Tuf Voyaging Read Online Free PDF Page B

landing deck under there. It’s as big as a spacefield. If we can get the dome to open, you can take your ship right in.”
    “If,” said Haviland Tuf. “A most difficult word. So short, and so often fraught with disappointment and frustration.” As if to underline his words, a small red light came on beneath the main viewscreen. Tuf held up a long pale finger. “Take note!” he said.
    “What is it?” asked Nevis.
    “A communication,” Tuf proclaimed. He leaned forward and touched a much worn button on his lasercom.
    The plague star vanished from the screen. In its place appeared a weary-looking face—that of a man of middle years, sitting in a communications room. He had deep lines in his forehead and graven down his cheeks, a full head of thick black hair, and tired blue-gray eyes. He was wearing a uniform out of a history tape, and on his head was a green billed cap emblazoned with a golden theta. “This is
Ark
,” he announced. “You have entered our defense sphere. Identify yourself or be fired upon. This is your first warning.”
    Haviland Tuf held down his SEND button. “This is the
Cornucopia of Excellent Goods at Low Prices
,” he annunciated clearly, “Haviland Tuf commanding. We are harmless unarmed traders out of ShanDellor,
Ark.
Might we request permission to approach for docking?”
    Celise Waan gaped. “It’s manned,” she said. “The crew is still alive!”
    “A fascinating development,” Jefri Lion said, tugging at his beard. “Perhaps this is a descendant of the original EEC crew. Or perhaps the chronowarp was employed! To warp the very weave of the fabric of time, to hurry it or hold it still, yes, they could do even that. The chronowarp! Think of it!”
    Kaj Nevis made a snarling sound. “A thousand damn years and you tell me they’re still alive? How the hell are we supposed to deal with that?”
    The image on the viewscreen flickered briefly. Then the same tired man in the uniform of the Earth Imperials said, “This is
Ark.
Your ID is improperly coded. You are moving through our defense sphere. Identify yourself or be fired upon. This is your second warning.”
    “Sir,” said Haviland Tuf, “I must protest! We are unarmed and unprotected. We mean you no harm. We are peaceful traders, scholars, fellow humans. Our intentions are not hostile, and moreover, we lack any means of doing harm to a ship as formidable as your
Ark.
Must we be met with belligerence?”
    The screen flickered. “This is
Ark.
You have penetrated our defense sphere. Identify yourself immediately or be destroyed. This is your third and final warning.”
    “Recordings,” said Kaj Nevis, with some enthusiasm. “That’s it! No cold storage, no damned stasis field. There’s no one there. Some computer is playing recordings at us.”
    “I fear you are correct,” said Haviland Tuf. “The question must be asked: if the computer is programmed to play recorded messages at incoming ships, what else might it be programmed to do?”
    Jefri Lion broke in. “The codes!” he said. “I have a whole set of Federal Empire codes and ID sequences on crystal chips in my files! I’ll go get them.”
    “An excellent plan,” said Haviland Tuf, “with but a single obvious deficiency, that being the time it will require to locate and utilize these encoded chips. Had we the leisure to accomplish this, I might applaud your suggestion. I fear we do not, alas. The
Ark
has just fired upon us.”
    Haviland Tuf reached forward. “I am taking us into drive,” he announced. But as his long pale fingers brushed the keys, suddenly the
Cornucopia
shook violently. Celise Waan shrieked and went down; Jefri Lion stumbled into Anittas; even Rica Dawnstar had to grab the back of Tuf’s chair to retain her footing. Then all the lights went out. Haviland Tuf’s voice came out of the dark. “I fear I spoke too soon,” he said, “or perhaps, more accurately, acted too tardily.”
    For a long moment, they were lost in silence and