Chapter 32

Joshua Galbraith's factor in New London was a cousin, Abraham Galbraith, whom TJ had met in passing at a function during the last visit in HMS "Tulip". Abraham had commed TJ asking to meet at the Army Navy Club. TJ flivvered down and met with Abraham who was acting on behalf of a Eurocon client who wished to meet TJ personally on a personal matter. Abraham vouched for the client, Francesco Alverez de Cordova, Marquis Alceienta, who was waiting at the "Mayfair". Galbraith shuttled TJ to the hotel where he made the introductions and then departed saying he would send his shuttle back to the hotel for TJ's use.

TJ found himself sitting opposite a slender hawk faced elderly man whose long silver hair was swept back and restrained by a black band in keeping with the austere black of a well made older fashioned suit; TJ noted the ebony stick with the eagle beak handle and wondered just how much it was actually needed. The Marquis had ordered refreshment and while they waited, they talked of the recent power shifts in the Eurocon parliaments. As de Cordova offered the plate for TJ to choose, TJ noted the inlaid Fleur-de-lisle on the signet ring. The men settled and then the Iberian led,

"Nearly two years ago, Her Mountserrian's Majesty's Ship "Tulip" was returning to the Kingdom from Sol when it ran into a pirate operation. It captured the pirate, took control of the victim ship and moved the vessels to Mountserrat territory and in accordance with interplanetary law handed the situation to the Admiralty Court for determination.

In the course of time, advertisements were placed regarding the involved vessels in the interplanetary shipping 'faxes and I know no replies were received by the Kingdom. The ships were condemned as prize and sold. I have been able to ascertain that the crew of "Tulip" purchased the victim and are now manning her; she was being modified at the New London orbitals and is now at the convention docks with House of Tulip in great demand — even my wife has expressed an interest in visiting...

Piracy is an adverse cost of doing business and there are many reasons for not claiming a recaptured vessel no matter how valuable, but that does not mean interest in the crew is absent. What was the fate of the crew?"

TJ gazed at de Cordova intently,

"Your interest is what, Sir?"

"My house have relatives on the colony returning in these ships and wants information for closure where necessary."

"There was a survivor from the victim but he was a pirate collaborator; he turned Queen's evidence and the crew of the pirate ship were hanged in low gravity in the boat bay of their own ship. The collaborator is in prison on an asteroid and a report we had before we departed Gorgipest is that he is going steadily insane. I don't know the fate of the other five crew but, I presume, they were interred in sacred ground with a multi-ecumenical service..."

In response to deCordova's waved question, TJ continued,

"Morg and I had an earlier pirate capture and part of the subsequent public discussion involved the Archbishop stating publicly that pirates were buried in common ground without benefit of clergy. Those of their victims who could be identified would be interred in holy ground according to their religion and where they were not identified the Archbishop led a service with the Enklican Bishop, a priest from the Mission to Spacers, a Scotchland High Kirk pastor, with a Rabbi and an Imam when he could get the two of them to stop squabbling. Morg, another friend and I attended that service for two unidentified victims; separate caskets in a common grave with record of DNA in a lead shield. Oh, the Archbishop is Second Reformist Roman Catholic — the royals have been that ever since first settlement."

"Where are the records of the victims held?"

"The official records are held at the Admiralty Division of the Supreme Court in Gorgipest but if you are wanting some identification of them, I have it on my PDA; Morg and I boarded her and part of Navy protocol is to still and vid everything — I just never got around to cleaning off the information."

TJ produced his PDA and found the entry. He was able to produce a small holo of each of the dead crew and at the Marquis' request, transferred the information to his PDA. The only reaction was a quiet hiss at the image of the collaborator. (TJ didn't want to know.)

As de Cordova was departing, he bowed to TJ,

"My house holds itself in your personal debt. Thank you Mr Hobson."

"There should be something a bit less crass about this, you know" Cedric moaned.

TJ, Morg and Cedric were working in the clean room, making up amended circuit boards for the missiles after having altered the holding frames so that it was easier now to plug and replace boards when necessary — although so far none had gone 'dud' on testing. Morg looked at Cedric,

"Cedric, explain please."

"Look you, I need some more gold for the crucible; so what do I do. I saunter over to the corner, pull back a slide, take the mallet and cold chisel from the holder and bang off a couple of ounces, pick it up and return and drop it in the pot and watch it melt. I mean this is gold, precious metal and all that, valuable, people were killed for it. There should be armed escorts, multiple vault doors needing passwords and retinal scans, a reverent delicate piece of machinery carefully removing a set amount for which signatures are required...

"Cedric" said TJ.

"Yes?"

"Don't forget to replace the mallet and cold chisel in the holder and pull the slide after you're done."

"That's what I mean — no romance."

Cedric did as he was told. The metal melted and Cedric returned to the cadcam as it produced several more circuit boards which he proceeded to check before storing. He turned back to his work station and booted up his work on the screen programme.

"You pair busy? ... I need a hand here. You know I've been working on defensive screen and got those special generators?"

"Cedric," TJ sighed somewhat exaggeratedly "you have been as forthcoming about your ideas as a banker discussing his profit margin. That cauldron inside your skull has been smoking and bubbling and occasionally you gaze off into the distance muttering and scratch on your PDA. The only reason I guess you are on the screens is that you gaze vacantly at Clare all the time and as she is not one of your female partners and the look is definitely not romantic or lustful. No, Cedric, I don't know but I have guessed. Perhaps we should belt you across the ear more often?"

"Don't bother, TJ. Well, a couple of decades ago a 'gun nut' ("Careful". "No insults now".) designed a defensive screen with two leaves. He based the idea on the blanket hanging over a line stopping a projectile fired into the fly edges of the blanket. It worked but for the fact that the edges flew about and a second projectile was not impeded as the blanket leaves moved away. The idea was popular for a while until it got tested for real and subsequent missiles got through. Spoilt a lot of peoples' days..."

"Cedric" Morg growled ominously "you've got those generators on our ship?"

"Its safe, its safe. Don't worry. I have been able to stick the leaves together and they stay in position."

"Funny, I don't remember any testing being done" TJ accused.

"I did the testing on the 'puter..."

"You! You harp about electronics, and you test defensive screens using the 'puter ... Cedric!?"

"Well, they have to be good for something" Cedric defended himself "any way what I want to talk about is putting an anti electronic field between the leaves. Neither leaf is quite missile proof and under repeated hits would fail; well against our missiles they would and ours are as good as DN multidrives. What I envisage is that a missile which does penetrate the outer leaf gets ensnared in an anti electronic screen which scrambles the electronics and prevents it exploding..."

TJ and Morg were both paying very close attention at this point.

"I've got the leaves held separate about a missile length apart and the screen sits a kay klick around our hull. I've got it set up that our weapons can fire through momentary tunnels which will form as needed but I need help with the math for the radiation between the leaves..."

"You have been a busy little beetle" TJ commended Cedric "but Morg's your man on the maths."

"Morg, here is what I've got now and you can see the scrambling screen doesn't quite cover the bandwidth and I think its in the values I've put into the generators rather than the circuitry which by the way I borrowed from your stealth circuit..."

"What did you use as your constant here?..."

TJ left them hard at it and wandered off to the lounge for caffeine blood level restoration moaning to himself about the absolute restriction on food and fluid in the clean room. He encountered Orville and Colin deep in conversation with Clare about the after tubes and half listened in and then fully tuned in as the trio agreed that all missiles would be passively expelled from the 'tubes' and fired outside the hull thus eliminating the problem of heat dissipation and also decreasing any infra red signature of the hull. Orville reported that the store of missile engines had been used up in the manufacture of four Lone Rangers (strapped to the outer hull ready for release) and one twenty three multidrive missiles — forty loaded into the rotary magazines forward, twenty in the box magazines aft, and the remainder in box storage forward capable of being loaded into the rotary mags as necessary but taking twenty seconds a load.

Charles joined them,

"I have solved the problem of our ship's name and I've had a word with Galbraith about reorganising Tulip Corporation. We need a company conference where we can all be brought up to date on events and changes. Clare, you and I are going to organise drills for our new status as a defensible freighter. Looking back over history, we are armed almost like a commerce raider or privateer would be in modern terms. Certainly from what you have told me, we are much more heavily armed and stealthed than "Tulip" was and we need to work up the ship..."

The 'company' meeting was held in the lounge that evening. At the announcement that Tulip Corporatiion was to be wound up and a distribution made, there were several sad glances passed. The new corporation which was purchasing the assets of the disbanded corporation which was basically the anti grav pad patents was to be named Sundowner Inc. The shareholders were the present ship's company who also owned the ship which was to be named "Sundowner" and registered at Ramsgate in Enkland.

Charles reported that Galbraith's Old Earth office had arranged for various associated companies to band together to arrange to fill the holds with demonstration equipment to be shown to sundry planets and systems. A hold was given over to each of small arms equipment, electronic equipment, agricultural machinery and 'puter equipment ranging from battle 'puters down to PDAs. The companies would begin arranging their displays and quarters in two days time.

Clare brought the assembly up to date on the changes to the systems and established a time table for lectures and demonstrations leading up to formation of watches and spacekeeping while underweigh. Morg was to build up the House of Tulip's store of fabrics. TJ was to be Intel. Cedric was to be Systems Officer.

First voyage was to Mars and ETD was in twelve days.

Intensive lectures and demonstrations were held, the crew was divided into watches and hands on training begun. The previous exposure of the crew to RMN courier systems as modified by TJ and Morg et al led naturally to "Sundowner" being laid out in a similar manner; once again cruising watches, arrivals and departures, were almost merchant marine in their apparent lack of personnel required. However, all personnel were given cross training so that any crewmember could adequately fill in for another. The more specialised functions were usually filled by the 'experts' but these persons made sure their minions were 'up to scratch'. Charles and Clare did not spare anyone and would often shift crew members around during simulations. Morg was able to introduce Charles and Cedric to the joys of 'broidery to keep themselves entertained while Clare had them 'disabled' for exercise purposes. Charles never mastered the mathematical skill of a needle person but was able to make caricatures readily. Cedric soon mastered the skills and his patterns were kept by Morg for use in decorative trimming.

TJ used the Old Earth polar station to establish coms with Gorgipest with only delays of several minutes between transmissions — certainly adequate for briefing the Windsor Women. TJ surfed his FTL net gathering and distributing information from his sources — presently still only Mountserrat, Bhute, Walton's Star, Harbouria and an occasional rebro from Grenoble.

The war was not going well for Mountserrat even though they had a technological lead over the Harbourian forces but there was just so much a smaller navy could do particularly when several of its better commanders had been removed from the play by their own side. The situation was being slowly corrected. Renmark, however, had not lost their opportunity and had coaxed Commodore Cunningham RMN (Rtd) into Renmark ranks as a full admiral even though her fleet was made up of captured Harbourian warships. Blue Hills and Kuzak were learning to use the multidrive missiles and the nest DNs were just coming off the slipways.