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 . . .
When Meterios did, reluctantly, have to venture outside, she had an armed escort. Whichever crewperson had that duty was patently unhappy about it. No one else of either her crew or the wormbusters was troubled with xenophobia. Some might not give the Sh'im as much credit for the intelligence they continued to display as others, but most took to them and their ingratiating ways.
"On the one hand, xenophobia wouldn't affect her commanding a ship." Casper said, still the optimist. "It isn't as if she'd be likely to encounter aliens on picket duty. Since we were FSP Explorers' branch, we had very in-depth screening on attitudes toward 'others.' " He bracketed the word with his index fingers. "How would anyone suspect she'd get her knickers in a twist meeting such amiable and kindly folk as the Sh'im?"
The scientists, whatever had been their specialty, were quite willing to muck in with the Sh'im, learning as much as they could from the dark-coats and noticing how tools had been adapted for their three-fingered use. They had suggestions of their own to increase manageability for some tools. In her dash to her assigned escape pod, Dr. Qualta's assistant, Valina Kelly, had grabbed two small telescopes, the most portable of the equipment to hand. She'd strapped them into the second shock pad in her pod. Dr. Qualta owed her injuries to the fact that she had been trying to secure her data disks and her scanner rather than herself. Being tightly netted in, the equipment had suffered no damage at all while she had nearly died of her injuries.
Qualta, Globan, and Kelly, with the enthusiastic assistance of fascinated Sh'im, set up an observatory on the far side of the cliff above the town, in an area still protected by the repeller shields. They were busy mapping and evaluating the visible stars every evening, with the help of five ululating dark-coats.
"Had we had more warning," Dr. Qualta said, "we'd've brought along the sort of equipment to do an in-depth spectral analysis of such unexplored territory."
"Lordee, Qualta," Valina replied, "we were lucky to escape with our lives. I couldn't find even a small microscope, or the main computer. We're lucky we can read what disks we managed to scoop up," she added. "I'm very glad we could pilfer astrogation equipment from the Poolbeg."
"That's not enough," Qualta said scornfully. "That system is so obsolete we're better off using what we managed to save. But," she added with a sigh, "it's better than nothing. Is Globan absolutely sure that there's nothing left of the space station that could be salvaged? The Sh'im are such clever metalworkers."
She had admired the mining operations and the repeller-protected farm crops-which she sampled, raw and cooked-and watched with keen interest when young Sh'im started training boks. Luthen Drayus and Tezza Ashke of the Acclarke, her radial completely knitted, happily accompanied hunts with Casper, Tim. and his Sh'im cronies.
About the only thing Meterios did right was use the Acclarke's missiles during an avian raid. It had the fringe benefit of scaring the captain out of much of her disgruntlement with the unauthorised use of Poolbeg weaponry. She had been standing outside when the raid began and the sight of the immense raptors had sent her scurrying inside the Acclarke. She had the gall to boast that she had saved the settlement.
Globan had another side to relate with a grin. "I took the liberty of programming defensive action into Helm after you told me what those avian monsters could do," he said. "So it was Helm who bagged the nineteen beasts in that raid, not Nesta Meterios."
"It's probably too much to ask that she'll start believing us when we tell her other minor victories," Jon said with a weary sigh. He'd suspected as much from the excellent marksmanship the Acclarke had displayed in destroying so many of the attackers- though he and Nimisha had accounted for almost as many, and the Sh'im manning the cliff batteries had taken out those that had come in too low for the ships' guns to bear on.
Globan grimaced. "I don't think she realised just how much the AI can do without her direct commands. I think we should keep it that way."
"Wasn't she briefed on its capabilities?" Nimisha asked with justifiable rancour. "I mean, even if I didn't consider the Four up to my expectations, she makes a grand courier ship as she is."
"I did study the specs, Nimisha," Globan said. "Gave me something to do on my tours. Not all the captains assigned to the Acclarke have been as narrow-minded as Captain Meterios," he added to cheer Nimisha.
"That's reassuring," she replied.
"How often do those attacks happen?" Globan asked casually.
"I'm sorry to say, less often, Globan," Jon said, rightly assuming the young officer would have liked to man the Acclarke's gunner station. "But they do come in more numbers as if they could overpower us with sheer mass, so you may still get a chance."
"One more thing, Jon: I think she's trying to turn Helm down. I saw her under the main control board, but I don't think she saw me. She's a control freak, you know."
"Control freak or not," Nimisha said with some heat, "she can't dismantle Helm without losing all control of ship function. Stupid git of a woman. However, I can fix that." She rubbed her hands together with anticipation, "just get her out of the Four for half an hour so I can add a certain little chip and she can fiddle with the program as much as she likes but she won't disconnect him. D'you remember where I put my tools, Jon?" she asked.
"I stashed them in the garage locker under your private code."
"Good idea."
"Of course, the problem will be getting her out of the Acclarke," Globan said, not at all optimistic.
The addition of 'a certain little chip' was accomplished just before Captain Meterios took it in her head that Svangel had exceeded his authority in allowing the Poolbeg to be dismantled for the benefit of the Sh'im. Or "them," as she insisted on referring to the Sh'im, a habit that irritated even the equably tempered Dr. Qualta.
"They have a name for themselves, Captain," Dr. Qualta said, "and you will be good enough to use it. Sh'im. Sh'im. Sh'im. Very easy to say. Very nice folks when you get to know them."
Meterios was visibly shocked at such vehemence from Dr. Qualta and kept out of her way. Since she was already avoiding Lady Nimisha whenever possible, Qualta and Nimisha had some relief from the woman's company.
Jon, Casper, and Syrona were not as lucky, since they were, after all, naval officers. Jon cited his seniority in both command and length of service and was punctilious in all his dealings with her. Casper and Syrona were not as lucky, but fell back on the fact that they were Jon's crew, not hers.
With calculated reluctance, Jon finally gave permission for her to visit the hulk of the Poolbeg.
"Once she sees the gouges in the hull, she should be able to realise that the ship could never have been repaired this side of the main Mars Yard," [on said.
"Especially since we couldn't even get the cladding off to be used where it would do some good here," Casper added.
"It'll be a relief to have her out of the way," Nimisha said. "She's beginning to get on everyone's nerves."
Meterios had gone through the Broken Bird wreck with Brad Karpla-or rather those areas of it humans could access. Karpla had been keen to see what sort of weapons the ship had mounted. Jon had explained that, according to the Sh'im, they had carried only asteroid deterrents, but Meterios and Karpla had to make a hands-on verification. Since the "cannon" had been situated in the now-broken nose of the ship, they were inaccessible. Karpla could find no other defensive or offensive gear and came back rather grumpy after a hot day's climbing through the wreck.