sore ribs, but nothing broken, I think. Mr. Yoshimitsu had the worst of it. His wrist is badly sprained. I’m afraid I kicked him. Or perhaps fell on him.”
Sparta looked around the hangar. The remains of the Rover One pressure sphere, scorched and dented, rested against the leg of the overhead crane. Rover Two, its reactor powered down, sagged crookedly on four offcenter legs. Pumps were sucking puddles of emergency coolant back into the tanks.
“Quite a mess. It’s a shame we couldn’t salvage anything from your dig.”
“No material artifacts, of course, and that is unfortunate,” Merck said. “But we have chemical analyses and holographic records stored in the rover’s computers. Enough to keep us quite busy.”
“Would you give me a hand locking this machinery down? I’ll feel safer when we’re back in orbit.”
Minutes later they climbed onto the shuttle’s makeshift flight deck. Yoshimitsu lay in his acceleration couch with his left arm in a sling. Forster was bent over the disabled pilot, expertly taping the arm tightly across the man’s chest.
“You okay, Yoshi?”
“Slightly bent,” he said, grinning. His long black hair hung down across his dark eyes. “I scoffed at those stories they tell about your luck, Ellen. Not anymore.”
Forster straightened and studied her. “The inspector does not seem the sort to depend on luck.”
“Only when all else fails,” Sparta answered. “I’d say we’re all lucky.”
“Why did they send you instead of one of the regular pilots?” Forster asked. “Because I insisted,” she said. “Your expedition is going to owe Azure Dragon a pile of money for this manned-shuttle trip. They figure you can’t pay. They thought it would cost them less to dig you out with HDVMs and bring you up in a robot shuttle.”
“I’ll have to speak to them sternly. Our expenses are underwritten by the Cultural Heritage Committee, not to mention the trustees of the Hesperian Museum. . . .”
“I didn’t argue with them,” Sparta said. “I invoked interplanetary law.”
“I see. But why are you here, Inspector? That is, your job is detection, is it not?”
“In addition to the many other courtesies Azure Dragon has extended to your expedition, they have donated the services of Mr. Yoshimitsu, one of their best shuttle pilots. Neither of the two other persons trained in the use of these old rovers were available for this trip.”
“I think you mean that neither of them volunteered,” Yoshimitsu said quietly. “And the bosses wouldn’t order them.”
“Gomen nasai, Yoshimitsu-san.” She inclined her head sharply in a respectful bow. Strapped into his couch, he tucked his chin to his collar bone, trying to reciprocate.
“I see.” Forster was quiet, ruminating. “And when did you receive your training in the use of these specialized vehicles?”
“For God’s sake, Forster, stop interrogating the woman,”
Merck said, his face pink with embarrassment. “She’s just saved our lives.”
“I’m well aware of that,” Forster shot back. “And indeed I am grateful. I simply want to understand what’s going on here, that’s all.”
“I have a . . . talent for this kind of thing,” Sparta said.
“We ought to discuss it later,” Yoshimitsu suggested. “Our next launch window is coming up fast.”
Half an hour later the bullet-nosed shuttle blasted away from the surface of Venus, climbing swiftly into the clouds, forcing its way through hurricane gales of sulfuric-acid rain, sparking vicious lightning bolts by its passage, driving steadily upward through thinning layers of sulfur-dioxide smog, until at last it won free into clear space and closed on the shining rings and green-gleaming garden sphere of Port Hesperus.
IV
It came swirling out of the darkness, a catherine wheel of shadow, not fire, and with it the voices:
She could be the greatest of us
She resists our authority
William, she’s a
Sparta looked around the hangar. The remains of the Rover One pressure sphere, scorched and dented, rested against the leg of the overhead crane. Rover Two, its reactor powered down, sagged crookedly on four offcenter legs. Pumps were sucking puddles of emergency coolant back into the tanks.
“Quite a mess. It’s a shame we couldn’t salvage anything from your dig.”
“No material artifacts, of course, and that is unfortunate,” Merck said. “But we have chemical analyses and holographic records stored in the rover’s computers. Enough to keep us quite busy.”
“Would you give me a hand locking this machinery down? I’ll feel safer when we’re back in orbit.”
Minutes later they climbed onto the shuttle’s makeshift flight deck. Yoshimitsu lay in his acceleration couch with his left arm in a sling. Forster was bent over the disabled pilot, expertly taping the arm tightly across the man’s chest.
“You okay, Yoshi?”
“Slightly bent,” he said, grinning. His long black hair hung down across his dark eyes. “I scoffed at those stories they tell about your luck, Ellen. Not anymore.”
Forster straightened and studied her. “The inspector does not seem the sort to depend on luck.”
“Only when all else fails,” Sparta answered. “I’d say we’re all lucky.”
“Why did they send you instead of one of the regular pilots?” Forster asked. “Because I insisted,” she said. “Your expedition is going to owe Azure Dragon a pile of money for this manned-shuttle trip. They figure you can’t pay. They thought it would cost them less to dig you out with HDVMs and bring you up in a robot shuttle.”
“I’ll have to speak to them sternly. Our expenses are underwritten by the Cultural Heritage Committee, not to mention the trustees of the Hesperian Museum. . . .”
“I didn’t argue with them,” Sparta said. “I invoked interplanetary law.”
“I see. But why are you here, Inspector? That is, your job is detection, is it not?”
“In addition to the many other courtesies Azure Dragon has extended to your expedition, they have donated the services of Mr. Yoshimitsu, one of their best shuttle pilots. Neither of the two other persons trained in the use of these old rovers were available for this trip.”
“I think you mean that neither of them volunteered,” Yoshimitsu said quietly. “And the bosses wouldn’t order them.”
“Gomen nasai, Yoshimitsu-san.” She inclined her head sharply in a respectful bow. Strapped into his couch, he tucked his chin to his collar bone, trying to reciprocate.
“I see.” Forster was quiet, ruminating. “And when did you receive your training in the use of these specialized vehicles?”
“For God’s sake, Forster, stop interrogating the woman,”
Merck said, his face pink with embarrassment. “She’s just saved our lives.”
“I’m well aware of that,” Forster shot back. “And indeed I am grateful. I simply want to understand what’s going on here, that’s all.”
“I have a . . . talent for this kind of thing,” Sparta said.
“We ought to discuss it later,” Yoshimitsu suggested. “Our next launch window is coming up fast.”
Half an hour later the bullet-nosed shuttle blasted away from the surface of Venus, climbing swiftly into the clouds, forcing its way through hurricane gales of sulfuric-acid rain, sparking vicious lightning bolts by its passage, driving steadily upward through thinning layers of sulfur-dioxide smog, until at last it won free into clear space and closed on the shining rings and green-gleaming garden sphere of Port Hesperus.
IV
It came swirling out of the darkness, a catherine wheel of shadow, not fire, and with it the voices:
She could be the greatest of us
She resists our authority
William, she’s a
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