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!
I am not, I repeat, I am not, Peter said in a fierce tone, driving us back to Padrugoi. Even if I think I could, he added very, very privately to himself. Perhaps it was just as well that they were going back to the Station. He doubted he could have talked Watari, or Opitz, into allowing him another look through the telescopes. Not that Padrugoi didn't have access to the Farside 'scopes. Now that he knew what he was looking for, he'd be able to have time on those FSTs more easily there than here. Watari would want to know why.
I, on the other hand, Johnny continued, oblivious to Peter's private ruminations and responding to his emphatic statement of intent, do not wish that you should waste your valuable energy and any calories on this trip. I personally handpicked the passengers coming back on the Limo-28, since Watari wouldn't let me take it without any. I pulled rank and got Xiang Liu as pilot, though he wasn't next up on the roster Watari conceded that choice because he wants us off First Base even faster than Dirk wants us back. Catchya when you get here.
Peter felt Johnny close the mental connection. If they were to be taking off shortly, Johnny would be doing preflight checks with Xiang.
Nina Hinojosa was leading him through Babe Ruth Block; no angry pulse at this time of night, so even Shimaz slept. They encountered on-duty officers, nodding as they passed, but stayed on the lower level, moving toward the old, original Lunar Base building. Nina paused at the steel doors across the final segment and inserted her security pass. She motioned him to follow quickly through the irising portal as soon as there was space enough for her. She waited almost impatiently for him to follow. He'd had half a mind to levitate himself headfirst through it.
An arrow on the wall told him they were heading toward B Lock. The hallway, which connected the Base to the airlock, was empty but he could smell sweat and other odors that indicated it had recently been occupied. They went up the steps of the accordion tunnel sealed to the open hatch of the 28. Nina stopped.
"Here you are, sir. It's been a pleasure to meet you," she said with a salute. Then she smiled up at him, her dark eyes sparkling.
He had no right to return the salute. Surprising himself, he bent quickly and planted a kiss on her cheek before whirling himself on board. He nearly ran Johnny Greene over and devoutly hoped that the general had not seen him kiss the corporal.
"In you git, lad," Johnny said, hauling Peter in by a handful of the coverall. "We're outta here." With a farewell nod to Nina, he tapped the closing sequence of the hatch. "Okay, Xiang. He's aboard."
Secure your stuff in bunk ten. Same one, but a different and much safer bird. Then join me forward. I saved you a good seat.
Peter did as he was bid and murmured a greeting to Xiang Liu as he took his takeoff seat.
"Bad penny turns up," he said.
Xiang smiled. "Good penny to have onboard."
A red light flashed off into green on the control panel, the signal that Nina was safely inside the departure room and the airlock secured on the Base side. The retractable access tunnel was pulling away. Another red light switched to green and they were completely disconnected from the Base.
Without touching more than surface thoughts, Peter felt the anticipation of the passengers behind and beside him. One and all were delighted to be going "home" although one and all were slightly annoyed by the unexpected hour of departure. Most were enlisted personnel or civilians and the single officer was not one whom Peter had met in his whirlwind visit to First Base.
Peter couldn't feel much motion but the view out the front window altered as the Limo was taxied to the takeoff site. Peter could feel the buildup of power, so different from the drop-off exit from Padrugoi.
He heard the formal exchanges between Lieutenant Xiang Liu and First Base and only briefly wished himself in the engineer's position. He'd done it once, when it mattered the most, when Johnny was pilot. He was not entirely sure that he was glad to be just a passenger this time, but he was tired.
"Our status is go," an unfamiliar voice said; whoever was engineer this trip. "Mr. Liu, are we scheduled for a standard lunar departure?"
"That is correct. First Base, are we green for go?"
"You are green for go on our computers, Limo-28," and Peter recognized Watari's voice.
"We have a green for go," Xiang Liu reported, and Peter could hear the relief in the man's voice.
As the Limo blasted off, Peter felt the pressure pushing him into the chair padding. He thought he preferred the easier takeoff from Padrugoi, although the surge of the rockets was exciting. For the space of the ascent, he almost felt his bones pressing against the skin of his back. This trip to the Moon had made him quite fanciful. He'd be glad to be back on solid Padrugoi.
13
Back on Padrugoi, Ranjit Youssef and Shandin Ross were patiently engaged in that most boring of investigative tasks: reviewing the entrance and exit tapes and cards of every visitor to Padrugoi since that security measure had been initiated under Barchenka, when the main stem of the Station had become operational. Thousands were grunts on work duty from the Linears and other overcrowded and underemployed urban areas around the world. Barchenka had not played favorites, at least at that level. Too many of the names the two men checked came up MIS, missing in space. That designation would alter-due to the Talents' vigilance-as they worked their way through to the Inauguration. However, Ranjit and Shandin, sipping quantities of coffee and sugary substances, had not reached that far yet in their survey. They had had, for their purposes, to isolate the various ethnic groups by nationality, trying to find some lead to Shimaz and/or Albert Ponce and/or Barchenka. They had to establish who was still employed by the Station and from which ethnicity. If Flimflam had waited six years to take revenge, others could have been planted, too.
They did have a few leads: relatives of Shimaz-Riz Naztuk, Zehra bint Arrof, and Spaz Zenoun. The first was an uncle, actually ten years younger than the Prince. Riz was a minor embassy official, assigned to Jerhattan after Shimaz's conviction. Zehra was a first cousin and had been implicated in some minor local government fraud but her family connections saved her from conviction. Spaz had a younger brother who had been sentenced to the Lunar Prison for terrorist activities and the massacre of over four hundred people in various bombings. Spaz had also worked on Padrugoi and was, by trade, an electrician. Padrugoi reemployed such technicians for short-term work since they were already familiar with the Station. Spaz was one such. And the Ahmin Duvachek link.
Naztuk, bint Arrof, and Zenoun had been logged on the Station frequently but, as Ranjit discovered, much more frequently in the last year. Duvachek had come only the once, but once might have been enough.
"D'you think Zenoun could have 'arranged' good reasons to return each time he made 'repairs'?" Ranjit asked Shandin.
The telepath gave a long sigh, leaning back in his chair and stretching until his joints popped.
"I get called down to Arrivals to check him and I've never sensed anything in his public mind." Shandin grimaced. "Of course, I'm not allowed to go deeper but I've also had no occasion to. Hello!" he added, jabbing at the hold button to stop the scroll. "Zenoun was here five times last month and only one was for repairs." He spun his chair over to Ranjit's station where the LEO lieutenant was viewing entry tapes. "Show us the passengers on March fifth, Ranjit." Spaz was the third man through the security arch. He carried a pack that he languidly tossed to the security guard who did the usual rummage-through.