tether. She was his anchor. Kevin followed them through the door and shut it. His oversized paw engulfed Todd’s hand, and Kevin underlined Mariette’s welcome with a hearty, “Damned glad you made it, Todd.”
“It’s nice to know I’m appreciated. It would have been a lot nicer if I’d had some warning about the fireworks you were going to stage for me.”
“That’s not fair,” Mariette protested.
“No outraged innocence, Mari. I’m not in the mood.”
“Neither are we,” Kevin’s basso growl broke in. His ruddy complexion darkened threateningly. “This isn’t a game. And we’re not putting on a show.”
“But you are keeping secrets, from me and from Earth,” Todd said. “And I’m tired of it. I think I’m overdue for explanations. Gib promised me some, then dodged by getting himself concussed, or a reasonable facsimile thereof.”
Kevin’s annoyed look told Todd he had scored a hit with that guess. But the officer offered no apologies.
“Is Gib hurt badly?” Mariette asked, concerned.
“I don’t think it’s serious,” Todd said. “The medics weren’t very worried. How about it, Kevin? Are they taking him to Sickbay, or to Debriefing?”
“Maybe a little of both, depending on the doctors’ verdict.”
Todd’s patience snapped. “All right. We’ve said hello. The amenities have been satisfied. Your medics wanted me out of their hair before Gib said anything incriminating. And your escort took me through this armed camp to make sure I didn’t butt in on any superspy stuff. What’s this all about? I’m not an enemy. I came riding up here, peacefully planning a visit to my sister, and some missile almost makes it a case of like father, like son . . .”
Mariette’s face turned deathly white. “Don’t!”
“Well, dammit, that’s what happened. Are you going to tell me why I’m being shot at and treated like an invader? Or do I draw my own conclusions?”
“We’ll tell you as much as we can,” Mariette promised. Kevin started to argue, and she rounded on him as quickly as action and reaction allowed. He steadied her, holding her by the shoulders, meeting her eyes. Todd was embarrassed to be present, an intruder on an intimate scene. They did nothing but look at each other, yet everything was obvious. The relationship had always been intense. Now it was a conflagration.
Kevin broke the stillness at last. “Let’s grab some gravity. Then we can talk.” He led the way to the nearby elevator.
As they crowded into the aluminum cage, Todd said, “I assume your apartment wasn’t damaged when Section Two got mangled.” Their reactions were so fierce he was taken aback. Lamely, he mumbled an apology. “Uh, were there many casualties?”
“Yes.” Kevin didn’t elaborate, and Todd wished he could disappear for a while.
They traveled out along the immense spoke. Elevator view panels showed them their progress toward the torus. Other spokes, containing similar elevators, were radiating arms reaching from the Hub to the wheel. At each level, the angle of view of those spokes widened, and above them the incredible bulk of the torus loomed larger and larger.
Any trip to Goddard or a return to Earth from Todd’s satellite chain exacted a price. Todd’s cardiovascular system, bones, and muscles complained. He hadn’t noticed the sinus congestion so much at ComLink. Now, rising toward one gravity, he did: He could make the adjustment rapidly compared with some, but there were always a few upsetting minutes when he first arrived. On schedule, his viscera roiled. He endured the inner confusion while the cage moved twenty meters farther up the spoke. He marveled that Goddard’s citizens could make this trip so frequently, going to their jobs elsewhere on the torus, out to the lunar mining collection net, or to the various adjacent stations.
A few years earlier, Mari had hired Todd’s media people to produce a recruitment documentary about Goddard. They had made a few
“It’s nice to know I’m appreciated. It would have been a lot nicer if I’d had some warning about the fireworks you were going to stage for me.”
“That’s not fair,” Mariette protested.
“No outraged innocence, Mari. I’m not in the mood.”
“Neither are we,” Kevin’s basso growl broke in. His ruddy complexion darkened threateningly. “This isn’t a game. And we’re not putting on a show.”
“But you are keeping secrets, from me and from Earth,” Todd said. “And I’m tired of it. I think I’m overdue for explanations. Gib promised me some, then dodged by getting himself concussed, or a reasonable facsimile thereof.”
Kevin’s annoyed look told Todd he had scored a hit with that guess. But the officer offered no apologies.
“Is Gib hurt badly?” Mariette asked, concerned.
“I don’t think it’s serious,” Todd said. “The medics weren’t very worried. How about it, Kevin? Are they taking him to Sickbay, or to Debriefing?”
“Maybe a little of both, depending on the doctors’ verdict.”
Todd’s patience snapped. “All right. We’ve said hello. The amenities have been satisfied. Your medics wanted me out of their hair before Gib said anything incriminating. And your escort took me through this armed camp to make sure I didn’t butt in on any superspy stuff. What’s this all about? I’m not an enemy. I came riding up here, peacefully planning a visit to my sister, and some missile almost makes it a case of like father, like son . . .”
Mariette’s face turned deathly white. “Don’t!”
“Well, dammit, that’s what happened. Are you going to tell me why I’m being shot at and treated like an invader? Or do I draw my own conclusions?”
“We’ll tell you as much as we can,” Mariette promised. Kevin started to argue, and she rounded on him as quickly as action and reaction allowed. He steadied her, holding her by the shoulders, meeting her eyes. Todd was embarrassed to be present, an intruder on an intimate scene. They did nothing but look at each other, yet everything was obvious. The relationship had always been intense. Now it was a conflagration.
Kevin broke the stillness at last. “Let’s grab some gravity. Then we can talk.” He led the way to the nearby elevator.
As they crowded into the aluminum cage, Todd said, “I assume your apartment wasn’t damaged when Section Two got mangled.” Their reactions were so fierce he was taken aback. Lamely, he mumbled an apology. “Uh, were there many casualties?”
“Yes.” Kevin didn’t elaborate, and Todd wished he could disappear for a while.
They traveled out along the immense spoke. Elevator view panels showed them their progress toward the torus. Other spokes, containing similar elevators, were radiating arms reaching from the Hub to the wheel. At each level, the angle of view of those spokes widened, and above them the incredible bulk of the torus loomed larger and larger.
Any trip to Goddard or a return to Earth from Todd’s satellite chain exacted a price. Todd’s cardiovascular system, bones, and muscles complained. He hadn’t noticed the sinus congestion so much at ComLink. Now, rising toward one gravity, he did: He could make the adjustment rapidly compared with some, but there were always a few upsetting minutes when he first arrived. On schedule, his viscera roiled. He endured the inner confusion while the cage moved twenty meters farther up the spoke. He marveled that Goddard’s citizens could make this trip so frequently, going to their jobs elsewhere on the torus, out to the lunar mining collection net, or to the various adjacent stations.
A few years earlier, Mari had hired Todd’s media people to produce a recruitment documentary about Goddard. They had made a few
Similar Books
