I didn’t often use the security cameras to watch my crew. I had a bit in the beginning, especially with my first command, but I’d grown out of that need as I got better at judging the people working for me. We all slept better if I trusted my people to do their jobs.
Obviously, that hadn’t worked out with Jace, but he was in the minority and I wouldn’t usually let one asshole ruin things for my otherwise trustworthy employees.
This wasn’t entirely about Jace, though. I did trust the others, but superstition and religion had a way of turning an otherwise reliable person into a ticking time bomb. I’d already dropped the ball with Jace. I wouldn’t do that twice and I was still a little uncomfortable with how seriously Coro and Brando took my question about cursemarks. I trusted them, but I also trusted their judgement. If they thought Sin needed to be cautious about who knew about her mark, then it was my job to keep an extra eye on my people. ‘Trust’ as they say, ‘but verify.’
We were, by the way, fortunate that Jace’s slovenly habits hadn’t gotten us into trouble before now. You couldn’t risk a mess when you lived in a pressurized metal box. Mess meant fire risk, air hazards, and accidents. None of that was acceptable in the dark spaces between ports.
Sin chatted amiably with Elaine in the mess area. Her body language uncoiled inch by precious inch, so things had to be going well. That was good. Elaine would keep an eye on her and I’d verified in private, since Elaine couldn’t attend the All Hands, that she didn’t believe in cursemarks either. I’d keep checking on Sin at intervals, especially after she’d signed on, but it was a relief to see that Elaine had her in hand. She was a sweet woman, but she had depths you wouldn’t expect. If anyone got ugly without warning, then Elaine would take care of it before I had to.
My band blipped with an incoming message and I closed the security feed. To my surprise, the ID code belonged to my silent partner; the angel investor who’d put Cassandra within my reach.
I answered it and cast the connection to my tablet. I could have just used my ocular, but I preferred to have visual input contained on a single surface.
“Evander! Hello.”
The screen turned flat black and pulsed grey a few times before words appeared on the screen.
“Hello, Jack. I see Driver Ananke is still aboard Cassandra. Have you signed her?”
Straight to business, as usual. I did not sigh even though I really wanted to. This was a video connection, despite the fact that Evander’s side was projecting text.
“She took the evening to think about it.” I didn’t mention she’d been ready to sign. Since I was sure she would be saying yes once I told her she was clear with the crew, I didn’t tell him how close we’d gotten to ‘no.’ “I’m confident she will.”
“Acceptable.” There was a pause as the black screen continued to pulse. “In the unlikely event that she chooses to remain on the labor queue, please contact me before releasing her to the station.”
Huh.
“Sure.” I frowned, feeling a bit off balance. Evander was many things; a brilliant trader and researcher among others. He’d never been interested in my personnel decisions before now, beyond a broad type. “Is there a reason?”
“I believe she would be in danger if she remains aboard Fjord—as well as the rest of you. I am removing this station from Cassandra’s circuit until further notice. The uptick in pirate activity in the sector is no longer an acceptable risk. Please alert your crew.”
“Is it really that bad?” I asked. “I haven’t received any bulletins from the merchant’s guild about it, but Amanda and I have a bad feeling about Sin’s last ship. She’s in bad condition and I don’t think she resigned her post with authorization.”
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“The merchants’ guild is either not yet aware of the problem or they’re ignoring it, which is the most likely possibility. The affected vessels have all been identified as independent traders," Evander replied. “The large cargo trawlers have been left alone, so far.”
That, I could believe. The merchants’ guild only really seemed to remember that the indies existed when it came time to pay annual dues.
I didn’t ask how Evander knew that small traders were going missing around Fjord or what he planned to do with the information. That wasn’t my half of this partnership and frankly I didn’t want to know. It wasn’t even my business why he was so insistent on Sin (and only Sin) as our new Driver. After all, I would have insisted on her once I knew she was in the sector, even if he hadn’t. For one, she was in dire straits and, for two, I’m not sure I could find someone with better qualifications even if I had the wherewithal to do a multi-sector search.
Evander was as hands off as an investor could possibly be. Our agreement gave him unilateral control over certain aspects of our operation, which he rarely exerted. He’d only done it four times over the course of our arrangement. Given how the last few directives I’d received were working out, I was more than willing to listen when he said it was time to clear out from the Fringe and not come back.
“We’ll clear out soon. The others will take it better if I give them the afternoon to stock up on whatever they need from here.”
“I’ll leave that up to you. Only…” there the text feed paused for a long, uncomfortable while. “...please do your best to make sure she stays.”
The connection cut before I could say anything.
I sat back in my chair, absorbing what I’d just heard.
Evander had been the one to flag Sin’s jacket for me. Evander only sent me a single dossier for a replacement Driver; Sin’s. He hadn’t entertained the possibility that she could refuse before now. I hadn’t really thought much of it at the time. Frankly, I’d been distracted by the fact she was someone I knew and that she was in trouble. I don't often get the chance to be a hero, much less to my own childhood idol.
What was Evander’s interest in Sin though?
Given where she’d been before I found her, I hoped his impulses were humanitarian. If not then we’d have to talk.
I flipped the security feed back on and noted that the girls had finished breakfast and they were disposing of their trays in the recycler where the trash belonged. Good. I did not want that to have to be something I had to pay attention to.
I paged Sin on ShipNet. On the feed, she paused to glance at her band. A moment later a low res image of her face popped up in the corner of my screen.
“Aye, sir?”
“Come see me once you and Elaine are finished. I have an answer to your question.”
She nodded. “Aye, aye. We’re done here. I’ll head your way now. Ananke, out.”
Calm professionalism. How novel. I wondered how long it would take the others to shake the starch out of her.
Sin arrived at my door within a few minutes. I was pleased to see Elaine had gotten her a fresh shipsuit. Her color was much better than the night before and her hands were steady as she pulled up a chair in front of my desk.
“I’ve spoken with the others and I am confident that you won’t have any trouble.”
She looked skeptical, but didn’t challenge me.
“I’m very serious. Most of them are progressives. The two people who do have superstitious leanings were reassured by your public record and were only worried about a specific mark that you don’t have. No one will give you any trouble.”
Sin subbed at the slight bump on her chest, camouflaged by her suit. “All right," she rasped. “I’m still willing to sign, Captain.”
I had her.
I had her.
My heart gave a painful thump as I took in the fact that I’d just made a downpayment on the biggest debt of my life. I never thought I’d get the chance and I hadn’t taken a single shortcut to do it.
“Thank you, Sin. I promise you won’t regret it.” I got out my tablet, which I’d loaded with her custom contract first thing this morning. My hands did not shake and I was grateful for this rare moment of control. “If you’ll review this one more time and thumbprint it, I’ll introduce you to your work spaces.”
She gave me a faint smile and accepted the tablet without comment. After paging through the open document and pausing to re-read a few sections, she pressed her thumb to the screen and I got a notification through my implant that Sinope Ananke had been upgraded in ShipNet to Driver, First Class of the IMV Cassandra.
I accepted the tablet when she offered it back with that same shy smile. I wondered if I’d ever get to see her cocky grin again.
“So how about that tour?” She asked.
“Absolutely.”
I decided that I would. I’d make sure of it.