Neptune Crossing

  *

  They were eight days inbound from Neptune when Bandicut felt a sudden trembling in the air, a coiling in his gut, a shiver.

  /What the hell was that?/

  /// We’ve got a fluctuation in the

  threading field.

  We’ve got to shut down. ///

  Bandicut felt a leaden weight of anxiety, then weightlessness as he floated up out of his seat. /What’s wrong?/

  /// I think we’ve damaged your

  number four fusion chamber. ///

  Bandicut studied the monitors, and saw nothing. He switched to the neurolink for a closer look. /Seems fine to me. Normal wear and tear./

  /// If we were using it as a fusion rocket,

  it would be fine.

  But the wear is causing a separation in the

  threading field. ///

  He didn’t like the sound of that. /Which means what?/

  /// We’ve got to remove the translator-stone

  and move it to another fusion chamber. ///

  Bandicut said nothing. The last thing he felt like doing right now was going EVA on a solo flight across the solar system. If anything went wrong . . .

  /// We can send Napoleon out to do it.

  No need to risk yourself. ///

  Bandicut nodded, frowning. Of course. Napoleon could do the job just fine. But it gave him another idea. /Listen, Charlie—as long as we’re stopped—/

  /// Okay, ///

  said the quarx, without waiting for him to finish.

  /// I guess I owe you that much. ///