place in the center seat.
Hans strode to the back of the bridge and through the side door to his ready room. He sat behind the desk, but he could not contain his excitement. He stood back up and paced the five steps back and forth a few times, chuckling beneath his breath. By the time Felicia Corazon pressed the chime, he was almost giggling.
He moved back to his chair and called out, “Enter.”
“You wanted to speak to me, sir?”
“This may not mean much to you, Felicia, but Fletcher is dead. I never thought I’d outlive the bastard, but I did. He’s gone, at long last.”
She remained in a stiff pose. “Malcolm Fletcher?”
“Yes, yes. Malcolm Fletcher.” As if there could be any other! “It was some cargo accident, no doubt off on one of his smuggling runs.”
She nodded. “As I recall, didn’t he have a cousin of yours in his crew?”
“No cousin, my nephew. My little brother’s only son, Michael.” He fought the urge to get out of his chair again. “At long last, he’ll be coming home to his family.”
“Then it’s good news, sir. Where is he? Will you be sending for him?”
Hans laughed, surprised at his giddiness. “Send for him? Hardly! I’m going to get him myself. In fact, we’re all going. He’s only over at Taschin. We can divert there easily enough. In fact, if I can get a fast transport, I could get there first, sort out the details, and he’ll be all ready to join us by the time the Heinrich arrives.”
“That seems quite efficient, sir, but Taschin is not on our regular route. We have through cargo bound for Cenita.”
He sighed. “Yes, I suppose, but do we have a performance clause on any of those shipments?”
“I would have to check, sir.”
Hans shook his head. “Damn the penalties. The boy is family. If it eats into the crew share, I’ll pay the penalties myself.”
“Understandable, sir. Your orders?”
“Let’s see… I want you to expedite our offload here. See if there’s anything we can pick up to haul out to Taschin, but don’t wait for it. If it delays your departure more than a day, we’ll go with empty slots. Then get yourself out to Taschin.”
“And you?”
“Have Brookstone find me a transport. I’ll double-bunk in a commercial courier if I have to, but find me something fast.”
“Aye, sir,” she replied and left.
He rose to pace again. Malcolm Fletcher was dead. He wanted to head to the galley and open some champagne.
Michael snuck out of Josie’s bed, being careful not to wake her. He heard Annie in the kitchen, so he slipped on a robe for his trip across the hall to the bathroom. When he came back out, Annie was waiting for him with a tray of cinnamon rolls.
“I think it’s time we got caught up,” she said.
The smell of cinnamon was very intense. Either they were actually that delicious, or the tonja was having a new effect. Regardless of the source, it would be worth the experience. “Sure,” he said, following her back to the kitchen table.
“You doing okay these days?”
He nodded, biting into the first roll. They truly were that delicious.
“Have you been giving much thought to your future?”
He nodded again, chewing on the roll. More than anything, he was thinking about whether Josie could hook him up with her tonja suppliers. His research told him that you could ship the tonja plant raw and stay within the law, but given the extra volume and weight, he was not sure the refined quantity at the other end would be worth it. The public databases did not list the street price for hallucinogens on any of the nearby worlds.
“And what have you been thinking?”
He froze mid-bite. Even in his current state, he was pretty sure Annie did not want to hear his idle thoughts on setting up an illicit tonja network. “Oh, you know, getting back to the Sophie , making my own runs.”
“I see,” she replied, selecting a roll of her own. She picked at it with her fingers, delicately unwinding the spiral bit by bit.
Hans strode to the back of the bridge and through the side door to his ready room. He sat behind the desk, but he could not contain his excitement. He stood back up and paced the five steps back and forth a few times, chuckling beneath his breath. By the time Felicia Corazon pressed the chime, he was almost giggling.
He moved back to his chair and called out, “Enter.”
“You wanted to speak to me, sir?”
“This may not mean much to you, Felicia, but Fletcher is dead. I never thought I’d outlive the bastard, but I did. He’s gone, at long last.”
She remained in a stiff pose. “Malcolm Fletcher?”
“Yes, yes. Malcolm Fletcher.” As if there could be any other! “It was some cargo accident, no doubt off on one of his smuggling runs.”
She nodded. “As I recall, didn’t he have a cousin of yours in his crew?”
“No cousin, my nephew. My little brother’s only son, Michael.” He fought the urge to get out of his chair again. “At long last, he’ll be coming home to his family.”
“Then it’s good news, sir. Where is he? Will you be sending for him?”
Hans laughed, surprised at his giddiness. “Send for him? Hardly! I’m going to get him myself. In fact, we’re all going. He’s only over at Taschin. We can divert there easily enough. In fact, if I can get a fast transport, I could get there first, sort out the details, and he’ll be all ready to join us by the time the Heinrich arrives.”
“That seems quite efficient, sir, but Taschin is not on our regular route. We have through cargo bound for Cenita.”
He sighed. “Yes, I suppose, but do we have a performance clause on any of those shipments?”
“I would have to check, sir.”
Hans shook his head. “Damn the penalties. The boy is family. If it eats into the crew share, I’ll pay the penalties myself.”
“Understandable, sir. Your orders?”
“Let’s see… I want you to expedite our offload here. See if there’s anything we can pick up to haul out to Taschin, but don’t wait for it. If it delays your departure more than a day, we’ll go with empty slots. Then get yourself out to Taschin.”
“And you?”
“Have Brookstone find me a transport. I’ll double-bunk in a commercial courier if I have to, but find me something fast.”
“Aye, sir,” she replied and left.
He rose to pace again. Malcolm Fletcher was dead. He wanted to head to the galley and open some champagne.
Michael snuck out of Josie’s bed, being careful not to wake her. He heard Annie in the kitchen, so he slipped on a robe for his trip across the hall to the bathroom. When he came back out, Annie was waiting for him with a tray of cinnamon rolls.
“I think it’s time we got caught up,” she said.
The smell of cinnamon was very intense. Either they were actually that delicious, or the tonja was having a new effect. Regardless of the source, it would be worth the experience. “Sure,” he said, following her back to the kitchen table.
“You doing okay these days?”
He nodded, biting into the first roll. They truly were that delicious.
“Have you been giving much thought to your future?”
He nodded again, chewing on the roll. More than anything, he was thinking about whether Josie could hook him up with her tonja suppliers. His research told him that you could ship the tonja plant raw and stay within the law, but given the extra volume and weight, he was not sure the refined quantity at the other end would be worth it. The public databases did not list the street price for hallucinogens on any of the nearby worlds.
“And what have you been thinking?”
He froze mid-bite. Even in his current state, he was pretty sure Annie did not want to hear his idle thoughts on setting up an illicit tonja network. “Oh, you know, getting back to the Sophie , making my own runs.”
“I see,” she replied, selecting a roll of her own. She picked at it with her fingers, delicately unwinding the spiral bit by bit.
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