The Vastalimi Gambit

by Steve Perry

  “As a young adult, I had a liaison with a male with whom I was to formally mate. A week before that was to happen, he stepped crooked in a Challenge and lost. After his death, I had little to keep me there.”

  “Shit happens,” Formentara said.

  “We have that saying, too.

  “And what of you? You do not smell like the others. There is a level of complexity in you they don’t have.”

  “I am mahu. My nature is . . . not as straightforward as that of most humans. We are androgynes, sometimes called pan-genders, and relatively few in number. Our physical appearance is such that sexual identity is not immediately apparent.”

  “You all look alike to me,” Em said. “Wasn’t for smell, I could barely tell you apart.”

  Formentara chuckled.

  “When Leeth said that finding Wink Doctor and Kluth would be difficult, you and Cutter Colonel exchanged significant looks. Why was that?”

  “Good catch,” zhe said. “Our troops have implanted trackers. These have a limited range, and are normally inert, but within a few hundred kilometers, a coded ping will activate the device, and I can locate it.”

  “Kluth allowed this?” Her tone was amazed.

  Formentara shook hir head. “Actually, she didn’t. We sneaked one into her. It was technically legal, according to her contract. Unfortunately, she figured it out and had us remove it.”

  “I don’t doubt that. You have done this with me?”

  Her tone took on a certain quiet menace.

  “No. Kay made it pretty clear that Vastalimi didn’t hold with such things, so we learned that lesson. But humans tend to be less concerned. Wink has an implant. Find him, we should find her, assuming both are still alive and together.”

  “Ah.”

  “As soon as we can shake our minders, if we get any once we arrive, we’ll go look.”

  “We will have watchers, and a klatch of humans won’t be easy to hide on Vast.”

  “We have you to help. Inside a closed vehicle, we should be able to move around without drawing too much attention; there are ways to disguise our scents, as well.”

  Em shook her head. “You think of things that wouldn’t occur to most of us. You are a most devious species.”

  “Absolutely true, that.”

  “Getting ready to exit,” Unico said. “Take a deep breath and with luck when you let it out, we’ll be back in normal space. In five . . . four . . . three . . . two . . . one . . .”

  TWENTY-FOUR

  Rillmasc was big, bigger than most Vastalimi Wink had seen so far. He was half a meter taller than Kay, taller even than Wink by several centimeters, and had the build of a sprinter, muscular and taut.

  “Kluthfem the Healer and the human Wink Doctor,” he said, his voice not as deep as Wink would have guessed from his size. His Basic was almost without accent. “Do come into my lodge.”

  Interesting that he answered the door himself, and that he knew who they were.

  “This way.”

  He led them down a long hallway with a high ceiling. The waxed wooden walls were adorned with trophy heads of various animals, including what looked to be a white liger. Not a big cat you’d find outside of a preserve or a zoo, and certainly not roaming around on Vast.

  A lot of the heads had sharp and long teeth, and they were showcased in snarls.

  The hall ended at a large room with an even higher vaulted ceiling, and more animals, head and in some cases, the entire creature, as well as rugs, chairs, and couches covered in different skins.

  No doubt that this was a hunting lodge, and Wink suspected that Rill had taken all these animals himself.

  He wondered about it aloud: “All your trophies?”

  “That spitbear, to the left, next to the airwall? A brother took that one. I had it stuffed and mounted to honor him—he died fighting the bear. The rest of them . . .” He shrugged, but the grin was revealing. A proud male, strong, fit, and adept, and well aware of his prowess. Wink knew the type.

  Wink was the type . . .

  “Sit, if you like.” Rill waved at the chairs and couches.

  “We’ll stand,” Kay said. “We don’t want to take up too much of your time.”

  “Some refreshments?”

  “Thank you, no.”

  Rill said, “How may I assist you?”

  “You know who we are, I assume you understand our mission?”

  “You are investigating the disease that has killed many of The People.”

  “We are.”

  “A terrible thing. What makes you think I can offer any help? I’m a but a humble hunting guide.” He smiled, knowing they didn’t believe him.

  “You apparently do quite well at it,” Kay said, looking around. “Well enough to endow a medical scholarship at VHU.”

  “Ah. I see. You think I might have a tame doctor who whisked this plague up in a test tube, then inflicted it upon my enemies?”

  “Teb was the third to die.”

  “And I grieved not at all for the sister-jebangje, turd-eating, back-clawer that he was. But if I had wanted Teb dead badly enough, I would have done it personally.”

  He raised one hand and popped his claws out and in, to demonstrate that he could do that.

  “If you could have gotten close enough. It is our understanding that Teb was a cautious sort. Getting next to him wouldn’t have been easy.”

  “I didn’t care enough to try,” he said. “Nor would I be so sloppy as to cause the deaths of so many others—including if I am not mistaken, your parents and several of your siblings?”

  Wink digested that. Rill had taken the trouble to find out about her parents and to use it as a barb. Interesting.

  “I would not think you to be that sloppy,” Kay said, ignoring the part about her family. “But smarter people than you have done more foolish things.”

  “You have my word as a hunter that I had nothing to do with Teb’s death, nor those of any others infected with the disease. Not my style.”

  She nodded. “I’ll accept that. Any suspects you’d care to point us at?”

  He grinned, a fast flash of teeth, too quick to be thought a real threat. “Oh, I have plenty of enemies I would sic you on if I thought it would cause them grief, but again, I wouldn’t waste your time. You are sure that the cause is unnatural, aren’t you?”

  “We believe it to be so.”

  “I wish you success. I know a few people who died from this. Most of them not the most untarnished of citizens, but it is, I am given to understand, a most unpleasant death. I prefer to see my kills done cleanly, without suffering.”

  Before she could speak to that, Rill looked at Wink. “Are you adept with the weapon you have hidden behind you on your belt, Wink Doctor?”

  “I’d like to think so.”

  “Interested in a wager?”

  “What kind of wager?”

  “You leave here on foot. Go in any direction you choose, take your weapon with you. I’ll give you an hour’s head start, then track you. When I find you, one of us kills the other. I’ll be armed only with these.” He held his hands up and popped his claws out, then back in again. “If you win, I’ll have my estate transfer a million New Dollars into your account.”

  “And if you win?”

  “What will it matter? You won’t care.”

  Wink looked at Rill. “Let me ask you something. Do you have a, uh . . . private trophy room? One with heads you only allow a few special visitors to enter and see?”

  Rill whickered. “Oh, very good! Quick and sharp, so much the better! What do you say?”

  Wink thought about it for a moment. Armed with his pistol and knife against claws? He could take this guy . . .

  “I am tempted, but I have bigger goals in mind.”

  “I understand. When you are don
e with your bigger goals? The offer will still be on the table. You strike me as a real challenge, and I’ve run out of those lately. And I’ll show you my private trophy room . . .”

  _ _ _ _ _ _

  In the cart, Wink said, “You believe him?”

  “Yes.”

  “Because he swore as a hunter?”

  “Because he is what he is. I don’t doubt he would kill an enemy in a heartbeat, but not from hiding—he is too full of his own pride.” A short pause, then, “You considered accepting his challenge, didn’t you?”

  “Well, a little. Million noodle’s a lot of money.”

  “But that’s not why you’d have done it.”

  “No.”

  “The trophies you saw?”

  “But they weren’t armed with a gun, nor as smart as I am.”

  “The former is true. Had you accepted the offer, I would think the latter was not.”

  “You’d bet on him?”

  “I am not prone to make such wagers.”

  He waited a second, thinking about her answer.

  “I’d be interested in seeing his private trophy room,” he said.

  “As I imagine the Sena would be interested. I suspect they could solve a number of disappearances and murders based on what they’d find there. I also suspect that if the Shadows ever come to look, that room will go up in a white-hot flash, leaving no usable evidence behind.

  “Besides, by the time you saw the room, you wouldn’t be in a position to appreciate it.”

  He nodded. Another road not taken. “So, who’s next on our list?”

  _ _ _ _ _ _

  The seven of them prepared to step into the port’s lock on Unico’s ersatz-rattletrap ship. They were only eighty thousand kilometers above the surface of Vast, but the drop would take a while; something to do with limited orbital space.

  It was more than lucky that they had Em along; none of them had any firsthand knowledge of Vast, and even the best research at a remove was no comparison to having a native guide.

  Interesting, sometimes, how those things worked out.

  “There are many ways to die on our world,” Em said, “and many of them are violent. Best you try to avoid irritating The People, and if you do, be prepared to do battle . . .”

  She gave them some rules and social mores, including a quick-and-dirty lesson in Challenges and how best to avoid them, and how to use a weapon if somebody did want to rip your throat out.

  It sounded like a dangerous place to Jo though she wasn’t particularly worried. She could imagine that Wink had been rubbing his hands when he arrived here, thrilled at the prospect. The man camped on the stoop to Death’s butcher shop frequently, and he would risk his life for all manner of reasons she thought fairly trivial.

  Not that she didn’t sometimes do the same. Some neuroses ran really deep . . .

  She and Wink had enjoyed a hot and brief sexual congress after the job on Ananda, but she didn’t see any future in that—neither of them was looking for anything more.

  She liked him, and he was part of their team, as was Kay. If they had been taken out, then the rest of them were going to find and make whoever did it pay.

  Attack one Cutter, you attacked them all.

  Formentara said, “Not many augmentation parlors here.”

  “It is not a thing The People do,” Em said.

  “Naturally. You keep taking us back to the stone age, Colonel, my skills are going to atrophy down to nothing.”

  Rags grinned at hir. “I really don’t think that’s likely. I expect you could sit alone in a dark room in a desert in the middle of nowhere and still exercise your mind just fine.”

  Zhe grinned back at him. “Well, genius does find a way to amuse itself.”

  Jo said, “Okay, we are good to go, right?”

  Everybody seemed to be ready.

  Unico said, “If you ever need another hackney through the Void, let me know.” He looked at Gunny. “Nice shooting with you, fem. I’ll practice some so I can keep up with you next time.”

  “Good luck with that,” Gramps said.

  They stepped into the lock.

  _ _ _ _ _ _

  The dropship took its sweet time getting them down. Six and a half hours? That was unheard of most places. You plugged into a standard orbit, fell into the gravity well, and were on the ground in ninety minutes, maybe two hours, tops.

  Gramps shook his head.

  “What?” Gunny asked.

  “As you never tire of pointing out, I’m not gettin’ any younger.”

  “Well, it’s got to be faster than taking a skyhook. You remember those, right?”

  “Actually, I do, and this is not much faster than those.”

  _ _ _ _ _ _

  When they finally entered the port proper, the place was, not surprisingly, thick with Vastalimi. Jo tried not to stare, but it was impressive seeing that many at once.

  All of them faster, stronger, deadlier than she was. It was humbling.

  She didn’t like the feeling.

  Em said, “And here come the Shadows.”

  Jo glanced at her.

  “The purple dye on the shoulders and the strapped sidearms. Our police, the Sena. There are four of them, and you seldom behold that many in one place unless there is big trouble. They are here for us.”

  “Why, what did we do?”

  “We came to Vast. There are few humans here, and most of The People have probably never seen half a dozen of you in a clot like this. I think the Shadows are here to make sure we—by which I mean you—don’t cause a riot.”

  “We aren’t looking for trouble.”

  “Doesn’t mean you won’t find it. There are more than a few Vastalimi who would just as soon claw you as look at you—though in your case, that might be a fatal mistake.”

  Jo nodded.

  One of the purple-shouldered fems moved to intercept them. She looked fit and moved well. And familiar . . .

  “I am Leeth,” she said. “Kluth is my sibling.”

  Sister who’s a cop. Another thing Kay never got around to telling us. Jo shook her head. They hadn’t told anybody they were coming, a tactical decision, but of course, a cop would have access to information about incoming visitors once the ships arrived.

  Rags stepped up. “I’m Cutter. Is there word from her or Wink?”

  “As it happens, yes. They were kidnapped but managed to escape.”

  “Sheeit, you mean we came all this way for nothin’?” Gunny said. She tried to sound arch, but the relief was obvious to Jo. All of them would feel that way. They were soldiers, and as such, had developed padding on their emotions—comrades died in battle, you couldn’t let it overwhelm you. Still, Wink and Kay were, well, not just comrades.

  “So why aren’t they here instead of you?” Rags said.

  “They continue to investigate, seeking the cause of the malady. As of now, we don’t know exactly where they are, only that they were alive and well when I heard from them yesterday.”

  Rags glanced at Formentara. Zhe smiled, and Jo knew why.

  “I will convey you to a place of safety and we will wait to hear from Kluth.”

  “All due respect, we might be able to help with their investigation.”

  “First you would have to find them. It’s a big planet, and you have no idea where they are.”

  “We can locate our own when we need to do so.”

  “A nice ability. You’ll notice we don’t have a lot of humans here. That would also be a problem—you won’t blend in.

  “Meanwhile, if you will come with us, we have a transport waiting.” She turned and walked away.

  Gunny leaned over to Gramps. “I bet she is sudden death with that pistol. Look at the rig, how polished that handle is fro
m use; half the checkering is worn off.”

  “Good, she can do our light-fightin’ until we get to our ride.”

  With two of the Sena behind them, and Leeth and the fourth in front, they moved through the terminal. Crowded as it was, people got out of the way as they approached.

  Jo noticed and said so.

  Em said, “Lot of things can get you in deep shit here; fucking with the Sena is at the top of the list. They can arrest you, decide if you are guilty, and execute you on the spot, at least for some acts. Nobody will blink if they do. Best not to put yourself in that situation.”

  “That’s a lot of leeway to give a police officer.”

  “It’s not an easy job to get. You have to be highly trained, skilled, and vetted. Your performance is reviewed frequently.”

  “Got it,” Jo said.

  Well. Whatever else it might be, “boring” didn’t seem to be a particularly useful word for visits here . . .

  _ _ _ _ _ _

  The next two stops yielded no more information than had the visit with Rill. Nobody offered to let Wink become the most dangerous game, nobody was particularly obnoxious, but they were not particularly helpful. Yes, they knew about the disease. No, they had nothing to do with it. It was a terrible thing.

  Kay was inclined to believe them. Not that Vastalimi didn’t lie, certainly they did, but nothing in the demeanors of those they had interviewed leaped out and called attention to itself as outright fabrication.

  Humans, it was sometimes said, would climb a tree to tell a lie. Vastalimi needed what they thought were good reasons.

  Something about this whole line of inquiry felt wrong to her. It was perfectly reasonable to look for connections to people who had the expertise and equipment to generate the fake pestilence. And her less-formal questions might get responses that Sena absolutely would not get. Still, it didn’t feel as if she was on the quarry’s trail.

  She said so to Wink.

  “So, what do you want to do?”

  “We can try one or two more and see if anything comes up.”

  “Okay. Next on the list is one Jaresmasc, ostensibly an artist, who arranges assassinations through prigovor, at least according to the rumor net.”

  “Let us go and speak with him,” she said.