Free Command Decision by Elizabeth Moon Page B

suites, trauma sets, lots of medboxes, lots of personnel. I’m assuming also lots of equipment, though I didn’t see all of it, by any means.”
    “Was it a specialized hospital ship?”
    “No. One of their larger warships, somewhat larger than
Vanguard
.”
    “Hmmm. I can see if we get in more battles, we may really need additional medical capacity, but I don’t know where I’m going to put it. I guess we could move some functions outboard to one of the cargo holds…”
    “If we become the force we’ve talked about, the only cargo we’ll be carrying is our own necessary supplies,” Ky said.
    “You’re right,” Argelos said, scrubbing his head with both hands. “I guess I’m still thinking like a trader-privateer.”
    “I had the same problem,” Ky said. “It took a round of food poisoning to make me realize what was missing.”
    “So—do you think this place has anything in the way of medical supplies?” Argelos asked.
    Ky told them what the Crown & Spears manager had told her about the Gretnan labor market. “I looked,” she said, “and they list forty-six medical personnel, including two trauma surgeons, three surgical nurses, a medical imaging tech, a neuropsych specialist, and others. I hate the thought of buying people, but—”
    “Well, we wouldn’t keep them as indentured,” Argelos said. “What’s this likely to cost?”
    “I don’t know. I have the feeling that if they know we want them, the price will go up. According to Crown & Spears, we can bid through an agent, and the manager’s willing to act as our agent. He says he often does, and they won’t know that we’re the ones bidding. He and I both hope. The munitions are listed already; we know what they cost. Same with medical supplies. But we need to maintain a reserve—” She explained about the Gretnans’ habit of seizing ships and crews that defaulted on any payments. “I’ll just have to set a limit for what we can spend at the auction, and hope that yields something. Meantime, I’ve looked at your supply requests, and this is what I can afford.” She handed over the hardcopies; Argelos and Pettygrew looked them over.
    “I can add some credits to that,” Pettygrew said. “It’s not much, but it would cover my ship’s docking fees, air fees, and crew rations.”
    “That’s a big help,” Ky said. “I’m sure Crown & Spears would set up an account for you, if you don’t want to merge with the Vatta accounts.”
    “Merging’s fine,” Pettygrew said, with a crooked smile. “We’re already sharing risks; we might as well share resources.”
    “And I still have a little cargo to sell off,” Argelos said. “That may help, and it clears out a hold for military supplies.”
    “Excellent,” Ky said. “Now, since neither of you has beam weapons and I have two, I thought I’d assign each of you more than a third of the missiles we can afford. That still won’t fill your racks—well, not unless your cargo sells very high—but it should give you something to work with.”
    “That’s very generous,” Pettygrew said. “Thank you.”
    “Yes, thanks,” Argelos said. “But don’t leave yourself too short.”
    Ky went back to Crown & Spears after lunch to give the manager her limits for the indentured auction and explain what she was looking for.
    “I’ll do my best,” he said. “Most bidders are agents for someone; in fact, you aren’t my only client this time. With any luck, they won’t figure it out. I think the prices won’t be too high at this auction; the hospitals and clinics here and down on the planet are fully staffed, so medical personnel have been selling as general labor. Especially if they’re…um…more like you.”
    “Yes. Well, I appreciate your service,” Ky said. Back at the ship, she told Hugh how she had allocated the munitions purchases.
    “We could fight an engagement,” Hugh said, shaking his head at the total. “I’d have to hope we weren’t