Then the shock wave from the monstrous blast of lightning pummeled the Queen, less violent than the uncontrolled ravening of the blaster beam.
Rip fought to damp the ship"s shuddering, and at last he felt through the vibration of the controls under his hands that he had succeeded.
"Sections, report," he ordered, his throat dry and raspy.
"Ionospheric oscillation beginning to subside," reported Lossin. "Comsat lag decreasing slightly."
Rip listened intently to the others as he scanned his console, alert to any change. The Queen was unstable with the hole in her, and he had to hold her speed down while they were climbing. But climbing they were.
"Manifest shows the coolant tanks blew away about three tons of cielanite," said Dane, reporting last. "I think everything else came through all right, but I"ll need a tour of inspection to be sure."
"Do you think the cielanite helped trigger that-" Jasper"s voice trailed off.
"Conflagration," said Tau. "Or make up a new word; but I"ll bet we never see the likes of that again."
"Not for Tooe! Not for Tooe!" came the fervent a.s.sertion, and sudden hilarity swept the ship in the aftermath of tension.
"We still have two pirates to deal with," Rip warned, hating to do it.
In confirmation, Lossin tonelessly read off new coordinates. "Intruder at four mark forty-two, forty-two hundred kilometers and closing." His voice ceased and his eyes widened, the fur of his cheeks puffing out. "Intruder has lost power. no. jet emissions ragged. They are pulling out of action?"
"Could it have been the shock wave?" Dane asked.
"Acting like something hit them," Stotz said. "Except we know the Star has no weapons-"
"We should have a few minutes before the next one"s in position," said Rip. "But then what? We can"t expect another miracle."
"The G.o.ds laugh," said Lossin unexpectedly. "Signal incoming." At Rip"s motion, he tapped it into the general com.
". hostilities will cease. Weapons fire will be considered an act of war against the Patrol, and will be dealt with accordingly. "
"Comsats report five ships vectoring in on Hesprid IV," Lossin said, his voice a plangent ba.s.s. "They match Patrol corvette specs. Intruders attempting evasion."
"Ooooh, let"s watch the fun," AH drawled, and again the others laughed, the dizzying hilarity of sudden and intense relief.
Rip breathed slowly in aching lungs as he watched the two pirate ships fall out of sight around the planet. He grinned at the futility of the damaged one fleeing the relentless vectors of the Patrol vessels, which were equally armed, and with much better discipline. The other, with the greater gee endurance of the Shver, might escape. But not for long.
The Queen was responding now, albeit sluggishly, and no threat awaited. Rip felt the tension leak out of his shoulders.
The sand shields snapped shut.
"Entering ionosphere," said Lossin. "Ringing continues to damp down."
Rip studied the plot on his screen. If the Tath"s projections were right, when the shields next snapped open, they"d truly be out of the ionosphere and into s.p.a.ce, which meant they could rendezvous with the North Star-and the Patrol.
All they had to do then was convince the Patrol that they had a valid trade with the Floaters.
Rip chuckled to himself. After what they"d just been through, dealing with the Patrol would be a snap.
Murphy willing.
Chapter Twenty-Three.
Tooe woke up and glanced at her chrono, making an automatic calculation. She was glad she no longer had to reckon Hesprid time; it was hard enough translating Terran Standard into Exchange time.
"A week," she said to herself as she bounced out of her bunk and yanked her tunic from the cleaner. The movement sent her backward, which just for a moment took her by surprise. Her body adjusted before her mind did, leaving her with a second of dizziness, and then she laughed and dived at her console, making a note to tell Momo in the long letter she"d been writing about how she-Tooe-had actually gotten so used to gravity she made little mistakes in reaction.
As she tabbed the note in, she noted how long her letter had gotten. So much to report! And different aspects to different people in the klinti. Momo would want to know all about her adjustments to life in grav and then back again, and about the people in the Trader camp, but he would have little interest in the flight from the pirates-other than that they had managed to evade them.
For Kithin, though, Tooe had described how Captain Jel-lico had played Dead Dog in order to fool the pirates, waiting for the apogee of their complex orbit before firing off a tight-beam to alert the Patrol.
He hadn"t known any more than Rip and the others on the Queen whether his message had gotten through, or would be answered, she wrote, then she went on to vividly describe how the captain had guessed when Rip was likely to launch and then made sure the North Star was sitting right above his launch position-the last place the pirates would expect- and waiting.
The captain guessed what Rip would do, because it was what he should do-and in his turn, Rip figured out the captain"s likely tactics, she wrote. You have to learn to think like them, Kithin, if you are going to pilot your own ship.
For Nunku, Tooe saved her report on what had happened to the planet. They were still in Hesprid s.p.a.ce, for the Patrol was very thorough on their investigations. All the scientists aboard the Trader ships and the Patrol ships had used this opportunity to focus every available piece of equipment at the planet in order to measure, record, and evaluate the dramatic changes going on there. Nunku the computer expert was fascinated by data gathering.
Also for Nunku, who concerned herself with the futures of the klinti, the news that they were not-alas-to be fabulously wealthy. We can keep what we mined from the planet, which will see the ships upgraded and refueled, and new cargo, because we made a lawful trade with the Floaters. But even if we could land on that planet again, our Charter is suspended. The Patrol and all the authorities will be wrangling for years, the cargo master says, about the exact status of sentient beings no one can talk to.
Then for a third friend, whose aspiration was to join the Patrol, she reserved her descriptions of the Terran Federation"s peace-keeping arm. By the time the ships had finally rendezvoused, the Patrol had already taken care of the pirates, and they willingly shared their vidrecordings of the encounters.
Tooe had really enjoyed her interview with the austere Patrol captain. An older woman, dark of face and silver of hair, this captain reminded Tooe of Captain Jellico.
It was to Momo that Tooe talked about the Patrol captain.
She asked me a variety of questions about my experiences on Hesprid IV, and when I made jokes, her mouth had quirked in just the same way that the captain"s does when he laughs inside.
Tooe paused, considering Captain Jellico. She"d discovered that making him smile just that way was tougher than making some other people guffaw like s.p.a.cehounds with two much happy-juice inside them, and she was proud of any joke that got such a reaction. I think now I am beginning to know the captain, a little. You have to know someone to be able to make them laugh. Dane, 1 can make laugh, she added.
Dane? How long had she been in her cabin, typing up their experiences?
She glanced guiltily at the chrono, then closed down her computer and zoomed out of her cabin, caroming off the bulkhead and zapping, down the corridor to the cargo area.
There she found Dane and Jan Van Ryke at the computer.
"News?" she asked. "My shift yet?"
They both turned around, and Dane said, "Nothing besides our being finished with the recordings. Gleef is programming the comsats to continue data-collection, but Tau thinks we"ve got enough here to work with; any subsequent changes to the planet will take a long time."
"Work with?" Tooe asked. Then an idea occurred to her, and she exclaimed, "Data Trade?"
"Precisely, my young friend," Jan Van Ryke said, his white brows beetling. He hefted a quantumtape in his big hand, and grinned. "This here is another cargo for us-data. There will be plenty of scientists clamoring for this once we put the word out, and I plan to make some fine trades for contributing to the collective wisdom of the Federation."
Dane nodded at Tooe. "Wilc.o.x says the Patrol is just about finished with us. As soon as they leave, we"ll get the cargo distributed."
"Then off to the next port?" Tooe asked. She was so pleased she could not keep still, and both men laughed as she bounded from one wall to another, somersaulting midway between.
"Off to the next port," Van Ryke repeated, and then he said with mock solemnity, "so don"t use up all that energy. You"ll be working up a fine sweat when we tackle moving cargo over to the Star."
"Rigelians don"t sweat!" she said, whistling a laugh.
"You"ll learn," Dane said, grinning. "Trust me, you"ll learn."
Tooe was still laughing over that when she reached the control deck. Not that she had any business there, but she wanted to see everything, to know everything that was going on.
And she noticed when she reached it that the Terrans had gone back to their old gravity habits-their heads were all oriented in one direction, their feet magged to what in grav would be the Queen"s deck. She perched overhead, out of the way, and watched Captain Jellico and Tang Ya talking to the Patrol comtech on the big screen. A side screen showed Rip and Lossin on the control deck of the North Star.
"So the captain says that that about wraps it up," said the lieutenant on-screen, looking from what had to be one screen to another.
"A week ought to suffice, I think," Jellico said drily.
The lieutenant was young, with some Rigelian in his background. Tooe liked the greenish cast of his scaled skin above the neat black-and-silver Patrol tunic. Now the lieutenant rolled his eyes as he said humorously, "It usually takes longer to file the reports than it did to initiate and carry through the action." ; Ya gave a quiet snort. "We have the same thing waiting for us, no doubt, when we reach Trade Admin."
"Not everyone finds a supposedly uninhabited planet full of sentients-and about to blow up-while being shadowed by pirates, requiring a double Nova Cla.s.s Alert," the lieutenant said, his yellow eyes gleaming. "I"ve looked up your name in the records. Seems like the lords of s.p.a.ce have marked out the Solar Queen for more than the usual share of Interesting Times."
Tang Ya grinned, but Captain Jellico gave a slight shrug. "That"s life among the Free Traders."
"Well then, that is it-Captain just issued orders for us to close this one down and move on. Shannon?" The lieutenant"s head turned slightly as he looked into an ancillary screen, and Tooe glanced into the Queen"s side screen and saw Rip"s expression alter to query.
The lieutenant nodded behind him, and said, "Piloting team wants you to know they thought that a nice piece of work over the planet, there."
Rip"s dark skin took qn a deep red hue, but before he could answer, the Patrolman gave a casual salute and closed the connection.
Ya also closed the screen, switching it to an external view. Within moments they saw lights representing the Patrol craft speed away on their run to jump, then disappear.
Jellico hit the comlink. "Thorson. Van Ryke. You can commence the cargo transfer now."
Tooe heard that as a call to duty, and bounced out before the captain and the comtech were even aware that she"d been there.
She dived down through the decks-or started to. When she pa.s.sed the mess cabin, she heard the rumble of voices, and stopped outside to look in. There she discovered all nine of the former Ariadne"s Traders. They either didn"t notice her, or it didn"t matter to them that she was there.
They were talking in Tathi; after a few seconds she realized they were discussing what to do next.
"I know what I want," Kamsin said, his fur fluffing around his ears. "There is no galley steward on the other ship. Ariadne, North Star-names don"t matter. It is my home ship. The captain told me himself, just today, that I can sign on as crew if I want. Rip Shannon has spoken for us all. I signed in, and was even spat at by the hoobat. I am now crew."
There was a mild growl of humor from the Tath, overlaid by Siere"s hissing laugh.
"They have two medicsss," Siere said. "Regretfully, I mussst now ssseek new berthing. I shall be ssssorry to part from my companionssss in successs and adversssity."
Several murmured protests, and thanks. Tooe knew that the Torquain medic was popular among the crew.
"1 do not know what to do," Gleef said. "I might want to stay, or to go. It is too soon; my spirits are still sore, and I cannot think clearly."
Tazcin spoke then, her voice a mellow boom. "No one has to decide now. We have earned our way, and our place. We can make a decision at the next port-or we can stay longer, and trade work for place if we wish. Captain Jellico has made this clear."
"Dane has called for hands for cargo transfer," Irrba reported suddenly, from his place by the muted comlink.
This reminded Tooe of her duty. As she started away, she saw a stirring among the Traders, and several followed her out.
She bounded ahead, mentally reviewing the cargo, and thinking about the physics of null-grav cargo transfer. This was her field of expertise, and she knew Dane would ask for her help.
She felt a spurt of happiness inside. She would finish her letter in hyper, and send it at the next port, but she no longer felt the pull on her heart to return to the klinti. This was now her job, and her home. She flexed her fingers, happily antic.i.p.ating the work ahead.
Dane Thorson hooked a toe under the gee-bar near the console and tabbed the control for the last cargo-seal in the North Star"s hold. "That"s it," he said, looking up at his crew.
They made self-congratulatory noises, and started to disperse, those who were returning to the Queen moving out to suit up, and those staying seeking some refreshment after the hours of hard work.
Dane looked down at his manifest symbols, which were blinking peacefully on his com screen. Both ships now had cargo evenly distributed, with an eye to maximum fuel efficiency. It remained only to get the hoobat back to the Queen, and to disperse the crewmembers evenly between the two ships. Then they could blast away from Hesprid s.p.a.ce, and on to their next port.
He keyed the comlink. "We"re done, Rip," he said.
"We"ll relay the news to Captain Jellico," Rip replied.
Dane paused, concentrating-but there was no mental echo from Rip.
He let himself float next to his chair and closed his eyes, reaching- Nothing.
His imagination provided likely locations for the other three. He knew Rip"was at the Star"s nav controls, and that Jasper and AH were down in the Engineering areas. But he couldn"t "see" them as if from inside their heads. Shield? He wasn"t aware of any new ability to shield the others, though it was possible all three had somehow learned it and he had not.
He shrugged it off and finished up his work before going in quest of something to eat.
In the galley welcoming spicy smells greeted his nose. Kamsin was already busy learning about Terran tastes from the stores and recipes that Frank Mura had shared with him.
Dane was halfway through a tasty meal when the comlink lit-transmission from the Solar Queen, relayed to both ships. "Ready for acceleration," Captain Jellico said. "Captain Shannon, please begin the countdown, on my mark."
Captain Shannon. Dane grinned as the signal chimed for strap-down, and he got ready for the return of weight. A few seconds later Dane heard the grumble of the jets and felt the ship lurch slightly. They were on their way, blasting out from the ecliptic to their snapout point.
The return of acceleration reoriented his views to up and down, and he paused, letting his brain register the change before he returned to his meal.
Irrba and Parkku appeared a few moments later; both had been down in the engine deck for the transition. They were chattering away in the musical Berran language, Parkku walking about with one of the black-and-white cats perched happily on her shoulder. Dane finished his food, half-listening to the sound of the words. He liked the language, and made a mental note to study it. Especially if the pair decided to stay on as crew.
When he was done he put his dishes in the recycler and started out, his mood good. Rec time now, and he"d earned it! How about a good, old-fashioned blaster-and-zap vid? Or maybe he could hunt up the Berran language tape? Or maybe he could just. sleep? Sleep sounded great. He was owed a lot of overdue rack time. He was owed a lot of overdue boring, everyday duty.
As he moved out, he felt a twinge at the back of his head- too brief to identify. A few seconds later he caught sight of Craig Tau, who beckoned.
Dane sighed, and turned to follow.
They went up to the control deck. There Dane saw Jasper and Ali gathered around Rip. All three were silent, Ali lounging with his arms crossed in his familiar pose, Jasper sitting quietly, his hands still, his gaze diffuse.
Tau said, "We managed to finesse the psi link in our report to the Patrol. Rip"s sense of that pirate captain firing was easily attributed to the imagination of a good pilot, and as for how we discovered that the Floaters were sentient, as the Patrol captain said, that is the business of scientists; her job was to see that the laws were obeyed. Which we have done."