Nimisha's Ship
- Автор: Маккефри Энн
- Язык: английский
- Жанр: Научная фантастика
Электронная книга - «Nimisha's Ship». Краткое содержание книги:
When Nimisha takes an experimental ship on a solo test flight, something goes horribly awry, marooning her light-years from home on a planet as deadly as it is beautiful. Now the ruthless members of a rival branch of the Rondymense family are given the chance they've been waiting for: to reclaim the Ship Yards by any means necessary.
Only Nimisha's ingenious child, Cuiva, stands in their way. But for how long? For just when her daughter needs her most, Nimisha is in a precarious situation herself--and unable to help. But Nimisha has never given up in her life--and she's not about to start now . . .
"It has served its purpose," Jon said.
"And may again," Nimisha remarked.
Jon beckoned to Casper. "Let's do it, then."
She followed them back and watched for a moment as they used the anti-grav handles to move crates and make the necessary room for the skiff.
"Don't worry. We won't scrape the shining new walls," Jon said, noticing her dubious expression.
"If it'll fly, Jon'll fly it," Casper said. "Been with him when he squeaked through some very tight asteroid belts."
Jon shook his head. "But not the wormhole."
"Even Helm, and he can respond in femtoseconds, had trouble keeping the Fiver from careening into the walls," Nimisha reassured him. "Anyway, that bedamned hole didn't even have a constant diameter."
"Hmmm," was Jon's rejoinder.
She had to admit, when they had adjusted the supplies in the garage area, that the skiff might indeed fit, though tightly. She got into it and, after making sure the men had stepped back, eased the little craft out and then up to the cave.
The entrance was partially obscured by drooping vines from which a flutter of tiny insectoids departed as the top of the skiff brushed them loose. Rather like coloured snowflakes and not much larger. Surely they weren't the acid-droppers. Then she turned on the skiff's lights for a good look at the cavesite.
They certainly had done their best to make it a home. Hewn wooden partitions closed off spaces for privacy on either side of the wide entrance. She could see that they had also built a rock wall across the rear of the cave. The amenities included roughly built couches, chairs, tables, a fireplace, and a cooking area. Shelves had been built and there were lighting fixtures on the walls, powered by the solar panels she had seen outside. There was even a rug, woven of rags all space-blue and gray. A bookcase, now empty, had obviously held reading materials.
When she heard the gig engine thrum softly, she slid down the lift rope to the ground and ran to see Jonagren Svangel's performance. He lined up the gig with the open hatch and, with a precise exhibition of his skill as a pilot, backed the vehicle inside the Fiver. He left just enough space on one side to permit him to disembark, but there wasn't more than finger's width between the gig and the wall of the cargo hatch on the other.
"Well done," Nimisha said, applauding when he emerged. He was grinning in almost boyish delight at his success.
He jumped down to the ground beside her, an I-told-you-so look in his eyes.
"Indeed you did," Nimisha said. "You're good enough that I'll even let you take the Fiver to our first destination."
Jon laughed, cupping her elbow and walking her to the main entrance. "Considering Helm would automatically correct any errors I might make, I accept the offer."
They entered the spacecraft laughing.
"Helm, Captain Svangel is herewith authorised to fly the Fiver, and you are to insert that order in today's log."
"Log so reads, ma'am," Helm replied. "If you will respond for a voice record, Captain?"
"This is Captain Jonagren Svangel, Helm, accepting the authorisation of Lady Nimisha Boynton-Rondymense to act as additional pilot of the Fiver. Will that suffice, Helm?"
"Yes, Captain."
Nimisha winked at the now-authorised pilot.
"Set us a course, Helm, to the nearest of the two anomalies you discovered on this-" Jon turned to Nimisha. "We never bothered to give this planet a name."
"I've called it Erehwon," Nimisha said.
"Nowhere?" Jon said after a blink of surprise and a bark of laughter. Casper and Syrona joined in the laughter.
"Well, it is the back of nowhere, isn't it?" Nimisha said.
"All too true," Jon said ironically. "Helm, set us a course to the nearest of the two anomalies on Erehwon."
"Casper, Syrie, Timmy, join us," Nimisha said.
There was a manner of intense satisfaction about Jonagren Svangel as he took the pilot's chair and waited while it adjusted to his longer frame. "More comforts than at home," he said.
"Course laid in, sir," Helm said. "Maximum fuel conservation."
"Accepted. Let's go," Jon said, leaning to one side on the armrest.
As the Fiver lifted away from the meadow and the place they had lived for so long, Nimisha noticed that only Syrona glanced down. Timmy seemed to be fascinated by the altitude and the speed with which the ground dropped away as the Fiver angled her nose skyward. Once she had reached the programmed altitude, the engines throttled back and were almost silent, minute use of the thrusters keeping her on course.
"It's not a bad-looking planet," Nimisha remarked.
"In the safety of high altitude," Jon replied. "Lovely ship. Smooth as a baby's… ah, cheek."
Nimisha grinned at the quick substitution, obviously made in deference to her social standing. She caught the turn of head from both Syrie and Casper but she ignored them. They maintained this altitude for nearly an hour before the Fiver smoothly tilted forward and began her descent. They were passing over one of the oceans between the continental masses.
"What about life-forms, Helm?" Jon asked.
"Those are being observed and catalogued, sir." One of the auxiliary screens lit up.
Timmy drew back, wide-eyed at the size of the aquatic leviathans pictured on the screen.
"Well, I did see little butterfly things in the foliage at the cave," Nimisha remarked, "so not everything on the planet is oversized."
"Chichim-he was our geologist-thought this planet was possibly in a late Pleistocene epoch. He was hoping to find fossils before…" Casper's voice trailed off. "I mean, the size and variety of life-forms does compare to that period in Earth's history. And there is evidence of at least one ice age. We got"-he turned to Nimisha-"too busy surviving to do much real exploration."
"We managed botanical research and what biological specimens didn't want to eat us," Syrona added, somewhat defensively.
"We did an in-depth survey of our immediate area, which was relatively free from the largest carnivores and grazers," Jon said firmly, "as well as a complete sampling of riverine life-forms."
"A lot were very poisonous," Syrona put in.
"Good thing I didn't get a bath in that lake," Nimisha said.
"Ooh, you're right about that," Syrona said feelingly. "Jon got Peri out before something with tentacles tried to drag her under the surface and we hadn't even known it was there."
"Not quite a cetapod," Jon said, "but similar, from what we saw. Very strong. Peri had marks on her leg for weeks."
"The surface feeders were small enough to be fished, and there were nine types that we could safely eat," Casper added. "Two are very tasty grilled."
"I like burgers better," Timmy said, turning on his mother's lap to look up appealingly at her face. "Can-may I have a burger for lunch, Syrie?"
"I believe that can be arranged," Syrona said with a straight face, but her eyes danced. A second long rest had given more sparkle to her, and she had managed to trim her hair with sharper scissors. It curled like a cap about her head. Though her face looked smoother, there hadn't been time to fill out the hollows in her cheeks or completely eradicate the dark circles under her eyes.
The Fiver was over land again, the topographical features discerned even at their present height.
"Much the same geologically," Casper remarked. "Though that's some desert area with not so much as a shrub or ground cover to show the presence of water."
They were angling across the desert when they encountered deep canyons and, in their depths, the sparkle of water a long way down. Gradually that terrain gave way to more of the grasslands, and they could see the black clusters of the grazers moving steadily across it.
"Well, maybe over that mountain range we'll find something new," Casper said, ever the optimist.