The port cleared. It had no adapter and functioned as a port only at visual speeds. Now, ahead of them, Trehearne could see a huge bulk of darkness against the outer dark, illumined only faintly by the galactic light.
"There it is," said Edri. "The dark star." His voice shook a little.
They swept closer, still slowing down. "It has a planet," said Quorn. "There, catching the starshine—"
"Two," said Trehearne. "I see two."
Two dimly gleaming bodies, dead worlds clinging to a long dead sun out here at Galaxy edge. The glow of the Milky Way touched them, the ghostly glow of candles at a wake, and only emphasized their drear darksomeness and lonesomeness.
Edri whispered, "Well try the outer planet first. Give me a hand, Trehearne."
They crawled aft between the crowded banks of equipment to a detector that had come from the Mirzim's hold. Edri fumbled at it.
"In Orthis' day they used radioactive fuel, of course," Edri mumbled. "We calculated its half-life. Even supposing his bunkers were nearly empty there should be enough left to register on this counter. A teacupful would do it."
Trehearne helped Edri adjust the shielding apparatus on the mechanism until the needle was still.
"What about natural radioactive deposits on the planets themselves?" he asked.