[ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]
"Bar! We've lost Deputy!" Olag called to me.
"I heard," I told her. "I warned you about this son of a bitch." Quickly, I
told her and the MacAlester what I thought happened.
"Well, then, they'll get a signal to us somehow and we'll have him," she said
confidently.
"Uh uh, O-O," I responded drily. "Think about it.
What would you do if you spotted the bastard now?"
"Zap him," came the coldly determined answer from the MacAlester captain on
our party line.
"Right," I responded. "So if it was you in that thing, would you broadcast?
You suicidal?"
They all considered that.
"So he's got hostages, then," Olag said at last.
"Maybe," I told them. "Maybe not. He's smart enough not to count on anybody
holding fire just be-
cause some of our own are there. No, he's got some-
thing potentially more valuable to him."
"What do you mean?" almost everyone, including those below on my ship, asked.
"He still has the primal samples of that virus, re-
member," I said softly. "He's got a nice little chemical bank for making a lot
of it fast. Right now I'll bet the Deputy's covered with it. They're analyzing
the
111
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ozen%20UC.txt (88 of 170) [1/19/03 4:45:38 PM]
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The Web of the Chozen metallic structure, the composition all the way down to
the atomic. They're feeding all this information to
Moses, and Moses is figuring how to eat his way in-
side, to the men and women on that ship. How big's the crew?"
"Thirty," she replied.
I nodded. "Thirty trained and knowledgeable peo-
ple and Moses hell, he'll have a field day. Don't forget the Communards."
There was silence this time, as they considered the implications and didn't
like what they were thinking.
Page 66
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Suddenly there was an override. "Admiral Seiglein here to all crew on all
units," came a voice that sounded slightly weird and stupid to me but probably
did to them, too. Jerry Seiglein suffered from permanent ado-
lescence in some things.
"Look, the longer we let this thing sit, the better off that computer will
be," he noted with a logic that sur-
prised me. Maybe he did have something on the ball after'all. "Holliday? Could
he figure out how to oper-
ate the Depaty once inside?"
I considered it. "Doubtful," I told him. "Even if he could reason out the
controls, there's the mind-key, you know. He can't get into your thoughts,
only into your emotions and muscle reactions."
Seiglein didn't hesitate. "Holliday, fear's an emotion.
So is claustrophobia, at least it can be physically in-
duced. Besides, military ships can't be on mind-lock
somebody else must always be able to command in an emergency!"
And he was right, I realized suddenly. They were open mechanicals. If Moses
could figure out the con-
trols, he could lock into the control computer and use it.
"Admiral, is Deputy's construction on the molecular level similar to my ship?"
I asked.
"Identical," came the reply.
"Then you'd better get him now," I warned. "He had almost three months to
study this ship. He al-
112
The Web of the Chozen ready knows most of what he needs to know, and he's
inside now. Admiral. All he's trying to do is neutralize the crew and figure
out the controls."
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ozen%20UC.txt (89 of 170) [1/19/03 4:45:38 PM]
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the%20Chozen%20UC.txt
"Close group!" Seiglein ordered, and I knew this meant that both ships were
now under the bridge com-
mand of the Courrant. I was glad I wasn't on the
MacAlester.
The destroyer moved out ahead of the bigger ship but not too far, and they
both moved slowly across the face of the gas giant in tight formation. I
started adjusting my own ship to keep them in view. Then, suddenly, so quickly
that I couldn't follow it until it was over, I saw the quarry.
But which was the quarry?
The smaller Deputy, its blip slightly irregular from norm, shot out and
collided with the MacAlester, while the huge bulk of the Peace Victory plowed
through the energy screens of the Courrant stem-first, crashing into the
larger ship. The bulk was not equal; the Cour-
rant, large as it was, was barely a quarter the size of the PV.
The radio was bedlam.
The Courrant had a gash in her side; not fatal, but they would take a few
precious minutes to get every-
thing straightened out.
"Infidels!" roared Moses on Channel 161 via the smashed Deputy.
"Children of Satan you are punished now!"
And, with that, I watched as the Peace Victory ma-
neuvered more tightly than I would have believed pos-
sible for such bulk, the front bay open now, swallowing both the crumpled
remains of Deputy and the still in-
tact but out of control MacAlester. Then, suddenly, there was full boost and
he was off my screen.
Page 67
ABC Amber Palm Converter, http://www.processtext.com/abcpalm.html
"Courrant! Courrant!" I called. "Olag! What's your situation?" I had never
felt so helpless: tiny, unarmed, and threatened. I opened screens wide, not
wanting a huge shape to add me to its collection.
George and the kids clamored to know just what was
113
The Web of the Chozen going on, but I had more important things to find out.
Finally there was a crackling and I heard Seiglein's voice. It sounded even
more strained, cracked and furious. "Holliday! We'll be fully operational in
about one more minute. We've got a lock on the Peace
Victory but our drives are damaged. He knew just where to hit us!"
"Can you L-jump?" I asked him.
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ozen%20UC.txt (90 of 170) [1/19/03 4:45:38 PM]
file:///F|/rah/Jack%20L.%20Chalker/Chalker,%20Jack%20L%20-%20The%20Web%20of%20
the%20Chozen%20UC.txt
"Affirmative," he replied. "But we've lost too much fuel for a sublight
pursuit and he's headed out-system."
So Moses was making tracks with his prize, I
thought. Abandoning us, abandoning Patmos.
Ironically, the Courrant couldn't go slow enough to give chase. They had
enough power for in-system work, and probably enough reserve for an L-jump,
although they probably wouldn't make the second beacon be-
fore they would have to call for help, being unable to match proper velocity
for a full jump.
I felt the Courranfs extraordinarily powerful scan beams lock on me, even at
this distance. I realized that in the excitement of battle I'd moved inside
the seven-hundred-thousand K mark. And the Courrant was now moving moving
slowly toward me.
I started moving back, using my greater speed.
"Bar!" a shaken Olag called. "Don't move away! We have to link up now!" [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]
zanotowane.pl doc.pisz.pl pdf.pisz.pl exclamation.htw.pl
"Bar! We've lost Deputy!" Olag called to me.
"I heard," I told her. "I warned you about this son of a bitch." Quickly, I
told her and the MacAlester what I thought happened.
"Well, then, they'll get a signal to us somehow and we'll have him," she said
confidently.
"Uh uh, O-O," I responded drily. "Think about it.
What would you do if you spotted the bastard now?"
"Zap him," came the coldly determined answer from the MacAlester captain on
our party line.
"Right," I responded. "So if it was you in that thing, would you broadcast?
You suicidal?"
They all considered that.
"So he's got hostages, then," Olag said at last.
"Maybe," I told them. "Maybe not. He's smart enough not to count on anybody
holding fire just be-
cause some of our own are there. No, he's got some-
thing potentially more valuable to him."
"What do you mean?" almost everyone, including those below on my ship, asked.
"He still has the primal samples of that virus, re-
member," I said softly. "He's got a nice little chemical bank for making a lot
of it fast. Right now I'll bet the Deputy's covered with it. They're analyzing
the
111
file:///F|/rah/Jack%20L.%20Chalker/Chalker,%...20-%20The%20Web%20of%20the%20Ch
ozen%20UC.txt (88 of 170) [1/19/03 4:45:38 PM]
file:///F|/rah/Jack%20L.%20Chalker/Chalker,%20Jack%20L%20-%20The%20Web%20of%20
the%20Chozen%20UC.txt
The Web of the Chozen metallic structure, the composition all the way down to
the atomic. They're feeding all this information to
Moses, and Moses is figuring how to eat his way in-
side, to the men and women on that ship. How big's the crew?"
"Thirty," she replied.
I nodded. "Thirty trained and knowledgeable peo-
ple and Moses hell, he'll have a field day. Don't forget the Communards."
There was silence this time, as they considered the implications and didn't
like what they were thinking.
Page 66
ABC Amber Palm Converter, http://www.processtext.com/abcpalm.html
Suddenly there was an override. "Admiral Seiglein here to all crew on all
units," came a voice that sounded slightly weird and stupid to me but probably
did to them, too. Jerry Seiglein suffered from permanent ado-
lescence in some things.
"Look, the longer we let this thing sit, the better off that computer will
be," he noted with a logic that sur-
prised me. Maybe he did have something on the ball after'all. "Holliday? Could
he figure out how to oper-
ate the Depaty once inside?"
I considered it. "Doubtful," I told him. "Even if he could reason out the
controls, there's the mind-key, you know. He can't get into your thoughts,
only into your emotions and muscle reactions."
Seiglein didn't hesitate. "Holliday, fear's an emotion.
So is claustrophobia, at least it can be physically in-
duced. Besides, military ships can't be on mind-lock
somebody else must always be able to command in an emergency!"
And he was right, I realized suddenly. They were open mechanicals. If Moses
could figure out the con-
trols, he could lock into the control computer and use it.
"Admiral, is Deputy's construction on the molecular level similar to my ship?"
I asked.
"Identical," came the reply.
"Then you'd better get him now," I warned. "He had almost three months to
study this ship. He al-
112
The Web of the Chozen ready knows most of what he needs to know, and he's
inside now. Admiral. All he's trying to do is neutralize the crew and figure
out the controls."
file:///F|/rah/Jack%20L.%20Chalker/Chalker,%...20-%20The%20Web%20of%20the%20Ch
ozen%20UC.txt (89 of 170) [1/19/03 4:45:38 PM]
file:///F|/rah/Jack%20L.%20Chalker/Chalker,%20Jack%20L%20-%20The%20Web%20of%20
the%20Chozen%20UC.txt
"Close group!" Seiglein ordered, and I knew this meant that both ships were
now under the bridge com-
mand of the Courrant. I was glad I wasn't on the
MacAlester.
The destroyer moved out ahead of the bigger ship but not too far, and they
both moved slowly across the face of the gas giant in tight formation. I
started adjusting my own ship to keep them in view. Then, suddenly, so quickly
that I couldn't follow it until it was over, I saw the quarry.
But which was the quarry?
The smaller Deputy, its blip slightly irregular from norm, shot out and
collided with the MacAlester, while the huge bulk of the Peace Victory plowed
through the energy screens of the Courrant stem-first, crashing into the
larger ship. The bulk was not equal; the Cour-
rant, large as it was, was barely a quarter the size of the PV.
The radio was bedlam.
The Courrant had a gash in her side; not fatal, but they would take a few
precious minutes to get every-
thing straightened out.
"Infidels!" roared Moses on Channel 161 via the smashed Deputy.
"Children of Satan you are punished now!"
And, with that, I watched as the Peace Victory ma-
neuvered more tightly than I would have believed pos-
sible for such bulk, the front bay open now, swallowing both the crumpled
remains of Deputy and the still in-
tact but out of control MacAlester. Then, suddenly, there was full boost and
he was off my screen.
Page 67
ABC Amber Palm Converter, http://www.processtext.com/abcpalm.html
"Courrant! Courrant!" I called. "Olag! What's your situation?" I had never
felt so helpless: tiny, unarmed, and threatened. I opened screens wide, not
wanting a huge shape to add me to its collection.
George and the kids clamored to know just what was
113
The Web of the Chozen going on, but I had more important things to find out.
Finally there was a crackling and I heard Seiglein's voice. It sounded even
more strained, cracked and furious. "Holliday! We'll be fully operational in
about one more minute. We've got a lock on the Peace
Victory but our drives are damaged. He knew just where to hit us!"
"Can you L-jump?" I asked him.
file:///F|/rah/Jack%20L.%20Chalker/Chalker,%...20-%20The%20Web%20of%20the%20Ch
ozen%20UC.txt (90 of 170) [1/19/03 4:45:38 PM]
file:///F|/rah/Jack%20L.%20Chalker/Chalker,%20Jack%20L%20-%20The%20Web%20of%20
the%20Chozen%20UC.txt
"Affirmative," he replied. "But we've lost too much fuel for a sublight
pursuit and he's headed out-system."
So Moses was making tracks with his prize, I
thought. Abandoning us, abandoning Patmos.
Ironically, the Courrant couldn't go slow enough to give chase. They had
enough power for in-system work, and probably enough reserve for an L-jump,
although they probably wouldn't make the second beacon be-
fore they would have to call for help, being unable to match proper velocity
for a full jump.
I felt the Courranfs extraordinarily powerful scan beams lock on me, even at
this distance. I realized that in the excitement of battle I'd moved inside
the seven-hundred-thousand K mark. And the Courrant was now moving moving
slowly toward me.
I started moving back, using my greater speed.
"Bar!" a shaken Olag called. "Don't move away! We have to link up now!" [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]