Treaty at Doona

by Anne McCaffrey

  “I’ll take it,” Greene said unexpectedly, stepping forward to sweep the tool kit out of Todd’s grasp.

  “As you will,” Cardiff said amiably, then turned. “See you again, Koala,” and he tipped a salute to the Gringg engineer, who waved one large silver paw in response.

  They both paused by Greene, and Todd gave a curt nod of his head for the commander to precede him.

  “I’m sure you know the way to the shuttle bay, Commander,” Todd said with barely concealed sarcasm. “Or didn’t you get that far before they hauled you back for poking about?”

  Greene said nothing as he expertly caught the next descending platform of the belt elevator. To Todd that meant he’d gone this far. Had he gone up or down?

  “As you pointed out, Reeve, it’s catching the moment and running with it.”

  “Even at the expense of violating good will?”

  “Good will?” Greene snorted explosively. “Yes, good will! I’ll show you some good will one of these days—” He broke off. Now was not the time to let anger overset good judgment. He took a deep breath and refused the bait.

  Their guide hopped off the platform and Greene followed, knocking the tool kit against the wall as he slightly misjudged his momentum. Its flap bounced open, and a small, rodlike device fell out.

  “Hey, there’s my soldering iron,” Cardiff said, diving for it before it dropped off the platform. He straightened up to tuck it back into the carryall, and stopped, looking curiously at the remaining contents of the bag. “Shooting stars, what’s that? I never packed that.”

  “What?” Todd asked. A growl from the corridor suggested their guide was waiting.

  Todd held up one hand to the Gringg before he grabbed for the tool-kit strap, to summarily lift it off Greene’s shoulder. Greene twisted away but Hrriss barred his way.

  “Hey, what’s the matter?” Cardiff wanted to know.

  “I want to see what’s in there that you didn’t pack, Cardiff,” Todd said and jerked at the shoulder strap.

  Greene struggled hard, but with a powerful yank, Hrriss stripped the bag from his shoulder while Todd deflected the commander’s blows. The powerfully built aide had an excellent repertoire of hand-to-hand combat dirty tricks, but Todd had been wrestling snakes every year since he was ten. When Greene kicked, Todd hooked his feet out from under him and sat on him while Hrriss continued his inspection of the tool kit.

  The Gringg guide came back to see what was holding his party up, and growled a question.

  “Morra,” Todd said grimly, keeping his weight on Greene’s back. “What’s in it, Hrriss?”

  “It looks like a small bomb,” Hrriss whispered angrily. “I do not know what zis sssmall device on top is.”

  Cardiff took a quick look. “Remote control receiver,” he said, his face expressionless. “No fuse, just need a radio signal to set it off.”

  Todd closed his eyes against the arrogance of a man like Greene, too ready to destroy what he couldn’t understand. Though he wanted to close his fingers tightly about Greene’s neck, instead he hauled the commander upright by handful of his tunic.

  “So that’s what you intended, skiving off like that? To plant this bomb. When were you going to blow the ship? While Hrriss and I were still on it? Or when Barnstable gave the orders?” His fingers clenched and unclenched in the tough fabric of Greene’s uniform. Though his eyes did not narrow in fear, the commander watched him warily, offering no resistance to the mauling. “No wonder you let Cardiff come. I should have been suspicious the moment I saw you in the shuttle with him. When, Greene? When was this to be set off?”

  “A fail-safe, Reeve, just a fail-safe,” Greene said, grating the words out, adding, when Todd relaxed his grip slightly, “Should the Gringg suddenly turn hostile.”

  Disgusted, Todd pushed him out at arm’s length and let go. Greene staggered back against the corridor wall before recovering himself. He then straightened his tunic with careful gestures and smoothed back his hair with nerveless fingers.

  “Do marines require their officers to be paranoid?” Todd demanded.

  “Paranoid, hell, Reeve! Marines protect! Which is more than you’re doing,” Greene replied in a low, angry voice and strode down the corridor toward the waiting Gringg.

  The two Doonarralans hurried to bracket him, making certain he took no further detours across the huge bay to the shuttle. Silently, Cardiff paced ahead of them, eager to get into the shuttle and out of the way before the others boarded it. Hrriss managed the Gringg words for thanks and pulled the shuttle door closed. The small ship waited until the bay doors opened and slowly left the Gringg ship.

  “If you’d planted that bomb and the Gringg found it, Greene, all the strides toward understanding that we’ve made today would have been neutralized.”

  “Why would they look for something, Reeve? Answer me that! They have such peaceful intent, and you are so honorable, why would they look for anything? But, why won’t you look at matters from another perspective. What if all their compliance is a cover?” Greene demanded in a hard voice. “What if the Gringg are hiding something from us?”

  “Hrriss and I were taken over the whole ship, and looked wherever we wished with no hindrance or supervision,” Todd replied, still fuming at the appalling brush with near disaster. “They trust us. We must return that trust, and that means you keep your little gadgets off their premises.”

  “That little gadget might have saved more lives—” the commander began, and stopped before he blurted out why he had reason to be concerned.

  “For the last time, Greene, this isn’t your business. This is Alien Relations business, and in the interests of Amalgamated Worlds and this invaluable alien contact, I’ll have you denied further access to the Gringg. This time, my father and I have the authority to keep the brass and bureaucracy right out of the loop so we can get on with unarmed diplomacy!”

  * * *

  It was with trepidation that Second Speaker returned to Hrruba to bring his news to the High Council. He had gotten no satisfaction from the confrontation engineered by the Hayuman Admiral. Between the medical examinations and the invention of a communication device, things had gotten totally out of hand. The stakes were far too high. In the presence of these immense aliens, Hrrto felt reduced to insignificance, although he was of large stature among his own kind. Beings should not be made in such massive forms, should not be allowed to grow to such abnormal proportions. They must not be permitted to come to Hrruba to dwarf even the largest of his people. He hoped that more of the Hayuman contingent felt that way than the Doonarralans did. After all, so many of them were shorter than the average Hrruban. Which reminded him that he had not felt any physical or aural intimidation when he had encountered the Hayumans for the first time, certainly not the unnerving sort he experienced in the company of the Gringg. He did not understand why others were not overwhelmed by the Gringg’ s presence. Even young Hrriss, whom he trusted as a true Hrruban, had taken to these furry giants as if they were veritable beings of honor, integrity, and value.

  Mllaba seemed to feel that the coming of the Gringg could be a great advantage to him in the upcoming election. He was at a loss to know how he could possibly present such hulks as advantageous, though Mllaba was usually shrewd in seeing possibilities and potentials. Still, he had been there at the beginning and that did give him an advantage from which to speak. If he could build on that, with Mllaba’s assistance, he might indeed enhance his bid for the Speakership. He need only be calm—and pretend to know more than he actually did. Mllaba was up to something, he knew, and she would inform him when her maneuvers were complete.

  As Hrrto entered the impressive, dark-panelled Council Meeting Room, his tail gave a single twitch. The place had not felt the same since the death of Hrruna. It had turned into a cold, unfriendly place, with whispering shadows.

  Hrrto took his place in the second
seat, beside the head of the table, facing Third Speaker for Internal Affairs, a moderate Hrruban named Rrolm. The First Speaker’s place was, of course, respectfully empty, draped with blue and red. In the center of the seat was the precious blue stone given as a gift of peace to Hrruna by the Hayuman settlers in the very first days of Rraladoona. On his deathbed, Hrruna had directed that the stone should be displayed in the Council Chamber until a successor was chosen. To him who assumed the office would pass ownership of the stone, to remind him that peace with one’s neighbor was as valuable and vital as clean air or pure water. Yes, Hrrto thought, peace and trust were necessary, but in good time, when the Gringg had proved, beyond the shadow of a doubt, their pacificism.

  “Be confident, sir,” Mllaba whispered from her place, a seat rolled deferentially back from the table, suitable for one who was not part of the Council. “Contain this situation firmly. It will be the key to the election. Your rivals do not have such a good opportunity to display leadership as you do right now with your intimate connection in the Gringg incident. Fifth Speaker backs Third now, but the few outside candidates have little chance of assuming the post. Be firm. Be confident. You have the advantage.”

  “I know the tone and stand to take, Mllaba,” Hrrto said, with some irritation, and flattened his tail against the chair leg, hidden by his robes. At times her attitude bordered on the officious, and she was not in contention for any Speakership.

  Word had already spread over Hrruba that intervention by an alien presence had put a halt to the spaceport talks. The delegates, not held to temporary residence on Rraladoona as were their Hayuman counterparts, had come home full of tales about the giant Gringg. Mllaba’s initial report had made a strong impression on the Council. The Speakers were eager to hear more from Hrrto.

  So Second Speaker first explained the circumstances of the Gringg’s advent, then signalled to Mllaba to run the tape of the huge aliens who had visited Rraladoona as emissaries.

  As Eonneh and Ghotyakh appeared on the screen, gasps ranged around the table, then modulated into murmurs of discomfort when the Gringg spoke.

  “What horrible sounds they make!” Fourth Speaker said. “Barbaric garble! Threatening in sound and appearance. So monstrous. Bare-skinned Hayumans were peculiar enough to behold, but these are at the other extreme!”

  “Alreldep, which agency you already know includes several prominent Hrrubans of good Stripe,” Hrrto said, rising to his feet as the tape ended, “maintains that these Gringg wish to establish peaceful relations with both Hrrubans and Hayumans. They are to learn Middle Hrruban,” he said with a smug smile, intimating that this was a concession he himself had managed. “We must, of course, wait until sufficient understanding of language allows us to communicate to purpose.”

  “Peaceful relations?” Rrolm asked. “How can we be sure of that?”

  “Of course their ship was thoroughly scanned and probed,” Hrrto went on. “No weaponry of any sort was discovered, that is true. Alreldep sent envoys who were treated courteously, and no show of force or violence occurred . . .” He let his voice dwindle ominously. “We have little hard data, except the results of physical examinations done by the Hayuman medical team on Rraladoona. Alreldep does tend”—he paused solemnly—“toward optimism.” He gave a diffident shrug. “On the other hand, Spacedep has given me reason to suspect that the Gringg assurances of good faith and their appearance of defenselessness as far as their vessel goes could very well be false. Until we are absolutely certain of their intentions toward us, Hrruba and Hrrubans, we should keep the Gringg contained in the Rraladoona sphere, but prepare ourselves for all eventualities.”

  “I do not think we wish a close association with these huge creatures,” Sixth Speaker said, assuming the speech-making posture he had lately adopted, evidently believing that it gave his listeners more confidence in his ponderous opinions. “Once again the Hayumans have forced an untenable situation upon our peaceful citizens. I must tell you that there is great anxiety among those with whom I have spoken at length when word of this new incursion was brought to me.”

  “I second that, Sixth,” Third Speaker said brusquely and turned to Second. “Have you any action to propose at this time, Second?”

  Hrrto smiled, for matters were proceeding well if Third deferred to him to act. Although that could be a trap. Still . . .

  “Surely, Third,” he said with a smooth growl to his tone, “that is obvious. The fleet must be”—he let one talon extrude slightly from his right hand— “discreetly mobilized. Held on alert, undetectable behind the Rraladoonan moons. I have been assured that there will be those on the planet who will turn a blind eye to the occasional anomaly on the surveillance screens. And, should it become necessary”—he paused again significantly—“the Hrruban fleet will be able to move with surprise and great speed.”

  The others reacted with varying degrees of approval or censure, muttering among themselves.

  “You are convinced of threat?” Third asked, over the hubbub.

  “The prudent Stripe is prepared for any eventuality. In the case of large, unexpected visitors, mouthing peace, prudence is only . . . ah . . . politic. To be frank”—and now Second turned confidential, addressing his remarks directly to Third across the table from him— “I would feel less threat, actually, if their ship had shown some armament. With none . . .” He lifted his shoulders, leaving the anxiety for others to enlarge. “With the fleet in place, Hrrubans on the planet are supported. And our allies can turn to us for immediate assistance in case this situation turns ugly. And it very well could!”

  “How? From what source? If the alien ship has been probed as weaponless?” Fifth asked doubtfully.

  Second bowed his head, miming reluctant silence. “This is, of course, to be kept among us. Spacedep offered me incontrovertible truth of the possibility that the aliens are by no means as pacific and genuine as they would have us believe. But such information is classified. Suffice it for you to know that my eyes have seen, and my shoulders bear the heavy burden for you all. For the safety and sanity of Rrala, it must remain so.”

  “The Speaker did observe to me,” Mllaba said, standing up, “that while Hayumans have weapons capable of destroying a planet, they have shown a moral code which prevents them from doing so. These Gringg, on the other hand, seem cultured and peaceful, but the evidence, which I, too, was shown, suggests they have two sides to their nature. The one we have not seen is vicious and ruthless.”

  The timbre of her voice only emphasized Second’s less emotional narration.

  “Yes, well, no one has answered me on the matter of the spaceport facility,” said the Seventh Speaker for Management, slightly testy. “What’s happened to it? There has been so much preparation, so many negotiations and hard work. Surely . . .”

  Mllaba bowed to him. She enjoyed being able to speak freely before the entire Council. “It has been postponed indefinitely, Honored sir. The arrival of the Gringg is considered a priority of utmost urgency, and the conference co-leader is intimately involved in the negotiations. There is no surety right now that the facility will be discussed in the near future.”

  Sixth Speaker cleared his throat. “Do we yet know what part of the galaxy they came from? And, if they have come so peacefully, might they not have come for trade? That is why we—and the Hayumans—took to the stars: to find new sources of metals and foodstuffs and new planets on which to settle.”

  Mllaba realized with annoyance that Sixth was not convinced of the deadliness of the Gringg threat, nor was Fifth Speaker. Fifth saw the Gringg as potential allies and customers, and Sixth was more concerned with the inability to shift Hrrubans goods anywhere and the current recession due to that inability.

  Hrrto rose and immediately Mllaba seated herself.

  “The Gringg claim their discovery of Rraladoona was an accident,” he said. “When they visited the First Village, they managed to convey
to Ken Rrev that their instrumentation discovered an ion trail which they followed to the Rraladoonan system. They were encouraged to enter the system when they also found the marker buoys and realized that the third planet was not only inhabited but obviously using sophisticated technology. Their level of technical expertise is high. I cannot say whether it is similar to ours or to the Hayumans.

  “To be fair,” Second continued, planting his hands on the table, “the public face that the Gringg show is one of thoughtful, creative civilization. Their standard of artwork and music is high, and they have been quick to comprehend symbolic communication. They may have much to offer us—not only trade goods, but cultural gifts.”

  “This suggests an understanding of technology and tenacity of purpose,” said Fifth Speaker, combing his chin mane with thoughtful claws. “These Gringg could be useful and worthwhile allies.”

  “If they are not planning to destroy us,” Seventh said in alarm.

  “I don’t like it,” snarled Sixth. “They could be a threat to Hrruban independence and individual development. There are already too many outsiders with influence on the Hrruban way of life.”

  “I feel it necessary that the Hrrubans take the lead in all discussions,” Hrrto said primly.

  “It may be more important than ever for you to manage such discussions,” said Fifth Speaker, his green eyes wide with alarm. “I have heard something from our returning delegates which troubles me greatly. Is it true that the Hayumans are becoming more insistent in their demands to share our grid technology?”

  “Yes,” Mllaba said, rising gracefully to her feet. “But the Speaker stated without equivocation that such a thing was impossible. The Hayumans were not pleased by his adamant position.”

  “You did not admit to them why we could not share that technology, did you?”

  Hrrto was genuinely insulted. He controlled his voice, but his tail lashed once under his flowing red robes. “Of course I did not. If the Honored Speaker will recall, I voted in favor of the proposition to make details of grid technology and construction available only to Hrrubans of the homeworld. I am only too aware that our supply of the element purralinium which makes the grids possible will only last for a hundred years at the present rate of use. Expanding the network of planets in our Explorations Arm and colony worlds will deplete it faster.”