Conquerors' Heritage

by Timothy Zahn

  But then, she wasn't planning on opening his door. In fact, she was hoping very much not to.

  "Good," Thrr-gilag said again, wiggling his fingers as he checked the feel of his gloves and peering in through the opening at Prr't-casst-a'sfsss. "If you'll hold that door open for me, Protector? Excellent. You ready, Klnn-dawan-a?"

  "I'm ready," Klnn-dawan-a told him. In her left hand she held the box for him, its open lid strategically positioned where it would block the protector's view of Prr't-zevisti's niche. In her right hand, also hidden from the protector beneath the box, she held the spoon where Thrr-gilag could reach it.

  "Prr't-casst-a?"

  "I'm ready," the Elder said, hovering half in and half out of the shrine in front of Klnn-dawan-a. Ostensibly watching Thrr-gilag and the experiment, she was positioned where her transparent form would do what little it could to help conceal what was about to happen.

  "All right, then," Thrr-gilag said. "Here we go." Getting a good grip on the spoon, he pulled it away from Klnn-dawan-a.

  And as he did so, the spoon's end cap came loose in her grasp. Leaving her holding the end of the needle-tipped tissue sampler that had been hidden inside the spoon's thick handle.

  "Here we go," Thrr-gilag said again, adjusting his grip on the spoon so that his hand was covering the missing end cap as he scooped up some of the red gel. "Okay, Prr't-casst-a. Tell me how this feels."

  He began smoothing the gel onto Prr't-casst-a'sfsss organ, the two of them keeping up a running barrage of questions and comments as he worked. But Klnn-dawan-a didn't really notice. Carefully, keeping it beneath the box, she turned the sampler around in her hand and eased the slender needle through the mesh into Prr't-zevisti's niche. Working by touch, she located thefsss organ. Then, bracing herself, she pressed the needle firmly against the hardened outer layer and began to push.

  For a beat it didn't work. Then, abruptly, the outer layer yielded and the needle slid into the softer part inside. Klnn-dawan-a winced in sympathetic pain-surely this would have been a stab of agony to an Elder anchored here. But in this case, of course, Prr't-zevisti wasn't in any position to feel anything. Touching the button on the end of the sampler, she got it started.

  It seemed to take forever before the gentle vibration stopped. If she and Thrr-gilag had done their calculations correctly, the sampler tube should now contain the same volume offsss cells as a standardly cutting. Whether it would work the same way, though, was something they wouldn't know until they got the sampler to Thrr-mezaz on Dorcas. If then.

  Second stage: passed. Now came possibly the most delicate part of all. Easing the sampler back toward her until thefsss was pressed up against the ceramic mesh, Klnn-dawan-a braced a corner of the box against the door and began a steady pull. If the needle was so tightly embedded that its removal threw her back against the guardrail, the protectors couldn't help but notice. Worse, if the pressure snapped the catch and the door swung open with thefsss still impaled on the needle...

  And then, so suddenly that she was almost caught unprepared, the needle was free. Catching her balance, she quickly slid the sampler back into position beneath the box. A handful of Elders had drifted in to watch the experiment on Prr't-casst-a'sfsss; she could only hope that none of them had happened to notice her part of it. If they had-

  Abruptly, an Elder appeared in front of Thrr-gilag. "Are you Thrr-gilag; Kee'rr?" she demanded.

  Out of the corner of her eye Klnn-dawan-a saw Thrr-gilag's tail twitch violently. "Yes," he said.

  "Message for you," the Elder said, her voice curt. "Wait here."

  She vanished. Thrr-gilag looked at Klnn-dawan-a, his tail under control, his face a little pinched. "That's all right," she told him, nodding once. "You were about finished with this test anyway, weren't you?"

  His expression relaxed a fraction. "Yes," he agreed. He offered her the spoon under the box again, turning it around as he did so. Deftly, Klnn-dawan-a inserted the tip of the sampler into the casing and pushed the device firmly back into its hiding place. Taking the reassembled spoon from Thrr-gilag, she returned it to its compartment in the box and closed the lid.

  And then the Elder was back. "You're ordered to return at once to Unity City," she told Thrr-gilag. "By order of the Overclan Prime. End of message."

  Klnn-dawan-a looked at Thrr-gilag, caught his slight frown. "Message understood," he told the Elder. "Thank you."

  The Elder vanished. "By order of the Overclan Prime?" the protector echoed. "I thought you said this was a small experiment."

  "It is," Thrr-gilag said. "But there are other projects I'm also involved in."

  The protector frowned at him; and then, suddenly, he got it. "Thrr-gilag; Kee'rr," he said. "Sure. You were the speaker for that searcher group on Base World Twelve. The ones with the alien prisoner."

  "That's right," Thrr-gilag said. "Now, if you'll set us back down, please, I have to get a flight for Oaccanv."

  For a long beat the protector gazed hard at Thrr-gilag's face, and for that same long beat Klnn-dawan-a was sure the scheme had collapsed. A searcher who specialized in alien studies would hardly be going around Dharanv putting basting sauce onfsss organs...

  But to her relief the protector merely shrugged. "Sure," he said, swinging the mesh door down over Prr't-casst-a's niche and sealing it again. He looked over the guardrail and gestured to his partner, and the platform started down.

  A hunbeat later they were walking down the flagstone path toward the predator-fence gate. "Well?" Prr't-casst-a muttered, hovering beside Klnn-dawan-a.

  Klnn-dawan-a glanced around. There were no other Elders in sight. "We're all set," she said. "You can set up your secure pathway and tell Thrr-mezaz we've got it."

  "I will." Prrt'-casst-a paused. "Thrr-gilag, what is this summons by the Overclan Prime?"

  "I wouldn't worry about that," Thrr-gilag assured her with a confidence Klnn-dawan-a could tell he wasn't feeling. "I'm sure it doesn't have anything to do with this. I'll get that straightened out, then we'll try to find a way to get our little prize out to Thrr-mezaz."

  "In the meantime, you need to keep up your pressure on the Dhaa'rr and Prr leaders to postpone or cancel the ritual of fire," Klnn-dawan-a added. "There's no way we can guarantee that what we've got will work the same way as a proper cutting."

  "I'll try," Prr't-casst-a said, her voice trembling. "Klnn-dawan-a; Thrr-gilag... I don't know what to say. How to thank you..."

  "You can start by getting that message to my brother," Thrr-gilag said, gently cutting her off. "And after that perhaps you'll get hold of a travel communicator for me. I need to catch the next flight out to Oaccanv and Unity City from this part of Dharanv."

  "Right," Prr't-casst-a said, pulling herself back from the edge of maudlin sentiment with obvious effort. "Right away."

  She vanished. "So," Thrr-gilag said, looking at Klnn-dawan-a. "Did you have any problems?"

  "Not really," Klnn-dawan-a said, flicking her tongue in a negative. "It went more smoothly than I expected."

  Thrr-gilag grunted. "I just hope it works," he said darkly. "I can't help thinking that if it was really this easy, they ought to be taking cuttings this way all the time."

  Klnn-dawan-a shrugged. "Never underestimate the power of tradition," she reminded him. "Especially with Elders. Cuttings taken with knives work. That's how it's done; that's how it's always been done. That's good enough for most of them."

  "You're probably right. If it works, maybe we'll write up a procedure paper on it sometime."

  "Sure," Klnn-dawan-a said dryly. "What do you suppose the Overclan Prime wants?"

  "Probably something to do with our mission to the Mrachanis," he said. "Maybe they're moving the departure up a few tentharcs or something."

  They had passed the gate and were heading for the railcar stop when Prr't-casst-a reappeared. "I have the pathway to Thrr-mezaz," she said, her voice tight. "I sent the message, but he wants to speak to you."

  "Sure," Thrr-gilag said, throwing a f
rown at Klnn-dawan-a. "Hello, my brother."

  Prr't-casst-a vanished. "You think there's trouble?" Klnn-dawan-a asked hesitantly.

  "Sounds like it," Thrr-gilag said. His expression was grim, his tail suddenly spinning faster. "I wonder if the Humans are up to something."

  Prr't-casst-a returned. " 'Father's been trying to get hold of you for nearly two tentharcs, Thrr-gilag,' " she said without preamble. " 'You need to head back to Oaccanv immediately.' "

  Thrr-gilag's hand groped for Klnn-dawan-a's, gripped it hard. "Is it about mother?" he asked.

  The delay this time seemed to drag on forever. Klnn-dawan-a held tightly to Thrr-gilag's hand, her own tail spinning with tension. With the bulk of their attention focused first on the threat to their bond-engagement and then on this thing with Prr't-zevisti'sfsss, she hadn't had a chance to get more than a rough idea of the problem with Thrr-gilag's mother. But she knew it involved Thrr-pifix-a'sfsss and her reluctance to accept Eldership....

  Prr't-casst-a returned. " 'He wouldn't say,' " she quoted Thrr-mezaz. " 'In fact, he really didn't tell me anything at all except that he needed to see one of us as quickly as possible. He was worried, though. Really worried. I could tell that much.' "

  "He probably didn't trust the pathway he was on," Thrr-gilag said. "All right, look, I've just been summoned back to Unity City anyway. I'll try to find a way to get over to him."

  Prr't-casst-a vanished, returned a hunbeat later. " 'All right. You want me to call him and let him know?' "

  "Yes, you'd better," Thrr-gilag nodded. "You can get a much more secure pathway than I can. No telling what kind of leakage we'd get if I tried calling him from here."

  Klnn-dawan-a looked at Prr't-casst-a, wondering if she would take that as an implied insult to the reliability of Prr Elders. But if she was offended, she didn't show it before vanishing again. Maybe she was too preoccupied with her own troubles to notice. Or maybe she'd done her fair share of Elder gossiping and knew that Thrr-gilag was right.

  Prr't-casst-a returned. " 'All right. Any idea how you're going to deliver your package to me?' "

  "Not yet," Thrr-gilag said.

  "Actually, I have an idea," Klnn-dawan-a spoke up. "We'll discuss it and get word back to you."

  Prr't-casst-a looked a bit confused. "Do I repeat all of that?"

  "Yes," Thrr-gilag told her. "Just make it clear along the pathway that Klnn-dawan-a said the second part."

  "All right."

  She vanished. "What idea is this?" Thrr-gilag asked Klnn-dawan-a.

  "That I go out to Dorcas and deliver it to him," Klnn-dawan-a said. "With the leaders still making up their minds about our bond-engagement, I haven't got much else to do right now anyway."

  "So naturally you want to spend this free time in a war zone?"

  "Don't be sarcastic, dear," she chided. "And don't argue, either. You know as well as I do it's the only way. You have to get back to Oaccanv and get ready for your mission. And there's no one else we can trust with this."

  Thrr-gilag made a face at her, but in his eyes she could see he knew she was right. That was one of the things she liked most about him: the fact that he judged other people's ideas against exactly the same standards and criteria as he did his own. "Itis a war zone, though," he reminded her. "How would you get them to let you in?"

  "There are a couple of ways," she said. "Best chance would be-"

  She broke off as Prr't-casst-a reappeared. " 'The sooner the better. Things are beginning to happen here. I have to go now, my brother. Keep yourself safe, and I'll speak with you again soon.' "

  "Right," Thrr-gilag murmured. "Farewell, my brother." He took a deep breath, nodded to Prr't-casst-a. "Deliver that message, then release the pathway. Then get me that travel communicator."

  "I will," Prr't-casst-a said, and disappeared.

  Klnn-dawan-a looked at Thrr-gilag. "What's the matter?" she asked him.

  "I don't know," he said slowly, his face troubled. "Just the way he said that, about things beginning to happen there. It didn't sound good."

  "You want to get the pathway back and ask him?"

  Thrr-gilag's tongue flicked in a negative. "No. If he could talk about it, he would have." He waved a hand, as if trying to brush the thoughts and worries away. "Never mind that. He's a warrior; he knows what he's doing. You were telling me how you were going to get to Dorcas."

  "I was saying the best way might be for me to collect some personal messages or items for Thrr-mezaz's second commander, Klnn-vavgi. He's a distant cousin of mine, remember."

  "I didn't think you knew him very well."

  "I don't," Klnn-dawan-a said. "But that doesn't matter. Close family or distant cousin are all the same to the Dhaa'rr. And personal messages are traditionally to be delivered by hand."

  "Even in a war zone?"

  "Even in a war zone. So. I can get regular passage from here to the Dhaa'rr routing center on Shamanv, and from there I should be able to get a ride on a supply ship headed out to Dorcas."

  Thrr-gilag pondered that. "That should get you to orbit, anyway. But what if they won't let you land?"

  "I'll just have to count on Thrr-mezaz to get me past that one."

  They'd reached the railcar stop. "I don't like it," Thrr-gilag said, opening the door of the first car in line on the siding and ushering her inside. "But right now I can't see any better way to do it. All right. As soon as Prr't-casst-a finds us a travel communicator, we'll check on flights to Shamanv."

  "Good," Klnn-dawan-a said as he sat down beside her and keyed in his value number and their destination. The car beeped, and they were off.

  It was a good idea, she knew, her going off to Dorcas like this. The best delivery plan either of them had. Probably the best plan either of them were going to have.

  But that didn't mean she had to like it. She'd faced the crossbows of a Chig war party and had had enough good luck to escape without being raised prematurely to Eldership. Whether that good luck would hold her against the far deadlier weapons of Human-Conqueror warriors wasn't a question she particularly wanted to test.

  "You don't have to do this," Thrr-gilag said quietly from beside her. "We can find some other way."

  "No," Klnn-dawan-a said, taking his hand again. "We all have responsibilities in life. Prr't-zevisti is a Dhaa'rr, and so am I. This is something I have to do."

  Gently, he leaned over and touched her face with his tongue. "That's one of the things I really love about you, Klnn-dawan-a," he murmured. "That you're always willing to do what needs to be done."

  She squeezed his hand hard. "Just keep telling me that."

  20

  "TheImperative picked it up about ten hunbeats ago," Klnn-vavgi said, pointing to the hazy image on the monitor. "It didn't show up on our own monitors until just a couple of hunbeats ago."

  Thrr-mezaz frowned at the image. A small Human-Conqueror aircraft, framed against the mountains it was coming in from. "Must be going pretty slow."

  "Slow and high both," Klnn-vavgi said. "Not exactly your optimum profile for sneaking in on someone."

  "Rather implies they want us to see them."

  "That would be my guess, too," Klnn-vavgi nodded. "Question is, are they serious or just a distraction?"

  "That's the question, all right," Thrr-mezaz agreed, throwing a quick look around the room at the other monitors. A half-dozen Zhirrzh aircraft were in the air ready to intercept, all ground defenses were activated and standing ready, all warriors were on full alert.

  And across the landing field in their converted storehouse, oblivious to all the activity going on around them, the two Mrachanis were resting quietly....

  "It's the Mrachanis," Thrr-mezaz said. "They saw the spacecraft land, and this is their response."

  "Pretty fast reaction," Klnn-vavgi grunted. "You could be right, though. But it brings us right back to question one: what are they up to?"

  Thrr-mezaz gazed at the image on the monitor, trying to put himself in the Human-Conquerors' comman
der's place. All right. He knew a Mrachani spacecraft had landed on Dorcas; one of his aircraft had observed the aliens' landing from a respectful distance. He'd had nearly five tentharcs now to mull over that fact, and to come up with this response. Whatever it was.

  And the tone of the response might well indicate whether he considered the Mrachanis to be captive allies to be rescued or dangerous enemies to be destroyed.

  Thrr-mezaz stepped over to the Stingbird monitor. "How many Stingbirds do we have in the air?" he asked.