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Tior was silent again and finally raised her head.  If you're on for the launch,"
she said quietly, "you need someone to keep Central Control out of your hair till
you hit light.''
Kiondili began to grin. "Light." She looked from Argon to Tior.  We're going
light.''
CHAPTER 18
"Is it on?" Xia asked as Kiondili slipped through the door.
Kiondili nodded and dropped the flashbook on Xia's desk. "Your boss left this
out for us."
"Coordinates?"
"Control instructions. I've already copied them. Give them to Tior when you're
done. Navigation will be different, and the monitors that feed directly through
Central Control will be disabled, but this should give you enough information to
compensate." She turned to leave.
"Argon is with Poole. He said for you to meet them when you were ready."
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Kiondili did not reply. She was already down the hall and diving into the
free-boost chute. Reaching beyond her E-damp and speeding up to just under
250 clicks, she wondered briefly, If a launch of Lightwing VII had never been
brought up, would she have cared whether the chute guards caught her
speeding? She passed a pair of side tunnels and caught a glimpse of dark hair as
another H'Mu made his way
through the chutes. If it was not for a Lightwing launch, would she take a chance
and change a few settings on Argon's persona adapt? He had been almost
tolerable lately; maybe he was beginning to forget about his grudge against her.
She hit the next pad off center, slicing awkwardly along the wall field until she
regained her line. Argon. If she did not have to work with him . . .
Just as she did not have to work with Effi Ragan anymore.
She dove silently, frozen in a straight line as she speared through the center of
the chute. Effi was dead. The pale lines of the boost tube flashed by like light on
a launch as she skimmed a wall and shifted into the next chute without hitting the
redirection pad. She noted the color shift absently. What made her think this
launch would be successful where the others were not? The other teams had had
more advanced studies, more training. And they were now dead or still in
recovery. A strange reaction twisted in Kiondili's gut, and she recognized it as
fear. What if she did not set the beams correctly? What if the refitted stabilizers
did not work? Her team was just the backup. Even Argon admitted that they
could use more time on the simulator-as if she would sit in another simulation
session with that Mu if she did not have to. She would not have to if she were
dead, the thought came unbidden. Prime Team A . . . fragmented. Prime Team B .
. . dead. Effi Ragan . . . dead. Stop it, she told herself harshly. She straightened
out her line along the chute and steadied her breathing.
At least, she told herself with a twisted smile, if they were caught launching
the Lightwing, they would all be spaced without suits before anyone asked
why-Argon included.' She tumbled lightly along the wall, hitting the redirection
pad on her thigh and breaking off into a new tube. If she could not go with
Stilman or get another job at the outpost, she would rather disperse with a blast
in hyperlight space, anyway.
Space-she would be challenging spacetime itself in four hours.
She stopped at the door to Poole's lab and tapped the ac-
cess lock, but before she could step through, Siln's lanky frame stretched out of
the shimmering surface and startled her.
"Mu," Siln said quietly, stepping into the hall.
"Siln," she acknowledged, waiting for the psych to move aside. But the
xenopsychologist remained in front of the door, barring her way. "What do you
want, Siln?"
Siln tapped her long fingers together and regarded her thoughtfully. "You
have left two things undone, Kiondili Wae."
"What are you talking about?"
"Two things, which must be done before you launch."
Kiondili looked over her shoulder guiltily. "Ayara's eyes, Siln, the corridor
comlinks are on."
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"Two things, Mu," the psychologist repeated. "Speak with Stilman before you
go, and see Waon."
Kiondili pursed her lips. "I see Stilman every hour," she said, adding flatly,
"and I have nothing to say to Waon."
 You owe both of them that much.''
Kiondili stared after the psych as Siln walked away in her strange, gracefully
stiff gait.
"Hurry up, Wae," Poole said, poking his head out the door and noticing her.
"Check out the coordinates. We set them for Northase. We should have enough
fuel for that, plus a little extra. Tior's going to program them into the computer if
they look all right to you."
"Yeah, sure." She paused and stared after the psychologist before Poole drew
her inside. Why the hell did she have to speak to Stilman? All he had done for
the last two days was yell for this and that. He had not even bothered to ask her
what she was going to do after he left. Why did he not want her to go with him?
It was bad enough Siln wanted her to go through some sort of teary good-bye
with her boss, but then she had to make up with Waon, the fusion plant?
She glared after the psych. "Damn it," she said finally.  Tior, how late can you
set the coordinates?''
Tior frowned. "Just before launch, I guess, but that is pushing it, Kiwi. I'm not [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]