[Black Fleet Crisis(76)

“Thank you, Colonel. We’re getting pretty close now, as I guess you can tell. The way I see things, I’d better start concentrating on the game going on out here, ” Lando said. “We’ll keep in touch, but that’s not going to be my first worry. “

“If you would leave an audio channel open-“

“You’ll probably want to pick up all our cockpit sensor feeds-Lobot can route them to you. “

“We will do what we can to assist you, ” said Pakkpekatt.

Lando knew that those must have been difficult words for the Hortek to say. “You’ll hear us yell, ” he said. “But if you’d really like to help, maybe you want to see what you can do about getting a ship sent to Qella, fast. There may still be answers there that we’re gonna need before this is over. “

WithLady Luck cruising slowly along the hull of the vagabond at a distance of only a hundred meters, Lando felt as though he were seeing the ship clearly for the first time.

At a distance, the hull seemed lumpy and irregular.

Up close, it looked like nothing so much as a bundle of massive tree trunks woven round with thick, crisscrossing vines, which had grown into the metallic bark. But the scale was all wrong for that comparison-the “vines” were large enough in cross-section to park the yacht inside one, and the “trunks” would easily have swallowed the bulk of the cruiser.

“Looks a bit like a Foss, ” said Lando. “What do you think about those extrusions? “

“I can’t tell whether the design is symbolic or functional, ” said Lobot. “There is no repeating pattern that I can perceive. “

“Maybe those extrusions are some sort of energy conduit for the weapons, ” said Lando. “I can’t see anything else that looks like a weapon. “

“It is possible that their weapons use surface-charge capacitance, ” said Lobot. “SCC is considered unsafe for task force operations, but single vessels can accumulate very large surface charges without affecting internal systems. Deep space is a good insulator. “

“So the entire surface might be an accumulator for that weapon we saw? “

“Yes. The extrusions, as you call them, increase the surface area. The actual weapon apertures could be quite small. “

“Perhaps we should send a greeting message, ” said Threepio. “I would be happy to offer my services. “

“Not yet, Threepio, ” said Lando. “Look, there’s the primary attach site that Bijo was planning to use-there, swing the spot up and to the right. “

“That’s not a hatchway, ” said Lobot after a moment’s inspection. “It’s a surface marking. There are no seams. “

“The secondary attach site is farther forward. We’ll go take a look at that. “

“General Calrissian, ” Pakkpekatt said.

“Yes, Colonel. “

“I thought you would like to know that IX-26 has been diverted from its patrol in Nouane to pick up an archaeological team from the Obroan Institute, ” said Pakkpekatt. “They are on their way to Qella now. “

“Thank you, Colonel. “

“My chief of data acquisition has asked me to relay a request to you, ” Pakkpekatt continued. “He would like you to attach a tracking and monitoring limpet to the target at first opportunity. In the foray team’s action plan, that was considered a mission failsafe. “

“Colonel, I intend to attach this entire yacht to the vagabond, as soon as I can figure out where to do it. We’ll do a hand attachment of a TRAML then, if everything’s still quiet. I’m not going to fire anything at her if I can avoid it. “

“Lando, ” said Lobot suddenly. “Look. “

The surface of the vagabond had suddenly come alive with small, pale patches of light. They appeared and disappeared in orderly patterns along the top of the hull extrusions, forming sequences that drew the eye forward, and then to the edge of the curving hull, where they disappeared.

“Oh, no! Artoo, look out! It’s getting ready to attack! ” Threepio exclaimed.

“That’s not what happened the last time they fired, ” said Lando.

“The last time they fired, we were two klicks away, ” Lobot reminded him. “We wouldn’t have been able to see this stage from there. “

“Some thought here that this is engine activity, and the target is preparing to jump into hyperspace, ” said Pakkpekatt over the comm.

“Suggest you back away and launch that limpet now. You may not get another chance. “

“There is another possibility, ” said Lobot. “This could be the next question for us. If so, it is one we’re not prepared to answer. “