Darllanyu pointed to the waterfall. "Our power station. The water wheel is going already, down below. We'll have our generators in before winter, but we've shut down all ship's power until the Squadron leaves." She gestured to their left where, in the shadow of the cliff, metal hulls gleamed.
Across from where the waterfall spilled into the river, there was a gravel mine. Roads had been laid out around groups of buildings and out to distant plowed fields. All around, crews of Dushau and ephemerals were graveling the roads, building, hauling, plowing. To their right a large log stockade shaped like a tilted parallelogram surrounded some log buildings, mostly still under construction. All those within the stockade were Dushau.
Darllanyu pointed out the two largest buildings within the stockade, the Aliom and Historians' temples, saying, "We've had to exclude ephemerals already because some of us have been thrown into Renewal by the repeated shocks of the last year." Then she identified the clay mine on the far side of the river, downstream from the gravel pit. "It's not the best grade, but it will do for a while." On one beach at the edge of the river, a kiln was rising. Beyond a cluster of foundations for houses and barns was a corral where local animals were being trained to pull wagons, and already some teams of beasts were dragging logs in from the stand of tall trees beyond the river.
There had to be at least a thousand people working below them. Krinata asked, "How many Dushau altogether?"
"Four hundred thirteen," answered Darllanyu.
"Humans?"
"Over two hundred. Cassrians, Holot, and Lehiroh account for several hundred more."
Before Krinata could ask about children, they were spotted, and a group of humans and Holot gathered. They harnessed a beast to a horizontal wheel and pulley to power the elevator. Once down at the settlement's level, Krinata, like everyone else, was caught up in the exuberance of a warm greeting. She saw the Cassrian children welcomed by a Cassrian couple, the children thrilled by the unbridled curiosity of others of their own species.
Krinata was drawn into a group of six human young women fussing over her scrapes and bruises, insisting she be seen by their physician. As she was swept away from Jindigar, she looked back and saw Darllanyu accompanying his litter toward the Dushau compound, two other Dushau clustering about them.
She smothered an urge to break away and run to Jindigar, knowing she'd be barred from the private compound, and with good reason. But her mind refused to focus on those welcoming her to the unattached women's house.
They'd built their house larger than a family cabin, and as yet it lacked glazing in the windows, interior walls, and furniture, though they had indoor water taps and would soon have toilets.
"We have to haul the water into the cistern on the roof, but we can have a warm shower when the sun's up. Wait until we get the solar heaters made and the power pumps in!"
As they regaled her with their plans they insisted she shower. Then the doctor arrived. She was a middle-aged woman with a dark chocolate complexion and bright black eyes that saw everything in a flicker. Her hair was cropped painfully short and clung to her head tightly. She wore the same tough cord trousers and tunic as everyone else but with the effortless elegance of the born aristocrat. Poised and unruffled, she examined Krinata without instruments, then corroborated her findings with field sensors. "Practicing against the day when these are gone. Even though they're Dushau manufacture, they'll wear out someday!"
The results tallied, and the doctor announced, "You're one lucky woman indeed. No concussion, no broken bones, no permanent internal injuries. You'll be fine as soon as the bruises heal." She rebandaged Krinata's head and left a locally grown herb potion for pain, "Our pharmaceuticals won't last long, so we'd best get used to these."
Krinata surveyed her body as she dressed in the clean clothes the women provided. Leaner than she'd ever been, she had muscles she'd never have believed before, and the exposed skin areas were incredibly dark compared to her untanned skin. She was no office worker anymore.
The other women had gone back to work, but the cook, an older woman who reminded Krinata of her mother, insisted she eat a hot meal—native foods, but cooked with familiar spices. She couldn't enjoy it, though, her mind plagued with thoughts of the risks Darllanyu might be taking right now to save Jindigar. She was gnawing on a fruit when there was a sound at the door, which stood open in the heat of the day.
A male Dushau voice asked, "Is Krinata Zavaronne here?"
"Who may I say is asking?" inquired the cook, trying to sound like an important servant of a Lady.
Krinata, recognizing Dushau tones, went to the door, heart pounding in sudden anxiety. He's not dead!
The Dushau replied, "My name is Zannesu, and I've come with a message from Darllanyu."
"I'm Krinata Zavaronne."
"Darllanyu requests your presence."
"Jindigar! Is he—"
"When I left, he was alive. Darllanyu wishes you to understand that you will not be welcomed by all but that your presence is necessary."
Krinata handed the half-eaten fruit to the cook, mumbling, "Thank you—I'll be back," and plunged out into the afternoon sun, taking the trail toward the Dushau compound before her escort could show her the way.
After the brief taste of acceptance the human women had shown her, Krinata was doubly chilled by the stares she gathered as Zannesu took her through the gate of the Dushau stockade. Evidently her involvement with the triad had quickly become common knowledge, for everyone they passed—road crews, wagon drivers, loggers, carpenters, miners, fishers and hunters—stopped to inspect her with the curious apprehension usually reserved for a new species.
They entered the stockade at the acute angle of the parallelogram closest to the clusters of dwellings of the ephemerals. There was no actual closable gate. Instead, two walls curved out to embrace each other creating an S-shaped, open portal that blocked all view of the interior. Beyond the portal, walls were being built out from the stockade walls to form an inner chamber. Here foundations of stalls– perhaps a market or visitors' area—were being laid.
All the workers were Dushau, young and old, male and female. She spotted several Dushau races with distinctive features or mottled coloring. As Zannesu led her through the inner walls, a murmur followed them. She felt a chill of unwelcome she knew wasn't Dushau hauteur but rational fear.
Dushau entering Renewal were not emotionally stable. Even Dushau children under a thousand years old were not permitted to travel off-planet because they, too, were not to be trusted to deal rationally with ephemerals. Only after first Renewal could they earn passports by meeting stringent requirements. Krinata walked close to Zannesu, keeping her eyes down, determined not to offend anyone, no matter what.
They came out in the wide area of the central compound, where already there were foundations of another pair of interlocking walls built out from the oblique corners to divide the main compound in half.
Zannesu took her elbow firmly. "With your permission, Lady Zavaronne, we must go quickly through here to Aliom."
She yielded, lengthening stride as they turned into a graveled path among long buildings and cabins with closed courtyards. They had the same steeply pitched roofs as the ephemerals' cabins, but the walls rarely formed right angles, most windows were round or oblong, and doors were concealed. Small gardens had been tilled, but only tiny brown shoots had broken the russet surface. In one building a skylight was being installed—the first glass she'd seen.
At her question Zannesu explained, without slackening pace, "The first attempt to make glass produced very low-grade material. We've found a better sand now, so the next batch should be good enough for windows. This must be accomplished before winter."