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hold's true entrance.
"How does it look, so far?"
She hadn't heard the commodore come up behind her, but managed to suppress any
physical start of surprise, and kept her voice cairn when she told him what
she'd learned. "Now the other internal circuits," she said, and began on them:
quarters of officers and division chiefs, galley, the four cargo holds.
Except for captain's digs, those circuits responded only with "Power Off"
indications. "Yes, that's right," said
Maiden. "A long time ago we shut those down. Sprague? Go turn them on. One at
a time. Wait for a call and acknowledge it. Then move ahead to the next one."
He gave the order of locations for testing; Lisele tried to memorize it at
first hearing and hoped Elseth
Sprague could, too. Because she'd hate to see the woman suffer Maiden's
casual, deadly wrath.
Except for Chief Engineer's quarters, all stations responded. For a time
Lisele worried that Sprague wouldn't know what to do next, but when the next
stop was called, the woman answered. And, completing the list, returned to
Control.
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"Well, that's a good start," said Cray Maiden. "You want to see Drive now?"
Houk shook his head. "Tired. Tomorrow, soon enough."
"By this time, maybe you'd like something to eat. Come groundside for it, or
Sprague can deliver. Whatever you like."
Actually Lisele did feel hungry, but the Drive Chief said, "Tomorrow for that,
too." No question about it, he wanted free of the
Patton's contingent. Lisele didn't know why, but he was playing the hand so
she asked no questions.
Still Maiden talked. Rather than saying merely that captain's quarters had the
necessary conveniences, he explained in detail about bedding and running water
and latrine facilities. But finally he motioned to his cortege and turned to
leave. "In the morning I hope you'll join us groundside for breakfast. Two
hours after dawn?"
151
Houk nodded. Obliged, and the Uties went offship. Lisele, watching an
aux-screen monitor, confirmed their leaving. She turned to Houk, but he spoke
first. "Captain's digs. Work to do, and we need to eat first."
"But we could have-"
"Not with them
. Need to talk, too.
As on any ship, the captain had certain minimal cooking arrangements. Houk
heated two ration packets and made coffee. As they began to eat, Lisele tried
to sort her thinking out. Well, first: "Hey, thanks for unhooking me from the
commodore's plans. I didn't quite know how to handle it, myself.
Swallowing, he nodded. "Sure. Couldn t let that happen. Myself, need you
here."
"Now just a minute! I'm not your cozy little bed partner, either. I can take
some bedding and sleep in one of the unpowered rooms. I-
You. You don t listen, long enough. Surprisingly, for long moments he looked
really angry; then his expression calmed. "Work, still tonight, I need you
for." She must have looked puzzled, because he said, "Clear your head! Wanted
you, a time back, yes. That youngster! I'd do you better. But now-"
He didn t seem to know what to say next. "Yes, Chief?
Never before had she seen such a sheepish grin on the man. First thing. To
Brower I lied.
Did stay and do a second time, with that woman. The rest was truth; also we
talked. Needful, that was.' His scowl, then, seemed to denote only
concentration. "Forget other room. The big bed here-share it with me and fear
nothing. As friends, only, we sleep. More important, though-
"Yes?"
Done eating soon, we check the Drive. Things we can t do with them around."
"Like what?"
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He leaned forward. "Node power-how much is left? And the balance. Slight tilt,
this ship has. Not much, but caused how? These things, we have to know.
"We do? Why?"
A plan. Alternative. Nobody else-not Kobolak, not you, not anybody-says it. A
way to save
March Hare
.''
"What is it?"
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With both of them done eating, he stood. "Once I find will it work, I tell
you."
Scoutship routines persisted; before Lisele and Houk began the job the man
wanted done, they cleaned up after eating. Then, up in Control, he told her
what he wanted: between the two of them, calling indicator readings back and
forth between Drive and Control, to bring the Pattern's Drive up live, to
idling level and a bit more. "The thrust part, not," he said. "That, they'd
hear, groundside. So just the power acceptance, by nodes and by numbers of
facet plugs in each node. The push switch, we call it-that, I'll keep Off."
"What good will this do? Any of it?"
His shrug came onesided. 'Balance."
"And what does that mean? Here, in this situation?"
"Later, we talk that. Now I go down to Drive."
He did, and for more than an hour they fiddled back and forth with Drive
controls. First he wanted readings on the transverse thrustors used for
Turnover and sometimes for course changes; those units seemed to be in good
order and needed only minor adjustments to satisfy Houk's criteria. Whatever
those might be, thought
Liesel Selene Moray.
Then for an interminable period he had Lisele making adjustments and taking
readings on the ship's major
Drive nodes. From hearing Maiden's tape she knew all three had lost function
in too many facet plugs, ever to lift and reach another world. But Houk kept
asking for shifts in power feeds; as she made adjustments in answer, she saw
the three indicators show a smoother pattern, the separate phase relationships
making smaller and fewer peaks and valleys. Whatever power/thrust level the
man had achieved, and for whatever purpose, at least he had a more stable
power distribution.
And finally he called over the intercom to say, "Gradual shutdown, let's do
now. Around the board, all
even." She followed his countdown, and the system settled to quiescence.
She met him in captain's quarters; nude, he sat with a glass of iced spirits
and offered her another. "The skin, don't mind it. With friends we never do.
Correct, not?
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She laughed. "I'm too pooped to care." She took the drink from his hand, and
then a great cold gulp of it.
Sitting
153
heavily, she decided that the reason she didn't shuck her own sweaty clothes
was that just now it was too much work.
"All right. What did you learn? About your plan, that is?"
His eyes narrowed. "It could work. But how to make it happen, may not be
possible."
And peace take the man, she couldn't get him to say anything more, that made
any sense.
So after a time she stripped and used a flagrant amount of the ship's water to
wash herself in the captain's shower, and joined deWayne Houk in the huge bed.
Somehow, after the experiences of that particular day, she wasn't at all
surprised that he stayed on his own side.
His chrono alarm woke her. Sitting up, she checked her own, and said, "It's
barely dawn. Why-?"
"Two hours before we meet with them. Time we can use."
"Sure." She took first turn in the bathroom and came out to find coffee at
hand. When he, too, was ready, they sat drinking it. She said, "Tell me a
little more, can't you? What it is you're trying to do?"
"For now, balance Drive nodes, estimate thrusts. Power I've balanced, yes.
Thrust-that's different. Darwin
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