The Icarus Hunt

The size of the lodge also meant that the six of us—or seven, whenever Everettdeigned to join us—would have the chance to get seriously lost from eachother.

After the forced intimacy we'd created by ripping out the Icarus's decks andcabins, the thought of a little personal privacy was something the whole crewwas definitely champing at the bit for. I thought about keeping us alltogetherat least long enough to check out the public areas of the lodge for signs ofrecent occupancy, but when I offered the suggestion Tera made it clear thatshe wasn't interested in anyone else's company for a couple of hours at least.

Snagging the key for one of the guest rooms—old-fashioned permanent keys wereapparently part of the rustic atmosphere of the place—she headed off to getsome sleep on a real bed. Shawn and Nicabar took her cue and picked out rooms oftheir own, while Chort headed instead to the kitchen area to see what sort offood might be available. Giving up, I sent Ixil with him and then headed backoutside onto the lodge's wide front portico.

It had been late afternoon when we'd landed, and from what the nav listing hadsaid about Beyscrim's rotation period I had assumed we would have another twoto three hours of daylight left. But I had failed to take into account the effects of the mountain range to the west that rose dramatically behind the Icarus andits shading trees. Already the sun was dipping behind the taller peaks, and Icould see now that it would be dusk in probably half an hour.

Still, half an hour of sun and fresh air was better than nothing. Snagging oneof the sturdy lounge chairs lined up along the portico's back wall, I pulledit to the front edge and sat down.

Everett had evidently been thinking along the same lines I had, at least asfar as the fresh air was concerned. From where I sat I could make out his figurein the wraparound just behind the open hatchway, gazing back in my direction. Ithought about waving to him, but concluded after a minute that the lack of anysuch gesture on his part probably meant he was still not feeling all thatsociable, at least not toward me. So I just settled more comfortably into mychair, aware of Everett's presence but not acknowledging it any more than hewas acknowledging mine.

We sat there, wrapped in our own little worlds, as the sun vanished and thewestern sky faded from sunlight into a multicolored glow into dusk. Ixil camebyonce to tell me that Chort had located a cache of stored food and was busypreparing di

Everett, I presumed, was similarly watching the lodge and the mountains risingbehind it. Or possibly he was just watching me.

It had been full night for about twenty minutes when the dropping airtemperature finally began to penetrate my jacket and I decided enough wasenough. Picking my way carefully downslope, with only the decorative lights ofthe portico to illuminate the path, I made my way back to the Icarus.

I found Everett stretched out on his cot in the main sphere, leafing throughthe ship's pharmaceutical listing, his injured leg propped up on one of themedical kits. "The wraparound get too boring for you?" I asked as I made my way towardhim.

"It got too chilly," he said. "What's happening out there?"

"Absolutely nothing," I said. "Oh, except that di

Thought you might want to join us."

"What are we having?" he asked.

"No idea," I admitted. "However, Chort's in charge of preparation, so I expectit'll at least be palatable."

"Probably," Everett said, wincing slightly as he shifted his leg.

"Unfortunately, I don't know if I'm up to the walk."

"Really," I said, frowning, as I squatted down beside him. "I didn't realizeit was bothering you that badly or I wouldn't have jumped on you earlier. Sorry."

He waved the apology away. "Don't worry about it. You were right—it should bemostly healed by now. Maybe it's the cold and lower air pressure up herethat's bothering it."

"Then the lodge and a real bed are exactly what you need," I said briskly, straightening up and reaching down to him. "Come on—I'll give you a hand."

"No, that's all right," he said. "Let me just rest it a while longer, and I'll come up later."

"You're going to join us for di

"Look, I appreciate the thought. But—"

"Besides, we have to have a serious talk about what we're going to do after weleave here," I said. "And that's going to concern all of us. So, bottom line: Either you let me help you up to the lodge, or I'm going to send Nicabar andIxil to carry you. Your choice."

"You win," he said, putting down the listing and smiling wryly. "They wound upmostly carrying me back to the Icarus on Palmary, and I'm not in any hurry torepeat the experience."

We made our way around the curve of the hull and into the wraparound.

Everett's leg didn't seem to be giving him all that much trouble that I could see, but Inevertheless kept a hand ready to assist if it should suddenly go weak on him.

I turned on the entryway floodlights for better lighting and preceded him downthe ladder. He reached the ground safely, and we headed toward the lodge.

A gentle breeze had started up since I'd entered the Icarus, stirring up thecold mountain air and making it feel that much colder, and Everett's legreacted by stiffening up even more. It took us over ten minutes to cross the fourhundred meters to the lodge, and by the time we made it up the steps to theportico he had given his pride a vacation and was leaning heavily on my arm.

"Sorry about this," he puffed as I steered us to the main door. "I guess Ishould have let Ixil carry me after all."

"Not a problem," I assured him. "You'll be better once we get you out of allthis cold night... damn."

"What?" he asked.

"The lights," I said, turning around to look behind us. Sure enough, theIcarus was beautifully bathed in the backwash from the floodlights. "I wasn't eventhinking. Too used to always leaving them on in port, I guess."

"You going to go back and turn them off?" Everett asked.

"Unless we want to advertise our presence to anyone who happens to pass by," Isaid, getting the door open and helping him limp over the threshold. Thedelicate aromas coming from the kitchen area made my stomach growl. "Go onin—the dining area's off to the left, around that corner and through a sort ofrectangular archway. I'll be back in a minute."

"Better grab a flashlight for the way back," he warned as I headed back acrossthe portico. "That ground's pretty uneven in places."

"I will," I called back over my shoulder. "Assuming I can remember where westashed them. Make sure Chort saves me some of whatever that is, all right?"

"Sure," he called. "Well, probably."

Between the portico lights behind me and the floodlights in front of me I hadno problem traversing the terrain this time around. I climbed up the ladder andshut off the floodlights, then headed forward into the main sphere.

Contrary to what I'd implied to Everett, I knew exactly where the flashlightswere, and it was the work of ten seconds to unearth one from the pile ofmachine-shop equipment. But now that I was finally alone in the ship therewere other more urgent matters that needed to be attended to, and the excuse of hunting for a flashlight should give me the time I needed.

I tackled the helm and nav systems first, my familiarity with them permittingme to finish the job in probably two minutes. Tera's computer was next on mylist, another relatively quick and easy job given how much time I'd spent around itlately. After that, making sure to stay well back in the wraparound as Islippedpast the open hatchway, I headed back into the engine section.