Prologue

The Bunte Kuh was lost. She was lost in just about every way possible. When the captain was killed, ‘Bossie,’ her neophyte AI, decided her crew had mutinied, ceased interacting with them, and cut off all communication – even with the new captain.

The original Bunte Kuh was a ship o’ war built in 1401 to protect the Hanseatic League’s shipping from pirates. This Bunte Kuh was an experiment, a purpose-built supply/passenger carrier, crewed by a hybrid crew of Navy and Auxiliary with a smattering of Marines thrown in. The ship and the crew could be described as bastardized, and both were a flaming mess. A critical need arose and the only ship available was the new Bunte Kuh with a rookie crew and AI.

Not to say mutiny could never happen on a purely military ship, clearly it had down through history. Within the Confederacy, the AIs’ penchant for granting authority based on CAP scores and sleep training, damn the lack of experience, meant incompetents in command were more than likely in ‘civilian’ ships. Assholes were more evenly distributed. Along with a neophyte crew and AI, the Bunte Kuh was also commanded by one of the assholes.

Boats, the senior naval NCO aboard, was to the point of wishing that Vietnam era fragging were a viable option. But, with AIs watching, it wasn’t. Damn!

The Kuh was nine weeks into their maiden cruise, brand new infant AI and all. They were making a supply circuit delivering cargo and personnel too high in demand to wait for the usual stagecoach routine supply run or a colony ship to come available. At least the crew, even Marines, was allowed bring along their concubines – two each anyway. Supernumeraries, extra authorizations for high CAPs, and inherited concubines had to be left at home base.

Concubines proved to be the straw that broke the camel’s back.

Concubines. Specifically, one concubine, one very popular concubine named June, but known to the entire crew as Mom. To everyone but Tweedledee. Captain Tweedledee – really Captain Darius Delaney Dreck. Mom was Tweedledee’s concubine.