[ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]
"There should have been an inquiry by now," Mer-
ced continued. "A skimmer ought to have arrived to
check up."
"Not necessarily," Cora argued. "It may not arrive
for another two, three days. Even if they tried to con-
tact the town immediately after the disaster, it would
still take time to decide that the quiet was due to some
catastrophe rather than, say, to a power failure, and
then more time to get a ship out here. Remember how
long it took us."
"Why a ship? A skimmer would be faster."
"I know, but a skimmer doesn't have the carrying
capacity of a " She stopped in midsentence, staring.
Merced tried to see what had caught her attention.
He located it as she identified it. "A skimmer would
be faster, but not if there's a ship in the area."
Two dark blotches marred the southwestern hori-
zon. Merced had a bad moment when he thought they
might be whales coming back to make certain no one
Generated by ABC Amber LIT Converter, http://www.processtext.com/abclit.html
had escaped. Then the slight spray from their flanks
became visible. "Suprafoils!" He slipped his mask
back over his head. "Thank goodness. I was getting
sick of field work. Let's inform the others."
Together they dropped into the water, where their
transmissions could be picked up by their companions.
Rachael was the first to rejoin them, towing the
crate containing her neurophon. "I can play again! It's
been too long."
"Withdrawal symptoms?" Cora commented sardo-
ically.
"Yes." Rachael was too excited to respond to the
sarcasm.
Dawn arrived next, followed closely by Mataroreva.
"You sure they're foils?" He spoke to Merced.
"Unmistakable. Two of them."
"That's funny." He sounded puzzled. "I would've
thought a skimmer from Mou'anui would have arrived
Generated by ABC Amber LIT Converter, http://www.processtext.com/abclit.html
first. It's too soon for a foil from Administration Dis-
patch."
"Probably these were fishing in the area," Dawn
suggested hopefully, "When Mou'anui got the word."
Her voice dropped. "Or rather, didn't get the word.
They would come here if a general broadcast was
made, as it should have been."
"Makes sense," Mataroreva conceded. "We'll know
in a few minutes what they're doing here."
Cora frowned at him. "What are you talking about,
Sam? You still subscribing to the theory that humans
are somehow directing the baleens?"
"I'm not subscribing to anything except caution,"
he shot back. "We've nothing to lose by spending a
little while longer in the water. We can wait a bit
more. And watch."
They did so, clustered tightly behind the bemmy,
their heads just above water. The pair of foils slowed,
settled into the nearby section of sea where the town
of Vai'oire had floated in peace not long ago.
Generated by ABC Amber LIT Converter, http://www.processtext.com/abclit.html
174 CACHALOT
Distant splashings reached the hidden watchers. .,
Divers in gelsuits were dropping from both foils. Fran-
tic activity marred the smooth lines of the two ships.
Cora pushed back her mask, spoke directly to
Mataroreva, as he had insisted they all do. Suit-unit
transmissions, he had declared, were too easily de-
tected.
"See? They're looking for survivors." She moved as
if to start around the mound of hexalate.
He put out a hand, grabbed her. "Maybe." He stared
thoughtfully across the thin ridge that broke the sur-
face. "But if they're searching for survivors, why
haven't they broadcast their location?"
"Maybe they're just investigating, after receiving or-
Generated by ABC Amber LIT Converter, http://www.processtext.com/abclit.html
ders from Mou'anui to do so," Rachael suggested.
"Maybe they know from previous experience that
there are no survivors."
"Investigating for what?" Mataroreva went silent.
They had their answer soon enough. Divers began
returning to their ships. Blocks and winches, magnetic
and straight, were dropped over the sides of each ves-
sel. Soon the men were hoisting individual crates ana
bits of selected debris on deck. The flotsam was then
neatly stacked and tied down. It had the air of a well-
practiced operation.
"Instrumentation." Mataroreva squinted across the
sunlit surface. "Ah, and there's a couple of freshly
[ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]