[ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]
Stunned, Tsia had both hands in Ruka's scruff, pinning him to the floor. Up front, Nitpicker stared at her
panels. For a moment, no one moved. Then Ruka snarled and Tsia shoved him so that she held him
against the wall. Doetzier's eyes were on the navtank; Wren's were on the hatch.
Bowdie glanced at the holotank, then over at Nitpicker's frown. "Damn, 'Picker," he said in a drawl.
"You should've been a pilot."
The woman did not smile back. "We shouldn't have landed this easily," she muttered.
file:///K|/rah/Harper,.Tara.K.-.Collection/Harper,%20T...20-%20Cat%20Scratch%2002%20-%20Cataract(1995)[UC].html (97 of 256)14-7-2004 1:24:03
Tara K Harper - Cataract
"You touch down in storm winds like a feather kissing the ground no reference to you, Tsia," he said
quickly over his shoulder, "and you complain?"
She shook her head. "Something cut out just before we hit. Shunt the control systems to my panels, will
you? I want to see the settings& "
Slowly, Tsia got to her knees as Nitpicker fingered the screens. The skimmer shuddered and settled
further. Tsia glanced around the cabin. For a second, the node flickered, and ghosts rose again in her
head. The auburn hair of Striker and the black hair of Doetzier superimposed on each other like op-
posites. Striker's black eyes and eyebrows were framed by Doetzier's black, short-cropped hair, and her
auburn mass was set off by Doetzier's tanned expression. Tsia blinked and tried to clear her sight.
"Nitpicker," she said urgently, "release the hatch."
"Just a minute," the pilot said sharply. "It's not clear here. There's something wrong."
Wren, braced against the side of the cabin, eyed Tsia and the cub and tightened his grip on the hatch
panel. The skimmer tilted again, shifting in the sludge. Nitpicker's eyes were on her scans, but her
tension had not abated. "No, no, that's all wrong& " she muttered.
Beside her, Bowdie seemed lost in his thoughts, but Tsia knew he watched his com as intently as the
pilot did. Kurvan seemed almost expectant. Doetzier watched the others as if he waited for one of them
to move; and Striker, in the back, was silent. Tsia stilled herself, and almost imperceptibly, Ruka
crouched lower against the wall. The cub yanked on her arms, and Tsia staggered before she realized
that it was the settling of the skimmer, not the weight of the cat, that unbalanced her.
She glanced out the window. The hills were bare and open to the rain: a mudslide had perhaps hours
before scoured the slope of brush. The brown-black rocks that were now ex-posed had just been born
to the world. Water ran down the slide in new erosion channels and filled the puddle that spread beneath
the skimmer's weight. Tsia leaned closer to the win-dow. The gray expanse had stretched almost to the
skimmer's half-folded wing. She squinted at the bank.
The navtank showed the skimmer resting on a pebble-strewn bank about three meters from the lake, but
Tsia could not see any rocks that would indicate a more solid base than mud. Around the craft was the
narrow, caved-in trough where the skimmer had scored the sludge as it came to a stop. Even as she
watched, the trough overfilled with water and began to flood the bank. The skimmer tilted again. "Now
why& " Her voice trailed off.
Nitpicker heard her. The pilot's hands paused above the con-trol screens. "What do you feel?" she asked
sharply, though her voice was low.
Tsia opened her biogate. Ruka's presence was like a blanket that enveloped her in fur and teeth. It was
too strong, and she pushed it away, heedless of the snarling that grew in her mind with her rejection.
file:///K|/rah/Harper,.Tara.K.-.Collection/Harper,%20T...20-%20Cat%20Scratch%2002%20-%20Cataract(1995)[UC].html (98 of 256)14-7-2004 1:24:03
Tara K Harper - Cataract
Nitpicker, Wren, and Doetzier& The meres were like moving clouds that grayed her vision. But there
was something more& She stretched, and realized that the senses she felt were familiar. Strong. Marine.
The lake. She staggered again. But thick enough to feel without good focus. Closer than it should be&
"Rise us," she shouted abruptly at the pilot. "Get us off the bank this isn't solid!"
Nitpicker reacted almost before Tsia finished her first word. "Thrusters on!" she snapped at Bowdie.
'This is mudflat not rock," Tsia snarled.
"Gyros on!" Nitpicker ordered
"I can't," said Bowdie. "There's no power."
"Break it free!"
"It's not the landing gear "
"Goddam it, where's the boost?"
"Get soft! We're sliding."
"We have to get out!" Tsia was not aware that she had shouted again till Wren jumped toward the door.
"Bowdie," he snapped, "get the hatch open."
Doetzier's voice barked in the background. "Get the gear. Move it! Now!"
Tsia didn't think. She clutched the cub instead of her pack, controlling his panicked claws from attacking
the meres in his fear. Wren had to tear her arm from the cougar and thrust it through the strap of her gear
bag. Her training took over, and she stuck her other arm back blindly, while Wren shoved the pack up [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]
zanotowane.pl doc.pisz.pl pdf.pisz.pl ocenkijessi.opx.pl
Stunned, Tsia had both hands in Ruka's scruff, pinning him to the floor. Up front, Nitpicker stared at her
panels. For a moment, no one moved. Then Ruka snarled and Tsia shoved him so that she held him
against the wall. Doetzier's eyes were on the navtank; Wren's were on the hatch.
Bowdie glanced at the holotank, then over at Nitpicker's frown. "Damn, 'Picker," he said in a drawl.
"You should've been a pilot."
The woman did not smile back. "We shouldn't have landed this easily," she muttered.
file:///K|/rah/Harper,.Tara.K.-.Collection/Harper,%20T...20-%20Cat%20Scratch%2002%20-%20Cataract(1995)[UC].html (97 of 256)14-7-2004 1:24:03
Tara K Harper - Cataract
"You touch down in storm winds like a feather kissing the ground no reference to you, Tsia," he said
quickly over his shoulder, "and you complain?"
She shook her head. "Something cut out just before we hit. Shunt the control systems to my panels, will
you? I want to see the settings& "
Slowly, Tsia got to her knees as Nitpicker fingered the screens. The skimmer shuddered and settled
further. Tsia glanced around the cabin. For a second, the node flickered, and ghosts rose again in her
head. The auburn hair of Striker and the black hair of Doetzier superimposed on each other like op-
posites. Striker's black eyes and eyebrows were framed by Doetzier's black, short-cropped hair, and her
auburn mass was set off by Doetzier's tanned expression. Tsia blinked and tried to clear her sight.
"Nitpicker," she said urgently, "release the hatch."
"Just a minute," the pilot said sharply. "It's not clear here. There's something wrong."
Wren, braced against the side of the cabin, eyed Tsia and the cub and tightened his grip on the hatch
panel. The skimmer tilted again, shifting in the sludge. Nitpicker's eyes were on her scans, but her
tension had not abated. "No, no, that's all wrong& " she muttered.
Beside her, Bowdie seemed lost in his thoughts, but Tsia knew he watched his com as intently as the
pilot did. Kurvan seemed almost expectant. Doetzier watched the others as if he waited for one of them
to move; and Striker, in the back, was silent. Tsia stilled herself, and almost imperceptibly, Ruka
crouched lower against the wall. The cub yanked on her arms, and Tsia staggered before she realized
that it was the settling of the skimmer, not the weight of the cat, that unbalanced her.
She glanced out the window. The hills were bare and open to the rain: a mudslide had perhaps hours
before scoured the slope of brush. The brown-black rocks that were now ex-posed had just been born
to the world. Water ran down the slide in new erosion channels and filled the puddle that spread beneath
the skimmer's weight. Tsia leaned closer to the win-dow. The gray expanse had stretched almost to the
skimmer's half-folded wing. She squinted at the bank.
The navtank showed the skimmer resting on a pebble-strewn bank about three meters from the lake, but
Tsia could not see any rocks that would indicate a more solid base than mud. Around the craft was the
narrow, caved-in trough where the skimmer had scored the sludge as it came to a stop. Even as she
watched, the trough overfilled with water and began to flood the bank. The skimmer tilted again. "Now
why& " Her voice trailed off.
Nitpicker heard her. The pilot's hands paused above the con-trol screens. "What do you feel?" she asked
sharply, though her voice was low.
Tsia opened her biogate. Ruka's presence was like a blanket that enveloped her in fur and teeth. It was
too strong, and she pushed it away, heedless of the snarling that grew in her mind with her rejection.
file:///K|/rah/Harper,.Tara.K.-.Collection/Harper,%20T...20-%20Cat%20Scratch%2002%20-%20Cataract(1995)[UC].html (98 of 256)14-7-2004 1:24:03
Tara K Harper - Cataract
Nitpicker, Wren, and Doetzier& The meres were like moving clouds that grayed her vision. But there
was something more& She stretched, and realized that the senses she felt were familiar. Strong. Marine.
The lake. She staggered again. But thick enough to feel without good focus. Closer than it should be&
"Rise us," she shouted abruptly at the pilot. "Get us off the bank this isn't solid!"
Nitpicker reacted almost before Tsia finished her first word. "Thrusters on!" she snapped at Bowdie.
'This is mudflat not rock," Tsia snarled.
"Gyros on!" Nitpicker ordered
"I can't," said Bowdie. "There's no power."
"Break it free!"
"It's not the landing gear "
"Goddam it, where's the boost?"
"Get soft! We're sliding."
"We have to get out!" Tsia was not aware that she had shouted again till Wren jumped toward the door.
"Bowdie," he snapped, "get the hatch open."
Doetzier's voice barked in the background. "Get the gear. Move it! Now!"
Tsia didn't think. She clutched the cub instead of her pack, controlling his panicked claws from attacking
the meres in his fear. Wren had to tear her arm from the cougar and thrust it through the strap of her gear
bag. Her training took over, and she stuck her other arm back blindly, while Wren shoved the pack up [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]