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“Come over here, and take a good look~“ Captain Harper said. “It was tough to convince the helm to come this close, but I felt it was important for you and the others to be able to see this with something other than sensors.”
The Captain had insisted that Patrick come up to the observation lounge where he first met her, and quite a few other officers and crewmen had come up to have a look. Even with the unexpected extended detour in Fusang, they had still arrived at the Janus system several days ahead of schedule for their mission, which was to preside over the official handover of the decomissioned battleship Agir to the local authorities so it could become a museum ship.
Captain Harper had arranged for the Demeter to come so close to the old ship that it was possible to see it with the naked eye, and she handed him a pair of binoculars so he could have an even closer look at a ship that once served in the early decades of the Republic. At 450 meters or so, it wasn’t that much bigger than some of the newer heavy cruisers that were coming online, like the Cerberus. It was heavily armored, for sure, but in every other way it was a far more primitive ship. He could see the cells that once carried missiles that had barely half the range of the ones carried on board the Demeter, turrets for far slower-firing laser weapons, the silent gatling barrels of its gun-based CIWS, and the forward firing port of its spinal-mounted railgun- A weapon considered too slow and consequently short-ranged for modern ship-to-ship combat, that had been considered long in the tooth even in the Agir’s heyday.
But as old and obsolete as it was as a battleship, it had been lovingly patched up and restored at the great time and personal expense of the people of Janus, and sat resplendent in its old colors, carefully repainted in the blue and white of the Republic. Even knowing everything he did about the technical specifications of the ship, when confronted with its hulking, slab-sided, rough-hewn charisma, there was still a part of him that allowed him to believe, even if it was just for one fleeting moment, that when there was a call to action it would roll out of its space dock to fight for the Republic again.
Captain Harper scooted closer. “Wonderful. Isn’t it?” She said. “It’s easy to see that the ship is going to someone who appreciates it. But that’s no surprise. After all, that ship is very important to the people of this system.”
The Lieutenant shook his head. It was another of his captain’s understatements. During the early decades of the Republic, after Earth’s fever of madness had broken, the Janus system was menaced by powerful raiding fleets sent by one of its belligerent neighbors in the Boreas system every year, and so they appealed to the Republic to help. Seeing a chance to gain another member, the Republic agreed, and sent the Agir to the system as a gesture of goodwill while a more formal security agreement could be reached.
However, the raiding force arrived well ahead of its usual schedule, and the Janus government asked the Agir to leave and save itself. No one was entirely sure what conversations took place between Captain Chae-Yeong Park and his officers and crew, but they decided to stand their ground and fight, informing the Republic government that “It will be easier to build a new ship than rebuild the honor of the Republic.” And headed off to pre-emptively attack the raider fleet.
Captain Park and more than half of his crew were killed in the battle that followed, either dying in the battle itself or of mortal injuries sustained during the engagement. After the bridge was hit and Captain Park was killed, the chief engineer rigged up a communication circuit between his compartment, the tactical operations room, and the emergency helm station so that the ship could continue the fight, and while the Agir was crippled in the battle, it exacted a horrifying toll on the raiding ships, only two or three of them made it back to Boreas.
The sacrifice of the Agir was a shock to everyone- Boreas, Janus, and the Republic alike, and aside from Janus, numerous systems that were on the fence about joining the Republic decided to pledge allegiance to the nascent state, lending it the combined strength that would be the foundation of its existence as the premier human-controlled state in the galaxy. Janus also joined on the condition that the Agir would be marked as a war grave and that its security would be seen to. The Agir and its dead would belong to the people of Janus.
Over time, the people of Janus expended a great deal of effort to rebuild and restore the ship as a monument, sourcing engines, computers, and other bits and pieces to make it whole.
In this case, the Republic was more or less formalizing and recognizing something that the locals had already accomplished themselves.
Patrick handed the binoculars back to Captain Harper. “Even though there’s no way she’s fit for combat, she looks almost good as new.”
“Well, I think she’s done enough fighting. All that anyone’s going to do with her is move her around to her permanent station once the handover has happened.” The captain had one last look at the ship through the binoculars. “Anyway, we’ve already been here for a while, and I can feel the navigator getting closer and closer to a heart attack. They tend to think in stellar distances, and so have very interesting ideas of what personal space is when it comes to starships.”
“Fair enough.” He said. “So, how long until the handover?”
“About a week.” The captain replied. “We were originally supposed to be here earlier, but our unexpected detour at Fusang cut into the margin the navy likes to keep.” She smiled. “But we made it on time anyway, so no harm done. We just need to sit tight, talk to the locals for a while, do a ceremony, and it’s on to the next order.” She paused. “… I don’t mean to sound so flippant about it. After all, this ship is almost as important to the locals as the ships that settled the planet in the first place. I’m just explaining what’s going to happen.”
“Captain, may I ask a question?” Patrick began.
“Go ahead. If I don’t like it, I just won’t answer.” She said.
“Um… As an experienced captain, do you think about what you would do if you were in Captain Park’s shoes?” He immediately wondered if he should have felt confident enough to ask that.
Captain Harper put down her binoculars. “Not really, no. I mean, if I had grown up and become captain under the same circumstances as Captain Park and knew the crew as well as he did, I may have made the same choice and gotten the same result. But I always considered it a waste of time to compare myself to legends.”
Patrick blinked. He privately noted that it was quite a thing to hear from someone like her- Perhaps Captain Harper didn’t see herself as a legend, unlike so many people in the Republic? “I’d like to hear more.”
“Legends like him have already played their part, but you and I and the crew of this ship are alive now. Captain Park fought and died bravely for the people of this system and the honor of the Republic. But that’s how his story ended.” She smiled at him, and he felt himself getting a little weak in the knees. “So, I think it’s better to spend that time thinking about what we’re doing, right now.”
“Yes, captain.” It was all he could muster.
Captain Harper backed off. “Anyway, I’m heading back to the bridge. You’re off-shift so you’re free to do what you want. Any time you can take to relax is as precious as air in space on this job.”
“Yes, sir.” He said.
Captain Harper left. He decided to take another look at the Agir before moving on himself- It had been a while since he had sent a message back home, so that would be the first thing to do.
--------------
The next few days were spent examining the organization and training of local security forces. While the Republic had a substantial starfleet, individual systems were allowed to build or purchase system defense boats and other policing craft for the day-to-day work so long as those local militias met the Republic’s training, readiness, and conduct standards- there had been problems earlier in mankind’s interstellar history of local authorities letting their militias engage in a little light piracy now and again, as a treat.
Since the Demeter was in the system, Captain Harper was taking the opportunity to fly to the local defense headquarters further out in the system to do a routine audit. The captain seemed to approach this with the carefree attitude of someone who knew she wasn’t going to find anything amiss. Patrick could see where she was coming from- He’d met some recruits from Janus during his time at the academy, and even there, a place where people studied intensely for their shot at becoming an officer of the Republic, their dedication to proper spacemanship stood out.
As one of the data officers, Patrick was tasked with reviewing the actual ship numbers and organizational tables and filing them into the Republic Navy data network through one of the system’s FTL relays. It wasn’t the most stimulating work, but much of the job of shipboard operations had to do with things like tedious but necessary gruntwork- Being a data officer in the Republic Navy was probably the part of daily operations that was most akin to an office job.
Still, the data was impeccable- The computer found no signs that anyone had been doing any “freelancing” when he and his people cross-referenced it with complaints and traffic analysis, so off it all went, routine as he could please.
The junior officer leaned back and stretched in his seat. “Looks like there’s nothing here to talk about. Not to the captain, and not to command, either.”
Fernandez looked up from his own station. “We’re not going to get by on a ‘looks like’, Lieutenant. I know what you mean, but you’re going to have to be more precise in this outfit. The navigators and tactical don’t conduct their duties on a ‘looks like.’ Anyway, the captain didn’t expect us to find anything either.”
“Yeah, most of the complaints lodged in the system by travelers and merchanters were from people who violated traffic and docking rules.” Patrick said. “The rest are service delay complaints, but this can be a busy system, so…”
“So, there’s literally nothing to write home about.”
“Right.” The lieutenant paused. “Sir, have you ever gotten in a fight with a militia?”
“It never became a shooting fight, but…” Fernandez said. “…But there was one incident out near the edge when I was serving on the Onogoroshima, where it turned out a local militia commander had been hiring pirates for the occasional odd job to give him and his department an excuse for more money and ships. The whole thing unraveled when we defeated a pirate vessel and made its captain spill the beans. So, there were a lot of arrests after that.”
“Huh.” Patrick said. “Only one?”
“The reason I remember it is because it’s rare.” Was the reply. “The more normal something is out here, the less people talk about or remember it. Just keep that in mind.”
And that’s why people talk about and remember the captain. Patrick thought to himself. “So, what now?”
“We wait for the captain and the marines she took with her to finish interviewing the local commander.” He said. “After that, we just sit tight, do the handover, and then we move on to whatever command sees fit to give us. That’s the way things usually go around here, you can’t reasonably expect an adventure every time.”
“…Yeah.” Patrick replied, and then remained quiet, and one of the enlisted sensor operators tossed him a can of what passed for juice. It was a sign that people were getting used to him, and, at least didn’t see him as someone who was going to make their jobs harder than they already were. He caught it.
One of the communications indicators lit up, but the bridge handled those. It was probably from the captain saying that her job was done.
He thought wrong.
One of the data officers spoke up. “Commander, we’ve been sent a communication from the Janus government with a pass-through stamp. They’re trying to contact the captain directly, but we do have the contents available.”
Commander Arjun blinked. “Trying to get a hold of the captain directly? There had better be something to justify the urgency.”
“Yes sir.” The data officer said. “…Sir, independent forces are attempting to seize the Agir. They claim to be from a salvage outfit and have a contract to move the Agir to one of their breaker yards. They’ve already transferred navigation crew and are unmooring the Agir for FTL transport.”
Commander Arjun immediately issued orders. “Send that message to the captain and move to collect her shuttle. She will head back here as soon as we can. Be ready to position for hyperjump while the captain speaks to the local authorities after she’s collected.” He turned his head. “Tactical, I want you to switch to alert shifts immediately. I want everyone in your department to be either on duty or on standby to immediately relieve current personnel.”
The junior officer paused. He didn’t know what had happened, but he knew that something was desperately wrong. Commander Arjun was usually more collected, and was only agitated by the captain’s carefree demeanor or if he felt the Republic was being disrespected. For him to jump right into a flurry of action like this…
There were long hours ahead.
-------------
Just as the commander predicted, Captain Harper immediately cancelled her meeting and almost left the marines behind by accident in her rush to get back to the shuttle. Once on board she ordered the ship to make best speed to the Agir’s drydock, but by the time they got there, the private starships had already made off with the Agir.
From there, the Demeter moved into position to pursue while the Captain talked to the local government.
“My question is, why didn’t you try to stop them?” She said, tapping her forearm. “They couldn’t have brought that much force to bear.”
“Captain, I’m sorry, but they were using large security ships to make the capture.” The planetary governor replied. “Only moderately smaller than your own ship, and well-armed besides. Our smaller boats can take care of converted freighters and smugglers, but most of our larger assets were out at the edge of the system on exercises.” There was a pause. “…And besides, they were positioned so close to the Agir that any stray weapons fire might have damaged the dock, or even the ship itself.”
“All right, I believe you.” Captain Harper rubbed her forehead. “Anyway, didn’t anything seem off about the contract to you? The Republic hasn’t backed down on the agreement, as far as I know.”
“I’ve had my people look it over, and it does, at least on the surface, seem completely legitimate. We were getting ready to send it for intense review, but I believe as a captain you have expedited access to the Republic’s Data network, so…”
She nodded. “All right, send it to us, we’ll put it through. We’ll route it to our data station.”
Back in ops, Patrick saw something pop up in his station- It was a copy of the contract, and he did a quick glance through to see who it was from. “…Looks like it’s from LifeCycle Salvage- I’ve seen their ads before.”
“LifeCycle?” Arjun hmmed. “…They’re an independent outfit that’s outside of Republic borders, and they’ve been around for a while, handling specialized breaker duties for large and small human states. The Republic has even done legitimate business with them in the past. In the earlier years of the Republic, they helped dispose of Imperial-era warships that were either too old, damaged, or poorly maintained to see any more use, as well as ship types that couldn’t be repurposed to fit the Republic Navy’s new strategic mission.” He shrugged. “They’ve never seemed more greasy than any other business- This is the first time I’ve heard of them trying to heist a ship from inside Republic space.”
“So you think this whole thing is fishy?” Patrick asked. “I mean, the contract passed basic inspection.”
Arjun shook his head. “That doesn’t mean much. These might be pirates with an inside man in LifeCycle, or an actual Executive might be pulling some kind of side-hustle. Anyway, you’re going to send this up the chain. In cases of suspected piracy, we have expedited access to the Republic’s Accounting network, and today is the first day you get to use it.”
“Right.”
Fernandez helped him get in. One of the biggest achievements of SolFed was its nationwide accounting database that could be accessed through its FTL communications boosting stations. Every part of the Republic had enormous access to all business, accounting, and material distribution data stored in the theoretical vaults of the Republic’s massive bureaucratic apparatus. Anyone could check at any moment whether a given private enterprise was legitimate and had a charter to do business inside or with the Republic itself, as well as check if any presented contract had been registered with the Republic or was consistent with other business.
It was not just a monumental edifice of accounting, but accountability- it was a massive tool for preventing some of the most basic, common, and destructive kinds of fraud.
Now it was Junior Lieutenant Patrick Harland’s turn to use it for the first time. He was grateful for the help- It was an extremely powerful tool, but wasn’t the friendliest design, seeing as the data network was designed with every possible consideration except a new user. However, he bore with it, considering that there was more than just one old, retired battleship at stake.
In time, he managed to get the system to understand what he meant and speed it off.
It wasn’t instantaneous, of course- Faster-than-light did not mean “infinitely fast”, and one of the things Patrick had to learn on the job was how to deal with the low-level tension that filled the interval between venturing and gaining. He theoretically had enough time to get some sleep, but he wouldn’t kid himself into thinking that any such thing was going to happen.
After those hours, the Republic accounting network responded.
CONTRACT CONTAINS NUMEROUS IRREGULARITIES COMPARED TO REGISTERED DATA
CONTRACT IRREGULARITES EXCEED FRAUD THRESHOLD
CONTRACT HOLDERS ARE ENGAGED IN UNLAWFUL SEIZURE OF SPACEBORNE ASSETS
DEMETER CAPTAIN JULIANNE BONNIVEL HARPER IS AUTHORIZED TO PURSUE AND RETRIEVE
DEMETER CAPTAIN JULIANNE BONNIVEL HARPER IS AUTHORIZED TO CONSIDER OFFENDING PARTY IN COMMISSION OF ACT OF PIRACY IN REPUBLIC SPACE
ALL FORCE RESTRICTIONS RESCINDED
The junior officer waved Fernandez over to his station and showed him the feedback. “Sir, this is what we got back.”
He leaned over and looked at it. “All right, send that up to the captain, she’s going to decide how to handle this. We’ve done all we can here, it’s in her hands now.”
He did as he was told.
It didn’t take long.
There was a ship-wide announcement. “This is Captain Harper speaking. Looks like someone decided to do a crime right under our noses, so we’re going to be doing an FTL pursuit. Even if they’ve got a bit of a head start, we should be able to catch up to them since they’re escorting an older ship. I want everyone to stay at or near their ready stations for the duration, the mess crew will be carting meals directly to the various departments. Every operational department is on general alert. Not saying things will get hot, but they might.”
There was a pause, then an additional message. “I will be heading to Ops, all Ops department heads are expected to be there.”
The Junior officer tried to remain steady in his seat- The bridge was not far from the operations room, so he could expect the captain to come by quickly, and she more than met expectations. The captain was there with the least possible delay- Only as much time as it took for her to get out of her seat and dash to Ops.
She put her hands together. “All right, everyone, looks like we’ve got a hunting license. They’ve given us a trail to follow and we’re going to pick it up.” She put her hands on the central holographic display table. “I’m telling comms to send out a fleet alert with instructions to interdict LifeCycle, but it’s going to be on us to catch up to this scurvy crew.” She looked over at the tactical station. “Lieutenant Commander, how fast is the Agir, when it comes to being Faster than Light.”
Lieutenant Commander Wilson, the tall, lanky head of the tactical station, spoke up- Patrick observed that he was someone who generally kept his words to himself unless someone asked for them. “The people of Janus are sticklers for historical accuracy- They’ve certainly installed a Wilcox D-1 or something close to its capabilities. If they don’t want to fly the Agir apart, then we’ll almost certainly be able to catch them before they get anywhere they’re going.”
“That’s a relief.” She said, folding her arms. “Anyway, I want your people ready. I don’t think we’ll have to play gunslinger this time, but I want our hands on the grip at least.”
“Yes, captain.” Wilson saluted, and set his people to work.
“As for the rest of you-“ She said. “I want everyone to remain on alert stations until all of this is resolved. I’ll be on the bridge or my room- Report developments to me wherever I am.”
And then she left.
And then the Demeter got underway as fast as its engines could go.
-----------
The Demeter began its pursuit in earnest. Captain Harper was confident that the ship rustlers wouldn’t be able to outpace the Demeter, as the Agir’s FTL drive was built to an older standard, and the Demeter had top-of-the-line military drives. They didn’t have an especially big head start, either, so Captain Harper was sure they would catch up at some point in the near future. Not that she didn’t order precautions to be communicated, of course.
Space Piracy was a crime that the Sol Federal Republic and most other governments took an especially hard line on, much like naval piracy on the high seas in the terrestrial days of human civilization. The logic behind the government’s decision to let armed military and civilian ships do basically whatever they wanted to confirmed pirate vessels was as follows. At least, the way that Patrick Harland learned it, it went like this:
1.) If the ship was obtained illegally, it was stolen, hijacked, or the crew were mutineers, which meant that it was almost certain that the crew had committed a large number of other serious crimes during the seizure of the vessel.
2.) The ship was obtained lawfully, which meant the owners had the means to use it for a legitimate private or public purpose but chose to instead use it to menace the space lanes.
3.) If a public or private entity was sponsoring piracy, they were considered accomplices to any crimes the pirates committed and would be treated accordingly, which was one of the reasons the upper leadership of the Barlat Consortium was now a slowly expanding cloud of plasma in space after their escape ship was obliterated by a Lutanni cruiser.
It was a shared cultural value between the two species.
While the Republic’s justice system had a lighter touch than many earlier Earth governments, there were still crimes where its full wrath could be provoked- Anti-Piracy laws were the only category of criminal laws that could be enforced by military action under the Republic’s system, and it was a duty that Republic captains pursued whenever the opportunity presented itself- Or rather, Earth captains, as that particular streak existed before the establishment of the Republic.
Patrick’s own captain had retired to her room after the pursuit began, and as the most junior officer in ops, he was left to be the go-between for ops and the captain herself. She preferred to hear news in person, and he was the perpetual holder of the short straw. But the captain was agreeable enough in many ways, so it was impossible to dread going to visit her.
She was sitting on her bed, listening patiently to everything he had to say about the situation.
“The message got through, and regional command has dispatched the heavy cruisers Hydra, Balaur, and Orthus, along with their escort groups, to the company’s known yards to hold things down.” He said, looking at his tablet. “There isn’t much more to say about that, LifeCycle is now being fully monitored.”
“Ah, good, that reduces their options, plus LifeCycle gets the pleasure of a Republic captain explaining to them why they’re suddenly hosting a visit from Republic flotillas.” She said. “That’s quite a bit of firepower, but it’s not a show the fleet is putting on just for Janus’s sake.”
“So, we’re continuing to pursue?” He asked.
“Yeah.” She said, putting her cup of coffee aside. “After all, we’re only blocking off their known yards. As this is something they’re doing under the table, they might be taking the Agir to some other place that we don’t know about yet, and we’re the ones who have their tail.”
“Right.” He said. “Also, the regional commander has mobilized the Nemesis to assist in the pursuit and apprehension.”
She raised her eyebrows. “That seems like overkill. I think the Demeter is enough, but sending the Nemesis? I think someone’s eager to send a message. Normally, I’d be fine with leaving this matter to that ship, but there’s no telling how far away it is or how long it’ll take for her to join us. We can’t afford to wait. And besides, as far as I can tell, we’re not too far away from catching up to them- We'll jump them when they have to stop to rest their FTL drives.”
“Navigation says we’re pretty close to overhauling them.” He added. “So, what’s the plan when we get there?”
“Make them give up the Agir, of course.” She said, and then reached over to finish her drink. “We already have the authorization to do that, and we have all the tools we need to see how far they’re willing to go for their paycheck. Mercenaries are not always reliable when the rubber hits the road.”
He wanted to parse the captain’s thinking by saying it out loud, and see if she corrected him. “So… See if they’re want to keep it more than we want it back?”
“Exactly.” She replied, putting her empty mug aside. “Maybe there’s more nuance than that, but that’s the size of it. Besides, one of our advantages is that even if they are theoretically capable of prevailing over us in a fight, there are other incentives in play, like ‘Not making an enemy of the entire Sol Federal Republic’. Something like that.”
“So, you think we might not have to fight for the Agir at all?” He asked. “They were in a pretty big hurry to steal it, and brought some well-armed ships to do it.”
“Every encounter has its own unique circumstances.” She said, stretching. “They were they to get in and out quickly and probably try to avoid fighting anything other than local gunboats. Fighting a Republic cruiser is a whole different equation, so I think the chances are pretty low.” She put her hands in her lap. “Not every encounter with a potentially hostile ship takes place in wartime, and people can take dangerous acts without necessarily being willing to die for them. Is there anything else?”
“No, captain.”
“Dismissed.”
Patrick found himself back at Ops soon after, sliding into his seat. He had just relieved another officer at the station, and slid back into his seat while everyone around him worked with quiet purpose. It was a little unsettling, but he knew that the quiet was because everyone was acting with the utmost concentration. They had their orders, and they had their goal, but the silence in the room… that would take some getting used to.
And on top of that, there wasn’t much to do as the Demeter pursued the Agir and its captors at speeds once thought impossible. He could monitor all sorts of things, but he wasn’t a navigator, and so had no clue how close or far they were from overtaking them at any given moment.
And just as the silence started to become unbearable, the Demeter dropped out of space. Commander Arjun started communicating with the bridge, which meant it was his turn to sit up straight and be ready to do what was asked. From what he managed to pick up, they had caught up to their targets.
Fernandez spoke up. “Lieutenant, I want IDs on those ships, tactical needs to know.”
He had shaken off his earlier malaise now that he could do something. The sensor people fed the readings over to him, and he referenced them with known ship types and their operators. “Looks like five ships- One of them is the Agir, another is a transport, and three armed security vessels, each about 180 meters long. Sending everything to the tactical station, sir.”
Arjun nodded. “Wilson?”
Wilson bent over one of his own stations. “Sky Industries Peregrines. Looks like standard combat lasers, some missile weapons, and anti-missile capability is present but not strong. They have a bit of a glass jaw, though, they’re pursuit vessels. Sending recommendations to the Captain now.”
Patrick stole a glance at the holographic display in the middle of the room, which had flared to life, showing the Demeter’s location relative to the ships. The hijackers had felt secure enough to spread out, but the Demeter was underway to overhaul them at full acceleration. Decelerating was a tricky business, but the navigators knew their stuff, and it was pretty clear the captain wanted to close the distance.
The once quiet bridge had become a full flurry of activity. Tactical was putting weaponry on automatic trigger to light up those escorting ships if they tried to paint the Demeter, Arjun was talking to the bridge, and he was looking at the data feed- Apparently the captain had ordered the defending ships to heel over, and the flotilla decided not to make a break for it- In real space, the only thing limiting the Demeter’s ability to pursue was the will of its captain, which seemed to be an inexhaustible resource.
Captain Harper entered the Ops room just as the Demeter pulled close to the escorting flotilla- Just like before, there were three ships, so the captain’s calculus remained intact. The Tactical crew finished inputting the automatic settings to the weaponry, and based on the distance the captain had asked them to keep, he could see how the Demeter could knock out all three ships at once if it had to.
While the three ships were large and well-armed for civilian security vessels, they were collectively not much of a match for the Demeter- Military ships were just built tough- A full missile launch would smother the furthest ship with more missiles than its defenses could reasonably handle. The Second would face a full volley at close range from the cruiser’s primary turrets, and there was no way the third could survive an assault from the spinal mount. The question wasn’t whether or not the Demeter could win the fight in the end, even if it got scuffed in the doing.
The question was whether anyone had the stomach for a fight in the first place.
Captain Harper studied the three-dimensional display for a few moments, and nodded, making a call to the bridge. “Communications, get me through to any one of those ships. Whoever picks up first is the person we’re going to talk to. Doesn’t matter which.”
“Understood Captain, routing to Ops.”
More silence.
Not long enough to make him uncomfortable this time. “This is flotilla captain Regent of LifeCycle corporate security. We are in the middle of executing a contract between our employer and the Republic regarding the transfer of unused naval assets. We presented this contract to the local government of the Janus System and are carrying out its terms.”
“You did present a contract to the local government.” Captain Harper replied. “However, there was already a pre-existing agreement between the Republic and the Janus system for the transfer of that ship from the Republic to local ownership. Your company’s contract does not supersede our internal agreements, for many reasons.”
There was a pause. Patrick looked over at the Captain- She was looking significantly less carefree than usual.
The response came back. “Captain, this is a lawful transaction between the Republic and our employer.”
“We already fed the contract into the network.” She said, crossing her arms, even though she was sure that Captain Regent couldn’t see her. “It was a pretty convincing piece of work on the surface, but it turned out it was a piece of fiction- It was just a big distraction while you made off with the ship.” She said. “So, I’m not going to give you the runaround. I’m here for the Agir and she’s coming back with us.”
The response came quickly. “Our employer is well within its rights to take the Agir. We were assured of this when we were dispatched on this mission, and you haven’t presented anything that shows this was an unlawful transaction, Captain.”
“We’ll send you the network output now.” Captain Harper gestured to Fernandez, and he transmitted the data to the vessels. The captain continued. “Either you’re ignorant or you’re playing dumb. Also, our weaponry is set on an auto-response trigger, so don’t try any funny business while you’re looking this over.”
There was another pause. Any silence made Patrick nervous- Four armed starships were squaring off, after all. The response came back. “You can take up this claim with LifeCycle if there’s a contract dispute, but the Agir is in our possession, captain.”
“Listen.” Captain Harper responded. “I have been empowered by SolFed to do anything I have to retrieve that ship, and how you respond is only going to affect what I have to tell command that I had to do. Now, we can all walk away from this alive and chalk it up to a misunderstanding- You can tell us who sent you on your merry way and tricked you into committing theft, and we can all talk about this in some bar on some distant planet years down the road. The alternative is for you to make me treat you like pirates.”
Patrick clenched his hands. He could practically feel the Demeter’s turrets begin to traverse.
There was a pause, and the response came back. “We’re, ah… We’re considering our options.”
“Consider away.” She said. “Just remember, there isn’t really a third choice here. There isn’t room for you to get creative right now, you know?”
The channel remained open, but it also remained quiet. The three captains were talking among themselves about how much they wanted to get in a gunfight with a top-of-the-line Republic warship, even if it was “just” a light cruiser.
The captain remained quiet, but patient- Patrick saw no sign that she was going to lose her nerve. There were only two ways this was going to end- one of them was a close-range shootout, and the other was preferable to the first.
He looked over to see what Lieutenant Commander Wilson and his people were doing. He was quietly supervising his own people as they adjusted the ship’s weaponry, marking out priority targets and which ship to attack with what if things got hot. He quietly wished he could be as cool on the inside as the Lieutenant Commander appeared on the outside, but that just wasn’t in the cards.
He was startled when there was a sudden beep- It was just an indicator of an incoming communication signal. “Captain Harper, this is Captain Regent. After careful consideration we… Have decided to relinquish the Agir while this matter is sorted out between the Republic and our employers. I think it would be in everyone’s best interest for any misunderstandings to be sorted out, first.”
“Glad we could agree.” Captain Harper said. “We’ll be remaining on station until the Nemesis arrives, and you can explain everything to them- Your orders, who you got them from, who gave you the contract, that kind of thing. Once they show up, we will depart with the Agir and return to Janus with the ship. Understood?”
“…Yes, Captain.”
“Good!” And she gave the signal to hang up. “Well, all we need to do now is a little babysitting until backup arrives, and that will be that.”
Patrick allowed himself an open sigh of relief. He didn’t care that people looked at him like a rookie.
-------------------
The battlecruiser Nemesis arrived 48 hours after their encounter, along with several destroyers. The Nemesis itself was enormous compared to the Demeter- 550 meters long, armed with heavy weapons turrets, dozens of missile launchers, and a big spinal pulse laser cannon, propelled by very large, overpowered engines that gave it a wicked acceleration profile for its mass- If it went all out it could even keep pace with the Demeter’s advanced engines (though the fuel cost would be large) and it was even slightly more maneuverable at speed. Patrick had asked Captain Harper if she wanted to visit her old ship, and she shrugged and told him that Nemesis was another captain’s ship now.
The way back was slower now that the Agir was in figurative tow, and things developed rapidly- A couple of LifeCycle execs had gone under the table and promised the Agir to a minor pariah state well out of the way of Republic space- Though the Agir was obsolete by Republic standards, even a modest amount of modernization would be able to turn a ship of that size into a powerful weapon for a small local power. The Republic had cut off all contracts with Life Cycle until they got themselves sorted, and some smaller regional governments had done the same- Even if they weren’t targets, they didn’t appreciate that agents of the company could decide to fly the black flag.
That’s all that Patrick followed at the time- It was now a matter of the Republic government, and he was a Junior Lieutenant with more immediate concerns, such as a certain ceremony.
“With this, the Sol Federal Republic officially hands over the battleship Agir to the people of the Janus system, through their representatives.” Captain Harper said, with a smile. It was purely a formality, but Patrick and some of the other officers decided to attend the ceremony. Even aside from the fact that the story of the ship was part of the story of the Republic itself, quite a few were also there for the catering.
She handed over the binder containing the hard copy of the official contract- Paper still had its uses- And the planetary governor, flanked by his immediate staff, signed it before handing it back to Captain Harper. “The people of Janus appreciate the efforts that the Republic has exerted to ensure that this ship was returned to this system.”
The dinner was served in the largest of the ship’s mess halls, which would be thoroughly cleaned after. The crew was the Demeter relieved of all but the most essential duties, which means more would be coming to tour the Agir sometime later. Patrick enjoyed the respite and the opportunity to be on an older ship. There was a lot that he could recognize- A lot of the features of modern ships were there, just more crude and bulky and sparse, but the ship itself was also a bit more cramped when it came to corridors and accommodations.
He thought about how it must have been to use a ship like this, and not just in battle, either.
After a while, he realized that he had lost sight of the captain, and no one else knew where she had slipped off to, so he finished his drink and excused himself. Even though he hadn’t known her as long as some of the other officers on the Demeter, he had some idea of where she might have gone. He briefly debated with himself on whether to follow her- She might just want to be alone, but in the end, he was willing to take a scolding to make sure she was all right.
Even if the layout of the Agir was unfamiliar, the signage did guide him to the ship’s bridge.
She was there, as he suspected, but she seemed lost in thought as she stood at the center of the chamber, with its silent, spartan panels and instruments and viewscreen monitors. One of the few bits of color in the room was brought about by the fact that the captain’s chair had been aggressively roped off. Captain Harper was looking at the captain’s chair, and Patrick could only begin to guess what was on his mind.
She eventually looked up to notice him, and smiled. “They did the right thing.” She gestured to the captain’s chair. “It’s a tradition to do this on museum ships, you see, especially ships that have this kind of history. There’s a tradition that the last captain of a ship remains its captain, even if the ship is no longer active and the captain is long gone- No one is allowed to sit in this chair again because this is still Captain Park’s ship, and we’re both standing on Captain Park’s bridge.”
“I see.” He said. “If you’d like me to leave you, I will return to the celebration, captain.”
“No, it’s fine.” She said, stretching. “I have time for any crew who has something on their mind. Don’t think you I didn’t notice that you seemed surprised that I decided not to board the Nemesis.”
“Well…” He said. “You know how the Republic sees you, and I think a lot of people would like to have the chance to meet you… And besides, captains do like to visit their old ships for old times’ sake sometimes.” He’d had experience- The old captain of what had been used as his training ship had come to visit while he was at the academy.
“I commanded the Nemesis for some time, yes.” She said, as she started to pace around the bridge. “Through all kinds of missions and through some very dangerous times, but then I left the navy for a while- Decided to cash my chips, take my winnings, and go, and leave the Nemesis behind. It’s not like she doesn’t have a capable captain now, either- After all, she’s still afloat and doing what she does best. But… Hm.”
“Yes, captain?” He dared to inquire.
“I had my reasons for leaving that ship behind.” She said, and a smile eventually came back to her face. “And I think it’s better that the part of me that commanded that ship in the Barlat Sector War stays there while the rest of me moves on. The Demeter is enough ship for me these days, and I think a ship like ours fits the me of today better- At this point, I don’t think the Nemesis and I are suited for each other anymore, like meeting an old friend and finding out that the only thing you still have in common is the past.”
“Oh.” He said. He didn’t know what to add, or even if there was anything that he could add. “So… Before I came in, were you thinking about Captain Park?”
“It’s hard not to think about it.” She said, her eyes glancing at his chair. While much of the bridge had been cleaned up, the dried bloodstains on the cushions of the captain’s seat remained. “If nothing else, we were both starship captains who fought in deadly battles for the sake of the Republic, but there’s more than that.”
Captain Harper wasn’t always an easy person to read, but she was never entirely enigmatic or coy about things- It’s as though she wanted to provoke people to ask her questions. “Like what?”
“This might just be me being sentimental, but I think most captains feel they have something in common with any other captain, and I’m not just talking about starships.” She said, and walked around the edge of the room. “I don’t think the responsibilities of being a captain have really changed in the thousands of years humans have been building anything that we’ve called a ship. Go out, do what your duty demands, and bring ship and as much crew home as possible.”
“Is this on your mind a lot, if I may ask, captain?” He tried not to sound timid, and he wasn’t sure how successful he was.
She giggled. “Well, that and something else related- As I said, I am a sentimental person, Lieutenant.” She reached out towards some of the controls, barely restraining herself from touching them. “I don’t really care what people think about me saying this kind of thing, so I don’t mind sharing it.” There was a pause, and she briefly closed her eyes as she collected herself. “…Back on old Earth, when ships were made of wood and had masts and sails, early navigators on open water found their reckoning by studying the positions of the stars, what was visible and what was not.” She shrugged. “But even though so much else has changed, our current navigation relies on calculating the relative distance and movement of stellar bodies. Son, perhaps, in some small way, we still do. Captains separated by thousands of years, still finding their way by the lights in the sky.”
“Ah…” He couldn’t find anything else to say about it. He wasn’t sure, but perhaps he was getting a glimpse into Captain Harper’s mind- the her that she was when she wasn’t acting on her orders.
She giggled. “Speechless?” She found a free chair to sit down. “…That’s all right. I don’t normally let things like that leave my head, especially not in front of my junior officers.” She stretched. “Anyway… It’ll probably just be boring at the party, so I’ll be here.” She paused. “…You look like you’re having a hard time deciding whether to stay or go.”
She was right. He was sure some body language gave him away. “Well… I like spending time with you, Captain. Every time I meet you, you help me understand more about being an officer and how to command.” That wasn’t all- She was so disarming and full of charm to him that just being around her helped to ease his nerves as a rookie officer. “But if we’re alone together off-duty for a while, won’t that seem suspicious or improper?”
“Hm?” She said, and then smiled. “Well, that’s where being a legendary captain with an irreproachable reputation comes in handy, doesn’t it?” She winked at him. “But I don’t think you have anything untoward in mind to begin with- You're so fresh nobody thinks you're capable of being nefarious. So, have a seat, and ask me about anything.” She looked around the bridge. “Though, again, not in the captain’s chair. You’re going to have to get one of your own, just like the rest of us.”