Drowning World (9 page)

Besides, if you stayed in one place in the Viisiiviisii for any length of time, things would start to take root on you.

“Something else,” he added. “Whoever did this, for whatever reason, might not be completely confident that just marooning me out here is enough to do the job. After a while, they might decide to come and check on the results of their handiwork personally.” He patted his side arm. “Since this is about all I've got in the way of defensive ordnance, I'd rather not be around in case they show up.” His attention turned back to Jemunu-jah.

“All right, big-ears—this is your country. Pick a direction. I usually lead, but when someone else knows the territory better than me, I'm not ashamed to follow.”

“It is not that simple. We cannot just go straight northward.” Turning, Jemunu-jah indicated a complex of interlocked trees and lianas. “Except for places where is no other choice, we must keep above the water.” His eyes focused on the human. “Rain is life; flooded forest is death.”

“Pithily put.” Hasa gestured broadly. “Lead on, Junko-juke.”

“Jemunu-jah,” the Sakuntala corrected him, biting back the words he really wanted to use. Selecting a branch just above and in front of him, he reached up and pulled himself to a higher level. They
had
to get farther away from the surface of the water.

“You are both, you should please excuse my expression, making a big mistake.” Masurathoo showed no sign of moving from beneath his leaf. “We
must
remain with our downed craft if we are to have any hope of being found.” Using both hands and both trunks, he made a four-limbed gesture into the depths of the rain-washed Viisiiviisii. “Go in there and we will be lost forever. All too many times this place has swallowed the most confident and experienced of individuals.”

“I'm already feeling swallowed.” Displaying both strength and agility, Hasa had followed Jemunu-jah up onto the higher branch. “No one's forcing you to come, mashed potato. Stay or follow; it makes no difference to me.” Lowering his voice meaningfully, he glanced over at Jemunu-jah. “If he stays behind, maybe he'll draw the carnivores.”

The Sakuntala did not respond. It would have been unseemly and would have cost him
mula
. Like him or not, Masurathoo was his associate in this joint venture. Still, the human's words contained a certain merit . . .

Jemunu-jah started walking, bracing himself with his long arms and balancing gracefully on the branch. Following behind, the human matched him stride for stride. Masurathoo remained where he was, stubborn and utterly convinced.

Or rather, he did so until his companions had advanced out of sight. Only later did the Deyzara catch up to them, panting hard, his breathing trunk swollen and reddened with the effort, his splendid body wrappings already shredded and torn.

They were forced to stop early for the night so that he could recuperate. Left to his own devices, Hasa would have pressed on. But he was smart enough to realize that he stood a much better chance of getting somewhere if he stayed with the Sakuntala, and Jemunu-jah would not leave Masurathoo behind. It was, he explained, a question of
mula
and of doing what was right.

Besides, it was abundantly clear to Jemunu-jah by now that the Deyzara would be much easier to shove in front of an oncoming predator than would the human . . .

6

N
o one spared more than a casual glance at Aniolo-jat and Yeruna-hua as they made their way toward the nakobo tree. It stood off by itself, surrounded by water and connected to the rest of Hasawa Village by a single narrow footbridge. The walkway wasn't even made of strilk but was woven in the old way, from braided vines. Pale red fungi and lavender-hued mold covered large sections of it, showing that it was little used. Using his tongue, Aniolo-jat snapped off a piece of huim and chewed it as he and his companion made their way across the swinging viaduct. Below, a surface-feeding takuwolu kept spitting acid in their direction. But the walkway was too high. After several tries, the finned, snakelike predator gave up and swam off in search of more accessible prey.

Reaching the isolated tree, Yeruna-hua scanned their immediate surroundings. Only a light drizzle was falling, making it possible for them to be seen from the village. No one was looking in their direction. Hasawa was a small community, out-of-the-way and unimportant. It was also, significantly, a “pure” village. Not even the usual Deyzara food shop marred its Sakuntala nature.

As Yeruna-hua kept watch and used his own body to shield his companion from the sight of others, Aniolo-jat reached out and pushed on several light brown shelf fungi. Unusually, they did not break off under the weight of his fingers. Even more unusually, they stayed down instead of springing back up when he pushed on them. In response, a rust-stained section of the tree slid aside, admitting the pair not to a woody interior but to one lined with pale composite paneling. Entering, they shut the barrier behind them.

No one in a place like Hasawa would expect someone to step inside a tree. Had anyone been able to follow the two Yuiquerus who did so, he would have been even more surprised to see them descend a series of spiral steps and finally pause before another doorway. This one was flanked by a pair of warriors armed not with spears and hunting bows but with neuronic rifles. One versed in such matters would have noted immediately that they were of familiar Commonwealth manufacture.

Beyond the door, a large meeting chamber awaited their arrival. The chamber had been constructed outside the tree, beneath the water. During the short dry time, when the water receded and the land was once more briefly exposed to the air, it would look from the outside like a cluster of dead logs. It would not fool anyone on close inspection. But by that time, Aniolo-jat was sure, its exposure would not matter.

A dozen other Yuiquerus had assembled in the room, swinging solemnly back and forth in their hanging chairs. In place of the traditional central gap open to the rain, an artificial column of falling water had been installed. At the far end, Sakuntala who had received and passed various forms of advanced training were busy operating modern communications equipment. They were in touch, Aniolo-jat knew, with other branches of their organization in towns and villages throughout the Viisiiviisii. His own portable communicator rode comfortably in the holding pouch secured to one of his chest straps. Everyone else in the room was similarly equipped. And armed.

He and Yeruna-hua were the last to arrive. There was no need for introductions. Everyone knew everyone else by name. They had been working together, across clan lines, for some time.

In a way, Aniolo-jat knew, that was the greatest accomplishment of all. Not the arming of those present and their followers. Not the maintenance of secret links unknown to the Council and other Hatas or to the Fluvan representatives of the Commonwealth. Not even the development of their plans. No, it was the fact that the alliance had been able to sustain and develop its purpose across clan lines. Identifying the individuals who were present, he was able to count with pride the number of ancient rivalries that had been set aside on behalf of the greater good.

Sesesthi-toa, for example. Her extended clan had been arguing and fighting with his own off and on for hundreds of years. If some of the other Hatas among her clan knew she was working closely with a Yuiqueru of the Jat, they would remove her from their inner consultations and demote her in status, or worse. That they had both been able to overcome their mutual animosity was a source of great pride to him—though she still refused to touch tongues with him.

Yeruna-hua slipped into the vacant swing seat next to him as Aniolo-jat settled himself into position. By the speed and direction of his swinging he indicated that he was present, aware, and ready for the meeting to begin. Iwoko-jei declared for silence. As he was a Yuiqueru and not a Hata-tanasua, there was no opening invocation, no katola-drinking ceremony. Though some were secretly sympathetic to their aims, Aniolo-jat knew, no Hata-tanasua would openly bless such a gathering—or its intentions. It didn't matter, he knew. That could, and would, come later.

“The time has come at last,” Iwoko-jei was saying. He was so excited, he could hardly keep his tongue coiled in a cheek pouch. “All our planning, all our hard work, is about to blossom like hyreath flower. Brothers and sisters, the day for us take back our world is at hand!”

A united chorus of “Hauea!” followed the senior Yuiqueru's impassioned declaration. Next to him, Waruna-hia stilled her chair.

“The western and eastern trees are ready. When appointed time arrives, our fighters will attack every Deyzara institution and business concern within our region. As instructed, we will try concentrate on property. There will be some deathing. Is unavoidable.” She smiled humorlessly. “Many of those who are with us are young, and hungry for killing.”

Aniolo-jat spoke up. “Must be no massacres. Mass deathing may possible compel Commonwealth authority to act. Is vital that they be kept out of this. Property destruction alone will not be enough allow them act on Deyzara behalf.”

“That iss sso,” declared a new voice. It was oddly inflected, and its mastery of S'aku, while commendable, tended to slide past certain syllables rather than fasten firmly on the necessary diphthongs. “Lissten well to the one called Aniolo-jat. Like the resst of you, he thinkss much as we do.” A clawed hand moved in a gesture of third-degree approval.

Iwoko-jei turned his seat in the direction of the voice. “If our good friends have something to add, we are all us here, as always, eager hear their words.”

The speaker and a single companion stepped forward from where they had been monitoring the Sakuntala who were operating the advanced communications equipment. They did not speak from the traditional hanging chairs. Even if they had been inclined to try them, they would have found the swinging seats uncomfortable. For one thing, their tails were much thicker than the slim tufted appendages possessed by the Sakuntala. For another, the special suits they were forced to wear in order to survive on Fluva might have caught and torn on a rough part of the chairs, and this the two strangers would not risk.

Favoring as they did a desert climate with no more than 10 percent humidity, their lungs could only tolerate the intense dampness of the Viisiiviisii for about an hour before saturation threatened to clog the moisture-phobic alveoli in their lungs. Furthermore, they were particularly susceptible to many of the airborne spores and eggs that exploded into the atmosphere whenever the interminable rain let up long enough to allow local flora to propagate. Their special suits were lightweight, both to shed the rain and to protect them from the fecund Nature in which they found themselves submerged. Most important of all, the small but extremely efficient dehumidifiers they wore over their snouts both dried and warmed the air they took into their lungs.

“As you all know, the final promissed weaponss sshipment arrived lasst night and wass dissperssed locally.”

Both Aniolo-jat and Yeruna-hua acknowledged this with approving flicks of their extraordinary tongues.

Thessu RDDTYTW replied with a fourth-degree sign of concurrence. Next to him, Jallrii BQQHHJR gestured satisfaction. The two AAnn officers were pleased that everything was going so smoothly. Pleased because it meant that all their hard work over the previous several years was finally reaching fruition. Pleased because its success would mean promotion for them both. Pleased because they were advancing the aims of the Empire. But pleased especially because it meant the two reptilian operatives might soon be able to make their final bows and gesticulations to this sodden hell of a world and return to civilization and a decent climate, where they would once again be able to breathe air that did not congest the lungs and stink of everlasting moisture. This whole world of Fluva stank of rot and decay.

Thessu continued, addressing himself to Aniolo-jat. Even though the Yuiqueru in question was not senior among those assembled in the secret meeting chamber, Thessu and Jallrii had long since decided he was the most clever and forward-looking among them. Which was another way of saying that of all the smelly, waterlogged, rain-loving natives they were forced to deal with, he was the one who thought most like an AAnn.

“Once fighting hass begun, we will continue to ssupply you as before. As alwayss, we musst be circumsspect in our work lesst we alert the local Commonwealth authoritiess to our activitiess.” He accompanied his words with a second-degree gesture signifying importance. “It iss vital that the nature of the assistance we have been providing to you remainss unknown, at leasst until all of our mutual goalss have been accomplisshed. If you can achieve what you have promissed as quickly as you indicate, there sshould be no problem. By the time the local humanss and thranx come to gripss with the sscale of your movement and can requesst and receive insstructionss on how to deal with it, much less formal assisstance, it will be too late for them.”

“Too late for the Deyzara,” Waruna-hia declaimed aloud. Cries of determination and agreement supported her observation.

Thessu and Jallrii exchanged comments of their own by means of gestures whose meaning was unknown to the assembled Sakuntala. Like many other species, the indigenous natives of Fluva communicated only by speech and expression. They lacked the added sophistication of exchanging meaning by means of limb movement that was common among the higher races like the AAnn. Or, it had reluctantly to be admitted, the thranx and, to a lesser extent, humankind.

Aniolo-jat waited for emotions to settle before speaking again. “How can we expect our good friends the AAnn to help us directly in fight to remove the Deyzara?”

His tail switching back and forth, Jallrii took over for his colleague. “As we have previoussly explained, we cannot be directly involved in the fighting. If we were to do sso, and ssuch participation by uss was disscovered, it would change radically the nature of the Commonwealth ressponsse to your uprissing. It would become a matter of the Commonwealth verssuss the beloved Empire. But if all hosstilitiess remain local, then Commonwealth government reaction sshould alsso sstay confined to local action, at leasst long enough for you to accomplissh our joint intended aimss.”

Thessu spoke up. “As long as your actionss perssisst, we will continue to ssupply you with weaponss when, where, and as feassible. You will of coursse alsso have access to our advanced communicationss facilitiess, and to our sstrategic advice.”

“The Sakuntala not need advice from anybody on how to fight!” a belligerent Yuiqueru put in, rocking violently in his chair. Several self-confident exclamations echoed this sentiment.

“We did not mean to imply that you did,” Thessu responded deferentially, with a slight clacking of his sharp teeth. “We meant only to offer.”

“Your offer gratefully acknowledged.” Aniolo-jat met the AAnn's catlike gaze evenly.

Yess, a clever one, that Aniolo-jat, the AAnn officer reflected. When events on Fluva began to settle down, he and Jallrii had already decided who would be chosen to occupy the position of prime contact with the Empire. It was good of the natives to have made the choice for them. The others could be dealt with as necessary: rewarded for their efforts or shunted into positions of largely ceremonial importance or, if they proved particularly recalcitrant to acknowledge the new order of things, disposed of. He had no doubt that the Yuiqueru Aniolo-jat would be cooperative in all aspects of realigning the social order on Fluva. It was always helpful when the usual one or two semi-intelligent natives announced themselves. It saved having to sift through the populace to find them.

“There are to be no massacress,” Jallrii was saying. “That iss the only thing that could sspark rapid and direct involvement by Commonwealth peaceforcerss.”

“Of course not,” another war chief agreed. “Maybe just a little massacre, here and there. Out of sight of witnesses and Commonwealth people.” His look of feral anticipation was sufficient to freeze a Deyzara in its tracks. “Easy to hide much in Viisiiviisii.”

“You will have to rein in ssuch dessiress,” Thessu warned him. “Your aim iss to rid your world of as many Deyzara as possible. Remember—forcing them into the major townss will keep the local Commonwealth authoritiess bussy trying to assisst and care for thoussandss of refugeess. The more they can be kept occupied, the less likely they are to learn of our ssurreptitiouss proactive activitiess among you.