Decision at Doona

by Anne McCaffrey

  With a fluid motion he overturned the tables nearest him, forcing his trembling hands to move slowly, searchingly across the underside. Nothing! One of the men groaned and Ken kicked him in the head with unexpected ruthlessness. He flipped over the next table. There was no way of telling at which one Hrrula had sat at that first breakfast; all had been moved many times. The third table was the jackpot. Where the center brace joined the legs, Ken felt a half-sphere. He heard the faint pop of a seal breaking as he pulled the hemisphere loose. It was the size of the first joint of his thumb, a dull brown metal covered with minute screenlike patterns. There was a small circular seam in the base which was of a softer material.

  Please God let this not be made of Rralan metals, Ken prayed. He weighed it in the palm of his hand; it was heavy for its size. A frantic screaming penetrated his reflections. He glanced toward the window and saw a terrifying sight. The monstrous heads of the great snakes were all too identifiable as the creatures undulated closer and closer to the barn.

  “Hide, will you, Hrrubans?” he cried at the device. “Look what's happening because you won't meet us! In honor help us!”

  Whirling, he jerked the laser guns from the belts of the two unconscious Codep men. Another quick glance out the window showed him that the colonists had taken refuge in the barn itself while their guards, still firing sporadically in the dirt around the barn, were pulling back across the wide sweep of the land to the Common and the mess hall. Ken positioned himself to the side of the window and waited till the squads had drawn into sight, their tempting backs toward him.

  He lobbed off several quick shots into the dust at their feet, got off another which twisted into uselessness the gun of the man nearest him. The man cried out as the overheated metal burned his hands.

  “Drop your guns. Raise your hands,” Ken shouted, “or the next shots get Landreau and Chaminade.” Then he barked some unintelligible phrases in mock Hrruban, as if he had brought reinforcements. “The Hrrubans' weapons are heavier than ours, Landreau. Don't try anything.”

  A trigger-happy marine attempted to turn in the act of dropping his rifle. Ken dropped him with a bolt through his leg and no one else tried to turn.

  “Okay, Landreau, let me see you order those snakes herded away from the barn. Now!”

  Ken could imagine the expression on the spaceman's face, but at that moment one of the guards let out a startled howl, jabbing his hand frantically toward the barn.

  The main door had been flung wide and from the barn charged every head of the stock-horses, cattle, pigs. Leading them on the bull, a pitchfork carried like an archaic lance, was Ben Adjei, his wife clinging to him on the back of their improbable mount. The guards were overrun by this unlikely cavalry before they could recover their rifles.

  Ben leapt from his bull, pulling down the spaceman. Even before Ken could reach the scene, Ben was ordering the launch to turn back the reptiles or hear a laser bolt sear through their commander's skull.

  In the subsequent confusion, no one immediately noticed that the homing beacon was lit; everyone was too busy helping the wounded and recapturing the stock. By the time someone did notice the beacon, an uneasy truce existed between the colonists holding hostages and the remaining crews aboard the two spaceships.

  «Hey,» Kate Moody cried out, returning from a trip to her cabin for more medical supplies, «the beacon's lit – and you can already see the ship.»

  “It had better be Alreldep,” Ken growled and suddenly remembered the Hrruban bug in his pocket.

  “See this, Landreau,” he held the metal object right under the spaceman's nose, although the man was still groggy from Ben's stunning leap on him. “Here's proof of the Hrrubans' existence. And watch what you say, because the whole thing's being transmitted back to them. In fact, everything, since we made first contact, has been relayed to Hrruba. And, man, just think how that makes you look.”

  As the spaceman thrust it away, Chaminade intercepted the object.

  “Truthfully, I would like to see your allegations substantiated.”

  “Is that why you were so eager to agree to Landreau's scheme of having the snakes destroy us?” Lee Lawrence demanded. His head was bandaged but the arm that cradled a laser rifle was steady on the hostages.

  “An extraordinary situation requires extraordinary measures,” Chaminade replied in a bland voice.

  "The appropriate measures were laid down close to two centuries ago," Hu Shih remarked in a crisp stern voice, cutting through Lawrence's outraged roar. "We followed them when we asked for transport which was denied us. We filed reports which were disbelieved.

  You," and he pointed at Chaminade, "and you," he swung on Landreau, "have complicated a very simple incident and you shall not escape its consequences."

  “It's an Alreldep ship,” someone yelled from the porch.

  Ken activated the com-unit.

  “Doona colony calling Alreldep ship. Come in.”

  “Sumitral speaking. What has been happening there? What's that armed launch doing? Where is Shih? Why are Codep and Spacedep ships reporting a state of siege? They have no jurisdiction here.”

  “This is Shih, Admiral Sumitral. An unusual situation has developed . . .”

  “You're damned right it has. Any of the aliens in hearing distance?”

  “I only wish they were, sir,” Hu Shih replied fervently and then saw Ken gesturing wildly to the bug Chaminade still held. “I mean . . .”

  “If you've driven them from Doona, we've lost the chance of a lifetime.” Sumitral's voice, charged with angry frustration, was cut off by the fury of retro-blasts.

  Ken reached over and flipped off the unit to lessen the echoed roar. He took the little recorder button from Chaminade's hand.

  "You got here too late, Sumitral,' he murmured. "Too late."

  “What do you mean?” Lee asked.

  “All the sound and fury is what I mean,” Ken replied, waving at the sullen marines. “When I tried my delaying tactics earlier today, I got to the village just as Hrrula appeared. He started to tell me what was delaying their return; they've got troubles with their own government. He managed to warn me about avoiding violence of any kind, then he started to get yanked back and told me about the bugs in the mess hall.”

  “Yanked back? How?” demanded Landreau, suddenly alert. “Where'd you say he was? In that village of yours?”

  “They use matter transmitters,” Ken told him.

  “Matter transmitters?” Landreau turned pale under his tan. “Then they are much more advanced than we are,” he groaned.

  “You're damned right they are,” a new voice agreed. A tall thin man, elegantly attired in deep maroon coveralls with the diamond-sand stripes of an admiral, stood in the doorway an instant before striding purposefully across to them. “Landreau! Chaminade,” he jerked his head with scant courtesy at the two men, his keen brown eyes falling at last on Shih. “Hu Shih? Now, where are those Hrrubans?”

  Well, it sure is a relief to hear someone admit they exist," Ken remarked sardonically.

  “Of course they exist. Who're you? Reeve? We've found traces of their explorations on half a dozen planets. Just missed them on 87-SN-24C. You remember that incident, Landreau, yours was the Phase I Ship.”

  Again Landreau blanched, sinking back against the table.

  “But there were burn-off marks, traces of chemical deeply imbedded in the soil. No matter transmitters . . .”

  “You got to get to a place to install a receiver,” Ken said and was rewarded by Landreau's groan as the spaceman buried his head in his hands. “What I don't understand, Admiral, is why, if you knew the Hrrubans existed, you wasted such a helluva long time getting here?”

  Sumitral blinked at such open criticism.

  “A confrontation of such importance to the future of our Amalgamated Worlds is not made without thoughtful preparation,” he answered. “I've spent hours in a sleep tank, learning Hrruban. Those tapes you people sent were excellent, by the way. My comp
liments. Now,” and steely authority entered his voice, “kindly take me to the Hrrubans.”

  “I wish I could,” Ken replied sadly, tossing the bug button to Sumitral. “Our-friends here,” he gestured at Landreau and Chaminade, “never took our reports seriously because we couldn't show them any proof. In their efforts to change our minds for us, things got a little rough. I have it on good authority the Hrrubans don't take kindly to shows of violence so I don't think we'll be seeing much of . . .”

  “HEY, DAD!” The volume as well as the cry was heart-stoppingly familiar.

  Ken whirled. There was a rapid thud of racing feet and then Todd, improbably dressed in mda fur, rope tail jerking behind him, came charging into the hall.

  “TODD!” Pat shrieked, racing for her child.

  “Hey, mom. Hey! Lemme go. DAD, I brought someone who wants to see you!”

  Ken had taken one step forward in Todd's direction before he halted, staring at the imposing figure framed in the doorway.

  Face-fur grizzled to white, mane hair long and very dark, the Hrruban appeared to tower above the tallest man in the hall. His brilliant green eyes, slowly moving from face to face, were oddly gentle and very searching, as if they had long since penetrated life's ironies and weird humors. The glowing ivory of his robes which fell in ornate folds to his booted feet, were dappled with the flashing colors of the brilliant green and red stones in his jeweled harness. It was the Hrruban's inner majesty, rather than the sumptuous richness of his dress, that evoked the reverent bows which acknowledged his entrance. As he approached Ken, Todd's small hand tugged at his father's.

  «Dad, that's Hrruna.» Todd's idea of a whisper penetrated to the hushed spectators on the porch. «He's First Speaker and that's as high as you can get on Hrruba. He brought me home so I wouldn't have to break my promise to Hrrula. That means we don't have to leave Rrala – I mean, Doona!» And Todd smiled trustingly up at his father.

  Ken swallowed hard as he realized the First Speaker's gaze had settled on him.

  “Gracious noble sir,” Todd said in stentorious tones, “may I be permitted to introduce my father, Rrev.” And he bowed very low, craning his head back toward his father as he remained stooped. “You gotta be awful careful to speak right to him, Dad. He's real important! Just look at him.”

  “I will also listen very hard to him,” Ken murmured, under his breath.

  “We better,” Todd agreed, straightening up as Hrruna nodded.

  Out on the Common, someone began to cheer. Ken distinctly heard Terran voices calling out Hrruban greetings. Todd broke the tableau and rushed to the window.

  “Hey, here comes Hrrula and Hrrestan! And lots of other guys!” he crowed and made for the door.

  A single quiet trill from Hrruna brought him up sharp. He flushed, murmured an apology, bobbed a bow and then returned to his father's side.

  “Gracious First Speaker,” purred a smooth voice in reasonably accurate Hrruban at Ken's side.

  Admiral Sumitral stepped forward, palm open and outstretched toward Hrruna.

  “We of Terra are immensely honored by your presence in this humble hall. I am called Sumitral . . .”

  “He won't shake hands, sir,” Todd hastily warned, his eyes a little scared. “It's not done to him.”

  Ken admired the way Sumitral was able to keep right on smiling at Hrruna as he casually changed his gesture from a proffered handshake to one directing Hrruna toward the alcove which Hu Shih used as office.

  “Clear the hall, Reeve,” he muttered as he turned.

  Hrruna, inclining his head graciously in acceptance, beckoned Todd to him, laying a dark brown hand lightly on his shoulder. “Will you be my messenger, please, and request Hrrestan and that young stripe, Hrrula, to join us?”

  As Todd ran off, very solemn, Hrruna gestured Ken and Hu Shih over. Ken could see that Sumitral was not at all happy that they had been included among the select group in the alcove, but the Alreldep official was too good a politician to countermand Hrruna's express invitation.

  Ken's mind raced frantically, trying to understand why Hrruna had incredibly appeared on Rrala, with his son in tow. If Hrruna was First Speaker and the most important man on Hrruba, what in hell was he doing walking into the disputed, discredited, all but disbanded colony? Had the differences been settled? Was it customary for their first citizen to announce such decisions? Ken could understand only that something unforeseen had occurred; something unprecedented in such a highly stylized culture as the Hrrubans. Could it be turned to advantage? To mutual advantage?

  Hrruna was settling himself gracefully in Hu Shih's swivel chair, automatically compensating for its nimble action.

  “It is with deep regret that I find myself unable to reply in your language, noble Sumitral,” Hrruna was saying. Sumitral bowed, but a slight flexing of Hrruna's finger stilled ready diplomatic reassurances. “I come only as an escort for young Zodd, to be sure he returned safely to his people.”

  Ken stared at Hrruna, aware of a slight frown on the Admirals face, relieved that the diplomat must have caught the significance.

  “With your permission, noble sir.” Sumitral turned to Ken. “Did I understand correctly what he just said?”

  “That he only came to escort Todd through the forest. That's what he said.”

  “I didn't understand but two words.”

  Ken blinked; tried to rephrase Hrruna's words in Hrruban, only to come up with an entirely different sounding phrase. Hu Shih leaned over to the two men.

  "He's using different inflections but I understood what he said and what he means. This is a purely social visit.

  Ken licked his lips and anxiously glanced toward the door. Lawrence had cleared the hall but there was too much congestion on the porch to see the Common. Suddenly Lawrence stepped aside and Todd squeezed through, imperiously beckoning someone to follow.

  Hrrula appeared, still gorgeously clad in red, although now Ken realized how much richer Hrruna's finery was. Hrrestan followed closely and it was obvious both had been running hard. Hrrula hung back a little for Hrrestan to precede him. Both bowed with precision to Hrruna, made shallower bows to Sumitral, Ken and Shih.

  “I suspect your deep maroon is a fortuitous choice for Alreldep, Admiral,” Ken murmured under his breath.

  Sumitral raised his eyebrows slightly and opened his mouth to speak.

  “Dad,” Todd's stage whisper was audible to the Common, “Hrrula says I've got to do the talking to Hrruna.” Todd hurried forward, glancing apprehensively up at Sumitral, flinching at the admirals expression. “You can't sit either. He'll be thirsty. He isn't used to walking so far,” he added as an afterthought, and then asked Hrruna if the gracious noble sir would like some refreshment.

  Ken fumbled in the kitchen cabinets, came across a glass goblet that Mace McKee had blown as an experiment that winter. He put it on the nearest tray, added a pack of coffee, some chilled urfa milk and ice water in a pitcher. Hrruna smiled his gratitude and murmured a question to Todd, who was curiously at ease with Hrruna despite his formality.

  “This is the cold milk of the urfa beast of Rrala, gracious noble sir,” Todd said clearly and Ken suddenly realized that the boy was using the same unusual pitches that Hrruna had employed. “This is very cold water and this is a drink from our home world which is hot but everyone drinks it often. I'm too young.”

  At that moment there was the sound of heavy boots thudding up the porch steps. Ken caught sight of half a dozen Hrrubans filing quickly into the mess hall with the unmistakable dispatch of trained soldiers.

  Hrruna looked up calmly, nodded and gestured them to keep their distance before he smiled with great affection on Todd.

  Todd's eyes were wide and he gulped before he spoke. “I think Mr. McKee made the cup. He's very clever.”

  “McKee's sapphire,” Ken whispered, his voice carrying to Shih and Sumitral “I've a feeling a gift of value is indicated.”

  “Can we leave here, though?” Shih asked and then inh
aled sharply.

  Ken turned to see Todd raise the goblet of urfa milk to his own lips. He then carefully wiped the lip mark from the goblet edge, rotating it before he presented it with a respectful bow to the First Speaker. When the man accepted it, Ken and Shih both let their breaths out with relief.

  “Who in hell taught the kid all that protocol?” Sumitral's muted voice reached Ken's ears.

  Ken rolled his eyes toward Hrrestan and Hrrula. They both wore expressions of intense interest and deep amusement.

  “The urfa milk is very refreshing. A new taste for an old mouth,” Hrruna remarked, smiling benignly around. “There is much of value on this beautiful planet, is there not?”

  “Most gracious First Speaker,” Ken began, trying to remember the pitches which Todd had used, “may I be permitted to withdraw? There is another example of Rralan riches which you might like to examine.”

  Hrruna graciously dismissed him and, with a second nod, indicated Hrrula might join him.

  Ken could barely wait to get the Hrruban out of earshot but he had to wait until they had passed the obvious bodyguards poised unmoving around the hall, before he felt it safe to speak.

  “What has been happening?” he asked in Hrruban.

  “Too much,” Hrrula answered in easy Terran, “but do you mean to get the big blue stone of Mace? Blue is very prized on Hrruba.”

  Ken looked around for Chaminade, somewhat bewildered to find that the Common was also crowded with Hrrubans soldiers.

  “Where'd they all come from?”

  Hrrula hissed out his chuckle. "Something like this has never happened. I cautioned you against violence. No, I understand it was impossible to avoid it with a man like Landreau, but the instant it was reported to the Speakers, all hope of an alliance was lost. Then the messenger arrived, saying you had called out in Hrruban that we were in honor bound to help you. Zodd started to cry that he wanted to go home. Hrruna remarked quietly that this was no longer a time to hide cowardly: honor was at stake. He took Zodd by the hand and left – with all the Speakers staring after him. He had himself transmitted back to the village before anyone knew what he was about to do." Hrrula wheezed in another paroxysm of laughter. ''Hrrestan and I leaped after him. vowing to protect him with our lives, the bodyguard was right behind us but got lost in the forest and all this is being seen throughout Hrruba right now."