Orphan Star

by Foster, Alan Dean;

  "I still don't see why the AAnn need you so badly," Flinx told her, his eyes taking in everything on the principle that knowledge is freedom. "Particularly since they're the ones responsible for negating the peace- forcer fortresses."

  "I thought I'd already made that clear," she said. "First, the Commonwealth is a far larger market for the gems than the Empire. They have no way to market their share except through a human agent ... me. But more important, as the Baron explained, this world lies within Commonwealth boundaries. Though comparatively isolated, there are a number of other busy, inhabited Commonwealth planets plus numerous automatic monitoring stations between here and the nearest populated Empire world. AAnn technicians require safe conduct, which Rudenuaman company ships provide."

  Flinx, thinking suddenly of the Baron's pursuit of Mahnahmi, asked, "Then there are no Imperial military vessels in this region?"

  Rudennaman looked surprised at Flinx's naivete. "Do you take the Baron for a fool? It would only take the discovery of one such ship and this quadrant of space would be swarming with Commonwealth warships. The Baron," she informed them smugly, "is far more subtle than the AAnn are normally given credit for."

  So subtle, Flins thought with mixed feelings, that he might have outfoxed himself. If he were chasing Mahnahmi in a freighter instead of in a destroyer or frigate, she might elude him after all. Not that be was certain he wanted that precocious talent to escape; but at least a merry chase might prolong the Baron's absence from Ulru-Ujurr for some time.

  They had to resolve the situation before that happened and the Baron returned. Novelty value or no, Flinx did not think the AAnn aristocrat would tolerate his and Sylzenzuzex's continued existence. If it came to a confrontation between Flinx and Rudenuaman, she would have him and Sylzenzuzex executed without a thought in order to keep her associate placated,

  Though Rudenuaman might be swayed by flattery and amusement, Flinx had no illusions about his ability to so manipulate the Baron, "Teleen," he began absently, "have you ever ..."

  She turned angrily on him, voice chill and expression dark. "Don't ever call me that or you'll die a lot quicker than otherwise. You will address me as Madam or Madam Rudenuaman, or the next way you will amuse me is with your noise as I have the skin stripped from your back."

  "Sorry ... Madam," he apologized carefully. "You still insist that the AAim's only interest in the Janus jewels is financial?" He was aware of Sylzenzuzex watching him,

  "You continue to bring that up.Yes, of course I do."

  "Tell me-have you ever seen an AAnn, the Baron, for example, utilize a headset linkage to create particle- plays within one of the crystals?"

  "No." She didn't appear to be disturbed by the thought. "This is a mining outpost. There are no hedonists or idlers here."

  "Do you have a headset link here?"

  "Yes."

  "And Challis ... I presume he did, also? Colloid plays seemed to have been one of his favorite obsessions."

  "Yes, though not the only one," she said, her mouth wrinkling in distaste.

  "What about the Baron? Surely he enjoys the gems?"

  "Baron Riidi WW," she announced with confidence, "is all business- and military-minded. I have on occasion seen him relaxing at various AAnn recreations, but never with a Janus jewel."

  "What about the other AAnn of importance and rank here?"

  "No, they're all fully absorbed in their assignments. Why so curious to know if I've ever seen one of the reptiles using a gem?"

  "Because," Flinx said thoughtfully, "I don't think they can. I don't know what the Baron does with the jewels which are consigned for supposed sale within the Empire, but I'm certain they're not provided for the amusement of wealthy AAnn. Possibly for bribery purposes within the Commonwealth-I haven't worked that out yet.

  "The AAnn mind is different from that of human or thranx.," he went on. "Not necessarily inferior-probably superior in some ways-but different. I've read a little about it, and I don't believe that their brains produce the proper impulses for operating a Janus jewel linkage. They could scramble the colloidal suspension, but never organize it into anything recognizable,"

  "Really," Rudenuaman murmured at the conclusion of his little lecture. "What makes you an expert on such matters?"

  "I have big ears," Flinx replied. Better she continued to consider him a wild guesser than a calculating thinker.

  "All right, suppose they can't operate the jewels the way we can." She shrugged indifferently. "The beauty of the gem is still unsurpassed."

  "That's so," he conceded, "but to the point of justifying this kind of risky invasion of Commonwealth territory? I'm damned if I think the AAnn love beauty that much. Somehow those jewels are being used against the Commonwealth, against humanxkind."

  Rudenuaman didn't reply, choosing to ignore what she couldn't refute. They had walked deep into the higher levels of the building. A tall AAnn approached them, his surgical disguise perfect-except now Flinx knew what it concealed and was able to recognize the reptilian beneath.

  "That's Meevo FFGW," Rudenuaman informed them, confirming Flinx's guess. "He is the AAnn second in command and the Baron's assistant. He's also an excellent engineer, in charge of the overall mining operation here." She glared confidently at Flinx. "I've thought a little about your accusations, and you know what I've decided?" She smiled. "I don't give a goddamn what the AAnn do to the Commonwealth with their share of the jewels, as long as it doesn't interfere with my business."

  "That's about what I thought you might say." Sylzenzuzex's voice carried contempt in a way only the sharply clipped tones of a thranx can. Flinx thought it idiotic to antagonize their mercurial host, but she appeared unperturbed. If anything, she was pleased to see one of her captives so upset.

  "Isn't it nice to have one's thoughts confirmed?" She faced the newcomer. "Greetings, Meevo."

  Flinx used the opportunity to study the reptilian's makeup in detail. Were a Rudenuaman ship to be stopped by Commonwealth inspectors, he doubted that any casual observer could penetrate the carefully crafted disguise,

  If one knew to look closely, though, the eyes were a dead giveaway. For Meevo FFGW, like the Baron, like all AAnn, had a double eyelid. A blink would reveal the mind behind such eyes as not human.

  "These are the ones who succeeded in passing the adjusted fortresses?" the AAnn lieutenant asked, glancing from Sylzenzuzex to Flinx.

  "Just the two of them, yes," Rudenuaman told him. Meevo appeared amiably curious. "Then why are they still alive?"

  Sylzenzuzex shivered again, this time at the utterly inhumanx indifference in that voice.

  "They keep me amused for now. And when the Baron returns he may have some questions of his own for them. The Baron's a more efficient interrogator than I. I tend to be impatient."

  A low reptilian chuckle came from the engineer. "I heard about the child. Most unfortunate, irritating. There is no need to worry, though. The Baron will finish her before she can contact outsiders. His efficiency extends to other areas besides questioning." He grinned, showing false human teeth set into an elongated false human jaw. At the back of the open mouth Flinx could just make out the gleam of real, far sharper teeth.

  "You find them amusing ... curious." the engineer concluded, with a gesture Flinx was unable to interpret. His attitude suggested that casual amusement was as alien to him as bearing living young.

  Curiosity, however, was a trait the AAnn did share with their enemies. Meevo tagged along as Rudenuaman led them through the remainder of the complex.

  "The milling and separation you saw downstairs. Polishing and removal of surface impurities takes place over there." She indicated a series of doorless chambers from which musical sounds emerged.

  "Are they all AArm here except you and your bodyguard?" Sylzenzuzex wondered sardonically.

  "Oh, no. We're about half and half here. There are a surprising number of talented humanx in our loving society for whom the everyday problems of living have proven too much. They
've been driven by insensitive authority to seek marginally reputable work. Existence overrides any qualms they hold about such intangibles as interspecies loyalty,"

  "I'll venture none of them ever gets off this world alive."

  Rudenuaman appeared genuinely surprised. "Ridiculous woman ... that would be bad for business. Oh, I don't mean we inspire their loyalty. For most of those who work here that term no longer has meaning, or they wouldn't be here in the first place. Any of them would gladly sell their knowledge of this illegal installation the moment they were discharged.

  "We employ, with their knowledge and consent, a selective mind-wipe which cleats their brains of all memories of their stay here. It leaves them with the vaguely uncomfortable feeling that they've undergone a long period of unconsciousness. That and their newly fat bank accounts insure they will not give away our presence here."

  "Mind-wipe," a stunned Sylzenznzex muttered, "is forbidden for use by anyone other than Commonwealth or Church high physicians, and then only in emergency circumstances!"

  Rudenuaman grinned. "You must remember to add that to your report."

  They entered a large chamber, and the temperature dropped noticeably. "We'll be going into the main shaft," she explained, indicating long racks of bulky overclothing hanging nearby. Sylzenzezex saw that a number of them were designed for thranx.

  "Did you think that your precious cousins were immune to the lure of credit?" Rudenuaman taunted her. "No species has a corner on greed, child."

  "Don't call me a child," Sylzenzuzex countered softly.

  Radenuaman's response was not what Flinx expected-the first real laugh they had heard from her. She leaned on her cane, chuckling. Curious workers turned to glance at them as they passed.

  "I'll call you dead, if you prefer," the merchantwoman finally declared. She pointed toward the long racks of overclothing, "Now put one of those on- it's quite cold inside the mountain,"

  After donning the protective outer garments, they followed her and the AAnn engineer down a wide rectangular avenue. Metal soon gave way to bare rock. Evenly spaced single span duralloy arches helped support the roof.

  Flinx's thermal suit was partly open, permitting a small reptilian head to peep out from within, eyes on blinking as it surveyed the chill surroundings. Double rows of brightly glowing light tubes cast a steady radiance) throughout the tunnel.

  "This section has already been played out," Rudenuaman explained. "The jewels lie in a vein running horizontally into the mountain."

  They slowed.

  "There are several additional subsidiary shafts, running the length of lesser veins. Some run slightly above, others below our present position. I'm told that the gems formed in occasional pockets in the volcanic rock which were once filled with gas. An unusual combination of pressure and heat produced the Janus jewels.

  "The gemstones themselves lie in a different sort of material from the mountain, like diamonds in the kimberlite of Terra and the Bronine rainbow craters which are mined on Evoria. That's what my engineers tell me, anyhow."

  Ignoring her possessive reference to him, Meevo made a curt gesture of acknowledgment. "It is so. Similar examples of isolated gem formation lie within the Empire, though nothing so unusual as this."

  Something tickled Flinx's brain, and he found himself staring down into the dim recesses of the shaft. "Someone's coming toward us," he announced finally.

  Rudenuaman turned to look, commented idly, "Just a few of the natives. They're primitive types, but intelligent enough to make good menial workers. They have no tools, no civilization, and no language beyond a few grunts and imitated human words. They don't even wear minimal clothing. Their sole claim to rudimentary intelligence appears to be in the simple modifications they make in their cave-homes-rolling boulders in front to make a smaller entrance, digging deeper into the hillside, and so on. They do the heavy manual work for us, and they're careful with the jewels they uncover."

  "We've simplified the drilling equipment for their use. Their fur is thick enough so that the cold inside the mountain doesn't seem to bother them, which is fortunate for us. Even with thermal suits it would be hard for humans and impossible for AAnn to work the gem deposits anymore, considering how deep the shaft now runs into the mountain. If they mind the cold, they seem willing to risk it for the rewards we give them in return for each stone."

  "What do you reward them with?" Flinx wondered curiously. The bulky shapes were still coming slowly toward them. The hair on the back of his neck prickled and Pip stirred violently within the folds of the warm suit.

  "Berries," Meevo snapped in disgust. "Berries and fruits, nuts and tubers. Root eaters!" he finished, with the disdain characteristic of all carnivores.

  "They're vegetarians, then?"

  "Not entirely," Rudenuaman corrected, "They're apparently quite able to digest meat, and they have the teeth and claws necessary for hunting, but they much prefer the fruits and berries our automatic harvester can gather for them."

  "Dirt grubbers," the AAnn engineer muttered. He glanced at Rudennaman. "Excuse me from your play, but I have work to do." He turned and lumbered back up the shaft.

  By this time the four natives had come near enough for Flinx to discern individual characteristics. Each was larger than a big man and two or three times as broad- almost fat. How much of that bulk was composed of incredibly dense brown fur marked with black and white splotches he couldn't tell. In build and general appearance they were essentially ursinoid, though sporting a flat muzzle instead of a snout. It ended in a nearly in- visible black nose that was almost comical on so massive a creature.

  Short thick claws tipped the end of each of four seven-digited members, and the creatures appeared capable of moving on all fours or standing upright with equal ease. There was no tail. Ears were short, rounded, and set on top of the head. By far the most distinctive features were the tarsier-like eyes, large as plates, which glowed amber in the tunnel's fluorescent light. Huge black pupils like obsidian yolks floated in their centers.

  "Nocturnal from the look of them, diurnal at the least," was Sylzenzuzex's intrigued comment.

  The natives noticed the new arrivals, and all rose onto their hind legs for a better look. When they stood upright they seemed to fill the whole tunnel. Flinx noted a slight curve at the back of their mouths, which formed a falsely comic, dolphinish grin on each massive face.

  He was about to ask another, question of Rudenuaman when something stirred violently within his suit top. Flinx's frantic grab was too late to restrain Pip. The flying snake was out and streaking down the shaft toward the natives.

  "Pip ... wait, there's no ...!"

  He had started to say there was no reason to attack the furry giants. Nothing fearful or threatening had scratched his sensitive mind. If the minidrag were to set the group of huge natives on a rampage, it was doubtful any of them would get out of this tunnel alive.

  Ignoring his master's call. Pip reached the nearest of the creatures. On its hind legs, the enormous animal was nearly three meters tall and must have weighed at least half a ton. Great glowing eyes regarded the tiny apparition, whose venom was nearly always fatal.

  Pip dove straight for the head. At the last second pleated wings beat the air as the minidrag braked-to land and curl lightly about the creature's shoulder. The monster eyed the minidrag dispassionately, then turned its dull gaze on Flinx, who gaped back at the giant in shock.

  For the second time in his life, Flinx fainted. ...

  The dream was new and very deep. He was floating in the middle of an endless black lake beneath an oppressively near night sky. So dark was it that he could see nothing, not even his own body ...which might not have been there.

  Against the ebony heavens four bright lights drifted. Tiny, dancing pinpoints of unwinking gold moved in unpredictable yet calculated patterns, like fireflies. They danced and jigged, darted and twitched not far from the eyes he didn't have, yet he saw them plainly.

  Sometimes they dance
d about each other, and once all four of them performed some intricate weaving in and out, as complex and meaningful as it was quickly forgotten.

  "He's back now," the first firefly observed.

  "Yes, he's back," two of the others agreed simultaneously.

  Flinx noted with interest that the last of the four fireflies was not the steady, unwavering light he had first thought. Unlike the others, it winked on and off erratically, like a lamp running on fluctuating current. When it winked off it disappeared completely, and when it was on it blazed brighter than any of the others. "Did we frighten yon?" the winter wondered.

  A disembodied voice strangely like his own replied. "I saw Pip ..." the dream-voice started to say.

  "I'm sorry we shouted at yon," the first firefly apologized,

  "Sorry we shouted," the other two chorused. "We didn't mean to hurt you. We didn't mean to frighten you."

  "I saw Pip," Flinx mused, "settle around one of the native's shoulders. I've never ever seen Pip do that to a stranger before. Not to Mother Mastiff, not to Truzenzilzex, not to anyone."

  "Pip?" the third voice inquired.

  "Oh," the second firefly explained, "he means the little hard mind."

  "Hard but tasty," agreed the first one, "like a chunut."

  "You thought the little hard mind meant to hurt us?" first voice asked.

  "Yes, but instead he responded to yon with an openness I've never seen before. So you must also broadcast on the empathic level, only your thoughts are friendly thoughts."

  "If you say we must," third firefly elucidated, "then we must."

  "But only when we must," fourth voice said sternly, blazing brighter than the other three before vanishing.

  "Why does the fourth among you come and go like a fog?" Flinx's dream-voice murmured.

  "Fourth? Oh," first voice explained, "that's Maybeso. That's his name-for this weektime, anyway. I am called Fluff." Flinx got the impression the other two lights brightened slightly. "These are Moam and Bluebright." The fourth light blazed momentarily.

  "They're mates," it said, and then winked out once more.