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mantis-like arms stood behind Avery, handing out utensils as he
asked for them, while another floated a foot over Mandelbrot s head,
carefully monitoring his positronic brain functions and ensuring a
stable supply of power to the critical synthecortex.
Derec and Avery crouched over the robot s open chest, trying hard not
to block each other s light. They d already removed most of
Mandelbrot s chest plating and disconnected the power from the
cube cage. Now they were carefully cutting away the damaged
portions of the data bus and fitting replacement parts.
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r r
 Micro-calipers.  The function robot slapped them into Avery s open
hand.  Pentaclamps. 
 Easy, Derec said.  You ve got a little bit of grisaille blast-welded on
that buss bar. 
 I see it. Think you can debride it?
 I ll try. Cutting laser.  The robot started to hand a flashlight-sized
tool to Derec, but he refused it.  Sorry. Make that the 10-milliwatt
cutter.  The large laser went back into the robot s drawers, and it
offered Derec a slim, dental-probe sized tool instead. After taking a
moment to don protective goggles, Derec set to work.
 So, Avery asked after a minute or two of silence,  where s Ariel this
morning?
 Up in the gym, Derec answered without taking his eyes off his work.
 Working out.  He made another tiny cut and announced,  There,
that should clear it. Try to extract now. 
 I m extracting-no, it s stuck on something else. Can you see what it
is?
Derec removed his goggles and scrutinized the offending part.  Seems
free to me. I can t-ah, there it is.  He dropped his goggles, stepped
back from the table, and rubbed his eyes.  Frost, we re going to have
to remove the neck retainer. 
 All of it? Avery sounded very disappointed.
 That is the standard procedure. Unless you want to risk spine
alignment problems. 
Avery briefly set down the pentaclamps and put his hand on
Mandelbrot s chin.  We ve got him pretty secure here. The head s not
going anywhere. I say we risk it. 
Derec shrugged.  You re the doctor. I ll hold while you decouple.  He
reached for the pentaclamps.
 No, son, Avery said, taking the pentaclamps himself.  I hate to
admit it, but your hands are steadier than mine. You d better do it.
Toolbot? Give Derec the two-millimeter splinedriver. 
Wordlessly, Derec took the tool and set to work. In a few minutes they
managed to decouple the front neck brace, extract the damaged
sections of the cube cage, and sonic-weld the replacement bus
sections in place.
They were just test-fitting a new memory cube when the first
explosion rocked the ship.
 All  ands! Wolruf barked over the intercom.  We re und r attack!
Derec invoked his internal commlink and patched into the ship s
intercom. In a flash he was looking out through the ship s main optics
and talking to Wolruf on the bridge. Aranimas again?
  Oo else?
Where is he? 1 can t see him.
 Dorsal port quarter.  Bout 25 degrees above the ecliptic.  Derec
flipped through the ship s optic feeds until he found the correct one,
and then he gasped. The multi-hulled Erani pirate ship was huge-and
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r r
close. Tiny pinpricks of actinic light seared his eyes as the gunners
fired off another salvo.
How d he manage to sneak up on us like this?
  U took Mandelbrot off the scanners, Wolruf said between strained
pants,  an limited me to manual controls. Ship s been fightin me-
makin sure ever thin I entered agreed w th First Law. I was  avin
enough trouble-just gettin ready for th jump. 
The jump. How close are we to the jump point?
  Bout ten minutes. Not close enough, she barked sharply, and
growled something unintelligible in her native tongue. Another blast
rocked the ship.
Can you take evasive action?
 What do  u think I m doin , you stupid  airless ape! Wolruf broke off
her end of the commlink. Derec withdrew himself from the ship s
optic feed.
 What s going on? Avery demanded. He was still crouched over
Mandelbrot s open chest, a sonic welder in his hands.
 Aranimas! Throwing aside his tools, Derec stripped off his goggles
and darted toward the lift.  I ve got to get down to the bridge!
Avery dropped the sonic welder into Mandelbrot s chest and started
after Derec.  Wait for me! The lift doors hissed open; Derec dashed
in and started pushing buttons. The ship shuddered under another
explosion. The lights flickered for a moment, the monitor robot went
crashing into the wall, and Avery was thrown off his feet. But he
recovered his balance and made it into the lift an instant before the
doors slid shut. The bottom dropped out of the lift car.
Seconds later, the lift doors opened, spilling Derec and Avery onto the
bridge.  Wolruf! Derec barked.
 I m busy, she growled back at him. The little alien was standing
before the control panel, balanced on one foot like a Burmese dancer.
Her other foot was up on the throttle lever, her thick, sausage-like
fingers were flying over the fine control knobs and buttons, and her
teeth were clamped on the yawl pitch joystick. Somehow, she was
managing to control the ship.
 Damage report! Derec yelled.
She let go of the joystick for a moment.  Th first  it took out the gym.
Th rest  ave all been glancing blows.  Wolruf bit the joystick again.
 The gym? Derec blanched.  Where s Ariel?
 Locked in the Deck 3 Personal, Ariel s voice came over the [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]