Bernie stood up, staring at the sky. Through the billowing smoke she could just make out a spark of light, getting smaller and smaller as the ship tore away from the planet.
Chapter 14
Bernie activated her commset. "Trainee Harriet, do you copy? Harriet, come in please."
There was no reply, and Bernie gave up. If Harriet had been captured and taken aboard the ship, they would hardly have left her with a Peace Force commset. So, Bernie called the spaceport control tower and identified herself. "I need you to intercept a ship," she said. "It just took off from pad forty-seven, and I suspect one of my officers is on board against her will."
"I'm sorry, there's nothing we can do."
"You can order her back."
"No I can't. She's halfway to orbit, and that's not my jurisdiction."
"Who should I call?"
"The orbiter might be able to do something."
"Very well," said Bernie. "Connect me to the orbiter."
There was a delay, and then a female voice came on. "Dismolle Orbiter, traffic control. How can I help you?"
Bernie got straight to the point. "One of my officers has been captured, and is being detained aboard a vessel which is currently leaving Dismolle orbit. You must intercept that vessel, free my officer, and detain the perpetrators."
"How am I supposed to do that? This is traffic control, not a team of interstellar crime-fighters."
"Don't you have patrol vessels?"
"We have one vessel, and it's in for a service right now."
"Then you must call in the Imperial Navy. Their warships—"
"You're kidding, right? I'd be out of a job so fast I wouldn't even have a chance to grab my coffee mug."
"Can't you try?"
"No. I like that mug."
Bernie realised the woman wasn't taking things seriously. "In the name of the Peace Force, I order you—"
"Wait, that ship you're after … it's on a gravity burn."
"What does that mean?" asked Bernie. Her database was extensive, but for some reason nobody though it necessary to give her in-depth knowledge of interstellar navigation.
"They're going to fly around the primary, accelerating to escape velocity, then use the boost to reach one of the outer planets. It's a trick to save fuel, but once you commit there's no turning back."
"One of the outer planets, you say?"
"Yep. Vasques or Cortes. I won't know for sure until they come out the other side. Hey, maybe you can call your officers on those planets, and have them meet the ship when it lands!"
"An excellent suggestion," said Bernie. "Thank you for your help." She disconnected, then turned and strode across to the stricken Peace Force cruiser. The paintwork was scorched, but not too badly, and the interior seemed intact. "Can you hear me?" she asked the car.
"Yeah, but your voice is upside-down."
"That is impossible."
"So is the idea of you getting a joke."
Bernie shrugged, and squatted next to the car, gripping the door sill with both hands. Then she stood up, easily rolling the car onto its side. A quick push, and the cruiser crashed down onto its belly, raising a cloud of dust. "Can you start your engine?" asked the robot.
As a reply, there was a low thrumming sound, and then the car rose into the air. It wobbled a little, and the nearside door was crumpled, but it was good enough for Bernie. She waited for the rear compartment to open up, then took the two small steps and ducked her head, cramming herself into the rear seat. "Back to the station, car."
"Harriet calls me Steve."
"A childish affectation. Simple, self-propelled mechanical devices do not require human names."
"Whatever you say … Bernie." Steve hesitated. 'What about Harriet? Isn't she coming?"
"Harriet has been detained, and will not be joining us."
"Well that's a shame. I had her seat all warmed up and ready, too."
Bernie took out a charge cable and plugged in, sighing with relief as the current flowed. "Please hurry it up, er, Steve. Trainee Alice may also be in danger."
— ♦ —
Alice stepped out of the cab and jogged into the office, eager to tell the others about her school visit. Unfortunately, the place was deserted, so she went to find Dave Birch. He was busy with his manuscript, and barely looked up as she came in.
"Hi Dave. Any idea where they've gone?"
The elderly shop owner shook his head. "Bernie doesn't tell me what she's up to. I can barely get the time of day out of her."
"What about Harriet?"
"Beats me. She left before you did."
"She's still on that call-out? Must be something pretty juicy."
Dave shrugged. "She can't come to much harm in our little corner of the galaxy."
"Yeah. Sometimes I wish it was a little more exciting around here. You know … a few nightclubs, that kind of thing."
"How old are you again?"
"Don't start on me, or I'll nick all your chocolate when you're not looking."
Dave frowned at her from under lowered eyebrows.
"It was a joke!" protested Alice, and she headed out the back of the shop before he got her to turn out her pockets. Not that she'd steal from him, but she didn't want to explain the cash she was carrying. If the old guy from the hotel complained about his lightened wallet, it wouldn't take Bernie's massive processing power to solve that particular case.
Alice slumped down at her desk and eyed the screen, which was displaying her speech. "Won't be needing that any more," she said, and closed it. She noticed the file for her unfinished essay lurking in wait, and decided she'd done enough hard work for once day.
She was about to open up the armoury and try a few more codes on the locked pistol case when she heard the rumble of Steve's motors. They sounded rough, and when Bernie emerged from the garage moments later she was enveloped in a cloud of choking grey smoke. The robot strode into the office, scattering rubble and glass fragments, and Alice leapt up and ran to her. "What's going on?" she demanded. "What happened?"
"There was an incident at the spaceport. The car … Steve,
