An Accidental Alliance (19 page)

     
“You mean you aren’t flattered by her attention?” Iris asked archly.

     
“It’s flattering,” Park admitted, “but she’s far too young. I don’t know what the Mer laws are, but she would be jail bait where we come from.”

     
“Sixteen is of age in Mer society, dear,” Iris told him. “Well, I’ll have a chat with her very soon and that should take care of that. In the meantime you should enjoy having two beautiful women on your arms.”

     
“I’m never going to entirely understand you, am I?” Park sighed.

     
To her credit, Iris did not give the usual response. Instead she laughed and said, “It’s very simple, dear. First, I trust you and second, Marisea doesn’t threaten me.” Park stared at her for a bit until he realized his frown had turned to a look of affection. “Your coffee’s gone cold,” Iris observed. “I’ll get the other bottle.”

     
“You’re wasting too many of your precious resources this way,” Arn was telling Prime Terius through his new torq when Park, Iris and Marisea joined them for cocktails before dinner that evening. “Three satellites can do the work of the twenty you’re using now.”

     
“The satellites you propose would violate the terms of the Covenant, Friend Arnsley,” Terius told him politely.

     
“If they were placed in high orbit by the Mer, perhaps,” Arn argued. “But the satellites and the launch vehicle belong to Project Van Winkle and we never signed the Covenant.”

     
“Tempting,” Terius admitted, “but I must consider how the Galactics would view it. I am fairly certain they would destroy your satellites without bothering to wonder who had launched them. Then they would descend on our world and exact the penalties they chose as per the damnable Covenant.”

     
“How many Galactics are on the moon?” Park asked suddenly.

     
“I’m sure I don’t know for a certainty,” Terius replied thoughtfully. “Tens of thousands I should think. The base there is large enough to be seen from here without a telescope.”

     
“Is it?” Park wondered.

     
“Park? What are you thinking?” Iris asked.

     
“Ever since we got back to Van Winkle Base, you’ve been monitoring the Moon for radio transmissions,” Park pointed out. “Heard much?”

     
“Not really,” Iris admitted. “Assuming Taodore gave us the right frequencies, there’s just been a little chatter, just with various spaceships.” She had needed Taodore’s computer to handle the translations of the three major Galactic languages, but the new antenna array was easily adapted to listening.

     
“How many ships?” Park pressed.

     
They had discussed this before, but Iris did not know where Park was going now, so she allowed him to lead her. She took a deep breath and let it out in a long sigh as she tried to remember. “Four,” she replied at last. “One was coming from somewhere else and left a week later just a few days before we came here, and the other three seem to be stationed in this system. I think they spent most of the time grounded near the lunar city, really, since the communications seemed to deal mostly with maintenance.”

     
“So we only know of three ships stationed at Luna,” Park concluded. “Is that right?”

     
“Well, there’s no proof we heard from all the ships up there,” Iris hedged, “and like I said, I only had Taodore’s say-so that we had the right set of frequencies.”

     
“But only three?” Park pressed.

     
“Well, okay,” Iris nodded. “Yes, three ships, that we know about.”

     
“Prime?” Park turned the Mer leader, “how large are these ships?”

     
“Spaceships vary in size,” Terius replied. “The ones we have seen carried crews of two hundred.”

     
“That’s it?” Park asked, showing surprise.

     
“Spaceships are very expensive to run and the cost of running one goes up exponentially with their size,” Terius replied sensibly. “We have three ships we use to maintain our satellites and they each only hold a crew of fifty. I have heard of ships that can hold one thousand crew or passengers, but they are supposed to be quite rare. Why are you asking?”

     
“So they have three ships we know of, at least one of which carries two hundred men and women,” Park summed up. “For the sake of argument, let’s assume the other two each are manned by crews of one thousand. Heck, let’s assume they just sent the two hundred man ship home in exchange for another large model. So those three ships represent maybe three thousand people.”

     
“Plus the
 
men and women stationed on the moon itself,” Iris pointed out.

     
“Yes, and how many are there?” Park went on, “and you know what? It doesn’t matter because they can’t come here, only those three thousand on the ships can. How many Mer are there in the world?”

     
“According to the last census,” Terius replied, “there were not quite nine hundred million adults and children. Oh, I see what you’re getting at, but they do not have to land to kill us. They might have terrible weapons that could destroy whole cities.”

     
“It’s conceivable,” Park admitted. “My people did. I was hoping someone had developed a defense against the nuclear bomb by now.”

     
“Would anyone actually use such a horrible weapon?” Marisea asked.

     
“There have been incidents,” Park admitted. “Terius, have the Galactics ever done that to your knowledge?”

     
“There are stories,” Terius replied.

     
“True stories?” Park asked. “Did they ever drop the Bomb on a Mer City.”

     
“The Bomb?” Terius echoed.

     
“One of those weapons that could destroy a city,” Park translated.

     
“Not in any of our records,” Terius replied, “but we wouldn’t want them to start now.”

     
“Admittedly,” Park agreed, “but would doing so fit in with their whole argument that Earth is a nature preserve?”

     
“No,” Terius admitted as though the thought had never occurred to him, “I would have to say that does not sound in keeping with that particular argument, and, before you ask, they have never actually threatened to use such a weapon, not directly. But they have shown them to us and given us demonstrations of their use. The meaning was clear.”

     
“I think they’re bluffing,” Park told the Mer. “I think they have a base up there with maybe three or four thousand people at best. It’s possible I’m giving them too much credit and there are half that number. It seems to be that big shiny area is a field of solar energy cells to supplement whatever sort of power generator system they have and that the actual base is far smaller than it seems.”

     
“On what do you base that, Park?” Arn asked.

     
“The low levels of radio chatter for one thing,” Park replied. “If they had a dozen ships or more we’d be hearing a lot more talk going on. And if they only have three ships we’ve heard about, I doubt there are more than another one or two. It’s possible the base is as large as it looks, but I suspect it’s relatively empty if that’s the case. There’s just not enough activity. I think that fourth ship we heard coming and going brought supplies and maybe new personnel. If it brought new people, it probably took some away. The whole thing sounds more like a listening post than an actual military base.”

     
“Three or four ships is more than a listening post, Park,” Arn pointed out.

     
“For an entire planet?” Park countered. “I doubt that. Prime, when was the last time the Galactics actually had to exact any of the penalties in the Covenant?”

     
“That would have been seven centuries ago, when we were forced to stop putting our satellites in high orbit,” Terius replied. “I would think they’d be looking for us to try that again.”

     
“That would make sense,” Park told him, “if they didn’t think you had learned your lesson. Have there been any incidents since then?”

     
“We protest the terms of the Covenant every century when it comes time to renew it,” Terius told him.

     
“A protest?” Park asked. “Just words? I doubt that scares them very much. As long as you’re talking and not acting, they’ll be complacent and after several centuries, I doubt they’re doing much up there besides showing the flag. They know they have you cowed and after this long I’m sure they have become complacent. It’s time to press back a bit.”

     
“Yes,” Arn took up the argument. “We should launch those satellites. Park’s right. The odds are, the first thing they will do is complain and threaten at which point I’ll personally tell them whom they belong to. Besides I’ve read that Covenant backwards, forwards and side to side. It doesn’t even mention satellites.”

     
“They have Earth under quarantine,” Iris commented thoughtfully, “behind a blockade. I have to agree with Park. It is high time that blockade was broken. A better system of communications won’t harm anyone.”

     
“And if you have ships that can travel between the planets,” Park added, “I’ve always wanted to see Saturn for myself.”

 
    
“This is a matter for the Council to decide,” Prime Terius decided, “but we can begin that tomorrow.”

     
“Good,” Iris laughed, “because I’d like to dance with my husband while I have the chance.”

     
“And his second,” Marisea put in, “wants to dance too. Iris, there are dances for three, you know.”

     
“Well, if Park’s going to insist on bringing two dates to these things,” Iris laughed, “I suppose he is going to have to learn them.”

     
“I don’t recall being the one who insisted,” Park told them both, but allowed himself to be led out on to the dance floor.

     
“Park,” Marisea asked after showing Park and Iris the modified steps for a trio, “Are you really going to go to Saturn?”

     
“I’d love to,” Park admitted, wondering idly whether she even knew where Saturn was, “but right now I would just like to establish a permanent link between Van Winkle’s and the Mer networks. It’s not going to be as easy as I made it sound though. First of all we have to get those satellites up and working and we may have to defend them.”

     
“Or not,” Iris told him. “From the sounds of it, this Covenant has been so much talk back and forth across the backyard fence for centuries. If we launch and then nothing else happens, they might just let it go at that.”

 
    
“Well, we’ll see won’t we?” Park shrugged as he prepared to twirl both Marisea and Iris. The dance, he decided was entirely too athletic for the man who dared to engage in it with two women. Then he decided maybe that was the point.

     
After the dance, Marisea noticed the small golden pendant hanging from the chain around Iris’ neck. “What’s that?” she asked. “I haven’t seen you wear jewelry before.”

     
“This?” Iris touched the pendant at her throat. “It’s says, ‘chai.’ It’s the word for ‘Life’ in another human language. I’ve had this since I was even younger than you. Would you like it?”

     
“I couldn’t,” Marisea shook her head, “a good Mer girl doesn’t wear jewelry until…” she trailed off.

     
“Until what, dear?” Iris asked.

     
Marisea gave her a crooked sort of grin. “Before her first formal occasion.”

     
“I would think this qualifies then, right?” Iris asked, reaching behind her neck to unfasten the thin gold chain.

     
Marisea looked around nervously and then nodded with uncharacteristic shyness. She blushed as Iris fastened the necklace around the teen’s neck. Tears were rolling down Marisea’s face as she hugged the older woman and repeatedly told her, “Thank you!” Then she suddenly broke off to race across the hall to show her father.

     
Taodore came up to Iris sometime later to say, “Thank you, Iris. You’ve made my daughter very happy.”

     
“It was hardly anything, Taodore,” Iris replied. “And it seemed appropriate.”

     
“Very,” Taodore agreed. “You should know, however, that is something a young woman’s mother usually does. Sadly, Marisea’s mother, my wife, died when she was just a year old. I’ve done my best, but I know she’s missed out on certain things.”

     
“It’s all right, Taodore,” Iris responded, seeing the Merman beginning to be at a loss for words. “I don’t mind filling in and, truth to be told, I would be proud if Marisea were my daughter.” Taodore nodded and gave her thanks once more before Marisea came bouncing happily back.

     
Park woke up the next morning when he felt movement on Iris’s side of the bed. “Getting up, Hon?” he asked sleepily.

     
“Getting in,” Marisea’s voice replied playfully. Park’s eyes snapped open and he turned around only to be caught up in Marisea’s arms and felt the warmth of her body against his as she kissed him full on the lips and this time held on for several seconds. “Thanks for the date, Park,” she told him as she allowed him to disengage and slip back. Park noticed she was still wearing the chai necklace Iris had given her. “Next time, though, remember you’re supposed to kiss your date good night, not good morning. People might talk.”