“Don’t you ever do what you’retold?” he asked in frustration, before returning to his desk. He had no doubtshe would follow.
“This is not a good time, isit?” McReidy pulled up a chair and sat in front of the desk.
“Not if you’re going to discussTricon again. I’m well aware of how the crew feel about it.” He found it easyto work and talk to her at the same time, as long as the conversation remainedon a superficial level. She didn’t take offence and knew that she was notbeing ignored.
“You really should get somesleep.”
“Yeah, later maybe.” He hadother things to worry about first.
“What’s wrong?”
“I’m looking for support. We’rea sitting duck out here.”
“I thought –”
“That everybody would comerunning? Yeah, right, the day that happens, I’ll retire.”
He sat back, tossing his pen onthe desk.
“When we hit those cruisers,Drago’s fleet was half a day away. Now I can’t find him. There’s no way hecan just disappear.”
“This is Drago you’re talkingabout. He can just disappear.”
John granted her that point. They both knew the Betelian well enough.
He reached down to the floorbeside him and pulled up a chart. He placed it on the cluttered desk,spreading it over the stuff that was already there. Its sides rolled towardsits centre. He stood up, pinning one side down with the intercom and holdingthe other down with his left hand. He looked for his pen. It was underneath. He allowed the chart to roll itself up until the pen was revealed then smoothedthe chart out again.
“This is where Drago was,” hepointed with the pen to a position on the chart that was already marked. “Independence picked up the ambassadors here. She was originally with Kirov and Yorktown. And we assumed Tirpitz and Dreadnought were also on their way there.”
He marked each ship’s position onthe chart as he named them, along with a few others he knew were around.
McReidy nodded in agreement. Although the ambassadors had taken up a lot of her time – twenty five hours aday, eight days a week, so she had told everyone – she hadn’t let her otherduties lapse.
“So, if we’re here,” Johnfinished, plotting their current location. “Where are all of them?”
McReidy didn’t know. It seemedhighly unlikely that they could all have disappeared.
“Maybe we’re not here,” shesuggested.
The look in his eyes made herregret it before the words were out. If there was one thing she couldguarantee, it was that he knew where he was.
“It just seems easier for us tobe in the wrong place than for all of them.” The attempt to salvage herselfonly backfired. “Maybe it’s because our lines are down.”
“Maybe.” It was a possiblereason, but one that didn’t satisfy him.
“We’ve been without protectionfrom the beginning,” McReidy tried to reassure him. “We’re due to reach jumpgate tomorrow afternoon. We get to Tricon, get the crystals and we’re back inbusiness.”
“If… we get to the jump gate.” He didn’t sound so sure.
That was the first time he’d said“if”, and he looked to see his doubt sink into her.
“If the engines hold up. If wedon’t lose any other systems. If we don’t run into any trouble.”
“Since when have you doubtedus?” She tried to remain confident, but his negativity hit her voice.
“I have extreme confidence in ourabilities. I don’t have much faith in anyone else. If I can’t even find ourships, how am I supposed to know where the enemy is?”
This time her face went blank andhe knew that was something she hadn’t thought of. The ship was crippled. Shecouldn’t run; she couldn’t fight. She probably wasn’t capable of spottinganother ship if it was right under her nose.
McReidy leaned forward and heldout one hand. “Earphones.”
John moved his hand, the chartrolled itself up. Earphones – they weren’t on his desk. He didn’t need themon his own; they were still in a desk drawer. He pulled them out and passedthem to McReidy, plugging in the lead and switching the machine on.
“Coffee?” he asked before she gotsettled.
“Thanks.” She slipped theearphones on and leaned back comfortably in the chair.
When John returned with thecoffee, McReidy was more than comfortable. Her legs were crossed, her feetresting on the edge of his desk. Her eyes were closed and her head rocked fromside to side. Her upper body and arms seemed to have a mind of their own andshe was mouthing words to something that was definitely not communicationtapes.
He pulled out the lead and musicblared into the room. McReidy opened her eyes and sat upright as the earphoneswent dead. She pulled them off, looking a little perturbed at having beeninterrupted.
“What did you do that for?” shegrumbled.
“That wasn’t supposed to be inthere.” He turned the machine off and took the disk out. He couldn’t find theright disks. Then he remembered he hadn’t used any of them. He flicked theintercom. “Mister Humphries, where are today’s communication disks?”
There was a brief delay whileHumphries found out. “In your office, sir. Would you like me to send someonedown with them?”
“Thank you, Mister Humphries.”
The disks would be a littlewhile. John sat down and sipped at his coffee, careful not to embarrassMcReidy by staring. It was hard to imagine she’d let herself get carried awayby the music so easily. He could feel her eyes watching him, trying to seewhat he was thinking. Not tonight, she wouldn’t.
The disks arrived. McReidyretrieved the earphones and leaned back comfortably, cradling her half emptymug in her hands.
Within an hour, they found whatthey thought may have been a couple of their own ships, but they weren’tanywhere where they could reasonably have been expected to be. Small alienships that didn’t have to answer to anyone but their own governments werealways around.
There was no sign of any enemyships. John had expected the cruiser that had gotten away from them to returnwith an ally to finish them off. Given the opportunity, that’s what he wouldhave done. Perhaps it didn’t have that opportunity.
*
The disks were quiet. McReidy’seyes were closed again. They had been for a while, ever since
