“They weren’t there. For them, it’s just one more problem.” He looked toward the Cockpit. “I could use a drink. You with me?”
* * *
LIBRARY ENTRY
MCGRUDER PRESS CONFERENCE
UBS: Governor, as recently as last week, you were saying that spaceflight was an unnecessary expense, that it had no long-term payback. Yesterday, during your remarks at the National Space Center, you said that—let me make sure I have the quote correct—you said that our expansion beyond this planet demonstrates who we are. Could you elucidate on that?
MCGRUDER: Look, Bob, when I discussed long-term payback, I was talking about money. With the present technology, resources invested in space travel are effectively gone. I’m sorry it’s that way, but that is the reality. That’s not the same as saying there’s no reason to do it. It’s obvious to us all that we have an obligation to move off-world, to find other places where the human family can live. To go out and explore, to look around and learn everything we can about the universe. It’s what we’re about, Bob. To find out. All I’m saying is that we should do it without breaking the bank.
—February 12, 2196
Chapter 43
JAKE CALLED ALICIA from the hotel. “We’re done here,” he told her. “I’ll be heading down in the shuttle in a couple of hours.”
“I’ll be happy to see you again, Jake. How did the mission go?”
“I’ll tell you about it when I get there.”
“Okay. What time are you getting in?”
“About seven.”
“Good enough. Call me when you get home.”
* * *
HE AND PRISCILLA had lunch at Skydeck. Then they said good-bye. He’d already sent his bags ahead, so there was nothing to do now except stroll down to the terminal. But he was only about halfway there when his link chimed. “Jake Loomis?” A female voice.
“Yes, it is.”
“Captain Loomis, I’m Margaret Brentwood. I’m with the Academy Project. I wanted to thank you for what you’ve done.”
Jake smiled. “I was glad to be in a position to help, Margaret. I’m sorry we didn’t bring home better news.”
“Well, we all are. Still, we’re indebted to you.”
“Thank you.”
“Captain, we don’t know yet what’s going on at Orfano. You found the lander because of some lights, right?”
“That’s correct.”
“And they were the only lights you saw out there? On the entire planet?”
“Yes, Margaret.”
“Were they somehow under the control of one of the crew members? Maybe something they could have set up in advance?”
“I don’t see how that would have been possible.”
“Then who was manipulating them?”
“I have no idea.”
“So we’re faced with something of a mystery, aren’t we?”
“I’d say so, yes.”
He could hear her breathing. “Captain, we’re putting together another mission. We’re going to send some people out there to investigate. The plan is to establish a temporary shelter, move in, and try to find out what’s going on. In your opinion, would there be any danger to the team members?”
“You mean other than whatever brought down the Vincenti?”
“Yes. Of course.”
He was slow to answer. “None that I’m aware of. Certainly nothing presented itself to us. But you’ll want to warn them to use caution. Just in case. When will they be leaving?”
“As soon as we can get it organized.”
“Well, good. I’ll look forward to hearing the results. Margaret, I have to get moving.”
“I understand. I’ve just one more question, Captain. Would you be willing to join the expedition?”
Well, he couldn’t say that was a surprise. But a second mission wouldn’t simply be in and out. He could expect to be there for a while. Still, it could become historic. It was the kind of operation he’d hoped for throughout a long career of routine flights hauling passengers and cargo around to the usual places. And now, when it would be so difficult to take advantage of, it arrives. Damn it.
“We need you,” Margaret said. “You’ve been there. You know what’s going on, as much as anyone does. We’d be extremely grateful for your assistance.”
It would take him away from Alicia for several weeks. Or, more likely, months. “Thanks,” he said, “but I’m just not able to do it.”
“Sir, you could be the difference between success and failure.”
“Take Priscilla Hutchins,” he said. “She was with me. And she knows as much as I do.”
“You’re the experienced pilot, Captain. The one we want. And please don’t be too quick to close the door on this. To start with, you know where the Vincenti lander is. If we’re reading the report correctly, Priscilla does not.”
“Actually she does. Anyhow, we left a radio with it. You probably already have the code to activate it.”
“Yes, we do. But it still would be advisable to have you there. You may have encountered a completely new life-form. Something unlike anything we’ve seen before. We have the data, but you have been on the scene. There’s no way we could get it set up within the next ten days or so, so you’d have some time off. And we’d be more than happy to compensate you generously.”
“Margaret, I was under the impression that the Academy Project operated under a tight budget.”
“We do, normally. But we’ve let some of our backers know the potential in this matter. The situation has changed dramatically. Now, let me ask that you think it over for a day or so? Just think about it. I’ll get back to you later.”
“I’m sorry, Margaret. But I’m not going to change my mind.”
“Please, Jake, just keep the door open. It’s all we ask.”
* * *
HE RODE THE shuttle down to Reagan, where he half expected to find Alicia waiting for him. But there was no sign of her. Well, she was too smart for that. It was a long ride from Radford, and, anyhow, the last thing she’d want would be to look needy.
He hauled his bags through the station, boarded the maglev to Richmond, and lowered himself into a seat. The tug of normal gravity felt good after the weightlessness of the Bomb and the overloaded gee force of Orfano. Funny how you tend to take things like weight for granted until they go away. Or you get heavier. Until he got involved with space travel, he’d never thought about it.
He changed trains at Richmond, rode into Lynchburg in the late afternoon, and caught the local to Roanoke, where Alicia was waiting. She smiled, but she didn’t exactly throw herself into his arms. “Missed you, Jake,” she said.
“I missed you too, beautiful.” It was great to be home. To be with her again.
“So what happened out there?”
He told her as they came out of the terminal. Her eyes grew wide when he mentioned the superdense object, and even wider as he talked about rippling lights and oddball rain.
She seemed uncertain as they settled into her car. “Do you think it was really a black hole?” she asked at last.
“No. It wasn’t actually a black hole. It was like one, though.”
“So it could have destroyed your ship, too, right?”
“If we’d run into it, yes. But we were watching for it. The Vincenti probably never saw it coming.”
“The rest of that story gives me chills.”
“I’m not surprised.”
“Well, anyhow, I’m glad you got back okay. I hope you don’t get any more calls like that one.”
They stopped for dinner at Harvey’s, just off the expressway. She loosened up a bit while they waited for the food to arrive. And, afterward, they went up to the cabin.
* * *
ALICIA LAY WITH the blanket pulled over her shoulders, eyes c
losed, her features outlined in the early light. She was the most gorgeous creature Jake had ever seen. In a few short weeks, she had literally overwhelmed him. He wasn’t sure, though, that it was real, that it wasn’t a reaction to being stuck on this mountaintop. To facing the reality that he was retired, that he could now devote himself to taking care of the magnolias.
The glamour of being in this remote place had gone away. He missed the interstellars, missed the charge that came with sliding out through the launch doors and accelerating toward Capella or Sirius, missed the sense of doing something. Even if it was just sitting in the captain’s chair and feeling the power at his disposal. The reality was that Alicia was now all he had. So maybe he was in love with her. Or maybe he was just clinging to her. The last thing in his life that really mattered. He didn’t know. He just didn’t trust himself anymore.
The alarm was about to sound. He reached over, shut it off, and pressed his lips against her cheek. “Time to get up, love.”
A smile appeared, but her eyes didn’t open. “Is it seven o’clock already?”
“Afraid so.”
She moaned softly and pulled him down on top of her. He was trying to get the blanket out of the way when his commlink chimed. He ignored it.
* * *
THE DAY AFTER she’d said good-bye to Jake, Priscilla had picked up a tour group. It had been one of the largest she’d seen, probably thirty people in all. And she was surprised to discover they knew who she was. “What was it like out there on Orfano?” a teenager asked. And a young woman: “How many planets are there like that? You know, where they’re just drifting around?”
“Well, nobody really knows, of course. But the experts say there are literally billions of them.”
“Billions?” The questioner was a nervous-looking older man with white hair. (There was a retirement group among the tourists that day.)
“And that’s just in this galaxy,” she said.
A middle-aged African-American woman looked shocked. “Where do they put them all?”
Priscilla smiled. “There’s a lot of room out there.”
Accounts of the strange lights had leaked out, and she was asked about them, and whether she thought there might be something alive on Orfano. As far as Priscilla knew, the rainfall part of the story was still under wraps. When she’d finished with the tour, she took the rest of the day off, wandered over to the Cockpit, enjoyed a dinner with Drake Peifer, and was on her way home when her link sounded.
It was Jake. “Hi,” she said. “You called to tell me you’re coming back?”
“Not really. Priscilla, have you heard from the Academy yet?”
“No,” she said. “I assume they’ve been in touch with you?”
“They’re prepping a new mission out to Orfano. They want to recover Otto’s body, but the real reason, of course, is to pin down what’s going on out there. They’re going to establish a ground base.”
“Well, I wish them luck.” And she realized why he’d called. “They want us to go with them.”
“Well, they need one of us. Do you have any interest in going?”
She stopped and sat down on one of the concourse benches. “Sure,” she said. “But they’ve already talked to you, haven’t they?”
He hesitated. “Yes.”
She was the fallback choice again. “And what did you do? Tell them no?”
“Look, Priscilla, I can go or stay. It could be a wild flight. Or maybe not. Who knows? Alicia wouldn’t be very happy if I went. But one of us is going to have to help out.”
“You really want to go, Jake?”
“No. But I will if you want to pass.”
“You’re doing it again, aren’t you?”
“Doing what again?”
“Setting things up for me. Listen, Jake, this is your party. It has been from the start. Go ahead and do it.”
“You’re sure?”
“Yes.”
* * *
SHE SETTLED IN front of the HV that evening to watch the news. McGruder had all but clinched the Gold Party’s nomination. And Gregory MacAllister, appearing as one of Rose Beetem’s guests, was asked what he thought about terraforming. He commented that we should do something about the air in Baltimore. So the idiot was making a joke out of it.
And, still, where was Monika Wolf? All that talk about blowing off the roof?
* * *
NEWSDESK
GOLDS COMING STRONG FOR MCGRUDER
Hawkins Says Norman “Out of Touch with Reality”
“Lacks Practical Skills to Get Economy Moving”
AI CHESS TOURNAMENT ALL DRAWS AFTER FIRST ROUND
Organizers Suspect Prank by AIs
MEXICAN INVITATION REAL? OR ELECTION PLOY?
New White House Denies Floating Rumors of Mexican/NAU Merger
Callisto: “No Offense, but We’re Not Interested”
NAU PROPOSES CURB OF PULSE WEAPONS
Attacks in LA, Chicago, South Jersey Shock Nation
Baxter: “No Access for Morons”
MAGLEV GOES INTO MISSISSIPPI RIVER
Seventeen Injured; One Missing
INMATES LOVE DANTE
Oregon Literary Program Meeting with Success
Writing Workshops Also Gain Popularity in Prisons
EGYPTIAN CIVILIZATION OLDER THAN WE KNEW
Artifacts Shock Historians
REST IN PEACE COMPLETES FIFTH YEAR ON BROADWAY
Jane Pinkerton Comedy Sold Out Through August
DEAD MAN SHOWS UP AT MEMORIAL SERVICE
Mistaken Identities After Hotel Fire in Atlanta
Fire Department Sued
BASEBALL OWNERS WANT MORE TEAMS IN PLAYOFFS
ALL-OUT EFFORT TO SAVE PANDAS
Numbers Continue Downward Spiral
Estimates Sink Below Four Hundred
Natural Habitat, Bamboo Forests, Gone
EDUCATION STATS LOOK GOOD
Achievement Gains in Latin America, Europe, NAU, Eastern Asia
Science, Math, Language Skills Soaring
Chapter 44
THE BLACKSBURG WILDCATS had regularly rolled over the Hawks for two years, and in fact seldom even had to run hard while doing so. At least that was Alicia’s description of the situation. But on that one night, the Hawks showed up with a withering attack, got fourteen points from Alicia, and withstood a determined fourth-quarter rally to come away with a 67–63 victory. Jake sat behind their bench cheering his head off. Afterward, most of the players—everyone who didn’t already have a prior commitment—trooped over to the Roundhouse and partied until midnight.
When the celebration was over, and almost everyone had left, Alicia put down her drink, looked at him, and asked what was wrong.
“You’re pretty good at reading me,” he said.
“You’re not exactly Voltaire, Jake. What’s going on?”
“They’re sending another mission to Orfano. The Academy wants some questions answered. And there’s a body to recover.”
Her eyes darkened. “You’re going with them, aren’t you?”
“I’m sorry, Alicia. They need me.”
“Why?”
“Because I was there before. I know where the wreckage is.”
“Why don’t they send what’s-her-name? Hutchins?”
“They need somebody more experienced.”
“You going to be gone a week again?”
“I don’t know how long, love. It’ll probably be more than that. Probably a few weeks.”
All the light had gone out of the room. She just sat, watching him, making up her mind how to react. “You told me last time it was a one-time thing. That when the mission ended you wouldn’t be going out anymore.”
“I don’t think I ever said that.”
“It’s what I heard. But let’s get it settled. After this one, will you be doing it again?”
God help him, he didn’t know. He didn’t want to live the rest of his life on that mountaintop. On the ground. “Alicia, I love you.”
“That’s not what I want to hear at the moment, Jake.”
“I know.”
“So what is it going to be?”
“We could make it work. I mean, I wouldn’t be going out very often. Now and then, maybe. When they need me.”
“Great.”
“Alicia, it’s what I do.”
“Okay. And I’ll sit it out here while you go riding around. Have I got that right?” There was steel in her voice.
“You’re making it sound worse than it is.”
“Am I? When we first met, the story was that you used to be a pilot. But that was in the past. You’d come to settle in Radford. The outer-space thing was over. If I’d known you were going to keep going back out, I’d have been a little more careful about letting myself get involved with you.”
“I’m sorry, Alicia. That was the plan. I’m not sure what happened.”
She closed her eyes. Nodded. Bit her lip. “Good night, Jake.”
“You need a ride home.”
“It’s okay.” She looked toward the bar. “Janet’s over there.”
* * *
LIBRARY ENTRY
The only difference between a caprice and a life-long passion is that the caprice lasts a little longer.
—Oscar Wilde, The Picture of Dorian Gray
Chapter 45
CAL MEANT WELL, but he seemed to have trouble with time zones. When the link sounded at midnight, she was willing to bet it would be him. Inevitably she was right. “How are you doing, love?” he asked.
“Actually, Cal,” she said, “I was doing fine. Sleeping, though.”
“Oh. I did it again, didn’t I? I’m sorry, Priscilla. I keep forgetting.”
In fact, usually she didn’t mention it. “It’s okay,” she said.
He took a deep breath. “I’ll skip the small talk.”
“Don’t worry about it.”
“No, no. Look, Priscilla, I’d really like to see you this weekend. Maybe Saturday? Would it be a problem if I came up? To the station?”
Starhawk (A Priscilla Hutchins Novel) Page 29