tz.theicarushunt-第2节

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ickly。〃
　I　leaned　back　in　my　chair　and　favored　him　with　a　sly　smile。　〃So　in　other　words；　you're　basically　stuck　here。　How　very　inconvenient　for　you。　What　kind　of　ship　are　we　talking　about？〃
　〃It's　the　equivalent　of　an　Orion…class；〃　he　said；　looking　like　a　man　suddenly　noticing　a　bad　taste　in　his　mouth。　Revising　his　earlier　estimate　of　me　downward；　no　doubt；　as　his　estimate　of　how　much　money　I　was　going　to　try　to　squeeze　out　of　him　went　the　opposite　direction。　〃Not　a　standard　Orion；　you　understand；　but　similar　in　size　and…〃
　〃You　need　a　minimum　of　six　crewers；　then；〃　I　said。　〃Three　each　certified　petent　in　bridge　and　engine…room　operations。　All　eight　specialty　certificates　represented：　navigation；　piloting；　electronics；　mechanics；　puter；　drive；　hull/spacewalk；　and　medical。〃
　〃I　see　you're　well　versed　in　the　Mercantile　Code。〃
　〃Part　of　my　job；〃　I　said。　〃As　I　said；　I　can　cover　nav　and　piloting。　How　many　of　the　rest　are　you　missing？〃
　He　smiled　crookedly。　〃Why？　You　have　some　friends　who　need　work？〃
　〃I　might。　What　do　you　need？〃
　〃I　appreciate　the　offer。〃　He　was　still　smiling；　but　the　laugh　lines　had　hardened　a　bit。　〃But　I'd　prefer　to　choose　my　own　crew。〃
　I　shrugged。　〃Fine　by　me。　I　was　just　trying　to　save　you　a　little　running　around。　What　about　me　personally？　Am　I　in？〃
　He　eyed　me　another　couple　of　heartbeats。　〃If　you　want　the　job；〃　he　said　at　last；　not　sounding　entirely　happy　with　the　decision。
　Deliberately；　I　turned　my　head　a　few　degrees　to　the　left　and　looked　at　a　trio　of　gray…robed　Patthaaunutth　sitting　at　the　center　of　the　bar；　gazing　haughtily　out　at　the　rest　of　the　patrons　like　self…proclaimed　lords　surveying　their　private　demesne。　〃Were　you　expecting　me　to　turn　you　down？〃　I　asked；　hearing　the　edge　of　bitterness　in　my　voice。
　He　followed　my　gaze；　lifting　his　mug　for　a　sip；　and　even　out　of　the　corner　of　my　eye　I　could　see　him　wince　a　little　behind　the　rim　of　the　cup。　〃No；〃　he　said　quietly。　〃I　suppose　not。〃
　I　nodded　silently。　The　Talariac　Drive　had　hit　the　trade　routes　of　the　Spiral　a　little　over　fifteen　years　ago；　and　in　that　brief　time　the　Patth　had　gone　from　being　a　third…rate　race　of　Machiavellian　little　connivers　to　near　domination　of　shipping　here　in　our　cozy　corner　of　the　galaxy。　Hardly　a　surprise；　of　course：　with　the　Talariac　four　times　faster　and　three　times　cheaper　than　anyone　else's　stardrive；　it　didn't　take　a　corporate　genius　to　figure　out　which　ships　were　the　ones　to　hire。
　Which　had　left　the　rest　of　us　between　a　very　big　rock　and　a　very　hard　vacuum。　There　were　still　a　fair　number　of　smaller　routes　and　some　overflow　traffic　that　the　Patth　hadn't　gotten　around　to　yet；　but　there　were　too　many　non…Patth　ships　chasing　too　few　jobs　and　the　resulting　economic　chaos　had　been　devastating。　A　few　of　the　big　shipping　corporations　were　still　hanging　on；　but　most　of　the　independents　had　been　either　starved　out　of　business　or　reduced　to　intrasystem　shipping；　where　stardrives　weren't　necessary。
　Or　had　turned　their　ships　to　other；　less　virtuous　lines　of　work。
　One　of　the　Patth　at　the　table　turned　his　head　slightly；　and　from　beneath　his　hood　I　caught　a　glint　of　the　electronic　implants　set　into　that　gaunt；　mahogany…red　face。　The　Patth　had　a　good　thing　going；　all　right；　and　they　had　no　intention　of　losing　it。　Patth　starships　were　individually　keyed　to　their　respective　pilots；　with　small　but　crucial　bits　of　the　Talariac　access　circuitry　and　visual　display　feedback　systems　implanted　into　the　pilot's　body。　There'd　been　some　misgivings　about　that　when　the　system　first　hit　the　Spiral…shipping　execs　had　worried　that　an　injury　to　the　Patth　pilot　en　route　could　strand　their　valuable　cargo　out　in　the　middle　of　nowhere；　and　there　was　a　lot　of　nowhere　out　there　to　lose　something　as　small　as　a　starship　in。　The　Patth　had　countered　by　adding　one　or　two　backup　pilots　to　each　ship；　which　had　lowered　the　risk　of　accident　without　promising　the　shroud　of　secrecy　they　were　determined　to　keep　around　the　Talariac。　Without　the　circuitry　implanted　in　its　pilot…and　with　a　whole　raft　of　other　safeguards　built　into　the　hardware　of　the　drive　itself…borrowing　or　stealing　a　Patth　ship　would　gain　you　exactly　zero　information。
　Or　so　the　reasoning　went。　The　fact　that　no　bootleg　copies　of　the　Talariac　had　yet　appeared　anywhere　on　the　market　tended　to　support　that　theory。
　The　man　across　from　me　set　his　mug　back　down　on　the　table　with　a　slightly　impatient…sounding　clunk。　Turning　my　eyes　and　thoughts　away　from　the　hooded　Patth；　I　got　back　to　business。　〃What　time　do　you　want　to　leave？〃
　〃As　early　as　possible；〃　he　said。　〃Say；　six　tomorrow　morning。〃
　I　thought　about　that。　Meima　was　an　Ihmis　colony　world；　and　one　of　the　peculiarities　of　Ihmisit…run　spaceports　was　that　shippers　weren't　allowed　inside　the　port　between　sundown　and　sunup；　with　the　entire　port　sealed　during　those　hours。　Alien…psychology　experts　usually　attributed　this　to　some　quirk　of　Ihmis　superstition；　I　personally　put　it　down　to　the　healthy　hotel　business　the　policy　generated　at　the　spaceport's　periphery。　〃Sunrise　tomorrow's　not　until　five…thirty；〃　I　pointed　out。　〃Doesn't　leave　much　time　for　preflight　checks。〃
　〃The　ship's　all　ready　to　go；〃　he　reminded　me。
　〃We　check　it　anyway　before　we　fly；〃　I　told　him。　〃That's　what　'preflight'　means。　What　about　clearances？〃
　〃All　set；〃　he　said；　tapping　his　tunic。　〃I've　got　the　papers　right　here。〃
　〃Let　me　see　them。〃
　He　shook　his　head。　〃That's　not　necessary。　I'll　be　aboard　well　before…〃
　〃Let　me　see　them。〃
　For　a　second　he　had　the　expression　of　someone　who　was　seriously　considering　standing　up　and　going　to　look　for　a　pilot　with　a　better　grasp　of　the　proper　servility　involved　in　an　owner/employee　relationship。　But　he　merely　dug　into　his　inside　jacket　pocket　and　pulled　out　a　thin　stack　of　cards。　Maybe　he　liked　my　spirit；　or　maybe　he　was　just　running　out　of　time　to　find　someone　to　fly　his　ship　for　him。
　I　leafed　through　them。　The　papers　were　for　a　modified　Orion…class　freighter　called　the　Icarus；　Earth　registry；　mastership　listed　as　one　Alexander　Borodin。　They　were　also　copies；　not　the　originals　he'd　implied　he　was　carrying。　〃You　Borodin？〃　I　asked。
　〃That's　right；〃　he　said。　〃As　you　see；　everything's　in　order　for　a　morning　lift。〃
　〃Certainly　looks　that　way；〃　I　agreed。　All　the　required　checks　had　been　done：　engine　room；　thrusters　and　stardrive；　puter；　cargo　customs…
　I　frowned。　〃What's　this　'sealed　cargo　section'　business？〃
　〃Just　what　it　says；〃　he　told　me。　〃The　cargo　hold　is　situated　in　the　aft…center　section　of　the　ship；　and　was　sealed　on　Gamm　against　all　entry　or　inspection。　The　Gamm　port　authority　license　is　there。〃
　〃Came　in　from　Gamm；　did　you？〃　I　mented；　finding　the　license　on　the　next　card　down。　〃Quiet　little　place。〃
　〃Yes。　A　bit　primitive；　though。〃
　〃It　is　that；〃　I　agreed；　stacking　the　cards　together　again。　I　glanced　at　the　top　card　again；　making　careful　note　of　the　lift　and　clearance　codes　that　had　been　assigned　to　the　Icarus；　and　handed　them　back　across　the　table。　〃All　right；　you've　got　yourself　a　captain。　What's　the　up…front　pay？〃
　〃One　thousand　marks；〃　he　said。　〃Payable　on　your　arrival　at　the　ship　in　the　morning。　Another　two　thousand　once　we　make　Earth。　It's　all　I　can　afford；〃　he　added；　a　bit　defensively。
　Three　thousand　in　all；　for　a　job　that　would　probably　take　five　or　six　weeks　to　plete。　I　certainly　wasn't　going　to　get　rich　on　that　kind　of　pay；　but　I　probably　wouldn't　starve；　either。　Provided　he　picked　up　the　fuel　and　port　duty　fees　along　the　way；　of　course。　For　a　moment　I　thought　about　trying　to　bargain　him　up；　but　the　look　on　his　face　implied　it　would　be　a　waste　of　time。　〃Fine；〃　I　said。　〃You　have　a　tag　for　me？〃
　〃Right　here；〃　he　said；　rummaging　around　inside　his　jacket　again；　his　expression　twitching　briefly　with　surprise　that　I　had　not；　in　fact；　tried　to　squeeze　him　for　more　money　as　he'd　obviously　expected　me　to　do。　Briefly；　I　wondered　which　direction　that　had　moved　his　opinion　of　me；　but　gave　up　the　exercise　as　both　unprofitable　and　irrelevant。
　His　probing　hand　found　what　it　was　looking　for；　and　emerged　holding　a　three…by…seven…centimeter　plastic　tag　covered　with　colored　dots。　Another　Ihmis　quirk；　this　one　their　refusal　to　number　or　in　any　other　way　differentiate　the　two　hundred…odd　landing　squares　at　their　spaceport。　The　only　way　to　find　a　particular　ship…or　a　particular　service　center　or　customs　office　or　supply　depot；　for　that　matter…was　to　have　one　of　these　handy　little　tags　on　you。　Slid　into　the　transparent　ID　slot　in　a　landing　jacket　collar；　the　tag's　dot　code　would　be　read　by　sensors　set　up　at　each　intersection；　whereupon　walk…mounted　guidelights　would　point　the　befuddled　wearer　in　the　proper　direction。　It　made　for　rather　protracted　travel　sometimes；　but　the　Ihmisits　liked　it　and　it　wasn't　much　more　than　a　minor　inconvenience　for　anyone　else。　My　assumption　had　always　been　that　someone's　brother…in…law　owned　the　tag…making　concession。　〃Anything　else　you　need　to　know？〃
　I　cocked　an　eyebrow　at　him　as　I　slid　the　tag　into　my　collar　slot　in　front　of　the　one　keyed　to　guide　me　back　to　the　Stormy　Banks。　〃Why？　You　in　a　hurry？〃
　〃I　have　one　or　two　other　things　yet　to　do　tonight；　yes；〃　he　said　as　he　set　down　his　cup　and　stood　up；　〃Good　evening；　Captain　McKell。　I'll　see　you　tomorrow　morni