Part 81 (1/2)
”But I didn't. And that means someone else ...”
”Is as smart as you are. Right.”
”Then is there really something out there?” That was Gerstan, bouncing up alongside her. Sa.s.sinak refrained from slapping him back into place.
”Arly would not take the Zaid-Dayan without good reason. She's not any crazier than I am. So I think something's out there. What, I couldn't guess.”
Actually, she could: a pirate incursion or a Seti fleet. Either one might be part of a larger conspiracy and she had to hope only one of them had materialized. Her mind reverted to something else Erdra had said. A shuttle? Why had Arly released a shuttle?
Then she grinned: obvious. And she would wager she 290.
could name the pilot aboard, but not what that very brash young man would do next.
”So you're saying,” Gerstan went on, ”that the Federation itself is involved in concealing the approach of some danger from deeps.p.a.ce?”
Sa.s.sinak nodded. ”Yes, because some faction thinks that will give it control. In such cases you have two possibilities. The present rulers want to use force to give themselves absolute power because they fear a challenge, or a faction not quite in control wants to tip the balance its way.”
”Which is it?”
”I don't know.” She grinned at their confusion. ”It doesn't really matter. If Arly detected the incoming fleet at the edge of the Zaid-Dayan's scan range, it can't be here for days. It won't just launch missiles at the planet. To do that it could have lobbed a pa.s.sive from far outside scan.” Their faces were blank. Sa.s.sinak reminded herself that none of these people had military training. ”Never mind,” she said gently. ”Hie point is that whatever's going on up there isn't our problem. Our problem is the group here that's concealing it. That, we can do something about, if we're quick enough. Then the existing defense systems should be able to handle the invaders.” She wasn't at all sure she believed that. Would Arly think to call for more Fleet aid? Or would she be worried that what came might not be on their side?
”Now,” she said, putting enough bite in it that they all, students and undergrounders alike, gave her their full attention. ”First we must locate The Parchandri and neutralize him. That's your task, Erdra. Get into the links and liases, and find out where his hideyhole is. Get control of the lifesupport and communications lines. I'd wager next year's pay that h.e.l.l be underground but not completely self-contained.”
”But ...” The girl looked around. ”Where's an access port? I've always used one of the Library carrels to get in.”
”Coris. Take her down and help her get to one of the trunkline 'ports. Bilis can go with her and you'll need a .
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tensquad for guards. If you run into trouble, run! And get her to another 'port. Two runners, for messages, until we get our communications set up. Gerstan, you told Aygar that there were a lot more students who wanted to get involved?”
”Yes, ma'am.” That honorific came out slowly as if he hadn't planned it. Sa.s.sinak smiled at him.
”Good. We'll find you a 'port and you can let them know. We need communications links topside so we can keep track of what the media's saying and what's going down on the streets. We'll also need some small portable corns, like those the police have.” From his expression, he was finding real action scarier than he'd expected. And he hadn't seen real action yet.
”You mean, steal . . . ? Like, from a ... a policeman? A guard?”
”Whatever it takes. I thought you were eager to start a revolution. Did you think you'd do that without getting cross ways with the police?”
”Well, no, but ...”
”But talk let you feel brave without doing anything. Sorry, lad, but the time for that's all gone. Now it's time to act or go hide someplace very deep until it's over. Can you do it? Will your friends?”
”Well. . . yes. Some of'em we've even had to sit on, practically, to keep from doing something stupid.”
Sa.s.sinak grinned. ”Change stupid to useful and get 'em rounded up. Let's go, everyone.”
Coris had already left with Erdra and Bilis. Now Sa.s.sinak led the others at a good pace back to the lower levels. After the first shock of hearing that the Zaid-Dayan had left, she felt an unaccountable lift of spirits. The whole situation was impossible, but it would come out right.
In only a few hours, the fragile bond between the various groups began to strengthen. A trickle of students appeared, from one access tunnel and another, all with necessary equipment. Haifa dozen standard 'phone repair kits, with the official connectors that wouldn't trip any alarms no matter where they were plugged in. Two police-issue belt-comps that included both com- 292 UcCaffrey and Moon municators and tiny computers. Nineteen gas-kits similar to the Fleet-issue one Sa.s.sinak carried.
”Where'd you get these?” she asked the short, chunky youth who brought them in. He blushed a deep rose and muttered something about the drama department. ”Drama department?”
”We did Hostigge's Breathless last year and the director wanted realistic props. She's friendly with a guy at the local station who said these weren't really any good without the detox.” At which point, he handed over a sackful of detox tubes. ”Now these I got scrounging around in the junk stores over on Lollipi Street. Most of 'em have been used once, but I thought maybe ...”
”How long have you been collecting them?” Some-tiling about die earnest sweating face impressed Sa.s.sinak. He reminded her of the best supply officers: longsided and sticky-fingered.
”Well, even before the play I thought maybe they'd be good for something, if somebody could synthesize the membranes. Then when we got the membrane masks and they didn't take 'em back, I thought ...” His voice trailed away, as if he still didn't realize what he'd done.
”Good for you,” she said.
She hoped he'd survive the coming troubles. He'd be worth recruiting. Of course, nineteen gas kits among hundreds didn't help much, but he'd had the right idea.
Meanwhile, with communications access to the topside, they knew what the news media were telling everyone. Erdra had tapped into the lower-level secured lines so they knew where the police patrols were. Sa.s.sinak found herself yawning again and when she counted the hours, realized she'd run over twenty-four again. Aygar was snoring in a corner of the crowded little maintenance area their group was in. She would have to sleep soon herself.
”Got it,” came Erdra's triumphant cry.
Sa.s.sinak struggled up. She'd fallen asleep at some .
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point and somebody had covered her with a blanket. She raked her fingers through her hair and wished she could have thirty seconds in her own refresher cabinet.
”Are you sure?” she heard someone else ask.
”Yes, because it's guarded like nothing else we've seen. It's not in the central city, though, where I'd have thought, but over here, map coordinates 13-H. Below the main tunnels. But look, it's not directly under any of them. So I got into an archive file and found the building specs.” She was waving a hardcopy sheet and Sa.s.sinak grabbed it.
”It's a s.h.i.+p!” The others stared at her.
”It can't be,” Erdra said. ”It's underground.”
”Silo construction.” From the blank looks, none of diem knew what that meant. ”Look,” and Sa.s.sinak pointed to her proof, ”the stuff on top's designed to look like real buildings, but it's just sh.e.l.l. Probably even folds back. Down here, this is a lot more than self-contained habitat for a planet . . . this, and this,” her finger stabbed at the plans. ”Framing of a standard midsize personal yacht. My guess would be Bollanger Yards, maybe a hundred-fifty years ago. When was that section of the city built up?”
Erdra scowled, fiddled on the keyboard she now carried, and said, ”Eighty-two years ago, subdivided for light industry. Before that, nothing but a single ware-bouse and ... a derelict shuttle station, from back when private shuttles were legal.”
”But a s.h.i.+p couldn't last that long, could it?” asked Gerstan.
”Easily, protected like that. They've maintained it. They'll have replaced obsolete equipment with new. No problem to them. And nothing wrong with the hull design. The question is, do they keep it fitted to launch?”
”Launch? From underground?”
Civilians I Did they not even know that most planetary defenses used some silo-sited missiles, often placed on moons or asteroids in the system, safe from random bombardment by stray rocks?
”Launch. As in, escape. If things get too hot. Which is precisely what we were planning to make them.”