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 felt elation grip her as the Fiver was once more in space and doing what she had been designed to do. She was about to admit that in the Fiver she had reached the perfection she had been seeking so long.
Then Helm announced they had achieved the altitude for the release of the comsat.
"Let it go, Helm," Jon said.
To herself, Nimisha added, "And let it receive news of home."
Jon touched her arm. "Let's get some rest, shall we?"
"Helm, you have the conn," Nimisha ordered.
"Yes, ma'am," Helm replied.
Jon and Nimisha walked across the main cabin, but when she opened the door to her compartment, he once again touched her arm.
"If I'm not rushing matters…" he began, cocking his head a little in tacit appeal, a shy, or rather nervous, smile tilting his mouth up on one side.
Since Nimisha had experienced a sudden rush of sensuality at his first touch, this second physical contact only emphasised what she had been denying: that she was very much attracted to him.
"No, I don't think you are," she agreed and took his hand. "We could shower together and save time," she added.
His chuckle was deep and charged with eagerness. As she shed her one-piece coverall, he turned on the water and, with remarkable speed, was also naked by the time she stepped into the stall. The touch of his skin on hers was quite the most wonderful sensation, and matters progressed with great pleasure from then on.
In fact, Nimisha reflected when she heard the gentle chime from Helm and awoke to find herself curled against Jon's long body, he was quite possibly the best lover she had ever had. Of course, the prolonged celibacy that both had endured produced an intense hunger that had done much to increase their ultimate mutual satisfaction. Several times. She decided that morning to have Doc remove her implant. Tim should learn how to deal with human children and, if she chose to have a male this time, he could be a mate for the girl child that Syrona was carrying. With a proper medical unit to monitor pregnancies, she was not averse to increasing the human population.
"Jon…" She caressed his shoulder, running her hand down to his chest to the strong pectoral muscles, then tweaked him. Hushed awakenings were one of the minor pleasures of having a good lover. Indeed, as the Fiver sped toward the heliopause, they left the cabin, and the bed, only to eat, bathe, and do cursory checks of their progress.
"I heard Helm," he murmured and slowly turned toward her, capturing her hand and kissing the palm. "I just didn't want to move."
"How long to heliopause, Helm?" Nimisha asked.
"Thirty-five minutes, ma'am."
"That's time enough to spare," Jon said, and rolled over onto her.
Dressed and ready for the translation into IS drive, Jon grinned as he gestured for Nimisha to take the pilot's chair. She grinned back and took it. She'd have been quite willing for him to do the honours but liked it in him that he gave her preference.
The actual translation was accomplished effortlessly, with Helm increasing Interstellar Drive toward the nearest system with an M-type planet.
"The journey to the programmed destination will take four days, seven hours, and twenty minutes to reach the heliopause, ma'am," Helm announced. "All systems are functioning at recommended levels."
"Thank you, Helm. You have the conn," she said, rising. "I don't know about you, Jon, but I'm starving."
"Burgers?" Jon asked, his expression merry.
"No," she said firmly as he stepped aside for her to precede him to the main chamber. "Cater, I'd like a proper big breakfast, please."
"Double that, Cater," Jon said, following her and placing an arm about her waist the moment they had cleared the partition. "I'm rather tactile, Nimisha. Do you mind?"
She shook her head, grinning up at him, and looping her arm around his waist.
They ate, dawdling over the meal and talking about nothing in particular, until Jon, taking a deep breath, asked a question that Nimisha knew had been on his mind for some time.
"Could I possibly see the specs for the Fiver, Nimisha? I'd understand," he added hastily, raising one hand, "if you were reluct-"
"Helm, bring up my special design disks on the cabin screen," she said, leaning back, pleased by his interest in her work.
"Thanks, Nimisha." His eyes were warm with love as he gave her hand a special squeeze. She returned the pressure.
"Fleet will have the specs by now, anyway," she said.
"They will?" He was surprised by that.
"I assume so. I had a second hull nearly finished when I took this one out on what was to be a short testing run…" She gave an ironic chuckle. He pressed her hand again. "I gave-" She paused, suddenly overcome with a longing for the daughter she might never see again. "I gave Cuiva the final design disks. She'll know when to give them to Caleb Rustin. And I hope she has. If they're to find us, they'll need a second Fiver."
Jon sat up straighter, his eyebrows lifting. "Caleb Rustin… tall guy, blue eyes, attached to Vegan Fleet?"
"You know him?"
"I was jig on the ship he was first assigned to. Good man." He gave her a long thoughtful look.
"He was my Fleet spy." She never talked about previous alliances and did not intend to now, so she deliberately deflected the possibility of that question.
"Your what?" Jon's voice reflected conflicting emotions: anger, surprise, and indignation.
"Well, you can hardly blame Vegan Fleet Headquarters for wanting to keep their eyes on my designs, can you?" When he shook his head, his eyes flickering with questions, she went on. "I did get a chance to choose my-" She chuckled. "-naval attache. He was the best choice I could have made, though I'm not sure who was more surprised, he or Admiral Gollanch. He had some very good notions, and had seen naval action against that annoying band of freebooters over in the Beta system. I'm not averse to using other people's ideas when they're as good as some Caleb came up with. Actually, I'm more of a tinkerer than an innovator."
"Considering the performance of this ship. Lady Nimisha, I question that description." He gave a snort of denial.
"No, really, that's the truth. You know how Fleet economies constrict real advances," she said. "I'm under no such restraints, so I can tinker and refine a system until I've achieved the optimum possible performance no matter what it costs. Of course, I do keep an eye on the best way to achieve what I want at a suitable price. The designs have to be feasible if I'm to make a profit from the yachts."
"You have to know how and when to tinker."
" 'If it ain't broke, don't fix it?' " she quoted, grinning.
As the designs shown on the screen were getting to the more interesting alterations she had made, he was torn between looking at her and them.
"Well, I see you've worked on the missile recoil problem." He gave her a quick admiring glance. "The solution is so simple, I'm surprised it was overlooked."
"I don't think it was, Jon. But it required a new design of buffer that was expensive until my Yard found a substitute material that could be imported from Altair rather than Earth. Transportation expense is often an inhibiting factor, as you know."
"All too true," he admitted and they continued to discuss her "tinkering," which he called "inspirational" or "inventive" until she was almost uncomfortable with such unstinting praise.
"You know," he began, taking his eyes away from the data on the screen, "I've known many career Fleet women, but I've never before met one so… possessed by the design factors. Oh, I've heard them complain about the inadequacies of this or that system-"