Chindi

“Go ahead.”

The superluminals could get up to about.027c, roughly one-tenth what she needed to match the chindi. “If we found a rock ten times our mass, would the Longworth be able to haul it up to half delta-vee?”

“Yes. I see no reason why not. But not within the specified time.”

“It would take more than ten hours?”

“Yes.”

“How much more?”

“Well outside your parameters. He’d be dead before we could get there.”

“How about the media ship, the McCarver? It only carries a handful of people, right?”

“Its capacity is listed at five plus the captain.”

“How does its mass compare with ours?”

“It is 43 percent.”

Okay. Maybe there was a chance yet. “Could the Longworth get a rock that was ten times their mass up to half delta-vee? In ten hours?”

“Yes.”

“Okay. Now add the McCarver’s mass to the rock. Can it still be done?”

She saw understanding dawn in Bill’s eyes. That was another effective trick he’d mastered. “I make it eight hours, fifteen minutes, with a fudge factor of about 6 percent.”

“Would somebody,” asked Alyx, “please tell me what we’re talking about?”

“A rescue, love,” said Hutch. “Bill, we need a cha

“To whom?”

“To Tor.”

“You have it,” he said.

The light came on, but she thought a moment before saying anything. Don’t put any ideas into his head. “Tor,” she said, “we have an idea that might still work. Better than the other one. Hang on.”

SHE TALKED WITH Yurkiewicz on the Longworth and with Yuri Brownstein on the McCarver. No one could tell her why her idea wasn’t feasible, but when she’d finished explaining, Brownstein looked pained. “What happens to us when it’s over?” he asked. “We’re adrift with no way I can see of ever getting back to port.”

“Nobody’s going to leave anybody adrift. As soon as I know you’re willing to help, I’ll forward a message to the Academy. Let them know what else we need.”

Brownstein was a small, bullet-headed man who never smiled. “Hell, Hutch,” he said, “it’s a crazy idea, and we could be stuck like that for weeks. I’d like to top off my tanks first.” He meant scooping off some hydrogen from one of the Twins.

“We don’t have time,” she said. “What’s your fuel look like?”

“About 80 percent.”

“That’s enough. How about you, John?”

“A little less. Seventy-three. It should be sufficient. Although we’re probably going to end up adrift out there, too.”

Brownstein looked like a man whose pocket was being picked. “Damn it all, Hutch, we’re going to a lot of trouble for this guy. How’d he get stuck over there in the first place?”

“You don’t want to hear it, Yuri. Right now let’s concentrate on bailing him out. And we’ll be doing it under spectacular circumstances. You’ll both be heroes.”

Yurkiewicz’s gaze hardened. “Yeah. I’m sure.”

“It’s just the game for us,” said Brownstein. “UNN to the rescue.”

“What worries me,” said Yurkiewicz, “is that none of these engines are designed for the kind of strain we’re about to put on them. What happens if they blow?”

“Party’s over,” said Hutch. “But the Academy will accept liability for any damages.”

“Does that,” he continued, “include funeral expenses?”

Hutch resisted the temptation to point out she had just the man on board the Memphis.

Yurkiewicz looked at her skeptically. Like Matt Brawley he was an independent, hired because he was available and in the right place at the right time. “You have the authority to speak for the Academy?”

Did she? Not likely. “Of course,” she said. “I’ll put it in writing if you like.”

He considered it. “Yes,” he said. “That might be a good idea.”

“Meantime, we need to get this show on the road. I don’t need to remind you gentlemen that time is of the essence.”

Brownstein informed her he was already warming up his engines.

“Come to think of it,” said Yurkiewicz, “there might be a problem. The Professor and his people are at the Retreat. I can’t leave them there.”

“Take him with you,” said Hutch.

“You haven’t seen him there yet. I don’t think he’s going to want to leave.”

“Tell him it’s his chance to see the chindi up close. Maybe the only one he’s going to get.”

“I HAVE A likely candidate,” said Bill. “It’s not ideal. There’s a bit more mass than we would wish, but it has the advantage of being nearby.”

“We can make it work, then?”

“Maybe.”

“Maybe? Why maybe? What’s the hitch?”

“In theory, it should be fine. But I’m not aware that the theory has been tested.”

But that wasn’t the problem, and they both knew it. “What else?”

“I have no way to measure the precise mass of the rock. I need that information to calculate the velocity at which we should enter the sack, and the time we will spend there. Those factors will determine the ship’s velocity on reemergence into sublight space.”

“Can’t you make an estimate based on fuel expenditure when we begin to accelerate the thing?”

“Yes. But keep in mind that three ships are involved, and the method, even with one, is not precise. A small inexactitude can bring us out at a velocity that will lead to serious consequences.”

“Okay. We’ll just have to do the best we can. Forward the coordinates to the other ships, and let’s get over there.” She got on the allcom and informed her passengers they were moving out. “One hour twelve minutes to destination,” she said.

She sent a message to the Academy, personal to Virgil, detailing precisely what she was going to do and explaining the position the ships were going to be in afterward. “We’ll need substantial help,” she said, “and we’ll need it as quickly as you can get it out here to us.” She then detailed the method the Academy would have to use to recover the ships and the people. Sylvia wasn’t going to like it very much, but she’d like losing another member of the Contact Society even less.

Next she would need cable. Superluminals always carried a fair amount of spare cable, which was used primarily to secure cargo and supplies in flight. Some of the Memphis’s supply, however, had gone over to the chindi. The Longworth, though, should have plenty.

“Will it be strong enough?” she asked Bill.

“I’ll give you a design for the web,” he said. “If you put it together properly, the web should be reasonably strong. We will be able to accelerate within acceptable limits.”

The AI supplied detailed images of the asteroid. It was long, misshapen, swollen at either end, a dogbone. The surface was choppy and broken, slashed by ridges, pounded by rocks.

Dogbone was smaller than the Memphis, but it was five times as massive. It was tumbling slowly, moving in an orbit that would circle the central luminary every fifty thousand years or so.

They went down to the cargo bay, spread out Bill’s plans, collected the cable, and began putting it together. While they were in the middle of the effort, Mogambo came on the circuit, asking to speak with her. Very important. Was she alone?

Hutch withdrew to a workroom.

“I’m delighted to hear that you’ve come up with a way to rescue your man,” he said. “Delighted. Very ingenious.”

“Thank you.”

“I should have thought of it myself.”

I’m sure you will, Professor. “What can I do for you, sir?”

“I want to go on board the chindi.”

“I’m sure that’ll become possible in time.”

“No, that’s not what I mean, Hutch.”

“Not a good idea, Professor.”

“Hutch, I’m transferring to the McCarver. I’ve already cleared it with Captain Brownstein. When you take your man off, I want you to put me and a small party of my people on board.”

“Professor—”

“Please don’t tell me it’s hazardous and you can’t do it.

The chindi has set course and is now moving at a steady velocity, which it will maintain for the next two centuries. It will still be cruising exactly as it is now when I retire. When you retire. Your grandchildren will be able to come out here and visit this thing. So there’s absolutely no reason not to do this.”