The Risks of Dead Reckoning

by Felicia Watson

  Lindstrom, while congratulatory, presented them with the news that the Maykure were furious about the use of the Alba and had told the humans so in no uncertain terms. He’d volunteered to answer their complaints since it had been his decision to authorize use of the ship.

  Kennedy said, “Don’t they understand what we were up against there? Two Maykure children could have died if we hadn’t—”

  “I did attempt to explain that. They seem to think I’m missing the bigger picture.”

  “What picture?” Naiche asked. “Those two Maykure kids being ripped apart by a peerazu?”

  “I’m not entirely sure what they’re talking about. Communication with their leader seems…circuitous at best.” He gave a quick toss of his head and clasped his hands together. “Perhaps this will all blow over once they’ve had time to calm down.” Lindstrom sighed heavily. “Kennedy, this entire misadventure interrupted the meeting you and Decker had requested. If you aren’t both completely exhausted, shall we resume that, now?”

  Con said, “With your permission, sir, I’d like to take a team back to the L3 shuttle, first.”

  “To what end?” Lindstrom asked.

  “In the state the shuttle is in now, we can’t lock it up. I want to get anything dangerous or even portable off of it – in case more Maykure kids come calling.” Lindstrom immediately saw the force of Kennedy’s argument and granted them the time.

  Kennedy summoned Kapoor and Quan, then all four tactical personnel hurried to the shuttle. It took a couple of hours but they eventually had it stripped bare of all essentials and then went to work packing them up for transport back to the Aurora. Finally, Con ordered Priya and Yenlin to give the L3 one last thorough inspection, then walked out to see where Decker had gotten to. She was off in the distance, examining the body of the peerazu he’d killed. Kay was with her, furiously sniffing the carcass over.

  He jogged over towards them. When Naiche didn’t look up at his approach, Kennedy called out, “Thanks all the same, but I don’t think Aqila will be too keen on having that peerazu head hanging on the wall of our quarters.”

  Deck squinted up at him with a short laugh. “Damn. Now I’ll have to think of something else to get you for your anniversary.” More soberly, she pointed at the peerazu’s flank and said, “Take a look at this.”

  Con saw some scars consistent with particle fire. “What’s so interesting about that? It wasn’t possible for me to hit their heads every time.”

  “No, that’s not the take-home, here. If you’ll look closer, you’ll see that those scars had started to heal over.”

  He crouched down briefly and realized she was right. “This must have been one of the peerazu you drove off the day we arrived.”

  “Yep. Could that mean there’s a lot fewer of them than we originally thought?”

  “Either that…or….” He stopped and pondered the conversation he’d had with Croker and Betang right before his one-on-one encounter with the wounded peerazu.

  “Or what?”

  “Or peerazu actually are capable of holding a grudge – like the Maykure claim.” Kennedy ran a hand over his short, tightly coiled hair while considering the possibilities. The more he thought about it, the more sense it made. “It could be that these two were hunting for the shuttle ever since we landed. And the alarms finally led them right to it.”

  “The Maykure said the peerazu hold grudges?” When Con nodded, she groaned, “If they’re right, that would mean these things are nearly sentient – which would really suck.” Deck stood up and stared solemnly down at the dead animal. “I guess I was wrong when I thought I’d found some good news here….”

  “It’s starting to look like there’s no good news anywhere on Tolu.” He clapped her on the arm in a gesture of solace. “Oh, except for one thing….”

  Her head jerked up. “What’s that?”

  “If you hadn’t brought the coffee unit from the shuttle over to the Aurora when you did – it looks like it would have been destroyed in the peerazu attack.”

  Naiche laughed. “I guess that is a little good news – knowing I prevented the apocalypse.” She shook her head. “How those people live without coffee….”

  “I know.” He stretched his leg out and jerked his head towards the Aurora. “Come on, we need to head back and get ready for that meeting with Lindstrom. Getting your plan approved might actually be some good news – for everyone.”

  Back aboard the Aurora, after taking just enough time to clean up, Kennedy and Decker presented themselves at Lindstrom’s office. He looked up at their entrance, saying, “I’m afraid our meeting will have to wait until tomorrow morning. We’ve been summoned to an urgent conference with the Maykure heads of state. In Maykah. I’d like you two to accompany me and Maddox.”

  “I take it that the Maykure are still not very happy with us, sir,” Con ventured.

  While rummaging through a box on his desk, Lindstrom said, “When we get home, I’ll nominate that for an award as ‘understatement of the century,’ Kennedy.” He handed them both Silver Tongues and they quickly attached the devices to their shoulders to facilitate communication with the Maykure. Lindstrom stood up and waved a hand at the door, indicating they should defy standard protocol and precede him out. “Shall we?” Before they could move, he frowned down at Kayatennae. “I don’t know that we should bring the corpsman along, Decker. They certainly won’t be expecting him.”

  Decker answered, “Understood, sir,” and ordered Kay to wait in her quarters. As usual, the dog was unhappy at the idea of being left behind and walked down the passageway at a snail’s pace, looking back several times, obviously hoping for a reprieve.

  They met up with Maddox outside of her office and headed over to Maykah. On the way, Decker pointed out the float-ways visible on the far-side of the cloaked dome and explained to Lindstrom and Maddox exactly what they were.

  When they breached the limits of the cloak, the enormous white dome of Maykah was at last visible. A city official ushered the humans through the narrow gate in the front of the dome. Once inside, they saw dozens of immense, cone-shaped buildings constructed of turquoise glass, with hundreds of transparent skyways stretched between them. Each level of the buildings sported a circular balcony abundant with greenery and flowers. Neatly landscaped parks filled the spaces between the cones while soft light sparkled down from the dome, dappling everything in sight.

  Con had pictured the cloaked dome as concealing a grim, unappealing city, so was wholly unprepared to encounter such an attractive place. He stood in the entrance, taking it all in and then looked over to find Decker in the same position – dumbstruck, with her mouth slightly parted. “It’s actually…pretty.”

  “Thanks made to you,” their Maykure escort murmured, somewhat stiffly.

  The meeting space in the city hall was equally attractive. A large bright room, it had a circle of low couches covered in a smooth green fabric. With some effort, Con lowered himself onto one and then watched Lindstrom struggle even more, at last awkwardly settling his thin six-foot-seven frame onto a settee at an angle.

  The three principle leaders of Maykah introduced themselves: Neak Balap, Sagari Feen, and lastly, the chief official, Kinlea Dunna, who bore the title “cassay”. To Kennedy they looked exactly like the Featay except that their shirts and sarongs were constructed of machine-made fabrics in various pastel colors. Like the Featay, they were most properly addressed by their formal name which was always given first.

  When all introductions were completed, Kinlea Cassay opened the meeting. “Again, we hold assembly, Maddox Captain, not a glad assembly, in measure great. Happenings fell in place with fears we held. Peerazu too much we mark close by Maykah, more unceasing than of seasons past. This we mark as your deed.”

  Maddox said, “We apologize deeply for what has happened. We wish it could have been different – but doing otherwise than we have, in each instance since we landed here, was out of our power.”

  “You hold
not the power to reject use of airships like your promise given?” Neak questioned.

  “Not if we wanted the people on that shuttle to survive,” Lindstrom answered. “And two of those people belonged to you – didn’t they?”

  “It is so. Bingual and Lootan found lure from your off-world ship. But had no ship there been, then no lure they find.”

  Kennedy said, “There was no way we could have predicted any danger from the shuttle’s presence on the ground. No way, we could have known two peerazu would attack—”

  Sagari broke in to say, “Not solely pain from peerazu is what we hold, this same hour. These two young who wandered, hold a wish fresh to live in open ways same like Featay. Tales of fantasy were shared to them from your young. These tales they spread on whole of Maykah.”

  “They’re not ‘fantasy tales’,” Deck objected. “Moira told them the truth.”

  “This one, Moira, should have shared to them truth in fullness of Featay. The number of Featay dying since live open same like they do.”

  “We saw no such deaths while we were there.”

  Neak asked, “What number of Featay did you mark living in open ways?”

  “I don’t know….” Decker tilted her head in contemplation, before venturing, “Maybe a few thousand based on the size of their village. I can’t be sure – I didn’t see everyone.”

  “Their numbers made twice ours, in seasons long past,” Kinlea said, “when they live safe same like Maykure. Did you mark Featay as matching that number?”

  “No, not even close,” Decker admitted. “But many died in a disease outbreak, years ago. You must know that.”

  “So many generations passing by and Featay numbers swell not. It is so, not by way of disease but death coming down from peerazu.”

  Lindstrom said, “Kinlea Cassay, what does all of this have to do with us? As I’ve explained, our use of the airship was a life-or-death situation.”

  “Living always for we is so, Lindstrom Commander. The Maykure hold fast to rules numerous and taxing, to live safe in Maykah. For young Maykure to endure holding our rules, is a burden solely seasons numerous must ease. Lootan and Bingual cry out now that Maykure rules hold value as nothing. Two will grow to twice that and twice that again, and so the crying out will spread. Unrest great will we mark this season from our young.”

  “What rules are you talking about?” Maddox asked.

  Kinlea explained how proscribed the Maykure daily life was – how time outside the dome was restricted to the terraces around the city and limited to a tenth of their day per Maykure. All Maykure couples were allowed no more than two offspring since there was no room for the Maykure population to increase. There were many other social strictures meant to ease life in close quarters.

  When the cassay was finished with the sobering list, Kinlea said, “You mark this same hour, why wish we that you are gone from Tolu? I hope to mark your departing time as soon.”

  Maddox answered, “Our ship is nearly restored, so we will try to leave tomorrow or the day after, at the latest.”

  “That might be a slight overstatement,” Lindstrom interjected. “Avery wants to execute a few test flights before he’s willing to declare the Aurora space-worthy again.” He looked at the Maykure officials. “We will leave as soon as it is possible and, in the meantime, we will do our best to create no more hardships for your people. Anything more than that, we cannot promise.” It was clear that the Maykure were not happy with that assurance but at least they seemed accepting.

  Knowing about her aspirations to visit the Intabet, Con wasn’t surprised that Decker extended the conference by asking what the Maykure knew about them. However, it was evident that Lindstrom and Maddox were puzzled by her questions. Kennedy offered up a silent plea for patience to his CO. Lindstrom rolled his eyes and shook his head but remained silent while the officials relayed what knowledge they possessed about the Intabet and their mountain home, Intabah.

  On the way back to the ship, Con and Naiche trailed well behind Lindstrom and Maddox. The Aurora captain was inquiring into the delay in heading for Jileesa and Lindstrom was giving such a technical explanation of the concept of hull integrity that he couldn’t have been more confusing to her if he’d tried.

  Deck said to Con, “So – turns out they’re not quite the villains I was expecting them to be. The Maykure, I mean.”

  “Nope, they’re not.” Kennedy stared up at the dusky sky where stars were starting to appear. “Like the Featay, it seems like they’re doing the best they can with the shitty hand they were dealt.”

  “I guess I’m not going to find a villain on Tolu any easier than I did some good news.” She kicked at the ground, clearly depressed at the notion. “This is just an ill-fated world where some random gamma ray fucked everything up for everybody.”

  “Maybe we need to stop trying to find a villain and concentrate on finding a solution for these people.”

  Deck stopped and pointed a decisive finger at him. “That’s exactly why I’ve been working on that plan to visit the Intabet. Knowing how to handle the peerazu will help the Maykure just as much as the Featay.” She stared off towards where the float-ways were located. “I know the whole idea is risky. Like Ekno said, it’s kind of crazy to venture all the way to the mountains not knowing what’s waiting there for us, but—”

  “—but risky and crazy is our specialty,” Con interrupted, with a laugh. “We just have to find a way to pull this off in the time before Avery green-lights the Aurora.”

  “We should be able to – with a little luck.”

  “That’s too bad.” Con bumped her shoulder in a gesture of comradery, retorting, “Since luck has not been our specialty lately….”

  Aboard the Aurora, Con said good-night to Decker at her door and headed wearily for his own quarters and a late dinner with Aqila. Before he reached them, his hand-held buzzed with the sound of an urgent message. He swiftly read it and immediately jogged back to Decker’s quarters. When she opened the door, he announced without preamble, “I just got an IM from Lindstrom – he wants to see us in his office. Now.”

  “I know – I got the same message. I thought he postponed our meeting.”

  “I’m guessing this about something else, entirely.”

  “Like what?”

  “No clue – let’s go find out.”

  As soon as they got to Lindstrom’s office, the commander indicated they should have a seat and wait, as others were coming to the meeting. A knock at the door prompted Lindstrom to issue an invitation to enter; Aqila did so, followed by Omar Uddin. Con smiled at his wife and pulled over a chair for her, while wondering what the hell was going on.

  Once they were all seated, Lindstrom said, “Ten minutes ago, I received a high-priority, encoded message from Captain Ricci via the new messaging system Ramsey developed.” Kennedy froze, wondering if he should point out to his CO that such message contents were generally limited to lieutenant commanders and above; therefore, technically Decker didn’t belong at this meeting. Before he could decide on a course of action, Lindstrom continued, “Lieutenant Decker, you are present because I need your assistance in translating the message.”

  Deck, who had been shifting about in her chair, stilled. “You need my help? Is the message in Chiricahua?” she laughed.

  Deadly serious, Lindstrom answered, “I believe it is.” He swiped a hand across the surface of his hand-held and the room filled with the sound of words that Con vaguely recognized as Chiricahua. He watched in concern as Naiche’s face quickly morphed from amusement into alarm.

  In a voice stripped of all emotion, she said, “The captain’s orders are for Commander Lindstrom to keep everyone here on Tolu, until further notice. If we don’t hear from him within the next three days, then….” She cleared her throat and finished, “…then we are to proceed directly to Uniterrae in the Aurora.”

  While studying Deck for signs of a looming outburst of emotion, Con asked “Did the captain say why?”

/>   “That was the entire message.”

  Lindstrom quickly regained control of the meeting. He turned to Naiche. “Thank you, Lieutenant Decker. I’ll send an acknowledgment that the message was received, if you would be so good as to supply the wording, since I believe it would be safest to continue in the captain’s chosen mode of communication.” He extended his hand-held computer to her and Deck swiftly recorded the short message. He sent it off and steepled his hands in front of him. “In the morning, I’ll communicate to the rest of our crew that we’re staying here on Tolu until further notice. I’ll tell Avery that he is not to declare the Aurora space-worthy until I give him the go-ahead. I’ll also field all of the inevitable questions from Maddox and her crew.”

  In that same slow, stilted tone she’d used before, Deck said, “The Lovelace is in trouble. And they don’t have either of their Tactical leads with them.” She was shaking her head. “Their lives must be in danger – and the captain doesn’t want to put any more lives at risk.” She was reflexively stroking Kay’s head since he’d responded immediately to her obvious distress. “There’s no other reason he’d order us to stay away from Jileesa.”

  Lindstrom firmly advised, “We do not know any of that for certain, Lieutenant.”

  She stared at the first officer, challenge in her deep brown eyes. “Don’t we, sir?”

  “We have our orders – we will follow them.”

  Deck whispered, “Understood.” She got to her feet, slowly. “May I be dismissed, Commander?”

  “You may.” They all silently watched her leave the room. Lindstrom sighed before saying, “Are there are any other questions?” When they all murmured respectful negatives, Lindstrom said, “Then you’re all dismissed, too. Kennedy, I’m sure you want to go after Decker.”