Slowly-she did everything slowly now that Trumpet Trumpet was out of the well-Mikka tapped a toggle to open a ship-wide intercom channel. was out of the well-Mikka tapped a toggle to open a ship-wide intercom channel.
"Tell him," she said to Davies flatly. "And tell Ciro. They both need to know."
She didn"t mention her own needs. Maybe she"d gleaned everything she could absorb from the log. Or maybe in some basic way she"d temporarily ceased to exist for herself.
Instinctively Davies shied away from her demand. He"d made too many errors, forgotten too much, served the ship and her people too poorly. Now he feared that if he thought about all the things he couldn"t forgive, his weakness might overwhelm him.
Nevertheless he knew that Mikka was right.
Precisely because he felt so weak, he had to act strong.
She watched him dully as he faced his pickup.
"None of this was my idea," he rasped, coercing himself with fierceness, "or Morn"s. Angus set it up."
Remember that. Remember who kept us alive.
"We thought we were following Soar Soar out of the swarm, but she managed to get behind us. Then we ran into out of the swarm, but she managed to get behind us. Then we ran into Free Lunch." Free Lunch." Davies had fired at her stupidly, without so much as focusing targ. "Morn told you about her. Angus wasn"t sure how to fight her, so we headed back into the swarm. He wanted to deal with Davies had fired at her stupidly, without so much as focusing targ. "Morn told you about her. Angus wasn"t sure how to fight her, so we headed back into the swarm. He wanted to deal with Soar- Soar-first, before we had to face Free Lunch Free Lunch again. again.
"Angus didn"t leave us any choice." Davies tried to make his meaning unmistakable. He hadn"t saved Trumpet Trumpet himself: everyone aboard would have died if their lives had depended on him. "He set the ship to play dead-I guess he thought he could lure himself: everyone aboard would have died if their lives had depended on him. "He set the ship to play dead-I guess he thought he could lure Soar Soar in. He programmed everything he wanted. Then he took that portable matter cannon of his and went outside. in. He programmed everything he wanted. Then he took that portable matter cannon of his and went outside.
"Before we could move, Free Lunch Free Lunch caught up with us. She started firing at caught up with us. She started firing at Soar" Soar" Grimly Davies described what he and Morn had done; what he knew of Angus" actions. Then he grated, "It should have been impossible, but it worked. Grimly Davies described what he and Morn had done; what he knew of Angus" actions. Then he grated, "It should have been impossible, but it worked. Free Lunch Free Lunch fell into the black hole. Maybe fell into the black hole. Maybe Soar Soar did, too-I don"t know. I"m a.s.suming she"s still around somewhere, trying to find us. did, too-I don"t know. I"m a.s.suming she"s still around somewhere, trying to find us.
"Breaking out of the gravity well wasn"t easy. We never had a chance to let Angus come back inside. G shattered Morn"s arm." He had no intention of explaining that she"d caused her own injury. He didn"t think he could bear to say that aloud. "And we couldn"t go back for Sib." He swallowed once, fiercely. "By now he"s dead. If the black hole or the fighting didn"t kill him, he ran out of air."
Brave, terrified Sib Mackern deserved a better farewell; but Davies couldn"t think of anything else to say.
"At the moment we"re safe. Sort of. We"re following our old course out of the swarm. We still haven"t caught any sign of Soar. Soar. Maybe we"ll know more when this rock starts to thin out, and scan can see farther." Maybe we"ll know more when this rock starts to thin out, and scan can see farther."
He glanced at Mikka to see whether she was satisfied. But she wasn"t looking at him. She sat in her g-seat with her head back and her good eye closed, resting briefly while she listened.
His readouts told him that the lift had reached the central pa.s.sage. Soon Angus would be in sickbay. After that Davies could key his board to call up a display of Angus" condition from the sickbay systems. If he had the nerve-If he wanted to be reminded that no one was left to relieve him of responsibility.
He didn"t try to answer that question. Instead he returned his attention to the intercom.
"In the meantime," he went on, "there are other things you should know." Now that he was done remembering his mistakes-at least temporarily-he could speak more easily. "I"ve been learning my way around communications, and I"ve found two more details Angus must have programmed before he went outside."
Decisions Angus had made without consulting anyone; not even Morn.
"One is that we"re already broadcasting Vector"s message. And I mean broadcasting. broadcasting. We"re spraying it in all directions as loud as we can. n.o.body can hear us yet. There"s too much rock in the way, too much static. But as soon as we reach the fringes of the swarm, We"re spraying it in all directions as loud as we can. n.o.body can hear us yet. There"s too much rock in the way, too much static. But as soon as we reach the fringes of the swarm, somebody somebody is going to receive this transmission. Once we"re past the rocks, VI won"t be able to avoid hearing us." is going to receive this transmission. Once we"re past the rocks, VI won"t be able to avoid hearing us."
Not to mention every other ship in this quadrant of the Ma.s.sif-5 system.
"Unfortunately that"ll make us very very easy to spot. We might as well shout our location at anybody who wants to find us." easy to spot. We might as well shout our location at anybody who wants to find us."
Davies paused. Mikka blinked her eyes open, turned a look like a groan in his direction.
"That"s all right," Vector put in. His helmet no longer constricted his voice. He was using the sickbay intercom. "The risk is worth it. We don"t need much time to make sure Valdor hears that message. Then we"ve won. It won"t matter if Soar Soar gets us. It won"t even matter if gets us. It won"t even matter if Calm Horizons Calm Horizons herself comes after us. VI will know about the immunity drug. herself comes after us. VI will know about the immunity drug.
"Humankind will finally have a defense that works."
Davies nodded wearily, even though Vector couldn"t see him. "In any case, there"s no point in postponing transmission until we"re out of trouble. Angus made sure of that."
Mikka lowered her wounded face into her hands as if she were afraid to hear what was coming.
"The other thing he did," Davies explained, "was activate a homing signal. A Cla.s.s-1 UMCP homing signal, emergency trace-and-follow. It doesn"t just tell where we are, it gives coordinates, course, and velocity. If we go into tach, it includes our gap drive parameters and settings." So that any UMCP vessel in pursuit would know where to reacquire the signal. "That must be how Punisher Punisher got close enough to reach us with a message. She knew exactly where we were. got close enough to reach us with a message. She knew exactly where we were.
"There"s probably some way to turn it off," he finished, "but I haven"t figured out how."
Deliberately he didn"t say, If Soar Soar catches us-or if catches us-or if Calm Horizons Calm Horizons actually comes after us-maybe we"ll have help. He didn"t dare. Like Morn and Vector, he knew too much about UMCP corruption. He couldn"t stifle his inherited respect for Min Donner, but he no longer trusted anything Warden Dios did. actually comes after us-maybe we"ll have help. He didn"t dare. Like Morn and Vector, he knew too much about UMCP corruption. He couldn"t stifle his inherited respect for Min Donner, but he no longer trusted anything Warden Dios did.
If the UMCP director had really intended to free Angus, why had he first given Nick Angus" codes?
"s.h.i.t," Mikka breathed. "This is a mess. A f.u.c.king mess. Whose side are we on? What"re we supposed to do? Angus rescues us from Soar Soar and and Free Lunch Free Lunch, I still don"t understand how, and then he starts shouting so loud we can"t hide from anybody. anybody. G.o.d, that datacore in his head must have made him crazy." G.o.d, that datacore in his head must have made him crazy."
Davies reached out to silence the intercom, then stopped himself. "Vector," he asked, "is there anything you want to say while you have the chance? Anything else you want to know?
"Ciro?"
Vector made a tired sound which might have been intended as a chuckle. "Words fail me," he drawled. "I"m just glad I"m not trained for helm. Or targ. This is your your problem. You"ll handle it better than I would." problem. You"ll handle it better than I would."
Ciro didn"t reply. He may not have heard the intercom at all.
Thanks. Davies took a bitter breath, let it out slowly. Just what I wanted to hear.
"In that case," he muttered thinly, "you"d better brace yourself for another fight. Secure Angus in sickbay, Vector. Take Morn to her cabin, put her to bed. Then do the same yourself. No matter what we do, we aren"t safe until we get away from Ma.s.sif-5."
"Right." Davies" speaker emitted a small pop as Vector toggled the sickbay intercom.
Mikka kept the ship-wide channel open, however. As soon as Davies silenced his pickup, she leaned over hers.
"Ciro, did you hear all that? Are you all right? Ciro?"
Still Ciro didn"t say anything.
Was he asleep? Unconscious?
Or was Vector wrong?
If Sorus Chatelaine"s mutagen had become active- Even now Mikka moved slowly. Fatigue and gloom weighted her movements as she undipped her belts and floated up from the command station. "I need to check on him," she murmured as if she were talking to herself; as if no one else would care what she did. "If he"s all right, he would have answered."
"Mikka!" Davies protested involuntarily. The thought of being left alone appalled him. He couldn"t do everything himself; the burden was too much to bear. "I can"t run helm!"
But the panic in his voice dismayed him. Despite his weakness, he swallowed as much distress as he could. "I haven"t had time to learn," he said more quietly. "If Soar Soar shows up while you"re off the bridge, we won"t stand a chance." shows up while you"re off the bridge, we won"t stand a chance."
She didn"t look at him. Squinting with anxiety or yearning, she studied the empty pa.s.sage at the head of the companionway as if she were peering into a darkness as deep as the black hole Trumpet Trumpet had left behind. Yet she didn"t move away. Adrift above the command station, she stared one-eyed at the pa.s.sage like a woman who hoped that the singularity"s attraction might release some fatal truth, if only she waited for it long enough; wanted it enough. had left behind. Yet she didn"t move away. Adrift above the command station, she stared one-eyed at the pa.s.sage like a woman who hoped that the singularity"s attraction might release some fatal truth, if only she waited for it long enough; wanted it enough.
Watching her, Davies thought his heart would stop. He"d come to the end of what he could do. No wonder Morn had chosen to go with Nick instead of turning herself over to Com-Mine Security. Her son would have done the same: her hunger for the artificial transcendence of her zone implant made sense to him. Like her, he didn"t know how to live with his limits.
"Please, Mikka," he breathed. "Vector did the best he could. He said the antimutagen worked. I need you here."
So softly that he barely heard her, she answered, "You don"t know what it"s like. He isn"t your brother. You don"t know him the way I do.
"Vector cured him, but he"s not all right. Sorus-She hurt him in places I can"t reach."
Surrendering to the drag of her weariness, she sank back to the command g-seat. Her hand on the seat back settled her against the cushions. She closed the belts around her again. For a moment she bowed her head: she may have been praying. Then, burdened and slow, her movements clogged with loss, she lifted her hands to the board and began tapping keys like a woman who"d abandoned hope.
Places I can"t reach.
Davies didn"t think he would be able to put off weeping much longer.
Indications of battle reached Trumpet Trumpet before she found the fringes of the swarm. Emissions on particular wavelengths leaked through the thinning barrier of stones: characteristic spikes of violence registered on the ship"s sensors and sifters. before she found the fringes of the swarm. Emissions on particular wavelengths leaked through the thinning barrier of stones: characteristic spikes of violence registered on the ship"s sensors and sifters.
Matter cannon, the scan computer announced across one of Davies" readouts. Two sources, presumably blasting at each other. One delivered fire in concentrated barrages, pausing to recharge between them. The other blazed away less powerfully but more steadily, pouring out a nearly continuous stream of force.
One source-the one firing constantly-appeared closer to the swarm. The other lay more directly in line with Trumpet Trumpet"s heading.
Davies routed everything scan gave him to the displays so that Mikka could follow it with him. But he didn"t say anything. She didn"t need advice or instructions. After her years with Nick, she knew far more about actual combat than he did.
In any case, he felt too weak to talk. As far as I can tell, I"m Bryony Hyland"s daughter. The one she used to have-before you sold your soul for a zone implant. As far as I can tell, I"m Bryony Hyland"s daughter. The one she used to have-before you sold your soul for a zone implant. Driven by distress, he"d sneered at Morn; but he saw clearly now that he"d been dishonest with her-and with himself. If anyone had offered him a zone implant here, he would have accepted at once, despite all the time he"d spent watching her pay for her decisions. Driven by distress, he"d sneered at Morn; but he saw clearly now that he"d been dishonest with her-and with himself. If anyone had offered him a zone implant here, he would have accepted at once, despite all the time he"d spent watching her pay for her decisions.
Mikka herself was too weary to discuss the situation. Mutely they concentrated on their separate responsibilities.
First she slowed Trumpet"s Trumpet"s pace to a walk. Then she began picking her course forward with extreme care, keeping the gap scout occluded by the largest asteroids she could find. From behind rocks charged with static, pace to a walk. Then she began picking her course forward with extreme care, keeping the gap scout occluded by the largest asteroids she could find. From behind rocks charged with static, Trumpet Trumpet could peek out toward the embattled ships while taking the smallest possible risk that either of them might catch a glimpse of her. could peek out toward the embattled ships while taking the smallest possible risk that either of them might catch a glimpse of her.
They could hear her already: that was unavoidable. If her scan could see their cannon firing, their dishes could certainly receive her transmissions. But her broadcast and the homing signal still reached outward by bouncing off quant.i.ties of stone. For that reason, the combatants might not be able to triangulate on her position.
As Trumpet Trumpet eased past the horizon of each successive asteroid, Davies sharpened his efforts to learn everything he could about those ships. eased past the horizon of each successive asteroid, Davies sharpened his efforts to learn everything he could about those ships.
The same radiant reflection which helped conceal the gap scout prevented him from determining their positions with any precision. Nevertheless the rough angles of the rocks did little to distort other kinds of information: thrust characteristics; energy profiles; emission signatures. Before Trumpet Trumpet reached the last stones she could trust to cover her, stones several times her size, his computer gave him id. reached the last stones she could trust to cover her, stones several times her size, his computer gave him id.
As steadily as he could, he coded the display blips which approximated the locations of the combatants.
One was Calm Horizons. Calm Horizons. An Amnion "defensive" engaged in an act of war. The computer knew her too well to be mistaken. An Amnion "defensive" engaged in an act of war. The computer knew her too well to be mistaken.
From where she waited, she covered all Trumpet"s Trumpet"s conceivable lines of escape. conceivable lines of escape.
The other must have been Punisher. Punisher. Her signature matched that of the vessel Her signature matched that of the vessel Trumpet Trumpet had pa.s.sed when the gap scout had first emerged from forbidden s.p.a.ce. If had pa.s.sed when the gap scout had first emerged from forbidden s.p.a.ce. If Trumpet Trumpet had been sending out a Cla.s.s-1 UMCP homing signal all this time, a UMCP cruiser would have had no difficulty following her here. had been sending out a Cla.s.s-1 UMCP homing signal all this time, a UMCP cruiser would have had no difficulty following her here.
Scan suggested that Punisher Punisher was on a course which may have been intended to put her between was on a course which may have been intended to put her between Calm Horizons Calm Horizons and and Trumpet. Trumpet.
Davies couldn"t imagine how either of them survived. They both poured out enough destruction to pulverize each other a dozen times over. However, his scan image wasn"t yet exact enough to tell him what evasive actions they took-or what condition their sinks and shields were in.
Nevertheless for some reason Calm Horizons Calm Horizons wasn"t using her super-light proton cannon. Even surrounded by reflections and static, the gap scout"s instruments could hardly fail to recognize that specific type of emission. wasn"t using her super-light proton cannon. Even surrounded by reflections and static, the gap scout"s instruments could hardly fail to recognize that specific type of emission.
Probably the Amnioni kept her most powerful gun charged and ready so that she could be sure of killing Trumpet. Trumpet.
Suddenly Davies found that he couldn"t swallow. His mouth was too dry. The pain of his damaged bones had become an incessant throbbing, like a knife in his side. Despite his best efforts to control them, his hands shook on his board.
Bryony Hyland"s daughter. Before you sold your soul- With a touch of her finger, Mikka keyed her intercom. For the first time in nearly two hours, she broke the silence.
"All right, Vector, Ciro-Angus and Morn, if you can hear me. This is it." Fatigue throbbed in her voice, but she seemed to ignore it by an act of will. She was nothing if not a fighter. "We"re at the edge of the swarm. And we have two ships in our way. They"re going at each other hard. Maybe they"re fighting over us. The computer says one of them is UMCP cruiser Punisher. Punisher. The other"s our old friend The other"s our old friend Calm Horizons." Calm Horizons."
She scowled darkly. "At least now we know what we"re worth. Apparently war isn"t too high a price to pay."
Somehow Warden Dios or Hashi Lebwohl had brought this about. But was it what they wanted? Or had they simply made some terrible miscalculation?
"I can"t be sure," Mikka growled, "but I think by now our broadcast is leaking out where it can be heard. It"s a good bet both Punisher Punisher and and Calm Horizons Calm Horizons know what we"re doing. Before long they won"t be the only ones. know what we"re doing. Before long they won"t be the only ones.
"That"s the good news.
"The bad news is, we can"t get past them. They have us covered. Unless we want to go all the way back through the swarm," back past the raging hunger of the black hole, "we"re stuck here until one of them finishes the other off.
"I guess we"d better hope Punisher Punisher does the finishing. We still don"t know what the d.a.m.n cops want, but they aren"t likely to kill us as fast as the Amnion will." does the finishing. We still don"t know what the d.a.m.n cops want, but they aren"t likely to kill us as fast as the Amnion will."
Tiredly, Mikka silenced the intercom. Without a glance at Davies, she went back to work, looking for ways to improve Trumpet"s Trumpet"s position which wouldn"t expose the gap scout to direct scan from either position which wouldn"t expose the gap scout to direct scan from either Punisher Punisher or or Calm Horizons. Calm Horizons.
Shamed by her example, he wrestled for calm. Bryony Hyland"s daughter Bryony Hyland"s daughter, like h.e.l.l. The woman who"d stayed at her post and died to save her ship would have cringed at the sight of him. There were worse things than zone implants; worse crimes than selling his soul. Being too weak to remember his parents was one of them; too weak to remember what he cared about, or why- Angus and Morn had saved his life. It was his turn.
Angus had told him once, You"re spending too much time on the guns. Concentrate on our defenses. You"re spending too much time on the guns. Concentrate on our defenses. Weapons wouldn"t save Weapons wouldn"t save Trumpet Trumpet now; she couldn"t face down a warship in open s.p.a.ce. No matter what Hashi Lebwohl had done for her, she didn"t have that much firepower. now; she couldn"t face down a warship in open s.p.a.ce. No matter what Hashi Lebwohl had done for her, she didn"t have that much firepower.
Davies let his hands shake. Trembling wouldn"t kill him. He had more important things to worry about.
Deliberately he checked the dispersion field generator; ran every status and diagnostic check he could find. Then he turned to scan again, searching the discernible spectrum for information he might be able to use.
He nearly cried out when he caught sight of Soar. Soar.
Like Calm Horizons Calm Horizons, she was too well-known; the computer couldn"t be wrong about her.
She was scarcely forty k away-a trivial distance in s.p.a.ce, but still considerable in the fringes of the swarm. In fact, it was possible that she hadn"t spotted Trumpet Trumpet yet. Plenty of rock jockeyed and ricocheted in the gap between them. Most of yet. Plenty of rock jockeyed and ricocheted in the gap between them. Most of Trumpet"s Trumpet"s data about her enemy came in by reflection-and there was nothing symmetrical about the way emissions bounced around the stones. data about her enemy came in by reflection-and there was nothing symmetrical about the way emissions bounced around the stones.
Soar appeared to be limping; maneuvering poorly. But her guns were charged-poised for use. appeared to be limping; maneuvering poorly. But her guns were charged-poised for use.
Shaking feverishly, Davies labeled her blip on the display so that Mikka could see it.
Her jaw sank as she looked at the screen. "Perfect," she muttered to herself. "f.u.c.king perfect."
Even his bones shook. His brain itself seemed to tremble. Unsteadily he asked, "What do you want to do?"
The muscles at the corner of Mikka"s jaw knotted. "Get her. Get her now. Before she fixes targ on us."
"We can"t." Bryony Hyland"s daughter. Bryony Hyland"s daughter. "Too many asteroids in the way." "Too many asteroids in the way." If we can stand being that ashamed of ourselves. If we can stand being that ashamed of ourselves. "We don"t have a clear line of fire." "We don"t have a clear line of fire."
Soar also had no clear line. also had no clear line.
"And if we try," he went on urgently, fearfully, "Calm Horizons"ll "Calm Horizons"ll see it. She"ll know where we are. Just this much rock won"t stop that proton cannon from reaching us." see it. She"ll know where we are. Just this much rock won"t stop that proton cannon from reaching us."
Mikka turned a glare like a curse on him. "Then what can we do?"