II

From a distance, theNebula looked like a gigantic hot-air balloon. As his pinnace drew closer, David Morland could make out the warship’s distinctive blazonry, a circular golden nebula impaled on a red sword. TheNebula, like most Space Viking ships, was a two thousand- foot spherical raiding vessel with a crew of three hundred along with five hundred ground fighters. TheNebula’s primary mission was to travel into the Old Federation, which had collapsed into anarchy over eight hundred years ago, to raid and loot unsuspecting worlds. Of the thousands of planets in the Old Federation, not more than twenty retained the technological civilization of the former Federation. The rest were potential targets for ships like theNebula.

Within seconds the hull of the ship filled the viewscreen. The pinnace had reversed thrust in time to come to a complete halt, resting in place through its contragravity lifters. Morland involuntarily winced as the collapsium deck cover slid up to allow the two-hundred-foot pinnace to be caught by the grapplers and yanked inside theNebula’s docking deck. This maneuver, which only took seconds, was one of the most dangerous operations undertaken by collapsium-armored warships. For a few brief seconds, it provided the enemy with a window for a clear shot into the innards of the immense warship. Although the inside of the docking deck was protected by collapsed-matter shielding, even a two-megaton blast inside the ship could cause irreparable damage.

Fergus Byrne, Third Officer aboard theNebula, was waiting inside to greet him as he disembarked from the pinnace. Byrne’s presence was in clear violation of ship’s regulations. In a combat situation, with the Captain, First, and Second Officers away from the ship, Byrne’s place was on the bridge.

“Mr. Morland, I’m going down to the surface. I want you to assume temporary command of theNebula.”

“Is everything okay, sir?” he asked.

“Stillwater is secure. I’m going to join Captain Orrick. I want to see this strange world for myself. Dismissed.”

“Aye, aye, sir,” Morland replied. He wanted to ask Byrne why he was violating ship regulations, but knew he’d get a good chewing out if he did. TheNebula was widely regarded as an unlucky ship and there were questions about the leadership abilities of its captain and senior officers. Its last half-dozen or so voyages had gone poorly; some were barely profitable while others had lost money, presenting the owners with big losses, which meant that the current trade-and-raid journey was a make it or break it trip.

Morland might have joined theNebula just in time for its last voyage, which would inevitably color his chances of finding a berth on another ship when they returned to Joyeuse. The last thing he wanted to do was to rile one of the officers who might be in a position to offer him a post on another ship sometime in the future.