Inadvertent Adventures (30 page)

"Yep, and I'll bet Captain Ann and Sterling aren't going to be as generous in the terms as they were to get
Mintze
and
Tivor Carva
out there. Not with a habitable planet and every multi-system conglomerate begging for a piece of the pie. DA-CC got a great deal on the first round, but I'm betting that Frisland and Leander get better deals for us."

Carrie-Marie grinned and sniffed. "That smells good. What did you make?"

Katrina grinned and replied, "Chili."

CM laughed and said, "I'm glad I'm not on watch with Bart tonight." Katrina had to laugh with her.

R
EPRESENTATIVES OF MARITZ MINES OF BELOOFTE
met the
Admiral Ann's Revenge
as soon as she docked. Three women and four men were waiting when the mandatory health checks had been completed and the hatch opened.

"Captain Stevenson," a well-dressed woman said as she stepped forward, "I am Elmalene van der Horst, Vice President of Extraterritorial Mining for Maritz Mines." She smiled when Ann took her extended hand.

"I'm pleased to meet you, Madam van der Horst," Ann replied. "This is my husband and First Mate, Sterling Stevenson."

Everyone on the dock nodded briefly to Sterling, then Madam van der Horst spoke to Ann again. "Captain, were you contacted by David de Klerk in Farflung?" When Ann looked puzzled, she continued. "I thought the timing seemed too close. He probably arrived after you left. It is our understanding that you haven't made any agreements concerning mining on your inner planets other than number three. Is this still the case?"

Ann nodded her head deeply. "It is, though we named the third planet Clementine. DA-CC has exclusive rights there for five years. Leander, the second planet, has no claims on it as of yet."

"Ah, good." Madam van der Horst sighed. "We were afraid that DA-CC might have made arrangements concerning the other planets as well. And what of Frisland?"

"Frisland will be opened for colonization and exploration soon, but the Confederate Government has asked us to begin annexation negotiations. We won't be making any arrangements until the annexation is settled."

The men and women on the dock exchanged glances before Madam van der Horst spoke again. "Very well, Captain, but as to your second planet, you called it Leander?" she asked, tilting her head to the side. When Ann nodded, she continued. "We would like to open negotiations concerning Planet Leander. I am accompanied by the six vice presidents who will be involved with your system if we can reach an agreement."

Ann gave Sterling a curious look before she turned back. "We would be pleased to open negotiations with you, Madam van der Horst. If you and your colleagues would care to join us, we have a full set planetary scans in our computers. We were able to convince the
Mintze
to leave their survey instruments behind."

Again the men and women looked at one another, then as one stepped forward. "That was a bold move on the part of the
Mintze's
captain. We would like to review your findings, if we may?"

Ann and Sterling bowed slightly and led the way into the ship. Since these negotiations were going to affect everyone, Ann led them into the wardroom. She spotted Katrina in the galley and said, "Miss Von Rubenstein, please arrange for refreshments to be brought in from the station." She indicated the table at the front of the room because it had the briefing controls.

Kat came to attention and replied, "Yes, Ma'am," and turned away.

"Von Rubenstein, Captain?" Madam van der Horst asked.

"Yes," Ann replied with a smile. "Perhaps now you see part of why we gave such favorable terms to DA-CC in our initial negotiations, and why Captain Banner of the
Mintze
was willing to leave us his scanners." She and Sterling took one side while the seven members of the Maritz team took the other.

"I do indeed," one of the men murmured. "If it's not prying, what is her relationship to the DA-CC Chairman?"

Sterling sat forward slightly and answered. "She is the niece of Countess Alexandra Von Rubenstein-Habsburg, and the daughter of former chairman Brandon Von Rubenstein."

One of the other women sat forward now. "So DA-CC essentially controls ten percent of your system already."

Ann snorted in amusement. "Not on your life.
Katrina
controls one tenth, not her aunt or father."

"Even so, for one so young, her family must exert a large amount of control."

Ann's eyes were brimming with laughter as she replied, "Not so you'd notice. Let's leave Miss Von Rubenstein out of this for now. She will, as a voting stockholder, have a say in ratifying any agreement, but she and the rest of the crew have left the negotiating to us. Now, Planet Leander." Ann used the controls at her side to call up a hologram of Leander. "The planet is a rocky body with a thin, poisonous atmosphere. Surface gravity is one-point-two-two standard Earth gravities. It has a twenty-nine point three hour rotation, and a two-hundred and eight day period. Leander shows every indication that it is tectonically active, and we observed twelve active volcanoes while were doing our survey." Ann marked the volcanoes in red.

Sterling took up the briefing. "It's proximity to Farflung results in a high radiation field in orbit, but it also has a strong magnetosphere that helps compensate to some extent. Still, any orbiting station will have to be well-shielded. Fortunately, Leander shows high concentrations of heavy elements, including lead for shields. There also seems to be an abundance of uranium and transuranic elements." He paused as the people on the other side of the table grew excited. "Thought you'd like that."

Ann took over again now that Sterling had dangled the bait in front of them. "We will not be granting exclusive rights to Leander like we did with Clementine, but we are inclined to grant favorable terms to any organization willing to invest in opening the Farflung System."

Ann and Sterling sat with the Maritz Mines people for seven hours before Ann nodded and stood. "I think we have an agreement. We have to present it to the crew for acceptance, which we will do this evening. I will contact you in the morning with our decision." She smiled and nodded toward the door, and the seven vice presidents took the hint.

Madam van der Horst stood and nodded her head deeply to Ann. "I will present this to our Board of Directors and Chairman as soon as we land, Captain. While we would have preferred an agreement like the one you made with DA-CC, I feel certain they will be pleased with what we have arranged."

Ann and Sterling escorted their guests out of the ship and stopped beside Thom at the port. "Good news, Captain?" Thom asked when he saw her expression.

"Very good, Thom. I'll give everyone the details at supper so we can vote. For now, just be aware that they are willing to send a mining and refinery ship to Leander orbit." Thom chuckled as Ann and Sterling turned back toward the ship.

Katrina and Carrie-Marie met them in the wardroom. Kat stepped forward and placed a fresh pot of coffee on the table. "Real coffee, Captain."

Sterling pushed past Ann and poured cups for both of them. "Oh, Kat, you're an angel," he all but sighed as he took his first sip. They had run out of real coffee a month before they arrived.

Ann was laughing, but she was sipping her coffee as well. "CM, double loadout of coffee from now on. Store it in an empty berthing compartment if you have to, but I never want to drink that concentrated swill again."

Carrie-Marie smiled over the lip of her cup. "Yes, Ma'am. From what I overheard, the Maritz deal sounds good."

"It is," Sterling agreed, "but we'll give everyone the full details tonight."

* * *

That evening the entire crew gathered in the wardroom, including Doctor Mandel. He, however, didn't have a say in the matter. Only the ten members of the crew who were on board when Farflung and Frisland were discovered held an interest in the system. The good doctor sat and fumed in impotent rage as he sipped his coffee, glaring at the rest of the crew.

Ann stood and smiled at everyone, then began. "Maritz Mines wants to begin mining Leander. Because of the remoteness of Farflung and the need for materials in-system, they are sending out the robotic mining and refinery ship
Langenhoven
to begin extracting shielding materials. It's going to be a one-way trip for the old
Langenhoven.
The ship
will be the center of an orbital refining operation, and will be staying in Farflung to supply the system needs as well as refined products to send back to the Confederacy. They are also going to send out the old Kosviner Line cruise ship
Tashmeryn
as a safe berthing and rest station. It would seem that Maritz owns a lot more than just mines. The
Tashmeryn
will be in Frisland orbit, and will be the Maritz supply station as well.
We
have permission to use the
Tashmeryn
facilities for R and R. Two guesses whose idea that was." She paused to grin at Sterling, but he just grinned back. "In return, we are granting Maritz three years free run, with a ten percent net payment from that point forward. We are
not
granting them exclusive rights. This is not as generous as our contract with DA-CC, but it is close. And it's the last time we'll do it. Any further contracts will require payment from the start, but we felt the offer from Maritz was generous enough to warrant a little generosity on our part."

"Ma'am?" Bart said, and stood when Ann nodded to him. "Kat showed me the figures she worked up on the net worth of the Farflung System. Why grant concessions at all?"

Ann tilted her head to the side briefly. "Because we don't have that money yet. The investment Maritz is making is in the neighborhood of seven hundred million credits. That's initial outlay for the
Langenhoven
and
Tashmeryn
, even as old as they are. Because of the high radiation around Leander, the
Langenhoven
is going to need extra shielding just to begin operations. And there is crew pay as well. One of the people we spoke to was their VP of Human Resources. They are going to have to pay triple-scale to get their people out there and working in such a hazardous location until the fully shielded facility can be built. Even after that, they estimate double-scale until the system is settled. That is, by the way, what DA-CC is paying their people."

Sterling took over as Ann sat down. "We did not say yes to this proposal yet, even though we have enough proxies to do so. We'd like each of you to vote on this yourself. I'd like a show of hands on the Maritz proposal. For?" he asked, and smiled as all eight hands rose. "A unanimous vote. We'll radio our acceptance to Maritz in the morning. No need to seem too anxious about it."

Ann stood next to Sterling and held his arm. "Very well, my friends. Dismissed to quarters except the in-port watch." She smiled as everyone left, then frowned as Doctor Mandel approached them.

"Captain, I will be leaving the ship as soon as I can pack my bags. I understood that I was to be a full member of the crew, yet you deny me a share of Farflung. So be it, but from this point forward you have no medical officer."

Ann nodded once. "As you wish, Doctor, but remember that we didn't want you on board to begin with. Countess Alexandra pretty much forced you on us because of Kat. I'll post your pay as soon as we return to our quarters. And I'll pay you the full two-hundred credits a day that the regular crew gets. On behalf of the crew of the
Admiral Ann's Revenge
, let me say that I'll be glad to see your back." With that she turned away and led Sterling out of wardroom, smiling at the sound of sputtering from behind her.

T
HE
ADMIRAL ANN'S REVENGE
ARRIVED IN
the Georgia System fifteen days later. As soon as their identity was known, the Confederate Government contacted them.

"
Admiral Ann's Revenge,
please dock at Savannah Space Harbor, Dock Stewart. You will be met by Confederate Security officers to escort Captain Stevenson and whoever else of the crew she wishes to bring along to the Government Complex on the surface."

Ann exchanged a glance with Sterling. "I think we should dress up a little," Sterling suggested, and Ann nodded her agreement.

"Denise, you have the ship. Bring Mandy and Bart up to help bring us in."

Denise smiled and stood to take the captain's chair. "I have the ship, aye." She thumbed on the ship-wide announcing system and said, "Miss Carter to Control. Mister Roberts to control." They both arrived just a few moments later, and Ann and Sterling went to their quarters. They had all picked up some formal clothing in Beloofte orbit and this seemed like the time to wear it.

As soon as the health checks were completed, Ann and Sterling walked out to find a ten-person escort waiting for them. The leader stepped forward and snapped to attention.

"Captain Stevenson, we are here to escort you groundside."

Ann nodded. "We were informed, Captain. Lead the way." The security guards formed up around them as they followed the captain toward the shuttle bays.

The shuttle they boarded was an official diplomatic shuttle. In other words, it was luxurious. The fittings alone were probably worth more than the
Revenge's
shuttle. An exquisitely polite hostess brought them drinks as soon as they sat down. Deep, overstuffed seats cushioned them as they entered the planet's atmosphere, and the sound baffles were so effective that there was barely a roar as they fell through the atmosphere. Their greeting groundside an hour later was equally surprising. There was no brass band, but there was a crowd waiting for them. It soon became apparent, though, that the crowd was made up entirely of reporters. Hundreds of them.

Ann looked at the mass of reporters and muttered, "Geez, you'd think we were holo-stars or something."

The captain heard her and laughed. "Captain Stevenson, you are a good deal more famous than any holo-star ever dreamed of being." He escorted them to a government limousine while the reporters shouted questions, and they were whisked away toward the center of the city.