"Serrano Legacy - 02 - Sporting Chance" - читать интересную книгу автора (Moon Elizabeth)

"But Lady Cecelia," whined Gavin. "What other affair? And whyЧI mean, we've served youЧ" She cut him off, and turned to face Heris, breathing heavily.
"How was that?"
"Fine. And since we know you had one smuggler in the group, I would carry through on that threat to have them investigated."
"I certainly will," Cecelia said. She stalked off, her tall angularity expressing indignation with every twitch of her formal skirt. Heris excused herself early and went upstairs to contact Petris again.
"So we're going out short-crewed," Heris said. She was not unhappy about it. "By civilian standards, that is. And over-crewed on the house-staff side, considering Lady Cecelia's guests this round." The prince had his own set of servants, and Cecelia insisted on adding another cook.
"Looks adequate to me, Captain," Petris said. He had worked up a crew rotation. "We could use two or three more, butЧ"
"But you're right, this is adequate. If we don't run into trouble, and if everyone works at Fleet efficiency. Which I expect you will. Something to consider is that we can hire replacements to fill out the list at Rockhouse Major. And we might think of hiring ex-Fleet personnel, while we're about it."
"Are you looking for trouble, Captain?" Petris's dark eyes twinkled.
"No. But I expect it anyway." A tap at her door interrupted. "OhЧthat'll be Bunny's daughter Bubbles, I expect." She had forgotten, thanks to Gavin, that she'd agreed to talk to Bubbles after she went up to her room. "She's insisted on talking to me." Petris grinned at her expression.
"WhatЧdo you think she wants to come along?"
"Yes, and I can't let her. And I don't like the role she's casting me in."
"You'll do her no harm," Petris said.
"That's what her father told me," Heris said, shaking her head. "I'll get back to you shortly." She closed the uplink, and turned to the door of her suite. The blonde girl she'd first seen passed out drunk on a couch in the yacht had changed beyond recognition, and although being in mortal danger changed most people, this was exceptional.
"Captain Serrano," the young woman said. She stood stiffly, as if in a parody of military formality.
"YesЧdo come in. We had a small crisis aboard, and I was just dealing with it."
"IЧif this is a bad timeЧ" She had flushed, which made her look younger.
"Not at all. Between crises is an excellent time." Heris led the way to a pair of overstuffed chairs beneath the long windows, and gestured as she sat in one of them. "Have a seat."
The girl sat bolt upright, not her usual posture, and looked like a young officer at a first formal dinner. Heris wondered again what this was about. Her father had refused to give any hints; Heris's own experience was that when young people preferred to talk to a relative stranger, the topic was usually embarrassingЧat least for the youngster. But she didn't know what, in the current state of the aristocracy, would be likely to provoke embarrassment. What "rules" could such a girl have brokenЧor be planning to breakЧwhen most of society's rules didn't affect her at all?
"I want to change my name," the girl said, all in a rush, as if it were a great confession. Heris blinked. She would never have allowed herself to be called Bubbles in the first place, and she could understand why the girl would want to changeа.а.а. but not why anyone would object. Was this the big problem? Surely there was more.
"Bubbles doesn't really fit you," she said cautiously.
"No, not now." The girl waved that off as if it were trivialЧwhich is what Heris thought it. "My full name's Brunnhilde Charlotte, and Raffa and I thought Brun would be a good version. But that's not the whole problem."
"Oh?"
"NoЧmy parents are willing to give up Bubbles, though Mother would prefer some other variation, but it's the other partа.а.а."
The other part meaning what, Heris wondered. She sat and waited; youngsters usually told you more if you did.
"It'sа.а.а. the family name." Aha. That would cause a row, she could see. "I haven't told them yet, but I know they won't like it." They would more than "not like it" if she wanted to give up her family name; they would, Heris suspected, be furious and hurt. The girlЧBrun, she tried to think of her nowЧwent on. "It's just that I've always been Bubbles, Bunny's daughterЧLord Thornbuckle's daughterЧand not myself. I feelЧdifferent now. When we were in the caveЧ" Ah, thought Heris. The rapid personal maturation by danger has left behind the social immaturity. "ЧI realized I didn't feel like who I was. I mean, I felt different, and it didn't match." She took a deep breath and rushed through the rest. "I want to change my name and go into the Regular Space Service and learn how to really do things and find out who I am."
Heris blinked again, remembering her own impulse (quickly squashed) to change her name and apply to the Academy not as a Serrano but purely on her own merits. She had even made up a name and practiced the signature. The silly romanticism of youthЧor, if you looked at it another way, the integrity and courage.
"And you thought I could help you?" she said, keeping her reactions to herself.
"Yes. You know how things workЧand you could take me to someplace I could enlist."
Now the problem was how to say no without shutting the girl off completely.
"How old are you?" Heris asked. "And what kind of background would you offer the Fleet?" She already suspected the answers. Brun was too old to enlist with the skills she could reasonably claimЧhaving been taught marksmanship by your father didn't count, even if he was a renowned hunterЧand lacking any education the Fleet would recognize. At least, under an assumed name. "Which will get you in trouble anyway," Heris explained. "After all, plenty of people the Fleet doesn't want would like to get in. Falsifying one's identity is fairly commonЧand nearly always detected, and when detected is always justification for rejection."
"But I thought if I explained that I just don't want to use my father's privilegeЧ"
"To whom would you explain? A recruiting officer? That would get you sent for psychiatric and legal evaluationЧare you impersonating a member of your father's family? And if not, what's wrong with you that you don't enjoy your privilege? NoЧ" She held up her hand. "I see your point, and I admire you for wanting to make your own way, but you cannot sneak into the Fleet that way. Not with our methods of certifying identity. You'd do better, if you're intent on a dangerous military career, to travel as a tourist outside the Familias Regnant and take service with some planetary ruler. Don't try to be fancyЧjust say you're running away from family problems. Someplace like Aethar's World or the Compassionate Hand would probably hire you."
"But Aethar's World is allа.а.а. those hulks, isn't it?"
"Soldiers can't afford prejudice," Heris said with an internal grin. She'd thought that would get a reaction. "Aethar's World always needs soldiers. Admittedly, that's because the Fatherland uses them up in bloody and unnecessary battles, but they do give you a glorious funeral, I hear. And yes, they're all big-boned and fair-hairedЧone reason they might hire youЧand they have anachronistic ideas about warrior womenЧanother reason they might hire you. But they do pay on time, if you survive."
"And theа.а.а. the Compassionate Hand?" asked Brun, her brow furrowed.
"Not an accurate name, but you don't want to call them the Black Scratch unless you've got a battle group behind you. Alarge battle group. You may not have heard of them; the Familias discourages trade that way. We have a border incident every few years, though. They would like to control Karyas and the nearby jump points."
"Black Scratchа.а.а. Compassionate Hand?"
"Well, you know about protection rackets, don't you?" Brun nodded, but still looked puzzled. "The motto of the families that settled Corus IV-a was 'You scratch my back, and I'll scratch yours.' They referred to this as being a compassionate handЧa helping hand. But the first colony they raided, on Corus V, called it the 'black scratch.' They now control the Corus system, with heavy influence in two nearby systems, and their official designation is 'The Benignity of the Compassionate Hand.' They hire offworlders for mercenary actions, often against underground groups who still call them the Black Scratch."
"But they'reЧillegal," said Brun.
"Not by their laws, and they're not part of our legal system. From what I read of Old Earth history, their ancestors ran the same kinds of rackets there and no one ever converted them to what we call law and order. Actually, if you're on an official visit, it looks like a model government. I've known a few people who had served in their militaryЧsaid it wasn't bad, if you followed the rules exactly, but they have no tolerance for dissent."
"You're saying I can't really do what I was talking about," Brun said. "If my choices run to the barbarians of Aethar's World or the Compassionate HandЧ"
"There are others. But I'm not exactly sure what you're looking for. A military career? If so, leading to what? Coming back to your family someday, or retiring on your own independent savings? How much adventureЧotherwise known as dangerЧdo you really want? Do you have something against your family which would prevent your adventuring within its canopy?"
"Mmm." Brun looked thoughtful; Heris was glad to see that she could calm down and think. "I supposeЧI want change. Change from what I was, and from what people think of me." She looked up at Heris, who said nothing. Let the girl work it out for herself; then she'd believe it. "Lady Cecelia crossed her familyЧbutЧshe did use her own moneyЧ"
"Makes it easier," said Heris. "And there's no reason to do things the hard way if you don't have to."
"I don't know what, really," Brun said. "I guess I just want to serve notice to my familyЧto othersЧthat I'm not the bubblehead they thinkЧthat I'm not the designated blonde sure to marry someone like the odious George." She grinned then. "And you're saying there are easier ways to do that than get myself killed by barbarians with blond braids or a knife in the ribs from theа.а.а. erа.а.а. Compassionate Hand."
"I didn't say it," Heris said. "You did. I'd think you'd had enough adventure for a whileа.а.а. althoughа.а.а. if you liked that, there's training that would help you survive otherа.а.а. adventures."
Brun's face lit. "That's what I'd likeЧwhat bothered me most wasn't the danger, but not knowing what to do. But I thought you could only get that training in the military."
"NoЧin fact, not everyone in the military does. There are other sources, if that's what you want. Tell you what, I'll give you a list of skills and places I know you can get trainingа.а.а. and then you can find a use for that training. How about that?"
"I'd love it. Can't I come to Rockhouse with you? I already know about Mr. Smith, of course."
"NoЧI'm sorry. We're overloaded, with the required escorts for Mr. Smith. But if you're going back there, you can start to acquire some of the things I'm talking aboutЧ"