[ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]
even though it made no difference in zero-g. I sud-
denly realized how fast these suckers could move at
the bottom of a gravity well. Here their legs only
looked funny, like hummingbirds' wings, as they
became a blur. These guys were definitely upset.
"Bile nozzle?" echoed Arlene.
"Closest in English," they answered, more calmly
now that they were past the initial shock. Their legs
slowed down, too.
I didn't think I'd ever be bored again. Not only
were S&R aware of this flying space organ, they had a
name for it. Just like in those Japanese movies where
the kids automatically know the name of every over-
sized sea urchin that has designs on Tokyo.
"The ship is attracting to bait," said S&R. "Inertial
energy turns into heating."
God help me, I understood them perfectly. "From
outside, this ship must look like a star," I said.
"Unless . . . until we decelerate," Hidalgo re-
minded himself as much as the rest of us.
"So that monster is chasing a small star," said
Arlene. "What does it eat?"
"Anything," said S&R. "Not only carbon. Other
chemistries! But only from the inside. We must go to
away. We're already burning fuel now."
"There isn't any way we can fight this creature?"
Hidalgo asked, his voice icy.
S&R had one of their periodic attacks of schizo-
phrenia. One head nodded while the other shook.
That didn't mean they intended the same meaning by
those motions we did; but it sure fit the situation like
a glove.
"No time for going to escape maneuvers," they
said. "Bile nozzle already matching velocipedes."
"Velocities!" I shouted. I couldn't stop correcting
these guys, but I understood the problem. This ship
was not a Millennium Falcon we could use in a
dogfight or a monster fight. The ship used inertial
dampers to get rid of the incredible amounts of energy
we were using. At 100,000 gravities acceleration, S&R
didn't want to make a trivial error that would turn us
all into smears of jelly.
All that I understood. Bile nozzle was beyond me.
Just outside the ship. And whether we sped up or
slowed down, that thing was going to stick to us like
blood on a combat boot.
"How will it attack?" asked Hidalgo.
"Becomes one unit," said S&R. That could only
mean the thing split into two. "Inside ship part."
"I've got an idea," said Arlene with an eagerness
that meant she had a damned good one. "How soon
will some part of this monster be inside the ship?"
"Going to now," said S&R worriedly.
She nodded, and I knew what the movement of her
head meant! "Tell me, if we can hurt that part, how
will the outside part respond?"
"Bile nozzle will go to elsewhere," said S&R. They
sounded hopeful.
"Okay," said Arlene. I recognized her patented
early-bird-that-got-the-worm smile.
"Out with it, marine," Hidalgo ordered, as hopeful
as the rest of us.
Arlene said, "Bring me three space suits, every
portable reactor pack in the ship, and the biggest
goddamn boot you can find!"
30
These were the best marines I'd ever served
with. Corporal Taggart-Gallatin's plan was brilliant. I
never would have thought of it. I doubted the aliens
would have come up with it because they were so
terrified of the thing they called a bile nozzle.
While we suited up, we could see the space entity
right next to the ship. It was difficult to distinguish the
heads from the tentacles--if those were heads ... or
tentacles. The new menace reminded me of the sea
beast we'd encountered in the Pacific. I didn't see how
either of these creatures could actually be alive. Their
shapes shifted and changed when you tried to get a
good look.
The largest of the bile nozzle's heads, which was
right next to the ship, was a cloud of swirling colors in
which one shape kept repeating itself: a crow's head,
with a bright dot that bounced around where the eye
ought to be. The damned head seemed to regard the
ship like a tasty treat.
Sears and Roebuck insisted that the thing wasn't
dangerous until part of it was inside the ship. Arlene's
plan couldn't stop it from joining our little party, but
she was one woman who could handle a gate-crasher.
S&R insisted on coming with us. They didn't act as
if they were the captain and we were under their
command. Cooperation was more natural to them
than command. A few years ago I thought Earth was
the only inhabited planet. Now that I'd had my eyes
opened to new possibilities, I didn't expect everyone
in the universe to follow my military code. Only a
martinet butthead would expect that.
The marines could handle this assignment, but
S&R were probably afraid to remain inside. I couldn't
blame them, because right before we cycled through
the airlock, some damned thing materialized only a
few feet away.
"Hurry! Go to outside," urged S&R. [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]
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even though it made no difference in zero-g. I sud-
denly realized how fast these suckers could move at
the bottom of a gravity well. Here their legs only
looked funny, like hummingbirds' wings, as they
became a blur. These guys were definitely upset.
"Bile nozzle?" echoed Arlene.
"Closest in English," they answered, more calmly
now that they were past the initial shock. Their legs
slowed down, too.
I didn't think I'd ever be bored again. Not only
were S&R aware of this flying space organ, they had a
name for it. Just like in those Japanese movies where
the kids automatically know the name of every over-
sized sea urchin that has designs on Tokyo.
"The ship is attracting to bait," said S&R. "Inertial
energy turns into heating."
God help me, I understood them perfectly. "From
outside, this ship must look like a star," I said.
"Unless . . . until we decelerate," Hidalgo re-
minded himself as much as the rest of us.
"So that monster is chasing a small star," said
Arlene. "What does it eat?"
"Anything," said S&R. "Not only carbon. Other
chemistries! But only from the inside. We must go to
away. We're already burning fuel now."
"There isn't any way we can fight this creature?"
Hidalgo asked, his voice icy.
S&R had one of their periodic attacks of schizo-
phrenia. One head nodded while the other shook.
That didn't mean they intended the same meaning by
those motions we did; but it sure fit the situation like
a glove.
"No time for going to escape maneuvers," they
said. "Bile nozzle already matching velocipedes."
"Velocities!" I shouted. I couldn't stop correcting
these guys, but I understood the problem. This ship
was not a Millennium Falcon we could use in a
dogfight or a monster fight. The ship used inertial
dampers to get rid of the incredible amounts of energy
we were using. At 100,000 gravities acceleration, S&R
didn't want to make a trivial error that would turn us
all into smears of jelly.
All that I understood. Bile nozzle was beyond me.
Just outside the ship. And whether we sped up or
slowed down, that thing was going to stick to us like
blood on a combat boot.
"How will it attack?" asked Hidalgo.
"Becomes one unit," said S&R. That could only
mean the thing split into two. "Inside ship part."
"I've got an idea," said Arlene with an eagerness
that meant she had a damned good one. "How soon
will some part of this monster be inside the ship?"
"Going to now," said S&R worriedly.
She nodded, and I knew what the movement of her
head meant! "Tell me, if we can hurt that part, how
will the outside part respond?"
"Bile nozzle will go to elsewhere," said S&R. They
sounded hopeful.
"Okay," said Arlene. I recognized her patented
early-bird-that-got-the-worm smile.
"Out with it, marine," Hidalgo ordered, as hopeful
as the rest of us.
Arlene said, "Bring me three space suits, every
portable reactor pack in the ship, and the biggest
goddamn boot you can find!"
30
These were the best marines I'd ever served
with. Corporal Taggart-Gallatin's plan was brilliant. I
never would have thought of it. I doubted the aliens
would have come up with it because they were so
terrified of the thing they called a bile nozzle.
While we suited up, we could see the space entity
right next to the ship. It was difficult to distinguish the
heads from the tentacles--if those were heads ... or
tentacles. The new menace reminded me of the sea
beast we'd encountered in the Pacific. I didn't see how
either of these creatures could actually be alive. Their
shapes shifted and changed when you tried to get a
good look.
The largest of the bile nozzle's heads, which was
right next to the ship, was a cloud of swirling colors in
which one shape kept repeating itself: a crow's head,
with a bright dot that bounced around where the eye
ought to be. The damned head seemed to regard the
ship like a tasty treat.
Sears and Roebuck insisted that the thing wasn't
dangerous until part of it was inside the ship. Arlene's
plan couldn't stop it from joining our little party, but
she was one woman who could handle a gate-crasher.
S&R insisted on coming with us. They didn't act as
if they were the captain and we were under their
command. Cooperation was more natural to them
than command. A few years ago I thought Earth was
the only inhabited planet. Now that I'd had my eyes
opened to new possibilities, I didn't expect everyone
in the universe to follow my military code. Only a
martinet butthead would expect that.
The marines could handle this assignment, but
S&R were probably afraid to remain inside. I couldn't
blame them, because right before we cycled through
the airlock, some damned thing materialized only a
few feet away.
"Hurry! Go to outside," urged S&R. [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]