“Never trusted that one, never did. I used to say—”
“Followin’ this damn fool course, it was his idea.”
“Got us into a goddamn trap.”
“Any fool would naysay flying into this hellhole!”
“But no, Cap’n says we got to go, well we just roll over and wag our tails and off we go.”
“While he flumdiddles on the Bridge!”
“Yeasay, nice and cool!”
“Bridge is right in the center of the ship, it’ll be frosty.”
“I say we go get cool ourselves. Whatsay you?”
“Good idea!”
“Enough hunkerin’ down here.”
“Let’s move!”
The crowd had swollen in the gloom without Toby noticing and now it rose as one, yammering and elbowing and smelling of sweaty irritation. With the zigzag logic of a mob they set out to do what they had just been protesting, moving click-step quick inward. It cooled a bit as they wound down the central helical ramp.
Toby followed. A kind of rolling-stone energy grew in them, gathering the moss of the undecided from side corridors. Bishops liked action a lot more than mulling matters over.
By the time they got to the Bridge level, the campfire group was a milling, murmuring mob. Toby could feel their muttering rise like an animal’s warning growl. This wasn’t going to be like other times, when Killeen had used a stern scowl, quick reasoning, and then a sunny smile to turn aside bands of complaining Bishops. This gang had a mean, dark streak in it.
The Lieutenants at the Bridge felt it, too. They formed a four-person block at the Bridge entrance and tried to stare down the mob. Toby looked around, but Cermo and Jocelyn had faded back. No point in them showing their faces, when the others would do their work.
Or were they that crafty? Toby wasn’t sure. The campfire ritual had seemed to just burst out with the jittery anxiety they all felt, which was the point of the age-old custom, after all.
Toby himself tried to slip quietly away from the Bridge. Even more than Cermo and Jocelyn, he was in a conflicted position. But elbows and close-packed shoulders kept him from beating a retreat. Skeptical eyes speared him, as if to say, You’re going to slide away now?
Toby wasn’t sure what he should do, and then events made up his mind for him.
The Bridge was tall enough to jut a balcony out over the corridor, meant as a place to which an officer could retreat and hold a quiet conversation. Killeen used it now, stalking into view above the heads of the buzzing throng. He wore full dress uniform with its impressive crisp blues and gold spangles. An excited babble broke out at his appearance. More Family joined the edges with every moment. Killeen stood, hands behind his back, for a long moment, letting the grumbling beast below give vent, waiting until the noise ebbed.
When he did speak his voice was solid and surprisingly mild. “You came to view our progress?”
“Progress? Ha! We’re sailing into hell!” a man called.
Killeen shook his head. “We are staying ahead of the mechs.”
“You mean they’re runnin’ us!” a woman shouted, her words soaked with derision.
“They are trying to catch us, sure—when didn’t they?” Killeen swept his gaze over the still-growing crowd, fixing individuals in turn with his gaze.
“They’re gonna’ cook us for sure!” a man accused.
“Not by a mech’s eye.” Killeen smiled confidently. “We entered the galactic jet just a few minutes ago.”
A confused stirring at this news.
“Didn’t you notice?” Killeen added mildly. “Our hull should start to cool off in a while.”
“How come? That jet looks pretty hot.”
Killeen waved a hand. “It’s not. Funny business, but turns out the gas here is blue because it’s cooled off. Fighting its way up, out from the gravity well that black hole makes, well, that takes all the zip out of the gas.”
The crowd stirred and muttered with disbelief.
“So we’ll stop heating up?” a woman called.
“Our computers say so.”
“Well, that’s fine,” a man said. “But we still—”
“We can follow the jet on out,” Killeen said amiably. “The blue clouds are condensing as they cool.”
A man said angrily, “That don’t excuse the damn fool idea of comin’ here in the first place.”
“We hold you accountable!” a woman called.
“Yeasay—and what do we get out of all this, anyway?”
“More trouble!”
