Bitfin separated from the pod and swam south, then suddenly leaped in the air, making a perfect arc in the water. There it is! The invitation! They are calling us, brothers and sisters, just like seal-man said. Do you hear it now? Another whale also left the pod, leaped, and confirmed Bitfin's impression, and then it was twos and threes, and finally the whole pod, and away they went.
The power of suggestion was a wonderful thing, wasn't it? Sean wondered to himself. Then he realized that his own hearing, less acute as a man than as a seal, seemed to be picking up distant whale song, though of course he couldn't be sure.
The last black fin disappeared from view, which wasn't very far in the dark waters and at night, despite the full moon. The aurora had faded to a wash of pale green diluted by the vastness of the sky. Sean turned back to give the seals the all clear and saw not a thing but Ke-ola warming himself by the heater.
"Where'd the little buggers go?" Sean asked. After that great load of codswallop he'd dispensed on their behalf, he at least expected them to be there to answer his questions.
Ke-ola shrugged and took a hand out of his clothing long enough to point inland.
"While you were down there starin' at the whales, the seals suddenly scooted off in that direction."
"I'll go have a look. Are you warmed up enough yet? Want to come along?"
"Bettah I start movin' my feet before they fall off," Ke-ola said, nodding.
They had pulled out of the water at the extreme point of the fjord, which was the only relatively low flat area. The rest of the shoreline was steeply ridged with glaciers. Looking back from their camp across the snowy expanse leading inland, the terrain appeared to be an unbroken level expanse. However, before they had walked another two hundred yards, the ground fell away into a steep dish filled with steamy water and seals.
Sean touched his mitten to the back of his parka hood, as if to scratch his head. "I could have sworn I was lying about this," he told Ke-ola.
Ke-ola shook his head. "Man, I know this wasn't here when we flew in here. I'd have noticed this kinda thing."
The lagoon was sizable and clear, with a shimmer of steam rising from the surface.
The seals were having a wonderful time catching fish and tossing them back and forth in the air.
"I didn't see it either," Sean admitted.
"Then how'd you know it was here?"
Sean thought about that. "Scientific intuition?" he asked lamely, the two terms being mutually contradictory as far as offworld science was concerned.
Ke-ola had had enough science classes to guffaw at this, so Sean felt he had to provide some basis for his remark. "What I mean to say is, with all the renewed volcanic activity in the sea, warming has been occurring all over, and we know that. So it isn't unlikely that this sort of lagoon might have sprung up, or perhaps melted down. Of course, it could be the result of a glacial rift. They're always shifting and changing their topography. Knowing that, I postulated something of the sort to the whales. It's just a coincidence that there actually is such a place here."
"Yeah, man, but if it wasn't here before and then the minute you said it was, there it was, that's kinda weird, don't you think?"
Sean had to agree. His explanation had sounded flimsy even to him. So, abandoning science for the moment, he clapped Ke-ola on the back, saying, "Boyo, when you live as long as I have on a planet that has a mind of its own, you learn that weird things happen. Could be Petaybee knew about the whales wanting to mate and it let me know. Could also be that Petaybee was about to open up this lagoon and somehow communicated that to me too. Or it could be, once I made up the lie and the words were out of my mouth, Petaybee thought to itself, `Good idea!' and made it happen. Whatever the case is, time to stop wondering about it and collect the seals' share of the bargain."
Before he did that, though, he took the mobile from his pocket to contact Yana.
She didn't answer, but Sinead did. "How're the kids?" she asked before he spoke.
"Don't have them yet but I think we will soon. The thing is, Ke-ola needs to get back. He took a dunking. Warmed him up as well as we could out here but he should be where it's warm."
"I know the copter's low on fuel, and I'm not sure how much is left at the supply depot but I'll check."
"Rick was planning to come back for us so he must reckon it's possible," Sean said.
"I'll alert the folk at Perfect anyway and have them snocle or send out dog teams for you. They can take Ke-ola to shelter."
"Good," Sean said. "He seems okay now but I need to leave him here, so tell them to come as quickly as they can, will you? He's still a cheechako and feels the cold more than we do. I've yet to find the twins, and I'll need to go back in the water for that."
"Will do. Ah, it's started to snow. Doubt it will accumulate enough at this point to let us use our own dogs or snocles but it's a start. There's always the curly coats if all else fails. Slaintй, Sean," she said, using the old Gaelic toast to health, which on
Petaybee was also a greeting and a farewell.
"Slaintй, sis. See you soon I hope."
"Sure you will," she said.
CHAPTER 26
COMMUNICATIONS OFFICER STEVEN Guthe kept a channel open to Petaybee for as long as possible. Guthe was an easygoing fellow who saw humor in most situations and something to like in most people. He was not Irish but might as well have been, with his gift of gab and love of music and good times. He was adept, when he needed to be, at seeming mild as milk while stubbornly following his own agenda.
He drew the Corps specialist sent to oversee his station into conversations that would let Marmie's dirtside associates know as much as possible about what was happening. He kept alert for an opportunity to notify one of her influential offplanet friends of the situation as well.
"So, Specialist Messer, you know much about this place we're going to?"
"Gwinett? I know a lot about it. All of it bad. That lady must have pissed off a lot of people in high places."
Guthe grinned and nodded. "Well, yeah, she does that with some people, I guess.
But she's a very good lady. I'd hate to see anything happen to her, no matter what they're saying she did."
"Don't worry, buddy, you'll be in the same place so you'll be able to keep an eye on her. The whole crew is going down with her."
Guthe clucked his tongue. "My my. Well, I hope the same thing doesn't happen to you folks just for being part of all this when she's released. Because she may have a few enemies but she's got powerful friends as well. People on Petaybee will notice we're AWOL sooner or later."
Messer raised brows so blond they were almost invisible against his freckled skin.
In fact, you could see the freckles right through his eyebrows. "Maybe so, but they won't have long to wonder. Some of our contractees and the livestock are still down there, being detained by your accomplices. Colonel wanted to round her up first before she can pull any strings for that ice ball down there. Troops are on the way to reclaim what belongs to the company and arrest everyone responsible, directly or indirectly, for their removal. Sounds like a planetwide conspiracy to me.
Turns out the two kids with your boss belong to the Shongilis, who got themselves named governors of the planet. They've been a pain in the company's arse trying to hog the whole planet for themselves and a handful of other people. Your boss lady has interceded with the Federation for them but she won't be able to save them this time. I wouldn't count on her or any of you ever being released either, pal. People who go to Gwinett under this kind of circumstance usually have a way of disappearing."