The Shadow and Night (94 page)

“He meets the physical requirements,” Vero said. “And we could use some spare men. But it's up to you.”

“So, Lorrin, you know that it may be unpleasant. Even dangerous?”

Lorrin nodded urgently. “It's really what I want, sir. It'd be neat. I know Zak. Maybe I could be on his team?”

Merral stared at Vero, hoping for assistance, but found that his friend was looking away.
He wants me to make the decision myself.

“Very well, Lorrin. I would imagine we can use you. Get Sentinel Vero here to assign you to a squad when we get to Tanaris. See you on the flight.”

“
Yeah!
Thank you, sir!” the man said, eagerness written across his face. Then he gave a sharp salute, turned, and beginning to whistle happily, left the ship.

Merral, watching him depart, shook his head in amusement, and turned to Vero. “Was that okay?”

“Yes. I suppose so.”

“You don't sound convinced. Why wasn't he put on one of the contact teams first? He's a nice guy. There's a contagious happiness about that man.”

“Yes, isn't there? I refused because he's an only child. We have made no ruling on it. But I thought . . .”

“I see . . . ,” Merral responded slowly, realizing that Vero expected not just fighting but also loss of life. Chastened, he returned to his seat in the back of the transporter and, preoccupied with unhappy thoughts, stared blankly at his notes for some time.

Late in the afternoon, Merral looked up to see Dr. Clemant, his neat dark suit and carefully parted hair making him conspicuous among the sweaty, dirty, and increasingly disheveled men and women laboring around the
Emilia Kay.
The advisor stared at the ship in a thoughtful manner for some time before coming over to Merral.

“Good afternoon, Captain,” he said.

“Advisor, good afternoon.” Merral said, leaping down from the transporter. “How are you?”

“Well, thank you. I thought I'd come and have a look at the preparations. I have followed the planning closely.”

“I'm sure,” Merral said. “I don't know about you, but I'm awed by everything that has been done.”

Clemant's eyes scanned the busy scene ahead carefully before answering. “Yes, it is a remarkable achievement. But—alas—it is not here that the plans will be tested.”

“True.”

There was a long silence. “I came to see you, Captain. I thought it right to do so.” Merral felt there was a stiffness in the way Clemant spoke that hinted he wanted to say something.

“Thank you.”

“I am truly delighted that you have accepted the task of leading the approach.”

“I am less enthusiastic.”

“I understand.” Clemant continued to stare at the
Emilia Kay.
“Captain, let me say that no one is more anxious than me that this operation succeed.”

“Thank you again,” Merral said.

“You see . . . I know this planet well. It is my business; my life. I have my finger on its pulse and . . . ” The advisor paused, stared stiffly at the ground, and when he looked up, Merral could see the fear in his eyes. “And frankly, I am scared.”

“By what?” Merral asked, surprised by Clemant's candor.

“By the sense that it is all unraveling.”

“I see. . . .”

“Do you?” Clemant said, and Merral was struck by the bluntness of the question. The advisor's pale face colored slightly. “I'm sorry,” he said awkwardly. “I find it hard to express myself properly these days; it seems to come out wrong. No offense meant. What I mean is . . . ” His words faltered for a second. “What I mean is this: as a world we have been bound together by grace and goodwill. But faced with a return of evil, that may not be enough. In the last month, I have been reading about the past.” His eyes closed briefly as if he was in pain. “I have read and watched horrors. The Plague Wars, the destructions, the burning cities, the victims . . .” The advisor shook his head and fell silent. As he continued, his eyes bore a strangely intense expression. “And each new incident here is another point on a graph that marks out a trajectory. And, Captain, I have seen where it is heading.”

Somewhat shaken by the analysis, Merral found himself denying it. “It may not be that bad. There is an enormous resilience here.”

Clemant gave him a cold, shrewd look as if to say,
I know you don't believe that.
“Perhaps. I hope you are right. But you do see that we have no barriers? no defenses? no structures to protect us?”

Merral struggled with the concepts. “I suppose so. We don't have such things.”

Clemant's dark eyes stared at him. “I am from Kelendara. In your former profession you will have heard of our town.”

“Indeed, the big forest fires of '22.”

“I was a teenager then and I watched the hillsides burn for weeks. You know the verdict of the investigation?”

“I read it at college. The firebreaks weren't wide enough; the first fires weren't tackled fast enough.”

“Yes.” The advisor's expression suddenly showed a deep concern. “Farholme is like those forests, only worse—there are no firebreaks. We have seen sparks: Larrenport, Ynysmant, Ilakuma, and who knows where else? If they catch . . . ” His eyes seem to stare into an infinite void. “We will lose everything. Everything.”

Merral, troubled by the vision, said nothing.

“You talked to Anwar last night, I gather?” Clemant said, and Merral knew he referred to something more than an ordinary conversation.

“I did.”

“I worry about him. I think he's close to the limit of what he can take. In a storm, some trees bend and recover while others snap, do they not, Captain? And which is our representative?”

“I've never applied the analogy to human beings, Dr. Clemant.”

“Perhaps wisely so. But if this tree breaks, we are in trouble.” Clemant shook his head, and the expression on his face returned to one of inscrutability. He looked at the ship.

“So,” he said, and his voice was less intense, “I came to encourage you. To urge you on. We need that ship. More than you can imagine. We need to be reconnected to the Assembly, and fast.”

“I will do what I can,” Merral said. “Everyone I have met here is totally committed to doing their task.”

“Good.” Clemant stared at the ground, and Merral felt there was something else he wanted to say. “There is one other thing,” Clemant said finally, looking up at him, a new expression in his dark gray eyes.

“Please.”

“I don't know how to say this, but I have a concern.”

“Go ahead.”

“I hope—as we all do—that diplomacy will work. That they, whoever they are, will say, ‘Sorry, it was all a misunderstanding.' ” He paused, and Merral knew that he didn't have the slightest faith that this would be the case. “But, Captain,” Clemant continued, “if you do have to attack, I want you to be firm.”

“I see. In what way?”

He shrugged. “I cannot say exactly; I do not know what will happen. But I don't want you to be overly cautious. Increasingly, I see this evil as a cancer in our world. It needs to be dealt with.” He hesitated. “You may need to be a surgeon, Captain.”

“Another interesting image, Advisor,” Merral said, thinking that, in fact, he found it a very disturbing one.

Then, apparently embarrassed by what he had said, Clemant opened his hands wide in a dismissive gesture. “Well, that's just my view. But I do apologize for taking up your time.”

“Advisor, it was very helpful to hear your concerns.”

Clemant seemed slightly embarrassed. “Thank you. I felt I needed to express them.” He looked around. “Oh, I was also looking for Zachary Larraine. You know him?”

“Zak? He's on Tanaris.”

“Ah, I should have checked.”

“But how do you know him? Oh, wait, he's from Kelendara too.”

“That's right. I know his parents slightly. That's all. Incidentally, Professor Habbentz is at the ship and mentioned she would like to see you.”

“Gerry? I'll go and find her.”

“Do so. Well, I must go.” Clemant's smile as he extended a hand seemed weak. “I will be praying for your success.”

They shook hands and the advisor walked away. Merral found himself watching the neat departing figure with a great deal of unease. He sighed and then turned and made his way to the ship.

Gerry Habbentz's tall frame and long, flowing black hair made her easy to find.

“Hi, Merral,” she said with enthusiasm as he walked over to where she stood staring at the ship. “Good to see you again. I hear you are a captain now.”

Merral shrugged. “I am still working out what that means.”

“You'll learn.” She grinned, and Merral felt that some of the strain she had borne when they had last met had lifted.

“What are you doing here?” he asked.

“I was at the airport and I came to say farewell to Perena. She flew us to the lab last time. And we've talked about this intruder ship. If you seize it, I'm down to view the engines.”

“I'm hoping we are going to have a guided tour from the crew.”

“Yeah. Really. You don't believe that, do you?” Her dark eyes glinted.

“I try to, Gerry. But it's hard. How's the physics?”

“Well, your message went. As you know. Whether it was received is another matter.” Her face clouded. “Like a lot of other people, I am coming to terms with isolation.” She wrinkled her face in an expression of dislike. “And separation.”

“Sorry. And the research?”

Her face brightened. “The research is, well, promising. Yeah,
promising
will do.”

“Good. Any progress to understanding how the intruders got here?”

“Perhaps. We have been working on the math of the Normal-Space to Below-Space boundary. It is very technical, but we have been trying to see how you could make a ship that could enter and leave Below-Space without using a Gate. We have some ideas. Let's say no more at the moment.”

“Just be careful about exploring Below-Space. Please?”

“The
Argo
business, right? Perena told me.” Her hair flew about as she shook her head. “No problem. We are a long way from creating any physical model. But anyway, this is a fine place and time to talk about risk, right? Look at that!” She gestured to a box marked
Explosives!
in big red letters being wheeled carefully past them.

“Point taken.”

Gerry looked longingly at the
Emilia Kay.
“Oh, I wish I was going with you guys. Incidentally, did Lucian Clemant find you?”

“Yes. How do you know him?”

“Easy; our research has to go through him. He approves most things. But he keeps an eagle eye on what is going on. He's been very encouraging.”

“I can imagine.”

“Hey, look who's here.” She pointed to Vero, picking his way between the few remaining boxes.

Vero came over and hugged Gerry.

“Good to see you, Prof. But it's a brief meeting. Merral, it's soon going to be time to get on board.”

“Okay, guys, I must go. I find my hair responds badly to rocket exhaust. But do me a favor, Captain.”

“What?”

“I hope, like you, it's a peaceful encounter, but I kinda doubt it.” Her brown eyes seemed to become frosty. “But you take that ship. I want to see it. I want to know how they do it, and I want to ride that ship back out of here. Please.”

“It seems a popular request,” Merral murmured.

Gerry's fingers clenched tight. “And if these animals get in the way, don't be too squeamish. You give it to them from me. Okay?”

As she walked away, Vero and Merral looked at each other.

Vero shrugged. “That is one mean lady.”

“Mean?”

“Just an expression. But I wouldn't like to be the cockroach-beast that walked into
her
lab.”