Timothy Zahn - The Icarus Hunt

"And arms, legs, and throat," I added, pulling out a swivel stool from theside of his console and sitting down. "How's it flying?"

"Amazingly well, actually," he said. "Rather surprising, I know, consideringthat it looks like a refugee from a Doolian scrap heap. But whoever thedesignerwas, at least the builder had the sense to install some decent equipment."

"It's like that on the bridge, too," I said. "Good equipment, odd placement.

I'll make you a small wager that it was a working spacer who designed it, notsome so-called expert. Tell me, did you have any problems out in the port backthere?"

His eyes narrowed, just a bit, and I saw his gaze flick to the side of my headwhere the plasmic near miss had slightly singed my hair. I didn't think themarks showed; possibly I was wrong. "None at all," he said. "Of course, I wasonly outside a half hour or so—up till then I was sitting on the fuelersmakingsure they did their job properly. I take it there was some trouble I missedout on?"

"You might say that," I allowed. "Tell me about yourself, Revs."

I'd been hoping my sudden change of topic would spark a telling reaction. What got was equally informative: no reaction at all. "What do you want to know?" he countered calmly.

"Let's start with your background," I said. "Where you picked up your drivecertification, how long you've been flying, why you were at loose ends onMeima, and how you were hired for this trip."

"I learned drive-jocking in the service," he said. "EarthGuard Marines, stationed mostly out among the settlements in the Kappa Vega Sector. I was infor ten years, left six years ago to try my hand in the private sector."

"Odd timing," I said. "Considering that by then the Patth had alreadyswallowed up the lion's share of the Spiral's shipping."

"It was a gamble, but I'd had enough of military life by then and thought Icould make a go of it. Mostly, I was right." He shrugged. "As to the Icarus, Igot signed up more or less simultaneously with my resignation from my previousship."

"Oh?"

"Yes." His face hardened. "I'd just found out my freighter was actuallymask-shilling for the Patth."

I frowned. "That's a new one on me."

"It's the latest Patth twist to get around local protection ordinances," hesaid. "On some of these worlds twenty to forty percent of cargo tonnage has tobe carried by local shippers. So the Patth hire a ship on the sly, load it tothe gills with as much stuff as it can carry, and send it on in. It skews thenumbers, the Patth pocket the profits, and it pulls business away from thepeople the ordinances are supposed to protect." He shrugged. "Typical Patthconnivery."

"I take it you resigned in something of a huff?"

He grinned suddenly. "I don't know if 'huff' quite covers it, but I made damnsure I was loud enough for everyone in the taverno to hear what was happening.

Anyway, Borodin was there at the bar talking to someone else, and when Istompedout he followed and offered me this job."

He glanced around. "Though if I'd known what I was getting into, I might havelooked a little harder for something else."

He looked at me, his eyes suddenly cool. "My turn for a question. Do youalwayscarry a gun on board your own ship?"

I cocked an eyebrow. "I'm impressed. I didn't realize it was so obvious."

"Ten years in EarthGuard," he reminded me. "Do I get an answer?"

"Sure," I said. "Number one: It's not exactly my ship. Number two: I waskidnapped in port by a couple of alien lads who wanted our cargo."

"Interesting," he murmured. "And you suspect someone aboard of complicity withthem?"

"I can't imagine why anyone would be," I said. It was a perfectly truestatement, even if it wasn't precisely an answer to his question.

"No, of course not," he agreed in a tone that implied he'd heard both thewords I'd said and the words I hadn't said and would be mulling them over later onhis own. "In which case, I presume this visit is for the purpose of judgingwhether or not I'll be helping you circle the wagons if and when the shooting starts?"

I had to hand it to him, the man was sharp. "Very good," I said approvingly.

"I hereby withdraw all the unkind thoughts I've had toward EarthGuard Marinesover the years. Most of them, anyway."

"Thanks," Nicabar said dryly. "The answer's a qualified yes. I've dealt withmyshare of pirates and hijackers, and I don't like them much. You can count onme to help fight them off. But."

He leveled a finger at my chest. "My support and my presence are conditionalon the cargo being totally legit. If I find out we're running drugs or guns orthat we're mask-shilling for the Patth, I'm out at the next port. Clear?"

"Clear," I said firmly, hoping I sounded heartily on his side on this one. Ifhe ever found out about my connection with Brother John, I was going to have somefancy verbal dancing to do. "But I don't think you have anything to worryabout on any of those scores. Borodin told me the cargo had been cleared throughcustoms on Gamm, and one would assume they were reasonably thorough."

"Borodin told me that, too," Nicabar said darkly. "But then, Borodin's nothere, is he?"

"No, he's not," I conceded. "And before you ask, I don't know why."

"I didn't think you did." He peered at me thoughtfully. "If you ever find out, I

presume you'll tell me."

"Of course," I said, as if it went without saying, as I stood up. "I've got toget back to the bridge. See you later."

I made my way back through the wiring undergrowth, wishing irreverently for amachete, and ducked through the aft airlock hatch into the wraparound. Nicabarwas sharp, all right. Maybe a little too sharp. Perhaps his lack of reactionto my story about being jumped was because he already knew all about it.

In which case, unfortunately, I ran immediately and solidly into the questionof why he hadn't then done something to keep the Icarus from leaving Xathru.

Unless the Lumpy Brothers were just hunting cargoes at random, maybe working strictlyon their own.

But that one didn't wash at all. They'd known me by sight and name, and they'dknown I'd come in from Meima. And they sure as hell hadn't bought those coronaweapons off a gun-shop rack.

I was halfway through the wraparound, still turning all the questions over inmymind, when I heard a dull, metallic thud.

I stopped dead in my tracks, listening hard. My first thought was that we hadanother pressure ridge or crack; but that wasn't at all what the noise hadsounded like. It had been more like two pieces of metal clanking hollowlyagainst each other.

And near as I could tell, it had come from someplace immediately ahead of me.

I unglued myself from the deck and hurried ahead, ducking through the forwardairlock and into the main sphere, all my senses alert for trouble. No one wasvisible in the corridor, and aside from the galley/dayroom three rooms aheadon my right all the doors were closed. I paused again, listening hard, but therewas nothing but the normal hum of shipboard activity.

The first door ahead on my right was the computer room. I stepped up to it andtapped the release pad with my left hand, my right poised ready to grab for myplasmic if necessary. The door slid open—

Tera was seated at the computer, holding a hand pressed against the side ofher head. "What?" she snapped crossly, glaring at me.

"Just checking on you," I said, glancing around the room. No one else wasthere, and nothing seemed out of place. "I thought I heard a noise."

"That was my head banging against the bulkhead," she growled. "I dropped adatadisk and ran into the wall when I leaned over to get it. Is that all rightwith you?"

"No problem," I said hastily, backing out rapidly and letting the door closeon her scowl. This was twice now, counting my spectacularly unnecessary floordive back in that Meima hotel room, where I'd overreacted and made something of afool of myself.