Sharon Lee - - Prologue
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- Название:- Prologue
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"First, yes, first comes the Hugglelans business. I have brought with me, Theo, a lot of information that will be going out to all working pilots on routes. You will both get complete copies, of course, and I will expect you to know the information since your life may depend on it. In addition, route managers and lead pilots get an overview I expect you both to read, and I will of course expect both of you to be fully up-to-date on these by the time our trip is over.
"The short form is that there are, as I mentioned, major opportunities for shippers at the moment, and for pilots. We at Hugglelans are at a point that we hope to add an extra full-scale planetary base or two within the next decade, and certainly to add capacity and personnel to match. The alteration on the Liaden side of things makes this an excellent time for us to push forward. I have brought updated contracts for you, assuming you wish to continue employment with Hugglelans under these new circumstances, which we will have confirmed by the end of the trip. Rest assured that we value your service and wish you to be a part of the expansion program."
"New contract, huh? You got yourself a Liaden writing those things now?"
Mayko scolded Rig with severe fingers: serious talk no joke read close consider.
Nodding to Theo and then to Tranza, she said, "I think you'll both enjoy the new compensation package we are offering pilots with in-house experience, which of course you'll both qualify for. We do also expect to be hiring from outside, naturally.
"As to the rest of the business, Second Class Pilot Theo Waitley, in my capacity as a master pilot, I am here on the very ship where I earned my own first class card to test you for first class. I have flown several of your trips from log records . . ."
Theo felt a strange feeling in her stomach, like she'd just found a gravity vary while walking a gangway. First class! She glanced over to Tranza, who was looking elsewhere, and then grinned.
"In my contract, see," he said. "I assumed you'd earned a first class a few trips ago, but it pays to have someone fresh take a look, to be sure. You've seen my basic evals, Theo."
Well, and she had. Adequate and alert ship handling planetary. Adequate and alert ship handling docking. Adequate and alert ship maintenance procedures. Adequate . . .
"Adequate. That's what you said on the last three reports I saw. Adequate! Nothing about me being ready for . . ."
True course , he signed. "Right. Right. And if you looked you may have noticed 'conservative piloting for a pilot at this stage of career and training.' You weren't pushing so I wasn't going to push you."
"I thought that meant I needed work."
Her voice was low, and she felt the dance start to move, which brought Tranza immediately to attention.
"No, the alert part, and the conservative part, they're both good. The last three trips have you on command more than me and the trips would have been fine without me at all. Haven't you noticed how often you've signed for us?"
She nodded vigorously.
"I did. I thought that just meant I was doing my job."
A wave of hands from Mayko communicate communicate good, and she continued as she finished her coffee.
"So, time has not been adequate even if your piloting may be; these circumstances have kept the whole of my staff very busy. Theo, understand my time on this trip will be spent observing you more than testing; the real test for you has been putting up with the lessons and the cooking of Rig Tranza. And understand that 'adequate' from Rig is a rare and considered thing when it comes to young pilots. Didn't he work you scrubbing the deck and counting spares?"
Theo laughed despite herself. "And double-checking the food lockers for both catalog number and actual count."
"See, always check invoice against items! We share a lesson."
Mayko's hands moved to say finish this session and she leaned forward.
"So, the rest of this run is yours. Rig will have a holiday of sorts—he has new music, and he has been some time without vacation or proper leave. I am available to sit second at any moment, and at any moment I may ask for analysis of decision points. Calculations, your choice of beverage—anything. Do you understand?"
Something tickled the back of her mind. She nodded so gravely that it was almost a bow.
"Yes," she said, "I understand. The usual rules apply."
Thirty-Five
Primadonna
In Transit
Theo's hands were damp with sweat and her main computer was at least four screens deep on each of nine viewtops. She knew where things were but her astrogation instructor would have disowned her. Tranza was sitting back with his music, smiling.
She looked again at the screens, saw the solution, and began archiving like mad.
Let him laugh, Theo thought, he's got his jacket.
They'd got to Jump distance with no problems, a comfortable meal in their stomachs and her pair of companions only breaking into song three times in response to conversational cues Theo hadn't known were cues at all.
The thing was that after dinner, Theo began a mild stretching routine, letting it ratchet up to a little more of a workout so that she'd be done before they needed to get to actual work, like to a spot where Theo ought to soon be setting up for a Jump run or determining Primadonna 's long term orbit.
In the midst of that exercise, Mayko handed over the ship's run. Well, not exactly. What she did was hand over a list of places she needed to be within a more-or-less set time frame, with a bonus load of interdependent priorities, and a request that sooner would be better in all cases. All of the prefiled destinations were included, and a couple more.
"Pilot Theo, these are the needs of the company," Mayko had said innocuously. "As the board is yours, this is clearly a pilot's choice situation. I think it best that we be outsystem in the next quarter shift."
Which would not have been Theo's usual choice with such a multiplicity of routes available, but if the ship was hers for the duration of the run—well, that clarified things immensely. Part of this was to push her, she knew. Part was real need. Mayko had said that Hugglelans needed to move in a hurry, while trade was still confused.
But there, the information was already gathered, the decision point just lacked confirmation.
"Mix and match?" she asked. "All of the destinations in the same run, priority fast and efficient?"
"Indeed, that would be best," Mayko allowed.
Theo nodded, raised her voice.
"First Board declares Jump check. Tranza, please secure the galley and confirm tie-downs, locks, goods and staterooms. The count to start our runout is two hundred, starting in seven."
"Right," he said and moved.
Next to her Mayko raised an eyebrow, began to speak, was overridden by Theo.
"Second, your main screen should match mine. Confirm Volmer coordinates, confirm ship safety, confirm scans."
Theo glanced toward the seat Tranza left empty in his rush; then toward Mayko, hands deftly touching the manual confirms on the automatics, readouts being echoed.
"Our route?" Mayko inquired, laughing as Tranza burst into song while he made some final seal in the galley, and dashed onto the flight deck.
"Volmer," Theo stated succinctly. "The coordinates are in, the ship is rigged, and there's eight flight plans ready to go once we get there. Volmer's closest in transit time, Volmer's in the priority loop, and Volmer it is."
Mayko opened her mouth again, but was cut off by Tranza's, "Confirming secure, Pilot Theo."
"Confirmed."
"But the route?" Mayko insisted.
Theo sighed.
"Unless this is a touch-and-go when we get to Volmer, we'd best calculate fresh when we have fresh news. I'll set two probables into the go-stack in case we need to move in a hurry, but we're set. We have a count of one hundred; I'll start the Jump on count."
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