privateer and a pirate. If a privateer captured an enemy merchant ship, they took her as a 'prize', she, and her cargo were sold, and the privateer got the proceeds.'
Cale smiled. 'Not all the proceeds, madam. The government issuing the letters got the largest portion of the profits.'
The Minister of the Treasury smiled sourly. 'Now we know what made it worth a three million-credit investment. A single cargo could double your money.'
Cale sighed and shook his head. 'Sire, you continue to impugn my character and my motives. I do not expect to get rich off this war; I'm quite financially secure already. The contract I hope to sign with your government will provide that any proceeds beyond three million Alliance credits and a substantial government share, of course, be divided amongst the crews of the ships and boats. I had rather thought we might design a scale based on importance in the capture, or some such.
'Besides, if the people manning those boats are privateers, they will have a powerful incentive to capture a ship, rather than just destroy it. It could save a lot of lives.'
Jessica frowned. 'As I recall, one of the reasons privateers were outlawed was that crews had a way of disappearing. Privateers didn't care much whether anyone on those merchant ships survived.'
'Outlawed? Outlawed? You mean they're illegal?'
Jessica grinned. 'I doubt it. As I recall, there was an international treaty that banned them, but even some of the major nations refused to sign it, and since none of the nations that did sign that treaty have existed for almost three thousand years, I think it would be safe enough, legally, at the moment. But it'll be tossing a real bomb at Interstellar law. It'll probably take another century or two to work through the courts.'
'Well,' Mong asked, 'What about prisoners? I'd rather not have to appear before a war crimes tribunal!'
Cale's smile returned. 'That's the third and last thing I need from you, and the only one that will cost you money. Both of those jump points are in systems with plenty of moons.' He waved vaguely around him. 'You obviously have a lot of experience in building installations in airless environments. You'll need to establish prison compounds, where prisoners can be kept and cared for until they are exchanged or the war ends. Which, I suspect, won't be long. If we cut their supply lines and their trade routes, I doubt they will last very long. Now, while you think all this over, shall we visit the ship and see the gunboats?'
They suited up and trooped out to the ship. After giving them a tour of the berthing, eating, and recreational amenities now occupying the former crew's quarters, they moved to the after hold, where the gunboats were kept.
Cale had been hoping to impress one of the qualified pilots, and was glad Mong, the Minister of Defense, was actually qualified to assess their possibilities.
He offered Mong a ride in the converted gig, since it was smaller and more agile than the lifeboat, and Cale suspected an old small-craft hand would enjoy it.
Mong was gone for nearly four hours. He had gone out to the asteroid belt, and attacked and shot up several ship-sized asteroids. He came back grinning widely, an enthusiastic convert.
While he was gone, the government had carried on a lot of discussion in private, while Cale and Zant fidgeted in Minetoo 's lounge. When Mong returned, he was quickly shanghaied into the impromptu meeting of the Government of Ilocan in Exile.
Two hours later, Mong crossed to Minetoo alone. He joined Cale and Zant in the lounge cum messroom.
'All right,' he said, 'Tell me about the third ship.' He watched their reactions carefully.
Zant smiled at Cale, who shrugged. 'We found that we actually had too many gunboats for the two Din-class ships to carry. So, we had a third ship fixed up, and she's an interesting one. She's a Chata class with a planetary defense laser and a bunch of other weaponry installed. We had a couple of ideas for her. One was to use her to ferry additional boats to the two recal systems. We also thought about trying to sneak into Ilocan's system, and either resupply your guerillas, or at least shoot up some of their surveillance. Trouble is, we have no way to establish communication with the ground. Most of the effort would be wasted.
'My personal favorite, though, was to use her and my own Cheetah to raid Santiago. I'd bet nearly all of their warships are on station at Ilocan, and the last thing they would expect would be an attack on their home planet. I thought we could hit a lot of their support facilities with Cheetah and the boats, maybe even snatch a ship or two as prizes, and then drop off a bunch of mines at the jump point as we leave. That Chata-class could do some serious damage to an orbital factory. We could even leave her there, hidden in the asteroid belt, and use the boats for ongoing raids. But we'd need an experienced combat skipper and some really ballsy boat pilots to carry that off.'
Mong nodded. 'Sounds like fun. Do you have any idea of the diplomatic and legal hooraw your 'Letters of Marque' are going to create?'
Cale's smile was slightly wicked. 'I think so. As the President said, it may take a century or two to work through the courts. Frankly, I don't care, and I don't see why you should care, either. Certainly no Interstellar court jumped forward to stop the Santies.'
He shrugged before continuing. 'I've had a while to think about this. My own suggestion would be to issue the letters, get operations underway, then send copies of the letters to Angeles, and tell them what we're doing. They're the big pirate hunters in this sector, but they have a massive bureaucracy. Their pirate hunters won't jump our people until His Majesty's government tells them to, and by the time every department has had its say and done its research, and the government figures out its 'position' on privateers, the war will be long over.'
'Uh-huh,' Mong replied. 'And when it is over? What happens to your fleet then?'
Cale shrugged again. 'Letters of Marque are only valid during wartime. If they continue raiding, they're no longer privateers, they're just pirates. And we know what happens to them. Besides, all the ships and boats are mine, and they can go back into my yard.' He hesitated, and then continued, 'There is another option, one less controversial.'
Mong looked like a man who just discovered an insect in his soup. 'Oh? And what would that be?'
Cale kept his face impassive. 'The government could lease my ships and boats for, oh, three million Alliance credits, and put the crews on the government's payroll. All legal, and nobody's hanged for piracy. Of course, there's no income for the government that way; no 'prizes', or 'prize courts' to decide the shares.
Mong grinned tightly. 'And just what kind of 'shares' would you consider fair?'
'That's negotiable, of course. I'd guess in the neighborhood of fifty percent.'
Mong looked shocked. ' Fifty percent? Of the value of the ship and its cargo? Ridiculous. Of course, a small, suitable reward…'
Cale shook his head. 'Fifty percent of what the government gets for it at a sale or auction, which will be nowhere near the true value, and split among the boat pilots and ship's crews. Sir,' he added urgently, 'do you realize you are haggling over what to pay people who do not work for you, to encourage them to risk their lives to capture ships and people instead of simply destroying them? And that you are talking about shares of a vessel the government will not possess unless the privateers take that extra risk?'
Mong reddened. 'I… I guess from that point of view I sounded pretty officious and mercenary. But the shares do have to be discussed, and there are other factors involved, too.'
Cale nodded. 'Of course, sir. However, neither you nor I am a negotiator. I suggest the details can be ironed out. We are dealing with the major decisions, here. Policy. Isn't that what governments do?
Mong chuckled. 'More often than is perhaps good for us. Well, I guess I had better get back to the arguing and the horse-trading. It is nice to actually have something important to discuss, though.' He paused as he suited up. 'I'd suggest you two come back across to the mine. This meeting ought to be over in an hour or two.' He clumped into the airlock as Cale and Zant reached for their suits.
On the trip back to Torlon, they carried three crews qualified to fly Din-class ships. They also carried four 'Letters of Marque and Reprisal,' flowery-looking documents, one of which would be carried on each Din-class, the Chata — class, and one for Cheetah. They gave each Captain the authority to 'search out and capture or destroy shipping bearing the beacon or flag of the Republic of Santiago, whether warship or merchant vessel'. A separate contract, executed by each Captain, entitled them and their crews to 40 % of the salvage value of any ship and/or cargo captured in space while bearing a beacon of the Republic of Santiago, to be distributed among the crew in accordance with the attached schedule.
Before they left, Cale sought out Jessica. 'Madam President,' he began, having to consciously restrain himself from calling her 'aunt Jessie', 'I have a problem that will require your help.'
