Chapter 11 Owner
'Captain?' I heard Min say in the background. 'Is something wrong?'
I looked up slowly, one thought chasing the next. 'No.' She was Vinden's obvious choice.
'What is? What's wrong?'
'Nothing, absolutely nothing at all,' I said, extended my hand. 'May I be the first to congratulate you!'
She looked at my hand. 'On what?' she asked warily.
'On your – no, our good fortune. Look – here on this form – you're listed as the Lost Star's owner. That had to have been one of the documents they were preparing. You are, after all, the obvious choice to inherit the ship.' I called up the ship's registration document to be certain and slid it across the desktop to her.
She leaned over and stared, frozen in place. 'Uncle Hawk...,' she said softly, eyes wide, but unseeing. After a few moments she pulled herself upright and glanced at the com link on her wrist. 'I have several messages from the Ministry. Hopefully they'll explain what this all means,' she said,
'Oh, I think it's obvious...' I said as she touched the com link to download the messages.
Though the com link's neural connections can display the documents as visual memory, it's easier with complex documents to read them rather than mentally review them, so I suggested, 'Let's retire to the office. You can put them up on a screen and read through them. I'll make us some cha.'
She nodded absently and we stepped around to the ship's office just down the passageway. I waved her to the working side of the desk and stepped over to the sideboard to make the cha. She loaded the documents to the desk viewer and began to read as Astro and Orbit curled up in the corner by her feet to resume their naps. I set a covered mug of hot cha on the desk and settled into a chair to sip mine as she silently reviewed the documents. The tiny random noises of the empty ship only emphasized the silence.
She considered them for quite a while before looking up to say, 'It appears that Uncle Hawk and Captain Miccall had an agreement that upon the death of one, the survivor had first option to buy the balance of the ship's shares. Uncle Hawk exercised this option, completing the purchase just prior to his own death. His will stated that I was to receive his share of the Lost Star as a gift. The Ministry, with all the relevant records in hand, saw no reason to delay the distribution of this asset prior to completing the entire estate. No doubt they wanted to avoid the expense of paying off and laying up the ship out of the general estate.'
'Ah. I was wondering how it happened so fast. It's obvious now, with your interest in space and his daughter's lack of it, that you'd get the Lost Star. Clearly he had it in mind from the beginning.'
'I don't think it's all that obvious. Cousin Galacia, even if she's not interested in his shipping business could expect to inherit it.'
'Well, you're certainly the heir in spirit to the Four Shipmates. Your stint in the liner service was likely meant to prepare you for being a ship owner one day,' I suggested.
'I don't think any of them expected to be gone for decades. This is far too early...' she replied, and turned back to the documents.
'Oh! The estate is claiming all the profits of the voyage prior the date of Uncle Hawk's death...'
'Ah, that's rather unfortunate... Let me think...' I said, doing the rough math in my head.
'How bad?'
'Well, thanks to Captain Jann's boxes, we'll be left with between 3 and 4 twelfths of the total,' I replied. 'It cuts our margin of error significantly, but does not preclude sailing empty to Sanre-tay and perhaps beyond, assuming we take our time and keep the wages only on the books. But it'd certainly be nice to land the Tiladore charter.'
Min considered our situation for several moments before replying, 'Just so there's no misunderstanding, I'm not poor, but my credit balance won't subsidize the operation of the Lost Star without profits for long. My parents seemed to have arrived with their fortune since Min & Co only paid their living expenses, and only that in the good years. Dividing their fortune has left me comfortable, but not rich enough to treat the ship like a yacht. It has to earn its keep...' She looked across the desk, rather stricken.
'I can imagine what you're feeling. Felt the same way when I was appointed acting captain. Just remember that the Lost Star has circled Azminn a hundred times and all Uncle Hawk did – at least as far as managing the ship – was to transfer his share of the profits to his account twice a year. We'll take care of you however actively or inactively you care to involve yourself with the ship. If there's a profit to be made in the Azminn system, we'll make it for you.'
'If there's a profit to be made...'
'We've a hundred loyal customers on twenty some worlds – we'll get by,' I said, perhaps not quite as confident as I wanted it to sound. Times are tough.
'Thank you. I'll try not to worry.... too much,' she said giving me one of her unreadable looks.
'It's our worry, Tallith. That's part of my job,' I said. 'I've gotten used to it.' I realized after I said it, that I was making an assumption that was no longer valid. She gave me a thoughtful look, but didn't point that out. She went back to reading her documents.
Later, 'May I offer you dinner?' I asked as she lowered the view screen. 'We've a wide choice of boxed meals in the bistro to heat up – leftovers from the banquet. Or I can try my hand at dinner, but it'd have to be simple. Free fall cooking is at the far edge of my expertise...'
'Thanks, but it's getting late and I need to be pushing off. Vyn and Ten will be getting anxious.
'Vyn and Ten?'
'The standing crew of the Silvery Moon. Vynnia enCarn and Tenry Roynay. I've known them all my life. They're like family. When they weren't needed aboard the Moon, they acted as my parents' major-domos about the flat and country house. Now they've taken to looking after me,' she added with a wry grin. 'Whether I like it or not.'
''Glad to hear that. I pictured you returning to an empty ship.'
'Would that be any different than going home to an empty flat?'
I shrugged. 'After spending two days almost alone aboard this packet, I'd have to say yes. I'm glad you've people to go home to.'
'Well, you have Astro and Orbit. I'll leave him to you guys,' she added to the dogs, laying or rather drifting at our feet, their paws having lost contact with the deck. She rose and we, the dogs and I followed her into the passageway and down through the dark, silent ship to the dim-lit landing stage. Here she paused and stared out into space for a few moments before glancing at me.
'I'm going to have to give all this a great deal of thought...' she said, with a quick glance at me.
'I understand completely,' I said, and did. I was acting captain once more. 'She's yours to do with as you please. I hope I might stay aboard in some capacity.'
'Of course, I'd hope everyone will stay on. It may take me several days to sort this all out so I'd appreciate it if you'd keep all this strictly between us. If anyone asks, tell them things look promising, but the details will have to wait. I'd rather not alert my rivals and, well, I'd like to appear competent and decisive when I've finalized my plans.'
'Right.'
'Thank you, Captain. Fair orbits.'
'Fair orbits, Owner,' I replied as she turned and made her way along the gangplank to the Ghost's open hatch.