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I was easing up to get a closer look at the wires when I heard a small scraping sound in the distance。
For a moment I thought I'd imagined it； or else that it had merely been some normal ship's noise distorted by the echo chamber I was lying in。 But then the sound came again； and I knew I'd been right the first time。
There was someone else in here with me。
Silently； I shut off my light and put it in my pocket； at the same time drawing my plasmic。 Then； not nearly as silently； but as silently as I could manage； I set off down the curving hull。
It was； in retrospect； probably not the most brilliant thing I'd ever done in my life。 However it was he'd discovered this cozy little back stairway； our saboteur surely had a better idea of the lay of the land in here than I did； including knowing where all the best hiding places and ambush sites were。 He was furthermore presumably already acclimated to the place； whereas I was still distracted by the nagging feeling that at any minute the hull's peculiar gravity would fail and I would bee the cue ball in a giant spherical game of bumper billiards。 But at the moment all that I could think of was that I had a chance to nail him dead to rights； and I was going to take it。
I started off by scooting along the hull on my backside； but quickly gave that up as not nearly quiet enough； not to mention being a posture that tended to leave me with my back to the direction I was going。 I tried switching to a standard hands…and…knees crawl； but after a couple of meters decided that that was no good either； leaving my gun hand as it did too far out of line to get off a quick shot if necessary。 The only other option I could think of was the one I finally adopted； a crouching sort of duck waddle that was hard on the knees and undignified in the extreme； but at least had the advantage of leaving my gun and me pointed in the same direction。
The sound had seemed to e from above me； the term 〃above〃 referring to the direction toward the Icarus's top deck； so that was the direction I headed。 It was slower going than I'd expected； partly because of the awkwardness of my stance and the need for silence； but also because of the unpleasant vertigo effect of having my head bobbing along just about where the two peting gravity fields mixed at roughly equal strength。 The effect became steadily more pronounced as I passed the mid deck and continued around toward the top of the ship； with the angle between the gravity vectors gradually veering from ninety degrees toward an even more disconcerting 180。
I don't know how long the slow…motion chase went on。 Not long； I think； not more than fifteen or twenty minutes' total。 Between my aching knees and swimming head and the fact that I was alone in a dark space with a man who had already killed once； my time sense wasn't at its best that night。 Every thirty seconds or so I paused to listen； stretching out with all my senses over the rumbling background noise and vibration of the ship； trying for a new estimate of where he was。
It was on the fifth or sixth such halt that I realized that what had up till now been occasional incautious scraping sounds had suddenly bee something far more steady。 Steady scraping noises； yet paradoxically quieter than they had been up till then。
My quarry knew I was here。
Earlier； I had e up with the image of being a spider on a wall。 Now； suddenly； the image changed from a spider to a fly。 A fly pinned by a light against a very white wall。 For a dozen heartbeats I squatted there motionlessly； sweating in the darkness as I strained to listen； trying to determine whether the sounds were moving toward or away from me。 The latter would mean he was trying to escape； the former that he had yet another violent accident on his mind。 And if there was one thing certain here； it was that I couldn't afford to guess wrong。
For those dozen heartbeats I listened； and then I knew。 The sounds were definitely moving away； probably downward to my right； though the echo effect made it difficult to tell for sure。
All the reasons why I shouldn't have e in here after him in the first place once again flashed through my mind。 Once again； I shoved them aside。 I'd already lost several rounds to this man； and I was getting damned tired of it。 Picking a vector that would theoretically intersect his； I set off after him。
To this point it had been a slow…motion chase。 Now； it became an equally slow…motion game of hounds and hares。 I was stopping ever more frequently to listen； but my quarry was doing the same； and as often as not I would pause only to find he had changed direction again。 Doggedly； I kept at it； my earlier thought about the possibility of ambush spots never straying too far from my mind。 So far our saboteur had shown no indication of being armed； but everyone else I'd run into on this trip had been and there was no reason to expect that whoever had been handing out the guns with such generosity would have neglected his friend here aboard the Icarus。
More than once I also considered banging the butt of my plasmic against the inner hull and trying to rouse the rest of the crew to help in the search。 But by then I was so thoroughly lost that I had no idea whether I was even near enough to any of the others scattered around the ship for my pounding to do any good。 And whether any of them heard me or not； my playmate in here certainly would； and at the first sign of an attempted alarm he might well postpone his escape plan in favor of shutting me up first。
And then； in the distance ahead of me； I saw a faint glow appear； so faint that I wasn't sure at first whether I was simply imagining it。 My first thought was that our convoluted intertwined wanderings had brought us back to the vicinity of my cabin and the open inner…hull plate。 But even as I realized that the bined gravity vector was wrong for that； the distant glow vanished； acpanied by a dull； metallic thud。 A sound like two pieces of metal clanking hollowly against each other。
The same sound I'd heard from the wraparound after my talk with Nicabar； and had been trying to track down for nearly two days。
I kept going； but there was clearly no point in hurrying。 My quarry had led me around the barn a couple of times and had now popped back through his rabbit hole to the safe anonymity of the Icarus proper。 By the time I reached the spot where the glow had been； assuming I could pinpoint it at all； he would have the connectors back in place and it would be just one more of seventeen thousand other inner…hull plates。
A couple of minutes later I reached the vicinity where I estimated the glow had been。 As expected； every one of the hull plates in the area looked exactly alike； and I still had no idea where exactly I was。 Briefly； I thought about trying to dig my way through； but a single glance was all it took to see that the hull…plate connectors couldn't be removed from this side。
But maybe there was another way to mark my place here。
I played my light across the inner…hull plates over my head； searching among the haphazard arrangement of piping and wires until I found what I was looking for： the telltale power wires and coax cable of an inter； their