Marque and Reprisal Read Online Free PDF

the consul know something’s come up, and forget looking for cargo.”
    “Don’t forget to report this to headquarters,” Quincy said.
    “Headquarters?”
    “All material threats against Vatta ships—you’ll need to give them an ansible call right away. So if it’s more than local, they can warn other ships.”
    “That seems a bit extreme,” Ky said. “I think it’s probably something to do with Sabine; it shouldn’t affect anyone else.”
    “If you had the Vatta implant, it would be in emergency procedures, Captain. Piracy, sabotage, anything like that. Call headquarters immediately—I would have, if I hadn’t been able to raise you within the hour.”
    “You still could—” Ky began.
    “No, it’s captain’s responsibility; they’ll want to hear from you.”
    “I should wait until I’m up there and have the report from the police,” Ky said. “They’ll ask questions I can’t answer—”
    “Immediate notification is the priority,” Quincy said. “It’s in the implants.”
    If she did what she planned, she’d never have the Vatta implant. Wrong time to think about that, though. “All right. I’ll call right away, then see how soon I can get back up there. Once you’ve got the ship loaded, button us up. Will the police put a guard on our dock space?”
    “Yes. There’s one out there now.”
    That was a help. She hoped that was a help.
    “I’ll be there as soon as I can,” she said, and signed off. Now for the ansible call home. Belinta’s ansible-access procedures worked normally, the status lights blinking appropriately through their sequences. She had no idea what time it would be at Vatta corporate headquarters, but it didn’t matter. They had someone on duty in the communications suite at all hours. The green lights blinked three times, and the screen lit, but showed no image.
    “Vatta Headquarters,” a voice said. “This call originated on Belinta. You are Captain Kylara Vatta, is that correct?”
    “Yes,” Ky said. This didn’t sound like standard procedure. “Are you transmitting visual? This screen is blank.”
    “Link your implant for urgent download,” the voice said without answering her question.
    “I don’t have an implant,” Ky said. “What is it? I was going to report a threat—”
    “Uh… go ahead. Report the threat.” She heard voices behind the voice she was listening to, as if the sound shielding weren’t on. She couldn’t quite hear what they were saying.
    “Unknown persons posing as dockworkers attempted to load an explosive device onto my ship,” Ky said. “The ship is safe and undamaged, but they got away.”
    “Understood,” the voice said. “We have a situation here, too, Captain. We are sending a warning to all ships; there appears to be the possibility of multiple threats to Vatta personnel.”
    “What kind of threats?” Ky asked.
    “I… am not at liberty to say,” the voice said.
    “Could you connect me to my father, please?” Ky said. She would find out more from him than from some communications tech. “Gerard Vatta? Or my uncle?”
    “Uh… I’m afraid that’s not possible at this time,” the voice said.
    “Why?” Ky asked. “He’s got his skullphone.”
    “He is…” A pause. “He is temporarily unavailable. Your message will be forwarded immediately and I’m sure he will want to speak with you.”
    Cold swept over her. “What’s wrong?” she asked. “You said a threat—what’s happened?”
    “Captain—” Another pause. “It is not for me to say. There is a Situation.”
    “Are the senior officers all right?” Ky asked.
    “I believe so, yes.” Something in the voice conveyed doubt, not assurance.
    “But you aren’t sure—”
    “It’s the—” The screen blanked, and the status light went to yellow, blinking. SIGNAL LOST. DO YOU WANT TO RECONNECT? Y/N appeared instead. Ky sat back; she could feel her pulse racing. Whatever had happened had happened—instantaneous communication or no,