Ireta 02 - [Dinosaur Planet 02] - Dinosaur Planet Survivors (17 page)

“Where are you, Dim?”

“We’re just over the pitchblende strike—”

Dimenon’s words were cut off abruptly. Kai tried to reestablish contact. Not that Dimenon or Margit would be in any danger from the Thek, but he would prefer a little more detailed report. When he failed to raise the geologists, he switched to Lunzie.

“Whereabouts are
you
, Lunzie?”

“Nearly to the cave. Why?”

“Dimenon just reported there are Thek on the first strike. Then he went silent.”

“Thek? Kai, I think we’d better raise Varian and abort that mission. If Thek are here . . .”

“THIS IS RESCUE MISSION. IS ANYONE ON THAT BEACON? THIS IS AN ALL-FREQUENCIES HAIL. WE ARE A RESCUE MISSION. WE ARE HOMING IN ON YOUR BEACON!”

The interruption stunned Kai and Lunzie.

“You are blasting our eardrums, rescue,” Lunzie said. “What is your origin?”

“Ryxi.”

“Maintain silence and home in on beacon.” Lunzie interrupted in a tone that inspired compliance. “I’ll get back to you, Base.” Kai knew to maintain his silence.

Which beacon? he wanted to shout. And why were Thek appearing all over the landscape? Should he not attempt to warn Varian? Well, if the rescue ship was heading toward the heavyworlders’ beacon, Varian would abort on her own initiative.

His moment of panic subsided. The appearance of Thek meant that Tor had informed others. It was as likely that Tor had organized a rescue from Ryxi, and humans at that by the voice. Then Kai found another reason to be alarmed, since he seemed determined to be anxious: Tor would not know that Kai had roused other members of his team. Tor would know that the heavyworlders were active on the planet. Surely a Thek could tell the difference between normal humans and heavyworlders? Dimenon wouldn’t panic when faced with a Thek, even a horde of them. And Dimenon would know to ask for Tor, wouldn’t he?

Two anxious hours Kai waited.

“Kai, are you there?” Lunzie’s voice had a buoyancy which Kai had never heard in it before.

“Yes, yes, I’m here! Where else?”

“At ease,” Lunzie’s voice had a lilt of laughter for his sarcasm. “All’s well here at the cliff beacon. I’ll have to apologize to Varian. Those giffs of hers are far more intelligent than we suspected.”

“Why?”

“I’ll swear they recognized the difference between my sled and the one Captain Godheir sent in. When I got here, the giffs were protecting the cave and our shuttle against
any
unauthorized intrusion . . .”

“Who’s Godheir?”

“The captain of the Ryxi supply vessel, the
Mazer Star
. And I apologize to you, too. Your Thek, Tor, left orders with the Ryxi planet to mount a rescue mission for you. But the Ryxi vessel was away on a supply trip so it took them until now to respond. The vessel’s medium-sized and had to land in the jungle. They sent in a sled and the giffs attacked it. They’re formidable in the air. I arrived as the battle was in full swing. But Kai, when I approached, the giffs escorted me to the cave. And the captain will swear to it.” Kai wasn’t sure why Lunzie should sound so triumphant over that point. “So I’ve asked Captain Godheir to send a sled to collect you, and some men to guard the dome. And if his diagnostic unit doesn’t have an answer, the cruiser’s will. Godheir’s trying to raise Dimenon but he’s also agreed to send out a search party if you’ll give me the coordinates.” Kai quickly gave her the figures. “And Kai, I lodged an official charge of mutiny with Captain Godheir. You’ll be asked to confirm.”

Kai caught his breath because it was scarcely the function of a medical officer, even an Adept, to lodge such a complaint if either of the team’s leaders were alive.

“You’ll want it on record, Kai,” and Lunzie’s voice was not the least apologetic for her usurpation of right, “because the colony ship’s down and a cruiser is guarding it.”

“Varian and Portegin?”

Lunzie’s voice altered again, devoid of emotion. “Their sled received a bolt from the transport, but the cruiser was able to grapple it in time to break the full force of a crash. They’re both alive and being conveyed to the cruiser. Just hang on there, Kai. We’ve got more help than we need.”

“Any news on the
ARCT-10
?”

“No, but Godheir wouldn’t necessarily know. The cruiser might. I’ll ask when they’ve secured the transport. Take it easy now, Kai. No fretting. I’ll see you soon.”

Only then did Kai notice the blood running from his hands. He had been gripping the comunit so hard, he had lacerated his palms. He had no great hopes that either diagnostic unit could help him, but perhaps there’d be some skin-gloves and shin pads so he’d stop injuring himself. He thrust his hands into a basin of water, aware that he couldn’t even sense the temperature. He salved the cuts and bandaged them.

So the colony ship had landed after all. Whether a cruiser was on its back or not now mattered little. Time had run out on their attempt to salvage something of this miscarried expedition. His first opportunity to prove his leadership ability had ended in disaster. Kai walked morosely around the relief map. With an air of finality, he picked up the discarded pods of hadrosaur nuts and placed the smallest one near the giffs’ cave, the next largest on the edge of the heavyworlders’ plateau and the largest right in the midst of the grid. Then he sat, bandaged hands dangling between his legs while he waited for the rescue sled.

9

H
ANDS pulled urgently at Rianav, and she groaned. An ache encompassed her whole body.

“Lemmalone.”

“Not when I have no choice but to retrieve you,” a familiar voice said. Hands now reached under her armpits, lifting her strangely unresisting body out of the pilot’s seat. “You’re in one piece. Just relax, Lieutenant.”

“Easy there now,” another voice called, its tone of command undiminished by distance.

“You’re lighter than I’d thought,” the familiar voice murmured.

Rianav forced her eyes open and gasped. Blood seemed to be dripping from her face. The arms that lifted her were heavily corded. She started to struggle.

“Don’t,” Aygar ordered impatiently. “I’m under surveillance, and I’ve no wish to be stunned again. You have nothing to fear from me. Or mine.” His tone was bitter, but as he eased her from the damaged cockpit, his hands did not abuse his advantage.

“Cut the chatter,” the other voice ordered. The voice came from below her. She couldn’t make out her surroundings. “Just lift her out. Nice and easy. Medic!”

“I’ll carry her down.” Aygar has lost none of his arrogance, she thought. She relaxed as she felt him descending a steep and uneven way.

Despite blurred vision, partly due to the blood which streamed down her nose, Rianav looked about her as Aygar scrambled down a rocky incline. The sled had crumpled, nose first, into the side of a cliff and wedged in. Another sturdy young man was extracting Portegin’s limp body from his side of the wrecked vehicle. On a much wider shelf about fifteen meters below were a pinnace and a cluster of uniformed personnel, some with drawn stunners, watching the rescue operation. Blinking to clear her eyes, Rianav looked beyond, to the vast plateau now inhabited by the immense squat bulk of a colony transport ship and the long sleekly dangerous form of a medium deep-space cruiser. As Rianav made out the designation,
218-ZD-43
on the stern fins, she experienced an unreasonable spurt of pure panic and clutched at Aygar’s shoulders.

“I told you. I won’t harm you. That bunch is just waiting for a chance to blast us out of existence.” Aygar’s bitterness was intense.

“Your transport shot us down.”

“You and your phony rescue mission. All the time your cruiser was tracking the transport!”

Rianav flinched from his anger, aware of contradictory, nonsensical, and conflicting emotions. But the next moment Aygar had reached the ledge, and she was removed from his arms. She started to protest as she saw him pushed to one side by armed personnel. Then a medic was busy checking the pupils of her eyes and someone else applied an antiseptic pack to her bleeding forehead. She felt a spray go in one arm, a powerful restorative to judge by the flood of energy that surged through her body.

“You’ll do,” the medic muttered and stepped back, signaling his assistant to help Rianav clean the worst of the blood from her skin. The Iretan flies were buzzing in a cloud, attracted by the smell of blood.

“Lieutenant Rianav,” and she turned to look at the officer who now confronted her. His face was totally unfamiliar to her. Even medium-size cruisers were not so huge that officers could remain unknown to one another. His expression was compounded of many elements: anticipation, curiosity, and a tinge of awe. “Commander Sassinak is waiting for your personal report.”

To gain a moment to collect herself, Rianav looked over to where Portegin was being examined. “Is he all right?”

“He’ll have a worse headache than you will, Lieutenant,” the medic replied cheerfully then pointed to the long gash across Portegin’s forehead. “Only a flesh wound. Here, you, let’s get him out of this stinking air and away from those blood-sucking insects.”

Aygar and his friend were summarily encouraged to lift Portegin and bring him into the pinnace.

“We used those two local lads to reach you,” the officer was saying in an apologetic tone as he escorted Rianav to the pinnace. “They
said
,” and he gave a skeptical snort, “they were on their way to rescue you anyhow.” He dropped his voice to a confidential tone as they entered the little ship. “We haven’t had a planetfall in months and we might have botched the climb. Couldn’t let that happen. Sorry you landed so hard. We saw, that transport zap you and the commander only managed to get a tractor beam on you long enough to cushion the fall—All secure back there?”

“Aye, aye, sir.”

Rianav craned her head to see Portegin strapped into a seat, the medics on either side of him. Aygar and his companion were under the wary guard of four marines, two with drawn stunners.

“Why are those men under guard, Lieutenant?” Rianav asked as she fastened her seat belt.

“They’re mutineers. Your people filed a charge of mutiny, you know. First thing your commander told mine.”

There was something wrong with that statement, but Rianav could not fathom what, beyond the obvious error that her commander and his must be the same.

The young lieutenant leaned toward her, his voice low. “The other elements of your group have all reported in, Rianav. Don’t worry about anything.” He turned aside to order the helmsman to take the pinnace back to the
ZD-43
. Then he grinned complacently at Rianav. “The heavyworlders’ transport never even knew we were on their tails. Sassinak’s a canny commander.”

As the little pinnace took off, Rianav placed trembling fingers against her temples. That knock on her head had done more than visible damage for she was being afflicted with selective amnesia. She knew that there was to be a colony ship but not that her cruiser was chasing it. She knew she served on the
ZD-43
but she couldn’t recognize any of the men on the pinnace, or conjure up the name of her commanding officer.

“That transport was being trailed?” She’d been so sure that her cruiser was in orbit above the planet, had had no intention of landing, and that she was part of a rescue mission, answering a distress call.

“Ever since the transport crossed into our patrol sector. Ships the size of that baby are leeched the moment the keel is laid. Part of the Federation’s long-term plan to stop planet piracy. So the moment the leech activated our sensors, we checked Registry and knew we’d a live one.” The lieutenant’s grin broadened. “The transport was built in Voroshinsky, sold to Dopli—the heavyworld planet in Signi Sector—and it was heading in a very suspicious direction, there being very few systems open for colonization out this side. So we pursued it with the leech keeping it on a leash for us.”

Rianav felt a gentle bump as the pinnace landed. Briskly the young lieutenant unfastened his seat belt and rose, ordering the medics to take Portegin to the sick bay, the marines to remove the prisoners and secure them in the settlement. He was turning, with more courtesy in his manner, to Rianav when the comunit on the pinnace console burbled a summons.

“Guarded message for Lieutenant Rianav, sir,” the helmsman announced, rising from his place and gesturing for Rianav to take his seat. Then he and the officer discreetly left the pinnace.

“Lieutenant Rianav here,” she said, depressing the screen toggle. Its tiny picture revealed a face which Rianav did recognize: her medic.

“Report, Varian.”

As Lunzie’s words dissipated the barrier, Varian–Rianav sank against the back of the contour chair, her mind reeling as one identity still impinged on the other.

“Slight miscalculation on our part, Varian. We now have more help than we can use. Are you okay?”

“A scratch on the scalp and a distinct feeling that I’d lost my memory. Portegin’s still unconscious, but they say he’ll be fine. Lunzie, did you know that this cruiser is the
ZD-43
?”

“So I’m told. Nice coincidence, isn’t it? Did you pick up that all-frequencies hail on your way to the plateau?”

“Who was that?” Rianav–Varian remembered everything now.

“That was our friendly Ryxi rescue mission. No Ryxi, by the way.” Lunzie chuckled. “Neatly blew Commander Sassinak’s little surprise party. Kai’s Tor gave the alert, but the Ryxi had to wait for the vessel to return from a supply run before they could dispatch it to our assistance. And Dimenon reported to Kai that the Thek have arrived in strength.”

“In strength?”

“Dotting the landscape, thirty strong by the latest count. That’s a lot of Thek.”

“Any of them Tor?”

“Don’t know. Dimenon fired in the report and then Kai lost the connection. Captain Godheir has sent a sled out after him and Margit. And I’ve got a lot to tell you about your precious giffs when you get back. After Commander Sassinak has had her chat with you. I didn’t know about the cruiser when I filed a mutiny charge with Captain Godheir. I wanted that on record as soon as possible. Sassinak will want to have details from you. I’m reviving the rest of the sleepers now. Their reports are going to be needed, too. And they might as well wake up. We’ve got enough help now to complete the original mission.”

“Lunzie, how’s Kai?”

“In Godheir’s sick tank. We can improve his condition. As I said, I didn’t know about the cruiser. Its medical team can help if Godheir’s doesn’t come up with an answer.”

Behind Varian, someone was noisily clearing his throat.

“I’ll join you as soon as I can arrange transport, Lunzie. Just continue as you think best.”

“Well, that gives me plenty of latitude.”

“You don’t need any more,” Varian said in an ironic tone. Lunzie gave her a sardonic grin as she broke the connection. Then Varian rose to face the lieutenant.

“My wits have been rattled, Lieutenant, I don’t know your name.”

“Borander.” He smiled. “Commander Sassinak is waiting for you.” Borander now exuded an air of urgency. “You look a lot better now, you know. I was a bit worried about you for a while. You didn’t seem yourself.”

“You could say I wasn’t.”

Borander escorted her from the pinnace, which had landed near the cruiser by one of the open air locks. From her vantage point in the pinnace’s lock, Varian had a good view of the heavy gunsleds in position around the massive hulk of the heavyworld transport. Cruisers were scarcely small, but the ZD-43 looked almost puny as it faced the colony ship. Only one of the transport’s locks was open, but none of the heavyworld contingent was visible. Varian hoped that the cruiser’s weaponry was trained on the transport. It looked so menacing, just sitting there, as if it meant to stay. She was only slightly reassured by the fact that most colonists were shipped in cold sleep to their new destinations.

“These guys built a proper strip, I’ll give ’em that much,” Borander said, gesturing to their right.

Aygar and his friend were squatting on their haunches beside the pinnace, and the friend scowled at her. Aygar was staring into the distance, indifferent to his surroundings and the marines’ weapons.

“Borander,
why
are these men being guarded?”

“Why, because they’re mutineers,” Borander replied.

“These two men are
not
mutineers, Lieutenant Borander. They were born here on Ireta and they had nothing to do with the mutiny. There is no need to keep
them
under restraint.”

“Now, look, your people registered a mutiny charge first with Captain Godheir and then with Commander Sassinak—”

“Which still has nothing to do with Aygar and anyone in his generation or even his parents’.”

“And I suppose they didn’t help build that grid to assist an illegal landing . . .” Borander switched from surprise to open scorn.

“I think the judicial will find that Aygar was acting on misinformation and could be excused from a conscious violation of EEC regulations.”

Borander held himself stiffly. “That is not for me to decide. Now, Commander Sassinak is waiting for you.”

“Then Aygar can accompany us, and I’ll sort the matter out right now.”

Aygar maintained his air of indifference, but his companion was staring at Varian, his jaw had dropped open and his face bore a surprised expression that put Varian in mind of Tardma.

“Why, I can’t just walk into the commander’s office with these two—”

“
I
can.” Varian put the steel of Discipline into her voice. “I’ll remind you, Lieutenant, that as coleader of an authorized expedition to Ireta,
I
have the rank of planetary governor
pro-tem
. Who outranks whom, Lieutenant?”

Borander swallowed, arching his back to attention. “You do . . . ma’am. But that doesn’t mean the commander’s going to
like
it.”

Varian ignored that remark and turned to the Iretans. “Aygar, if you and your friend would be good enough to accompany us?” She stared pointedly from the marines to Borander who signaled them to sheathe their stunners. Aygar rose from his haunches with graceful ease.

“You’d be one of Tardma’s grandchildren?” she asked the unknown Iretan.

“I’m Winral,” the man replied in a surly voice, eyeing her with growing anxiety.

Borander stepped out quickly toward the cruiser’s gangplank. Aygar fell in beside her while Winral tagged behind. Varian noticed but did not comment on the fact that Borander signaled the marines to bring up the rear.

“Lieutenant, would you know how much damage my sled sustained? I’ll need transport to return to my base camp as soon as I’ve seen the commander.”

“Apart from the crumpled nose, I’d say the bolt just drained your power pack,” Borander replied in a formal tone. “I’ll order it retrieved and repowered.”

Varian received the distinct impression that Borander did not think she’d survive her interview with his commander. They were halfway to their destination when one of Ireta’s sudden downpours caught them. It afforded Varian some amusement that she, Aygar, and Winral paid no attention to the rain though even the marines flinched.

“Let ’em have the place, I say,” someone muttered behind Varian in a voice meant to be overheard. “I’ve smelled stinks—”

Borander whipped around, hoping to identify the speaker. His annoyance was increased as he noticed Aygar’s sublime indifference to the elements.

Varian was not attached to any service unit, so the usual boarding salute to the flag was not required of her. Nevertheless, when she reached the top of the gangplank, she had to exert a conscious effort not to follow Borander’s example. The duty officer immediately stepped forward, objecting to the presence of Aygar and Winral.