Project Pope

Two

After a time, one of the ratlike crewmen found him in the small, closetlike equipment hold where he had squeezed himself to hide. The crewmen hauled him out and took him to the captain, who was alone in the control room, sitting at his ease in one of the three chairs. At the moment nothing needed to be done; the ship was running on its own.

'What is this you have? the captain asked.

'Stowaway, the rat creature said. 'Dug him out of a small aft hold.

'Okay, the captain said. 'Leave him here. You can go.

The rodent turned to go.

'My bag, please, said Tennyson.

The rat turned around, still holding the bag.

The captain said, 'Give the bag to me and then get out of here. Get the hell out of my sight.

The rat turned over the bag and left hurriedly.

The captain examined the bag thoughtfully, then lifted his head and said, 'So it is Jason Tennyson, is it? M.D.?

Tennyson nodded. 'Yes, I am a doctor.

The captain set the bag down on the deck beside him. 'I've had a few stowaways in my time, he said, 'but never a doctor. Doctor, tell me, just what is going on?

'It's a long story, said Tennyson, 'and I'd prefer not going into it.

'You'd been in that hold for hours, the captain said. 'I suppose you sneaked on at Gutshot. Why did you wait so long?

'I was about to come out, said Tennyson. 'Your rat-faced friend beat me to it.

'He is no friend of mine.

'My error, said Tennyson.

'There aren't many humans out here, the captain said. 'The farther out you go, the fewer you will find. I have to use this kind of scum to man the ship. And I have to haul loads of other scum out to End of Nothing and-

'Out to the end of what?

'End of Nothing. That is where we're going. Don't tell me you weren't headed there?

'Until this moment, Tennyson said, 'I had never heard of it.

'Then it must be that you were intent on leaving Gutshot.

'That, Captain, is a fair assumption.

'In some sort of trouble there?

'I was running for my life.

'And popped onto the first ship that was taking off?

Tennyson nodded.

'Sit down, man, the captain said. 'Don't stay standing there. Would you like a drink?

'That would be fine, said Tennyson. 'Yes, I could use a drink.

'Can you tell me? the captain asked. 'Did anyone see you duck into the ship?

'I don't think so.

'You're fairly sure?

'Well, you see, I went into a bar. One of the spaceport joints. When I left, it seems that somehow I got hold of the wrong jacket and wrong cap. I was, if I remember, in somewhat of a hurry…

'So that's what happened to Jenkins's cap and jacket. Jenkins is my first mate.

'I'll return the jacket and the cap, said Tennyson. 'I left them in the hold.

'I find it strange, the captain said, 'that you did not take the pains to find out this ship's destination. You, apparently, have no wish to go to End of Nothing.

'Any place away from Gutshot, said Tennyson. 'They were closing in on me. Well, maybe not, but I had the feeling that they were.

The captain reached for a bottle that was standing on a table beside him and handed it to Tennyson.

'Now I'll tell you, mister, he said, 'I am convention-bound to quote the rule book to you. It says in Article Thirty-nine, Section Eight, that any stowaway must be placed in detention and returned thereafter, as speedily as possible, to the port where he had stowed away, there to be delivered up to the port authorities. During the intervening period, while he is on board the vessel on which he stowed away, he is required to do such tasks, however menial, the captain may assign to him to help defray his passage. Are you aware of these provisions, sir?

'Vaguely, said Tennyson. 'I know it is illegal to stow away. But I must tell you-

'There is, however, another matter which I feel compelled to consider, the captain told him. 'I have the feeling, knee-deep as I am in alien scum, that humans under whatever circumstances, should always stick together. We run fairly thin out here and it is my opinion that we should be supportive of one another, overlooking transgressions if they be not too odious…

'Your attitude does credit to you, said Tennyson. 'There has been something I've been trying to tell you and haven't had the chance. You see, sir, I am not a stowaway.

The captain turned steely eyes on him. 'Then tell me what you are. If you're not a stowaway, what are you?

'Well, let us say, said Tennyson, 'that I was simply pressed for time. That I did not have the time to arrange for passage by going through the formal channels. That, for compelling reasons I have revealed to you, I couldn't afford to miss your ship, so came aboard in a rather unorthodox manner, passed on board by an unsuspecting alien crew member who mistook me for the mate and —

'But you hid away.

'Easy to explain. I feared that you might not give me the time to explain my situation and be so conscientious as to heave me off the ship. So I hid and waited until there seemed little chance you could do anything but continue on your way.

'By all of this, do I understand you to be saying that you stand prepared to pay your passage?

'Most certainly I do. If you'll only name the figure.

'Why, said the captain, 'most willingly indeed. And I'll charge you not one tittle above the regular fare.

'That's considerate of you, sir.

'Dr. Tennyson, the captain said, 'please go ahead and drink. You have not touched the bottle to your lips. It makes me nervous to see you sit there and merely fondle it.

'I'm sorry, Captain. I didn't mean to make you nervous. Tennyson tipped the bottle, took a generous swallow, then lowered it again.

'Marvelous, he said. 'What is it?

'It's a concoction called Scotch, the captain told him. 'It first was brewed on Mother Earth.

'You mean Old Earth?

'That's right, the captain said. 'The home planet of us humans.

'I have a great curiosity about Old Earth. Have you ever been there?

The captain shook his head. 'Few humans have ever set foot upon its sacred soil. We are scattered far and thin in space, and few of us go on that pilgrimage we always promise ourselves that someday we will make.

'Ah, well, said Tennyson. He tilted the bottle once again.

'To get back to our arrangement, the captain said. 'I fear I have to tell you that I have no place for you. The cabins, the few that I have, are filled. Even my own quarters are rented out to a horde of scaly horrors who are pilgriming to End of Nothing. At the end of the voyage, I shall have to fumigate the place before I can move back in, and it may be years before I am rid of the stench of them.

'Why let them have it, then?

'Because of money, said the captain. 'This particular band of scum is filthy rich and they must have my best accommodations without regard to cost. So that is how it is. I charged each of the bastards a triple fare. Although I think now I may live to regret my greed. The mate and I are sharing his quarters, turn and turn about. The mate is a devoted garlic eater. Thinks it keeps him healthy. Only dire necessity forces me to crawl into his bunk.

'The mate is the only other human?

'Ordinarily, yes. Just the two of us. The crew is made up of rat people, like the one who found you, and other assorted unsavory beings. The passenger hold and cabins are filled with nauseating pilgrims.

'If you dislike aliens so much, why are you in this business? Surely you could operate in freight.

'Five more years of this, the captain said. 'Five more years is all that it will take. There's no real money in freighting. But hauling these damned pilgrims is profitable if you can stand it. And I can stand it, just barely, for another five years. For, by then, I will have money enough to retire. Back to a pink planet, name of Apple Blossom. Silly name, of course, but it's perfect for the planet. Have you ever been on a pink planet, Doctor? There are not many of them.

'No, I never have.

'Pity, said the captain.

A tap sounded from the direction of the open door.

The captain swung about in his chair. 'Oh, there you are, my dear, he said, obviously pleased.

Tennyson also swung about. A woman stood in the doorway. She was statuesque, with broad shoulders and hips. Her eyes crinkled in an expressive face. Her mouth was generous and soft, her hair a halo of gleaming gold.

'Come in, please, said the captain. 'As you see, we have picked up another passenger. Four humans aboard on a single trip. I believe that to be a record.

'If I am not intruding, she said.

'You are not, the captain told her. 'We are pleased to have you. Jill Roberts, this is Dr. Tennyson. Dr. Jason Tennyson.

She held out her hand to Tennyson. 'I am glad to see another human. Where have you kept yourself?

Tennyson froze momentarily. Turning her head, the woman had exposed her other cheek. Across it, from temple to jaw, covering almost the entire right cheek, was an angry, ugly slash of red.

'I am sorry, Doctor, she said. 'It is the way I am. It has horrified my friends for years.

'Please forgive me, said Tennyson. 'My reaction is inexcusable. As a physician…

'As a physician, there is nothing you can do about it. It is inoperable. No cosmetic surgery is possible. Nothing. I have to live with it; I have learned to live with it.

'Miss Roberts, said the captain smoothly, 'is a writer. Articles for magazines. A long shelf of books.

'If that bottle has not grown fast to your hand, said Jill Roberts to Tennyson, 'how about letting loose of it?

'Certainly, Tennyson said. 'Let me wipe it off. He scrubbed its neck on his shirt sleeve.

'It appears there are no glasses aboard this bucket, said Jill Roberts. 'But I don't really mind. Drinking out of a bottle after someone else is only another way to trade around some germs.

She took the bottle and sat down in the one remaining chair. 'Where are you putting up? she asked Tennyson. 'I recollect the captain told me all the cabins are filled. He hasn't put you down in steerage with the alien cattle, has he?

'Dr. Tennyson, said the captain primly, 'was a late show. I have nowhere to put him. He turned up unexpectedly.

She raised the bottle to her lips, lowered it, looked inquiringly at Tennyson.

'Is that true? she asked.

Tennyson grinned. 'The captain is trying to be polite. Actually, I was a stowaway. As to accommodations, neither of you should worry about it. I can curl up anywhere. I'm just glad to be aboard.

'That is not quite right either, said the captain. 'He did stow away, but now he offers to pay his passage. Technically, he no longer is a stowaway.

'You must be starved, Jill said, 'unless you brought along a lunch.

'I never thought about it, said Tennyson. 'I was in too much of a hurry. But I could do with a steak.

'You'll get no steaks on this tub, said Jill, 'but there's guck to fill the gut. How about it, Captain?

'Surely, the captain agreed. 'Almost immediately. I'm sure something's left.

Jill rose and tucked the bottle underneath her arm. 'Send the food to my cabin, she told the captain, then turned to Tennyson.

'Come along, you. We'll get you washed up and your hair combed and see what you really look like.