Pawn’s Gambit Read Online Free PDF

to have enough trouble picking up everyone as it is.” Both men still looked disturbed, so Carey flashed what he hoped was a reassuring smile. “Don’t worry, Chandra can take care of herself. Captain, what’s the status of our attempts at communication?”
    Du Bellay drifted off as, almost reluctantly, Mahendra turned back to his board. His hands, Carey noted, didn’t look nearly as relaxed as before.
    The door opened, and Orofan paused on the threshold for a moment before stepping onto the bridge. Lassarr glanced up from the console where he and Pliij were working. “Yes, what is it?” the Voyagemaster growled.
    â€œI’m asking you once more to reconsider,” Orofan said. His voice was firm, devoid of all emotion.
    Lassarr evidently missed the implications of that. “It’s too late. Disassembly has begun; our new course is plotted.”
    â€œBut not yet executed,” Orofan pointed out. “And equipment can be reassembled. This path is not honorable, Voyagemaster.”
    Deliberately, Lassarr turned his back on the Shipmaster. “Prepare to execute the course change,” he instructed Pliij.
    â€œYou leave me no alternative,” Orofan sighed.
    Lassarr spun around—and froze, holding very tightly to the console, his eyes goggling at the assault gun nestled in Orofan’s tentacle. “Have you gone insane, Shipmaster?”
    â€œPerhaps,” Orofan said. “But I will not face the ancestors having stood by while war was made against a race which has offered no provocation.”
    â€œIndeed?” Lassarr’s voice dripped with the sarcasm of fear and anger combined. “And destroying them outright, without warning, is more honorable? A few aarns ago you didn’t think so. Or do you intend instead to condemn a million Sk’cee to death?”
    â€œI don’t know,” Orofan said, gazing at the screen that showed the approaching star. “There is still time to decide which path to take.”
    Lassarr was aghast. “You’re going to leave this decision to a last- aarmi impulse?”
    â€œOrofan, there’s barely a tenth of an aarn left,” Pliij said, his voice strained.
    â€œI know.” Orofan focused on Lassarr. “But the Dawnsent is mine, and with that power goes responsibility for its actions. It is not honorable to relinquish that load.”
    Slowly, as if finally understanding, Lassarr signed agreement. “But the burden may be transferred to one who is willing,” he said quietly.
    â€œAnd what then of my honor?” Orofan asked, tentacles rippling with half-bitter amusement. “No. Your honor is safe, Voyagemaster—you were prevented only by force from following the path you deemed right. You may face the ancestors without fear.” He hefted the assault gun. “The final choice is now mine. My honor, alone, stands in the dock.”
    And that was as it should be, Orofan knew. In the silence he stared at the screen and made his decision.
    Ten minutes till cutoff. Alone on the bridge, Chandra tried to watch every read-out at once, looking for deviations from their calculated course. The Origami’s navigational computer was as good as anything on the market, but for extremely fine positioning it usually had the aid of beacons and maser tracking. Out here in the middle of nowhere, six A.U. from the sun, the computer had to rely on inertial guidance and star positions, and Chandra wasn’t sure it could handle the job alone.
    She reached for the intercom, changed her mind and instead switched on the radio. The lifeboat bay intercoms were situated a good distance from the boats themselves, and Goode would have a better chance of hearing her over the boat’s radio. “Goode? How’s it going?” she called.
    Her answer was a faint grunt of painful exertion. “Goode?” she asked sharply.
    â€œTrouble, Captain,” his voice came faintly, as if