Chapter 22

Two weeks after the courier's departure, two women, well dressed but nothing to specifically draw attention entered the office of the sales staff at the supplier of shuttle parts. They produced wallets showing their identity and were invited to sit,

"What interest has Special Branch in shuttle parts? — we don't handle military supplies here; that goes through head office."

"Two weeks ago, you supplied an order for two pilot seats and various parts and were paid by 'tronic funds transfer. What can you tell us about this order?"

"Let me look up our records. Is this the one? Can't tell you much at all. Com order. Picked up same day. Funds immediately approved so we had no reason to query it and besides why should we, your friendly ape was driving a government ground truck, Nature Department?"

"Friendly ape?"

"Should still have been in Regent's; just grunted, but could handle a com unit though. That's how we got paid."

"She paid you?"

"He. Nah, he commed somewhere, they must have had our details as he didn't, and the funds came straight through. We passed it and the driver loaded his ground truck and went."

"Anything special about the seats?"

"High end value but otherwise fairly standard; probably for a cruising space yacht. Fit 'em all the time. We sell, maybe ten, twelve a week. What's your interest?"

"The funds. Where did they come from?"

"Don't know and no record. We don't care as long as we get paid and that was funds in the bank."

"Thank you for your time."

The two investigators had even less fortune with the other trigger — there was no record at all of the recipient of those funds. Neither transfer was large, it was only the long dormant flagged source which had caused the interest and the Suisse holding fund was even more obstinate with the inability of authorities to provide evidence of criminality with the passage of decades since the accounts had been established.

...

The large reduction in the staffing needs of the courier had resulted in even the depleted complement being at loose ends for most of the voyage back to Mountserrat. The other ranks were now standing one in six although the ERAs would still have been on one in three except that both Orville and Colin stood a watch in turn. The watch officers were able to have the commander approve the Bosun to stand a watch with Orville and a more experienced bridge leading hand on that side. Morg co-opted the extra hands into his efforts as couturier; four of them proved dab hands with needle and thread even if not as expert as TJ, who also assisted. It became almost normal to find either the commander or the XO down to their panties in the mess being fitted. Morg delicately embroidered the commander's rank badges onto her mess dress gown. Clare Gillard was excited about the gown but was uncertain whether it would draw the ire of the traditionalists among her peers. She consulted with the XO and the Bosun (a repository of Naval tradition and regulation). The Bosun resolved the problem of no full length mirrors on the courier (this trip, anyway) by persuading Morg to use the Bosun's brand new Soyns PDA (the Bosun's pay balance took a hefty deficit but she was prepared to pay for one) and throw a holo of Gillard in her mess gown alongside the image from the regs.

"Pushing the limits, but I can get away with it" Gillard finally chortled.

Gillard, Wood, Watts, Jang, Bolem and three of the spacers availed themselves of the offer of Soyn PDAs and what little spare time Morg and TJ had was spent in instruction. The brochure was reduced to a chip and transferred to each PDA but personal instruction was needed as none of them had had such a powerful tool before.

Planetfall at Gorgipest and then arrival distracted the crew for a short while. Gillard gave TJ and Morg the full two days off.

The Windsor Women met them and whisked them off to Sloan Square where Morg was parted from the group by Pat. The younger Windsors had established various plans to maximise TJ's available time and so were so well organised that TJ virtually disappeared until time to return to the courier. The 'teams' not with TJ spent some time admiring the fabrics and discussing with Morg ideas of how to use them. During the men's absence, the women had surfed the 'net and gave Morg a chip containing 'best fabrics' of as many systems in the galaxy as the 'net had information. 'Just in case these are on your itinerary' and included further downloads on the basics of elegant dressmaking. Morg thought about this for a minute or two and then asked Gabrielle for advice on portable funds. As Morg was hovering over TJ (never helping him into the taxi shuttle), Gabrielle handed Morg a chip with the explanation it was a draft on Galbraith's account which was 'good' for most parts of this corner of the galaxy. (A corner of a spiral? Still you get the idea.)

Morg shunted TJ into the mess and forced pre-cooked down his throat. TJ finally protested,

"Thanks Morg; I think. I know I needed energy — but that stuff. Aaaarrrggh. We gotta do sumthin' about it. I'll look at it after we get underway."

They went to the bridge, settled into the seats and began the checks for leaving harbour. That is where Clare Gillard found them.

"We are still going to be shorthanded" she informed them "until Settlement; and that is going to be tight for time. We home port there but lay over less than any where else. Not due to change any crew for another trip and that is when there can be delays — getting suitable crew let alone half willing is a problem for personnel. It doesn't help not being on a schedule. So we will have to hang in for a while longer. I suspect we'll lose Dulcie; I've got to put the med docs in as soon as we arrive but it will take a week to get an appointment to get her seen by a specialist to clear her for service and we'll be long gone by then. That means breaking in a new Bosun. 'teeth. I'll leave you two to get on with this. Departure in ninety? Good, make the announcement, please."

TJ looked at Morg who nodded and TJ headed back to their cabin and Morg made the departure warning. Morg continued with the checks and had them complete half an hour later when TJ returned.

"We time it to Settlement in seven days and sixteen hours and Mother will be waiting with a taxi shuttle to pick me up. Two hours later in the CBD, Dulcie has an appointment to see a specialist — two copies of the certificate, one to Second and she returns to "Tulip" and gives the OW the other and then disappears until we sail. If she does get ordered off, we can't find her and we sail and out in the harbour somewhere she turns up after doing something officially Bosun associated with departure. She has a med cert, we are still short so we report her presence to harbour control to notify Second. Got any more to do? Suits. I want to 'net galleys."

And he extracted his Soyn and began surfing.

Before 'stations' were called the Bosun arrived to report 'singled up' and TJ sidled up to her and whispered loudly in her ear

"Let me walk you to your cabin" accompanied with a theatrical leer. That got him a fisheyed stare but they sauntered off with TJ muttering sweet nothings in her ear,

"How have you managed that?" came the Bosun's astonished voice with answer

"Don't ask."

TJ and Morg took "Tulip" out of Gorgipest for Settlement and the boat settled into cruising routine.

TJ had a closer look at the mess and went looking for Orville to be told he was in the power plant room. TJ climbed into his hard suit and clumped aft to join Orville. TJ plugged his leash into Orville's hard suit,

"The food on this bucket tastes like wet cardboard."

"So?"

"We can do better."

"So?"

"You can condemn that cooker."

"Yes, but I wont while it is still functional. And if it goes down, we are eating that crud cold, because it will take at least five days to get the equipment 'boarded'. Then we'd have to pick up the replacement and that takes another two days. Ain't gonna happen and I hate that crud even more when it's cold."

"Have we got a place we can store vacuum packed flash frozen food?"

"Now that one is no problem. 'teeth, we can even store fresh frigerated."

"That is even better than I hoped. Show me."

"I need five minutes to close this up first" Orville explained.

Orville led TJ forward again into the slender waist of the boat and stopped just before the pod after bulkhead and opened the hatches on either side,

"We usually keep the tunnel with atmosphere and gravity — makes it easier for ERAs going to and from. We've got to take readings twice a day and it takes very little energy to maintain and saves the hassles of going up and down twice a day in skinnies. I shut it down as I had to open up the plant room. These are between the inner and middle hulls and with the bulkhead shut we can keep them at any temperature you want — like walking into a 'frig 'tainer. Want me to 'larm them in case someone can't get out?"

"Suits. Can you put a lock on them so you have to have a key? The OW has control of the key, and knows someone is back here."

"TJ, now explain to me what you are going to do to upset the Bosun again."

"Boss, how would you like decent rations instead of pre-cooked?"

"TJ, why is it that I want to hide whimpering in a corner?"

"Because you think the bogey man will get you?"

"It's not the bogey man that worries me, it's the Shore Patrol."

"Boss, would I let them take you away from all this? Never! But I want you better fed to help defend yourself if ever we have to keep the rozzers at bay. Besides, trust me. What I suggest is completely absolutely approved by QR&AI."

"Now, I am worried. Tell me why I should not be worried about eating decent food?"

"May I?" and powered up the screen, waited for the menu and then went navigating down at a speed that showed his familiarity with that menu. The frontispiece of the official publication went past and into Vol 4, the page came "Victualling". Clare Gillard looked at the entry,

"TJ, that's centuries old for Diety's sake."

"I know, isn't it grand? Never rescinded from the days we were a star system navy. The big boys use it all the time because they got the storage to keep food fresh."

"I am going to regret this. TJ, we don't have freezers and two, we don't have a galley. We just got that bedamned heater."

"Freezers we got by the metric tonnes — the space between the aft tunnel and the inner hull — Orville refers to it as the middle hull but it aint, it's the inner. The heater could suffer a terminal catastrophe just as we hit the outer harbour; Orville condemns it and goes down in first shuttle to Fourth General Stores — he will be told it has to be 'boarded' before a replacement can be obtained and that will take four days. Orville knows we are out of Settlement in two days so in a panic he coms you. And lo and behold just over here, ( scrolling back to Vol 3) is the section that says a ship's commanding officer, that's you, you know, can locally purchase essential equipment where necessary if the service can't provide. The purchased equipment must be of a type and preferably a model that is used in the service. Suit so far?"

"I know I'm going to regret this. Go on."

"Here's what provisions you can purchase and the value you are authorised to spend at an approved provedore who submits his account to Finance; at out lying ports, the nearest Charge d affaires. Big boys do it all the time."

"Suit" very warily and gestured TJ to go on.

"Here's what I have in mind for a replacement for the heater" and entered a chip into the slot on the screen.

Clare Gillard exploded,

"TJ you are stark staring bonkers. You are completely insane. That thing is a complete galley which wouldn't even fit in our..."

Clare slowed as she became aware of the smug look on TJ's face and the realisation that TJ got his facts set out in a row first.

"It does fit?"

"A minor reshuffling of things" TJ assured her.

"That's not Navy and anyway they'd never approve such equipment for a mess."