McCaffrey Tower & Hive 5 The Tower and the Hive by Anne McCaffrey

Author:Anne McCaffrey
Language: eng
Format: epub, pdf

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"You have?" Ashiant blinked in astonishment. Thian also did not mention that Earth Prime was bellowing with laughter at his grandson's efficiency.

"Since they haven't, sir," Thian replied with understandable amusement,

"why not let them deceive themselves? It'd make it that much easier for the scientific work to proceed without interference."

"They can't be on board. Can they? Where that sting-pzzt you tell me about could be detected?"

"No sir," Thian said, shaking his head, noticing that Gravy, Clancy and Semirame were having trouble stifling their amusement at having confounded the Admiral.

"Are you going to tell me, young Thian?"

"I'd've thought you'd figured that out, sir." Thian turned his head slightly in the direction of the planet they were orbiting. The abandoned sphere was just in sight.

Ashiant began to nod his head. "In plain sight, so to speak. Well done, Prime Lyon. Well done, all." He included Clancy, Gravy and Commander Kloo. Then he pounced. "How'd you manage transfers without it showing up on generator use?"

"Well, she's safe," Thian said, since he knew Captain Ailsah Vandermeer from his time aboard Ashiant's first ship.

"She'd better be," was Ashiant's unequivocal reply. "Well done, people.

Well done. Only . . . when are they leaving . . . Where they are?" Jeff Raven then confided the coordinates of the ultimate destinations to Thian,

"Grandfather has informed me, sir, so we'll just wait until we're under way again, when the fluctuations of the generators will be less noticeable and the 'port can be effected with the least possibility of anyone noticing it."

Ashiant chuckled all the way out of the Talents' lounge until the door slid shut.

Then Gravy and Semirame could indulge in the howls of laughter they had been holding back. Clancy was grinning from ear to ear at their notable success.

"And Baldwin can go . . ." Semirame began, and then clamped her mouth shut, long habit interfering with her yearning to castigate a senior officer. Even one who richly deserved it.

Thian seemed to consider this and then, so abruptly that he was a blur of motion, he launched himself at Clancy, who instantly 'ported himself aside. Thian spread both hands at the success of his demonstration and walked back to his seat.

"Unlikely. And Clancy's just a T-2. With good instincts, I might add,"

Thian said. "Grandfather's guarded. So's Callisto Base and every single Tower FT&T operating. Even if all the lower T's became disaffected, some of it would leak to a higher rank and they'd be . . ."

"What do Talents do to those who transgress?" Gravy asked when Thian didn't go on.

"I haven't heard of any . . . reprimands," Thian said, "but in the early days of Talent, those who didn't obey the tenets of Henry Darrow or subse-quent Talent leaders got. . . mind-locked."

"They got their minds burned," Clancy corrected coldly.

Being nearer, Semirame flipped on the panel that showed the helm's maneuvers.

"We are definitely leaving orbit," she said with satisfaction. "How soon can we 'port the Hivers?"

"Show the engineering board, will you, Rame?" Thian asked, rising and going to his couch.

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