Fortunatus Wright - Part 2 : Family Ties

[Stoat]

Chapter 6

Gibraltar offered little in the way of comfort. Daily reports showed that the Kusari war machine was pushing deeper into Leeds, and despite all that the Privateers had been doing for the last few months, supplies kept on getting through to the Nagasaki far too frequently. Tempers among the privateers were frayed and arguments were frequent. Andrew Stuart had been released, but this had done little to cure the dispondancy felt by the men. They needed a big win, and soon.

Fortunatus sat at the bar and raised his hand for another drink. His thoughts, as usual, rested on his missing daughter. He'd scoured the Taus, running from one system to another as reports mentioning the Dakuryuu trickled into the station, but without success. The vessel always seemed two or three steps ahead. He looked up as a hand was laid on his shoulder.

"Nate, you got a problem." It was the battered face of Nobby. He looked concerned. "It's your home on Cambridge. Looks like someone wants it bad. There's some kind of repossession order or something. You might wanna take a trip back, eh?"

"Bastards!" His chair flew back as he stood. "Thanks for the heads up, Nobby! Don't go disappearing though. I might need you again."

"Course!" Nobby called, as Fortunatus disappeared through the entrance to the bar. Looking at the counter he saw the untouched drink Fortunatus had left. He smiled as he reached for it.

******

Gazing down upon the ephemeral beauty of his home planet, Cambridge, Fortunatus sighed. He had done so much since he'd thrown in his lot with Andrew Stuart. Now he'd murdered a senior member of the Bretonian Armed Forces, a traitor admittedly. He'd thought that the family business was safe, but it seemed someone had other ideas. A minor Lord was using the Privateers' status as criminals to attempt to seize his land to "aid the war effort". His solicitor was confident he could overturn the seizure of his property, but it would take months, perhaps even years. In the meantime, the distillery would close, and Fortunatus had no doubt everything saleable would go. He knew he needed help.

Opening a comms link back to Gibraltar, Fortunatus drummed his fingers as he waited for a response. The screen finally came to life, the face on the other end bleary eyed and unshaven.

"Alright there Nate. Didn't think it'd take you long to call. What do you need?"

"Nobby, get the Magpie and get some of the lads together, and meet me in orbit of Cambridge. We've got some heavy lifting to do."

Killing the link, Fortunatus turned his ship into the window that would allow him to land at his home. He had people to gather, if he was going to be able to move his distillery over to Gibraltar.

******

By the time the Magpie got into Cambridge orbit, he had been joined on the planet by Nobby, Maggie Hackett and Nathan Hargreaves, and they, along with many of the locals, had started to break down the distillery. A pair of Clydesdales - one of them the Jackdaw, Fortunatus' own ship - were loaded with the barrels of whisky that were still aging, and the first runs to the Magpie made. Four hours on, the heavy vehicles, and the noise of the Clydesdales masked the approach of the police vehicle. The first any of them knew about it was when a heavy hand clamped down on Fortunatus shoulder, and handcuffs were clinked onto his wrists.

"What the bloody hell?!" he exclaimed.

"Fortunatus Wright, I am arresting you for the illegal removal of Her Majesty's property. Seargeant Jacobs, arrest these others as well."

"Yessir!" came the prompt bark, and the sergeant turned right into the fist of Maggie Hackett. He dropped like a sack of potatoes, and Maggie stepped over his prone form, eyes blazing.

"I don't think you want to be doing that, copper!" she shouted at the man at Fortunatus back. "Nathan! Shoot the bastard!"

Nathan blanched slightly, but still drew his weapon and pointed it at the man behind Fortunatus. His hand shook slightly.

"Bloody hell, Nathan! Put the damn gun down!" shouted Fortunatus. "You're more likely to shoot me, with your hand shaking like that!"

A gunshot rang out, and there was a scream from behind Fortunatus as someone crumpled to the ground. Maggie holstered her sidearm, and reached for the man still writhing on the ground, rifling through his pockets for the keys to the handcuffs that bound Fortunatus.

"Told you, copper." she whispered into his ear, as she located the keys. She stood and unlocked the cuffs.

Fortunatus turned to look at the man on the ground. Blood spilled from his shattered knee. Nathan still had his sidearm trained on him, his face showing his shock. Fortunatus moved over, and gently pressed down on his arm, forcing him to lower the weapon.

"Nathan, I need you to get these two to a hospital, ok?" Nathan nodded, dumbly. "Good. Take George here with you," have waved to one of the locals, "and drop them off. Remember, don't be hanging around to answer questions, just get them the help they need."

As George moved to the policeman with the shattered knee, Nathan holstered his gun, and knelt to help.

"Right everyone, we gotta get moving! This place is going to be crawling with coppers soon, and probably worse besides! Maggie, take Nobby and go watch the gates."

Everyone increased their efforts. Within half an hour Nathan had returned, having delivered the policemen as requested.

"Nathan!" Fortunatus called. "Did you spot anything untoward on your travels?"

Nathan turned, grim faced, and headed over.

"Yes Nate, that we did. Looks like quite a force is being gathered about 5 miles out. We were able to get around them, but I'm sure I spotted a couple of Hussar fighters on the ground. I don't think we've got long before they arrive."

Fortunatus turned to the locals, gaining their attention with a loud whistle.

"Folks! Time for you all to go. The police, amongst others, are on their way, and I don't want any of you getting into trouble for what's gone on here today. Get yourselves home. You all know the back routes around here. I suggest you use them. I can't begin to thank you all enough for what you've done. There'll be a crate making its way to each and every one of you."

They dispersed quickly, and soon only the privateers remained. As the final copper pipes were being loaded into the last Clydesdale, gunshots were heard. The clatter continued unabated for about thirty seconds until a large explosion shook the ground. Nobby and Maggie soon appeared at the crest of the drive, running full pelt.

"Time to go!!" Maggie was shouting at the top of her lungs. Nobby pulled his hipflask out and took a long swig as he was running. "Get that bloody ship ready to fly!"

The pair were halfway to the Clydesdale when a Hussar rose above the hill. Fortunatus and Nathan ran into the freighter and got the engines started, as the Hussar loomed large. The comms unit blared as the police Hussar initiated direct comunications.

Unidentified freighter. This is Her Majesty's Police. Kill your engines and stand down immediately. We have orders to open fire should you fail to comply. I repeat, stand down immediately.

Nathan and Fortunatus exchanged glances as Maggie and Nobby arrived on the bridge of the freighter. As they strapped themselves in, a bust of fire from the Hussar lanced into their hull.

Unidentified freighter, STAND DOWN! You have ten seconds to comply!

"Ahhh, bollocks. Hold tight guys, this is gonna hurt!" shouted Fortunatus. "I've got to keep the shields offline for this to work."

He swung the Clydesdale around, and more fire ripped into the armour plating. With the Hussar tight on their tail, Fortunatus knew they only had a few seconds before their engines would be disabled. He engaged the cruise engines, and pointed the nose of the freighter directly up. As the Cruise engines kicked in, a shockwave erupted outwards. The Jackdaw rocketed up at unfathomable speed, and the unfortunate Hussar caught the full force of the shockwave. It was thrown into the distillery building, demolishing one of the walls, and the rest of the building collapsed in on it. On the Jackdaw, the four privateers were pressed into their seats, as the gravitational generators struggled to deal with the forces placed upon the small freighter. Hull plating shook loose, and old stress fractures ripped open.

Finally the shaking ceased as the Jackdaw broke free from the gravitational pull of Cambridge. Warning lights flashed everywhere. Fortunatus turned to his comrades.

"Right, to the escape pods you lot. The Jackdaw has flown her last flight, and soon enough she'll just be scrap floating in space. I'll call the Magpie to come pick us up." The privateers nodded and, as they clambered into the available pods, Fortunatus sent the Jackdaw's final transmission.

"Magpie, Magpie, this is Jackdaw. We need your assistance. We're breaking apart here, just tractor in whatever you can when you arrive. We'll be safe in our pods. See you soon."

"We'll be there forthwith, Nate," came the response.

Fortunatus took a last look around, then climbed into an escape pod. As he drifted slowly away from the disintegrating Jackdaw, he planned out the layout of the new distillery he was going to build on Gibraltar.

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