Carpe Diem by Steve Miller, Sharon Lee Read Free Book Online Page B

been altered since Standard 1382. It does not mention Miri Robertson."

    "And that," Shan said, "would seem to be that. Thank you, Jeeves, you've been very helpful. Do continue comforting the cats."

    "The comfort is two-way, sir."

    Shan sighed. "Are you distressed, Jeeves?"

    "It is merely that I, too, miss Master Val Con."

    "I see. Forgive me if this offends, but Val Con and I built you, which means—"

    "I was Master Val Con's idea."

    Shan blinked. "I beg your pardon?"

    "I was Master Val Con's idea," Jeeves repeated, moving an arm to rub a restive tigerstripe. "You said so yourself, sir, several times during my construction."

    "So I did." And a more cork-brained scheme, he added silently, may I never again be party to! "My thanks for calling that to my attention. Carry on."

    "Thank you, sir. Good evening, sir."

    Shan's footsteps faded down the hallway, and in a moment Jeeves noted the opening and closing of the door to the south patio. One of the younger cats, Yodel, mewed faintly and twitched in her sleep. Jeeves moved a hand to stroke her.

    "There, there," he said. "There, there."

ORBIT: Interdicted World I-2796-893-44

    The sound of the ship around them went from solid hum to pulsing throb as Miri slid into the copilot's seat. Val Con sat in the pilot's chair, hands moving with precision over the switches and keys and toggles as if he were playing the omnichora. All screens were up, showing different and changing views of the world below while the radio mumbled to itself. A number of the lights on the central board glowed red, a fact that Miri decided to ignore.

    "No power left to shunt from the coils," Val Con murmured. "Altitude control jets low on fuel. Rocket thrust? Ah, well, rockets are only a luxury, after all . . ."

    Miri considered the side of his face. "Is this dangerous?"

    "Hmm? Strap in, please, cha'trez. We are approaching a mark." A slim finger touched a readout that was counting large blue numbers down from ten. Miri engaged the webbing as the numbers ran down. There was a sharp push and a heavy vibration as zero flashed. Val Con flipped a quick series of toggles, and the worst of the vibration faded.

    "Is—this—dangerous?" Miri asked again, spacing the words and increasing the volume a tad, on the slim chance he hadn't heard her the first time.

    His smile flickered, and he reached to take her hand. "Dangerous? We are descending with neither reserve rockets nor jet power to a planet without landing beacons, without an actual touchdown point chosen, and without being invited." The smile broadened. "A textbook exercise."

    "Sure," Miri muttered. "And how many people get hurt when a textbook crashes?"

    Val Con raised an eyebrow. "You doubt my skill?"

    "Huh?" She was startled. "No, hey, look, boss, I ain't a pilot! I just gotta know if we're gonna get down—" She stopped because he was laughing, his hand warm around hers.

    "Miri, I will contrive to bring us down as safely as possible, considering circumstances." He squeezed her fingers and let them go, turning back to his board. "As for whether we will get down, the answer is yes. We are no longer moving rapidly enough to maintain orbit."

    She watched him go through another series of adjustments, then shook her head as he leaned back in the chair. "Tough Guy," she murmured.

    He glanced over. "Yes."

    "Tell the troops just enough to keep 'em honest, doncha?" she said, not sure if she felt admiration or frustration. "Got some guts—this stuff here." She waved a hand at the red-lit board. "Playing chicken with the Yxtrang . . .What were the chances of us getting out alive, when you pulled that hysteresis thing and we Jumped outta there?"

    "Ah." He faced her seriously. "The pilot did not expect to reenter normal space."

    "Thought we'd come apart in hyper," she translated and nodded to herself, thinking.

    At the conclusion of thought, she reached over and patted his arm. "Good. Best choice there was. Yxtrang boarding party, against