by Larry Niven
I did and stuck it in my belt, and grinned at Marthar. I took off the offending backpack and dropped it at her feet. I also took a blaster, a kzin one, which required both hands to hold it. I was going to present it to S’maak-Captain.
I ran towards the hole that was more or less the door in the wrecked lander, carrying the blaster. There was nobody on guard, which was a puzzle, but I could hear voices coming from inside. Kzin voices. I slowed down as some instinct told me that something was wrong.
Then one of the snarling, hissing voices became louder and a kzin came out sideways and stood up. I didn’t recognize him, and realize this as he moved in a blur and took the blaster from me. I just stood and gaped. Then another figure came out, who I did recognize. It was Silver.
He took in the pinnace, me and the blaster that the other kzin was holding. That was when the pinnace shot into the sky, soundlessly, faster than you could believe. Silver grabbed the blaster and raised it towards the pinnace, but he didn’t fire. He watched it streak up until it had vanished, to my eyes at least.
Silver turned to me, sticking the blaster in his belt. “Well, well, ’tis young Peter back again, after all this time. And wi’ some interestin’ stories to tell us, I’ll lay to that. And what looked rather like one o’ K’zarr’s boats, I’d say.” He turned his head on one side and opened his eyes wide as he looked at me. “Interestin’ indeed, an’ I’ll be sittin, an’ listenin, wi’ my full attention while ye tells me what’s been happenin’ to ye. And I thank ’ee kindly for this present, what you made me.” He tapped the blaster with a claw tip. He was as jocular and friendly as he had been when we first met him.
The other kzin snarled something and made a move towards me. I thought my last moment had come.
“Belay that, this man-kit is my friend, I tells ye,” said Silver, pushing him away amiably. The other kzin looked at him resentfully, but didn’t try to dispute the matter. He glared at me, and at Silver’s back, then went back into the wrecked lander, where we could hear him roaring at the others.
“Let’s you an’ me walk a little way to get out o’ the noise and babble o’ the rabble, shall we? But not too far, for as ye know, when I set down, ’tes hard for me to get up again.” He walked further down to the nose of the crashed lander, broken and cracked, took off the great cutlass on his back, stuck it in the rocky soil, then lowered himself down next to it, sitting not on the ground but on a broken shard of the lander, and motioned me to join him. I didn’t have much choice, so I sat down on the ground facing him. A kzin can usually crouch quite easily, but I suppose his artificial leg was stiff. It must have been an emergency repair rather than a proper prosthesis, perhaps done on a backward world, far inferior to those fitted to kzin war veterans on Wunderland. But he was poised to rise again quickly.
Silver looked at me quizzically, his gaze flicking over my belt and the needler before returning to my face. He made no move to confiscate the needler. I don’t suppose I could have killed him with it before he killed me anyway.
“I suggests we has a little trade, Peter Cartwright, yes, a little trade o’ information: you tells me o’ the explanation for ye vanishing, an’ who was the other kzin wi’ ye when ye vanished. And how ye came by the pinnace, and how ye got back to the Warrior Beast, which must be dead now and restored to the old Valiant, if the thing over there is to be used in evidence,” he indicated the smiley face carved in molten stone. “Then I’ll explain to ye how it comes that we’re here and your friends are not. So fire away, me little friend, blast me wi’ surprises, and then I’ll answer any questions ye may have o’ me, and we’ll both be up to date.”
I thought about it. I wanted desperately to know if Orion, the Judge, the Doctor and the others were still alive. But could I believe Silver would tell me the truth? Kzin almost always do; their pride would make them disdain to tell a lie except as an occasional tactic with an enemy. But I thought Silver regarded everyone as an enemy and would lie and tell anyone what he thought they wanted to hear.
I didn’t have much choice. “All right, one question each alternately. And I go first. Are the captain and Orion and the others still alive?”
“Well, well, ’twas my idea to trade, so by rights I think I should go first, but I’ll waive all that.” He waved an arm to indicate his generosity. “Yes, so far as I know they are all alive, save the three kzin who was here. Now, my question is, who was the kzin who untied ye two kits and ran off to the tower wi’ye?”
Would it be a betrayal of Bengar to tell of him? I suppose that the question was a probe of my reliability, and he already had an idea of the answer. It might be worth getting Silver’s trust. If I was going to lie to him it would be on something important. The noise from inside had died down, and two of the crew had come out and were standing nearby, listening to the exchange between Silver and me.
“It was a former member of K’zarr’s crew who was marooned here many years ago by you.” I decided to give the very minimum information.
“Well, well, well. Must be that Bengar survived, which is a great credit to him, so it be, a great credit. And how is me old shipmate? And ’twas not me marooned him, never agreed wi’ maroonin’ kzin or man.”
“No, you’d rather just kill them,” I said hotly. I felt like telling him that I’d heard him from the meat-locker, but if we were trading information, I’d be a fool to give him any for nothing. I should have kept that back, but I was angry.
“The dead ’uns don’t bite, ’tes true,” Silver agreed easily. He didn’t seem to feel any shame at this, but then, he wouldn’t.
“Where are my friends?” I demanded.
“Well as to that, I has to say I doesn’t know exactly, but I rather suspicions they be occupying that there tower,” Silver answered promptly enough, with a gesture in the direction of the tower.
“Why are they there?” I demanded.
“Ah, I think it be my turn, ain’t it? Fair’s fair, dooty’s dooty, as I’m sure ye will agree. And my question is: has me old friend Bengar found out how to use those there discs to get from one place to another, because ye vanished, and I knows that’s what they does, because K’zarr hisself said that any living thing placed on them went away. And I’m thinking they must be some sort o’ transport system like, an’ old Bengar must ha’ found out how to use them. Would I ha’ the rights of it?”
“Yes,” I answered shortly. I felt an inclination to amplify the answer as if I were talking to Marthar, but I bit it back. The less the old villain knew the better. “How did my friends come to be in the tower or wherever they are?”
“Well, as to that, ’twas their work, and their error. For they set out to attack us where we was, near to the red lander, d’ye see. And damned near did for us, so they did, comin’ when half the scum was drunk, which was my fault for letting them have the rum, d’ye see. But then, if I’d had no rum for them, they’d ha’ mutinied for sure. I’d ha’ had to kill half o’ them meself. Well, S’maak-Captain, he saved me the trouble, so he did. But those of us what got away reasoned that there’d be few left in this here wreckage, d’ye see, an’ maybe we could get our revenge on the smaller group. And the swabs what lived in the green lander, they comes out to help us when they saw it were easy enough and that S’maak-Captain weren’t there to defend it. For they’re nearly as frightened o’ that S’maak as they are o’ me, ye may lay to that. Anyway, we sort of swapped places as a result o’ ye marauding kzin, and they humans too. Near nobody left here, there was. Three kzin, all gone now. But then your party took down five of us, five damned drunkards. Happened the day after ye drew that there smiling face in the sand. Or night, if we be keepin’ ship’s time.”
I began to have hopes. If Bengar landed at his old place, and he and Marthar went by the discs to the tower, they would meet up with the others. At least there was a good chance of it going that way. And with the weapons, our side would outgun the pirates. There was not much chance for me, of course, although Marthar would rescue me if she coul
d, I had no doubt of it.
“Ask your next question,” I said grimly. Some more of the crew had come out and were studying both Silver and me.
Silver looked at me thoughtfully. I had no idea what was going on in that great head, but there was no doubt he was a very clever creature. He must have reasoned as I did, that my party now had the upper hand. We had taken the Valiant from him, we could get there and back and he couldn’t. But it wasn’t an occasion to boast about it.
“Ah, Peter, Peter, ye’ve bested old Silver, nary a doubt of it. Bested by a couple o’ kits, I’ve been. Never hear the end of it, I won’t. Ivery bar in the swirl-rift, they’ll be laughin’ at old Silver, so they will. And that Marthar, she be a kit-and-a-half, so she be. Well, we be distant relatives, her an’ me, in a manner o’ speakin,’ so ’tis not so surprisin’.”
“And now I suppose you’re going to kill me,” I said, standing up with what courage I could muster.
“Why should I do that?” he asked with apparent surprise. “No, I admires ye. Ye seized the opportunities as they came, so ye did, the pair o’ ye. ’Twould be a shameful thing to harm ye now, a stain on old Silver’s honor. No, ye be safe wi’ me, I promise ye.”
There was a growl from some of the crew.
“Your honor didn’t stop you bugging me, didn’t stop you trying to kill us all,” I told him with contempt.
He looked at me. “Sit down again, Peter,” he gestured. “You’re young, and you’re proud, and I respects ye for it, d’ye see? But a kzin can take his pride in things ye’d not yet know about, and a man likewise, I’ve no doubt. There’s them as takes their pride in bein’ an obedient servant, no question, an’ then there’s others what doesn’t. I takes me pride in other things than obedience, so I does. ’Tes a harsh, cold universe, and there be many ways o’ livin’ in it. Ye’d do well not to judge until ye’ve tried more an’ learned more.”
I sat down, my mind in a whirl. Silver was a monster, I had no doubt at all. But I felt my hatred for him weaken; I was no longer able to despise him quite so much. But I didn’t imagine for a moment that I could trust him, either.
One of the crew men broke in. “The man-kit has bested ye right enough, Silver, wi’ yon kzinrett. And ye might ha’ destroyed the boat wi’ her in it, but ye didn’t. And why not, we asks us? Maybe ’tis that she is a distant relative, maybe? Just who’s side are ye on now, Silver?”
Silver looked at him. He was the big brown-striped one Marthar had been carried by when they caught us.
“Ah, Rraangar, ye ha’ no sort o’ brain, ha ye? Destroy the on’y link wi the mother ship? Not I, not so stupid. Better to capture it in due time, and have it for ourselves. I’d ha’ no trouble takin’ down an enemy, as many know, as ye should know yourself. Many a good Hero’s gone before now, some to the battle pits, some by the board to black space, and some wi’ my wtsai in their bellies.”
“Then take down the man-kit, Silver, or gi’ him to us for a snack. It’s long since I had monkey-meat. Prove you’re not lyin’.” The brown-furred kzin was obstinate.
Another broke in. “Do it, Silver, for this is one o’ the pair took down Gra-Prompyh, the pair what got the pad from Skel, the pair what ha’ done much o’ the harm we suffers from. First and last, we’ve split upon those two, an’ ef ye hands him over then maybe we’ll say no more on it.”
I stood again. “Kill me as you please, I don’t fear you!” I cried. “But one thing I’ll say and no more: if you spare me, bygones are bygones and when you are in the dock for piracy, I’ll speak for you and save you all I can. Kill another and do yourselves no good, or spare me and keep a witness who might save you all from death.”
I stopped, for I was out of breath, and to my wonder, not one of them moved, but all stood staring at me like as many sheep. And while they were still staring, I broke out again. “And now, Silver, I believe you more than any other here, and if things go to the worst for me, I’ll take it kindly if you will tell Marthar the way I took it.”
The only kzin I knew were those at home, who were used to living with humans, and who to some extent we had come to understand. I realized I knew very little of the psychology of these savage and predatory pirates.
“I’ll bear it in mind,” said Silver with an accent so curious I could not decide if he was laughing at me or had been affected by my courage.
“I’ll put one to that,” Rraangar cried out. “It were this one what knew the Dog and t’other what took him down. So here goes!” And with that he drew his wtsai and his jaws opened in a roar to the killing gape.
“Avast there!” cried Silver. “Who are you, Rraangar? Maybe ye thought ye was Captain here, perhaps? By the powers, but I’ll teach ye better! Cross me and you’ll go where many has gone before.” He stood and took up his huge cutlass. “There’s never a Hero nor human looked me in the eyes and seen a good day afterwards, and ye may lay to that.”
Rraangar paused, but a hoarse murmur rose from the others.
“Rraangar’s right,” said one.
“I bin fooled before by you, Silver, and by a few more, but I’ll not be fooled again, so I won’t,” said another.
“Did any o’ ye want to have it out wi’ me,” roared Silver, leaning forward. “Him that wants shall get it. Ha’ I lived these years and a son of a sthondat speak t’ me o’ folly? Ye know the way, ye’re all Heroes o’ fortune, by your account. Well, I’m ready. Take wtsai or cutlass, him that dares, and I’ll see the color of yer liver, aye, and so will all t’others here.”
Not one of them moved.
“Ahh, that’s your sort, is it?” Silver sneered at them. “Well, all so brave when there’s a gang o’ ye and not so much alone. Not much worth to fight, you ain’t. I’m Captain here by election. I’m Cap’n here because I’m the best here by a couple o’ parsecs. Ye won’t fight as a Hero o’ fortune, then, by thunder, you will obey, and ye may lay to that! I like this man-kit, he be more of a Hero that any pair o’ sthondats here, and what I say is this: let me see him will lay a paw to ’im, that’s what I says.”
There was a long pause after this. I stood up with my heart hammering away, but with a little hope in it. Silver leaned back against the hull, his eyes on the crew, full of contempt, as calm as ever. Yet his eyes kept wandering over them, and he kept half an eye on the tail of the crew. They on their part drew gradually away together, towards the door into the wreck and the low hiss of their whispering was like a stream. One by one they would look up, but it was upon Silver that their glances fell briefly.
“Ye seem to have a lot to say,” Silver called out to them. “Pipe up, and let me hear it too, or lay to.”
“By your leave, Cap’n, you bin free wi’ the rules; maybe you’ll kindly keep an eye on the rest. This crew is dissatisfied, so it is, an’ it has its rights, like other crews. I grants that ye be the Cap’n at present, but I claim my rights, and steps away for a council.” And with a salute, the kzin stepped into the door to the wrecked lander. One after another, the rest followed his example, saluting and making some sort of apology. “Accordin’ to rules,” one said. “Crew council, sir,” said another. And they left Silver and me outside in the sunshine.
CHAPTER TWENTY-THREE
“Now lookee here, Peter Cartwright,” Silver said in what was a barely audible whisper. “You’re within half a step of death, and what’s a long sight worse, of torture. They’re going to throw me off. But, mark you, I stand by ye through thick and thin. I didn’t mean to, no, not ’til you spoke up. I wouldn’t ha’ given ye over to them, not to be played with, but I wouldn’t have kept you alive either. I were not too happy wi’ being bested, I tell you; but I see you are the right sort. I said to meself, you stand by Peter and Peter will stand by you, Silver, so I said. You’re his last card, and by the living thunder, Silver, he is yours! Back to back, says I. You save your witness, Silver, and he will save your ears.”
I began to understand. “You mean all is lost?”
“Aye, indeed I do. Ship
gone, treasure gone, ears gone, and that’s the size of it. And as for that council, well, they’re fools, mark me, outright fools and cowards. I’ll save your life from them, if so be as I can, but tit for tat, you save Silver.”
“What I can do, that I’ll do,” I said.
“It’s a bargain!” he cried. “You speak up plucky, and by thunder I’ve a chance.”
He stood up and stretched.
“I’ve one last question for ye, though I doubts I shall get an answer. ’Tes this: That Orion, he gave me this, when we was pulling back from the tower. Why did he do that, d’ye think?” He held up Skel’s memo pad.
I looked at it in puzzlement. “I’ve no idea,” I said truthfully. He tossed it thoughtfully and caught it again.
“Hmm. Well, maybe I have my own ideas on that. Understand me, Peter,” he said. “I’ve a head on my shoulders, I has, and a good ’un. I’m on Orion’s side now. I know you has a way of getting to the ship. How you managed it all, I don’t know, because Vaarth was there and he should ha’ taken you all down, easy as winking, but he didn’t. Well, I never believed much in him, for sure. No, mark me, I know when a game’s lost, so I do, and I know one who’s staunch and true. Ah, you and young Marthar and me, why, we might have done a power of good together!” He reached into a pouch and pulled out a bottle of cognac.
“Will ye taste, messmate?” he asked, and when I had refused: “Well, I’ll take a dram meself, Peter. I need a caulker, for there’s trouble on hand, to be sure.” And he took another swallow of the brandy, shaking his great red-golden head as someone looking forward to the worst.
The council of pirates had lasted some time when one of them came out, looked at us briefly and then returned.
“There’s a cold wind coming,” Silver said, and his fur fluffed up.
They came out of the door, one by one, sideways, then coming upright, gathering. I saw the sunlight gleam of a bare blade. The others were watching him as he held a bottle in one hand and the wtsai in the other, kneeling down as he did something. Then he rose to his feet and the whole party came towards us.
