Soothsayer (28 page)

"I don't suppose you'd like to share it with us,” she said sarcastically.

"It is essential that I share it with you,” answered the Mock Turtle. “They told me to ask the Soothsayer where to go, and to follow her orders."

It turned to Penelope and awaited her decision.

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Penelope stared at the computer simulation of the Inner Frontier.

"This one,” she said, pointing to a white-gold star.

"That is Alpha Tremino, also known as McCallister after the human member of the Pioneer Corps who terraformed the second planet circling it,” said the Mock Turtle, translating the alien script that appeared on the screen when he entered the coordinates of the star. “That planet is now known as McCallister II. The system possesses six other planets; the inner planet is highly radioactive, and the other five are gas giants. None of them are capable of sustaining life.” It squinted at the readout. “McCallister II possesses one Tradertown, which is located in the southern temperate zone. It was mined for uranium until two centuries ago, and is now used primarily as a refueling station for ships bound deeper into the Inner Frontier."

"How long will it take to reach it?” asked the Mouse.

The alien queried its navigational computer. “Approximately six Standard hours."

"And how about our pursuers?” she continued. “How long will it take them?"

"We will gain three or four hours on most of them, as they are closer to Summergold than we are."

"Then lay in a course for McCallister II."

"I did that the moment the Soothsayer selected it,” replied the alien.

The Mouse turned to Penelope.

"Do you know anything about McCallister?"

"No."

"Maybe I worded that wrong,” said the Mouse. She paused. “Can you see what will happen to us there?"

"No,” repeated Penelope.

"Then why did you choose it?"

Penelope shrugged. “I just have a feeling about it."

"Well, your feelings have been good enough so far,” said the Mouse with a sigh.

The alien went to the galley and brought them two more containers of water.

"Thank you,” said Penelope, accepting the container.

"McCallister II is a human colony,” said the Mock Turtle. “You will be able to obtain food there, Soothsayer."

"I hope it's good,” said Penelope. “I'm very hungry."

"I am sorry, Soothsayer. I would give you my own if you could metabolize it."

"I know you would.” The girl stared thoughtfully at the alien. “Perhaps you'd better pack some of your own food."

"Why, Soothsayer?” asked the Mock Turtle.

"You might need it."

"I shall do so, Soothsayer,” said the alien, heading off to the galley once more.

"What was that all about?” asked the Mouse.

"I just think the Mock Turtle will need some food before long,” said Penelope.

"He's got a whole galley full of food."

Penelope didn't answer her, and when the Mouse looked to see if she had heard her, she saw a look of intense concentration on the little girl's face.

"She is reading the future,” said the Mock Turtle, returning from the galley.

"Sorting it out, anyway,” agreed the Mouse.

Penelope remained motionless for almost five minutes, and finally the Mouse reached out a hand and shook her shoulder.

"What is it?” asked the girl.

"You looked like you were in a trance,” said the Mouse. “I've never seen you like that, and I got worried."

"I'm fine,” Penelope assured her.

"What were you doing?"

"Trying to look ahead."

"You've never gone catatonic before."

"What's catatonic?"

"Rigid and motionless, as if you didn't know where you were or who you were with."

"I was looking farther than usual, so I had to concentrate real hard,” explained Penelope.

"Did you see anything?"

"Yes."

"Well?” said the Mouse.

"I saw us land on McCallister II,” said Penelope. “And the man at the spaceport is going to be very nice to us. He's going to give me a sandwich, and some fruit, and a cup of tea."

"Does anyone else land while we're there?"

"That depends on how long we stay,” answered Penelope. “Most of them know we've changed our course."

"How many ships are following us now?"

"Lots."

"Including Carlos and the Kid?"

"Yes,” said Penelope. “But they won't catch us before we reach McCallister."

"How long will we stay on McCallister II?” asked the Mouse.

Penelope frowned. “I don't know."

"An hour? A day? A week?"

"It depends on what I tell the Mock Turtle,” said Penelope. “And I have to decide if it's right or wrong to tell him."

"To tell him what?"

"I have to decide,” repeated Penelope, falling silent. A moment later she was cuddling Maryanne, as if for comfort.

Five hours later the Mock Turtle began braking its ship to sublight speed, and twenty minutes after that it set the ship down at the small spaceport just beyond the Tradertown.

"I shall add fuel to the ship's reservoirs while you seek nourishment,” announced the Mock Turtle as the three of them climbed through the hatch.

"Don't,” said Penelope, who had taken Maryanne out of the ship with her.

The Mouse was startled, but the alien merely inclined its head.

"It shall be as you wish, Soothsayer,” it said. “I will wait for you here."

"Please come with us,” said Penelope. “We shouldn't be separated now."

The Mock Turtle fell into step behind them without another word.

They entered the spaceport's small restaurant, and the waiter was as pleasant as Penelope had predicted. While they were waiting for their food, the Mouse turned to the girl.

"All right,” she said. “Are you ready to tell me what's going on?"

"Yes,” said Penelope unhappily. She paused. “We have to do a bad thing."

"What thing?"

"We have to steal a spaceship."

"I thought that was what you had in mind,” said the Mouse.

"I don't want to,” said Penelope. “It's wrong to steal. But if we don't change ships, they'll catch us very soon."

The waiter returned with their order, and the Mouse remained silent until he had once more moved out of earshot.

"Will changing ships fool all of them?” she asked.

"Most of them,” replied Penelope. “They'll all find out what we did, but by then we'll be so far away that they won't be able to follow us."

"They have subspace radios,” said the Mouse. “Why won't they stay in contact with each other?"

"Because each of them wants the reward for me,” answered Penelope. “None of them will help any of the others to catch me."

"Which ship must we appropriate, Soothsayer?” asked the Mock Turtle.

"That one,” said Penelope, pointing to a sleek blue ship that was standing, poised for takeoff, on the field beyond the hangars.

"The blue one?” asked the Mouse.

"Yes."

"It's right out in the open,” she said dubiously. “Maybe we'd be better off taking a different one."

"You must not dispute the Soothsayer,” said the Mock Turtle calmly. “She has foreseen that we need this particular ship. That is all we have to know."

"I'm not disputing her,” answered the Mouse defensively. “I'd just like to know why she chose that one."

"Most of the others have people aboard them,” said Penelope, “Or else they aren't fast enough, or they need fuel."

Penelope finished her sandwich and started picking pieces of fruit out of her fruit cup.

"This is very good,” she said. “But I don't like my tea very much. Can I have some milk instead?"

"Yes, Soothsayer,” said the Mock Turtle, getting to its feet and walking off to find the waiter.

"I wish he'd call me Penelope,” the little girl confided to the Mouse. “I feel funny when he calls me Soothsayer."

"Well, that's what you are, you know,” said the Mouse. “A soothsayer is someone who can see the future."

"It doesn't work that way,” said Penelope. “You see lots of futures, and then you try to make the one you want happen.” She looked at the Mouse's plate. “You only ate half your sandwich. Aren't you hungry?"

"I'll take the other half along with me,” answered the Mouse. “What I mostly am is anxious to get moving again. We've still got thirty ships closing in on us."

"They won't catch us, Mouse,” said Penelope as the Mock Turtle returned carrying a glass of milk. “Not on McCallister, anyway."

"Just the same, I'll feel a lot more secure once we're back in space,” said the Mouse.

"We're not ready to leave yet,” said Penelope. She smiled at the Mock Turtle. “Thank you for the milk."

"When
will
we be ready to leave?” asked the Mouse.

"In a few minutes.” She drained the glass of milk. “That was very good. I
like
milk."

"You're not being very communicative,” said the Mouse, trying to keep the irritation from her voice.

"I don't know what that means."

"I mean you're not telling me what you're thinking."

"I'm sorry, Mouse,” apologized Penelope. “I was just thinking that I'd like to get Maryanne a lace dress. The ones that we had sent up to our suite on Calliope were nice, but she needs something really pretty."

The Mouse sighed deeply. “All right. Have it your way."

"You look mad, Mouse,” said Penelope with a worried expression on her face. “Did I do something wrong?"

"The Soothsayer cannot, by definition, do anything wrong,” said the Mock Turtle, its voice as placid as ever.

"I'm not mad, just frustrated,” said the Mouse.

"What did I say?” asked Penelope.

"It's what you didn't say,” explained the Mouse. “I know you have a reason for not going to the ship right now, just as you had a reason for landing on McCallister II and for wanting to steal that particular ship. But I can't see the future, and since the only thing I know for sure is that all those bounty hunters are getting closer to us with each passing minute, I'd like to know why we're sitting here and exactly what we're waiting for."

"Oh, is that all?” said Penelope, relieved that she had not done something more serious to offend the Mouse. “Do you see the fat man in the leather tunic who's sitting at the far end of the restaurant?"

The Mouse glanced quickly across the restaurant.

"Yes."

"It's his ship that we're stealing,” said Penelope. “In about five or six minutes, he's going to get up from his table and walk into the bathroom. He'll be there a long time, and we can just walk out across the field and get into the ship and leave."

"Won't he report us to spaceport security?"

Penelope shook her head. “He's got something on the ship he doesn't want anyone to know about. He'll buy another ship and try to find us himself, but he won't report us."

"What's he smuggling?” asked the Mouse. “Drugs? Money?"

"I don't know."

"And security won't stop us?"

"He's already given them money not to pay any attention to the ship. They'll think we're working for him.” She looked at the Mouse with a worried expression on her face. “Do you like me again now?"

"Of course I like you,” the Mouse assured her. “I just get a little upset when I can't see what you can see."

"I wish
I
couldn't see it,” said Penelope earnestly. “Then maybe everyone would leave me alone."

"You have been blessed with a great gift, Soothsayer,” said the Mock Turtle. “In time you will learn to appreciate it."

Penelope seemed about to argue with the alien, then shrugged and went back to picking pieces of fruit out of the cup. A few minutes later the heavyset man got to his feet and walked to the restroom. As soon as he was out of sight the Mouse, Penelope, and the Mock Turtle rose from their seats and casually walked out to the ship.

"It's not locked,” said Penelope as they approached the hatch.

The hatch door slid back as they came within range of the ship's sensor, and one by one they climbed into the interior of the ship. It was considerably larger than the Mock Turtle's vessel, and was designed for human occupants. There was a cockpit, of course, and a well-equipped galley, two sleeping cabins, and a locked storage compartment.

"The controls are unfamiliar to me,” said the Mock Turtle after examining the instrumentation. “And while I can speak Terran, I have great difficulty reading it."

"No problem,” said the Mouse, moving past him into the cockpit and seating herself on the pilot's chair. “Its computer has a Gorshen/Blomberg module. We just tell it what we want, and it takes care of the rest.” She turned to her companions. “Strap yourselves in."

They took off less than a minute later, and ten minutes after that the computer announced that it was ready to break out of orbit and attain light speeds.

"Time for a decision,” said the Mouse. “I've got to give the navigational computer a destination."

"Soothsayer?” said the Mock Turtle, turning to Penelope and awaiting her decision.

"I don't know the name of the world,” said Penelope.

The Mouse ordered the computer to create a holographic map of the Inner Frontier.

"All right,” she announced. “This is Summergold, this is McCallister, and that's Last Chance ‘way over there."

The little girl studied the simulation for a long moment. Finally she extended an index finger and pointed to a distant star that had no near neighbors.

"This one,” she said.

The Mouse instructed the navigational computer to lay in a course for the indicated star, then asked for a readout.

"Where are we bound?” asked the Mock Turtle.

"The star is called Bowman 26,” replied the Mouse.

"A curious name."

The Mouse squinted at the readout. “It was the 26th star system mapped by Pioneer Milton Bowman almost 3,200 years ago. The third of its five planets was colonized in 288 G.E., and was initially named Van der Gelt III, after the man who financed the colonization."

"Initially?” asked the Mock Turtle. “Then its name has been changed?"

She nodded. “The entire colony was slaughtered by a madman named Conrad Bland in 341 G.E., which was when it received the name it's now known by: Killhaven."