Mariner's Wake by Adam Marsh

Author:Adam Marsh
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Brick Cave Books
Published: 2021-10-16T19:22:03+00:00

Chapter Fourteen:

Recovery

“A navigator guides the ship on the water, and guides her next mission from the land. You must learn to read people as well as the stars and weather.”

Mariner Fleet Training Manual, Chapter VII

Fifty caliber machine guns, while not rail guns, could wreck a ship pretty effectively as well, it turned out. Lieutenant Morgenstern had all his engineers and most of the deckhands conscripted into repair work. As it was, they didn’t have enough material on board to completely get back to running order. With that, and the four prisoners they pulled from the icy waters, Admiral Kim’s next order didn’t come as much of a shock to Kara.

“Captain Grayson and the Penitent will be happy to have you aboard,” the admiral said. Their connection wasn’t too bad this time, but they’d lose signal in a few hours all the same.

Kara stood at the part of the bridge that had become hers over the past several days. Both Martin and Morgenstern stayed quiet. As did Chief Lambros who stood out of view of the camera. Drummond lurked by her navigation station, staying uncharacteristically in the background.

“I understand, sir,” Kara said.

“You’ve done a fine job as acting Captain, Lieutenant. You were challenged and rose to the occasion. But, under the circumstances, we need to get Voyager repaired and those sailors to a safe harbor. They requested Skatch, you said?”

“Aye, sir.” Most of the fight she’d had earlier in the day had ebbed away. A deep fatigue set into her bones. Sensing the admiral wanted a little more she added, “I interviewed them all personally. Separately. They’re merchant sailors, simple as that. Hired to crew a rich person’s toy. They say they had no idea who the mercenaries were or what they planned on doing. Their stories are mostly the same. The mercs told them they needed to find some Mariner ships, but said nothing about an attack. It wasn’t until one of them took the helm and they started their approach that the crew realized what was going on. Or so they say. Either way, they’ve abided by their surrender.”

On the screen, the video buffered a bit, then Admiral Kim nodded. “Then Captain Grayson will be expecting you and Chief Lambros. Congressman Drummond will join you. Are you sure you want to take the other prisoner as well?”

“Tren has proven his worth. He wants to see the end of Big Madrid more than we do, I think. Not like he’s asked The Question or anything, but I think he still wants to prove useful. Truth is, if we take him back to Skatch before dealing with Big Madrid, he’s as good as dead anyway.”

“And you’re positive Madrid wasn’t on that ship?”

Kara grimaced, but nodded. “As sure as I can be. We sent the swimmer to investigate the wreck. Nothing. None of the crew recognized the description, and Big Madrid sticks out. It’s bad enough that he’s still out there and could attack again. But it’s the bigger implication of him not being there that bothers me.

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.