Destroyer of Worlds Read Free

his bed gets immobilised for a week. I mean that!’
    A threat which would prevent any actual physical violence and restrain them to verbal battle. At least, for them, it would pass the time and ease boredom.
    Claire leaned her back against the closed door and closed her eyes. Always she had the nagging fear of the unknown and Kent’s leg was a problem. The wound hadn’t acted as it should, which was the real reason she had kept him in bed. Staders, correctly applied, mended the bone and allowed immediate movement of the affected limb. But, while the surgery had been without fault, the healing process was unaccountably slow.
    An unsuspected result of prolonged exposure to the wild radiations of space, perhaps? An effect of working in the harsh and deadly environment outside?
    There was so much they still had to learn.
    ‘Doctor?’ Ted Bain, her deputy, was walking towards her. Smiling he nodded at the closed door of the ward. ‘Trouble?’
    ‘An argument, that’s all.’
    ‘Serious?’
    ‘No.’ She took a deep breath and returned his smile. ‘Just boredom, Ted, but I’ve taken care of it. Was there something?’
    ‘Yes,’ he said. ‘It’s time you were getting ready to attend the play.’
    *
    Maddox called for her, waiting as she fastened the flower he had brought to the shoulder of her uniform, a plastic thing yet one of delicate colour and form, bright with golden flecks against a background of smouldering scarlet.
    ‘An orchid,’ he said. ‘At least I think it is. There are so many kinds you can never be sure.’
    ‘Thank you, Carl.’ She rested her hand on his arm, aware of the fine lines of strain marking his face, the added tension creasing the flesh at the corners of his eyes. An older face than he had worn when first taking over the command of the ship, one which had seen more than its share of death and danger, of the pit which waited, ever-hungry, at the edge of their artificial world.
    ‘I should have brought chocolates,’ he said. ‘Sweets to the sweet, but they’d just sold the last box.’
    ‘Just as well,’ she said, entering into the spirit of the fantasy. ‘They’d only put on extra inches. Well, Commander, are we ready?’
    With a flourish he extended his arm. ‘Yes, my lady, let us now go to witness the trials and tribulations of a most unhappy prince of Denmark.’
    And to witness just what Sonia Bowman had managed to accomplish.
    As far as Maddox could see the woman couldn’t be faulted. As he guided Claire to her seat in the auditorium he studied the ceiling and walls. The metal walls had been covered with plastic simulating plaster, panels set up together with lights and decorations so that the area was reminiscent of the great theatres of Europe. Naturally there were differences, no Royal Box for one and no serried tiers, no orchestra pit either and no heavy proscenium, but the general atmosphere had been captured and held. Here was a place in which make-believe would find a home. A shrine dedicated to the art of mime and gesture, of, words and song, of graceful shapes and monsters moving through the intricacies of an artificial world.
    Habit made Maddox reach for his communicator. ‘Frank?’
    Weight’s face looked from the tiny screen. He, along with others, remained on duty; a skeleton staff which maintained observation. ‘Commander?’
    ‘All well?’
    ‘Everything is under control,’ Weight assured. ‘Space is as empty as far as we can scan. All systems functioning on optimum level. Don’t worry, Commander. Relax and enjoy yourself.’
    And don’t keep bothering me, thought Maddox, adding the unspoken comment. Unfairly, perhaps, but he could guess how the other felt and knew that he had made a mistake in making the check. Unless subordinates were shown they were trusted they would become unfitted for trust.
    ‘Carl?’ Claire smiled at him as he took his place at her side. ‘Trouble?’
    ‘No, just making a routine check. How is your section?’
    ‘Ted