The Lost Ship of the Tucker Rebellion - Marie Sexton Page 0,96

looking. Let me know if you find anything.”

“What are you going to do?”

“I’m going to deal with the other ship captains.”

Now that the moment was upon them, Denver saw the error in their time calculations. They’d been asking how long they’d have between their arrival at the Legacy and the armada’s arrival at the Legacy. But what they hadn’t accounted for the amount of time they’d spend docking all their ships. Getting the Jiminy in had only taken twenty minutes. Another half hour as they searched the Legacy, and suddenly their window was an hour shorter than they’d anticipated. Now they’d have to dock all eight ships in Dusty’s fleet. Some of them would be quicker than others, but getting the quadrant comber in place was going to prove problematic. The thing was so big, it would barely fit through the door of the cargo bay.

Every single ship was going to cost them time they couldn’t afford to lose.

The one thing working in their favor was the asteroid sheltering the Legacy. The Destroyer would have to waste several minutes at least moving into position in order to fire past it. Still, given the urgency of figuring out how to fly the Legacy, the last thing Denver wanted to go do was get back on the Jiminy and deal with political bullshit, but it didn’t seem fair to unload it on anybody else. He settled into his seat in the cockpit and opened a comm to a screen full of impatient ship captains.

Tonlet was the easiest of them to deal with because he didn’t need to take his ship with him. He and two of his crew were already in the process of transferring to the Legacy, where he’d undoubtedly drive Laramie batshit crazy. But that still left eight ships of various sizes to deal with in as short a timeframe as possible.

“Getting the quadrant comber into the cargo bay is going to be damned near impossible. The cargo bay door is less than two meters taller than the ship,” Denver told the assembled ship captains over the video comm. “I don’t suppose there’s any chance of leaving it behind?”

Several of the captains shook their heads at once. “Most of our large equipment is on that ship,” Dusty told him. “A plow, a tractor, several industrial-sized looms—”

“Not to mention a priceless collection of books,” Houck added. “And enough dry goods and medical supplies to last us two or three years.”

“It’d take more time to unload it all than to dock it,” Dusty said.

“But if we damage the airlock getting it in, we’re screwed,” Denver added.

“Eight or ten people in space suits, equipped with grav-rods, should be able to maneuver it inside,” Verpaelst suggested. “It’ll take time, but it minimizes the risk to the Legacy’s airlock.”

Denver nodded. “Okay. I’ll suit up and head out there. Meanwhile, OPAL and Marit will guide the rest of you one by one into the docking bays. Obviously we’ll have to wait until the comber’s in place, but even once the airlock is closed, I think it’s best if your passengers stay on your ships until we’re underway.”

Dusty shook her head. “Everybody’s so excited about the Legacy. Now you want them to wait even longer?”

“I know, it’s asking a lot. But like I said, we haven’t even found the cockpit yet. And having hundreds of excited colonists running around the place will only cause trouble.”

Not surprisingly, it was Zahn who objected loudest. “So now you’re ordering us to stay put while you take control of the Legacy?”

“I’m not ordering anybody to do anything,” Denver said. “Just making a suggestion.”

Marit entered the cockpit and took the seat next to him. She handed him a tin cup.

Coffee.

Denver wished it were whiskey, but he figured he’d need the caffeine more.

“Look,” Marit said. “This isn’t about being proprietary. It’s about safety. By the time you’re all docked, we’ll only have a few hours left before that armada rounds the asteroid and can fire on us. If we can’t figure out how to fly the Legacy before then, we’re fucked.”

“Exactly,” Denver said. “If the hull of the Legacy ruptures, we could lose everybody at once. But if you’re still locked inside the safety of your own ship, you’ll have a chance of surviving. Maybe even escaping.”

Houck nodded. “It’s a long shot, but that’s better than no shot at all.”

Zahn shook his head, sitting forward in his seat. “I’m not staying locked in my ship and leaving you unsupervised to do whatever you