The Bright Black Sea (93 page)

'With the ship stashed away, we set out three months
ago in the longboat for Carivon. Which brings us up to date, I
believe...' she paused, looked about and continued. 'As I mentioned
to your captain, I am certain that my owners will salvage the
Azurete
. I'm hoping that we can keep both the wreck and our
presence aboard your ship a secret in order to get a jump on any
freelance competition... I think you can see how it would be a lot
safer for the salvage operation if it didn't have any drift hawks
(opportunistic some-time pirates) hanging about.'

'I can speak for all of us when I say that you can
count on us,' I said. 'We understand the stakes involved.'

05

Traveling aboard a small tramp – awake – is not the
most exciting thing to do in the Nebula, which is one of the
reasons why we're on duty half of each day. Having more time on
one's hands tends to get wearisome. Passengers must endure this
idleness, which is even more wearisome, if you're a spaceer and
used to filling half of your time with work.

You can read – we've a million books in the library,
in thousands of omnibus collections sorted by genre, planet of
origin, and era. You can watch vids, we've a million of them too,
sorted as well – a legacy of the ship's time as a freight/passenger
liner. You can exercise. You can eat boxed meals from the bistro
whenever you want. You can go up to no. 4 hold and play catch with
the dogs, though you sometimes have to snag them out of the air to
reacquaint them with the deck. You can be pounced on by a big white
cat, if you're not paying attention. You can sit around and yarn
with the off duty crew. Or you could just sit on the awning deck or
in your cabin and brood. Losing a ship will do that to you.
However, after spending three months in a small boat crammed with
sleeper-pods, they didn't complain.

We did make a point of having games in no. 4 hold
each night, free-fall ball and target games, drone battles and even
laser tag in the dark. I let Molaye play one game of laser tag,
just to show our guests that she can wear a pirate piece on her
hip. It was a short game. She doesn't miss. Ever.

All in all, we got along fine. Indeed, Molaye and
Captain Linnor seemed to hit it off – two of a kind, I suspect. I
even heard Captain Linnor laugh. Twice.

01

Captain Linnor stopped in the doorway of my office, a
day out of Carivon, decelerating to make orbit.

'Can we talk?'

'Yes, of course.' We'd not discussed plans and I
expected we'd want to reach an understanding before we arrived.

She stepped in and slid the door closed.

Settling into one of the chairs, she sighed and said,
'We've several thing to talk about, one of which I've rather put
off. Can I ask that what I'm about to say be kept confidential? I
may be speaking out of turn, but I feel that, as a ship's captain
myself, I should give you a bit of warning. Though I hope none is
needed.'

I leaned back and gave her a searching look, 'Yes of
course. Though you're scaring me.'

'You scare easily,' she said with faint smile.

'Five years in the drifts will do that.'

'I don't think you need be too scared. I'm the one
who's scared. But enough of this fencing. I've tales to tell that
aren't all mine to tell, but I feel compelled to do so, so I'd best
just proceed...'

I nodded. 'Please.'

'Bry and Kylan plan to announce that they are
dissolving their partnership,' she said, and hurried on, 'Bry
assures me that it's a cordial and mutual agreement, and they both
plan to continue serving aboard. I believe this is largely my
fault. Bry says they've been growing apart for some time – they're
both very young – and have been growing up. But the fact is that
your first mate and I have struck up a friendship. Well, more than
a friendship...' she paused, blushing, watching me. 'A friendship
with sparks.'

I sighed and closing my eyes, ran my fingers through
my hair. When I looked up, she was smiling slightly. 'What?'

'She said you'd do that.'

'What?'

'Sigh and run your fingers through your hair. She
says you do it all the time.'

'When dealing with M'Ley, I do,' I admitted. 'You're
old enough to know better, Captain.'

'Are we ever old enough, Wil? Still, guilty as
charged. Your first mate is a very determined woman,' she paused.
'As you well know. But as you also know, our position as captains
can be a lonely one. We haven't the latitude other crew members
have in affairs like this. I've been a ship's captain for 27 years,
a first mate for seven before that and a spaceer for over forty.
I've not had free time for a romantic relationship. Nor have I met
the right person, until now. Perhaps I'm vulnerable – I could be
facing life on the beach. And comes Bry. Bright, cheerful,
competent, attractive, and attracted to me. And I fell for her.
It's just as simple as that...'

'Hardly simple...'

'No, I guess it isn't. But whatever happens, I assure
you, Captain, I won't let her leave the ship for me. I'd not do
that to a fellow captain. And if I was certain that we'd part on
reaching Carivon, I'd not bring it up at all. But...'

'But?'

'I'm sure that you've considered the possibility that
your ship
might well be the first and best
choice to salvage the cargo of the
Azurete
. You're on hand,
free, and with any luck at all, we could have the cargo in your
holds before word reaches deep enough into the drifts to attract
dangerous competition. Of course, that decision will be made by my
owners, and I'm not certain what, if any, say I'll have in the
matter. However, if they make your owner an offer with acceptable
terms, I and some of my crew will no doubt be ordered to return
with you to oversee the operation. Which means I'll be onboard for
the next half of a year or more. And that means...' she left that
hanging.

'You'd be M'Ley's new partner.'

'Yes, I believe so.'

I ran my fingers through my hair again, and gave her
a look when she smiled again.

'What's between Bry and me is our own affair,' she
continued. 'We've not committed any breach of shipboard etiquette,
and I don't think being a partner of your first mate would raise
too many eyebrows since my status would be little more than a
supercargo. However, since it may have an impact in your owner's
consideration, I wanted to make this possibility clear before any
decision was made.'

'I appreciate that.'

'Are you angry?'

'No, of course not,' I assured her. 'I know M'Ley too
well. She gets what she wants. I realized that years ago, which is
why she's my first mate. It gives her something constructive to do
with all her energy and drive. So I know that if she's decided she
wants you – and you want her – there is nothing I can do, even if I
cared to. But I don't fight battles I can't win. So what of the
future? Am I going to have to find a new first mate after any
salvage operation?'

'We have talked about that, and we both feel that
though I'm some years older than she is, we can afford to wait. We
both have careers that neither of us cares to abandon at the
moment. And it might be better if we're both captains to keep the
relationship on an even keel...' she gave me a look, realizing what
she'd said.

'In a few years. I'm not a lifer. When she gets
restless, she can have the
Starry Shore
. I've no intention
of standing in her way. But that's just between you and me.'

She nodded. 'Of course. But what I was saying was
that, beyond a possible voyage to the
Azurete
, we both have
ambitions that preclude remaining partners for some time to come. A
ship can't have two captains. If things work out that we can be
partners for the duration of the salvage operation, it will be, I
believe, wonderful. But after that, we understand that our
relationship will have to be put in a sleeper-pod for a decade or
two while we accomplish what we want in our first careers... But
who knows what is written?'

'Aye.'

'With that understanding, do you think your owner
would be interested in the salvage of the
Azurete
's cargo?
If not, I won't mention it as a possibility when I contact my
owners.'

That was not a question I was looking forward to
answering, not that I had any illusion that it could be
avoided.

'Being a very Unity Standard fellow, with a wide
streak of caution in my makeup, I can say with absolute conviction
that I wouldn't touch the prospect with a cargo crane,' I said,
adding with a sigh, 'However, I'm only the ship's captain, not its
owner, so my opinion, as captain, doesn't lift. However, the owner
of the White Bird Line is presently somewhere in the drifts and
unreachable and so I have the operational authority to make
decisions as the owner. Which means that I must at least consider
any offer as my owner would, which means I must consider the
possibility that the whole charter would simply consist of sailing
to the edge of the Kryver Reef to spend several days transferring
196 quarter boxes to my ship, and sailing to Tradonia, with a
fortune in fees and salvage claims.'

'It should be that easy, Captain, but I can't
guarantee it will be.'

'I've been very lucky, but you never know when
that'll change. Dare I lean on my luck that hard? And if it isn't
that easy, it could get really dangerous, very fast...'

'And more dangerous the longer the process takes,'
she added.

'Aye, a cargo like that will have every drifteer with
a ship and no scruples on their way to the Kryver as soon as they
take on their fuel. A drifter gold rush. Everyone for
themselves'.

'If you're lucky. If they choose to band together, it
could get really nasty. Which is why we need to act swiftly, and
why your ship is so ideal. With any luck, we should be on our way
home before the first drift hawk arrives.'

'It just sounds too easy...' I muttered.

'Still, you'll take the charter? How can you
refuse?'

'I'll consider it,' I replied cautiously. 'As I must.
Reluctantly.'

'By all means be reluctant. Be very reluctant. I'm
quite sure they'll make an offer you won't be able to refuse. Your
ship is just too ideally placed for the job. Any expedition
launched from Tradonia would arrive four or five months after the
Starry Shore
, and by , the word would've reached the darkest
corners of the drifts and who knows how many armed ships would be
needed to hold the drift hawks at bay,' she said and shook her
head. 'No Wil, you won't be able to refuse their offer. And it'll
be the easiest credits you'll ever make.'

'I think, Captain, you're tempting the Dark Neb,' I
said, and with a sinking feeling, I was sure I was going to find
that out.

02

Molaye and Kie came to see me after we'd settled into
Carivon orbit and told me they were ending their partnership. I ran
my fingers through my hair and sighed. I really wasn't acting...
'Are you sure?'

'Yes,' said Molaye. 'We've grown up and grown apart,
Captain,' said Molaye. 'We're too young to be life partners. We're
still growing. I'm very fond of Kie, always will be. But we're too
different to be partners...'

'Kie?'

'Aye...' said Kie. 'I feel the same way. We were
right once. We're not now.'

'Can you still serve together?'

They both nodded.

'We've talked about it, and we don't see any problem
with that,' said Molaye. 'We're still very fond of each other.'

I didn't push it further. It was probably true.
Linnor just accelerated the process. Molaye said nothing about her,
but with the
Azurete
salvage not settled, it wasn't an
issue. Yet.

Later, I had a private word with Kie.

'Are you really going to be comfortable with Molaye,
and possibly Linnor, aboard?' I asked.

He shrugged. 'I can't say I'm happy, or completely
comfortable. But I can deal with it. Molaye always gets her way, so
what I think is neither dust nor gas. However, I do recognize that
we're no longer right for each other, so I'm not angry. I'll get
over it. I'll get over her...'

'Even as a shipmate? I really want you aboard, Kie,
but I want you to be happy onboard as well...'

'Don't worry. I'll be fine. We're shipmates. We'll
always be shipmates.'

03

Captain Linnor wasted no time contacting her owners
upon our arrival in Carivon orbit. Their reply took two days and
included an offer to charter us with various premiums, which I
quickly declined. I'd read up on salvage operations and knew I'd be
offered a share of the recovered cargo. I secretly hoped they'd
baulk at offering the usual share, since even the customary 1/12th
share could, depending, on how many boxes we were able to get off
the
Azurete
, be a fabulous fortune.

They came back within hours with a second offer that
met my criteria – premium charter fees and 1/12th share of the
recovered cargo – to no great surprise, but to my dismay. I
couldn't just trust my luck and yet, how could I refuse? As a Guild
certified offer, it would be on the ship's records whether I
accepted it or not, so given the premium fee charter and the
estimated value of our share of the total cargo, which might amount
to half a century's profit, how could I turn it down? Especially
since I knew Min would've jumped at the chance. I valued my life,
the lives of my shipmates and my ship, higher than half a century's
profits, and yet how could I pass on something that could be as
simple as transferring cargo ship to ship, especially in the face
of three very determined individuals?

I'd already taken the measure of Captain Linnor. She
was going to salvage her cargo, black dragons and a swarm of drift
hawks not withstanding. She'd lost her ship and while she'd done
everything possible to minimize her ill fortune, the salvage
operation was more about salvaging her reputation and self esteem
than about the gold. If she could bring off the salvage, she'd
likely come out with more credit than she had going in.