Long View - Zelde M'Tana Part 4

When she saw a man on a landing above, she paused. He'd spotted her, all right- and he had a gun. Behind her back she wiggled a hand in the "Stay put!" sign.

Then, keeping that hand on her hip so the knife was out of view, she started up the ladder.

His voice came high and strained. "You, down there! How did you get out? What do you think you're doing?"

Zelde smiled. It can't hurt. She tried to keep her lips from trembling. "They said- the ones that let us out-you 37.could use some help. That right?" Now she saw him better-no green armband. A Utie. . . .

"You want to help in the mutiny-is that it?" All right, so he wasn't as dumb as she'd like. Play it his way.

She said, "And get in worse trouble than we got now?" She kept on climbing-not fast and scaring him but not stopping, either. When she could look over the top, see the deck he stood on, he stepped back and motioned for her to stay where she was.

But she looked down, pretended she hadn't seen his signal-she saw his feet move, a slow sidestep and then forward. Her own feet reached the landing and now she did look up-to him and past him-and gasped.

"Behind you!" For long enough, he swung to see the empty landing. She jumped- the knife caught his neck and went in.

Then the others climbed to join her.

On the narrow landing there wasn't room; some stood on the steps below. In the dim light, Zelde couldn't make out all the faces. She tried to get her breathing-and her fear- under control, but she didn't have enough time. She said, "On up, then,"

and turned to climb again.

The next two they found, several levels higher, were already dead. The man, big and wearing a green armband, had half his chest burned away. The woman lay with her neck twisted out of life. "They got each other." Zelde picked up a heavy gun; she'd never seen one like it up close. "What's this? How you work it?"

Someone said, "It's an energy-bolt weapon, is all I know. You just aim it and pull the trigger switch."

And someone else: "Don't keep it turned on, though, like spraying water. You could burn through and blow the whole s.h.i.+p. And when the charge runs out, all you've got left is a club."

Puzzled, Zelde asked, "How I know it ain't dead now?"

"Point it away from everybody and hit it just a touch." For a moment the deck flamed. "Okay-it's live. There's a way to check how much you have left, but I don't know how." Zelde waited, but n.o.body spoke up.

"Yeah. Whatever, it's got to do. Time to move some more." Up she went, and still up. When she heard shouts above, and some gun noise, she moved faster. Then she 38.came to a landing with no more ladder above, just a door. She paused, panting, while the rest caught up to her.

"All right. Now I crack this door a little and look out there. Don't know what we do, 'til I see. What I say then, everybody do it right now-we got only the one chance."

"That's right." It was Cleta Parrin. "Any other way could get us all killed."

Slow, real slow, Zelde moved the door. What she saw out there was a siege. Metal desks and toppled equipment made a barricade guarding a room with its own door lying bent and burned. She couldn't know who was inside-but the ones shooting at the barricade, lying behind other furniture or just plain wreckage, didn't have armbands. So she knew whose side she was on, and pa.s.sed word back to the rest.

"Outside is Uties, and we're behind them; we go out fast and just plain kill, the best we can. No noise 'til they see us, then everybody yell-they get shook up some, maybe. I count three-then we go."

She went in fast, off to the side where she could get cross-fire, and braced to shoot.

A Utie turned to face her; she cut loose with the energy gun and saw his head char black and fall away. Then no time for thinking. She shot and ran and dodged, shot again and nothing happened. She swung the gun and hit a woman square in the mouth- something caught her across the legs, and she fell. Rolling, then up again-the fight was out of hand to try giving any orders-a man raised his gun at her and she kicked it to one side and dove at him behind her knife. Got him!

Why wasn't she scared now? Maybe just no time for it. Above all the other noise she heard a shout: "Don't shoot those women-they're fighting for us." She'd heard that voice before!

She was too far forward now-in the middle of it all, where she couldn't guard herself. Backstepping, looking to the sides-she saw the clubbed gun that hit her, too late to dodge all of it. On the deck again-somebody stepped on her-she grabbed an ankle and the stepper went flat, too. Starting to get up-a flash of bright heat went past from behind, and swung toward her-she dropped. Pain-she smelled her own hair burning and slapped at her head. Two people, struggling, fell on her. She pushed and rolled but from under, away. There wasn't time for it but she 39.couldn't help feeling of her head-it didn't sting so much now, couldn't be burned enough to matter. . . .

A bellow-louder than any real voice. "Give yourself up, Parnell! You've got nothing that can crack this armor!"

The barricade was down. In the doorway, cradling a gun in one b.l.o.o.d.y arm, stood the man who had signed her aboard. Opposite, facing him from the very edge of the main pa.s.sage landing, she saw a monster-a metal and plastic giant. Someone said, "The power suit! Christ-we're dead!"

Maybe, Zelde knew what power suits were-the Police used them sometimes-no way she could cut into one, to the man inside. And heavy, they were. . . .

She didn't think about it-she just jumped. The overhead light fixture held her weight long enough. As she swung forward, bullets whined. Both feet, legs stiff, caught the power suit square in the chest. She bounced back, landed curled up and somersaulting backward. The thing- it was falling, waving its arms as it toppled over the edge. She scuttled forward and looked down.

Part of it hit the landing below and the rest didn't. It pinwheeled and fell again, crumpled a slanted railing and caromed out to graze a wall, and back again-how it was bellowing!-and crashed to a dead stop, finally, far below. Sparks came from the jerking ma.s.s, then smoke and flame. The shrieking seemed to last forever.

She couldn't feel or think; she walked, but didn't listen to anybody. She saw Cleta Parrin, sprawled with half her head gone. She felt herself start to shake, and gripped her hands together, pulling at her muscles to steady them. She wanted to say something, but words wouldn't come. What's wrong with me?

For an instant she felt ghost-arms holding her and thought she heard a voice. "It's all right, Zelde." Who? Ter-elda-but Terelda was dead! And then bigger arms-or was she smaller?-and a softer voice. She stumbled, and almost fell.

And then Zelde shook her head and came back to herself. But when she got to the man she wanted to see, she couldn't remember his name. On her second try, she could talk.

"You all right there?"

40.He sat now, legs outstretched, back against the wall. She heard him mumble, "Terihew dead. Dopples down in Drive. AH up to me here, but-" Then, looking up, he said, "AH right? Not very. But-that power suit-thanks anyway, kid."

"Zelde M'tana-you signed me in; remember? What you got wrong with you?" She went down on one knee, to hear him better. Somebody pulled at her, but she brushed the nuisance away.

The man said, "Too much. I don't suppose you can get me a medic? No one else seems to-"

She turned, and said it loud. "You heard him! Get a medic," and didn't watch to see who did what. A hand clasped her shoulder; she looked around and recognized Turk Kestler. "Hey-you made it, too. You know anything about medics on here?"

Turk patted her shoulder. "They're looking for one-his people-don't worry. Zelde?

How many did you lose getting ups.h.i.+p? My G.o.d-Marty's squad, all wiped out! And only three got all the way with me. You?"

She had to try to think; she looked around, standing again, and couldn't decide who she ought to recognize. She shook her head. "We got up here good-then, except for Parrin, I don't know. You tell me."

But then she had to notice something else. A woman with a gun and armband brought a man who had neither. "Here's your medic, Parnell-the only one we have left. But he's not one of ours, you'll notice. Can you trust him?"

Parnell, sure-Ragir Parnell. Now Zelde knew him. She pushed her way back to him and said, "You got a problem, Parnell?"

Pale-faced, he tried to grin. "If I don't get medical help, I die. But maybe I die even more surely if this man gives it."

Maybe. Zelde squinted her blurred eyes into focus and looked at the Utie medic. He was nothing special-n.o.body you'd pick out of a crowd and remember. She said, "You need to go with this one, Parnell?"

"She said-n.o.body else left." That was all; his eyes closed.

Zelde was stopped. Then she thought: like with the Kids-this is no different. Again she looked at the Utie, 41.and she knew when somebody was straight on the outside and grinning inside.

Parnell had dropped his bullet gun; she put her foot on it. Her knife, she pointed at the medic's gut. She didn't touch him with it but once, and then not hard. She said, "Utie medic, you listen. What's your name?"

"Fesler."

"All right, Fesler-you fix Parnell up. Hear me?"

Now the man did grin, and shrugged. "Well, I'll try, of course. But you know how it is; I can't guarantee anything."

Zelde shook her head. "You don't have to. I will."

"I don't understand-"

"He dies, so do you. That clear enough?"

"But you can't-"

The knife reached again. "You want to bet?"

When it was done, Parnell still breathed. People that Zelde didn't know began asking her questions and telling her things. She had to answer. "All right. Lock this Utie- Fesler-up someplace. Keep him fed-we might need him some more."

And Parnell, knocked out with dope, snoring, nose still seeping blood a little-they said he was captain now and should sleep in captain's quarters. She nodded. "Good.

I'll stay with him. You carry-and you, there."

The second man she picked, he started to argue. But the other said, "Do what she says. She earned the right, I think."

And when they'd settled him down in the big bed, and Zelde knew where to get food and water in this place, she said, "Fine, now-thanks, and everybody please get the h.e.l.l out." And for a wonder, everybody did.

When they were gone, she looked around and shook her head. She wasn't certain just what she'd done, let alone what to do next-but this was sure better than Hold, Port-side Upper.

She did remember to lock the outside door.

She heard noises and woke up. Parnell was groaning, but not loud. She went over to him. "You need anything? Can I help?"

He tried to smile but he looked like death warmed over. "Thirsty-any water?" She brought it, and steadied his 42.hand while he drank. Then he said, "I hurt worse than you'd believe, but maybe I'm going to make it. You did something about that. I think. What?"

She tried to tell it, but got mixed up and stopped. "You make it-that's good enough."

Now he did smile. "The s.h.i.+p-what's the situation?"

"Captain's quarters, they say this is. So you're Captain."

He nodded. "Yes-but who's running things?"

"Don't know. Somebody has to?"

"That's right." He pointed to a panel with lights on it, and b.u.t.tons. "Push the red one, down in the corner, and ask to speak to the watch officer."

She did. When somebody answered, Parnell said. "Captain speaking-Captain Parnell. Report." Zelde listened to what they said but didn't catch most of what it meant. When the talk stopped and the panel light went out, she said, "Working right, all of it?"

"Good as can be expected. I should be up there. . . ."

"Something I could do, maybe?"

"You've done it, Zelde. You're still doing it."

First she couldn't figure it; then she did. She nodded. "Sure, Parnell. I take care of you while you can't. Now then-when you can again-you look out for me, on here?"

Parnell smiled. "That's the way it works. You own my life, you know. Maybe someday you'll collect it."

She couldn't stand that look on his face. So that she wouldn't have to see, she bent and hugged him. Then she heard his breathing go toward sleep, and after a while she let go and straightened the covers over him.

She didn't know how, exactly, but things were all right now.

The panel buzzed and a light blinked; she pushed at the light and under the push of her finger, it gave a little. A voice said, "Zelde? This is Turk."

"Hey-you know how to work all this stuff?"

"Somebody showed me. It's not all that hard to learn. Listen, though-there's a bad thing."

Zelde listened.

The h.e.l.l of it was, if you looked at the girl's face, it was like she was just asleep.

But down below on her, she was 43.cut d.a.m.ned near in two. Dead in only seconds, Zelde knew-but why did it have to happen! She'd already said that, out loud: now she did, again.

Turk said. "She came after you, only up the main pa.s.sage-she couldn't help it.

Way back, it should have been safe enough. But that Utie in the power suit, the one that would have retaken the s.h.i.+p for UET if you hadn't got him-one of the landings he hit on his way down, Tillya was on it."

Her hands clenched, and her jaws. Honcho-Tillya- they get everybody I love.

And Parnell?

That was the first she knew, that she loved the man.

Parnell wasn't fit to get up, two days later, and Zelde knew it-but he said he had to. "We have to choose our new course, quit coasting, and we have to make the divvy. If I'm not there, they'll do it without me-and maybe rename the s.h.i.+p, too. My new authority-right now, it's use it or lose it."

While she helped him dress and spruce up a little-not easy, with one arm strapped across his chest-he called Turk Kestler in. Turk wore a faded jumpsuit, too tight on her. She made a half-salute. "Help you. Captain?"

"With information, I hope; Zelde tells me you were in the Underground." Turk nodded. "All right-how do we get to a Hidden World? Do you know any of the coordinates-or even where we can go-what colony-where it-might be safe to ask?"

The woman looked at him, then said, "You're sure you've got this s.h.i.+p solid now?

No chance of a surprise takeback?"

"Very few are alive and running loose who weren't with us actively-except a few of your women who stayed below, where it was safer. You guess."

Turk made a kind of smile. "Those women don't want back under UET; that's certain. All right-what's your course now? Not the coordinates-they wouldn't mean anything to me-but for where?"

"Still aimed near Iron Hat. Not slowing for it, though."

"And you were next for Terranova, I heard." Parnell nodded. "You have in mind to go there?"

"If we must." He scowled. "Terihew claimed to know 44.data on some Hidden Worlds, but he's dead. So if you can't help, we have to chance a UET colony and hope for Underground contact. And Terranova's the straightest shot we have."