Plague Ship

by Andre Norton

  Chapter XV

  MEDIC HOVAN REPORTS

  Fortunately the path out of the straggling town was a twisted one and ina very short space they were hidden from view. Dane paused as if the pacewas too much for an injured man. The Medic put out a steadying hand, onlyto drop it quickly when he saw the weapon which had appeared in Dane'sgrip.

  "What--?" His mouth snapped shut, his jaw tightened.

  "You will march ahead of me," Dane's low voice was steady. "Beyond thatrock spur to the left you'll find a place where it is possible to climbdown to sea level. Do it!"

  "I suppose I shouldn't ask why?"

  "Not now. We haven't much time. Get moving!"

  The Medic mastered his surprise and without further protest obeyedorders. It was only when they were standing by the flitter and he saw thesuits that his eyes widened and he said:

  "The Big Burn!"

  "Yes, and I'm desperate--"

  "You must be--or mad--" The Medic stared at Dane for a long moment andthen shook his head. "What is it? A plague ship?"

  Dane bit his lip. The other was too astute. But he did not ask why or howhe had been able to guess so shrewdly. Instead he gestured to the suitAli had lashed beneath the seat in the flitter. "Get into that and bequick about it!"

  The Medic rubbed his hand across his jaw. "I think that you might just bedesperate enough to use that thing you're brandishing about somelodramatically if I don't," he remarked in a calmly conversationaltone.

  "I won't kill. But a blaster burn--"

  "Can be pretty painful. Yes, I know that, young man. And," suddenly heshrugged, put down his kit and started donning the suit. "I wouldn't putit past you to knock me out and load me aboard if I did say no. Allright--"

  Suited, he took his place on the seat as Dane directed, and then theTrader followed the additional precaution of lashing the Medic's metalencased arms to his body before he climbed into his own protectivecovering. Now they could only communicate by sight through the visionplates of their helmets.

  Dane triggered the controls and they arose out of the sand and rockhollow just as a party of two men and a boy came hurrying along the topof the cliff--Jorge and the rescuers arriving too late. The flitterspiraled up into the sunlight and Dane wondered how long it would bebefore this outrage was reported to the nearest Plant Police base. Butwould any Police cruiser have the hardihood to follow him into the BigBurn? He hoped that the radiation would hold them back.

  There was no navigation to be done. The flitter's "memory" should depositthem at the Queen. Dane wondered at what his silent companion was nowthinking. The Medic had accepted his kidnapping with such docility thatthe very ease of their departure began to bother Dane. Was the otherexpecting a trailer? Had exploration into the Big Burn from the seasidevillages been more extensive than reported officially?

  He stepped up the power of the flitter to the top notch and saw with somerelief that the ground beneath them was now the rocky waste bordering thedevastated area. The metal encased figure that shared his seat had notmoved, but now the bubble head turned as if the Medic were intent uponthe ground flowing beneath them.

  The flicker of the counter began and Dane realized that nightfall wouldfind them still air borne. But so far he had not been aware of anypursuit. Again he wished he had the use of a com--only here the radiationwould blanket sound with that continuous roar.

  Patches of the radiation vegetation showed now and something in the linesof the Medic's tense figure suggested that these were new to him.Afternoon waned as the patches united, spread into the beginning of thejungle as the counter was once more an almost steady light. When eveningclosed in they were not caught in darkness--for below trees, loopingvines, brush, had a pale, evil glow of their own, proclaiming theirtoxicity with bluish halos. Sometimes pockets of these made a core oflight which pulsed, sending warning fingers at the flitter which spedacross it.

  The hour was close on midnight before Dane sighted the other light, thepink-red of which winked through the ghastly blue-white with a naturaland comforting promise, even though it had been meant for an entirelydifferent purpose. The Queen had earthed with her distress lights on andno one had remembered to snap them off. Now they acted as a beacon todraw the flitter to its berth.

  Dane brought the stripped flyer down on the fused ground as close to thespot from which he had taken off as he could remember. Now--if those onthe spacer would only move fast enough--!

  But he need not have worried, his arrival had been anticipated. Above,the rounded side of the spacer bulged as the hatch opened. Lines swungdown to fasten their magnetic clamps on the flitter. Then once more theywere air borne, swinging up to be warped into the side of the ship. Asthe outer port of the flitter berth closed Dane reached over and pulledloose the lashing which immobilized his companion. The Medic stood up, alittle awkwardly as might any man who wore space armor the first time.

  The inner hatch now opened and Dane waved his captive into the smallsection which must serve them as a decontamination space. Free at last ofthe suits, they went through one more improvised hatch to the maincorridor of the Queen where Rip and Ali stood waiting, their weary faceslighting as they saw the Medic.

  It was the latter who spoke first. "This _is_ a plague ship--"

  Rip shook his head. "It is _not_, sir. And you're the one who is going tohelp us prove that."

  The man leaned back against the wall, his face expressionless. "You takea rather tough way of trying to get help."

  "It was the only way left us. I'll be frank," Rip continued, "we'rePatrol Posted."

  The Medic's shrewd eyes went from one drawn young face to the next. "Youdon't look like desperate criminals," was his comment. "This your fullcrew?"

  "All the rest are your concern. That is--if you will take the job--"Rip's shoulders slumped a little.

  "You haven't left me much choice, have you? If there is illness on board,I'm under the Oath--whether you are Patrol Posted or not. What's thetrouble?"

  They got him down to Tau's laboratory and told him their story. From aslight incredulity his expression changed to an alert interest and hedemanded to see, first the patients and then the pests now immured in adeep freeze. Sometime in the middle of this, Dane, overcome by fatiguewhich was partly relief from tension, sought his cabin and the bunk fromwhich he wearily disposed Sinbad, only to have the purring cat crawl backonce more when he had lain down.

  And when he awoke, renewed in body and spirit, it was in a new Queen, aship in which hope and confidence now ruled.

  "Hovan's already got it!" Rip told him exultantly. "It's that poison fromthe little devils' claws right enough! A narcotic--produces some of theaffects of deep sleep. In fact--it may have a medical use. He's excitedabout it--"

  "All right," Dane waved aside information which under othercircumstances, promising as it did a chance for future trade, would haveengrossed him, to ask a question which at the moment seemed far more tothe point. "Can he get our men back on their feet?"

  A little of Rip's exuberance faded. "Not right away. He's given them allshots. But he thinks they'll have to sleep it off."

  "And we have no idea how long that is going to take," Ali contributed.

  Time--for the first time in days Dane was struck by that--time! Becauseof his training a fact he had forgotten in the past weeks of worry nowcame to mind--their contract with the storm priests. Even if they wereable to clear themselves of the plague charge, even if the rest of thecrew were speedily restored to health, he was sure that they could nothope to return to Sargol with the promised cargo, the pay for which wasalready on board the Queen. They would have broken their pledge and therecould be no hope of holding to their trading rights on that world--ifthey were not blacklisted for breaking contract into the bargain. I-Swould be able to move in and clean up and probably they could never provethat the Company was behind their misfortunes--though the men of theQueen would always be convinced that that fact was the truth.

  "We're going to break contract--" he said alou
d and that shook the othertwo, knocked some of their assurance out of them.

  "How about that?" Rip asked Ali.

  The acting-engineer nodded. "We have fuel enough to lift from here andmaybe set down at Terraport--if we take it careful and cut vectors. Wecan't lift from there without refueling--and of course the Patrol aregoing to sit on their hands while we do that--with us Posted! No, put outof your heads any plan for getting back to Sargol within the time limit.Thorson's right--that way we're flamed out!"

  Rip slumped in his seat. "So the Eysies can take over after all?"

  "As I see it," Dane cut in, "let's just take one thing at a time. We mayhave to argue a broken contract out before the Board. But first we haveto get off the Posted hook with the Patrol. Have you any idea about howwe are going to handle that?"

  "Hovan's on our side. In fact if we let him have the bugs to play withhe'll back us all the way. He can swear us a clean bill of health beforethe Medic Control Center."

  "How much will that count after we've broken all their regs?" Ali wantedto know. "If we surrender now we're not going to have much chance, nomatter what Hovan does or does not swear to. Hovan's a frontier Medic--Iwon't say that he's not a member in good standing of theirassociation--but he doesn't have top star rating. And with the Eysies andthe Patrol on our necks, we'll need more than one medic's word--"

  But Rip looked from the pessimistic Kamil to Dane. Now he asked aquestion which was more than half statement.

  "You've thought of something?"

  "I've remembered something," the Cargo-apprentice corrected. "Recall thetrick Van pulled on Limbo when the Patrol was trying to ease us out ofour rights there after they took over the outlaw hold?"

  Ali was impatient. "He threatened to talk to the Video people andbroadcast--tell everyone about the ships wrecked by the Forerunnerinstallation and left lying about full of treasure. But what has that todo with us now--? We bargained away our rights on Limbo for the rest ofCam's monopoly on Sargol--not that it's done us much good--"

  "The Video," Dane fastened on the important point, "Van threatenedpublicity which would embarrass the Patrol and he was legally within hisrights. We're outside the law now--but publicity might help again. Howmany earth-side people know of the unwritten law about open war on plagueships? How many who aren't spacemen know that we could be legally pushedinto the sun and fried without any chance to prove we're innocent ofcarrying a new disease? If we could talk loud and clear to the people atlarge maybe we'd have a chance for a real hearing--"

  "Right from the Terraport broadcast station, I suppose?" Ali taunted.

  "Why not?"

  There was silence in the cabin as the other two chewed upon that and hebroke it again:

  "We set down here when it had never been done before."

  With one brown forefinger Rip traced some pattern known only to himselfon the top of the table. Ali stared at the opposite wall as if it were abank of machinery he must master.

  "It just might be whirly enough to work--" Kamil commented softly. "Ormaybe we've been spaced too long and the Whisperers have been chatteringinto our ears. What about it, Rip, could you set us down close enough toCenter Block there?"

  "We can try anything once. But we might crash the old girl bringing herin. There's that apron between the Companies' Launching cradles and theCenter--. It's clear there and we could give an E signal coming downwhich would make them stay rid of it. But I won't try it except as a lastresort."

  Dane noticed that after that discouraging statement Rip made straight forJellico's record tapes and routed out the one which dealt with Terraportand the landing instructions for that metropolis of the star ships. Toland unbidden there would certainly bring them publicity--and to get theVideo broadcast and tell their story would grant them not only worldwide, but system wide hearing. News from Terraport was broadcast on everychannel every hour of the day and night and not a single viewer couldmiss their appeal.

  But first there was Hovan to be consulted. Would he be willing to backthem with his professional knowledge and assurance? Or would theirhigh-handed method of recruiting his services operate against them now?They decided to let Rip ask such questions of the Medic.

  "So you're going to set us down in the center of the big jump-off?" washis first comment, as the acting-Captain of the Queen stated their case."Then you want me to fire my rockets to certify you are harmless. Youdon't ask for very much, do you, son?"

  Rip spread his hands. "I can understand how it looks to you, sir. Wegrabbed you and brought you here by force. We can't make you testify forus if you decide not to--"

  "Can't you?" The Medic cocked an eyebrow at him. "What about this bullyboy of yours with his little blaster? He could herd me right up to thetelecast, couldn't he? There's a lot of persuasion in one of those nastylittle arms. On the other hand, I've a son who's set on taking out on oneof these tin pots to go star hunting. If I handed you over to the Patrolhe might make some remarks to me in private. You may be Posted, but youdon't look like very hardened criminals to me. It seems that you've beenhanded a bad situation and handled it as best you know. And I'm willingto ride along the rest of the way on your tail blast. Let me see how manypieces you land us in at Terraport and I'll give you my final answer. Ifluck holds we may have a couple more of your crew present by that time,also--"

  They had had no indication that the Queen had been located, that anyposse hunting the kidnapped Medic had followed them into the Big Burn. Andthey could only hope that they would continue to remain unsighted as theyupped-ship once more and cruised into a regular traffic lane for earthingat the port. It would be a chancy thing and Ali and Rip spent hourschecking the mechanics of that flight, while Dane and the recoveringWeeks worked with Hovan in an effort to restore the sleeping crew.

  After three visits to the hold and the discovery that the Hoobat haduncovered no more of the pests, Dane caged the angry blue horror andreturned it to its usual stand in Jellico's cabin, certain that the shipwas clean for Sinbad now confidently prowled the corridors and went intoevery cabin of storage space Dane opened for him.

  And on the morning of the day they had planned for take-off, Hovan atlast had a definite response to his treatment. Craig Tau roused, stareddazedly around, and asked a vague question. The fact he immediatelyrelapsed once more into semi-coma did not discourage the other Medic.Progress had been made and he was now sure that he knew the propertreatment.

  They strapped down at zero hour and blasted out of the weird greenwilderness they had not dared to explore, lifting into the arch of thesky, depending upon Rip's knowledge to put them safely down again.

  Dane once more rode out the take-off at the com-unit, waiting for theblast of radiation born static to fade so that he could catch anybroadcast.

  "--turned back last night. The high level of radiation makes it almostcertain that the outlaws could not have headed into the dangerous centralportion. Search is now spreading north. Authorities are inclined tobelieve that this last outrage may be a clew to the vanished 'SolarQueen,' a plague ship, warned off and Patrol Posted after her crewplundered an E-Stat belonging to the Inter-Solar Corporation. Anyonehaving any information concerning this ship--or any strangespacer--report at once to the nearest Terrapolice or Patrol station. Donot take chances--report any contact at once to the nearest Terrapoliceor Patrol station!"

  "That's putting it strongly," Dane commented as he relayed the message."Good as giving orders for us to be flamed down at sight--"

  "Well, if we set down in the right spot," Rip replied, "they can't flameus out without blasting the larger part of Terraport field with us. And Idon't think they are going to do that in a hurry."

  Dane hoped Shannon was correct in that belief. It would be more chancythan landing at the E-Stat or in the Big Burn--to gauge it just right andput them down on the Terraport apron where they could not be flamed outwithout destroying too much, where their very position would give them abargaining point, was going to be a top star job. If Rip could only pullit off!
/>   He could not evaluate the niceties of that flight, he did not understandall Rip was doing. But he did know enough to remain quietly in his place,ask no questions, and await results with a dry mouth and a wildly beatingheart. There came a moment when Rip glanced up at him, one hand poisedover the control board. The pilot's voice came tersely, thin and queer:

  "Pray it out, Dane--here we go!"

  Dane heard the shrill of a riding beam, so tearing he had to move hisearphones. They must be almost on top of the control tower to get it likethat! Rip was planning on a set down where the Queen would block thingsneatly. He brought his own fingers down on the E-E-Red button to give thelast and most powerful warning. That, to be used only when a ship landingwas out of control, should clear the ground below. They could only prayit would vacate the port they were still far from seeing.

  "Make it a fin-point, Rip," he couldn't repress that one bit of advice.And was glad he had given it when he saw a ghost grin tug for a moment atRip's full lips.

  "Good enough for a check-ride?"

  They were riding her flaming jets down as they would on a strange world.Below the port must be wild. Dane counted off the seconds.Two--three--four--five--just a few more and they would be too low tointercept--without endangering innocent coasters and groundhuggers. Whenthe last minute during which they were still vulnerable passed, he gave asigh of relief. That was one more point on their side. In the earphoneswas a crackle of frantic questions, a gabble of orders screaming at him.Let them rave, they'd know soon enough what it was all about.