Davos shook his head sadly and sighed. “They trained you well, and turned you into a fool.”
“So where do we find Toth, if he needs to be warned?” said Michael quickly.
Nimri swept one arm out towards sea. “There is an island, a fortress far out to sea where Our Lord now dwells in his transfigured state. Two of my boyhood friends were assigned to go there when they were only apprentices. They were simple boys with no particular talents, and the rest of us were quite envious of their assignment.”
“How did they get past the Charni?”
“There is a large boat, very fast I’m told, a boat without sails. Toth kept it when he was with the people. I never saw it, but I heard it the night the boys left. I think it was the same one we saw last night. Jezrul was on that boat. He will lie to Toth; blame you and your people for everything. The other counselors are like the Yellowfin, they will follow the wave of his staff, the excess of Pleasures he gives to his friends with it. He has perverted the symbol of his office. I think Diego would have the courage to speak the truth, but I’m sure you will find him dead. I think Jezrul has killed him, just as he killed Lebyn.”
And now I know why you oppose Jezrul, thought Michael. “I’ll promise you this, Counselor; if you continue to help us I will somehow get you out to that island, even if we have to fight our way through the Charni. I think one of our people is out there and we’re not leaving this planet until we get her back safely. If your Lord Toth is in charge of things the way you say he is I will hold him responsible if Kari is hurt or killed. Do you understand?”
“If she has not violated The Law, Toth will not allow her to be harmed, and under no circumstances will he allow her to be killed. My fear is, if Jezrul has her he will arrange another ‘accident’.”
“If Toth is as wise as I’m told, he will see through this and Jezrul will be punished by him. That will be enough.”
“And then you will leave?” said Nimri.
“When all is back to normal, we will leave.” But it will be normal when Toth is no more, thought Michael.
“Then I agree,” said Nimri. “I will help you if you take me to Toth.” He stood up and walked sedately to the bow of the boat to watch the shore. Michael turned to see Davos smiling at him. “You are good with words, Leader Queal, and quick to make promises, but the barrier must be crossed and if your ship is destroyed there will only be boats like this one to do it with. A single Charni can sink this boat. Think about that. What you promise could mean many deaths, including yours and mine.”
“I know that, Davos, but there are other reasons I have to get to that island, and Kari is only one of them. During my hike last night I saw lights out there, moving lights, and I think there’s a lot more than a fortress on the island. We have to see it or our mission isn’t completed.”
Davos smiled again. “And so you will remain. I’m thinking you will remain for a long time.”
It was said without sarcasm, simply a statement of fact. Michael smiled back at him. “After what we’ve been through, there’s a favor you can do for me.”
“And what is that, Leader Queal?”
“From now on I’d be pleased if you would call me Michael.”
Davos nodded. “Very well—Michael,” he said.
It was over an hour before the morning breeze came, and it quickly pushed them to shore. As they came close in Michael instructed Davos to tack back and forth while he scanned the cliff and in moments he saw a marine there, looking back at him through night glasses. The marine disappeared, came back with another. Michael waved to them, and there was no response. The first glow of Tothwelt’s sun appeared on the horizon as they zigzagged closer to shore. More marines appeared on the cliff. Michael breathed a sigh of relief when he saw Nik Balestrieri lower a pair of glasses and rush away. A minute later he reappeared, accompanied by a tall, muscular marine who could only be Krisha. When she raised her glasses, Michael put his down and waved to her, smiling. Immediately the marines were moving, two of them coming down the sling cable to the beach. “Okay, we’re recognized!” he shouted to Davos. “Take it in.” Gini awoke at the sound of his voice, then Leah and Deena. They stood up and stretched, groggy. “We’ve reached the camp,” he said to them. “You’ll have to get wet going in.”
The surf was gentle near the cliff, a continually rolling thing over a broad, sandy shelf that reached out a hundred meters from the beach. They dropped anchor fore and aft where the water was only five feet deep and one by one plunged into the cold water to wade to shore. In their rush to escape they had left the skiff behind. Gini handed Uhli down to Michael, and the little boy clung fearfully to him. He’d never before been in the water. Davos was the last to jump in, and they swam-walked the last forty meters to the beach, where two armed marines awaited them. “Good to see you, Major,” called one marine. “Captain Elg figured you somehow got out to sea. That man your prisoner?” He was pointing to Nimri, who slogged his way in, staff in one hand, and laser rifle in the other. The marine looked nervous, the muzzle of his rifle coming up.
“No. Put down your rifle. He’s helping us. This is all one family we’re bringing in here.” He put Uhli down on the sand, turned to watch the others. Gini was soaked to the neck, her blouse transparent and sticking to her and what he saw there made his heart take a few extra beats. They were all shivering the instant they came out of the water. Uhli ran to his mother and hugged her. “Elevator going up, two at a time, women first,” said Michael. “Gini, I can take Uhli up with me if you like.”
Uhli whimpered and clung to her. “He’s frightened. I’d better take him,” she said. The marines put her in the seat-sling and strapped Uhli to her and she was the first to ride the cable up to the top of the cliff. Her eyes were closed the entire trip. Leah and Deena went next, clinging to each other in terror, then Davos and Nimri and finally Osen with Michael. Krisha met him at the top, her face still smeared with grease paint, looking every inch like a combat marine. “Didn’t know you were a sailor, sir. Welcome back.”
“Thanks, Krisha. I didn’t think we’d be back for a while there. Thanks to you and your team, here we are. What’s the situation?”
She briefed him as they walked back to his quarters in the radio shack, and the others were hustled off to get into dry clothes. He took the good news with the bad, feeling grief for the loss of Vilos and Takey; was relieved the rest of the village team was safe. Nik greeted him with a slap of hands from where he sat at the radio. “Been trying to reach the Colonel, sir. We haven’t heard from him since last night.”
“I’m afraid there’s a reason for that,” said Michael. He stripped down, and put on dry clothes as Krisha watched him calmly, without embarrassment, and then he told them what he’d seen last night: the laser or particle beams reaching towards the ship, an apparent explosion, what looked like debris trailing the ship as it dropped below the horizon.
“We’ve looked for it all night, Major, and it’s not there anymore,” said Krisha.
“Even in pieces it should still be there. I find that encouraging.”
“I was thinking the same thing, sir. I’ve never heard of a ship like Belsus vaporizing under any kind of fire. I’m thinking it’s in geosynch out of our view.”
“And out of communication,” added Nik.
Michael looked solemnly at Krisha. “We didn’t find Kari. I’m sorry. But we saw an airboat headed out to sea, and I think she was on it.”
“That’s what out prisoners said, sir. She was alive the last time they saw her. She’s being taken to Toth. When do we head for the island, sir?”
“Soon, Krisha, as soon as we have a plan and you’ll be a part of it. You’ll be right there.”
“Thank you sir.” Jaw set, her expression was one of grim determination. At that moment she looked very dangerous for anyone who might harm her lover. You really are in love with her, he thought.
“Whatever we do, we can’t wait long, not long enough for a flyer to get here. If one comes, fi
ne, and things will be simpler, but I’m not going to count on it. Did you lose any people?”
“We’re at full force, Major, but we need to keep at least two guards in the village. There are still some folks who blame us for what has happened.”
“That’s understandable.”
“Yes, sir.”
“Nik, stay on that radio. I’ve got to have something to eat, and then we’ll meet here and talk about our next step. There’s a fortress out there and a Charni barrier to cross. This is going to take some careful planning.”
“I’ll be here, Major,” said Krisha.
Michael brushed past her on the way out the door, paused and put a hand on her shoulder. “We’ll get her back, Krish,” he said softly, and she smiled.
“That’s a plan, sir.”
He saw to the Grigaytes family, all of them now dressed in fatigues, and munching an originally freeze-dried concoction passing for bacon and eggs in the military. Uhli sat clown-like next to his mother, engulfed in a down vest and long underwear someone had found for him. The smile Gina gave Michael when he passed by did not escape the little boy, and Michael saw a critical frown pass over his face. He ate quickly, and then motioned for Davos to follow him back to the radio shack where Krisha and Nik were waiting. He tore a sheet of paper from Nik’s log and scribbled on it, a rough map of the mainland and the island, drawing in mountains, the spots where he’d seen individual lights there, the area of IR glow.
“If I go by optical activity the fortress and any villages around it are right here in the center. Davos, do you have any idea how the Charni barrier runs along here?”
Davos took Michael’s pen, drew a wavy ribbon parallel to the island about halfway to the mainland. “I don’t know how wide, or how deep the water is there. It could go all the way to the island. The water suddenly gets deep on the edge nearest us, I know.”
“Maybe a channel?”
Davos nodded. “The Charni appear suddenly, and in great numbers there. Yes, I think they swim deep.”
“Kept there by something like a staff, only stronger. A signal they respond to, like thrashing sounds or the odor of blood is to most big sea predators. Can’t be electromagnetic, like a staff. Too much absorption. Could be a pressure wave of some kind, but in a finite strip parallel to the island. I don’t know of a transponder that can do that.” Michael looked up, and saw puzzled faces. “Just thinking to myself. If the barrier has a width, it has a length, and if the signal source is at the center of the island, the intensity should go down as we get further east or west.”
“There could be signal sources all over the island,” said Krisha. “The barrier might surround the whole thing.”
“Maybe, but if I were Toth I’d protect against a frontal assault first. All those mountains will make a flank attack a real chore for people on foot. If we landed on the west end we might get in, sailing far west and south, and then coming in from seaward south.”
“Assuming no surrounding barrier and no observation posts,” said Krisha, looking doubtful.
“We could wait for a flyer and just storm the place,” said Nik.
“We don’t have a flyer, Nik, and we might not have a ship. If a flyer comes, fine, but we’re not going to sit around and wait for one. The island is only forty klicks out and we’re making our move in the next forty-eight hours if we’re serious about getting Kari back. We don’t have time to wait. The only question is how we get there.”
“I agree, Major,” said Krisha. “Three boats close together, and all the firepower we have in camp.”
Davos shook his head. “The Charni come in groups, many from beneath the boat. They smash the hull with their hard heads and chew their way inside. I’ve seen a boat sunk in minutes by only a few of them while two counselors used their staffs without effect. They’re crazy in the barrier, and your weapons will not stop them. I have seen this, Michael, believe me.”
It was a sobering thought for all of them. “We’re not going to sit here and do nothing.”
“No, I’m saying you don’t know what the Charni can do. They are stupid animals with unending appetite, attracted only to food. You need a diversion, a scent of food to attract them away from a boat. We gave up half a catch of Yellowfin in minutes to escape the barrier when our neighboring boat was attacked. They fought over the fish while we escaped.”
“And how do we do that?” asked Michael.
“You will need the support of my people. I will talk to them,” said Davos.
“This is a bad time for us to be asking them for help.”
“Not as bad as you might think. Jezrul was despised, and he is gone. Many will talk freely now, people who said nothing in the past. There will be opposition from those who lost sons last night and the few who are truly faithful to Toth. I think I can persuade many of them.”
“When?”
“I can begin today. Our food stores are plenty, but we’ll need several boats.”
“We’ll return to the village this afternoon, then, all of us.”
“Your armed people also?”
“Yes. We’re in charge, Davos. We also intend to repair the damage we’ve caused. They need to hear that, and other things.”
They set a time, and Michael left the shack to talk with the survivors of the village team. He walked back to the huts to do it. As he approached, Cletus Euell, the biologist serving as Kari’s backup as botanist, waved to him from a table at the entrance of his hut. “Major, you’ve got to see this.”
Michael went to him. “What’s up?” A microscope was on the table and Cletus was peering into it. “I’ve been looking at some material Krisha brought back from the obelisk. They found it along with surgical tools inside an altar; looked like lumps of decayed flesh until I got a closer look at it. Here, see for yourself.”
Michael looked in the microscope. At first all he saw was a field of gray broken into small compartments separated by rippling walls, and connected by a myriad of filaments. “Move the slide, sir, so you can see the edges of the thing.”
The edges were sharp and protruding from them were thick tendrils of matter waving in the liquid drop housing the sample. “Looks alive,” said Michael. “Little legs along the sides.”
“Not alive, sir, but it’s organic. The ‘legs’ are connectors to an external system, with polar molecules specific for linking. I haven’t seen these things since I was in graduate school; we’ve been using thin-film devices for a couple of hundred years now.”
“So what is it?”
“A biochip, sir, big and crude by our standards, but healthy and active. Each compartment there has a specific function and there are lots of them, so it’s not a simple device. Could be a microprocessor or complex stage amplifier. Maybe an oscillator.”
“How about a receiver?” said Michael.
“Possibly. Can’t tell by looking at it. But all those connectors mean it’s part of something bigger.”
An organic, electronic device found with surgical tools in an altar within the sanctuary of Toth. Part of an organic whole. Something fluttered up from Michael’s sub-conscious mind, and then fled before he could grasp it. “Any way to test it, see what it does?”
“Not here, sir, but there’s a circuit analyzer on the ship. It’ll tell us what each compartment does and then we can run a simulation on the whole thing to see what the output is for various input.”
“Save it, then. Nice job, Cletus. This might be important.”
Michael talked to the rest of the village team, lending a sympathetic ear to their story of terrified flight. He explained the situation with Kari, and his vague plan to reach her, the danger of the barrier, and the need for cooperation by the villagers. As he did this his mind wandered, going back to the blob under the microscope. Surgical tools, in the altar, a baptism attended by Kari, the mark of baptism at the base of the skull for every villager. Davos had pointed to it as the initial point of pain, or pleasure, when a counselor wielded his staff with its hidden transmitt
er. An implant? Could it be an implant inserted at baptism, a receiver responsive to electromagnetic waves? Could the greater whole it was a part of be the human nervous system itself? And could a genetically engineered version of this same thing be a part of every fish in the sea? A test came to his mind, a test so simple it seemed absurd. He suddenly excused himself and searched for Nimri, found him with Davos and Leah in one of the huts. “Bring your staff, Counselor, and come with me. You too, Davos.”
They followed him bewildered to the radio shack where Krisha was already waiting for him. He pointed to Davos. “You have a helmet and vest that will fit this man?”
Krisha looked Davos up and down. “Try mine. The vest might be too long.” She went to her hut and was back in a minute with steel helmet and a vest capable of resisting all but direct impact at close range from small laser fire or a heavy assault rifle bullet. “Take the fabric off. I want to test the metal.”
The fabric unbuttoned from the reflective metal shell, designed to cover body and throat and fitting snugly at the neck and throat. Michael turned to Nimri. “Pleasure or pain, can you control the intensity of what your staff does to people?”
“Yes.”
“Okay, I want you to set it for what you call The Pleasures, but gently.”
Nimri twisted the staff between his hands, looking suspiciously at Michael. “And now?”
“Point it at your father,” said Michael.
“I can’t do that, it’s not right to arbitrarily—”
“Please do it, Counselor, it’s important.”
Reluctantly, Nimri raised the staff at close range and pointed it at his father. Davos shivered, hands clenching.
“Enough,” said Michael. “Stop it, now. Davos, put this vest on, then the helmet.”
Davos did as he was told, Nimri and Krisha both looking confused. Michael snapped the metal vest closed around the man, adjusted the helmet so its rim was in contact with the vest at the back of the neck and then pressed down on it. “Okay, counselor, do it again.”
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