First Post|Previous Post|Next Post
“In fact, we should be dropping out of hyperspace sometime in the second dog.” He shifted in his seat and refilled Stephen’s wine glass before he went on. “You may be more comfortable in the coach or here in the great cabin when we make the jump.”
Stephen felt the remark deeply, but he acknowledged its fairness. “Certainly,” he said, after the smallest pause. He raised his glass. “A glass of wine with you, sir.”
“A glass of wine with you,” said Jack, raising his own.
Shortly before six bells in the second dog watch, and except for the forward gangway door on the starboard boat deck, Roth was ready to jump back to Cartesian space. Though the hatch remained jammed shut, its frame was warped, and the sensors continued to show an open condition.
“Put a cap on it, Mister Lorre,” said Captain O’Brian at last, he and the carpenter having tried to pound and pry the hatch back into alignment without success. “It’s only till we make harbor. And place those knees. Will you need more men to have us ready to jump by the end of the watch?”
“Yes, sir. The red cutter’s crew, if you please. They are some of the best welders in the barky and are used to working together.”
“Very good, Mister Lorre,” said the captain, pulling out his phone and entering an order for the requested men. He walked aft along the gangway, absently returning the salutes of the cutter’s crew, rushing past him in the other direction. Roth required at least two days in port, probably more, since there was no guarantee of an available graving dock when they arrived. As captain, Jack would have to call on the port admiral’s office, and probably meet with the port admiral himself to explain why his command failed to properly negotiate the jump and now needed graving dock space, but even a protracted discussion of Roth’s condition and how she was damaged couldn’t take more than a highly-unpleasant hour or so.
Deliberately avoiding the question of whether the admiral would allow him to keep the Roth, after this near-disaster, Jack turned his thoughts to the question of laying in private stores with a further advance on his pay. Steak was out of the question, particularly on a planet where it have to be imported, but pork and chicken were likely available at a reasonable price.
First Post|Previous Post|Next Post
No comments:
Post a Comment