tz.theicarushunt-第62部分

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n't　want　anyone　wandering　too　far　afield　hunting　for　anything　that's　not　really　vital。〃
　〃They've　got　tram　systems　leading　from　the　port　into　each　of　the　two　city　centers；〃　Nicabar　put　in　from　the　wraparound；　apparently　having　arrived　in　time　to　hear　this　last　exchange。　〃I　spotted　them　on　the　monitors　while　you　were　putting　us　down。　If　they　had　time　to　set　those　up；　they've　surely　got　an　outfitters'　shop　or　two　in　place。　I　can　go　check…it　won't　take　me　long。〃
　〃Forget　it；〃　Shawn　growled　before　I　could　answer。　〃He　never　lets　anyone　go　anywhere　except　him；　remember？　Just　him。〃
　〃Shawn；〃　Everett　said　warningly；　putting　a　massive　hand　on　the　kid's　shoulder。
　〃Don't　'Shawn'　me；〃　Shawn　snapped；　angrily　shrugging　off　the　hand。　〃I'm　not　a　child；　you　know。〃
　〃If　you　want　to　make　a　quick　check；　go　ahead；〃　I　told　Nicabar。　〃Just　watch　yourself；　and　be　back　in　half　an　hour　to　help　Tera　and　Chort　with　the　lights。〃
　〃I　will；〃　Nicabar　promised。　〃Don't　worry…it's　a　zoo　out　there。　I　won't　even　be　noticed。〃　Turning；　he　disappeared　back　down　the　wraparound。
　〃What　about　him？〃　Tera　asked；　nodding　toward　Ixil；　who　was　standing　slightly　off　to　the　side　keeping　out　of　the　conversation。
　〃He'll　be　in　overall　charge　here；〃　I　told　her；　ignoring　the　glare　Shawn　was　giving　me；　this　particular　bile　probably　a　result　of　me　proving　him　wrong　by　letting　Nicabar　go。　Even　at　his　best　Shawn　hated　being　proved　wrong；　and　in　the　middle　of　borandis　withdrawal　he　was　a　long　way　from　his　best。　〃He'll　also　be　using　Pix　and　Pax　to　keep　an　eye　on　things　outside　the　ship。〃
　〃How　do　you　plan　to　get　it　this　time？〃　Tera　asked。　〃The　borandis；　I　mean。〃
　I　focused　on　her　face。　She　was　gazing　evenly　back　at　me；　her　expression　not　giving　anything　away。
　But　then；　the　fact　that　she　didn't　want　her　expression　giving　anything　away　spoke　volumes　all　by　itself。　〃Why；　you　feeling　squeamish？〃　I　countered。　〃I'll　do　whatever　I　have　to。　Leave　it　at　that。〃
　〃Fine；〃　she　said；　not　taking　offense。　At　least　no　visible　offense。　〃I　just　want　to　remind　you　that　we　can't　afford　for　you　to　get　into　any　trouble。　If　you　don't　make　it　back；　we　don't　lift。〃
　〃I'll　make　it　back；〃　I　assured　her；　brushing　past　her　and　heading　up　toward　the　wraparound。　〃Don't　worry　about　me；〃　I　added　over　my　shoulder。　〃You　just　concentrate　on　getting　those　lights　up　and　running。〃
　The　transition　between　the　different　gravity　vectors　of　the　sphere　and　the　wraparound　was　as　always　a　bit　tricky　to　navigate；　but　I　managed　it　without　any　serious　loss　of　balance　or　dignity。　Nicabar　had　already　opened　the　hatchway　and　lowered　the　ladder　the　ten　meters　to　the　ground；　checking　to　make　sure　my　plasmic　was　riding　loose　in　its　holster；　I　stepped　to　the　top　of　the　ladder　and　looked　down。
　Nicabar　had　been　right：　It　was　indeed　a　zoo　out　there。　The　close　packing　of　the　parked　ships　was　funneling　the　prospective　merrymakers　down　the　relatively　narrow　lanes　between　them；　lanes　they　were　further　having　to　share　with　fueling　trucks；　the　occasional　token　customs　vehicle；　and　about　a　million　little　two…man　runaround　cars　that　were　obviously　intended　to　alleviate　the　pedestrian　congestion　but　were　only　succeeding　in　making　it　worse。
　All　of　which　boiled　down　to　about　as　ideal　a　situation　as　I　could　have　asked　for。　Even　if　the　Patth　and　their　lumpy　Iykami　allies　were　out　there　looking　for　us；　the　sheer　volume　of　people　they　would　have　to　sift　through　ought　to　make　this　as　quick　and　clean　as　possible。　Getting　my　bearings　toward　the　nearest　spur　of　the　tram　lines　Nicabar　had　mentioned；　I　headed　down　the　ladder　and　elbowed　my　way　into　the　river　of　pedestrians。
　My　first　thought　had　been　to　try　to　corral　one　of　the　cars　for　myself。　But　there　weren't　any　unused　ones　in　sight；　so　I　set　off　on　foot。　Which　was　just　as　well；　I　quickly　realized；　as　I　saw　how　easily　the　cars　were　getting　snarled　up　in　the　traffic　flow。　The　tram　spur　wasn't　that　far　away；　and　I　could　use　the　exercise。　And　the　time　to　do　some　hard　thinking。
　But　not　about　how　I　was　going　to　acquire　Shawn's　borandis。　Despite　my　somewhat　melodramatic　pronouncement　to　Tera　about　doing　whatever　I　had　to；　that　part　was　actually　going　to　be　the　least　of　my　worries。　With　borandis　a　perfectly　legal　substance　for　at　least　a　dozen　of　the　species　jostling　against　me；　every　pharmacy　on　the　planet　would　have　the　stuff　in　stock；　with　few　if　any　questions　asked。　No；　the　immediate　and　burning　question　right　now　was　the　same　one　that　had　been　gnawing　at　me　for　quite　a　while：　how　to　get　the　Icarus　to　Earth　ahead　of　the　Patth。
　Along　with　the　subsidiary　question　of　whether　that　was　even　the　smart　thing　for　me　to　do。
　Because　lurking　in　the　back　of　my　mind　was　my　most　recent　conversation　with　Ixil；　and　his　half…joking　question　of　whether　I　would　be　offering　the　Icarus　to　Brother　John　instead。　Then；　I'd　assured　him　I　had　no　intention　of　doing　so；　now；　though；　I　wasn't　nearly　so　sure　it　wasn't　the　best　solution　we　had。　It　would　keep　the　stargate　in　human　hands…bloody　hands；　certainly；　but　human　nevertheless…as　well　as　giving　me　the　kind　of　career　boost　someone　in　my　position　could　usually　only　dream　of。　I　might　even　get　to　meet　the　elusive　Mr。　Antoniewicz；　which　would　put　me　in　exalted　pany　indeed。
　Cameron　wouldn't　be　pleased　by　such　a　move；　of　course。　Neither　would　Tera；　and　if　Tera　wasn't　happy；　Nicabar　probably　wouldn't　be　happy；　either。　The　two　of　them　seemed　to　have　bee　quite　chummy　since　that　confrontation　on　the　bridge　regarding　my　shadier　business　associations。　Still；　at　this　point；　other　people's　happiness　or　lack　thereof　wasn't　particularly　high　on　my　priority　list。　We'd　covered　barely　a　fifth　of　the　distance　from　Meima　to　Earth；　and　already　we'd　had　far　too　many　close　calls　than　I　cared　to　think　about。　The　others；　believing　that　the　Icarus　was　a　superfast　alien　stardrive；　undoubtedly　still　had　their　hopes　pinned　on　using　it　to　beat　out　the　Patth　net；　Ixil　and　I；　on　the　other　hand；　knew　that　hope　was　nonexistent。
　On　almost　every　level　I　could　think　of；　the　idea　made　sense。　And　Cameron　and　Tera　would　surely　get　over　their　pique　eventually。　Still；　I　reluctantly　concluded；　I　wasn't　quite　ready　to　make　such　a　decision。　Not　yet。　Maybe　once　we　were　off　Palmary。
　The　tram　line；　for　all　its　obviously　quick　assembly；　was　still　more　fortable　and　professional　than　transports　I'd　used　on　a　lot　of　supposedly　more　advanced　worlds。　I　arrived　at　the　platform　to　find　a　pair　of　trams　already　waiting；　one　each　heading　in　to　the　cities　of　Drobney　and　k'Barch。　I　picked　the　k'Barch　one；　reasoning　that　the　place　with　a　k'Tra　name　would　probably　have　a　more　frenetic　celebration　level；　and　hence　more　cover　for　a　man　on　the　run。
　Most　of　my　fellow　travelers　had　apparently　e　to　a　similar　conclusion；　though　undoubtedly　with　different　motivations。　I　let　the　traffic　flow　carry　me　in　through　the　doors　and　to　a　standing　point　midway　down　one　of　the　cars；　jammed　between　a　group　of　sweaty　Narchners　and　a　group　of　clean　but　equally　aromatic　Saffi。
　We　headed　out。　I　had　enough　of　a　view　out　one　of　the　side　windows　to　see　that　Nicabar's　assumption　had　been　correct：　Not　only　was　there　a　good…sized　outfitters'　store　at　the　junction　of　the　two　tram　lines；　but　also　a　collection　of　restaurants；　tavernos；　and　gawk…shops。　Even　Starrm　had　gotten　into　the　act；　setting　up　a　prefab　satellite　station　so　that　spacers　who　felt　the　need　to　get　in　touch　with　the　outside　universe　wouldn't　have　to　go　to　wherever　their　main　building　was　in　the　twin…city　area。　Once　again；　I　raised　my　estimate　of　how　much　money　this　Grand　Feast　must　pour　into　the　Palmary　economy。
　We　rumbled　our　way　to　the　end　of　the　line；　which　from　the　look　of　things　was　relatively　close　to　the　middle　of　k'Barch　and　perilously　near　the　epicenter　of　the　uping　celebrations。　The　earlier　flow　through　the　tram　doors　reversed　itself；　and　a　few　chaotic　minutes　later　I　was　maneuvering　my　way　down　a　sidewalk　that　was　only　marginally　less　crowded　than　the　inside　of　the　tram　had　been。　About　a　block　ahead；　I　could　see　the　rustling　display　flag　of　a　pharmacy；　and　I　concentrated　on　making　my　way　toward　it。
　I　had　reached　the　shop　and　was　working　my　way　sideways　through　the　crowd　toward　the　door；　when　something　exploded　against　the　back　of　my　neck；　plunging　me　into　darkness。
　　
　CHAPTER　19
　
　I　CAME　TO　slowly；　drifting　back　toward　consciousness　in　gradual　and　tortured　stages。　There　was　a　vague　sensation　of　disfort；　which　first　coalesced　into　an　overall　chill　and　stiffness　before　zeroing　in　on　a　throbbing　somewhere　in　the　back　of　my　head。　There　was　something　wrong　with　my　arms；　though　I　couldn't　figure　out　exactly　what。　There　was　light　somewhere；　too；　though　as　vague　and　undefined　as　the　disfort　had　originally　been；　and　the　distant　thought　occurred　to　me　that　if　I　turned　my　head　maybe　I　could　figure　out　where　it　was　ing　from。　It　took　some　time　and　effort　to　remember　how　that　could　be　done；　but　finally　I　had　it　doped　out。　Feeling　rather　pleased　with　my　acplishment；　I　turned　my　head　a　little　to　the　side。
　And　instantly　came　fully　awake　as　a　flare　of　pain　burned　through　the　back　of　my　skull。　Someone；　apparently；　was　doing　his　best　to　rip　my　head　off　my　spine　with　his　bare　hands。　Clenching　my　teeth；　I　waited　until　the　pain　had　mostly　subsided；　then；　keeping　my　head　as　motionless　as　possible；　I　eased　open　my　eyes。
　I　was　sitting　in　a　plain　wooden　armchair；　unpadded；　my　head　lolled　forward　with　my　chin　resting　on　my　chest。　What　was　wrong　with　my　arms　was　quickly　apparent：　both　wrists　were　handcuffed　to　the　chair　arms　on　which　they　were　resting。　Experimentally；　I　shifted　my　right　foot　a　bit　and　found　that　they　hadn't　bothered　to　lock　my　feet　in　place　as　they　had　my　arms。　In　the　background　I　could　hear　the　faint　sounds　of　distant　music；　closer　at　hand；　somewhere　just　in　front　of　me；　I　could　also　hear　the　sounds　of　quiet　alien　conversation。　Slowly；　mindful　of　the　trip…hammer　waiting　to　resume　work　on　the　back　of　my　skull；　I　carefully　raised　my　head　to　look。
　And　immediately　wished　I　hadn't。　I　was　in　a　medium…sized　room；　plain　and　largely　unfurnished；　with　a　single　light　in　the　ceiling　and　a　single　closed　door　maybe　four　meters　directly　ahead　of　me。　Seated　behind　a　low　wooden　table　midway　between　the　door　and　me；　my　partially　disassembled　phone　on　the　tabletop　in