to come up with that little,” Vicky said, scowling at the screen.
“OOD, am I mistaken, or hasn’t the Retribution been squawking that it is a ship of the Imperial Navy every moment since we entered this system?” the captain demanded softly but firmly.
The commander standing the watch took time to verify his answer before he replied. “Yes, sir. Both the Retribution and the other warships have been identifying ourselves properly. No squawker has broken down. One of the freighter’s IFF went on the blink for an hour, but they got it back up, and we’re all right and tight, sir.”
“Silence, my eye,” the captain spat, but softly and for Vicky’s hearing only.
“So, they’ve had their heads together ever since we entered this system,” Vicky said softly, “and a claim that we are silent is all they can come up with.”
The captain nodded agreement.
“Captain,” came from Lieutenant Blue who had joined the chief at sensors. “The warships tied up to High Brunswick have begun to charge their capacitors and power up their lasers.”
The captain’s head snapped around to take in sensors. Lieutenant Blue didn’t so much as blink at the glare the skipper threw his way.
The captain opened his mouth but snapped it closed just as quickly. Again, he leaned close to Vicky. “No one powers up their lasers while in port. God, think of the mess one slight twitch of the wrong finger could do. This is asinine, even for Engel, if he hasn’t taken total leave of his senses.”
“So let’s go to the root,” Vicky said. “Captain, could you have Communications replay the message. Lieutenant Blue, I don’t recognize this Count Korbinian. Run a facial recognition program and see if you can get a match.”
“Yes, ma’am,” and “Yes, Your Grace,” greeted Vicky’srequest, and with a somewhat delayed nod from the skipper, the recent transmission reappeared on screen.
“Sorry, Skipper,” Vicky whispered.
“It’s my own fault for having a Grand Duchess on board,” he shot back, but his eyes were on the screen, and his lips had an upward curl at the edges.
The facial recognition program operated as the putative “Count” spoke his terror in a monotone voice. He had hardly finished his threat again before Lieutenant Blue announced, “I have a match.”
“Put what you got on screen,” the captain ordered.
Vicky was careful to keep her mouth shut. She’d gotten her one free order in for the day. She hadn’t asked for it, but no doubt about it, the crew had given it to her, and the skipper was counting it. She’d have to be more careful in the future.
“We’ve got a ninety-six percent match on Kurt Corbin. He married one of the Empress’s cousins and rose without distinction to be a minor vice president in one of the family banks. He rather enthusiastically volunteered to oversee a composite commando of Navy and Security Consultants that gunned down a lot of State Security. We’ve got a match with him and Karenhall. It was a hunting lodge owned by the major general commanding State Security’s Internal Operations Bureau. Kurt seems to own it now. He was created a baron for his efforts against State Security and was raised to Count a year ago for his pacification of several planets while commanding one, then two brigades of Security Consultants.” Lieutenant Blue paused as if not knowing whether or not to go on.
“Is there more?” Captain Bolesław growled.
“One of the private computers we hacked off the Golden Empress No. 34 had correspondence in it, one friend to another. It said that Kurt was up for a dukedom if he did well on his next job. The reply said that Kurt would never get a duke’s ring, not after some drunken mouthing off he did at a cocktail party about the Empress’s dad sleeping with all his daughters.”
“Oh, ho!” muttered the captain through an evil grin. Then again, Vicky’s face was far from angelic at the moment.
“So the hell the palace has become begins
“OOD, am I mistaken, or hasn’t the Retribution been squawking that it is a ship of the Imperial Navy every moment since we entered this system?” the captain demanded softly but firmly.
The commander standing the watch took time to verify his answer before he replied. “Yes, sir. Both the Retribution and the other warships have been identifying ourselves properly. No squawker has broken down. One of the freighter’s IFF went on the blink for an hour, but they got it back up, and we’re all right and tight, sir.”
“Silence, my eye,” the captain spat, but softly and for Vicky’s hearing only.
“So, they’ve had their heads together ever since we entered this system,” Vicky said softly, “and a claim that we are silent is all they can come up with.”
The captain nodded agreement.
“Captain,” came from Lieutenant Blue who had joined the chief at sensors. “The warships tied up to High Brunswick have begun to charge their capacitors and power up their lasers.”
The captain’s head snapped around to take in sensors. Lieutenant Blue didn’t so much as blink at the glare the skipper threw his way.
The captain opened his mouth but snapped it closed just as quickly. Again, he leaned close to Vicky. “No one powers up their lasers while in port. God, think of the mess one slight twitch of the wrong finger could do. This is asinine, even for Engel, if he hasn’t taken total leave of his senses.”
“So let’s go to the root,” Vicky said. “Captain, could you have Communications replay the message. Lieutenant Blue, I don’t recognize this Count Korbinian. Run a facial recognition program and see if you can get a match.”
“Yes, ma’am,” and “Yes, Your Grace,” greeted Vicky’srequest, and with a somewhat delayed nod from the skipper, the recent transmission reappeared on screen.
“Sorry, Skipper,” Vicky whispered.
“It’s my own fault for having a Grand Duchess on board,” he shot back, but his eyes were on the screen, and his lips had an upward curl at the edges.
The facial recognition program operated as the putative “Count” spoke his terror in a monotone voice. He had hardly finished his threat again before Lieutenant Blue announced, “I have a match.”
“Put what you got on screen,” the captain ordered.
Vicky was careful to keep her mouth shut. She’d gotten her one free order in for the day. She hadn’t asked for it, but no doubt about it, the crew had given it to her, and the skipper was counting it. She’d have to be more careful in the future.
“We’ve got a ninety-six percent match on Kurt Corbin. He married one of the Empress’s cousins and rose without distinction to be a minor vice president in one of the family banks. He rather enthusiastically volunteered to oversee a composite commando of Navy and Security Consultants that gunned down a lot of State Security. We’ve got a match with him and Karenhall. It was a hunting lodge owned by the major general commanding State Security’s Internal Operations Bureau. Kurt seems to own it now. He was created a baron for his efforts against State Security and was raised to Count a year ago for his pacification of several planets while commanding one, then two brigades of Security Consultants.” Lieutenant Blue paused as if not knowing whether or not to go on.
“Is there more?” Captain Bolesław growled.
“One of the private computers we hacked off the Golden Empress No. 34 had correspondence in it, one friend to another. It said that Kurt was up for a dukedom if he did well on his next job. The reply said that Kurt would never get a duke’s ring, not after some drunken mouthing off he did at a cocktail party about the Empress’s dad sleeping with all his daughters.”
“Oh, ho!” muttered the captain through an evil grin. Then again, Vicky’s face was far from angelic at the moment.
“So the hell the palace has become begins
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