Pegasus In Space
- Автор: Маккефри Энн
- Серия: Talents #3
- Язык: английский
- Жанр: Научная фантастика
Электронная книга - «Pegasus In Space». Краткое содержание книги:
For an overpopulated Earth whose resources are strained to the breaking point, there is only one place to look for relief: straight up. With the successful completion of the Padrugoi Space Station, humanity has at last achieved its first large-scale permanent presence in space. But there are those who, for motives of their own, want Padrugoi to fail. Standing in their way are the Talented, men and women gifted with extraordinary mental powers that have made them as feared as they are respected--and utterly indispensable to the colonization effort. Now, as sabotage and attempted murder strike the Station, it's up to the Talented to save the day. Only who is going to save the Talented?
Pegasus in Space is the tale of Peter Reidinger, first Tower Prime!
Not trapped, Pete. It's just show time for the doubters.
Five kilos today, five hundred tomorrow, five thousand the next day. Peter felt perversely rebellious as well as anxious. He sternly reminded himself that this was what he had dreamed of doing when he was lying in hospital, what he and Johnny had talked about doing. He thought of how he'd just jumped into the accident with the CeeCeeD and did what had to be done, including shifting the freighter out of the way. Everyone was turned toward him, faces friendly and faces decidedly skeptical. He caught the ironic gleam in Johnny's eyes, subtly reminding him of that early morning in Adelaide Center. Damn General Greene for springing it on him without warning. Then he saw Alicia Taddesse's haughty and dubious expression, the stunned incredulity on Georg Fraga's face, the bland query on the Secretary's, and the hint of anxiety in Admiral Coetzer's eyes. Okay, Peter, he said to himself. It is show time. Five kilos! Only a question of mathematics.
"May I see the shipment?" His voice sounded unusually calm for someone about to make history-officially-with the longest distance teleport.
"Certainly, sir," said Chatham, and a window opened to the transit bay, showing an innocuous white plastic shipping carton, #51161708 clearly stenciled in black on the side.
What he could see he could 'port. He "felt" it to heft its mass. He tapped into the ship's generators. Had Johnny warned Engineering to be ready? He didn't much care. He wanted to alter the expressions on the faces of Alicia Taddesse and Georg Fraga. Scare the living daylights, for once and all, out of the stupid, intolerant Mai Leitao, and prove himself to the admiral. And especially to Johnny Greene, who was waiting, all but breathless, to see what Peter would decide.
Peter leaned lightly into the generators; no sense plowing the package into the surface of the Moon. It was only five kilos. He "saw" the bollard as he had "seen" it that morning in Adelaide; he didn't need the shadow of the moon crawler. Been there before. Can do it again. He 'ported the carton.
The tension in the room was palpable. Peter let it sit there for a long moment. First Johnny, then Lance began to smile.
"Lance," Peter said, "since Sergeant Gendro's already collected one delivery at that bollard, perhaps you could rely on him again."
Johnny let out a cowboy roar, clapping his hands over his head and swinging himself around in his chair in an excess of jubilation. The admiral grinned broadly and settled back relieved. Commander Chatham and, in the corner, Nicola Nizukami were also smiling. The Secretary alone appeared to keep his cool but the expression on Alicia Taddesse's face was one of shocked and dismayed surprise.
So she'd thought he couldn't do it? Peter thought, not letting any sign of triumph leak into his expression. He'd shown her! And himself!
At the end of the table, Georg Fraga looked unexpectedly worried and Mai Leitao collapsed across the table, knocking over her glass of water.
"Medic on the double, admiral's conference room," Commander Chatham said into her wristcom. "Yeoman, bring me more water."
Peter rescued Leitao's notepad and lightpen and "lifted" Barney's serving towel to soak up the spill.
"What did you do to her?" Alicia Taddesse demanded of Peter, glaring at him. She had jumped to her feet but made no move to assist her colleague.
"Peter did nothing to Mai Leitao," Johnny replied sharply to the CFO. "She did it to herself."
"How could she-?" Taddesse began and, seeing the fury on the general's face, broke off.
How could she think I'd do anything to another human being? Peter said, close to panic.
Stupidity, Pete. Pure stupidity. Calm down. You have done absolutely nothing wrong today. Nothing!
"Miss Leitao seemed a little unnerved by," the Secretary began, paused, and started again, "by reaching the Station so quickly."
Fraga had his fingers around her limp wrist. "She's got a pulse," he said reassuringly. Commander Chatham touched Leitao's throat and confirmed that with a brief nod. Helpfully, Nicola held out a glass of water.
A discreet tap on the door heralded the arrival of the medical team. Peter was overwhelmingly relieved to see Ceara Scott leading them. She gave him the briefest but most emphatic encouraging nod as she made a quick examination of Mai Leitao.
"She fainted?" she asked in a nonjudgmental tone, looking around the table.
"It would appear so, Dr. Scott," the admiral said. "We have no idea why."
"I'll want to know exactly what caused a perfectly healthy woman to collapse, Doctor," Taddesse said in a gritty voice.
"Of course," Ceara said with a nod of her head, and gestured for the gurney team to approach. Deftly she and ratings transferred the slight limp body to the litter, blanketed it, and left the conference room. Peter didn't know why but Ceara's presence had unaccountably relieved him. "We'll do a full scan as soon as we get the patient to sick bay."
"Thank you," Alicia Taddesse said. She sat down again and moved her notepad into precise alignment with the edge of the table. "Colonel Watari, have you recovered the five kilos?"
"Not yet." The colonel was startled.
"It takes time to suit up, Ms. Taddesse," Lance said. "So where were we?"
"We are nowhere, Mr. Baden, until that sergeant returns with proof of delivery," Taddesse said, closing her lips in a firm line.
"I don't see how you can entertain doubts, Ms. Taddesse," Lance said. "Peter sent it. Ask the CIC engineer what readings he had on the generators."
"What good does that do?" she demanded of Lance.
"I think you failed to assimilate the significance of General Greene's file, Ms. Taddesse," said the admiral in the gentlest of tones, which should have warned the CFO.
"The significance is, if I may, Admiral," the Secretary interrupted, also in a mild tone, "that every telekinetic thrust can be recorded."
"And is, especially here on Padrugoi," Johnny said, a malicious smile on his lips, "so there is scientific proof that kinetic energy has been expended in a gestalt with the Station generators." He waved his hand toward Nicola, back at her workstation. "Please ask Lieutenant Bergkamp to forward the last five minutes of generator usage to our screen."
"Aye, sir," she said with alacrity.
With equal speed, another small window opened on the bottom of the monitor. It displayed readings in three categories, which were described as elapsed time, generators at rest, and usage. The slight surge as Peter made the brief gestalt was duly recorded.
"I don't believe those figures," Taddesse said belligerently.
"And tell me why we should wish to deceive you, Ms. Taddesse?" the admiral asked.
She pointed her finger at Peter, her eyes flashing with anger, incredulity, and fear.
"I cannot, absolutely cannot, believe a boy that young could send even three grams all the way to the Moon. It's over 400,000 kilometers from here!"
"Mathematics, Ms. Taddesse," Johnny said, "which you as a CFO should certainly appreciate. Ten tons of equipment 440 kilos from Earth's surface to Padrugoi or five kilos 400,000 to the Moon. Peter has the range."
"Does boggle the mind," the Secretary remarked tactfully. "But then, the mind, ah, minds," and he nodded apologetically to Johnny Greene, "that could transport some five hundred kilos of personnel carrier from the Earth's surface to Padrugoi this morning do not have to prove themselves to me. It is greatly to the benefit of our entire program, CFO, that the ability is at this moment in time available to us. Otherwise"-his voice softened-"we might have to look for new jobs."
Unconvinced, Alicia Taddesse folded her arms in front of her, her eyes flashing and darting about the conference room, her lips thin with denial.
A comunit blip startled everyone.