Asimov's SF, February 2008

by Dell Magazine Authors

  Silently thanking Ali for having shown me how to operate the helm, I pulled off my gloves, tossed them aside, and rested my right hand on the trackball. A faint tremor passed through the ship as I carefully rotated the ball, firing maneuvering thrusters until the Pride was brought back into proper trim. Once the x, y, and z axes were aligned, I locked in the heading, then flipped back the cover of the ignition key. No time to sound general quarters; I'd just have to hope that everyone below was holding onto something.

  “Main engine ignition, on your mark,” I said, glancing up at Ted.

  “Mark.” He didn't take his eyes from Jas.

  A deep breath, and then I turned the key. Green lights flashed across the console as the hull gently shuddered. I took hold of the thrust control bar and pushed it forward, and the shudder became a smooth, steady vibration. An invisible hand tried to push me over; nothing I could do about that now, though, except adjust my stance, hang onto the edge of the console, and not let the g-force make me fall down.

  For the moment, it seemed as though everything was fine. Then there was a sudden jolt, as if something had hit the ship from behind. An instant later, there was a gentle rattle against the outer hull, almost as if we'd run into sleet. I glanced up at the overhead screen where the view from the aft cam was displayed, and what I saw nearly gave me a heart attack. Kasimasta completely filled the screen, the vast band of its accretion belt rushing toward us. What we'd just felt was its bow shock; the rattle was the sound of sand and dust hitting the ship.

  “Ted!” I snapped. “The deflector...!"

  “Got it.” He reached down to adjust the forward deflector, turning it up to full intensity. The rattle subsided as the field expanded to clear a path for us, but it didn't do anything for Kasimasta's gravity well. The Pride was shaking like a tree limb caught in the wind; all around us, I could hear deck plates groaning. If only the main engine had been fired sooner...

  No time to worry about that now. The ship was just a few seconds away from being pulled into the accretion belt. Whatever we were going to do, we needed to do it fast.

  I prodded my headset. “Rain, are you and Doc ready to detach Lucy?"

  “Roger that. Inner hatch sealed, outer hatch still open, cradle and docking collar disengaged."

  I looked at Ted again. He nodded, then snapped a pair of switches, and an instant later there was a hard kick from the port side as Loose Lucy was jettisoned. Now I understood why Doc had insisted that we repressurize the cabin; the blowout helped knock the shuttle away from the ship.

  “Sorry, Lucy,” I muttered. “You were a good old bird."

  Ted glanced at me. He said nothing, but his face was grim. We'd lightened our load by a couple of hundred tons, but even that wouldn't be enough to save us. One way or another, we had to find a way to outrun Kasimasta.

  All at once, I figured out how to do it ... and found myself grinning. Raising my eyes from the controls, I looked across the compartment at Morgan. “Say, Mr. Goldstein ... how much would you give me to save your life?"

  He stared back at me. “What?"

  “You heard what I said. How much would you give me to...?"

  “Anything!” He couldn't believe that this was a matter open to discussion. “Whatever you want ... just do it!"

  “Thank you.” I looked at Ted again. “How about you, skipper? Anything you'd like from Mr. Goldstein in exchange for his life?"

  For a second, Ted gaped at me as if I'd just lost my mind. Then he caught on. “Sure,” he said, his right hand creeping across the engineering console. “I can think of one or two..."

  “For God's sakes!” Morgan glanced at the nearest window. “Whatever you want, you can have it. Just hurry ... !"

  “Very well, then.” Ted rested his fingertips on a pair of switches, then snapped them. “Jettisoning cargo modules."

  If Morgan had any objections—and I had no doubt that he did—they were lost in the warning alarm of the emergency pyros being fired. Two hard thumps, and Cargo One and Cargo Two were decoupled from the hub. I glanced up at the screens in time to see two massive cylinders tumble away from the ship, taking with them forty crates of alien knick-knacks.

  Morgan stared in horror as his payload fell toward Kasimasta. For something that he'd once derided as all but worthless, he certainly seemed upset by their sacrifice. He didn't seem to notice the abrupt change of velocity as the Pride, having shed nearly one-fourth its mass, surged forward. Leave it to a businessman to put a higher value on his merchandise than his own life.

  I held my breath as I watched my instruments. The delta-V was steadily increasing, just as I thought it would. Another brief tremor as the Pride crossed the bow shock once more, and then we were racing away from Kasimasta, accelerating beyond reach of its accretion belt.

  The ship stopped shaking, and I slowly let out my breath. “I think we're going to make it,” I murmured, then I looked over at Ted. “Now ... would someone mind telling me why I'm here?"

  Ted wiped sweat from his forehead. “Ali lost his temper and attacked Jas, and Jas shot him. That's pretty much it, in a nutshell."

  “For the love of...” I'd seen this coming, sure, but nonetheless I couldn't believe it. “Why?"

  “Heshe said that we should have left you behind, made a run for it to save ourselves.” Ted glared at Jas. “Perhaps that's something the hjadd do, Prime Emissary,” he added, his voice rising in anger, “but we humans have a slightly higher standard."

  “It was only an observation, Captain.” Jas settled into hisher couch. “Nothing more. I did not expect your pilot to react so violently."

  “Yes, well ... your own reaction left something to be desired.” Ted looked at Morgan. “Mr. Goldstein ... Morgan ... if you're through crying over spilled milk, you can make yourself useful and disarm your friend."

  Morgan's eyes widened. “I can't..."

  “Yes, you will ... or I'll be tempted to lessen our load by a few more kilos.” Ted hefted the stunner. “Glad I had this squirreled away. Never thought I'd actually have to use it, though."

  I nodded, but said nothing. Although it wasn't standard operating procedure, ship captains often concealed a sidearm somewhere aboard the bridge, in the event of mutiny or a possible hijack attempt. Such occurrences were so rare, most spacers considered them unlikely. This time, though, I was glad my CO had erred on the side of caution.

  Morgan hesitated, then turned to Jas. The Prime Emissary had already removed hisher bracelet; heshe pushed something on its side that might have been a safety catch, then surrendered the weapon to Morgan. “My most profound apologies, Captain. It was never my intent to put this ship in danger."

  “Right.” Ted stood up and walked over to Morgan, who reluctantly gave the bracelet to him. “Now go below to your cabin. I'll summon you once we rendezvous with the starbridge.” The Prime Emissary rose from hisher seat, started toward the manhole. “And Jas ... next time we jump, no tricks."

  Jas said nothing, but hisher head briefly moved back and forth in the hjadd affirmative. Then heshe disappeared down the access shaft, with Morgan behind him/her. Ted watched them go, then sighed as he dropped the bracelet on the seat behind him.

  “God, what a nightmare.” He shoved the stunner into his belt, then massaged his eyes with his fingertips. “If I ever let an alien aboard this ship again..."

  “You and me both.” Then I chuckled. “Hey ... trade you a spacesuit for a shirt."

  Ted looked at me, and a wry grin slowly appeared on his face. “Go on, get out of here.” Going over to the helm, he pulled up the seat and sat down. “I'll stand watch ... but just do me one favor."

  “What's that?"

  He rubbed at the goose pimples on his arms. “Fetch me another shirt. I'm freezing."

  * * * *

  VIII

  I went below to the ready room and got out of my suit, then went up to Deck Three and dropped by the med bay to check on Ali. Emily was still with him; she'd managed to carry our pilot to the autodoc,
where she'd placed him on the table and activated the system. When I found her, she was standing outside the surgical cell, gazing through the window as the ‘bot's insectile hands stitched the wounds in Ali's chest. He was kept sedated, with a gas mask over his face and IV lines feeding fluids into his veins.

  “He caught four darts,” Emily said, motioning to a small kidney tray on the stand next to the table. “Lucky they didn't have enough forward velocity to pierce the rib cage, or he'd be dead by now."

  I peered at the tray. Within it were four bloodstained flechettes, each no larger than a fingernail yet razor sharp. Apparently human bones were a little tougher than a hjadd's, because a couple of them looked as if they had fractured upon impact. Still, it was enough to make my blood turn cold. “And Jas shot him because...?"

  “Ali wigged out when Jas said that you and Rain should've been left behind. Happened right after you docked.” Emily sighed, shook her head. “I know, I know. It's stupid, but ... guess the pressure finally got to him.” I nodded, regretting the fact that I'd neglected to mention Ash's warning to anyone. Stupid of me not to take him more seriously. “At any rate,” she went on, “I'm just glad you made it back in time to take over the helm."

  “Yeah, well ... so am I.” I looked around the med bay. “Where's Rain?"

  “Don't know. Maybe in her cabin. She looked pretty beat.” She glanced at me. “How did it go down there?"

  “Piece of cake.” I was too tired to talk about it; just then, all I really wanted to do was get a shirt for Ted, then have something to eat and maybe catch a few winks. I looked at Ali once more. “How long do you think it'll be until he's up and about?"

  “Not soon enough for him to do his job again, if that's what you're asking.” Emily smiled, patted my shoulder. “Don't fret about it. Ted and I will take turns at the helm until you've had a chance to recuperate."

  I thanked her, then left the med bay and went up to Deck Two. A quick stop by Ted's cabin to grab a shirt from his bag, then I headed for the access shaft again ... but not before I stopped at Rain's quarters. The cabin door was shut. I lingered outside for a moment, considering whether or not I should knock, before deciding that I owed her a nap. I hadn't seen Ash since we'd returned, but his cabin was quiet as well. I figured that he'd probably passed out again.

  Ted was still at the helm when I returned to the bridge. He was grateful for the shirt, but said that he didn't need to have me take over just yet. I went back down to Deck Two, where I made myself some lunch in the wardroom. I was about halfway through a tomato and cheese sandwich when the door slammed open and Morgan barged in.

  “Who do you think you are, jettisoning those modules without my permission?"

  I took my time swallowing what was in my mouth before answering him, “You're welcome."

  That brought him up short. “What?"

  “Oh, I'm sorry ... I thought you'd come to thank me.” I pushed aside the rest of my sandwich. “I asked what you'd give for me to save your life. You said anything, and I assumed that would include the cargo.” I picked up a napkin and wiped my mouth. “Silly me. Didn't know you thought gnoshes were more important than your skin."

  Morgan scowled at me. “That was completely unnecessary. We could've gotten away without..."

  “Probably not. Once we shed the extra mass, the ship was able to reach escape velocity ... but not before then.” I wadded up the napkin and pitched it at the disposal chute, and got two points for a perfect shot. “Ask the skipper if you don't believe me. It was his decision, not mine."

  Ted couldn't have picked a better moment to call. Morgan was still mustering a retort when my headset chirped. “Jules, where are you right now?"

  “Wardroom,” I replied. “Need me back up there?"

  “Negatory. Stay where you are, but turn on the monitors. I'm going to patch you into the aft cams ... there's something you really ought to see."

  Standing up from my chair, I reached up to switch on the flatscreens above the table ... and promptly forgot how to breathe. Displayed on the screens was a departure angle view. With the cargo modules gone, the ship's stern was clearly visible, yet it wasn't that Ted wanted me to see.

  Now that we'd put some distance between ourselves and Kasimasta, it once again resembled a cyclopean eye. Kha-Zann had disappeared, and a chill trickled down my back as I realized that the small world upon which I'd walked only a few hours earlier had been reduced to little more than dust and rubble. And now the Annihilator's angry glare was fixed upon Aerik.

  The superjovian was no longer a distinct sphere, but rather a bauble at the end of an immense rope. Captured by the intense attraction of the rogue black hole, the planet was being pulled apart; a vast blue-white stream of gas flowed outward from what had once been its equator, curling across space to become part of Kasimasta's ever-expanding accretion belt. It was impossible to tell with the naked eye, but I didn't need the ship's sensors to know that Aerik's mass had already been reduced by half.

  “Oh, my...” Morgan stared at the screens as if not quite believing the vast forces on display. “It's ... it's..."

  “Yup. Ain't it, though?” I pointed to the accretion belt. “See that? There's where you and I would be right now if we hadn't dumped the modules. Want to go back and look for them?"

  Morgan didn't say a word, but the look in his eyes told me that he'd finally comprehended the fate we'd barely avoided. “Have a sandwich,” I added, then I left the wardroom and headed for my cabin.

  * * * *

  IX

  I slept like a stone for the next twelve hours or so, stirring only when I felt the shudder of maneuvering thrusters being fired to correct our course back to Nordash. When I finally woke up, it was to the sound of Ash's guitar coming through the air vent. I listened for a little while, letting my mind replay the events of the previous day, before deciding that I really should report back to the command center. With Ali down for the count, I'd become the Pride's de facto pilot; time to go topside and take over the helm again.

  So I fell out of the sack and put on a fresh change of clothes. Ash was still noodling at his guitar when I left my cabin. I thought about dropping in, but changed my mind and instead went down the corridor to visit Rain. I hadn't seen or heard from her since we'd gotten back from Kha-Zann; she might want to talk about what we'd been through.

  Her door was still shut, and there was no answer when I knocked. At first I thought she wasn't in, but when I tried the door, I found that it was locked from the inside. I knocked again, this time calling her name, but again there was no reply. I was beginning to get worried, so I headed back down the corridor, intending to inform Ted that Rain ... well, I'm not sure what I would've told the captain, other than expressing vague misgivings about one of my crewmates ... when Ash abruptly stopped playing his guitar.

  “She doesn't want to talk to you,” he said from behind the door of his cabin.

  I started to say something, but again he beat me to it. “Seriously. She doesn't want to see you right now. If I were you, I'd leave her alone."

  He already knew I was there, so I didn't bother to knock, but instead slid open his door. Ash was in his hammock, guitar lying across his chest. There were dark circles under his eyes, and I could tell from the absence of booze on his breath that he was sober.

  “Been dry since yesterday,” he said, in response to my unasked question. “That little party we had the other night pretty much pissed away the last of my supply.” Ash idly strummed at his guitar. “That's why I'm staying away from you guys. Too many strong emotions right now ... especially from you and her."

  “What do you mean?"

  “Oh, c'mon.” He looked at me askance. “Maybe you can hide from each other, or even from yourselves, but you can't hide from me. A lot has changed between the two of you, and...” He shook his head. “Go on, get out of here. Please. It hurts too damn much to be around you."

  Perhaps I should've left him alone, but his comfort was the least of my concerns. “S
orry, Gordon,” I said, closing the door behind me. “Can't do that. Not until you tell me what's going on."

  Ash said nothing for a moment, then he let out his breath as a long sigh. “Y'know, it almost would've been easier if you guys had failed.” Propping his guitar against the bulkhead, he sat up in his hammock, slinging his legs over the side until his bare feet almost touched the floor. “In fact, I kinda thought that was what would happen. The shuttle would crash, or you'd miss the rendezvous ... and that would've been it."

  I stared at him, not quite believing I'd heard what he'd said. “Is that what you wanted?"

  “Oh, no, no ... not at all.” He winced, perhaps from the second-hand impact of my emotions. “I'm happy you made it back, really I am. But—” he hesitated “—do you remember what she told you? When you suggested that she spend the night with you, I mean."

  My face felt warm. “Ummm..."

  “Right. And so does she ... but the truth is, deep down inside, she really didn't think she'd have to make good on that promise.” He forced a smile. “And then you had to screw things up and..."

  “Yeah, okay, I get the picture.” Then I shook my head. “No, I don't. I mean, that was something I did when I was drunk. She doesn't have to..."

  “You know something, Jules? You talk too much. Just shut up and listen.” Ash waited until he was sure that I wouldn't interrupt him again, then went on. “If you think you're confused ... well, so is she, and even more so. If it were just about sex, that would be easy. You guys hop in the sack and bang each other's brains out. Problem solved. But the fact is you're in love with her, and she's falling for you, too, and neither of you know what to do about it."

  Bending forward, he clutched at his head. “God, I need a drink. Just get out of here, okay? Leave me alone."

  There was little else for me to say, so I eased out of his cabin, shutting the door behind me. For a few moments, I stood in the corridor, uncertain of what to do next, then I finally decided to head up to the bridge.