"I get the idea, Colonel, that it's going to be some time before X&A gets concerned about the situation."
"I sympathize with your wanting to have word of your relatives," he said. "And it is highly unusual, isn't it, to have so many members of the same family jumping about in the same region of space. I can only submit to you, Mrs. de Conde, that David and Ruth Webster acted impulsively.
The search for Old Folks should have been left to Service professionals."
"The search for Old Folks and the Fran Webster is being conducted by a Service professional," she said. "And I know my brother, Josh. He's a stickler for regulations. I am convinced that he would not allow six months to go by without filing his reports with headquarters."
Watch cleared his throat again. "The Erin Kenner carries enoughfirepower to protect herself in any eventuality. Captain Webster, although this is his first command, has an excellent record." He stood in dismissal, his smile showing his gleaming dentures. "Don't worry, Mrs. de Conde. I'm sure that all of your family will turn up."
She had taken time from the middle of a closely contested election campaign to make the trip to Xanthos. She was fuming silently as she left Colonel Watch's office. She spent the night in a luxury hotel, but nothing pleased her. The food did not sit well. The bed was too hard. In her dreams they all called to her, Josh, David, Ruth, Sheba, her mother and father.
She fretted on the shuttle that took her to Xanthos Space, a trip that lasted two hours longer than the blink back to Tigian. She took a taxi to Pete's office and arrived just in time for lunch. He saw that she was upset and waited for her to pick her own time to tell him about her trip. In the restaurant she toyed with a plate of fruit and salad while her husband ate with gusto. She asked him about developments in the election campaign, although she'd only been gone overnight. Then, at the last, she told him about Colonel Watch and the brush-off she'd been given at X&A
Headquarters.
"I'm sorry," Pete said. He chuckled. "It's rather deflating to know that my influence on Xanthos rates me an appointment with a passed-over staff colonel counting the days until retirement."
"It's not your fault," Sarah said, putting her hand on his. "You did all you could."
"Perhaps if I put on a little pressure here and there we can do better than your Colonel Watch. Both the central government and a Zede consortium are negotiating with us for the output of the mines on that new planet out in the Two Sisters quadrant. I'm patriotic, most of the time, but I don't like to be treated like some yokel from Outworld Four."
"Forget it, Pete," she said. "Maybe Watch was right. Maybe we're all being too impulsive. For the time being, I'm going to operate on the theory that if we leave them alone they'll all come home."
"Wagging their tails behind them," Pete said with grin.
"I've got an election to win," she said.
"That Stern fellow called twice this morning to see if you were back."
"I'll call him."
"You don't suppose the Queen is serious about him?"
Sarah shrugged. "With Sheba, who knows." She smiled. "But it's about time for her to find a permanent attachment. I get a bit prickly reading about all of her romances in the media."
Pete signaled the waiter, gave him his card, pulled back Sarah's chair.
They parted outside the restaurant. Sarah went directly home and was hard at work on her speech when she remembered Vinn Stern. She punched in the number of his hotel. The call began to ring in his room.
"Sarah, please," Sheba's voice said.
She jerked back from the communicator.
"We need you, Sarah," Ruth said urgently. "Don't ignore us like this."
"Vinn Stern," a male voice said.
"Mr. Stern," Sarah said weakly.
"You're back."
"With less than satisfactory news," she said. She went on to give him a full report.
"Vinn," said Sheba, "listen to me, please. Help us. Help all of us."
"That's a very good imitation of Sheba, Mrs. de Conde," Vinn said bitterly.
"Vinn, Sarah," Sheba said, "only you can help us. The two of you."
Sarah switched off the communicator with a shaking hand. "All right," she said. "That's it. That's all. I won't have any more. I am not insane and I don't intend to be. I am going to work on my speech, I'm going to give it, and for the next six weeks I'm going to campaign night and day."
In her mind there was a surprisingly vivid image of Sheba weeping.
"Damn it, Sheba," Sarah said loudly, looking around, "where are you?"
"You know, " Sheba said. "You know, Sarah. "
For six weeks Sarah was busy with handshakings and speeches and media interviews. She was willing to appear anywhere two or more people gathered who were interested in the state of T-Town's schools. She attended an awards ceremony for Petey's Space Scout troop and shook hands with all of the parents. She sent Frenc off on her camping trip. She talked half a dozen times with Vinn Stern. He was still in T-Town, for what reason Sarah couldn't imagine. She had begun to wonder if Vinn was just another of the hard-smitten fans who often made attempts to get close to Sheba.
In the last frenzied week she managed to put everything out of her mind. On election day she visited polling places and shook hundreds of hands. She lost the election by less than five thousand votes. Pete threw a
"victory" party.
"My wife lost an election," he said, "but I won a wife."
The little gathering was at home. Their closest friends were there.
When Vinn Stern showed up, Sarah was surprised.
"He seems to be so concerned about Sheba," Pete said. "I guess I felt sorry for him, so I invited him."
Vinn didn't get a chance to talk with Sarah alone until late in the evening. Sarah had celebrated with three glasses of a very fine Selbelese wine.
"I was sorry to hear that you lost the election by such a close margin,"
Vinn said.
"As opposed to losing it by a large margin?" she asked.
He laughed. "If my speech is a bit imprecise, blame it on your husband.
He keeps insisting that I sample still another new wine."
"I feel a bit imprecise myself," Sarah admitted. "As for losing, the professional politicians told me that they were amazed that I did so well.
They say that if I continue to work hard for the next four years I'll be sureof election next time."
"And?" he asked, raising one eyebrow.
"Four years is a long time and I have three kids to raise."
"I'm sure you'll do a splendid job of it," he said. "Look, can we talk?"
"About what?" she asked, although she knew what he meant.
He looked at her intently. "It wasn't you imitating Sheba that day on the communicator."
"No."
"Do you hear her voice often?"
"Yes." Had it not been for the wine she would not have admitted it.
"You?"
"Constantly. Ever since I came to Tigian City."
"And not before that?" she asked.
"No."
She mused over that information for a moment, then smiled. "Well, if I'm going crazy, so are you," she said. "It's impossible, you know, this business of Sheba—and the others—speaking to me—to us—across time and space."
"But she does," Vinn said with intensity, leaning toward her. "I can't help but believe that she's in serious trouble."
"There's nothing we can do," Sarah said.
"I have been in contact with a mercenary," he said. "He owns a reconditioned scout. Not big, but well rigged and well armed."
"Don't," she said quickly. "Three ships missing in the same volume of space are enough."
"I love Sheba, Mrs. de Conde."
"Yes, I know," she said, lulled away from any suspicion of him by his obvious sincerity. "And how does Sheba feel about you?"
He spread his hands. "She seems to like me."
"Still—"
"Mrs. de Conde, I want you to understand how desperate I am to ask you this. Chartering a mercenary ship is expensive, and I'm a man who lives on a salary—of which there isn't one at the moment. One way or the other I'm going out there."