They were never really ours in the first place, he reminded himself. At least we’ll have a say in how they’re raised. And Uthacalthing says some Thennanin aren’t as bad as many.
“What about the Gubru?” he asked. “They agreed to make peace with Earth in exchange for acceptance of the ceremony.”
“Well, it wasn’t exactly the sort of ceremony they had in mind, was it?” Gailet answered. “What do you think, Ambassador Uthacalthing?”
The Tymbrimi’s tendrils waved lazily. All of yesterday and this morning he had been Grafting little glyphs of puzzle-like intricacy, far beyond Robert’s limited ability to kenn, as if he were delighting in the rediscovery of something he had lost.
“They will act in what they see to be their own self-interest, of course,” Uthacalthing said. “The question is whether they will have the sense to know what is good for them.”
“What do you mean?”
“I mean that the Gubru apparently began this expedition with confused goals. Their Triumvirate reflected conflicting factions back home. The initial intent of their expedition here was to use the hostage population of Garth to pry secrets out of the Terragens Council. But then they learned that Earth is as ignorant as everybody else about what that infamous dolphin-ship of yours discovered.”
“Has there been any new word about the Streaker?” Robert interrupted.
Spiraling off a palanq glyph, Uthacalthing sighed. “The dolphins seem to have miraculously escaped a trap set for them by a dozen of the most fanatic patron lines — an astonishing feat by itself — and now the Streaker seems to be loose on the starlanes. The humiliated fanatics lost tremendous face, and so tensions have reached an even higher level than before. It is one more reason why the Gubru Roost Masters grow increasingly frightened.”
“So when the invaders found they couldn’t use hostages to coerce secrets out of Earth, the Suzerains searched for other ways to make some profit out of this expensive expedition,” Gailet surmised.
“Correct. But when the first Suzerain of Cost and Caution was killed it threw their leadership process out of balance. Instead of negotiating toward a consensus of policy, the three Suzerains engaged in unbridled competition for the top position in their Molt. I’m not sure that even now I understand all of the schemes that might have been involved. But the final one — the one they settled on at last — will cost them very dearly. Blatantly interfering with the proper outcome of an Uplift Ceremony is a grave matter.”
Robert saw Gailet wince in revulsion as she obviously recollected how she had been used. Without opening his eyes, Fiben reached out and took her hand. “Where does that leave us now?” Robert asked Uthacalthing.
“Both common sense and honor would demand the Gubru keep their bargain with Earth. It’s the only way out of a terrible bind.”
“But you don’t expect them to see it that way.”
“Would I remain confined here, on neutral ground, if I did? You and I, Robert, would be with Athaclena right now, dining on khoogra and other delicacies I’d cached away, and we would speak for hours of, oh, so many things. But that will not happen until the Gubru decide between logic and self-immolation.”
Robert felt a chill. “How bad could it get?” he asked in a low voice. The chims, too, listened quietly.
Uthacalthing looked around. He inhaled the sweet, chill air as if it were of fine vintage. “This is a lovely world,” he sighed. “And yet it has suffered horror. Sometimes, so-called civilization seems bent on destroying those very things which it is sworn to protect.”
94
Galactics
“After them!” cried the Suzerain of Beam and Talon. “Chase them! Pursue them!”
Talon Soldiers and their battle drones swooped down upon a small column of neo-chimpanzees, taking them by surprise. The hairy Earthlings turned to fight, firing their ill-sorted weapons upward at the stooping Gubru. Two small fireballs did erupt, emitting sprays of singed feathers, but for the most part resistance was useless. Soon, the Suzerain was stepping delicately among the blasted remains of trees and mammals. It cursed as its officers reported only chim bodies.
There had been stories of others, humans and Tymbrimi and, yes, thrice-cursed Thennanin. Had not one of them suddenly appeared out of the wilderness? They had to all be in league together! It had to be a plot!
Now there were constant messages, entreaties, demands that the admiral return to Port Helenia. That it join with the other commanders for a conclave, a meeting, a new struggle for consensus.
Consensus! the Suzerain of Beam and Talon spat on the trunk of a shattered tree. Already it could feel the ebbing of hormones, the leaching away of color that had almost been its own!
Consensus? The admiral would show them consensus! It was determined to win back its position of leadership. And the only way to do that, after that catastrophe of an Uplift Ceremony, was to demonstrate the efficacy of the military option. When the Thennanin came to claim their “Garthling” prizes, they would be met with force! Let them engage in Uplift of their new clients from deepspace!
Of course, to keep them at bay — in order to return this world for the Roost Masters — there must be complete surety that there would be no attacks from behind, from the surface. The ground opposition had to be eliminated!
The Suzerain of Beam and Talon refused even to consider the possibility that anger and revenge might also have colored its decisions. To have admitted that would be to begin to fall under the sway of Propriety. Already, several good officers had deserted down that path, only to be ordered back to their posts by the sanctimonious high priest. That was particularly galling.
The admiral was determined to win their loyalty back in its own right, with victory!
“The new detectors work, are effective, are efficient!” It danced in satisfaction. “They let us hunt the Earthlings without needing to scent special materials. We trace them by their very blood!”
The Suzerain’s assistants shared its satisfaction. At this rate, the irregulars should soon all be dead.
A pall fell over the celebration when it was reported that one of the troop carriers that had brought them here had broken down. Another casualty of the plague of corrosion that had struck Gubru equipment all over the mountains and the Vale of Sind. The Suzerain had ordered an urgent investigation.
“No matter! We shall all ride the remaining carriers. Nothing, nobody, no event shall stop our hunt!”
The soldiers chanted.
“Zooon!”
95
Athaclena
She watched as the hirsute human read the message for the fourth time, and could not help wondering whether she was doing the right thing. Rank-haired, bearded, and naked, Major Prathachulthorn looked the very essence of a wild, carnivorous wolfling … a creature far too dangerous to trust.
He looked down at the message, and for a moment all she could read were the waves of tension that coursed up his shoulders and down his arms to those powerful, tightly flexed hands.
“It appears that I am under orders to forgive you, and to follow your policies, miss.” The last word ended in a hiss. “Does this mean that I’ll be set free if I promise to be good? How can I be sure this order is for real?”
Athaclena knew she had little choice. In the days ahead she would not be able to spare the chimpower to continue guarding Prathachulthorn. Those she could rely upon to ignore the human’s command-voice were very few, and he had already nearly escaped on four separate occasions. The alternative was to finish him off here and now. And for that she simply had not the will.