“And what of that?” said Jack, snapping his fingers. “Do you think there’s an admiralty board somewhere that has me registered as a captain? Tchah! From here on in, you take your titles, they aren’t given to you. And I think ‘Lady Aria’ suits you. Unless you want to be a baroness or something, of course.”
Aria burst into laughter. “Let’s stick with lady for now.”
Jack inclined his head. “Just as you say, milady.”
Their banter was interrupted by a signal from the comms officer. “We’re being hailed, Captain. It’s Redbeard.”
“On screen, please,” said Jack. Aria made to get up, but Jack patted her thigh. “No, stay for this.”
The screen was filled with a rather astonishing face. Aria was sure there must be a man behind it, but all she could see for certain was an enormous mass of red hair—red eyebrows, a red beard and mustache, bristly bright-crimson hair everywhere. She had no idea if the person was large or small—the sheer amount of hair gave no opportunity to determine scale.
“Jack!” barked the voice on screen. “Good to see you, you scoundrel.”
“Ilich!” replied the pirate with a smile. “A pleasure as always. Is that a streak of gray I see in your beard?”
“Hah!” came the booming response. “If there is, some hairdresser will get his head blown off. And who’s that next to you?” Small eyes peered narrowly. “Not Quinn, surely. She’s too smart to sit on your lap.” A pause. “Not the merchant’s daughter?” A bellow of laughter. “Oh, Jack. You’ve outdone yourself.”
“That’s as may be,” said Jack, “but then again, maybe the tricky part is what’s coming up next, eh? My crew have left the mandalum exactly where we agreed. But they’re looking rather lonely, Ilich. There’s no one else there.”
“Oh, Jack,” said Redbeard sorrowfully, shaking his head. “You know how it is. Why part with hard-earned cash when I don’t need to? I have an orbital laser locked on to your ground crew. One press of a button, and they’re history. So why don’t they just get back on board their cutter, rejoin your ship, and we’ll say no more about it?”
Jack gave a signal to the comms officer, who muttered something into his mic. “That’s my ground crew taken care of, Ilich. They’re leaving the mandalum for you to collect and flying back up to theMaracaibo. Are you sure I can’t persuade you to pay what you promised, in memory of all our years of dear friendship?”
Redbeard scowled. “You’re being too easy about this. You’re planning something.”
Jack gave another signal to his command crew. “Oh, Ilich. I planned something a long time ago.”
“Orbital laser destroyed, Captain,” reported the gunnery officer.
“Cutter crew returning to ship,” reported a flight officer. “Second cutter launching from Redbeard’s fortress.”
On the screen, the bristle-bearded man had his head turned, obviously receiving notifications from his own people. Somehow, the skin beneath the hair became even more florid as Redbeard shouted, “What in the five hells of Jerubal have you done, you mangy dogfish?”
“Well,” said Jack, still smiling, “rather a lot, actually.” He took a cup of coffee from a crew member, thanked him, and took a sip. “Aah. Delicious. Well, Ilich, let’s see. When I planned this robbery a year ago, I knew that you were my preferred buyer. So I made sure that when you hired new muscle, you hiredmypeople. They were the ones who mined your precious orbital laser and blew it up and are currently flying the money for the mandalum—the amount we agreed upon, plus a little nuisance bonus—back to my ship. Let them go, Ilich. No trouble, and I’ll even promise to tell you where they’ve hiddenotherexplosives throughout your precious fortress.”
“You—you blasted, treacherous—”
“Now, now, Ilich, sticks and stones and all that,” said Jack. “No need to make this personal, it’s just business. You get your mandalum, and I get my money. Everybody comes out ahead.”
“Second cutter docking with theMaracaibo,” reported the same flight officer. “Cargo secure.”
They watched on screen as Redbeard attempted to compose himself and even attempt a smile.
“Well, Jack, I suppose I should have known better,” managed the bristle-featured man. “All’s well that ends well, eh?”
“Exactly,” said Jack soothingly. “Until the time comes around to do business again, eh, dear fellow?”
“Wait, Jack! What about those hidden explosives?”
“Ta ta, Ilich,” said Jack sweetly, ignoring the ruffian’s question. “Maracaiboout.”
“End transmission,” he said to the comms officer then ordered, “Move the ship off station, and prepare to jump.” Jack took a sip of his coffee..
Aria nestled a little closer to the pirate. “You look like the cat that ate the canary,” she said teasingly.
“Yes, well. I will admit that it took an extraordinary amount of planning to bring things off so easily, so yes, you do find me rather pleased.”
“There must be some way we can celebrate,” said Aria innocently, letting her fingers trail down the pirate’s muscular arm.
