Fall of the White Ship Avatar by Brian Daley Read Free Book Online Page A

we have ourselves a starship ?"
    Alacrity was rubbing the end of the code-key on the tip of his nose, beaming. "Provided there's enough money here to pay the right bribes. The ship's called, um—" He double-checked—"The Lightning Whelk. And she's ours if we move sprightly. I say again: let's houdini the hell outta here."
    Floyt was grinning. "What's the weather like on Windfall?"
    Alacrity looked thoughtful, seating a new charge in the Captain's Sidearm. "It's nice there, Ho. It's always nice on Windfall."
    CHAPTER 3—DARK MATTER
    "Not very well equipped, was he?" Floyt announced after he and Alacrity had made their inspection of the Lightning Whelk.
    "I mean, for a Langstretch man? I don't see much of the paraphernalia that Victoria carried."
    "Me either," Alacrity said, feeding the last of the mathematical models into the computer guidance suite.
    The pliability of Lunar port officials increased when Alacrity flashed the sheaf of money he'd recovered from Plantos's leg pouch. It had cost most of the op's cash, but Alacrity and Floyt received priority clearance and made immediate lift-off.
    "But she's a Field Op One and he was only a Two," Alacrity added. He glanced around a cockpit/bridge that was roomy enough for one but cramped for two. It wasn't set up for two, but the rest of the file:///C|/Documents%20and%20Settings/harry%20kruis...y%20-%20Fall%20of%20the%20White%20Ship%20Avatar.htm (26 of 242)23-2-2006 17:03:12
    [Fitzhugh 3]-FALL OF THE WHITE SHIP AVATAR
    Lightning Whelk was, Plantos's permanent living arrangements augmented by temporary provisions for a second person. Or thing. A quick look at those accommodations gave Floyt an uneasy feeling.
    "Still, a starship," he said. "We must be pretty high up on their shopping list, Alacrity."
    A starship, but a small one resembling, from the outside, her namesake, a contoured, torch-shaped snailshell hulk some thirty meters high when sitting on her tapered tail with berthing stabilizers deployed. She was old, much overhauled and patched, dangerous when it came right down to it. But Alacrity fell for her wholly and without reservation, swelled in ecstasy by winners-keepers ownership.
    "Umm," Floyt mulled. "With no cargo, she's only slightly worse than Pihoquiaq was." He saw from the look on Alacrity's face what he was about to say, and chimed in, so that they said it at the same time,
    "But still, a starship !"
    Floyt eased down into the standby's jumpseat. "Nobody from Luna was interested in us, Alacrity?
    Nobody following?"
    Alacrity was punching up various scope images, checking all the detectors. "Nope. What're you worried about, the Golem?"
    That was Alacrity's name for Plantos's absent partner or hireling or whoever it was. The name seemed to fill the bill; the Golem's makeshift bunk was outsize, long enough for someone a meter or so taller than Alacrity and with three or four times his cross section. It was braced and reinforced to support enormous weight.
    "Maybe Plantos was just keeping a couple of old reactor containment vessels in there, or something."
    Alacrity smirked. "Anyway, whoever it is, we left 'im behind. In another little while we can forget about him for good, because we'll be in Hawking. Good old sinful Luna. Buddha smile on everybody who can be bought and stays bought."
    "Good to us, anyway." Floyt shifted the cuptray he was carrying, setting it on a flat area of the console.
    "What's that you got there?"
    "Breakers, have you forgotten so soon?"
    " Managgia ! It's been so long since we were on a regular Hawking jump, I didn't even think of blastoff cocktails."
    Floyt nodded, handing out the drinks, two big, chilled hurricane glasses filled with some frozen concoction. Alacrity was right; except for their original departure from Luna inboard the freighter Bruja, their headlong comings and goings were usually in escape or as captives or bilge-class deadheaders. It