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During ships' rendezvous the event didn't occur. After pullout, heading back
for Earth by way of stoppage at other patrol-ship stations, he still hadn't
met the new Third. So when he entered the galley, fresh off watch, the sight
of a familiar face startled him. \iPeralta!\i
The man hadn't changed much: still slim, but more muscular. His face held
firmer lines, and now the mustache was considerably more successful, though
still trimmed to leanness. Bran saw that
Peralta had recognized him, but showed no overt sign of the recognition. So
maybe there were rules
Bran didn't know yet. For damn sure he wasn't going to run up yelling
buddy-buddy; for all Bran knew, that could mean a quick route to the air lock.
So, setting his tray aside because for one thing he really wasn't all that
hungry, Bran got himself a cup of coffee and strolled over to the table where
Jimar Peralta sat. If he got the invitation to sit down, fine. If not, he'd go
eat.
Peralta \ihad\i to see Tregare coming but he didn't look up.
\b89\b
Well, maybe this was how it was. Bran walked to the table, refrained from
setting his cup down, and said, "Mr. Peralta?"
Now Peralta's gaze acknowledged Bran's existence. "Yes?"
"You'd be our new Third Officer, sir?"
A nod. "I would, yes."
"Congratulations, sir. From Cadet Bran Tregare."
He knew he'd said the right thing when Peralta grinned and offered a
handshake. "Sit down, Tregare. Join me. Its irregular, but permitted." Bran
sat. "Now what's been happening with you?"
Others were in earshot. Still he had to say what he felt. "I've been on this
ship two months and I'm still alive. Sir."
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With a slight frown, a twitch of head that wasn't quite a shake, Peralta
answered, more loudly than seemed to be called for. "Very commendable, Cadet
Tregare. Your attitude does you credit."
Abruptly his voice dropped. "You talk too much. In public, don't." Voice
raised again. "What news from our colleagues at the Academy?"
Chatter? All right; Bran gave some. Jargy Hoad-you'll remember him-made
cadet-captain our upper year. Kickem Bernardez-no, he was after your
time-well, anyway ..." Bran talked for the audience, assuming anyone was
listening, and Peralta responded in kind. Then said, "You'd better go now,
good as it is to see you." And, "Visiting must be at \imy\i instigation."
Bran nodded. "I understand."
"I hope so, Tregare." That was all of it, so Bran left.
In training work, Peralta treated Bran as if they hadn't known each other
before-which, of course, was as it should be. The man was not unfair; if Bran
or anyone else did especially well on any assignment, Peralta gave a
compliment. On the other hand, any cadet who goofed caught the
Third Officers best grade of sarcasm. Bran didn't goof often, or badly.
Once he was able to answer a question without bothering to calculate-because,
from curiosity, he'd already worked it out. "On your outward leg," Peralta
said, "you hit very close to c before turnover. What did that run add to the
difference between your two ages?"
"Not quite seventeen days," Bran answered, while others were just beginning to
set up the problem on their hand-calcs. Peralta waited for an explanation, so
Bran added, "It's the pi-over-
four factor, for t/t0 at steady accel from zerch to light, and back down. So
sixty ship days roughly, equal nearly seventy-seven back on Earth." "Did you
do that in your head?"
"No, sir. I got to wondering last week, and figured it then." Peralta made a
faint smile. "Very good. Now we'll put a more complicated question. Our return
to Earth is in two segments. Consider-
" Bran's hand was up. "Yes, Tregare?" "I thought we were to meet three more
ships." "And so did the captain. But the orders have been changed.
Shall we continue?" Bran shut up, listened to the problem as given, and came
in with the second-closest approximate answer. Only the top performer got
commended, though.
Back in quarters, Bran did some battery-assisted thinking, Before, he simply
hadn't considered the matter. Now he realized that a four-segment return to
Earth, each with accel and then with decel to rest (approximate), would have
taken more than four times as long as the outward run. By ship's time, that
was; on Korbeith's ship, Earth chronology meant doodly zilch.
So the change of orders was a break, and the nineteen surviving cadets could
certainly use one.
Still, they had four more months, anyway, under the Butchers sway.
\iScheist!\i
So when Salome came in he was in no mood to talk. She tried to rally him but
he wouldn't respond, until finally she jumped and grabbed him, laughing,
knowing he was ticklish and would
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ong%20View%2001%20-%20Star%20Rebel%20v1.0.txt either snap out of it or get
angry. Balanced on the edge of that choice, suddenly he laughed.
"Watch it, lady! Tregare never forgives a tickle!" They had most of their [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]