by David Brin
He pursed his lips. And bid adieu in a language designed for such things.
* Petals floating by,
* Drift through my woman's hand,
* As she remembers me — *
The carrier wave hissed until he cut the circuit.
He rose and carried the radio outside. Carefully approaching the edge of an open pool, he dropped the transmitter in. If anyone had locked into a resonance with the crystals in the set, that Eatee would have to dive for it.
He stood there, by the pool, and watched the low clouds roll past, dark and heavy with unspent rain.
They'd be arriving any moment. His weapons were at his belt, and his breathing tube, and a full canteen. He was ready for them.
He was standing that way, watching and waiting, when the steaming volcano on the horizon began to growl, then cough, then angrily spout bright fireworks into the sky.
The bridge was a blur. Gillian's eyes swam, but when she blinked the tears would not bead and drop away. Her eyes clung to them, like precious things.
"Shall we answer?" Tsh't spoke softly from next to her."
Gillian shook her head. No, she tried to say. But she could only mouth the word. Telempathically, she sensed the sympathy of those around her.
How can I mourn, she wondered, when I can still feel him faintly? He is still alive out there, somewhere.
How can I mourn?
She felt a swirl of movement as a fin approached cautiously and tried to report to Tsh't without disturbing her.
Gillian pressed her burning eyelids together. The tears flowed at last, in narrow trails down her cheeks. She couldn't reach under her mask to brush them away, so she let them lie. When she opened her eyes, her vision had cleared.
"I heard that, Wattaceti. Which way is Takkata-Jim headed?"
"Toward the Galactic flotillas, Commander. Though the fleets seem to be in chaosss! They are boiling every which way, after the confusion caused by that psi-burst. A major free-for-all is shaping up above… above Mr. Orley's position."
Gillian nodded. "We'll wait a little while longer. Go to condition yellow and keep me informed."
Off-duty personnel were called to their posts. Suessi and D'Anite reported that the engines were warm.
Last chance, Hikahi, Gillian thought. Are you coming?
"Gillian!" Lucky Kaa called. With his harness arm he pointed out one of the ports. "The cliff!"
Gillian hurried over and looked where the pilot indicated. The entire mass of rock was trembling. Cracks began to appear in the great wall that towered over Streaker.
"Lift stations!" Gillian commanded. "Tsh't, take us out of here!"
104 ::: Galactics
Cullcullabra bowed low before the Soro Krat.
"Have you interpreted the human's broadcast?" She snapped.
The stocky Pil bowed again, backing away slightly. "No, Fleet-Mother, not completely. The human spoke in their two doggerel languages called 'Anglic' and 'Trinary.' We have translation programs for both, of course, but they are so chaotic and contextual — unlike any civilized language…"
The Librarian flinched as Krat hissed at him. "Have you nothing?"
"Mistress, we think the last part of his message, in the dolphin-speech, may be the important part. It might have been a command to his clients, or…"
The Librarian piped dismay and dodged back into his station as a ling-plum missed him by inches.
"Hypotheses! Tentative conjectures!" Krat stormed. "Even the Tandu boil with excitement and send expedition after futile piddling expedition to the site on the planet's surface from which the message emanated. And we must, perforce, follow, no?"
She stared about. Her crew avoided her gaze.
"Has anyone even a hypothesis to explain that psi-assault which struck a short time ago, and seems to have disoriented every sophont in the system? Was that also, a chimera of the Earthlings? Are the volcanoes that fill our instruments with static mere trickery?"
The crew tried to look simultaneously busy and attentive. No one wanted to risk the ire of the fleet mother.
A Paha warrior strode from the office of detection.
"Mistress," it announced. "We did not notice before because of the volcanoes, but there has been a launching from the planet's surface."
Krat felt a turn of glee. This was what she had been waiting for! Though she had sent ships of her own to the site of the radio messages, she had kept the core of her fleet together.
"Diversions! They were all diversions! The radio calls, the psi attacks, even the volcanoes!"
A part of her was curious about how the Earthlings had managed the last two. But that question would be solved when the humans and their clients were captured and interrogated.
"The Earthlings waited until much of the battle had moved near the planet," she muttered. "And now they make their attempt to escape! Now we must…"
Cullcullabra came up to her side and bowed. "Mistress, I've done a deep search of the Library, and I think I know the source of the psi and the…"
The Pil's eyes bugged out as Krat stabbed him in the abdomen with her mating claw. Krat stood up, carrying the Librarian in the air, then flung his lifeless body over to the wall.
She stood over the body breathing deeply of the death odors. No trouble would come over this killing, at least. The idiotic Pil had actually interrupted her! No one would deny that she had been within her rights this time.
She sheathed her claw. It had felt good. Not quite like mating with a male of her own race, who could fight back in kind, but good.
"Tell me about the Earthling ship," she crooned to the Paha.
She noticed it waited a full second after she finished speaking to begin. "Mistress," it said. "It is not their main vessel. It appears to be a scout ship, of some sort."
Krat nodded. "An emissary. I wondered why they did not try to work out a surrender agreement before this. Move the fleet to intercept this vessel. We must act before the Tandu notice it!
"Have our new Thennanin allies take the rear. I want them to understand that they are junior partners in this enterprise:'
"Mistress, the Thennanin have already begun preparations to leave us. They appear to be eager to join the chaos at the planet's surface."
Krat grunted. "Let them. We are even with the Tandu again. And the Thennanin are almost used up anyway. Let them depart. Then we proceed after the scout ship!"
She settled back onto the vletoor cushion and hummed to herself.
Soon. Soon.
The masters demanded too much. How could they expect the Acceptor to report specifically when so much was happening!
It was beautiful! Everything was going on at once! Sparkling little battles over the planet's surface… bright hot volcanoes… and that great psychic roar of anger that had poured out of the planet itself only a little while ago!
The anger still steamed and spurned. Why were the masters so uninterested in something so unique? Psi from below a planet's surface? The Acceptor could tell the Tandu so much about that angry voice, but they were only interested in shutting it out. It distracted them and made them feel vulnerable.
The Acceptor witnessed it all in bliss, until the punishment came again. The masters applied a neural whip. Its legs jerked at the unpleasant sensation that coursed through its brain.
Should it let the "punishment" alter its behavior this time? The Acceptor considered.
It decided to ignore the "pain." Let them cajole and shout. The Acceptor was enthralled by the angry voices that churned below, and listened with all its might.
105 ::: The Skiff
"What the devil… ?"
Dennie was rolled off the dry-shelf to splash into the water below. Sah'ot squawked in confusion as the tiny ship's hold tipped.
Then, in addition to the physical tossing, a rolling wave and psychic discomfort began to fill their heads. Dennie coughed water and grabbed a wall stanchion. She wanted to cover her ears.
"Not again," she moaned. She tried
to use the techniques Toshio had taught her…focusing on her heartbeat to drive out the grinding static in her head. She hardly even noticed when Sah'ot shouted, "It'sss them!"
The fin pressed the hatch button with his beak and sped out into the hallway. He streaked into the tiny control room.
"Creideiki!" he began, forgetting for a moment that the captain could not understand him. "It's them. The voices from below!"
Creideiki looked back at him, and Sah'ot realized that the captain already knew. In fact, he seemed hardly surprised. Creideiki crooned a soft melody of acceptance. He appeared content.
From the pilot's station, Keepiru announced, "I'm getting neutrinos and anti-g flux! They're coming from dead ahead. A small ship taking off."
Hikahi nodded. "Probably Takkata-Jim. I hope Gillian's right that he's been taken care of."
They continued to drive underwater toward the east. About a half-hour later, Keepiru shouted again. "More anti-g! A big ship! Taking off from near to the southwest!"
Creideiki's flukes struck the surface of the water.
* Up, up!
Up and Look!
* Look! :
Hikahi nodded to Keepiru. "Take her up."
The skiff surfaced. Seawater slid in sheets off the ports.
They clustered around a southern port and watched as a distant wedge-shaped object erupted from the horizon, and lumbered into the sky, slowly gathering speed. They watched as it flew south, passing the speed of sound, finally disappearing into the high clouds.
They watched even after Streaker's contrail began to drift and slowly come apart under Kithrup's contrary winds.
PART TEN
Rapture
"They are the lads that always live before the wind."
— HERMAN MELVILLE
106 ::: Toshio
Toshio swam hard as the swell tried to drag him backward. He fought the current and strove for the open sea. Finally, just as he felt his aching arms and legs could do no more, he reached calmer waters. With burning lungs he turned and watched as the metal-mound, now almost two kilometers away, sank slowly into its pit.
The sinking couldn't go on. The drill-tree had not completed its excavations when he and Dennie had blown it apart. The island would probably settle until the shaft was plugged.
Dull detonations groaned on all sides of him. Toshio treaded water and looked around. On islands in all directions trees swayed, and not from the wind. In the distance he saw at least three roiling clouds of steam and smoke rise from boiling patches in the sea. There was a growling of subsea quakes.
All this because of one little bomb? In spite of all he had been through,. Toshio calmly wondered about the cause of it all. There was nothing left to do but choose the manner of his dying. He felt queerly liberated.
What if the bomb released a vein of magma, Toshio wondered. If a volcano appeared anywhere, I'd think it would be in that drill-tree shaft. But I guess the island's plugging it.
The metal-mound that had been his home for two weeks seemed to have stopped sinking. A few treetops waved above the water.
Toshio wondered about the fate of Charles Dart. He couldn't imagine the chimpanzee swimming very far. Perhaps it was just as well. At least Charlie had had a clean exit.
Toshio felt a bit better having rested. He began swimming again, for the open sea.
About twenty minutes later there came another low rumbling. He turned around just in time to see the distant mound rocked by a terrific explosion. Dirt and vegetation flew in all directions. The mound itself heaved upward, almost out of the water, split apart, then fell back into a cloud of steam.
107 ::: Talkkata-Jim
"Calling battle fleet! Calling the battle fleet ahead! This is Lieutenant Takkata-Jim of the Terragens Survey Service. I wish to negotiate! Please ressspond!"
The receiver was silent. Takkata-Jim cursed. The radio must work. He had taken it from Thomas Orley's sled, and that human always maintained his equipment! Why weren't the Galactics answering?
The longboat was designed to be run by more than one person. The sudden and unexpected disaster at the island had forced him to abandon his Stenos. Now he had no one to help him. He had to juggle two or three jobs at once.
He watched the tactics display. A cluster of yellow lights were heading his way from Galactic north. It was a paltry flotilla compared with the great armadas that had come sweeping into the system only weeks ago. But it was still an awesome array of firepower. They were heading right for him.
Elsewhere, all was chaos. The planet was pockmarked with energy releases — boiling steam tornadoes where volcanoes emptied into the sea. And above the planet's northern hemisphere a free-for-all battle was going on.
Takkata-Jim increased the scale on his display and saw another fleet. It, too, had just started turning toward him.
The ether was filled with a roar of voices. AM, FM, PCM — every spot on the dial took part in the confusion. Could that explain why nobody seemed to hear him?
No. The Galactics had sophisticated computers. It had to be his own equipment. There had been no time to check it all before taking off.
Takkata-Jim nervously watched the map.
He was flying into a pod of tiger sharks, hoping to negotiate Streaker's protection and eventual release. But he remembered the look on Gillian Baskin's face, a week before, when he had suggested giving the ETs everything they wanted. Metz had supported him then, but the expression on the woman's face came to mind now. She had looked at him pityingly and told him that fanatics never worked that way.
"They'll take all we have, thank us politely, and then boil us in oil," she had commented.
Takkata-Jim tossed his head. I don't believe it. Besides, anything is better than what she plans!
He watched the tactics holo. The first fleet was only a hundred thousand klicks away, now. The computer gave him data on the ships, at last. They were Soro battlecruisers.
Soro! Takkata-Jim tasted bile from his first stomach. All the stories he had heard about them came to mind.
What if they shoot first? What if they're not even interested in prisoners? He looked at his own battle controls. The armament of the longboat was pitiful, but…
A claw of his harness reached over to flick on the arming switch… just for the small comfort it gave.
108 ::: Streaker
"Now both of the larger fleets turn toward Takkata-Jim!" Gillian nodded. "Keep me informed, Wattaceti." She turned. "Tsh't, how long can we stay hidden by these tectonic disturbances?"
"Our anti-g's been detectable for five minutess, Gillian. I don't think we can put off energy detection much longer by flying over volcanoes. If we're to make a break for it we've got to gain altitude."
"We're being scanned at long range!" the detector operator snapped. "A couple of ships from that battle over Orley's position are curiousss!"
"That's it, then," Tsh't commented. "We go for it."
Gillian shook her head.
"Buy me five more minutes, Tsh't. I don't care about the stragglers up north. Keep me hidden from the main fleets just a little while longer!"
Tsh't whirled through the oxywater, leaving a trail of bubbles. "Lucky Kaa! Steer south by southwest, toward that new volcano!"
Gillian stared intently at the display. A tiny blue speck showed the longboat, flying toward a mass of over thirty much larger dots.
"Come on, Takkata-Jim," Gillian murmured to herself. "I thought I had you figured out. Prove me right!"
There hadn't been a sound on the radio from the renegade lieutenant. Toshio must have done his job, and sabotaged the sets on the island.
The blue speck drew within one hundred thousand kilometers of the enemy.,
"Telemetry! Takkata-Jim's armed his weaponsss!" Wattaceti announced.
Gillian nodded. I knew it. The fellow's almost human. He'd have to have a stronger personality than I'd ever expected, not to do that, just for the security-blanket effect. As pointless as it seemed, who would go to face
an enemy with his safeties on?
Now, just a little closer…
"Gillian!" The detector officer cried. "I don't believe it-t! Takkata-Jim hasss…"
Gillian smiled, a little sadly.
"Let me guess. Our brave vice-captain is firing on the entire battle fleet."
Tsh't and Wattaceti turned to look at her, wide-eyed. She shrugged. "Come now. For all his faults, no one ever said Takkata-Jim wasn't brave."
She grinned to hide her own nervousness. "Get ready, everybody."
109 ::: Takkata-Jim
Takkata-Jim shrieked and grabbed at the toggle switch. It didn't work! The fire controls were activating without his orders!
Every few seconds a shudder passed through the little ship as a small seeker missile launched from the single torpedo tube. Small bursts of antimatter erupted from the longboat's nose, automatically aimed at the nearest alien vessel.
In a lucky shot, the lead Soro ship blossomed open like a fiery flower unfolding. The sheer surprise of the attack had overcome defenses designed to withstand nova heat.
He cursed and tried the override. It, too, had no effect.
As the Soro fleet began firing in return, Takkata-Jim wailed and swerved the little scout into a wild series of evasive maneuvers. With a dolphin's natural three-dimensional sense, he whirled off in a high-g gyration, threading salvos that passed chillingly close.
There was only one thing to do, only one possible source of succor. Takkata-Jim sent the scout streaking toward the second battle fleet. They must have witnessed his attack. They would think him an ally, if he survived long enough to reach them.
He sped out into space, chased by a herd of behemoths that turned and lumbered after him.
110 ::: Streaker
