you won’t return them next time.”
Vincent’s face broke into a smile, then a grin. Then he was guffawing with laughter until he couldn’t breathe. Tamara joined him and it took several minutes for them both to calm down. Stella had a nervous smile on her face, as though she wasn’t quite sure how to deal with this situation. Vincent slapped the table a few times. “I love it! That’s what I was thinking before the battlecruiser mixed it up. Really stick it to the bastards! But we need to get on this right away.” At her quizzical expression, he went on. “The Leytonstone . Eventually, they’re going to fix their ship. And even though we started them on a trajectory back toward the planet, they might start getting ideas. If they get their communications back up, they might start broadcasting back to the planet.”
Tamara nodded. “Good thinking. Stella? Can you assist?”
The AI smiled. “Already working on a press release, Tamara.” She gave a slow blink. “Ready for your perusal.”
“What the fuck?” Harmon Kly demanded as he flipped on the news vids to see Vincent Eamonn’s face. He stared incredulously at the display as the man continued talking; apparently the press conference he was speaking at was already in progress.
“Captain Eamonn! Vanessa Marchant, with the S-Int News. Can you explain to us why you arrived here at the orbital aboard the Kara ?” The reporter was dark-haired, her makeup was expertly applied, and was absolutely stacked. Kly wouldn’t be all that surprised if she’d secreted a vid camera in her cleavage to make sure that the males she would speak with would be sure to look into the camera.
The freighter captain looked to the assembled reporters with a grave expression on his face. “Approximately two weeks ago, an armed force was sent to the Kutok mining station with the intention of seizing control. That force of mercenaries was aboard the Kara , under the guise of coming in for fueling before heading to other systems for trade. I have documented logs from the station and the Kara ’s own databanks indicating this, as well as sworn testimony from the Captain of the Kara and his officers.”
Kly blanched and sank down onto the couch behind him, his legs going limp. This can’t be happening. This wasn’t supposed to happen!
Eamonn went on. “The mercenaries boarded the mining station, causing significant damage to property and killed nearly my entire security contingent and injured a number of the civilian workers in the process before they were finally stopped.” There was a murmur in the crowd of reporters. “But that wasn’t the end.”
Kly was sweating now. How much does he know? Does he know who set this whole thing up? We worked through intermediaries; there was no trail that led back to me. He started to calm down. I can ride this out.
“Shortly after my people stopped the attack on the station, we boarded the Kara and seized it and arrested the crew, to be brought back here for trial.”
“You attacked innocent civilians?” one of the other reporters called, from the middle of the pack.
The captain shook his head. “They attacked us , Mister Danforth. Their people boarded my station under the guise of a normal business venture and killed my people. The crew members of the Kara are alive and unharmed. As I said, I’ve returned them here to the orbital to face justice.” He smiled to the crowd. “I am not a monster like those who attacked an unarmed gas mining station.” He paused. For effect, the bastard.
Vincent’s face broke into a smile, then a grin. Then he was guffawing with laughter until he couldn’t breathe. Tamara joined him and it took several minutes for them both to calm down. Stella had a nervous smile on her face, as though she wasn’t quite sure how to deal with this situation. Vincent slapped the table a few times. “I love it! That’s what I was thinking before the battlecruiser mixed it up. Really stick it to the bastards! But we need to get on this right away.” At her quizzical expression, he went on. “The Leytonstone . Eventually, they’re going to fix their ship. And even though we started them on a trajectory back toward the planet, they might start getting ideas. If they get their communications back up, they might start broadcasting back to the planet.”
Tamara nodded. “Good thinking. Stella? Can you assist?”
The AI smiled. “Already working on a press release, Tamara.” She gave a slow blink. “Ready for your perusal.”
“What the fuck?” Harmon Kly demanded as he flipped on the news vids to see Vincent Eamonn’s face. He stared incredulously at the display as the man continued talking; apparently the press conference he was speaking at was already in progress.
“Captain Eamonn! Vanessa Marchant, with the S-Int News. Can you explain to us why you arrived here at the orbital aboard the Kara ?” The reporter was dark-haired, her makeup was expertly applied, and was absolutely stacked. Kly wouldn’t be all that surprised if she’d secreted a vid camera in her cleavage to make sure that the males she would speak with would be sure to look into the camera.
The freighter captain looked to the assembled reporters with a grave expression on his face. “Approximately two weeks ago, an armed force was sent to the Kutok mining station with the intention of seizing control. That force of mercenaries was aboard the Kara , under the guise of coming in for fueling before heading to other systems for trade. I have documented logs from the station and the Kara ’s own databanks indicating this, as well as sworn testimony from the Captain of the Kara and his officers.”
Kly blanched and sank down onto the couch behind him, his legs going limp. This can’t be happening. This wasn’t supposed to happen!
Eamonn went on. “The mercenaries boarded the mining station, causing significant damage to property and killed nearly my entire security contingent and injured a number of the civilian workers in the process before they were finally stopped.” There was a murmur in the crowd of reporters. “But that wasn’t the end.”
Kly was sweating now. How much does he know? Does he know who set this whole thing up? We worked through intermediaries; there was no trail that led back to me. He started to calm down. I can ride this out.
“Shortly after my people stopped the attack on the station, we boarded the Kara and seized it and arrested the crew, to be brought back here for trial.”
“You attacked innocent civilians?” one of the other reporters called, from the middle of the pack.
The captain shook his head. “They attacked us , Mister Danforth. Their people boarded my station under the guise of a normal business venture and killed my people. The crew members of the Kara are alive and unharmed. As I said, I’ve returned them here to the orbital to face justice.” He smiled to the crowd. “I am not a monster like those who attacked an unarmed gas mining station.” He paused. For effect, the bastard.
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