Privateer Tales 3: Parley Read Online Free PDF Page B

crew will be commended publicly for quick and decisive action which resulted in the preservation of the life of one Ada Chen.”
    “I sense a ‘but’ in this conversation,” I said.
    “Not really. I just don’t understand why you let those pirates go. They fired on your ship and you were well within your rights to take action. To some, it will look like you wanted that tug and didn’t care if a couple of pirates got away.”
    “It seemed like the right idea at the time. I’m not sure I would do the same thing again.”
    “Are you going to request the tug as a privateer prize? I couldn’t help but notice its proximity.”
    “Yes.”
    “Surely you see how that looks,” he said.
    “Let me put my cards on the table. I’m not concerned with how other people view this, but I am concerned with how you see it.”
    “Oh? By all means, put your cards on the table, then.”
    “Did I consider the tug when making the deal with the pirates? Yes. Was I worried about exchanging fire with two ships? Yes. I was out of missiles and we were outnumbered. Did I think we could win? Absolutely. Did I think we might take casualties? Absolutely. The people on this ship are my family and if I can keep someone from shooting at us, I’ll do it every time. Am I a merchant? Yes. I’m looking out for me and mine.”
    “Some might say you had less than honorable intentions.”
    “They’d best not say that to my face. The reason we responded to the mayday was simple. Adela Chen was being attacked and about to lose everything, including her life. Do the math. I launched three hundred thousand m-creds worth of missiles before I even knew there was a tug. Smart money said - fly on by.”
    “Alright, no need to get hot." He gave me a slight grin. "I have to ask the questions and get them recorded. For the record, I think you should have blown them to bits, but I don’t have mouths to feed. As for the matter of the tug, it is not registered which, as you most likely know, means it was probably being used in criminal enterprise. I am awarding Loose Nuts Corporation the Fujitsu Freighter – Model FF718 as a prize under the Mars Privateer Act.”
    Off the record . Veras stopped the recording.
    “Between you and me. I get that you had a hard decision to make. What I want you to think about is what those two pirates are going to do now. Do you think they’ll turn away from their illicit activities? How many others will die at their hands? You can comfort yourself all you want that you didn’t put your crew in danger. I think that’s crap.”
    Veras’s words hit me like a ton of bricks. My face flushed, was I just greedy? I started to talk but he cut me off.
    “Look, you’re young and just getting started. I saw you in action back on Colony 40 and read about your attack on the pirate base near Baru Manush. I believe you came here to help Captain Chen. You are an honorable man. The thing I’ve got stuck in my craw is that, dammit, you let me down. Like it or not, you’ve got a lot of people watching you and we need heroes, Captain Hoffen, not mercenaries. Straighten up.”
    Veras pulled his jacket straight. Back on the record .
    I was too stunned to respond. He couldn’t have shut me up better if he had whacked me in the forehead with a two kilo spanner.
    “As to the matter of the string of barges, would you like to file a claim of salvage?”
    My mind whirled with emotion. How could he switch gears so quickly?
    “Yes.”
    “Very well.”
    “No, wait.”
    “Pardon?”
    “Could I have a minute with Ada Chen?”
    “It’s a little out of the ordinary, but I don’t see a problem, I would like your conversation to be on the record, however.”
    “Okay.”
    “Sergeant, would you request Ms. Chen’s presence?”
    Ada entered the room and looked uncomfortably between us.
    I started, “Ada, Loose Nuts Corporation has recently come into possession of a Fujitsu Freighter Tug. It so happens that we don’t have any pilots available