light," I said.
"Don't get—"
"Ideas," I said. "I'm not." We'd got to the compartment in the hallway, and I removed each piece of the suit, while he sometimes helped.
"Your eyes have recovered," I said.
He snorted. "No. But I'm using yours. Grossly inadequate."
I tried not to think he was still in my mind, somehow, and also not to react to the insult, but my voice came out tight as I said, "What tech in the suit allows you to do that?"
"The suit?" he said.
"Isn't that what allows you to hear my thoughts? Use my eyes?"
"No. You . . . It's . . . I don't know. It's one of the traits bioengineered into me. It is also bioengineered into navigators, who are normally the other half of a traveling power collecting team. So a team can communicate without using any frequencies earth . . . Circum harvesters could possibly intercept."
I'm not telepathic, I thought in a panic. I've never—
Yeah, he answered back in my mind. Neither have I with anyone but a nav, and my nav at that. It's a bonding thing. You have to be trained to do it. That's why I asked you to explain. No human I ever heard of has developed natural telepathy.
Bio improvements are illegal on Earth , I said. It has to be natural .
"It can't be," he said.
I shook my head. I was still holding on to the last of the suit. It was the suit. It had to be the suit. I dropped the suit to the floor and then, very quickly, aimed a kick at my captor. There was air and energy now, I could make him—
He grabbed at my foot before it made contact and down I went, cracking my head against the floor of the hallway.
"Do you like hitting your head, or is it just something you do to pass the time?"
"Bastard," I said.
He straightened his spine. "Quite possibly," he said. "By several definitions. Now, if you let me remove my space suit, I'll be glad to take you near Circum. Your ship should have enough fuel to make it a very short drop from my ship to Circum and my ship is dark enough if we go to an unused bay area, we might not even be noticed. Your . . . harvesters must fly back regularly—what, once a week? To take back pods. You must go with them."
I shook my head. Harvester ships never went to Earth. This I knew. It was why I'd been such a hit with harvester pilots. They might be stuck at circum for years at a time. "No, they sent the energy some other way," I said.
"How?" he sounded suddenly curious.
"Don't know. Something invented by an ancient Greek, I think. Or a Frenchman. Or maybe Usian. Something from one of his writings." Now he looked doubtful, so I exerted my mind. "Tekla, no, Telec . . . um . . . no, wait. Tesla."
"Nikolai Tesla?"
"That," I said, triumphantly.
He hid his face in his hands. When he looked up again, he was composed. "I'll take you into drop distance of Circum. I'm sure you still can find your way to Earth, anyway?"
"Oh, I'm sure."
"Right. At least," he added, his voice pensive. "It's not quite as certain a death as going near Earth, and the risk is worth it to be rid of you."
Nine
But an hour later, as he escorted me into the bay where the lifepod waited, he looked strangely hesitant.
He opened the door to the lifepod for me, and waited till I got in. He looked concerned. Though his expression was not easy to read—not with those very odd eyes—there was a crease above his nose, and his eyebrows were drawn together beneath the mop of calico hair.
"Anything wrong?" I asked, as I bent forward over the controls.
He frowned more, glaring thunderously at me, as if I'd said something wrong. "No," he said. "I'm going to take you as close as I dare to one of the dark bays. It might not be very close to it, but I looked at your gages and you have oxygen for at least an hour. And a ship that size should be easy enough to maneuver back."
I nodded. He was probably just afraid of being captured. And I had other things to deal with.
As he closed the top of my lifepod, tapped the front in what
"Don't get—"
"Ideas," I said. "I'm not." We'd got to the compartment in the hallway, and I removed each piece of the suit, while he sometimes helped.
"Your eyes have recovered," I said.
He snorted. "No. But I'm using yours. Grossly inadequate."
I tried not to think he was still in my mind, somehow, and also not to react to the insult, but my voice came out tight as I said, "What tech in the suit allows you to do that?"
"The suit?" he said.
"Isn't that what allows you to hear my thoughts? Use my eyes?"
"No. You . . . It's . . . I don't know. It's one of the traits bioengineered into me. It is also bioengineered into navigators, who are normally the other half of a traveling power collecting team. So a team can communicate without using any frequencies earth . . . Circum harvesters could possibly intercept."
I'm not telepathic, I thought in a panic. I've never—
Yeah, he answered back in my mind. Neither have I with anyone but a nav, and my nav at that. It's a bonding thing. You have to be trained to do it. That's why I asked you to explain. No human I ever heard of has developed natural telepathy.
Bio improvements are illegal on Earth , I said. It has to be natural .
"It can't be," he said.
I shook my head. I was still holding on to the last of the suit. It was the suit. It had to be the suit. I dropped the suit to the floor and then, very quickly, aimed a kick at my captor. There was air and energy now, I could make him—
He grabbed at my foot before it made contact and down I went, cracking my head against the floor of the hallway.
"Do you like hitting your head, or is it just something you do to pass the time?"
"Bastard," I said.
He straightened his spine. "Quite possibly," he said. "By several definitions. Now, if you let me remove my space suit, I'll be glad to take you near Circum. Your ship should have enough fuel to make it a very short drop from my ship to Circum and my ship is dark enough if we go to an unused bay area, we might not even be noticed. Your . . . harvesters must fly back regularly—what, once a week? To take back pods. You must go with them."
I shook my head. Harvester ships never went to Earth. This I knew. It was why I'd been such a hit with harvester pilots. They might be stuck at circum for years at a time. "No, they sent the energy some other way," I said.
"How?" he sounded suddenly curious.
"Don't know. Something invented by an ancient Greek, I think. Or a Frenchman. Or maybe Usian. Something from one of his writings." Now he looked doubtful, so I exerted my mind. "Tekla, no, Telec . . . um . . . no, wait. Tesla."
"Nikolai Tesla?"
"That," I said, triumphantly.
He hid his face in his hands. When he looked up again, he was composed. "I'll take you into drop distance of Circum. I'm sure you still can find your way to Earth, anyway?"
"Oh, I'm sure."
"Right. At least," he added, his voice pensive. "It's not quite as certain a death as going near Earth, and the risk is worth it to be rid of you."
Nine
But an hour later, as he escorted me into the bay where the lifepod waited, he looked strangely hesitant.
He opened the door to the lifepod for me, and waited till I got in. He looked concerned. Though his expression was not easy to read—not with those very odd eyes—there was a crease above his nose, and his eyebrows were drawn together beneath the mop of calico hair.
"Anything wrong?" I asked, as I bent forward over the controls.
He frowned more, glaring thunderously at me, as if I'd said something wrong. "No," he said. "I'm going to take you as close as I dare to one of the dark bays. It might not be very close to it, but I looked at your gages and you have oxygen for at least an hour. And a ship that size should be easy enough to maneuver back."
I nodded. He was probably just afraid of being captured. And I had other things to deal with.
As he closed the top of my lifepod, tapped the front in what
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