"It"s an echo," Angus returned sourly. "It doesn"t have a f.u.c.king emission signature.
"I. mean it," he shot at Morn. "Get off the bridge. I"ve already seen what you"re like under heavy g. I don"t want to repeat the experience."
As if she were obedient, abraded with panic, she pushed off from the bulkhead in the direction of the companionway. But when she reached the rails, she reversed her trajectory, rebounded to the back of Angus" g-seat.
Whether or not the ship survived- She had no intention of leaving unless he physically forced her away.
Despite her fear, she believed she could prevent him from doing that.
"You"re spending too much time on the guns," Angus snapped at Davies. "Concentrate on our defenses." Trumpet Trumpet had glazed surfaces to deflect lasers, energy shields to absorb impact fire, particle sinks to weaken matter cannon blasts. "The cops"re experimenting with dispersion fields. Might be more effective against matter cannon. There." had glazed surfaces to deflect lasers, energy shields to absorb impact fire, particle sinks to weaken matter cannon blasts. "The cops"re experimenting with dispersion fields. Might be more effective against matter cannon. There."
He hit keys, jerked data onto the screen Davies used.
"But they aren"t automatic. If they were, we couldn"t fire through them. You have to be ready."
Davies looked up, studied the information. "All right," he muttered. "I"m on it."
A small part of Morn"s mind was filled with wonder. A dispersion field was an elegant idea: project an energy wave to disrupt the matter beam before it took on ma.s.s from its target; disperse the forces. As Angus had said, however, none of Trumpet"s Trumpet"s guns could be fired while the fields was being projected. And the resulting boson bleed-off would be staggering. guns could be fired while the fields was being projected. And the resulting boson bleed-off would be staggering.
The rest of her simply held to the back of Angus" station as if she were praying.
Past his shoulder she could see his readouts; his efforts to identify the scan echo. He was fast-G.o.d, he was fast. fast. She"d never seen anyone run a board so swiftly. In some sense, he She"d never seen anyone run a board so swiftly. In some sense, he was was a machine: a nearly integral extension of his ship. a machine: a nearly integral extension of his ship.
Elusive and undifferentiated, the echo seemed to flee under his fingers, becoming something else whenever he s.n.a.t.c.hed at it. Yet it was too persistent to be a ghost. The conditions which could produce a ghost through the swarm"s static were evanescent: a false image would have vanished as suddenly as it appeared.
"I"m getting a profile." Angus might have spoken to himself. "Doesn"t look like Soar. Soar. Not as big. d.a.m.n this static. Not as big. d.a.m.n this static.
"It"s almost familiar. s.h.i.t, almost-"
Familiar? Was it Punisher? Punisher? Not likely: not if the ship was smaller than Not likely: not if the ship was smaller than Soar. Soar.
Morn couldn"t stay silent. She had to say, "If she isn"t Soar Soar, she might not be hostile."
"That"s naive," Davies snorted without glancing at her. "Whoever she is, she"s illegal. Around here she couldn"t be anything else. And by now she must know the Lab"s gone. She"ll have to a.s.sume we had something to do with it. She"ll shoot first, worry about the consequences later.
"Besides, we can"t be sure Soar"s Soar"s alone." He sounded more like his father all the time. Leaving Morn behind-"She had plenty of friends back on Billingate." alone." He sounded more like his father all the time. Leaving Morn behind-"She had plenty of friends back on Billingate."
"I told you," Angus snapped at Morn, "to get off the bridge." get off the bridge."
But he didn"t move to make her go. Maybe he a.s.sumed she would obey. Instead he thumbed his intercom, opened a ship-wide channel. "Secure for combat. Somebody"s after us."
How long before Trumpet Trumpet reached the fringes of the swarm? Angus had left a navigation schematic running on one of the displays. Projections indicated that she had at least an hour to go. But she could do it in less-maybe much less-if Angus accelerated; ran helm with the same inhuman speed and precision he used to a.n.a.lyze scan. reached the fringes of the swarm? Angus had left a navigation schematic running on one of the displays. Projections indicated that she had at least an hour to go. But she could do it in less-maybe much less-if Angus accelerated; ran helm with the same inhuman speed and precision he used to a.n.a.lyze scan.
Angus, Morn meant to say, go faster. Get us out of here. We"ll be harder to hit. And we need to reach a place where we can start broadcasting.
The words stuck in her throat.
Without warning, the ship"s alarms shrilled. One of the screens broke up, scrambling to display new input: then it started scrolling data too fast for Morn to read.
"There!" Angus barked. "G.o.d d.a.m.n it, I"ve seen that signature before!"
Scan had located another vessel, nudging her way between the rocks ahead.
She emerged from behind an asteroid large enough to occlude a battlewagon, navigational thrust roaring to orient her on the gap scout. She was big, not the size of Soar Soar, but several orders of magnitude bigger than Trumpet Trumpet, possibly a merchanter, more likely an illegal hauler. Her emissions shouted signs of power: drive ready to burn; charged guns.
Davies" hands came down on his keys so hard that his shoulders hunched and his torso wrenched against his belts. Instantly Trumpet Trumpet unleashed a barrage of impact and matter cannon fire. unleashed a barrage of impact and matter cannon fire.
He hadn"t taken enough time to focus targ: his need to strike had betrayed him. Impact blasts licked along the other ship"s hull or skidded past her: the matter cannon shot wide.
At once the ship nearly vanished from scan as asteroids burst like fragmentation bombs, filling the void with tons of debris which yowled and ricocheted up and down the spectrum.
Bombardments of rock clanged off Trumpet"s Trumpet"s skin and shields. The whole ship cried like a carillon. skin and shields. The whole ship cried like a carillon.
A heartbeat later the gap scout staggered and went blind as the other ship"s matter cannon covered her like the fall of an avalanche.
The scan displays crackled and spat with distortion. Metal stress rang through the hulls: klaxons squalled like demented spirits. Hammering keys, Angus hauled Trumpet Trumpet out of the line of fire, practically cartwheeling her in a blaze of thrust to put stone between her and the other ship"s guns. out of the line of fire, practically cartwheeling her in a blaze of thrust to put stone between her and the other ship"s guns.
Morn knew what he was doing, even though she couldn"t see or hear him. She knew because her feet lifted from the deck; her own weight s.n.a.t.c.hed her hands off the back of his g-seat as if her strength were trivial.
Helpless as a cork, she swirled in the air and dove headlong toward the starboard bulkhead.
She tucked her head, arched her shoulder; turned in time to avoid shattering the bones of her head. Still her ma.s.s. .h.i.t with its own hard g.
The impact slapped her flat, pounded the air from her lungs, drove the blood from her brain. She seemed to slip out of herself as if she were being sucked into the wall.
Somewhere nearby she heard Davies shouting.
"It works! That dispersion field works!"
No wonder Trumpet Trumpet had gone blind. Her sensors and sifters couldn"t see anything except the raving chaos at the heart of the matter beam. had gone blind. Her sensors and sifters couldn"t see anything except the raving chaos at the heart of the matter beam.
I"ve seen that signature- Then Morn lost consciousness. She never knew whether the other ship fired again.
DARRIN.
d.a.m.n Scroyle stared at the chaos which had taken the place of his scan displays; for a moment he froze. Around him his people gaped in astonishment and alarm.
Trumpet was gone. Disappeared in boson madness. Until the sensors cleared, was gone. Disappeared in boson madness. Until the sensors cleared, Free Lunch Free Lunch was blind and deaf; she might as well be weaponless. Scan and data fought with their instruments and programs, struggling to see through the particle storm; but it was too intense for them. And too unfamiliar-Free was blind and deaf; she might as well be weaponless. Scan and data fought with their instruments and programs, struggling to see through the particle storm; but it was too intense for them. And too unfamiliar-Free Lunch Lunch had never encountered anything like this before. had never encountered anything like this before.
Despite the emission carnage, however, Darrin was sure he hadn"t hurt the gap scout. No normal matter cannon blast caused results like that. that. If If Trumpet"s Trumpet"s drives had blown-if the ship had broken down to her component atoms-Free drives had blown-if the ship had broken down to her component atoms-Free Lunch Lunch"s computers would have understood; would have filtered out the distortion in order to see the results.
The gap scout was gone. Darrin couldn"t be sure that he"d so much as touched her.
What in the name of Sanity was going on?
"How did she do do that?" Alesha demanded. A note of panic sharpened her voice. "We hit her dead on, I swear it. Even if she"s nothing but a particle sink, we hit her hard enough to smash her." that?" Alesha demanded. A note of panic sharpened her voice. "We hit her dead on, I swear it. Even if she"s nothing but a particle sink, we hit her hard enough to smash her."
Darrin held up his hand to stop her. He needed silence; needed to think.
Alesha frowned at him, bit her lip; but she obeyed.
No one else spoke.
Darrin scratched his chest, trying to pull his confusion into some form of order.
Trumpet had fired at almost the same instant she came onto had fired at almost the same instant she came onto Free Lunch Free Lunch"s scan-too quickly for her targ to focus accurately. So she must have known Free Lunch Free Lunch was near; her targ officer must have been riding with his fingers on the keys, poised to attack. was near; her targ officer must have been riding with his fingers on the keys, poised to attack.
How had she known?
When the Lab ceased operational transmission in a blaze of static which suggested total disaster, Darrin had realized that the stakes in this contest were higher than he"d suspected; perhaps higher than Hashi Lebwohl had suspected. The only ship close enough to do the installation any damage had been Soar. Soar. Presumably Presumably Soar Soar had come here from lost Billingate hunting had come here from lost Billingate hunting Trumpet. Trumpet. Had Had Trumpet Trumpet shared her cargo with Deaner Beckmann? Was that the reason his facility had experienced a disaster? shared her cargo with Deaner Beckmann? Was that the reason his facility had experienced a disaster?
Had Soar Soar attacked the Lab? attacked the Lab?
Deaner Beckmann had been betrayed: that was plain.
Who was next?
d.a.m.n"s instinct for survival screamed at him. It was time to cut and run. The stakes had become too high. Too high for what he was being paid; too high for what he knew about the other players. If Trumpet Trumpet could do could do that that, what else could she do? If an illegal ship like Soar Soar was willing to attack an illegal installation like the Lab, what else would she do? was willing to attack an illegal installation like the Lab, what else would she do?
Darrin Scroyle had survived for so many years because his instincts were good.
"Any luck?" he asked scan.
"We can"t handle it, Captain," the man on scan answered. "The computers don"t know what to do with it. But it is is dispersing. We should start getting data we can interpret in"-he consulted a readout-"make it two and a half minutes." dispersing. We should start getting data we can interpret in"-he consulted a readout-"make it two and a half minutes."
Two and half minutes before Free Lunch Free Lunch could see. Was could see. Was Trumpet Trumpet blind, too? Or did she know how to penetrate this charged storm? Was she moving now, taking a position to tear her opponent apart? blind, too? Or did she know how to penetrate this charged storm? Was she moving now, taking a position to tear her opponent apart?
"Too long," Darrin decided. Because his people were afraid, he made a particular effort to sound calm. "We can"t wait.
"Helm, back us out of here. You"ll have to a.s.sume nothing"s changed since we went blind. I don"t care-just do it. I"m not interested in being a sitting target. Try to put that asteroid between us and the center of the storm. Maybe the rock will shield us enough to clear scan."
"Right, Captain." The helm first"s tone spiked like a nervous tic, but he started working immediately.
G nudged Darrin against his belts as Free Lunch Free Lunch reversed course. If the bigger rocks in the vicinity hadn"t shifted too much, helm ought to be able to move the ship safely-at least for a couple of k-by following her most recent thrust vectors backward. That might be enough- reversed course. If the bigger rocks in the vicinity hadn"t shifted too much, helm ought to be able to move the ship safely-at least for a couple of k-by following her most recent thrust vectors backward. That might be enough- Was he going to run? A little occlusion might reduce the particle barrage to manageable levels. Then Free Lunch Free Lunch would be able to see, navigate: she would be free to burn- would be able to see, navigate: she would be free to burn- Get out of this d.a.m.n maze while she still could.
But as soon as he asked the question he knew he wouldn"t do it.
He"d accepted a contract.
He"d survived so long because his instincts were good-and because the rules he lived by were simple. He trusted his code. Get paid what the job was worth. Then do it. Get paid what the job was worth. Then do it. The truth was, he couldn"t really know what this job might be worth. He may have evaluated it wrongly. But then, he never knew what any job might be worth; not really. Surprises, miscalculations, even disasters happened all the time: too often to be faced on any terms except simple ones. He trusted his code because the alternatives were worse. The truth was, he couldn"t really know what this job might be worth. He may have evaluated it wrongly. But then, he never knew what any job might be worth; not really. Surprises, miscalculations, even disasters happened all the time: too often to be faced on any terms except simple ones. He trusted his code because the alternatives were worse. Otherwise life didn"t make much sense. Otherwise life didn"t make much sense.
As always, he preferred to make his own commitments and-stand by them than to live by anyone else"s rules.
"It"s working, Captain," scan reported abruptly. "That asteroid is starting to cast a shadow we can see. I should be able to get real information in a few seconds now."
Darrin returned his hands to his board, put questions aside.
"Hold us where we are, helm," he ordered. "But stay alert. If Trumpet Trumpet wants to come back at us, we need to be ready to burn. wants to come back at us, we need to be ready to burn.
"Concentrate, Alesha. They brushed off a direct hit once. We have to hope they can"t do that too often."
Almost at once, scan announced, "Clearing now, Captain. Range is still only one k-no, two. But Trumpet Trumpet isn"t there. We have at least that much empty s.p.a.ce around us." isn"t there. We have at least that much empty s.p.a.ce around us."
He meant empty of ships. The images he rebuilt on the displays showed plenty of rock. The blast which had blinded Free Lunch Free Lunch hadn"t been of a kind to push asteroids around. hadn"t been of a kind to push asteroids around.
Darrin had asked himself his questions, reminded himself that he already knew the answers that mattered. Now he didn"t hesitate. "All right, people," he p.r.o.nounced firmly. "Time to get serious.
"We knew Trumpet Trumpet is formidable. Hashi told us that. He just didn"t trouble to explain how formidable she is. From now on, we"ll treat her like we would a warship. is formidable. Hashi told us that. He just didn"t trouble to explain how formidable she is. From now on, we"ll treat her like we would a warship.
"I"m guessing she was blinded as much as we were. That means she isn"t moving in on us. She"s running for clear s.p.a.ce so she can see. And the safest way she can do that is retrace the way she came. Retrace it exactly.
"We"re going to dive back into that distortion storm. As much acceleration as you dare, helm. If the storm hasn"t dispersed enough for us to handle it, targ, we"ll start firing matter beams in all directions. We"ll keep firing until scan clears. Then we"ll see if she"s there. We"ll see if maybe we hit her by accident-or if she can make more of those storms."
"What if she can?" Alesha asked tensely.
Darrin snorted. "Then we won"t see her. But I"ll take the risk. I think she won"t be able to see us, either.
"If scan clears," he went on, "or stays clear, and we don"t spot her, we"ll sniff out her particle trace and go after her. When we catch up with her, we"ll try lasers or torpedoes on her. She must be vulnerable to something."
Most of his people didn"t look at him, but he knew they were listening. After years of experience together, he trusted their determination as much as their competence. They didn"t always agree with him, but they always did their jobs as well as they could. That was their code as much as his.
Without pausing he continued.
"One more thing. We"re heading back down into the swarm. That"s where Soar Soar is. As I read our contract, there"s only one breach worse than not killing is. As I read our contract, there"s only one breach worse than not killing Trumpet Trumpet ourselves, and that"s letting some other ship capture her. Especially ourselves, and that"s letting some other ship capture her. Especially Soar. Soar. So we might have to take So we might have to take Soar Soar on. on.
"She doesn"t have any amazing new defenses against matter cannon. doesn"t have any amazing new defenses against matter cannon. That That I"m sure of. But rumor has it she carries a super-light proton cannon." Everyone on the bridge had heard the same rumor, but Darrin repeated it anyway. "If we start shooting at her, we"d better make d.a.m.n sure we give it everything we"ve got. I"m sure of. But rumor has it she carries a super-light proton cannon." Everyone on the bridge had heard the same rumor, but Darrin repeated it anyway. "If we start shooting at her, we"d better make d.a.m.n sure we give it everything we"ve got.
"All right?" he finished. "Questions? Are you ready?"
No one questioned him. Of course not. He was their captain. He"d kept them alive for a long time; taught them his code; trusted them; made them moderately wealthy. Most of them loved him as much as he loved them.
After a moment Alesha drawled, "Let"s get it over with. I"m so sick of this swarm I could almost puke.?"
Helm laughed nervously as he poised his hands on his keys.
Quickly data extrapolated a course from scan recordings of the vicinity made before Trumpet Trumpet had appeared; he copied it to one of the screens while he routed it to helm. had appeared; he copied it to one of the screens while he routed it to helm.
When Darrin gave the order, his ship went to fulfill her contract.
MORN.
Acceleration held her to the deck-pressure full of clarity and dreams. Through the pain of impact moved grand visions, majestic as galaxies, pure as loss; phosphenes spoke to her of truth and death. She was in the presence of ultimate things.
And while she dreamed and labored, Angus fought to save the ship, even though she couldn"t see or hear him.