by Jo Clayton
Rohant was stretched out with the pilot chair tilted almost flat; his feet were on the console and he was dozing, a muscle jumping by his mouth, the tips of his ears twitching. Sassa was perched on the arm-of the co chair, dozing. The cats were on the floor beside Kikun, curled up together, also asleep.
Kikun looked up, startled; he'd been subliminally aware of the follower, but too focused on Shadith to let his awareness surface. Now the danger was too near to ignore. He slapped Shadlth's face, shook her. When she sat up, muttering and blinking, he left her and scooted over to Rohant, shook him. "Ciocan, wake up. Trouble."
Rohant woke fast, his feet swung down, the chair snapped straight, his hands came down on the console and the screen lit up. He saw the lander driving toward them. "Ginny?"
"So-so."
"Dio!" Rohant dropped the flit until white-capped swells were slapping against its base, at the same time wrenching it around until it was for a moment racing toward the lander.
A breath later, he flung the groaning flit to one side, dropping until he kicked up a cocktail of white spray, another breath he jerked the flit up and through another turn, then another and another. While the Ciocan satisfied his need to keep fighting though even he knew It was futile, Kikun scrambled back to Shadith, began a shuddering dance…
CELL 2
Puk watched the dark bug skim along the waves, the image breaking up again and again and seeming to merge with the heaving black water, though it wasn't supposed to do that, there was nothing in the visi-system that would initiate such interference.
He worked over the sensorboards for several minutes, trying to clear up the trouble, but he stopped fiddling when the flit passed the inner ring of the firing range; he wanted them as close as he could get them, he wanted to taste that death. He knew Ginny was recording It and him, he was greedy for that, he wanted to exhibit his lust and its satisfaction. He'd done this before, performed for Ginny's productions, but this was the first time he'd got a part in a major effort, a Limited Edition. He began arming his rats and shrikes, cursing as he fought to lock them onto a target that was proving as illusive as something in a dream. He glared at the screen; the flit was In shards, the readings were flickering as if the mass of the object was shifting aimlessly about. Since he didn't have the actual center available, he set his point-of-aim on the computed masscenter, bared his teeth in a feral grin, and tripped the trigger on the firing jack.
As Cell 1 blanked, Ginbiryol Seyirshi smiled and folded his hands over his stomach. The missiles had ashed the EYEs set on the Avatars along with their flit. In Cell 2, Pukanunk Pousli was leaning forward tensely, scanning the screen, his fingers playing over the console as he used every sensor available to him to sweep the surface of the sea and the air around him. When he found nothing, not even debris from the flit, he relaxed. "Gotcha," he said, excited triumph shrilling his voice.
Ginbiryol shifted in his Chair. "Ajeri, have you reached Makwahkik yet?"
"I was about to before Puk did his pounce. You want me to cancel?"
Ginbiryol got to his feet, stood a moment frowning at the gray emptiness of Cell 1. "No," he said finally. "Tell him what I said to tell him. Just in case that…" he pointed at the Cell, "… is not as final as it seems. If necessary we can prod one of our assets into organizing an attack. I think it would be as well to stir things up to a degree, Makwahkik has become too complacent, he has been ignoring our interests.'"
Ginbiryol followed Shadith's progress about the Hall as she drank glass after glass of the wine and had increasing difficulty maintaining a facade of courtesy as she dealt with the locals. When she found a moment's respite half hidden by a fold of tapestry, he halted the run and played the sequence over in his mind. I made a mistake, he thought. Whatever it was happened after Kiscomaskin left her.
He ran back to the beginning and brought up the image until her face filled the screen, slowed the play until he could see every twitch magnified. Second by second he examined the slow shift of her expressions. He saw nothing to interest him… nothing… nothing… then a slight darkening of her eyes as her pupils widened, then a tightening of the muscles in her face, a change so slight he, would have missed it except for the exaggeration of slowtime. He cycled through that section until her face loosened up and her gaze went vague again, shifted to the beginning of that section, took a light pencil and marked what he considered signifiCant changes.
He thought a minute, then slid the POV around until he was viewing the scene from behind her shoulder and started the run as Kiscomaskin walked off. The mark from the light pencil flared. He froze the scene and found himself looking into the eyes of a small dark man, saw the pupils dilate. Recognition quickly suppressed. Ginbiryol cycled back to the point when Kiscomaskin touched the girl's shoulder, smiled at her and moved off, followed by his entourage; the man seemed to be one of those. He stopped the play, went back to the point where Kiscomaskin came in. Yes, he thought, there he is. I do not know him, I have not seen him before. Local? I doubt it. Offworlder. Smuggler? Probably. And he knows the girl. That could be trouble. He let the recording run until he was back to the moment when the man's eyes met the girl's, then froze the scene and drew a circle about the offworlder's face. He tied into MEMORY and started a search.
While it was running, he turned to the Pilot. Ajeri Kilavez was watching him, one leg crossed over the other, her foot bouncing with impatience. "Come here," he said. When she was beside him, he tapped the screen. "Do you know this man?"
"No."
"He knew the girl."
"So? What's the point?"
"Look at him. An obvious offworlder. Have you forgotten who her friends are? If she managed to get a message to him, do you understand what that means?"
"Yes. Did she?"
"I do not know yet. Wake Number One and call him up here. That first, then get EYEs to Kiscomaskin's base, set up a grid, search the area. If you do it properly, you should find a Lander or perhaps a small starship. Destroy it as soon as you locate it. When you have a moment, call Puk back, tell him to get here fast."
"Yes, sir."
"Questions?"
"You want a rush job, like get it done an hour ago?"
"Yes."
After she left, he sat with his hands one on top the other, resting on his slight paunch, waiting patiently for the search to finish.
The screen flickered, information began to scroll past. Arel, Vejtar y Kleftis age: approx 73, ananile stablized 35+ ht: 167.6 cm weight: 61 kg idf mks: mole, left buttock upper quadrant; lash cuts, back, left, upper quadrant, right ankle, back of left knee; small toe missing, right foot; lobe missing right ear; small scars (shig bites) lower abdomen, left side of face; burn scars, right arm, back of right hand. Homeworld: Lyeta Kayets, Kalakoristeh system Smuggler, small time, will deal in weapons but only certified antiques and lowpower pellet shooters; no energy weapons or highXP, nothing nuclear; prefers perfumes, gems, rare substances; has dealt in ananiles (very cautiously) and pseudo ananiles; will take on just about anything portable that he thinks has value. No convictions Deported as persnongrat: Supigger worlds (came close to a term at contract labor but through judicious bribery slipped clear) Kat'yevla combine (threats of castration, came to nothing, no information as to why that particular punishment was proposed) First entry: Irsud (qv Ffynch Company records, re failure. to capture or stop penetration into Ffynch Co space) Penultimate entry: Avosing (qv freetrader grapevine re Ajin rebellion) Ultimate entry: Kiskai (qv current recordings)
Ginbiryol contemplated the data before him. Shadith was too young and too unimportant to have made an impression on the universe, so there was no point in searching for a direct connection between her and Arel. He rubbed at his nose. Yes, he thought. Why not. "Is there any link between Arel and the Hunter Aleytys?"
The screen flickered, cleared, filled. Irsud: qv Ffynch Co reports. Acc'd to Fynch Rep: the woman Aleytys (not yet Hunter) present at funeral pyre Nayid Old Queen. Disappeared later. Subsequent disruption among
ruling Nayids and shutdown of Ffynch Post likely connected to that departure. Enforcer report: Arel spotted leaving. Stingship sent in pursuit. Vanished. Probably destroyed. Means of destruction unknown. Smuggler untouched. Suggestion: Arel took the woman offplanet. Maeve: qv Wei-Chu-Hsien reports, re Chu Manhanu scandal, Arel briefly mentioned, noted as involved in subversion of W-C-H monopoly of maranhedd trade. Aleytys reported onworld after Arel's departure, involved with lorAls against Company. First contact Hunters Inc, hired thereafter. Avosing: qv Freetrader report to Guild MEMORY re abortive Ajin rebellion. Arel reported present at Smuggler's market, Keama Dusta at a time roughly coinciding with presence of Aleytys on Avosing. Her purpose there and activities unknown to freetraders. i ncals closemouthed with outsiders. Contact possible but not verifiable.
Ginbiryol scowled, blanked the screen. He sat tapping his fingers on the chairarm. Slippery. No convictions, only one close call registered. If he gets off the ground, he will be hard to find and harder to catch. He brought up the record of the party, recentered it on Arel.
"Sir."
"Ah, Raqab. Do you know that man?"
Raqab (Number One) inspected the face, shook his head. "No, sir."
"You remember this one, of course." He split the screen and pulled up Shadith's image.
"Yes, sir. Her I remember."
"I understand you know several systems of hand signs."
"Hand and body, sir."
"I want you to watch these two persons and tell me if they are signing and if so, what they are saying."
"What is his profession, sir? That might help."
"Smuggler."
"The systems I know are mostly military, sir."
"I understand. Do what you can." Ginbiryol fiddled a moment, arranged an alternation of frontal images of Shadith and the smuggler, then sat back and waited for Raqab to evaluate and respond.
"There, sir. See that flutter of the girl's fingers as she plays with the zipper? That's a warn-off, universal. His signs-I can't read 'em, might's well forget showing him. Probably he just wants to know what she's talking about. Ah, there, she's spelling something', I think… ah… I can make a guess, there's enough similarity to FLUSN basic… A.R.E.L. Does that make sense? Something, something, has a feeling of more warning, but I can't read it. More spelling. A.L.E.Y.T.Y.S. something S.H.A.D.O.W. something G.I.N.N.Y. S.E.Y.I.R.S.H.I. something, a strong warning, I think, telling him to get away from her fast. That's about it."
"Yes. Well… thank you, Raqab, you may return to your quarters. There will be a bonus added to your stipend to show my appreciation for your efforts."
"Thank you, sir."
Ginbiryol waited until he'd left, then he cleared the station and walked slowly back to watch Ajeri Kilavez at work. She'd wiped half a dozen cells and was using these to organize the search pattern. "Anything yet?"
"Early days, Ginny, barely got the EYEgrid in place."
"Finding that ship has become extremely urgent."
"Why don't I send Puk over there? The lander's got the firepower to take out a considerably bigger ship than that smuggler's pram is like to be. And he could do a backup spiral, the grid's coarse, not enough EYEs to make it finer, even if I ship out the nearest from the Main, they'd get there too late to be useful."
"Yes. Do that. Tell him the smuggler is carrying a message from that girl to the Hunter and has the clout to reach her without wasting time. It seems he is an old friend of hers."
"We're in a nest of them, looks like."
"Yes. It will not be necessary to abort the project if he does slip through the grid, she cannot possibly arrive in less than three months, it will all be over by then. When you get finished there, start the assessment for planting the Banger. When we go, we leave a cinder, let her deal with that if she can."
Chapter 16. How come we're still alive?
Shadith woke in a chill, rolling, yawing darkness.
Fighting back the vomit that rose in her throat, she groped about; by accident or the planning of the designer, one hand bumped a button and a light came on behind her head, pale, whitish gray. She was in a narrow tube with rounded ends like a gel capsule. The uncomfortable hardness pressing on her legs was her harpcase, the lump that prevented her knees from straightening was her travelpouch.-She squeezed her eyes shut.
Memory came in fragments: Kikun shaking her out of a sodden, dream-ridden sleep, at first it seemed just more nightmare when he told her they were about to die… Kikun dancing… Rohant diving toward her, scooping her up, throwing her into… aid an escape capsule, her head banging on something, hard… That's it. Out lights and slide. Escape capsule?
She fumbled around, found a tube marked WATER, pulled it from its clip and sucked in a mouthful of stale, lukewarm liquid. Her throat felt better immediately, but her stomach cramped and she had to swallow fast to keep her dinner down. Ginny! Must have decided we were too much trouble for whatever benefit he got from us. Sent Puk to erase the mistake, sar! the Lute must have enjoyed that. He's wanted to do me since the first time he laid. hands on me. So why am I still alive? Only one answer to that. Kikun. Clowndancer god. He saves us one more time and I'm going to join his congregation. Did he get out, too? Rohant? The cats? Well, don't lay about biting your nails, Shadow, have a look and see.
After another cautious sip at the watertube, she closed her eyes and reached.
Seabird. Like those she watched in Atehana Bay. Out past his usual round. He was gliding in wide circles, shifting from thermal to thermal, the joy of flight permeating mind and body. She settled in him, enjoyed the flight for a few moments, then took hard control of his brain and scanned the water. Her capsule was a bright yellow pill riding on the glittering blue swells. Alone. Being blown along by a strong wind away from the faint line of red that marked the horizon. Blown west. Dawn at my back. Don't see land either way. Just a bunch of clouds. How far out are we?
She sent the seabird spiraling higher, then drove it toward the dawnline.
Two capsules bobbed close together. When the bird flew over them, Shadith tasted at them. The Cats, mad as hell, both of them, I'd hate to be the one opens those capsules. Hmm, means I'm heading the right way. I think.
The bird was growing restive. She tightened her hold and sent him on. Still no sign of land. Long way to swim. Ah! That's a relief.
Two more capsules floated between adjacent swells. She tasted at the nearest and smiled. Kikun. Unmistakable. In good health, as far as she could judge. She blinked. And Sassa. He's got Sassa in there with him, poor damn bird, must be going woowoo shut up like that. No. Ah well, I suppose that's Kikun, too. Rohant in the next. Irritated and bored. Aren't we all. Are not we all. First thing. Get together. All right, fishbreath, go where you want and don't I wish I was you.
She lay back and closed her eyes; her throat was still a disaster, her head was throbbing and her energy level was so low even dying was too much of an effort to contemplate at that moment. I suppose I should eat something. These things are bound to have emergency rations. Tubes of glop. Gah.
After a few minutes of poking around, she found a cache of hipropaste, tubes labeled in interlingue, part of the stores the locals acquired when they bought the flit from some freetrader, gods only knew when.
She squirted the grayish paste into her mouth, hastily washed it down with gulps of water; it was worse than anything anyone had told her. Maybe it was the sensory equipment of this body that made the stuff so foul, maybe the gunk was turning rancid. Whichever was the case, though, it did its work, settled her stomach (more than a little improbably) and cleared her head. She shuddered, gulped some more water and started searching for a seabeast large enough and with the necessary conformation to act as a pushboat. Sar! this is getting to be booorrrring. Get 'em up, ride 'em ow, cowboy, or should I say cowgirl? Get your nose up, whale, and SHOVE! Funny looking whale. A double dozen legs and a grin like a buzzsaw. Slither's big brother and I do mean BIG. Nudge me along. Not like that, dammit! The way Pm collecting bruis
es I could set up as the tattooed lady any fair. Ease off. Ease off. That's it. Almost there. Easy now, eeeeasy… ouch! Damn. Blessings be, nothing's broke, not even me. Poor old Nagafog, he's in a mood to chew nails. Can't say I blame him, knocked about like this all the time and shut in some subrate cousin to a tin can. Now how do I work this? Line up the pills… hey, the thing's smarter than I thought. And it likes this game. That's right, baby, pit-a-pat us along. Eeeeasy, these pills got breakable innards. That's right, one two three,-straight ahead, that's a lovely little sea monster. Pit-a-pat, gently gently and on we go. Sing a song of silliness, pocket full of peas, four and twenty tentacles awhippin up the seas… heyyyy, baby, talk about whipping along, we're smoking it up. Making the algae cry uncle. Gods! I'm getting seasick. This is NO way to work off a hangover. Why oh why did I drink all that amtapishka squeezing? Uh-oh, we're getting close. What do I want to do now? This is working fine… thing is, can the toothfarm out there handle five? These capsules must be putting out some kind of beep. We could sit and wait for someone to pick us up. I don't want to sit about waiting, I'm tired of playing clever and looking so hard ten steps ahead I don't see the hole in front of me. Let's do it. There's some kind of land straight west, if we go far enough. All right, my little motive power, line up the pretty yellow pills and shove.
It was not a comfortable ride; the seabeast played with the capsules as he pushed them along, tapping and turning them until Shadith felt like a pea in a rattle. At times she thought of calling it off before the lot of them were battered into mush, but she didn't. The sea was shallowing. The land HAD to be getting closer. What's that? Beastie's getting nervous. What?
There was a dull throb growing louder and louder, a pulsing in the water she heard through the Swimmer's ear patches, a noise that made the beast twitch all over. Surf? Reefs? Hold on, li'l monster. A bit farther and maybe we can break out and swim to shore…