FM Busby Long View 8 Rebels Seed

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actually; that d be too obvious. But some kind of meat dish with enough flavor
to mask the native stuff."
"How much native stuff? Enough to kill? And how could you know what amount to
use, to make them sick enough to be helpless?"
"It's all guesswork," said Gray, "except that I
can measure the antidote to counteract the poison dosage you'd be getting. So
to be certain that the plan works, we have to put that dosage on the high
side."
When Cray Maiden had poisoned his contemporaries, he'd killed only one he
hadn't wanted dead, and in his tape he had expressed regret about that one.
Were these people, here, even worse than Maiden?
No, that wasn't fair. Maiden's treachery was against his own shipmates, for
personal gain. This Borgian plot was, at least, directed toward a threat to
March Hare and the ship's entire complement. So Lisele said only, "So let's
say this plan did work. Now how does it get you past all those colonists?"
Anders grinned. "Why, we're already there. Helping you honor the commodore.
How else would he allow us aboard?"
I don't like any of this!
But what could she say?
With the discussion at apparent end, Lisele stood, ready to leave. She turned
toward the latrine and found herself facing Alys Molyneux. "Well, Moray. You
and Houk have yourselves a good time, over in Utieville?" The woman's mouth
tightened; then she said, "Since I'm not allowed groundside, I can call them
anything I damn well please." She shouldered past, to the seat Lisele had
vacated. Shrugging, Lisele stepped away.
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As she neared the facility she sought, the door opened and Eduin Brower came
out. "Hi'ya, Moray."
"Hi'ya, Chief."
She moved to step past him, but he said, "Ain't you gonna ask me did I have
fun, down there in Tent City?"
Her smile didn't seem to want to work; she said, "Hadn't thought that was any
of my business, Chief."
"Oh, everything's everybody's goddamn business these days, kid. All you got to
do is ask."
"Sure. Did you? Have fun?"
Some of the man's obvious tension relaxed. "Better'n I'd've thought. I took
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the fat one so's she couldn't be as good as Katmai, no matter what.
Accommodating woman, though- didn't expect more'n I could do, comfortable."
His expression twisted, then eased again. "What the piss am I doing? Old
renegade like me-she said it herself, Katmai did, and she's right-why's it
knot me up like this, to hump somebody besides that damn fine squaw I got?"
"I don't know. She told you it was all right; remember?"
"For hellfire sure, she did. But-" He blinked hard. "Maybe it's-I cheated,
sometimes; she never knew. Now she hands me a license to fuck. It just don't
feel right."
Don't tell me about it; tell her.
Not until Brower said, "You got you a good idea there," did Lisele realize
she'd said it aloud.
After the delay with Brower, Lisele's need was urgent; her relief was also
proportionately greater. As she emerged from the cubicle she found Arlen
Limmer waiting. "Your turn," she said, but by the doleful look of him she knew
that wasn't what he wanted-and that she was by no means done with listening to
confessions.
"Oh, peace take, it, Arlen! What's your problem?"
"I can't tell you here. The cubby. All right?"
With a spitefulness she couldn't quite hide from herself, Lisele said,
"Aren't you supposed to save yourself for the brood mares?"
His headshake wasn't negation. "To talk, I mean! Please." She relented. "All
right, Arlen." But when they were down there, the door closed and the
"Occupied" light turned
on, her irritation surfaced again. "So talk."
If you have to.
On the side of the bed they sat well apart. He said, "It wasn't what I
expected."
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No possible answer to that; Lisele waited, and Arlen spoke again. "She's
pretty, you know. About your own age, I think.
"Naturally I needed that information. Go on.
"But she doesn't know the things we know." And hadn't Houk said much the same?
"Other things, though-"
He was stuck, but she was tired of that. "Like what
?"
Arlen looked down, then to each side, anywhere except directly toward her. "At
first I couldn't. I don't know why."
Lisele neither knew nor cared. Arlen said, Then she did something for me, so I
could."
If he thought she was going to ask for details, he d have a long wait! Finally
he said, "Her mouth. I
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hadn t-
Oh, peace take the man! She started to say something scathing, then paused.
Wait a minute- "On
Stronghold, when you were a kid in school, didn t they have the tapes that
showed all the different ways?
He shook his head. You mean, you already knew about that?"
From the tapes, sure.
"You never said anything.
"Didn't see any need to.
He sighed. "I wish you had. I hate it, learning something like that from a
damned
Utie
."
She didn't bother to correct his terminology. "What's the difference? You
liked it, I expect.
Yes, but-Lisele, would you-?
For no reason she could identify, she felt embarrassment. "I don t think so."
Because the tapes showed only what happened, not the details of how it was
done, and Liesel Selene Moray disliked being awkward at anything she tried.
He couldn t seem to find an answer. She reached out, patted his shoulder in
vague effort at reassurance, and left the cubby.
To hear, on the intercom, Captain s message coming in.
XXIV
There couldn't possibly have been time, Lisele thought, for round trip comm
with the
Hare
. But checking her chrono,
163
she found she was wrong. Houk must have taped his plan- his and
Gray's-immediately, and sent it out.
Quickly she climbed to Control and found a seat off to one side, next to Alina
Rostadt. To hear the voice of
Captain Delarov saying, ". . . condone the poisoning, except as an absolute
last resort. Well, that was good. "Now for the alternate plan, using the
Patton s Drive emissions to chase the colonists a safe distance away, so that
you could load the Cube onto the scout. I have no objection to this, provided
that you first interdict the ship's immediate area and then warn the colonists
that for their own safety they'll have to move clear, to a considerable
distance. Of course, that also holds true of the low-orbit option. Taking
their power source and burning some buildings, if we have to, is one thing.
Frying people is something else."
The captain paused. "Not having seen a ship of that vintage, I can't visualize
this cargo hatch. But I'll take your word that it's substantial enough to hold
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a scout, soft-landed. Now of course you realize, though nobody mentioned the
problem, that you'll need to land with your airlock facing the open hatch.
So-is there room, once you're landed, to ma-
neuver an object the size and weight of a Nielson Cube, between the ship's
hull and the scout's? To hoist it, insulation-
wrapped, and lash it firmly to the scout?" Her voice gained intensity. "Be
sure you check all these things first, is what
I'm saying. Because nothing's worse than a plan that breaks down in the
middle, because of-some small overlooked detail."
So far, Lisele thought, Katmai Delarov was right on top of things! Now the [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]

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