Starhunt: A Star Wolf Novel Read Online Free PDF Page B

functioning so as to introduce their one interpretive vibrations, the resultant multiplex vibration is often enough to cause undue strain on the system as a whole, and on the individual elements themselves—especially on those functions not designed to cope with such violent interplay of energies.
    Undue strain means something has to give. Usually, it’s the weakest part of the system . . .
    —GUNTER WHITE
    Mechanics of Government
    There is a startled pause on the bridge. Heads turn to look at the astrogator.
    “How far out is he?” asks Brandt.
    Barak frowns in confusion. “They don’t know—you’d better talk to him yourself.”
    Brandt thumbs his communicator to life. “Radec?”
    “Sir?”
    “What’s the story on that bogie?”
    “I don’t know, sir. I can’t find him.”
    “What do you mean you can’t find him?” Korie steps in closer. Brandt flashes him a look of annoyance, but the first officer doesn’t notice.
    “Just that,” answers the intercom. “I lost him during warp and I haven’t been able to pick up a shimmer since.”
    “Could he be out of range?” asks Brandt.
    “No, sir. Not a chance. It’d take him at least five hours at top speed to get out of range. Maybe six.”
    “Do you have any idea of his location?” Korie again.
    “Well, it’s kind of rough . . . approximately fifty-five light days away—give or take eight light hours in either direction.”
    Korie says thoughtfully, “It seems unlikely that we’d both have engine trouble at the same time.”
    “Mm.” Brandt is silent.
    Korie steps into the breach. “You never picked him up again at all?”
    “No, sir. It must be that wobbly—during unwarp we picked up an electronic trauma. We had to clear our sensor fields entirely and then recalibrate as well.”
    Korie opens his mouth to reply, but Brandt cuts him off, “All right. We’ve got the picture. Keep watching for him.”
    “Yes, sir.”
    Brandt breaks the connection, looks to his officer.
    Korie is frowning darkly, but Barak says, “‘Give or take eight light hours.’ That’s sixteen across—that’s an awfully big area; bigger than the average star system.”
    “Not important,” puts in Korie. “What we want to know is why he dropped out of warp in the first place.”
    “A good question,” says Brandt. “A good question. . . .” With a sudden motion, he heaves his bulky frame out of the chair. “Let’s consider the possibilities here. . . .” He paces the bridge thoughtfully. “Either he’s stopped by choice, in which case he’s taking advantage of our inability to come after him, or he’s stopped because he has no choice. . . .”
    Brandt comes to a stop behind the seat and rests his hands thoughtfully on the headrest. “Now, let’s consider that latter—that he’s had no choice. That’d mean that we’ve finally pushed him to his limit. His cells are exhausted, his engines are beginning to throw off sparks, his endurance is cracking. Sooner or later, he has to stop. Ourwobbly just gave him that opportunity a little sooner. He could be trying to recharge his cells right now.”
    “Then let’s get fixed and go after him.”
    Brandt looks at his impetuous first officer. “On the other hand,” he continues, “there is the possibility that it’s a trick. But I don’t see what’s to be gained by it. . . .” He moves away from the chair, continuing in a thoughtful monotone, “He knows we won’t give up the chase willingly, so if we’ve stopped, it means we’ve blown something. . . . He could be taking advantage of our handicap to lose himself in normal space.”
    The captain turns suddenly to the astrogator. “Can he do it, Al?”
    Barak shakes his head. “Uh-uh—it’s too empty. There probably isn’t a chunk of solid matter in the entire sector. There’s nothing for kilometers in any direction but kilometers. All we’d have to do is scan the area at close range and he’d be as obvious as a fart in an air