"For that matter, I wonder why they did'na take at least a couple of shots at us." Calhoun added with a frown.
"Possibly because we weren't in range of their disruptors," Ursis interjected. "They certainly weren't within range of ours."
"We were indeed close enough to launch a torpedo," Calhoun observed.
Ursis nodded, puffing thoughtfully on his Zempa pipe. "Unless the Leaguers had already used their entire supply on the supply lanes," he answered. "The convoys are certainly running at peak volume these days."
Barbousse abruptly scratched his head and nodded as if he had just reached a decision.
"Beggin' the gentlemen's pardon," he said, "but I wonder if there's still a third factor to consider."
"What might that be, Chief?" Calhoun asked, peering over his glasses.
"Novice crews, Commander," Barbousse stated. "I've been watchin' the reports about those benders. An' I get the idea they haven't been operational for much more than a couple of months-at the most. Is that true?"
That's the information I hae," Calhoun answered, looking at the other two Blue Capes.
"Wilf? Nik? How aboot it?"
Both nodded accord.
"Well, sirs," Barbousse continued presently, "if that is true, then I'll estimate that there aren't more'n ten or fifteen bender crews in the whole League that have even finished their initial training cruises yet. An' most of those are probably research teams that don't normally fly combat missions at all. The ones we're running into right now are only trying out their space legs-on training missions, like."
Ursis snapped his fingers. "That makes abundant sense, Chief," he exclaimed.
"Inexperienced crews could easily cause their own discovery-and the price of that would be far greater than any possible gain from destroying old Prize here or even S.S. Providential."
"Absolutely," Calhoun agreed with a nod. "If someone opened fire at a ship and failed to cleanly destroy it with the first shot-or at least knock out its KA'PPA-then the resulting distress message might weel reveal the Leaguer's whole bender program afore they e'en develop a proper strategy."
Barbousse nodded. "I guess that's what's been going around in my head," he said.
"Well, if it turns out that you've guessed right," Calhoun said following a few moments of thought, "and I hae a strong feeling that you have-then it also means that we aren't aboot to lure ane within shootin' distance, at least very easily...."
"That may not matter," Brim interrupted with a frown. "Maybe we don't need to lure them any closer." He looked around the room. "The crazy attack launch Captain Collingswood gave us mounts a Brentanno 75-mmi with a whole array of .303 balsters. And with those spin-gravs, she'll out-accelerate just about anything in the galaxy. If we set things up right, we can probably move enough firepower into range before the Leaguers even realize what's going on."
Calhoun grinned. "Somehow, I suspected that you might hae something like that on your mind, laddie," he said. "But you'll be badly outgunned if that first bender the three of you spotted off Zebulon Mu is any sort o' standard configuration. Ane hit anywhere on your wee thin-skinned launch, and it's vaporized-along with you."
"I certainly can't deny that," Brim admitted grimly. "But we would have surprise on our side. As well as a green Leaguer crew." He looked at Barbousse. "What do you think, Chief? Would you be willing to try it?"
"I'm ready any time, Lieutenant," Barbousse assured him with a grin. "All we need is a bender."
Little more than a day later, with Jennings running the ship from the right-hand console.
Brim restlessly scanned a long, bleak asteroid shoal off to starboard. It seemed to go on forever. After intercepting coded messages from what was clearly a Leaguer ship in their immediate vicinity, Prize had been operating for some metacycles now under the colors of neutral Vishu-Berniaga, exchanging faked distress messages on the intergalactic emergency frequency.
He listened to the smooth rumble of the old ship's generators, felt their steady vibrations through his feet. Somewhere behind him, feet scraped the deck and a hatch slammed shut.
He checked the proximity warning-nothing. Outside, a few points off the bow, ruby and green beacons strobed from a distant asteroid promontory. Prudently swiveling his head, he peered around the vicinity with his own eyes: only stars-and the seemingly infinite shoal.
"Do you think we ought to start the crystals?" Jennings asked nervously from the right seat. "If that Leaguer message came from a regular warship, we may have to get out of here on an instant's notice."
Brim smiled and shook his head. "Wouldn't be much use," he said softly. "We aren't about to outrun any military starship launched in the last hundred years-except maybe a bender in spectral mode. And if it's one of those, we want to be caught...." He studied the tail monitor-nothing there, either, save a receding cone of stars. "How's the gravity gradient out there?" he asked.
Jennings checked her course indicator, then turned to answer. But before she could utter a word, the ship's alarm sounded deafeningly and a lookout's voice crackled from the intercom.
"Unidentified starship bearing yellow nadir three at violet, blue-violet apex ten."
"Action stations!" Calhoun shouted into the blower. "Action stations!"
Brim looked up in time to watch a now-familiar shape turn sharply and pull into formation about five thousand irals off Prize's port bow-well beyond the range of her disruptors. This bender, however, immediately trained both its powerful disruptors directly, it seemed, at his head. Gritting his teeth, he waited for the incredible shock of their first hits....
A full metacycle later, however, the bender still hadn't fired a shot-nor had it come out of spectral mode. Brim had long since decided that he might survive the encounter after all and was now watching the enemy ship with a great deal of interest. He had attempted to close with the enemy ship a number of times since the original sighting, but no matter how subtly he handled his controls, the bender skittishly moved off in a like direction. If Barbousse's guess concerning neophyte crews were correct, this was still another Leaguer on a training mission.
"The bastard Leaguer Helmsmen are probably practicin' their covert hunting routines,"
Calhoun muttered in the tense silence of the bridge.
"If they stick to that and forget the disruptors, it's all right with me," Jennings declared.
"Unfortunately, we're here to capture them," Calhoun countered, "while they seem to be quite weel satisfied keepin' their distance. That means we've got to lure them within range."
"And then pop off a couple of bursts to disable their ship without vaporizing all the secrets aboard," Ursis put in, shaking his head gravely. "Chief, those firing teams have a tall order indeed."
Barbousse grinned. "They'll give it their best shot, beggin' the gentlemen's pardon."
Brim groaned. "I knew I should have volunteered for old Hagbut's ground forces," he said, shaking his head.
"You may actually mean that aefore we're through with this ane," Calhoun commented.
"Those Leaguers over there luik like they're settlin' in for the winter. Mind you, they're in no particular hurry; they think they're invisible. An' since we hae no idea-yet-how fast that oddball ship can accelerate, we can't very well light out after them, either. It's been a long time since old Prize here has been known for fast getaways. It would be a damme shame to let the Leaguers know how well we can see their new ships-until we get at least a couple of reasonable shots off at them."