The Bright Black Sea (47 page)

She played at considering it for a while. Then with a
sigh said, 'Oh, I suppose so. I'm tired of sneaking around my own
ship just to dodge running into you. '

'That's the spirit!' I said trying to match her
approach. 'I wasn't enjoying sneaking about myself. But seriously,
Min, I know what I did greatly offended you. If there'd been any
other way... And I accept the consequences. No hard
feelings...'

'Oh, forget what I said back , too. You'll be judged
more by your performance as captain, than how much you annoy
me.'

'Thank you, I'd appreciate that.'

'Don't be too sure. You annoy me an awful lot, so you
need be a great captain,' she replied. 'In any event, I don't
really think what else there is to sort out, but if there's a great
deal more, it'll have to wait until we've more time. I need to be
down to the bridge in less than four hours,' she added.

'There's nothing more that needs to be sorted out
tonight.' I felt more tension than I'd expected start to unravel
within me. I'd always thought we'd settle things, but apparently I
wasn't as certain as I told myself I was. 'There are a lot of
things we should talk about, of course, but everything can
wait.'

'Good, because I'm tired and want a nap before my
watch,' she replied, pushing off from the bulkhead that we'd been
leaning on, and starting for the access well.

I turned and paced her. 'There is one thing I'd like
you to think about.'

'And what's that?'

'I was thinking that we should reset your position
aboard your ship. We're a very flat society aboard ship, I'm just
one of the gang, my authority balanced by their seniority. As
owner, you're above me, but again, they've known you since you were
eleven years old, and that image of you as that little girl still
colors their thinking. We all realize you're the person behind the
White Star Line and you own this ship. We all know you make the big
decisions, just as everyone realizes that if I actually give an
order, it must be obeyed. But until that actually happens, it's
liberty hall. It's not a bad system, it works for us. Still, I
think, you should, well, establish yourself as owner symbolically
by moving into the “Owner's Suite”. On an everyday level I don't
think it would change anything, but it would be important in the
sense that it conforms to the, well, reality of our little
society.'

'Everyone knows. Why bother?' she asked as we stood
at the edge of the shaft.

'It's simply where you belong. We're proud of you.
And at the risk of sounding fawning, you're a very unique owner,
young, beautiful, striking, and competent, and we take pride in
that. Besides, there's no real reason to pretend you're merely a
pilot, at least amongst ourselves. You can continue to become a
tramp spaceer as owner just as well. All the watches you stand, all
the cross training you do is aimed at getting your master's ticket
as soon as you can. Then you can be both owner and master of the
Lost Star
, if you choose. Residing in the owner's suite
would give symbolic clarity to the actual order of this ship, which
I think is important in our little world.'

'Do you really think where I bunk is really that
important?'

'No more important than the badges we wear on our
caps, and yet, we do. You've a natural air of authority and moving
into the owner's suite will align symbols and reality to insure
that everyone aboard knows you give the orders on this
packet...'

'Right! I seem to recall giving some orders that
struck someone as optional.'

'Which seems to prove my point. If you'd been
installed in the owner's suite, I'd not have had to shanghai
you...'

'Right,' she said rolling her eyes as we reached the
access well.

'Just think on it. No urgency. We'll make whatever
you decide work. And on one other thing, that just occurred to me.
I was talking to Rafe the other day about that true log project I
told you about on Lontria. He's nearly finished recovering the log,
but I'm afraid it doesn't add much to our understanding of what
concern us. It seems that by the time your uncle acquired the
Lost Star
, most of their adventures were in the past or at
any rate, they occurred during some strange blanks spaces in the
real log. In any event, it doesn't seem as helpful as I'd hoped,
though I'll pass it along to you once he's finished.

'I'd appreciate that. And I appreciate the effort you
and Rafe have put into it. Do you have anything else for me to
consider tonight?'

I shook my head, 'No. Nothing more, for tonight,
anyway. I guess that's the great simplicity of being in space. I'm
sure we've a lot to talk about, but we've lots of time to talk. Do
you have anything for me? I've been doing most of the talking.'

'No, I've been confining all my thoughts to piloting
and getting to know the workings of this ship. I've not bothered
thinking about the future.'

'Am I right in thinking that everything has worked
out for you?' I asked. 'Everything I've heard suggests you've been
happy and have fit right in, but I know you can hide your
feelings.'

'They have,' she allowed. 'Don't worry about me,' she
replied and stepped off into the well.

I followed and pushed up on one of the poles that
lined the shaft. As we drifted down past the awning deck, we passed
Molaye who was just approaching the well. She stopped and stared
for a brief moment before a smile brightened her dark face, which
she held, despite my hard glare as we dropped out of sight. There
are no secrets aboard a space ship. Not for long, anyway.

Molaye and I had the watch. Just like old times. I'd
spent two years standing watch with her bringing her along as an
apprentice pilot. She's a natural rocket pilot, so it wasn't a
demanding job, just occasionally nerve racking when she would be
more of a rocket pilot than I thought she should be at that
stage.

'I've been meaning to ask you if are you're out of
the pool yet?' I asked as we sat on the bridge, monitoring the long
range sensors. We'd gotten the ship's old drone refurbished and it
was now sailing ahead of us, just within contact range – with its
sensor reading being relayed to us, we had a comfortable radar
range now. When we weren't under power, we'd just two people on the
watch, mostly on lookout duty and to monitor the ship's systems,
and to keep each other awake.

She gave me a hard, squinty-eyed look. 'Yes. No
thanks to you, Captain.'

'Sorry,' I said insincerely, with a smile.

The day after my encounter with Min in no. 4 hold,
she told me that she saw no reason why she shouldn't occupy the
owner's suite, so after our evening meal, I took the opportunity to
announce that change. Unfortunately, I phrased the announcement
rather awkwardly, as in, I've been taking to Tallith, and we'd like
to announce... at which point, Molaye broke in with a sharp, quiet
Yes! and a broad smile, which generated broad smiles around the
table as well.

I realized immediately that the nature of our
announcement had been misinterpreted, by Molaye, if not all the
others.

Grinning broadly, Molaye said 'Sorry to interrupt
you, go on Captain. You and Tallith are about to announce
what?'

I gave her my darkest, most menacing glare, which
never had any effect on her, and continued with the announcement
about Min moving into the owner's suite.

Undeterred, Molaye boldly asked where I was moving
to, and when I told her I wasn't moving anywhere, she gave me my
dark menacing stare right back. She's had her ticket less than four
months now, and I'm beginning to see in her what I'd been warned
about. She is fearless. And bold. But her saving grace is that
she's also absolutely loyal, so that I can easily put up with what
other captains might consider insolence because I trust her. And
she's a great rocket pilot, every bit as good as Min. I was a lucky
captain in that regard, though a price had to be paid.

Anyway, back on the bridge...

'You let me down, Captain,' she continued. 'Our
dashing captain goes and kidnaps our owner and carries her off for
what should be a five month honeymoon, and suddenly looses his
nerve and just pussyfoots around, like some old Captain Crofter.
It's damn annoying. And I bet it's annoying to Min too.'

'That's just your missing credits talking. And I
happen to like the Captain Crofter stories.'

'You surprise me, Captain!' she exclaimed
sarcastically.

In the world of fictional space stories, Captain
Crofter, or ol'Cap'n Crofter is a fictional grumpy owner of a
run-down in-system trader who's always being put upon and whining
about it, holding down the opposite end of the fictional spectrum
from Brilliant Pax, the fearless doer of bold deeds.

'Well, I'm certainly not Brilliant Pax.'

'You almost were! All of a sudden, the mild mannered,
better safe than sorry, mister efficiency first mate bumped up to
captain, starts acting boldly, never say never, sweeping his girl
off her feet and carrying her away, like it or not. And just as
suddenly, it's back to the mild mannered, hapless, apologetic Cap'n
Crofter... If you start something, finish it!' she said. I knew she
was playing the Dark Neb's knife, and playing it more sharply than
just about anyone onboard, except perhaps Riv and Illy would dare
to, because she knew full well she could get away with it. However,
I suspect there was a bit of true feelings in her protest as
well.

'The change was all in your imagination. You seem to
forget that I hardly swept Min off her feet. I sent Vyn and Ten to
enforce a Guild contract. Hardly a beacon of ardor or
boldness.'

'And why not?'

'Because they could do it more efficiently than I.
But the real point here is that there is no romantic relationship
between Min and me. She's our owner, my boss, and our shipmate, and
I assure you no one's going to win those credits.'

'I'd not mind losing mine. Lift it, Captain. You're
too young to act like an old Captain Crofter!'

'And too old to act young,' I replied with a laugh.
'I am what I am.'

Still I've changed, and changed a lot, I think. At
least I notice changes in little things. For example, take
yesterday's twin blade practice in no. 4 hold.

We'd spent almost two hours working out under
Barlan's instructions, Molaye, Kie and myself. Molaye the ever the
faithful protege, had taken up Mycolmtre's two blade style fencing
as a form of exercise, as had Kie, though more to be with Molaye
than to learn the art – though with her carefree fierceness, he
might look on it as a precaution as well. After we'd finished going
through our exercise and forms, Barlan and I started our usual
sparring session to end the practice.

Across the deck, the two new drones were spread out –
Riv was straddling one of them directing Min in removing a fuel
pump or something, while Tenry and Rafe were dismantling the
control system in the nose cone.

I was working hard even though we were fencing in
free fall and only kept attached to the deck by our bio-controlled
magnetic boots. Keeping fit in free fall is hard work, and
bio-electric stimulation, while effective in maintaining muscle
tone and strength, is not all that pleasant, and generally avoided,
so that the muscles built by twenty days of pseudo gravity were
already in danger of growing slack. To try to prevent that, I was
working hard, even fiercely.

I may not've been working any harder than I had in
the past, but my outlook, and perhaps my style had changed as a
result of my duel. Between fear, unfamiliar weapons, and an
unfamiliar setting I may have fenced at perhaps 45% of my
potential. And looking back, that was a sobering thought. Only the
fact that Max was totally unfamiliar with the techniques of two
blade fencing allowed me to escape the duel alive. But getting out
alive changed me. I'd a different perspective on our sparring now.
On one hand, I knew from first hand experience, all the touches and
hits Barlan scored on me would have ended my life had it been a
real duel, but I also knew I couldn't expect my opponent to fall on
his sword either. I had to make things happen and...

And it was just that quick. I simply knew what Barlan
was going to do next – we'd been sparring for 15 years – and I knew
both the safe defense, which I'd always used, if I could, and the
counter move and attack which I never did, but I used it now,
because that's what I would've needed to do in a real duel...

In an instant I trapped his blade between my dagger
and sword hilts and wrenched it from his grip to send it twisting
through the air, luckily towards a blank bulwark and leaped to the
attack. Well, Barlan is a master of the art and still had more
skill than I with only his dagger. He had to move, and move
swiftly, but he did and nearly reached me in one attack. We may
have sparred for a minute or two, two blades against one short one,
before I decided to quit while I was ahead, so I leaped back and
saluted him to end the match.

He returned the salute and tore off his mask with a
wide grin. 'At last!' he exclaimed stepping over and giving me a
great hug. 'No one's disarmed me in a hundred years! You've come on
to your own, Wil!'

'For all the good it did me. I had to quit while you
were still untouched. You'd have touched me sooner or later.'

'You did that so you'd not tire an old man out.'

'Hardly Bar, you almost had me with your dagger
several times. And well, after 15 years, our fencing is pretty much
like a dance, I know what you're going to do next. The only
difference is this time I did something other than what I've always
done at just the right time.... Something you taught me well '

'Ah but that's the point. You saw the pattern and
attacked in the pattern. It won't take another 15 years to see the
pattern once you have the insight. I'll have to be very careful
from here on out, Wil. You've come into your own.'