Джек Макдевитт - A Voice in the Night

Maybe it would have been better had he said nothing. As it happened, she came in at a slightly higher velocity than the situation called for. A more experienced pilot would have eased back, just touched the braking thrusters, and slipped into orbit. But Hutch overreacted, braking too hard. She heard a couple of surprised cries in the passenger cabin.

“Damn,” she said.

“You’re all right. Just back off a bit.” She was well above the atmosphere. Taking no chances with that. She came off the thrusters altogether, then had to apply them again. Only slightly, and had she spent more time on the bridge she’d have thought nothing of it. But at the moment the maneuver seemed horribly clumsy.

“Orbit established,” said Benny.

She exhaled. “Okay, everybody, you can get out of your restraints now.”

The shuttle was packed with supplies and replacement parts. It was currently about twenty minutes before sunrise at the ground station. She contacted the complex, and heard a woman’s voice this time. “Acharius,” Hutch said, “this is Copperhead . We’re on schedule.”

“We’ll be waiting, Copperhead. ”

She and Jake got up and wandered back into the passenger cabin to make sure the passengers were ready to go. Jake glanced at her, and she understood. She would continue to function as captain. “We’ll be leaving in a few minutes,” she said. “The ride down to Acharius will take about three-quarters of an hour. Make sure you have everything you need. This would be a good time to check your compartment.” She smiled. “It was a pleasure to have you along. I hope you enjoyed the flight.”

Larry and Isaika took a last look around. The professor remained placidly in his seat, his restraints still holding him in place. Then, finally, it was time to go.

Hutch led the way down to the launch bay, which also served as the cargo area. Like the ship, the shuttle was heavily armored. The pilot would not be able to see directly outside, and would be dependent on a display screen. “Best,” said Jake, “is to let the AI take us down.”

She had no problem with that.

They stowed the luggage in the cargo bin, and she opened the hatch. Interior lights came on. Everybody climbed in. “Snug,” said Eddington.

Hutch, without lifting her eyes from the gauges, nodded. “The sacrifices we make for science,” she said quietly.

Jake elbowed her gently. No smart remarks.

Eddington didn’t reply.

“We’ve started decompressing the launch bay,” she said. “We’ll be leaving in about three minutes.”

“How can you see to fly this thing?” asked Larry. “It’s like sitting in a box.”

The Acharius Complex was, for the most part, underground, buried beneath a lead shield. The shield, of course, had long since been covered by windblown dirt and vegetation. Four small modular blockhouses were visible. They served primarily as entrances. Two shuttles were on the ground. As they descended, someone came out of one of the blockhouses and waved. Eddington nodded. “That should be Abel.”

There were nineteen people in the complex. Theodore Abel, Hutch knew, was the director. She didn’t know what he looked like, however, and in any case the figure seemed too far away to identify. But she knew Eddington pretty well, even though the flight had been a short one. He’d have expected to be met by the head guy.

She magnified the image, and heard Larry confirm that it was indeed the director.

Pilots generally claim they like a zero-gee environment. It’s common wisdom that anyone who prefers the tug of gravity isn’t meant to operate a superluminal. It makes sense, but Hutch didn’t know whether there was any truth to it. Nevertheless she played it safe, always pretending to feel perfectly at ease floating around in the Copperhead , but the reality was she would rather have walked. Two feet on the ground is good. There’d been reports for years that physicists were close to creating a mechanism that would generate an artificial gravity field. She hoped it would happen during her lifetime.

In any case, it was a relief to stand in the shuttle checking everyone’s oxygen mask, and then, last in line, to climb down onto solid ground.

By then another guy had joined Abel. He was eye-level with Hutch, who was not especially tall. But he had a big smile and she guessed, correctly, he was Ollie. They all shook hands and Abel took them through the airlock. “It’s good to see you,” he said, removing his mask. He was in his later years, graying, with a slight limp. And he made no effort to hide the fact that he was delighted by their arrival. “How long will you be staying?” The question was directed at Jake, who passed it to Hutch.

“We have a series of missions, Dr. Abel,” she said. “We have to pull out today.”

“I’m sorry to hear it. Anyhow, my name’s Ted. We’d hoped you’d be able to spend some time with us.” He was tall, younger than his pictures had suggested. He had black hair, dark skin, dark eyes, and the easy manner of a guy who was accustomed to getting his way. “Why don’t you let us serve you some breakfast before we start unloading?”

They left their gear in the blockhouse, descended a staircase, and started down a dimly lit corridor, past closed doors on both sides. “As you can see, Michael,” he said, addressing Eddington, “we’re still living the good life here.”

Eddington reached out and touched the wall. “Yes,” he said. “Enjoy it while you can. Seriously, Ted, you know the Academy is closing the operation down. I don’t think they feel there’s much more to be gained out here.”

“That’s what we heard. But I don’t think it’s going to happen.”

Eddington slowed down. “Why not, Ted?”

Ollie glanced across at Hutch. She got the significance: This was the surprise he’d mentioned.

“Let’s eat first. Then I have something to show you.”

Hutch had pancakes and strawberries. She got introductions to everyone at the Complex, except the half-dozen who were out doing field work. Ollie sat down with her. They got on first-name terms, and she asked if he was a biologist.

He laughed. “I’m just the technical support. Something breaks down, I do the repairs.”

“How do you like the job?”

“Never again,” he said.

“Don’t get out much?”

“That’s part of it.”

“What’s the rest?” The strawberries were good. She wondered how they managed to produce them.

“It’s—” He shrugged. “I don’t know. I guess it’s seeing the same people all the time. I don’t think I realized what I was getting into. I mean, everybody’s nice and all. But you like to see some new faces once in a while.”

“How long have you been here, Ollie?”

“Three and a half years. I signed on for four.”

“Why so long?”

“The pay’s good.”

“Any single women here?”

He didn’t have to think about it. “A couple.”

Okay. Nobody to get excited about. “So what’s the surprise, Ollie?”

He looked down the table toward his boss. “I’d better let Ted break the news.”

When they’d finished, Isaika took Ollie and a few others down to unload the shuttle, while Abel led Hutch, Jake, Eddington, and Larry into a conference room. The lights dimmed, a projector came on, and they were looking out across the vast purple matting that constituted so much of the surface of Hibachi’s World. In the distance, it faded to ocean. “This,” said Abel, “is a section of coastline about a thousand miles west of us. You’ll notice the diminution in the coloring. That was what first drew our attention.”