This was exactly what I had been wanting to hear. But something had changed. It wasn’t that I thought Zenzie would be more useful now she was a Chyzar. It was the pleading look she had thrown me in that hospital cot, surrounded by all those fellow-countrymen of hers. She had been scared, and I found that I couldn’t leave her to a fate she clearly didn’t want.
I pursed my lips. “You surprise me.” I was looking over at Sammy as I spoke, wondering if he had spoken to the friend he had on Tyzar yet.
Sammy grimaced, but tilted his head slightly in Mel’s direction. I looked at her. Mel stepped forwards. Rules and regulations. Of course. Her forte.
“Codex 452 of the Tyzar Authority Civil Legislation states that Savior Protocols, once instigated, cannot be withdrawn. Any attempt to so do would be in direct contravention of the Codex and punishable by imprisonment of up to twenty years on Tyzar.”
I spread my hands apart. “You see? I’m afraid I am not willing to risk imprisonment. No, everything will simply have to stay as it is. Sorry.”
Spokesdesignate Denaraz seemed discomfited. He tried another smile. “I don’t think you understand. Perhaps I didn’t explain well. Why don’t we discuss this further?”
“No, no. It is kind of you to think of helping me. But I couldn’t take the risk. And she really isn’t so much of a bother. None at all, come to think of it. But I thank you for your concern.”
We walked on, finally reaching the relative sanctuary of our rest area. Eshaan shut the door firmly behind him, leaving the Tyzaran man on the other side with an arrested look on his face.
Didjal was the first to speak. “They are not going to give up. They will want to keep Zenzara here.”
Mel turned to me. “We can’t let them do that, Rye. You saw how scared she was! They will put her in some sort of cage for the rest of her life. We must do something about it!”
“Well done with that Codex regulation, Mel. How come you know about Tyzar laws?”
She reddened. “Sammy told me you wanted him to contact his Spacelander friend on Tyzar, so I spent a little time researching their laws on Savior Protocols when we arrived here. I have a good memory for that sort of thing and I thought it might come in handy.”
“It did.” I turned to Sammy. “What about your friend? Would she be able to counsel us?”
He nodded briefly. “Neema? Maybe. She has a legal background. Except any calls we make may be monitored.”
“That’s true.” I let my eyes flicker over the rest of the group. “What’s the matter, Seyal?” She was looking dubious.
“I do not think these aliens will allow Zenzie to accompany us. I think they will stop us.”
“By force?”
She inclined her head.
Didjal stepped forwards. “Then we must make a plan.”
I grinned, which disconcerted the Enif.
“Did I say something funny?”
“No. I just realized that, somewhere on our journey, we became a unit.”
Didjal communed for a moment with Eshaan. This appeared to be news to them, too. Finally their skin stopped vibrating. I waited for the result.
“Yes. It is true. The seven of us have become loyal to each other.”
Loyal. An out-of-date word. But something certainly had bound us together. We might be a diverse batch of souls, but our destinies had become intertwined.
“So,” Eshaan stretched out its dark digits and examined them. “What are we going to do about Zenzara?”
“I don’t know. But we can’t let the Tyzarans shut her up for decades, for sure.”
Mel stared at me. “You do realize we are ‘guests’ on a spaceship, don’t you? I mean, we can hardly just walk out the back door.”
“I know. I guess we’ll have to wait until we reach wherever it is we seem to be going.”
Seyal inclined her head. “Tyzar.”
My face must have shown my surprise. “Their home world? Are you sure?”
The Avarak woman gave what was almost a grin. “I overheard two of the crew members talking. They think I cannot understand Universal. A compound near their main city is to be prepared for Zenzara.”
Mel rubbed her eyes. She was tired. “Well, unless you can fly, Seyal, I don’t see how we can stop the Tyzarans from taking her to Tyzar. After all, we are all on their ship. And she is one of them.”
Seyal flushed. She was so self-effacing that she didn’t even like us all to look at her at the same time.
I tried to divert attention away from her. “I don’t think she is, not anymore.” I lifted my chin in Mel’s direction. “You said it yourself; Article 452 of the Savior Laws makes them unbreakable. I think we have to fight for Zenzie through the Tyzaran courts.” I gave Mel a meaningful stare.
Mel looked slightly sick. Slow she was not. “You mean it depends on me? Why can’t you trawl through all the Tyzaran laws? Why do you expect me to do it?”
She had a point, but I knew she would do the better job. Her obsessive attention to detail was just what we needed right now. I smiled at her in what I hoped was a winning manner. “Come on, Estamain. You know you are the only one for the job. And you have Sammy to help you.”
She slid her eyes over to Sammy. “I … I guess.”
Sammy finally woke up to my urgent eyebrow signals. “What? Oh! Yes, of course. I’ll keep you on track. Sure. We can do this. Together.”
Mel stared at him. Spacers are very much independent individuals. We don’t do together. She slowly went pink. I was forced to turn a grin into a cough. She glared at me, clearly seeing through the attempt. “Shut up, Mallivan.”
“Something in my throat.” I coughed again. “I may be coming down with space flu.”
“Sure, Rye. Space flu.”
The two Enif had a private discussion along their arms. “We could concoct a palliative drink if you like.”
Melody gave a wide smile. “I think you should, Didjal. I’m sure Rye needs a pick-me-up.” She seemed to enjoy my glower. “Just what the doctor ordered.”
Eshaan looked blank. “I think he has seen no doctor?”
“A way of speaking, Eshaan. Just a way of speaking. You two make up your concoction. I’m willing to bet Mallivan has no more coughing episodes.”
I huffed. There wasn’t much else I could do.
Chapter 7
It soon became clear that the Tyzarans were indeed going to do their best to hold on to Zenzie. The following day I was served with a very long, convoluted document in Universal legalese by Spokesdesignate Denaraz. I understood around one word in three.
I handed it over to Sammy, to give to Mel. He rolled his eyes. “She isn’t going to like it.”
“No. Neither do I.”
I know that’s not what he meant, but I wasn’t going to let him start telling me what to do. When he opened his mouth again I stared him down until he finally gave a half shrug and disappeared. I breathed again. I hate legalese. I hate administration. I hate paperwork. So I should have looked at it myself? Well, shoot me. Guilty.
It took Mel six minutes to get back to me. The expression on her face was not happy. She waved the document in my face. “What? You think I’m your secretary?”
“You’re just so much better at this sort of thing than I am, Estamain. Come on, you know you are.”
“It would be hard to be any worse!”
I spread my hands. “See? You agree with me.”
“Yes, but … wait a minute! I don’t!”
“Too late now. You already said you did. And we need somebody sharp on all this legal stuff.”
She was diverted. “Sharp? Do you really think I’m sharp?” She brushed the front of her tunic down. “Thank you.”
“You�
��re welcome.”
“That doesn’t mean I’m going to do all the work.”
“Of course not, Mel. But I really need you to take a look at it. You will see straight through to the important bits, and you know I would get bogged down in trivia.”
“I suppose paperwork isn’t really your forte.”
“No kidding. I learned to read two years after Sibby.”
“Did you? Now why doesn’t that surprise me?”
“Can I depend on you then?”
Her eyelids fluttered. “I suppose so. As long as you don’t think I was put here to do all the work you don’t like.”
“Of course not. This isn’t for me, in any case. It is for Zenzie.”
“That’s true. All right.”
I smiled down at her. “Take all the time you need. As long as it’s done by tomorrow.”
She caught her breath. “Tomorrow?” Then she frowned at me. “And what will you be doing while Sammy and I are trying to make sense of this stupid document, if you don’t mind my asking?”
“I’m glad you have. I shall be … err … making sure they don’t force Zenzie into anything she isn’t comfortable with.”
Mel’s mouth twitched, but she nodded some sort of agreement and disappeared. I was left with the two Enif and Seyal. They were looking at me expectantly.
Didjal was the one to speak. “What do you want us to do?”
I considered. “Seyal, you are the one we can use to spy best. They think you only speak Avarak. I want you to wander around the ship, on any pretext you can think up. Find out whatever you can.”
She inclined her head. “Me washing. Washing clothes, I think. Good. I listen hard.” She slipped away. One minute she was there, the next she wasn’t. These Avarak women really could make themselves practically invisible.
Eshaan and Didjal were still regarding me.
“You two are going to stick out like a pair of sore thumbs amongst all these Tyzarans,” I told them. “There is no way you can spy for us.”
Didjal was regarding its own opposable digits. I frowned, until I realized it hadn’t understood the simile. I held up a hand to pre-empt any comment. “Just a manner of speaking. I know your thumbs aren’t sore.”
It looked relieved. I was going to have to be more careful about how I spoke when I was around them.
“I think the best thing you two can do is sit with Zenzara. Your presence will help her and hopefully stop the Tyzarans from trying to intimidate her or force her to do anything she doesn’t want to.”
The Enif exchanged glances and then stood up in unison. “We agree,” Eshaan told me. “I will use the time to begin a new painting. I must now catch up with a lifetime’s work if we are to gain a place in the Siinala Monument.”
“Good. I will come with you at first. I need to ask Zenzie if she informed Spokesdesignate Denaraz about the ZEPH drive, about what we suspect happened on board Commorancy.”
We made our way sedately over to the medical bay. Zenzie was looking better this morning; her crest was relaxed and her color better. Her whole aspect brightened even more when she saw us.
I grinned down at her. Her face was smoother, but the extra skin had pooled around it on the pillow. It made her look very strange.
She wriggled. “What? Do I have a smut on my face?”
“Your skin looks weird.”
She made an attempt to peer at her own cheeks, which made her look even weirder. “Does not!”
“Actually, it does. When are you going to fill out and use up all that extra skin?”
She reached up to try to pull some of the folds back up to the centre of her face. They piled up and then slid slowly off again under the force of gravity. I chuckled.
She raised her hand and punched me in the stomach. It felt like a tickle, but I duly complained and made a fuss. She knew she hadn’t hurt me though. She gave a sigh. “On Tyzar, folds of skin are considered youthful beauty.”
“I didn’t comment on their aspect. I simply asked if you would grow out of them. Or into them.”
Her crest twitched in irritation. “When I am thirty, they will begin to fill out.” She finally said in a grudging sort of manner. “But our skin is only truly smooth when we pass a hundred years. It is seen as a sign of maturity.”
“That’s a long time in the future.”
“I know that! Is there any news?” Her eyes pointedly went to the other Tyzarans present.
I nodded my understanding of the hidden warning. “Not so far. We are getting used to the idea of spending some time here.”
“I see. Have you discussed your friend Bull yet?”
“No. You?”
“I haven’t had the chance. One of us should bring that whole question up with the spokesdesignate. He is the only person who is … qualified … to err … consider things like that.”
“I will speak to him.”
“Alone.”
“Yes. Though he will want to corroborate it with you.”
The crest twitched again. “I know.”
“You are certain that he should be informed? This news might involve us in more … delay?”
She bit her lip, considering. Then her whole rib cage shrank as she let out a huge breath of air. “I feel we must. Don’t you?”
“I rather think they will already be aware of some of the circumstances.”
“Even so …”
I stood up. “Then I shall attempt to speak with him this morning. About something other than the Savior Protocols.”
Zenzie’s chin lifted. “Does he speak much about them?”
“Indeed. They seem to fascinate him. Particularly the legal aspect.”
Now her crest was rigidly displayed on the pillow. Her eyes were hot. “Nothing has changed!”
“We are working on it, Ty Zylarian. You must remain patient.” I indicated the two Enif beside me. “Didjal and Eshaan will remain here with you.”
She thanked them both. They gave solemn nods. They would do their best to protect her.
As I left I saw Didjal settle itself to one side of the hospital cot and Eshaan to the other. The Tyzaran hospital staff were looking around with unease. Zenzara had already closed her eyes. Even our short conversation had worn her out. She needed more time to recover.
I found Denaraz after searching most of the top decks. He was in the gymnasium, practicing some sort of unarmed combat with a fellow-countryman. When he saw me, he bowed to his opponent and invited him to leave us alone.
“Would you like to practice with me?”
He had to be kidding. He was taller than me, probably weighed more and looked as though he dedicated eight hours every day to combat training. There were few things that appealed to me less. I held up one hand, as if that could ward off an attack. “No, thank you. I prefer jogging to stay in shape.”
“Really? Good. We can do that too.”
I would be trotting along beside him like a lapdog, but I assented. “May I talk to you in private first?”
He raised one eyebrow. “Certainly.”
I gave him the long version of everything we knew and everything we had surmised. As I spoke, his face lengthened. “Much of this was suspected, little was known. I’m very much afraid that your inferences are correct.”
I tilted my head to one side. “Really? Is there something you aren’t telling me?”
His face smoothed as he prepared a diplomatic lie, but his crest betrayed his feeling. I looked pointedly at it.
He tapped his foot, then claudicated. “I can confirm there being further evidence that your interpretation is correct. I cannot tell you what that evidence is.” He began to sweep out of the gymnasium. I bobbed along in his wak
e. We strode down the passageways and directly into the hospital wing. He stalked inside and asked all the other Tyzarans to leave with a gesture. They scurried to obey him. The two Enif turned to me for clarification and I tipped my head in the direction of the door. They acquiesced.
Denaraz subjected Zenzara to a searching interrogation, listening with acute interest to her answers. Finally, he got to his feet.
“I am sorry to say that our jog must be postponed temporarily,” he told me. “I must pass this information on immediately.”
I coughed. His attention snapped back to me. “Yes? Do you have something to add?”
“It occurs to me that … depending on who you talk to … you might be informing the traitor of our knowledge.”
He blinked. I had the feeling he wasn’t used to being spoken to as an equal, especially by a member of a species he considered inferior. “You have definite suspicions?”
I raised my chin. “It seems strange that Spokesdesignate Xynia should have been so uninterested in recovering survivors, don’t you think? I’m certain I heard her voice in the background before we were left to our own devices on the Commorancy shuttles. Now, I hate to suggest this, but that could be because she knew that the ZEPH file was on board with us as soon as I listed the Terran instructor as being a survivor. It is strange that he made no attempt to evacuate the students long before this whole thing evolved into violence.”
He thought about that. He didn’t like to agree with me, but I noticed that both his crests were vertical to his scalp. There was a pause. Then: “I will … consider … your … opinion.”
“You may like to inform only the highest authorities on Tyzar.”
Termination Shock Page 11
