The Bright Black Sea (109 page)

She gave me a look and another smile, 'Perhaps you
will, one day. I'll pass your advice along.'

We walked in silence for a while.

'I'm going to miss you, Grandmama.'

'And I, you, son.'

'Perhaps when this is settled we can renew our
acquaintance, though I suppose I'd need some sort of assurance
things had been settled before contacting you. I'd hate to put you
in an awkward position.'

'If it's settled and I believe it will be, I'll
mention meeting you to your mother. If not, I won't. So if she
knows of our meetings, you'll know it'll be safe to contact me.
But, Wil, if you haven't the time – you can just call on me. Family
trumps the Order.'

'I'd not want to put you into that position. I can
look after myself, but, I don't want to loose touch, so I will see
you again, when I can.'

'I'm sure you will,' she replied. Neither of us
believed that.

We walked and talked our way to the Yacht Club and
had lunch before saying our goodbyes.

'I really hope our orbits will cross again soon,
Grandmama. I'm happy I've had this chance to get to know you and
work with you. And you know how much I appreciate everything you've
done for me.'

'Yes, and I've grown... fond of you, Wil. Please take
care. And when you can, come and see me again.'

I gave her a grin. Fond of was probably a pretty
notable accomplishment with Grandmama. Still I couldn't resist
needling her, 'I've come to love you too, Grandmama. And I'm rather
proud to have an Abbess for a grandmother. And I will take care,
and see you again, when I can.'

She grabbed the lobe of my ear and gave it a twist.
'You don't tease your Grandmother or an Abbess, son.'

'Yes, Grandmama.'

05

I was waiting for Molaye in a cafe inside the main
terminal building. The late afternoon sun was slanting through the
tall clearsteel windows spilling across the wide mall when I saw
her making her way through these strips of light to our agreed
rendezvous. She wasn't wearing her pirate piece, this was the Unity
after all, but the ghost of it was there in her swaying swagger. I
noted how groups of burly spaceers shifted well out of her way
instead of brushing past her like they would for an ordinary
spaceer. And this, before they could make out the first mate's ring
on her cap's emblem. She radiated that air of easy, carefree right
to command that you can't fake. And everyone could read it. She
smiled and greeted spaceers she recognized, and, as she approached,
grinned when she saw me.

'How'd it go Wil?' she asked as she settled into the
chair across the small table from me. 'We're all going to miss
Grandma M'Risha.'

'And the free drinks at the Wandering Star.'

She laughed, 'There was a lot more than free drinks.
She's a good mate.'

'Aye, and I will miss her as well. We've grown quite
fond of each other. Hopefully, I'll have a chance to get to know
her better when I've given up this life.'

She laughed. 'And when will that be?'

'This will be my last voyage as captain. I hope the
ship will be yours, at the end of it.'

She got serious fast, 'Really Wil? I thought you
still had at least a decade left, now that we'd settled into a nice
milk run. Or we had.'

'No. I was just letting you season, not that you
needed it, but since you didn't seem too restless I kept putting
off moving on, reluctant to leave the gang...'

'I'm not restless. Not at all.'

'You'd be soon, enough. And I'm truly tired of this
shiftless life. So it's time. You see, long ago I made a promise to
Min to stand by her when she confronts the killers of her parents.
She's never actually agreed to that, but that now seems to be in
our future.'

'Really?'

'This is strictly between us, but it looks like we're
going to Min's home world, or moon, or whatever. Neb knows where
we're going, but from what Vinden has told Min, I gather that
there's a throne to be recovered from usurpers, and it's a case of
do or die trying.'

'And you want to go along?' she asked. 'You always
told me that all you wanted was a milk run.'

'All I wanted was a milk run, but that's hardly what
we got until these last few years. And did it last? On Calissant I
promised Min that I'd stand by her and I intend to keep that
promise – if she lets me. But even if that doesn't fly this will be
my last voyage. It's on to cha planting, or restoring vintage
rocket boats, or something on a big, safe Unity world. And well,
you're ready, and I don't want you to get impatient. I want to turn
the
Starry Shore
over to you. Someone I trust.'

'I'm not impatient. I'm not sure I even want to be a
captain. I like serving with you.'

'And I'd not want anyone else. But you do want to be
a ship's captain. And you're ready to be one.

She grinned. Couldn't deny it. 'Do you think Min will
appoint me?' she asked.

'Who else? And I'm sure you'll have as free a hand as
I've had. She has no interest in being a shipowner anymore.
It
will be yours. Hopefully you'll see the
advantage of a milk run sooner rather than later. But that'll be
your choice in a few months.'

She looked away for a few moments, thinking. And
turned back, 'Thank you, Wil.'

'I always seen the it in you, Molaye. It was merely a
matter of bringing you along and getting out of the way. You've
earned it. And that's what counts. Now, I haven't ordered yet, and
there's no hurry to get back onboard so what shall we have to
celebrate the future Captain Merlun of the
Starry
Shore
?'

06

Fueled, we took on supplies and shifted to the
offings, awaiting orders. Two days later the
Rift Raven
cleared Constina orbit, and we sailed in company for Plyra. A day
later Min ordered us to cease acceleration and clear our hulls of
the tracers that had been slyly planted as we fueled and waited in
the offing. Botts noted with special care the location of the three
that had been attached to our hull – Grandmama was on the case – so
we made quick work of it. We sent them on to Plyra and altered
course for Ravin. I rather doubted we'd fool our trackers for long,
but perhaps for long enough.

Ten days later, after we were finished with engines,
we made the
Rift Raven
our drone and took her crew, Min,
Vynnia and Tenry, aboard and partied for several days. Since they'd
been aboard the ship when Botts had come aboard as a prize-master
for Explora Miner, we didn't bother to hide Botts, though, as
usual, we didn't share its full potential with them. I rather
feared the influence of Uncle Hawk on Min, and so I warned my
shipmates to keep Botts' full potential our secret. I think they
were just as protective of it as I was.

As old shipmates, rather than passengers, Min, Vynnia
and Tenry slipped right back into the ship's little society. Of
course things were different. Molaye had Vynnia's old job, so
Vynnia had to find other things to do. And Min was captain now,
though there was nothing that required her to show her authority,
so it didn't matter on a practical level. I still made my rounds
and approved Illy's bookkeeping as usual, but I was already viewing
myself as a passenger. It was time. The question hanging fire was,
what lay ahead – following Min on a quest to regain some throne or
finding a high volcanic peak on some world to plant cha trees.

01

'A word with you,' said Min quietly out of the
dimness of the awning deck as I made my nightly inspection.

'Of course,' I said, making my way around the
scattered deck chairs – pulling one closer, I settled across from
her where she sat, sprawled out, legs hanging over the arm rests of
the lounger. 'What can I do for you?'

'You say you want to follow me. What exactly do you
see yourself doing?'

'Well,' I began, settling down. 'Can I simply follow
orders?'

'Hardly. You've a history of not simply following
orders.'

'Perhaps,' I laughed.

'And you've expressed skepticism about this whole
venture.'

'Well, it's true – I don't trust Hawker Vinden. And
I'm leery of whatever he has in mind. But I think I can trust you
not to play the fool.'

'Really?'

I shrugged. 'We've both seen a lot more of the Neb. I
think we understand each other well enough to work well
together.'

'I never agreed to share this affair with you. And I
hope you'll agree that I'm far from helpless – I don't need or want
your help, nor your pity. I think we can put all that talk from
years ago aside. You've nothing to prove. You owe me nothing.'

'Ah,' I muttered, carefully gathering my thoughts.
'True. And I realize you don't need me along. But I have been
involved from the start. I've paid a steep price for that night.
I'm not complaining, mind you, but well, I've paid my dues, so to
speak. And well, when I make a promise, I need to keep it or live
regretting that I didn't. I'd like to keep my promise. But with
some provisos.'

'Provisos? Such as?'

'Well, we both witnessed the destruction of D'Lay's
jump fighter wing, and I, the destruction of Nun's ship in the
reef. Both were futile gestures and I suspect, predictably so. They
arose from following an oath or sense of duty regardless of the
consequences. I felt, and still feel, they were foolish, indeed,
stupid to do what they did, and I'm not prepared to follow their
example. I hope you're not either.'

She shrugged, 'I've no desire to die. But as you
said, promises need to be kept.'

'Of course. But you wanted answers, not revenge.
Vinden can give you the answers.'

'And if I want more. If I want, say, justice?'

'If you can achieve it, yes. And if the prospect
looks promising, or at least reasonable, I hope you'll keep me by
your side. But if you let Vinden, or a blind promise, or revenge
lead you into some hopeless gesture, you'll go without me.'

'No longer the romantic?'

'Not for war, or hopeless causes.'

'And how are you going to judge that?'

'How are we going to judge that? I'm not going to
trust Vinden. He's spent too much of his life on this quest to be
trusted to make a rational decision. So I'm hoping you'll make him
tell you what's involved before you commit to anything. I've never
considered you a fool, Min, and after years of trading in the
drifts, I suspect you've an eye for judging the prospects and the
dangers in any venture. I'm prepared to trust you to make those
calls, as long as I feel you're using your judgement, not
Vinden's.'

'You mean I'm to take a rational approach to the
murder of my parents? And the several attempts to kill me as
well?'

'Aye,' I said. 'I believe that's the standard. I
suspect we've both faced death often enough to be able to do
that.'

'But if I can't. If it means more to me than just my
life, or the lives of my parents. If there's something bigger, more
important. Something purer, like right and wrong, and the outcome
is far from assured. Then I'm on my own, as far as you're
concerned?'

'Well, the criteria I'll use is the chance of
success,' I admitted, after a pause. 'A hopeless crusade will right
no wrongs. It'll just get people killed.' There was no going back
for me. That was the compromise I'd made with myself. I'd grown
ruthless enough, and far enough apart from Min, to let her go off
and make her gesture, if she cared to do so.

She laughed. 'You've become a hard man, Captain
Litang.'

'I've always been a cautious man, Min, and still am.
But yes, I've become a bit more ruthless as well. Fighting battles
you can't win is simply stupid.'

'How we will know when a battle can't be won until we
fight it? I've no intention of making a hopeless gesture, but we
won't know what we can do until we're facing it, will we?

'Yes, I suppose. And I guess we're on the same chart,
more or less. But do you know what you want? Do you really want to
be a ruler of some drift world or whatever?'

She shrugged. 'I don't know. I do know that I don't
want to spend my life aboard a spaceship. I've had my fill of ships
and space. I don't know where my ancestors lived, or what they
ruled, but I don't think I'll miss this life.'

'I can't argue with that. I'm ready to give it up
myself. This is my last voyage as a spaceer, no matter how things
turn out at the far end of it. And since I've mentioned it, I hope
you'll give command to Molaye. She's ready and has earned it.'

'This is not the time to discuss it, but I see no
reason why not. I don't know what I'll do with my ships. It all
depends on what lies ahead. I may well have no use for them, once
the rockets go up on this expedition. We'll have time to consider
that later.'

'Right. Just thought I'd mention it. I believe we're
on the same chart – see what Vinden has to say and launch from
there.'

'I will, But will you?"

'I've been very cooperative. I haven't raised one
objection to anything you've proposed.'

'You let Myes and Nadde leave the ship contrary to my
orders.'

'Guild regulations. I didn't have a solid sailing
time to keep them,' I replied easily. She hadn't been especially
angry at the time and was now just teasing. I think.

'Still, it makes it hard to completely trust you,'
she said quietly.

'I don't suppose you can, completely,' I replied.
'I'm not a robot like Botts who'll follow your orders
unquestioningly. But you can trust me to always do what I think is
best for you. Myes and Nadde had told me they were taking a voyage
off before you turned up. Between Guild regulations and my honor, I
didn't have a choice.'

'So you say, Captain. So you say.'

02