Power Play Part 23

"I'm hoping," Marmion said to Namid as the table was replaced, "this will do Dinah a world of good. She's not all bad. She certainly tried to make things easier for us with Captain Louchard."

Namid gave a rueful smile. "She has her points."

Then Marmion hefted the object she had taken from Dinah. "A little too heavy for a comm unit, wouldn't you say, Namid?"

He got one good look at it and pushed her hands to return the device to her pocket. "Later, Marmion. Later," he murmured urgently, and then smiled broadly at the other folks in the crowded room.

It took time to sort out who would bunk where in the small village of Tanana Bay. Ultimately, after a cup of soup "to warm bodies for a cold night," Bunny and Diego went with one family, and Liam and Sinead with another, while Marmion and Namid were given the Sirgituks' cabin to themselves, as everyone was of the opinion that at least the good Dama Algemeine deserved what privacy Tanana had to offer.

When they had been installed, new furs supplied for the beds, and the fire freshened for the rest of the cold night, Marmion and Namid were left on their own. Namid sprang to the window and watched to be sure their hosts were all dispersed to their separate accommodations. Then with a sigh of relief, he nodded to Marmion, who gingerly deposited the heavy unit on the table.

"What is it that had you in such a panic, Namid?"

"I think it's a portable holo unit," he said. He hovered, looking at it from all angles and touching the control plate with a careful fingertip. "I can't imagine why..."

His fingertip was not quite careful enough and inadvertently he activated the display. Suddenly the image of Captain Onidi Louchard solidified in and around the table. The creature just stood there, inanimate, while Marmion and Namid looked at each other, open-mouthed.

"It was on Dinah?" Namid recovered enough to ask.

"Dinah!"

Tentatively, Namid picked up the broadcaster and suddenly he was enveloped in the image of Captain Louchard.

"Well, what about that!" Marmion exclaimed, delighted and appalled at the same time. "Why, that woman had us all hoodwinked. When I think of the games games she played with us as Dinah, when all the time she was also Louchard..." Words failed Marmion. she played with us as Dinah, when all the time she was also Louchard..." Words failed Marmion.

"Not to mention how she manipulated her crew," Namid-Louchard said in a deep ba.s.s voice, with an odd inflection to both tone and words. "No wonder no one ever caught sight of the infamous Captain Louchard."

Marmion laughed-giggled, actually-and sat down to enjoy her mirth. "Really, Namid. I never would have suspected. She's a consummate actress."

"Among other things," Namid said in a sterner tone as he switched back to his own self and replaced the device on the table. "She never wore it in my presence, but then, she wouldn't have needed to be Louchard to her husband."

"Not unless you turned into a wife-beater."

"Oh, that had happened to her, too. I saw the scars," Namid replied gravely. He sighed, prodding the device with a finger, then waved his hand to dismiss it all. "So what do we do about this discovery?"

Marmion had obviously been pondering the same question. She tapped her cheek with one finger. "It will take some heavy thinking, and I'm suddenly much too tired to do any more tonight." She glanced wistfully at the bed. "And don't suggest that you take the floor, Namid," she added firmly, but her smile was suddenly demure.

"I was about to be the gentleman, Marmion," Namid said, but his mouth and eyes smiled.

"Gentle, yes, man, yes, but..." The uplift to the final word was all the invitation Namid required to be both, in the right order.

One could only watch and wait and, sometimes, sleep, while the humans made themselves at home. Through the howling winds one had brought them safely here, through snow like swarms of icy insects biting into one's eyes, ears, and nose. Even with the watchfulness of the Others, some had slipped between their reluctant guardians to wander, freeze, and die. They would not be found before the snows had melted once more.

Coaxtl and the youngling were at rest. The metal bird's master was at rest, as were the cave dwellers of Bogota. Inside the Home, the hot spring burbled warmth throughout. Outside the snows swathed the world with seas of white growing deeper by the moment. At the entrance of the cave, the bears humped like living drifts away from the warmth of the inner cave. The other clouded leopards, the snow lions, the white tigers, the lynx and bobcats, waited out the storm within the cave as well, crowding the humans deep within the inner chambers of the Home.

Some, like the young male with the cub, stared with open delight at the Home, hearing its singing in his blood, seeing its colors inside his eyes, vibrating with its rhythms. The youngling and her ken smiled in their hard-won sleep.

As for those others, though! The noises they made as they flailed about were so shrill and penetrating that at last one was forced to put one's paws over one's ears to achieve any rest.

Namid slipped gently from Marmion's bed, put more wood in the stove, and, after a few false starts, stirred up the fire in the fireplace. Then he donned his borrowed warm clothing, long underwear, heavy woolen socks, woolen pants, s.h.i.+rt, leather sheepskin-lined boots painted with beaver oil for water resistance, scarf, hat, mittens, and parka. Into the pocket of his parka, he slipped the holo disk. Then with a last lingering look at his sleeping lover, he opened the door and walked out into the pastel Petaybean dawn.

He crunched down the wide track leading between the homes of Tanana Bay to the Murphys' cabin, and let himself in through the unlocked door. He had hoped to be alone on this mission, but he saw that young Diego Metaxos lay in a sleeping bag with his ear against the trapdoor.

The boy awoke as the cold air entered the cabin with Namid. "Morning," he said, in a clear, wide-awake voice.

Namid nodded. He didn't feel much like conversation.

"You're up early," Diego said.

"I need to speak to Dinah."

"I don't think she'll be able to talk to you," Diego said.

"Why not? What's happened to her?"

Diego shrugged. "I dunno. But judging from how contact with the planet affected my dad at first, I think she'll be in a pretty bad way. They were carrying on until way late last night."

"What do you mean 'carrying on'? Has something hurt her?"

"No worse than she's hurt others, I expect. But for people with certain kinds of mind-sets, their first contact with the planet can be devastating. You might find it that way yourself."

"But you didn't?"

"No. It's always been wonderful to me. I was just lying here, thinking of a song to write about all that's happened. I suppose it's safe enough for me to go down there now, but I'm not sure about you."

"I'll risk it. But-no offense, I'd rather go alone."

"It'd be easier for you with one of us." The boy was exuding a subtle air of male challenge.

"You're not native, and you've been all right."

"Yes, but I'm young."

"If you'll excuse me, I'll try it on my own. My mind isn't that rigid and set in its ways yet."

Diego shrugged. "Suit yourself. But I'm going down in a few minutes anyway. It's been a long time since I've had a talk with Petaybee. I may not be native, but I've missed it."

He stepped out of the way and Namid descended the stairs, not seeing the small orange cat that darted through the trapdoor at the last minute and scooted down the stairs ahead of him.

Bunny awoke and looked around for Diego in the other sleeping bag on the floor of their host house. He was gone. Gentle snores arose from their host family.

That was good, actually, because she didn't want to talk to Diego this morning as much as she wanted to try to get a moment alone with Marmion. Diego might not understand. She planned to say she was just going to help Marmie with her fire and breakfast.

She dressed quickly and left the cabin, closing first the inner door so the cold wouldn't reach the family, and then the outer, entrance door beyond the arctic foyer where the snowshoes, skis, extra dog harness, and other tools were kept.

She knocked lightly on the Sirgituks' door, and a rather dreamy voice called, "h.e.l.lo?"

Marmie looked less put-together and much happier than Bunny had ever seen her. She wore the tunic jacket she had been captured in as a robe over long-handled underwear bottoms and woolly socks. She was sitting at the Sirgituks' table sipping something steamy from a cup. Her expression was bemused, to put it lightly.

"Thought you might need help putting a kettle on," Bunny said.

"Not at all. If you'll remember, I'm rather a good cook, and this stove is not so different from the one at my grandfather's hunting lodge on Banff Two, where I sometimes spent my holidays as a child."

"Must be nice to get to live any way you like," Bunny said, pulling off her mittens.

"Ye-es, it is. What's the matter, Buneka dear? You sound rather sad, and I just can't bear that when I'm feeling so good myself. Have a cup of this lovely berry tea and tell me all about it and we'll see if I can fix it."

"Thanks," Bunny said with a little smile. "The tea will be great, but I don't think there's anything you can do about the rest of it."

She finished taking off her wraps, poured her tea, and sat down, warming her hands on her cup and watching the steam rise between herself and Marmie. Marmie had a way of making you feel like you were the most important person in the world when she was talking to you. Bunny wished she could be like that.

"I wouldn't want you to get me wrong, Dama, I love Petaybee. I never want to live anywhere else-permanently, that is." Marmie nodded encouragingly, as the words had a hard time coming out. "But I've been doing a lot of thinking. See, the thing is, I never knew what all was out there before. All we ever saw was s.p.a.ceBase, and that was pretty grim, and a lot of the recruits who left didn't return and if they did, they sometimes wouldn't even sing about it. I never dreamed there could be some place like Gal Three or some of the stations and planets Charmion showed me holos of."

Marmie smiled. " 'How ya gonna keep 'em down on the farm after they've seen Paree?' "

" 'Scuse me?"

"Another old song. Sorry, dear, it just means that once you've seen some of the universe, you can develop a taste for more. Is that what's troubling you?"

"That's part of it. I suppose I might not care so much if I thought I could could go other places if I wished. 'Cept, that's not exactly true. Y'see, there's so much to go other places if I wished. 'Cept, that's not exactly true. Y'see, there's so much to learn learn out there. I saw things I think we might be able to manage for Petaybee, and not hurt anything, if only someone knew how. But I can't learn about them here. I've always been mechanical, you know, and Diego showed me some gadgets that sure would improve servicing the snocles, for instance. I don't know. I guess I'm not saying it very well. It's just knowing that I have to leave by a certain time or I won't be able to..." out there. I saw things I think we might be able to manage for Petaybee, and not hurt anything, if only someone knew how. But I can't learn about them here. I've always been mechanical, you know, and Diego showed me some gadgets that sure would improve servicing the snocles, for instance. I don't know. I guess I'm not saying it very well. It's just knowing that I have to leave by a certain time or I won't be able to..."

Marmie placed her hand on Bunny's. "We all resent our limitations, dear. Actually, though, you're starting school a little later than most do. There is no reason why you couldn't begin long-distance studies here and then, when you find you absolutely must must go off-planet to satisfy your curiosity, you can go-surely that will be before you're twenty or so. And you can always come back, you know, whenever you like. Petaybean troops do. It's just that I suppose you have to decide now instead of waiting till you're-oh, forty." go off-planet to satisfy your curiosity, you can go-surely that will be before you're twenty or so. And you can always come back, you know, whenever you like. Petaybean troops do. It's just that I suppose you have to decide now instead of waiting till you're-oh, forty."

Bunny grinned. It had all been so obvious, but the idea was so new to her she hadn't considered the really salient factors.

"Furthermore, it will be my pleasure to present you with a suitable study unit and all the hard-copy books you wish. Among my inheritances are the contents of several libraries. And when you're ready to go off-planet, you can be the pilot student for the Petaybean Offworld Civilian Scholars.h.i.+p program."

"I didn't know there was one!"

"That's because I just decided to sponsor it."

Bunny reached across the table and gave her a hug. "You're aces, Marmie!"

"Likewise. Tell me, you haven't seen Namid, have you?"

"Nope. Nor Diego. But I came straight here after I got dressed."

"Then I think I'll get dressed as well and we'll go find them, shall we?"

If Dinah O'Neill, aka the fearsome Captain Onidi Louchard, had known what was in store for her, she would have fought her incarceration with every one of the many combat skills she had learned since she'd been a defenseless preteen. She did hear Megenda mumbling incoherencies as she was propelled down the ladder. She did notice the odd indirect lighting, but she blithely ventured farther into the cavern, toward the warmth she felt on her face. She thought that at least this prison was comfortably warmer than the cabin she'd just left.

That was when she noticed that the holo transponder was missing. Not that she had to worry about the Petaybeans inadvertently turning it on. But Namid would know what it was. She ought to have checked, and she berated herself for such an oversight. Captain Louchard, she grinned to herself, would have plenty to say about that when next she a.s.sumed that mantle.

She and the two crewmen, Dott and Framer, came across Megenda then, all curled up in a fetal position on the floor of the cave, just where it opened up into a fair-sized chamber-a chamber that was oddly beautiful in its pastel shades and mottled walls. The beauty was of a strange, disorienting nature, however: the mottles rippled and the shades altered in an unnerving fas.h.i.+on. Walls were supposed to be stationary, and their coloration was generally stable, too.

"What's the matter with him, Dinah?" Dott asked, planting a toe on Megenda and trying to turn him onto his back so the first mate's face would be visible. He was a rather unimaginative sort, good for routine or monotonous duties, strong and unquestioning, happy to be given orders he could follow, which he followed to the letter. "Thought you said he was just cold."

"I don't like the look of him," Framer said, taking a step back from Megenda's rigid body as if afraid of contagion.

"He's warm enough now," Dott said, grabbing one of Megenda's hands and trying to pull it away from his face.

"Hey, how can you have fog in a cave?" Framer asked, and pointed to the mist beginning to rise from the floor.

"These caves are supposed to be special places," Dinah said as evenly as she could, but the rising vapor carried an aroma to it that was unlike anything she had ever encountered. Her skin began to crawl under the warm parka she'd been given. "I'd like to know what's going on here," she said, turning around on her heel, addressing whatever was generating all these unusual effects. She could have sworn that there'd been no mist, no odor, and no vacillating wall colors and designs when she'd first reached the cave floor. She looked behind her and saw that the mist was closing in, obscuring her view of the walls.

"Going on here?" The phrase was interrogatory, not rhetorical, and the voice that said the words was not an echo of hers. The phrase was interrogatory, not rhetorical, and the voice that said the words was not an echo of hers.

"Dinah?" The unimaginative Dott's voice quavered. "How do we get out of here?"

"No way out of here."

"Keee-rist, who's talking?" Framer looked wildly around him. "Who's talking?"

Dinah wanted to rea.s.sure him that it was the Petaybeans perpetrating some sort of a hoax to frighten them, but she absolutely knew, though she didn't know how, that the voice was nothing caused by any human phenomena. It penetrated her body through to the marrow of her bones.

"Listen," it commanded. it commanded.

"I'm listening, I'm listening," Framer said, dropping to his knees, bringing his hands up together, probably for the first time in his life, into a prayerful position.

Dott just sat down, hard, licking his lips. He kept his head straight, but he rolled his eyes around in his head as if he didn't quite dare look at who, or what, was speaking back at them.

Megenda began to gibber more wildly, writhing in and out of the fetal position as if his limbs and torso were attached to invisible strings.

For the first time in her adult life, since the time she had turned a weapon on a man who had threatened her with vicious and s.a.d.i.s.tic treatment, Dinah O'Neill knew fear. She forced herself to remain standing, clenching her fists at her sides as the mist crept up, over her knees, so dense now that she couldn't see her boots. It engulfed her, a moist, permeating blanket, traveling quickly up her body until it covered her face and she could see nothing. And the sounds seemed to emanate from the vapor that enveloped her: sound that cut her skin to her blood and bones; sound that was warm and vibrated through her, and filled with darkening colors, until she heard herself scream in protest at such an invasion. There were screams around her; with an almost superhuman effort of will, she bit her lips, determined that she, unlike the crewmen, would not cry mercy. Her resolve ended when she felt the hard thwack of stone against her face and her body as she fell down. Then she whimpered and wept, as much the lonely, confused, tormented five-year-old girl who had been abandoned by all the adults who had managed her life up until that moment.

"The planet has been speaking?" the boy whispered to 'Cita, his hands moving restlessly on the cub's fur as if that motion were all that protected him.

In one sense, 'Cita would tell Yo Chang much later, petting the cub had had protected him as he had valiantly protected the cub when in danger from Zing Chi. protected him as he had valiantly protected the cub when in danger from Zing Chi.