A Grand Tour

'Hooray!' shouted the whole body, sounding to Mincio like many more than thirty- seven throats in the echoing courtyard.

As crewmen filed from the courtyard behind Harpe and the servant guiding the party, Mincio moved to where Nessler was talking to Beresford. 'This is horrible,' she said.

'The other side of the Dole Fleet not being very competent at waging war,' Nessler said without emphasis, 'is that they're willing to commit acts that would be unthinkable to a professional force. Like destroying lifeboats.'

Mincio nodded. 'I'd think that any war was bad enough without people trying to find ways to make it worse,' she agreed, 'but as you say — failed people are desperate to have anyone else in their power.'

'I was just pointing out to the master,' Beresford said, 'that with the Peeps being the sort they is, and Air being so close by to Hope, maybe it'd be a good idea if we cut things short in this sector and got back to systems where the Navy shows the flag with something more impressive than a destroyer.' He spat. 'To take on a heavy cruiser, for chrissake!'

'The normal problem in League Sector Twelve is piracy,' Nessler said in a voice as flat and hard as a knifeblade. 'But I agree that it might have occurred to someone in the Ministry that when the Peeps began sending out cruisers for commerce raiding, our anti-piracy patrols should have been either reinforced or withdrawn. No doubt the Admiralty had other things on its mind.'

Rovald came out of the house with a hologram projector, part of the extensive suite of equipment she'd brought on the voyage. She started to speak but stopped when she realized Nessler and Mincio, though silent, were focused on more important matters.

Beresford had no such hesitation. 'So shall I see about arranging transport, say, to Krishnaputra?' he said. 'Captain Cage hasn't broken orbit yet. It might be three months before another Warshawski ship touches down here!'

Nessler shook his head no. He said, 'Yes, that's the problem. We can get out of the region, but the survivors of L'Imperieuse cannot — certainly not in their pinnace, and not with any likelihood on any of the small-capacity vessels which call on a world like Hope.'

'Well, Sir…' said Beresford, looking at the ground and thereby proving he knew how close he was skating to conduct his master would find completely unacceptable. 'It seems to me that when they signed on with the Navy, Harpe and the rest, they kinda…'

'Yes, one does take on responsibilities that one may later find extremely burdensome,' Nessler said in a cold, distinct tone. 'As I did when I took the oath as an officer in Her Majesty's Navy. Nothing that touches you, of course, Beresford. I'll send you and Rovald—'

'Sir!' Beresford said. With a dignity that Mincio had never imagined in the little man he continued, 'I don't guess anybody needs to teach his duty to a Beresford of Greatgap. Which it may be to keep his master from getting scragged, but it doesn't have shit to do with leaving him because the going got tough.'

Nessler made a sour face. 'Forgive me, Beresford,' he said. 'This isn't a good time for me to play the fool in front of the man who's looked after me all my life.'

'Sir?' said Rovald, perhaps as much to break the embarrassing silence as because she thought anybody cared about what she had to say. 'As Ms. Mincio instructed, I've analyzed the damaged crystals in the deKyper collection to find a common oscillation freq—'

'A moment please, Rovald,' Nessler said, raising his hand but looking at Mincio rather than the technician. 'Mincio, would it be possible for you to win a great deal of money at poker from Lord Orloff? More money than he could possibly pay?'

'No,' Mincio said, her words as clipped and precise as the click of chips on hardwood. She and Nessler were no longer tutor and pupil, though she didn't have the mental leisure to determine what their present relationship really was.

Ignoring the chill in Nessler's expression she continued, 'He wouldn't play with me for amounts in that range. If I have the complete cooperation of Beresford and Rovald, however, I think I might be able to arrange for you to—' she smiled like a sharp knife '—shear him like a sheep yourself in a day or two.'

Beresford guffawed. 'Who d'ye want killed, boss?' he asked; not entirely a joke from the look in his eyes, and the sudden tension in Rovald's thin frame.

'Just a matter of borrowing a deck of cards from Orloff's camp,' Mincio said. 'It shouldn't be difficult, given your contacts with the Melungeon crew; and perhaps a little money, but not much.'

She turned to the technician. 'As for you, Rovald,' she continued, 'I'll want you to reprogram the deck's electronic response. I could probably do the job myself with your equipment, but I couldn't do it as quickly and easily as I'm sure you can.'

Rovald let out her breath in a sigh of relief. 'I'm sure it won't be a problem, Ma'am,' she said.

'I'm going to win at poker?' Nessler said. 'That'll be a change from my experience at school, certainly.' He chuckled. 'But you're the expert, of course. And Beresford? Before I surrender your services to Mincio, be a good fellow and find my alcohol catalyzer. Orloff's bound to be pushing his horrible brandy at me, and I wouldn't want him to think I had a particular reason to keep a clear head.'

* * *

It was midmorning before Reserve Midshipman Nessler finished his meeting with the ranking survivors of the L'Imperieuse. That suited Mincio much better than an early departure for the pylons. She was still feeling the effects of the dance two nights before.

Besides letting her muscles work themselves loose, the delay permitted Mincio to examine Rovald's work of the previous day. The technician had calculated the range of resonant frequencies for the four least-damaged Alphane 'books' from deKyper's collection. The next step would be to calculate the frequency of common resonance, then finally to determine the factor by which that prime had to be modified to properly stimulate the crystals in their present damaged state.

If Rovald was successful — and that seemed likely — the breakthrough in Alphane studies would be the high point of Mincio's scholarly life. She wasn't really able to appreciate it, though, because for the first time since her father died Edith Mincio wasn't primarily a scholar.

Nessler lifted the air car. He and Mincio were in the front seats; Beresford and Rovald shared the back. There was space for a fifth passenger, but none of them cared to chance adding even deKyper's slight additional weight. The drive had labored just to carry three the day before.

They'd barely cleared the walls of Singh's courtyard before they saw the Melungeon air car curving down toward the landing field. Lord Orloff's vehicle had a fabric canopy with tassels which whipped furiously in the wind of passage.

'Ah!' said Nessler as he leaned into the control yoke to turn the car. 'I think we'd best join them before going on. You may have to drive Rovald to the site yourself, Beresford.'

'I guess I can handle that,' the servant said. 'Seeing as I've been driving air cars since I was nine. And didn't your father whip my ass when he caught me, Sir.'

Orloff and his entourage were about to enter the Melungeon cutter when Nessler settled his borrowed car nearby. Orloff beamed at them and cried, 'Nessler! Come and see my Colonel Arabi. Then the two of us can go back to the camp and play cards, not so?'

'Mincio and I would be delighted to visit your ship, Captain Orloff,' Nessler said cheerfully. He strode to the Melungeon and embraced him enthusiastically. Mincio noticed that this time Nessler's arms were outside Orloff's instead of being pinned to his chest by the Melungeon's bear hug. 'There's no problem with my servant and technician going to your camp to record the pylon before you remove it, is there?'

'Foof!' said Orloff. 'Why should there be a problem? Alec, go back to camp with my honored guest's servants and see to it that the dogs there treat them right. It's only the other ranks there now, you see.'

'And perhaps tomorrow when we've had a chance to rest,' Nessler added, 'I'll be in a mood for some poker. I hope you don't have a problem with high stakes?'

Lord Orloff's laughter thundered as he patted Nessler ahead of him into the pinnace.

* * *

Mincio had no naval experience, so the view of the approaching cruiser wouldn't have meant anything to