STARLINER by David Drake

“Not impossible, Dewhurst,” Wade said easily, “but damned difficult, I’ll grant you. It wasn’t a matter of accuracy, you see. I’ve sailed with some crack shots—lizard-hunters on Hobilo, chaps who could knock the eye out of a squirrel at a hundred paces, even wearing spacesuits. Out on the hull, they couldn’t hit a thing.”

“That,” said Da Silva, “I believe.”

“I suppose you didn’t have any problem, though?” Reed asked.

“No problem?” Wade replied. “I certainly can’t claim that. I needed several shots, sometimes half a dozen, before I got a feel for where to aim. The spatial relationships in another universe—that’s what each cell of the sponge is, you know—are utterly different from those of our own. And they changed after each insertion, of course.”

“A quick study, Dickie is,” Belgeddes said approvingly.

The main room was emptying out. The Empress of Earth had six smaller dining rooms as well. Large parties could book them, but normally the separate rooms were used to accommodate groups of non-humans traveling on the vessel. The door of one opened and disgorged a herd of Rialvans, their jaws working in a sidewise rotary motion as they continued to masticate their meal.

Dewhurst sighed. “Anyone for a drink?”

Da Silva shrugged. “Fine by me. Starlight Bar all right?”

“Ugh, not me,” said Ms. Dewhurst. “I’m going back to the room, dear. And I believe there’s a dance in the lounge tonight.”

“It gives me the creeps, looking out at all that—light,” Reed said.

“That’s good,” replied Da Silva. “You can get a meal and a drink in any hotel in the universe. Up there—sponge space—is what makes this different.”

“Ah . . .” said Wade, shooting both cuffs of his loose velour shirt. Neither wrist bore a credit bracelet. “I don’t seem to be wearing my—”

“No problem,” said Da Silva. “I’m buying.”

They all got up. A steward and robot poised to make a final sweep.

“As usual,” murmured Dewhurst. “Except when Reed’s buying, or I am.”

Nobody appeared to hear him.

“You know . . .” Reed said softly as he followed Da Silva out of the dining room. “The Empress is supposed to have an impressive shooting gallery . . . .”

BISCAY

“But I just want to get off and stretch my legs!” the woman cried to Commander Kneale. Her voice rose into a shrill blade of sound that sliced the muttering of the Embarkation Hall where three hundred First Class passengers waited.

These were the folk—all of them human—who hadn’t heard the announcement that First and Cabin Class unloading would be delayed, or who had ignored the announcement or who simply thought that the delay would be much shorter than the two hours which had already passed. Commander Kneale himself had thought the delay would be much shorter . . . .

“I’m sorry, madam,” Kneale said calmly, “but we can’t permit passengers to disembark at the moment, for their own safety. I assure you that when the gangplank can be lowered, we’ll announce it in all the lounges.”

“But I want to get out now!” There was an edge of hysteria in her tone. There were people who could keep the feeling of being trapped in a metal coffin at bay—until landfall. Then they had to get out . . . and the trouble was, Kneale didn’t dare lower the gangway until he got the all-clear signal from Third Class.

Another white uniform cut through the crowd: Crewman Blavatsky, carrying a tall glass of varicolored fluids on which bits of fruit floated. “Ms. Fessermark?” the rating said. “Would you sit with me for a moment? I’m not feeling well. . . .”

Startled, the passenger turned from Commander Kneale and allowed herself to be guided out through a corridor. The leather banquettes in the Embarkation Hall were filled by passengers waiting with slightly more patience than Ms. Fessermark had shown.

Blavatsky and her charge paused for a moment. Ms. Fessermark took the drink and downed a good three ounces of it before she lowered the glass. That ought to calm her down, if it didn’t simply knock her legless when the full effect of layered rums and liqueurs set in.

Pages: 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35 36 37 38 39 40 41 42 43 44 45 46 47 48 49 50 51 52 53 54 55 56 57 58 59 60 61 62 63 64 65 66 67 68 69 70 71 72 73 74 75 76 77 78 79 80 81 82 83 84 85 86 87 88 89 90 91 92 93 94 95 96 97 98 99 100 101 102 103 104 105 106 107 108 109 110 111 112 113 114 115 116 117 118 119 120 121 122 123 124 125 126 127

Leave a Reply 0

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *