Charles Sheffield: Resurgence

The mutineers were Torran Veck, Sinara Bellstock, and Teri Dahl. They stood shoulder to shoulder against the opposite wall.

“We were told that Louis Nenda was in charge of this ship.” Torran Veck was for the moment the spokesman for the three, if for no better reason than that he was the only one tall enough to look Julian Graves straight in the eye. “Nenda should still be in charge. The Have-It-All is his ship and not yours.”

“Louis Nenda was permitted to bring his ship only with the explicit understanding that it would be part of the expedition’s available resources. I relinquished command to him while we attempted one difficult and specific act; namely, he had to get this ship off the surface of Marglot. He did that—brilliantly. But as soon as that was done, command decisions reverted to me.”

“Nenda didn’t,” Torran said, and the other two nodded agreement. “Didn’t get us off Marglot, I mean. We spoke to Louis Nenda. He says that if it hadn’t been for the centrifugal force assist, the ship would still be down there—or more likely, he thinks, it would be a white-hot blob floating somewhere in the middle of a mess of planetary debris. Ben Blesh got us away from Marglot.”

“I am not seeking to diminish his contribution. But if we fail to return to the Orion Arm, Blesh’s sacrifice will have been in vain.”

“His sacrifice? You talk as though he’s already dead. He’s not. Ben’s out there. Unconscious, and maybe close to death, but he’s alive.”

“I know. But we cannot risk this ship, and with it our only hope of returning to the Orion Arm, for any member of this expedition. You, or me, or Ben Blesh.”

“He saved all of us. You won’t even try to save him.”

“Not at the cost of rendering pointless our whole journey to the Sag Arm, including the loss of Lara Quistner and our own close escape from death. Don’t you see that what we have learned exceeds any of us in importance?”

“What have we learned? You can’t even tell us.”

“Not yet. We have a group attempting such an analysis at this very moment. However, our success or failure to understand is not the issue. There are other minds in the Orion Arm, great minds who will take what we give them and go beyond any deductions we are able to make. I am truly sorry. I realize that Ben Blesh was your fellow group member.”

“He was more than that. He was our close friend.”

Julian Graves knew that to be an exaggeration—he had watched the survival specialists and sensed the strong rivalries within the group; but he was wise enough not to challenge the statement. He merely said, “I was not his close friend, but I am a member of the Ethical Council. The prospect of Ben Blesh’s death, while we are forced to stand by and watch, pains me no less than it does you. However, I must not—dare not—endanger this ship and all that we have done in a rash attempt to secure his survival.”

Torran glanced at Sinara. They had orchestrated this in advance, and carefully. He had made the accusations, now she would move it to the next stage.

Sinara took two steps toward Julian Graves. “Suppose we could find a way to save Ben that did not endanger this ship at all? Suppose that it merely meant a delay of a day or two in entering the Bose node?”

“I think I know what you have in mind. Professor Lang, Captain Rebka and I already explored that possibility. A day or two’s delay would be tolerable. Ben Blesh’s suit, like all the suits, has built-in thrustors. They can be used for in-space maneuvering. We thought, perhaps we can simply wait for him to fly out of the region where the planetary debris is located. Then he can rendezvous with the Have-It-All in a safe location. The problem is that Ben Blesh is unconscious, and the equipment needed to control his suit remotely, from this ship, was stripped out and left behind on Marglot. No one ever dreamed that we might need it.”

“We also spoke with Professor Lang and Captain Rebka, and they told us about your discussion. They thought that a delay in entering the Bose node would not be an issue.”

“It never was. No one likes living in a ship in the derelict condition of this one, but everyone would endure it gladly for a few extra days if it meant we could save Ben Blesh.”

Sinara said promptly, “Then we ask for a two-day delay in entering the Bose node. We also seek your permission to attempt a rescue mission for Ben.”

“Didn’t you hear me? Any danger to this ship—”

“There will no danger to the ship. At worst, you will lose three space suits and three members of the survival team group. We feel that it is our right to try to save our colleague and friend, provided that it endangers no one but ourselves.”

“I am sorry, but you have ceased to make sense.” Julian Graves’s furrowed brow betrayed his bewilderment. “Three suits, and the three of you?”

“It is simple enough. This ship is sitting high above the plane of debris, far from the danger zone.”

“It must remain beyond that zone.”

“We know. We also know, from the suit signals, exactly where Ben is located. He is deep within the zone of danger, surrounded by all kinds of fragments big enough to destroy this ship. We asked Louis Nenda if it would be possible to fly the Have-It-All on a vector that would exactly intersect Ben Blesh’s projected suit position.”

“Absolutely not!”

“We didn’t ask him to do it, Councilor—we only asked if it would be possible . He said it would be easy. He also said he could establish that velocity vector when the ship was far away from danger. We ask you to agree to that, and only that.”

“With what useful result?”

“Once the Have-It-All is moving at the right speed and in the right direction, the three of us, in our suits, leave the ship. We fly on, to rendezvous with Ben Blesh. However, as soon as we leave the ship, the Have-It-All uses its engines to change direction. It stays well out of the plane of danger, and heads toward M-2, a million kilometers away. When this ship gets there, it loops around behind M-2. That planet is huge, it will serve as a shield to protect you from free-flying debris. This ship then returns on the other side of what was once Marglot’s equatorial plane. You will again be far enough out of that plane to be at no risk. And there you wait for us. We will fly through the danger zone in our suits, collect Ben Blesh, and bring him with us to safety.”

“That sounds completely impossible.”

“Some of it may be. It’s possible that we will die trying to reach Ben, or die trying to get back to the Have-It-All . But the trajectories are quite feasible if you believe E.C. Tally and Kallik and Atvar H’sial. All three performed the calculations separately at our request, and all assured us that everything we are suggesting is well within the Have-It-All ’s capabilities. The engines are now operating at full efficiency, and given the ship’s reduced mass the maneuvers that we have described are easier than ever. Louis Nenda confirms this.”

Julian Graves examined one by one the faces of the three people in front of him. He saw something that had not been there on the voyage out: absolute determination.

He leaned his head back on the cold metal wall. “You know, sometimes I think that all young people are mad. And sometimes I am persuaded that the only real progress in the world comes from those who are mad.”

He was slowly nodding. Sinara said, “I’m sorry, Councilor, but is that a yes or a no?”

“It is neither.” Graves stepped toward the waiting trio. “You know, in my distant youth I believe that I was quite mad myself. I would like to think so. But before we discuss your suggestions further, let me ask one question. You mentioned Darya Lang, Hans Rebka, Louis Nenda, E.C. Tally, Atvar H’sial, and Kallik. Is there anyone on this ship, other than myself, whom you have not already consulted regarding your proposed rescue mission?”