"Offers? Two, but they’re lowballs. He said we should counter them."

"How do we get to a price?"

"It's not hard. Algorithms use the base survey data."

I just shook my head. "How about moving our supplies down to the frigate. We should get started."

"All done," Nick said. "I rented a pair of robots to do it. They inventoried it all and then packed it in sections. Neatest thing you ever saw. Marny and I cleared
Sterra’s Gift
out too. The robots cost a thousand credits, but we’d have been at it for days otherwise."

"You don’t have to sell me. I’m just glad I don’t have to do it. Could you and Marny take a look at the
Hotspur
tomorrow? I’d like to know if you even think it’s a possibility."

"Yup, we’ll get on it first thing. Are you ready to get out of here?" Nick asked.

We all piled into the cargo hauler. It was tight, but we only had to make it to the Puskar Stellar Space Station.

"Ada, we’re working on a load for Colony 40. You interested? There’s a side trip in it too. Probably not the best pay on this one," Nick said.

"That doesn’t sound like you guys. What’s this about?" she asked.

"We’re dismantling that pirate base. We can make it worth your time," he answered.

"I think so. Send me some details. I haven’t forgotten about your offer either. I’ve been talking it over with Dad."

"How’s that going?" I knew he wasn’t happy with how dangerous our last trip had been.

She grimaced. "About like you’d expect. He wants me sailing for a larger company. More stability, less combat."

"Can’t say there won’t be issues with the run, since we took this base away from the Red Houzi. I’m sure they’re still plenty annoyed," I answered.

"Let’s touch base tomorrow, Ada," Nick said.

"Okay. It was sure nice to meet you finally, Tabby. I’ll send you reports on Liam if he gets in trouble." She winked conspiratorially.

We’d arrived at the rental company dock. Ada gave each of us a hug goodbye after unloading from the hauler. I felt a little self-conscious with Tabby standing there, but figured that was just me being awkward.

"You guys want to join us for dinner tonight?" Marny asked. "We’re going upscale tonight."

"I think we’ll skip this time, if that’s okay. We’ve got some talking to do," I said.

Tabby looped her arm around my own and stood closer, "Sounds interesting," she said in a husky voice. I really had meant we needed to talk, but now she had me thinking of other things.

"So what do you need to talk about?" Tabby asked once we found a place to sit. Neither of us liked fancy restaurants and found a burger joint. "Or was that code for snogging?"

"What’s snogging?" I asked, I had a pretty good idea, but it wasn’t a term I was familiar with.

"Here let me show you." She placed her hand behind my neck and pulled me in gently, kissing my face. She released me after a few short moments.

"Ooh. Yeah, that’s a keeper. I like that," I said.

"Do I have anything to worry about between you and Ada?" Tabby asked. She’d taken me off guard with her approach and I was still reeling from her snogging lesson. Tabby was normally an attack-and-defend type of conversationalist. This new, softer side was surprising. It was a fair question, though I was certain I'd set her mind at ease earlier.

"How straight do you want it?" I asked.

"Lie to me and I’ll know it and cut off your nuts."

Bingo. There’s my girl.

"You’re right. She’s really pretty, extremely nice and I enjoy being around her."

"You really suck at this," Tabby said scooting away from me.

"That’s also true about Marny and, with the exception of the pretty thing, it’s true about Nick too. No, if you want rid of me, you’ll have to do it yourself, 'cause I’m not going anywhere. Well, I suppose I am - but you get the idea." I put my hand out to pull her back. "Now, about this snogging thing…"

Sunday afternoon arrived much quicker than I’d hoped and it was a lonely ride back from Coolidge to Puskar Stellar. Nick had sent me directions to a pizzeria in the University Hills area. It seemed like an odd choice as it wasn’t anywhere close to our hotel, but I was game.

When I entered the busy restaurant it wasn’t hard to spot them. Marny was easy to find in a crowd. She was bigger than life and her distinctive voice carried across the room. I was surprised to see two extra people at the table, one of whom I’d only ever seen on a small vid screen.

The tall, red-blond haired, heavyset Bit Coffman caught my approach. She stood and held her hand out with a lopsided grin, "Captain Hoffen in the flesh."

"What a great surprise," I said and pulled the large woman in for a hug. I didn’t know how she felt about such things, but to me she was family, even though we’d never met before in person. She’d had our backs when we needed it desperately in Jeratorn and I owed her a lot.

"Hoffen, I’d like to introduce you to one of my grad students, Jacob Berandor." She looked over to the thickset man who was seated at the table. When he stood, I was surprised to see that he was even taller than Bit. His giant hand all but enveloped my own when we shook.

"Pleased to meet you, Mr. Hoffen. Call me Jake," his deep voice rumbled. I had difficulty getting a read on his age, but he had a close-cut beard and bright blue eyes.

"Please, call me Liam. Nice to meet you too." I took the open chair next to him, looked around the table and noticed that Nick was giving me the, 'you’re missing something' look. "So, what’s going on?" I pulled a piece of pizza onto a clean plate. I was used to not catching everything.

"How bad do you want the
Hotspur
?" Nick asked. That got my attention. I was wondering what he and Marny thought about the ship after their visit.

"I think you know the answer to that," I said.

"You know it’s beat to crap, right?" he asked.

"You’re saying the hull and engines are junk?" I pushed back.

"No. Believe it or not, those appear to be in perfect order," he said. I couldn’t put it all together. Why were we having this conversation with Bit and her student?

"Weapons?"

"Reasonable shape," he said.

"You just said it’s beat to crap."

"You want to cover this, Bit?" Nick asked, confusing me even further.

"Wait, what do you know about the
Hotspur
?" I asked her.

"Oh, you’re so cute. I love how you do that lost puppy thing, but I’ll let Berandor handle this next," Bit answered. I was bewildered.

"Thank you, Professor Coffman," he said. "As you've already seen, the sloop
Hotspur
is a warship from a generation long past. It was originally commissioned the
HMS Hotspur
, one-hundred-eighty-two years ago in what most historians see as the golden age of galactic expansion. Basically, back when the Translocation Gates were first established. The designation HMS, standing for Her Majesty’s Service, no longer applies since it isn’t in the employ of the British."

"I thought that was more like four hundred years ago?" I asked.

"Good memory. And yes, the first gates were built three hundred forty years ago, but travel through the gates was ridiculously expensive. The Anino engine, named after its inventor, Thomas Anino, changed all that using commonly available elements - well, common in the asteroid belts that is. After that, it was essentially a gold rush. The Brits were all in too, sending ten different colonizing missions through the Bethe Peieris gate to the planets of Curie and Bohr. In total, they sent more than fourteen thousand citizens."

"Didn’t a lot of those colonists die?" I remembered something from a history class about this.

"That’s right. A well-organized pirate organization - buccaneers really - disrupted the supply runs that the colonists had contracted and the British Navy had to step in to rescue its citizens."

"Buccaneers?" I asked.

"Sure, it wasn’t a lot different from what the Spaniards and Brits ran into in ancient history when ships actually sailed the oceans on Earth. These weren’t just random pirates, but groups with strong military organization," Jake explained.

"Okay, that’s good information. But, I’m not sure how that relates to you and Bit," I said.

"Oh right, my specialization is in ship systems. I’m focused on propulsion, but I’ve got advanced degrees in communications and weapon systems as well."

"Now I get it. So, is it a piece of crap?" I asked.

"Hey, don’t put words in my mouth," Nick said, chuckling. "I said it was beat to crap."

Jake looked between us and smiled, perhaps a little condescendingly, "I think that characterization is a little strong, but all of its systems are ancient by today’s standards. That said, they don’t make ships like the
Hotspur
today either. The engines were designed to last centuries and they have. The armor is difficult and expensive to replicate and can withstand both kinetic and energy weapons well beyond anything in use today, at least in the private sector."

"Great information." I said. There was something else going on and I wasn’t sure what it was. I looked at Nick and said, "What? You’ve got that look."

He answered. "If we’re going to buy that ship, we need someone who can help us bring it back to full function. Most of the internal systems need updating. This thing is a money pit, but Marny and I both see the value. We’ve never had the tactical advantages of speed and stealth."

I looked back to Jake, "Don’t get me wrong, I definitely appreciate the information, but what’s your interest in the
Hotspur
beyond the academic?"

Jake pushed his shirt sleeves up. "In short, if you’re putting the
Hotspur
back into active service, I’d like to help. I think I’m asking for a job."

Nick stepped in, "
Hotspur’s
first run probably won’t be anything too exciting. I can’t get into the details, though. We’ve had some run-ins with unsavory types and as a result we don’t share our destinations outside of crew. We’ve got good reason to trust you two, but I don’t see any reason to talk about it just yet. I’ve got a proposal for you though, Jake."

"No offense taken," Bit added. She sat with arms crossed, leaning back in her chair, clearly enjoying the conversation.

"What’s your proposal?" Jake asked.

"We’ll pay you a retainer of a thousand credits if you help us through the purchase of the
Hotspur
and get her ready to sail. If the deal falls through, the thousand credits are still yours. Either way, we’ll all have a chance to work together and decide if this new team is a good fit."

"Hard to beat that," he said. "I’m in."

***

The next morning I was up early. I’d spent most of the last two days either shopping for a ship or hanging out with Tabby. I needed to turn my attention to finding a load for the tug and a freighter. If we stuck with the CA-12 we’d have two hundred cubic meters and if we got the
Hotspur
I’d need to fill six hundred.