Industrial Revolution

'If the government doesn't want the asterites to develop much further—' Blades bit hard on his pipestem. 'They must know we have a caviar mine here. We'll be the only city in this entire sector.'

'But we're still a baby,' Avis said. 'We won't be important for years to come. Who'd have it in for a baby?'

'Besides, we're Americans, too,' Chung said. 'If that were a foreign ship, the story might be different—Wait a minute! Could they be thinking of establishing a new base here?'

'The Convention wouldn't allow,' said Blades.

'Treaties can always be renegotiated, or even denounced. But first you have to investigate quietly, find out if it's worth your while.'

'Hoo hah, what lovely money that'd mean!'

'And lovely bureaucrats crawling out of every file cabinet,' Chung said grimly. 'No, thank you. We'll fight any such attempt to the last lawyer. We've got a good basis, too, in our charter. If the suit is tried on Ceres, as I believe it has to be, we'll get a sympathetic court as well.'

'Unless they ring in an Earthside judge,' Avis warned.

'Yeah, that's possible. Also, they could spring proceedings on us without notice. We've got to find out in advance, so we can prepare. Any chance of pumping some of those officers?'

''Fraid not,' Avis said. 'The few who'd be in the know are safely back on shipboard.'

'We could invite 'em here individually,' said Blades. 'As a matter of fact, I already have a date with Lieutenant Ziska.'

'What?' Avis' mouth fell open.

'Yep,' Blades said complacently. 'End of the next watch, so she can observe the Pallas arriving. I'm to fetch her on a scooter.' He blew a fat smoke ring. 'Look, Jimmy, can you keep everybody off the porch for a while then? Starlight, privacy, soft music on the piccolo—who knows what I might find out?'

'You won't get anything from her,' Avis spat. 'No secrets or, or anything.'

'Still, I look forward to making the attempt. C'mon, pal, pass the word. I'll do as much for you sometime.'

'Times like that never seem to come for me,' Chung groaned.

'Oh, let him play around with his suicide blonde,' Avis said furiously. 'We others have work to do. I ... I'll tell you what, Jimmy. Let's not eat in the mess tonight. I'll draw our rations and fix us something special in your cabin.'

A scooter was not exactly the ideal steed for a knight to convey his lady. It amounted to little more than three saddles and a locker, set atop an accumulator-powered gyrogravitic engine, sufficient to lift you off an asteroid and run at low acceleration. There were no navigating instruments. You locked the autopilot's radar- gravitic sensors onto your target object and it took you there, avoiding any bits of debris which might pass near; but you must watch the distance indicator and press the deceleration switch in time. If the 'pilot was turned off, free maneuver became possible, but that was a dangerous thing to try before you were almost on top of your destination. Stereoscopic vision fails beyond six or seven meters, and the human organism isn't equipped to gauge cosmic momenta.

Nevertheless, Ellen was enchanted. 'This is like a dream,' her voice murmured in Blades' earplug. 'The whole universe, on every side of us. I could almost reach out and pluck those stars.'

'You must have trained in powered spacesuits at the Academy,' he said for lack of a more poetic rejoinder.

'Yes, but that's not the same. We had to stay near Luna's night side, to be safe from solar particles, and it bit a great chunk out of the sky. And then everything was so—regulated, disciplined—we did what we were ordered to do, and that was that. Here I feel free. You can't imagine how free.' Hastily: 'Do you use this machine often?'

'Well, yes, we have about twenty scooters at the Station. They're the most convenient way of flitting with a load: out to the mirrors to change accumulators, for instance, or across to one of the companion rocks where we're digging some ores that the Sword doesn't have. That kind of work.' Blades would frankly rather have had her behind him on a motorskimmer, hanging on as they careened through a springtime countryside. He was glad when they reached the main forward air lock and debarked.

He was still gladder when the suits were off. Lieutenant Ziska in dress uniform was stunning, but Ellen in civvies, a fluffy low-cut blouse and close-fitting slacks, was a hydrogen blast. He wanted to roll over and pant, but settled for saying, 'Welcome back' and holding her hand rather longer than necessary.

With a shy smile, she gave him a package. 'I drew this before leaving,' she said. 'I thought, well, your life is so austere—'

'A demi of Sandeman,' he said reverently. 'I won't tell you you shouldn't have, but I will tell you you're a sweet girl.'

'No, really.' She flushed. 'After we've put you to so much trouble.'

'Let's go crack this,' he said. 'The Pallas has called in, but she won't be visible for a while yet.'

They made their way to the verandah, picking up a couple of glasses enroute. Bless his envious heart, Jimmy had warned the other boys off as requested. I hope Avis cooks him a Cordon Bleu dinner, Blades thought. Nice kid, Avis, if she'd quit trying to ... what? ... mother me? He forgot about her, with Ellen to seat by the rail.

The Milky Way turned her hair frosty and glowed in her eyes. Blades poured the port with much ceremony and raised his glass. 'Here's to your frequent return,' he said.

Her pleasure dwindled a bit. 'I don't know if I should drink to that. We aren't likely to be back, ever.'

'Drink anyway. Gling, glang, gloria!' The rims tinkled together. 'After all,' said Blades, 'this isn't the whole universe. We'll both be getting around. See you on Luna?'

'Maybe.'

He wondered if he was pushing matters too hard. She didn't look at ease. 'Oh, well,' he said, 'if nothing else, this has been a grand break in the monotony for us. I don't wish the Navy ill, but if trouble had to develop, I'm thankful it developed here.'

'Yes—'

'How's the repair work progressing? Slowly, I hope.'

'I don't know.'

'You should have some idea, being in QM.'

'No supplies have been drawn.'

Blades stiffened.

'What's the matter?' Ellen sounded alarmed.

'Huh?' A fine conspirator I make, if she can see my emotions on me in neon capitals! 'Nothing. Nothing. It just seemed a little strange, you know. Not taking any replacement units.'

'I understand the work is only a matter of making certain adjustments.'

'Then they should've finished a lot quicker, shouldn't they?'

'Please,' she said unhappily. 'Let's not talk about it. I mean, there are such things as security regulations.'

Blades gave up on that tack. But Chung's idea might be worth probing a little. 'Sure,' he said. 'I'm sorry, I didn't mean to pry.' He took another sip as he hunted for suitable words. A beautiful girl, a golden wine ... and vice versa ... why couldn't he simply relax and enjoy himself? Did he have to go fretting about what was probably a perfectly harmless conundrum?... Yes. However, recreation might still combine with business.

'Permit me to daydream,' he said, leaning close to her. 'The Navy's going to establish a new base here, and the Altair will be assigned to it.'

'Daydream indeed!' she laughed, relieved to get back to a mere flirtation. 'Ever hear about the Convention of Vesta?'