Full Share by Nathan Lowell Read Free Book Online Page B

three other ships in Betrus and only one belongs to Federated Freight and she has no openings for you to turn down. If you have to go ashore, it’ll be at least at half pay.”
    We all knew that half pay wouldn’t go far on the orbital in terms of paying for room and board, but nobody mentioned that.
    “Last, you should be aware that you are eligible to bump any junior crewman from the ship with the proviso that you are qualified to take their position. You are rated at half share in all four divisions and full share in two more. It is your right to bump any quarter share crew aboard which includes most of the deck and engine crews.”
    “So, is what you’re saying is that I could stay, but only at the expense of a shipmate, Captain?”
    “Precisely.”
    “Thank you, Captain.”
    “Will you be exercising that right, Mr. Wang?” Mr. Maxwell asked.
    “No, sar,” I replied. “It’s my problem and I’ll deal with it, sar.”
    In my previous dealings with the captain and senior officers, this was the point in the conversation where they did a little look around and nod thing. I found it ominous that they all just stared straight ahead.
    The captain said, “Thank you, Mr. Wang. We’re still working on this, but that’s all for now. You are dismissed.”
    “Thank you, Captain,” I said, and fled the cabin.
    Dinner was well underway by the time I got there and when I stepped onto the mess deck, I thought it got a little quieter. Cookie had made a fish and pasta dish with a spicy cream sauce and peas. Sarah smiled at me, but I was not sure if she understood what was happening. Pip definitely knew and he looked angry. I shot a smile his way and, and he just gave me a little shake of his head. “Later,” I said. Cookie was hovering in the background and I could not read the expression on his face. It looked almost like pride but I could not imagine why that would be.
    Brill and Diane sat together and there was an open seat so I settled there. “Is it a little chilly in here?” I asked.
    “Perhaps a bit,” Diane said.
    Brill hid her mouth in her coffee mug and said, “Half of them think you’re going to bump them and the other half know it could just as easily be them.”
    “Well that’s silly,” I said. “I’m not bumping anyone.” I didn’t intend to make it a general announcement but it just came out. I started eating. I could feel everybody on the mess deck looking at me and I let them. The sauce on the fish was hotter than it looked and it crept up on me just enough to make my nose run. While the conversation picked up around us, Brill and Diane just sat with me in silence. The meal was good, though, and I savored their company as well as the food. After I cleaned my plate, I smiled at them. “I’m going to go lie down and let this settle, I think. I know better than to hit the track with this much food in my belly.”
    Brill winked at me with a sad smile of her own.
    Diane patted me on the back and said, “See you in the morning. Don’t be late.”
    I bussed my dishes and headed for berthing. People seemed a bit more relaxed, even sympathetic now that they knew I wasn’t a threat. Throwing somebody else off the ship was my right for having earned the ratings. It was within the letter of the rules, but was just something I couldn’t do. They did not know that, so it was easy for them to assume that I would claim the rights and privileges of my rank. I found the dolphin in my hand again and smiled. I pulled out my tablet to set an alarm for 21:00. It had just turned 19:00 and I could stand to sleep for a couple of hours. I felt a more than a little wrung out, truth be told.
    I was halfway to my bunk when the ship hit something. It wasn’t like a hard crash, with bodies flying and vacuum sucking us out through holes in the hull or anything like that. I heard a really loud hissing sound—like we were plowing through a veil of sand and a shifting in my inner ear told me we had changed vector. It