Drake Snippets
Though Hell Should Bar The Way – Snippet 23
Though Hell Should Bar The Way - Snippet 23 "Han will be going back to the ship with you, Olfetrie," Jimenez said. "He'll arrange the transport of the delegation's baggage here. The delegation is moving to the palace for the duration of our stay." "Ah," I said. "Sir, what shall I tell Captain Leary?" "Tell him?" said the Director. "I don't see that you need to tell him anything. His orders are to transport me and to provide any assistance I require. I assure you that when I require something, I'll let Leary know." "Thank you, sir," I said,...
Though Hell Should Bar The Way – Snippet 22
Though Hell Should Bar The Way - Snippet 22 CHAPTER 15 The cabin of the limousine which the Saguntines provided for the officials had room for six; I waited while they entered. Maeve Grimaud sat primly with her back to the driver, facing the three men from the Foreign Ministry. The vehicle was old -- probably of off-planet manufacture -- but it had been lovingly maintained (or possibly restored). The locals had provided an armored personnel carrier for me and the escort. It moved on wheels like the limousine, but it was much newer and was...
Though Hell Should Bar The Way – Snippet 21
Though Hell Should Bar The Way - Snippet 21 CHAPTER 14 The captain and I went from the companionway to the bridge: he to his console, me to stand at parade rest in front of Officer Mundy. She sat as usual with her back to the flat-plate display and her attention on the data unit in her lap. Tovera watched me from the jump seat beside her mistress. I was reading amusement into Tovera's expression, but I knew that was me. I wasn't sure that Mundy's servant had feelings. "Officer Mundy," I said. "To prepare for my escort duties, I would like to...
Though Hell Should Bar The Way – Snippet 20
Though Hell Should Bar The Way - Snippet 20 Looking at me again, he said, "Anyway, the delegation needs an escort of five spacers when they present their credentials in Saguntum, and I need an officer to command the escort. You're what I've got with civilian clothes." "Ah…" I said. I had nowhere to go with the thought, so I said, "Yes, sir!" and shut my mouth. "I don't believe you've met our passengers," Captain Leary said. He grinned. "Except for the pretty one, right?" "Mistress Grimaud," I said, nodding vigorously. "Though I don't know...
Though Hell Should Bar The Way – Snippet 19
Though Hell Should Bar The Way - Snippet 19 CHAPTER 13 My last watch before Saguntum was in the Power Room. Captain Leary believed that an officer had to know the whole ship, not just the rigging and how to astrogate. One of the things Pasternak's list had directed me to buy on Hansen's World was a flow pump. This wasn't the big unit which sucked water into the reaction mass tanks; it was a relatively small pump submerged in the tank to feed the fluid to the plasma thrusters or to the antimatter converters for the High Drive, depending on...
Though Hell Should Bar The Way – Snippet 18
Though Hell Should Bar The Way - Snippet 18 "And I get the bill!" said Woetjans. She didn't exactly shout, but her voice from just behind -- and above -- me made me jump. "Lucinda will seat you, madame and master," said the headwaiter. His smile was a little wider; and I thought it had become real. He thinks I'm Woetjans' gigolo, I realized. We followed a pert young woman -- a slightly younger, female edition of the headwaiter -- to a booth at the back. "Sorry, kid," Woetjans muttered. "Hope I didn't embarrass you. I just didn't want you to...
Though Hell Should Bar The Way – Snippet 17
Though Hell Should Bar The Way - Snippet 17 CHAPTER 12 Captain Leary brought us down in the harbor at Santiago, the capital of the planet of the same name. He put me in the striker's seat, just as he had when Lieutenant Enery landed on Hansen's World. I'd thought Enery's landing was flawless. I thought the same of the Captain's. I was no expert, but both were a lot smoother than the computer landings I'd experienced in jaunts to orbit and back in training. Seeing it done right made me even more determined to leave the job to the computer, at...
Though Hell Should Bar The Way – Snippet 16
Though Hell Should Bar The Way - Snippet 16 CHAPTER 11 Barnes had warned me that the two of us would be dry-lubing Antenna Dorsal A on our next watch. Though I'd never done it, I knew that applying graphite to all the joints was a miserable, filthy job. Well, I wanted to be a spacer. Very few people had dry-lubed an antenna in space. It's never necessary to do. Not doing it just means the antenna moves a little more stiffly than it ought to and puts a little more strain on the machinery. Commercial ships don't have the sail area to take an...