Juanita Coulson - Children of the Stars 04
Page 38
“Feo’s gone?” Dan said, puzzled.
“He exceeded his visitor’s pass.” It took a second before Dan spotted the telltale twinkle in those bruised eyes. A pained smile twisted Praedar’s mouth. “He serves us best at present elsewhere, at Pan Sector Central and at the Terran-Whimed Xenoethnic Council. He will coordinate to ensure that the facts of these events are known and understood.”
“Can we trust him?” Dan asked, old suspicions stirring. “Now that the danger’s past...”
“You can trust him,” Adam said. “He... he told me about that conversation you had just before the blowup. And he wants to make amends, to Dad, to Dr. Juxury, and to you. I... I think he and his wife have undergone a major change of opinion.”
“Yeah...”
“Much has altered,” Praedar said. “For us. For Feo Saunder. We have discovered that we are not adversaries—not in the long view of history. We are allies.”
Dan chuckled, then winced as broken ribs complained. “The next Xenoarchaeological Assembly is going to be considerably different from the one we just attended. If Feo backslides, all the data will put him on track again. Yeah. Much has altered. Your theories have been proved, Praedar. With Feo’s influence and fortune supporting us, this dig’s going to be one in a million. A very special site. We’ll have to keep tabs on my cousin, just in case, but...”
Kat’s dark eyes glowed. “You said he could learn. He has done so.” She turned to Praedar. “The messages are already starting to come in. Offers of funding. More funding than we ever dreamed of...”
Sheila put in, “And student applicants, up to your crest. We’ll be selective. Kroo-ger! No more Bill Getzes! Strictly hardworking xenoarchs with plenty to contribute—in the best Praedar Effan Juxury tradition. Speaking of contribs and pulling one’s own weight, Commander, you promised that your people would be shifting operations out to orbit—and out of our hair—by the end of this week.”
“That’s right. I’ll be cutting the order today, now that Dan’s okay.” Adam saluted Praedar. “Your license and your expedition are secure, Dr. Juxury. Depend on that. You have a Fleet officer’s word on it. You won’t be bothered by planetary developers or other butt-ins—not your people or these e.t.s you’re protecting.” The Whimed looked from Dan to Adam and back again and smiled. “Yes. I depend upon that. Aytan. You are both aytan. As is Feo.”
“Now," Dan muttered, in a last jab of fast-fading doubt. Praedar went on. “Saunder-McKelvey. Terra. You have taught your kinsman what it is to be Saunder-McKelvey and Terran. To be what your family is capable of.”
“That’s right,” Kat said. “Get back in top fettle in a hurry, Dan. Hope and Rosie expect you to help them with the robot’s reconstruction. I think your brother’s science staffers want to pick your brains, too.”
“And how!” Adam exclaimed. “A matter transmitter! Do you know what this means, Dan?”
“Sure. Some new patents under the Saunder-McKelvey name,” Dan said with a grin. He forced himself not to laugh. “Overdue. The family’s been loafing along, technologically, for a while—since Morgan McKelvey and Brenna Saunder made the FTL breakthrough, seventy-five years ago. I think it’s time for another big jump, huh?”
The admiration in Commander McKelvey’s expression erased years of bitterness and misunderstanding. Adam nodded. “And I’ll make damned sure all the sectors know who deserves the credit. My kid brother! This century’s Ward Saunder.”
Sheila pointed at Meej. “You fellow get strong strong again, huh huh? Got baby sister fellow take care of now, show how to think smart...”
“Loor’s baby,” Dan said softly. Sorrow for a dead friend tightened his throat. Then his spirits lifted. Chuss was gone. But Chuss’ people would survive. With Feo’s money and prestige and Adam determined to twist the right arms in the military divisions, the planet grabbers had no chance. The N’lacs’ future—and the expedition’s—looked very bright.
Adam studied him slyly, then winked at Sheila and Kat. “You may be a groundbreaker for the family in another regard, I suspect. Shall we say, a potentially fascinating experiment in Saunder-McKelvey genetics?” He didn’t appear at all upset by the polygamous implications of that. The officer’s grin rivaled the morning sun. “Well, I’ll butt out for now. I know you and luxury have a lot of scientific stuff you want to discuss.”
Once more, pride filled the commander’s face—pride for the kid brother who was definitely no longer a loser.
Adam hurried away, climbing Dome Hill to assist the combined mop-up team there.
Praedar tilted his head back, peering above the western horizon, where a few faint stars resisted the sunlight’s onslaught. He seemed to be searching for distant worlds that no free humanoid had ever seen.
“You found the truth,” Dan said. “You found it and preserved it.” Uncertainty flickered across the alien’s expression. “Yes, we had to smash the dome, the MT, and the Old One—to save our species. But we can rebuild them as harmless replicas and retain the knowledge they have shown us.”
“It is not all the truth,-” Praedar protested mildly.
“No, I suppose we never get all the truth,” Dan admitted. “If we did, we’d stagnate and get lazy. That’s not the humanoid way—-not for the Saunder-McKelveys of Terra, and not for Praedar Effan luxury.”
The Whimed lowered his gaze to the landscape of N’lac Valley, the home of the T-W 593 Project, rescued from the forever time. Rescued, too, were the beings—N’lac and offworlders— who lived and loved in this place.
“It is so,” Praedar said. “The long view. That portion of the truth which you and I will be remembered for was found, was preserved.” He was content.
Dan held out his hand. Praedar took it in friendship and in partnership. They smiled at one another, bridging the chasms of evolution and time and space. Kat and Sheila, supporting them, looked on with approval.
“Someday, eons down the line,” Dan said, “our species will be dust. We’ll all be projects for other, future expeditions to dig up and study. Now, though, for our time, and for our descenders’, we’ve won.”
Table of Contents
CHAPTER ONE
CHAPTER TWO
CHAPTER THREE
CHAPTER FOUR
CHAPTER FIVE
CHAPTER SIX
CHAPTER SEVEN
CHAPTER EIGHT
CHAPTER NINE
CHAPTER TEN
CHAPTER ELEVEN
CHAPTER TWELVE
CHAPTER THIRTEEN
CHAPTER FOURTEEN
CHAPTER FIFTEEN
CHAPTER SIXTEEN
CHAPTER SEVENTEEN
CHAPTER EIGHTEEN
CHAPTER NINETEEN
CHAPTER TWENTY
CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE
CHAPTER TWENTY-TWO
CHAPTER TWENTY-THREE