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After all the excitement, the actual final approach and dock with Breakall was pretty anticlimactic. David got out of the auto-doc after a full day in the can. He was still in a lot of pain and just stayed in the treatment booth for the better part of the following week. He never did get approved for active duty again before we docked. Ms. DeGrut handled the first mate chores for docking and did a bang up job of it.

Mel had placed a call to the orbital’s med facility a couple of stans before we picked up the tugs, and two green-smocked medicos were waiting on the dock with the customs inspectors. The medicos had a kind of one-person grav pallet which they floated up to Officers’ Country. They grabbed a copy of the auto-doc’s records and strapped David Burnside down on the transporter. By the time Fredi had the customs people happy, and the embargo locker secured, the medics were only waiting for the official say so to float him off the ship.

The captain did emerge from the cabin in time to take his seat during the navigation detail, but contributed no more to the process than he had on undocking. At least when he left the bridge, he didn’t call me into the cabin. I wasn’t sure if that was a good sign or not, but I suspected that he didn’t want to be slowed down in his exit from the ship. According to D’Heng, he had the medical staff wait until he was clear before taking David for evaluation and treatment. At the speed he was moving, that wasn’t a long wait, but it was still the principle of the thing. I know the senior officer has precedent for entering or leaving a vessel but to jump to ahead of the ambulance line, that was just low.

With both of them physically off the ship, that put Mel officially in charge and she set about organizing the rest of the crew. Liberty had been delayed while the confederation officials certified the embargo and Third Watch had the duty. Before we even really got settled, Juliett bipped me on my tablet.

“Geoff Maloney is at the lock and wanting the OOd.”

I knew the name of course and forwarded the message to Mel as an FYI.

When I rounded the corner and headed for the lock, I honestly didn’t know what to expect. I certainly wasn’t expecting to see Harvey Blalock and his body guard, Kurt. I must have looked confused as I approached the brow. Juliett looked concerned and I saw her trying to figure out how to get the man-mountain out of the lock if things went wooly.

It all clicked for me when Kurt gave me one of his small smiles.

I stuck out my hand to his employer and said, “Mr. Maloney, I presume? Nice to see you again.”

He had a pleasant enough smile and looked very much at ease while standing in the lock of one of his own ships. “Mr. Wang,” he said. “I’m sorry I wasn’t able to get to know you more on the way out from Newmar. Business, you know.”

I turned to Kurt and gave an appropriately low bow. “Thank you for your lessons. They were very useful.”

He actually smiled and returned the bow—still Teacher to Student—but at least not Master to Apprentice.

“How can I help you, Mr. Maloney?”

“Has any of the crew left the ship except for Rossett and Burnside?” he asked.

I looked to Juliett who replied, “No, sar. Liberty has not been declared and no personnel have left on ship’s business.”

“Very good,” Maloney said. “Would you please close the lock and seal it, Mr. Wang? And then ask Ms. Menas to join us on the bridge?”

“Ms. Jaxton?” I said.

“Close and seal, aye, sar,” she replied. She suited words to actions and the lock hummed shut with a
thunk
.

“One more thing, Ms. Jaxton…” I said.

“Sar?”

“Have you ever met Geoff Maloney, or seen a picture of him? Are you prepared to identify this gentleman as who he claims to be?” I asked.

“Sar?” she squeaked in alarm.

“Do you know if this man is really Geoff Maloney, Ms. Jaxton? Have you ever met him before or seen him on the ship?” I asked again.

“No, sar. I have never met the owner. I cannot confirm that this man is Geoff Maloney,” she said.

“In that case, would you please contact home office and have them confirm the identity of these gentlemen, Ms. Jaxton?”

Juliett blanched, and I saw Kurt’s lips twitch very slightly. Geoff Maloney on the other hand stared at me like I’d grown another head. “Mr. Wang? Are you insane?” he asked.

“Quite likely, sar. But until I can confirm who you are, I’d really prefer not to let you lose in the ship or release you to the dock.”

He started to say something but stopped, his mouth half open. “You’re a strange man, Mr. Wang,” he said finally.

“Thank you, sar,” I told him with a small bow. “So I’ve been told.”

Behind me I heard footsteps and Fredi stepped up beside me. “Hello, Geoff,” she said with a smile. “Fancy meeting you here.”

“Hello, Frederica,” he answered with a cockeyed grin. “Your Mr. Wang here won’t let me on my ship until I can verify my identity.”

“Is that true, Ishmael?” she asked, turning those startlingly green eyes on me.

“Well, of course.” I said. “The last time I met this gentleman he traveled under the name Harvey Blalock. I have never met the owner and simply require proof of his identity this time before I allow him access to the ship.”

Kurt’s lips twitched again and for that matter so did Fredi’s.

“Thank you, Ishmael,” she said, “that was rather fast thinking, but will you accept my personal assurances that this is, in fact, Geoff Maloney, owner of Diurnia Salvage and Transport and registered owner of the
William Tinker
?”

“Of course,” I said. “Juliett, belay that last order.”

“Aye, sar,” she said with something akin to relief and disbelief on her face.

“Frederica?” Mr. Maloney asked. “Could we convene the officers on the bridge, please?”

“Of course, Geoff,” she said graciously. “Ishmael, would you have Mel and Arletta meet us upstairs in five ticks?”

“My pleasure,” I said and pulled out my tablet and flashed a quick message.

Fredi smiled at Juliett before turning to the guests. “Gentlemen, I believe you know the way?” she asked and extended a welcoming hand ushering them into the ship.

As they walked, Maloney leading the way with Kurt at his shoulder, Fredi turned to me with the strangest smile and just shook her head before following them into the ship.

When we got to the bridge, Mel and Arletta were already there. Fredi served as hostess and made the introductions. “Amelia Menas, Chief Engineer, and senior officer present. This is the owner, Geoffrey Maloney.”

Mel shook hands with him and murmured, “Pleased to meet you, Mr. Maloney.”

“Arletta Novea, Second Mate, Astrogation,” she said holding a hand to Arletta. “Mr. Maloney.”

Arletta looked a little dazed. It’s not every day one gets to meet the owner of a shipping line.

“Thank you, all,” Maloney said when the introductions were done. “I’ll keep this brief, because I know you have a crew that would enjoy getting ashore. Your turnaround time is going to be a bit delayed, so they’ll have a day or two on the other end to make up for not getting off the ship sooner,” he said with a smile.

He appeared to understand the importance of liberty.

“As of this moment, with all of you as witnesses, I hereby relieve Captain Leon Rossett of his duty as captain by my authority of the owner of this vessel, pursuant to the rules and regulations set forth under the Confederated Planets Joint Committee on Trade and in accordance with the terms of his contract. In the absence of a commanding officer, I further hereby appoint Chief Engineer Amelia Menas acting captain until such time as an individual holding appropriate Master’s Certification can be hired. Until that time, this ship may not get underway for any reason except those required for maintenance of the ship or the station.” Maloney stopped and looked around at our faces. Mel looked stunned, Fredi looked—well—like Fredi, and Arletta still had that dazed “I can’t believe I’ve met the owner” look.

Apparently satisfied by what he’d seen, he turned toward Mel and continued. “Ms. Menas, as acting captain it is within your purview to release First Mate David Burnside from his contract and, as owner, I encourage you to do so.” He paused, weighing his words.

“Okay, folks, here’s the deal,” he said, abandoning the officialese. “We know that Rossett is an idiot, and Burnside a criminal. He ordered that poor woman to be beaten on Breakall Orbital. He orchestrated attacks on at least three other crew, but what we know and what we can prove in a court of law are two different things. All we can do, and what you people have given me an opportunity to do, is cashier a captain who should have been relieved long ago. That, and get rid of the sadist that was pulling his strings. The
Tinker
deserves better, and just walking up here from the lock, I’m grateful for what you’ve accomplished.”

He looked around the bridge at us.

“It’s going to be hard to watch them ‘get away with it’ but this much I can promise you. Leon Rossett will lose his Master’s Ticket for dereliction of duty and David Burnside will be blacklisted from here to Gretna and back. I can’t pull his ticket, but I can sure as hell punch his clock,” he said with a vicious grin.

“What I’m giving you is the
Tinker
. We need to find a captain and fill in some holes in the crew roster. I suspect we’ll have a pretty good migration of hands off the ship between the change of command and the newly rated spacers you managed to train up out in the Deep Dark, so you’ll have your work cut out for you, but you’ve worked a miracle here. I’m sure you’re up to the rest.”

He looked around once more.

“Any questions?” he asked.

There was a simultaneous and unanimous, “No, sar.”

“Okay then, Ms. Menas, it’s your baby for the moment. I’ll try not to keep you in the hot seat any longer than necessary.”

She smiled. “Thank you, Mr. Maloney. It’ll be a good opportunity to clean house.”

“You have my complete backing. If you need anything, call. I’ll have my personal contact id sent to your tablet.”

She nodded her thanks.

“Mr. Wang, if you’d walk me back to the lock and ask your formidable Ms. Jaxton to let us go?”

Mel looked shocked, but Fredi just smiled that Fredi smile and her green eyes twinkled at me.

“Of course, Mr. Maloney. Right this way,” I said, leading them down off the bridge.

When we got to the lock, I had Juliett open up, and I walked them to the dock.

“Mr. Wang, I wanted to thank you personally,” Maloney said. “And apologize for setting you up.”

“Sar?”

“I’ve been trying to get rid of Leon Rossett for the last five stanyers but contrary to popular belief, I can’t just fire a captain because I don’t like him. It’s a so-called safeguard built into the CPJCT rules. The captain is the ultimate authority while underway. It’s almost impossible for the owner to fire a captain for actions that happen in the Deep Dark except under some very specific circumstances. So long as the ship violates no safety regulations, turns a profit, and delivers goods on time, my hands are tied.” He looked angry. “According to the law, he wasn’t derelict until he didn’t assume the watch when Burnside had been injured. That was enough for me to relieve him on a ‘Conduct Unbefitting’ charge. There isn’t a skipper in the fleet, nor a bureaucrat in the Joint Committee, that would argue with me. It’s slim, but it’s legal, and I can finally nail his worthless hide to a bulkhead without my own lawyers turning blue from hypoxia.”

“I’m not following what this has to do with me, sar.”

He shook his head and grimaced. “The
Tinker
has had such a bad reputation that I was never able to get anybody with the combination of savvy, strength, and charisma to be able to break through to the crew.” He paused as if considering how much to tell me but continued, “I was in Port Newmar for the biennial meeting for the Subcommittee on Rules and while I was there, I went to visit Bob Giggone. I told him what I was up against and asked for a recommendation from one of his new crop of third mates. I needed somebody who’d think on his feet, stand by his word, and do what was needed. I wanted somebody who wouldn’t go in with an axe to grind or a chip on his shoulder, and who wouldn’t be the next victim on the hit parade. Bob recommended you.” Maloney smiled. “I have to give him credit for knowing his graduates.”

“Thank you, sar,” I said.

He grinned. “Yes, well, getting you to Diurnia in time to catch the
Tinker
was pretty easy. Bill Lochlan is a crackerjack skipper and he managed to get us in a couple days early so you’d have time to get settled. I arranged to move Ms. Jaffee out of your way, and then left the wheels to turn.”

“And set me up as a stalking-goat,” I said.

Kurt’s mouth twitched in amusement.

Maloney had the decency to look embarrassed. “Yes, that too. It was an act of desperation.” He paused and looked at me. “You gave me what I needed, Mr. Wang. I’m only sorry that we didn’t get it before Ms. Davies was injured. I had no idea they’d go so far. In hindsight, I should have anticipated that, I suppose,” he said with a regretful sigh. “She’s made a full recovery, by the way. We’ve kept her on full pay and we’ll take care of her expenses. Nothing can pay for the pain she’s been through, but we can try to make things better for her going forward.”

“I’ll tell the others, sar,” I said.

“I’ll have my private contact id sent to
your
tablet as well, Mr. Wang. I owe you for helping me get that ship back. Please let me know any way that I can help you.”

“Thank you, sar. I only did what needed doing.”

He chuckled at that. “Up to and including restraining the owner and his body guard until you could ascertain his identity.”

“You wouldn’t have thanked me for letting somebody steal the
Tinker
, sar.”

Kurt almost snorted at that one, and Maloney barked a laugh. “A stanyer ago, perhaps I would have, Mr. Wang.” He looked back at the ship and said, “But not now. You had better get on with things here. I think Ms. Jaxton is becoming concerned.”

I smiled. “She’s a bit protective, sar.”

He chuckled and as he turned to go I thought of something.