Nimisha's Ship

CHAPTER 10

Nimisha did not join the welcoming committee when the Acclarke landed on the field. In the days since the news of their emergence and contact with the beacon, she had been slow to recover from the birth of the triplets. Neither Doc nor Jon had to appeal to her common sense to remain resting in the Fiver.

She was alerted by Helm when the Acclarke was on Insystem drive and he could initiate contact at her command. Which she did almost immediately, unable to wait until anyone else could join her, so eager was she to speak to those on the Acclarke.

"Lady Nimisha Boynton?" the astounded captain asked, staring at her with disbelieving eyes.

"Boynton, yes, indeed, Captain…?"

"Nesta Meterios," the other woman said quickly. "And most gratified to see you alive and so well."

Nimisha managed a brief smile. "Not half as pleased as we are to know you've survived that bloody wormhole." Then she had to ask. "By any remote chance, is my daughter, Cuiva, on board, Captain Meterios?"

"No, my lady," and Meterios sounded shocked at the very idea. "The Acclarke is a navy vessel. But I do have good news in that regard, Lady Nimisha. A pulse giving the location of your beacon was received four years ago, and the Five B, with Captain Caleb Rustin, your daughter and her companion, and six other handpicked crew set off by Interstellar Drive to rescue you."

"Oh, Cuiva," Nimisha sighed, her throat closing and her heart pounding at the very thought of seeing her daughter again.

"Lady Nimisha?" Captain Meterios asked anxiously. "Are you all right?"

"I am overjoyed to the point of being speechless, Captain. Have you any idea of their ETA?"

"They can't be but a few months away now, my lady. The Acclarke, however, is carrying mail packets that have accrued on board in case the wormhole opened. Which it obviously has, since that is how we got here. You are living on the Fiver? The planet is dangerous?"

The captain could see no more than the pilot area, so Nimisha grinned.

"I'm on watch, Captain, but not at all alone on this planet." She had one ear listening for the babies who, for once, were all asleep at the same time. "In my initial survey of this world, I discovered four other crashed ships. Two groups survived. The most recent, the FSPS Poolbeg, has four survivors-" She named them. "And the other group has been here even longer, and we owe much to them for their survival skills."

"How fortunate for you."

"Indeed, Captain, especially since the second group are aliens." Nimisha managed not to laugh at the stunned surprise on the captain's face. She heard a male voice excitedly asking for more details.

"That was Lieutenant Commander Globan Escorias, my XO, Lady Nimisha." The captain's voice had an edge that suggested she did not appreciate the interruption. But the screen widened to include the dark-visaged officer, bouncing about in the seat beside her in his urgency to know more.

"Aliens, Lady Nimisha?" he asked. "Sentient aliens? Humanoid?"

"They are not merely sentient, but we consider them sapient, too." Noting the dismay on the captain's face, she added quickly, "From a space-faring, colonising species, so we have not compromised their evolution. They are our friends and valued allies," she said as firmly as she could.

"Yes, yes, of course," the XO put in hastily. "Sapient aliens. This will astound the civilised worlds."

"Erehwon may now be included in that number, Commander."

"Oh, yes, decidedly, yes, of course it would. My congratulations, Lady Nimisha."

"And our thanks for your design," Captain Meterios said, firmly taking over the contact. "The Acclarke is the model Four, my lady, from your Ship Yard, with some alterations and upgrades for naval use. Truly, without an independent AI Helm we would not have survived the journey through that appalling wormhole."

"No, you would not. The Poolbeg and the other three ships, who had no such AI reflexes, were badly damaged by their passage."

"We were also able to rescue the survivors of the space station," the captain said.

"Space station?" Nimisha repeated, confused.

"A space station, the Wormhunter," Meterios explained with a vacuous smile, "was set up to monitor such phenomena and located ten thousand kilometres from your Mayday marker, Lady Nimisha"-Nimisha grimaced at this constant use of her title; she had become far too accustomed to Erehwon informality, although Lady Rezalla would not approve-"safe enough, we thought, but the wormhole opened just in front of it. I ordered them into escape pods and to net up tightly."

"No space station exists that could survive a trip through that wormhole," Nimisha said, shaking her head.

"Exactly, Lady Nimisha. It broke up very quickly by the force exerted on it and went through as a twisted mass. It and the escape pods were drawn in well ahead of the Acclarke. Powerful as the engines are, my lady, we were unable to reverse out of danger."

"I thought you were supposed to enter the wormhole and find me," Nimisha said.

"Yes, but we would have preferred to enter on our terms, my lady," the captain said crisply.

"Yes, of course. How many pods were there?" Nimisha asked.

"Twelve, but only eleven exited. Those who had fastened the netting securely came through in much better shape. Some did not respond quickly enough to the order to abandon the station. They tried to bring things with them." The captain evidently expected instant obedience. Dangerous as it had been to stop and collect equipment or personal effects, scientists operated on different standards. "That's why the group's leader, Dr. Qualta, was so badly injured. She is now recovering satisfactorily."

"Another one of my units, no doubt," Doc said rather smugly at that point.

Jon with Casper close behind him arrived at that moment, so Nimisha introduced the two Poolbeg officers.

"Captain Meterios has informed me that Caleb Rustin is bringing Cuiva on the Five B, the long way round," Nimisha said, clinging to Jon's hand. He pressed back, giving her a quick encouraging smile.

"Your arrival is eagerly anticipated, Captain," Jon said. "Helm, have you given the Acclarke our exact coordinates?"

"Yes, it has," Captain Meterios replied so smartly that Nimisha wondered if the woman disliked using AI units. "We shall touch down in approximately eight hours and twenty minutes, Lady Nimisha, Captain Svangel."

"Be prepared to celebrate, Captain," Jon said warningly. "Our allies, the Sh'im, enjoy every opportunity to do so, and this is certainly a special event. My compliments, Captain Meterios, to you and your crew."

Nimisha nodded once again in farewell; what little energy she had was depleted by the exchange and the knowledge that Cuiva was on her way here. Then a thought struck her forcibly.

"Oh, shaggit, whatever is Cuiva going to say about having five siblings?" she exclaimed.

"She's your daughter, Nimi. She'll handle it just fine," Jon said, beaming.

"Oh dear heart, there won't be any news for you and Syrie and Casper."

He hugged her. "That's a very small concern, believe me. Career naval personnel learn to think of their shipmates as all the family they need. And I believe that's true enough. Even though we were very close as children, I don't think I saw my twin sister but once after I graduated from the Academy. She was killed in a highspeed rail accident on the Cross-Orient express." He gave a sigh and a little shake of his head. "A long time ago, love."

"What's happened?" Syrona cried from the open hatch, hurrying in with Tim, who was leading Hope by the hand.

Jon recited the tale as he acquired a restorative from Cater and brought it to an exhausted Nimisha.

"Your daughter is on her way?" Syrona cried, slipping into the seat on the other side of Nimisha. "Doc, does Nimi need some help?"

"For once I think the only problem with her is intense joy and relief," Doc replied. "If she would deign to lie upon the couch. I'll check her over."

"I'll be all right, really, I will," Nimisha said, waving her hand in an aimless fashion and then starting on the warm drink Jon had brought her.

He took the cup and hauled her to her feet. "One can have a bit too much joy all at once, you know, and I'd rather the incoming didn't see you looking quite so pale, as if you'd seen a ghost."

"Which I have, in a way," Nimisha said, and even as Jon swung her feet up on the medical couch, she started to weep quietly.

Jon smiled and leaned down to kiss her cheek. "It's all right, love. It's all right."

She didn't even protest when she felt several hyposprays penetrate her arms.

"Bed rest for you, Nimi," Doc said at his gentlest. "Syrona, who's available to manage the babies?"

"I'll go see," Syrona said, but she paused by the medical unit on her way out the door and kissed Nimisha's cheek. "I am so happy for you, Nimi."

"I'm rather happy for myself, really, in spite of my tears. Tim, where are Perria and Sven right now?"

Tim chuckled. "Getting dirty, Nimi. Don't worry about them. You listen to Doc."

"He sounds so grown-up," Nimisha murmured to]on.

"You wouldn't think so if you heard him with the Sh'im younglings," Jon said with a disparaging snort. He slipped his arms under her body and carried her to their cabin, despite her protests. "He's the ringleader of most of the trouble the pack gets into."

"I guess I won't worry about them," she said, sniffing back her tears, but they seemed to keep coming despite her best attempts to cease snivelling.

Jon threw back the top fur, lovingly created by Sh'im female hands, and settled her on the bed, tucking it around her flaccid body. Then, he sat down beside her, taking her hands in his and caressing them, speaking in soft, soothing tones.

"I know you don't like to admit to any weakness, dear Lady Nimisha Boynton-Rondymense," he said, grinning at his sudden formality, "but I know how very much you've missed your firstborn and body-heir. You wouldn't realise how often you speak her name in your sleep. I could almost be jealous," he teased, stroking her hair back from her tear-flushed face.

"Doc gave me something…" she said, her voice thick and her enunciation beginning to slur.

"I hope so. You need the rest."

She tried to grab his hand, because she had to say something to him before she lost consciousness.

"My apologies to the…"

She thought she heard him chuckle as her eyes inexorably closed and everything went dark.

Jon was quietly moving about their cabin when she roused from the induced sleep. She lay there, eyes barely open, watching him dry his tanned, muscular body. It was very early in the morning, or late at night, so she suspected he had just returned from the welcome party.

"What are they like?" she asked, her voice thick with sleep.

"Awake, are you?" He leaned over the bed and kissed her. His grin was devilish, and he quirked one eyebrow up high so that she knew she would get a candid rundown. "The children are all taken care of, luv, so don't fret over them." He chuckled. "A bit of a surprise for our visitors. Or, I should be more specific, the naval ones. Captain Meterios was shocked out of her skivvies, and I doubt I shall ever restore myself to her good opinion, even after Syrona had a go at her." He cleared his throat. "We neglected to mention Syrona's rank, and I think I'll predate a field promotion to lieutenant commander for her, for bravery under unusual circumstances. Which indeed is justified by her admirable courage under trying circumstances."

Despite being sleepy, Nimisha had caught the edge in his voice, mentioning this Captain Meterios. But he would be senior to her no matter the nearly twenty years he'd been stranded on Erehwon.

"Globan Escorias had just joined the Acclarke for his ninth tour of duty on her," Jon went on, sliding under the furs beside her and settling her comfortably against him. He chuckled softly. "He'd only time to report in when Helm sounded the alert. Officers get high-risk pay for a four-month tour, so he's never minded the duty. And finally got what he'd been waiting for-and more than he expected. He'll fit in; so will the other Acclarkes. Mixed crew, praise be."

"The scientists who survived the station disaster?"

"Dr. Qualta was brought over here for our Doc's second opinion. She had severe internal injuries. Mid-sixties, but her general good health and fitness are a big asset right now. Doc did a little more internal work, since he's grades higher than the one on the Acclarke-that was always only for the usual shipboard injuries and ailments-and she'll recover with rest and care. The Sh'im have assigned one of Doc's best trainees to her, and I must say, she's adjusted to the aliens better than anyone else."

"What sort of specialist is she?"

"Astrophysics, but old enough to have plenty of sense." He really had tangled with Meterios then.

"And the others?"

"I could wish for a broader range of specialties among 'em/' he said with a grimace, "but they're all welcome. Then, too," he added in a thoughtful tone, "I don't think anyone's going to want to turn around and do another four- or five-year trip back home right away." He gave a little grin and rubbed his hands together, rolling his eyes in an outrageous expression of chicanery. "Who knows how many'll want to stay on. Especially since I know some of the people coming on the Fiver B," he added quickly. "The Chief Engineer's wife is a semantics expert. Nazim Ford-Coattes-"

"My test pilot!" She wriggled a little in his arms to hear such good news.

"Apparently he also tested the Five B, so he was a natural backup in a mixed crew. Gaitama Rezinda got special training from Hiska to be sure nothing went wrong."

Nimisha laughed. "We'd never have got Hiska aboard, but I know Gaitama, and if Hiska trained her, she'll be topflight. Oh, both will be tremendous assets, Jon. Who else?"

"All too young for me to know by name, except Caleb Rustin." He gave her a quick look, and she laughed and patted his side in reassurance. "His XO is Kendra Oscony, tops in communications and mathematics, so Escorias assured me. Ensign Mareena Kawamura, who's got botany and biology; Chief Hadley will be yet another astronomer; and Cuiva's companion, Perdimia Ejallos, from a service family, has good martial arts skills."

She could hear something he wasn't saying. "And…" she prompted him.

He wiggled his long legs and squirmed.

"They came along to be sure your daughter and body-heir was properly instructed during the long journey."

"Oh!" Nimisha smiled proudly over that achievement before regarding Jon again with some suspicion. "I could understand her wanting to accompany a mission with the goal of rescuing me, but how did they talk my dam into letting Cuiva go on a four-year-long trip?"

"I didn't think we'd fool you for long. According to Escorias. Lord Vestrin was trying to get possession of the Yard because you were lost, presumed dead."

"The pulse that was received should have dismissed that notion."

"I'm sure it did. The Five B carries mail for you, and there's a rather large lockbox of letter packets awaiting your pleasure. Your mother used your family's private code, so you should have no trouble opening it. Mail could only be slipped in, not removed."

"I still do not understand why my dam would allow Cuiva to take such a long journey. And you know why." She gave his jaw a mock-punch.

"Granted Escorias has friends in the First Family circles, so possibly his gossip is accurate. Certainly the fact that Cuiva was sent along substantiates it."

"Substantiates what? Tell me, Jon. It's my right to know." She felt anger surging within her. She didn't want to be angry with Jonagren Svangel.

"There were two very clumsy attempts to harm Cuiva." His arms tightened to keep her from rearing up in outrage. "They failed because your friend Caleb had the sense to double surveillance as soon as the Mayday was received. Lord Vestrin had been loud in his complaints about how his father's estate had been divvyed up."

"More like Lady Vescuya disliked it," Nimisha murmured angrily.

"Her possible connivance was definitely rumoured. Then there was the derelict freighter full of explosives approaching the Yard on a trajectory to crash into the Five B's gantry!"

"What!"

"Ssssh, you'll wake someone. The spare cabins have station personnel in them." He waited until Nimisha relaxed. "By then the Fleet and the Yard had tripled security, so the missiles took out its engines and a tug netted it tightly before the explosives on it could detonate. That would have caused a real mess, flicking fragments all over. Both Fleet and APG were investigating all possible leads. Two other devices were discovered before they could be activated."

"And naturally Lord Vestrin was on a hunting party," Nimisha muttered sourly, "and who knows what that virago of a mother of his came up with as an excuse."

"Precisely, so your dam sent Cuiva to safety."

"But, if she's away from Rondymense…"

"I think your dam solved that in her devious fashion. We know that Cuiva is on her way here, but a Cuiva has been seen in company of Lady Rezalla. At least until she should have been Necklaced."

Nimisha felt tears of relief and joy trickle down her cheeks. "I'm a leaky ula-ooli-la," she said, burrowing her face into Jon's bare shoulder.

She could feel his chest shake with the chuckle. "My dear sweetheart, you are never a ula-ooli-la. Not that there is a Basic synonym for that particular Sh'im device."

He stroked her hair and very shortly, warm and infinitely relieved with that especial news, she slept again.

When she finally met Captain Nesta Meterios three days later, Nimisha found it even more difficult than Jon to like the woman. She had had occasion to know many career navy officers from the Yard's proximity to the Vegan Fleet Headquarters. There were some, competent within their specialties, who were worthy folk and about as much fun to be around as a wet towel. They also never seemed to notice their lack of social graces, or even that they lacked the wit and competence that would put them in line for rapid promotion. Meterios was from a service family with several relatives who had had distinguished careers. Quite likely, her performance during the wormhole passage would receive a commendation. That was only because, as Jon said, the preprogrammed AI had kicked in with its femtosecond reflexes, removing Meterios from command-and from making any fatal error. Escorias did mention that the crew was certain that the Helm had saved all on board the Acclarke as well as Meterios's butt.

Jon and Doc had kept Nimisha quiet and in bed until they, and she, were certain her strength was sufficient.

"I'll warn you, hon, she thinks a Necklaced First Family female ought to restrict herself to a body-heir, end of sentence," Jon told her, his eyes twinkling with amusement. "She's hot on rules and regs, and is uptight because we donated a lot of what we stripped from the Poolbeg to the Sh'im. Gave me the old 'misuse of naval property' line until Syrona showed her that their home is furnished entirely by recycled 'navy property.' Recycling is also very Navy. Frankly, Erehwon is beyond her. You destroyed her faith in you by having five children here and a grown one on her way. I can't imagine why someone with her basic inflexibility was given command of the Acclarke."

"I can," Syrona said later when she was visiting Nimisha. "I did my first tour under her uncle, Captain Georgius Meterios, and he was no joy either. He never got command of anything more than a light destroyer, usually assigned to convoy duty."

"Then posting her to the Acclarke is damned near an insult," Jon said, irritated.

"I'd consider it one," Casper said with a snort. "Except that, with Helm to take over the moment an emergency occurred, she couldn't mess up with indecision, could she? Dr. Qualta said that no astronomer or astrographer expected the bloody wormhole to reappear any time short of another ten years."

"So she was shunted to a minimal command like Uncle Georgius?" Nimisha gave a sniff, not sure she liked the implications. "Guess she got the biggest surprise of her life."

"And had nothing to do anyway," Jon said with a snide grin. "Helm was programmed to take over the instant the wormhole opened."

"Oh, yes, so it was," and Nimisha felt less like a lost parcel no one really wanted to find.

"So it didn't matter to the result of the rescue if she, or someone more ambitious and capable, was captain."

"Globan says most of his friends applied for the duty in the hope that they'd be lucky enough to be there when the hole opened. Pay was good and the tour short enough so no one died of boredom," Casper added.

"Boredom wouldn't bother a Meterios," Syrona said, giggling. "They thrive on it."

When Jon and Syrona escorted Captain Meterios for an official visit to Lady Nimisha Boynton-Rondymense, Nimisha took instant refuge by imitating her dam, deftly putting the captain in her place. The others had a difficult time restraining their amusement. Meterios was properly obsequious, appropriately apologetic for bothering a First Family scion, and during the refreshments offered, she sat bolt upright on the very edge of the chair as if she were still a first-year cadet. Syrona bustled about fussily as if this were her normal way of attending Lady Nimisha and only once lapsed into a less formal manner. Jon did his rendition of admiral-on-the-bridge, punctilious in his crisply pressed dress uniform, another of the items that had been brought back when the Poolbeg was stripped of any useful items and equipment.

No matter what Captain Meterios privately thought of Nimisha's fecundity, no mention was made of it. In fact, conversation flagged very quickly until Nimisha decided to fade away, pretending exhaustion. Meterios flushed unattractively at this tacit reference to her maternity. So the captain, bowing far more respectfully than Lady Nimisha's rank required, finished her formal visit and that was, fortunately, the end of any social intercourse with her. And Nimisha returned to the task of reading five years of accumulated reports from her dam and from Jeska Mlan in her role as managing director, as well as notifications from Admiral Gollanch and other genera! notes that had been forwarded. One note from Lady Rezalla mentioned sending on the Necklace so that Nimisha could officiate at that ceremony.

"For the benefit of those who might think it odd if we didn't do something on Cuiva's minor major day, we shall conduct a very private affair, complete with a paste imitation of Coskanito's Necklace. He is so discreet and understands the necessity for safety's sake. No one has realised that it is not Cuiva living here with us. The child is a nice little thing and, although I have had to reprimand her several times for conduct unbecoming even her supposed place in our society, she does resemble your body-heir sufficiently to fool almost everyone. Certainly my dam is deluded. But then, Lady Astatine is half blind and almost completely deaf. Her rejuv treatment was one of the first, and she really ought to have waited until the procedure was thoroughly tested. But your grandam never took advice from anyone." Nimisha chuckled over that remark.

Nimisha had wondered how her dam had dealt with such an auspicious day as Necklacing in First Family society, but Lady Rezalla had contrived admirably. Since Nimisha was definitely alive and able to send pulses back to Vega III, and her body-heir was residing in Acclarke, any spurious claim by Lord Vestrin Rondymense-Waleska to reclaim the disputed patrimony would be disregarded.

Once Nimisha was genuinely physically fit enough to attend to such delayed tasks as erecting a new hoist for the iron mine in the hills above the town, and a second lift for the copper mine deeper in the eastern mountain range, she limited her encounters with the Acclarke's captain to the minimum. Especially after she witnessed Meterios's totally egregious attitude toward their alien allies.

"She's a xenophobe," Nimisha said, voicing an opinion shared by everyone else. "One of those Humanity Supremacists, though the fact that she attained a commander's stripes proves that there are gaps in the screening, Jon."

He agreed. "But then, while she was capable enough to command a ship with an AI program, aliens were not an obstacle she was likely to encounter."

The Sh'im would not understand a person disliking them because they were not human. Especially after they had been treated on such an equal footing with the ones they had already encountered- after the initial and short-lived misunderstanding. Before Meterios's xenophobia was revealed, Ay and Bee-who had the best command of Basic, assisted though it was by the translator units they wore-had been assigned to guide the captain anywhere she wished to go. She didn't wish to go anywhere after her first visit to Clifftown- La-ull-losss, in Sh'im. She said she hadn't understood a word of the gabble she'd been subjected to. Unfortunately she saw enough of Clifftown to notice bits and pieces of recycled metal parts that could only have come from the wreck of the Poolbeg. She logged in a long and detailed report of such illegal use; Globan heard part of it and crept away. But since she had encrypted it, there was no way the entry could be altered, and she had forwarded it by pulse message. Eventually it would reach Vegan Fleet Headquarters, where it might be totally disregarded.

"Let it stand," Jon said, shrugging. "I doubt I'll ever stand a court-martial over it. For that matter, I've racked up so much back pay, I could pay for twice as much as we recycled."

When Meterios did, reluctantly, have to venture outside, she had an armed escort. Whichever crewperson had that duty was patently unhappy about it. No one else of either her crew or the wormbusters was troubled with xenophobia. Some might not give the Sh'im as much credit for the intelligence they continued to display as others, but most took to them and their ingratiating ways.

"On the one hand, xenophobia wouldn't affect her commanding a ship." Casper said, still the optimist. "It isn't as if she'd be likely to encounter aliens on picket duty. Since we were FSP Explorers' branch, we had very in-depth screening on attitudes toward 'others.' " He bracketed the word with his index fingers. "How would anyone suspect she'd get her knickers in a twist meeting such amiable and kindly folk as the Sh'im?"

The scientists, whatever had been their specialty, were quite willing to muck in with the Sh'im, learning as much as they could from the dark-coats and noticing how tools had been adapted for their three-fingered use. They had suggestions of their own to increase manageability for some tools. In her dash to her assigned escape pod, Dr. Qualta's assistant, Valina Kelly, had grabbed two small telescopes, the most portable of the equipment to hand. She'd strapped them into the second shock pad in her pod. Dr. Qualta owed her injuries to the fact that she had been trying to secure her data disks and her scanner rather than herself. Being tightly netted in, the equipment had suffered no damage at all while she had nearly died of her injuries.

Qualta, Globan, and Kelly, with the enthusiastic assistance of fascinated Sh'im, set up an observatory on the far side of the cliff above the town, in an area still protected by the repeller shields. They were busy mapping and evaluating the visible stars every evening, with the help of five ululating dark-coats.

"Had we had more warning," Dr. Qualta said, "we'd've brought along the sort of equipment to do an in-depth spectral analysis of such unexplored territory."

"Lordee, Qualta," Valina replied, "we were lucky to escape with our lives. I couldn't find even a small microscope, or the main computer. We're lucky we can read what disks we managed to scoop up," she added. "I'm very glad we could pilfer astrogation equipment from the Poolbeg."

"That's not enough," Qualta said scornfully. "That system is so obsolete we're better off using what we managed to save. But," she added with a sigh, "it's better than nothing. Is Globan absolutely sure that there's nothing left of the space station that could be salvaged? The Sh'im are such clever metalworkers."

She had admired the mining operations and the repeller-protected farm crops-which she sampled, raw and cooked-and watched with keen interest when young Sh'im started training boks. Luthen Drayus and Tezza Ashke of the Acclarke, her radial completely knitted, happily accompanied hunts with Casper, Tim. and his Sh'im cronies.

About the only thing Meterios did right was use the Acclarke's missiles during an avian raid. It had the fringe benefit of scaring the captain out of much of her disgruntlement with the unauthorised use of Poolbeg weaponry. She had been standing outside when the raid began and the sight of the immense raptors had sent her scurrying inside the Acclarke. She had the gall to boast that she had saved the settlement.

Globan had another side to relate with a grin. "I took the liberty of programming defensive action into Helm after you told me what those avian monsters could do," he said. "So it was Helm who bagged the nineteen beasts in that raid, not Nesta Meterios."

"It's probably too much to ask that she'll start believing us when we tell her other minor victories," Jon said with a weary sigh. He'd suspected as much from the excellent marksmanship the Acclarke had displayed in destroying so many of the attackers- though he and Nimisha had accounted for almost as many, and the Sh'im manning the cliff batteries had taken out those that had come in too low for the ships' guns to bear on.

Globan grimaced. "I don't think she realised just how much the AI can do without her direct commands. I think we should keep it that way."

"Wasn't she briefed on its capabilities?" Nimisha asked with justifiable rancour. "I mean, even if I didn't consider the Four up to my expectations, she makes a grand courier ship as she is."

"I did study the specs, Nimisha," Globan said. "Gave me something to do on my tours. Not all the captains assigned to the Acclarke have been as narrow-minded as Captain Meterios," he added to cheer Nimisha.

"That's reassuring," she replied.

"How often do those attacks happen?" Globan asked casually.

"I'm sorry to say, less often, Globan," Jon said, rightly assuming the young officer would have liked to man the Acclarke's gunner station. "But they do come in more numbers as if they could overpower us with sheer mass, so you may still get a chance."

"One more thing, Jon: I think she's trying to turn Helm down. I saw her under the main control board, but I don't think she saw me. She's a control freak, you know."

"Control freak or not," Nimisha said with some heat, "she can't dismantle Helm without losing all control of ship function. Stupid git of a woman. However, I can fix that." She rubbed her hands together with anticipation, "just get her out of the Four for half an hour so I can add a certain little chip and she can fiddle with the program as much as she likes but she won't disconnect him. D'you remember where I put my tools, Jon?" she asked.

"I stashed them in the garage locker under your private code."

"Good idea."

"Of course, the problem will be getting her out of the Acclarke," Globan said, not at all optimistic.

The addition of 'a certain little chip' was accomplished just before Captain Meterios took it in her head that Svangel had exceeded his authority in allowing the Poolbeg to be dismantled for the benefit of the Sh'im. Or "them," as she insisted on referring to the Sh'im, a habit that irritated even the equably tempered Dr. Qualta.

"They have a name for themselves, Captain," Dr. Qualta said, "and you will be good enough to use it. Sh'im. Sh'im. Sh'im. Very easy to say. Very nice folks when you get to know them."

Meterios was visibly shocked at such vehemence from Dr. Qualta and kept out of her way. Since she was already avoiding Lady Nimisha whenever possible, Qualta and Nimisha had some relief from the woman's company.

Jon, Casper, and Syrona were not as lucky, since they were, after all, naval officers. Jon cited his seniority in both command and length of service and was punctilious in all his dealings with her. Casper and Syrona were not as lucky, but fell back on the fact that they were Jon's crew, not hers.

With calculated reluctance, Jon finally gave permission for her to visit the hulk of the Poolbeg.

"Once she sees the gouges in the hull, she should be able to realise that the ship could never have been repaired this side of the main Mars Yard," [on said.

"Especially since we couldn't even get the cladding off to be used where it would do some good here," Casper added.

"It'll be a relief to have her out of the way," Nimisha said. "She's beginning to get on everyone's nerves."

Meterios had gone through the Broken Bird wreck with Brad Karpla-or rather those areas of it humans could access. Karpla had been keen to see what sort of weapons the ship had mounted. Jon had explained that, according to the Sh'im, they had carried only asteroid deterrents, but Meterios and Karpla had to make a hands-on verification. Since the "cannon" had been situated in the now-broken nose of the ship, they were inaccessible. Karpla could find no other defensive or offensive gear and came back rather grumpy after a hot day's climbing through the wreck.

"She got real dirty," Tim announced with a massive grin on his face. What he didn't say, and which the adults knew from other sources, was that he and his particular Sh'im cronies had shadowed the pair.

"Captain Meterios? Dirty?" Nimisha said, feigning surprise. "That would have been worth seeing."

"No," Tim replied. "She was real angry, too, and we kept out of her way."

"Just as well, or you'd be in for another chewing out," Nimisha said. In Meterios's opinion, children should be seen and never heard. Tim usually ordered his Sh'im gang about in a voice that a drill sergeant would have envied.

"I don't know how she keeps her uniforms in such impeccable condition, but she always turns herself out properly," Syrona said, trying hard to find something positive to say about the woman. Nesta Meterios was not a tall woman-just making the height required by naval regulations-and skinny, rather than thin. She might have been attractive if she'd tried to emphasise a finely textured skin and rather large eyes and if she'd chosen a more flattering hairstyle.

"Does it herself, I'm told," Casper said. "Not that those uniforms would last long if she were working the way we are."

"Not that she'd ever demean herself to do so," Nimisha said.

Meterios had elected to go on the mission to the Poolbeg, reassembling the entire crew complement of the Acclarke at a time when Jon, Nimisha, and Casper had been counting on the extra hands to help raise a windmill to power a new well. The only person who went willingly, in fact, was Valina Kelly, who wanted to scan the night skies on that side of the planet. Meterios had been difficult about including a "civilian" on a naval expedition until Dr. Qualta intervened and reminded Meterios that after all, Valina's official and top-priority clearance to be a member of the Wormhunter space station guaranteed that she was cleared for a minor reconnaissance operation.

When the Acclarke lifted at dawn, Nimisha happened to be up, soothing a fractious son. Bouncing him on her shoulder, she hurried into the pilot compartment.

"Helm, are you in constant contact with the Acclarke's AI?"

"Yes, Lady Nimisha. We have established a permanent link. I can screen their progress for you, if you wish."

"I do. Keep it up at all times on the B screen and please inform me of any untoward occurrence you two may notice."

"Yes, ma'am."

Later that day, Nimisha cornered Jon for a quiet conversation with him over the disruptive presence of Captain Nesta Meterios.

"I want her out of here before Cuiva arrives," she said.

Jon raised his eyebrows in surprised query. "Why then?"

"I'd have to invite her to Cuiva's Necklacing, and I'll be damned if I'll give the woman that satisfaction."

Jon chuckled. "We don't like her, do we?"

"No," Nimisha said flatly. "This is our adventure, venture, colony, world, whatever, and her attitude could affect our relations with the Sh'im. They're not stupid."

"We can't just send her off on the Acclarke," he protested.

"Why not? Helm would get her back."

"True enough, but her XO doesn't think she received any new orders in the packet he handed over."

Nimisha considered that. "And she's not the personality to do anything without orders to cover her butt. I'm surprised she went to the wreck."

"I'm not," Jon said with a wry chuckle. "She's going to do all she can to find fault with me or Casper or Syrona. She's welcome to. We are different branches of service, and what holds for a courier does not hold for an explorer."

"Then how is she trying to fault you?"

"Misuse of naval property."

"You used it to survive, didn't you? Which you once told me was your second operational procedure."

"I did and it is, and on those grounds she cannot fault me. But that sort of personality has got to try."

Nimisha let out an exasperated sigh. "Well, we have to do something about her. I'm not having her at Cuiva's Necklacing."

"I agree, luv," Jon said. "Too bad the rest of the crew is so nice-with the exception of that flat-faced toady, Karpla. He takes an altogether unholy delight in hunting. Tim says his wholesale slaughter goes against Sh'im notions."

"That's what Casper said, too."

"May I suggest a way out of the difficulty?" Doc said.

Nimisha swung round. "You have one?"

"If you're looking for answers, you find them," he said at his most sententious. "What exactly were Captain Meterios's orders?"

Jon and Nimisha regarded each other. "Helm, ask Acclarke's Helm the exact wording of Meterios's original orders."

"Yes, ma'am," was the quick response. "I quote 'Captain Meterios, Naval ID-' "

"Skip the heading, Helm, and get to the essence of the orders," Nimisha said.

" 'Is to maintain the Acclarke courier vessel, 4CG 2440, in constant readiness at all times. To launch the specially constructed probe the instant the wormhole should appear. To instantly pulse a message of its reappearance Flash Override to Fleet Headquarters on Vega III. To maintain the beacon and all drone beacons in the assigned patrol area. To assist as required the scientific personnel on the space station. If feasible to traverse the wormhole and acquire sufficient stellar spectrum analyses to establish proper coordinates in the space grid. To establish, if at all possible, the current location of Lady Nimisha Boynton-Rondymense. To return at top speed with all pertinent information regarding the wormhole for analysis and dissemination.' Those are the orders. Shall I prepare hard copy?"

"Yes, but I think we have the one we want," Jon said, rubbing his hands together with a gleeful expression on his face. "She has not 'returned at top speed with all pertinent information for analysis and dissemination' and is therefore delinquent in her duty. We've got her."

"Undoubtedly, because top speed is going to take her four years," Nimisha said.

"Unless she plans to go back the way she came in the next five, that'd be my assessment."

"Four years is not so long," Nimisha added, delighting in the prospect of how bored Meterios would be. "But I'd hate for her crew to have to go with her."

"They needn't," Doc said. "Acclarke's Helm is as capable as ours in getting her back to Vegan space. She wouldn't need the crew."

"Yes, but she is their captain."

"Hold it right there," Jon said. "Helm, what orders govern the rest of the crew? Didn't Globan say something about short tours of duty?"

"He did, he did," Nimisha said.

"Technically speaking, they would be off duty at the end of those tours, whether or not they have been returned to base and a new assignment." Jon said, rubbing his chin. "I'd have to check regs on that."

"If you'll pardon me, Commander," Helm said, "you are correct in your assumption. Globan will have served the full four-month tour in another three weeks and five days. The others, with the exception of Brad Karpla, who is serving a year's tour as he is checked out on the special piggyback probe, would all shortly have been replaced. Several, in fact, are overdue for reassignment."

"Meterios could argue that they are not in a position to be rotated in the normal fashion," Jon said, thoughtfully, "and are therefore still nominally under her command. I outrank her, and Exploration has the right to draft additional naval personnel to assist in emergency situations, but I don't fancy trying to argue the matter with her. She can stump me on some unknown paragraph in a footnote in new regs that I couldn't contest."

"I could, sir," Helm said. "The latest updates were added to my memory banks by Commander Rustin on the orders of Admiral Gollanch."

"That's good to know," Nimisha said.

"That would be useful if Meterios happened to admit the infallibility of Artificial Intelligence."

"She denies it?" Doc said, indignantly. "Maybe I can help out here."

"So Globan says, and I'd hate to lose him. He's fitting in here so well. And we need more colonists. Almost none of the science crew want to leave-not with all these undocumented primaries and systems to be listed." He grinned. "Qualta's in heaven and hopes her rejuv will last long enough for her to complete the maps."

"My orders," Doc began firmly, "are to assist Lady Nimisha in all matters."

"Even to shanghaiing an officer off-planet?" Nimisha asked, chuckling.

"If need be."

Jon rubbed his chin again. "Orders would work best. She can't quibble with direct orders."

"She's already ignoring one of the specific orders she was given, Jon." Nimisha said.

"True…"

"It won't be long before Rustin's here," Jon said. "He can say he intercepted new orders for her at the pulse beacon."

"Any information reaching the beacon is supposed to be forwarded to both Helms," Nimisha reminded him.

"But, if you tell Rustin what's been going on here, wouldn't he help?"

"Docs he know Captain Nesta?" Nimisha asked.

"Whose side would he be likely to pick? Yours or hers?"

"Point." Nimisha said, eyeing him askance. "I'd rather we covered that before Caleb reaches Erehwon."

Jon cocked his head at her and she shook hers.

"We were very good friends," she said, "but having met you…"

"Propinquity is a decided advantage," he said, pulling her into his arms and grinning at her.

"And five children," she added.

"Will you hold that against me forever?" he asked with a chagrined expression.

"Now and then, perhaps," she admitted. "It's just as well we have the Sh'im to take over, or my attitude would be considerably different."

"You do have your implant operational, don't you?" he asked.

"As of the day I delivered the triplets."

"Then shall we?"

"I was wondering when you were going to get up the nerve to ask again."

Jon," she began later, "speaking of orders, can you be ordered away from here?"

"Hell's bells, luv, I was on an exploratory mission that, with due modesty, I can say I have acquitted to the best of my ability. As well as taking a cursory look at two other M-type planets in the immediate vicinity. I'm certain that we have a case for making Erehwon the center for further investigations. Since my knowledge of the area is intimate, I might even get bumped up in rank to administration. Which would suit me admirably."

"You want to be an admiral?"

"That'd keep me in administration, which wouldn't hurt my feelings. Depends on how my initial reports and performance are received."

"Another good reason for getting Meterios out of the picture and on a long and uninterruptible trip back," she said.

"I agree. I like Erehwon. I like the life we've been carving out here. I love you."

She stood up and curled her arms about his neck. "I rather thought you might, but d'you realise that's the first time you've admitted it?"

"Out loud." He curved his lips in a very tender smile. "I rather thought you'd've guessed as much."

"I did, but I'd rather hear you confirm the situation."

"Then, Lady Nimisha, I respectfully request a similar confession from you," he said softly into her ear, holding her very tightly.

"I do love you, Commander Jonagren Svangel," she said softly, "though I certainly never expected to."

"Well, you have designed the perfect long-distance yacht: You are free to set that inventive mind of yours to new challenges."

"Hmmm. What a good idea."

Jon gave her another long and deeply stirring kiss before he swung his feet over the bed and reached for his discarded coverall. "I want to have a private word with some of Meterios's crew. And Dr. Qualta."

"And I think I'll just dash off a little note to await Caleb's arrival at the beacon. Something about orders he's received for the Acclarke."

"They'd have to be at the beacon," Jon said, stamping into his boots. "Headquarters would have had word by now of the loss of the space station and the Acclarke, but he wouldn't have any pulses while on IS drive. So make it clear he's stripped them from the beacon now that it's been repaired and we can get messages to and from."

"Dear heart, don't worry. I come from a very long line of devious women."

Her first instruction to Helm used the cipher she and Caleb had set up for private messages. He'd know to accept and read it by himself. In the opening paragraph, she suggested that the Five B Helm beam orders directly to Captain Meterios on Four's comunit. That would be less suspicious than for him to have documentation to give her. While a pulsed beam message carried no signature, Caleb did know one of Admiral Gollanch's private codes to give authority to such new orders. By citing Meterios as a xenophobe, she'd gain Caleb's understanding of their need to rid the planet of her presence. A pulsed explanation would reach the admiral well in advance of the Acclarke. She also asked Caleb how to keep the useful crewmembers on Erehwon. The long trip home under such a captain was likely to cause severe disciplinary problems. Since the original tour of duty had been four months, not much attention had been paid to matching psych profiles. With a Helm to guide a ship through IS drive, no human watch was actually required, and Helm could always rouse the captain for any emergencies requiring human intervention. Not that Nimisha had much faith in Meterios's ability to handle real emergencies. She must have exhibited some initiative to get to be a courier captain but Nimisha couldn't imagine it.

When Jon returned, unable to check with all the people he wanted to speak to, she showed him her message.

"In any case, we have her for not attempting to return back to base as her orders specifically state," he said. "Send it."

She did, and marked off yet another day until she would see her daughter again. The waiting was worse now that Cuiva was so close. While she had been busy, while she had been making a new life here on Erehwon, and with Jon, she had been able to censor painful thoughts and the realisation that she had missed so much of Cuiva's youth. And the Necklacing. That was such an important moment in a girl's life. It had been in hers, when she was suddenly about to take her place in Society and be allowed to talk to adults without waiting to be spoken to: to be grown-up! She only hoped that her dam had not constricted Cuiva to what Lady Rezalla thought was proper for a First Family body-heir to learn. And in that, Nimisha would be to blame, having such an unusual interest as ship design. Cuiva would have had no one like Lord Tionel to stand up for any individual interests she might have developed. Well. Lady Rezalla was fair…