sea.
That left the crew in a happy mood. Gliding back to her quarters with Abby and Cara, Kris discovered just how far that happy mood went.
“And you will get part of that money, too,” Abby told Cara.
“Me!” said the twelve-year-old. “I didn’t do nothing.”
“Even the cabin boys on those old sailing ships got a portion,” Abby assured her.
“I could get some money?” Cara let out a squeal.
“For your college fund,” Abby pointed out.
“I’m going to college?”
“Why not. I did,” Abby said. Now Kris listened closely. Any new word about Abby’s hidden life before she started running Kris’s life was always to be treasured.
“But Ganny Ganna said a girl didn’t need to know more than she needed to—”
“You ain’t with Ganny Ganna, and you saw what her way of living ended up doing to your momma and Ganna.”
That left the youngster silent.
“I put myself through college at night,” Abby said. “I worked hard to earn the money and learn what I could. You, girl, can go to college like people like the princess do. The right way. And this money will be the start of your nest egg.”
Which all sounded great until the assurance people made their offer. Their finders’ fee would pay for about five minutes of education for Cara.
“Nelly, does Nuu Enterprises have an office on Cuzco?”
“Yes, Kris.”
“Get me in touch with our chief.”
The chief shortly referred Kris to the sharpest law firm on Cuzco dealing with maritime issues. Several of the partners had been following the Compton situation and were a bit disappointed not to have become involved in the case.
To their delight, Kris ended that.
“Exactly what is your interest in the Compton ?” the senior-most partner asked Kris when he came on the line.
“I, and the crew of the Wasp , captured the pirate ship. Under the traditional law of the sea, the Compto n and cargo are ours.”
“All of it?”
“Until you persuade me otherwise.”
“Hmm, I’ll need to do some research.”
“You do. Be sure to check on the recent decision from Chance. You can contact, ah. . .”
MAYDELL ALLGOOD, Nelly put in.
“Maydell Allgood of the planet Chance High Court for a very recent decision.”
“I’m not sure we have them in our legal decisions database.”
“Well, you’ll want to see the case.”
“Very well, now about payment. Are you putting us on retainer or shall we take this on contingency?”
“What kind of contingency?” Kris reminded herself that not all the pirates were in the brig of the Wasp .
“Ah, you’re Kris Longknife. We’ve done a lot of work for your offices here. How about one third. If there is no money in it, you don’t pay us a dime.”
“And if there is, you get a third of it. Just a third, no other expenses, right?”
“Hmm, you drive a hard bargain, but yes.”
“Let me talk with the other interested parties,” Kris said, and rang off.
Captain Drago silenced his commlink. “We’ll get back to you after we’ve had some time to talk this out among ourselves.” Professor mFumbo, who’d just come on the bridge, agreed.
“We’ve got about a day to decide,” Kris added.
“Sad to learn we can’t hang all the pirates,” Captain Drago said, looking rather piratical himself, then added, “I’m glad I have both you and the professor here for a moment. Could we duck into my in-port cabin for a moment? Captain, you might want to come along, too,” he said, nodding to Jack.
Uh-oh, Kris thought, but said nothing. With Kris and company, which somehow had grown to include Abby, seated around a small conference table, the captain closed his door.
“What do we intend to do next?” he asked. “Will we have to hang around here for all this court business?”
“Not if we hire a legal team,” mFumbo put in.
“We really shouldn’t be here long, not on official Navy business,” Kris agreed.
“So, what do we do next?”
“Explore,” mFumbo said, emphatically.
“Yes,
That left the crew in a happy mood. Gliding back to her quarters with Abby and Cara, Kris discovered just how far that happy mood went.
“And you will get part of that money, too,” Abby told Cara.
“Me!” said the twelve-year-old. “I didn’t do nothing.”
“Even the cabin boys on those old sailing ships got a portion,” Abby assured her.
“I could get some money?” Cara let out a squeal.
“For your college fund,” Abby pointed out.
“I’m going to college?”
“Why not. I did,” Abby said. Now Kris listened closely. Any new word about Abby’s hidden life before she started running Kris’s life was always to be treasured.
“But Ganny Ganna said a girl didn’t need to know more than she needed to—”
“You ain’t with Ganny Ganna, and you saw what her way of living ended up doing to your momma and Ganna.”
That left the youngster silent.
“I put myself through college at night,” Abby said. “I worked hard to earn the money and learn what I could. You, girl, can go to college like people like the princess do. The right way. And this money will be the start of your nest egg.”
Which all sounded great until the assurance people made their offer. Their finders’ fee would pay for about five minutes of education for Cara.
“Nelly, does Nuu Enterprises have an office on Cuzco?”
“Yes, Kris.”
“Get me in touch with our chief.”
The chief shortly referred Kris to the sharpest law firm on Cuzco dealing with maritime issues. Several of the partners had been following the Compton situation and were a bit disappointed not to have become involved in the case.
To their delight, Kris ended that.
“Exactly what is your interest in the Compton ?” the senior-most partner asked Kris when he came on the line.
“I, and the crew of the Wasp , captured the pirate ship. Under the traditional law of the sea, the Compto n and cargo are ours.”
“All of it?”
“Until you persuade me otherwise.”
“Hmm, I’ll need to do some research.”
“You do. Be sure to check on the recent decision from Chance. You can contact, ah. . .”
MAYDELL ALLGOOD, Nelly put in.
“Maydell Allgood of the planet Chance High Court for a very recent decision.”
“I’m not sure we have them in our legal decisions database.”
“Well, you’ll want to see the case.”
“Very well, now about payment. Are you putting us on retainer or shall we take this on contingency?”
“What kind of contingency?” Kris reminded herself that not all the pirates were in the brig of the Wasp .
“Ah, you’re Kris Longknife. We’ve done a lot of work for your offices here. How about one third. If there is no money in it, you don’t pay us a dime.”
“And if there is, you get a third of it. Just a third, no other expenses, right?”
“Hmm, you drive a hard bargain, but yes.”
“Let me talk with the other interested parties,” Kris said, and rang off.
Captain Drago silenced his commlink. “We’ll get back to you after we’ve had some time to talk this out among ourselves.” Professor mFumbo, who’d just come on the bridge, agreed.
“We’ve got about a day to decide,” Kris added.
“Sad to learn we can’t hang all the pirates,” Captain Drago said, looking rather piratical himself, then added, “I’m glad I have both you and the professor here for a moment. Could we duck into my in-port cabin for a moment? Captain, you might want to come along, too,” he said, nodding to Jack.
Uh-oh, Kris thought, but said nothing. With Kris and company, which somehow had grown to include Abby, seated around a small conference table, the captain closed his door.
“What do we intend to do next?” he asked. “Will we have to hang around here for all this court business?”
“Not if we hire a legal team,” mFumbo put in.
“We really shouldn’t be here long, not on official Navy business,” Kris agreed.
“So, what do we do next?”
“Explore,” mFumbo said, emphatically.
“Yes,
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