The Elder vanished. "By order of the Overclan Prime?" the protector echoed. "I thought you said this was a small experiment."
"It is," Thrr-gilag said. "But there are other projects I'm also involved in."
The protector frowned at him; and then, suddenly, he got it. "Thrr-gilag; Kee'rr," he said. "Sure. You were the speaker for that searcher group on Base World Twelve. The ones with the alien prisoner."
"That's right," Thrr-gilag said. "Now, if you'll set us back down, please, I have to get a flight for Oaccanv."
For a long beat the protector gazed hard at Thrr-gilag's face, and for that same long beat Klnn-dawan-a was sure the scheme had collapsed. A searcher who specialized in alien studies would hardly be going around Dharanv putting basting sauce on fsss organs...
But to her relief the protector merely shrugged. "Sure," he said, swinging the mesh door down over Prr't-casst-a's niche and sealing it again. He looked over the guardrail and gestured to his partner, and the platform started down.
A hunbeat later they were walking down the flagstone path toward the predator-fence gate. "Well?" Prr't-casst-a muttered, hovering beside Klnn-dawan-a.
Klnn-dawan-a glanced around. There were no other Elders in sight. "We're all set," she said. "You can set up your secure pathway and tell Thrr-mezaz we've got it."
"I will." Prrt'-casst-a paused. "Thrr-gilag, what is this summons by the Overclan Prime?"
"I wouldn't worry about that," Thrr-gilag assured her with a confidence Klnn-dawan-a could tell he wasn't feeling. "I'm sure it doesn't have anything to do with this. I'll get that straightened out, then we'll try to find a way to get our little prize out to Thrr-mezaz."
"In the meantime, you need to keep up your pressure on the Dhaa'rr and Prr leaders to postpone or cancel the ritual of fire," Klnn-dawan-a added. "There's no way we can guarantee that what we've got will work the same way as a proper cutting."
"I'll try," Prr't-casst-a said, her voice trembling. "Klnn-dawan-a; Thrr-gilag... I don't know what to say. How to thank you..."
"You can start by getting that message to my brother," Thrr-gilag said, gently cutting her off. "And after that perhaps you'll get hold of a travel communicator for me. I need to catch the next flight out to Oaccanv and Unity City from this part of Dharanv."
"Right," Prr't-casst-a said, pulling herself back from the edge of maudlin sentiment with obvious effort. "Right away."
She vanished. "So," Thrr-gilag said, looking at Klnn-dawan-a. "Did you have any problems?"
"Not really," Klnn-dawan-a said, flicking her tongue in a negative. "It went more smoothly than I expected."
Thrr-gilag grunted. "I just hope it works," he said darkly. "I can't help thinking that if it was really this easy, they ought to be taking cuttings this way all the time."
Klnn-dawan-a shrugged. "Never underestimate the power of tradition," she reminded him. "Especially with Elders. Cuttings taken with knives work. That's how it's done; that's how it's always been done. That's good enough for most of them."
"You're probably right. If it works, maybe we'll write up a procedure paper on it sometime."
"Sure," Klnn-dawan-a said dryly. "What do you suppose the Overclan Prime wants?"
"Probably something to do with our mission to the Mrachanis," he said. "Maybe they're moving the departure up a few tentharcs or something."
They had passed the gate and were heading for the railcar stop when Prr't-casst-a reappeared. "I have the pathway to Thrr-mezaz," she said, her voice tight. "I sent the message, but he wants to speak to you."
"Sure," Thrr-gilag said, throwing a frown at Klnn-dawan-a. "Hello, my brother."
Prr't-casst-a vanished. "You think there's trouble?" Klnn-dawan-a asked hesitantly.
"Sounds like it," Thrr-gilag said. His expression was grim, his tail suddenly spinning faster. "I wonder if the Humans are up to something."
Prr't-casst-a returned. " 'Father's been trying to get hold of you for nearly two tentharcs, Thrr-gilag,' " she said without preamble. " 'You need to head back to Oaccanv immediately.' "
Thrr-gilag's hand groped for Klnn-dawan-a's, gripped it hard. "Is it about mother?" he asked.
The delay this time seemed to drag on forever. Klnn-dawan-a held tightly to Thrr-gilag's hand, her own tail spinning with tension. With the bulk of their attention focused first on the threat to their bond-engagement and then on this thing with Prr't-zevisti's fsss, she hadn't had a chance to get more than a rough idea of the problem with Thrr-gilag's mother. But she knew it involved Thrr-pifix-a's fsss and her reluctance to accept Eldership....
Prr't-casst-a returned. " 'He wouldn't say,' " she quoted Thrr-mezaz. " 'In fact, he really didn't tell me anything at all except that he needed to see one of us as quickly as possible. He was worried, though. Really worried. I could tell that much.' "
"He probably didn't trust the pathway he was on," Thrr-gilag said. "All right, look, I've just been summoned back to Unity City anyway. I'll try to find a way to get over to him."
Prr't-casst-a vanished, returned a hunbeat later. " 'All right. You want me to call him and let him know?' "
"Yes, you'd better," Thrr-gilag nodded. "You can get a much more secure pathway than I can. No telling what kind of leakage we'd get if I tried calling him from here."
Klnn-dawan-a looked at Prr't-casst-a, wondering if she would take that as an implied insult to the reliability of Prr Elders. But if she was offended, she didn't show it before vanishing again. Maybe she was too preoccupied with her own troubles to notice. Or maybe she'd done her fair share of Elder gossiping and knew that Thrr-gilag was right.
Prr't-casst-a returned. " 'All right. Any idea how you're going to deliver your package to me?' "
"Not yet," Thrr-gilag said.
"Actually, I have an idea," Klnn-dawan-a spoke up. "We'll discuss it and get word back to you."
Prr't-casst-a looked a bit confused. "Do I repeat all of that?"
"Yes," Thrr-gilag told her. "Just make it clear along the pathway that Klnn-dawan-a said the second part."
"All right."
She vanished. "What idea is this?" Thrr-gilag asked Klnn-dawan-a.
"That I go out to Dorcas and deliver it to him," Klnn-dawan-a said. "With the leaders still making up their minds about our bond-engagement, I haven't got much else to do right now anyway."
"So naturally you want to spend this free time in a war zone?"
"Don't be sarcastic, dear," she chided. "And don't argue, either. You know as well as I do it's the only way. You have to get back to Oaccanv and get ready for your mission. And there's no one else we can trust with this."
Thrr-gilag made a face at her, but in his eyes she could see he knew she was right. That was one of the things she liked most about him: the fact that he judged other people's ideas against exactly the same standards and criteria as he did his own. "It is a war zone, though," he reminded her. "How would you get them to let you in?"
"There are a couple of ways," she said. "Best chance would be—"
She broke off as Prr't-casst-a reappeared. " 'The sooner the better. Things are beginning to happen here. I have to go now, my brother. Keep yourself safe, and I'll speak with you again soon.' "
"Right," Thrr-gilag murmured. "Farewell, my brother." He took a deep breath, nodded to Prr't-casst-a. "Deliver that message, then release the pathway. Then get me that travel communicator."
"I will," Prr't-casst-a said, and disappeared.
Klnn-dawan-a looked at Thrr-gilag. "What's the matter?" she asked him.
"I don't know," he said slowly, his face troubled. "Just the way he said that, about things beginning to happen there. It didn't sound good."
"You want to get the pathway back and ask him?"