Silent Dances

by A. C. Crispin

Now, there's intelligence, Tesa thought, amused. Any fool could see that wasn't the right color. She asked the computer how much memory was left,

  and was surprised to find that it was completely available--that nothing was

  stored in it.

  That can't be right, Tesa thought. She ordered the camera to record from

  dawn to sunset and then called up the last marker. The last camera at Nest

  Three was also fully functional, but it was spying on an empty nest. All its

  memory, too, was available.

  They could come back, she thought. I'll keep checking. Tesa realized that she could use the "hearing" camera at Nest One to her advantage. If that

  nest were inhabited, the camera could record the Aquila's vocalizations and

  Tesa could program her voder to try and translate them. It would take time to

  limit the voder's other functions, but it might be worth it.

  The computer confirmed that it could hear occupants in the nest.

  Wanting to give the voder's memory all the space it needed, Tesa scanned

  her files to erase or download them into external storage chips. She didn't

  want anything to limit the voder's ability to set up a mapping algorithm.

  She'd wiped most of the files when she came upon something she hadn't

  even known she'd recorded. It was a conversation between Peter and Thorn

  days ago, probably when the two had been washing the dishes. She felt

  guilty looking at it--it was, after all, nothing more than eavesdropping--but

  when she saw that Peter had brought her name up, her curiosity overcame

  her compunctions.

  There was banter about Thorn's interest in Tesa, and Lauren's feelings

  about that, and then the sentences became garbled and broken up. They

  must've turned on the sonics, Tesa decided, scanning to see if there was

  anything else in the conversation she could decipher.

  The garbage cleared. Then the voder identified Bruce. His sentence was

  plain.

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  "Meg said something to me about an Aquila leaving its lunch here abouts ,"

  he'd said.

  Tesa felt a shiver of dread.

  Peter remarked that he and Thorn had been discussing that, but for Tesa,

  that conversation had been ruined by the sonic washer . Peter

  downplayed the significance of the Aquila ' s visit, but Bruce wasn ' t so easily put off. He wanted to do something, to be assured that the

  ground crew was not in danger . The next sentence rocked Tesa.

  " Scott wasn ' t afraid to violate the taboo ," Bruce had said. "I looked through his paperwork - he'd planted cameras ..." The weatherman

  wanted to find the cameras , re activate them. Tesa realized with a stab

  of dismay that the Crane crew could' ve already downloaded those

  camera memo ri es to study them , which would explain why they were

  empty.

  Thorn said he knew about the cameras, and had looked for them. The next

  thing he said only confused Tesa . He insisted that all of the cameras were nonfunctional.

  Tesa sat back, staring at the display. It might ' ve taken Thorn longer to

  find Scott ' s markers than it had Tesa , but she did not doubt that he'd found them . If he ' d found them , then he'd probably been the one who

  ' d downloaded those memo ri es. But why would he lie about it?

  Tesa didn' t like finding out that Thorn was capable of lying. Whatever

  his motives we re , she would have trouble viewing him the same way

  now . Remember , he can't endure "the look," she thought.

  She tri ed to shake off her hasty suspicions . After all, she had no intention of telling anyone about the cameras, either. The Aquila were taboo.

  Maybe Thorn felt compelled, as she did, to continue Scott's work. Still,

  his lying unnerved her.

  You hypocrite, she scolded herself, you lied to him barely an hour after you'd arrived . She squeezed her eyes shut, confused . What a backward

  forward way to be.

  Tesa opened her eyes to reread Bruce's bitter words.

  "If we can't do approved research on the Aquila," he'd said, " we'll just have to rely on the oldest Terran technique for coping with nuisance

  wildlife."

  Tesa felt like ice. She purged the memo ry without reading the last

  sentences . She knew that Terran technique all too well.

  131

  SILENT DANCES 131 Eradication . Extermination . Extinction.

  Genocide.

  Gazing at the lone Grus standing in the inky water, guarding his family ,

  guarding her, she thought bitterly , Taller ... if you only knew who really

  was the Death.

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  CHAPTER 12

  The Coup

  The shimmerings predicted rain , and rain came . Two days of it, a

  gentle , steady soaking that effectively canceled Tesa ' s visits with Thorn . But the coffee still arrived eve ry mo rn ing.

  Tesa was busy re cording Grus legends and filming the sto ry walls.

  Even though the chick ' s eyesight had improved , he still had trouble focusing on Tesa and she wor ri ed that she might be too alien for him

  to accept.

  She was also tired of referri ng to him in third person. The Grus explained

  that the ri ght name would eventually "show up," that it was no one's special task , as it was among Tesa's people.

  But on the chick ' s fifth day in the World , the sky was b ri ght and cloudless and no one could go near the slitted opening without finding

  him under their feet . As the Father Sun edged over the ho ri zon , Taller stuck his head through the slit, while his son stood comically between

  his legs, pee ri ng out onto the World, his blue eyes enormous.

  Stretching tall, the chick flared his stubby wings out straight , scared to

  death.

  "He can wait," Weaver told Tesa. The avian was on the

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  nest , working on a cloak . " I w an t to finish this , first." She unfolded the mate ri al an d stood in one smooth motion. "I've never attempted an ything like this ... It might not work. If it hadn ' t been for your blanket , the idea would never have occurred to me."

  Tesa stare d at Weaver , confused. The avi an as ked the hum an to st an d , and when she obliged , the Grus female draped the feathered mate ri al over her.

  "Taller helped with the design." Weaver dre w the luxu ri ous folds over the hum an' s shoulders , " but I'm not su re it ' s ri ght, yet." She laced grass thongs together and the mate ri al beg an to form sides , then sleeves.

  Tesa slid her han ds into the th re e black " fingers" at the end of each arm as Weaver fi tt ed them to her, making them smaller. The wom an stood like an obedient d re ssmaker's dummy, an d soon w as wearing a white , thigh - length, feathered garment that laced up the front an d had a cowl to cover her head . With black p an ts, the shirt made her, in colo ri ng at le as t, a Grus.

  While Weaver was busy knotting up the other sleeve seam, Tesa

  examined the workm an ship , but as she finge re d the mate ri al , she received a shock when she re cognized the t an ned skin that had once

  belonged to Taller ' s son . The garment was pieced together , like a quilt , from weavings an d Water D an cer's skin . Under other circumst an ces , it would have been a perfect d an cer ' s costume.

  Taller, watching f ro m the doorway , must've seen the ch an ge in her exp re ssion and realized she was upset. "We couldn't use it for mou rn ing ," he signed , " because it won't decay. Then , Weaver saw your blanket an d decided that by wea ri ng it, you might help D an cer ' s spi ri t reach the suns."

  Weaver had stopped working an d looked at Tesa with concern.

  "I'll wear this with re spect for Dancer's ho
nor," Tesa signed , "an d in the hope his spi ri t will lend me his hea rt ." The two Grus bobbed their heads an d said nothing more. Tesa r an her h an ds over the shirt an d thought about Water

  Dan cer ... and his death . Where was his nagi, his soul, now? The chick was oblivious to the adults' discussion an d continued beseeching them

  through body gestures to be allowed outside . His comical insistence

  on doing something he was plainly f ri ghtened to do broke the somber

  mood.

  As Weaver finished the last seam of Tesa' s costume , Taller

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  slipped outside, pretending to take little notice of his son's alarm. Weaver

  went next, bending down for a moment to purr some confidence to the little

  one. When Tesa followed them the chick could do nothing but scramble

  along behind or be left alone.

  The shimmerings had multiplied fantastically after the rains and the shadow

  shapes of animals slipped in and out of the reeds. Flocks of jewel-colored

  birds swooped around.

  The chick watched his parents walking away and finally jutted his wings out

  and jogged after them down the embankment, running right into the back of

  Tesa's legs. Picking himself up, he shook himself and marched resolutely

  between his two mothers. But when they stepped into the water, he stood

  hesitant.

  Tesa waded out without stilts until she was thigh deep while the Grus adults

  stayed near, probing for delicacies underwater. Within seconds, the chick

  launched himself after them and was paddling around their legs.

  "I had no idea he'd be able to swim so well," Tesa signed. "We're born to water," Taller told her. "It's not something we learn, we just know. But chicks can drown, or large fish and hardshells can pull them under to eat them."

  Tesa's eyes widened, and she stared at the water until her eyes burned.

  "Do human children swim?" Weaver asked.

  "Yes, but we have to be taught." Tesa had been a water baby, something the

  therapists thought would help her coordination. She'd never feared water--an

  advantage during her training for the Ashu, hours that now weren't going to

  be wasted after all.

  Soon the two Grus moved away, hunting. The youngster followed them, then

  sailed back to Tesa, swimming around her, making her laugh. He could see

  her better now that she wore the costume.

  "He sails along the water like the shuttle sails the air," she signed to the Grus, casually. They gave each other a significant look and Tesa thought,

  horrified, I think I just named him Shuttlecraft!

  Taller made a sign. Sailor, Tesa thought, pleased. I can live with that.

  She uprooted a grass plant to feed him the soft pith. "Hello, Sailor," she

  signed, but he was distracted by a shimmering

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  SILENT DANCES 135 that landed on his back . Spinning in the water

  like a puppy after his tail, he struggled to catch an insect almost a qua rt

  er his size . Tesa watched , smiling . She had given him his name, and he could see her as clearly as Taller or Weaver . How could things on

  Trinity get any be tt er?

  As Taller and Weaver ran ged fa rt her away , she fed the chick water

  plants an d halfhea rt edly t ri ed to catch him a fingerling fish. Sailor was watching her a tt empts with childish fascination when he was dis tr

  acted by something behind her . Befo re Tesa could pull her attention

  from the fish that had just slipped through her fingers, Sailor ' s eyes

  widened in panic , his beak opened , and he reared back in the water , flaring his little wings. Ter ri fied , he spun and paddled furiously toward Weaver, who was back at the platform. Tesa felt a burst of vibrations

  from the female ' s call that sent shivers down her back. This felt

  different from the other calls, it felt f ri ghtening.

  Oh, shit, she thought . What ' s behind me ? Slowly , fea ri ng what she might see, Tesa tu rn ed her head.

  Kills-the- Ripper was bearing down on her , wings spread, yellow eyes

  filled with murder . How could you let this happen? she chastised herself.

  Then her brain sc re amed, MOVE!

  The avian' s lethal black bill came down like a knife as Tesa dived into

  deeper water , kicking off hard . She was too slow and the rapier point punctu re d her calf , but she kept on kicking in spite of the fie ry pain , striking out for clear water , drawing Ripper away from the nest shelter,

  away fr om Sailor, using speed she'd developed when tr aining to live

  with the Ashu.

  The water churn ed violently as the Ripper l an ded almost on top of her .

  She jackknifed ri ght , knowing she couldn ' t get far enough fast enough to save herself . Then another pair of thin, black legs splashed

  beside her , blocking her attacker . Gasping for air , blinking, Tesa s tr ained to see what was happening.

  Taller had come down in front of his enemy and the two avians were

  battling . There we re no social p re liminaries, no d an celike moves .

  They ' d thrashed to the shallows for their deadly kick - fighting . As if their bills weren ' t weapon enough, their small, innocuous-looking claws were sharp as quicksilver scalpels, inflicting deadly, bloody wounds.

  Ripper' s after the leadership , Tesa realized . He'll have to kill us all.

  Suddenly the male combatants dre w apa rt. Taller was bleeding, dark red

  blood streaming down his white neck and

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  spat teri ng one wing . They circled , looking for an opening. Then, to Tesa ' s amazement , Taller beg an to p re en his back.

  He's stalling, Tesa thought.

  "You've destroyed our way of life!" Ripper' s signs we re devoid of re spect . One of Ta ll er ' s eyes was f as tened on the challenger , even while he adjusted plumes . " You a ll ow this monster "-- Ripper pointed to Tesa--"to pollute your child as their alien bodies pollute the World. I will kill you!" But instead of attacking Taller , the challenger flew at Tesa.

  Before she could re act , Taller took to the air . At the same time , th re e other Grus , a male an d two females , exploded from the re eds , winging down on Weaver . Weaver stood her ground on the platform ,

  shielding Sailor with her body.

  Save our son, Taller had said.

  Tesa dived underwater, heading for the platform, trusting Taller to stop

  Kills-the - Ripper . She struck shallows and stagge re d to her feet yards from the platform , whe re Weaver struggled to keep herself between

  her enemies an d her chick. Tesa gulped air an d wonde re d what to do, when , th ro ugh the fo re st of legs, Sailor spied his alien pa re nt. As Tesa sta re d , hor ri fied, the tiny chick dodged through the gauntlet of limbs an d hit the water, swimming . The two attacking females pivoted an d came after him.

  Weaver used the distraction to go after the male with a fury . As Sailor

  swam straight to her , Tesa spl as hed toward him, then snatched him,

  one - h an ded, out of the water . Then she tu rn ed an d r an . F ri ghtened , Sailor flailed, scratching her hands with his small, sharp

  claws . Tesa raced through ankle - deep water, re fusing to think about the pain shooting up her leg with eve ry stride. If she could only reach

  the reeds , she and Sailor might be able to hide.

  How futile it was to t ry to outrun someone who could fly. Tesa' s lungs were sc re aming when one female l an ded easily befo re her . The hum an spun , but the other , a much sho rt er avi an with a stumpy bill , was behind her, neck stretched to attack.

  Tesa dodged to one side, then feinted to the other , all the while cradling

  the chick against her . For a moment she was able to evad
e the females

  ' outst re tched wings an d slide past them , only to be quickly blocked again . She m an aged to shield Sailor f ro m one of the attackers, only to feel a stab of searing

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  SILENT DANCES 137 pain knife through her shoulder from the other's

  bill. Tesa sagged to her knees in the mud.

  The taller female aimed for Sailor, still g ri pped tight in Tesa ' s hands.

  Dimly, Tesa was aware of Weaver winging her way to them , her own

  opponent floating dead in the water, but another , new female was

  behind her. Desperately Tesa t ri ed to get to her feet , but skidded in the slick mud and fell . Curling her body around the chick , she fought to keep both their heads above water . A powerful kick struck her

  kidneys. She inhaled mud.

  Gagging, Tesa saw a stubby - bill bearing down on her. She couldn ' t

  endure another stab, so she rolled , taking it in the side . She was

  lucky . This time the Grus hit only feathers.

  Thinking she had a piece of the human, the avian worried the garment ,

  pulling at it fiercely . Latching onto the alien's bill as it tugged at her shi rt, Tesa held Sailor out of the water and rolled , using her body weight to

  overbal an ce the avi an .

  With a wrenching yank that made her painfully aware of every wound , Tesa

  pulled the female off her feet . She fell across the hum an like a t re e , sp re ading her wings to counterbalance , accidentally creating a shield

  against the taller Grus. The tangled avi an , her head held pa rt ly

  underwater , struggled wildly , slamming her bony w ri sts and elbows against Tesa's head , knees, and ri bs. Glimpsing the second bird

  through thrashing feathers , Tesa saw her dancing around, eager to aid

  her f ri end.

  Then there was a shadow of wings and Weaver attacked. The Grus behind

  her lan ded and went after the sho rt- billed female lying across Tesa .

  That was too much for the one still st an ding , and she lost hea rt an d fled, Weaver right behind her.

  Tesa was kicked again an d again as her prostrate opponent t ri ed to

  free herself by using the woman ' s body to gain her footing in the mud .

  Finally , she heaved herself up ri ght by pushing Tesa and Sailor

  completely underwater.

  When Tesa broke free, she quickly checked Sailor, who was shaking his