Starhawk Read Online Free PDF Page B

reminded Priscilla of the Horsehead Nebula, which she’d often seen at the Drake Institute, where her father had worked. She’d loved going into one of the observation rooms, where Daddy would switch on the stars and ask what she wanted to see. And she’d tell him and sit there in her chair, apparently afloat in the night, surrounded by the vast shining clouds, the Horsehead and the Eagle and the Flame and the Cat’s Eye, all almost close enough to touch. It was where she’d fallen in love with the sky.
    Tawny was wearing her magnetic booties. Priscilla put her on the deck. She’d have felt more comfortable restraining the animal during maneuvers if she could hold on to her. But it wasn’t really a problem. Tawny was good at reacting to the unexpected.
    â€œActivating,” said Benny. The lights dimmed, and everything went briefly out of focus. Then the navigation display showed a starry sky. “Transition complete,” Benny said.
    â€œOkay. Scan for the
Gremlin
.”
    â€œRoger that, Captain.”
    â€œAlso, see if you can locate Barton’s World and put it on the display.”
    They were moving slightly under twenty thousand kilometers per hour, relative to the sun. That seemed to be a standard rate when a ship emerged from Barber space. It didn’t matter how slowly or quickly you were moving when you jumped in; you always came out at approximately the same velocity.
    Jake looked at the mike. She nodded. “Benny,” he said, “let’s try to talk to them. Go to broadcast mode.”
    â€œDone.”
    He signaled for her to take over.
    â€œ
Gremlin
,” she said, “this is the
Copperhead
. Do you read?” They sat for a moment, hoping to get lucky, hoping for a quick response. But except for static, the radio remained silent.
    â€œI have Barton’s position,” said Benny. “Range is a bit less than 750,000 kilometers.”
    â€œNot bad,” said Jake. It was probably as close as they could have hoped for.
    The seconds ticked off.
    Jake was saying something about how it would help if they could make the jump system more accurate, but Priscilla was watching the time, not paying attention.
    And they got a reply:
“
Copperhead
, this is the
Gremlin
. We are in orbit around Barton’s World. Code five. Repeat, code five.”
The response had come in at forty-seven seconds.
    â€œWhat’s the status of the bomb?” she asked.
    While they waited for the reply, Jake took a deep breath. “We got one break,” he said. “That’s Joshua Miller. He’s the right guy to have in charge.”
    â€œGlad to hear it,” said Priscilla. “Let’s hope we can get him out of there.” The clock counted off the seconds again. The signal crossed to the
Gremlin
, and the reply started back.
    Benny broke in: “Switching to directional transmission.”
    â€œGood. Set intercept course. Let’s move.”
    â€œCaptain, I have Barton’s World on the scopes. The signal is coming from that direction.”
    â€œ
Copperhead
,”
said Miller,
“the bomb exploded thirty-two hours ago. Took out the engines. Fortunately, no casualties. But we are at Barton’s World in a failing orbit. Repeat, failing orbit. Estimate twelve to thirteen hours before we go down.”
    They angled to starboard, assuming a new course. “Benny,” said Priscilla, “how long to get there?”
    â€œIf we had sufficient fuel to sustain acceleration and braking, we could make it in approximately six hours.”
    â€œI’m not interested in theoreticals. Give me a practical estimate. How long to get there and still have some fuel left?”
    â€œ
Twelve
hours, with prudent fuel expenditure.”
    â€œ
Gremlin
,” said Priscilla, “how reliable is your estimate?” She sat with her jaw propped on her fist, waiting for the response. Jake sat quietly,