XLI.
.
The Korba star drive doesn’t normally get you within walking distance of whatever world you’re aiming for. The jump did okay by those standards. It brought us into our solar system out near Galaya, which, as locals would know, is a gas giant several billion kilometers from Rimway.
I told Alex where we were and immediately began recharging the drive unit. “Before we go under again,” he said, “let’s let Gabe know we’re back.”
“Okay,” I said. “What are you going to tell him?”
“Just that we’re here.”
“You want to send Lashonda a message too?”
“No. We’ll contact her when we get home.”
“You still don’t know what you’re going to say to them, do you?”
“To the families? No, I don’t.” He stared out at the stars. “Whatever else we decide to do, we don’t give the location of the Dyson world away. That means—”
“I’ll rewrite the memoir and eliminate anything that might point in its direction. And the nature of the inhabitants.”
“Good. We’ll be home in a few days, right?”
We went back and forth on the issue all the way to Skydeck. Where we had something else to deal with. I looked at Alex and then down at the frame that held Belle. He smiled and, without actually saying it, indicated .
“Belle,” I said, “you there?”
“Are you ready?”
“I got a couple of batteries from storage. I’ll insert them before I remove you.”
she said.
We clipped links onto our jackets so she could talk to us. But despite the batteries, she went quiet after we disconnected her. Alex placed her in his shoulder bag. The link also allowed her to see pretty much everything we did. And we get a few occasional comments. For example, after we boarded the shuttle, she said she was uncomfortable being on a vehicle she couldn’t control. But how happy she would be to finally get a look at the country house. She asked if we had a robot she could use. Alex trained his eyes on the shuttle’s overhead. Robots were not cheap.
Gabe was waiting for us when we arrived at the Andiquar spaceport late that morning. He was standing in the departure area with a visible cloud over his head. “Hi, guys,” he said, trying to conceal obvious concern. He took a bag from each of us and we started for the exit. He smiled when Belle said hello to him.
“Belle,” he said. “Is that you?”
“In the flesh, Gabe.”
He looked at me. “I should have guessed this was coming,” he said. “Aren’t you concerned that Jacob will get jealous?”
“I’m more concerned,” said Alex, “that they’ll be too distracted playing chess to take care of the work.”
Gabe was laughing as we passed out of the terminal. “Veronica called this morning,” he said. “She asked me to say hello.”
Alex lit up. We needed some good news.
“So what’ve we got?” Gabe asked.
Alex held up a hand. Wait till we get away from the crowd. We hauled everything out to the skimmer, loaded it, and climbed in. Gabe and Alex sat up front; I settled in the rear. As we lifted off Gabe turned to his nephew. “How bad is it?” he asked.
“It’s not good.” Alex played the recordings for him as we drifted out over the forest west of the city. I watched the color drain from Gabe’s cheeks.
Other than grumbling something, he said nothing for several minutes. We were circling, settling down into our parking area, before he responded. “You know what he was trying to keep secret?”
“The Dyson world.”
Gabe glanced at me. “You told him?” He read my answer in my expression and I saw disappointment in his. “And that’s what it was all about?”
“Apparently.”
“So what’s the plan?”
“I don’t know,” said Alex. “You have a suggestion?”
“You don’t really have any option other than the truth, Alex. There’s no way you can hide this. You owe it to everyone involved to let them know what happened.”
“But it means revealing the issue with the Dyson world.”
“I know.” Gabe retreated into a dark place. “I just don’t see what choice we have.”
We called Lashonda when we got home. After asking whether she was alone, Alex informed her that we knew what had happened. Gabe and I were with him in the conference room, visible to her.
“Can we come over and talk to you at the center?”
She got the message. It was obvious she’d been hoping that Alex would not come up with anything.
“No.” I’d never seen him look so dismayed. “Unfortunately not.”
“We just got in. We need an hour to pull ourselves together. How about two o’clock?”
Gabe said he would pass. “I have nothing to add.”
I showered and changed and we were on our way. It was a bright, warm day. The sun floated in a cloudless sky. Another skimmer drifted past. A couple of kids, perched in back, waved in our direction. We arrived at DPSAR behind a couple of other vehicles, which were riding into the Cyrus Branch parking lot, delivering customers to the restaurants and the shopping area. Immediately to the north, a swarm of tennis players were having it out at the Domingo Courts.
We landed a few minutes early, went inside, and were greeted by a guy in one of the center’s green uniforms. He smiled at us, called us by name, and took us to the director’s office, where Lashonda was waiting. She was talking to a bearded elderly man I’d met before but whose name I couldn’t remember. “Thank you, Jason,” she said. He left and she turned her attention immediately to us. “Good to see you guys again.” She signaled for us to sit down before settling into a Gala lounge. “So what have we got?”
“We have a radio transmission from Charlotte Hill. Two of them, in fact.”
“I don’t think I understand.”
“These went out on the day the station vanished.”
That needed a moment to register. Then her eyebrows rose and she looked as if she was about to ask him to get serious. When Alex simply sat and waited, she realized he wasn’t kidding. “Did you bring them with you?”
“Of course. You want to hear them?”
She was trying to maintain her skepticism, but it was gone. “How did you get them?”
“That’s a long story.”
“All right, Alex. Let’s hear what you have.”
Lashonda paled as Charlotte’s voice filled the room. Her lips formed the words “That’s her.” She listened while Charlotte took the blame. While she described the antipathy that had developed on the station and her own fears when Harding disappeared with the shuttle.