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The translator was useless, but her ability to mind-move small objects close to her (close being within reach of her arms) seemed to offer interesting possibilities. Digby didn’t know about that one. At least, she didn’t think he knew. So maybe he hadn’t programmed the Backhoe’s kephalos to counter it.

First I see if I can move something, then I figure out how to use it.

day 43

When the square lit, Shadith saw it from the corner of her eye and in her relief felt her focus diffusing. In the screen in front of her, the first number of Wolff’s destination code was a bright amber glyph.

Mind on your business, Shadow.

Amazing how hard it was to deal with tension when she couldn’t vent it through the body. She regained control and began entering the other elements of the new destination code, working by hope and estimation; there were several of the sensor squares that she couldn’t see, because her head was turned the wrong way. As she went on, though, the figures before her were the right ones and her confidence grew.

She fmished and would have held her breath if she’d had any control over that.

The numbers vanished, were replaced by COURSE CHANGE DENIED.

Wolff’s out. I could try University. Hm. I don’t think so. Spotchalls. That’s the best chance…

She visualized the sensor board, worked out the moves and entered Spotchall’s code.

Once again the numbers vanished. Once again she saw COURSE CHANGE DENIED.

One more. Hm. Why not Pillory? He wouldn’t expect me to go there.

She finished, screamed, a silent scream of frustration and anger. COURSE CHANGE DENIED.

Because she was so fatigued by this time that she could barely string two thoughts together, she rested for a few hours after the last DENIAL, letting her favorite songs flow through her mind, the imagined sound and the play of the words distracting her from the fear that threatened to swamp the tiny area that she’d managed to pull away from the mindlock.

* * *

Her body was planted in the pilot’s chair and she couldn’t move it; all she did was sit for hours and hours until she could feel muscle tone oozing away. That made her angrier than anything else. It was just so stupid. Digby could at least have programmed her body to exercise itself on this trip. It was going to last two months; by the time she got to where she was going, she’d have bedsores on her behind.

She’d recognized parts of the code, so she knew the place the ship was traveling toward and the time it would take to get there. Swardheld had a commission out that way while she was playing songmistress for Aslan on Beluchad. He came to see her when he dropped his cargo at the Cliostara citystate on University. He was vocally annoyed with Proctor Haldron for sending him out there with only the sketchiest of warnings.

“So offhand, you’d think he was saying it’s an old gouty hound but you’d better be careful of its temper. Hah! Some temper; a pair of Dragonships chased us halfway back to the Arm. He didn’t mention that was disputed territory. He’d have had to give me danger pay if that’d come up, the miserable skint.” He wrote out the string for her. “There it is, Shadow. If your titchy boss wants to send you out that way, decline with thanks and be firm about it. Taking chances may add spice to life, but out there, trouble’s not chance but certainty.”

Dmgonships. Big and black. At once sinuous and angular. Named by a free trader with more imagination than sense-an eternally optimistic little Cousin pooting about the edge of Civilization in an ancient singleship held together by spit and prayer.

No one knew what the entities in those ships looked like, but there was no question of their belligerence; they chased away or blew to ash anyone who crossed into what they considered their space.

Her destination was definitely in Swarda’s disputed territory. She thought about calling up what the kephalos knew about the place, but decided that wasn’t such a great idea. At least, not until she’d found some way to get word out… get the word out, now there was an idea…

day 46

As the words flowed across the screen, the body’s eyes followed them. Out of habit, Shadith thought. Complicates things, but at least if I get it wrong, I’ll know it. And if I get it right.

LEE, DIGBY HAS DONE HIS THING. HE HAS GOT ME IN A MINDLOCK AND PROGRAMMED TO KEEP MYSELF ALIVE TILL I GET TO ONE OF HIS HIDEAWAYS. 570554 RZT MMXS 2 IS THE DESTINATION CODE. THE WHOLE TRIP IS AROUND 60 DAYS AND 45 OF THEM HAVE GONE PAST, SO THERE IS NOT MUCH TIME LEFT. AFTER FAR TOO MANY FAILURES, I HAVE WORKED A FEW SYNAPSES FREE. USING THEM, I HAVE ACTIVATED A DRONE AND AM MANAGING TO GET THIS WRITTEN WITH SOME TICKLES FROM THE OLD MINDMOVE. I EXPECT HE IS GOING TO SQUEEZE MY MIND DRY OF MEMORY, THEN WIPE IT AND DUMP ME SOMEWHERE. I WOULD REALLY RATHER NOT GO THROUGH THAT. I HAVE TRIED TO CHANGE COURSE, BUT THE KEPHALOS WILL NOT PERMIT IT. I HAVE TRIED TO WIGGLE LOOSE FROM THE LOCK AND FAILED. LEE, I HAVE TO CALL FOR HELP AGAIN. YOU KNOW HOW MUCH I LIKE THAT, BUT I REALLY DO NEED. YOU.

SHADITH

She rested for the remainder of the day, playing her. songs over and over in the small area of brain available to her, letting the poisons of fatigue wash away.

day 47

Shadith reread the note, then pecked away at the sensor board, transferring the message onto a flake and routing it into a drone.

After a pause during which she recollected her strength, she called for a status report.

MESSAGE TRANSFERRED 0 ERRORS
DRONE CHARGED AND IN TUBE
DESTINATION: WOLFF 402504 QMT BBEF 3
ACTION DESIRED?

She would have closed her eyes, but she couldn’t. She might have held her breath, her hands might have been shaking. This didn’t happen. She gathered her forces, sent the release signal. The words on the screen vanished and two more appeared.

DRONE RELEASED.

day 57

The musical bong that announced emergence from the insplit came as she was surfacing from a blackout.

She lay on the cot and squeezed enough slow thoughts out of her stiffened brain to wonder if the program was going to keep her there until the ship. touched down. Usually the body rose immediately, tended itself, ate, then moved to the pilot’s chair where it sat staring at a mostly empty screen.

She lay and fretted.

This was one more chain Digby was wrapping around her.

Time passed.

The body rose. Went to the fresher, took care of its wastes, washed itself. It came out, changed to clean clothing, then it stretched out on the cot once again, lay with its hands crossed on its breasts, eyes fixed on the dull metal of the ceiling.

Helpless prisoner in her own head, Shadith would have wept in frustration if she could.

Some hours later, the vibrations in the walls changed. The sound changed…

And yet later the sounds, the vibrations stilled. The ship was on the ground.

20. Turned Loose

1

A timid scratching on the door.

Lylunda looked up from the remote and saw Lilai hesitating in the opening. “Come on in.” She blanked the screen and smiled at the girl. wasn’t doing anything important, just looking over my finances.”

“Oh. Maybe I should come back. Mum gets scratchity when she’s working numbers.”

“All depends on what the numbers say. Besides, till I get back on the job, I can’t really do any planning. Guessing without hard data is good for passing time and not much more.”