asked Thaelisha.
“We don’t know. We didn’t find any bodies, either. The crew simply vanished. There’s no trace of them at all. The Hope itself was an old legendary ghost ship, haunting ya— the —way back. You know the kind of story. She must have been drifting for decades and was finally caught by a small planet. We found her quite by accident.”
“And brought her here,” mused Scallop. “What made you decide to attempt to find League space, Captain? I’m just curious.”
Lily sighed. She did not care at this time to bring in the whole story of Jehane and his successful revolution against Central, and his betrayal of Pero. At the same time, she was not sure how much she should say about Master Heredes and her acquaintance with Wingtuck Honor Jones or the saboteurs in general. If everything Heredes and Wingtuck, and Kyosti, had said about their current status in League space was true, she certainly would not give any clue to Wingtuck’s whereabouts. The problem, of course, was what to do about Hawk.
“Two reasons,” she began, finally deciding what tack to take. “At least one League ship has been in Reft space. Perhaps someone from Concord.”
“My God,” muttered the assistant Hoshea from the back corner.
“It would make sense,” agreed Thaelisha, not looking very surprised. “But again, go on.”
“I—all—ran into them accidentally,” continued Lily, deciding not to explain the circumstances of their meeting any further—specifically the fact that they had believed her to be involved with the saboteurs.
“Of course it makes sense, Thae,” said Scallop abruptly. “Excuse me for breaking in. I know it’s not supposed to be common knowledge, but I’ve heard rumors that Concord Intelligence is searching for all the old Soerensen network, those left alive, that is. It makes sense that if one ship could find its way across, others might have, years ago, ferrying saboteurs to safety in anonymity. Fair enough, if you ask me. I always thought they were persecuted through no fault of their own.”
“I didn’t think one could persecute psychopathic criminals,” interrupted Provoniya. “If you ask me, I think the lot of them ought to be locked up—”
“—and the lock code erased,” finished Scallop, as if he’d heard this argument many times before.
“It’s certainly possible,” said Thaelisha calmly. She smiled ruefully at Lily. “Excuse us for hanging out our dirty laundry. We don’t mean to interrupt you. You said there were two reasons.”
“I also accidentally ran across the Sans Merci . I believe she’s docked here now.”
Provoniya laughed. “The queen of the highroad. So that’s where she came from. We don’t usually see her here. She usually stays within The Pale. I feel a little sorry for Reft space, for where La Belle Dame goes, the rest of the privateers will soon follow. And your government has none of the covenants Concord has set up to control them.”
Lily smiled back. She rather liked Provoniya, despite what she had called the saboteurs. “I’m not sure Reft space is rich enough to interest them. I also met a privateer who called himself Yi.”
Provoniya and Scallop looked blank. This time Thaelisha smiled. “That must have been interesting. You’ve had an eventful time, Captain.”
She left a deliberate pause after her words and Lily knew that she was leaving unspoken her real question: Why you? So Lily chose the best method to deflect it—by asking a question in her turn. One she had to ask.
“These saboteurs you mentioned. Who—or what—are they?”
All three began to speak at once, stopped, chuckling a little, and then Thaelisha began unopposed.
“If my history is correct, the cryo ships that colonized your Reft space would have left here before we met the alien culture known as the Kapellan Empire. They—the Kapellans—gave us the vector drive, we put out the exploratory ships, known ever afterward as the ‘hard-luck fleet’
“We don’t know. We didn’t find any bodies, either. The crew simply vanished. There’s no trace of them at all. The Hope itself was an old legendary ghost ship, haunting ya— the —way back. You know the kind of story. She must have been drifting for decades and was finally caught by a small planet. We found her quite by accident.”
“And brought her here,” mused Scallop. “What made you decide to attempt to find League space, Captain? I’m just curious.”
Lily sighed. She did not care at this time to bring in the whole story of Jehane and his successful revolution against Central, and his betrayal of Pero. At the same time, she was not sure how much she should say about Master Heredes and her acquaintance with Wingtuck Honor Jones or the saboteurs in general. If everything Heredes and Wingtuck, and Kyosti, had said about their current status in League space was true, she certainly would not give any clue to Wingtuck’s whereabouts. The problem, of course, was what to do about Hawk.
“Two reasons,” she began, finally deciding what tack to take. “At least one League ship has been in Reft space. Perhaps someone from Concord.”
“My God,” muttered the assistant Hoshea from the back corner.
“It would make sense,” agreed Thaelisha, not looking very surprised. “But again, go on.”
“I—all—ran into them accidentally,” continued Lily, deciding not to explain the circumstances of their meeting any further—specifically the fact that they had believed her to be involved with the saboteurs.
“Of course it makes sense, Thae,” said Scallop abruptly. “Excuse me for breaking in. I know it’s not supposed to be common knowledge, but I’ve heard rumors that Concord Intelligence is searching for all the old Soerensen network, those left alive, that is. It makes sense that if one ship could find its way across, others might have, years ago, ferrying saboteurs to safety in anonymity. Fair enough, if you ask me. I always thought they were persecuted through no fault of their own.”
“I didn’t think one could persecute psychopathic criminals,” interrupted Provoniya. “If you ask me, I think the lot of them ought to be locked up—”
“—and the lock code erased,” finished Scallop, as if he’d heard this argument many times before.
“It’s certainly possible,” said Thaelisha calmly. She smiled ruefully at Lily. “Excuse us for hanging out our dirty laundry. We don’t mean to interrupt you. You said there were two reasons.”
“I also accidentally ran across the Sans Merci . I believe she’s docked here now.”
Provoniya laughed. “The queen of the highroad. So that’s where she came from. We don’t usually see her here. She usually stays within The Pale. I feel a little sorry for Reft space, for where La Belle Dame goes, the rest of the privateers will soon follow. And your government has none of the covenants Concord has set up to control them.”
Lily smiled back. She rather liked Provoniya, despite what she had called the saboteurs. “I’m not sure Reft space is rich enough to interest them. I also met a privateer who called himself Yi.”
Provoniya and Scallop looked blank. This time Thaelisha smiled. “That must have been interesting. You’ve had an eventful time, Captain.”
She left a deliberate pause after her words and Lily knew that she was leaving unspoken her real question: Why you? So Lily chose the best method to deflect it—by asking a question in her turn. One she had to ask.
“These saboteurs you mentioned. Who—or what—are they?”
All three began to speak at once, stopped, chuckling a little, and then Thaelisha began unopposed.
“If my history is correct, the cryo ships that colonized your Reft space would have left here before we met the alien culture known as the Kapellan Empire. They—the Kapellans—gave us the vector drive, we put out the exploratory ships, known ever afterward as the ‘hard-luck fleet’
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