Chapter 28

"Junction control, "Tulip" at the outer with golf, for Maureen. Onwards clearance, over."

""Tulip", cleared direct to Junction approach, at five kay kay, call approach now on 4545."

""Tulip", Approach at five thousand klicks, 4545. Cheers"

'Nita changed com 2 frequency to 4545 and Morg selected com 2,

""Approach, "Tulip" leaving the outer. Over."

""Tulip", at the inner, go to one seven five, and decrease to four fifty klicks, call at the inner."

""Tulip", inner, turn to one seven five, four fifty klicks and call."

Morg pulled the throttles back slightly and held his track so that with a gentle turn he would line up with the departure lane at the inner marker at four fifty. He scanned his instruments and then the screens. 'Nita from the right seat changed com 1's frequency to the Junction Terminal frequency on 4367.

At the point of "Tulip's" track, Morg began the turn and backed the throttles still further. As he lined up, he instructed 'Nita,

"Go to thrusters; shut down impellors. Prepare sail."

"Thrusters on, impellors off, sail ready" 'Nita acknowledges as she accompanied each with the appropriate action.

""Tulip" at the inner."

""Tulip" continue approach, contact Terminal now on 4367."

"Terminal 4367, "Tulip"."

Morg selected com 1

"Terminal, "Tulip" at the inner."

""Tulip" continue approach, you are number 2, translate in turn."

"Number 2."

Morg nodded at 'Nita,

"Put up the timer, please" and blinked slighty with the glare of light from the holographic numerals which appeared. Morg monitored the approach beacon and watched his outside screens as the view shrank to the black tunnel approaching ahead.

"Shut down Impellors and prepare for translation in fifteen."

"Impellors off, aye Sir" acknowledged as she pulled the throttles closed and then pushed that toggle down.

Morg watched the approaching blackness

"Rigging sail..." and just as the blackness was about to touch "Tulip's" bow

" ... now." And toggled the switch to cause the gut wrenching twist, and just as quickly pulling the toggle back

"Sail furled. Rig for impellors."

"Impellors rigged, aye, Sir" 'Nita acknowledged and pushed the toggle up and Morg pushed the throttle forward.

"Maureen terminal, ""Tulip", clear of the junction, negative information, request bunkers. Over."

""Tulip", clear direct to bunker three. Be aware cosmic turbulence is severe in the harbour open spaces."

"Bunker three, "Tulip"".

Morg spoke to the tannoy,

"All hands, prepare for severe turbulence across the harbour."

"Tulip" began gently bouncing as it entered the turbulence; the jarring became more severe and Morg eased back on the throttles to decrease the jarring. Almost as quickly as it had begun, the jarring ceased and Morg brought "Tulip" alongside the berth at Bunker three and activated the electromag clamps to hold her in place.

Orville was quickly outside supervising the hook up of lines and then back to his engine room to top up every available space for reaction mass plus a few spaces he had converted to reaction mass storage that the builder's had left as empty double hull space.

TJ advised Morg he had the boat and then headed for 3rd Fleet HQ Base Squadron in the flivver. He returned just before departure time carefully manoeuvring "Bulb" into its tie downs in the boat bay. TJ approved spacing and "Tulip" departed for New Liege without fanfare although it was observed by many a senior officer in 3rd Fleet who were grateful they hadn't been ordered to go on a madman's folly.

"As a legendary monarch is alleged to have said 'but am I paranoid enough?'" TJ said to the officers and senior NCOs gathered about the table. He had explained the last minute orders and his concern that "Tulip" and as a consequence, themselves, were being set up in some fashion.

"My little jolly over to 3rd HQ was to see the Admiral and have an informal discussion. She called in her Intel man and he is even more paranoid than I was. The out come is that we lose no matter which way it is dealt with — without more advanced detection gear "Tulip" is almost as blind as a bat in broad daylight and couldn't detect a threat situation until it falls upon us; with the equipment we breach the flag of truce if we use it. But if breaching the letter of the truce keeps me alive then I lean towards that side; personally speaking.

"Tulip's" design is well known and Jane's carries several stills and line drawings of her. Any professional could look at her and see what we have in the way of electronic equipment hanging off us — and the latest of it is at least a decade old and if RHN does not have the detailed specs of it they have not been doing their job.

But its not the 'pros' who worry me. There have been reports of a politically reliable in inverted commas naval force being formed — a palace guard sort of thing. If the 'pollys' are in this then we are meat in a trap — a diplomatic incident — a shameful abuse of a flag of truce etcetera.

What I propose is to rebuild "Bulb" into an unmanned reconnaissance vehicle, controlled from the bridge navcom positions by whisker mode and the output from the detection gear I plan to put in her relayed back to the EW screen. The gear is not the absolute latest and is the stuff presently in general service so if captured, RHN wont be getting anything it doesn't already have.

We have four weeks so lets start by looking at what I got."

Things went fairly well all things considered. There was only need for one EVA retrieval by Morg with TJ piloting — Murphy had got at the whisker and "Bulb" sulked. It was not until "Tulip" broached hyper that it was tested under realistic conditions.

TJ brought "Tulip" out of hyper well out of Harbourian controlled n space; he then put "Bulb" out in trail before engaging impellors and approaching New Liege. As required by the rules of war, the parley vessel was illuminated, all detector dishes were set to amplify and reflect incoming radar and lidar beams, and the transponder was sending Code 3A — "Truce, I am a Herald".

"Tulip" was challenged by a very smartly handled DD and ordered to follow to the hyper point where, two days later, an RHN officer boarded and inspected, the diplomats were interviewed in the fo'c'sle and TJ insisted they remain there until disembarkation, but the RHN officer was allowed the freedom of the boat accompanied by Cedric.

"Tulip" was ordered to continue following the DD and after almost another day's spacing on impellors, to moor to a buoy out in the harbour with a corvette as guard ship. No sooner had a Foreign Office shuttle removed the diplomats and the Heralds (taking with them the target pistols) than a shuttle truck approached to be stopped by the guard ship. After several hours during which a Custom's pinnace joined the gathering, the shuttle truck was allowed to approach and join hatches.

To TJ's and Morg's total surprise, it was the spider silk manufacturer who was delivering the 'previously ordered and paid for' load of silk. The merchant was indignant that he had been delayed in going about his business — 'any body would think there was a war on'. The Harbourian Custom's man was suspicious but as Havelock Nairn declared, trade between the systems was still ongoing; why only last week the "Bethune", a freighter, had departed for Mountserrat with full holds and everybody knows "Bethune" is owned by the McCocks in Settlement. (Nobody was crass enough to point out the legal fiction that Bollard Line and the freighter were registered in Old London.)

Nairn thrust the invoices into their hands and TJ noted they carried details of the Suisse bank and the 'payment'. Now, TJ could clearly remember saying that he would be interested in purchasing more of the fabric 'next trip' but he had absolutely no recollection of paying in advance(?) for such an order as this; however he noted the price was the same as at the previous and there was sufficient of his maternal forbears in him not to let a little thing like a potential shooting war get in the way of a business deal.

Still, he wasn't that trusting; the bolts were all run through the detector screen to check for things anomalous. While the crew, who thought it a great joke, were stowing the bolts, Nairn was nattering on about having another two shuttle loads dirtside for sale if TJ wanted them — same prices because it didn't look as if he would be able to export anything much for a while and if TJ couldn't use it, he could onsell it to Nairn's factor in the Azores orbital. TJ expressed some interest so Nairn took the Custom's man aside and persuaded him to allow the shuttles up.

The deal was struck and the last of the load stowed in the fabric store when the Herald returned in the FO pinnace. TJ, Nairn and the Custom's agent shook hands all around and they departed; the last shuttle stood off and the Herald embarked to inform TJ the Mountserrian diplomats would be embarking next day. Sir Jonathon was a trifle tired and headed for his bunk expressing as he did so that he was surprised at the delay as the Ambassador claimed he and his party were ready to depart immediately but the FO wouldn't hear of it.

Screaming sirens sounded inside his head and when told of the details of the delay, Morg's eyebrows became part of his hairline. They repaired in short order to the bridge console to see what "Bulb" might have for them. Nothing. Floating in Dune, "Bulb" had detected nothing, nowt, nix. As yet.

TJ ordered a bridge watch set instead of an anchor watch at the airlock. As required, he left the illumination but surrounded the boat with passive detection cover. Orville was ordered to keep the main engines ticking over which he did despite grumbling about ruining his consumption figures and how lucky he had a couple of additional tanks of reactor mass to spare.

About two bells in first watch, TJ's PDA beeped. TJ recognised the caller sending the message — it was the merchant who was passing on a message to the effect that "Tulip" was to be a target.

Another straw in the wind.

At six morning, TJ and Morg reviewed the night's tapes and thought they could discern a pattern of light warships, five in all, gathering in hyper about the hyper point.

It was four forenoon when the diplomats boarded and got quite offended when TJ put their belongings and them through the detector screen, Two styluses containing microchips were destroyed — with the Ambassador suggesting he would have a discussion with the owners during the voyage home.

TJ put himself on the navcom screens and Morg on the EW, Cedric in the left seat and 'Nita in the right; the other screens were manned and Orville had opted to be in the 'room rather than the bridge.

"Cedric, cast off when you are ready, we have clearance to the hyper point and we are to be met"

Cedric disengaged the electromag grapple and they heard the reverberation as it housed; he brought the impellors up after turning "Tulip" towards the hyper point using the thrusters on stick control and "Tulip" accelerated away from the buoy. Nothing was seen on the screens. The departure watch was stood down and the usual routine established. Nearly a day later, "Tulip" was brought to 'stations for hyper translation' with the crew again as at departure.