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Ramsey turned on his intercom microphone. "Skipper, base suggests we continue
the inspection here and not return if we check secure."
"Did you tell him what we'd found?"
"Yes, sir."
"What'd they say?"
"That's there less chance for a Security slip out here. Fewer personnel. They
suggest we double-check each other, give every --"
"Suffering Jesus!"
"They want to know how much time we'll need."
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Silence.
"Skipper, they --"
"I heard you. Tell them we'll need ten hours."
Ramsey turned back to his transmitter. "Student to Teacher. Skipper says give
us ten hours. Over."
"Teacher to Student. Continue as ordered. We'll clear new checkpoints for you.
Over and out."
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Ramsey sat back, thought: Now, I've really stuck my neck out. But Obe said
this one has to go through.
Bonnett's voice rasped over the intercom: "Ramsey! If that contact's over, get
your ass up here and help me on this board!"
"Coming."
In the drive room, Sparrow hefted a socket wrench, looked at Garcia crouched
under the secondary coils. "They want this one to go through, Joe. Very
badly."
Garcia put a contact light on two leads. It glowed. "Yes, and they give us a
green hand like that Ramsey.
A near dryback."
"His service record says limited combat in gulf Security patrols."
"Get the priest and the parish!" He shifted to a new position. "Something odd
about the chap!"
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Sparrow opened the plate over a condenser. "How so?"
"He strikes me like a ringer, a chap who pretends to be one thing when he's
actually something else."
"Where do you get that idea?"
"I really couldn't say, Skipper."
Sparrow shrugged, went on with his work. "I dunno, Joe. We'll go into it
later. Hand me that eight-inch flex wrench, please."
Garcia reached up with the wrench, turned back to his own work. Silence came
over the little room, broken only by the sound of metal on metal, buzzing of
test circuits.
***
Sparrow ducked through the door into the control room, stood silently as
Bonnett and Ramsey reinstalled the final cover plate of the main board,
Bonnett straightened, rubbed the back of his neck. His hand left a grease
smear. He spoke to Ramsey:
"You're a boy, Junior. We may make a submariner out of you yet. You've just
gotta remember that down
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here you never make the same mistake once."
Ramsey racked a screw driver in his tool kit, closed the kit, turned, saw
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Sparrow. "All secure, Skipper?"
Sparrow didn't answer at once. He looked around the control room, sniffed the
air. Faint smell of ozone.
A distant humming of stand-by machinery. The round eyes of the indicator dials
like symbiotic extensions of himself. The plucking disquiet remained within
him.
"As secure as mortals can make it -- I hope," he said. "We'll repair to the
wardroom." Sparrow turned, ducked out the way he had entered.
Ramsey put his tool kit into its wall rack. Metal grated against metal. He
shivered, turned. Bonnett was going through the door. Ramsey stepped across
the control room, ducked through the door, followed
Bonnett into the wardroom. Sparrow and Garcia already were there, Garcia
seated to the right, Sparrow standing at the opposite end of the table.
Ramsey's eyes widened. An open Bible lay on the table before
Sparrow.
"We invoke the help of the Almighty upon our mean endeavors," said Sparrow.
Bonnett slipped into a chair at the left.
Sparrow indicated the seat opposite himself. "Will you be seated, please, Mr.
Ramsey?"
Ramsey lowered himself into the chair, rested one hand on the green felt of
the table cover. Sparrow towered above them at the other end of the table. The
Giver of the Law with hand upon the Book.
Religious services, thought Ramsey. Here's one of the binding forces of this
crew. Participation
Mystique! The consecration of the warriors before the foray.
"What is your religion, Mr. Ramsey?" asked Sparrow.
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Ramsey cleared his throat. "Protestant Episcopal."
"It's not really important down here," said Sparrow. "I was merely curious. We
have a saying in the subtugs that the Lord won't permit a live atheist to dive
below a thousand feet"
Ramsey smiled.
Sparrow bent over the Bible. His voice rumbled as he read: "'Woe unto them
that call evil good, and good evil; that put darkness for light, and light for [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]