Melinda Snodgrass - Double solitaire

“Not if you give them the true story.”

“Which is?” asked Tach with growing weariness.

“About how the Swarm attacked, but I valiantly fought them off at enormous cost to ship and crew. The ship, much of her sentience destroyed in the battle, fled into deep space. Where I was discovered by the Network. And…” He shrugged. “What could I do? The bloodsucking bastards insisted I pay for my rescue.”

Confused, Tach shook her head as if the action would organize her mind better. “Why, Zabb? You can never return home. What does it matter what they think of you?”

His expression clouded. “I will die under unfamiliar stars, but if I leave my ancestors at peace, I will be satisfied.”

Tach made a moue, drew the end of her long braid over one shoulder, and began idly plucking off split ends while she regarded her cousin. The expression was noble, the tone sincere, pain lurked in the corners of those gray eyes – and she didn’t believe him for a minute. He read the thought and flashed her an ironic smile.

“I’ll have time to convince you during the voyage.” The cold gray eyes studied Turtle speculatively. “And you, little man, are you willing to crawl out of your shell?”

“WHAT?” Tom asked.

“This is a scout ship. Virtually no hold space. What we do have is taken. I’ll carry the flesh, but no more.”

Silence seemed to wrap the shell. It had become a darker hole in the darkness. Tach felt her stomach take a fall of several stories. After all her proud words about not requiring help, it was very comforting to have that help. And Tach sensed her support was wavering. She wanted to say something to Tom, find some way to starch his backbone.

“Uh… Doc, could I talk to you for a minute?” asked Trips. “Privately.”

Zabb crossed his arms over his chest. Laughter seemed to be lurking about the corners of that mobile mouth, hiding in the drooping brush of his full mustache.

“What’s so goddamn funny?” Jay demanded.

“You… all of you. I can read minds.”

Tach smiled, a slow, teeth-baring expression. Slipped a hand into her pocket and closed her fingers gratefully around the device that Jube had given her. Pulled it out, unfolded her fingers like a flower blossoming. Fury crashed across Zabb’s face.

Tach beckoned to Trips and Jay. They stepped away a few feet. Turtle continued to squat on the sand. Mark looked questioningly back at him.

“Turtle?” the gangly ace said. The shell seemed to shiver as it flew the few feet to join them.

Tach flicked her nail beneath the edge of the jewel. The device began to hum, and St. Elmo’s fire ran chuckling through the wires. Instantly a headache slammed like a vise around her temples.

“What in the hell is that thing?” asked Jay.

The crystal was pulsing, throwing a putrid green light in a three-foot circle around them. Most of the shell was outside the protective glow. Just another reminder of how useless that encasing pod of steel was proving to be. Why did I ever think he could come with us, or that he could be any help? Tach wondered. Then forced herself to answer Jay’s question.

“A mentat barrier. Periodically the Network tries to annex Takis by dealing with the mind blind. Rather recently, as we measure time, there was a little spat that we won because Takisians can fight like cornered ferrets when we need to, and to a Master Trader a Pyrrhic victory is bad business. But we also won because we’re telepaths. The Ly’bahr developed this little toy to block our powers.” Tach squeezed her eyes shut and sucked in a deep breath. “They’re reasonably effective because they hurt like hell, but enough sufficiently determined telepaths can punch through it.”

“Can this Zabb guy?” asked Jay.

“No.”

That assurance acted on Trips like a starting gun. Words poured urgently out, and he stuttered in his haste and concern.

“This is c-crazy, Doc. Five years ago this guy tried to kill you. His whole purpose in life is to kill you. You can’t get on a ship with him for a couple of weeks and expect to arrive on Takis with your parts intact.”

“However sincere or insincere the emotion, Zabb wants to be vindicated in the eyes of the Ajayiz. He won’t kill me until I’ve met my part of this bargain.”

“And on Takis?” Mark asked.

“He won’t be on Takis. He’s signed a service contract with the Network. They take their contracts very seriously. Breach one, and they will hunt you to death and beyond. Zabb will deliver us and resume his duties.”

“Forgive me, Doc, but I think you’re being naive.”

“What other choice do I have!” Anger and desperation edged her words like razors.

“Wait for another ship.”

“Don’t you understand anything. I’ve been saying? This is the Network. Everything costs. Everything is extra. If I reject this transport, we’ll have to renegotiate, and the price will only go up. And I suspect I have already sold my soul.”

“What was the price?” asked Trips.

“Open contract, payment to be tendered later.”

“Dumb,” was Jay’s only comment.

“What else was I supposed to do?” She clutched at her temples. “Damn this thing. It hurts.” And she turned away and vomited the contents of her stomach across the powdery white sands.

Trips flipped off the barrier, put his arm supportively around Tach’s shoulders. Jay offered a handkerchief, and she gratefully wiped her mouth.

“Okay, we gotta do it.” Trips shook his head. “We’ve just gotta be awful careful.”

Serious glances all around. Tach gave a sharp nod and started back to Zabb.

“TACHY!” Tom’s voice was stressed as if it had been scored with sandpaper. “I CAN’T……NOT WITHOUT MY SHELL.” Tears blurred the final word.

There was an ache in her throat. Tach crossed to him and pressed her cheek to the cold iron. “Tommy,” she managed.

Mark joined her. He stroked the metal with gentle fingertips as if handling a hurt animal. In some ways he was. “Oh, come on, man. You want it so bad. This is it, Burroughs and Clarke, ‘Doc’ Smith, remember like we talked that night… The Lensmen?”

“I HAVE A SHELL, AND I DON’T… CAN’T TRAVEL WITHOUT IT.”

“Terrific, another cherished illusion blown to hell… the Great and Powerful Turtle is a weenie,” Jay grunted.

“Don’t pay any attention to him, Tommy,” Tach said quickly.

“IT’S NOT THAT I’M AFRAID,” Tommy flared. “MY POWERS DON’T WORK WHEN I’M OUTSIDE MY SHELL. I CAN MOVE PENCILS AROUND IF I CONCENTRATE REAL HARD, MAYBE A SMALL ROCK BUT HOW THE HELL IS THAT GOING TO HELP?” To Tachyon he added softly. “I’D JUST BE OF NO USE TO YOU, TACHY.”

“I understand, Tommy, it’s all right.”

There was a long moment of silence, then Turtle blurted, “I WANTED TO GO SO BAD.” The shell rose and flew a few feet away. Suddenly a tall dune flattened beneath the force of Turtle’s grief.

Mark looked seriously down at Tachyon. “We’ve got problems. I gotta sleep sometime. There’s gotta be two of us.”

The thought hit both of them simultaneously. They pivoted slowly to face Jay.

“No, oh no,” said the detective, holding out his hands as if to ward them off and retreating backward a few steps.

“It makes perfect sense,” Mark argued.

“Bullshit it does. You’re asking me to climb on board that spaceship and go to another planet, where you can display me like a prize trout to a bunch of his… her relatives who may all want to kill her, except that I’m supposed to stop them.”

“Yes,” Tach said succinctly. “That sums it up.”

“You’re nuts,” said Jay Ackroyd equally succinctly.

“You can let him down – lots of people have – but the Doc’s always been there for us. He’s going to a dangerous place, and she’s in a tough condition to deal with violence and killing. So, I’m asking you for her. Will you help?” Trips asked.