Iâm not arguing for inaction. The circumstances are doing that.â
Leen grumbled something in reply. âJust so you know how I feel.â His angry expression relaxed. Heâd had his say.
âRelax, Chief. Weâll get homeâand weâll get even too. I promise. How much longer till the mass-drivers can be fired?â
âTwo days, maybe three.â
âAll rightâas soon as theyâre calibrated, I want you to ready a scanninglens. If the G-scanners donât show anything, weâll risk a longer look. And if thatâs clean, weâll talk about a run for home.â
âAny time you want to say go, I can have the singularity online in less than an hour. The fluctuators are the best-shielded equipment on the ship. Weâll just check their alignment andââ
âSlow down, Chief. Letâs worry about our oxygen consumption first. Itâs hard to breathe a fluctuator.â Korie dragged Leen back to the holographic display table where Li and Hodel were running a low-level simulation. âAll right, letâs do a status check. Chief says he can have the engines online in less than a week. Astrogation, can you be ready?â
Hodel considered it. âWithout HARLIE I have to do it all on work stations. Donât expect realtime corrections, but I can get you where you want to go.â
âLi, what about weapons? Do we have any defenses?â
Li shook his head. âSame situation. No real-time targeting. Without HARLIE, weâre firing blind.â
Korie glanced over to Leen. âJust as I thought. The torpedoes are more valuable for the liquid oxygen.â To Hodel and Li, he explained, âChief Leen thinks Iâm being too cautious. What do you guys think?â
Hodel shrugged. âWe could get the ship running again, we have the skillage, but how efficient sheâd beâI dunno. If there are Morthan cruisers patrolling this area, forget it.â
Li was still turning the idea over in his head. âMuch as Iâd like to get in a couple licks, Mr. Korie, I wouldnât even want to try it without HARLIE.â He reached across himself and scratched his shoulder thoughtfully. âWith HARLIE, maybe. HARLIEâs the best tactical advantage we have. Youâve read the analysesâthe Morthans are maybe a century behind us in sophisticated electronics. Thatâs why they have to build so big just to accomplish the same thing.â
âUnfortunately, that also gives them the brute force advantage,â Korie said. âWe outsmarted ourselves. Our technology is so sophisticated and so advanced, we donât build our ships with the same power anymore. Thereâs the real mistake. We thought the implied strategic advantage of the HARLIE series would give the enemy pause, make him think twice before launching an offensive. We were very very wrong.â
Hodel cleared his throat and spoke softly. âI guess weâre going to have to find out just how good the HARLIE series really is, arenât we? Heâs our secret weapon. Letâs use him. Letâs see how good he is.â
Korie looked from one to the other. âWhat if I bring him back online prematurely and he goes into irreversible amputation trauma? Then weâre doubly screwed.â
âWe can run this ship without him,â said Hodel. âWeâre already doing it. We couldnât be any worse offâand who knows? Maybe heâll work like heâs supposed to. Maybe he could be an advantage, if you give him the opportunity.â
âThe opportunity . . .â Korie echoed the thought. âThere is that. Heâs as much a member of this crew as anyone. I suppose heâs entitled to the same consideration. Let me think about thisââ
Leen touched Korieâs shoulder and spoke very softly. âItâs not right to keep him dead, Mr. Korie. Heâs not like the others . . .â
âI
Eden Butler
Tamara Ternie
Celia Kyle, Erin Tate
Jianne Carlo
John Glatt
Thomas Wharton
Molly Harper
Aileen Harkwood
Dean Koontz
LISA CHILDS