Slightly more than an hour later, Kloo gave a polite rap at the Talents’ ready room door before she slipped quickly inside, a grin plastered on her face, as she flattened herself against the wall.
Got some tinkering for you to do with the duty roster. Gotta get it done in the next five minutes. Can you?
Throw it up in the air and I’ll catch, Thian said without moving from his couch.
Rome hesitated a moment, shrugged and tossed a folded piece of film up in the air. It disappeared.
I can have everyone crucial to this operation of yours in position fifteen minutes before this watch ends. OK? she added.
Couldn’t be OKer.
She was gone as smoothly as she’d arrived. Thian spread the film on his thigh and smiled.
Cover for me, will you, Roj, Flavia? I’ll have to get myself into the main … ah, here. Hmmm. That gal’s pretty clever.
There, that should do it. Roddie?
You rang, coz?
Thian gave him the time.
Uncle Jeff agreed? Ohhohohoho! I take back half the things I’ve said about my illustrious relative, Rhodri Eagle chortled with gleeful anticipation. If he’s going to cover your asses, he’ll cover mine, too. Wow! why is it that you can never brag about the really neat things you’ve done?
Because then they wouldn’t be the neat things, Flavia said unexpectedly. `I do believe they have the lifesupport system on line,’ she added out loud. `D’you think sgit leaves will make a difference … to the quality of the oxygen, I mean?’ `They do on all the ships I’ve been on which added sgit leaves to their plant banks. And the `Dinis never have foul air.’ `In’trusting,’ Flavia said, drawling. `Well, it will save the drain on the Moon Base supplies, of course.
Because the Talents were more on a stand-by basis now that the Refugee’s interior had been diagrammed, the rest of the watch seemed to drag almost interminably.
My crew’s in place, Thian, Rome said. Then over the comunit, `Ah, Prime Thian, this is LieutenantCommander Kloo. Can you stand by?
We’re effecting a decontam drill.’ `We heard you, loud and clear, Commander. Work away.
Rojer caught a shadow out of the corner of his eye and, turning to investigate, nearly fell off his couch.
Granddad’s here, he tried to whisper to Thian.
Thian didn’t turn his head but grinned broadly.
Sort of thought you might, sir.
Since I might have to save your asses, as Roddie so inelegantly put it, I thought I might as well be in on the fun.
And as back-up, too. Don’t you trust us, sir? Thian said, only half in jest.
I trust you all right, Thian. It’s that elongated insect that worries me. We know so little about their psychology.
Ready when you are, came Rhodri’s cheerful voice.
Your plan. Go ahead, Thian, Jeff Raven said, folding his arms and standing approximately where Rome had earlier in the watch.
Merge, Roj, Flavia, Thian said.
The three minds linked neatly, just as if this wasn’t the first time they’d made such contact. With Thian in the lead, Rojer was more aware of the strength of both minds than he’d been during their more or less solo workings on the Refugee. He was also conscious of another potency which both bolstered and encouraged, yet was not a part of the triple merge.
`They’ had no difficulty finding the Hiver queen where she nestled in her shavings bed, her attendants polishing her body parts and smoothing the fine hairs of her limbs. The stinggpzzt from her was unbearably acute as the Thian merge made contact but the hesitation lasted only that brief second of surprise and then `they’ neatly placed her in the now darkened queens quarters of the Refugee: in one of the larger chambers.
Somehow Rome had rigged `night’ lighting which showed the watchers the queen’s form. She had been in a semi-recumbent position in her shavings, but the Merge had placed her upright and she had to adjust her limbs for the standing position. That done, she remained motionless.
Hell’s bells, Thian said, we don’t have days for you to decide where you are and what to do.