StarDoc 09 - Crystal Healer, page 8
“We already have a native interpreter,” Xonea said, nodding toward Jylyj, who at some point had come into command and now stood to one side.
Xonea sent a standard greeting to the patrol ships, adding a phrase in universal at the end they could easily understand. One of them responded almost immediately, but thankfully used a translation-enabled signal.
“This is Sentinel Wilnas of oKia,” the patrol commander said. “You have entered restricted flight space. State your reasons for doing so.”
The image of a pilot appeared on the console display. For a moment the face seemed so familiar I thought it Jylyj, until I noticed the lighter fur color and longer, narrower features. The eyes, too, appeared different; with light-colored irises containing a central oblong pupil. Colorful polished beads and small pieces of carved wood hung from the pilot’s intricately woven mane, through which many streaks of white hair were scattered.
The pilot wore a flight suit, but this, too, had been altered in unique ways. What appeared to be a length of spotted skin had been sewn to the shoulders; gleaming dark green and brown stone beads had been arranged on the stiff collar in what I guessed was his rank insignia.
“I am Captain Xonea Torin from Joren. My crew and I are conducting geological surveys of inhabited planets in this region. We collect data only and intend no harm or intrusion.”
As Xonea gave the oKiaf official a carefully worded version of the truth, I noted that he didn’t mention me or Reever, which I thought a prudent decision. The oKiaf might have been able to keep offworlder ships out of their space, but offworld signals had to be detected before they could be jammed. If they didn’t care to have contact with outsiders, they probably wouldn’t hesitate to hand two of them over to a bounty hunter.
After Xonea had finished explaining our mission, Sentinel Wilnas did not respond. Xonea didn’t seem troubled by this.
“A patrol officer has only a limited amount of authority uStatr mission does not require us to come in direct contact with the oKiaf. He is likely signaling his command to request new orders.”
“If we detect black crystal on their planet,” I said, “I will need to examine some of the natives.”
“We will do as much as they will permit, Jarn.” Xonea turned back to the console as a new signal came over the channel.
“Captain Torin, you will take your vessel to these coordinates,” Wilnas said, and relayed the data. “When you reach the security station there, dock at the off-loading bay. There your ship will be boarded, and you will be questioned.”
“Why do they want that?” Xonea murmured, and then signaled back with, “Sentinel, I am happy to answer any questions you have now.”
No reply came over the channel, and a moment later the patrol ship terminated the relay.
Xonea eyed the display. “This could be a ploy to capture us.”
“They will not fire on you unless you ignore an order or attack them,” Jylyj said. “They prefer to avoid violence with offworlders.”
“Then why have they enabled their weapons?” Xonea countered.
Jylyj glanced at the display. “The oKiaf avoid violence, Captain, but from outsiders they have come to expect it. They are preparing for the worst.”
“If reporting to this security station is standard procedure,” my husband said, “Uorwlan will confirm it.”
My ClanBrother nodded. “Send a signal to the trader. Do not encrypt it; they will be monitoring everything we do, and we do not want to appear secretive.”
Reever went to the com officer’s console and sent the signal. The trader responded soon after that.
“The oKiaf maintain security stations at four points along their system grid,” Uorwlan said. “All ships entering the system are required to first dock at the nearest station for inspection. You needn’t be concerned about it, old friend. They will ask a lot of questions and inspect every part of the ship, but they wish only to see for themselves if you are telling the truth.”
The signal was audio only, so I couldn’t see the trader’s face, but the voice sounded soft and beguiling, as if they were discussing something far more personal and intimate.
“How long before you reach us?” Reever asked the trader.
“We’ve had some engine problems, so we won’t be there until tomorrow.” Uorwlan said something else in a language that the ship’s translator did not recognize, and then terminated the relay.
“What did that last part mean?” Xonea wanted to know.
Reever gave him a bland look. “Nothing but a farewell.”
Xonea was almost convinced by Uorwlan’s reassurances, but still performed a remote scan of the security station. The results showed it to be an artificial satellite, three times the size of the Sunlace, with an array of powerful defensive weaponry, ten docking bays, and a small fleet of patrol vessels.
“It seems an excessive amount of security to guard a planet of primitives,” Xonea said as he contemplated the scans.
“In the past both the League and the Faction have occupied this system,” Reever said, “and Skart was destroyed by the Hsktskt. If that happened in your sole w size="3">My ClanBrother’s expression darkened. “I wouldn’t bother to board or question unexpected arrivals.” He looked at my husband. “This trader’s information, you are sure it is reliable?”
Reever nodded. “I freed Uorwlan and a dozen other Takgiba from slavery. She is bound to me by a life debt. She would not lie or lead us into a trap.”
She. So this Uorwlan was female, knew my husband well, and owed him her life. Already I didn’t like her. Still, what Reever had done in the past was of little concern to me, and the life debt practically guaranteed the Takgiba’s loyalty.
“I agree with Duncan,” I told Xonea. “We should go to the station.”
The two patrol ships escorted the Sunlace to the oKiaf station, where Xonea performed another remote scan before maneuvering alongside the dock. Only when our engines were powered down did the patrol ships depart.
Reever and I accompanied Xonea to meet the boarding party. The oKiaf sent a group of ten armed security officers along with four station supervisors to inspect the ship. At the boarding platform airlock, Jylyj pulled me aside.
“oKiaf females are not permitted to serve in the defense forces or leave the homeworld,” he said.“Males are not accustomed to dealing with women in official capacities, and your presence here may cause discomfort.”
I shrugged. “I rarely make anyone feel comfortable.”
“Know that the males will not address you directly, and they will be offended if you speak to them,” he warned. “They may even ask that you be removed. If that happens, do not object. It is not personal.”
“An Iisleg female who does not obey a male is usually beaten, often until she dies,” I told him. “I think I will tolerate being sent from the room.”
After arranging crew escorts for the oKiaf security detachment to take them around the ship, Xonea invited the station supervisors into a nearby conference room.
Reever sat on my right, and Jylyj on my left. The resident drew almost as much attention as my husband and I did, and was the first person the oKiaf in charge of the boarding party spoke to.
“I had not expected to meet one of those lost to us,” Colonel Pegreas said to Jylyj. He ducked his nose down and twisted his head to the right and left before raising his eyes. “You are very welcome here, brother.”
The resident bowed his head in a similar fashion. “This son of Rushan is grateful to have made the journey, Colonel.”
“We have heard your people have endured much living among the outsiders.” Pegreas spared Reever a dark glance. “It is hoped that you are being treated fairly by these outsiders.”
“I am.” Jylyj touched the front of his tunic. “They have provided work, shelter, and kinship. I have no complaints, but much praise for their kindness to me.”
Pegreas seemed to relax a little. “What of your people, Brother?”
“The faithful were briefly deceived by false prophets, but were saved by allies on K-2,” Jylyj told him. “The sons of Rushan could not remain on the colony there, but the aquatics offered sanctuary on one of their moons.”
“So it is true. We had heard rumors, of course, but given the nature of that world . . .” Pegreas shook his shaggy head, causing some of the beads woven in his silver mane to clink togen my left these strangers? To escape that wet horror?”
“I have answered my calling,” Jylyj said flatly. “That is all you need know.”
The colonel seemed a little taken aback by the resident’s tone, and for a moment I thought Jylyj had offended him. But Pegreas recovered quickly and inclined his head.
“As you speak, Brother, so I hear.” He turned to give Xonea a far less friendly look. “We have had some limited but favorable contact with Jorenians in the past.Your people also broke with the League before the war. Those are the only reasons I permitted you to come here.”
“We are grateful for your consideration, Colonel,” Xonea said. “Our mission is an important one, and the data we collect here may save many lives on other worlds.”
Pegreas didn’t seem impressed. “You mission means nothing to the oKiaf. We no longer concern ourselves with what happens outside our borders.”
“If this black crystal has infected any of the worlds in your system, it will poison your species and possibly cause mass extinction in the future,” Xonea said. “I would think that to be of great concern to the oKiaf.”
“How do we know you are not attempting to mine the crystal for use by the Allied League as a weapon?” Salanas, one of the other supervisors, demanded. A smaller, darker male, he had sharp teeth and eyes so light and cold they seemed made of alloy.
Xonea kept his tone calm and reasonable. “Our ship is not equipped as an ore hauler, and we have no treaty with the League.”
“Your people have served on their ships.” Salanas gestured toward me and Reever. “You even brought two of them with you.”
“You are mistaken,” Xonea said. “Jarn and Duncan are citizens of Joren, not the League.” He turned to Pegreas. “You have had contact with our people. You must know that we have never been warmongers or invaders. One of our ClanLeaders, Teulon Jado, negotiated the terms of peace that ended the war between the League and the Hsktskt.”
“After the League massacred his kin and sold him to slavers,” Pegreas replied, evidently unmoved. “While Joren is famous for its neutrality, we know that the Jorenians have never been a particularly forgiving people. How do you explain the Jado’s actions?”
Salanas sniffed. “They smell to me of cowardice.”
Xonea’s eyes narrowed, but it was Jylyj who said, “Perhaps you have had your nose buried too long in your own affairs.”
Salanas’s expression turned to one of astonishment, and again Pegreas gave the resident a startled look.
“I am Jarn of Akkabarr, and I served the Iisleg as a battlefield surgeon during the rebellion,” I said before the oKiaf could respond or anyone could stop me. “Raktar Teulon was my general.”
“There,” Salanas said, making a rude gesture toward me. “He favors females. Is that not indicative of his own character?”
“When our rebels prevailed over the Toskald, Teulon had the means to wipe out their civilization and send thousands of ships against the League and the Hsktskt armies,” I told the supervisor. “He set aside the revenge he wanted—and surely deserved—and sought instead to bring peace to all the worlds involved in the conflict.” I regarded Salanas. “Tw that a thorough planetary survey in just three days, with one team on the planet and the Sunlace kept under guard here?”
“I would suggest you do it quickly,” Xonea said, his mouth hitching.
“What they said does not make sense.” I rubbed the back of my neck. “Why prohibit all offworlders from visiting oKia if their dispute is with only members of the League?”
“The League frequently uses alterforms to infiltrate hostile or dangerous species,” Jylyj said, startling me. “Doubtless they have encountered them in the past.”
“Pegreas will not let us near oKia unless we accept his conditions,” Reever said. “I suggest we do so. Xonea, scan as much of the surface as you can from here. I’ll take a remote transceiver down to the planet and contact Uorwlan from there. The oKiaf trust her and her crew; perhaps she can help us negotiate for better terms and more time.”
“Captain, with your permission, I will go and speak alone with Colonel Pegreas,” Jylyj said. “He is sympathetic to my people, and I may be able to ease some of his fears.”
Xonea nodded. “Do what you can, but do it swiftly. If I have judged the length of their days correctly, the survey team must leave for oKia in four hours.”
Nine
I went with Reever to the survey lab to retrieve the equipment we would need on the planet and to check the black crystal. Qonja was waiting for us, and for once had a little good news—or so I thought at first.
“The growth rate of the matrix has decreased dramatically over the last hour,” the Jorenian told us. “The amount of fluid in the center inclusion has tripled, and the surfaces are showing distinct flaws. It’s almost as if entering oKiaf space has in some way damaged it.”
I went over to the plas chamber with Reever. The crystal no longer glittered, but looked old and cracked. The hollow space in the center of the shaft had bubbled outward toward the crystal’s surfaces, and the cloudy liquid inside seemed to be moving in a sluggish swirl.
Reever scanned the container. “The atomic structure is losing cohesion.”
“Hydrated silicates contain water in channel intersections,” Qonja said. “The fluid is only minimally bound in the crystal matrix and can be leeched from it through interstices. Perhaps it is the same with the black crystal.”
“Such water inclusions don’t destroy the structure of the crystal when they are expelled or replaced,” Reever said. “The black crystal is not acting like a zeolite molecular sieve.” He gave it a thoughtful look. “It may be cannibalizing itself.”
“What would make it do that?” As far as I knew, nothing had changed except the position of the ship. “Are we being exposed to some form of radiation unique to this part of space?”
“None that registered on our sensor arrays,” Qonja answered. “If the deterioration continues, in a few days all that will be in that container is a puddle of black sludge.”
I saw Reever frown, and asked Qonja if he would go and help Jylyj and Hawk prepare for the jaunt down to the planet. When we were alone, I touched my husband’s arm. “What is it?”
“I don’t think it’s degenerating,” he said satrix has>“No, it’s not that.” He gave me a searching look. “You remembered.”
“Remembered what?”
“The day I took you from the field.”
“It was the first time I ever saw you fly.” My belly tightened, and then I understood his reaction. “No. Forgive me, I misspoke. It was the first time Cherijo saw you fly. You and I did not meet until some years later.”
Hawk didn’t let it go. “Jarn, can you see that day in your memory?”
I could, although I didn’t want to admit it. Then I seemed to slip into a trance. “It was very bright. There were people, so many people, screaming at me. I stood on strange grass and held a silver sphere, the shockball, between my hands. It had been rigged to kill Duncan.” I looked up at him. “By my brother.”
He nodded slowly.
“You jumped from the top of the place, and your wings ripped your garment apart, and you flew down to me.” I pressed a hand against my head, which now felt as if I were whirling around in a fast circle. “I think I’m going to be sick.”
Hawk grabbed me to keep me from falling, and helped me over to the disposal unit. He supported me with one arm and held my hair back as I vomited. When I had emptied my belly, he wiped my face clean. “I will call for Herea.”
“No.” I took the cloth from him and wiped the tears from my eyes before I blew my nose. “Duncan saw it from the field. He gave me the memory of it. That is how I know.” I took a deep breath and forced a smile. “Sometimes it is difficult to think of myself as two people. Forgive me, Hawk.”
“Don’t apologize.” He seemed afraid of me now. “Jarn, are you sure you should go on this jaunt? No one would object if you chose to stay behind and rest.”
“Do you know what Cherijo would say to that?” My smile twisted. “I do. She wrote it in her journals: ‘I can rest when I’m dead.’ This, when she knew she was made so that she might live forever.”
“I think she knew she would not. Perhaps that was why she fought so hard to save the lives of others.” Hawk touched my cheek. “As you do. None of us know how much time we have left. Does Duncan know about these shared memories?”
“No.” I felt stricken. “Hawk, please don’t tell Duncan about this. Not now.”
“I won’t, if you will agree to tell him when the expedition is over.” I nodded quickly. “One more thing.” Hawk removed one of his bead necklaces and hung it around my neck. “Wear this for me.”
“It is beautiful.” I looked at the small, gray-blue stones, and saw streaks of other colors glimmering in them.
“The beads are made of Terran moonstone,” Hawk said. “My grandfather believed the gods cast them down to earth whenever it rained, to remind us that we cannot have rainbows without a storm.” He picked up our packs. “Now come. The others are waiting for us.”
I tucked the beads under the collar of my tunic, where the cool weight of them lay against my aching heart.
The Elphian did not allow us to take one of the Sunlace ’s launches to the planet, but flew us there on a station shuttle. The vessel had been built to transport more cargo than passengers, but our seats allowed us to see a little through one small vrders are to leave your team near the Parrak erchepel,” the pilot said. “Theirs is one of the oldest settlements in the region, and their chieftain, Dnoc, once served as a city administrator. He will deal fairly with you.”
