Her Brother's Keeper - eARC Page 25

  “My God, this is good,” she said, washing down a bite with a sip of wine.

  “I saved the best for myself. Being captain has its privileges. But don’t think I haven’t taken care of my crew; I purchased some pigs from the trading post and had them butchered. We’ll be having quite the feast before we lift off. It’s a long way back to the Freehold, and we’ve been gone from home for a long time. I want to treat my people.”

  “I guess my question is, why are you divulging all of these secrets to me? Aren’t you afraid I’ll try to move in on your territory?”

  Captain Atkins only smiled. “Not at all, Captain. For one, you’re a privateer, not a free trader. You might make a few extra credits running cargo, but your ship isn’t suited for it. Secondly, your reputation precedes you.”

  “My reputation?”

  “Absolutely. I’ve heard of you, Catherine Blackwood, and the Andromeda as well.”

  Catherine couldn’t stop a devilish grin from appearing on her face. She folded her hands under her chin and leaned in. “Oh really? And what is it you’ve heard?”

  Captain Atkins may not have been Catherine’s type, and maybe it was the wine talking, but he was quite the charmer. “I’m sure you recall an incident a few years back, where the Andromeda was brought in to protect merchant vessels transiting into the Coleman-2203 system?”

  “I could hardly forget it,” Catherine mused. “I had just officially taken command of the Andromeda. My predecessor, Captain Roberts, was serving as my exec on his final job before he retired. Raiders were preying on merchant ships coming through the transit point, hitting them before they had time to recover from transit shock.”

  “It put a real damper on trade with that system, which was a pity, because the asteroid belt there is overflowing with iridium, uranium, and cobalt.”

  “There’s no colony in that system, just a cluster of hollowed-out asteroids and space stations in the asteroid belt.” Asteroid miners, sometimes called Belters, were often portrayed in popular culture as rugged, independent, nomadic people, who answered to no one and made a living wherever they could. It had been Catherine’s experience that there was more than a little truth to that stereotype. The Belters in the Coleman-2203 system tried, but didn’t have the means to protect themselves from the raiders that had set up in their system.

  “The raiders were choking them off,” Captain Atkins said. “I was part of a five-ship convoy, full of relief supplies, contracted by the Belters themselves and some outside parties. We hoped that there’d be strength in numbers, but that transit point is a cast-iron bitch.”

  Catherine’s eyes widened slightly. “I thought your ship looked familiar. We’d been chasing the raiders all over the system, but just couldn’t get close to them. As soon as your fleet came through, though, they took the bait. We splashed both of their ships. My first mission as skipper and we got two pirate kills!” Catherine took a long sip of wine. “I don’t mind telling you, Captain, that that was the greatest day of my life.”

  “Please, call me Matt. It was a pretty good day for me as well. We were struggling to get our weapons online when you intercepted the raiders. Had you not been there, it would have ended badly for us. I invited you to dinner, Captain…”

  “Please,” Catherine said, interrupting. “Just Catherine.”

  Captain Atkins smiled. “I invited you to dinner, Catherine, because I never got to thank you. I owe you my life and my ship. Sharing a bit of chicken and some information is the least I can do.”

  “I’ll be glad for any information you have on Zanzibar or Orlov’s Star,” Catherine said. “It’s hard getting current, accurate intelligence about those places. I’m afraid I can’t get into specifics of my mission, however. Client confidentiality and all.”

  “No worries, Catherine, I completely understand. You are in luck, though. I was on Zanzibar a few months ago, and went through Combine space on the way here.”

  “Really? So tell me, what is the secret to getting through Orlov’s Star unmolested?”

  “The short answer? Be prepared to pay a couple of big bribes, and hope for good luck.”

  * * *

  Exhausted, Annabelle Winchester climbed down the ladder into the crew deck. She’d just come off of a twelve-hour shift and wanted nothing more than to crawl into her berth for some badly needed rack time. There was a lot for the crew to do after the ship set down at the trading post on Opal. Being on duty, Annie had been running around like a crazy person, helping everyone who needed help only to be sent off to the next person. Kimball had kept her busy on the cargo deck, rearranging containers to make room for the supplies they would be taking on. As soon as that was done, he’d told her to report to the ship’s purser, Mordecai Chang.

  Annie was surprised to learn that Mr. Chang seemed to live in his tiny compartment above the crew deck, adjacent to the supply locker. He didn’t come out even when Annie banged on his hatch. He just addressed her through a screen and gave her a list of items that needed to be checked out of storage on the cargo deck and stocked in the supply locker, so the crew could access them as needed. It was a task fit for a robot, but there were no robots on the Andromeda, so it fell to Annie. It had taken her three trips to get everything to where it needed to be.

  The crew deck was unusually crowded. With the ship planeted and postflight checklists completed, there wasn’t much for the crew to do if they weren’t on watch or maintenance duty. Most of the Andromeda’s sixteen-person crew seemed to be crowded into the habitat area. Annie’s dad and his mercenaries were there too, sitting around one of the tables in the common area having an animated conversation. Everyone seemed to be in a good mood, excited at the thought of getting off the ship for a while.

  Everyone except her father. He wasn’t bantering with his team the way Wade was. He just quietly studied a tablet in his hands, occasionally looking around the room.

  “What’s wrong, Dad?” Annie asked.

  He looked up from his tablet, surprised to see her. “Huh? Oh, hey, sweetie. Nothing’s wrong. How are you?”

  “Tired.”

  “Ship life wearing you down yet?”

  Annie felt defiant. “No! I just had a long shift, is all. I feel at home on the Andromeda, Dad.”

  Her father smiled. “I’m glad. Your mother and I used to worry, with you growing up without any other kids around. We thought it might stunt your social development.”

  What is he talking about? “Dad, I have a lot of friends,” she said.

  “I know, baby, but you almost never get to see them. That’s not how it’s supposed to be. You’re supposed to, you know, spend time with them, do stuff, be a kid.”

  “Hey now,” Wade said, noticing Annie’s conversation with her dad. “I was in the same situation as her when I was growing up. I turned out fine.”

  Annie’s father held his hand out, offering his partner as an example. “See? I was worried you’d turn out like Wade.”

  “Hey!” Wade protested.

  Annie rolled her eyes. “Obviously, I’m not going to turn out like Uncle Wade, Dad.”

  “Hey!” Wade said again.

  “Sorry, Uncle Wade,” Annie said, flashing him her sweetest smile. “No offense, you’re kind of lame.”

  Wade just shook his head. He looked over at Devree, who was sitting next to him. “I’m being verbally abused by that girl, and her father is encouraging her.”

  “Aww,” Devree said, making a pouty face. “Did she hurt your widdle feewings?”

  Wade folded his arms across his chest. “You know…”

  Laughing, Annie looked at her father again. “Anyway, I like it here. It’s just hard sometimes. I miss Mom.”

  Marcus put a hand on his daughter’s arm. “I miss her too, honey. I’m sorry there haven’t been any courier ships lately. I know you want to send a message home. I do too.”

  “Do you think she’s okay? With the baby and everything, I mean.”

  “Everything will be fine, baby,”
Marcus said reassuringly. “Your mom is tough, and stubborn. You don’t need to worry about her.”

  Annie didn’t like to admit it sometimes, but the way her father projected confidence always comforted her when she was worried. It was like no matter what life threw at them, her dad knew just what to do, and things always worked out. Annie figured having been a chief warrant officer in special operations had a lot to do with her dad’s demeanor. He was used to making quick decisions under stress.

  Her father looked her in the eye. “I want you to know I’m very proud of you, Annie.”

  Annie felt her face flush a little. “Dad…come on.”

  Marcus smiled. “Just remember: no matter what happens, stay calm, keep your wits, and do what you’ve been trained to do.”

  Huh? “Dad, what are you—”

  A piercing warning klaxon sounded throughout the ship, interrupting all conversations. It was followed by the voice of Wolfram von Spandau. “Attention all personnel. Go to general quarters, I say again, go to general quarters! Essential ops personnel report to your duty stations and get the ship prepped for emergency liftoff. All other personnel, report to security. I say again, report to security, draw weapons, and stand by to repel boarders.” The klaxon sounded again as the message ended.

  The crew deck exploded with activity as everyone scrambled to get to where they needed to go. Her heart racing, Annie looked to her father. “Dad, what’s going on?”

  He smiled at her again. “Everything will be okay, honey. Just follow your shipmates and do as you’re told. Get going now.”

  “For real? The ship is being attacked?”

  “Get going!” her father ordered. He then turned his attention to his teammates. “Come on people, you heard the man, assholes and elbows! Move it! I want everyone armed up, kitted up, and on the cargo deck in five. Not you, Halifax. You go straight to the cargo deck. It’s time we unwrapped that present we’ve been saving.”

  The red haired mercenary’s eyes lit up, and a vicious grin split his face. “Aye.”

  “What are you still doing here?” Marcus barked, startling Annie. “Quit screwing around and go!”

  Annie didn’t take the time to answer her father. She turned on her heel and ran for the ladder.

  * * *

  Marcus was pleased with how fast his team had gotten their gear together. Most of their weapons were stored on the cargo deck, so after suiting up in body armor and battle rattle, they had made their way there. While the crew of the Andromeda hurried to issue out weapons from the ship’s arms locker, the mercenaries were already locking and loading.

  “Mercenary Winchester!” It was Kimball. He was carrying a compact laser weapon and, from the look of him, hadn’t been informed of the drill. “It’s good to see you.”

  “Kimball, we need to get the big package unwrapped so we can do an emergency startup on it.”

  Kimball checked his eyepiece. “I see. I’ll need help.”

  “Halifax will help you. The rest of us will secure the landing tower until it’s ready to go.”

  “I’m here!” It was Annie. She slid down the ladder like a veteran spacer and jogged over. “Sorry.” Marcus noted the laser carbine slung across her back and smiled.

  “What took so long?” Kimball asked. “Come on, your father wants a piece of equipment pulled from storage and ready to go.”

  “I’m sorry!” Annie said. “Mr. Broadbent didn’t want to issue me a weapon!”

  “Wait a second,” Marcus said. “Why not?”

  “He said I hadn’t qualified with one or something, like I don’t know how to shoot.”

  Marcus chuckled. “You ever use a laser before?”

  “No, but it’s basically the same thing. Power cell in, charge the weapon, safety selector, look through the scope, squeeze the trigger. Easy-peasy.”

  “Come now!” Kimball said. “There’ll be time for chit-chat later!”

  Marcus stepped back and felt himself swelling with pride as he watched his daughter work. Dressed in her green flight suit, laser carbine slung, she pulled the securing bands from a large container and used a heavy-lift cargo dolly to move it to the center of the cargo deck. A moment later and the crate was open, revealing the hulking powered armor suit inside.

  Halifax looked up at the war machine and smiled. He tapped controls on his handheld, causing the suit to boot up and come to life. The armor stood nearly three meters tall. Calling it a “suit” was something of a misnomer, as the operator didn’t wear it so much as he rode inside its armored shell. Its main body split open, revealing the cockpit and access for the operator. Halifax climbed in and began rapid startup procedures.

  Meanwhile, Wade led the rest of the team out the cargo bay doors and down the ramp that connected the landing tower to the ship. This was fully enclosed, not allowing it to be used as an elevated firing position, but that could be quickly corrected if necessary. When a ship was planeted it was extremely vulnerable, even more so if it was locked into the landing tower, because it couldn’t leave. Most atmospheric ships carried small crews and were lightly armed, if at all. A ship of the Andromeda’s class wasn’t vulnerable to small arms fire, but it could easily be damaged by explosives or anti-armor weapons. Heavy weapons weren’t the biggest threat to a ship in port, however. An intact ship was extremely valuable; boarding and capturing it intact was often easier than destroying it outright, and was much more lucrative for the aggressors.

  There were only two ways to board the Andromeda: through the cargo deck via the docking tower, and through the crew hatch down by the landing jacks. The crew hatch was easy to secure by retracting the ladder and sealing the hatch. The landing tower was the more likely assault route. It provided no cover for attackers or defenders, but with the small crews ships carried it was possible for a mob of hostiles to overwhelm the defenders.

  Marcus told his team to halt on the gangway and wait for the heavy. As several more armed crewmembers appeared on the cargo deck, Kimball and Annie kept them clear of the hulking powered armor unit as its hydrogen engine roared to life. Doing his final function checks, Halifax drove the armored juggernaut forward. Its clanked and clunked on the deck as it strode out of its container. Once clear he unlocked its arms and began arming its weapons. Marcus waved the powered armor forward, toward the cargo elevator, after reminding Halifax not to use its plasma gun in an enclosed space with friendlies nearby.

  The mercenaries fell in behind the lumbering armored giant as it smoothly clanked and clunked down the gangway, using it as cover. Anyone attempting to board the ship would be in for a nasty surprise. Marcus was pleased to note it had taken barely six minutes from the time Kimball asked him what was going on to the time Halifax was piloting the powered armor toward the cargo elevator.

  A warning klaxon sounded throughout the ship. “Attention all personnel, this is the executive officer. End-ex, I say again, end-ex. This has been a drill.”

  “What?” Devree said, sounding frustrated. “This is bullshit.” Hondo shook his head, and Tanaka remained silent.

  Halifax’s voice sounded over the armor’s PA system. “What a cock tease. It’s a cruel thing, getting a man all spun up and then telling him it was a joke.”

  “Stow the bitching, people,” Marcus said. “It wasn’t a joke. It was a drill. We’ve been sitting on our asses for weeks. The captain wanted to make sure the ship’s crew wasn’t getting complacent, and I wanted to make sure you guys could get your shit together in an emergency.”

  “I think we did well,” Tanaka said.

  “You did,” Marcus agreed. “We got the heavy out of storage and ready to go in less than six minutes. Any angry mob this planet could muster would be hard-pressed to overcome that kind of firepower.”

  “What would have been our plan of attack in this scenario, Marcus?” Tanaka asked. “I assume you meant to engage the attackers in the service tunnels?”

  “You know it,” Marcus said. “It’s tough planning an impromptu defense like this, b
ut I believe our best bet would’ve been to move down the elevator and engage the hostiles in the tunnels. A firefight down there would be a lot less likely to damage the ship, and we wouldn’t have a bunch of spacers with laser weapons running around playing soldier, getting in our way. I would’ve had them stay up here and secure the gangway while we took the fight to the enemy. Thoughts?”

  “That sounds like a good strategy,” Hondo said, resting the buttstock of his heavy automatic rifle on the deck. “We would have to make sure we didn’t get stuck in the tunnels, though. There could be more attackers approaching on the surface. They could access the landing tower while we were underground, take the elevator up, and go around us completely.”

  “Good!” Marcus said. “Good thinking! That’s a possibility in a situation like this. There are ways to access the surface from the tunnels. The ship can monitor the area around it and let us know if hostiles are trying to swing around our defenses.”

  “Can’t we just disable the elevator?” Devree asked.

  “That’s a tougher problem. In most cases, short of coming out here and physically breaking something, no. Spaceport authorities rarely, if ever, give up any control to the ship. Once we’re locked in, we’re locked in until they decide to release us. Getting the landing tower to release us if they don’t want to is not a quick or easy process.”

  “Lots of cutting,” Wade said. “Or tapping into the landing tower and seeing if we can override it. The ship’s system techs might be able to.”

  “That is a possibility, if you have time. As a last resort, you might have to go to spaceport control and convince them to release the ship, by force.” It was the price ships paid for landing at a functioning spaceport. The amenities were valuable, and spaceport controllers liked to make sure they were paid before letting ships go. “Anyway, good job, everybody. Head back in. Once your gear is stowed and the heavy is secured, you’re on liberty until we lift off. Check with the flight schedule before you go anywhere, please.”