It’s difficult piloting a ship with a plant chewing on your head.
After some discussion, Maddy and I had agreed that she should temporarily move over to the Lobby with me. With all the ways the next few days could go wrong, the Farm was too close to the front line for comfort. We’d packed the Angel with three months’ worth of personal effects and high-maintenance experiments. One of them had wrapped itself around my skull upon my arrived, and had stayed there for the duration of loading and travel. Thulhu had grown to an impressive 2.4 meters tall, with a large number of fully articulate tendrils acting as arms and fingers. Maddy had started teacher her to cook, which confused me on many levels.
We cleared the jumpgate into Benoit’s Insight… officially, the sector was still Unknown, but I had renamed the sector behind Legend's Home in my head. Maddy’s breath caught, and I looked over.
“Are those?..” she pointed, and left the question hanging.
“Yup. I’m still in the process of repairing and refitting them, but they’re friendly. The wing is incomplete, but Jackson is working on it.”
I watched her eyes follow the cacophony of ships flowing around the sector. It wasn't particularly busy compared to normal, but the sheer number of capital ships and stations can be overwhelming. She turned me, a little wide-eyed. “It’s one thing to see line-items on a datapad. It’s another to see it for real. This is what you've been doing, isn't it? This is all yours.” She gestured broadly.
“Ours, dear. This is ours. And it won’t hold a candle to the Archology once I finish it.”
She shook her head. “Quite a bit of an upgrade from the house with a 20 square foot yard.”
I pointed the Angel towards the Equipment Dock, and took her hand. “Let’s get you settled.”
Thulhu wrapped a tentacle around our clasped hands. I guess she was feeling left out.
-----
Jackson walked into my office late in the evening two days later. He wore the kind of fatigue you only see on the overworked and sleep deprived. I wasn't expecting him for another couple days, which concerned me.
"Mission complete, sir. All objectives successful."
I set aside the datapad, and looked him in the eye. "How many?"
He knew what I was asking. "Six, sir."
I breathed a sigh of relief. The number was far smaller than I had expected. "That puts us at 27." Jackson's face showed surprise. "Yes, I keep track. I've ordered 27 men and women to die for me. It's worth it... but I remember. Well done on the Op. I was expecting much worse."
Jackson nodded, and remained at attention.
"At ease. Go get cleaned up and relax. We're done for the week, and the elite team is on leave." I tossed him a datachip. "That contains access codes to a private expense account; you've been authorized for 50M credits. I'd like the nine of you to try and spend it by the end of the week. Come back alive, though... we've still got work to do." I looked back at my desk. "Speaking of which, so do I."
Jackson nodded and left.
-----
I didn't notice Maddy until her hair draped across my shoulder. It had been a couple hours since Jackson left, and I was still working.
“Is this how you spend your time while you’re away?”
I nodded. “If I’m not designing station complexes, I’m refitting ships. If I’m not refitting ships, I’m negotiating with a Terran opportunist that knows far too much about the Commonwealth. If I’m not dealing with him, I’m listening to the demands of an overly-entitled OTAS Colonel. Or I’m managing our trade fleet. Or I’m out on combat ops with the marines. Or I’m preparing for unforeseen combat by getting whipped into shape in the Forge. Or I’m implementing the specific pieces of my plans that only I can do. When I get down time, I spend it with an engineer at the OTAS Shipyard, trying to push the limits of current ship designs. Occasionally, I sleep.”
She laughed, and I felt myself relax a bit. It was good to have her near. “So, what’s keeping you up tonight? I didn't know we had any prospects in Scale Plate Green.”
“We didn't,” I said as I transferred the data to the desktop to make it more readable. “Mr. Angry demanded a larger contribution to the war effort. I believe his exact words were, ‘missile production facilities and refueling stations in every sector from here to Omicron Lyrae’.”
“That’s ridiculous,” she agreed, and adjusted her nightgown.
I nodded. “I've decided to split the difference with a single large complex near the front. This complex is good for Flails, Hammers, Lasertowers, and Energy… things that will allow us to stand our ground without risking loss of life on our side. I had considered drones as well, but they’re too easily neutralized with flak-style weaponry like the SSC. These are a more reliable investment. If I include Commercial Agent Freighters, two Equipment Docks, and CLS Freighters to keep them appropriately stocked… we’re looking at 300M, and moderately profitable.”
Maddy was scanning the sector asteroid yields, and the various intermediate resource balance sheets. “The design is sound, but it doesn't address the real reason Scale Plate Green isn’t popular… that asteroid field is a navigation nightmare.”
I shrugged. “I've ordered an Orca and 10 Lotans, and put them on clean-up duty for the sector. Tomorrow, I’ll spend most of the day towing our new mines out of the mess in the center, and off to the west side. Then I’ll start building the complex.”
“Come to bed. You've done enough for today, and I don’t want you falling asleep while towing.”
I smiled. “In another few minutes… let me get the Mammoths in place.”
“Alright. If you’re not there in 20 minutes, I’m sending Thulhu after you.”
-----
“This isn't what I asked for,” Colonel Edgar Tarquin noted with an edge to his voice.
“You are correct, sir. This is what I built,” I replied casually.
“Well, you failed to follow simple instructions. You’re a disgra-”
“With all due respect, sir,“ I interrupted. “Would you like the bill, or would you like to shut the hell up?”
The Colonel’s eyes bulged. “Insubordination now too? What kind of soldier are you?”
“I’m not a soldier, sir. I’m a civilian that you've bullied into funding your war. I've spent over a billion credits jumping through your hoops, and I’m about to spend another half a billion buying information because you were too impatient to wait for me to risk my life on my own terms,” I explained firmly. “Now, would you like to actually read the construction summary document, or should I burn it down, walk away, and let you use your winning personality to find an alternate source of funding? Sir.”
While not pleased, Tarquin recognized how close he was to losing me as a resource. He picked up the datapad, and started reading.
http://goo.gl/N7EoC
“Am I reading this right? 20 Hammers and 30 Flails
per hour?”
“Yes sir. It also produces Lasertowers, and an excess for 200k Energy Cells an hour. I have two equipment docks in the sector, with freighters keeping them fully stocked at all times.”
“Why Teladi Equipment Docks?”
“It’s a Teladi-owned sector. The presence of an Argon Military Rearming complex was questionable enough… purchasing their Equipment Docks was my attempt to head off any political complications.”
Eventually, the Colonel nodded. “Fine. Anything else to report?”
“Yes, sir. I am moving forward with my initial plans, despite your recent orders, although at an accelerated pace. One way or another, we’ll have resolution on this situation in the next week or two. I’m still working on the contested-sector vision problem, but that may require more time.”
“Very good, Captain. You can see yourself out,“ he answered frostily.
-----
I waved at Stacy on the way out, then turned and moved towards her desk. I saw her hastily close a couple terminal windows as I approached. "Hey Ops. Can I ask a favor?"
"That's never a good way to start a conversation, Mac," she grinned at me.
"You had offered to train Maddy. She's moved into the Lobby for now, and since it's next door... is the offer still open?"
She thought for a moment. "Is she interested?"
"I haven't brought it up yet. Chances are, she's not. It's not her sort of thing. But I doubt she'd turn down some basic self defense training. Jackson is uncomfortable training her, so I thought it might be a gender concern. Also, I put him on leave after a recent difficult Op."
Stacy nodded. "I'll stop by tonight, and we can all discuss it. Sounds good?"
"I'll let her know to be expecting you." A thought occurred to me. "How do you feel about training plants?"
She stared at me, confused. I grinned, and walked out, leaving the question unanswered.
-----
edit: copy-paste missed the end of the chapter, so added it.
Because I was considering the Gauss Cannon as a way to bypass the weak weapon energy regen.
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