- Prologue

for you has been putting up with the lessons and the cooking of Rig Tranza. And understand that 'adequate' from Rig is a rare and considered thing when it comes to young pilots. Didn't he work you scrubbing the deck and counting spares?'

Theo laughed despite herself. 'And double-checking the food lockers for both catalog number and actual count.'

'See, always check invoice against items! We share a lesson.'

Mayko's hands moved to say finish this session and she leaned forward.

'So, the rest of this run is yours. Rig will have a holiday of sorts—he has new music, and he has been some time without vacation or proper leave. I am available to sit second at any moment, and at any moment I may ask for analysis of decision points. Calculations, your choice of beverage—anything. Do you understand?'

Something tickled the back of her mind. She nodded so gravely that it was almost a bow.

'Yes,' she said, 'I understand. The usual rules apply.'

Thirty- Five

Primadonna

In Transit

Theo's hands were damp with sweat and her main computer was at least four screens deep on each of nine viewtops. She knew where things were but her astrogation instructor would have disowned her. Tranza was sitting back with his music, smiling.

She looked again at the screens, saw the solution, and began archiving like mad.

Let him laugh, Theo thought, he's got his jacket.

They'd got to Jump distance with no problems, a comfortable meal in their stomachs and her pair of companions only breaking into song three times in response to conversational cues Theo hadn't known were cues at all.

The thing was that after dinner, Theo began a mild stretching routine, letting it ratchet up to a little more of a workout so that she'd be done before they needed to get to actual work, like to a spot where Theo ought to soon be setting up for a Jump run or determining Primadonna's long term orbit.

In the midst of that exercise, Mayko handed over the ship's run. Well, not exactly. What she did was hand over a list of places she needed to be within a more-or-less set time frame, with a bonus load of interdependent priorities, and a request that sooner would be better in all cases. All of the prefiled destinations were included, and a couple more.

'Pilot Theo, these are the needs of the company,' Mayko had said innocuously. 'As the board is yours, this is clearly a pilot's choice situation. I think it best that we be outsystem in the next quarter shift.'

Which would not have been Theo's usual choice with such a multiplicity of routes available, but if the ship was hers for the duration of the run—well, that clarified things immensely. Part of this was to push her, she knew. Part was real need. Mayko had said that Hugglelans needed to move in a hurry, while trade was still confused.

But there, the information was already gathered, the decision point just lacked confirmation.

'Mix and match?' she asked. 'All of the destinations in the same run, priority fast and efficient?'

'Indeed, that would be best,' Mayko allowed.

Theo nodded, raised her voice.

'First Board declares Jump check. Tranza, please secure the galley and confirm tie-downs, locks, goods and staterooms. The count to start our runout is two hundred, starting in seven.'

'Right,' he said and moved.

Next to her Mayko raised an eyebrow, began to speak, was overridden by Theo.

'Second, your main screen should match mine. Confirm Volmer coordinates, confirm ship safety, confirm scans.'

Theo glanced toward the seat Tranza left empty in his rush; then toward Mayko, hands deftly touching the manual confirms on the automatics, readouts being echoed.

'Our route?' Mayko inquired, laughing as Tranza burst into song while he made some final seal in the galley, and dashed onto the flight deck.

'Volmer,' Theo stated succinctly. 'The coordinates are in, the ship is rigged, and there's eight flight plans ready to go once we get there. Volmer's closest in transit time, Volmer's in the priority loop, and Volmer it is.'

Mayko opened her mouth again, but was cut off by Tranza's, 'Confirming secure, Pilot Theo.'

'Confirmed.'

'But the route?' Mayko insisted.

Theo sighed.

'Unless this is a touch-and-go when we get to Volmer, we'd best calculate fresh when we have fresh news. I'll set two probables into the go-stack in case we need to move in a hurry, but we're set. We have a count of one hundred; I'll start the Jump on count.'

'But my plans?'

'Your plans are to get there as quick as you can. We'll do that. Can't make the second Jump first though. Confirmation please, Second.'

Tranza began to whistle a tune, and Mayko, studying the second board, joined in.

'Confirmed, Pilot Theo.'

At this rate, they'd be out of the system in a tenth shift instead of a quarter, Theo thought, and that would do.

Theo lounged in the galley, eyes closed. On bridge, Tranza sat in the vacated First