The Ascent

Chapter 44

Alone in my cabin, I began the task of gathering up my few belongings. Aside from my clothes, I could have packed most of it in a shoebox. I commandeered a spacer first class and sent him to the C&C to collect anything I had left behind and to see that my clothes were cleaned. He came back with a surprisingly large pile. As I packed them away, I got a message from Commander Brennon.

"Commander Phon, the flight deck master technician informs me your ship, the Argippus has been serviced and is ready."

"Thank you."

"When do you plan on leaving us?"

"Right away. Now that the fleet has ceased to exist, there's not much reason for me to stay." Noting his dispirited expression, I paused in my packing. "Have you decided what you're going to do?"

Brennon shook his head. "What's left of the old Solarian/Pentaminc fleet is still debating where to go next. The colonials have gone off to raid the Golden Worlds. The Spartans are pursuing a rumor that Sparta is sending supply ships to the depot at La Roca de la Salvación. Many of the owner/operators like your idea of running off and founding a colony somewhere out on the rim. As for the corporately owned ships, Shines Like the Sun technically purchased them, though the corporations retained the right to buy them back from him at drastically reduced prices when the contract expired. Some commanders are thinking of claiming them as spoils of war and keeping them, or possibly selling them back to the corporations. Needless to say, the corporations' lawyers will disagree. It's a legal gray area."

"What about the Phoenix? That really is a spoil of war."

"Perhaps, but being a Cack ship with Cack technology, it's even more valuable than the ship we lost. That will only ensure Pentaminc's lawyers will try harder to claim it. I don't think we could afford to defend our claim if we go back."

"Well if you decide to head back to Sol, let me know and I'll talk to my father. I'm sure Trans-Luminal can make you a better offer for the Phoenix than Pentamic's lawyers. We can probably even set your crew up in new ships and get you all work much closer to home."

Brennon gave me an appreciative nod. "Thank you. I will definitely consider the offer."

I snugged my netpiece over my ear and tapped it on. Awakening the Argippus' cybernetic awareness, I told it to start its preflight checklist. A mixed group of officers and enlisted of all ranks met me at the boarding tube, including the Chief Master Engineer who might have been angling for a job contact at TLS. They wished me farewell and I shook their hands and boarded the Argippus.

It felt strange floating into the ship's cabin. The air was a little musty from having been sealed up, though I detected the faint citrus smell the cleaning crew left behind when they prepped it. The ship was, however, just as beautiful as I remembered. It seemed almost delicate after living in a big military machine for so long. The military style manual controls, made the Argippus' control interfaces seem like magic when they lit up at my thought.

Lori Seaward, the flight deck attendant released me, gave me permission to depart and wished me a safe voyage. I felt a strange tinge of nostalgia as I watched the Cack warship recede on my monitor. No more racing through transit stations or seizing the inbound lane, I thought ruefully as the transit authority took control of the Argippus and slotted me in between two freighters. I spent my long wait times catching up on the news and trying to care about what else might be going on.

Between the gates I pushed my engines to their limits and, after a long day of travel, came to Empire, the first major trading hub in human space. Empire had been founded by the, now-defunct, Star Empires trading company. It went on to become the political and cultural capital in that region of space.