Mutineer by J.A. Sutherland Page A

off, and turned to Hearst. Hearst put the boat into a looping spiral that spun the system’s moon past the viewport every so often, forcing to Alexis to swallow heavily and look away before she became ill.
    I wonder if it would help if this Egenhauser saw me be sick?
    “New London boat, this is Leutnant Egenhauser of Hannover System Patrouille . You have stopped transmitting … press the transmit button. Once! Press it once and leave it!”
    Alexis leaned close the pickup again. “Hello? Hello?” She pressed transmit and left it set. “Hello? Hello? Hello?”
    “Yes, yes,” Egenhauser said. “Good, strike colors and zero your drive immediately!”
    “Hello? Can you hear me? Hello?”
    “Yes! I hear you! Stop speaking this instant!”
    Well, that’s rude. Alexis stopped speaking. She looked away from the pickup to the rest of the console and made sure to move her arms as though it was she who was piloting the boat.
    “Take your hands off the controls immediately!”
    Quite rude, him. She reached out to Hearst and touched his arm. Hearst stopped his wild maneuvers, but not before slamming the throttle fully forward. That would draw out the chase and give Alexis a bit more time.
    “Who are you?” Egenhauser demanded.
    Alexis looked into the pickup and let her lower lip tremble a bit.
    “Midshipman Alexis Carew, captain,” she said. “Please don’t shoot! The men have gone mad! Mad, I tell you! They’re terrified at being captured and I’ve had to lock myself in the cockpit! Please! Please don’t shoot, captain!”
    “I am not kapitän ! I am leutnant ! Strike your colors, girl!” He shook his head and muttered something guttural that Alexis didn’t catch.
    “Lootnut?” Alexis asked. “Is that at all like a lieutenant?”
    Egenhauser’s face grew red and Alexis thought she might have gone too far, but he took a deep breath and composed himself. “ Leutnant ,” he said distinctly. “ Leutnant Egenhauser. Yes, it is the same.” He took another deep breath. “Tell me what is your situation.”
    Alexis caught her lower lip between her teeth. It was a bad habit she had and she knew it made her look even younger than she was, but it would serve her well now. “Sir,” she said, “the men went mad when Hermione transitioned, sir! Said the captain abandoned us to rot in a Hanoverese prison!” She bit the inside of her cheek hard, wincing and blinking until her eyes watered. “The purser had casks of rum stored aboard, sir, and the men got into it! They’re running wild back there, the pilot with them!” There was an especially loud thump from the cockpit hatchway that she was sure could be heard over the pickup. She swallowed hard. “The men are drunk, sir! Said they’d have a last bit of fun before they went to your prison, so I had to lock myself up here!” She squeezed her eyes tightly shut, quite proud of herself when she managed to get a single tear to run down her cheek. “Please, sir, I’ve only been aboard a few months! I don’t know what to do!”
    She almost felt guilty as Egenhauser’s expression softened, but she forced that down. The lads were counting on her and this was their only chance, so far as she could see. Oh, but there’ll be a special place in hell for me after this, I suspect.
    “Calm yourself,” Egenhauser said, voice calm and reassuring. “We will save you, but first you must strike your colors.”
    “I remember that!” Alexis said, careful of her wording. “I remember reading about that!” She scanned the console and reached for a control. “That’s this one, yes?”
    Hearst fired the keel’s bow thruster and the top stern thruster simultaneously, flipping the boat end for end over and over again. As the main engines were still firing, the boat was also looping in a tight spiral.
    “Stop!” Egenhauser yelled. “Take your hands away!”
    Alexis did, as did Hearst, and the boat straightened its course once more.
    Egenhauser rubbed his face. He clasped