Bury nodded. "More pleasing still. We are honored to be your friends."
"Thank you," Omar said. "We perceive that even if we watch you compose the message you will send to your colleagues in the Crazy Eddie Squadron, we must still trust you to tell us its meaning. Before you send this message you will naturally wish to speak with crew aboard your ship, and it is pointless to detain you here. When your message is complete, East India will deliver it. A suitable ship is being readied."
This time Bury's smile was warm and genuine. "Our thanks. Your hospitality has been admirable, but perhaps my friends would be more comfortable aboard our own ship."
"There is one matter," Omar said. "My colleague at the Crimean Tartar fleet reports his own observation that all the humans aboard Hecate are alive, and only the engineer-warrior has been injured; but for reasons that the Crimean Tartar Mediator will neither explain nor discuss, he has not been permitted to speak with them. We have been promised that this will change soon."
Bury acknowledged with a nod.
Damned odd, Chris thought. Something has changed, something happened that the Tartars don't want us to know. What? But Eudoxus and Omar knew that as well as he did.
"Do you wish to return to your ship now?" Eudoxus asked.
Bury nodded gravely. "It would be convenient."
"Medina and East India have come to another agreement, Excellency," Omar said. "But one which requires your consent. With your permission, Au Baba will become your companion. An apprentice. Of course he will spend only part of his time with you, as he must learn our languages and customs as well."
Bury bowed slightly. "I am flattered. I find him an agreeable companion. However, you will understand, there will be times when I must be alone with my friends."
"Of course, Excellency."
"Meanwhile, this is satisfactory. We go now to draft our messages. We will, of course, read and explain to you any message we compose."
"Thank you. We will provide you with an escort," Eudoxus said. "Joyce, your viewers may be interested in this base. If you would care to see more of it, I am available to conduct you on a tour. We'll have you back on Sinbad in, say, two hours?"
"Perhaps another time," Chris Blaine said. What did they have in mind? Nuances here, subtle, ominous.
Eudoxus spread her hands slightly. "There may be no other time when we are both free, but of course it will be as you wish."
"No, I want to go," Joyce said. "You can tell me about the message later when we finish the interview. Eudoxus, I'd love to see the rest of your base."
"Very good. Join us when you can, Joyce," Bury said affably.
Chris as a Navy officer knew that he didn't have Bury's authority. If Bury saw no way to stop her or them, how could Chris? He'd have to use persuasion- Outmaneuvered. Joyce was gone, Eudoxus leading and a Warrior behind. Bury and Omar followed at a leisurely pace, chatting, Bury carrying Ali Baba. They left Chris and Cynthia to bring up the rear.
After fifteen hours in the hidden depths of Cerberus, Victoria arrowed through the airlock with the agility of a Messenger. Glenda Ruth was jolted.
"Victoria? Victoria, what are th-"
"We have to talk. Ambassadors are arriving."
"Ambassadors from where?"
"Second, from the kingdom that allies with your ships called Sinbad and Atropos, henceforth Medina Trading Company."
Jennifer smiled acknowledgment. "Medina-"
"Later," Victoria said. "The Medina ship will rendezvous here; Vermin City makes a convenient target. But the first is already aboard. He speaks for former allies of Medina, henceforth East India Trading Company. The two are now involved in a dominance dance. We must settle certain matters before he may see you. We've been verbal-dancing for some days."
Glenda Ruth looked at the screen that hid Terry and Doctor Doolittle. "Can we summon a human doctor?"
"He is in no more danger than you are," Victoria said. "How is it that one of our Engineers has turned male without first giving birth?"
"Oops," Jennifer said.
"And so has one of our Warriors," Victoria said, "and although Watchmakers are difficult to keep track of-"
"How do you feel?"
"We must settle this now. Have you brought alien death among us? What did you say, Glenda Ruth?"
"How do you feel, Victoria?"
The Mediator tasted the question, as if she found the flavor novel and fascinating. "I feel good. Motivated. The air is sweet, our food seems up to specs, my appetite-" Victoria suddenly reached between her legs. "Talk fast," she said. "For your lives."
"I have a recording to play for you."
BLAINE INSTITUTE REPORTS, Volume 26, Number 5, Imperial Library number ACX-7743DL-2359 10:26:5
Approaches to Stability of the Mote Civilization
Ishikara, Mary Anne, Dashievko, Ahmed, Grodnik, Vladimir Lambert, George G.: Rikorsky, W. L., and Talbot, Fletcher E,
"The C-L Symbiote,"
Research reported in this document was funded by grants from the Imperial Ministry of Defense, the Imperial Select Commission for Governing Relations with Aliens, and the Blaine Foundation.
Summary
The Blaine Symbiote or C-L (Contraceptive-Longevity) worm is bioengineered from a Motie benign parasitic organism similar to platyhelminths. The resulting C-L organism is a symbiote that lives in the Motie body and produces the same hormone that the male testes produce.
The original symbiotes were universally present in the intestinal tracts of all Moties studied. The first forms were detected in the Motie Engineer taken aboard MacArthur, but none of those specimens survived. The current C-L syrnbmote has been bred from a strain taken from the Motie known as Ivan. It is known to survive in Mediator castes, and there is no reason to suppose it will not thrive in all Motie castes,
In all Motie castes so far examined there has been one testis, and the documents brought by the Motie ambassadors, and the Moties themselves, do not contradict this, This testis normally withers, Hapgood et. al (I) have speculated that this withering is triggered in part by pheromones given of f by a pregnant female, but it is known Ivanov and Spector. (2)) that the process is more complex than that.
Upon withering of the single testis, the Motie turns female, Pregnancy must follow soon after or the Motie sickens and dies, with symptoms not unlike vitamin deficiency. See Renner, K. (3), Fowler, S. (4), and Elaine and Blaine (5), as well as The Report of the MacArthur Expedition (6), for details. The process of giving birth excites cells in the birth canal, and more male testes form,
The C-L symbiote normally sites itself anywhere in the body cavity and does not wither. Present data indicate that several C-Ls have no more effect than one, It is believed that this is due to excretion of surplus hormone via Plumbing-Six, tentatively the kidney.
We have observed no signs that C-L will breed in a host Motie, undoubtedly due to inhibition by the hormone itself. Consequently C-L must be bred externally in an environment that provides sufficient fluid around them to flush the hormone.
Video Report (Reuters)
Blaine Institute Announces New Developments in Bioengineering
(Film clip: Lord and Lady Elaine, the Hon. Glenda Ruth Blaine, students at the Blaine Institute, and His Excellency the Ambassador from Mote Prime, announcing publication of results of bioengineering development.)
"Of course that record could have been made at any time," Victoria said.
"It has me in it."
"Or a very good double, Glenda Ruth. It would take much forethought to plan far in advance to deceive us into believing that a Mediator can survive this long-but your Empire has both means and motive."