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 . . .
To give Lady Rezalla credit, she considered the notion only briefly before agreeing.
"I'd even considered putting her into suspension to keep her safe," Lady Rezalla said, but she dismissed that option with a flick of her long white fingers, delicately tipped in a pink that matched her flowing attire. "And keep her safe we must! She is, unfortunately, too young yet to have a body-heir to whom she can assign her possessions."
The very notion of that shocked Caleb. He did happen to know that Cuiva had started menstruation, but the very thought of the twelve-year-old child having a body-heir merely to preserve her assets unto the next generation was nothing short of brutal.
"I will not allow that man, nor his dam, to succeed, or profit by their machinations," Lady Rezalla said in the harshest voice he had ever heard her use. Her tone made him straighten to full attention. "The ship can carry a crew of six, if I correctly remember such details from Nimisha's rattling on about its unique specifications."
"More if necessary, milady, though not in as elegant a manner."
"Manner be damned if my grandchild's life is at risk. Perdimia, of course, will accompany her. Jeska will have to stay and run the yard, since she does that well, according to my reports."
"She does," Caleb admitted. His mind was already leaping forward to the tasks of altering the luxury cabins to accommodate more crew and choosing a crew of utterly trustworthy credentials and skills.
"1 shall check with my legal staff and see how to compose a Will that will secure my grand-daughter's assets, and those of her mother. I will inform you within the hour of the results, Commander. Keep yourself available to my call."
"I shall, my lady."
He bowed himself out of her chamber. Outside, he let off a whoosh of surprise. That had been incredibly easy.
"The shakedown cruise lasts three months, which is a start," he murmured to himself as he left the House. "And that gives time to find any evidence there might be that Vestrin and Vescuya are behind the attempts. If we're lucky. After that? We haven't even any idea of which direction to search in!"
There had been no reports of any activity from the monitors on guard in the section of space where Nimisha had expected to re-enter normal space: both Caleb and the admiral had known the details of her flight plan for that test-run. No one still knew if, indeed, that wormhole had been the cause of the disappearance. Nor had anyone come forward with any other explanation for why nineteen ships had gone missing in that area. He would rather they had a destination in mind. Even the maw of the wormhole.
Frustratingly, it took three more weeks to test Five B with the augmented and refined elements that had been on Nimisha's disks. Hiska noticeably lost weight and apparently would keep going until she fell asleep at her workstation. Lord Vestrin definitely was part of the hunting party, and discreet inquiry revealed that he had been seen boarding his friend's space yacht at Vega III Port. However, that did not keep him from having hired someone to act as his agent. AGP were doing their own hunting. So was the Fleet. Lady Vescuya was being closely watched. Lady Rezalla, who was well liked and respected by her contemporaries, subtly queried them about the woman's associates and social activities. Lady Vescuya's methods might be amateurish and clumsy, but no one could find a link between her and either the message bomb or the plant.
On the advice of the APG as well as Caleb, Cuiva was housebound and a rumour was circulated that she was suffering from some malady. Lord Naves, in fact, was to be seen hurrying to the House several times a day. Emergency medical equipment was delivered and specialists arrived and departed. If Lady Vescuya had a spy watching, she might be fooled into thinking the poisoned plant was responsible for such activity. Lady Rezalla curtailed her social visits and cancelled several engagements for herself and Lady Cuiva. Two further inept attempts to damage Fiver B were foiled before any damage could occur. The first one was a robotic device, its reservoir charged with an acid that could destroy almost any metal. The second was an unmanned personnel gig, similar to those used by the Yard for short hops between construction sites. When it responded to an identity request, the answer was not only wrong but also delivered in the flat tone of a bad recording.
"The most sophisticated of the tries," Caleb said when the gig was tractor-beamed into space and its explosive package disarmed. Of course, whoever had sent it could not have known of the increased security at the Yard, or that all the access codes for traffic to and from Rondymense had been changed.
"Their information was fortunately out-of-date," Bellpage said. "We now have off-planet suspects that we are investigating."
"The sooner that ship is out of here, the better. And Lady Cuiva on it," the admiral said.
"Lady Cuiva must first be seen alive and well," Lady Rezalla put in. She had accompanied Caleb Rustin to Fleet Headquarters. "Completely recovered from a mystifying childhood fever. Her legal position as body-heir is unassailable. Nor, I am assured by our solicitors, can it be contested." She gave a smug smile. "Even so, Commander, I expect you to find my daughter before she can be legally assumed to be… dead." Lady Rezalla's expression challenged the commander.
"My intention, I assure you, Lady Rezalla," Caleb replied firmly.
"Have you chosen a crew for the Five B?"
The admiral cleared his throat and offered the pad with its crew profiles to her. He and the commander had spent hours matching psych profiles and duties to provide the best personnel mix for the three-month test run.
"Lady Cuiva will be accompanied by Perdimia, of course," Caleb said. "Lieutenant Commander Kendra Oscony is not only a communications expert but has advanced credentials as a mathematician and will continue your grand-daughter's education in that field." Lady Rezalla bowed her head in acknowledgment. "Ensign Mareena Kawamura has special training in biology and botany and will instruct in those areas. Chief Engineer lan Hadley has an intimate knowledge of the Fiver's propulsion and Interstellar Drive, as well as a keen interest in astronomy."
"Astronomy limited to the stars of this quadrant, though," Lady Rezalla remarked.
"All too true, my lady, but he would be ecstatic to chart new ones and quite capable of assessing whatever spatial anomalies we encounter. His wife, Lieutenant Junior Grade Cherry Absin-Hadley, is our semantics expert and xenobiologist."
Lady Rezalla raised her eyebrows in surprise.
"One never knows, my lady," the admiral murmured.
"Nazim Ford-Coattes is the second pilot, having been a test pilot on the Fiver with Nimisha and one of her trusted employees," Caleb went on- "Gaitama Rezinda is on board as our joat-a jack of all trades. She is also a Rondymense employee of long standing.
She is by way of being an unarmed defence specialist, as well, and can instruct Cuiva in that skill and keep the rest of the crew physically fit. Lord Naves himself gave our medical unit private tuition. Should we have a direction for a positive search, the catering unit has been augmented to make use of available natural materials that can be converted to human nutritional requirements."
"Well," Lady Rezalla said approvingly, "your crew seems exemplary in the range of their qualifications, abilities, and backgrounds, even to representatives of good, solid Minor Families. The Hadleys are unexceptional and so are the Ford-Coattes. Clever of you, Commander, to realise that Cuiva's education must continue uninterrupted. Among the impedimenta I brought today-"
"Which has already been stowed in Cuiva's cabin aboard Five B," Caleb said.
"Excellent. You will find the carton containing disks and learning tapes for those courses I wish Cuiva to study over the next three months. These will be in addition to what the crew can teach her. Perdimia will supervise strict lesson hours. My granddaughter will be kept busy and out of your way."