by Timothy Zahn
"Right here," Thrr-gilag said, holding out the forms they'd put together. "May I approach the protectors of Prr?"
The first protector didn't seem all that enthusiastic about it, but he nevertheless nodded. "Advance, Thrr-gilag."
Thrr-gilag rejoined Klnn-dawan-a and handed the protector the forms. Klnn-dawan-a watched as the other took them, striving hard to keep her tail motion steady. Right here was where this whole thing was most likely to come unraveled. The description/authorization forms were certainly official enough; the problem was that they were for experiments on non-Zhirrzh alien species like her cocooned Chig whelps back on Gree. If the protectors were suspicious enough or bored enough to read past the names and descriptions and get into the more detailed printing...
The first protector gestured to his partner as he glanced over the top page. "Give Prr't-casst-a call," he said. "Let's see what she has to say about this."
The other protector nodded and stepped back into his dome. A beat later his amplified voice echoed across the shrine enclosure, summoning Prr't-casst-a to the domes.
She was there almost before the echo of the loudspeaker had died away over the hills. "So you made it after all," she said, looking back and forth between Klnn-dawan-a and Thrr-gilag. "I didn't think you were going to have time."
"One of our other volunteers quit on us at the last hunbeat," Thrr-gilag said, pulling a small flat box from his waist pouch and lifting the lid. "We decided we had enough time to swing by here. If you'll clear us with your protectors, we can get started."
"Not so fast," the first protector growled, stepping forward and plucking the box from Thrr-gilag's hand. "I haven't been told anything about any experiments with Prr fsss organs."
"It's something new," Thrr-gilag told him. "A series of experiments to see if new sensory enhancements can be created for Elders. Don't worry, it's perfectly safe."
"We'll decide how safe it is, if you don't mind," the protector said, frowning at block of reddish gel and the spoon with its thick, cylindrically shaped handle occupying the two parallel compartments in the box. "What is this stuff?"
"The complete composition report is in the authorization," Klnn-dawan-a said, pointing at the forms he still had in his other hand. "Basically, you could say it's similar to a very spicy Ghuu'rr basting sauce."
The protector blinked at her. "You're kidding. A basting sauce?"
"That's rather an oversimplification, of course," Thrr-gilag said curtly, throwing a look at Klnn-dawan-a that had just the right edge of professional annoyance to it. She winced slightly in response, the look of a subordinate nonverbally reprimanded by a superior. The more the protectors had the impression that Thrr-gilag was the one in charge - and therefore the one to watch most closely - the better. "What she means is that the glaze is similar to a basting sauce in that it's rich with selected spices and olfactory enhancements," Thrr-gilag continued. "We're hoping this will be a way to add an extra dimension to Elder life. Look, it's all in the authorization, and it's all perfectly safe. And we really are on a tight schedule."
The protector thrust the box back at Thrr-gilag. "Prove it's safe," he challenged. "Eat some."
Thrr-gilag shrugged. "Certainly." Picking up the spoon, he scooped up a small portion of the gel and licked it off. "Perfectly safe," he said, holding the spoon poised for another scoop. "Rather tasty, actually. Would you like to try some?"
The protector made a face. "No, thanks," he said. "Prr't-casst-a, you sure you want to go through with this?"
"Very much," the Elder said, her voice low and with a quiet passion that required no acting at all on her part. "Please let them in."
The protector sighed. "All right, come on. Prr't-casst-a, go ahead and show us to your niche."
They headed off toward the shrine, Prr't-casst-a hovering in the lead, the second protector bringing up the rear. Klnn-dawan-a took a deep breath, not daring to look at Thrr-gilag and trying to exude a nonchalance she didn't feel. First stage: passed. Now all she had to do was hope this scheme she and Thrr-gilag had cooked up would work as well in practice as it did in theory. And that she could pull off her part of it.
Prr't-casst-a's niche was located about three strides up the northwestern wall of the shrine. Using a control set into one edge of the white ceramic, the first protector unfolded a mechanical top-tethered platform from the apex section at the peak. Just barely big enough for three, Klnn-dawan-a estimated as the motors brought it down to ground level. Which meant one of the protectors would probably insist on going along.
She was right. "I'll need to go up with you," the protector said, stepping through the gap in the guardrail onto the platform and moving to its right end.
"Other end, please," Thrr-gilag said, motioning him to the left side of the platform. "I need to be in the middle, with my assistant on my right."
The protector moved to the left end without comment. Klnn-dawan-a took up position at the right end, and Thrr-gilag squeezed in to stand between them. The protector gestured to his partner, and the platform began to rise. A few beats' worth of maneuvering later, they were there.
"Good," Thrr-gilag said briskly, handing the open box to Klnn-dawan-a and pulling a pair of healer's gloves from his pouch. "If you'll open the niche for us, Protector?"
Klnn-dawan-a winced at the loud snap as the protector released the catch and swung Prr't-casst-a's mesh door open. Incredibly loud things, obviously designed that way so as to alert protectors and Elders alike to any unauthorized tampering. Standing there with a protector half a stride away, she knew there wasn't a chance in the universe that she would be able to open the door to Prr't-zevisti's niche without being noticed.
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's fsss. "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's fsss 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 the fsss 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 correc
tly, the sampler tube should now contain the same volume of fsss 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 the fsss 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 the fsss 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's fsss; 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 on fsss 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 frown 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's fsss, 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's fsss 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. "It is 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."
