“Thank you.”
“Was that sarcasm?”
“Sarcasm is a purely human response.”
“Okay. Look, if you have to know, I spent a large chunk of my childhood trying to get rid of Prissy, which was the name my mom used for me most of the time. I never much cared for Priscilla either.”
“May I ask why not?”
“I just didn’t like the sound of it. So I tried to get my folks to change my name. To give me a nickname.”
“And what nickname would you have preferred?”
“That’s what annoys me. I wanted Hutch. It never really caught on. Until, apparently, yesterday.”
“I do not have a laughter capability.”
“I’m sorry about that.”
“So why don’t you cash in on it now? Take Hutch as your own. There will never be a better time.”
“Nikki, I’ve gotten used to Priscilla.”
“It’s your call. By the way, Priscilla, we have an organization chart that needs updating.”
* * *
SHE WAS TRYING to get some accounting records together when Parik Simpkins came in. Parik was a construction worker. She’d only met him once before and had to scramble to come up with his name. He had dark skin, dark eyes, and an easy smile. He held out a pair of earrings. “Are these yours, by any chance?”
They looked like pearls. “No,” she said. “What makes you think they might be mine?”
“They were found on the Bomb. You were the last person to use the ship.”
“Not mine,” she said. “Rob might know something.” There were rumors that Rob Clayborn entertained occasional lady friends aboard the Baumbachner. Which maybe explained the dizziness.
“Okay, I’ll check with him.” He started to leave. Hesitated. “Did you hear about the problem at Teegarden?”
“At where?”
“Teegarden’s Star.”
“Oh. No, I didn’t. What’s going on?”
“You know the Academy Project has a research station on the ground, right? Well, anyhow, they can’t get the lander started. They’re running out of food and water. The Proxmire’s in orbit, with plenty of supplies, but they don’t have any way to deliver them.”
“That’s not good. Is the lander on the ground?”
“Yes.”
“When did we find out?”
“Yesterday,” he said.
“So what are we doing?”
He shrugged. “I thought you’d know.”
* * *
THREE MINUTES LATER, she was in Frank’s outer office. The staff assistant looked up. “He’s busy,” she said. “I can call you when he’s available. It shouldn’t be long.”
“How about if I wait?”
“Suit yourself.”
She sat down, looked out the window just in time to see the rim of the Moon disappear. The Moon was back in the window when Frank’s door finally opened. Patricia came out. She smiled at Priscilla, said hello, and left without waiting for a response. Frank saw her, rolled his eyes, and waved her inside. “Something wrong?” he asked, as the door closed behind her.
“I just heard about the Teegarden problem.”
“Sit,” he said as he lowered himself onto his desk. “Yeah. Well, we’re working on it.”
“May I ask what we’re doing?”
His jaws tightened. “Priscilla, I’m kind of busy right now. We’re taking care of it, okay?” There was an edge in his voice.
“Is someone on the way there?” she asked.
“Not yet. We sent a message to the Grosvenor. Actually, to the Grosvenor’s destination. It’s headed for the station at Ross 248. As soon as it surfaces, they’ll let it know what happened.”
“As soon as it surfaces? When will that be?”
“Two days. More or less.”
“Frank, they’re not much closer to Teegarden than we are. So the Grosvenor gets the message two days from now, and then it starts for Teegarden?”
“That’s correct. Yes.”
“Our flight time to Teegarden is about the same as theirs. If we start now, we’d save two days.”
“Priscilla.” He was getting annoyed. “Look, why don’t you leave this to us? You must have something better to do.”
“Why don’t we send somebody from here?”
“Because we don’t have anybody to send. Now please just leave it alone.”
“What about the Baumbachner?”
He laughed. “The Baumbachner? That’s our maintenance vehicle.” He took a deep breath. “This is not a life-and-death situation. They won’t run out of food for another day or two. So relax and let me handle it, okay?” He looked toward the open door.
* * *
SHE WONDERED HOW he could be so sure no lives were at risk. Interstellar communication was reliable, but there was no guarantee. It wasn’t hard to think of ways the Grosvenor rescue could go wrong. In any case, a couple of extra days without food and water could be a fairly negative experience. Why put people through that if it wasn’t necessary?
Priscilla went back to her office and sat staring at her display. Accounting records. Eventually, unless we change the system, there are going to be more casualties. And nobody really seems to care. The only thing that matters is who gets blamed.
She put Teegarden’s Star on-screen. It was a brown dwarf, with a miniscule fraction of the sun’s luminosity. It possessed a single planet, in close, barely one and a half million kilometers out. Remarkably, the world had life. Which was why a base was being established on the surface. The animals consisted mostly of spidery stuff, creatures with multiple legs and wings, bulging eyes, beetle husks. She looked at pictures of the ground. There were no trees, just bushes and thickets and brambles, almost white rather than green, twisted and strung together. The skies were always dark, black at night, dusky gray when the sun was in the sky. The data said there was a moon, but it took a serious effort to locate it in the visuals.
And there were pictures of the ground staff. Five people, led by an Alexander Quinn. Quinn reminded her of a history teacher she’d had back in high school. Tall, thin, with a long nose and a take-no-prisoners attitude. His opinion was always on display.
Quinn and his people would not be happy trying to get by for a few days without meals. His team all looked pretty young. Two guys and two women. There was no question what the WSA should be doing. And if something went wrong because they hadn’t given maximum effort, she’d be as guilty as Irasco. She checked the schedule to see who was on duty in operations. It was Yoshie Blakeslee. Priscilla knew her but not well. “Nikki,” she said, “connect me with Ops.”
The green light blinked, and Yoshie responded: “This is Operations. What can I do for you, Priscilla?”
“Yoshie, I need a favor.”
“Sure.”
“I want you to prep the Baumbachner for departure. Do a complete refueling. I’ll need two weeks’ supply of food and water for one.”
“Priscilla, why do you need to refuel? It has plenty of fuel.”
“I’d just as soon you not ask too many questions. But I’ll be making a jump.”
“On the Baumbachner?” She sounded reluctant.
“Yes.”
“Destination, please?”
“I’m still working on it. Just get it ready. Posthaste. I’ll be there in a half hour.”