seen abandoned alien ships there. Some had been wrecks, some
had appeared to be intact.
Three Sky had won an immediate reputation as a Sargasso of
space. The treasure-seekers, xeno-archaeologists, and official
investigators who went there hunting the alien ships were seldom
seen again.
“The expeditions . . . There must have
been fifteen or twenty that disappeared. What happened to
them?”
“We interned them before they could stumble onto something
and run home to report it. They’re doing what they came to
do. They just can’t go home.”
“Why risk setting up here if the traffic gets so
heavy?”
“The risk isn’t that big. We don’t
have visitors very often. Not when they always disappear. And, of
course, it’s such an unlikely place to look for
us.”
“Still . . . There’s been talk
at Luna Command, off and on, about sending a squadron to back up an
investigation. In case it’s McGraws or Sangaree that have
been getting the others.”
“If that happened, we’d fight. And we’d win.
Only a fool would attack what we’ve made out of Three Sky.
We’ve been here since before the Ulantonid War. That’s
a lot of time to get ready. It’d be almost like guerrilla
warfare. We think we can hold off Confederation if we ever have
to.”
“I think you’re a little over-optimistic. For
people who don’t have the muscle to duke it out with the
sharks. I’ll let you know for sure after I’ve looked
things over.”
“Why do you say that?”
“Because I haven’t met a Seiner yet who had the
least idea of just how big and strong Confederation is. Or how
tough Luna Command can be when they put their minds to it. Or that
your weapons systems are prehistoric relics.
Danion’s
got a ton of firepower, but one Empire Class battleship could carve
this whole harvestfleet up like a side of beef and never get in a
sweat.”
“I think you’re probably too impressed with your
Navy. Our shortcomings were calculated into our defense
plans.”
BenRabi decided not to argue. Each of them was telling the truth
as he or she knew it. “Are the creches here?”
“Some. All of them will be someday. It’s a big job,
civilizing a nebula.”
“Mainly an engineering problem, I’d
think.”
“Yes. But it takes time and money. Especially money. We
have to buy everything we can’t manufacture ourselves. Which
means we have to wait for the auctions because our credit is pretty
slim.”
“Ah. I begin to see why the good doctor was making do with
primitive equipment.”
“We’ve colonized more than seven thousand asteroids,
Moyshe,” Amy proudly declared. “But we’ve only
just begun. They’re all cramped. The harvestships are
cramped. Our other hidden places are overcrowded. We’ve been
taking in Confederation’s dropouts for two hundred years. The
ones who didn’t become McGraws or run away to the
outworlds.”
Outworlds was a word as relative as
yonder.
For
benRabi, born an Old Earther, it meant anything off Old Earth.
Around Luna Command it meant any planet not one of the original
seven founders of Confederation. Those seven usually called
themselves The Inner Worlds. But out on the fringes of
Confederation outworlds were human planets not signatory to the
federal pact. BenRabi was unsure which meaning Amy wanted to
convey.
“You didn’t answer my question,” he said.
“Why here?”
“Because of the industrial advantages. The stories those
internees took back were true. There’s a lot of salvageable
stuff here. We’ve identified over thirty thousand wrecks and
abandoned ships. Built by seven different races.”
“Really?” He ticked fingers. He could name five, not
counting humanity. Six if he counted the prehistoric race that had
built Stars’ End. “I’ll give you human and
Ulantonid. From the war. Who were the others?”
“I thought you’d wonder why they’d be
here.”
He frowned at her. Was she trying to bait him by showing off her
superior knowledge? Savoring one
had appeared to be intact.
Three Sky had won an immediate reputation as a Sargasso of
space. The treasure-seekers, xeno-archaeologists, and official
investigators who went there hunting the alien ships were seldom
seen again.
“The expeditions . . . There must have
been fifteen or twenty that disappeared. What happened to
them?”
“We interned them before they could stumble onto something
and run home to report it. They’re doing what they came to
do. They just can’t go home.”
“Why risk setting up here if the traffic gets so
heavy?”
“The risk isn’t that big. We don’t
have visitors very often. Not when they always disappear. And, of
course, it’s such an unlikely place to look for
us.”
“Still . . . There’s been talk
at Luna Command, off and on, about sending a squadron to back up an
investigation. In case it’s McGraws or Sangaree that have
been getting the others.”
“If that happened, we’d fight. And we’d win.
Only a fool would attack what we’ve made out of Three Sky.
We’ve been here since before the Ulantonid War. That’s
a lot of time to get ready. It’d be almost like guerrilla
warfare. We think we can hold off Confederation if we ever have
to.”
“I think you’re a little over-optimistic. For
people who don’t have the muscle to duke it out with the
sharks. I’ll let you know for sure after I’ve looked
things over.”
“Why do you say that?”
“Because I haven’t met a Seiner yet who had the
least idea of just how big and strong Confederation is. Or how
tough Luna Command can be when they put their minds to it. Or that
your weapons systems are prehistoric relics.
Danion’s
got a ton of firepower, but one Empire Class battleship could carve
this whole harvestfleet up like a side of beef and never get in a
sweat.”
“I think you’re probably too impressed with your
Navy. Our shortcomings were calculated into our defense
plans.”
BenRabi decided not to argue. Each of them was telling the truth
as he or she knew it. “Are the creches here?”
“Some. All of them will be someday. It’s a big job,
civilizing a nebula.”
“Mainly an engineering problem, I’d
think.”
“Yes. But it takes time and money. Especially money. We
have to buy everything we can’t manufacture ourselves. Which
means we have to wait for the auctions because our credit is pretty
slim.”
“Ah. I begin to see why the good doctor was making do with
primitive equipment.”
“We’ve colonized more than seven thousand asteroids,
Moyshe,” Amy proudly declared. “But we’ve only
just begun. They’re all cramped. The harvestships are
cramped. Our other hidden places are overcrowded. We’ve been
taking in Confederation’s dropouts for two hundred years. The
ones who didn’t become McGraws or run away to the
outworlds.”
Outworlds was a word as relative as
yonder.
For
benRabi, born an Old Earther, it meant anything off Old Earth.
Around Luna Command it meant any planet not one of the original
seven founders of Confederation. Those seven usually called
themselves The Inner Worlds. But out on the fringes of
Confederation outworlds were human planets not signatory to the
federal pact. BenRabi was unsure which meaning Amy wanted to
convey.
“You didn’t answer my question,” he said.
“Why here?”
“Because of the industrial advantages. The stories those
internees took back were true. There’s a lot of salvageable
stuff here. We’ve identified over thirty thousand wrecks and
abandoned ships. Built by seven different races.”
“Really?” He ticked fingers. He could name five, not
counting humanity. Six if he counted the prehistoric race that had
built Stars’ End. “I’ll give you human and
Ulantonid. From the war. Who were the others?”
“I thought you’d wonder why they’d be
here.”
He frowned at her. Was she trying to bait him by showing off her
superior knowledge? Savoring one
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