Drifter's War Read Free Page A

control.
    Those were a lot of ifs but the smuggler had very little choice. He started to step aboard, thought better of it, and turned toward Melissa.
    She made a sound designed to attract the old man's attention, teetered on the edge of the dock, and fell into the water with a big splash.
    Lando was concerned at first. Melissa's swimming skills were little more than so-so and she was screaming her head off.
    Then Lando noticed that Ralph was propped up against a post, dry as could be, and well out of harm's way. Melissa knew exactly what she was doing.
    The attendant moved with surprising speed. Within seconds he had a long boat hook and had extended it toward Melissa.
    Lando stepped aboard, touched a button, and smiled as the canopy whirred open. He stepped down into an oval-shaped observation-control area. The control position was toward the rear. It had airplane-type controls with a stick instead of a wheel.
    Lando dropped into the captain's chair and watched the U-shaped screen light up. There were no security codes or anything. After all, why bother with an attendant looking on?
    Words appeared. "Welcome aboard the Nadia. Keyboard or voice?"
    Lando thought about that one. He had a general preference for keyboards, but that was aboard spaceships, where he knew what he was doing. In this case voice would be faster and therefore safer.
    He said it aloud. "Voice please."
    "Aye, aye, sir," a salty-sounding voice replied. "And where are we bound?"
    Lando thought for a moment. He knew very little about the planet's geography, but remembered that a seaport called Norton was relatively close to Brisco City. And Brisco City was where they had left Cap and Della Dee.
    "Our destination is Norton."
    "And Norton it is, sir," the computer replied cheerfully. "The course is loaded and ready ta go. Begging your pardon, sir, and not wishing ta speak out of turn, but should we load more supplies? Our supply of wine is running low, especially the Cathcart '75, and we're almost out of goose liver pâté."
    Lando smiled. Mr. Izzo had expensive tastes. "No, that won't be necessary. We have enough food and water for two?"
    "Yes, sir."
    "Excellent. I will bring my companion aboard and cast off."
    "Aye, aye, sir. Auxiliary power, sir?"
    Lando imagined trying to maneuver the skimmer out on wind power alone. Talk about disasters. "Yes, please."
    Lando stepped up and out of the cockpit. The sun had disappeared. Some raindrops hit his face. They felt warm.
    Melissa was still thrashing around in the water. The attendant yelled for her to grab his boat hook. She ignored him. Lando waved his arms.
    Melissa saw him, waved in response, and grabbed the boat hook with both hands. She gave it a vigorous jerk. The attendant tumbled in headfirst. There was a tremendous splash.
    Lando watched to make sure that the man could swim, saw Melissa pull herself up and out of the water, and laughed as she retrieved Ralph from his resting place.
    The rain had just started to make dark circles on the sun-bleached wood as Melissa scampered down the dock. Her eyes danced with excitement as she ran toward the skimmer. She jumped and Lando caught her.
    "How did I do?"
    Lando had to shout against the rush of the rain. It splattered around him and drummed against the skimmer's composite hull. "You were great! Now get below and find a towel!"
    Lando cast off the bowline first, gave the dock a healthy shove with his foot, and ran toward the stern. The stern line splashed as it hit the water.
    Then the smuggler realized that it was supposed to work the other way around, that the lines should stay aboard the skimmer, but by then it was too late. The gap between the dock and the boat had widened and the on-board computer had activated the auxiliary power unit. The wake foamed white as the Nadia headed away from the dock.
    The rain fell even harder now, drenching Lando to the skin and churning the surface of the bay. The attendant was out of water now, comset in hand, pointing