Silent Dances

by A. C. Crispin

  Tesa hit her controls an d surged forward befo re Thorn could stop her .

  She'd come back from a flyaway , too. She glanced back and saw the

  biologist following her closely , wearing that look on his face.

  The pri vateers hove re d near the shu tt les , t ry ing to land, but Bruce an d Meg kept up a steady barrage with their stolen weapons , forcing the

  invaders to keep their shields up an d stay in the air.

  The escort flock beg an spiraling around the big sleds, taunting them.

  Suddenly Laure n broke away from Szu - yi. The distraught wom an

  raced into the open , waving her arms wildly at Maltese. The doctor r an

  after her, but missed her first grab and was forced to chase the tech

  down as Maltese slid under the esco rt , his weapon ready. He was

  plainly aiming for Lau re n.

  "YOU BASTARD!" Tesa screamed at the top of her lungs an d pushed

  her own sled to its top speed . Suddenly Rain appeared an d swooped

  toward Maltese , but Tesa ' s view became obscured by white wings as

  the esco rt surrounded the sled an d the Aquila . The re was a flash of energy as Maltese fired, then Rain flew away unharmed.

  As Tesa watched helplessly, a glistening white body dropped away from

  the esco rt and plummeted limply to the knoll. Furious , Tesa waved her spear an d slipped her sled into the now-vac an t slot in the esco rt flock's vee.

  Disorgan ized , the Aquila assault be gan breaking up as the avi an s be came frus tr ated at be ing unable to pene tr ate the energy shields of the heavy sleds . But the esco rt flock only became mo re cohesive , spiraling around the sleds , forcing them to fly

  257

  closer together , forcing them higher into the sky . The Aquila who

  crowded inside that ascending spiral struck against the sleds r an

  domly, sometimes attacking the p ri vateers , sometimes a tt acking Thorn an d Tesa.

  Thorn had worked his way inside the spiral an d fired on Maltese , but his

  weapon ' s ray only bounced off the freight sled's powerful energy

  field , end an ge ri ng the avi an s . He pulled back.

  The air grew thinner as they rose. The mesh bags Tesa had hur ri edly

  filled with stones were still re s tr ained on the back of her sled . She knelt , her own field holding her lower body snugly , as she pulled a bag free . She swung, then let it fly. It struck Deborah ' s shields hard an d bounced off harmlessly, but the wom an re acted instinctively to having

  rocks hurled at her face an d jerked away.

  Tesa batt e re d the p ri vateers with rocks , an d her as sault ra tt led some of the sled ri ders so much they stopped paying a tt ention to their location . One well - timed stone caused two sleds to slam into each

  other , sho rt ing out their fields . The other th re e got away from them quickly as the Aquila pounced on the now defenseless sleds . Several

  of the raptors we re killed as the p ri vateers fi re d wildly to save themselves . But, finally , the sled ri ders were overwhelmed by the num be r of avi an s bent on their deaths , an d we re ri pped apa rt, then pulled off their sleds an d d ro pped.

  The Grus escort kept pushing the big sleds higher . The deaths of the

  last two p ri vateers seemed to take the fight out of Deborah an d an other wom an. They ostentatiously placed their weapons on the surface

  of their sleds , indicating to Thorn an d Tesa their willingness to

  surrender. As though we have any control over this ! Tesa thought wildly.

  Only Maltese kept his nerv e . Taking adv an tage of the confusion , he t ri ed to push through the esco rt, brushing against Flies - Too-Fast in his effo rt to break f re e , but the yearling re cove re d quickly an d kept his place . The hum an' s a tt empted escape only enraged the Aquila , who mob be d him, blocking his view . The blond c ri minal ' s sled wobbled wildly but he m an aged to con tr ol it, though he could do nothing but hover impotently in place . When the t an gle of Aquila bodies clea re d, Tesa buzzed him , hitting his field hard with her last stone.

  He faced her, his face conto rt ed with rage . She hovered her

  258

  own sled, her knuckles white as she clung to her spear. A Ripper was

  one thing . Could she kill a man?

  Suddenly Thorn soared up behind Maltese, flying as close to the bigger

  sled as he da re d . The sky cleared of avi an s for a moment , and Thorn fi re d on the renegade . Tesa could see the Falcon ' s protective field shiver where it was struck . Maltese spun , dropped his shield , fired on Thorn, then snapped his field up again . Thorn ' s shield didn ' t shiver -

  it blinked off, then rose again in a second.

  It must' ve been hit too many times , Tesa realized, her hea rt sinking .

  These shields aren ' t as strong . If he' s hit again ... The cruel gri n on Maltese ' s face told her the same thing had

  occurre d to him. And he had to know Tesa had no energy weapon.

  Thorn kept firi ng at Maltese , forcing him to keep his shield up. But then

  the Aquila and the esco rt crowded in again, and the biologist was

  forced to stop . Maltese dropped his shield and fi re d at the biologist , but Thorn's sled was too fast, and he was under the big sled befo re the

  shot went off. Maltese's shield snapped up for the second it took him to

  locate Thorn.

  Tesa pulled up her spear and rushed the man , knowing he'd dismissed

  her when he ' d determined that she was weaponless. His shield

  dropped as he p re pared to fire again , then she was on him , but at the last second , Tesa could not thrust her spear into the m an' s back.

  Instead, she hit him hard with the shaft , sending the Falcon sprawling

  across his sled , grabbing for its hand g ri ps. She smacked him again , and he rolled onto his back , leveling his weapon at point - blank range .

  Then Rain dropped onto him, spearing his shoulder with her good

  foot . Maltese fired.

  The shot went wild, hitt ing the power cell of Tesa's sled with sufficient

  force to sho rt it out . Befo re Tesa understood what had happened , her sled was gone and she was falling. And falling.

  Skydiving, she thought dazedly . Without a power pak. Without a - gravs.

  I'm falling!

  Then she screamed, and kept on sc re aming until she realized that

  wasn't going to help.

  Spread your wings , my friend, something said to her . Didn't I tell you to

  watch for lightning?

  Tesa spread her arms an d legs, feeling the wind tug at her. It felt like

  sound . Her body steadied and stopped its sickening

  259

  SILENT DANCES 259 tumbling . It hardly seemed like she was even

  moving now. When had she dropped her spear ? When had she lea rn

  ed to fly?

  Thorn watched Tesa plunge toward Trinity , knowing he could not save

  her. His small sled wasn ' t designed for that kind of acrobatics , to catch such a large object in free - fall. One pa rt of him was aware that the Aquila had pounced on Maltese befo re he ' d even fired at Tesa ' s sled, that he w as being to rn , literally , limb from limb , but that didn ' t even affect him.

  How many times do I have to lose you? his mind c ri ed out as he sent his sled diving after her, vainly t ry ing to close the distance between them .

  Tesa would land on the camp's knoll, and even in the lessened gravity

  she would hit like a meteor. Thorn pushed his sled.

  Suddenly a dark body rocketed past him. The young Aquila Tesa had raised

  was falling, her wings folded tight for speed. Then, beneath Tesa was a

  mass of white wings . Somehow, the escort had gotten under her , and Thorn could see Taller and Sailor jockeying into position to cushion

  her
, to slow her fall. He felt no hope for their brave a tt empt . Tesa's weight, even in T ri nity ' s gravity , would be too much for the Grus.

  They would only inju re themselves t ry ing to save her.

  Thunder flew over Tesa. The raptor stretched her wings, her taloned foot

  slashed out , grabbing Tesa by the w ri st. She backwinged desperately, and Thorn could see her calling. Above Thorn a mass of Aquila were

  still har ry ing the two p ri vateers who were t ry ing to descend and surrender. Then suddenly bronze bodies were dropping past him ,

  converging on Tesa with the same ferocity they had their hated

  enemies.

  Tesa saw Sailor ' s feathe re d back come up beneath her, but it only

  added to her terror. She knew they ' d keep struggling to break her fall,

  in spite of the danger to themselves . Taller was beside Sailor , ready to take over when Sailor tired. But it was all so useless Tesa began to

  weep.

  Then she felt a scaly foot grasp her wri st and yank upward, pulling her

  arm so hard it felt as though it would separate f ro m her shoulder . She looked up to see Thunder straining to slow her fall . Blood ran from

  Tesa's w ri st whe re Thunder ' s talons pierced it . Desperately Tesa wrapped her hand around the Aquila's leg.

  260

  Then Rain was beside Thunder, and Tesa almost panicked. The Aquila

  could kill her so easily and be rid of the hated human's influence on her

  child. But Rain reached and grasped Tesa's other wrist, without scratching

  Tesa's skin.

  Then another female clasped an ankle. Yet another reached for her other

  leg, but missed. But that was okay, because Taller was under her now, his

  strength slowing her still more as the Aquila held her tight, all the avians

  fighting the pull of the World together.

  They were moving her over deeper water, she realized, away from land.

  When the Aquila finally released her, Taller slid out from under her. Tesa

  twisted, trying to get her body into a diving position, but she didn't have time.

  She belly flopped painfully into the water. She was stunned, but conscious

  enough to kick up, and broke the surface gasping. Thorn was there, his

  expression full of fear and concern. But she was unhurt. She had flown with

  the Grus and heard the voice of the Thunderbird.

  Thorn was signing frantically. "Are you okay? You okay?" Tesa nodded at

  him, treading water. He leaned over his sled, hauling her onto it. He

  wrapped his arms around her soaking body, clutching her in a frantic hug.

  Tesa could feel his jaw moving as he babbled at her.

  Finally, she took his face in her hands and kissed him, happily.

  Huge wings passed over, startling them. It was SailorLightning! she

  reminded herself-making sure Tesa was all right. "I should've known it would

  be him," Thorn signed resignedly.

  Lightning beckoned urgently with his head for them to follow as he sped

  toward the landing pad. Thorn held Tesa tightly as he launched the sled in

  that direction, but when they arrived at the pad it seemed, at first, that

  everything was over.

  The two surviving privateers were restrained with Szu-yi's cable and locked

  in one of the shuttles to protect them from the Aquila. Tesa noted Lauren

  sitting on the ground, alone, staring vacantly into space.

  A crowd of Grus stood near the back end of a shuttle, so they headed there.

  Tesa spotted Taller and Weaver, and Lightning's golden feathers. Thorn

  hovered the sled, and they jumped off, weaving their way through the tall,

  feathered bodies.

  261

  Tesa spied Meg an d Bruce, then followed their gaze an d saw Szu- yi huddled on the ground . She shudde re d as she realized what the

  doctor w as doing . The Grus that had been shot out of the esco rt flock w as lying c ru mpled on the ground, her eleg an t head in the doctor ' s lap. It was Shimme ri ng.

  The human worked fr an tically to save the avi an' s life; she'd al re ady stopped the blood pou ri ng out of the avi an 's torn neck. Red mottled the glistening white feathers an d Szu-yi's arms an d h an ds , but-the doctor ' s h an ds continued to move expe rt ly.

  Dr. Li was packing a small hole in the avi an 's b re ast, but Tesa could tell it w as useless . The avi an' s keel had to be sha tt ered , her lungs bu rn ed , her air sacs ru ptured.

  Szu-yi' s mouth w as moving steadily. Tesa gl an ced at her voder

  through blur ri ng vision. The doctor was saying over an d over , " Don't die . Please , don't die."

  Suddenly Shimmeri ng ' s legs paddled weakly . The avi an 's dulling eyes looked up into the doctor's as Shimme ri ng b ru shed her feathe

  re d fingers against the human ' s tearstained face.

  "You're so kind," the G ru s signed feebly, "so ve ry kind." Szu-yi ru bbed her blood - streaked voder sc re en clear to re ad the avi an' s dying words . Then Shimme ri ng ' s h an d dropped bonelessly an d the nictitating membr an e slowly e as ed up over the golden eye.

  Szu-yi stroked the silken feathers. " I should've d ru gged Lauren ," she said to no one . Tesa re ad the words automatically, tr an slating them for the sur ro unding G ru s. "But- - the psy chotherapeutics aren't always predictable ... an d she seemed be tt er . Then she r an away from me . She w an ted them to kill her. This one flew between them , taking the bl as t they aimed at Lau re n."

  Tesa suddenly realized that Flies- Too-Fast stood beside the doctor . The

  young G ru s le an ed over to lay a black-feathe re d h an d on Szu-yi ' s shoulder . " It wasn ' t your fault ," he signed to her . He took her h an d an d tugged it , indicating she should st an d. "Those of us that loved her ... have to lift her to the suns."

  Then the young avian stood up ri gidly , th re w his head back, an d called to the skies . Taller , Weaver , Lightning , all joined him until the enti re esco rt flock w as calling , calling , lifting Shimme ri ng's spi ri t up , pushing her on her way to the suns.

  262

  Tesa threw her own head back and whooped till her throat was sore, until

  she began to feel that the body at her feet was empty of everything that

  Shimmering had filled it with.

  Now it was over. Really over.

  263

  Epilogue

  Tesa dashed out of the shower , her towel draped ca re lessly over her d ri pping hair , an d b an ged her shin on a dresser. She w as n't used to such a cluttered environment an ymore. She d ri ed herself hastily , then pulled on a fresh StarB ri dge jumpsuit. There was so much to do today, but she couldn ' t afford to be late for the first human / Grus intercultural d an ce an d powwow. Especially since the whole thing had been her idea.

  She glan ced over at the Ripper robe and clothing. Tesa's mother had

  worked on them after she'd arrived, improving Tesa ' s hasty t an ning .

  They looked g re at, but she wouldn't wear them today . Tesa lifted her feather shi rt and appraised it. It had taken quite a beating , but Weaver had labo re d days over its re pairs and it was beautiful again. Tesa had proudly shown her pa re nts its subtle designs with the UV lamp.

  Tesa' s parents an d grandpa re nts had arrived two weeks ago, only a

  week after the battle with the p ri vateers . Two days later, the CLS re presentatives had docked with the Crane , an d suddenly the tiny space station beg an to look like an intergalactic po rt . When Tesa had

  explained to Taller the political importance of the new visitors , he'd

  graciously invited all part ies to

  264

  camp on the knoll and get to know his people and his World. It was good for

  leaders to know one another, he'd said. That's how compromises were
/>   forged.

  Rain, however, had been highly suspicious of this new human invasion ,

  but Tesa had finally convinced her it was only temporary, so grudgingly,

  she'd finally agreed.

  Tesa slid the glistening shirt over her jumpsuit and shrugged into it. Pulling

  damp hair out of her eyes, she turned and was startled to find her entire Grus

  family standing behind her. Taller was cautiously watching his step, while

  Weaver peered about the alien structure nervously. Lightning, however, only

  glanced at the strange setting casually.

  "How do I look?" Tesa asked, modeling her feather shirt. Taller and Weaver

  exchanged a look. "Different," Weaver finally decided, looking at her with

  one eye.

  "Adult," Taller signed.

  Tesa grinned at the compliment.

  "We wanted to speak to you alone for a moment ," Lightning told Tesa. Tesa smiled wryly. These days getting a private moment was seldom easy . "

  The re we re some things"--the Grus youngster made the slinky sign for the Mizari Liaison, the Esteemed Shirazz-` `told us that we wanted to ask you

  about."

  Tesa knew what they really wanted. The many-tentacled, serpentlike Mizari

  had lidless eyes. The Grus had found, to their discomfort, that the Mizari

  could withstand "the look" without even trying. Whenever they spoke to the

  Liaison, they felt the need to confirm with Tesa whatever it was the Mizari

  had said.

  "Shirazz tells us," Taller began, "that the two murderers you captured will be punished. We understand that they and their cohort"--he was referring to

  Lauren, Tesa knew--"will be sent away, ostracized by all decent people,

  possibly forever?"

  "That's most likely what will happen," Tesa assured him. Dr. Li doubted that

  Lauren would ever be able to function normally again, and after the

  disastrous ending of the privateers' schemes, Deborah and her surviving

  crew member had seemed almost relieved to be taken away for a long

  imprisonment.

  "My concern," Taller signed, "is this. How will we know that humans like these will never come to the World again?

  265

  How can we be sure that we'll never again be victimized by beings with