The Mystery of Ireta

by Anne McCaffrey

  “The old core was definitely of Thek manufacture,” he finally admitted. “And unquestionably it has generated Thek interest. But I can’t see why it or this planet should evoke such an unprecedented response.”

  “No more than can I,” Sassinak admitted, picking up her wand and playing it through her fingers. “I scanned your initial reports again . . .” She shrugged. “Ireta is rich in transuranics, some of the exotic earths and metals, but . . . Or perhaps, the Thek must establish to their own satisfaction why this planet is so miscataloged. And I confess, I’m probably as curious as they are to know how such a break occurred. None of us wishes to cast aspersions on the infallibility of the Thek. No one likes his anchors to come adrift.” She smiled at Kai as if she fully appreciated and shared his ambivalence.

  “When our screen first showed the ghost cores, they went as far as the area of basement rock. No farther,” Kai said tentatively.

  “Which would suggest that the cores were planted—” Anstel paused, stunned by the immensity of the elapsed time.

  “Several million years ago,” Kai finished for him, “considering the geological activity of this planet.”

  “And the Thek have rendered all of the old cores, completely denying us the chance to date the artifacts,” Anstel said, his eyes flashing with indignation. Then he fixed Kai with a hopeful stare. “You didn’t by any chance? . . .”

  “No, we didn’t have any dating equipment, since our mission was supposed to be the first.”

  “Eons ago the Thek cored this planet?” Sassinak asked.

  “If not the Thek then some other—”

  “Not the Others again!” Sassinak humorously negated that possibility. “I don’t wish to lose god and nemesis in the same day.”

  “Couldn’t have been the Others,” Kai said, shaking his head vigorously. “That old core was of Thek manufacture. Undeniably. We’re using recent cores of the exact same design. Until today I never appreciated just how good the design was. The screen blips were faint, but they were there!”

  “Are we not forgetting that planets visited by the Others are invariably lifeless, reduced to barren rock? Stripped. Lifeless!” Anstel spoke with the distaste of one who values life in all its forms.

  “Then why have we been visited by this Thek delegation?” Sassinak asked.

  “Someone forgot that this planet had been explored and classified,” Fordeliton suggested, “and they intend to repair that oversight. Your friend Tor did say ’verifying’ in its distinctive fashion.”

  “How will they verify that,” Anstel asked, “when Thek have disposed of the evidence of the old cores?”

  “Perhaps,” and there was a wicked gleam in Sassinak’s sparkling eyes, “they had to digest them to find out?” She leaned forward and tapped instructions into her console. Immediately the screens came to life: the Great-Big Bears had not moved, nor had the Medium-Size ones. The three small ones had disappeared. The fourth screen showed the site on which the Thek had been attacked by the fringes. It was unoccupied. Just then a buzzer alerted Commander Sassinak. “Yes? Oh, really?” She made another adjustment, and Kai half rose from his seat in astonishment. A myriad of Thek forms inhabited the plain below the campsite.

  “Muhlah! Every fringe on Ireta will be homing in on us.”

  “I doubt it. Nor would they pose you a problem if they did. Between Thek and the globe, you couldn’t be better protected.”

  “But what are they doing there? I’m here. Tor knows that. Muhlah!” Kai’s startled reaction was shared by everyone in the room. For the Thek were spinning off in all directions, nearly thirty small Thek pyramids were hurtling skyward and disappearing with astounding speed. “Now what?”

  “Now what, indeed?” Sassinak’s expression sparkled with amusement and speculation.

  17

  SASSINAK adjourned the discussion to the wardroom where off-duty officers were enjoying a noon meal. When Sassinak apologized that the lunch was made of processed foods, Kai, mindful of his praise for the previous night’s dinner, forbore to mention that he was better suited to it. But after his first mouthful of the protein, he wondered if his eating preferences had been undermined by circumstance. While the cruiser’s mess was appetizing and well served, Kai for the first time recognized the faint aftertaste that Varian had always complained of.

  “I suppose you were too busy with the geological aspects of the mission,” Anstel was saying, his gaunt face animated as he addressed Kai across the table, “to have much time for the dinosaurs?”

  “Unfortunately, I was,” Kai said as he belatedly caught the end of Anstel’s comments and realized that some response was due. “We did have an orphan hyracotherium for a pet—” Kai broke off, then finished as if his pause had been to swallow, “but that was before we went cryo.”

  “A hyracotherium?” Anstel’s eyes bulged with excitement. “Really? You’re certain? Why, that creature evolved into the equine species on Old Terra. Did you know that?”

  Feeling unequal to a lecture on the matter, Kai tried a diversion. “We also have furred avian creatures. . . .”

  “Furred?” Anstel was entranced.

  “Actually,” Fordeliton began with so bland an expression that those who knew his ways become alert, “Varian, whom you must concede is a reliable source, said that most of the dinosaurs she observed suffered from overweight, bad nutrition, parasites of remarkable tenacity and variety, and were not affectionate by nature.”

  “One does not expect dinosaurs to be lovable,” Anstel said with quiet dignity. “They fascinate by their size and majesty. In their diverse species, they dominated the Mesozoic era of Old Terra for several million years before a shift in the magnetic fields of the planet traumatically changed their environment.”

  “Nonsense! A cosmic cloud obscuring the sun caused the climatic change,” Pendelman corrected firmly.

  “My dear Pendelman, there is absolutely no proof of that theory whatsoever—”

  “Oh, indeed there is, Anstel. Indeed there is! Bothemann of the New Smithsonian of Tyrconia has documentation, both—”

  “Bothemann’s hypothesis is shaky at the very best since the geological area in Old Terran Italia that allegedly supported the contention, was engulfed in the mid-European plate shift in the early twenty-first century—”

  “Ah, but records from the Central Repository, made by that Californian group, are—”

  “As suspect as many other theories from that neck of the woods—”

  “Gentlemen, how or why Old Terran dinosaurs met their end is not pertinent,” Sassinak declared. “What is germane is that dinosaurlike creatures are alive and in relatively good health on Ireta. Enjoy that reality for however long you are able to indulge your fascination. Save the great debates for the long watches of the night!”

  A yeoman caught her attention. She beckoned him over and listened to his message. Turning to smile at Kai, she murmured a quick answer. The yeoman speedily retraced his steps.

  “Varian has arrived. She’ll join us here.”

  “Would she remember where you found the hyracotherium, Kai?” Anstel asked.

  “Yes, but I must remind you that that would have been forty-three years ago.”

  “Surely, it was not an isolated example of the species?” Clearly Anstel would not rest until he had seen one.

  “She’s concentrating on a study of the golden fliers who could well be an emerging species,” Kai said, to give Varian room to maneuver if she didn’t wish to get involved with Anstel.

  “I must look up my reference disks. Hyracotheriums I recall in perfect clarity, but I’m not certain about . . .”

  “Trizein has identified the golden fliers as the pteranodon.”

  “Pteranodon!” Once again Anstel’s eyes widened in shock.

  “Yes, my dear fellow, exactly like pteranodons,” Pendelman said, delighted to contribute to Anstel’s confusion. “I saw a whole flock of them rise from the cliffs and soar. Quite a feat, I assure you, on a storm-
tossed planet like Ireta.”

  At that point the yeoman returned with Varian who greeted Kai with undisguised relief.

  “Sorry it took me so long to get here,” she said to Sassinak. “I see the Thek found you?”

  “It was Kai they wished to find and addressed in their inimitably succinct fashion.”

  “So, what has happened? Or . . .” Varian glanced around her, mindful of discretion. Only a few officers remained, most chatting quietly at a wall table on the far side of the mess hall.

  A gesture of Sassinak’s hand gave Varian immediate reassurance, and the commander’s glance gave Kai the office to explain.

  “Tor has returned.”

  “With company to ward off our great big beasties?”

  Kai grinned. “Tor has returned. It and the other Thek are in the process of verifying.”

  “Verifying what?”

  “They did not specify.” Sassinak’s dry tone put Kai and Varian strongly in mind of Lunzie.

  “Oh.”

  “They dismissed us, in a word,” Sassinak went on, “and ‘will contact.’ ”

  “They do have a way with them, don’t they?” Varian turned to Kai. “Not one of us thought to dismantle that old distress beacon Portegin rigged. Kenley has it down now. I’d rather not subject the giffs to further invasions, especially ones conducted by the Thek. I didn’t know there were that many of the critters. And thanks be to Krims, they didn’t attempt to land on my cliff, considering what they’ve done to Aygar’s landing grid.” Varian giggled then.

  “It’s entirely possible,” Fordeliton said into the thoughtful pause that followed, “that the Thek have made a mistake.”

  “Thek? Making mistakes? How refreshing!”

  Kai felt compelled to set the problem out properly in simple justice to the Thek, who were so very seldom mistaken in their dealings with other planets and sentient species. “Now, Varian, that old core is of Thek design. It’s got them in a scramble. You know how Thek transmit knowledge, from generation to generation—”

  “And there’s been a generation gap?” Varian asked, her voice bubbling with a laughter shared by the others at the table.

  “Evidently. Though the Thek way is supposed to prevent the total loss of knowledge in any line.”

  “Well, Ireta would be the right place for that, wouldn’t it?” Varian quipped, then became thoughtful. “Though, I can’t see why that would call for the presence of so many heavy-duty Thek. I mean, Ireta is extremely rich in the transuranics but . . . Or have they been monitoring planet piracy, too?”

  Sassinak cleared her throat. “Not that we know of.”

  “Then why are the big Thek squatting about the transport like they mean business?”

  “The biggest Thek landed beyond the transport because of the grid.”

  “Grid didn’t do much for ’em , did it?” Varian said with another malicious grin. “Now what?”

  “My precise words,” Sassinak said. She gave a deep sigh. “However, since the Thek are here and the Fleet enjoins its officers to cooperate with those entities, I suppose we must be dismissed until such time as we are recalled to notice. How many years did it take them to answer your distress call, Kai?”

  “Forty-three.”

  “But only three days to answer your query about Tor’s whereabouts,” Sassinak added. “A noticeable improvement.”

  “Look what it brought us, though,” Ford said, waving his hand aft toward the Great-Big Bears.

  “Commander, I am not on the duty roster and I did request permission to join a shore-leave party,” Anstel began, rising from his chair and putting it back under the tale in the habit of a person inherently tidy. When Sassinak inclined her head, granting permission, he executed a slight bow in Varian’s direction. “Kai mentioned that you had found a hyracotherium before you went cryo. Is there any chance that your travels today will take you near their habitat? I would dearly like to observe those creatures alive. We dinosaur buffs, I’ve discovered, all have a favorite species. The equine types are mine.”

  “I don’t see why not,” Varian said with a wide, encouraging smile. She rose. “Kenley and I got some superb footage of the giffs fishing. The aquatic life performed some acrobatics—scared Kenley out of his wits when some fringes nearly reached us.” She paused. “The aquatic fringes are a great deal smaller than the land ones. I should get some more records of them, I suppose.”

  “I’d consider it a privilege to help you in any research, Governor.”

  Varian smiled up at him, for the man was considerably taller. “Well, then, time’s a’wasting. And Ireta’s giving us a relatively squall-free day. Grab your gear, and I’ll meet you at my sled.” She turned to Kai. “Shall I drop you off back at the camp or are you staying on here, in case”—her grin became mischievous—“the Thek come to a quick decision?”

  Kai rose. “No, I’d better get back.” He turned to Sassinak to thank her.

  “If there’s no objection, Commander, I’ll just retrieve the men I left guarding the camp. Quicker in the pinnace, anyway.” Fordeliton got to his feet.

  “And I’ll follow protocol and inform Sector Headquarters of the Thek arrival,” Sassinak said.

  They left the mess hall, separating in the corridor. Fordeliton walked with Kai and Varian to the access air lock. Fordeliton peered with exaggerated caution toward the transport and the triangular tops visible above the looming carcass.

  “Still there?” Varian asked.

  “In residence!”

  “They’re impressive, aren’t they? Oh-ho, and I wonder what he thinks about them?” Varian pointed.

  The two men followed her finger and watched as a sled approached the Medium-Size Thek.

  “That would be one of the Iretans, I think,” Fordeliton said. “We gave them a sled with that registration.”

  “Aygar,” Varian said. “What have they been doing, d’you know?”

  “I haven’t had time to catch up on their activities, so much has been going on in your camps. I believe they have already smashed one sled. Takes a while to get used to modern conveniences.”

  However, Aygar landed his sled deftly, emerged, and walked around the Thek. It made rather an interesting contrast, Varian thought, a fine specimen of a man, wearing little in the way of modern clothes or weapons, striding arrogantly about one of the oldest living creatures in the galaxy: each entity very certain of its position in that galaxy, even if Aygar was willing to limit himself to one planet. Having finished his circuit, Aygar noticed the observers and paced stolidly toward them.

  “What are those things?”

  “Thek,” Varian replied, grinning.

  “What are they doing here?”

  “Verifying.”

  Aygar swiveled his upper body to look at the silent and rigid Thek. “Verifying what?”

  “They didn’t say.”

  “Do they always mess up landing grids like that? Must make them unpopular visitors.”

  “When you get that big, no one has the nerve to complain.”

  “That commander woman said they’re allies?” When Varian nodded, he went on. “Allies of whom? Your lot,” and his gesture included the cruiser, “or them?” And he indicated the transport.

  “Who are you allied with?” Fordeliton asked in a suspiciously bland tone. “Them or us?”

  Aygar grinned back, the first time Varian had seen genuine amusement on the young Iretan’s face. “You’ll know when I have decided. If I do.”

  With that he swung about on one heel and marched back to his sled, moving with an unexpectedly graceful economy of motion. In a single fluid movement, he climbed into the sled, closed its canopy, and took off.

  “Varian?” Anstel’s call was breathless. “Oh, I was afraid that you’d taken off. I just needed a few things.”

  Varian choked on her laughter. Anstel had festooned himself with a variety of equipment, some of which she could not identify.”

  “Well, I’m ready when you are,” Varian
said. “Keep me informed, will you, Ford? Kai? It’s as well to let the giffs settle down to normal this afternoon so, Anstel, this quest of yours is most welcome. Shall we go?”

  18

  THE two men left at the campsite were still goggle-eyed about the appearance of so many Thek.

  “More than I’ve ever seen, thassa fact,” said the older steward, “and I been around this galaxy, so I have. Seen a lot of them, you know, only sort of one here and then another there, but so many at once?” He scrubbed at his stubbly pate, dragging his hand down his face, and then mimed the wiping off of an expression. “Quite a sight, really! Something to swap for drinks.”

  “Did any address you?”

  The steward’s mouth dropped in amazement. “Address me?” he cocked his thumb and jabbed it against his chest. “Me? I told ’em to locate the cruiser,” and he paused to wink broadly, “ ’cause I know they can find anything anywhere.”

  Kai and Fordeliton exchanged amused glances.

  “They found you.” He exhaled a hissing breath. “Never seen anything like it, though, all those Thek,” and he planed their angle of arrival with his left hand, “just flowing in—if silicon triangles can flow—just sort of gliding in and never losing their formation, just all of a sudden down on the ground.”

  “Thek can be impressive,” Fordeliton agreed urbanely and then gestured for the men to board the pinnace.

  “Governor, we left some dinner on the hob like. Had some time to kill,” the older steward said, and the younger one began to grin, well pleased with himself. “I like messing with real foodstuffs. Only this time, someone else gets the KP.”

  Kai nodded, grinning. “That’s fair enough. Believe me, your efforts will be much appreciated by everyone.”

  “Least we could do, you guys having had such a rough time and all.”

  As the pinnace took off with a high-speed whush, the globe’s glow caught his eye, brightening momentarily before regaining its regular coloration. Then the silence in the amphitheater was broken only by the faint hiss of the forcescreen as it disintegrated insects, a comforting noise. Kai took in a deep breath, inordinately relieved to be alone, to have a few hours before the others trooped back in. He strolled over to the mess hall, sniffing at the odor of simmering stew.