“How’d it go?” Rucker asked, leaning his head inside past Houjin to take a look around.
Kirby Troost said, “It went. And I’ve got to go, too, just for a minute. Pardon me,” he added, leaving his seat and heading up the ladder. Houjin hopped out of the way, and Rucker retreated to let the engineer exit.
The sounds of retching barely penetrated Ganymede’s hull. The gags and heaves were followed by splashes, and no one complained, because Troost throwing up in the river was better than Troost throwing up while they were all trapped inside a sealed compartment with him.
Deaderick went to the ladder and said up the hatch, “While we’re stopped, we’ll deploy the hose and circulate the air. ”
“Damn right we will,” Cly mumbled. “Fang, get on that, will you?”
Fang stepped to the panel console and released a latch to drop the hose. When a lever was cranked, the hose was pushed through a channel in the hull until it breached the surface.
“I see it,” Rucker Little announced. “We’ll get it and stick it up firm. Start the generator, and we’ll let it run. ”
“How long will it take?” Cly asked.
“Not long,” Deaderick vowed. “We can process everything inside in about two or three minutes, if everything’s up to full power. ”
“Andan?” asked a new voice.
“Josie, that you?”
“It’s me, yes. ” Her face appeared in the open hatch hole. “There you are. Is everything running all right? Everyone … everyone doing all right? Other than Troost, I mean. I saw him already. ”
“Everyone’s fine. Everything’s fine. What about you, up there?”
“Things have gotten messy out at Barataria, but I think it’ll be good for us. Texas will be distracted, and maybe the Confederacy, too. ”
“Barataria?” he seized on the word, without yet mentioning that they’d agreed to cut toward the canals in order to dodge the Confederate forts. He also did not mention that the canals would take them close to the bay, and close to any messiness that might be going on.
“You heard me,” she said. Then she ordered, “Make way. ”
“What?”
“Get out of my way, Andan. I’m coming down, and I won’t have you looking up while I’m doing it. ”
He almost mumbled something to the effect of, Nothing I ain’t seen before, but he came to his senses before anything escaped his mouth. Instead he got out of the way as commanded, and stood aside while she descended into the cabin.
“My goodness. Rather warm in here, isn’t it?”
“Rather,” he agreed, even though he hadn’t noticed until she’d pointed it out. “What are you doing in here, huh?”
“Riding along. I’m no good to the men up top; they have enough polers and boatmen. I’ll only attract attention that no one wants, so I’m riding down here with you fellows. ”
“What I mean is why are you riding along at all? I don’t get it, Josie. Why don’t you stay home where it’s warm and dry and … safe?”
She lifted an eyebrow. “Practically answered your own question, there, didn’t you?” Then she sighed, and said, “I’ve worked entirely too hard these last few months, planning and plotting, and buying every favor I can scare up to get this damn thing out to the admiral. I’m not going to sit someplace warm and dry and safe while the last of the work gets done. I intend to hand this craft over myself, and shake the admiral’s hand when I do so. This was my operation, Andan. Mine. And I’ll see it through to the finish. ”
A million arguments rose in Cly’s mind, but he knew better than to voice any of them. Ignoring all the obvious reasons she ought to stay where she belonged, he said, “All right, then. But you’ll have to fight Rick and Wally for a seat. Seats are few and far between on this bird. I mean, this fish. ”
“I know, and I don’t mind. ”
“Suit yourself. ”
“I always do. ”
“I know,” he said almost crossly. “Just stay out of the way. And don’t forget, I’m in charge. If you’re in my ship, you follow orders. ”
“I gave you this ship. Or I got you into it, at any rate. ”