The Big Black Mark

by A Bertram Chandler

  "Very good, sir," said Brabham, conveying the impression that, as far as he was concerned, it wasn't.

  * * *

  Rather to Grimes's surprise the target date was met.

  A cheerless dawn was breaking over the Base as the ramp was retracted, as the last of Discovery's airtight doors sighed shut. The old ship was as spaceworthy as she ever would be, and she had somewhere to go.

  Grimes, in the control room, spoke into the microphone. "Discovery to New Maine Aerospace Control. Request outward clearance. Over."

  "All clear for your liftoff, Discovery. No air traffic in vicinity of Base. No space traffic whatsoever. Good hunting. Over."

  "Thank you, Aerospace Control. Over."

  "Base to Discovery." This was Benny's voice. "Good hunting. Over."

  "Thank you, Commander Denny. Give my regards to the great snakes. They can have their public convenience back now. Over."

  "I wish you were taking the bastards with you, Grimes. Over."

  Grimes laughed, and started the inertial drive. Discovery shuddered, heaving herself clear of the apron. She clambered upward like an elderly mountaineer overburdened with equipment. No doubt MacMorris would complain that he should have been given more time to get his innies into proper working order. Then the beat of the engines became louder, more enthusiastic. Grimes relaxed a little. He took a side-wise glance at Tangye, in the co-pilot's seat. This time, he noted, the navigator had done his sums before departure; a loosely folded sheet of paper was peeping out of the breast pocket of his uniform shirt. And what target star would he have selected? Hamlet, probably, in the Shakespearean System, out toward the Rim Worlds. It was a pity that Discovery would not be heading that way.

  The ship pushed through the low overcast as though she really meant it, emerged into the clear stratum between it and the high cirrus. Blinding sunlight, almost immediately dimmed as the viewports automatically polarized, smote through into the control room, and, outside, made haloes of iridescence in the clouds of ice particles through which the vessel was driving. She lifted rapidly through the last tenuous shreds of atmosphere.

  "Clear of the Van Allens, sir," reported Tangye at last. "Thank you, pilot," acknowledged Grimes. Then, to Brabham, "Make the usual announcements, Number One. Free fall, setting trajectory, all the rest of it."

  "Take over now, sir?" asked Tangye, pulling the sheet of notes from his breast pocket.

  Grimes grinned at him. "Oh, I think I'll keep myself in practice, pilot. It's time I did some work."

  The ship was in orbit now, falling free about New Maine. Grimes produced his own sheet of paper, glanced at it, then at the constellations patterned on the blackness outside the viewports. He soon found the one that he was looking for, although why the first settlers on this planet had called it The Mermaid he could not imagine. Their imaginations must have been far more vivid than his. His fingers played over the controls and the directional gyroscopes began to spin, and the hull turned about them. "Sir," said Tangye urgently. "Sir!"

  "Yes, pilot?"

  "Sir, Hamlet's in The Elephant. From here, that is—"

  "How right you are, Mr. Tangye. But why should we be heading toward Elsinore?"

  "But, sir, the orders said that we were to make a sweep out toward the Rim."

  "That's right," put in Brabham.

  "I have steadied this ship," said Grimes coldly, "on to Delta Mermaid. We shall run on that trajectory until further orders—orders from myself, that is. Number One, pass the word that I am about to start the Mannschenn Drive."

  "As you say, sir," replied Brabham sulkily.

  Deep in the bowels of the vessel the gleaming rotors began to turn, to spin and to tumble, to precess out of normal space-time, pulling the ship and all her people with them down the dark dimensions, through the warped continuum. There was the usual fleeting second or so of temporal disorientation, while shapes wavered and colors sagged down the spectrum, while all sound was distorted, with familiar noises either impossibly high in pitch or so low as to be almost inaudible.

  There was, as always, the uncanny sensation of déjà vu.

  Grimes experienced no previsions but felt, as he had when setting trajectory off Lindisfarne, a deep and disturbing premonition of impending doom.

  Perhaps, he thought, he should adhere to his original orders. Perhaps he should observe the golden rule for modest success in any service: Do what you're told, and volunteer for nothing.

  But whatever he did, he knew from harsh experience, he always ran into trouble.

  Chapter 13

  The ship settled down into her normal Deep Space routine—regular watches, regular mealtimes, regular exercise periods in the gymnasium, and regular inspections. In many ways, in almost all ways, she was like any other ship; what made her different, too different, was the resentment that was making itself felt more and more by her captain. The short stay on New Maine, with hardly any shore leave, was in part responsible. But there was more than that. Everybody aboard knew what Grimes's original orders had been—to use New Maine as a base and to make a sweep out toward the Rim without intruding into what the Rim Worlds already were referring to as their territorial space. (It was not Federation policy to do anything that might annoy those touchy colonials, who, for some time, had been talking loudly about secession.) And now everybody aboard knew that Discovery was headed not toward the Rim but in the general direction of the Waverley sector. Grimes, of course, was the captain, and presumably knew what he was doing. Grimes was notoriously lucky—but luck has a habit of running out. If this cruise, carried out in contravention to admiralty orders—vague though those orders had been—turned out to be fruitless, Grimes would have to carry the can back—but his officers, none of them at all popular with high authority, would be even less likely to achieve any further promotion.

  Grimes could not help overhearing snatches of conversation. The old bastard is putting us all up Shit Creek without a paddle. And, He's always been fantastically lucky, but he's bound to come a real gutser one day. I only hope that I'm not around when he does! And, He must think that he's a reincarnation of Nelson—turning a blind eye to his orders! With the reply, A reincarnation of Bligh, you mean!

  This last, of course, was from Brabham.

  And if Bligh, thought Grimes, had carried a trained and qualified telepath aboard Bounty he might have been given warning of the mutiny that was brewing. He, Grimes, did have such a telepath aboard Discovery—but was Flannery willing to bend the Rhine Institute's ethical code? If he were, it would be far easier to keep a finger on the pulse of things. But Flannery . . . his loyalties, such as they were, were to his shipmates, much as he disliked them all, rather than to the ship and her commander. He was bred of stock with a long, long record of rebellion and resentment of all authority. Even his psionic amplifier—one that Grimes, ironically enough, had persuaded the telepath to accept—seemed to share its master's viewpoint.

  Yet Grimes did not dislike the whiskey-swilling psionic communications officer and did not think that Flannery actively disliked him. Perhaps, carefully handled, the man might be induced to spill a bean or two. In any case, Grimes would have to spill the beans to him, would have to tell' him about Davinas and the suspected Lost Colonies. But did Flannery know already? PCOs were not supposed to pry, but very few of them were able to resist the temptation.

  He made his way down to the farm deck, to the squalid cubbyhole where Flannery lived in psionic symbiosis with his amplifier. The man was more or less sober, having, over the years, built up a certain immunity to alcohol. He was playing patience—and, Grimes noted, cheating—between sips from a tumbler of whiskey.

  "Ah, top o' the mornin' to ye, Captain! Or is it mornin'? Or evenin'? Or last St. Patrick's Day?"

  "Good morning, Mr. Flannery."

  "A drop of the real peat elixir for ye, Captain?"

  Grimes hesitated, then accepted. Irish whiskey was not among his favorite tipples, but he wanted to keep Flannery in a good mood. He wond
ered how, long it was since the glass into which his drink was poured had been washed.

  "Thank you, Mr. Flannery. Mind if I sit down?"

  "Not at all, not at all, Captain. This is Liberty Hall. Ye can spit on the mat an'—"

  "Call Ned a bastard? He mightn't like it."

  "He wouldn't be mindin' at all, at all. T'is a term o' endearment where he comes from. An' it was about Ballchin 1716 and 1717 ye were wantin' to see me, wasn't it?"

  "You've been . .. snooping," accused Grimes.

  "Snoopin', Captain? There was no need to. I'd have to blank me mind off entoirely not to pick up your broadcasts on that subject! An' if ye're askin' me now, I've picked up nary a whisper yet from the planets o' those two suns. But I'm listenin'. An' Ned—bless the sweet soul o' him—is listenin'."

  "Thank you. Mphm. Oh, and there was something else."

  "Ye're not after askin' me that, Captain, are ye? To pry on me mates?"

  "Well, it is done, you know," said Grimes defensively. "When justified by the circumstances, that is."

  "Niver by me it isn't, Captain. The Rhine Institute licensed me, an' I abide by its rules."

  When it suits you, thought Grimes.

  Flannery grinned, showing his mottled teeth. Grimes might just as well have spoken aloud. "I'll tell ye what," said the telepath cheerfully. "I'll tell ye what . . . I'll give ye a readin'. On the house, as the wee dog said." His grubby hands swept the cards into an untidy pile, stacked them. "Seein' as how we're aboard a starship I'll be usin' the Mystic Star."

  "Mphm?" grunted Grimes dubiously.

  Flannery riffled through the cards, selected one, laid it face upward on the dirty tabletop. "The King of Clubs," he announced. "That's you. Our leader, no less."

  "Why the King of Clubs?"

  "An' why not, Captain? Ye're a decent enough boyo, under the gold braid an' brass buttons. The King o' Grave-diggers, standin' for the military leader, is not for the likes o' you. Ye're not a bad enough bastard."

  "Thank you."

  "An' now take the pack. Shuffle it. Let the—the essence o' ye seep through yer hands into the Devil's Prayerbook."

  Grimes felt that the reverse was taking place, that the uncleanliness of the cards was seeping through his skin into him, but he did as he was told.

  "An' now, with yer left hand, put the cards down. Face down. Cut the pack. An' again, so we have three piles."

  Grimes obeyed.

  "An' now, the Indicator."

  Flannery turned over the first stack, revealing the nine of diamonds, then the second, to show the eight of the same suit, then the third, exposing the two of spades.

  "Ah, an' what have we here? The unexpected gift, an' the journey that's made possible. The cards don't lie, Captain. Didn't the man Davinas give ye that star chart? An' the eight o' sparklers—a lucky card for the explorer. But what's this mean? The deuce o' gravediggers. Could it be that yer famous luck is goin' to turn sour on ye? Change, disruption, an' voyages to far places. What are ye runnin' from, Captain? Are ye runnin' away, or are ye bein' thrown out from somethin'? Good luck, an' bad luck, an' isn't that the way with ivery mother's son of us? But with you—the good outweighin' the bad."

  Rubbish, thought Grimes, not quite convincing himself. "Go on," he said.

  "Ye're in this too." Flannery swept the cards, with the exception of the King of Clubs, back into one pack. "Take 'em, Captain. Shuffle again. Now give 'em back to me." Working widdershins, Flannery placed eight cards around the King in the form of an eight-pointed star. Then he gave the pack back to Grimes, telling him to put two more cards on each of the eight points.

  "An' now," he said, "we shall see what we shall see." He turned up the three cards at the top of the star. "Aha! The King o' Sparklers, the four o' blackberries, an' the seven o' gravediggers. Someone's workin' against ye, Captain. A military man, a soldier, an' there's the warnin' o' danger ahead, an' another warnin', too. A woman could land ye in the cactus."

  "It wouldn't be the first time," grunted Grimes. "An' now—" Flannery turned up the three cards to the left of the first three: the four and the six: of spades, the two of clubs. "Good an' bad again—but that's life. Loss, an' poverty, an' jealousy, an' envy a-destroyin' of yer success—but good luck again when it's all over. The Odd Gods o' the Galaxy alone know how ye do it, but always ye come to the top. Not at once, mind ye. It takes time. But remember this—when all the cards are on the table there's but the one man in the universe ye can trust. Yerself.

  "Now—"the telepath turned up the third trio of cards: five of clubs, four of hearts, and six of diamonds. He chuckled. "A foine mixture, this! The cards say as how ye're to take things as they come, marriage wise. It'll all turn out wrong in the end, anyhow. Did I iver tell ye that I was married once? Anyhow—play yer cards right for a wealthy marriage says this one, an' this one says that ye're the last o' a long line o' bachelors. An' this one—an early, romantic marriage an' an unlucky second marriage. So ye did have fun, or ye're goin' to have fun, or ye never did have nor ever will have any fun at all. Take yer choice.

  "Aha!" The next set of three was flipped over. "The King an' the Queen o' Gravediggers, an' the trey o' diamonds. The King's another captain, who's going to get in yer hair in the nearish future. And would it be yer old pal Commander Delamere?"

  "What do you know about him?" snapped Grimes.

  "Only what flickered through yer mind when I turned up the card. An' the Queen? Sorry, Captain, I can't place her. She's nobody ye know—yet. But ye'll be gettin' quite a handful. An' that little three? Oh, all sorts o' fun an' games, an' I have a feelin' that the King'll be playin' a part in 'em. He doesn't like you at all, at all.

  "An' now, what have we? Six an' eight o' blackberries, seven o' sparklers. Goodish, goodish—but not all that good when ye remember all that's come before, an' all that's to come. Good for business? Ha! Ye're not a shopkeeper, Captain. An', come to that, ye're not a merchant skipper. Your ship doesn't have to show a profit. An' the other two cards warn ye against gamblin'. But isn't all life a gamble? Aren't we gamblin' with our lives ivery time that we liftoff planet, or come in for a happy landin'? And when ye gamble ye must always expect the odd run o' bad luck."

  He turned over the sixth set of three. "Eight o' spades, two an' three o' hearts. Ah, overcome resistance, it says. Ye always do that, don't ye? But what about traitors? What about them as'd stab ye in the back?"

  "What about them?" demanded Grimes sharply.

  "I said nothin', Captain, nothin' what iver. Twas the cards said it—an' surely ye, of all men, wouldn't be after payin' attention to silly pieces o' plastic? Or would ye?" He chuckled, prodding the cards with a thick forefinger. "But the deuce an' the trey—don't they cancel out sweetly? Success, an' good fortune, an' everything ye wish yerself—but when? This week, next week, sometime, never. An' agin that there's the risk o' unwise choices, an' leapin' afore ye look, an' all the rest of it. So—look first, leap second—if at all.

  "Nine an' ten o' hearts, nine o' spades. Two o' one, one o' t' other. Hearts an' flowers the first two, love and roses all the way—but, if that black bastard of a nine is telling the truth, only if ye come through the troubles that are waitin' for ye. There's a crisis brewin', Captain. Beware o' the night o' the long knives. Keep yer back to the bulkhead."

  I do have enemies, bad ones, thought Grimes.

  "An' don't ye ever!" There was a note of admiration in Flannery's voice. "But now we'll see what the last point o' the star has to tell us. Nine o' clubs. Two o' spades, an' the ten o' the same. Black, black, black. Really, ye should ha' stayed in bed in the BOQ on Lindisfarne. Battle, murder, an' sudden death. Disasters by land an' by sea an' in deep space. If it wasn't for the very last card of all I'd be wishin' me self that I'd gone sick on New Maine an' been left behind."

  "The ten of spades?" asked Grimes. "But that's unlucky too, surely."

  "Think yerself lucky that it's not the Gravedigger itself, the Ace. Do ye really want to know what it means?"


  "Yes," Grimes told him firmly.

  Flannery laughed. "Beware o' false prophets. That's its meanin'. So, decide for yerself, Captain. Do ye trust the cards, or don't ye?"

  And do I trust you? wondered Grimes.

  "The cards say to trust nobody," Flannery told him.

  Chapter 14

  Grimes did not believe the card reading, of course. Nonetheless it added to his growing uneasiness, and when he was uneasy he tended to snarl. He knew that his officers and crew resented his attempts to maintain minimal standards of smartness aboard the ship, and that the scientist, Dr. Brandt, regarded him as a barely necessary evil. He refused to admit that in taking command of Discovery he had bitten off more than he could chew, but he was coming to realize, more and more, that his predecessor had taken the easy way out, had made arrangements for his own comfort , and then allowed the vessel to run herself in her own bumbling, inefficient way.