24: LIMBO PLANS

“What do we do now?”

Dag Korin had asked the question, but he acted as though he expected no answers. A couple of seconds later he stood up and said, “Well, we’ll all think better when we’ve had some rest. It’s been a long day, and I don’t know about you but I’m bushed.”

As he left the fire control chamber he unobtrusively gestured to Chan Dalton to follow. They walked through the dark interior of the Hero’s Return , listening to the wheeze of air pumps and the groans and creaks of the stressed hull.

“The computer says we’re in fair shape,” Korin said gruffly, “but it doesn’t sound that way to me. I want a more detailed analysis of the ship’s condition. Hear that, Gamma-D?”

WE WILL PROVIDE A COMPLETE REPORT TO YOU.

“Soon as you can. You see, Dalton, the Hero’s Return is a space cruiser, she was never built to sit at the bottom of some stinking ocean. My guess is that in a few days we’ll have to get this hulk off the seabed and out into vacuum, or we’ll be forced to abandon ship. And that raises some pretty interesting questions that I don’t want to talk about yet.”

The two men walked on in silence, past empty weapons chambers and massive drive engines, past the room housing the ship’s master computer, past deserted crew quarters. It was like a ghost ship. Neither spoke until they reached a door of bilious green and passed through into Dag Korin’s private quarters.

“Now we can really talk freely.” Korin glanced at Chan. “Know why we’re in here?”

“Computer?”

“Good man. I checked when I first came aboard. It’s the main reason I chose this for my quarters — the only place on the ship that to my certain knowledge has no computer sensor feeds. Safer than asking the computer not to listen, which I’ve never had any faith in. This place goes back to the time when the Hero’s Return was on active duty. You’d find one room like this on most military vessels, because in any army and any navy, there’s a few things better left off the record. Sit down. And instead of me telling you, you tell me. Where do we stand?”

The general loosened his collar, which Chan took to mean that the conversation would be informal.

“We’re in deep shit,” he said. “Bad trouble. Right?”

Dag Korin nodded. “I think so. Trouble how?”

“Well, we seem to be in some `parallel universe,’ whatever that means, with different physics. It’s a big shock, but that sort of thing doesn’t interest me nearly as much as it interests Elke Siry. I have more practical worries. Even if the ship were in good shape, we can’t live on the bottom of the sea forever.”

“If we could, we sure as hell wouldn’t want to.”

“So we have to get to the surface. But if we do, I can’t see the Hero’s Return being in any condition to stand a Link transfer back home.”

“That’s what my gut feeling tells me. We’re matching tracks so far. Go on.”

“So we have to find some other ship. But all the vessels that our different groups came in are either lost or worse off than this one.”

“Do you believe that?”

“I wouldn’t believe a computer. But I’ve known Bony Rombelle for a long time, and he’s the best gadget man I ever met. If he tells us the other ships are lost, or pieces of junk that can’t be fixed up, I believe him.”

“Then I’ll do the same — though when I was young I wouldn’t have let a man who dressed as sloppy as that out of the ship’s galley. What else?”

“The Link point. General, we didn’t build it, and it’s nothing like the ones we know. Throw in the different physical laws, and not even Bony can be expected to figure the transition protocol out from scratch.”

“Understood. So?”

“So if we’re going home, we have to locate and learn to talk to whoever built the Link.”

“Exactly my conclusion.” Korin glanced at Chan from under lowered brows. “And what we know about them already — unless there’s two different technological alien groups on Limbo, which is pretty unlikely — isn’t promising. In the only contact so far, they put two of our orbiters out of action for no reason except that we were making observations. So they have weapons. We don’t. And they’re either very nasty or very paranoid.”

“Or both. But it’s not completely true that we have no weapons. Deb Bisson always has a hundred personal killing tricks somewhere on her or in her.”

“All very well if she can get near enough. Not good if the enemy has real firepower and can blow you away at a thousand kilometers. But we’re getting close to what’s really on my mind. We have to find out more about the land-based aliens, and we can’t do it sitting here. This is where you earn your pay, Dalton. I want you to organize a shore party ASAP, and give us a land base ourselves.” Korin stared at Chan’s smile. “Suits your taste, doesn’t it?”

“It sure does. I don’t like to sit around in a metal can at the bottom of the sea. I didn’t come here for that. I’m used to doing things.”

“Good. So am I. So now let’s get down to the reason I wanted to come in here before we started to talk. You know the biggest obstacle in our way? No, it’s not the hostile aliens — though they’ll be bad enough. It’s the friendly aliens who worry me. The Tinkers and the Pipe-Rilla and that damned oversized vegetable Angel, they’re the ones who may make our job impossible. They say, no violence. But they don’t tell us how to manage without violence. What do you do when somebody tries to shoot your ass off? In my book, you shoot right back, and if they have an ass at all you blow it away. And we’re not allowed to. So here’s what we have to do.” In spite of his insistence that they could not be overheard, Korin leaned forward and dropped his voice to a whisper. “The aliens are worried about me already, because I’m a General. I’m going to talk and act so they’ll worry about me a whole lot more. You and your team do the exact opposite. All sweetness and light and talk of peaceful tactics. That way, the Stellar Group aliens are going to keep a close eye on me, here in the ship, and you’ll be free to go and do whatever you have to ashore. Do you agree? Remember, once we’re outside this room we won’t be able to talk without being recorded.”

“I agree with most of it. But I have a couple of worries. First, what happens if the aliens insist on coming ashore?”

“Are they likely to?”

“They are if they think we’re going to meet other aliens. The Angel is supposed to be an unbelievable talent when it comes to languages. We have one of those talents ourselves, Tully O’Toole, unless his brain has been fried by Paradox. If it has, there’s still Tarbush Hanson. He can talk to animals, and our aliens may be close to that. But the Angel may say it wants to go with us, anyway. I don’t see how we can stop it.”

“I have an idea on that. I think the Angel is the only possible one to work with Elke on a high-priority project I have for her. If some other alien wants to go ashore, don’t try to stop it. Your people go, and when they’re ashore they split into two groups. What other problems?”

“It’s not so much a problem as a delay. I’m sure we can get ashore safely, because the Bun and Liddy Morse already did it. But we’ll need maps, at least local ones, of the coastline and land areas. You said we should leave as soon as possible, but I’d like to wait until the computer produces the maps that Elke Siry asked for.”

“Of course you’ll need maps. An army should never travel blind.”

“Not much of an army. Six of us — seven, if Liddy Morse comes along.”

“No. Not seven, and not six. I’m sorry, Dalton, I don’t mind Morse going, if you want her; but Rombelle stays here.”

“I need him ashore.”

“You’re not going ashore, either — at least, you’re not going with the first party.”

Chan stood up. “Don’t give me that bullshit. I have to lead the shore party. Don’t forget that I’m in charge now.”