Barbary by Vonda N. McIntyre Read Free Book Online

passengers —”
    o0o
    Barbary trembled with nervousness. She had arrived at
the lounge in plenty of time to strap in before the burn. Nevertheless, one of
the crew members had hustled her to a seat and bawled her out. Now it seemed as
though she had been sitting there for hours, because of course the docking burn
was not fifteen minutes away, but nearer forty-five. Barbary tried to concentrate
on the sight of Einstein, a vast wheel within a wheel spinning in the
center of a TV screen as Outrigger approached its hub. But her
attention kept returning to Mickey’s warm weight in the secret pocket.
    Jeanne Velory was the last person to get to the lounge.
Barbary hoped she would see her and smile at her, or even just nod, but she did
not. She strapped herself in, leaned back, and closed her eyes. For a moment,
strain showed in her face. It had never before occurred to Barbary that Jeanne
might be nervous about her new job, her new home, and the alien ship on top of
everything else. How could she not be nervous?
    Barbary still envied her, but she felt a little sorry for
her, too, and she wished she had been able to be more honest with her.
    What difference does it make? Barbary thought. She’s too
important. She’d never have time to be friends anyway.
    Outrigger suddenly vibrated. Einstein appeared
to move slightly as the transport’s orientation changed. The steering rockets
guided them. Barbary grew almost sure she could feel another motion, that of
Mickey waking up. The sedative should have kept him asleep much longer. Barbary
wondered if he could have developed a resistance to the sleeping drug… A moment
later she felt just as sure that he lay too still, that he had stopped
breathing. Maybe this time the sedative had been too much for him.
    She prevented herself from reaching inside the secret
pocket.
    The clang , transmitted through the skin of the
transport as it docked against Einstein, scared her for a moment. She
caught her breath.
    They had reached the research station.
    She was home.
    Maybe she would get to stay here. But she had thought she
had found home, other times, and she had always been sent away.
    Without Jeanne to vouch for her, Barbary had to wait to be
unstrapped and taken into the station. At the very last, when everybody else
had disembarked, a crew member freed her and towed her out of the lounge.
Barbary felt embarrassed that he assumed she was completely incompetent in zero
g.
    Inside the research station, the crewmember maneuvered
Barbary over and through the chaos of the waiting room. People floated free,
dangled from handholds, or let crew members strap them into the skating-chairs
that moved along the narrow tracks in the walls. The crew member deposited her
at a web strap.
    “You’re being met?”
    Barbary nodded.
    “Okay. Stay here till they find you.”
    After the crew member left, Barbary realized she did not
even know for sure if anyone knew she was on this flight. She should have tried
to call them from Outrigger, but she had been so concerned about keeping
out of sight and keeping Mick hidden that she never thought to try. It was too
late now.
    She hooked one arm through the web strap and held on to her
duffel bag with the same hand, then took the chance of reaching into the secret
pocket. Her fingers brushed Mickey’s soft fur. He was lying very, very still.
    “Let me carry that, okay?”
    Barbary felt a tug on her duffel bag. She snatched it back
and jerked her hand away from Mick.
    “I’ll carry it myself!” She flopped around like a hooked
fish and finally came to rest facing the person who had spoken to her.
    She did not recognize her at first. Barbary knew that
Heather was her own age, but the little girl hovering before her was much
smaller, very thin, and looked only eight or nine. She had hardly any color to
her skin, though her hair and eyes were black. Who else could she be butHeather?
    “Jeez,” she said, “what’s the matter?”
    Barbary was too embarrassed to