Read Partnership for Free Online Page A

belt with a charm of impenetrability? Very well, he would let Bonecrush turn around and use his internal jetpacks as a weapon; that should blast through sneaky Thingberry's magic. "Taking up the old inheritance," he replied as he tapped in the commands that would give Bonecrush maximum blasting power. "OG Shipping, you know.
    Can't think why old Cousin Wigran moved the firm's 32

    Arme McCaffrey &f Margaret BaU

    PARTNERSHIP

    33

    headquarters out to Vega subspace, but I'm sure he'll explain everything when I get there."

    "If he can," Polyon agreed. "You have that much faith in him?"

    Darnell stealthily maneuvered Bonecrush into range.
    That idiot Polyon was looking at him, not at the screen; he could get away with murder if he could keep Polyoris attention away from the game for a few more seconds.

    "What d'you mean?" he asked, not really listening for the answer. "Why shouldn't I have faith in Wigran?"

    Polyon looked shocked, and for a moment Darnell was afraid he'd noticed Bonecrush's moves on the central game screen. "My dear chap! You mean you haven't heard? Decom it," he cursed in a low vicious tone. "I didn't realize — Look, Darnell, I shouldn't be the one to tell you this. Haven't you been paying attention to the newsbytes from Vega?"

    "Management bores me," Darnell told him. "I'll be perfecdy happy to draw the profits from the company and let Cousin Wigran keep running the store." His hands were resting on the key that would activate Bonecrush's jet packs. Any minute now he'd execute a controlled power surge that should blast a hole right through Thingberry's defenses. But he wanted Polyon to be watching in the moment of defeat, not babbling on about some boring accountant's trial in the Vega system.

    "Well, I suppose you'd have to know pretty soon anyway," Polyon was saying now. "I hate like hell to be the one to tell you, though." He was watching Darnell's face more closely than he'd ever looked at the game screens.

    "Tell me what?" For the first time Darnell felt a chill of apprehension creep over him.

    "It's all been coming out in the trial," Polyon said.

    "That accountant who was skimming his clients'

    credits to play Lotto-Roids? OG Shipping was one of his biggest accounts. And your cousin Wigran knew exactly what the fellow was doing. He even helped kim _ for a share in the cash. Together, they've gambled away more than ninety per cent of OG
    Shipping'5 assets. I'm afraid all you're going to inherit on Bahati is one over-age AI drone and a bunch of debts."

    Darnell's sweaty fingers slipped and punched the power key harder than he'd intended. Bonecrush's jet packs released their maximum thrust. The blast rebounded harmlessly off Thingberry's invisible charm-shield and propelled Bonecrush, too depleted of power to activate his personal force-shield, into the blackness of deep space. His cyborg body exploded into a million stars of synthalloy debris.

    "Wow," Polyon said, finally glancing at the dazzling light effects on the screen. "This is a great game! Will you look at those graphics? What is it, a supernova?"

    "Me," said Darnell Overton-Glaxely. A gentleman knew when to bite the bullet. "I owe you five credits."

    Blaize

    Oh, no, not another one!

    Nancia briefly shut down all her internal sensors as Blaize Armontillado-Perez y Medoc stirred in his cabin. She had come to the conclusion that her passengers were most bearable when they were sleeping it off. If only she could flood all their cabins with sleepgas and keep them unconscious until they reached the Nyota ya Jaha system.... Nancia caught herself in mid-thought. She was becoming as bad as they were!
    How could she even think such a thing? Hadn't she made perfect marks in all her Integrity and Shell Ethics classes? She should have been doubly guarded, by family heritage and Academy training, against even imagining such a betrayal of her ideals.

    34
    Anne McCaffrey fcf Margaret BaU

    There was nothing to stop her from leaving her internal