Free The Sorceress of Karres by Eric Flint, Dave Freer

it." He did. And talking of school successfully steered the subject away from Goth's own back history. She really would have to think about that. She was also going to have to do something about the mess that the local law had made of Captain Pausert's life as a young man. There was no doubt that it was an appalling mess. And yet, somehow it must have all come right in time for him to go to the Space-Naval Academy. Goth was willing to bet that she had had something to do with it. She just wished she knew what it had been. That would have saved her having to work out what it would be! Time travel was needlessly confusing.
     

Chapter 7
    Here in the Chaladoor, Captain Pausert was finding out the hard way just how intrinsic Goth had become to the running of the ship. Yes, there was still old Vezzarn. The spacer was an experienced hand, and these days the captain felt that he could trust him. But he lacked Goth's incisive decision-making. The experiences they'd been through had made Goth aware of what the dangers actually were, and when it was wise to wake the captain. Vezzarn . . . the experiences seemed to have made him timid instead! "There are too many strange things I really don't understand, Captain," he said. "I reckon that it's best to leave that sort of deciding to you. Or to the little Wisdoms," he said, referring to the Karres witches by their Uldune honorific. "Only, well, better if it's Missy Dani, uh, Goth."
    That was all too true. The Leewit had grown a great deal since her sister had left her here on the Venture. But she still was some years younger. And, unlike Goth, the Leewit did not wake easily, or in a good temper! The end result was that the captain was getting very little sleep, and what he was getting was being interrupted all too often. Besides that, he just missed having Goth to talk to. They'd been companions now for some time. To his shock Pausert realized that it was heading on for a good year or two since the incident on Porlumma—hard to say exactly!
    He tried to quiz the Leewit on just where Goth had got to. But on that subject he might as well have tried to ask the bulkheads questions. The Leewit could stonewall with the very best. And she could fend off too much questioning with a threat of a few of her shattering whistles. That was enough to stop him asking.
    Besides, he had a lot on his plate. The trip had had far more encounters than he expected, and something, he found, was bothering him. It felt as if they were being watched. Maybe even manipulated. He was tired, off-balance, stressed, and missing his familiar helper. But that did not stop the captain noticing that there was a certain pattern to the incidents. He talked about it with both the Leewit and Vezzarn, in one of the relatively rare times when all three of them were awake at the same time. One couldn't just leave the ship running on automatic in the Chaladoor, as they might have in the empty areas of Imperial space, relying on the detectors and alarms—which meant watches.
    "I'm beginning to feel as if something is trying to herd us," he said tiredly. "We've just had to change course again. Not only is this adding quite a lot to our trip time, but it is beginning to worry me. It's almost as if these attacks are being orchestrated. But even subradio doesn't work reliably here in the Chaladoor—not without repeaters. That means the best anyone trying to track us could do, would be shorter range. And that implies a lot of coordination and a lot of ships. Unless, of course, they have some kind of leech or tracker on us. And we made sure of that not being the case, after last time!"
    "Or else we've some pretty fast enemies," said the Leewit. "Maybe we should not run next time. Shoot them up and ask questions later." The Leewit loved her work on the nova guns, even if they were erratic, old and rather dangerous—even after the very best of the Daal's armorers had serviced and refurbished them.
    It was a tempting idea, Captain