Maverick

“A good one,” Avery said, twirling his moustache. “Maybe even a very good one. ” He stepped over to the control console and raised his voice. “Ship, do you still retain shape-changing ability?”

“Certain sections of the hull have been rendered temporarily inoperative,” the ship said pleasantly. “However, I have full control over 80% of the exterior hull. ”

“Excellent. ” Avery looked at Wolruf. “Get on the jump controls. I want to jump the instant we’re ready. ” Turning back to the console, he said, “Ship, continue to effect hyperdrive repairs, but prepare to simulate a massive explosion. The next time we sustain a hit on a non-essential portion of the hull, jettison plating and other materials and adopt the appearance of severe damage. Do not, repeat, do not conduct self-repairs in that area. Do you understand?”

“I understand,” the ship said politely. “Simulation program prepared. ” A few moments later, the soft thud of a weapons hit was immediately followed by a massive concussion and a rapid drop in cabin pressure. Wolruf, more sensitive to air pressure changes than the others, let out a sharp, painful yelp and fell to the floor.

. Derec dashed to her side, but she waved him off. “ ‘S okay. ” Shaking her head, she got back to her hind feet. “More surprised ‘an ‘urt. ”

“Section 17D has been explosively decompressed,” the ship a

“Forty-five secon’s t’ jump,” Wolruf whispered.

“Contact imminent,” the ship said. “Shall I prepare a welcoming message?”

“No!”Avery hissed. “And, frost it, keep your voice down!”

“Yes, master,” the ship whispered sweetly. “Hyperdrive power restored. Hyperdrive control circuits still out. ”

Avery turned to Wolruf. “How big is our jump window?”

“Five seconds, seven max-” She shuddered as a deep clang echoed through the hull. The sound was followed by the groan of creaking metal and an erratic series of hollow pokking sounds.

“Induction limpet,” Wolrufexplained in a frightened whine. “Magnetic boots. They’ll walk ‘roun’ th’ hull, try t’ figurr out where th’ live ‘uns are. Hard t’ sell dead slaves. ” She checked the clock again and tucked her tail between her legs. “Thirty seconds t’ jump. ”

The sounds changed now to the rhythmic clacking of metal boots and the grating screech of something heavy being dragged across the outer surface of the hull. This was followed by the deep whump! and rising whine of a power pile being engaged.

“Cut tin’ laser,” Wolrufwhispered. “Must ‘ave found us. ” She looked at the clock. “Fifteen seconds t’ jump. ”

“Ship? Repair status. ”

“Hyperdrive control still out. Master? I am experiencing new hull damage in Section 17A. ”

“Sev’n… six… ”

“Thicken the hull in that section. Keep them out. ”

“Four…t’ree…”

“Negative effect, master. Stand by for hull breach. ”

“ ‘Un… zero… ’at’s it. ” Wolruf shrugged and stepped back from the control panel, her ears sagging forlornly.

“Hull breached in 17A. Hyperdrive control circuits restored. ”

“What?”Avery and Wolruf froze for a moment, staring at each other. Then both leapt on the jump control handle and slammed it down.

A moment later, the Wild Goose Chase was somewhere else.

Avery wrestled himself out from under Wolruf and grabbed the intercom grid. “Ship! Can you contain the boarding party?”

“What boarding party?” the ship asked i

“Wha-?” Avery turned to Derec, a wild and confused look on his face. “. Derec? See if you can use your commlink to get an exterior view. ” Before he’d finished speaking, Derec had closed his eyes, invoked the commlink, and patched into the ship’s optic feeds.

“Nothing,” he said hoarsely. “Starfield. No other ships. I see the hull. ” He gasped. “Ouch! We took some serious damage. ”

“But where are the boarders?” Avery demanded. “Check Section 17. ”

“I’m getting there. Section 15. Section 16; I see the limpet, it’s welded onto the hull. Section 17. ” Derec’s eyes opened wide in surprise. “They’re gone!”

“Gone? Where?”

Wolruf roused herself from the corner Avery had pushed her into. ‘ If they ‘ur lucky,” she said in a tired rasp, “they got fried by the en’rgy pulse from th’ jump. ”

“That’s lucky?”

Wolruf indulged in a good shake and then shambled over to join Avery and Derec. “Don’t ‘u know nothin ’ about ‘yperspace? Magn’tic polar’ties reverse. If ‘u live t’rough th’ insertion, ‘ur boot magnets repel th’ ship’s magn’tic field. Only for a picosecon’, but ‘at’s long enough t’ blow ‘u off like a rocket. ”

. Derec’s face paled. “You mean, they could still be alive, but floating in hyperspace?”

Wolruf laid a paw on Derec’s shoulder and sagged against him. “. Derec, if they made it int’ ‘yperspace, they could still be alive for centuries. ”

. Derec was still considering that idea when Wolruf took a deep breath and stood up straight. “What’s done iss done. What we need t’ do now is figure out where we are. ” She pushed off Derec, staggered over to the control console, and started punching buttons. As if in response, the normal cabin lighting returned, and the air recirculation fans kicked in with a buzz.

“Internal environment restored,” the ship a

Blinking as his eyes adjusted to the light, Derec put his hand on Wolruf’s shoulder and tried to turn her around. She shrugged it off. “What do you mean, figure out where we are?” he asked. “We jumped right on schedule. ”

“We jumped four seconds late,” she said without looking up, “an’ with th’ wrong calc’lations. We ‘ad the extra mass of th’ boardin’ party, an’ we lost ship’s mass in the fight. ” She paused to punch a few more buttons and study the readouts. “No tellin’ ‘ow far off th’ jump was skewed. ”

Avery gently took Derec by the elbow and pulled him out of Wolruf’s way. “Anything we can do to help?”

“Yeah. ” She tweaked a control and brought the main viewscreen back to life. “Fix Mandelbrot an’ get ‘im down ‘ere. I need ‘im. ”

Derec scowled. “But-”

“Come on, son. ” Tugging Derec’s elbow again, Avery began to steer him toward the lift. “Robot’s Rules of Order Number I: Never argue with the pilot until you’re back on the ground. ” The lift doors hissed open.

“But-”

“Mandelbrot needs you. ” Derec seemed to accept that argument, at least long enough for Avery to get him into the lift.

The doors hissed shut, and they started up.

Chapter 17. Janet

Central’s one red eye flared on the moment Dr. Anastasi entered the atrium. “Working. ” The massive brain’s voice was oddly flat and toneless, although Janet thought she detected a vaguely feminine inflection and the incongruous clacking of relays in the background.

“Good morning, Central,” Janet said pleasantly, as if speaking to a small child. “Are we feeling well today?”

“Feeling does not compute. ”

Dr. Anastasi’s eyes went wide. Slowly, as if expecting at any moment to see the “Celebrity Practical Jokes” camera robot step out of hiding, she turned to Basalom and arched an eyebrow. “Did I miss something?”

“Checking, madam. ” Basalom activated his internal commlink and patched into the city maintenance system. A moment later, he had his answer. “Central’s personality module is temporarily off-line for repairs. Its numeric computational powers and cerebellar functions are-I quote the technicians’ report-’unimpaired. ’ “

“No editorial comments, please. ”

“Sorry, madam. ” Something that sounded ever so slightly like a snicker escaped from Basalom’s speech membrane. Dr. Anastasi chose to let it pass… Central is currently operating in absolute literal mode,” Basalom added. “I advise using extreme caution in your choice of words. ”