Mohr nodded. “I hope you’re right. And I really do want them off this ship, all three and you, as fast as is practical. In fact, the Admiralty itself pretty well ordered it. As soon as we insure that they’re in good shape, I’m packing you all off with one of my best pilots and Sergeant Maslovic as company. They’ll get you down to Barnum’s World all right. After that, it’s up to you.”
“I have a feelin’ you may have some problems once they’re down there, at least in keepin’ ’em in view, but we’ll see,” Murphy told him. “I’m well out of this, I think. At least their delivery will net me enough to get me to a junkyard planet like Sepuchus where I can put together another ship. Maybe a wee bit faster one.”
“No wonder your ship’s so banged up! You bought it at salvage?”
“Well, I bought the hulk at salvage, and the rest of the parts bit by bit. It’s actually quite practical, you see. Cheap but serviceable, I can repair it with standardized parts most anywhere if need be, and nobody pays much attention to rustbuckets like that. Beats me why you even bothered to haul me in this time. Pickin’s must be slim.”
Mohr shrugged. “It’s less that than the principle of the thing. We let you get away with it, suddenly everybody tries and we wind up in a series of mini wars just to keep operating. And I have to tell you, Murphy, that pirates and privateers are multiplying like cockroaches. Things are getting worse and worse. It’s all breaking down, and one day it’s going to be victims and prey and then nothing much at all. You can see it coming.”
“Perhaps. I think we’re better’n that,” the old captain told him. “Me, I think it’s about time this nasty little system fell apart so it could be replaced with something better, something that works. We got thirty, forty colonies that could be self-sufficient in food and a lot of supplies if they could kick the habit of dependin’ on other worlds for things and start doin’ more of it themselves. So long as they think of themselves as colonies, though, they’re gonna be stuck, and eventually every pig will sink into the mud and drown. No, Commander, we got to stop this whole colonial stuff. It’s time for the kids to realize they grew up.”
“You’re talking about anarchy.”
“I’m talkin’ about independence! We change or we die. That’s the way it’s always been.”
“Then who protects these new independent worlds from the ruthless killers who’ll sweep in the moment there’s no navy to at least threaten them?”
“They protect themselves! They do it or they die! Faced with that, they’ll protect themselves, believe you me. And it may cost a world or two. They have to see that they got no choice but to fight for their own. It’s tough, but that’s the way of it.”
“Pretty ruthless, Murphy. You’re talking about possibly millions of innocent lives.”
“That may be true, but you just said it yourself. It’s breakin’ down, it is. It can’t be held and your big ships can’t defend the whole of it. They learn to do it, or they die fast and messy or slow and messier. They’ll learn.” He looked at the clock and changed his tone.
“I think it’s time I whisper more sweet nothin’s to me darlin’s,” he sighed, and turned towards the intercom.
“C’mon, me sweet darlin’s. Can’t keep the nice folk here waitin’. Besides, I don’t know about you, but I’m more’n ready to blow this joint and get back to some free land. I’m gettin’ kinda bored just sittin’ here and waitin’, and if we miss our stop, well, then, we might be stuck on this tub for a long, long time.”
He paused for a moment. “Anything?”
“No,” Mohr sighed. “I think—what the hell?”
He was looking over Murphy’s shoulder at a data screen, and suddenly the screen had gone black. Now, in it, appeared shimmering almost cartoon-like outlines of the three missing girls. With just the outlines and an otherwise blank background, it was impossible to figure out where they were.
“Well, well! How are you, darlin’s?” Murphy beamed.
“How do we know this ain’t no trick?” came an eerie set of voices, all three speaking in perfect unison.
“Oh, c’mon. I know it’s not, but think about it. You got them over a barrel, darlin’s. They want you off, and me with you. What’s the choice? I mean, you can stay like ye are, whatever that is, and then what? The wee ones are born and there’s either messy problems or ye ain’t gonna be thinkin’ ’bout hidin’ out nohow. They ain’t gonna kill you, neither. They don’t know what’d happen to their pretty ship if they tried. So come on up, get somethin’ here to eat and drink, take a rest and get a shower and some clean clothes, and then we’ll be off.”
“In your ship?”
“Well, no, but don’t let that worry you none. I ain’t gonna lose as much as it seems. They’ll take us on one of their small ships, nice and comfy and much faster than I could do it. And once down, do you really care about them?”
The girls seemed to be thinking it over, or, more correctly, the collective mind seemed to mull over the choices. The trouble was, Murphy reflected, even all three of them together couldn’t get a deep thought and haul it out if it took three days. The problem was, were he in their position, he doubted if he would trust any of them, least of all him, to do more than dissect them to see how they did their little trick.
Finally, they seemed to come up with some sort of risky compromise, which was, after all, the best they could do in any event.
“Cap’n Murphy?”
“I’m here, darlin’s.”
“You tell ’em to get that little ship ready now. You tell ’em we leave now. You and us.”
“Well, darlin’s, we’re more than a wee bit out of the neighborhood yet. It’d still be a long flight, and they’re gonna hav’ta drive ’cause I couldn’t handle a jobbie like that. Too fancy for an old trader like me. And they ain’t gonna let it go unless they got some folks aboard to make sure it stays in their hands and comes back. Now, that’s only reasonable.”
“No! Just you and us!”
“I told you. The ship won’t even listen to me, and, besides, the laws, even on Barnum’s World, require somebody real to be in charge when it docks. There’ll be four of us and two of them. That’s not unreasonable. And I’ll be makin’ sure they don’t do no double-crossin’.”
They were silent again for a moment, but he felt better now. They weren’t thinking about not going anymore, only making the safest deal. Finally they answered, “All right, but just one of them.”
“They say two. That’s not very many considerin’ how many they got on this big bugger. They need one to pilot, one to deal with the folks on Barnum’s World to make sure they allow us to come down. I been there many a time, girls. Just me, or just us, we might talk ’em into it, but with a navy shuttle we’ll need somebody with permissions and such. They ain’t that trustin’ of the navy, you see.”
He realized that this made very little sense, but if it sounded reasonable and within their control, they might go for it.
“But we go now.” It wasn’t a question.
“If we must, yes. It’ll take longer and be less comfy, but we can go now. Let me ask the folks here.” He turned and looked at Mohr, who nodded. “Twenty minutes. We’ll use number twenty-four. It’s got its own gate drive but is also fitted out as a lifeboat, so it has basic supplies and such. It should do. Shall I alert the crew?”