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 . . .
Nimisha was handed by her mother onto the three-level podium set in place for the ceremony, so that she was clearly visible to the assembled. Lady Rezalla, her eyes bright with tears of pride, advanced with Lord Tionel, equally bright-eyed and grinning widely with delight in his part of the ceremony. He held the case in which Nimisha's Necklace reposed. He had insisted on sharing the cost so, when he turned to display the magnificent jewellery, there were muted gasps and astonished oh's of approval.
The family of Tionel Rondymense-Erhardt was just fractionally older and more exclusive than the Boynton-Chonderlee, so the necklace intricately displayed the families' identification patterns, the same ones that had been indelibly tattooed on Nimisha's neck shortly after her birth. With the courtliest of bows, Lord Tionel presented the case to his former contractual spouse. Lady Rezalla lifted the glittering ornament by its ends and, standing on the highest level of the podium, deftly encircled her body-heir's neck and fastened the clasp. Using one finger, she gave a minute adjustment to the left-hand side to cover the tattoo beneath. Then she tapped Nimisha. Nimisha turned and her mother accorded her the six embraces required by the ceremony, the accolades of approaching adulthood. And for once the kisses were genuine touches of lip to cheek and lip to lip.
Moving gracefully, and as deftly as her grandmother with the train of her splendid gown, Nimisha then accepted the salutes from her sire, her grandam, and the relatives awaiting to applaud her entry into Society. She did a smooth and gracious circling, though she could have done without Great Uncle Dahmison's sloppy kisses. She wasn't the only one of the younger relatives in the auxiliary lines who disliked his tendency to slobber.
Then she made her way to Nurse and embraced her warmly, giving her the four kisses of extreme favour. She gave Jeska the two proper embraces allowed and squeezed her hands tight, covertly promising that they'd both try out the new skimmer that was parked behind the house. They might have to sneak out of the house at night to do so, but fortunately her Necklacing party would not be as prolonged as the one to celebrate her adult majority. That was four years away and there would be so much to do to reach that exalted state. Especially now that Nimisha would have more control over her daily activities.
The music started-since this was a Boynton-Chonderlee House affair, the musicians were humans, not mechanicals-and her sire requested the first dance, as was his right. Lady Rezalla watched, not quite beaming with pride at the elegant way father and daughter danced, but as close to such an expression as she allowed herself. She sighed once, rather pleased that she had picked Tionel to sire her body-heir. He had done well by her and was doing far more than most sires did for their offspring. Certainly more than he did for the oaf who was his body-heir. She spared a sideways glance at Vestrin. He was as tall as his sire and with the same nose and ears, but after that he resembled his dam, the insidious Lady Vescuya, far too closely. Fortunately Lady Vescuya was not among the invited: She had a previous engagement she could not cancel, for which Lady Rezalla was grateful, since she had as little use for Vescuya as did almost everyone else of the First Families.
When Lady Astatine brusquely waved off Tionel's offer to dance, as etiquette required of him, he more gladly took his former spouse onto the floor. At the end of that dance, everyone paired off to enjoy the music and the rest of the celebration.
Lord Vestrin did the obligatory dance with his blood-half-sister and spent the next hour, Lady Rezalla noted, on the sidelines criticising the guests to Great Uncle Dahmison, whose hearing was minimal anyway. Then Vestrin abruptly departed, making the barest of bows to his hostess and birth-father.
When the last guests were well gone, Nimisha and Jeska slipped down the stairs, dressed in clothing appropriate for an early morning spin in a newly acquired skimmer. Nimisha spoke the security passwords into the estate system, and the two walked quickly to the garage area.
Jeska had her knife out a second before Nimisha did when a shadow detached itself from the corner of the first parking slot.
"If you two thought you'd try it out on your own, you thought wrong," Lord Tionel said, holding his arms widespread as he emerged.
"Scare the life out of me, you would," Jeska said, sheathing her knife. "I could have skewered you, Lord Tionel." She didn't sound the least bit repentant.
"I know your reflexes by now, Mlan, so I was in no danger," Tionel said, chuckling.
"I could have sworn I saw you drive away, sir," Nimisha said, after taking a deep enough breath to calm a fast-beating heart.
"Oh, I did, and doubled back around before the security net was activated. I brought suitable clothing. And I can be Tionel, or Ti, as you wish, m'dear, now you're Double M."
"Don't you have any faith in your training of me, Tionel?" Nimisha asked, quick to accept his offer.
"Oh, I do, but you haven't driven something as powerful as this one, and neither has Jeska. In this test run, you'll drive with me until I'm sure you both have the measure of these engines. Get in."
As this was a two-seater skimmer, suitable for city and country travel-or so Lady Rezalla would think-there were only two bucket seats. However, behind them, there was a little space and a ledge across the back, just adequate for someone as slender as Jeska, if she sat sideways with her knees bent.
The skimmer purred into activity when Nimisha thumbed on the engine.
"Slowly, my girl. Those engines could wake even your dam from a sound sleep," Tionel said, raising one hand in warning.
"I can feel the power in them," Nimisha agreed, smiling. "You're such a good father, Tionel."
Tionel sighed and Nimisha wished she'd phrased that some other way, for she knew how disappointed he was in his own body-heir. And really, she couldn't blame him. Vestrin was useless and he needn't have been. Once again Nimisha had cause to thank her mother for her upbringing and nurture. Vestrin's dam might have been the acknowledged beauty of her debut year, but that, seemingly, had been her one achievement. She had, however, presented four notable Lords with body-heirs, never once losing her elegant figure in the process and increasing her personal wealth each time. Three of them were as indolent as Vestrin. Only the fourth, young Lord Haricore, showed signs of being interesting, and he was such an active child that he required a full squad of bodyguards… more to rescue the victims of his never-ending pranks than to keep him safe.
Nimisha lifted the skimmer slowly, turning the lever to port once she was above the low garages and heading out the main entrance, which opened at the use of her password. There was no sense of movement, though the ground passed swiftly beneath them.
"Lights…" Her sire gave her a grin, for her finger was already depressing the appropriate panel.
"Light is more likely to wake my mother than noise," she said coolly. "I read the operating manual three times. So did Jeska."
"The manual and the operation are distinctly separated by hands-on experience," Tionel said. "Take us to the lakeside. I've cleared it with Traffic Control that I'm testing a new vehicle. There won't be any repercussions when we let this sleek motor out."
The two in the front heard Jeska's throaty chuckle. "You think of everything, don't you, Lord Tionel?"
"Well, that was an obvious precaution."
They reached the lake within minutes.
"Take it down to the end at whatever speed you feel you can handle to reach that destination," he said, sitting back and folding his arms.
Jeska took a firm hold of the conveniently placed seat tabs and willed herself heavier as she felt Nimisha increase the forward motion. The girl was cautious, possibly because it was so obvious that the skimmer possessed a very high-powered engine and she needed to get the feel of it. Nimisha executed a neat U-turn at the base of the lake. The geographical feature was actually an earth fault, one hundred and two kilometres in length and forty in width, that had been dammed to make a water-sports facility convenient to Acclarke.