“Ganfer, what are the chances everyone is inside that mine?” she asked after a few seconds of quiet.
“Considering the heat at this time of the day and the news that the Mashrami and pirates are near, the chances are very good.”
“Would they be scared, maybe?” Bain asked.
“I would be. How often does a ship land this far from the spaceport, even one as small as Sunsinger?” Lin pressed a few more buttons. The screens that showed sensor readings all over the ship during their atmospheric flight changed to more video views of the mining camp.
“If I went out first, they wouldn't be scared, would they?” he asked after a minute or two of thinking.
“They might not, but I would be. Bain, what if they're just waiting out of sight, hidden from our sensors behind all that thick, metallic rock, ready to shoot at the first person who steps out of a ship?” Lin shook her head. “I can't let you take a risk like that.”
“But I'm crew, right? I have to help, right?” Bain unfastened his safety belt and stood. “Lin, there are other kids there, and they're scared, too. We have to get them away from here before the Mashrami land or the pirates get them.”
“That's their own parents’ responsibility, isn't it? I'm responsible for you.” Lin looked away as she spoke, and Bain suddenly knew what was wrong.
It wasn't just that she was afraid of him getting hurt; it was that she was responsible for him. She was supposed to teach him how to be a Spacer, but she wasn't allowed to let him get hurt.
Bain wanted to hit something—or someone. How was he supposed to learn to be a real Spacer and do everything crew was supposed to do, if he didn't take chances?
“It's that Chief Malloy back at Refuge, isn't it? He put a bunch of stupid rules on you. Even though I'm supposed to be crew, I'm not really crew, am I?”
“Bain, you are more crew and more Spacer than you'll ever really know.” She turned back to him now, and her eyes were bright with either repressed tears or laughter. “What Sourpuss Malloy says you can or can't do has nothing to do with this situation. He gave me a lot of stupid regulations and orders that I don't want to follow, but I have to. Keeping you from getting hurt wasn't one of them. I simply don't want to risk you getting hurt.”
“I'm little. They'd have to aim really good to shoot at me.”
“Bain—” Lin stopped short and pressed a hand over her mouth. Was she trying not to laugh, maybe? “All right.” She got up and stomped around the control panel to one of the storage bins along the front curve of the bridge. “I'll broadcast who we are, and I'll lower the ramp out the back. If they don't charge us, you can go out first. But—I'll be right behind you.” She yanked open the bin and pulled out a hand-held beam burner and holster.
“Lin—”
“And you'll go change your clothes. Back into those horrid, dirt-brown orphanage clothes, if you didn't throw them out for rags yet. You'll make less of a target if you blend into the rocks.”
Bain nodded and hurried over to his cubicle. As he tugged the curtain closed and pulled open the storage box under his bunk, he heard Lin clicking switches and pushing buttons to turn on the broadcast unit for outside the ship. The protective panels had to be retracted first, to let the speakers swing out into position. Then Lin had to test the power flow and make sure everything was working before she started talking.
“Attention Barton and Worley mining camp, this is the Free Trader ship, Sunsinger, Captain Lin Fieran. We're here to help you reach the spaceport for evacuation before the Mashrami arrive. We're lowering the ramp of our cargo area, and my crewman will be coming out in a moment to start helping you. If you have any need of help from the Rangers currently at the spaceport, let us know.”
Lin turned off the broadcast system and turned to Bain. In his too-small clothes from the orphanage, he felt hot and sticky already, even though his clothes were clean and the air inside Sunsinger was kept dry and cool. He nodded to her, and she gestured down the access tube to the cargo hold.
“Lower the ramp, Ganfer,” Lin said, and they started walking.
Bain smelled the hot, dusty air when they reached the cargo hold. The ramp was open and down, letting bright sunshine into the shadowed confines of the hold. The big room looked odd, all the bunk nets hanging loose and still in the shadows, the frames looking like skeletons, the tables with their benches neatly pushed under them and locked into place. Soon, it would be full of people and their possessions, ready to be ferried to the spaceport for evacuation.
At least, Bain hoped it would be that way soon.
“Go on,” Lin whispered. She squeezed his shoulder before she stepped into the shadows just inside the cargo ramp opening. “Move slowly, and be ready to duck. Watch their hands as well as their faces. If they're holding weapons of any kind, don't step off the ramp.”
Bain nodded that he understood, and started down the ramp.
The first adult stepped out of the black shadowed mouth of the mine entrance when he was only halfway down the ramp. The man was big, with bare arms that bulged with muscles. He had a beard, black and curly like his long hair that hung down his back in a ponytail. His hands were empty. He put them on his hips and stared at Bain for five long seconds.
Bain stopped at the bottom of the ramp and put his hands on his hips and looked back at the big, sweaty, dusty miner.
“You're a Spacer?” The man burst out laughing. He leaned forward, resting his hands on his knees and his whole body shook. “I know what Spacers look like, boy. They don't dress like ragged dirt grubbers.”
“We do if we want to blend in with the rocks around here so you don't shoot at us,” Bain said. He knew he wasn't supposed to yell at grown-ups, but his voice bounced off the rock face behind the man and back up into the ship.
“Good point,” a woman said, stepping out of the shadows behind the man. She wore shorts and a sleeveless shirt just like the man, and she carried a sleeping baby in her arms. “Stop braying like a donkey, Arri, and go back for the others.”
The man nodded, but he kept chuckling as he turned to go back into the darkness of the mine.
“Are you the only one on the whole ship?” the woman said. She crossed the bright, sunlit strip of dusty rock between the mine entrance and the ramp.
“No, he isn't,” Lin said. She started down the slope of the ramp, slowly. Bain saw she left behind the beam burner. “Bain is enough crew for me.” She winked at the boy as she reached the bottom. “You are...?”
“Mina Barton, and this is my youngest, Dooli.” She shifted the baby so she could hold him with one arm, and held out a hand to shake Lin's. “Got to admit, we were a little worried when we saw your ship coming in to land.”
“Pirates?” Lin gestured up into the shadowed cargo hold, and the woman followed her.
“Nice and cool in here. It'll almost be worth leaving behind the mine.” She chuckled and settled down at the first table. “Yes, pirates. We heard how the Piller ranch left when the military came and told them about the evacuation, and how the pirates landed an hour after they left and burned the place to the ground. Then the Oberon farm up north of here didn't want to go when the military came in, and the military turned into pirates.” She stopped short.
Even hidden in the shadows of the hold, the pain and fear on her face was visible to Bain. He felt sick and angry and glad that Sunsinger had reached this place first.
“That was a smart move,” she said after a moment, and nodded toward Bain who stayed at the bottom of the cargo ramp. “Sending your son down the ramp first. No better sign of peace than to send out your own children to make the first move.”
“Risky, though.” Lin smiled. “I didn't know if you would really see him, or just start shooting. He talked me into it.”
“He'll make a good captain someday, your son.”
“That he will.”
Bain turned his back on the two women to keep from staring. That woman thought he was Lin's son—and Lin didn't correct her at all. Why not
?
He looked over his shoulder. Did Lin look proud? Maybe proud of him? Bain hoped so.
* * * *
The mining camp was evacuated by dusk. Bain was glad he had put on his orphanage clothes to load all the supplies and equipment into the cargo hold of Sunsinger. His new, bright, Spacer clothes would have been stained, dirty and sweaty after all the carrying, lifting and holding he had to do.
The man who had laughed at Bain wasn't laughing by the time the ramp closed, sealing the Barton family and their partners into the hold. He dropped into the nearest stasis chair and stretched out his legs—and jerked when the first engine roared into life, as Ganfer prepared to launch the ship. He groaned and closed his eyes and rubbed at his face. His hands came away dirty with sweat and dust that had turned into mud.
“Boy,” he said, when he opened his eyes and found Bain watching him. “Where's the nearest lake?”
“There's no lake, Daddy,” one of the little girls called from the net bunks on the other side of the hold.
There were ten girls and six boys in the mining camp, and all the girls had managed to squeeze into two of the net bunks. They sat there, laughing and talking. They sounded like a whole flock of birds to Bain, who couldn't make out a single word from anything they said. They all giggled now at the big man's words.
“I need a bath, that's what I meant!” the man roared. But he chuckled.
“Sanitary's over there.” Bain pointed across the hold to the sanitary cabinet next to the re-stocked food-processing center. He turned to leave.
“Where are you going?” the man said. He struggled out of the stasis chair.
“Up to the bridge. I have to be there when we launch.” Bain hoped there would be time to get washed up and change his clothes before they launched. He hated being sticky, dirty, gritty, smelly and hot.
“Always working, huh?” He grinned and held out his hand. “You're a good boy. We all owe you and your mother a lot.”
“No—I mean—you're welcome.” Bain tried not to flinch when he held out his hand and the big man shook it. At least he tried to be gentle. He nodded and managed to smile, and hurried up the access tube as soon as the miner finished shaking his hand.
“Be quick,” Lin said when Bain stepped out onto the bridge. She jerked her thumb over her shoulder toward the open door of the sanitary cabinet.
Bain grinned and darted inside. He found a clean set of clothes waiting; his blue pants and green shirt. Lin had washed up and changed her clothes already. He peeled off his dirty clothes and turned on the water and soap for the tiny nozzle hose. Captain Gilmore had offered to let them stay in one of the houses at the spaceport when they were in between trips to settlements and mines. Bain wondered if the house had a normal size bathroom and even a tub. Taking a shower in Sunsinger's tiny cabinet, made for use in free fall, was an adventure sometimes. But not right now.
His hair was still wet when Bain stumbled out of the cabinet and hurried over to his seat at the control panel. Lin grinned at him and shoved a hot sandwich packet into his hands as he finished buckling his safety strap.
“Minutes to spare. Good work.” She ran her finger down a long row of switches, turning every one. Their green lights changed to purple. “Here we go. Attention passengers: brace yourselves for launch.”
* * * *
“I did something—I mean, I didn't do something I should have.” Bain watched the lights of the spaceport grow closer and brighter as Sunsinger came in for final approach. The journey from the mining camp to the spaceport had only taken an hour. He was glad to see the end of the trip, but with the pressure of this first evacuation out of the way, other problems started coming to his thoughts.
“Like what?” Lin slid into her seat and handed him a cup of cold milk.
“Those people think I'm your son. I didn't tell them the truth.”
“Does that bother you?”
“My mother always said that letting people believe something that wasn't true was just as bad as lying to them.”
“She's right.” Lin nodded and took a sip from her own cup. “What I meant was, does it bother you if people think we're mother and son?”
“No!” Bain almost spilled his cup over the control panel.
“Careful, there.” She chuckled and took the cup from his hand. “Bain, I didn't correct anybody when they made that mistake.”
“Yeah, but you just didn't want that lady to feel silly.”
“Maybe.” She handed the cup back to him. “Drink it all before you spill it.”
“You don't mind?” Bain tipped the cup back and drank, though it was hard to swallow. He felt so stupid.
“Family is important.” She adjusted a few controls and turned to look at him again. “In the old days, an apprentice was considered part of the family. As your teacher, I have the same responsibilities as a parent. You have the same responsibilities to respect and obey and learn as you would if you had been born to me.”
“Not permanent, though,” he mumbled.
“No, it isn't.” Lin reached over and brushed a few strands of hair off his forehead. “If people think you're my son, I think I'll take that as a compliment. For both of us.”
Bain didn't know what to say. He opened his mouth and knew he had to say something—but the words clogged in his mind and in his throat.
“Ranger Control calling Sunsinger. We have you on our screens,” a woman's voice said from the speaker grid.
“We hear you, Ranger Control. We'll be starting our approach in four minutes.” Lin's hands flew over the control panel.
* * * *
Captain Gilmore insisted on Lin and Bain staying in one of the houses set up for the refugees, once the people from the Barton mining camp had unloaded from Sunsinger. Bain couldn't understand why people thought sleeping on the ship would be uncomfortable. The only thing better in a house than on a ship was the bathing arrangements. Lin seemed to find the Ranger captain's insistence funny. She let her friend put them in a little house and send over clean blankets and fresh food for the cold box. She laughed and thanked the little corporal who brought clean clothes, all scarlet, emerald and saffron and silky bright for Lin and Bain.
“Gil must be pretty frustrated,” Lin said, holding up a too-large emerald shirt to her shoulders. It had diamond-shaped patches of saffron on the sleeves and around the waist, with a belt of scarlet braided cord.
“Why?” Bain pushed aside the saffron-colored, quilted pants. Nothing in the world was going to make him put those pants on—they might fit, but they would be tight. He liked room to move around in, and to grow into his clothes.
“He's trying to bribe us with pretty things and the VIP treatment.” She put the shirt down and pushed it into the center of the table with the other pieces of clothing sent over for them. “Gil's a good boy, but he still thinks solutions have to come fast and all in bunches. I'll bet you he was sweating a lake until we showed up.”
“I don't understand.”
“These people don't want to believe the Mashrami are coming. They do believe there are pirates ready to swoop down on their homes, either pretending to be the military or waiting until they've abandoned their homes. Would you be willing to leave the minute someone in a uniform showed up and told you to?”
“Nope.” Bain shook his head and reached for the fruit tarts left over from their late supper. He was full and sleepy, but it was nice to have treats. The orphanage wasn't so long ago that Bain could be sure the treats would still be there in the morning, so he decided to eat what he could right now.
“Spacers, however, are as trustworthy as someone who belongs to the Order. If a ship that looks like a Spacer ship shows up and tells you you're in danger, and offers to take you to safety, you'd trust them, wouldn't you?”
“Sure,” he said through a mouthful of fruit and crust.
“Wrong.” Lin chuckled when Bain stopped chewing and stared at her. “Just because someone looks like they're on the right side doesn't mean they are.�
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“But those people came with us—”
“They're making the same wrong assumptions Gil did. Right now, it's safe to trust to appearances. But Bain, what happens when the pirates figure out what we're doing, and they disguise a ship to look like a Spacer's ship, and they go to visit the homesteads and farms and mining camps that are left?”
“People are going to get hurt.”
“That's why we have to work fast and hard, and why Gil shouldn't depend on just us to reach the isolated people and bring them in.” Lin closed her eyes and shook her head. “I'm sorry. That's a lot of depressing, heavy thinking to do so late in the day. Go on to bed, Bain. You've done a lot of good work today, and you've earned your rest.”
He nodded, swallowed the last bit of tart, and got up to leave. Bain looked back once at the table. That scarlet vest was a little too big, but he did like it.
“Here.” Lin chuckled and picked up the vest and tossed it to him. “The worker is certainly worth his hire. It'll look good on you when you've gained a few more centimeters height and filled out some.”
Bain scurried off to his room. His face felt hot. Why did it feel so strange; so good, but odd, when Lin cared about how he looked?
Maybe, he decided, because that was something mothers were supposed to do.
But didn't Lin say that they were like mother and son because he was her apprentice?
He fell asleep still working on that question. It was still on his mind when he woke up a few hours later and heard Ganfer's voice coming soft through the open bedroom door. Bain scrambled out of bed and hurried down the hall, wondering what was happening. He was still half-asleep before he reached the door of Lin's bedroom and stopped short.
Lin sat on the edge of her bed, wrapped in a blanket. The window's curtains were pulled back, letting the twin moons of Dogray brighten the room with silver bright light. She looked sad and tired, with her eyes drooping and her mouth pulled down.
Spacer's Creed Page 6