but it isn't why I'm here." She sat on the black table and dangled her golden legs, swinging her feet. He stared at her, because she probably wanted him to stare at her. What did such an ancient creature do to keep from dying of boredom? She cocked her feathered face to one side, targeting him with her huge violet eyes. "I thought I knew why I came to meet you. Maybe I did know. Maybe now I don't! Don't expect so much of me, simply because I'm old. Would you like to touch me?"
He hesitated to reply. He knew what answer was expected of him: "Yes."
She laughed. "I don't kiss on the first date. Don't worry. There's nothing you can or can't do that I'll hold against you. But first, let me see the painting."
1-20 Digging Graves
"There's someone lying on the ground," Jarwekh said, leaning forward in the seat behind Sugai Mai.
"Oh, no!" Mai exclaimed, trying to see what Jarwekh had observed.
Denna, Horss said to himself, having waited several moments for the others to make the discovery he had already made. They three observed from a height that disclosed the extent of destruction surrounding Denna: all darkness of ash and smoke, with her as the single bright spot, as though she had been protected from the ash. He was sure Denna was dead.
It was just before sunrise. Fred and Jarwekh had searched for a replacement human interface for the transmat and then had resorted to using the underlying alien interface - to no avail. Sugai Mai had eventually arrived in the Mnro Clinic's aircar ambulance, still leaving them with the problem of discovering where to fly the aircar to find the residence of Raphael. Even Fred did not know the geography of this place on Earth. Fred remained at Pan's residence, allowing for the probable need of the aircar to transport more passengers back to the city.
Horss was tempted to try a shiplink call to the Eclipse but couldn’t overcome his aversion to asking for help from there. It was as though the ship and that part of his life had changed meaning for him, a meaning that threatened him. He worried about Samson but knew that if Demba couldn’t protect him, there wasn’t any hope that he could.
"I'll try a slow descent and see if we encounter resistance from the protective field," Horss said, taking the aircar out of its orbit of the property and directing it toward the body that lay between the remains of two burned wooden buildings.
Horss had been tense, piloting the car in the open sky, following the faint remnants of old highways in the relentless overgrowth of tropical vegetation. More than once he regretted having asked to pilot the vehicle, even though it mostly maneuvered and navigated itself. It was not a matter of ego that he wanted to sit in the pilot's seat; it was a matter of safety, based on his having augmented vision and reflexes. Of course his ego did feel bruised by this little fear of planetary openness. Now the phobia was washed from his mind by the shock of Denna's probably-violent death. Smoke from the smoldering structures rose above them on either side, tinted orange by the just-rising sun.
The aircar met no repulsion by any defensive force. Horss picked the landing spot and let the ambulance lower itself to the ground. Mai popped open her door first and rushed to Denna. She touched Denna's neck with her fingertips, frowned, and moved them to her chest, under the shiny dress. She withdrew her hand. Horss didn't need to ask about Denna's condition.
"She's beyond resurrection?" Jarwekh asked, pain in his low voice.
"Her body can be restored but not her mind, and I promised her I wouldn't try," Mai responded sadly.
"How did she die?" Horss asked. He was hardly able to do more than brush his gaze past the corpse. Denna had seemed so distant from this fate in the few moments he'd known her, despite the tragic nature of her life.
Mai used a small instrument to scan the body. "Her neck is broken from a blow to the back of it. That is the underlying cause. The admiral?"
"You mean, did the admiral kill her?" Horss asked. "I can't imagine why she would. Where are they?" He looked around, feeling the wrongness of the situation. "That was probably the murder weapon," he said, pointing to the piece of lumber on the ground near the body. "Demba wouldn't have needed to use such a weapon. Where is Demba and Samson? They should be here."
"And where is Rafael?" Sugai Mai asked, gazing about.
"Perhaps the forest," Jarwekh said, kneeling by Denna. The big Rhyan had no tears for Denna but Horss heard the sound of grief in Jarwekh's roughened three words.
"No, they won't be there," Horss said, feeling that something further was wrong about their absence. "We won't find them."
Mai stood up and scanned the area with another instrument. "Over there," she said, pointing. She led Horss and Jarwekh toward a small fenced area at the edge of the clearing.
"The grave of Rafael's son," Jarwekh said.
They gathered at a grassy plot of land surrounded by a picket fence and overhung by an old oak. There was a bronze plaque affixed to a slab of granite to mark one grave. The name Daniel was cast in the bronze with the words: "Beloved son of Denna and Rafael." There were smaller graves with smaller markers nearby, perhaps containing the remains of pets. They saw the body of a large dog lying next to the beginning of a hole that was its intended grave.
"Gator," Mai said, "Rafael's dog. They were trying to bury him but were interrupted."
"Where is Daidaunkh?" Jarwekh asked. "I think he would also be dead."
"Are many other transmats in orbit that operate to the surface of Earth?" Horss asked.
Jarwekh shook his head and replied: "Too many. But the EPA tries to be vigilant."
Horss stared up at the old oak and saw it wasn't a healthy tree, its leaves sparse, its branches over-populated with Spanish moss. The next thunderstorm or hurricane would likely bring some of its limbs down upon the graves.
Was it over? Had Etrhnk taken Demba and Samson? Why was he waiting to take his former captain back to the Eclipse? Horss was sure Etrhnk knew exactly where he was. Horss didn't want to return to the Eclipse, and it was now obvious he would not be allowed to return to his former post.
/
Mai picked up a shovel and started to dig the grave deeper for Gator. He was a good dog, and very friendly. She remembered him when Rafael brought him to her as a puppy. "He has big feet," she had told Rafael. "He'll be a large dog. He'll knock you down. Let me do something for your bones and your strength." Rafael had laughed his refusal. It was just an animal, yet its death added more to the tragedy of Denna's death than Mai would have expected. It was innocent of human affairs, never understanding the possible consequences of its instinctive loyalty. And she knew the dog as well as she knew Denna. The many misadventures of Gator had caused her to add veterinary medicine to her duties.
Jarwekh took the shovel from Mai and dug the grave more quickly. When they laid Gator to rest and covered him over, Jarwekh started on the grave for Denna, next to Daniel's.
"I must take her back for legal reasons," Mai said to Jarwekh. "Pan will want to see the body also."
"I know," Jarwekh said. "I just need to dig. Tell me when you're ready to leave."
Mai walked slowly back along the trail in the ash to where Denna's body lay. She paused to gaze at that uncommon sight - a dead person beyond her science to revive - then went to the aircar and began looking in its compartments. Horss knelt by Denna's body. Mai could see he was upset. He made angry swipes with his hand to keep the flies away from Denna. When Mai returned he helped her wrap the body in the sheet of plastic she found in the aircar. Horss carried the body to the vehicle and put it inside.
"Did anyone die in the fire?" Horss asked.
"I don't think so. It will take time to survey the residue. But all of Rafael's original paintings and many of his sculptures must have been destroyed. Will you call your ship now?"
"No."
Mai could infer several things, hearing Horss's minimal response. He was angry. He was worried. If he would not call the Navy flagship and request an investigation or an explanation, that was tantamount to ending his Navy career. His reaction pleased her for some reason.
; "Pan hasn't returned," Mai remarked. She was thinking about the probable connection to the disappearance of Samson and the others. They might all be on the Navy Commander's ship.
"She was a nicer person than she thought she was," Horss said thoughtfully.
It took Mai a moment to realize Horss was speaking of Denna. It took that same moment for her to realize the loss of Denna from her own life mattered much more than she thought it would.
/
The Mnro Clinic director turned away from Horss. He could see she was finally reacting to the situation. He listened to Jarwekh digging under the oak while he waited for Mai to recover her composure.
"There are so few people on earth," Mai eventually said. "Most of them in one place. Because of my profession, I meet almost everyone sooner or later. A few, like Denna, I've known for years. I always try to avoid becoming too involved with people like Denna. All people, actually. I think I need to retain as much objectivity - emotional distance - as possible to be an effective physician. I realize now that I've never been objective about Denna. She was someone you couldn't ignore. Good or bad, she was a force. She was Rafael's wife. I wish I'd known her then. The person I knew was so self-absorbed, I just wanted to strangle her! She was always hurting herself. I treated her wounds so many times and always knew it was a cry for help. Yet she wouldn't let anyone help her. I think she needed Rafael but he
Keshona Far Freedom Part 1 Page 36