The Privateer (14 page)

Cale had plenty of time to think about it. Dee spent nearly all her time in her stateroom, presumably consulting with Tess on destinations. Cale did manage to convince her to join him for meals, but for the most part, he was alone; and suddenly the solitude he had enjoyed had become oppressive. Somehow, the few minutes they shared at mealtimes had become the highlight of his day. Somehow, it had become very important for him to be able to elicit one of her blinding smiles or, even better, her tinkling laugh.

"Captain," Tess said the next afternoon, "I suspect we are being followed."

Cale had been leaning backward in his chair. Now the chair dropped forward. "What? Who? . . ."

"I'm not certain, Captain. I'm afraid the situation will require your expertise."

Cale grinned sourly. 'Expertise'. He knew exactly what she meant. If this was a pirate, who better to recognize and counter the tactics? "Okay, Tess, What makes you think so?"

"As we lifted from Faith, I noticed an Epsilon-class tramp break orbit. She assumed an identical course to ours, and identical velocity. Since we have not established a destination, I have been conserving fuel by maintaining a relatively slow delta-vee. The other ship is still matching our speed. It remains exactly 31 second behind us."

Cale nodded. "And if she was a real trader, she'd have passed us long before now. Time is money for a trader. But for a pirate, it's standard operating procedure when you don't know where your target will emerge from jump for a recal. Use an old ship, probably registered as a free trader, and follow them. You carefully chart their approach angle and speeds as they enter the jump point, then you send the data to a larger ship that is undoubtedly approaching by now. Then you follow them through jump. If you're lucky, you emerge in the same system a few seconds behind the target. When the larger ship arrives, you attack at the recal stop. You must have very good sensors to detect a vessel directly in your wake. For every ship I know of, that's invisible territory."

"There is no such larger vessel driving for the jump point at the moment, Captain." Tess replied. "And I possess a
very
complete sensor suite." Cale suppressed a smile at the obvious pride in Tess's voice.

"Okay," he said, "If there's no bigger ship on course for the jump point, it means we're dealing with small-timers. I wonder why they're after
us
? What can you tell me about the ship?"

"It is a rather typical Epsilon-class free trader, Captain." Tess replied crisply. "It is some two hundred meters long and seventy-five meters in diameter. No weapons are visible, but there are unusual bulges on several places on the hull. I first noticed it because it is unusual for an Epsilon-class to remain in orbit instead of grounding."

Cale nodded. "Yeah. They didn't want to chance a delay getting lift clearance. So those bulges probably conceal their weapons. Can you tell if the cargo doors are oversized?

"I have reviewed the images from our liftoff, Captain. The cargo doors appear to be normal for an Epsilon-class tramp, but it was nearly head-on to us, and I am unable to be certain."

"Okay, so she probably doesn't have a really large laser. How large are the bulges? Could they accommodate an Alliance-pattern quickfirer? Or a small laser?"

Tess's voice was all business. "I would estimate that one of them is large enough to conceal a destroyer-sized laser," she replied. "The other two are smaller. If they conceal a laser, it must be a small one. And they would be too small to conceal the quickfirer I carry."

Cale frowned. "Hmm. Probably squad-level infantry quickfirers. Small-timers for sure. But we're not a warship. They can still hurt us.

"Which brings me to another point," he continued. "I have not delved into the details of your current defense status. Exactly what do we have, and what can we do with it?

"We have the Alliance quickfirer that was mounted on Jackson, along with the destroyer-pattern laser also fitted there. I have run diagnostics, and both are fully functional. My shields are approximately those of an Old Empire destroyer of four hundred years ago."

Cale grinned. "Great! A destroyer's shields are strong enough to block anything they're liable to have, at least long enough to get our own weapons into play."

"Yes, Captain," Tess replied. "However, I must point out that your comp tech was less successful than he thought. At the time, it was necessary for me to conceal my sentience, so I permitted him to think he was more successful than he actually was. Your 'cover story' was of course unnecessary, but I permitted him to believe he successfully installed it.

"Unfortunately, as I mentioned previously, my basic, unalterable programming prohibits me from injuring a human, or through inaction, to permit a human to come to harm. We have the weapons, Captain, but I am unable to use them.

“I am myself uncertain as to my capabilities concerning defense. I
am
permitted to defend myself, and have a somewhat stronger drive to defend my current owner, so long as I do not cause harm to a human. This drive creates a conflict with my basic programming, so I cannot specify exactly how much assistance I can render in a battle with other humans."

Cale frowned. "Now
that
is bad news. I need to know how much help you can be. Will your programming prevent
me
from using the weapons?

"I am unable to answer definitively, Captain," Tess replied slowly, obviously running tests and diagnostics. "The prohibition against allowing harm through inaction is somewhat weaker than the more direct prohibition against harming a human. This renders it more susceptible to interpretation, and permits the defense programming to become a factor. I am certain I will not be forced to disable the weapons. I believe I will be able to assist you with targeting data, charging the laser and loading the quickfirer. I am certain, however, that I will be prevented from actually firing a weapon."

"So, we need to improvise some manual controls for the weapons," Cale said. "Luckily, we'll have plenty of time. They won't attack in a settled system, and no one can attack a ship in jump. We have a day and a half before we reach the jump point. Then we'll have ten days to two weeks in jump, depending upon our destination. Speaking of that, have you and Dee come up with one? A destination, I mean."

Tess's voice took on an amused tone. "We have located several that Dee considers suitable. She plans to talk to you about them. But I suspect she will wait until the last moment. She still harbors a hope of returning to Faith."

"Well, we have an added requirement, now. We need to have a destination that will require the first recal stop to be in an uninhabited system. If we're going to have to fight, we want to do it as soon as possible, and we don't want stray civilians as witnesses."

"Why not? We are the victims.
They
are the pirates."

Cale shook his head. "No. We would have to wait for them to make the first move. We may need the advantage of surprise gained by a first strike. Anyway, as I see it, we need a destination two jumps away, where we may be able to get medical help and ship repairs. Once the fight's over, we'll want to get to help as quickly as possible. To sum up, we need," he began ticking off the requirements on his fingers. "A destination two jumps away, with an empty system as the recal point. The second jump should be as short as possible, but the destination should have enough advanced technology to provide medical treatment and repairs to your systems if necessary. Oh, and it would be nice if it were a place Dee would like."

"Stringent requirements. I have a destination that meets all requirements, except that I doubt Dee would like it. Angeles."

"Angeles? I just skimmed the data on local systems. Tell me about it."

"Well," Tess replied, "for one thing, while Faith may be moving from democracy to hereditary monarchy, Angeles is
already
a hereditary monarchy, and has been for centuries. In fact, it is amazingly stable for that form of government.

"Historically, the weakness of a hereditary monarchy is that eventually a fool or an idiot becomes king. One of the early kings of Angeles set up a system of adoption and provisions for removal from the succession list when necessary. So far, it has worked. When an unsuitable heir has appeared, the royal family has altered the line of succession. And when no heir was apparent, they have been very conscientious about adopting gifted children into the line."

Cale grinned. "I doubt Dee would approve. She would probably be starting a movement within a week!"

"Perhaps," Tess replied. "However, the dynasty has carefully preserved personal freedoms. A reasonably free press is tolerated, and a bureaucracy controlled by a parliament carries on most of the day-to-day business. It has many of the characteristics of a constitutional monarchy, with the exception that the King has absolute veto over everything. Remarkably, the people respect the monarchy, and they actually seem quite proud of it.

"At any rate, in response to your requirements, the monarchy has retained control of off-planet trade, which for centuries has supported the government. Taxes are mainly collected for regional and local needs, and are very low except for those imposed on heavy industries. As a result, the planet itself is largely pastoral and prosperous. Heavy industries were encouraged by the tax structure to relocate to orbit. There are colonies at all five LaGrange points engaged in one industry or another. A large space station, known as 'Trading Central' orbits the planet, and serves as the center of off-planet trade. Even since the Fall they have retained a comparatively brisk offworld trade, though it continues to decline each year. Shipyard services and ship's chandlers are readily available on Trading Central, as are advanced medical facilities. In short, Angeles meets all of your requirements except that of pleasing Dee."

Cale frowned. "Yes, well, I'm afraid she'll just have to manage. This is a matter of survival. We could be badly hurt fighting off a pirate bigger than you, and we may need a refuge badly. Okay, enter the coordinates for a jump to Angeles, and I guess you can speed it up a bit now. I see no sense in prolonging the agony. Oh, and would you ask Dee to join me in the lounge, please?"

"She is already in the lounge, Captain." Tess replied. "She is presently reviewing the ship's vid library."

"That's strange. She could do that in her stateroom."

Cale could almost hear a shrug in Tess's tone. "Perhaps she became lonely. In any event, it seems an excellent opportunity to engage her in discourse."

A slight flush crept up Cale's neck. "Thank you, Tess," he replied with massive dignity. "I believe I will do just that."

He rose quickly from his chair and hurried to the door to the lounge. Putting on a large smile, he entered.

Dee turned from the viewscreen. "Good morning, Captain," She said cheerfully. She had evidently taken a shipsuit and done some amateur tailoring, perhaps with the help of Tess's robot minions. It displayed her figure in ways the shipsuit's designer had never anticipated. Cale found the resulting jumpsuit attractive and exciting, though there was nothing erotic in its design.

Good morning, Dee," Cale replied. "I'm glad you're here. I have news. I have selected a destination."

Her eyes narrowed and an angry flush suffused her face. "Oh," she replied in a barely controlled tone, "Have you? I thought I was to have a voice in that selection." Her fists balled.

"I'm sorry," Cale hurriedly replied. "We're being followed. I think it may be a pirate." He quickly summarized the reasons for heading to Angeles. "How many people would know about the letter of credit your father gave you?"

The flush faded from her face, replaced by a concerned expression. "I don't know. I'm sure my father wouldn't have kept it very secret. Surely you don't think it is large enough to attract a pirate?"

Cale shrugged. "Another non-secret was the fees and bonuses awarded by the Senate and the church. Between them and the letter of credit, I suspect it's
quite
enough to attract a pirate, especially a small-timer or one down on his luck."

She sat down with a thump. “Is there anything we can do?" She appeared composed, but there was a tinge of fear in her voice.

"Oh, yes," he replied. “
Cheetah
was an Old Empire viceroy's yacht. She is armed. But she's no warship, and Tess's programming limits what she can do to help. She's also quite fast in normal space, and Tess is quite an advanced AI. Largely, our chances depend on what modifications, if any, they've made to that Epsilon-class tramp they're pushing. There's no way to tell about that until we fight her, of course, but I think our chances would be pretty good."

"So you've decided to fight?" Her tone was cold, distant.

Cale shook his head and smiled. "No, of course not. Everyone aboard has a vote on that. I'm trying to make certain your vote is an informed one. If possible, I intend to try to run away. If that doesn not seem possible, the only options are to surrender or fight. If we surrender, the options are probably gang rape and slavery or death for you, and torture and death for me. I'm voting to fight. What's your vote?"

Suddenly one of her blinding smiles bloomed. "Fight, of course. I just wanted to be consulted."

He returned her smile. "All right. Now, have you ever fired a weapon?"

She shrugged, creating unintended distractions for Cale. "I was the daughter of the most important church official on Faith. Of course, I received self-defense training in hand-to-hand, firearms, lasers, needlers, blasters, vibroblades, and swords. But not with ship's weapons, of course."

He nodded, impressed. "Then you will have had to confront your ability to kill another human."

"Yes. It is not a pleasant prospect. But some of the simulations were total immersion. Sight, sound and even touch and smell. If I was hit, it stung or burned. And when I hit an attacker, I might be splashed with his 'blood' and smell the burning flesh. Yes, I'd say I've had to confront that problem. Don't worry, Captain, I can defend myself, if necessary. Do you have any hand weapons aboard?"