report said you didn’t handle them well.’
‘But it’s my field,’ Laura shot back, knowing she was responding peevishly.
From the side of the exopod, Rojas gave her a sympathetic glance. ‘Whatever molecular structure makes up this thing is your field. Hammering sensors onto it and getting results for you is
down to us.’
Laura gave a curt nod. ‘Yes, of course. I’ll check the systems I want you to deploy.’
‘Thank you.’
A minute later, Ibu came gliding down the length of the silo compartment. Laura pressed her teeth together; despite his size, he was as graceful as an angelfish.
Ah, bollocks, Rojas is right
to take him
.
‘Sorry,’ Ibu said as he came level with her. ‘Just think of me as your additional pair of hands.’
Laura’s face coloured slightly. She wondered just how effective her mental shield was. ‘I’d like a quintet of deep scan packages on these areas.’ Her u-shadow sent him
the file. ‘And when I’ve refined their results, I’ll show you where to apply the sampler modules.’
Ibu’s eyes closed as he examined the locations she’d selected. ‘Going for the exotic matter, huh?’
‘If we’re going to understand the process here, I need to see what manipulates energy flow. It’s clearly molecular based.’
‘Like our biononics?’
She grimaced. ‘Get me the samples and I’ll let you know.’
*
Laura was back in the forward cabin when the exopod left the shuttle’s small hangar. Ayanna was sitting in front of her in the pilot’s couch, officially running the
mission. Joey was strapped into a couch near the rear of the compartment. Laura was starting to get seriously concerned about the hyperspace theorist. The muscle twitches in his cheeks had now
grown to such an extent that they’d effectively paralysed his face into a straining mask, leaving his lips twisted up into a wretched sneer. She’d seen his shoulders begin to shudder
with increasing frequency. If he hadn’t been strapped in, he’d be bouncing about the cabin. And it was telling that he kept his hands behind the couch in front, out of view from her and
Ayanna. When she sneaked a look with her ESP, she could see his hands jerking about; his feet were afflicted too. Maybe she should suggest he try Fourteen’s medical module – except she
knew what his response would be.
The silver-white sphere of the exopod slid past the windscreen. Laura resisted the impulse to wave.
‘How are your systems?’ Ayanna asked.
‘Mostly working,’ Rojas replied, his voice coming through the cabin’s speakers. ‘Stand by for ion drive burn.’
Cold blue light emerged from four of the slim rectangular nozzles in the exopod’s fuselage, and the little craft drifted away from Fourteen at a gentle rate.
‘Burn vector good,’ Rojas said. ‘Rendezvous with tree in seven minutes – mark.’
Laura sighed and shook her head at all the gung-ho theatrics.
Boys and their toys.
‘They don’t get out to play often,’ Ayanna said quietly. They grinned at each other. Then Laura groaned as her link to Fourteen’s network went down.
Ayanna started flicking switches on the console; one hand typed fast on a keyboard. Laura envied that skill; she was sure her fingers weren’t so dextrous.
‘Getting some power dropouts,’ Ayanna murmured. ‘Rojas, what’s your status?’
‘Good, Fourteen.’
‘They’re not dopplering,’ Ayanna said.
The cabin lights flickered. Laura glanced suspiciously up at the strips. ‘Great, that’s all we need. Real power failures.’ She shut up as her u-shadow reported it had
re-established a link to Fourteen’s network.
‘You might want to make sure all the mission data is backed up,’ Ayanna said.
‘Good idea.’ Laura ordered her u-shadow to open a new file in one of her storage lacunas and began downloading copies of all the drone logs.
While they were downloading, Ayanna altered Fourteen’s attitude, so they could see the exopod through the windscreen. Her
‘But it’s my field,’ Laura shot back, knowing she was responding peevishly.
From the side of the exopod, Rojas gave her a sympathetic glance. ‘Whatever molecular structure makes up this thing is your field. Hammering sensors onto it and getting results for you is
down to us.’
Laura gave a curt nod. ‘Yes, of course. I’ll check the systems I want you to deploy.’
‘Thank you.’
A minute later, Ibu came gliding down the length of the silo compartment. Laura pressed her teeth together; despite his size, he was as graceful as an angelfish.
Ah, bollocks, Rojas is right
to take him
.
‘Sorry,’ Ibu said as he came level with her. ‘Just think of me as your additional pair of hands.’
Laura’s face coloured slightly. She wondered just how effective her mental shield was. ‘I’d like a quintet of deep scan packages on these areas.’ Her u-shadow sent him
the file. ‘And when I’ve refined their results, I’ll show you where to apply the sampler modules.’
Ibu’s eyes closed as he examined the locations she’d selected. ‘Going for the exotic matter, huh?’
‘If we’re going to understand the process here, I need to see what manipulates energy flow. It’s clearly molecular based.’
‘Like our biononics?’
She grimaced. ‘Get me the samples and I’ll let you know.’
*
Laura was back in the forward cabin when the exopod left the shuttle’s small hangar. Ayanna was sitting in front of her in the pilot’s couch, officially running the
mission. Joey was strapped into a couch near the rear of the compartment. Laura was starting to get seriously concerned about the hyperspace theorist. The muscle twitches in his cheeks had now
grown to such an extent that they’d effectively paralysed his face into a straining mask, leaving his lips twisted up into a wretched sneer. She’d seen his shoulders begin to shudder
with increasing frequency. If he hadn’t been strapped in, he’d be bouncing about the cabin. And it was telling that he kept his hands behind the couch in front, out of view from her and
Ayanna. When she sneaked a look with her ESP, she could see his hands jerking about; his feet were afflicted too. Maybe she should suggest he try Fourteen’s medical module – except she
knew what his response would be.
The silver-white sphere of the exopod slid past the windscreen. Laura resisted the impulse to wave.
‘How are your systems?’ Ayanna asked.
‘Mostly working,’ Rojas replied, his voice coming through the cabin’s speakers. ‘Stand by for ion drive burn.’
Cold blue light emerged from four of the slim rectangular nozzles in the exopod’s fuselage, and the little craft drifted away from Fourteen at a gentle rate.
‘Burn vector good,’ Rojas said. ‘Rendezvous with tree in seven minutes – mark.’
Laura sighed and shook her head at all the gung-ho theatrics.
Boys and their toys.
‘They don’t get out to play often,’ Ayanna said quietly. They grinned at each other. Then Laura groaned as her link to Fourteen’s network went down.
Ayanna started flicking switches on the console; one hand typed fast on a keyboard. Laura envied that skill; she was sure her fingers weren’t so dextrous.
‘Getting some power dropouts,’ Ayanna murmured. ‘Rojas, what’s your status?’
‘Good, Fourteen.’
‘They’re not dopplering,’ Ayanna said.
The cabin lights flickered. Laura glanced suspiciously up at the strips. ‘Great, that’s all we need. Real power failures.’ She shut up as her u-shadow reported it had
re-established a link to Fourteen’s network.
‘You might want to make sure all the mission data is backed up,’ Ayanna said.
‘Good idea.’ Laura ordered her u-shadow to open a new file in one of her storage lacunas and began downloading copies of all the drone logs.
While they were downloading, Ayanna altered Fourteen’s attitude, so they could see the exopod through the windscreen. Her
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