"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?"
"By all means." Murphy turned back to the intercom. "Okay, darlin's, ye drive a hard bargain but they're buyin' it. The man here's callin' his folks now. The problem is, I don't know where you are so I don't know how to tell you to get down there."
"We can get there," the girls replied. "The spirit of the ship will guide us."
The spirit of the ship? Suddenly he realized that they meant the central computer that was running just about the whole show. To them, it was just another person, albeit a supernatural one, whose mind they were partly controlling. All those tests and practices to get a damned pilot's license and these little girls do it by ordering the disembodied voice in the heavens. Jesus!
Mohr came back into the room and looked over at him. "You want to come with me? I'll take you down there. I'm having a real argument with the captain and the exec over this, but short of risking the entire ship I don't see any other way but this. Maslovic's on his way as well, and I've alerted Lieutenant Chung, one of our best fighter pilots from the destroyer Agrippa to take her kit and proceed to the shuttle. She's been briefed and knows the situation if not the whole score. Best if as few of the crew as possible ever know the kind of power these girls showed."
Murphy nodded. "I see. Gonna be hard to keep it silent, though, I think. You better watch it with this ship's command and control computer, too, Commander. You don't know what thoughts them little darlin's put in its metaphysical head."
"I'm well aware of that," Mohr assured him. "But there shouldn't be any problem if we keep our end of the bargain, and I fully intend to do so. Good luck, Captain. And if you find out anything valuable about the people behind all this, there's a great deal of reward potential. You remember that."
"I kind of think that, havin' seen what these little girls can do, I'm best off mindin' me own business, Commander. And mindin' it as far away from Barnum's World and Tara Hibernius as well as I can. This is a kind of power I'd rather not think much on, or for long. If these girls can do this, imagine what the folks behind 'em, the ones with the big brains, can do! No, I think this is time to mind me own business."
The security chief shrugged. "Suit yourself. It's my duty to find out how to stop this sort of thing from happening to us again, and maybe whether or not it's a part of something nastier that we should know about. Maybe it's not. Well and good if not, but that's what I'm supposed to do. It's why I'm here." He put out a hand and Murphy took it and shook it.
"Well, good luck, Commander. I don't know which one of us is goin' into the worst situation," Murphy replied. "But at least I'm goin' someplace."
Finding Shuttle 24 was not all that difficult, but it did take some time to get to on the vast frigate.