The activity on Lakor had provided a momentary distraction, something to occupy Rico's mind and body, but now, without anything to do, his emotions were spiraling down.
McCade remembered the glint of gold as Rico had thrown something into Vanessa's grave, and the comment Sara had made just prior to liftoff: "Keep a close eye on Rico, Sam, he's hurting, and God knows what he might do."
At the moment the big man was conning the ship, following orders provided by some tiny portion of the Nexus brain, heading for the point where Void Runner would become part of the ever-evolving whole.
For such was the computer's intelligence that it could calculate exactly where to place Void Runner's additional mass, monitor some very complex transactions, and run the habitat all at the same time.
They were still fifty miles away from the mass of interconnected ships when Nexus ordered Rico to surrender control. Conscious of the fact that the computer controlled enough weapons to destroy a small fleet, Rico obeyed.
Numbers and schematics rippled across the command screens as Nexus assumed control, inventoried the ship's offensive and defensive capabilities, and drew the ship steadily in.
Now Nexus could be seen without magnification. The central construct was a globe, and reaching out from it were innumerable black tentacles, each one clutching a ship. The design reminded McCade of the cephalopods of his native Terra.
The comparison seemed even more appropriate when a tube came snaking out to make contact with Void Runner's main lock.
Indicator lights flashed on and off as Nexus ran a final check on the ship's systems, locked out all of her weapons systems, and verified a positive seal with Void Runner's main lock. Like any sentient being Nexus had a well-developed sense of self-preservation.
Somewhere at the hub of the metallic maze an order went out and the heretofore flexible tube turned hard as steel.
Thanks to the tube's rigidity the ship would be held firmly in place preventing the possibility of collision with the vessels that surrounded it.
Lights flashed and numbers vanished from the screens as Nexus withdrew all but a tendril of its intelligence from the ship and turned that part of its attention elsewhere. There were many things to do.
McCade activated the intercom. "Maggie?"
"Yeah?" The chief engineer's voice had an edge to it as usual.
"Meet us in the lounge please." Roger.
All four of them were gathered in the lounge five minutes later. It was large enough for twice their number and, thanks to the money McCade had invested in it, quite comfortable.
McCade dropped into a chair and felt it shift slightly to accommodate the shape of his body. Rico and Phil did likewise, while Maggie killed power and lowered herself to the deck.
"Well, here we are," Phil said cheerfully. "Now what?"
McCade checked his cigar, found it was getting a bit short, and stubbed it out.
"Now we take a look around. Find out where the slave market is . . . and look for the children."
Maggie gave a snort of derision.
McCade smiled patiently. "Yes, Maggie? You've got something to add?"
"Only that your plan is stupid," Maggie replied evenly.
"Don't be shy . . . say what ya mean," Rico commented dryly.
"Thanks, I will," Maggie answered, eyes flashing. "If the kids are here, you want to rescue them, right?"
"Obviously," McCade said, somewhat annoyed. "What's your point?"
Maggie met their eyes one at a time. "My point is that we should prepare for success. Think about it. Lets say you find 'em, there's what, twenty or so girls unaccounted for? And the same number of boys? What're you going to do? Take 'em out at gunpoint? If so, you'd better come up with a battalion of marines, cause I've been here before, and if the owners don't stop you, Nexus will.
"Or," Maggie continued, "maybe you plan to buy the children. Tell me, Sam . . . have you got a couple hundred thousand credits stashed under your pillow? Lif paid the freight on Lakor . . . but what happens here?"
There was a long silence while McCade got up and walked over to the autobar. He ordered a Terran whiskey and, when it came, took a thoughtful sip. When McCade turned around there was a grin on his face.
"Thanks, Maggie. I guess I'm so used to rolling over and through problems, I don't always think 'em through. From the sound of things we couldn't take the children by force, and no, I don't have two hundred big ones stashed under my pillow. So, if the children are here, we've got a problem, and if they aren't, we don't. How about you and Rico taking a look around? That way we'll know if we need the two hundred thousand or not."
Maggie found herself nodding in agreement. McCade made the whole thing sound so reasonable there wasn't much choice.
The Void Runner's lock hissed closed behind him. The tube was about seven feet in diameter, slightly ridged along its inner surface, and off-white in color. A yellowish light seemed to ooze around them.
Maggie gestured Rico forward. The tube featured some tight turns and if Maggie made a mistake she'd do so privately.
Rico shrugged and walked away. Within seconds he disappeared around a curve.
Maggie followed, watching the turns, increasingly confident the farther she went. Then the tube straightened out and she saw Rico up ahead. By applying some additional power she was able to reach the main lock only seconds after he did.
The lock opened, they moved inside, and it closed again. A wall screen came to life. On it Maggie saw a softly rounded something with a head and shoulders but no face. It was silver and slightly reflective.
Where a human face would have eyes it had shallow depressions, and where there should be a nose, the thing had a bump. The black background gave it a dramatic look.
This was a new development. Whatever it was hadn't been there during Maggie's previous visit.
Her first impulse was to classify the thing as a robot, an intermediate step between the functional-looking machines used for most tasks and the more humanoid forms favored for domestic applications. But as Maggie was about to learn, this machine was different.
The machine's silvery face was motionless as it spoke, and its voice was neutral, sounding neither male nor female.
"Greetings, and welcome to Nexus. I am a remote, one of four hundred and sixty-three remotes scattered around the habitat, and the direct embodiment of the intelligence known as Nexus.
"I was created to answer your questions, to solve your problems, to make your visit to Nexus as pleasant and productive as possible. Please approach me whenever you need help.
"Before venturing forth, please listen to and memorize my laws: First, no one shall contemplate or take any action that could harm, damage, or incapacitate Nexus, its employees, remotes, or other representatives.
"Secondly," the remote continued, "no one shall possess or use projectile weapons while visiting Nexus."
"Kinda understandable," Rico observed. "Don't mess with the boss . . . and don't punch any unauthorized holes in the habitat."
"Violation of my laws," the remote added, "is punishable by death. Have a nice visit."
"Thanks, ol' sport," Rico said sarcastically, "let the fun begin."
The picture faded to black and the lock cycled open. Clever, Maggie thought to herself. You step into the lock, and presto! A captive audience.
"Come on," Rico said, "let's see the sights."
As Rico stepped out of the lock Maggie heard a tone, and a soft voice that said, "You are leaving lock seventy-seven. Please retain that number for future reference. Should you forget the number, or need other assistance, please approach a remote and ask. I will be happy to help. Have a nice visit."
Maggie floated out of the lock and spun the hover box around. A huge super-graphic of the number seventy-seven covered the entire area around the lock. It should be visible from quite a distance away. Had that been there during her last visit? Maggie couldn't remember.
Rico touched her arm. "Come on, chief . . . the kids, remember? We'
re supposed ta find out if they're here."
Maggie nodded and whirred along beside him. The hall was huge, and seemed to run straight ahead for a long way, before taking a gentle curve to the right.
The habitat was enormous. And that raised questions larger than the origins of Nexus itself. Who constructed the habitat for Nexus? And why? There was no way to tell.
Except for a path that wound its way down the center of the hall, the corridor was crammed with a bewildering array of cargo modules, vending stands, miscellaneous equipment, and just plain junk.
Moving in and around these objects were humans, robots, aliens, auto loaders, pet animals, silvery remotes, power pallets, cyborgs, androids, and things Maggie wasn't sure of. This at least was as it had been during her previous visit.
Although there were formal venues for selling certain kinds of merchandise, they were in heavy demand and cost a lot to rent.
So the halls functioned as staging areas, and as secondary markets, since many of the merchants had offerings too modest to justify a presentation room.
Maggie looked at Rico striding along at her side. He was uncharacteristically silent. She knew why, or thought she did, and forced herself to make conversation.
"So tell me, Rico . . . why us? Why didn't Sam do this himself?"
Rico came to a sudden stop and turned on her. He looked angry. "Listen here, Maggie . . . I'm gettin' real tired of your crap. I don't know what Sam has up his sleeve. He'll tell us when he's good 'n' ready. Till then I suggest you keep a coupla things in mind.
"First, there ain't ten people on the whole rim that's as savvy as Sam is.
You can take all the cheap shots you want, but if we find those kids, it'll be Sam that gets it done.
"Second, I don't know what your problem is, but you better back off, or by God I'll arrange ta leave your crotchety ass right here on Nexus!"
Maggie felt a variety of emotions. The first was anger. How dare Rico speak to her that way? Leave her would he? Not very damn likely! She'd leave him . . . and Sam too . . . there were plenty of berths for a good engineer.
Next came a more rational response. One that recognized Rico's pain, and, more than that, recognized the same old pattern.
In place after place, ship after ship, Maggie had made herself obnoxious and been fired.
That way Maggie never got involved, never came to care, never got hurt. It began with the explosion, with the loss of her legs, and the deaths of her entire crew. But when would it end? A year from now? Two?
Maggie cleared her throat and looked away. "I have a big mouth sometimes. Sorry, Rico."
Rico searched Maggie's face, saw she was sincere, and shrugged. "The truth is that ya have a big mouth all the time . . . but what the hell . . . so do I. Shake."
Maggie's hand disappeared into Rico's giant paw and she smiled.
Twelve
Mustapha Pong was lost somewhere between the past and present.
He sat as he always did under the vast canopy of stars projected on the overhead. The compartment was circular and, except for the pool of light that surrounded Pong, completely dark.
There had been a time many years before when the cabin would've been filled to overflowing with loot, the tangible symbol of his success, the living out of boyhood dreams.
Back then Pong had favored chests brimming over with gold jewelry, ingots of platinum stacked in the corner, slave girls who responded to a snap from his fingers. Raw, open manifestations of power.
But he'd been young and immature then. Raw clay still finding its final shape.
The compartment was different now. Open, nearly empty, boasting little more than a dais at its center, and the custom-designed power lounger that served Pong as both chair and bed.
The cabin was a symbol of what Mustapha Pong wanted to be. Open, centered, at one with the cosmos. A force great enough to move planets, to redefine the course of sentient history, to leave a mark so deep it would still be visible after a million years had come and gone.
The thing on his shoulder stirred and injected a mild stimulant into Pong's bloodstream. As usual the mind slug's thoughts were caustic and mocking.
"Bestir yourself, human, there is work to do, and you are lost in your own ambition."
His reverie broken, and annoyed at the alien's criticism, Pong punched a request for coffee into the arm of his chair. There was a whirring sound and a cup of coffee appeared at Pong's fingertips. The mind slug hated caffeine, and drinking it would serve both as a punishment and a reminder. Pong was in charge . . . and it would stay that way.
Now back to the problem at hand. Pong sipped his coffee. The problem was the one he always faced. How to overcome resistance and work his will on the universe around him.
The larger problem was necessarily subdivided into a series of tasks. Move ships over there, raid that particular planet, invest the profit in certain companies, buy more information, bribe . . .
The Melcetian interrupted. "You are drifting again, O conqueror of the universe. Focus on the problem at hand . . . and drink something else."
Pong frowned and tried to focus. The 56,827 were never satisfied. Now they wanted a full-scale planetary war to observe. A global conflict on a reasonably high-tech world, say level four or five, that would serve to demonstrate the latest in human tactics. Tactics they must overcome in order to enslave the human race.
Pong had laughed the first time they said that, and nearly lost his life.
But that was back before he knew them, when he'd responded to a mysterious but profitable summons, and agreed to function as their sole human ally. Now Pong knew the aliens could do what they claimed.
Not even he knew where the 56,827's homeworld was, but Pong had been to some of the planets they'd enslaved, seen those the aliens had destroyed. Black airless rocks burned clean of the life that had dared to defy them.
But relentless though they were, the 56,827 were cautious as well, carefully studying each race prior to attacking it. That explained their desire for a war, and more than that, their insistence that Pong participate in it. They would see a blade and test it prior to striking a blow.
Pong took another sip of coffee. Drang was the obvious choice since there was a war brewing there anyway . . . but which side should he take? That of the world government? Or that of the corporate combine that hoped to overthrow it? Both had advantages and disadvantages.
"Sir?"
Pong looked up and wondered how long they'd been there, standing on the edge of darkness, waiting for him to respond.
There was Raz, an ugly-looking female guard, and a little girl. The girl was a slave, one of those they'd taken on Alice, a skinny little thing with a mop of curly brown-black hair.
The girl looked familiar, but Pong couldn't place her. A trivial problem most likely . . . but important to the crew. It never seemed to end. If the 56,827 weren't after something, then his crew was.
"Yes, Raz, what is it?"
Raz kept it brief knowing Pong's distaste for unnecessary detail. "Thanks to a tip from another slave, this female was found making unauthorized use of the damage-control computer console located in station S-4."
Pong frowned. "So? Why bring her to me? Can't you people handle anything by yourselves?"
Boots had started to tremble but Raz was unaffected. "There is more, sir. The slave wrote a conversion program that allowed her access to the ship's navcomp via the damage-control console."
Pong sat straight up in his chair. "Really? How interesting. I didn't know such a thing was possible. Let me see her."
Boots gave Molly a shove and she stumbled into the light. The girl looked very familiar, but Pong still couldn't place her.
The mind slug made a tiny secretion and the memory came flooding back. Pong found himself standing in the launch bay, looking down at the girl's ulcerated arms, listening to her arguments. It was all there. The smell of her unwashed body, the echo of a tool hitting the deck, everything.
It took a fraction
of a second for the entire conversation to flash through Pong's mind. He smiled.
"So, we meet again. Tell me, child, what's your name?"
Molly felt her lower lip start to quiver and fought for control. "Molly McCade, sir."
Adrenaline surged through Pong's body. It was strong, too strong, and the mind slug worked to buffer it. Pong was jubilant.
McCade! Could it be? Could this be Sam McCade's daughter?"
He worked to hide his excitement.
"Molly McCade . . . a pretty name . . . a familiar name. Is your father named Sam by any chance?"
McCade's Bounty Page 9
