The Bright Black Sea (60 page)

I picked up a small, flat 1mm darter that held two
clips, one to for regular darts and one for armor piercing, both
non-lethal. It fits unobtrusively in my pocket and holds five
hundred darts per clip. Tenry says it's known as a
sissy
darter
or just a
sissy
. For some reason. Molaye, on the
other hand, went right for a wicked looking 4 mm multi-caliber full
range darter, (a
pirate piece
) that was so big she'd have
wear it in a holster on her hip. Tenry managed to convince her that
people who go about with darters on their hips often find
themselves in arguments with other people who wear darters on their
hips, and unless they've very good with darters, end up with very
bad headaches, holes in them, or not at all. He advised her that
until she was that good, she might want to choose a less obvious
weapon. She picked out a second darter, 2mm pocketable one, to hold
her over until she'd practiced enough with her pirate piece to wear
it. Both Kie and Min picked up small 2mm universals, though Min
bought a rather expensive piece.

I noticed that they had phantom-glass knives with
sheaths in the shop, so I stopped back later with my captured
phantom-glass knife and matched it with a sheath made of similar
material. The sheath had an indent matching the knife so you could
fit the knife in flat and wrap the whole sheath and knife around an
arm or leg where it wouldn't show. I've mine above my ankle.
Haven't a clue as to what I'd ever do with it, but from the space
adventure vids and books I've seen and read, I felt I needed it.
This was the drifts, after all.

We also stopped at a haberdasher's to add to our
armored wardrobe, though that gets complicated real fast. Darters
should be programed not to allow fire at heads and the heart
region, though, of course they can be hacked to ignore those
limits. At any rate, since most spaceers wear some sort of armored
clothing and often layers of it, everyone uses armor piercing
darts. My darter fires both – half press on the trigger sends a
regular, and a full press sends an armor piercing one behind it. So
unless you wear three or four layers of armored clothing (which a
4mm dart would penetrate anyway), armor doesn't really give you a
great deal of protection – a lethal dart anywhere in you kills you
– it does, however, prevent armor piercing darts from putting 2mm
holes through you if you're not wearing any armor. And yet, under
certain circumstances you might want exactly that. For instance, if
you'd armored trousers, and got hit by an armor piercing dart, it
would penetrate and discharge in you, either killing you or
knocking you out. If however, it wasn't armored the dart would've
likely flown through your leg (painful, but hardly fatal) without
discharging and you'd have a chance to respond. So how do you
choose? I didn't see how you could win, so I just added a vest that
could be worn under any jacket and vowed not to get into a
situation where I'd need to worry about it.

I see I've gone off on a tangent here, so I'd best
get on with my yarn.

Once I cleared my head, I set out for the Strand
Station to hop a pod back to the space port and up to the ship. I
wasn't too concerned about the dark undercurrents – it was still
early and there were too many cheerful spaceers about ready to lend
a hand if anything got nasty.

'Good evening, Captain Litang,' she said in a bright
and cheery voice, slipping her arm in between mine and swinging in
step beside me. Startled, I glanced aside. Not what I expected. She
was a wrinkled old spaceer in a long black coat. She gave me a
knowing grin as her bright sharp grey eyes, just visible in the
shadow under the bill of her well worn cap, watched me. The circled
comet badge proclaimed her to be a chief engineer. A rather forward
one, I thought.

'Good evening, Chief,' I replied cautiously. 'Have we
met?' And responding to a taunting, her ram you damn you smile,
added, 'I'm certain I'd have remembered you if we had. Do you have
a name?'

'Thank you, Wil, my dear. But we haven't, though we
have a mutual acquaintance.'

'Captain deLin?' I couldn't think of anyone else.

'No. We can go into the who of it later, if you like.
Right now you and I have some business to discuss. Business of a
rather confidential nature, I should add. It'd be best if we retire
to my private room just up the Strand a ways. I realize this is a
rather unconventional course, but I assure you it's a true one.
I've an offer you'll find too lucrative to give it a go by,' she
said, adding with a laugh. 'And just so there's no
misunderstanding, I'm talking about a lucrative charter, my dear
Captain Litang, nothing more...'

This was getting weirder by the moment. I gave her a
hard look. 'Into the drifts?' It wasn't much of a question.

'Yes,' she replied readily, watching me. 'To Boscone
Reef.'

'I believe Boscone was mentioned this evening... Ah
yes, I remember. It was used as an example of where Despar
privateers are found lurking in great numbers to greet you with a
swarm of missiles. An unhealthy place at the moment. Not
interested, Chief, whoever or whatever you are... I seemed to have
missed your name.'

'In good time, Captain. And, aye, I'll not lie to
you. Despar raiders are indeed to be found about the Boscone Reef.
However, I don't believe you'll really have a choice. Owners are so
greedy, aren't they? I'm offering a very handsome profit with a
minimum of risk. It's your duty to listen to my proposal and take
it to your owner. It'll be for her to decide. I'd have talked to
her myself, but you're an easier mark.'

That struck me as wrong. I gave her a closer look.
She shouldn't have known that our official owner Spectre Holdings
had a female pronoun. Or that our owner was onboard and here.

'I know my duties. I've my orders and taking my ship
into the drifts, things being the way they are, has been ruled out.
Sorry, but there are a hundred other ships in orbit that may be
interested, if your offer is really that lucrative. Thanks, but I
must be going,' I added, trying to free my arm from her grip.

She grabbed my wrist and didn't let go. 'I insist
Litang.'

'I think not. Let's not make a scene about it.'

'You're right,' she snapped and with a lunge, and
using her shoulder, drove me into the dark narrow alley we were
passing.

I hit the wall with a 'Uff!' I tried to push her off
with my free arm, but the alley got suddenly darker as two large
figures followed us in. I can't swear I saw the blue light of
plasma discharge as one of the figures pressed a stunner against
the side of my neck, but for the sake of consistency, let's say I
did, just before I lost consciousness.

03

She, or as it turned out, he, was watching me from
the arm rest of a chair across a small carpet when I opened my eyes
again, sometime later, absently twirling my new darter on a finger.
He smiled, his lips still colored, giving him a sexually ambiguous
look. He'd removed the grey wig, and the wrinkles on his face. His
own hair was rather long and dark red and was still tied up in
back. Without the make up on, he looked trim and fit enough, a
century younger.

'A small point, my dear Captain Litang, don't walk
out with a pal arm in arm on the side you keep your darter. Makes
it so very awkward to get it out in a hurry when you need it.'

'Thanks, I'll remember that. Though I think the next
time, just to be on the safe side, I'll simply shoot the person who
decides to walk arm in arm with me without asking. I believe I can
do that in the drifts, can't I?' I remarked, rubbing my forehead to
drive away the pain and clear my thoughts.

'You can do just about anything in the drifts, but
consequences inevitably follow, even in the drifts,' he replied
brightly.

Who are you? What do you want? And why the
masquerade?'

'Pardon me for being so rude. I am Captain Leith
D'Lay, currently employed in the service of the Boscone
Corporation. As for the masquerade, well, Zilantre is a hot bed of
intrigue and I thought it best not to show my face, and certainly
not with you. For your safety, I might add.'

'Thanks, but I've a feeling it would've been better
if you stayed away entirely.'

'Alas, all too true. But duty drives, and I need your
ship. I've pressing cargo that I must deliver to Boscone.' he
shrugged and smiled brightly. 'But I am offering to charter
her.'

I swung my legs off the settee and prepared to stand.
'Wrong choice. We're sailing for Aticor. Try your luck with someone
else. There's plenty of ships to choose from overhead.'

He shrugged and tossed my brand new darter to me. I
managed to snatch it before it bounced off my forehead and aimed it
at him.

He flashed me a glimpse of the darter's clips in his
hand and said, 'I'll make us a cup of cha and we can talk. Just
relax, my dear Wil. You're in no danger from me, and we do need to
talk.'

'No danger? You just got through darting and
kidnapping me, D'Lay.'

'For your safety, I assure you,' he said and turned
to the simple sideboard with the cha making equipment.

I pocketed my useless darter – and made a mental note
to carry extra clips with me – and looked about the room. It was
obviously a room used for meetings other than the business of
chartering ships – it had a small sitting area with a cozy settee,
chair, and low table, the cha table and a large bed. There was a
window or door behind me that may have lead to a balcony, and a
second door before me.

'I am sorry about the nature of the invite, but I've
a pressing need for a ship, and your ship is ideal, right down to
the fact that you're planning to sail hollow for Aticor. All the
other ships in the roadstead are either CTC chartered ships or
drifteers. The CTC charters aren't available and the drifteers need
to make a living in the drifts after this affair is over so they'd
bitterly object to me getting them involved in the conflict. You,
on the other hand, don't have to make a living in the drifts, and
I'm certain we can reach a mutually agreeable fee. Besides, I can
trust you with your Unity habit of doing business on the up and up.
I couldn't trust any drifteer I might be able to persuade, for, you
see, I've a very valuable cargo – and while I'm certain I could
handle them, it might result in unacceptable delays.'

'What sort of cargo do you have, and why is it so
pressing? If I'm allowed to know, that is.'

'Eight Omni-V jump fighters, crews and service people
who've been engaged by the Boscone Corporation to lift Despar's
siege of their asteroid reef. They're rather desperate and have the
credits to pay for very expensive services, so I need to expedite
my delivery.''

'Omni-V jump fighters are a type of warcraft, I
assume'

'Yes, very effective ones in close combat. Small, but
extremely maneuverable when piloted by well trained pilots like
mine. They're almost impossible to hit with any sort of anti-ship
missiles since they can jump out of the way faster than any missile
can adjust its course. They'll simply run through and mop up the
riffraff forces of Despar around Boscone at the moment. However,
they're short range boats and need to be transported to the battle
area.'

'And you don't have a transport. Rather poor
planning.'

He glanced back at me darkly, 'I had the services of
a ship, Captain. One of the Order's multi-purpose ships. However,
word of my intent must have leaked – I suspect someone in the
Order's administration with personal ties to someone working for
Despar tipped them off. Quite against the rules, but what can I do?
In any event, we were jumped in mid course by six regular Despar
Navy frigates. We fought them off, destroying two, chasing the
survivors away damaged, but alas, the Striker sustained several
missile hits in her engine room and we're now too damaged to make
it to the Boscone Reef without repairs. I don't have time to make
repairs. I need a substitute ship. Yours, in fact. We'll rendezvous
with my ship and transfer the jump fighters, pilots and flight
crews to your ship and continue on to Boscone. Usually it's a
passage of thirty four days or so. But to get everything in place
I'll charter the
Lost Star
for fifty days.'

'Assuming we make Boscone, how do we get back out
again, or will we be trapped for the duration?'

'Oh, trust me, Willy, there won't be a Despar ship
left within days after my arrival, and I'm certain I can guarantee
you a well paying cargo to Aticor as well. A lot of ore has been
accumulating because of the war,' he said, bringing a tray with the
cha pot and two cups and set it down on a low table next to the
settee. He reached into his inner coat pocket and pulled out a
cheque token and set it down beside my cup. 'For passage to
Boscone.'

I reached out to pick it up to read its amount. I
tried, but probably failed not to gasp. The amount represented a
year's profit in the planetary trade. A very good year. It was made
out to The White Bird Line. I looked up at D'Lay and managed to
say, 'Impressive. But you can't spend it dead.'

'I'll get you in and out alive, Captain. No fear of
that. As for the charter fee, well, Boscone can afford it. It is
the largest and richest reef between Aticor and Amdia. A company
reef that leases mining rights and factories to all of the Unity's
largest chartered companies. They can afford that fee a hundred
times over without blinking. Of course paying you is cutting into
the Order's profits, but it is necessary. I need someone I can
trust,' he added as he sat down in a chair across from the low
table and poured out two cups of cha. Taking one in his in his
hands, he settled back into his chair and took a sip, watching
me.

'Who are you, and what is this Order you're talking
about?' I asked, making no move for the other cup of cha.