A Matter of Honor (Privateer Tales Book 9) (11 page)

"You want to take this, Liam?" Ada asked.

"Nah, you got it," I said.

"
Hotspur
here, nine seventy-five, over," she answered.

"Welcome,
Hotspur
, we've been waiting for you, I'm sending modified navigation instructions," Jonathan said.

A green blip on the vid screen in front of Ada lit up. She accepted the instructions. "Received, nine seventy-five, over," Ada said.

"Acknowledged. We'll see you all aboard. Platform nine seventy-five, out." Jonathan closed the comm.

"Any difference in the navigation plan?" I asked.

"Added two hundred meters onto the end," Ada said. "They're docking us on the platform. Original plan dropped us at the edge."

I nodded. "Fair enough."

The platform was much wider than it was long. My HUD showed two point three kilometers wide, just under four hundred meters deep, and three hundred meters tall. In relationship to
Hotspur
, the port side was the main habitable area as it was entirely enclosed, its skin primarily steel and armor glass. As you moved to the starboard, the platform became less dense and more complex, brightly painted lattice connecting an exposed infrastructure.

Our destination was a dense section directly starboard of the habitable area. As we closed the distance, a multi-tiered docking bay became visible. The lower decks were wide enough to fit at least two
Hotspurs
if loaded straight in, while the upper deck was wide enough to hold four across and three deep. The bay could hold a huge number of ships, but the organization was weird. Ship's captains would never agree to being packed in like that, as we liked easy access for unloading and a clear path for taking off.

In the end, it didn't matter. Aside from a smattering of crates and three small shuttles, the decks were empty. Our instructions put us on the top deck, next to a central lift that joined each deck and disappeared into the habitable section.

Ada spun
Hotspur
around slowly and set us right on the spot indicated by the provided navigation plan. Just as she touched down, the elevator doors opened and Jonathan stepped out, sans vac-suit and waved at the cockpit. I must have missed passing through a pressure barrier.

"Marny, how do you want to handle security?" I asked.

"Standard friendly docking protocols and non-lethal warnings," she said.

"Am I the only one a little freaked out by the lack of people?"

"This place is huge. It's eerie," Tabby agreed. "Only one thing for it - I'm loading heavy."

It was probably overkill, but I'd learned to trust my crew's instincts, even if it meant being too cautious.

If Jonathan was intimidated by meeting the five of us clad in armored vac-suits and strapped with a multitude of weapons, he sure didn't show it.

"Welcome aboard. Master Anino awaits on the bridge," he said.

"Bridge? Where? We haven't seen any other ships," I said.

"Check that out." Nick was pointing behind me.

I turned around to see massive doors pivoting shut, enclosing all of the docking bays we'd originally thought to be part of platform nine seventy-five.

It suddenly made sense. "This is all one big ship?"

"That's right, Captain Hoffen," Jonathan answered. "Welcome to
Mastodon
."

"How big are we talking?" I asked. "These decks have to be seventy meters tall."

"If you'll follow me, I'll explain as we walk."

I turned away from the closing doors and we followed Jonathan toward the awaiting lift.

"The
Mastodon's
LOA is one hundred ten meters and beam at widest point is eighty five meters. Your estimate of seventy meters wasn't bad. From bilge to bridge, the
Mastodon
is one hundred meters, weighing in at one point eight kilo tones."

"That's almost as heavy as a battleship," Nick said.

"You've sailed heavier and longer," Ada said.

"Seriously?"

"Sure," she said, wrinkling her eyebrows at me. "
Adela Chen
pushed seven point five kilo tonnes of ore back from Jeratorn, lest you forget."

The lift doors opened to an expansive bridge. Armored glass, ten meters high, wrapped a hundred forty degrees around in a gentle arc. The breathtaking view looked directly out over the planet Curie.

"Welcome to the
Mastodon
," Anino said, crossing the bridge with his hand outstretched. "Quite a view, eh?"

"It's magnificent," Ada said, breathily.

Anino glanced at his friend. "See, I told you they'd like it, Jonathan."

"You did, Master Anino," he agreed.

"I believe the chair is yours, Captain." The kid indicated a high-backed, white, synth-leather chair, centered in the bridge. The arms boasted flight hardware I'd custom fit onto
Hotspur
.

"Chen, Masters, you have your own stations. I wasn't completely sure what you preferred, but took a guess and installed the double yoke configuration you tug pilots like," he said.

Ada fairly squeaked as she bounded down the short flight of stairs that separated the two pilot's chairs from that of the Captain's.

"Bertrand, I've installed a virtual gunner's chair. It's my own design, but should feel like the real thing. You can either link the six turrets or allow the AI to automatically target. It's not ideal, but
Mastodon
isn't meant for combat. You'll find they have a hundred percent coverage at a hundred meters. If a hostile can breach that perimeter, we'll wish we had more Marines aboard." Anino was obviously enjoying himself.

"And don't feel like I left you out, James. Every work station has independent holographic projection fields."

"Where do you sit?" I asked.

"Anywhere I want. I own it," he said.

I raised an eyebrow. I wasn't about to start taking orders from a teenager, no matter how rich and brilliant he was.

"Just kidding," he said, chuckling quietly. "Frak Hoffen, don't be so easy. No, this place is too spartan for the likes of me. Jonathan moved my lab to deck three. You'll discover it's the only place on the ship you can't go without permission."

"What now?" I asked.

"What do you mean? Do your captainy thing. We need to get going. Just let me know when you've made visual contact with
Cape of Good Hope
."

Grand Village of the Elders, Planet
Ophir

Corget To stood next to the home fire in the middle of Grand Village. The songs of his nest had never told of a time such as this, when elder representatives from many villages gathered. It was a time of both celebration and great tension. So many powerful warriors in one location and perhaps too much strong drink.

The legend of Grand Village had always been of their curse - a sickness that struck the village making their warriors feeble in battle against the FenTamel. Something had always been different about Corget To. He, like all of his nest mates, had spied on the FenTamel since they'd been old enough to walk. Unlike his nest mates or even his village, he'd always seen the enemy as KentaPoo, weak but living in a strong home.

"Corget To," TeePa called. "Come, sit by Gelt Peige. He morns the loss of the Red Clan nests. Regale him with tales of the glorious battle and the bravery of his warriors."

"It is true what TeePa says. The warriors of your nests were brave," Corget To said.

"Tell him of the glorious battle," TeePa said.

Corget To was annoyed with TeePa in his drunken state. The elder knew they hadn't killed a single enemy. "There was no battle, TeePa," Corget To said. "The Red Clan warriors bravely ran in and were slaughtered like they were food animals."

Gelt Peige roared and jumped to his feet swinging his great club. Corget To knew it was coming and easily stepped out of the way. The Red Clan elder spun uncontrollably, having overcommitted his swing, and fell drunkenly to the ground.

"Stay down, Gelt Peige," Corget To said, lifting the blaster rifle he carried.

Gelt Peige scrabbled backward. The songs of the FenTamel weapons that killed instantly were some of the oldest sung.

TeePa laughed derisively. "Have comfort, Gelt Peige. It is but Corget To. He'll not be calling forth Tamel to strike you down. He is our least."

Something snapped in Corget To. He'd felt TeePa's disdain since he'd been a hatchling. Ever since returning from the Red Clan's dismal failure, he'd lost all respect for the elders. It was one thing to die in glorious combat, another thing entirely to be sent like food animals to slaughter. He turned the Tamel weapon on TeePa and watched as understanding registered in his elder's eyes.

"Your cowardice will be well remembered, Corget To. You will forever be remembered as the one who ran from battle," TeePa said.

Anger surged through Corget To and his hand clasped tightly around the weapon. He was as surprised as any when the weapon spit Tamel at his elder, burning a hole deep into his chest. TeePa slumped forward and fell into the fire.

Gelt Peige grabbed the old warrior's legs to drag his body from the danger.

"No," Corget To roared. "Let him roast, he has earned it." He swung the weapon back to the Red Clan elder.

Quiet fell over the once rowdy gathering, all eyes on Corget To.

"What have you done?" Gelt Peige asked, letting go of the elder's legs.

"That which should have been done long before. Listen to me, brothers. We must bring the nests of the Great Mountain together and attack as one. We must scale the flat rock face and enter the KentaPoo's nest. It is only then that we'll be rid of them and avenge our lost brothers." Corget To spoke loud enough for all of the assembled elders to hear.

"And I suppose it is you, an untested warrior, who would lead us?" Gelt Peige asked, standing menacingly above him.

"I have been chosen by our ancestors. They have seen fit to show me the use of the Tamel weapon. Will you stand against our ancestors and test me as TeePa did? Or will you follow me into battle?" Corget To glared at the grisly elder of the Red Clan.

"I will not follow you," he said.

"I hope you do not speak for all of Red Clan," Corget To said and squeezed the Tamel weapon. At first it did nothing and panic rose in his body. Had he misunderstood its operation?

"You see, he was not chosen, only a…"

Corget To's thick finger finally came in contact with the trigger and semi-automatic blaster fire erupted from the end of the weapon, stitching a line of bolts across the Red Clan leader. As he fell, the weapon continued firing, striking three behind Gelt Peige before Corget To released the trigger.

For many of the Great Village, it was too much and they ran, howling in fear. As expected, however, the other village elders hadn't run. They would sooner die than be branded a coward, even in the face of certain death. He prepared to be rushed by the group of old warriors. Even with the Tamel weapon, Corget To doubted he'd be able to take them all. There were simply too many.

It was then that a most unusual thing occurred. Perigen, young for an elder, but a warrior of legend along the mountain, stepped forward from the crowd. Corget To found it hard not to admire the legendary warrior whose size and grace seemed to match the songs he'd inspired.

"Corget To," Perigen said. "The Village by the River will follow you to battle." He knelt and bowed his head, spreading his arms in supplication.

Pleasure and thrill coursed through Corget To. Never had he felt so much power as he watched the elders kneel in front of him, one by one.

Platform Nine Seventy-Five, Near
Curie

Anino and Jonathan walked onto the lift at the back of the bridge, disappearing as the doors closed between us. Anino's face was full of mirth. The little brat was enjoying my confusion.

"Are you kidding me?" I asked no one in particular.

"You have to admit, it's a pretty sweet setup." Tabby slid in beside me, looping her hand through the crook of my arm.

"But…" I spluttered.

"But what?" Ada asked, approaching me from the other side. "I've never seen the great Liam Hoffen stand so flat-footed in a ship he's been given control of."

Nick just shrugged.

"Well, frak! Fine. Ada, Tabby, see if you can bring up displays of the system. I want a full status on the flight systems."

"Aye, aye, Captain." Ada smiled and gave me a mock salute.

"That's my boy," Tabby said, grabbing a handful of butt before bounding over the back of her assigned pilot's chair.

"Nick, see if you can get a deck layout of this thing and figure out if we're really in control. Marny, weapons charges, armory, see about a holo display of the minimum perimeter for the turrets. I need to know how close we can allow small craft before they become a threat."

"On it, Cap," Marny said.

Mastodon, Captain Liam Hoffen, Loose Nuts. Verify flight commander
. I instructed, sliding into the comfortable chair. The smell of new synth leather was slightly intoxicating.

"
Captain Liam Hoffen is in control of all flight systems
."

Good enough for the moment. Nick would ferret out any tricks Anino had up his sleeve.

Display systems status on a panel thirty degrees to my right at a meter distance. Vary opacity based on how closely my eyes are aligned to it
.

The ship's AI didn't respond, but popped up a meter tall panel with system's displays that were hastily being constructed by Ada, Tabby, Marny and Nick.

Show fuel and O2 reserves at bottom
.

Three bars popped up at the bottom showing ordinary fuel, O2 and singularity mass.

"Nick, what's this singularity mass?"

"I just saw it. Give me a second. I think it's related to creating a fold-space wave," he said.

Construct a second holo display on my left, also at thirty degrees. Show Mastodon and nearby objects
.

Platform nine seventy-five appeared and I could just pick out the tall prow of the
Mastodon
nestled within the scaffolding of the larger structure. The bow of the massive ship was narrower at the bottom, widening a small amount each level until reaching the top where it splayed out for the habitable decks.

Show crew and passenger count, highlight locations on ship display
.

Five glowing dots concentrated at the top of the ship, set back twenty meters from the extreme front. I recognized the bridge from the exterior shape of the opaque armor glass. Another glowing dot showed aft of the bridge and two decks below and finally the seventh glowing dot, down below in one of the lower cargo holds.

"You see this, Nick? We're really the only crew aboard," I said.

"I do. I've never seen so many autonomous systems. I doubt this ship is legal in Sol," he said. He was referring to the centuries old ban on autonomous, artificially intelligent systems.

"Is it even legal here?"

"Probably not. Both Curie and Lèger nations are part of the Autonomous Systems Treaty. I suspect that might be why we're sitting so far off Curie," Nick said. "I also found what the singularity mass is for. We were right, it's for the fold-space generator. It's an element called aninonium."

"Doesn't singularity relate to black holes?" I asked.

"It does. Best I can tell, the fold-space generator has two objectives; generate a tiny black hole and keep it contained. Same thing the TransLoc gates do, but self-contained," he said.

"What happens if the containment is broken?"

"Best case? You'd get dumped out of fold-space," Nick said.

"Let me guess. Worse case is we become part of the black hole?" Tabby asked.

"I think that's probably right, Tabby," he said. Nick was always calm, even when delivering the worst possible information.

"Seriously?" Ada asked, alarmed.

"No different than if one of our engines goes ballistic and lights us all on fire," I said. "Dead is dead, doesn't matter if you're really small because you're part of a black hole."

"Real funny, Hoffen," she muttered, going back to work at her station.

All stations report status for departure
.

I looked to the right and watched as the systems received final check-offs from the crew.

"Anino, Jonathan, please report your status. I'm about to lock down external access in preparation for departure," I said.

"You haven't even asked for a navigation plan, Hoffen," Anino said.

"Roger that, Anino. And, call me Captain when I'm in the chair, please," I said. "Tell me how many hours this ship has logged under sail."

"I don't see why that's relevant, Captain," he said. I detected just a hint of smugness in his delivery, but chose to ignore it.

"Just tell me."

"Zero."

That was just plain ridiculous. "You haven't even undocked and sailed around the platform?"

"No."

"It's called a shakedown cruise. I'd prefer not to be in the middle of the Deep Dark and lose an engine. Much easier to recover if we're still in a habitable system, don't you think?"

"Captain, we've a very short timeframe in which to save the crew of
Cape of Good Hope
. We need to leave now," he said.

"I'll take it under advisement and assume that means you're set. Jonathan, are you also good to go?"

"Hoffen, you'll…"

Mute Anino
.

Jonathan replied to my request. "I am ready, Captain. I see your crew has been inventorying and checking the status of ship systems. I have some recommendations for additions, if you are amenable."

"Of course," I said. "Please send them along to Nick and he'll see they're distributed."

My HUD showed a high priority comm in my queue. I had a few minutes while Nick distributed Jonathan's recommendations, so I opened it. It turned out to be a rant from Anino insisting that I listen to him about getting underway immediately and not losing time.

"Marny, are we secure?"

"Aye, Cap," she acknowledged. "We're secure and all weapons systems are at one hundred percent. For a big girl, she might be a little under-gunned, but any one of these turrets would open
Hotspur
up after a few solid hits. I just wouldn't want to run into anything too big."

"Roger that. Nick, environmental systems, fuel and friggin' singularity?"

Nick choked back a laugh, trying to remain professional. "All systems nominal. We've enough supplies for a hundred souls for the better part of a month."

"Ada, Tabby, flight systems?"

"We're green," Ada replied.

"Tabbs, how are we locked in here?" I asked.

"Magnetic station clamps. I show zero drift and can release on your command," she said.

I pulled the flight stick up with my right hand and the throttle control with my left. The ship had bow and stern thrusters that I could feel as small nipples on the left control.

"Release, Tabbs," I said.

A slight shudder rippled through the ship.

"We're free, Captain," she said.

I nudged the flight stick and throttle gently forward and we slid from our cradle.

"Drift, forward on starboard side," Ada announced.

Indeed we were drifting slightly toward the stationary platform. I gave the starboard bow thruster a nudge, overdoing it slightly, so I tapped the port thruster to make up for it. I ramped up the throttle just a smidge and we moved forward. It took almost twenty seconds for us to clear the platform.

"Will you look at that," Ada said, her words almost reverent. She and Tabby had constructed an external holo view of
Mastodon
and located it between them.

I had to agree with her sentiment. The ship was magnificent in its stately proportion.

"All hands, this is the Captain. This would be a good time to buckle up and set aside any volatile experiments. We're going to see how this big girl dances," I said.

I pushed forward on the throttle and pulled back gracefully on the stick. The lag I'd expected was there, No matter the size of the engines, one point eight kilo tonnes just can't respond immediately. When we did start moving, I reveled in the power the engines produced. We might be big, but we could be graceful. It was nowhere near as bad as pushing one point two kilometers of barge weighing in at seven point five kilo tonnes. Sailing a tug had been all about predicting when you wanted to make your next move.
Mastodon
just accelerated on a delayed schedule and she was a race horse wanting to be let free.

Clear of the platform, I set a course to take us a hundred thousand kilometers beneath Curie, where there was virtually no traffic. I also intended to do this at full burn. Tabby and Ada predicted this move, quickly settling into their chairs.

"
Prepare for hard burn
," I said, turning the ship onto the new course I'd laid out.

I gave it a five count and pushed the throttle down, stopping just past the hard burn indicator. On my holo display, the four engines came to life, a brilliant blue glow extending behind them just before the acceleration caught up with the rest of the ship. I allowed the acceleration to push me back into my seat. It wasn't anywhere near what we experienced on
Hotspur
, but on such a massive ship it was exhilarating.

The inertial and gravity systems caught up and the familiar feel of 1g rested on us. It would take twenty minutes to sail past Curie and I would remain in my seat, checking the monitors. If we were going to have a problem, it could come at any minute and I wanted to be ready.

I checked my system display. Something had knocked loose in the bilge and was giving us a yellow status. Boy, did that sound familiar. "Nick, you seeing that bilge issue?"

"Roger that. I've dispatched a repair bot. It's not critical," he said.

Unmute Anino
.

"Phillippe, how are you hanging in there?"

"What the frak are you doing, Hoffen?" His teenaged-voice cracked as he spoke.

"Taking her out for her maiden voyage," I said. "And remember, I'm in the chair. Call me Captain." I knew I was pushing him, but I needed to firmly cement the idea.

"Well, Captain, you've all but wrecked my lab," he said.

"Understood. I'd get that stowed. You've twenty minutes before our next maneuver," I replied, trying hard not to feel smug.

"Are you trying to piss me off?" he asked.

"Is it working?"

He cut the comm.

At a hundred thousand kilometers, we were well out of the influence of Curie's gravity, so I hadn't expected any problems. I cut the burn and allowed us to drift past, all the while reorienting for a much closer pass. I would bring us in close and fast so that the gravity of the planet would significantly deflect our trajectory. I worked out the navigation pass as I spun the engines back up. We'd turned almost a hundred eighty degrees and as a result it would take twenty minutes to zero out our delta-v with Curie and about the same amount of time to get back in for our next pass.

"Check me on this, Tabbs," I said and sent my plan to both Ada and Tabby.

"You know the ship would make this calculation for you," Ada said.

"Just being cautious," I said.

"You're good," Tabby said. "If you add another five degrees, you'll intercept an old ship graveyard. There are big hulks in there for Marny to get in a live fire test."

"Brilliant. Add it," I said.

She pushed it back to me and I plugged it in as our new path. The ship adjusted slightly and we kept sailing on.

Just as we'd barely zeroed out our delta-v with Curie, Marny cut in. "Cap. We've a heavy cruiser approaching fast to the starboard. They're hailing us. It's
Fist of Justice
."

"That was fast. We haven't done anything provocative yet, have we?" I asked.

"Guilty conscience is about all, Cap," Marny said.

Accept hail
.

"
Mastodon
here, Captain Liam Hoffen. How may I be of assistance?" I asked.

"Hoffen? This is Admiral Tullas. I need you to heave to for a confab," she said.

"Admiral, is this official business? We're right in the middle of running a shakedown cruise," I said.

"Where's Anino?" she asked.