Re: A LOPER TALE
Posted: Tue Nov 02, 2021 10:06 am
67
REGULATIONS
The ship slowed from velocity two on the edge of the six planet system, three hours out from Cora II as she came to where several of her crew had begun to call home base over the last year and a half. The Frigate’s repair list had been sent ahead to the new Council stores on the planet, who’d then relayed the requirements to the main Council base after consulting the local suppliers for what they could provide. Usually the local suppliers were more expensive than the Council direct supplies by, of course, they were right there and available and it helped keep colonists in work with money in their pockets. Hawle sometimes joked that the Loper was providing about three percent of the Colony’s annual gross domestic product and, from the reactions he tended to get from the remark, he didn’t think he was far off.
On the bridge, Raven held court as the Commander was in his office, grimacing at the repair bill. She didn’t turn around as she watched the distant planet on the screen, now complete again after the damaged camera had been repaired. “Dawton,” she advised, “Contact Cora II and tell them we’re on our way in and expecting the usual.”
“Aye, sir,” the Human replied. “U.S.C. Loper to Cora II Control, come in please.” He smiled and the watching Raitchian, Match, guessed he was talking to Sophia, the Mican operative who’d expressed an interest in him before they’d left. “Thank you, ‘Cora II’,” Dawton replied to the voice the others hadn’t heard. “Our E.T.A. is about three hours so we’ll need the standard welcome Soph… uh, control. We’ll be ready.” He waited for her to cut the line before circling around to face the central station and the back of Raven’s head. “The Patrol ship ‘Cortain’ will be meeting us to carry out the usual checks, Commander.”
Raven nodded. It had become the standard for incoming ships to be inspected since the events of last year, when insurgents had attempted an assassination. Now incoming ships were inspected by a senior member of the Colonial Militia or they would be refused permission to stay in orbit or land on the planet. It slowed things up but it was done free of charge and people understood the reason as ‘no-one knew’ who was responsible and they could come back.
It wasn’t just the finances Hawle was looking over at the moment but Gilly Klass’s résumé as well. It seemed she’d come out from the home world three years back on a scholarship to the colony University in Computer sciences and, after finishing second in her class, had gone to work for the weather control group. It was impressive, he reckoned, how impressed Harvey was with someone who hadn’t finished top of her class. Groal was also impressed, apparently. It was setting his ears twitching. It was why he’d called her up to see him and she knocked on the passageway door. He decided he’d need to point out the door ‘booper’ later. He pressed a button on his desk and allowed her to enter. “Ah,” he said in a friendly way, “Gilly, come in.”
“Um,” she said uncertainly, stepping over the ‘parapet’ and entering his little castle, “thank you sir,” she said.
“Captain will suffice, generally,” he told her. “I’ve been looking over your Curriculum Vitae,” he told her, giving it a little wave as he said it. “It’s quite impressive, if brief. Especially in the ‘jobs’ section.” He invited her to take a seat. “I did University.” He grimaced slightly. “I remember the jobs I had to do to afford it, Gilly. Especially the rent.” He glanced at the forms again. “I don’t see any mention of those here.”
Gilly squirmed slightly. “I, uh… I come from a fairly well-off family,” she admitted. “It’s, uh, not something I tend to announce.” She reached an arm around to the back of her head to scratch her neck. “It affects how people look at me,” she continued, showing a glimpse of her back teeth as she seemed ashamed of the fact.
“Hmm,” Hawle agreed. He’d had family problems at times. Still… “Not even a job for fun?”
“Oh, there were those,” she told him. “But I tended not to list them as they were ‘cash in hand’, so to speak.”
“Of course,” Hawle smiled. “People and companies unspecified who didn’t want things seen to easily, should we say?” He mounted his muzzle on his finger knuckles. “Must be why you only finished second in your year and still got a top Government job.” He relaxed slightly. “And now you’re here. On my ship.” He tapped on a padd and slid it across to her.
“What’s this, si… uh, Captain?”
“A civilian contract,” Hawle said languidly, pushing his chest forward as he put his hands behind his head. “See, I know you were looking to get into the Council Command ranks but there’s just… I’ll be honest with you, Gilly. You’ve impressed both my Chief Engineer and one of the best Computer specialists I know of far more than I’d expect someone who finished SECOND in their class would do. Now,” he allowed, “it may well just be me being paranoid but we have been dealing with Admiral Roebuck recently…”
Gilly laughed. “You think I’m a plant,” she gasped.
“Well, not being perfect is an established spy tactic,” Hawle told her. “Either way, it means I can’t really authorise your entry into the Council ranks as that would get you certain security access. Physical security access, I mean. Access via computers I’m prepared to risk as there’s only two of you who could get in and,” he clicked his tongue, “it’s not likely to be Harvey, is it?”
“I can leave when we get to the planet,” Gilly told him, standing to leave.
“Why,” Hawle asked her. “I don’t want you to.”
She looked a little confused. “But you… don’t trust me?”
“Who said that,” the Commander asked innocently. “I certainly didn’t. Look, if I sent you to the Council and got you enrolled, and you turned out to be one of Roebuck’s people, I’d end up getting it in the neck. As it is, though, I have absolutely no objection to you being here, though.
You’re obviously proficient and I’d be a fool not to keep you, hence why I’m offering you a contract that’s about seven percent more than Harvey makes. You wouldn’t gain access to areas like munitions storage, of course but why would an I.T. specialist need that? Plus, if you ARE an operative for him I can use that to pass along unofficial messages.”
“I am NOT…”
Hawle smirked. “Almost certainly not,” he agreed. “But, as Roebuck might put it, it pays to be paranoid around strangers.”
Ginny smirked. “My mother used to say that to me all the time.” She inclined her head slightly. “She was right, too.”
“Mother or ‘uncle’,” Hawle queried comically.
Now Ginny actually whooped, the glint of joy in her eye. “My only Uncle’s doing ten in Rowtville State for racketeering.” She grimaced. “Trusted a newcomer. Undercover Cop.”
“You left that off the résumé too,” Hawle admonished. “Never mind.” He offered her the padd again. “Would you like to sign? I understand Cedar Kirkwall gives vouchers for new crew.”
She laughed. And signed.
REGULATIONS
The ship slowed from velocity two on the edge of the six planet system, three hours out from Cora II as she came to where several of her crew had begun to call home base over the last year and a half. The Frigate’s repair list had been sent ahead to the new Council stores on the planet, who’d then relayed the requirements to the main Council base after consulting the local suppliers for what they could provide. Usually the local suppliers were more expensive than the Council direct supplies by, of course, they were right there and available and it helped keep colonists in work with money in their pockets. Hawle sometimes joked that the Loper was providing about three percent of the Colony’s annual gross domestic product and, from the reactions he tended to get from the remark, he didn’t think he was far off.
On the bridge, Raven held court as the Commander was in his office, grimacing at the repair bill. She didn’t turn around as she watched the distant planet on the screen, now complete again after the damaged camera had been repaired. “Dawton,” she advised, “Contact Cora II and tell them we’re on our way in and expecting the usual.”
“Aye, sir,” the Human replied. “U.S.C. Loper to Cora II Control, come in please.” He smiled and the watching Raitchian, Match, guessed he was talking to Sophia, the Mican operative who’d expressed an interest in him before they’d left. “Thank you, ‘Cora II’,” Dawton replied to the voice the others hadn’t heard. “Our E.T.A. is about three hours so we’ll need the standard welcome Soph… uh, control. We’ll be ready.” He waited for her to cut the line before circling around to face the central station and the back of Raven’s head. “The Patrol ship ‘Cortain’ will be meeting us to carry out the usual checks, Commander.”
Raven nodded. It had become the standard for incoming ships to be inspected since the events of last year, when insurgents had attempted an assassination. Now incoming ships were inspected by a senior member of the Colonial Militia or they would be refused permission to stay in orbit or land on the planet. It slowed things up but it was done free of charge and people understood the reason as ‘no-one knew’ who was responsible and they could come back.
It wasn’t just the finances Hawle was looking over at the moment but Gilly Klass’s résumé as well. It seemed she’d come out from the home world three years back on a scholarship to the colony University in Computer sciences and, after finishing second in her class, had gone to work for the weather control group. It was impressive, he reckoned, how impressed Harvey was with someone who hadn’t finished top of her class. Groal was also impressed, apparently. It was setting his ears twitching. It was why he’d called her up to see him and she knocked on the passageway door. He decided he’d need to point out the door ‘booper’ later. He pressed a button on his desk and allowed her to enter. “Ah,” he said in a friendly way, “Gilly, come in.”
“Um,” she said uncertainly, stepping over the ‘parapet’ and entering his little castle, “thank you sir,” she said.
“Captain will suffice, generally,” he told her. “I’ve been looking over your Curriculum Vitae,” he told her, giving it a little wave as he said it. “It’s quite impressive, if brief. Especially in the ‘jobs’ section.” He invited her to take a seat. “I did University.” He grimaced slightly. “I remember the jobs I had to do to afford it, Gilly. Especially the rent.” He glanced at the forms again. “I don’t see any mention of those here.”
Gilly squirmed slightly. “I, uh… I come from a fairly well-off family,” she admitted. “It’s, uh, not something I tend to announce.” She reached an arm around to the back of her head to scratch her neck. “It affects how people look at me,” she continued, showing a glimpse of her back teeth as she seemed ashamed of the fact.
“Hmm,” Hawle agreed. He’d had family problems at times. Still… “Not even a job for fun?”
“Oh, there were those,” she told him. “But I tended not to list them as they were ‘cash in hand’, so to speak.”
“Of course,” Hawle smiled. “People and companies unspecified who didn’t want things seen to easily, should we say?” He mounted his muzzle on his finger knuckles. “Must be why you only finished second in your year and still got a top Government job.” He relaxed slightly. “And now you’re here. On my ship.” He tapped on a padd and slid it across to her.
“What’s this, si… uh, Captain?”
“A civilian contract,” Hawle said languidly, pushing his chest forward as he put his hands behind his head. “See, I know you were looking to get into the Council Command ranks but there’s just… I’ll be honest with you, Gilly. You’ve impressed both my Chief Engineer and one of the best Computer specialists I know of far more than I’d expect someone who finished SECOND in their class would do. Now,” he allowed, “it may well just be me being paranoid but we have been dealing with Admiral Roebuck recently…”
Gilly laughed. “You think I’m a plant,” she gasped.
“Well, not being perfect is an established spy tactic,” Hawle told her. “Either way, it means I can’t really authorise your entry into the Council ranks as that would get you certain security access. Physical security access, I mean. Access via computers I’m prepared to risk as there’s only two of you who could get in and,” he clicked his tongue, “it’s not likely to be Harvey, is it?”
“I can leave when we get to the planet,” Gilly told him, standing to leave.
“Why,” Hawle asked her. “I don’t want you to.”
She looked a little confused. “But you… don’t trust me?”
“Who said that,” the Commander asked innocently. “I certainly didn’t. Look, if I sent you to the Council and got you enrolled, and you turned out to be one of Roebuck’s people, I’d end up getting it in the neck. As it is, though, I have absolutely no objection to you being here, though.
You’re obviously proficient and I’d be a fool not to keep you, hence why I’m offering you a contract that’s about seven percent more than Harvey makes. You wouldn’t gain access to areas like munitions storage, of course but why would an I.T. specialist need that? Plus, if you ARE an operative for him I can use that to pass along unofficial messages.”
“I am NOT…”
Hawle smirked. “Almost certainly not,” he agreed. “But, as Roebuck might put it, it pays to be paranoid around strangers.”
Ginny smirked. “My mother used to say that to me all the time.” She inclined her head slightly. “She was right, too.”
“Mother or ‘uncle’,” Hawle queried comically.
Now Ginny actually whooped, the glint of joy in her eye. “My only Uncle’s doing ten in Rowtville State for racketeering.” She grimaced. “Trusted a newcomer. Undercover Cop.”
“You left that off the résumé too,” Hawle admonished. “Never mind.” He offered her the padd again. “Would you like to sign? I understand Cedar Kirkwall gives vouchers for new crew.”
She laughed. And signed.