I turned to Vax. “Run your coordinates one more time, and recalculate starting from base mass.” He, Darla, and the Pilot might have been wrong, but I still had to be sure my own coordinates were right.
“Aye aye, sir!” Vax’s fingers flew over the keys. In a few minutes he came up with a solution. My solution. I punched in the new figures. “Darla, I override your coordinates. Log.”
“Manual override coordinates received and acknowledged, Mr. Seafort.” Darla. “I’m logging it.”
I picked up the caller, keyed the engine room. “Chief?”
“Yes, sir?” His answer was immediate. He must have been standing with caller in hand.
I tried to make my voice casual. “What if, say, one of Darla’s preprogrammed parameters were glitched? Once we give you Fusion coordinates, would faulty input from Darla throw us off?”
“Only if you ordered us to rely on wave monitoring from the bridge, and I’ve never heard such an order since first I sailed. The engine room always monitors and adjusts energy output.” A pause. “Is there a problem, sir?”
Yes. We were deep interstellar, with a Captain who had no idea what he was doing, and a stubborn puter. “Of course not.” My tone was hearty. “Engine room, Fuse, please.”
“Aye aye, sir. Fusion drive is... on.” The screens abruptly faded.
I swallowed, watching the instalments closely. I knew Chief Me Andrews was doing likewise, ready to pounce on the slightest variation from the norm. Our readouts remained steady. I let out a long breath.
“Permission to enter bridge, sir.” Sandy, ready to begin his watch.
“Granted. Vax, you’re relieved.”
“Aye aye, sir.” Vax stood and saluted, giving me a look I had never seen before. Respect, and something else. Awe, perhaps. I realized my bullying him, added to my apparent wizardry with the computations, had transformed me in his eyes from an irksome youth wrongfully his senior to a Captain who could do no wrong. Both images were faulty, but I couldn’t do anything about them.
As Sandy settled into his seat. I realized with a sinking feeling that if the Pilot, a middy, and the puter could all be wrong, I could trust no one. Every time I went off watch I risked the entire ship. Now I knew why Captain Haag virtually lived on his bridge. I wasn’t smarter than all the others, nor was I more alert. But Hiberniawas my responsibility, and no one else’s.
I also knew why the Pilot had gone pale; a seven percent error built into our coordinates would magnify to a stupendous variation after a lengthy Fuse. We could have sailed into the middle of Hope Sun. And it was just dumb luck that I had caught it.
11
Dinner was called. At the Captain’s table there were only three places set. I caught the purser’s attention and raised my eyebrow at the empty chairs.
Mr. Browning bent discreetly by my ear. “Requests from several passengers, sir, for new seat assignments. Under the circumstances I thought... “
“Quite right.” Dining with the Captain was an honor. It would never, by Lord God, be a duty. Not while I held the office. I made conversation with the three passengers who remained. One of them was Mrs. Donhauser, who as usual didn’t hesitate to speak her mind.
“You’ve become rather unpopular, young man.” She eyed me with apparent disapproval.
“It would seem to be the case.” I pretended unconcern as I buttered a roll.
“The Passengers’ Council feels you should turn back. And they don’t forgive your youth.”
“Tell them it will pass.” I had enough worries about the crew and officers without vexing myself with passengers.
That seemed to offend her, and we finished our meal in silence.
I stopped to talk to the Chief on the way out. “By the way, there’s a safe in my cabin. I don’t suppose you know how I can get it open?”
His tone was flat. “I believe Captain Haag kept the combination in the bridge safe. If not, I can have a machinist drill it out.”
“I’ll look. Thanks.” He was still staring when I turned away.
I climbed to Level 1, looked in on the bridge. Vax and Alexi seemed to have everything under control. Pilot Haynes had left word that he was unable, so far, to locate the recalc authorization codes, but would search again on his next watch.
I went to Amanda’s stateroom. We met awkwardly at the hatch. I moved to kiss her; she accepted passively, unresponsive. We both took chairs instead of the bunk or deck. It was to be a more formal meeting. I told her I’d missed her.
She brushed aside my small talk. “What are you up to, Micky?”
“How do you mean?” -”That uniform. Why are you playing at Captain? You know you’re no Captain.”
I tried a smile. “We all take turns, Amanda. Next one on is Vax.”
She didn’t smile back. “Don’t laugh at me. I’m frightened of what you’re doing.”
“What am I doing that’s frightening?”
“Going on to Hope Nation. People think we may not get there. They’re worried and scared, and saying ugly things.
Not just us, the crew too.”
“How did you hear about that?”
“The mess stewards.” I made a note to look into it.
“Nicky, something could happen. Someone could get hurt.”
I stopped trying to smile. “What do you know?”
“Nothing in particular. You’re trying to take on everyone, and you can’t. Not with the crew and passengers all spooked as they are. They say even the officers wanted to get rid of you.”
“Where did you hear that?”
“I’m not telling.” That was bad. I wanted her on my side, and she was widening the gap between us. “I know what you think,” she added. “The law is the law, and if it says you should be Captain you’ve got to do it. But consider the good of the ship. If you step down, the other officers won’t get into trouble for taking over. Get out of their way, Nicky.”
“Is that how most of the passengers feel?”
“I hear it everywhere. And believe it, too.”
“I need you, Amanda,” I said simply, meaning it. “If you turn against me I’ll be completely alone.”
That brought her to my chair. She knelt at my side. “I’m not against you, Nicky. I want to be safe. I want you to be safe too.”
I stroked her hair. “I’m Captain of Hibernia.That much is settled. If I don’t have you to talk with, I won’t have anyone. If I don’t have you to touch and hold, I won’t have anyone. Please.” I held my breath, completely at her mercy.
She leaned over and kissed me. “I’m here, Nicky. I’ll be with you.”
I stayed with her most of the night. We didn’t make love; instead, we caressed and kissed, we hugged. Early in the morning I left her stateroom and quietly went back to my own. Ricky found me there when he came with my breakfast tray. Again he saluted and stood rigidly at attention until I dismissed him.
I went to the bridge. Sandy and the Chief had the watch. I sat and checked the Log. Twice Vax had reported for personal inspection, then left to go back to bed.
I glanced at the blank simulscreen, wondering how familiar it would become before I reached Hope Nation. Seeing the Chief reminded me; I went to the safe and found in it the combination to my cabin strongbox. Bored, I sat again. Half in jest I asked, “Do you play chess, Darla?”
For answer the simulscreen lighted up with a chessboard.
My jaw dropped. “I’ll be dam-- yes. Well.” I glanced at the Chief. His eye held an amused glint. I said, “You’d better put it away. I can’t while I’m on duty.”
“Make up your mind,” she said petulantly, snapping off the screen.
After a while I said, “Chief, I’ve been thinking.”
“Yes, sir?”
“I don’t see why we should sail all the way to Hope Nation without officers. Vax will make lieutenant soon, you know that. Why couldn’t we recruit more midshipmen?”
Sandy examined his console, his ears growing larger by the minute. Well, I wasn’t telling any secrets. He polished dust from his screen with his sleeve.