Stand Against The Storm (The Maxwell Saga Book 4) by Peter Grant Read Free Book Online

handcuffs at once!” he ordered the guards sharply.
    “Who do you think you are, giving us orders?” the man in charge demanded belligerently.
    “I’m now responsible for these people, by order of the Governor. If you’re in any doubt about that, consult your Captain. Now get them off!”
    The NCO glared at him, but the anger in Steve’s eyes clearly gave him pause. After a moment he turned away. “All right, you heard the man,” he muttered to his subordinates. They joined him in removing the handcuffs, then let themselves out and closed the door behind them.
    “Thank you,” Jiang murmured to him. “Senior Lieutenant Maxwell, allow me to introduce Captain Chun of the salvage vessel Lotus; his First Mate, Mr. Ya; his Medical Officer, Dr. Ju; Captain Qiu of the merchant freighter Pearl; and his First Mate, Mr. Kun.” Each of the prisoners inclined their head slightly as they were named. “This is the Lancastrian Commonwealth Fleet officer of whom I told you earlier. He’s agreed to use your ships’ companies at the depot he’s establishing for the combat engineers rebuilding Surush’s infrastructure.”
    Steve held up his hand. “There’s a bit more to it than that, Mr. Jiang. Would everyone please sit down? There aren’t enough chairs, so I’ll stand.”
    He watched as they moved to the table. Captain Chun was a shorter, strongly built man, and from the way he walked and carried himself he’d probably had a lot of martial arts training and experience. Having the same background, Steve could recognize the signs when he saw them. He recalled the chargé’s comment about the Captain being the son of a very senior Tong official. Even in prison garb he gave off an air of command, as if he expected instant obedience. Definitely a man to watch, Steve decided.
    He waited until everyone had sat down, then said, “I’d like to lay out the ground rules we’ll have to follow if this is going to work. Mr. Jiang has told me how you came to be here. I’m more than prepared to accept that you didn’t commit the offenses for which you were convicted. My prior association with the Dragon Tong has taught me that you don’t take part in piracy or support it in any way. Unfortunately, you have been convicted. That makes it more complicated for us to work together. You’ve been treated as convicts in the past, and no doubt resent it greatly. I can’t work with people who are resentful or suspicious. We’ve got to have mutual trust and confidence in each other, or this arrangement will break down before it even begins.”
    He went on to outline what he and Gunnery Sergeant Kinnear had discussed. “We’re prepared to treat you as professional equals, not as convicts, and share what we have with you as if you were our shipmates. However, that means you’ve got to behave towards us in the same way. There can’t be any ‘us-versus-them’ incidents, and most important of all your people must not try to escape or cause trouble in any way. If they do, the matter will be taken out of my hands at once. You’ll be returned to close confinement and lose all the privileges we can offer you.”
    There was a momentary silence, broken by Captain Chun. “You’re asking a lot after the way we’ve been treated.” Barely-controlled anger was evident in his voice. “We were almost a hundred and fifty strong before the rebellion broke out, only to find ourselves abandoned at an inland prison when all the guards deserted. We lost almost a third of our number defending ourselves until help arrived. Several are still recovering from serious injuries. After treatment like that, we have no love for the Eskishi authorities. Why should we believe you and your Fleet will be any different?”
    “Captain, you must have heard of the Lancastrian Commonwealth Fleet during your merchant spacer career, even perhaps encountered our ships. What was our reputation?”
    “It was… it was good. You were said to be a very professional