The Bright Black Sea (68 page)

Min and I were standing behind the control consoles.
Behind us, Tenry was manning our weapons control section with Rafe
next to him at the main sensor post. Before us, Kie had the look
out station next to Vynnia at the helm, with Riv at the engine
controls. Molaye was at the drone control station. We'd brought all
of them in close and had them hanging off the ship, with the idea
that perhaps they could take a hit, instead of the ship or somehow
disrupt the berserker's attack. Lilm was behind me at the extended
engineering station. Once more I'd ordered the engine room cleared
and sealed.

'Ever run into a berserker?' I asked Vynnia, quietly
as we watched the plot of the approaching rogue machine on the
display before us.

'No. They're very rare and usually stay very deep in
the drifts. They don't have to work and can sit idle for a thousand
years. They are machines, after all.'

'We'll be launching our attack as soon as it is in
range, Captain,' said D'Lay over my com link. 'Ader Bearth will be
in charge of the command control center. I'd advise you to do as he
suggests. He knows the score.'

'Do you know what you're going up against?'

'The profile falls within the parameters of several
known berserkers on the low side of the chart. I'm confident we've
a chance. We'll know in a few minutes, he said, hurrying on,
'Right. Now, Captain, don't do anything except defend your ship
from direct attack. This is a fight between my forces and the
berserker. If we lose, I believe you'll be offered the option to
steer for Despar where your ship will be pressed into service for
Despar. You may not like it, but you'll be alive. I understand that
they levy a fine for operating within their space without a proper
license, which you'll have to either pay or work off. The fine is
stiff, and even with my credits, you're likely to spend a decade in
the drifts until you've earned enough to pay it off and be free.
But you won't be dead.

'On the other hand, if you take an active part in the
battle, you'll be considered a combatant and be subject to attack
and your ship, or what's left of it, will be forfeited. There's
nothing you can do to make any difference in the outcome of the
battle, so don't try. Just stay clear and do your duty to keep your
crew safe,' he added with what I knew to be grim sarcasm.

'I'll follow your orders,' I replied, unable to let
his sarcasm pass unchallenged. 'Safety first is my motto, as you
know. But if there's anything we can do?'

'Just stay out of it. I've enough things to worry
about without worrying about your ship. It should be all over in
less than ten minutes. There's nothing you can do against it. Just
stay clear.'

'Right. Stay clear. Good luck,' I said, if only to
give him, and me, some peace of mind.

'We can only hope. You haven't brought me any so
far...' he replied and cut the channel.

He hadn't exactly brought any luck with him
either.

05

With that, the eight Omni-V jump fighters, deployed
into wide cone and raced towards the still decelerating sentient
warship. They were within a few seconds of being in range when it
finished matching our velocity and course and extinguished its
rockets. Even as the rocket glow faded, it launched six jump
fighter-like units that streaked out to engage D'Lay's force of
eight jump fighters. There was a moment when everyone on the bridge
held their breaths, and every viewscreen exploded into a flickering
description of chaos unleashed as each side let fly with their
missiles and counter missiles.

The battle lasted one minute, eleven seconds.

In the end, there were four units left, the rest a
rapidly expanding cloud of debris. None of them were ours. D'Lay's
jump fighter force had ceased to exist.

Even as the last flash explosion faded from our
retinas, the radio speaker set to the standard ship to ship channel
spat a grating shriek and , 'This is
Explora Minor
. By the
authority of the Confederacy of Despar, I order any remaining
mercenary personnel to surrender immediately. I am sending units
onboard the outlaw ship,
Lost Star
, to take control of the
ship and deliver it to Despar. Mercenary personnel will be confined
to quarters and treated as prisoners of war until ransomed.
Merchant ship personnel will be dealt with by the proper
authorities on Despar. Any resistance to these arrangements will
strip the ship and personnel of their non-combatant status and make
it eligible for destruction. This by the emergency Order Number 3
of the Confederacy of Despar and
Explora Minor
. Do you agree
to the terms?'

I glanced at Min, for a second, who gave the
slightest of shrugs, which I took to be an acceptance. 'We agree to
those terms, though I can not speak for the remaining mercenary
personnel, who are not under my command.' I said with all the
calmness I could muster.

'We agree to those terms,' came the terse reply of
the remaining mercenaries in their command center.

Min spoke up loudly, 'We are going to send a boat out
to search for survivors.'

'There are no survivors,' replied
Explora
Minor
.

'We will conduct our own search.'

'Any attempt to escape will result in the destruction
of your boat.'

'We will be searching for survivors, not
escaping.'

There was no reply, so Min started out. Molaye stood
to go as well, with a glance at me. I nodded and she followed Min
out. They picked up Myes up on the way to the boat deck locks, and
launched the
Ghost
several minutes later.

In the meanwhile
Explora Minor
had maneuvered
in close along side. It possessed two large, but shallow cones –
scarred meteor shields on either end of the vessel. Six large
rocket engines were mounted around the edge of one of the cones.
Between the two cones, nestled in the skeleton like intricate open
framework of the ship were the fuel tanks and reactor heads of the
rockets and the docking stations for its version of jump boats –
two were empty. Out of the shadowy depths of this maze, two human
shaped avatars emerged, one making its way to the mercenary command
center in the hold and the other to our starboard gangplank.

I went down to let it in. For once the hounds were
not present to greet our guest.

The airlock opened and it stepped onto the gangplank
grating.

'I am here to take control of this ship,' it said,
frost forming on its shining white humanoid shaped hull, as the
safety door-panel opened.

Its two large, faintly lit eye-sensors flared
briefly, 'I will take my position on the bridge. I am not to be
interfered with in any way. I can and will defend myself.'

I said nothing, just turned and lead the way up to
the bridge.

Everyone moved out of the way as it took a seat at
the helm. It rested its robotic arms and hands on the control panel
and all the lights in the bridge flickered. It said, 'I have
established complete control of the ship. You are to consider
yourself my prisoners. I grant you the freedom of the ship with
this warning, I control all the resources of this ship. I will
remotely monitor all your actions. Any attempt to regain control of
this ship will result in death of those involved and the
confinement to quarters of everyone else. Survivors will be treated
as combatants and prisoners of war upon our arrival in Despar. I
can and will use lethal force. And as a final warning, do not
confuse inertness with inattention.'

Most dispersed silently. Vynnia, Tenry and I waited
on the bridge until the
Ghost
docked without finding
survivors.

Shortly later, our steering rockets flared, swinging
us towards Despar. Our main rockets came on line, and we began our
three week journey to captivity. And the shock and sadness of the
events began to sink in.

01

I'm sorry to have only sketched in the recent course
of events. The destruction of D'Lay's force hit us all very hard
and I find it difficult to spend time thinking about those who so
quickly died. I also find it hard not to think about them. I
wouldn't say D'Lay and I had become friends, exactly. We'd reached
a somewhat strained understanding that overcame our very different
viewpoints. And I certainly enjoyed a sense of camaraderie with his
pilots and support crew that I served with. But still, there was
the whole St Bleyth connection, so I never completely trust him.
That said, his, and his pilots' death hit me and all of us all very
hard. Things like this hadn't happened while we circled Azminn for
all those years.

Our ultimate fate, whatever it will be – may well be
less benign than
Explora Minor
stated.

'Do you think we'll be able to stay aboard ship, as a
crew, when we reach Despar?' asked Molaye on the day after the
battle. With no watches to stand, nor any desire to do anything,
we'd all drifted into the dimness of the awning deck after dinner
and were sitting about, mostly in silence.

'It seemed to indicate we'd stay together,' said Min.
'Though what measures they'd take to keep us on a leash is a good
question. I suppose we'll have some sort of prize crew aboard as
well.'

'I seemed to recall D'Lay saying that they assign
armed crews to all their captured ships. And I gather we can expect
to go to war as an armed merchantman as well, until they've
conquered all they care too. However, I'm beginning to wonder if
we'll be treated like a simple merchant ship caught in what Despar
claims to be their space without a license.'

'Why not?' asked Min. 'Indeed, we're not a no-account
deep drift trader – we're a Unity ship. I'd think they'd have to
take the consequences of treating us harshly very seriously.'

'Perhaps. But we might find ourselves deep in the
gravity well with the Unity as well. While we considered
transporting the mercenaries as a simple charter, Despar and
perhaps the Unity might look on it slightly differently. By
bringing in armed forces, we may have made ourselves party to this
war. Not quite as combatants, perhaps, but something more akin to
gun runners, directly aiding and abetting their enemies. Aiding an
armed rebellion within the Unity by running munitions would
certainly cost us our ship and tickets, if we were caught within
the Unity.'

'But we're in the drifts, and we're not aiding any
rebellion against the Unity. Indeed, one could argue the reverse.
Boscone was attacked by Despar.'

I turned to Vynnia. 'You're the expert here, Vyn,
what do you say?'

She shrugged. 'It's illegal in the Unity, but seeing
we're in the drifts and aiding a party that was clearly attacked by
an aggressive force... If it comes to the attention of the Patrol,
we might get off with only a warning. They'd put a black mark
against us...

At which Tenry chuckled, but said nothing, earning
him a glance from Vynnia.

'But that'd only mean they'd pay more attention to us
in the future. Am I right Mr Boarding Boat Leader?' she asked.

'Aye, Ma'am. You're absolutely correct.' he
replied.

'A black mark's better than captivity. So what can we
do to avoid captivity?' asked Min, quietly.

'I'd earnestly advise everyone to do nothing at all,'
said Rafe from the shadows. '
Explora Minor
controls and
monitors every subsystem of this ship. While a human couldn't hope
to monitor everything that goes on in the ship, including where
everyone of the crew is, what they're doing and saying at all
times, a machine like 'Minor can. It's watching and listening to us
right now and no doubt noting what I'm saying at this very moment,
and I hope it appreciates my sage advice. We're no more than
passengers now. Everything is in 'Minor's capable hands, so unless
you care to spend the next three weeks staring at your cabin walls,
I'd suggest that we all relax, kick back and accept our fate. We'll
know more in three weeks when we arrive in Despar.'

I looked at Rafe. I knew him pretty well and while
the purpose of that little speech was perfectly clear on the
surface, I was left with the impression that there was more to it
than a warning not to do anything. And I wasn't the only one, if a
shared glances can convey words.

'Right. Heed Rafe. No trouble. On your best behavior.
Nothing to be gained and we want to make a good first impression
with the authorities.'

As I lay in my hammock later, I eyed the drawer that
held Captain Miccall's ring. When dealing with a power like Despar,
I rather doubted that I could strike any deals using it, since I
had no leverage at all. Indeed, I may have problems holding on to
it. Not knowing how we'll be treated, I couldn't count on keeping
possession of it upon our arrival. I thought of wearing it, but
decided that it might be better if I kept it out of sight and in
with my sock drawer.

02

The days and weeks slowly crawled by. With
Explora
Minor
handling the ship, and its ultimate fate unknown, there
seemed no point in maintaining our usual routine of watches.
whatever needed to be done, essentially making meals and the usual
housekeeping chores, were done, and nothing more. We ate well, but
knowing our conversations were monitored, kept a lot of our
thoughts to ourselves. We drifted about the ship, half ghosts.

I attended my duties as captain, checking our
position and ship's system status at the usual change of watch
time, but there was nothing that needed my attention. I soon gave
up trying to carry on a conversation with
Explora Minor
. It
was not a talkative machine. In fact the avatar never moved, a mere
metal statue. Any slight alterations in course were done via the
ships computers rather than the analog controls. Astro and Orbit,
who were not allowed on the bridge would watch it for hours from
the doorway, occasionally growling, perhaps catching some sound
from it that we couldn't hear.