Diane Duane - Starrise at Corrivale

A long silence. "I believe we do, Administrator."

Another long silence. Gabriel waited for the shooting to break out.

"Then get out of here," Lorand Kharls said, "and go file your forms. I'll see you in court-if you dare." The pause that followed was very long indeed, and Gabriel wondered whether someone on board the biggest ship was thinking, Oh, why not? This is as good a day to start a war as any other. Then the biggest ship made starfall. Slowly it sank into drivespace, the light sheeting violet-blue around it as it vanished, a subdued color of retreat, of defeat.

Not permanent, Gabriel thought. No one would be so foolish as to think that. But right now, even temporary was better than nothing.

"Refugee vessels," said Trader Dawn comms, "you are invited to make planetfall on Grith at Diamond Point where immigration formalities will be completed. And welcome."

There was a muted cheer from the backmost sections of Sunshine where the young sesheyans were not quite clear what was happening, except that it sounded like they had won.

Gabriel sat back in his chair and breathed out a breath he realized he had been holding for a long, long time.

Enda collapsed her side of the fighting field and got up, looking out at the great ruddy disk of Hydrocus. "If you need me," she said, "I will be using the sanitary facilities."

Gabriel laughed and turned back to the tank-then blinked, for the symbol for incoming comms from a Star Force vessel was there. He reached into the tank and told it "go." The tank cleared. A moment later, Elinke Dareyev was looking at him.

Gabriel stood up. Partly from respect, partly ... He glanced over his shoulder, saw Enda was still standing there. "Captain," she said.

"I see he hasn't gotten you killed yet," Elinke said.

"I do not expect that outcome," said Enda. She bowed politely and took herself away down the hall. "I just wanted you to be clear about something," Elinke said. "It was none of my intention to save you. None whatsoever, and I wish to God I had had no part in this operation or in saving your lying, guilty skin. If I had my druthers, you would be roasting in whatever hell is reserved for marines who betray their brothers and sisters."

"Your druthers aside, Elinke," Gabriel said, "if you're suggesting that you grudge the rescue of three thousand sesheyan refugees just because I happened to be involved, then you are in need of professional help. Better go find some while you still have time." With some satisfaction he watched her bristle, but the satisfaction was sad.

She just looked at him for a moment, then finally said, "From now on, stay out of my way." "I was doing my best," Gabriel said, "but I can't help it if you keep following me around." She reached out to cut the connection.

"That night in Diamond Point," Gabriel said. "After the restaurant. You were there in the street." Elinke stared at him. "So?"

"Thanks," Gabriel said, "for checking to see if I survived." She sniffed and cut the link.

A few minutes later, Enda came back into the room behind him. "Well," she said, "I suppose that was unavoidable."

"Maybe so, but there's still one problem." "What would that be?"

"I didn't see her there that night. I see her there now-that is, I remember her being there as if I'd seen her, but that night-I never saw her at all." Enda looked at him thoughtfully.

"Interesting," she said. "Now just where have you put my squeeze bottle?"

THE NEXT FEW days were fairly hectic, spent partly in Diamond Point and partly in Redknife. Gabriel finally got to meet Helm in person and shake him by the hand, though he was apparently mortified beyond belief to have missed the final showdown at Corrivale by a matter of minutes. "Damned drivespace error," he muttered over a drink with Gabriel and Enda down in "the shed" in Redknife.

"Lose some of those guns," Gabriel suggested. "Lighten your ship a little. Less error."

"You were pretty glad about those guns when they saved your hide," Helm said.

Gabriel pushed him in the shoulder in a friendly way. "I'm kidding you. Helm. We couldn't thank you enough if we both had a fraal's lifetime."

"Not your debt," Helm said. "I'm going to take it out of Delde Sola's hide when I see her. Someday you may owe me something else, and then watch out." He drank a long draft of his drink, swore briefly at the heat, and then asked, "Where you going now?"

"We haven't decided yet. Some possibilities have been presenting themselves. Maybe we could go over to Algemron, do some courier work."

"Courier work is crap. Why not come do armed escort with me?" "We don't have that kind of weaponry."

"You'd make great bait, though." Helm pushed himself back, roaring with laughter, and got up as he saw a sesheyan coming across the field toward them. "You've got more chat to hold with these people, probably. I'm finished victualling. Gonna head out again. You have my Grid code. Call when you know what you'll do, or leave word with Delde Sola if I'm in drivespace. I always check with her when I make starrise again. Enda-"

"Stars light your path, brother," she said.

"Don't you trip, either," said Helm and headed off.

The sesheyan coming toward them was Ondway, who looked after the mutant with a thoughtful expression. "I thought he might stay."

"Said he had things to do," Gabriel said, pulling a chair out for him. "How are they settling in?" "Well enough. We did not lose too many," Ondway said, "between your departure and Trader Dawn's arrival. There is much work to do to decide where everyone needs to be, where they will settle. There is at least one family," he added, "who feel they must spend many months in the forest enclaves now as a result of their children's journey with you."

"I didn't mean to teach them bad language," said Gabriel desperately. "Really, I-" "Language?" Ondway looked at him peculiarly. "It was the computer games. Their parents are nontechnology-oriented. They do not feel that computers are good for their young. They feel they must now spend weeks teaching them how to enjoy themselves once more without having a machine to help them."

Gabriel chuckled at that. "How much is the faceprice going to be?"

Ondway gave him a rueful smile. "You are a fool even to speak of it," he said. "They and I owe you faceprice beyond anything that can be calculated. When you understand what that means some day, come back and claim it."

"If they leave me alive after this," Gabriel said, nodding upward at where VoidCorp ships no longer hung for the time being, "some day I will. But believe me when I tell you that I had no choice. I just had to do it. Don't make me out to be a hero. Heroism doesn't come into it."

"For the one who does such an act," Ondway said, "it never does." He got up. "Come back again after your travels, and see your people. They are making staves about you." "Oh please," Gabriel said.

"You will see eventually," said Ondway, "and then you will not blush, for the staves have a peculiarly . . . human taste to them." He made a face, one that crinkled his face under the goggles. It was a smile, Gabriel thought. "But come back. And you, honored, see that he does." "I will see to that," said Enda. "Under the trees go well, Wanderer: beware what rises from below, and drops from above."

Ondway dropped that huge jaw in a grin and walked off across the field again to the large hangar that had been converted to office space and support quarters for some of the relocated sesheyans. "Will we come back here any time soon?" Enda asked.

"I think it might be smart if we took a little vacation from this part of space," Gabriel replied. "Algemron is supposed to be nice this time of year."

"A possibility," Enda said. "Well, Sunshine will be ready to lift tonight, and after that-the choices are ours."