Beast Master's Ark

by Andre Norton; Lyn McConchie

  Beastmaster's Ark

  Andre Norton & Lyn McConchie

  To our good friend Sharman Horwood,

  who also loves the Witch World,

  this book is affectionately dedicated.

  And to Jean Weber (Australia) in memory of Minou.

  Chapter One

  Behind the desert the Peaks framed a sky that would be a soft lavender when the sun rose. It was the end of the dry season and even in the dark of night the heat was stifling. The strange puff bush blossoms like plumps of cotton wool hung limp. It was the season where nothing hurried that wished to live, and certainly not in the searing desert. But it was there where a beast ran. It had come from the Peaks country that lay behind it, into desert fringes, and it was now out into true desert. But it had reasons.

  Just within the boundaries of the great desert and jagged rocky mountain area humans called the Big Blue, a lame frawn ran desperately. It was a strong animal but it was starting to stagger. Its hoof, split by a stone, slowed it, but behind the reeling beast terror came scrabbling, so the frawn ignored the pain. It could not ignore the need for water. But in this place there was none and the animal's weakness grew. If it ran hard it could leave the hunters far behind, but they traveled steadily. When the frawn stopped to rest they closed in again. At last it could run no longer, every part of it craved water. Its strength drained away and it sank to its haunches. It would fight.

  But the horror that followed was too great and it stood again to stagger on. The hunters did not care. They had little but the instinct to follow and kill. They would do one relentlessly until they could do the other. How long the hunt continued did not concern them. They flowed over the barren lands, crossed dry watercourses, and clicked past dry brush. They hunted and nothing would turn them from the hunt.

  Ahead the frawn suddenly stopped. It staggered, sank slowly to the ground, and stretched out. Too little water, heat too great to bear, so far to run and the heart had given up. The frawn died mercifully as the first of the hunters reached it. But the flesh was still warm. The blood still flowed. They feasted, though the feast would have been more to their taste had the flesh been yet living.

  On a great ship sailing the depths of space and heading for the planet on which the frawn had run the hopeless race, one worked. Her head was down as she concentrated. Orphaned niece of the two scientists who led the crew of the ship, she was a hard worker and just now she was fascinated by what she did.

  Tani was splicing genes in her small laboratory when her uncle Brion entered. He peered over her shoulder, then smiled approvingly.

  "Good, we need more meerkats. They're a clan animal." His gaze dropped to the tiny dice lying on the gene chart and his eyebrows rose. "What are these for, my dear?"

  Tani giggled happily. "Your fault, Uncle Brion. You said that genes combine at random, so I've been throwing the dice and splicing that combination where it's viable." She enjoyed creating meerkats, anyway. Meerkats were a type of mongoose and killers of snakes among other small prey they favored. A meerkat's looks were its fortune in the human world. They were long and slender-bodied. A shape akin to that of a mink. But the meerkat had a yellowish-colored rougher fur and their eyes were large, with the rings of dark fur about them making the eyes look larger still. Humans were programmed to react favorably to that large-eyed look. Meerkats lived in affectionate family groups, stood up often on the hindlegs to scan territory, and would fight only if pressed. However, if they must fight, they do so effectively and as a group. All traits that attracted humans, and had delighted Tani.

  Her uncle grinned cheerfully back at her. "Whatever works, sweetheart. But don't let Jarro see you doing that. The idea would give him a heart attack." He noticed the faint shadow flit over her face and said nothing. Their colleague was a pompous little stuffed shirt who didn't get along too well with anyone on the ship and Brion had an idea the man was being especially hard on Tani.

  He hid a sigh. It was understandable. Jarro had worked hard for his qualifications and saw the inclusion of Brion's young part-qualified niece as unfair. As well Jarro's people had been first-in settlers on Ishan. Being from a first-in family gave status normally but now that planet, with Terra, and much that had been Terran, were gone. Like many others left stranded by the deaths of their home worlds, he suffered.

  He patted Tani's shoulder. "Don't work too hard. We land on Arzor in another few hours."

  "I won't, Uncle Brion. I just want to get this last pair of meerkats started in the embryo tanks."

  Brion studied the list beside her and nodded. "That's good. Three more females and four males. With the genetic material from the other meerkats on Arzor we can build a viable gene pool again." He smiled down at Tani. "That's another species we've taken back from Xik destruction."

  Tani's voice trembled. "I know, but we lost so many. Even tracing the surviving Beast Master teams, and some of the Beast Masters are just selfish." Her voice broke into a wail. "That one on Fremlyn who wouldn't let us take his animals or even take samples from them. He said it would distress them. And Marten took his side."

  "I know. But Marten's gone and we did get the samples. Finish up what you're doing. Just think. Once we touch down we'll be on Arzor at least three months. You can fly Mandy and the coyotes will have desert to run in." He smiled down at the head bent in sudden industry. Sometimes he wondered if they hadn't been wrong to keep the girl. He left the laboratory wondering about that. His sister had been Irish as he was. Well, unmixed blood anyhow, even if the last three generations had been lived in Arizona.

  But Tani's father, Bright Sky, had been of unmixed blood as well. Cheyenne from a long line of warriors, and medicine men who had not all been fakes. He'd been chosen as a Beast Master just after the birth of Tani and a year after his marriage to Brion's sister. Alisha had loved him and accepted his odd calling. She'd accepted his beast team as part of him, but it had been Tani with whom the team bonded, as well as with their human leader.

  The child had known the team from her earliest days. She'd rolled on the ground with the two wolves, teased the African eagle, and romped with the mongoose pair. Then, in one night of attack and defeat as the Beast Master team attempted to retake a world from the Xik invaders, all were gone. Team, husband and father, and half of Alisha and Tani's world.

  Tani had been five. Too young to understand the reasons that the Terran High Command had used up men so recklessly. Her mother had understood, but in grief and pain akin to madness she'd turned her back. Being a Beast Master and fighting, using one's animals for that war, was bad. From that it had been a small step to a slow warping of Alisha's truth. Only her loved husband, Bright Sky, had been a good Beast Master. The others were not. They wasted their animals, threw away the gifts they had been given. Alisha had been killed two years later in a Xik breakthrough raid on Terra. She'd been a medic and had died still trying to save lives. Brion wasn't sure how much of Alisha's twisted teaching Tani remembered, or had accepted.

  The girl was both her parents. She had the black hair and animal-empathic abilities of her father, Bright Sky, and from Alisha, the eyes changing from green to gray and fierce love of life. She wasn't pretty, except to Brion and his wife, Kady, who loved her.

  Brion shrugged. His niece was healthy, clever, and hard-working. He could hardly ask for more. It had been just under twelve years since Alisha had died. That reminded him. He headed for his office. Tani would be nineteen a few days after they landed. He must discuss a suitable present for her with Kady. He'd keep that in mind as he reviewed the planet they'd reach very soon.

  He sat back in his cabin, reviewing the Arzor tapes. One Beast Master had settled here, a Navajo named Storm. Hosteen Storm. Judging from the dates, High
Command had added later material as it came to hand. The man was stepson to Brad Quade, a descendant of one of the First Ship families. Quade had large holdings in the Basin, one of the most fertile ranching areas. Storm's mother had died on Arzor, leaving a son by Quade, a boy named Logan who was the Beast Master's half-brother. Storm had taken his team to Arzor with him. An African eagle, two meerkats, and a dune cat. He eyed the latter item thoughtfully. They had DNA from several of those, but more would help widen the gene pool.

  He just hoped this man wouldn't be as difficult as the Beast Master on Fremlyn. The Beast Master there had refused to allow Brion to take samples unless they provided mates for his remaining team. Brion had refused, the idea was unacceptable. A series of new animals spreading out into a world where they had not evolved could be an ecological disaster. A pity Marten had taken the man's side. They'd obtained samples by court order, one of the animals had been injured, it had subsequently died, and Marten had quit.

  He'd argued they could have given the Beast Master infertile mates for his beasts. At least the animals would have company. Ridiculous, of course. The Ark wasn't traveling between planets to provide a lonely-hearts service for animals. It was there to preserve everything it could of Terran species. To collect samples where they could be found. Marten had stayed with the Ark for several weeks while he tried to convince them to at least provide infertile mates for the Beast Master team. He'd failed. Brion had arranged to have the animals of the team darted and samples taken. He'd returned to Marten's anger and a formal resignation slapped down on Brion's desk. Brion had regretted his inflexibility later on. They could have escaped all the problems if he'd only agreed to the infertile mates. He wouldn't make that mistake again if only this Beast Master would be sensible and cooperative in return.

  Brion ran the tapes a second time, making notes as he slowed and reread portions of the information. Kady entered to lean over his shoulder reading what he was writing.

  He looked up at her. "Have we talked to the Government yet?"

  "I made contact an hour ago."

  "And?"

  The news wouldn't please him, Kady knew. "They say that there is nothing in their laws to force a Beast Master to allow his team to be used as specimens. If Beast Master Storm refuses, then we must persuade him or do without samples."

  She saw his face cloud with anger and laid a hand on his arm. "Brion, don't lose your temper with them. It will make things worse. It was Marten who's caused this." Her voice overrode his angry questions. "I'll tell you, just listen. He sent Arzor a message, telling them that on Fremlyn you'd taken genetic samples by force and injured a team animal that died after we left. Fremlyn saw those beasts as one of their last links with Earth. The authorities there are furious. I had a personal message from Marten, too. He's been given a huge grant and retained to clone and gene-splice a new pool of the team beasts. The Government is setting aside a large island as a reservation for them."

  Brion smiled sourly. "So he's done well for himself, and left us wading in the mud he's thrown."

  "And mud sticks. We have to be very careful the Arzoran people don't see us as intruders, taking what we want and ignoring the consequences. Arzor is somewhat primitive, a ranching world, they live by animals. From the way the man I talked to spoke about it, this Storm is very well thought of. He's the one who broke up a Xik holdout group on Arzor two years ago."

  Brion laughed suddenly. "Tell Tani to be nice to him then. Maybe she can talk him into letting us take samples."

  "You could also consider something else." She reached over to scroll back a tape. "Look at this report. Arzor would be right for a viable expanding meerkat population. They used to have rinces that filled the same niche. They were filthy little beasts, cannibals, and with scent glands even worse than the Terran skunk. The settlers killed a lot, then some kind of plague came. Most of the rinces died and the rest couldn't sustain a population. They breed too slowly and they're dying out. It's causing problems with that life chain. I'd have to do a workup of the ecological balance, but I think meerkats would fit right in there. How many has Tani done?"

  "Seven," Brion said absently as he studied the tape. "Eagles breed very slowly. Arzor does already have a similar bird-predator species and the authorities would have to take care eagles did not grow so numerous that they competed with the zamle. Otherwise I'd see no harm in allowing the man's eagle to have a viable mate. So long as we emphasize he must let things happen naturally. He is not to incubate eggs or aid in the survival of weak eaglets. Two breeding naturally would help expand a breeding pool we can use next time we stop here."

  Kady looked at him affectionately. "Good idea. Shall I tell Tani to make a start on a male eagle? With forced growth he'd be old enough to hand over before we leave."

  "Do that. Just to be on the safe side she could also start cloning a male dune cat from our tissue samples. We can study the situation further and it can always be sterilized before we hand it over. It will all help to convince this Storm that we aren't unsympathetic. I must get on. We're landing in a week and I have a million things to do."

  He hardly noticed the slight hiss of the closing door. He was already immersed in a study of his genetic material lists.

  The week passed quickly for Tani, who was very busy as well. On Arzor it seemed to pass more slowly. On the Quade holdings Hosteen paced and worried. Would the incoming Ark provide him with mates for Hing, Baku, and Surra? He suspected they wouldn't. He'd heard about the Fremlyn debacle. But Hing in particular needed a mate. Meerkats were sociable animals, they lived in a clan. Things had been all right so long as Hing's mate, Ho, was alive. Luckily she'd been in kit when Ho died. Now she had four barely adult youngsters to provide a clan. But there was no mate to provide more, and worse, of the babies, three had been male and fights were beginning.

  He desperately needed mates for Hing and her clan. He'd talked to his father's friend at Ecology Headquarters. They'd run tests. The meerkats could be allowed to breed and spread out in their family clans. They'd take the niche the rinces had once filled. Now if only Arzor could persuade the Ark people of that.

  The Ark had been a wonderful idea. No one had heard about it for several years after the destruction of Ishan and Terra. Then word had begun to spread through the worlds that still thought of Terra as home in many ways. An Ark to carry genetic material from one world to another. Making sure that the vast cornucopia of possibilities from any one world did not have to be lost again.

  Somehow they'd been tied in with the Beast Master Headquarters, Hosteen thought. On the Ark were samples from all of the improved species that had been used in Beast Master teams. The Ark had been built in orbit as a transport. It had been an unarmed merchant ship of a type too thin-hulled and underengined to be useful in the war. The merchant family that owned it had left it mothballed in orbit, waiting for the war to end. Some wise woman had seen a possible future and quietly convinced the High Command to cover their bets both ways. The transport had been transformed. Into its broad belly had flowed samples of genetic material from millions of Terran species. The finest laboratories had been built inside its walls. A husband and wife scientific team had been placed in charge and when all was complete, the Ark had left to work quietly in a sector devoid of inhabited planets.

  Seven months later the Xiks, with whom the Terran Alliance had been fighting a desperate and savage war, had broken through the Terran defense. Now Terra orbited as a burned-out cinder. A symbol about which every planet settled by humanity had rallied. Ishan too had died before the Xiks were thrust back—and back. Until at last they were beaten.

  Not that all Xiks accepted their defeat. They were a species who believed no other race was their equal in civilization, warlike abilities, or rights. Particularly the latter. To the Xiks, their rights and wishes were paramount. Over a year ago Hosteen himself had discovered that. A Xik holdout team had been secretly on Arzor, in league with several human renegades, stealing stock and shipping it off-world. More dang
erous yet had been one of the near mythical Xik apers, a Xik, altered by their own surgeons to appear human, and used to destabilize governments, to cause strife and dissension amongst small populations. The holdouts, Storm believed, had been only a sideline. It was the aper who'd been important. Those enemies had died but there were still rumors of other holdout groups as well as plans some believed the Xik leaders had for a resurgence. Hosteen glanced up at the sound of footsteps.

  "Logan, good to see you. How's the herd?"

  His younger half-brother smiled. "The herd is fine but Dumaroy is flapping his mouth again."

  "What else is new?"

  "It isn't like that this time, brother. This time Dumaroy may have trouble. He says that there's something moving in the Blue. Nothing to do with the Norbies for once."

  Hosteen came to attention. Dumaroy had a fixation about the natives, but he was a good rancher. He knew the land and the frawn herds that moved over it. The natives were broadly divided into two peoples. The more civilized Norbies who traded with the settlers and often worked on the ranches, and the Nitra, the wild tribes of the lands further from the settler areas. A people who lived in the old ways and intended to remain that way. Both peoples were divided into smaller clans that held their own territories.

  "What does he say?"

  "Frawns are dying. Along the edges of his land where it runs into desert. Just one here and there, but they're finding skeletons."

  Hosteen stared at him. "Frawns do die."

  "Yep," Logan agreed. "But you don't usually find a clean skeleton where there wasn't one the day before. Dumaroy says something is killing frawns and stripping them to the bone overnight. That isn't Norbies, it's something he's never met before." He grinned. "An' he says it's something he doesn't want to meet on any dark nights, either."

  Hosteen nodded. "I don't know of anything that can do that here. How sure is Dumaroy that the skeletons have appeared so quickly."