The Bright Black Sea (107 page)

'You've your legs back! Did you visit one of the
First Worlds?' I asked. 'If I may be so bold?'

She laughed. 'Oh, you can get anything in the drifts
if you know where to look. Had'em grown, first class First World
standard clones. Ryth thought it'd be prudent, given our work. I
was simply too memorable with the mech-legs.'

'You're simply memorable, mech-legs or no.'

'You're trying to flatter me. What have you been up
to besides dolling up my ship?'

'Nothing. Who's Ryth?'

'The Patrol agent. Now answer my question.'

'Ah. Yes. I remember,' I said, and decided not to go
further, adding, 'When we can talk.'

We engaged an idling flier outside the spaceport
gates and exchanged casual news of our shipmates while the
clearsteel towers of Leath slowly faded in the summer evening's
haze. I had the pilot set us down on the knoll above the beach
where Grandmama and I usually land for our private talks. Indeed,
I'd been there only two days before, just after arriving, to walk
the beach with her. We followed the narrow path down the low bluff
and through the waving grass of the sand dunes of the broad beach.
The roar of the distant breakers, the hiss of surf over the sands,
the ever present wind and sea birds made it a perfect place to talk
without fear of being overheard or spied on. I stopped to take off
my boots – a matter of habit, I guess – and she followed suit.

You met Uncle Hawk. Was it him?' she asked as she sat
beside me on the dune.

'You haven't?'

'No. We've only exchanged radio packets. He left a
message with Kardea that offered enough incidents with details that
only he and I would know, to nearly convince me he wasn't dead.
Since we've exchanged a series of packets, and well, here I
am...'

'Were you often in contact with Kardea?' I asked, off
topic, but curious. 'I never received a word from you.'

'You never sent one to me, either,' she replied,
tartly. Which was true.

'Well, yes. I guess I never had a reason to, and
well, seeing that we were considered lost in the Despar reef – at
least by our enemies, we've kept a very low profile. Our families
still think we're trading deep in the drifts.'

'I'll want to know all about that. But first, what's
your opinion of Uncle Hawk. He said he met you, and well, you
weren't cooperative...

'Well, I refused to sell him your ship, if you call
that not being cooperative...'

'That's not important. What is, is what you make of
him. Did he fake his death, or is this some deeper plot?'

I considered my reply. 'First off, I don't know how
much he told you, but before he kidnapped me to charter, buy, or
hijack the
Starry Shore
, he tried to charter us anonymously
for undefined drift work which I'd not touch with a cargo crane. He
must have recognized me or one of our shipmates, when we called on
Ravin, because the
ship
would have been
hard to recognize even if he was paying attention to arriving
ships. Anyway, two years ago, he send Glen Colin to fetch me when I
was down on Ravin...'

'A ghost?'

'No, the real Glen Colin,' I said and launched into a
short version of that incident. 'So I'll warn you at launch, that
the dart incident didn't sit well with me, nor did my subsequent
interview with him create a very good opinion of Hawker Vinden. He
seemed quite different. So you'll have to take that into
account...'

'Noted. Now tell me all about him,' she ordered.

I told her how I found Vinden in great detail.

'So is he the real Vinden?' she asked when I
finished.

I shrugged. 'I didn't know him all that well before.
He had a great deal more bonhomie back in Azminn. But , I suppose,
he's more bitter now, or more driven, or perhaps we're seeing his
true Four Shipmates character. And really, what does it matter if
he's a clone or an eternal man, if he has Vinden's memories and
purpose?'

'It doesn't,' she sighed. 'I just wanted to make
certain that it wasn't some sort of elaborate trap. Though, I
suppose if it is, he wouldn't have sent me here to collect the
Lost Star
...'

We walked in silence for several minutes, the thin
sheets of water from the dying waves splashing over our feet.

'I don't have a choice,' she said.

'You need to meet him, if only to demand answers.
You've just spent eight years in an eight-box trader simply because
he wouldn't tell you what you should've been told after your
parents were killed. But after that conversation, when talk turns
to whatever he seems so intent on doing, you will have choices. I
think you should give them a great deal of thought. What did he say
he wanted to do, and why does he need the
Starry Shore
?'

'Oh, he vaguely suggested that it was to right a
wrong. Something to do with the murder of his mother – my
grandmother – and the usurping of her throne. The political angle
we speculated about long ago.'

'And some sort of military adventure, I suspect. The
thing to remember is that the better part of a century has passed
and half the people living will likely not remember whatever
injustice was done back .'

We walked on in silence, the sea bird whirling and
squawking overhead.

'We'll only know more when we meet him. So now, tell
me, Captain, what have you been up to? Have you made me a rich
shipowner in my absence?'

'I'm happy to report, I have. A very rich
shipowner.'

She gave me a look, trying and failing to keep the
surprise out of her expression. 'Do tell me how.'

I finished my report as we reached the harbor. Amdia
had set and the harbor lights twinkled in the soft twilight. 'So
you see why I'm so reluctant to go off to Ravin on a moment's
notice. Oh, you can afford it, but well, we've worked very hard to
establish ourselves in this system and we now have a nice, steady,
lucrative run. You have enough credits to buy a second ship and
deliver the ship to him within half a year if it's so essential to
him. He's waited four or five years already, so another six months
is neither dust nor gas – and he could have her without disrupting
your business. Buy a second ship, have it outfitted while the
Starry Shore
makes one last run, which ends up on Ravin
anyway. By your second ship will be ready to replace the
Starry
Shore
. And well, it would incite less comment if we didn't
suddenly abandon a lucrative run to go off to the drifts – and
hollow at that. I don't think drawing attention to ourselves is
something Vinden would want us to do. Not with the enemies we
have.' That was a lie. I was certain our enemies would know no
matter what we did. Grandmama would see to that. A second ship
might postpone for a while her finding out that Min had returned.
Or not, depending on how good her intelligence network is. But
running off to the drift would set alarm bells ringing – even if I
said nothing to her at all. And I didn't see myself doing that. I
was torn by two conflicting loyalties which could not be
reconciled. I should've been growing cha...

She sighed. 'Yes, I see all that. The thing is, it
doesn't matter anymore. Uncle Hawk says that I can expect to leave
the Unity, and indeed, the drifts behind forever, and never look
back once I see what I'm to rule – should things come off as he
expects them to.'

'A big if. Why not go to Ravin and see him before you
decide to pull the
Starry Shore
out of its orbit? If he
convinces you, we can go. It's the more prudent way.'

She gave me a look. 'You haven't changed that much
after all, have you?"

'No. I suppose not. Still, what I'm saying makes
sense.' But only if I could keep her reappearance secret. If not,
I'd likely be putting her in danger by delaying whatever Vinden had
planned by six months. There seemed to be no escaping painful
consequences.

She walked in silence for a few minutes as we
approached the yacht harbor, and she shook her head and said, 'No.
I've spent the last eight years looking for answers. I want those
answers and I intend to follow them wherever they lead, without
distractions. You don't have a contract with Jardinn, so we're free
to pursue other avenues. We'll pay them the freight charges for any
boxes here on Constina – we can easily afford that – and they'll
not complain, since we needn't do that at all,' and looking at me;
'I know this hurts. You've worked too hard to see it just tossed
away on some wild, rock in the drift venture, but the
Starry
Shore
is apparently essential for Uncle Hawk's plans, and the
sooner we deliver her to him, the sooner we'll know the answers to
all our questions. Really Wil, thanks to you I don't need the
credits do I? We'll fix things so that you'll not lose your good
name. I'll take all the blame... Owners, you know.'

'Yes, Min. Owners,' I replied. I hadn't expected my
second ship idea to lift. It had been a work of desperation. And
likely hopeless, as well. Grandmama likely had too many lines of
information not to connect the arrival of an 8 box drift trader and
any sudden change in my plans, be it buying a second ship or
running off to the drifts hollow. Neb, she might even connect the
arrival of an 8 box trader out of the deep drifts to Min without me
tipping her off. Really, the safest course might well be to clear
Constina as soon as possible, so they'd not have time to do
anything here. Once in the drifts, or wherever we we bound, well,
that's a rift to cross when the time came...

And even as I was concerned about Min, I was
concerned about how Min's arrival would affect Grandmama's
relations within the Order, since her protection of me would likely
have to come to light. As far as I knew, we'd let my status as a
target of the Order ride since there was no pressing need to
resolve it. We may've let it ride too long. Perhaps she could
simply not claim me as her grandson, and claim not to have
recognized us as the
Lost Star
until the arrival of Min...
It was going to be complicated and I wasn't looking forward to what
I'd need do – whatever it was that would need doing.

As it turned out, I didn't have long to wait. We's
just passed through the club house to reach the lamp-lit terrace
that over looked the harbor, when...

'Why, Wil! This is a surprise, I hadn't expected to
see you tonight,' said Grandmama M'Risha, stepping to my side. She
gave me a hug and a peck on the cheek, both of which I returned,
and stepping back, taking my hands in hers, gave me a sly smile. I
knew Grandmama well enough to know that she was having fun. At my
expense.

'Oh my, I see you already have an dinner partner,'
she exclaimed in mock surprise with a glance to Min, who was taking
this all in with a faint, somewhat bemused, smile. 'I am so sorry
to intrude.' She wasn't.

'Yes, I have a dinner partner, and no, you're not
sorry at all, but nevertheless, you're more than welcome to join
us. May I present Captain Ly Vane,' I said with a nod.

'Captain Vane,' she said with a smile. 'Delighted to
meet you... Your ship escapes my memory,' she added with a raised
eyebrow and an offered hand. 'A rare drift bird, perhaps?'

'Aye. The
Rift Raven
. Happy to meet you,'
replied Min warily, taking her hand.

'Ah yes, the eight box trader that just arrived?'

'Why, yes...' giving Grandmama a hard look.

'I'm in the export business to the drifts and keep
tabs on the shipping in orbit,' said Grandmama, 'And I am just
giving Wil here, a hard time. I don't intend to intrude.'

'Captain Vane is the owner of the
Starry
Shore
,' I said simply.

'Indeed,' said Grandma with a glance to me, but I
think she'd already reached that conclusion.

'And this is M'Risha Drae, the managing director of
Jardinn Export Services, and I should add, the proprietor of a
spaceers' row establishment of ill repute, so she makes it her
business to keep tabs on all the ships in the orbit for two
reasons.'

'Ah,' said Min with a sudden knowing smile in my
direction. 'That makes everything clearer.' I'm sure it did. And
didn't.

'M'Risha also happens to be my grandmother,' I
added.

'Your grandmother?' she exclaimed with wide eyes. She
considered M'Risha for a second and she laughed, 'Not the drifteer
grandmother!'

'That appears to be what I'm famous for in Wil's
circle of friends.'

'Infamous,' laughed Min. 'Why, whenever Wil did
anything non-Unity Standard, he'd blame it on you.'

'Non-Unity Standard?' said Grandma with a glance to
me adding with mock indignation, 'My grandson?'

'Hard to believe, isn't it?'

'I've heard the tales. These days, I'm trying to keep
him out of trouble. Still, I suppose I must shoulder my share of
the blame,' said Grandma with a smile. 'I've five hundred
generations of drifteers in my heritage, as does his grandfather.'
It wasn't an apology.

'Well, Grandma M'Risha, I've spent the last eight
years trading in the deep drifts, and I believe I can recognize a
drifteer when I meet one, so I believe you,' laughed Min. 'I'm
dying to learn how you and my Captain got together, so let's find a
table. I've lived on synth food for eight years, and I'm hungry.
Though I must warn you, I've plans for the
Starry Shore
so I
should be the one to break that news and save your grandson the
anguish.'

'Ah, but well, that might be for the best...'

'I hope I can make it right with you and I'll start
by treating you to dinner.'

02

We – Min, Grandmama and I – took a flier back to the
spaceport where Grandmama dropped us off before going on to check
on her spaceers row establishment.

'That was fun. You've a very interesting grandmother,
Wil.'

'Aye,' I said. 'She is.'

'And she's still all drifteer. Drifteers have a way
about them that you can't miss once you know them.'