 This is a LibriVox recording. All LibriVox recordings are in the public domain. For more information or to volunteer, visit LibriVox.org. Reading by Mark Nelson. Plague Ship by Andre Norton. Chapter 15. Medic Hovan reports. Fortunately, the path out of a straggling town was a twisted one, and in a very short space they were hidden from view. Dane paused, as if the pace was too much for a injured man. The Medic put out a steadying hand, only to drop it quickly when he saw the weapon which had appeared in Dane's grip. What? His mouth snapped shut, his jaw tightened. You will march ahead of me. Dane's low voice was steady. Beyond that rock spur to the left, you'll find a place where it is possible to climb down 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, obeyed orders. It was only when they were standing by the flitter, and he saw the suits 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, and then 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 how he had been able to guess so shrewdly. Instead, he gestured to the suit all he had lashed beneath the seat in the flitter. Get into that, and be quick about it. The Medic rubbed his hand across his jaw. I think you might just be desperate enough to use that thing you are brandishing about so melodramatically if I don't, he remarked in a calm conversational tone. I won't kill, but a blaster burn. Can be pretty painful, yes, I know that young man, and, suddenly he shrugged, put down his kit and started donning the suit. I wouldn't put it past you to knock me out and load me aboard if I did say no. All right. Suited, he took his place on the seat as Dane directed. And then the Trader followed the additional precaution of lashing the Medic's metal-encased arms to his body before he climbed into his own protective covering. Now they could only communicate by sight through the vision plates of their helmets. Dane triggered the controls and they arose out of the sand and rock hollow, just as a party of two men and a boy came hurring along the top of the cliff. George and the rescuers arriving too late. The flitter spiraled up into the sunlight, and Dane wondered how long it would be before this outrage was reported to the nearest planet police base. But would any police cruiser have the hardy hood to follow him into the big burn? He hoped that their radiation would hold them back. There was no navigation to be done. The flitter's memory should deposit them at the Queen. Dane wondered at what his silent companion was now thinking. The Medic had accepted his kidnapping with such docility that the very ease of their departure began to bother Dane. Was the other expecting a trailer? Had exploration into the big burn from the seaside villages been more extensive than reported officially? He stepped up the power of the flitter to the top notch, and saw with some relief that the ground beneath them was now the rocky waist bordering the devastated area. The metal-encased figure that shared his seat had not moved, but now the bubble head turned as if the Medic were intent upon the ground flowing beneath them. The flicker of the counter began, and Dane realized that nightfall would find them still airborne. But so far he had not been aware of any pursuit. Again he wished he had the use of a calm, only here the radiation would blanket sound with that continuous roar. Patches of the radiation vegetation showed now, and something in the lines of the Medic's tense figure suggested that these were new to him. Afternoon waned as the patches united, spread into the beginning of the jungle as the counter was once more an almost steady light. When the evening closed in they were not caught in darkness, for below trees, looping vines, brush, had a pale, evil glow of their own, proclaiming their toxicity with bluish halos. Sometimes pockets of these made a core of light which pulsed, sending warning fingers at the flitter which sped across it. The hour was close on midnight before Dane sighted the other light, the pink red of which winked through the ghastly blue-white with a natural and comforting promise, even though it had been meant for an entirely different purpose. The Queen had earthed with her distress lights on, and no one had remembered to snap them off. Now they acted as a beacon to draw the flitter to its birth. Dane brought the stripped flyer down on the fused ground as close to the spot from which he had taken off as he could remember. Now if those on the 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 swung down to fasten their magnetic clamps on the flitter. Then, once more, they were airborne, swinging up to be warped into the side of the ship. As the outer port of the flitter berth closed, Dane reached over and pulled loose the lashing which immobilized his companion. The medics stood up, a little awkwardly as might any man who wore space armor the first time. The inner hatch was now opened, and Dane waved his captive into the small section which must serve them as a decontamination space. Free at last of the suits, they went through one more improvised hatch to the main corridor of the queen, where Rip and Ollie stood waiting, their weary faces lighting 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's going to help us prove that. The man leaned back against the wall, his face expressionless. You take a rather tough way of trying to get help. It was the only way left us. I'll be frank, Rip continued. We're patrol-posted. The medics shrewd eyes went from one drawn young face to the next. You don't look like desperate criminals, was his comment. This your full crew? All the rest are your concern. That is, if you'll take the job. Rip's shoulders slumped a little. You have a 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 the trouble? They got him down to Tau's laboratory and told him their story. From a slight incredulity his expression changed to an alert interest, and he demanded to see, first the patients, and then the pests now emured in a deep freeze. Sometime in the middle of this, Dane, overcome by fatigue, which was partly relief from tension, sought his cabin and the bunk from which he wearily disposed Sinbad, only to have the purring cat crawl back once more when he had lain down. And when he awoke, renewed in body and spirit, it was in a new queen, a ship in which hope and confidence now ruled. Hovan's already got it! Rip told him exultantly. It's that poison from the little devil's claw, right enough. A narcotic. Produces some of the effects of deep sleep. In fact, it may have medical use. He's excited about it. All right. Dane waved aside information which, under other circumstances, promising as it did a chance for future trade would have engrossed him to ask a question which at the moment seemed far more to the point. Can he get our men back on their feet? A little of Rip's exuberance faded. Not right away. He's given them all shots, but he thinks they'll have to sleep it off. And we have no idea how long that is going to take, all he contributed. Time, for the first time in days Dane was struck by that, time. Because of his training, a fact he had forgotten in the past weeks of worry now came to mind. Their contract with the storm priests. Even if they were able to clear themselves of the plague charge, even if the rest of the crew were speedily restored to health, he was sure that they could not hope to return to Sargal with the promised cargo, the pay for which was already on board the queen. They would have broken their pledge, and there could be no hope of holding to their trading rights on that world, if they were not blacklisted for breaking contract into the bargain. IS would be able to move in and clean up, and probably they could never prove that the company was behind their misfortunes, though the men of the queen would always be convinced that that fact was the truth. We're going to break contract, he said aloud, and that shook the other two, knocked some of their assurance out of them. How about that? Rip asked Ali. The acting engineer nodded. We have few enough to lift from here and maybe set down at Tereport, if we take it careful and cut vectors. We can't lift from there without refueling, and of course the patrol are going to sit on their hands while we do that, with us posted. No, put out of your heads any plan for getting back to Sargal within the time limit. Thorson's right, that way we're flamed out. Rip slumped in his seat. So the Isis can take over after all. As I see it, Dane cut in, let's just take one thing at a time. We may have to argue a broken contract out before the board, but first we have to get off the posted hook with the patrol. Have you any idea about how we're going to handle that? Hull vans on our side. In fact, if we let him have the bugs to play with, he'll back us all the way. He can swear us a clean bill of health before the Medic Control Center. How much will that count after we've broken all their regs? All he wanted to know. If we surrender now, we're not going to have much chance, no matter what Hull van does or does not swear to. Hull van's a frontier medic. I won't say that he's not a member in good standing of their association, but he doesn't have top star rating. And with the Isis and the patrol on our necks, we'll need more than one medic's word. But Rip looked from the pessimistic Camille to Dane. Now he asked a question which was more than half statement. You've thought of something. I've remembered something, the cargo apprentice corrected. Recall the trick Van pulled on Limbo when the patrol was trying to ease us out of our rights there after they took over the outlaw hold? Olly was impatient. He threatened to talk to the video people and broadcast. Tell everybody about the ships wrecked by the forerunner installation and left lying about full of treasure. But what has that to do with us now? We bargained away our rights on Limbo for the rest of Cam's monopoly on Sargal. Not that it's done us much good. The video, Dane fastened on the important point. Van threatened publicity which would embarrass the patrol and he was legally within his rights. We're outside the law now, but publicity might help again. How many earth-site people know of the unwritten law about open war on plagueships? How many who aren't spacemen know that we could be legally pushed into the sun and fried without any chance to prove we're innocent of carrying a new disease? If we could talk loud and clear to the people at large, maybe we'd have a chance for a real hearing. Right from the Terraport broadcast station, I suppose, Olly taunted. Why not? There was silence in the cabin as the other two chewed upon that and he broke it again. We sat down here when it had never been done before. With one brown forefinger, we ripped Ray some pattern known only to himself on the top of the table. Olly stared at the opposite wall as if it were a bank of machinery he must master. It just might be worthy enough to work, Camille commented softly. Or maybe we've been spaced too long and the whispers have been chattering into our ears. What about it, Rip? Could you set us down close enough to center block there? We can try anything once, but we might crash the old girl bringing her in. There's that apron between the company's launching cradles and the center. It's clear there, and we could give an e-signal coming down which would make them stay rid of it. But I won't try it except as a last resort. Dane noticed that after that discouraging statement, Rip made straight for Gellico's record tapes and routed out the one which dealt with Terraport and the landing instructions for that metropolis of the starships. To land unbidden there would certainly bring them publicity, and to get the video broadcast and tell their story would grant them not only worldwide but systemwide hearing. News from Terraport was broadcast on every channel every hour of the day and night, and not a single viewer could miss their appeal. But first there was Hovan to be consulted. Would he be willing to back them with his professional knowledge and assurance? Or would their high-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, was his 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. You don't ask for very much, do you, son? Rip spread his hands. I can understand how it looks to you, sir. We grabbed you, we brought you here by force. We can't make you testify for us if you decide not to. Can't you? The medic cocked an eyebrow at him. Who'd about this bully-boy of yours with his little blaster? He could hurt me right up to the telecast, couldn't he? There's a lot of persuasion in one of those nasty little arms. On the other hand, I have a son who's set on taking out on one of these tin pots to go star-hunting. If I handed you over to the patrol, he might make some remarks to me in private. You may be posted, but you don't look like very hardened criminals to me. It seems that you've been handed a bad situation and handled it as best you know. And I'm willing to ride along the rest of the way on your tail-blast. Let me see how many pieces you land us in at Terraport, and I'll give you my final answer. If luck holds, we may have a couple more of your crew present by that time also. They had no indication that the Queen had been located, that any posse hunting the kidnapped medic had followed them into the big burn. And they could only hope that they would continue to remain unsighted as they upped ship once more and cruised into a regular traffic lane for earthing at the port. It would be a chancey thing, and Ollie and Rip spent hours checking the mechanics of that flight, while Dane and the recovering Weeks worked with Hovan in an effort to restore the sleeping crew. After three visits to the hold, and the discovery that the Hubbat had uncovered no more of the pests, Dane caged the angry blue horror and returned it to its usual stand in Jellico's cabin, certain that the ship was clean, for Sinbad now confidently prowled the corridors and went into every cabin of storage space Dane opened for him. And on the morning of the day they had planned for take-off, Hovan at last had a definite response to his treatment. Craig Tao roused, stared daisily around, and asked a vague question. The fact that he immediately relapsed once more into semi-coma did not discourage the other medic. Progress had been made, and he was now sure that he knew the proper treatment. They strapped down at zero hour and blasted out of the weird green wilderness they had not dared to explore, lifting into the arch of the sky, depending upon Rip's knowledge to put them safely down again. Dane once more rowed out the take-off at the comm-unit, waiting for the blast of radiation-borne static to fade so that he could catch any broadcast. Turned back last night, the high level of radiation makes it almost certain that the outlaws could not have headed into the dangerous central portion. Search is now spreading north. Authorities are inclined to believe that this last outrage may be a clue to the vanished Solar Queen, a plague ship warned off and patrol posted after her crew plundered an east-at belonging to the Inter Solar Corporation. Anyone having any information concerning this ship, or any strange spacer, report at once to the nearest Terra-Police or patrol station. Do not take chances. Report any contact at once to the nearest Terra-Police or patrol station. That's putting it strongly, Dane commented as he relayed the message. Good is giving orders for us to be flamed down at sight. Well, if we set down in the right spot, Rip replied, they can't flame us out without blasting the larger part of Terra-Port field with us, and I don't think they're going to do that in a hurry. Dane hoped Shannon was correct in that belief. It would be more chancey than landing at the east-at or in the Big Burn, to gauge it just right and put them down on the Terra-Port apron where they could not be flamed out without destroying too much, where their very position would give them a bargaining point, was going to be a top-star job, if Rip could only pull it off. He could not evaluate the niceties of that flight. He did not understand all 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 beating heart. There came a moment when Rip glanced at him, one hand poised over 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 his earphones. They must be almost on top of the control tower to get it like that. Rip was planning a set-down where the queen would block things neatly. He brought his own fingers down on the EE red button to give the last and most powerful warning. That, to be used only when a ship landing was out of control, should clear the ground below. They could only pray he 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 he was glad he had given it when he saw Ghost Grinn tug for a moment at Rip'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 to intercept, without endangering innocent coasters and ground-huggers. When the last minute during which they were still vulnerable past, he gave a sigh of relief. That was one more point on their side. In the earphones was a crackle of frantic questions, a gavel of orders screaming at him. Let them rave. They'd know soon enough what it was all about. End of Chapter 15 16 The Battle of the Video Oddly enough, in spite of the tension which must have boiled within him, Rip brought them in with a perfect four fin-point landing. One which, under the circumstances, must win him the respect of master-star-star pilots from the rim. Though Dane doubted whether if they lost, that skill would bring Shen and anything but a long term in the moon-minds. The actual jar of their landing-contact was mostly absorbed by the webbing of their shock-seats and they were on their feet, ready to move almost at once. The next operation had been planned. Dane gave a glance at the screen. Ringed now about the queen were the buildings of Tereport. Yes, any attempt to attack the ship would endanger too much of the permanent structure of the field itself. Rip had brought them down, not on the rocket-scarred outer landing-space, but on the concrete apron between the assignment-center and the control tower. A smooth strip usually sacred to the parking of officials' ground-scooters. He speculated as to whether any of the latter had been converted to molten metal by the exhausts of the queen's descent. Like the team they had come to be, the four active members of the crew went into action. Ollie and Weeks were waiting by an inner hatch, Medeck-Hovan with them. The engineer apprentice was bulky in a space suit and two more of the unwieldy body coverings waited beside him for Rip and Dane. With fingers which were inclined to act like thumbs, they were sealed into what would provide some protection against any blaster or sleep ray. Then with Hovan, conspicuously wearing no such armor, they climbed into one of the ship's crawlers. Weeks activated the outer hatch, and the crane-lines plucked the small vehicle out of the queen, swinging it dizzily down to the blast-scored apron. Make for the tower! Rip's voice was thin in the helmet-coms. Dane, at the controls of the crawler, pulled on as Ollie cast off the lines which anchored them to the spacer. Through the bubble-helmet he could see the frenzied activity in the aroused port. An anthill, into which some idle investigator had thrust a stick and given it a turn or two, was nothing compared with Terraport after the unorthodox arrival of the solar queen. Patrol mobile coming in on southeast Vector, Ollie announced calmly. Looks like she mounts a portable flamer on her nose. So... Dane changed directions, putting him behind a customs checkpoint, aware as he ground by that stand of a line of faces at vision ports. Evasive action, and he'd have to get the top speed from the clumsy crawler. Police copped her over us. That was Rip reporting. Well, they couldn't very well avoid that. But at the same time Dane was reasonably sure that its attack would not be an overt one, not with the unarmed, unprotected Hovan prominently displayed in their midst. But there he was too sanguine. A muffled exclamation from Rip made him glance at the medic beside him, just in time to see Hovan slumped limply forward, about to tumble from the crawler when Shannon caught him from behind. Dane was too familiar with the results of sleep rays to have any doubts as to what had happened. The peacopter had sprayed them with its most harmless weapon. Only the suits, insulated to the best of their maker's ability against most of the dangers of space, real and anticipated, had kept the three traders from being overcome as well. Dane suspected that his own responses were a trifle sluggish, that while he had not succumbed to that attack he had been slowed. But with Rip holding the unconscious medic in his seat, Thorson continued to head the crawler for the tower and its promise of a system-wide hearing for their appeal. There's a paymobile coming in ahead. Dane was irritated by that warning from Rip. He had already sighted that black and silver ground car himself, and he was only too keenly conscious of the nasty thread of a snub-nosed weapon mounted on its hood, now pointed straight at the oncoming, too deliberate trader's crawler. Then he saw what he believed would be their only chance, to play once more the same type of trick as Rip had used to earth them safely. Get Hovann under cover, he ordered. I'm going to crash the tower door. Hasty movements answered that, as the medic's limp body was thrust under the cover offered by the upper framework of the crawler. Luckily the machine had been built for heavy duty on rugged worlds where roadways were unknown. Dane was sure he could build up the power and speed necessary to take them into the lower floor of the tower, no matter if its door was now barred against them. Whether his audacity daunted the paymobile, or whether they held off from an all-out attack because of Hovann, Dane could not guess. But he was glad for a few minutes of grace as he raced the protesting engine of the heavy machine to its last and greatest effort. The threads of the crawler bit on the steps leading up to the impressive entrance of the tower. There was a second or two before traction caught and then the driver's heart snapped back into place as the machine tilted its nose up and headed straight for the portal. They struck the closed doors with a shock which almost hurled them from their seats. But that engraved bronze expanse had not been cast withstand a head-on blow from a heavy-duty off-world vehicle, and the leaves tore apart letting them into the wide hall beyond. Take Hovann and make for the riser. For the second time it was Dane who gave the orders. I have a blocking job to do here. He expected every second to feel the bit of a police blaster somewhere along his shrinking body. Could even a spacesuit protect him now? At the far end of the corridor were the attendants and visitors trapped in the building who had fled in an attempt to find safety at the crashing entrance of the crawler. These flung themselves flat at the steady advance of the two spacesuited traders who supported the unconscious medic between them, using the low-powered anti-grab units on their belts to take most of his weight so each had one hand free to hold a sleep rod. And they did not hesitate to use those weapons, spraying the rightful inhabitants of the tower until all lay unmoving. Having seen that Ollie and Rip appeared to have the situation in hand, Dane turned to his own self-appointed job. He jammed the machine on reverse, maneuvering it with an ease learned by practice on the rough terrain of Limbo until the gate doors were pushed shut again. Then he swung the machine around so that its bulk would afford an effective bar to keep the door locked for some very precious moments to come. Short of using a flamer full power to cut their way in, no one was going to force an entrance now. He climbed out of the machine to discover when he turned that the trio from the Queen had disappeared, leaving all possible opposition asleep on the floor. Dane clanked on to join them, carrying in plated fingers their most important weapon to awake public opinion, an improvised cage in which was housed one of the pests from the cargo hold, the proof of their plague-free state which they intended Hovan to present via telecast to the whole system. Dane reached the shaft of the riser to find the platform gone. Would either Rip or Ollie have the presence of mine enough to send it down to him on automatic? Rip, return the riser! He spoke urgently into the throat-mike of his helmet-com. Eep your rocket straight! Ollie's cool voice was in his earphones. It's on its way down. Did you remember to bring exhibit A? Dane did not answer, for he was very much occupied with another problem. On the bronze doors he had been at such pains to seal shut there had come into being a round circle of dull red which was speedily changing into a coruscating incandescence. They had brought a flamer to bear. It would be a very short time now before the police could come through. That riser, afraid of overbalancing in the bulky suit, Dane did not lean forward to stare up into the shaft. But, as his uncertainty reached a fever pitch, the platform descended and he took two steps forward into temporary safety, still clutching the cage. At first try the thick fingers of his gloved hand slipped from the lever and he hit it again harder than he intended so that he found himself being wafted upward with a speed which did not agree with a stomach, even one long accustomed to spaceflight. And he almost lost his balance when it came to a stop many floors above. But he had not lost his wits. Before he stepped from the platform he set the dial on a point which would lift the riser to the top of the shaft and hold it there. That might trap the traitors on the broadcasting floor, but he would also ensure them time before the forces of the law could reach them. Dane located the rest of his party in the circular core chamber of the broadcasting section. He recognized a backdrop he had seen thousands of times behind the announcer who introduced the newscasts. In one corner, Rip, his suit off, was working over the still relaxed form of the medic, while Ali, a grim set to his mouth, was standing with a man who wore the insignia of a Comtec. All set? Rip looked up from his futile administrations. Dane put down the cage and began the business of unhooking his own protective covering. They were burning through the outer doors of the entrance hall when I took off. You're not going to get away with this, that was the Comtec. Ali smiled wearily, a stretch of lips in which there was little or no mirth. Listen, my friend, since I started to ride rockets I've been told I wasn't going to get away with this or that. Why not be more original? Use what is between those outsize ears of yours. We fought our way in here, we landed at Terraport against orders, where patrol posted. Do you think that one man, one lone man, is going to keep us now from doing what we came to do? And don't look around for any reinforcements. We sprayed both the rooms. You can run the emergency hook up single-handed, and you're going to. We're free traders. Ha! The man had lost some of his assurance as he stared from one drawn young face to another. I see you begin to realize what that means. Out on the rim we play rough, and we play for keeps. I know half a hundred ways to set you screaming in three minutes, and at least ten of them will not even leave a mark on your skin. Now, do we get service or don't we? You'll go to the chamber for this, snarled the tech. All right, but first we broadcast. Then maybe someday a ship that's run into bad luck will have a straighter deal than we've had. You get on your post, and we'll have the play back on. Remember that. If you don't give us a clear channel, we'll know it. How about it, Rip? How's Hovan? Rip's face was a mask of worry. He must have had a full dose. I can't bring him around. Was this the end of their bold bid? Let each or all of them go before the screen to plead their case, let them show the caged pest. But without the professional testimony of the medic, the weight of an expert opinion on their side, they were licked. Well, sometimes luck did not ride a man's fins all the way in. But some stubborn core within Dane refused to let him believe that they had lost. He went over to the medic, huddled in a chair. To all appearances, Hovan was deeply asleep, sunk in the semi-coma the sleep-ray produced. And the frustrating thing was that the man himself could have supplied the counter to his condition, given them the instructions how to bring him around. How many hours away was a natural awaking? Long before that, their hold on the station would be broken. They would be in the custody of either police or patrol. He's sunk. Dane voiced the belief which put an end to their hopes. But Ollie did not seem concerned. Camille was standing with their captive, an odd expression on his handsome face as if he were striving to recall some dim memory. When he spoke it was to the Comtec. You have an HDOS here? The other registered surprise. I think so. Ollie made an abrupt gesture. Make sure, he ordered, following the man into another room. Dane looked to rip for enlightenment. What in the great nebula is an HDOS? I'm no engineer, but it may be some gadget to get us out of here. Such as a pair of wings? Dane was inclined to be sarcastic. The memory of that incandescent circle on the door, some twenty floors below, stayed with him. Tempers of police and patrol were not going to be improved by fighting their way around, or over the obstacles the traders had arranged to delay them. If they caught up to the outlaws before the latter had their chance for an impartial hearing, the result was not going to be a happy one as far as the Queen's men were concerned. Ollie appeared in the doorway. Bring Hovann in here. Together, Rip and Dane carried the medic into a smaller chamber where they found Ollie and the tech busy lashing a small, lightweight tube-chair to a machine, which, to their untutored eyes, had the semblance of a collection of bars. Obeying instructions, they seated Hovann in that chair, fastened him in, while the medic continued to slumber peacefully. Uncomprehendingly, Rip and Dane stepped back, while under Ollie's watchful eye the Comtech made adjustments and finally snapped some hidden switch. Dane discovered that he dared not watch too closely what followed. Inured, as he thought he was, to the tricks of hyperspace, to acceleration and anti-gravity, the oscillation of that swinging seat, the weird swaying of the half-recumbent figure, did things to his sight and to his sense of balance which seemed perilous in the extreme. But when the groan broke through the hum of Ollie's mysterious machine, all of them knew that the engineer apprentice had found the answer to their problem, that Hovann was waking. The medic was bleary eyed and inclined to stagger when they freed him, and for several minutes he seemed unable to grasp either his surroundings or the train of events which had brought him there. Long since the police must have broken into the entrance corridor below. Perhaps they had by now secured a riser which would bring them up. Ollie had forced the Comtech to throw the emergency control, which was designed to seal off from the outer world the entire unit in which they now were. But whether that protective device would continue to hold now, none of the three were certain. Time was running out, fast. Supporting the wobbling Hovann, they went back into the panel room and under Ollie's supervision the Comtech took his place at the control board. Dane put the cage with the pest well to the fore on the table of the announcer and waited for Rip to take his place there with the trembling medic. When Shannon did not move, Dane glanced up in surprise. This was no time to hesitate. But he discovered that the attention of both his shipmates was now centered on him. Rip pointed to the seat. You're the talk-merchant, aren't you? The acting commander of the Queen asked crisply. Now's the time to shout the lingo. They couldn't mean. But it was very evident that they did. Of course, a cargo master was supposed to be the spokesman of a ship. But that was in matters of trade. And how could he stand there and argue the case for the Queen? He was the newest joined, the greenest member of her crew. Already his mouth was dry and his nerves tense. But Dane didn't know that none of that was revealed by his face or manner. The usual impassiveness which had masked his inner conflicts since the first days at the pool served him now. And the others never noted the hesitation with which he approached the announcer's place. Dane had scarcely seated himself, one hand resting on the cage of the pest, before Ali brought down two fingers in the sharp sweep which signaled the Comtec to duty. Far above them there was a whisper of sound which signified the opening of the playback. They would be able to check on whether the broadcast was going out or not. Although Dane could see nothing of the system-wide audience which he currently faced, he realized that the room and those in it were now visible on every tuned-in video set. Instead of the factual cast, the listeners were about to be treated to a melodrama which was as wild as their favorite romances. It only needed the break-in of the patrol to complete the illusion of action fiction, crime variety. A second finger moved in his direction and Dane leaned forward. He faced only the folds of a wall-wide curtain. But he must keep in mind that in truth there was a sea of faces before him. The faces of those whom he and Hovan, working together, must convince if he were to save the queen and her crew. He found his voice, and it was steady and even. He might have been outlining some stowage problem for Van Reich's approval. People of Tara. Martian, Venusian, asteroid colonist. Inwardly they were still all Taren, and on that point he would rest. He was a Taren appealing to his own kind. People of Tara, we come before you to ask justice. From somewhere the words came easily, flowing from his lips to a center on a patch of light ahead, and that justice rang with a kind of reassurance. End of Chapter 16 This is a LibriVox recording. All LibriVox recordings are in the public domain. For more information or to volunteer, visit LibriVox.org. Reading by Mark Nelson. Plague Ship by Andre Norton Chapter 17 In Custody To those of you who do not travel the star trails, our case may seem puzzling. The words were coming easily. Dane gathered confidence as he spoke, intent on making those others out there know what it meant to be outlawed. We are patrolled posted. Outlawed as a plague ship, he confessed, frankly. But this is our true story. Swiftly, with a flow of language he had not known he could command, Dane swung into the story of Sargal, of the pest they had carried away from that world. And, at the proper moment, he thrust a gloved hand into the cage and brought out the wriggling thing which struck vainly with its poisoned talons, holding it above the dark table so that those unseen watchers could witness the dramatic change of color which made it such a menace. Dane continued the story of the Queen's ill-fated voyage of their forced descent upon the east at. Ask the truth of inter-solar, he demanded of the audience beyond those walls. We were no pirates. They will discover in their records the vouchers we left. Then Dane described the weird hunt, when, led by the Hubert, they had finally found and isolated the menace, and their landing in the heart of the Big Burn. He followed that with his own quest for medical aid, the kidnapping of Hovan. At that point he turned to the medic. This is Medic Hovan. He has consented to appear in our behalf, and to testify to the truth that the solar queen has not been stricken by some unknown plague, but infested with a living organism we now have under control. For a suspenseful second or two he wondered if Hovan was going to make it. The man looked shaken and sick, as if the drastic awakening they had subjected him to had left him two days to pull himself together. But out of some hidden reservoir of strength the medic summoned the energy he needed, and his testimony was all they had hoped it would be. Though now and then he strayed into technical terms. But Dane thought their use only enhanced the authority of his description of what he had discovered on board the Spacer, and what he had done to counteract the power of the poison. When he had done, Dane added a few last words. We have broken the law, he admitted forthrightly. But we were fighting in self-defense. All we ask now is the privilege of an impartial investigation, a chance to defend ourselves, such as any of you take for granted on Terra before the courts of this planet. But he was not to finish without interruption. From the playback over their heads another voice blared, breaking across his last words. Surrender! This is the patrol! Surrender or take the consequences! And that faint sighing which signaled their open contact with the outer world was cut off. The Comtec turned away from the control board, a sneering half-smile on his face. They've reached the circuit and cut you off. You're done. Dane stared into the cage where the now almost invisible thing sat humped together. He had done his best. They had all done their best. He felt nothing but a vast fatigue, and overwhelming weariness. Not so much of body, but of nerve and spirit, too. Rip broke the silence with a question aimed at the tech. Can you signal below? Going to give up? The fellow brightened. Yes, there's an intercom I can cut in. Rip stood up. He unbuckled the belt about his waist and laid it on the table, disarming himself. Without words, Ali and Dane followed his example. They had played their hand. To prolong the struggle would mean nothing. The acting captain of the queen gave a last order. Tell them we are coming down, unarmed, to surrender. He paused in front of Hovan. You better stay here. If there's any trouble, no reason for you to be caught in the middle. Hovan nodded as the three left the room. Dane, remembering the trick he had pulled with the riser, made a comment. We may be marooned here. Ali shrugged. Then we can just wait and let them collect us. He yawned, his dark eyes said in smudges. I don't care if they'll just let us sleep the clock around afterwards. Do you really think, he addressed Rip, that we've done ourselves any good? Rip neither denied nor confirmed. We took our only chance. Now it's up to them. He pointed to the wall and the teeming world which lay beyond it. Ali grinned riley. I note you left, though, what you call it with Hovan. He wanted one to experiment with, Dane replied. I thought he'd earned it. And now here comes what we've earned. Rip cut in as the hum of the riser came to their ears. Should we take to cover? Ali's mobile eyebrows underlined his demand. The forces of law and order may erupt with blasters blazing. But Rip did not move. He faced the riser door squarely and, drawn by something in that stance of his, the other two stepped in on either side so that they fronted the dubious future as a united group. Whatever came now, the Queen's men would meet it together. In a way, Ali was right. The four men who emerged all had their blasters or riot-stun rifles at Reddy, and the sights of those weapons were trained at the middles of the free traders. As Dane's empty hands, palm out, went up on a line with his shoulders, he estimated the opposition. Two were in the silver and black of the patrol. Two wore the forest green of the terror police. But they all looked like men with whom it was better not to play games. And it was clear they were prepared to take no chances with the outlaws. In spite of the passiveness of the Queen's men, their hands were locked behind them with force-bars about their wrists. When a quick search revealed that the three were unarmed, they were herded onto the riser by two of their captors, while the other pair remained behind, presumably to uncover any damage they had done to the tower installations. The police did not speak except for a few terse words among themselves and a barked order to march delivered to the prisoners. Very shortly they were in the entrance hall facing the wreckage of the crawler and doors through which a ragged gap had been burned. Ollie viewed the scene with his usual detachment. Nice job! he commended Dane's enterprise. They'll have a moving. Get going! A heavy hand between his shoulder blades urged him on. The engineer apprentice whirled, his eyes blazing. Keep your hands to yourself. We aren't mind fodder yet. I think that the little matter of a trial comes first. Year posted. The patrolman was openly contemptuous. Dane was chilled. For the first time that aspect of their predicament really registered. Posted outlaws might, within reason, be shot on sight without further recourse to the law. If that label stuck on the crew of the queen, they had practically no chance at all. And when he saw that Ollie was no longer inclined to retort, he knew that fact had dawned upon Camille also. It would all depend upon how big an impression their broadcast had made. If public opinion veered to their side, then they could defend themselves legally. Otherwise the moon minds might be the best sentence they'd dare hope for. They were pushed out into the brilliant sunlight. There stood the queen, her meteor-scarred side reflecting the light of her native sun. And ringed around her at a safe distance was what seemed to be a small mechanized army corps. The authorities were making very sure that no more rebels would burst from her interior. Dane thought that they would be loaded into a mobile, or a copter, and taken away. But instead they were marched down, through the ranks of portable flamers, scramblers, and other equipment, to an open space where anyone on duty at the visa screen within the control cabin of the spacer could see them. An officer of the patrol, the sun making an eye-blinding flash of his lightning-sword breast badge, stood behind a loudspeaker. When he perceived that the three prisoners were present, he picked up a hand-mic and spoke into it, his voice so being relayed over the field as clearly as it must be reaching weeks inside the sealed freighter. You have five minutes to open hatch. Your men have been taken. Five minutes to open hatch and surrender. Ollie chuckled. And how does he think he's going to enforce that? He inquired of the air, and incidentally of the guards now forming a square about the three. He'll need more than a flamer to unlatch the old girl if she doesn't care for his offer. Privately Dane agreed with that. He hoped that weeks would decide to hold out, at least until they had a better idea of what the future would be. No tool or weapon he saw in the assembly about them was forceful enough to penetrate the shell of the Queen. And there were sufficient supplies on board to keep weeks and his charges going for at least a week. Since Tau had shown signs of coming out of his coma, it might even be that the crew of the ship would arouse to their own defence in that time. It all depended upon weeks' present decision. No hatch yawned in the ship's sleek sides. She might have been an inert derelict for all response to that demand. Dane's confidence began to rise. Weeks had picked up the challenge. He would continue to baffle police and patrol. Just how long that stalemate would have lasted, they were not to know, for another player came on the board. Through the lines of the besiegers, Hovan, escorted by the patrolmen, made his way up to the officer at the mic station. There was something in his air which suggested that he was about to give battle. And the conversation at the mic was relayed across the field, a fact of which they were not at once aware. There are sick men in there! Hovan's voice boomed out. I demand the right to return to duty. If and when they surrender they shall all be accorded necessary aid. That was the officer. But he made no impression on the medic from the frontier. Dane, by chance, had chosen better support than he had guessed. Pro bono publico! Hovan invoked the battle cry of his own service, for the public good. A plague ship, the officer was beginning, Hovan waved that aside impatiently. Nonsense! His voice scaled up across the field. There is no plague aboard. I am willing to certify that before the council. And if you refuse these men medical attention, which they need, I shall cite the case all the way to my board. Dane drew a deep breath. That was taking off on their orbit. Not being one of the Queen's crew, in fact, having good reason to be angry over his treatment at their hands, Hovan's present attitude would, or should, carry weight. The patrol officer, who was not ready to concede all points, had an answer. If you are able to get on board, go. Hovan snatched the mic from the astonished officer. Weeks! His voice was imperative. I'm coming aboard! Alone! All eyes were on the ship, and for a short period it would seem that Weeks did not trust the medic. Then, high in her needle nose, one of the escape ports, not intended for use except in dire emergency, opened and allowed a plastic link ladder to fall link by link. Out of the corner of his eye, Dane caught a flash of movement to his left. Manacled as he was, he threw himself on the policeman who was aiming a stun rifle into the port. His shoulders struck the fellow waist high, and his weight carried them both with the bruising crest to the concrete pavement, as Rip shouted and hands clutched roughly at the now helpless cargo apprentice. He was pulled to his feet, tasting the flat sweetness of blood where a flailing blow from the surprised and frightened policeman had cut his lip against his teeth. He spat red and glowered at the ring of angry men. Why don't you kick him? All he inquired. A vast and blistering contempt saw toothing his voice. He's got his hands cuffed, so he's fair game. What's going on here? An officer broke through the ring. The policeman, on his feet once more, snatched up the rifle Dane's attack had knocked out of his hold. Your boy here, all he was ready with an answer, tried to find a target inside the hatch. Is this the usual way you conduct a true, sir? He was answered by a glare, and the rifleman was abruptly ordered to the rear. Dane, his head clearing, looked at the queen. Hovan was climbing the ladder. He was within arm's length of that half-open hatch. The very fact that the medic had managed to make his point stick was, in a faint way, encouraging. But the three were not allowed to enjoy that small victory for long. They were marched from the field, loaded into a mobile, and taken to the city several miles away. It was the patrol who held them in custody, not the terror police. Dane was not sure whether that was to be reckoned favourable or not. As a free trader, he had a grudging respect for the organization he had seen in action on Limbo. Sometime later they found themselves, freed of the force-bars, alone in a room, which, bare walled as it was, did have a bench on which all three sank, thankfully. Dane caught the warning jester from Ali. They were under unseen observation, and they must have a listening audience, too, located somewhere in the maze of offices. They can't make up their minds, the engineer apprentice settled his shoulders against the wall. Either we're desperate criminals, or we're heroes. They're going to let time decide. If we're heroes, Dane asked a little carelessly, what are we doing locked up here? I like a few earthside comforts, beginning with a full meal. No thumb-printing, no psychotesting, rip-mused. Yes, they haven't put us through the system yet. And we decidedly aren't the forgotten men. Wipe your face, child, Ali said to Dane. You're still dribbling. The cargo apprentice smeared his hand across his chin and brought it away red and sticky. Luckily his teeth remained intact. We need Hovan to read them more law, observed Camille. You should have medical attention. Dane dabbed at his mouth. He didn't need all that solicitude, but he guessed that Ali was talking for the benefit of those who now kept them under surveillance. Speaking of Hovan, I wonder what became of that pest he was supposed to have under control. He didn't bring the cage with him when he came out of the tower, did he? asked Rip. If it gets loose in that building, Dane decided to give the powers who held them in custody something to think about. They'll have trouble. Practically invisible and poisonous. And maybe it can reproduce its kind, too. We don't know anything about it. Ali laughed. Such fun-end games! Imagine a hundred of the deer creatures flitting in and out of the broadcasting section, and Captain Jellico has the only Hubat on Tara. He can name his own terms for rounding up the plague. The whole place will be filled with sleepers before they're through. With that scrap of information send some patrolman hurtling off to the tower in search of the caged creature? The thought of such an expedition was, in a small way, comforting to the captives. An hour or so later they were fed, noiselessly and without visible attendance, when three trays slid through a slit in the wall at floor level. Rip's nose wrinkled. Now I get the vector. We're plague-ridden. Keep aloof and watch to see if we break out in purple spots. Ali was lifting the thermolids from the containers, and now he suddenly arose and bowed in the direction of the blank wall. Many, many thanks! he intoned. Nothing but the best! A sub- commander's rations at least. We shall deliver top star rating to this thoughtfulness when we are questioned by the powers that shine. It was good food. Dane ate cautiously because of his torn lip, but the whole adventure took on a more rose-colored hue. The lapse of time before they were put through the usual procedure followed with criminals, this excellent dinner, it was all promising. The patrol could not yet be sure how they were to be handled. They fed us, Ali observed as he clang the last dish back on a tray. Now you'd think they'd bed us. I could do with several days and nights of bunk time right about now. But that hint was not taken up, and they continued to sit on the bench as time limped by. According to Dane's watch it must be night now, though the steady light in the windowless room did not vary. What had Hovan discovered in the Queen? Had he been able to rouse any of the crew? And was the Spacer still in violet, or had the terror police and the patrol managed to take her over? He was so very tired. His eyes felt as if hot sand had been poured beneath the lids, his body ached. And at last he nodded into naps, from which he awoke with jerks of the neck. Rip was frankly asleep, his shoulders and head resting against the wall, while Ali'd lounged with closed eyes. Though the cargo apprentice was sure that Camille was more alert than his comrades, as if he waited for something he thought was soon to occur. Dane dreamed. Once more he trod the reef rising out of Sargal's shallow sea. But he held no weapon, and beneath the surface of the water a gorp lurked. When he reached the break in the waterwashed rock just ahead the spidery horror would strike, and against its attack he was defenseless. Yet he must march on, for he had no control over his own actions. Wake up! Ali's hand was on his shoulder, shaking him back and forth with something close to gentleness. Must you give an imitation of space-worthy moon-bat? The gorp! Dane came back to the present and flushed. He dreaded admitting to a nightmare, especially to Ali, whose poise he had always found disconcerting. No gorps here, nothing but. Camille's words were lost in the escape of metal against metal, as a panel slid back in the wall. But no guard wearing the black and silver of the patrols stepped through to summon them to trial. Van Reich stood in the opening, half smiling at them with his customary sleepy benevolence. Well, well, and here's our missing ones. His purring voice was the most beautiful sound Dane thought he had ever heard. And so we landed here, sir. Rip concluded his report in the matter-of-fact tone he might have used in describing a perfectly ordinary voyage, say between Tereport and Lunacity, a run of no incident and dull cargo carrying. The crew of the solar queen, save for Tao, were assembled in a room somewhere in the vastness of patrol headquarters. Since the room seemed a comfortable conference chamber, Dane thought that their status must now be on a higher level than that of patrol posted outlaws. But he was also sure that if he attempted to walk out of the building that effort would not be successful. Van Reich sat stolidly in his chosen seat, fingers of both hands laced across his substantial middle. He had sat as impassively as the captain, while Rip had outlined their adventures since they had all been stricken. Though the other listeners had betrayed interest in the story, the senior officers made no comments. Now Jellico turned to his cargo master. How about it, Van? What's done is done. Dane's elation vanished as if ripped away by a Sargalian stormwind. The cargo master didn't approve. So there must have been another way to achieve their ends. One the younger members of the crew had been too inexperienced or too dense to see. If we blast it off to-day, we might just make cargo contract. Dane started. That was it, the point they had lost sight of during their struggles to get aid. There was no possible chance of upping the ship to-day, probably not for days to come, or ever if the case went against them. So they had broken contract, and the board would be down on them for that. Dane shivered inside. He could try to fight back against the patrol. There had always been a slight feeling of rivalry between the free traders and the space police, but you couldn't buck the board, and keep your license, and so have a means of staying in space. A broken contract could cut one off from the stars forever. Captain Jellico looked very bleak at that reminder. The Izies will be all ready to step in. I'd like to know why they were so sure we had the plague on board. Van Rijk snorted, I can supply you five answers to that. For one, they may have known the affinity of those creatures for the wood, and it would be easy to predict as a result of our taking a load on board. Or again, they may have deliberately planted the things on us through the Salariki, but we can't ever prove it. It remains that they are going to get for themselves the Sorgallian contract, unless... He stopped short, staring straight ahead of him at the wall between Rip and Dane, and his assistant knew that Van was exploring a fresh idea. Van's ideas were never to be despised, and Jellico did not now disturb the cargo master with questions. It was Rip who spoke next, and directly to the Captain. Do you know what they plan to do about us, sir? Captain Jellico grunted, and there was a sardonic twist to his mouth as he replied. It's my opinion that they're now busy adding up the list of crimes you four have committed. Maybe they had to turn the big HG computer loose on the problem. The tally isn't in yet. We gave them our automatic flight record, and that ought to give them more food for thought. Dane speculated as to what the experts would make of the mechanical record of the Queen's past few weeks. The section dealing with their landing and the big burn ought to be a little surprising. Van Wright got to his feet and marched to the door of the conference room. It was open from without, so quickly Dane was sure that they had been under constant surveillance. Trade business, snapped the cargo master. Contract deal. Take me to a sealed calm booth. Contracts might not be as sacred to the protective service as they were to trade, but trade had its powers, and since Van Wright, an innocent bystander of the Queen's troubles, could not legally be charged with any crime, he was escorted out of the room. But the door panel was sealed behind him, shutting in the rest with the unspoken warning that they were not free agents. Jellico leaned back in his chair and stretched. Long years of close friendship had taught him that his cargo master was to be trusted with not only the actual trading and cargo tending, but could also think them out of some of the tangles, which could not be solved by his own direct action methods. Direct action had been applied to their present problem. Now the rest was up to Van, and he was willing to delegate all responsibility. But they were not left long to themselves. The door opened once more to admit star-rank patrolmen. None of the free traders arose. As members of another service they considered themselves equals. And it was their private boast that the interests of galactic civilization, as represented by the black and silver, often followed, not preceded, the brown tunics into new quarters of the universe. However, Rip, Ollie, Dane, and Weeks answered as fully as they could the flood of questions which engulfed them. They explained in detail their visit to the Eastat, the landing in the Big Burn, the kidnapping of Hovan. Dane's stubborn feeling of being in the right grew in opposition to the questioning. Under the same set of circumstances how would that commander, that wing officer, that senior scout, now all seated there, have acted? And every time they inferred that his part in the affair had been illegal, he stiffened. Sure there had to be law and order out on the rim, and doubly sure it had to cover and protect life on the softer planets of the inner systems. He wasn't denying that on Limbo, he, for one, had been very glad to see the patrol blast their way into the headquarters of the pirates, holed up on that half-dead world, and he was never contemptuous of the men in the field. But like all free traders, he was influenced by a belief that too often the laws as enforced by the patrol favored the wealth and might of the companies. That law could be twisted and the patrol sent to push through actions which, though legal, were inherently unfair to those who had not the funds to fight it out in the far-off council courts. Just as now he was certain that the Isis were bringing all the influence they had to bear here against the Queen's men. And inter-solar had a lot of influence. At the end of their ordeal their statements were read back to them from the recording tape and they thumb-signed them. Were these statements or confessions, Dane mused? Perhaps in their honest reports they had just signed their way into the moon mines. Only there was no move to lead them out and book them. And when Weeks pressed his thumb at the bottom of the tape, Captain Jellico took a hand. He had looked at his watch. It is now ten hours, he observed. My men need rest and we all want food. Are you through with us? The Commander was spokesman for the other group. You are to remain in quarantine, Captain. Your ship has not been passed as port-free. But you will be assigned quarters. Once again they were marched through blank halls to the other section of the sprawling patrol headquarters. No windows looked upon the outer world, but there were bunks and a small mess alcove. Ali, Dane, and Rip turned in, more interested in sleep than food. And the last thing the cargo apprentice remembered was seeing Jellico talking earnestly with Steen Wilcox, as they both sipped steaming mugs of real Terran coffee. But with twelve hours of sleep behind them the three were less contented in confinement. No one had come near them, and Van Rijk had not returned. Which fact the crew clung to as array of hope. Somewhere the cargo master must be fighting their battle. And all van's vast store of trade knowledge, all his knack of cutting corners and driving a shrewd bargain enlisted on their behalf, must win them some concessions. Medic Tao came in, bringing Hovan with him. Both looked tired but triumphant. And their report was a shot in the arm for the now uneasy traders. We've rammed it down their throats, Tao announced. They're willing to admit that it was those poison bugs and not a plague. Incidentally he grinned at Jellico and then looked around expectantly. Where's Van? This comes in his department. We're going to cash in on those kids dumped in the deep freeze. Terra Lab is bidding on them. I said to see Van. He can arrange the best deal for us. Where is he? Gone to see about our contract, Jellico reported. What's the news about our status now? Well, they've got to wipe out the plague-ship listing. Also, we're big news. There are about twenty video men rocketing around out in the offices, trying to get in and have us do some spot broadcasts. Seems that the children here, he jerked his thumb at the three apprentices, started something. An inter-solar invasion couldn't be bigger news. Human interest by the tank full. I've been on video twice, and they're trying to sign up Hovan almost steady. The medic from the frontier nodded. Wanted me to appear on a three-week schedule, he chuckled. I was asked to come in on our heroes of the Starlines and two quiz programs. As for you, you young criminal, he swung to Dane, you're going to be fair game for about three networks. It seems you transmit well. He uttered the last as if it were an accusation, and Dane squirmed. Anyway, you did something with your crazy stunt. And Captain, three men want to buy your Hoobat. I gather they are planning a showing of how it captures those pests, so be prepared. Dane tried to visualize a scene in which he shared top billing with queeks, and shuddered. All he wanted now was to get free of Tara for a nice, quiet, uncomplicated world where problems could be settled with a sleep rod or a blaster, and the video screen was unknown. Having heard of what awaited them without, the men of the Queen were more content to be incarcerated in the quarantine section. But as time wore on, and the Cargo Master did not return, their anxieties awoke. They were fairly sure by now that any penalty the patrol or the Tara police would impose would not be too drastic. But a broken contract was another and more serious affair. A matter which might ground them more effectively than any rule of the law enforcement bodies. Angelico took to pacing the room, while Tang and Wilcox, who had started a game of four-dimensional chess, made countless errors of move, and Stotz glared moodily at the wall, apparently to sunk in his own gloomy thoughts to rise from the mess-table in the alcove. Though time had ceased to have much meaning for them, except as an irritating reminder of the now sure failure of their Sargalean venture, they marked the hours into a second full day of detention, before Van Rijk finally put in appearance. The Cargo Master was plainly tired, but he showed no signs of discomposure. In fact, as it came in, he was humming what he fondly imagined was a popular tune. Angelico asked no questions. He merely regarded his trusted officer with a quizzically raised eyebrow. But the others drew around. It was so apparent that Van Rijk was pleased with himself. Which could only mean that in some fantastic way he had managed to bring their venture down in a full fin landing, that somehow he had argued the queen out of danger into a position where he could control the situation. He halted just within the doorway an eye, dain, ollie, and rip with mock severity. You're bad boys, he told them with a shake of the head and a drawl of the adjective. You've been demoted ten files each on the list. Which must put him on the bottom rung once more, dain calculated swiftly, or even below, though he didn't see how he could fall beneath the rank he held at assignment. However, he found the news heartening instead of discouraging. Compared to a bleak sentence at the moon-minds, such demotion was absolutely nothing and he knew that Van Rijk was breaking the worst news first. You also forfeit all pay for this voyage," the cargo master was continuing, but Jellico broke in. Bored fine. At the cargo master's nod, Jellico added, ship pays that. So I told them, Van Rijk agreed. The queens warned off Tara for ten solar years. They could take that, too. Other free traders got back to their home ports perhaps once in a quarter-century. It was so much less than they had expected that the sentence was greeted with a concentrated sigh of relief. No, earth-side leave. All right, no leave. They were not, after their late experiences, so entranced with Tereport that they wanted to linger in its environs any longer than they had to. We lose the Sargol contract. That did hurt. But they had resigned themselves to it since the hour when they had realized that they could not make it back to the perfumed planet. To inter-solar, Wilcox asked the important question. Van Rijk was smiling broadly, as if the loss he had just announced was in some way a gain. No, to Combine. Combine? The captain echoed, and his puzzlement was duplicated around the circle. How did inter-solar's principal rival come into it? We've made a deal with Combine. Van Rijk informed them. I wasn't going to let IS cash in on our loss, so I went to Vickers at Combine and told him the situation. He understands that we were in solid with the Salariki and that the Isis are not, and a chance to point a blaster at IS's tail is just what he has been waiting for. The shipment will go out to the Storm Priest to-morrow on a light cruiser. It'll make it on time. Yes, a light cruiser. One of the fast ships maintained by the big companies could make the transition to Sargol with a slight margin to spare. Stotz nodded his approval at this practical solution. I'm going with it. That did jerk them all up short. For Van Rijk to leave the Queen, that was as unthinkable as if Captain Jellico had suddenly announced that he was about to retire and become a kelp farmer. Just for one trip, the cargo master hastened to assure them, I smooth their vector with the Storm Priests and hand over so the Isis will be frozen out. Captain Jellico interrupted at that point. Do you mean that Combine is buying us out, not just taking over? What kind of a deal? But Van Rijk, his smile, a brilliant stretch across his plump face, was nodding in agreement. They're taking over our contract and our place with the Salariki. In return for what? Steen Wilcox asked for them all. For twenty-five thousand credits and a mail run between Ex-Echo and Truesworld, Frontier Planets. They're far enough from Terra to get around the Exile ruling. The patrol will escort us out and see that we get down to work like good little spacemen. We'll have two years of a nice, quiet run on regular pay. Then, when all the powers that shine have forgotten us, we can cut in on the trade routes again. And the pay? First or second class mail? When do we start? Standard pay on the completion of each run. Board rates? He made replies in order. First, second, and third class mail. Anything that bears the government seal, and out in those quarters it is aptly done. And you start as soon as you can get to Ex-Echo and relieve the Combine Scout, which has been holding down the run. While you go to Sargal, commented Jellico, while I make one voyage to Sargal, you can spare me. He dropped one of his big hands on Dane's shoulder and gave the flesh beneath it a quick squeeze. Seeing as how our juniors help pull us out of this lot mix-up, we can trust them about an inch farther than we did before. Anyway, Cargo Master on a mail run is more or less a thumb-twiddling job at the best. And you can trust Thorson on stowage. That's one thing he does know. Which dubious ending left Dane wondering as to whether he had been complimented or warned? I'll be on board again before you know it. The Combine will ship me out to Trinidad The Combine will ship me out to Trues World on your second trip across and I'll join ship there. For once we won't have to worry for a while. Nothing can happen on a mail run. He shook his head at the three youngest members of the crew. You are in for a very dull time and it will serve you right. Give you a chance to learn your jobs so that when you come up for reassignment you can pick up some of those files you were just demoted. Now," he started bristly for the door, I'll tranship to the Combine cruiser. I take it that you don't want to meet the video people. At their hasty agreement to that, he laughed. Well, the patrol doesn't want the video spouting about high-handed official news suppression, so about an hour or so from now you'll be let out the back way. They put the queen in a cradle and a field scooter will take you to her. You'll find her serviced for a take-off to Luna City. You can refit there for deep space. Frankly, the sooner you get off-world the happier all the ranks are going to be. Both here and on the board. It will be better for us to walk softly for a while and let them forget that the solar queen and her crazy crew exists. Separately and together you've managed to break, or at least bend, half the laws in the books and they'd like to have us out of their minds. Captain Jellico stood up. They aren't any more anxious to see us go than we are to get out of here. You've pulled it off for us again, Van, and we're lucky to get out of it this easy. Van Reich rolled his eyes, ceilingward. You'll never know how lucky. Be glad Combine hates the space I.S. Blast through. We were able to use that to our advantage. Get the big fellows at each other's throats and they'll stop annoying us. Simple proposition, but it works. Anyway, we're set in blessed and peaceful obscurity now. Thank the spirit of free space there's practically no trouble one can get into on a safe and sane mail route. But cargo master Van Reich, in spite of knowing the solar queen and the temper of her crew, was exceedingly over-optimistic when he made that emphatic statement. The End of Plague Ship by Andre Norton This recording is in the public domain.