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femaker.txt (210 of 222) [1/19/03 5:15:04 PM]
file:///F|/rah/James%20P.%20Hogan/Hogan,%20James%20P%20-%20Code%20Of%20The%20L
ifemaker.txt
"Christ, that's terrible!" Dulaney exclaimed. "What happened to them?"
"Oh, they're okay," Bob's voice answered. "Our guys at the base saw them
coming on the recce scopes and got the hell out. The base was evacuated of
personnel, anyhow it seems they left a lot of equipment behind. Must have been
a real panic."
"Who was in charge down there?" Dulaney asked, dismayed.
"Caspar Lang and Giraud. They got away in one of the military landers with the
last of the garrison, but they hadn't arrived back at the Orion when the
message was transmitted. Apparently they weren't being very communicative, so
no one was too sure exactly what had happened. We're standing by for an
update."
Dulaney frowned to himself for a second or two. "If they've been kicked out of
Padua and we don't even have a base there anymore, it means the whole
Paduan program just came apart at the seams."
"I know that's why I thought you ought to hear about it," Bob said.
"Any more?" Dulaney asked.
"Not for now. Shall I call through there again when we get the next bulletin?"
"Yes, do that. Thanks, Bob. I'll talk to you later." Dulaney cut the call and
looked up at the numb faces across the table. "Well, I guess you all heard
that. It sounds as if they've really screwed up this time. Let's wait and see
what comes through next. . . ." His eyes came back to Ramelson.
"Anyhow, in the meantime, where were we? You were just about to say something,
I think, Burton."
Ramelson emitted a long, remorseful sigh. "I agree with Phil," he replied.
"The most charitable view we can take is to attribute it all to psychological
breakdown within the mission's directorate, caused by a combination of high
stress, excessive demands of responsibility, and totally unforeseen effects of
the remote extraterrestrial environment. It's imperative that the situation be
remedied immediately, before we run into any further misadventures. My
proposals are therefore as follows:..."
38
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ABC Amber Palm Converter, http://www.processtext.com/abcpalm.html
CAPTAIN MASON OF THE U.S. SPECIAL FORCES ACKNOWLEDGED THE call on the monitor
panel inside the guardroom of the main perimeter gatehouse at Genoa
Base One.
"Taloid riders and vehicles approaching the gate, sir," the voice of Pfc.
Caronetti reported from the searchlight post on the upper level. "Some of the
passengers appear to be Terrans." At the same moment the screen in front of
Mason came to life to show the view being picked up by a rooftop camera. A
procession of walking wagons and mounted Taloids was approaching along the
broad avenue between steel lattices, girderwork frames, and pipe-draped
processing tanks that led from the city. The pace was slow and easy, giving no
cause for alarm.
"I wonder what the hell this is," Mason muttered over his shoulder to
Petrakoff, the guard sergeant.
"Five'11 get you ten it's Zambendorf and his people showing up at last,"
Petrakoff said.
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femaker.txt (211 of 222) [1/19/03 5:15:04 PM]
file:///F|/rah/James%20P.%20Hogan/Hogan,%20James%20P%20-%20Code%20Of%20The%20L
ifemaker.txt
Mason stared at the screen for a few seconds longer, and then nodded. "Yeah
. . . you're probably right, Jan. You'd better alert the Base Commander.
Call three more of the guys out front and get them helmeted up on standby.
I'm going outside to join Pierce and Macnally and find out what's happening."
In the first of the open carriages behind the advance guard of Genoese
cavalry, Zambendorf was sitting between Abaquaan and Arthur, facing Galileo
and Moses, who had their backs to the raised platform supporting the seats of
the two Taloid coachmen. The rest of the team was in the second carriage with
Leonardo, the Genoese mapmaker, and Lancelot, Arthur's knight who had brought
Galileo out of Padua. Various aides and officials from Arthur's court followed
in the train behind, which included Leonardo's family, Lord
Nelson, and a representative contingent of Druids.
The advance guard emerged into the clear area in front of the main gate
through the perimeter fence of Genoa Base, and moments later a searchlight
beam swung round to illuminate the procession in brilliant white and transform
the surrounding structures into ghostly skeletons of steel standing out
vividly against the background darkness.
"I don't see Tango Baker Two anywhere," Abaquaan said, turning in his seat to
scan the immense, squat, stubby-winged forms of the surface landers, parked
amid floodlit clutters of service gantries, maintenance platforms, cargo
hoists, and access ramps on the far side of the fence. "Andy and the boys must
have gone back up to the ship already."
"Well, at least they should have come out of it all with their noses clean,"
Zambendorf answered.
"Let's hope so."
After snatching Moses from the cliff at Padua, Zambendorf had decided to fly
directly to Camelot, Arthur's residence, to deliver Moses safely into the
Genoese care and reunite him with his brother, Galileo, before the team gave
itself up to the Terran authorities at Genoa Base. The Genoese had insisted,
however, on making the occasion one for all kinds of elaborate farewell
formalities which had involved seemingly half the Taloids in the country, and
the team had remained there, resting and eating in the flyer, for fully
twenty-four hours. To minimize the risk of the proceedings' being
distastefully interrupted, the team had maintained a strict communications
blackout, omitting even to contact Massey and Thelma, since a genuine
ignorance of the team's whereabouts would be less likely to compromise their
position in the face of questioning by Leaherney's people. Finally, to round
everything off in style, Arthur had proposed a grand procession across the [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]
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femaker.txt (210 of 222) [1/19/03 5:15:04 PM]
file:///F|/rah/James%20P.%20Hogan/Hogan,%20James%20P%20-%20Code%20Of%20The%20L
ifemaker.txt
"Christ, that's terrible!" Dulaney exclaimed. "What happened to them?"
"Oh, they're okay," Bob's voice answered. "Our guys at the base saw them
coming on the recce scopes and got the hell out. The base was evacuated of
personnel, anyhow it seems they left a lot of equipment behind. Must have been
a real panic."
"Who was in charge down there?" Dulaney asked, dismayed.
"Caspar Lang and Giraud. They got away in one of the military landers with the
last of the garrison, but they hadn't arrived back at the Orion when the
message was transmitted. Apparently they weren't being very communicative, so
no one was too sure exactly what had happened. We're standing by for an
update."
Dulaney frowned to himself for a second or two. "If they've been kicked out of
Padua and we don't even have a base there anymore, it means the whole
Paduan program just came apart at the seams."
"I know that's why I thought you ought to hear about it," Bob said.
"Any more?" Dulaney asked.
"Not for now. Shall I call through there again when we get the next bulletin?"
"Yes, do that. Thanks, Bob. I'll talk to you later." Dulaney cut the call and
looked up at the numb faces across the table. "Well, I guess you all heard
that. It sounds as if they've really screwed up this time. Let's wait and see
what comes through next. . . ." His eyes came back to Ramelson.
"Anyhow, in the meantime, where were we? You were just about to say something,
I think, Burton."
Ramelson emitted a long, remorseful sigh. "I agree with Phil," he replied.
"The most charitable view we can take is to attribute it all to psychological
breakdown within the mission's directorate, caused by a combination of high
stress, excessive demands of responsibility, and totally unforeseen effects of
the remote extraterrestrial environment. It's imperative that the situation be
remedied immediately, before we run into any further misadventures. My
proposals are therefore as follows:..."
38
Page 196
ABC Amber Palm Converter, http://www.processtext.com/abcpalm.html
CAPTAIN MASON OF THE U.S. SPECIAL FORCES ACKNOWLEDGED THE call on the monitor
panel inside the guardroom of the main perimeter gatehouse at Genoa
Base One.
"Taloid riders and vehicles approaching the gate, sir," the voice of Pfc.
Caronetti reported from the searchlight post on the upper level. "Some of the
passengers appear to be Terrans." At the same moment the screen in front of
Mason came to life to show the view being picked up by a rooftop camera. A
procession of walking wagons and mounted Taloids was approaching along the
broad avenue between steel lattices, girderwork frames, and pipe-draped
processing tanks that led from the city. The pace was slow and easy, giving no
cause for alarm.
"I wonder what the hell this is," Mason muttered over his shoulder to
Petrakoff, the guard sergeant.
"Five'11 get you ten it's Zambendorf and his people showing up at last,"
Petrakoff said.
file:///F|/rah/James%20P.%20Hogan/Hogan,%20...s%20P%20-%20Code%20Of%20The%20Li
femaker.txt (211 of 222) [1/19/03 5:15:04 PM]
file:///F|/rah/James%20P.%20Hogan/Hogan,%20James%20P%20-%20Code%20Of%20The%20L
ifemaker.txt
Mason stared at the screen for a few seconds longer, and then nodded. "Yeah
. . . you're probably right, Jan. You'd better alert the Base Commander.
Call three more of the guys out front and get them helmeted up on standby.
I'm going outside to join Pierce and Macnally and find out what's happening."
In the first of the open carriages behind the advance guard of Genoese
cavalry, Zambendorf was sitting between Abaquaan and Arthur, facing Galileo
and Moses, who had their backs to the raised platform supporting the seats of
the two Taloid coachmen. The rest of the team was in the second carriage with
Leonardo, the Genoese mapmaker, and Lancelot, Arthur's knight who had brought
Galileo out of Padua. Various aides and officials from Arthur's court followed
in the train behind, which included Leonardo's family, Lord
Nelson, and a representative contingent of Druids.
The advance guard emerged into the clear area in front of the main gate
through the perimeter fence of Genoa Base, and moments later a searchlight
beam swung round to illuminate the procession in brilliant white and transform
the surrounding structures into ghostly skeletons of steel standing out
vividly against the background darkness.
"I don't see Tango Baker Two anywhere," Abaquaan said, turning in his seat to
scan the immense, squat, stubby-winged forms of the surface landers, parked
amid floodlit clutters of service gantries, maintenance platforms, cargo
hoists, and access ramps on the far side of the fence. "Andy and the boys must
have gone back up to the ship already."
"Well, at least they should have come out of it all with their noses clean,"
Zambendorf answered.
"Let's hope so."
After snatching Moses from the cliff at Padua, Zambendorf had decided to fly
directly to Camelot, Arthur's residence, to deliver Moses safely into the
Genoese care and reunite him with his brother, Galileo, before the team gave
itself up to the Terran authorities at Genoa Base. The Genoese had insisted,
however, on making the occasion one for all kinds of elaborate farewell
formalities which had involved seemingly half the Taloids in the country, and
the team had remained there, resting and eating in the flyer, for fully
twenty-four hours. To minimize the risk of the proceedings' being
distastefully interrupted, the team had maintained a strict communications
blackout, omitting even to contact Massey and Thelma, since a genuine
ignorance of the team's whereabouts would be less likely to compromise their
position in the face of questioning by Leaherney's people. Finally, to round
everything off in style, Arthur had proposed a grand procession across the [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]