Free Ships of My Fathers by Dan Thompson

doing.”
    Isaac shook his hand and finally pulled him close for a back-pounding hug. “Give ’em hell, sir,” he said.
    Josie was waiting for him by his bags. He slid into her embrace and kissed her softly on the lips. She held him close and whispered in his ear. “You study hard and pass that exam. I’ve never had a captain before, and I want you to be my first.”
    She gave him one last, long kiss and turned away.
    With final nods to Isaac and Annie, Michael gathered his bags and started after his uncle. He was leaving behind everything he knew.
    But he would be back.

Chapter 7
    “Yeah, it’s a big ship, but that doesn’t mean they know shit from sherbet.” — Malcolm Fletcher
    T HE SHUTTLE RIDE UP TO the orbital was nothing spectacular. Hans had insisted on giving Michael the window seat, apparently hoping to impress him with the excitement. The truth of the matter was that he had seen more lift-offs than he could remember, and most of those had offered an even better view from the Sophie ’s bridge. He had even piloted four such lift-offs in the last year, but that was strictly off the books.
    His uncle sat next to him, listing off the various family members who were waiting for him aboard the Heavy Heinrich . His own daughter, Gabrielle, was on board. There were also three more second cousins, four first cousins once-removed, a third cousin, and Harriet who was simply family. “I honestly can’t remember her connection,” Hans explained, “but it goes back a ways.”
    “Is the crew all family?”
    Hans laughed. “Oh, far from it. Heinrich ’s full complement is sixty-four. We were down one, but you’ll bring us back to full.”
    Sixty-four? Michael tried to imagine it. Sophie ’s life support topped out at twelve. The only way they could carry that many would be as cargo, but it would not be live cargo. “Exactly how big is the Heinrich ?”
    Hans pointed out the window at the station coming into view. “There she is on the upper right quadrant.”
    Michael looked and saw it sticking out, even at this distance. The Heinrich was one of the giant container ships, with section after section of radial-loading container racks. It was the largest ship docked at the station by far.
    “Four hundred thousand tons,” Hans said. “Impressive?”
    “Is that displacement?”
    “No, that’s cargo. Heinrich displaces almost six hundred thousand.”
    Michael pressed his face against the porthole to get a better angle to view it. He realized now that this was why his uncle has insisted he take the window seat. Michael had seen ships of this size only three times before, but never this close. These container ships were strictly station-to-station carriers and incapable of atmospheric maneuvers or even landing on a gravitational mass. Sophie almost always went down to the planet. “It’s more direct that way,” Malcolm had always explained.
    “How often do you make it to Taschin?” Michael asked.
    “First time, probably the last, too. Taschin doesn’t have enough trade to warrant something like the Heinrich . S&W normally serves Taschin with some smaller vessels. No, I diverted the Heinrich here specifically to get you.”
    “Seems like a bit of a waste.”
    “You’re family, Michael. Family is worth it.”
    Docking took longer than it should have, but it always does. His luggage was checked through to the Heinrich , so Michael did not have anything to carry as they left the shuttle. They were not all that far from the Heinrich , so it was a short walk. This was due less to luck and more to the small size of Taschin station. All the docking was on a single ring, so the average walk from ship to ship was only a quarter turn.
    From inside the station, the Heinrich looked no different than any other ship. It was simply a personnel airlock and an array of cargo locks. They walked up to the airlock, and a man in his thirties snapped to attention.
    “Welcome back, sir.”
    “Good to be back, Karl. Ship