She stared at him, thinking that he was right. She couldn’t judge him or the Allegiancy in her heart until she had a code against which to measure their acts. But where can I start?
“Ephemerals are amazing,” he said with reverence, and affection. “Here you’ve acquired an advanced trait which many Dushau never do, yet you’re barely ready to create your first epistemology.”
He’d won her over again completely. But the part of her that had obeyed that trooper was not gone, only dormant. Somehow, she wasn’t convinced the Allegiancy was in senile death throes. But she responded teasingly, “Immortals are amazing. They think Ephemerals are children. And sometimes they’re even right!”
Then he said something odd. “I’ve never met an Ephemeral
who was a child.”
Arlai said, “I wouldn’t like being commanded by a captain who was a child. But Krinata is not a child.”
Jindigar gave him a peculiar look, as if he were coming back to harsh realities from a realm where he preferred to dwell. “You’re right, Arlai. Krinata, I take back what I said about Khol. You’re welcome to come with me. In fact, I think you need to come with me for your own reasons, and I’ve no business shackling your judgment about how much of yourself you wish to give. I just want you to understand you’re perfectly free to withdraw anytime.”
“I always have been,” she said, realizing he’d never said, Help me rescue my friends and I’ll take you to safety. He would take her whether she helped or not. She had already won his loyalty, though she still craved it. “But before you accept me into your ventures, I have to confess.”
She told him why she had obeyed that soldier, getting him shot. “I might do that again. Outlaw or no, I’m still loyal to the Allegiancy.”
He nodded, “I know. But, Krinata, your act was in total accord with your being. No more can be asked of anyone.” He rose to go. If I should die in such an action, I would count myself fortunate indeed. But don’t ask me to explain why.”
NINE
Allegiancy Loyalists
Khol, the Holot’s oldest colony, circled a yellow G-2 star. Its five-day long “day” and wildly varying climate suited the six-limbed, furred Holot, though humans shuddered at the necessity of visiting them on the surface.
Therefore, they’d built a commercial space station outside the orbits of their three tiny moons. Arlai figured their approach trajectory to the station while conversing with the system’s Orbital Control Central. Krinata had only to sit in the captain’s chair and watch.
“Krinata,” said Jindigar, seated at the astrogator’s console. “It’s time to get dressed.”
They’d decided Krinata would go as a Terran merchant who’d swung a deal for a surplus ship and was looking for new markets. Thus an interest in souvenir pottery would seem logical. Jindigar would become one of the rare space traveling Lehrtrili, a feathered, birdlike species with vestigial wings and strong territorial instincts.
“I’ll go first,” she said rising. She was itching to try on her new costume. She’d been working out hard in the gym. She felt vigorous enough to meet any challenge.
Just as she reached the hatch, Trassle announced from the com station, “We’ve just been switched to military orbit control. They’re ordering us out of the ecliptic.”
“Arlai, report!” snapped Jindigar.
“A moment… there!” The plotting scope projected a globe of dark space representing the system, pinpointing Truth and then adding other traffic around them, complete with dotted lines to represent projected orbits.
Arlai narrated, “Ahead, starboard, three small passenger craft; lifereadings indicate they’re overloaded; power readings show them barely spaceworthy. One—the center one—lacks an onboard Sentient. The other two Sentients seem confused and incompetent.
“Behind,” continued Arlai, “eight armed seeker craft in hot pursuit of the three. Then– Flag Sentient has ordered us out of the way. I am complying, but retaining interference capability. Jindigar, I really don’t want to be targeted by those craft. They are much more than we can handle.”
“I can see that,” answered Jindigar. His blue teeth gnawed at his bottom lip. “Krinata, you’ll need to be dressed soon. Arlai, what species aboard those ships?”
“The fugitives seem to be mostly Dushau, a sprinkling of Holot, and other species aboard. The seekers are shielded. As a wild, intuitive guess: mostly Holot, possibly officers of other species. But the Duke of this zone is Holot.”
“Krinata!” Jindigar complained, seeing her still there.
She went, grasping that they were witnessing an escape attempt engineered by the rumored underground resistance. Arlai had intercepted official dispatches to Duke Huch about the growing resistance organization dedicated to harboring Dushau and their sympathizers. Jindigar’s plan had been to contact this underground via a descendent of a Holot he’d once known. He was sure they could help him find Terab.
Trassle’s wife helped Krinata into her costume, and one of Arlai’s servitors applied makeup to change her complexion to match her bleached hair. A dental appliance forced a change in her speech. It might not be authentic Terran, but she could claim to have left Terra early in life.
When she returned to the bridge, Grisnilter was faced off against Jindigar. She sensed she’d walked into a very tense confrontation, but all she heard was Grisnilter’s acidic tones. “And what will your mother say about that? You are planning to see her again before she dies, aren’t you?”
Jindigar lowered his eyes, and started, in a hoarse whisper, “I’m sorry—” Then he spotted Krinata, quickly made some adjustments on the control boards and sped past her as if making an escape. Over his shoulder, he called, “Arlai says we have an hour before the seekers are in range to fire on those vessels. Trassle will fill you in.”
She sidled around Grisnilter, not daring to speak to him for fear she’d spit out just what she thought of him for upsetting Jindigar at such a time. If Jindigar could still treat him respectfully, she could manage to remain civil.
As she was taking the captain’s seat, Trassle arrived and Grisnilter departed silently. She brought her mind back to their problem. Now that she was properly dressed, they could bluff their way around any challenge, if she could only figure out what to say. The haughty demeanor of Zavaronne wouldn’t do. But she could still be a captain, irate at being kept in a solar orbit when she had business to conduct.
In his carefully modulated Standard voice, Trassle told her, “The seekers have been broadcasting orders in the name of the Emperor for the fugitives to take up a standard solar orbit or be blown out of space. The fugitives have not replied, but Arlai has contact with their Sentients that he doesn’t believe the seeker’s flag Sentient has intercepted.”
“Trassle,” said Arlai, “you have the paranoia of a merchant. What does it take to convince you I know my job?”
“I’m convinced,” said Krinata. “What do the fugitives say?”
“They’ve got ninety-seven Dushau aboard the three ships, sixty-three Holot, and fifteen of assorted species. They knew fleeing was a desperate gamble, but their headquarters was about to be raided. The city was a shambles around them from the rioting that started when Dushau establishments were looted. They’ve got two full Oliat teams complete with Outriders, all professionals. They figured they could make a go of it on some marginal planet. The middle ship, though, is heading for Dushaun. It’s all Dushau-crewed, and they’ve elected to try to run the blockade and the defenses.”
“But Jindigar said we mustn’t try to go to Dushaun.”
“He’s trying to talk them out of it right now. I wish he’d concentrate on becoming Lehrtrili.”
The astrogation projection showed numerous other commercial ships surrounding them in solar orbit perpendicular to the ecliptic. As long as they stayed silent and obeyed the Flag Sentient of that eight-ship fleet, they were anonymous, relatively safe. And she couldn’t think of anything they could do to help.
“Krinata!” Arlai registered shock. “Go to Jindigar’s cabin. Now!”
“What?” She wasn’t accustomed to the Sentient issuing orders. “Is he asking for me? I should stay at my post.”
“Please, Krinata!” Arlai seemed to vibrate with suppressed hysteria.
She cast a glance at the slowly changing display, decided there was nothing she had to do here, and took off for Jindigar’s cabin with Trassle gazing after her, a high multivoiced twitter escaping him in place of Standard.
She’d never been inside Jindigar’s residence before, and she hadn’t actually been invited by him this time. She found her heart pounding in an odd cadence with her steps. Her feet seemed to have an embarrassed reluctance of their own, but she finally found the hatch marked “1” in Dushau notation: the owner’s cabin. Before she could touch the signal, the hatch flew aside with a pressurized sigh.
It was more apartment than cabin. Hatches opened off the huge main room which was divided by trellis screens, some festooned with plants she couldn’t identify. The deck was a spongy white surface which absorbed the sound of her steps. Overhead, odd shapes swung from rafter beams. Stairs led to a kind of loft above the far end of the room, but it was dark up there. The furniture was all dense foam, in the low shapes Dushau favored. Colors and lighting strained her eyes and made little sense.
Arlai materialized under the loft and beckoned. “Here.”
Seeing visions of Jindigar unconscious from a nasty fall. she followed hastily.
Beyond the hatch was a room of yellow and pink tile, anonymous projects strewn on workbenches, sinks and a huge bathtub filled with water, plants and fish. Imp sat in a nest on the lip of the tub. When he saw Krinata, he shrieked and flung himself through the air, landing at her feet. Then, remembering his manners, he sat up, begging politely to be picked up and petted. Absently, she complied, eyes roving curiously over Jindigar’s private dressing room while she pretended to herself that she was only getting her bearings.
One wall was folded back to reveal a wardrobe. Arlai had surrounded the half-costumed Dushau with three mirror fields. Several small scurries with precision manipulators were applying dark indigo feathers to Jindigar’s body. He turned when he heard her steps on the tile.
She didn’t like the look in his eyes, but couldn’t read his expression for the jutting green beak that covered nose, mouth and chin. The beak opened, showing a slender pink tongue. Jindigar’s own voice asked, “What are you doing here, Krinata?”
“I asked her to come,” said Arlai from behind her.
“I thought…” she started breathlessly. “From Arlai’s panic, I thought something awful had happened to you.”
Jindigar turned so the scurries could continue to cover and reshape his body. “Arlai,” he began as if angry. Then he subsided. “No, you’re right. Krinata, Terab is captain of the rearguard ship. Her husband and two of her children are aboard.” He turned away from the scurries and came to tower over her. “When you walked onto the bridge, Grisnilter was trying to get me to cut out of orbit and pace the Dushau ship, to follow it home, help them as needed, and forget Terab. I wasn’t going to—but now you see what kind of person Terab is. She’s rescued herself and dozens of others! Or she would have if their ships were in any better condition. As it is, they’re not going to make it, and I’m desperate enough to try a wild plan. Arlai doesn’t want to.”
“It’s suicide!” said the Sentient.
She looked from one to the other. “What’s the plan?”
“We develop a malfunction, a real one. Their sensors would detect a fake one. Truth is now identified as Hyperbird, Zitur registry, and Arlai has a Lehrtrili simulacrum. We careen out of control into the zone between the seekers and the ships. We’re legitimate. They dare not fire on us. If we give Terab enough of a lead, she and the other ships can detime before the seekers can get a shot off. Once they’re detimed, even seeker craft can’t follow them.”
“Don’t bet on it,” said Arlai morosely.
Krinata put that down to the odd emotionality Arlai had shown since Jindigar had freed him. But she also felt his alarm. Holot were notorious for a bull-like pursuit of their goals, disregarding all logical reasons to desist. Yet she wasn’t sure Jindigar was wholly rational, considering the pressure Grisnilter was putting on him. Could it drive him into Renewal? But she shoved that aside. “Jindigar, do we have the right to make a decision like this without consulting the others?”
“The Dushau won’t like it,” said Jindigar, “but morally, they can’t refuse. Trassle, though, has children aboard. Even though he and his female have known for days we were going to take risks, they may be too Cassrian to be able to say yes now as they did before. Trassle would hate himself forever for yielding to instinct.”
“This isn’t a risk,” said Arlai, “it’s a sacrifice. Those are seeker craft!”
Krinata said, “I don’t know anything about seeker craft except that they’re new and highly experimental. But if the Holot have orders to get those fugitives before they can detime, they just might blow us up to get at them. Arlai, couldn’t you use your projectors to confuse them?”
“No. Their sensors are too sophisticated.”
“Why are you being so defeatist, Arlai?”
“He’s scared,” said Jindigar. “The Allegiancy programming kept him from experiencing raw fear for so long, his nerves aren’t up to it.”
“That’s part of it,” admitted the Sentient. “But I also have the specs of the seeker craft design here, and I know what Truth’s made of. We can’t withstand those guns!”
“You have the seeker craft design?!” exclaimed Krinata.
Sheepishly, the Sentient admitted, “I stole the plans to the Emperor’s yacht when we were in orbit at Cassr. Thought it might come in handy. And it’s a modified seeker.”
“There has to be a way to use those plans to increase our odds to an acceptable level,” said Krinata, sweating with sudden nervous tension. “Jindigar, let them dress you. You may yet need that disguise to buy us some time.”
Krinata turned and paced, trying to think. Then it came to her. “Truth’s landers! Arlai, are the landers disguised as Hyperbird’s?”
“Just two of them. I can convert the others—”
“What about the lifeboat from Intentional Act?” asked Krinata, suddenly excited. “It’s got legitimate Ducal ID. Would they fire on an envoy from Duke Lavov here to trade knowledge of a fatal design flaw in the seeker craft for Dushau prisoners? We swoop in, negotiate a trade, squirt them some nonsense about their ships blowing up if they detime or fire weapons, and assure them we’ll catch their fugitives, destroy two of the ships and take the all-Dushau one for the Duke’s experiments? If they’ve heard of our escapade with Mercer’s Folly, they’ll know Lavov would want more Dushau prisoners. It would seem just plausible enough to make them hesitate.”
“Why didn’t I think of that?” asked Jindigar. “Seekers have disappeared mysteriously.” The top of his mask had been put in place, so that now his wideset eyes peered awkwardly through close-set beady ones of an evolved predator. ‘Terab can get them all away in the time we can give them.”
Krinata turned to Arlai, sure she knew why Jindigar hadn’t been able to think, and trying not to use some of the glowing Skhe invective she’d learned from Rndeel on Grisnilter. “What are the odds on this plan, Arlai?”
The simulacrum blinked. “Sixty-three percent chance of success if I could find a design flaw.”
“Fake one,” said Krinata.
“I can’t do that!” objected Arlai, offended. He was an onboard Sentient. Ships were sacred to him.
Some part of Krinata was relieved she’d found some skullduggery forbidden to the Sentient. Jindigar came to the rescue. “I can, and I can order you to use the misinformation. Arlai, it won’t harm them. I’ll see to that.”
“Agreed,” said the simulacrum. “I’ve already started stripping the lifeboat of its Mercer’s Folly ID. It’ll be a diplomatic skif
f at least from the outside. What next?”
Krinata said, “I’ll go back to the bridge, warn Trassle and prepare to become Duke Lavov’s envoy. Jindigar will finish dressing and figure out a plausible design flaw.”
“Good enough,” agreed Jindigar. He seemed steadier now, so she handed him the piol, spun on her heel and left.
Forty minutes later, Jindigar’s Lehrtrili persona, Rrrelloleh, came onto the bridge, twittering musically, vestigial wings fluttering expressively. He was wearing a translater voder on his bright red chest. Most of him was dark indigo feathers, though wings and crown were bright yellow. It was the last color combination the fugitive Prince Jindigar would ever choose to hide himself.
Arlai had warned the resistance ships to be prepared to detime the moment they were free, but Jindigar had ordered him not to give them the details of the plan just in case communications weren’t really secure.
As they were going over the plan one more time before breaking their assigned orbit and calling attention to themselves, Rinperee, lightning calculator and Sentient educator, came onto the bridge. She stopped to bend over Rrrelloleh and whisper, “Don’t pay too much attention to Grisnilter. We’ll make it.” Then she stood up and said, “Arlai, let me handle our maneuvers. This may take a little more creativity than you’ve got.”
“Agreed. You’ve got primary control on board nine.” That was the helm station next to Jindigar’s astrogation console and would be out of line when Krinata was on screen.
Since Arlai could run the ship alone, Krinata had often wondered why the bridge was rigged for incarnate supervision at all. Now she knew. Arlai was better than any Sentient at routine chores, or backing up a plan. But he wasn’t a planner, and he knew it. She began really to trust him.
“Standby,” said Arlai in his ship’s business tone. Then he proclaimed, “The Duke Lavov’s Envoy, The Right Honorable Katherine Minogue!”
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