Some distance off their port bow floated a ship, long and silver, like a dolphin frozen in the act of leaping.
There she is! Deutsch breathed.
Impris, Palagren said, his voice laced with wonder.
Ker’sell was dumb with amazement.
As Legroeder tried to find his voice, a call came from the bridge. We’ve got it on the screen here! Cantha called excitedly. We somehow bridged a dozen light-years to Impris. I’m analyzing now. We had a big spike in the quantum wave flux readings.
Before Legroeder could answer, Captain Glenswarg’s voice cut in. Can you bring us alongside?
Attempting to do so now, Legroeder answered. But there’s almost no moving current. It’s going to be tricky.
Use extreme care, Glenswarg said, quite unnecessarily.
For a while, they hardly managed to move at all. The Phoenix net simply could find no purchase in the Flux. While they were preoccupied trying, Legroeder was startled by a small voice calling:
Ahoy there! Ahoy, ship!
Legroeder looked up.
It was not one voice but several—distant, haunting, echoing across the still, silent surface of the sea. Legroeder scarcely dared breathe. Did you all hear that? he asked his companions.
I heard it. It sounded human, said Palagren.
Human, yes. Legroeder peered across the empty sea between the ships. Impris! he called. Can you hear me?
The response was distorted, as if from over-amplification. Finally Legroeder made out the words, —hear you! We hear you!
Legroeder called back, This is Phoenix, Impris. Please stand by! He reported to Glenswarg: We have contact, Captain, we have voice contact. After all these years, the Impris crew was still alive! His heart raced with excitement. Now, if they could just find a way to bring the ships together.
Palagren, let’s trade positions. I’d like to try something at the bow. The Narseil rigger acknowledged, and blinked instantaneously to the stern, while Legroeder blinked to the bow. Legroeder drew a breath, settling into position. Testing the flexibility of the bow net, he began to stretch forward from the bow, out into the stillness of the Flux. Let’s see how far I can reach…
Hold on, Deutsch said, making an adjustment in the net. A moment later, Legroeder found himself stretched out as though on a tremendously long bowsprit. He managed to reach about a tenth of the way to the other ship before it began to feel unstable.
May I try? asked Deutsch, as Legroeder drew himself back in. My augments might prove useful here.
Legroeder frowned at the thought of Deutsch’s augments, but perhaps Freem’n was right. All right. Do you want to switch positions?
Deutsch shook his head. Right here is fine. From the keel position, beneath the bowsprit, he stretched a long arm—a ridiculously exaggerated version of his mechanical telescoping arm—out over the sea toward the marooned starship.
Legroeder shouted from the bow: Impris—we are trying to reach you! Can you stretch your net out farther?
There was an indistinct return shout from Impris. Deutsch continued telescoping his arm—and the net, with his tuning, stretched out like a slow-motion sunbeam. On Impris, after a moment, Legroeder saw a tiny flash of gold light, then a halo growing around the ship’s bow. Three tiny shadows moved in the glowing halo: human figures.
Legroeder felt a rush of hope, as the figures grew in size. Eventually he began to make out their faces across the distance. He became aware that Deutsch was having a difficult moment as the faces became more distinct; they were the same faces Legroeder and Deutsch had seen earlier as ghost images. Legroeder murmured reassuringly to his friend: It was their faces we saw, Freem’n—live men, not dead men.
Deutsch grunted acknowledgment. See if you can get them to do what I’m doing, he said.
Legroeder called out again to the Impris riggers. He had a sudden, eerie vision of being adrift on a life raft, trying to reach out and lock hands with survivors on another raft.
Even as he thought it, the net changed to reflect the image; and across the water, seconds later, he could see the Impris riggers reaching out shadowy hands. Deutsch’s long reach lengthened even further. But the ships were just too far apart, and in the end they pulled back, frustrated.
Legroeder glanced back at the Narseil. Any ideas?
Well, I wouldn’t want to try the long-range grapplers, not without knowing how they’d behave in this underflux fold, Palagren said. It’s unfortunate we can’t just throw them a line.
That’s it! Deutsch rasped.
Legroeder peered down at him.
Excuse me? said Ker’sell, with an edge of puzzlement. At least he no longer sounded hostile; the appearance of Impris seemed to have allayed his suspicions.
We’ll throw them a line! Deutsch explained. If we focus together… As he spoke he crafted the image: a huge coil of line to be hurled out over the water. It would be net-stuff, of course, just a way of coaxing the net into stretching out beyond its ordinary limits. We’ll have to do this together. On the count of three.
The four riggers jostled for position to exert their influence on the image. Finally four arms held the coil of line together. They swung it forward and backward.
One… two… THREE!
Their release was uncoordinated, and the coil tumbled away and sank like a stone.
Deutsch pulled it back in, zzzzzip. Try it again. Focus, people. Timing is everything.
He counted to three. This time Ker’sell held on an instant too long, and the coil flew up over their heads. Deutsch brought it back for a third attempt.
A voice broke into the net: What are you doing in there? Are we getting any closer? The coil vanished, the image broken.
Legroeder explained to the captain.
Can you do this without damaging the net? Glenswarg asked.
We’ll have to watch the stresses if we do make contact. But right now we see no other way.
Glenswarg’s reluctance was palpable. Very well, since we can’t seem to raise their captain on the flux-com. Is there anything you need us to do here?
No, we just need to concentrate. With your permission… Freem’n? One more time?
Deutsch recreated the coil.
After two more tries, they finally came together on the rhythm and direction. The coil sailed out toward the glittering net of the other starship. Catch it! Legroeder shouted.
The shadow figures in the other ship’s net moved and shifted, and stretched their own net…
And missed.
Two more failures followed. And then, at last, the shadows in the other net moved together, and caught it.