tz.theicarushunt-第28部分

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r　the　series　of　struts　that　fastened　the　two　hulls　together。　Struts；　I　decided；　that　would　provide　a　strenuous　but　workable　jungle…gym　walkway　for　anyone　who　wanted　to　move　unseen　about　the　ship。
　As　well　as　a　convenient　work　platform　for；　say；　someone　desiring　to　tap　into　the　coax　cable　from　an　inter。　Specifically；　my　inter。　I　turned　my　light　on　the　spot　off　to　the　left　where　the　relevant　wires　emerged；　but　it　was　too　far　away　and　my　angle　too　shallow　to　see　with　certainty　whether　or　not　anything　had　been　tampered　with。
　The　nearest　support　strut　in　that　direction　was　nearly　half　a　meter　away。　Laying　my　gun　and　light　on　the　deck　beside　me；　I　gathered　my　feet　under　me；　gauged　the　distance；　and　leaped　carefully　toward　it。
　And　with　a　sudden　stomach…twisting　disorientation；　I　jerked　sideways　and　slammed　hard　onto　my　right　shoulder　and　leg　against　the　outer　deck。
　It　says　a　lot　for　the　shock　involved　that　my　first　stunned　thought　was　that　the　Icarus's　grav　generator　had　malfunctioned　again；　shutting　off　at　the　precise　moment　I　jumped…this　despite　the　fact　that　I　was　now　lying　flat　on　my　side　against　the　outer　hull。　It　took　another　several　seconds　before　my　brain　caught　up　with　the　fact　that　I　was；　in　fact；　lying　against　the　outer　hull；　the　term　〃lying〃　automatically　implying　a　gravitational　field。
　Except　that　this　gravitational　field　was　roughly　at　right　angles　to　the　one　I'd　just　left　in　my　cabin。　The　only　one　that　the　Icarus's　generator　could　create。　The　only　one；　in　fact；　that　had　any　business　existing　here　at　all。
　Slowly；　carefully；　I　turned　my　head　to　what　was　now　〃up〃　from　my　new　frame　of　reference。　There　was　my　cabin；　a　meter　above　my　head；　with　my　plasmic　and　light　clinging　unconcernedly　to　what　was　from　my　perspective　a　sheer　wall。　Even　more　carefully；　I　leaned　my　torso　up　away　from　the　hull；　half　expecting　that　this　magic　grip　would　suddenly　cease　if　I　let　go　of　the　hull　and　send　me　sliding　down　to　the　underside　of　the　Icarus。
　I　needn't　have　worried。　Except　for　the　total　impossibility　of　its　vector；　this　field　behaved　more　or　less　like　the　one　created　by　a　normal　ship's　grav　generator。　I　reached　up　toward　my　cabin；　and　because　I　was　paying　close　attention　I　was　able　to　feel　where　the　two　gravity　vectors　began　to　conflict　with　each　other　a　few　millimeters　my　side　of　the　inner　hull。　At　least　now　I　knew　what　the　anomaly　was　that　Pix　and　Pax　had　detected　while　scampering　beneath　my　bunk；　and　why　neither　they　nor　Ixil　had　been　able　to　interpret　it。
　It　also　explained　how　our　mysterious　eavesdropper/saboteur　had　been　able　to　move　around　so　easily。　No　dangerous　or　athletic　strut…leaping　required；　all　he　had　to　do　was　crawl　around　like　a　spider　on　a　wall。　I　snagged　my　light　and　gun　and　brought　them　to　me；　nearly　dropping　the　plasmic　when　its　weight　suddenly　shifted　in　my　grip。　It　might　not　take　great　athletic　ability　to　move　around　in　here；　I　amended；　but　it　did　take　some　getting　used　to。　Holstering　the　weapon；　I　shifted　myself　cautiously　toward　my　inter；　still　not　entirely　trusting　this　phenomenon。
　I　was　easing　up　to　get　a　closer　look　at　the　wires　when　I　heard　a　small　scraping　sound　in　the　distance。
　For　a　moment　I　thought　I'd　imagined　it；　or　else　that　it　had　merely　been　some　normal　ship's　noise　distorted　by　the　echo　chamber　I　was　lying　in。　But　then　the　sound　came　again；　and　I　knew　I'd　been　right　the　first　time。
　There　was　someone　else　in　here　with　me。
　Silently；　I　shut　off　my　light　and　put　it　in　my　pocket；　at　the　same　time　drawing　my　plasmic。　Then；　not　nearly　as　silently；　but　as　silently　as　I　could　manage；　I　set　off　down　the　curving　hull。
　It　was；　in　retrospect；　probably　not　the　most　brilliant　thing　I'd　ever　done　in　my　life。　However　it　was　he'd　discovered　this　cozy　little　back　stairway；　our　saboteur　surely　had　a　better　idea　of　the　lay　of　the　land　in　here　than　I　did；　including　knowing　where　all　the　best　hiding　places　and　ambush　sites　were。　He　was　furthermore　presumably　already　acclimated　to　the　place；　whereas　I　was　still　distracted　by　the　nagging　feeling　that　at　any　minute　the　hull's　peculiar　gravity　would　fail　and　I　would　bee　the　cue　ball　in　a　giant　spherical　game　of　bumper　billiards。　But　at　the　moment　all　that　I　could　think　of　was　that　I　had　a　chance　to　nail　him　dead　to　rights；　and　I　was　going　to　take　it。
　I　started　off　by　scooting　along　the　hull　on　my　backside；　but　quickly　gave　that　up　as　not　nearly　quiet　enough；　not　to　mention　being　a　posture　that　tended　to　leave　me　with　my　back　to　the　direction　I　was　going。　I　tried　switching　to　a　standard　hands…and…knees　crawl；　but　after　a　couple　of　meters　decided　that　that　was　no　good　either；　leaving　my　gun　hand　as　it　did　too　far　out　of　line　to　get　off　a　quick　shot　if　necessary。　The　only　other　option　I　could　think　of　was　the　one　I　finally　adopted；　a　crouching　sort　of　duck　waddle　that　was　hard　on　the　knees　and　undignified　in　the　extreme；　but　at　least　had　the　advantage　of　leaving　my　gun　and　me　pointed　in　the　same　direction。
　The　sound　had　seemed　to　e　from　above　me；　the　term　〃above〃　referring　to　the　direction　toward　the　Icarus's　top　deck；　so　that　was　the　direction　I　headed。　It　was　slower　going　than　I'd　expected；　partly　because　of　the　awkwardness　of　my　stance　and　the　need　for　silence；　but　also　because　of　the　unpleasant　vertigo　effect　of　having　my　head　bobbing　along　just　about　where　the　two　peting　gravity　fields　mixed　at　roughly　equal　strength。　The　effect　became　steadily　more　pronounced　as　I　passed　the　mid　deck　and　continued　around　toward　the　top　of　the　ship；　with　the　angle　between　the　gravity　vectors　gradually　veering　from　ninety　degrees　toward　an　even　more　disconcerting　180。
　I　don't　know　how　long　the　slow…motion　chase　went　on。　Not　long；　I　think；　not　more　than　fifteen　or　twenty　minutes'　total。　Between　my　aching　knees　and　swimming　head　and　the　fact　that　I　was　alone　in　a　dark　space　with　a　man　who　had　already　killed　once；　my　time　sense　wasn't　at　its　best　that　night。　Every　thirty　seconds　or　so　I　paused　to　listen；　stretching　out　with　all　my　senses　over　the　rumbling　background　noise　and　vibration　of　the　ship；　trying　for　a　new　estimate　of　where　he　was。
　It　was　on　the　fifth　or　sixth　such　halt　that　I　realized　that　what　had　up　till　now　been　occasional　incautious　scraping　sounds　had　suddenly　bee　something　far　more　steady。　Steady　scraping　noises；　yet　paradoxically　quieter　than　they　had　been　up　till　then。
　My　quarry　knew　I　was　here。
　Earlier；　I　had　e　up　with　the　image　of　being　a　spider　on　a　wall。　Now；　suddenly；　the　image　changed　from　a　spider　to　a　fly。　A　fly　pinned　by　a　light　against　a　very　white　wall。　For　a　dozen　heartbeats　I　squatted　there　motionlessly；　sweating　in　the　darkness　as　I　strained　to　listen；　trying　to　determine　whether　the　sounds　were　moving　toward　or　away　from　me。　The　latter　would　mean　he　was　trying　to　escape；　the　former　that　he　had　yet　another　violent　accident　on　his　mind。　And　if　there　was　one　thing　certain　here；　it　was　that　I　couldn't　afford　to　guess　wrong。
　For　those　dozen　heartbeats　I　listened；　and　then　I　knew。　The　sounds　were　definitely　moving　away；　probably　downward　to　my　right；　though　the　echo　effect　made　it　difficult　to　tell　for　sure。
　All　the　reasons　why　I　shouldn't　have　e　in　here　after　him　in　the　first　place　once　again　flashed　through　my　mind。　Once　again；　I　shoved　them　aside。　I'd　already　lost　several　rounds　to　this　man；　and　I　was　getting　damned　tired　of　it。　Picking　a　vector　that　would　theoretically　intersect　his；　I　set　off　after　him。
　To　this　point　it　had　been　a　slow…motion　chase。　Now；　it　became　an　equally　slow…motion　game　of　hounds　and　hares。　I　was　stopping　ever　more　frequently　to　listen；　but　my　quarry　was　doing　the　same；　and　as　often　as　not　I　would　pause　only　to　find　he　had　changed　direction　again。　Doggedly；　I　kept　at　it；　my　earlier　thought　about　the　possibility　of　ambush　spots　never　straying　too　far　from　my　mind。　So　far　our　saboteur　had　shown　no　indication　of　being　armed；　but　everyone　else　I'd　run　into　on　this　trip　had　been　and　there　was　no　reason　to　expect　that　whoever　had　been　handing　out　the　guns　with　such　generosity　would　have　neglected　his　friend　here　aboard　the　Icarus。
　More　than　once　I　also　considered　banging　the　butt　of　my　plasmic　against　the　inner　hull　and　trying　to　rouse　the　rest　of　the　crew　to　help　in　the　search。　But　by　then　I　was　so　thoroughly　lost　that　I　had　no　idea　whether　I　was　even　near　enough　to　any　of　the　others　scattered　around　the　ship　for　my　pounding　to　do　any　good。　And　whether　any　of　them　heard　me　or　not；　my　playmate　in　here　certainly　would；　and　at　the　first　sign　of　an　attempted　alarm　he　might　well　postpone　his　escape　plan　in　favor　of　shutting　me　up　first。
　And　then；　in　the　distance　ahead　of　me；　I　saw　a　faint　glow　appear；　so　faint　that　I　wasn't　sure　at　first　whether　I　was　simply　imagining　it。　My　first　thought　was　that　our　convoluted　intertwined　wanderings　had　brought　us　back　to　the　vicinity　of　my　cabin　and　the　open　inner…hull　plate。　But　even　as　I　realized　that　the　bined　gravity　vector　was　wrong　for　that；　the　distant　glow　vanished；　acpanied　by　a　dull；　metallic　thud。　A　sound　like　two　pieces　of　metal　clanking　hollowly　against　each　other。
　The　same　sound　I'd　heard　from　the　wraparound　after　my　talk　with　Nicabar；　and　had　been　trying　to　track　down　for　nearly　two　days。
　I　kept　going；　but　there　was　clearly　no　point　in　hurrying。　My　quarry　had　led　me　around　the　barn　a　couple　of　times　and　had　now　popped　back　through　his　rabbit　hole　to　the　safe　anonymity　of　the　Icarus　proper。　By　the　time　I　reached　the　spot　where　the　glow　had　been；　assuming　I　could　pinpoint　it　at　all；　he　would　have　the　connectors　back　in　place　and　it　would　be　just　one　more　of　seventeen　thousand　other　inner…hull　plates。
　A　couple　of　minutes　later　I　reached　the　vicinity　where　I　estimated　the　glow　had　been。　As　expected；　every　one　of　the　hull　plates　in　the　area　looked　exactly　alike；　and　I　still　had　no　idea　where　exactly　I　was。　Briefly；　I　thought　about　trying　to　dig　my　way　through；　but　a　single　glance　was　all　it　took　to　see　that　the　hull…plate　connectors　couldn't　be　removed　from　this　side。
　But　maybe　there　was　another　way　to　mark　my　place　here。
　I　played　my　light　across　the　inner…hull　plates　over　my　head；　searching　among　the　haphazard　arrangement　of　piping　and　wires　until　I　found　what　I　was　looking　for：　the　telltale　power　wires　and　coax　cable　of　an　inter；　their