he thought as he half-turned to his XO beside him.
“XO, we’d be okay on our timeline, correct? The RN Gunnar isn’t due to leave on any specific date, correct?” he said quietly. If anyone knew this kind of stuff, the XO did, Tanner realized and for a moment also realized that he owed much to the man who was his second in command. He made a note to thank him on a personal note later.
Craig nodded to his captain and then held up a finger as he double-checked on his PDA, ran a screen or two, and then nodded again.
“Aye, Captain, we do have some leeway in the ETA time line for the Marwick on Halberd. We could help here, Sir, if you were so inclined ... else it’s pick up today and back to FTL in an hour or so, Sir,” the XO answered but had a feeling he knew which way the captain was going to go.
“Aye then, Commander. We’d be glad to go and pick up this last convict over at—what’s the name of this city?” he said and motioned for the XO to take this down.
“Ah, Captain, cities don’t exist here on Hope. All we have is Trannis, and the rest are all small towns and villages mostly. Where you’ll be going is a village called Newton, on the island of Gravity in our southern hemisphere. A shuttle should make it there in less than an hour unless you go sub-orbital and take less than ten minutes, but if you don’t, you’ll see much, much more of the beauty of Hope.”
”XO, you got that?” Tanner said as he looked at his senior officer.
“Roger, Captain, coordinates received, and yes, the documents also received. Thank you, Commander,” he said and nodded to the man as well.
“Right, then, Commander, we’ll be picking up this—wait, wait a minute, Commander,” Tanner said and took a step forward toward the Station chief.
“Exactly why is that last convict not ‘here?’ Everyone knows we were due here today, and your planetary weather controls should have known these storms were on their way. So why wasn’t the convict shipped earlier ... what I’m feeling now, Commander, is that something is not quite right—either with this convict, or the village of Newton, or worse, here on Trannis, Commander. Something smells,” Tanner said and he shook his head
The commander looked down at his boots and scuffed the floor with the tip of one. He appeared to be at a loss for words, but then found something to say. Tanner watched as the commander squared his shoulders to face him.
“Captain, the storms were so bad, so unexpected, that they took that whole southern hemisphere quadrant by surprise. In fact, the storms hurt not only our fishing economy but also the transports, the fishing factories, the shipbuilding economy too. We got caught, Captain, and heads will roll over in the weather system department. But that is not our concern, Captain. The last convict is being held in Newton awaiting transport, and you and your shuttle will be there, pick up same, and be back before dinner.” The commander stared straight ahead, not meeting Tanner’s eyes but appeared to be honestly stating his case.
“Sir,” Lieutenant Sander said as he gently placed his hand on Tanner’s arm, “could I have a minute?”
As the Marwick Adept officer, an Issian who wore the ringed planet badge on his chest, his job was to be the officer who helped his captain by any means possible. And being a mind reader could often help anyone if the reading was true.
Tanner moved away from the group at the bottom of the landing ramp, and he and his Adept officer moved aside by quite a few feet. Facing each other a moment later, the two lowered their voices.
“So, Bram ... got something for me?” Tanner said and waited.
“Sir, all I can offer—as the commander is pretty talented at hiding what he knows—is that there is something more to this story than weather system failure and storms. And that convict? Something extra there too. I am sorry that I have so little, but as we know, taking you aside for this talk will make
“XO, we’d be okay on our timeline, correct? The RN Gunnar isn’t due to leave on any specific date, correct?” he said quietly. If anyone knew this kind of stuff, the XO did, Tanner realized and for a moment also realized that he owed much to the man who was his second in command. He made a note to thank him on a personal note later.
Craig nodded to his captain and then held up a finger as he double-checked on his PDA, ran a screen or two, and then nodded again.
“Aye, Captain, we do have some leeway in the ETA time line for the Marwick on Halberd. We could help here, Sir, if you were so inclined ... else it’s pick up today and back to FTL in an hour or so, Sir,” the XO answered but had a feeling he knew which way the captain was going to go.
“Aye then, Commander. We’d be glad to go and pick up this last convict over at—what’s the name of this city?” he said and motioned for the XO to take this down.
“Ah, Captain, cities don’t exist here on Hope. All we have is Trannis, and the rest are all small towns and villages mostly. Where you’ll be going is a village called Newton, on the island of Gravity in our southern hemisphere. A shuttle should make it there in less than an hour unless you go sub-orbital and take less than ten minutes, but if you don’t, you’ll see much, much more of the beauty of Hope.”
”XO, you got that?” Tanner said as he looked at his senior officer.
“Roger, Captain, coordinates received, and yes, the documents also received. Thank you, Commander,” he said and nodded to the man as well.
“Right, then, Commander, we’ll be picking up this—wait, wait a minute, Commander,” Tanner said and took a step forward toward the Station chief.
“Exactly why is that last convict not ‘here?’ Everyone knows we were due here today, and your planetary weather controls should have known these storms were on their way. So why wasn’t the convict shipped earlier ... what I’m feeling now, Commander, is that something is not quite right—either with this convict, or the village of Newton, or worse, here on Trannis, Commander. Something smells,” Tanner said and he shook his head
The commander looked down at his boots and scuffed the floor with the tip of one. He appeared to be at a loss for words, but then found something to say. Tanner watched as the commander squared his shoulders to face him.
“Captain, the storms were so bad, so unexpected, that they took that whole southern hemisphere quadrant by surprise. In fact, the storms hurt not only our fishing economy but also the transports, the fishing factories, the shipbuilding economy too. We got caught, Captain, and heads will roll over in the weather system department. But that is not our concern, Captain. The last convict is being held in Newton awaiting transport, and you and your shuttle will be there, pick up same, and be back before dinner.” The commander stared straight ahead, not meeting Tanner’s eyes but appeared to be honestly stating his case.
“Sir,” Lieutenant Sander said as he gently placed his hand on Tanner’s arm, “could I have a minute?”
As the Marwick Adept officer, an Issian who wore the ringed planet badge on his chest, his job was to be the officer who helped his captain by any means possible. And being a mind reader could often help anyone if the reading was true.
Tanner moved away from the group at the bottom of the landing ramp, and he and his Adept officer moved aside by quite a few feet. Facing each other a moment later, the two lowered their voices.
“So, Bram ... got something for me?” Tanner said and waited.
“Sir, all I can offer—as the commander is pretty talented at hiding what he knows—is that there is something more to this story than weather system failure and storms. And that convict? Something extra there too. I am sorry that I have so little, but as we know, taking you aside for this talk will make
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