Captain on the Deck 2
Sitting in the captain's chair on the
Shadow Blade still felt wrong. It made me feel like a child sitting on the queen's throne while she was out of the room, pretending I belonged there. Despite everyone else seeming convinced I was the new captain, I still didn't feel like it. Maybe it was just one of those things that would take time to get used to. Getting a successful voyage under my belt would be just the thing to show myself and everyone else on the ship that I was suited to my new role. Not to mention more plunder would always be appreciated.
I called the other officers—
my officers to the wardroom for a meeting. It was the first time we'd all gotten together since Calima gave the rest of the crew the news. Nacinde was the first to arrive, taking advantage of our privacy to steal a quick kiss. "I've never kissed a corsair captain before, it seemed like a good idea as long as I had you all to myself." She hesitated a moment, chewing at her lower lip before adding, "Especially since we'll need to be a bit more discrete now. I mean, it's not like we were making a public spectacle of ourselves before, but it might make things weird for the others if we're too flirty in meetings."
"Probably for the best," I agreed before smiling at her. "Especially since if you planted yourself in my lap in the middle of a briefing, I would be
thoroughly distracted from whatever the rest of the officers were talking about."
The others arrived shortly after. Fanya took her usual seat in her typical silence, aside from greeting me with a simple nod, while Trix'll breezed into the and lounged back in her chair with an easy smile. Cy'trya seemed to take a cue from her honorary aunt at first, but a second later she sat up straighter and tried to look like a professional corsair. Rathnait announced her arrival by sending a message to my pad containing her planned agenda for the meeting while Nillie showed up a few minutes late grumbling about having to stitch up a crewman who'd had a bit too much fun on shore leave.
"So the crew's already getting restless in port?" I suppose that wasn't a shock, considering we had Drukhari aboard and even the other corsairs were fond of starting trouble.
"Some of them." Nillie sighed and shook her head. "Former wych cultist, so she probably thought knives were an acceptable way to handle a bar brawl. I suppose we should be grateful her weapons weren't poisoned and she only maimed people a little." She threw a look Nacinde's way. "One of your new recruits, Saim'shlareen."
"Is she reborn?" Fanya asked. "Could talk to her if she is."
Nillie sent an annoyed look her way, which seemed to answer the question well enough. My first officer was silent for several seconds. "Best to let someone else handle it, then. Wouldn't want to seem like I'm proselytizing."
"Thank you." Nillie smiled, and thankfully that was the end of the topic. The last thing any of us wanted was for Nillie and Fanya to revive that particular debate after I'd just promoted Fanya to first mate.
"She's my subordinate, I should take care of it," Nacinde offered before throwing a questioning look my way for confirmation.
Rathnait changed the subject before I could answer, presumably to avoid any risk of trouble between Fanya and Nillie. She activated the holotable to display her meeting agenda. "If you don't mind, captain, I've prepared a bit of a presentation in line with your request." I waved my assent, and she launched into it. "Captain Iranni is eager to take our ship on its first proper voyage under her command. Since there are no pressing matters weighing over us for the moment, we are free to pursue whichever opportunities most tickle our fancy. I've taken the liberty of preparing a report about a few of the best options available to us."
She called up an image of several systems. "If we want a guaranteed haul, Craftworld Ulthwé has agents recruiting ships for one of their current operations. They're offering worthwhile compensation alongside whatever we can plunder, though with a few conditions. Servants of the Great Enemy are causing problems for the human Imperium, besieging the shrine world of New Oldenfaith VIII"
"Did you just say they named their planet 'New Oldenfaith'?" Trix'll scoffed. "I say we let them burn the planet just to wipe that name from the galaxy." A second later she decided to add something more substantive. "Plus it's never a good idea to get mixed up with Ulthwé. Their farseers are always playing some kind of long game where they manipulate everyone else for their own gain. I should know, I was almost one of them." She scowled, and one of her hands tightened into a fist. "If they have to sacrifice our lives to ensure the success of their plans, they'll throw us on the fire and pat themselves on the back for having the strength to make hard choices."
"Be that as it may, they are offering generous compensation," Rathnait continued. "And what they're asking for in return is well within our capabilities. We won't be taking part in any of the battles around New Oldenfaith VIII." My second officer smirked as Trix'll's eye twitched at the mention of the poorly named human planet. "They're asking any ships who accept their offer to attack the Chaos supply and troop convoys passing through here, here, and here." She pointed out three nearby systems. "The humans can fight their own battles and spend their own blood. We're just nudging the scales, as it were."
"Ideally we would be striking at soft targets, then." I nodded to myself. "Though I doubt they'll be leaving their convoys completely unescorted."
"We can hit and run," Fanya suggested. "If Ulthwé is paying us to blow up transports, we don't need to worry about boarding and plundering. Ideally we still would, but..."
"The compensation they're offering us takes into account that we might have to prioritize killing ships over looting them," Rathnait concluded for her.
"Should be simple enough to pull off," Cy'trya agreed with a confident grin. "I'll take our fighters and bombers in for a quick run to strip their defenses, the
Shadow Blade pounds the transports with their lances, and then we buzz out of the system before the crazies even realize what just happened. 'Course, it'll depend on how much in the way of an escort they're giving their convoys."
That brought another thought to mind. "Make sure we still get compensated for our trouble if they've got too much escorting their ships. I'm sure Ulthwé would still count it as a win if we're forcing the enemy to strip battleships off the front lines to guard their supplies."
"I'll be sure to raise that point in negotiations." Rathnait made a few quick notes on her pad. "Ah, and one other matter: Ulthwé has an understanding with the Imperium forces on this battlefront. Nothing so formal as an alliance, but we're not to engage any Imperium ships or other assets, and if fired upon we're expected to make a reasonable effort to withdraw peacefully. If the truce breaks down it would create complications for Ulthwé's operations."
"Wonderful," Nacinde grumbled. "Not only are we going to be helping the Imperium, we have to try and run away if they shoot at us."
"We do have other options if those terms are unacceptable." Rathnait flicked over to a new stellar map. "This second offer comes from an old acquaintance for some of us and a new one for others. You'll recall that the haemonculus Kalsilme offered to pay us handsomely for the remains of certain Tyranid bioforms. Nillie followed up with her to find out an exact number, and it's generous enough to be worth our while.
"Obviously we wouldn't want to launch a frontal assault on a Tyrannid hive fleet all by ourselves." She zoomed into the system. "Which brings me to our potential target: the star system doesn't have a proper name, but what it does have is a space hulk full of Orks fighting one of the splinters of Hive Fleet Kraken. With any luck we should be able to sneak in, board one of the Tyranid bio-ships on the periphery of the conflict, secure our cargo, and get out without anyone noticing."
"Could go badly if we're spotted," Fanya pointed out.
"It's a risk," Nillie conceded, "but that's true of any job we take. I doubt the Orks will be interested in coming after us when there are bigger targets right in front of them, and the Tyranids will be more focused on trying to assimilate the Orks' biomass than worrying about a few hundred Eldar. Plus, our ship's stealthy while anything operated by the Orks is ... not. It'll be easy for us to hide in all the noise they'll be making."
"Kallie's good for the money," Trix'll murmured under her breath. "And we can trust her to pay us fairly and not stab us in the back. That's more than I can say for anyone from Ulthwé."
"Moving on to the last mission I had lined up for us." Rathnait called up a list of planets I recognized as Exodite worlds. "This one's a touch more ... laid back. My parents' ship, the
Lileath's Extravagance, has been working on a commission from Saim-Hann to survey several exodite systems under their protection for any potential threats. The pay is decent and the risk is low, but it's time-consuming to do full system scans with a single vessel. With the
Shadow Blade's help they can get the job done in less than half the time, especially since we're a carrier with ample small craft to contribute to the task. Of course, we'll receive an equal share of the pay for our trouble."
"I think you might be biased," Cy'trya couldn't help pointing out. "I mean, it's your mom and dad's ship."
Rathnait shrugged. "Undoubtedly I am, but the offer is still a good one. It would be a dereliction of my duty not to pass it along. Obviously, it's up to Captain Iranni to make the final decision on the matter." She threw up the details of the job onto the holoprojector. "If you see anything objectionable or unfair about the offer, feel free to point it out."
Cy'trya looked it over for a few seconds, then shrugged. "Okay, it's fine, but it's still basically doing a patrol route in a bunch of systems with no known threats. Even if we're getting paid for our trouble, a lot of the crew's gonna want more action."
"No guarantee it will be dull," Fanya pointed out. "We're checking the systems for trouble. Quite possible we'll find some."
"Which is the other reason the
Lileath's Extravagance wants a second ship to help them," Rathnait pointed out. "If there's trouble, two ships stand a much better chance of spotting it ahead of time and winning the subsequent fight than a lone vessel."
"If we even see any action," Cy'trya pointed out. "Do I need to remind everyone one of our crew just stabbed someone in a bar fight because they were already bored? What do you think's gonna happen with the Drukhari on the crew if we ask them to go months without killing anything? The Thirst is gonna be a problem for them if we spend too long without a fight."
"If need be, we can stop by port." Nillie grimaced and her eyes dropped to the floor. "Port Mathemar has ... accommodations for visiting Drukhari. Their fighting pits would be considered frightfully dull in Commorragh, but it's enough to keep us functional."
"Mmm." For a second I wondered if Fanya might have something more to say on the matter, but thankfully she held off on pointing out her preferred solution to The Thirst. "Captain, what do you think?"
Of course. Now that I was the captain, everyone would be expecting me to make the final decision in these matters.
* * *
Regarding Saim'shlareen:
[ ] Let Nacinde Handle It
The former wych is one of Nacinde's subordinates, she should be able to handle any disciplinary problems without me hovering over her shoulder.
[ ] Help Nacinde Handle It
Now that I'm the captain I should take a more active role in checking on the crew. While I have no doubt Nacinde could handle the issue on her own, I might be able to help. Plus it will be good for the crew to see the new captain being active.
[ ] Ask Fanya and Nillie to Talk to Her.
If one of the Drukhari members of the crew is having trouble adjusting to life aboard the Shadow Blade,
it only makes sense to have the other ex-Drukhari on the crew talk to her. Having Nillie along should help smooth over any potential issues Fanya might have, and it would be good for the two of them to work together.
[ ] Write-in
Mission Choice:
[ ] New Oldenfaith VIII
The planet's name might offend my aesthetic sensibilities, and working with the Craftworlders and the Imperial could get complicated, but they're paying good money for some classic piracy against the servants of the Great Enemy.
[ ] Tyranid Parts Collection
Orks and Tyranids are a refreshingly simple threat compared to the political mess of Craftworld and Imperium politics, and Kalsilme provides fewer complications than other potential clients.
[ ] Exodite System Survey
It's not as exciting as the other missions, but the pay is good and we'd be working with Rathnait's parents. Something a bit more laid back might be a good choice for my first command. Besides, knowing my luck we'll probably run into some kind of action before the survey's finished.
