“Captain Garkelley?”
“Yes?”
“I am going to take you into one of my holding bays for repairs,” she explained. “There is a regular ship’s atmosphere inside the bay, kept in by a restraining field even when the doors are open. It might be a little cold for your tastes, but you can live there. I want you to completely secure your ship as if you were already at dock at a station, all fields, drives, and major power systems shut down.”
She did not wait for his response. She had already positioned herself so that the open bay was already over the small freighter, and began to descend on top of it. Two pairs of long handling arms reached down to lock securely to the hull of the Velka and draw it into the bay. The arms retracted into their holding position and locked into place, and the vast doors began to close. She had already ordered her fighters on board as well, with special emphasis for Velmeran to get himself to the holding bay as soon as he could.
As soon as her ships were safely on board, the Methryn turned and began to gather speed gently, so slowly that most of her crewmembers were not even aware that she was moving. This was special consideration for her human passengers, who might not have survived her normal accelerations.
Velmeran landed as quickly as he could and hurried to the holding bay, where Mayelna and Valthyrra waited as the docking tube swung into place. Mayelna was in the white armor of an officer, a short cape of matching white snapped into place at her collar to lend a look of authority. Valthyrra hovered nearby in the form of one of her probes, the most lethal of her automations. A pack of pilots in black armor served as an impromptu security force, while Dyenlerra and her medical remotes waited behind. This looked to Velmeran more like a boarding party than a group of rescuers.
“Ah, Velmeran,” Valthyrra said, the retractable neck of her probe bent well around to stare at him. “Do you expect any trouble?”
“No, not really.”
“None at all?” she insisted, still staring at him.
“I expect no violence, if that is what you mean,” he corrected himself. “Trouble is something you already have. All you could want is waiting at the end of this docking tube.”
“I was aware of that,” Valthyrra said, drifting toward the door of the docking tube as it snapped open. “Shall we go have a look at it?”
She drifted quickly down the length of the tube and opened the outer door of the lock, which revealed the closed docking hatch of the Velka. A moment later they could hear the locking mechanisms inside the hatch release with hollow clangs and thumps, and the door began to move slowly inward as if under stress. Outer hull doors always opened inward, so that internal pressure kept them sealed even when mechanical locks failed. That worked against it now, however, since the freighter kept a slightly higher pressure. The Kelvessan were hit by a rush of what seemed to them warm air, and the door opened easily.
A small, thin man stepped forward in a very businesslike manner in the hatchway. The Traders were themselves a race apart, as adapted after many generations to life in space as nature would allow. They were nearly as small as the Kelvessan, thin and wiry and well-muscled against the stresses of acceleration. They were also shrewdly intelligent, especially so for humans in their declining age. There was something about the appearance and bearing of this man which suggested that a cold, almost hostile shrewdness was his major trait.
He made a brief gesture of acknowledgment. “I am Captain Larn Garkelley of the Velka, independent freighter.”
“I am Valthyrra Methryn,” the ship responded, and indicated right and left with her camera pod. “This is Commander Mayelna, and Commander-designate Velmeran.”
Garkelley was shaken at the mention of that final name, turning visibly pale as he stared at the young pack leader.
“I must inquire as to the condition of your crew,” Valthyrra distracted him subtly. “Does anyone require medical assistance?”
“No… No, we are all quite well,” Garkelley answered hesitantly.
“Then we will assist you in patching your hull and replacing the damaged plate, and deliver you to your destination,” Valthyrra continued briskly. “Also, we will ensure that your engines are recalibrated to phase at the proper levels.”
“Oh, there is no need for that,” Garkelley was quick to assure her. “We would not want to trouble you.”
“You have already caused us more trouble than you are worth, and your ship will not be released until the modifications are complete,” Valthyrra told him plainly. “You must be aware that your phase levels are how we are able to tell independents from company ships.”
“Of course, but that is not important.” His righteous indignation flared. “It seems to me that it is your responsibility to be more certain of the ships you pillage.”
“You seem to forget that the Traders owe their very existence to our protection of their trade rights,” Mayelna said in harsh warning. “The Union would not tolerate you if they could help it. We have always hunted them out of various freight lanes so that you can have the trade. The only responsibility you have in return is to properly identify yourselves.”
“Of course, Commander,” Garkelley was quick to agree.
“Why were your engines phasing out of sequence anyway?” Valthyrra asked.
“That is what we would like to know!” A young woman stepped from the hatch to join them. Angry mutterings of agreement from Velka’s airlock indicated that she was the leader of a potential mutiny.
“We had a bad star drive that barely got us into Tarvan Station,” the younger officer continued. “Garkelley was our freight and trade officer then. We had to leave Captain Wanesher to live out his last few days in the station hospital. Before we had a chance to refit, Garkelley arranged a deal with Dallord Trade for a new engine at a bargain price, free fitting and a five-year contract on a series of runs that their own ships would not dare to fight. It seemed a very good deal at the time, good enough for Garkelley to take the Captain’s chair.”
“You knew at the time that we were taking a risk,” Garkelley countered. “We had to get under way immediately. There was no time to recalibrate.”
“Yes, we did agree, but for just that first run. That engine was to be recalibrated at Laerdaycon Station. You told us that it was. But you put it off because you wanted to impress Dallord by making up the lost time on their schedule.”
“You are out of line, Mersans!” Garkelley said hotly.
“You are out of line,” Mersans retorted. “The crew is more than ready to call a meeting.”
Garkelley regarded her coldly. “You will not find it so easy to depose a Captain.”
“That is already decided, when a Captain nearly loses his ship to his own foolishness,” she declared, then turned abruptly to the Starwolves. “Speaking for the crew of the Velka, I ask you to no longer treat with this man as the Captain of this ship.”
“Your affairs are your own, and we want no part of it,” Valthyrra answered. “We will deal with your new Captain when one is selected.”
“That will not take half an hour.”
“Half an hour, then,” Valthyrra agreed as she turned to leave, followed by the Starwolves. Garkelley hurried back into the Velka’s airlock, upset but seemingly unconcerned about the outcome of this meeting.
But Mersans hesitated, then quickly laid a hand on Velmeran’s shoulder before he was gone. Then, remembering who she had touched, she withdrew the hand as if it had been burned. “Forgive me… “
“Do not be afraid of me,” he assured her.
“I am sorry that we are such trouble,” she began uncertainly. “I am Kella Mersans, helm and navigator of the Velka.”
“And would-be Captain?”
“No, I want nothing for myself,” she insisted sincerely. “Once we are rid of Garkelley, I intend to make my own nomination for Captain. But I must know, before this begins, if… when we were first aware of you, if we had tried to contact you instead of run, if you would have listened.”
“Of course,” he told her. “We are cautious, for our own safety. If you had not run, we would have stayed away until we found out why. Ships that do not run are usually traps. But when you sound like a company freighter and run like one, we can only assume that you are one.”
