by Eric Flint
Goth clicked the communicator beam length to that. "Come in Uldune."
"Glad to hear your voice, Goth," said Hulik.
"Not half as glad as we are to hear yours," said Goth. "We're losing air slowly, and worse, out of food."
Hulik laughed. "If that is the worst worry-then I can stop worrying. Based on the directional data we have eight cruisers and a battlewagon within half a ship day of you. Will your air hold out that long?"
"Easily. Though the Leewit's stomach may not. It's growling at us. Anyway, we're glad you happened to have some ships near to us. That was lucky."
"We got information that you were in the Megair cluster two days ago," said Hulik. "The fleet left as soon as possible."
"What!"
"You need to keep a careful lookout. There is a fairly substantial pirate fleet looking for you. Specifically for you, Goth." Hulik do Eldel paused. "You better be ready to run… with your special ability… if it's not our fleet. If they don't give the recognition call of the name of Hantis's canine friend, and planet of origin."
"Will do!"
"Will keep this channel open. Call us if you encounter any ships at all. Out."
"Over and out."
***
Goth looked at the other two. "Someone, somehow, knew that we'd arrived on Megair 4."
Pausert frowned. "Someone who is working with the Phantom ships?"
"It's that or the Cannibals. And that doesn't seem very likely."
The intercom crackled. "Captain! Captain! There is something wrong with Mebeckey! Please come."
"There's a lot wrong with him," grunted the captain. "Besides the fact that he got something to eat on Megair 4 and tried to betray us to the Cannibals. I don't know why we saved him."
"Because we couldn't just leave him to be eaten, I suppose," said Goth, scanning the screens. "Leewit, call your Na'kalauf friend. They sounded panicky. I don't see any problems right now. I'll just get Vezzarn to the bridge to mind the shop. I have a feeling that I might need to be with you."
"I'm at the shoot first and ask questions later stage with that particular passenger," said Pausert tersely.
A few moments later Vezzarn came in hastily. "There's a lot of yelling coming from Mebeckey's stateroom, Captain."
"That's where we're off to Vezzarn. Ah. Here is Ta'zara. We may need you to come and sit on someone. Those two didn't actually say what was wrong with him."
Ta'zara looked at the Leewit. "If you permit," he said calmly.
"What?"
"I am in your service, the Leewit. You accepted me. I am your man. Your guard-of-the-body. To honor my debt."
Goth had heard of the Na'kalauf, and their honor system. But she was sure that her little sister hadn't. Well, she could probably use a bodyguard for a little while! "The Leewit's got herself her first man," she said poking her tongue out at her sister. There was a fair amount of payback owing.
The Leewit looked utterly confused. "You saved his life. Now he owes his life to you. He is your bondsman," explained the captain, getting up, and checking his blaster. "So he needs orders from you, not me."
"Oh. Well I order you to obey the captain," said the Leewit, absorbing this. "For now, anyway. I might want to change my mind later. Anyway. I am going along to see what trouble the missionaries are in this time."
So they went to the room Mebeckey had taken as his own. There was no shrieking now. So they pushed the door open.
One of the missionary doctors was taking Mebeckey's pulse. Mebeckey lay on the floor, his eyes rolled back. He was twitching convulsively.
But that was far from the most horrific aspect. Thin greenish-black tendrils were oozing out of his nose-it looked rather like jointed hair was. It too was twitching. And twining and untwining around itself.
"What in Patham's second hell is it?" asked the captain.
"We don't know. But he started to have a fit earlier and next thing that plant started to come out of him. I tried to pull it out-and it tried to climb into me," said one of the brothers. "I pulled it off, but it has little hooks on it."
He showed them his forearm with a row of double row of tiny weals on it. "It's some kind of parasite, I would guess."
"Is he going to die?" asked the Leewit, pushing her way forward.
One of the missionary doctors shook his head. "His heart-rate is elevated and his breathing is fast-which is natural enough, under the circumstances. All things considered, he will probably live."
With an audible ripping sound, the last of the tendrils came free of Mebeckey's nose and dropped onto the floor. Then the plant-or whatever it was-began slowly coiling and spiking its way across.
The Leewit knelt beside Mebeckey. Put her hands onto his convulsing body. "No, little girl. Leave him alone," said one of the Dell brothers and reached to pick her up.
"I wouldn't do that!" said Pausert. "Leave her."
"We're doctors. He might be infectious." Said one of the two men.
The Leewit looked up. "Keep them away. And watch that thing, Captain."
"She's a healer," said Pausert.
"It might be dangerous." said the Dell brother, leaning in to pick up the Leewit-to find himself suspended.
Ta'zara held him by the collar. "What shall I do with him, mistress?"
"Just keep him away from me," said the Leewit. "I'm busy. Captain, Goth, lend me some strength?" They came forward and put their hands on her shoulders. Pausert opened himself up to the littlest witch.
Mebeckey gave a final convulsive shudder and lay still. "He's fine," said the Leewit. Then she hauled him upright and slapped his face until his eyes opened.
"Let him rest!" protested one of the brothers.
"He can rest when we're done," said the Leewit grimly. "Do you know what was wrong with you, Mebeckey?"
"Melchin." He pointed weakly at the black-green jointed hairlike mass. "The haploid stage. I thought it was dead, because it stopped controlling… But I became part of the mother-plant again on Megair. When we reached the Melchin buildings I was told to keep you there. To keep her there, especially." He nodded toward Goth.
"The Megair Cannibals are part of your Melchin? They've also got stuff like this in them?" demanded the captain.
"No," said Mebeckey. "The buildings were built by Melchin. Cool water-worlds were their first choice for colonies. Their animals thrived best on them. The Megair Cannibals simply took over the Melchin outpost there. Made the tunnels a bit higher. The Megair Cannibals just use the ruins of what was there."
"Meanwhile, what do we do with that thing?" asked Pausert, looking warily at to the slow writhing alien life-form. "I'd say blast it to ash, but we may need to keep some of it for the scientists. How about if I put it in a small space-crate? There were a few left in the hold."
"I reckon," said Goth. "I'll get one. You watch it, Captain."
"If it starts moving more than in little circles, I'll blast it first and let the scientists analyze the ash," said Pausert as she left.
"It is dying anyway," said Mebeckey. He stared at the filamentous plant. "The haploid needs animals to live in. Something about me poisoned it."
"Lucky you," said the captain, grimly.
"Yes," said Mebeckey.
He sounded faintly doubtful about it.
Goth came back with the space-crate. "How do we get it in?" she asked
"Let's see if we can chivvy it in with a bit of heat," said the captain. "No-one is to touch it."
It did move away from lowest setting heat from a UW, and into the crate. They snapped it closed, with some relief. The crate was intended to be space-tight-so it ought, the captain theorized, be alien-tight. But to make double sure he bunged the little crate into the freezer, which also he locked. Mebeckey had made no objection to the fact they'd locked him into his own stateroom first. Pausert hoped he was 'clean' of the alien life-form, but there was really no way of telling. And the idea of freezing the plant immediately paid some dividends as Pausert found a pack of smoked bollem steaks
that had been missed by the looters.
They had something to digest along with the new information. Pausert was glad to find some food. The Leewit was still very young to be using so much klatha energy. Goth at least had a bit more experience and a bit more sense.
Pausert found he was still carefully separating Goth and Vala in his mind. That was going to take some getting used to, and he needed time to do it. The fact that Goth had not had a spare minute to change back from Vala's hair style and color, made it more confusing. Pausert did not know if he wanted her to or not. On the other hand it would make going back to accepting her as the old Goth, easier. But did either of them want to? She was older now. Still the same person, but older. It was all very complicated.
Well… not really complicated, Pausert realized. Just very unsettling.
His feelings for Goth had been shaped by their relative ages when they met. And his feelings for Vala, the same. The problem was that those were very different feelings, indeed! He'd thought often about Vala over the years-although much less so, he now realized, after he'd met Goth. And some of those thoughts had been, well, pretty intense. You might even say, feverish. And now that he realized Goth and Vala were one and the same, and Goth was indeed getting older and coming to resemble Vala in his mind as well as in her actual appearance…
It was all very complicated. And unsettling.
He forced his mind away from the matter. That was a problem for later. And Goth was talking again.
"So the information about where we were came from Mebeckey," she mused. "And the rest of this mother-plant Melchin is obviously wandering around the Empire. Presumably in the form of that ex-assistant of his, Marshi-whom you and I had a brush with back on Nikkeldepain. She seemed very strange, now that I really think of it."
"I didn't know anything about that," said Pausert. "I feel quite stupid about it now. But I wouldn't say 'wandering about'. I'd say throwing a lot of weight about, if she has the Sedmons and Hulik sending out so many ships."
"Well, you did pick up her wig," said Goth.
"That was her? The woman who kidnapped you?"
"Yep," chuckled Goth. "Boy, I had fun in no-shape looking after you!"
"You nearly got me arrested," said Pausert, smiling nostalgically back at her.
"Woo hoo! You two. Will you stop looking at each other like that?" said the Leewit. "You know, this trip is full of unwelcome visitors. You all forgot about that Megair Cannibal we locked up when we got back onto the ship."
Pausert slapped his head. "Entirely."
"He broke out," said the Leewit cheerfully. "The smell of frying steaks must have given him extra strength. He met Ta'zara and me in the passage. I think Ta'zara's mostly better now. He only bounced him around as much as he needed to, not as much as he could. He's tied the Cannibal up and locked him in again. After he gave him some water."
"You've done well with that patient," said Pausert. "He was a wreck. Now he's smiling occasionally. You should be proud."
"Yeah. It feels good," said the Leewit. "I've been thinking about Mebeckey. Little-bit says he 'tastes' better now. She must have been talking about that plant intelligence."
"Well done there too, little one," said the captain.
"If I'd treated him when he broke his arm instead of leaving it to those lame-brains, I might have caught it still alive and inside him. We could have used him to pull some very neat tricks on them feeding them a pack of lies. On the other hand you might not have found those steaks." She pulled a truly ferocious face. "And I guess I learned something that I am going to have to deal with. Don't like it much, though."
"And what would that be?"
"Not all your patients will be people you approve of," said the Leewit. "Or that you want to help. But you have to."
"That's a hard lesson," agreed Pausert. "We were just putting together all the pieces of story we know."
"Well, I can tell you one bit you didn't know," said the Leewit, cheerfully.
"What?" asked Pausert, warily. The Leewit quite enjoyed springing unpalatable surprises on them.
This one, however, wasn't. "There are no Phantom ships behind us any more," the Leewit said, pointing at the screen. "And if they'd left our detectors in one piece, they'd be telling you that there is a fleet of ships over there."
Goth peered at the screen. "And I think some more over there. Now which ones are friendly?"
"Well, we can go over and give them all analgesics and see if green filamenty gunk comes out of their noses," said Pausert
"Do you think that is what made it come out?" asked the Leewit.
"Seems likely," said Goth. "Let's try hailing them, before we go to analgesics."
"It might save us quite a few, as it looks like a fair-sized fleet," said Goth selecting the narrow-beam hailing frequency. "What ship?" She asked.
There was a pause. "This is Battlecraft Grim, Uldune Space Navy, Admiral Morecroft speaking," came the reply. The voice was tinged with respect. "Could you identify yourselves? You have the configuration of the ship we have been ordered to escort, Venture 7333."
"What is the name of Hantis's Grik-dog?"
"Pul, Your Wisdom. If I might ask what planet she hailed from?"
"Nartheby. And we're glad to see you, Admiral. Any chance of a tender with some food and some extra air-cylinders? We're slowly losing pressure."
"Certainly, Your Wisdom. We have a possible hostile fleet in detector range and so we'll make all speed back towards Uldune. Uh. If that's all right with you, that is? Or we can transfer you across to the flagship?"
"Thank you, Admiral," said the Leewit regally. "But we have things that probably need to stay on this ship for now. Might need decontamination. Besides, we love her."
"Understood, Your Wisdom. We'll take up a defensive formation around you."
So they formed up around the Venture, and, a few minutes later a tender dropped a space crate on a limpet anchor at the cargo-bay airlock.
"Perfect," said Goth. "We even have a tractor to bring that in."
Soon they had more air-pressure, and enough food for even Leewit's ravening appetite, and had re-assured Hulik and the Daals of Uldune that all was well and the ship was heading for the former pirate planet under safe escort. And the other fleet had turned and scattered.
"Well," said the Leewit, finally pushing away her plate, finally. "What's next?"
"Talking to Threbus and Toll," said Goth grumpily. "I've got some words to say to our father about business and how to leave your affairs."
"And we need to find out just who all is involved this search for Goth, and deal with this Marshi," aid Pausert. "I think we might want to hold off on telling the Sedmons that we've discovered a serious chink in the Phantom ship's armor, just yet."
"We've also got to go and find the circus," said Goth her eyes twinkling at the Leewit. "But I guess you don't want to be there for that part, eh?"
"I'll get Ta'zara to hold you down," said the Leewit, darkly. "What will happen to him and the others, now?"
"I suppose the missionaries are free to go missionarying again. I am not too sure what we do with Mebeckey or your Megair Cannibal. As for Ta'zara," Goth scowled, "He's sworn to protect you, little sister. That's how the Na'kalauf work. But don't you even try to turn him on me. The captain will put you in a protective bubble if you do. And probably me too. But he'll let me out. And I'll make you swim home by the Egger route."
"So when do we go to the circus?" demanded the Leewit, quite unperturbed by the threats.
Chapter 27
There was of course a limit to what could be said via subradio. There was too much potential for eavesdropping, even on an encoded and narrow beam.
"We think we may have a handle on what was happening in the Chaladoor region," said Pausert. "And a possible way of protecting against it. But there are a whole crop of extra mysteries and problems that have come up as a result."
"Isn't that always the case," said Threbus, laughing. "And how are my daughters?
"
"Quite a bit older in Goth's case, and the Leewit has acquired herself a Na'kalauf bodyguard. I think, just for the meanwhile, she should keep him. Oh, and we established exactly where the Megair Cannibals have their home base. But at the moment the Phantom ships are preventing them and anyone else passing through the Chaladoor. We only got through by taking a long route, Venture 's old route. An expedition that you did many years ago."
"Well, one's loss is another's gain," said Threbus. "I'd almost forgotten that expedition. It nearly bankrupted me. Paid off very poorly in terms of new discoveries or trade. So the route helped, eh?"
"You might say so," said Pausert, thinking of parts of it that he could have left out. "It was still tricky. And how goes the Imperial cultural tour?"
"Wildly," said Threbus.
Pausert had to laugh, imagining the little vatch problems. Then he handed Threbus over to his daughter-who gave him several kinds of hell about the state he had left his affairs in, back on Nikkeldepain.
***
Two days later they sat with Hulik and one of the Sedmons. As telepathically linked clones, the Sedmons didn't have to all be present to know exactly what was going on. And they avoided having more than one of them seen at any time. But the Leewit insisted on giving the feared Daal six hugs. Sedmon looked quite taken aback, but very touched.
"The woman called Marshi is operating under the name Tchab," explained Hulik.
"She has a criminal empire that may rival the Agandar's pirate one," said the Sedmons. "She has taken over a number of the criminal family syndicates. Moreover it has been very difficult for us to penetrate her organization. She subverts our agents. It was more by luck than good judgement that we discovered that we were being penetrated instead, and we were able to intercept instructions about you."
The Leewit grimaced. "She's a plant."
"You mean she was put there by the Empire?" asked Hulik.
"No, I mean she's a plant. A vegetarian."
"You mean a vegetable," said Goth. "And I don't think that is quite what you mean either, Leewit. A vegetarian is a human that eats plants, this plant eats humans. She's… "