Mutiny by Mike Resnick Read Free Book Online Page A

left."
    "They're only a few hours ahead of us," noted Forrice.
    "If they came here for a man, they knew where he was before they touched down," said Cole. "They've got shuttles that are probably faster than this one. Believe me, they'd have found him by now."
    "So that leaves ... I don't know, something native to the planet," said Christine.
    "We can do better than that, Lieutenant. Have the computer run a check and see just what's on or in Rapunzel that would be valuable to a military machine. It could be anything from diamonds to fissionable materials to other elements they use in their weapons systems. Then, when you've found a few things that seem to be worth the trip and the risk, match them against what's available in the Bortellite system. There's no sense coming here for plutonium, for example, if they've got it at home or right next door. Once you narrow it down, we'll know what they're here for and where to find them."
    "And then what, sir?"
    "Then we'll decide what to do," answered Cole. "There's not much sense having a plan before you know what you're facing."
    "You're facing the bad guys," said Forrice. "What else do you have to know?"
    "Do they have hostages? Can the Teddy R get here before they find what they're after? Are the people their willing accomplices or their enemies? What kind of firepower did they bring with them from the ship?" Cole paused. "There have to be a dozen more considerations. You want me to enumerate them?"
    "I'll let you off the hook this one time," said Forrice, flashing another alien grin.
    "Thanks for small favors," said Cole. "Now do me a large favor and tell me how long it'll be before we're over Pinocchio."
    "We're sublight, but we're still above the stratosphere. I can get us there in thirty seconds."
    "Once we've over it, match velocities with the planet and enter the atmosphere."
    "The atmosphere, not just the stratosphere?"
    "Right," said Cole. "It's night, and they'll see our heat shields glowing. Stay over the city until we're dark again, and then get the hell away from it, any direction you choose."
    "I assume there's a reason for this?" asked Forrice.
    "The warship knows we're here, so it's doubtless alerted that portion of the crew that's left it," explained Cole. "But since it can't see through or around the planet, it doesn't know exactly where we are now that we're on the nightside. Once we're seen over Pinocchio, someone there is going to report it, the ship will monitor the transmission and pass the word that we're interested in Pinocchio, and the crew, wherever they are, will be just a little more secure and a little less alert."
    "You hope," said Forrice as the Kermit plunged through the stratosphere and into the atmosphere.
    "I hope," agreed Cole.
    They could see the lights of Pinocchio on their viewscreens. It didn't look that impressive, but two hundred thousand was actually a big city for a colony world, especially one out on the Galactic Rim.
    "The heat shields are back to normal," announced Forrice. "Which way?"
    "Indulge yourself," said Cole. "It doesn't make any difference until Lieutenant Mboya comes up with the information we need."
    "I'm working on it," said Christine. "So far I haven't found anything worth coming here for—no fissionable materials, nothing worth mining, no rare earths. Hell, I can't even find much iron on the planet."
    "They didn't come here so they could load a very expensive warship down with iron ore to take home and smelt. Keep searching."
    "What direction are we heading?" she asked without looking up from the computer.
    "Southwest," answered Forrice. "Do you want degrees, minutes, and seconds?"
    "Southwest?" she repeated. "Just altitude."
    "About fifteen thousand feet."
    "Not enough," she said. "Get up above thirty thousand."
    "What's up ahead?" asked Forrice, adjusting their altitude.
    "A mountain range."
    "Anything else to the southwest?" asked Cole.
    "Not according to the computer," she answered. "It looks unpopulated, rather