The open snickering had ceased, though I have no doubt it continues behind closed doors. One dead navigator and two hospitalized ensigns had convinced the crew that I was not calmly accepting the slings and arrows of outrageous fortune.
A PLANET! A snarking planet! That isn't the way captains lose ships! That isn't precisely the brand of fame we were seeking. You have to go back to the ancient tales of Ishmael, or before that the Riverboat Casino, to find similar stories - and no one seriously believes even those!
And how to explain this to P.I.? The newest BC in the fleet, on her shakedown cruise, plows into the night side of an anonymous planet in a backwater system in the middle of nowhere! The short version would look managable on paper - we engaged the llama of the Beastraiders in that damnable D6D of his, with a rookie crew outfitting a new ship - but the real story was bound to leak out. Too many pirates in both crews would talk the first time they put bottle to lips. DAMN! There was no question I'd have to eat the cost of this one, but reputations are worth more than cash - and this one was going to take a lot of undoing!
To be continued...
Topic: The Pyracies (Read 3679 times)