Canticle Blue

37. Silver Run

Music - The Jewels Of the Faeries by David Arkenstone

Estmere was the last Middi to be created on Per'sa Island. When she came to the Terreska, she had a proposition for Annibet. The Middi wanted to build a small spaceship. Estmere told her, "We have a humorous name for it that you will like. We want to call it the 'Silver Run.'"

Annibet said, "That name seems more adventurous or romantic to me."

Estmere replied, "Yes, it is about the trail a snail leaves when it runs down a garden walk. We know the ship will be relatively slow, you see."

Annibet asked, "I probably should know better than to ask, but how would you know if a snail is running?"

"Maire Meid told us. It is because it doesn't stop to look around."

Annibet doubled over with laughter, holding both hands over her face, whereupon Estmere bowed deeply herself and continued, "We want to build the ship in the Atrium. It would be small, and it would have arms in front to carry things. It would use collar drives for propulsion, but they would also be small because the ship would have a shorter... neck. There are already unused panels for this on the island.

"We could use the ship to move modules and equipment within the habitat area and to help steer the Terreska so the Maire Meid can make trips to Havel. Also, we could use it to gather water ice on Innis. While we worked in the Atrium, we could improve the air quality there and remove any unwanted substances. Once the  lab equipment arrives, we could start right away."

Annibet was delighted, not only with the idea but with the initiative and vision of the Middi.

The Middi involved in the project spent the next two weeks preparing the Atrium for work and eventual use by humans. Then, using spare and undersized parts, they worked non-stop to complete the basic structure of the Silver Run in roughly three days. It was essentially the same design as the bow section of the Maire Meid, but considerably shorter. It featured a piloting compartment for up to three Middi, collar drive-panels, and, in a throwback to Per'sa airships, an R-type glide-plate beneath the main body of the ship for hovering. The control circuitry for drives and docking was identical to that of the Meid.

Initial tests, outside of the Atrium, showed it to be very space-worthy, maneuverable, and adequate in acceleration. Its unique drive panel configuration could actually be described as "open-collar" since it didn't extend to the glide-plate area. This allowed the Silver Run to rest on the plate with panels deployed or folded. Its four arms—which were not unlike those of the Middi themselves—gave it a whimsical appearance. The ship's most useful feature, initially, was that it could fit in the Terreska canopy airlock with a module attached.

As soon as the Silver Run was put into service, the Maire Meid was dispatched to Havel to help with evacuations. Once there, it would pick up the last transport module built on the island. At the same time, in the Atrium, the Middi began to construct a cargo module large enough to bring the Per'sa airships to the Terreska.

Meanwhile, the Silver Run had free reign of the Terreska interior, moving cargo to the Atrium or habitat rings as it arrived and even making small changes in the ship's orientation. When not in use, it was secured to an anchor plate which held the ship's steering cables together.

For the increasing numbers of people who came to live on the Terreska, the landing sequences of the Silver Run became a favorite attraction. Estmere added comedy to the entertainment by flying the ship with personality, beginning outside the canopy airlock. Once she had matched the Terreska's rotation and folded her drive panels, she would use the ship's hands and arms to pull its cargo into the airlock and hold it in place. Then, when the inner doors were opened, a brief tug brought it slowly into the interior, like some leggy creature emerging from its lair. Often, after landing, especially for the amusement of children, Estmere used two of the ship's arms to maneuver cargo, while waving to the crowd with the other two.

Whenever circumstances allowed, the Silver Run also made excursions to Innis to collect ice. The ice cargoes were taken to the Atrium where they were melted, tested for impurities, and then moved to habitat rings or basins in the Commons.

Because of increased ship traffic, the inner surface of the Terreska soon looked like a staging area, with large quantities of accumulated freight waiting to be properly stored or moved into rings. Thousands of Canticle Blue globes were also brought to the ship. Terreska residents were free to use as many of them as they desired, and families from the Bryn Colony were especially fascinated with them. The Middi used the remaining globes to line the outsides of habitat rings and to light inter-ring passageways.

The Lillith became the first airship to be brought to the Terreska. The original members of the original Per'sa Island team could only watch its arrival from habitat windows, but they were delighted to see it. It had been reconnected to a pallet, with its ballonets folded, and packed into the new cargo module. Although it was difficult to carry in low gravity, especially because of its R-type matter, the Middi handled it with great care and found a prominent place for it in the Commons. It was a scene reminiscent of earlier times.