Inadvertent Adventures (29 page)

Ann smiled as she sat back. Hopefully there would be good news waiting for them in Beloofte.

T
ASK FORCE 305, UNDER ADMIRAL
Cynthia Meerhof, emerged into normal space on the outskirts of the Farflung System and immediately broadcast a message in-system.

"Admiral Ann's Revenge,
Captain Stevenson, this is Admiral Meerhof on board the CSS
Amsterdam
. We are in-system bound and I would like to set up a conference as soon as we are in reasonable communications distance."

The reply came eleven hours later. "Admiral Meerhof, this is Captain Manfred Kempler of the DA-CC refinery ship
Tivor Carva.
The
Admiral Ann's Revenge
returned to the Confederacy thirteen days ago for provisions. May I ask the purpose of your visit?"

Admiral Meerhof considered her answer for more than an hour before she sent it. "Captain Kempler, I hope your ship is running at full capacity. The Navy sent us out here to secure the system. Frisland is habitable, and shows no sign of intelligent life. The decision hadn't been made before we left, but Admiral Gagarin expects the Planetary Claims Commission to grant Captain Stevenson and her crew full rights to the planet. I would expect dozens of ships to be on their way out here wanting to open negotiations with Captain Stevenson." She closed the recording and had the com-tech send it. "And she's not here. This is going to be a mess." She turned and regarded the
Amsterdam's
captain with a questioning expression.

"We have twenty ships, Ma'am," the captain of the
Amsterdam
said as he took receipt of the message. "We should be able to handle any trouble."

The trouble started nine days later. A ship arrived near the Farflung System and immediately broadcast a message in-system.
"Admiral Ann's Revenge
, is the
Capetown
, under contract to Maritz Mines. I am David de Klerk, representing the Maritz Board of Directors. We would like to open negotiations concerning mining rights in your system."

The answer came seventeen hours later.
"Capetown
, this is Admiral Meerhof on board the CSS
Amsterdam
. The
Admiral Ann's Revenge
returned to the Confederacy three weeks ago."

Mister de Klerk sat in stunned silence for a moment. "We missed them," he whispered. He had the communications officer broadcast another message. "CSS
Amsterdam,
this is David de Klerk on the
Capetown.
Who has jurisdiction in this system now?"

The reply was exactly what he didn't want to hear.
"Capetown
, this is Admiral Meerhof. No one in the system has jurisdiction to negotiate any rights. We are here to discourage anyone who wants to try poaching."

Mister de Klerk contemplated his situation for nearly an hour before making his decision. "If they are headed to Beloofte, the Board will have someone else begin negotiations there. Captain, we've made this trip for nothing. Please set course to return to Beloofte. I want to send another message to Admiral Meerhof." At the communications officer's nod, he spoke toward the microphone. "Admiral Meerhof, this is David de Klerk. We are returning to Beloofte.
Capetown
out."

The captain nodded. "We must refuel first. I show just forty-seven percent left in our tanks. I will contact the DA-CC ship
Tivor Carva
for fuel availability."

"Very well, captain. Do as you think necessary." Mister de Klerk walked out of the control room, leaving the captain to see to his ship.

They spent ten days decelerating into the Farflung system before rendezvousing with the
Tivor Carva
to take on fuel, then another ten accelerating outward before they blinked into hyper for the long voyage home.

The
Capetown
was just the first of the ships seeking the
Admiral Ann's Revenge
to be disappointed. Nine other mining conglomerates, six trade cartels, and twenty-seven system news crews all arrived within the next six days, and all of them were given the same message.

"There is no one here to negotiate with. The
Admiral Ann's Revenge
is on the way home."

Only Captain Kempler was happy with the situation. The old
Tivor Carva
was operating at nearly thirty percent capacity, and he was the only place in the system to get fuel. DA-CC was going to be
very
pleased when these credit transfers hit the banks.

* * *

The
Admiral Ann's Revenge
emerged from hyperspace near the Nuwe Vaderland System and began their braking burn. "Fifty-seven percent left in the fuel tanks, Ann," Sterling said as they decelerated into the system.

"Not bad," Ann noted without looking up from her computer screen. "Running empty saves a lot of fuel. Contact Beloofte Space Control and arrange docking and replenishment. I want to head for New Frankfurt as soon as we can."

The reply to their broadcast in-system was stunning. The compressed message took ten minutes to receive, and took up thirteen gigabytes of storage. "Lords of Space, what the hell is all that?" Sterling asked as he began the decompression sequence. What it was turned out to be lengthily messages from DA-CC, GMM, Maritz Mines, the Confederate Government, and just about every news service in the confederacy.

Sterling opened the government message first. "To Captain Stevenson and the crew of the space ship
Admiral Ann's Revenge,
from the Planetary Affairs Commission," Commissioner Terras said as he smiled, "we are pleased to announce that the planet Frisland is habitable by humans, and shows no sign of a sentient native species. The crew of the
Admiral Ann's Revenge
is granted full rights to the planet Frisland as well as the other five planets of the Farflung System. Upon receipt of this message, we request that you come to Atlanta to begin annexation negotiations. On behalf of the Planetary Affairs Commission, this is Commissioner Terras."

Sterling grinned at Ann, and she smiled back just as broadly. Ann opened the ship-wide intercom and said, "It's ours. Planetary Affairs has granted us full rights to Frisland and wants to annex the Farflung System." The sound of someone screaming with joy came from the direction of the wardroom, and Ann giggled at Sterling. "I don't know who that was, but I agree."

The DA-CC message was next. "Captain Stevenson," Countess Alexandra said from the screen, "we have the report from
Mintze
concerning the planet Clementine. Per our agreement, we have already dispatched the mining base ship
Neander
to Farflung to begin extraction, and the ore carrier
Beowulf
to begin shipping. When you receive this message, please come to New Frankfurt to begin negotiating for rights to the planet Frisland. There is an attachment to this message that is personal for Kat. Please deliver it to her. On behalf of DA-CC, congratulations."

"After we deal with Planetary Affairs," Sterling said as he looked at Ann.

"There're messages from Maritz Mines, Germanicus Mining and Minerals, and about a dozen other mining concerns," Ann noted. "Those will wait. Well, maybe we can talk to Maritz while we are here. There are also requests for interviews with every news agency from Confederate News to the New Kashmir Enquirer. This is going to take forever to sort out."

Sterling nodded. "I'll separate out the personal mail and send it to the queues. Then we can begin looking at the mining rights requests."

* * *

The first message for Katrina was from her mother. She opened the file and smiled as her mother's image smiled up at her. "My darling Kat, how we've missed you. I know you are a grown-up now, but I really want you to come home for a visit. As you already know, your father and I have gone our separate ways. His actions forced me to respond.

"Your sister Cynthia has provided you with three new nieces. Yes, I said three. The triplets were born on November third, thirty-five thirty-two." Kat looked at the chrono that had automatically reset when they reached Beloofte. It was October ninth, thirty-five thirty-three.

"Katrina, I know you wanted to go see the universe, to explore the Confederacy, but you've done that now. Come home. We miss you terribly. I love you, darling." The recording blanked and Katrina sat back. Her mother hadn't said something. She could see it in her eyes. Sighing, she stored the message and moved on to her other mail.

The second message was from her father. She considered just deleting it, but curiosity was her major vice and she opened it anyway. "Katrina," Brandon began, "while I cannot force you to return to us, I must urge you to do so. Come home and all will be forgiven. This adventurous life you have chosen is likely to end in your death. Johan told us of the injuries you sustained in the initial accident that led to the discovery of Frisland. It is irresponsible of you to--"

She stopped the recording and snarled at the screen. "Father knows best. Father decides. Father can kiss my ass," she said at last and deleted the file.

The last was from Aunt Alex. "My little Kat, oh, how you've made me proud! You are now a one-tenth owner of a star system! Brandi is beside himself. He wants to take your proxy for Farflung and begin expanding DA-CC in that direction, under
his
control." Kat bared her teeth at her aunt's image. Now she knew what her mom hadn't said. "Kat, you are not bound to let your father control your assets. He lost all legal rights when he disinherited you.
I
will be negotiating with Ann and Sterling Stevenson on behalf of DA-CC. Your father will not be in charge, no matter what machinations he has in mind."

Katrina stopped the playback and sat back, nodding to her aunt's image. "So, my ever so beloved father thinks he's going to manage my life after the way he treated me. Fat chance." She started the playback again.

"Kat, I don't know if this has occurred to you yet, but your percentage of the Farflung system is going to exceed the value of all of Brandi's stock in DA-CC. It
has
occurred to him. That's why he wants control of your assets. If he has them, he
can
take control of DA-CC again."

"Like hell," Katrina snarled.

"I think you just said something profane, and you should be ashamed," her aunt's image said, then laughed. "I know you, Kat. You are so very like me at your age. I'll remind you of something else: Your good captain's big brother is Secretary of Commerce Fairmont. She, and by extension he, are likely to have a lot to say about how Farflung is run. And she seems to have your best interests, and indeed the best interests of her entire crew, in mind. I'd personally recommend giving her full authority over your percentage of Farflung. That's all for now. You should receive this message when you return to Beloofte. I'm sure more will happen between now and then, but we'll catch up when you return to New Frankfurt. Until then, be well."

Countess Alexandra's image faded and Kat sat back. "Father and his grasping for power are getting old." She looked at her computer and shook her head. She hadn't really considered what her percentage of the Farflung System was going to be worth, other than a
lot
, but she wasn't surprised that her father had.

She called up the reports on Clementine and Leander. Her computer had access to the entire Beloofte Planetary Net, and she started assessing mining futures and the stock of the local mining conglomerates as well as that of reports from other systems.

Sometime later, her intercom chimed. "Yes?"

Carrie-Marie's voice asked, "Are you cooking today, Kat?"

"What?" she asked, then looked at her chrono. "Oh, shit! On my way!" She hit the “save file” command and all but ran for the wardroom. She found CM waiting for her. "Sorry."

"You have time, but just barely," CM said as she watched Kat slide past her.

"Sorry, sorry, sorry," Kat chanted as she hit her menu selection and punched the “Really Quick” tab.

"What were you doing, reviewing your mail?"

"Yes and no. I already listened to all of the messages, and I was checking out some things Aunt Alex said." Katrina was measuring ingredients as she spoke and pouring them into a big pot. "My father is going to try taking over my assets so he can control one tenth of Farflung."

"Kat, that's not-"

"I'm not going to let him, don't worry about that," Katrina interrupted. "Aunt Alex suggested letting Captain Ann and Sterling handle everything, and I think she's right. I was checking mining projections and stocks on the net when you called." She turned to look at CM. "My best guess, and that's just based on the report on Clementine, not Leander, Frisland, or Jarnsaxa, is that each of us is worth about sixty billion Confederate Credits now."

Carrie-Marie looked at her as her lip quivered. "B-B-B-Billion?"

"Yeah, about sixty
billion
. Each." Kat grinned at the stunned expression on CM's face. "Of course, that doesn't consider cost, that's just what the raw materials are going to be worth. Figure at least fifty percent loss on extraction, processing, and transport, and the fact that we're only going to receive a small portion of DA-CC's profits for a while. Still, that's-"

"That's still a few billion each," CM finished for her.

"And that's just Clementine," Kat continued.

"Leander has even more valuable minerals," CM pointed out.

"With a proportionately higher cost of extraction because of its location and the amount of radiation and radioactive materials to deal with. I haven't done the calculations yet, but I'd guess another ten to fifteen billion each. It's Frisland that's going to really be valuable, though."

"Colony rights?" CM guessed.

"Among other things," Kat agreed. "Depending on what we-well, really depending on what
I
can do with the local flora and fauna, we may have a full resupply station right there for exploration between Farflung and the edge of the Confederacy."

"More than DA-CC is going to have to be involved, Kat. We're going to need a space station at Frisland and Clementine, and probably Jarnsaxa as well. The
Tivor Carva
can act as a refueling station for now, but something else is going to have to be done."