Engaging the Enemy Read Online Free PDF Page B

traffic than expected, and all but two local. Those two carried normal beacon IDs; one had already jumped out by the time they received its signal.
    She hailed their escort. “When we dock, the other ships will owe me their percentage for safe transit. Under the circumstances, I could sign that over to you, if you’d like. Or have you made separate arrangements with them?”
    Lieutenant Commander Johannson shook his head. “No, Captain Vatta. They still have a contract with you, not with us. It’s a legal mess at the moment. Let’s keep it simple. They pay you, as they agreed. You pay us, as we agreed. Then we part company.”
Forever,
his tone implied.
    â€œI would be glad to supply a statement for your command, if it would help,” Ky said.
    â€œI’m afraid it wouldn’t,” Johannson said. “Any statement by you would be considered contaminated. We’ll just take our scolding when we do finally get home.”
    â€œI’m sorry we’ve been such a problem to you,” Ky said. She’d had leisure, during the long transit, to realize just how foolish she’d been, and how far the mercenaries had bent their rules to save her and her ship. Should she admit that? “You were right,” she said. “About the trap, about…everything. I can’t regret taking out Osman, but there must’ve been a less risky way to do it—”
    â€œI hope you keep that in mind the next time you’re in a tight spot,” Johannson said. His voice had warmed a trifle.
    â€œI will,” Ky said. “And I appreciate your standing by us and saving our skins.”
    â€œSome skins are worth saving,” Johannson said, and then cut the contact.
    Ky stared at the blank screen a moment. What was that about? Her skin? Vatta Transport’s? Then she shook her head and called Stella on
Gary Tobai.
“How do you like being a ship captain?”
    â€œI haven’t done anything fatal so far,” Stella said. “I think Quincy could run this ship herself, though I have been studying hard. But how are we going to dock without a pilot? I can’t bring her in, and Quincy says she can’t. She’s not a licensed pilot, and anyway she doesn’t know how.”
    That was a problem Ky hadn’t thought of. Legally, they should not approach within two kilometers of any facility without a licensed pilot aboard. Legally, every ship was supposed to have a licensed pilot aboard, too, but most orbital stations had a pilot service for those whose pilots were incapacitated for some reason. Still, that could be expensive, and it was also a route by which strangers could intrude. She would prefer not to trust a pilot she didn’t know.
    Ky glanced over at her own pilot. “Lee, how do you feel about a suited transfer back to the
Gary
to bring her into dock?”
    He grimaced. “I can…if that’s the only way. Maybe we’ll be lucky and this station will have a tug or pilot service.”
    â€œThey list one,” Ky said. “But after that bonded security service guard tried to kill me, I’m not inclined to trust a commercial service.”
    â€œThere’s a scooter down in number three hold,” Rafe said.
    â€œThat’s better than swimming,” Lee said. “But you’d have to wait for me to come back out and bring you in—assuming you’re sending the
Gary
in first.”
    â€œI was planning to,” Ky said. “With us out here armed to the teeth, she’s less likely to run into trouble. I hope.”
    Next, Ky talked to the other captains in the convoy, explaining that her contract with Mackensee would end when they docked. “I will open a new account as soon as we’re close enough; you can pay into that.”
    â€œBut we want to go on,” Captain Sindarin of
Beauty of Bel
said.
    â€œThen you’ll have to contract with Mackensee yourself,” Ky said.