Ultima by Stephen Baxter Read Free Book Online Page B

assigned here to explore the unknown, to study and categorize the new. After all, each of the fragments of ice and stone and metal that made up the giant belt of worldlets known as the Tears of Ymir—resource lodes it was the
Ukelwydd
’s mission to survey—was a new country in its own right; you never knew what you were going to find.
    â€œHere’s to
druidh
, then,” Kerys said, raising her mug. “And let’s get back to work before we’re too drunk to concentrate. What of this ship you found?”
    â€œNot me, in fact,
trierarchus
. Your astronomers were using their farwatchers, fixing our position and mapping a sky full of Ymir’s teardrops, as they do day and night—”
    â€œOr so they claim in their duty logs.”
    â€œ
They
spotted this thing. A point of light in the sky, moving steadily. You understand,
trierarchus
, that if you split open the spectrum of the light from such an object, you can learn about its nature and trajectory.”
    â€œI may not be a
druidh
but I know that much.”
    â€œI apologize. Well, the astronomers had thought it was just another teardrop, previously unmapped. Or perhaps a hairy star wandering in from the greater void.”
    Kerys prompted, “But in fact . . .”
    â€œIn fact this object is beyond the main belt of Ymir’s teardrops. It is heading nearly directly away from our position—away from the sun, in fact. Its apparent motion across our field of view is quite small, but it is receding swiftly. Not only that, the object is actually decelerating. You can tell that from the shifting shadow bands in the unfolded light—”
    â€œYes,
druidh
. Thank you.”
    â€œI apologize again.”
    â€œDecelerating. Is this a ship?”
    â€œYes,
trierarchus
. You won’t be surprised to know that the split light shows it to be using a kernel drive, like the ships of all the empires. But it is not a configuration we recognize, not from any of the empires, not ours, not Roman or Xin.”
    â€œYou have challenged it?”
    â€œWe have—or rather our signalers have, following my suggestion.”
    â€œHm. Maybe I should have been informed before such a step was taken.”
    Ari Guthfrithson sighed, and poured them both some more Roman wine. “Would you have paid attention,
trierarchus
? Your mind has been focused, rightly, on the operations at the teardrop, and our course to the next. The hail was routine. It was thought best not to disturb you until—”
    â€œAll right,” she said grumpily. “I take it no reply was received to our hail.”
    â€œNone. We have in fact heard the rogue being hailed by other vessels, Roman and Xin both; again we have heard no reply.”
    Kerys frowned. “But if it’s not Brikanti or Roman or Xin, then what? Some kind of pirate?”
    â€œIf so, evidently formidable. That’s the situation,
trierarchus
. Given the deceleration we can see, we know that this rogue will slow to a halt in three days. We also happen to know that the
Ukelwydd
is the closest Brikanti vessel to the object. And we have the chance to be first to intercept.”
    Kerys eyed the
druidh
. “I think you’re telling me a decision point is approaching.”
    â€œAt which you will need to report back to the fleet headquarters at Dumnona,
trierarchus
. If we were to abandon our mission here and intercept the rogue—”
    â€œWhen will it come to a halt?”
    â€œTwo more days. By which time—” Ari grabbed a bit of parchment and quickly sketched positions. “Ymir, the god who built the cosmos, made a single stride from the sun to the place where he built Midgard,” he said, a bit of rote taught to all students of interplanetary navigation at the college at Dumnona—and it amused Kerys that he used the old Brikanti word for the world, rather than the Roman “Terra” long incorporated into his