`Ah, there you are, Mr Lyon,’ the captain said when he arrived but there were scowls, an irritated tlock and snubbing switch of the upper torso by one of the younger `Dini on Captain Prtglm’s staff, as if he’d deliberately delayed his appearance. That they’d been up all night was obvious by the smell in the room, and the numbers of discarded mugs, half full of cold liquid which orderlies were clearing away as well as serving fresh drinks to both human and `Dini. `I’m happy to say that your efforts bore extremely ripe fruit. There you are!’ On the big tactical screen Rojer sleepily noticed a Hive ship. Only something about it wasn’t quite right: it had coloured marks all over it: different coloured marks that hadn’t been on the original scans.
`I’m not sure what I should be looking for, Captain,’ Rojer said, too sleepy still to pretend to understand.
`You’re looking at an unarmed Hiver, is what you’re looking at, lad,’ Commander Metrios said, smiling with tired triumph. `She’s a new ship: not so much as a scratch on her hull. She’s not on search or armed to invade. That’s a colony world and she doesn’t expect us. And it doesn’t know we’re on its doorstep.
`Yes, sir,’ Rojer willingly agreed, hoping that was all that was required of him.
`This time a Hiver will not escape,’ Captain Prtglm said, and his body mirrored satisfaction and triumph.
`If she doesn’t have weapons, she can’t defend herself,’ Rojer said blankly.
His comment caused all conversation in the big room to cease and he became the unhappy focus of every eye, especially big poll eyes.
`Where’s the glory in attacking an unarmed ship?’ he asked, looking directly at Captain Prtglm. The silence continued, but it had a different quality: a quality that made Rojer terribly uneasy.
`You’ve a message you need me to send to the Alliance?’ he went on, thinking that was why he had been sent for. The silence was almost deafening and he was too muddleheaded with sleep to be able to `read’ the conflicting ones. `Or do you want another probe sent out?’ `A message and a probe, lad,’ Captain Osullivan said and then signalled to one of the orderlies. `Some coffee for Mr Lyon, please. He’ll need his wits about him.’ When Rojer settled in the couch on the bridge to `path to Earth Prime, he heard and `felt’ not so much animosity as cynicism and dislike: not outright hatred but definitely contempt.
What he did hear, almost spoken aloud the thought was so strong, was: `How can we be sure the kid’ll send what’s written?’ The captain handed him the message. `This must be transmitted verbatim, lad.’ `Sir,’ and Rojer raised his voice so that he’d be heard across the wide room, `a Prime, which I am, has the duty to send what he is given to send and forget what he is not supposed to remember. I’ve been trained in Tower ethics since I was old enough to use telepathy for distance speaking ten years ago.
And that is why I was sent to serve on the Genesee, because I can `path accurately over distance. When you’re ready, Mr Metrios, I’ll need every erg those engines can give me right now.
To be sure he had made his point, he read the message in a low voice that would be audible to the captain, Commander Metrios and the com officer so that they’d know he had sent what he was asked to send and without comment. He kept his mental tone even and bland but inadvertently he caught his breath as he felt his grandfather’s touch: clear despite the distance involved.
That’s some report, Roj. You been stirring things up?
Me, sir? No, sir.
Jeff Raven had not held his important position as Earth Prime and the strongest T-1 in the Nine Star League without sensing what sometimes was not `pathed. He altered his voice after his official acknowledgement of the communique’ to a less formal tone.
Giving you a bit of a rough time, huh, Roj? He was sympathetic but bracing.
Nothing I can’t handle, Granddad. I guess I’m just not used to naval ways.