15_death_dance-第11章

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Burak　steeled　himself。　〃Then　attend　to　it　without　my　help。〃

Tesla　made　a　violent　motion　with　his　hands；　but　checked　himself　short　of　the　Perytonian's　neck；　taking　him　instead　by　the　shoulders；　fraternally。　〃Of　course；　my　dear。　To　Peryton；　then。〃　Tesla's　hands　urged　Burak　down　into　one　of　the　acceleration　seats。　〃Now；　why　don't　we　try　to　figure　this　out　together；　step　by　step。　Let's　just　say　for　example's　sake　that　we　did　want　to　fold　for　Opteraspace。。。Now；　how　would　we　do　that；　my　friend。。。？〃

Janice　took　in　the　exchange　from　across　the　room。　The　two　mutineers　had　all　but　forgotten　about　her；　so　it　was　easy　enough　to　jack　into　the　drive's　systems　while　their　attention　was　focused　elsewhere。　In　a　short　time　she　had　pleted　her　bit　of　cybernetic　magic。　No　matter　what　they　fed　into　the　ship's　astrogational　puters　now；　the　module　was　locked　on　course　for　the　Fantoma　space　system。

Janice　smiled　to　herself；　wondering　how　Tesla　would　take　to　surprises。


At　first　it　was　believed　that　Baker　and　Rem　had　been　captured　or　eaten　by　the　bristly　eight…legged　crawling　nightmares　delivered　up　from　the　Praxian　netherworld；　but　subsequently　the　Sentinels　found　that　their　two　teammates　were　simply　being　detained…the　word　someone　from　the　Wolff　Pack　had　used。　Jack　and　Rem　had　been　probed　and　manhandled；　but　apparently　were　safe。　It　seemed　that　the　arachnids…Gnea　and　Bela　had　a　name　for　them　no　one　could　pronounce…had　no　taste　for　meat。　Moreover；　the　creatures　weren't　on　a　feeding　frenzy　at　all…nor；　for　that　matter；　were　they　interested　in　counterattacking　the　beings　who　were　busy　lancing　them　with　lasers　and　rockets。　Like　the　orbs；　these　living　anachronisms…unseen　on　Praxis　for　millennia…were　attempting　to　flee　the　storms　that　burned　at　the　planet's　transformed　core。

Rick　was　long　past　his　initial　fright；　but　the　sour　taste　of　fear　remained　in　his　mouth。　It　struck　him　as　odd　that　while　in　his　day　he　had　fought　fifty…foot　giants　and　walking　slugs；　ridden　into　battle　alongside　humanoid　clones；　ursine　warriors；　and　amazons　on　Robotsteeds；　he　could　experience　such　utter　terror　at　the　sight　of　giant　spiders。　Maybe；　he　had　decided；　it　was　the　very　mindlessness　of　the　creatures；　after　all；　even　the　Invid　weren't　monsters；　were　they？　The　Praxian　women　had　been　equally　frightened；　and　Rick　tried　to　imagine　what　it　might　be　like　to　go　up　against；　say；　dinosaurs。

But　if　the　creatures　hadn't　actually　added　to　the　Sentinels'　plight；　they　had　done　nothing　to　improve　things。　Countless　orbs　had　exited　the　cave；　and　now　there　was　a　nasty　bit　of　mopping　up　to　do　down　below　while　the　rest　of　the　orbs　were　mustered　for　further　lift　assists。　To　make　matters　worse；　there　was　still　no　word　from　the　Beta；　and　one　of　the　Spherisians　had　gone　and　gotten　himself　stuck　in　a　rock！

Presently；　Rick　and　some　of　the　others　were　grouped　around　Teal　and　the　hand　that　had　once　belonged　to　her　friend。　Baldan　was　merged　with　the　wall…the　way　a　Mesoamerican　bas…relief　could　be　said　to　be　merged　to　a　stela。　His　profile　was　frozen　but　plainly　visible；　and　there　was　a　crystalline　mass　protruding　from　the　section　of　rock　where　his　chest　might　have　been。　The　crystal　grew　before　the　astonished　eyes　of　the　assembled　group。

〃No；　you　can't；　Baldan…please　stop　this！〃　Teal　was　shouting　to　the　wall。　She　swung　around　to　Rick。　〃He　is　attempting　to　transfer　his　essence。　But　this　has　never　been　achieved　on　any　world　but　Spheris。〃　She　looked　back　at　the　engorged　growth。　〃And　I　don't　want　to　raise　it！〃

Again　the　crystal　enlarged。　Teal　put　her　hands　to　her　head　in　a　panicked　gesture　and　pleaded　with　Baldan　to　stop。　But　ultimately　her　hands　reached　for　the　faceted　thing　and　she　began　to　tug　at　it。

〃It's　no　use；　Baldan；〃　she　cried。　〃It　will　die！〃

Rick　moved　in　to　give　her　a　hand；　and　with　some　effort　the　two　of　them　managed　to　pull　the　crystal　loose。　The　hollow　pop！　sent　a　shudder　up　Rick's　back。　Baldan's　profile　receded　into　the　wall　and　vanished。　Teal　dropped　the　crystal　from　her　trembling　hands　and　regarded　it。

〃The　child　is　lifeless。。。dead。〃　She　looked　around　at　the　others。　〃Baldan　is　lost　to　us。〃

Whimpering　sounds　found　their　way　out　from　under　Kami　and　Learna's　breathing　tubes。　Rick　took　Teal　by　the　shoulders。　〃What　did　he　tell　you？〃

She　stared　at　him　blankly　for　a　moment；　then　said；　〃The　Invid。　They　must　have　been　using　Praxis　for　experiments　of　some　sort。　It　was　the　chambers　they　hollowed　out　that　gave　birth　to　those　creatures。　And　these　same　chambers　have　ushered　in　this　world's　demise。〃

〃But　what　kind　of　experiments？〃　Rick　demanded。　〃What　were　they　trying　to　create？〃

Teal　shook　her　head。

Tight…lipped；　Rick　released　her　and　motioned　a　radioman　over　to　him。　〃Any　word　from　the　Beta？〃　he　asked　Vince　when　the　GMU　link　was　established。

〃They've　reached　the　module；〃　Vince　updated。　〃But　we're　not　getting　through　to　them。〃

Rick　summarized　what　had　gone　down　in　the　caverns。　〃I　want　to　speak　with　Tesla　as　soon　as　they　call　in。　He　must　know　something　about　all　this…these　pits。　Maybe　there's　a　way　to　reverse　it？〃

〃Unlikely；〃　Vince　responded。　〃But　I'm　sure　Tesla　will　tell　us　what　he　knows。　He's　practically　one　of　us　now。〃


With　a　little　help　from　the　GMU's　puters；　the　Alpha　was　back　on　course。　Wolff　and　his　Haydonite　copilot　were　I　at　a　loss　to　explain　the　unexpected　separation；　but　they　assumed　Janice　had　done　so　with　some　good　purpose　in　mind；　and　that　her　radio　silence　was　nothing　more　than　a　glitch　in　the　system。　It　didn't　occur　to　either　of　them　that　there　was　conspiracy　afoot。

Wolff　continued　in　this　hopeful　vein；　even　after　he　had　learned　that　the　Beta　had　apparently　made　a　successful　docking　with　the　drive　module。　That　singed　piece　of　orbiting　space　debris　was　above　him　now；　and　he　was　getting　all　he　could　from　the　Alpha　to　make　up　for　lost　time。　It　was　only　when　his　radio　requests　for　docking　coordinates　were　ignored　that　he　began　to　suspect　foul　play。　The　hunch　became　full…fledged　concern　when　he　couldn't　get　the　Alpha's　onboard　systems　to　interface　with　the　module。　Consequently；　the　docking…bay　shields　remained　closed；　and　unless　something　could　be　done　to　open　them；　the　Alpha　was　going　to　wind　up　dead　in　space。

Even　if　that　meant　going　extravehicular。

Sarna　took　over　the　controls　while　Wolff　suited　up。　Praxis　turned　below　them　like　a　cataracted　eye。　The　telepath　strapped　in；　bringing　the　Alpha　as　close　as　she　could　to　the　module's　scarred　hull；　then　Wolff　blew　the　canopy。　He　floated　up　and　out　of　the　VT　on　a　tether　line；　took　hold　of　the　side　of　the　pinwheeling　ship；　and　tried　to　center　his　attention　on　the　alien　external　control　panel。　Sarna　spoke　to　him　through　the　helmet　relays；　avoiding　the　net　in　favor　of　frequencies　of　a　cerebral　sort。　Wolff　heard　her　thoughts　as　spoken　words　as　he　fumbled　with　Spherian　switches　designed　for　hands　more　sensitive　than　his　own。

But　a　short　while　later　the　hatch　was　sliding　open　and　pocketing　itself　in　the　crystalline　hull。　Sarna　engaged　the　Alpha's　attitude　jets　and　began　to　maneuver　the　ship　to　safety。

The　Beta　was　inside；　empty；　and　fortunately；　Wolff　decided；　there　was　no　weling　party　there　to　greet　them。　Down　on　the　hold　floor　now　he　armed　himself　with　a　rifle　and　two　handguns；　Sarna　had　perfect　recall　of　the　module's　corridor　and　partment　layout；　so　she　led　the　way。　They　were　barely　out　of　the　docking　area　when　the　ship　lurched。

〃We're　leaving　orbit；〃　Sarna　told　him。

Wolff　felt　the　rumble　of　the　module's　drives　ladder　its　way　up　his　legs。　Sarna　hovered　along　the　corridor　at　an　increased　pace；　then　abruptly　right…angled　herself　into　a　large　cabinspace　and　told　Wolff　strap　himself　into　one　of　the　seats。

Wolff　regarded　the　acceleration　couch　and　threw　her　a　questioning　look。

〃We're　preparing　to　fold；〃　she　told　him。


〃They've　what！〃

〃They　folded；〃　Vince　Grant　repeated。　〃The　module's　gone。〃

Rick　leaned　against　one　of　the　GMU　mand…center　consoles　to　catch　his　breath。　He　had　run　all　the　way　from　the　cave　only　to　hear　the　bad　news　as　soon　as　he　came　through　the　hatch。

〃But；　but；　did　they…〃

〃Not　one　word；〃　Jean　cut　in。　〃The　last　message　we　had　was　from　Wolff。　He　was　sure　something　had　happened　to　Janice。〃

〃Tesla；〃　Rick　said；　biting　out　the　name。

Vince　nodded。　〃