Wine of the Gods 4: Explorers (3 page)

"Oh. Pleistocene mega-
fauna. That's always fun. I'll put out some feelers. If nothing else, you can get some big game hunters in and thin out the local problems."

"Yeah. I'll shake down the cadre on
Fifty-three. Six months should be enough for a first evaluation of the world. If the cores on Seventeen are good, I'll be back and forth, getting the anchor moved. Then we can either move the cadre, or if they're onto something good, start hiring another bunch. And depending on whether we've got the experienced staff on hand, six months later we can start Twelve-forty."

"Right. So you'll need the hunters in
fourteen months, everything and everyone else immediately. What company personnel are you stuck with and who's contacted you?"

"Company
-wise, the Chief Geologist slot is filled, do you know Nelson Manrique? I heard unofficially that a research MD has already been hired, pending the auction. I think Naomi Haskell is back, she's good with the aerial mapping. No doubt all the assistant slots will have multiple internal applications from the two mining worlds Dallas owns." Lon flipped to his email. Lots of familiar names, old field hands wanting jobs. He nodded in satisfaction. "George, definitely. Roxy, oh definitely. "

"Hey, you're a married man. Supposed to be immune to the drivers. Oh, wait, I'm single. Yeah. Roxy. Definitely."

Lon snorted. "I like Roxy because she doesn't wreck gyps, and doesn't sleep around and cause problems in camp."

Ray sighed. "Oh. You mean Roxy Seabaugh. Drat.
Roxy Simmons is much more fun. Even if you are right about the problems."

Lon sent Ray away with a preliminary list of equipment, not to mention a job application. He
whistled absently as he worked up his first year's budget, then sent it to accounting to double check his figures. By the time the Board of Directors was back in town, he'd have all the numbers ready for them.

Three new
worlds to explore. It didn't get any better than this.

The tube station was a brisk walk away from home. Carol was out on the patio, fooling with her plants. "Her babies," she called them. Home always smelled just a bit like a jungle.

"Hey, you're early!" She kissed him ardently. Nothing like modern medicine to keep a woman healthy and active. They were both in their fifties, both successful. The perfect picture of the ideal couple.

"We got three worlds at auction today. You can now look forward to seeing much less of me."

"Don't be silly, it's the reunions I look forward to, and you know it." She flashed a grin at him. "But no doubt you should take me out to dinner to celebrate."

"That just happens to be what I had in mind. Feel up to the Celestial?"

"Absolutely."

They dined in luxury under the optically perfect dome, looking out over the city and up at the stars.

"I saw you finally got your bill out of committee."

She nodded. "High time. I swear I need a crystal ball to see what we're going to need by the time we can get anything done. With the influx of non-citizen workers we simply need more basic housing, and the World Council is going to have to address the issue of reproductive rights sooner rather than later. Merely declaring non-citizen children to be non-citizens doesn't remove the need for them to be housed, educated, vaccinated . . . " She heaved a sigh. "And I suppose you're going to make it worse?"

"No
pe. There hasn't been a single inhabited world discovered in this new band. I haven't heard that they've pinned down the major splitting point, nor the cause of the lack of humans, but it is a lack." Much better to talk about a lack of humans. He and his wife had never had a child. At first they'd been too busy, and Lon's career completely unsuited to parenthood. Carol had decided to take the plunge in any case, and Lon had hunted for a more suitable job. He'd made the mistake of taking a development job on an inhabited world.  He'd helped destroy a foreign government, and watched natives starve to death, while ship loads of wheat were barred from docking or sunk. He still had nightmares of the sunken accusing looks on the dead bodies of
human beings.
Starved and frozen in the streets, every morning. His co-workers had sneered at him for being soft on the natives, and he'd accused them of dehumanizing them and committing murder.

His firing had torpedoed their request for a child permit.

He been hired quickly enough by an exploration company, but she'd run for City Council before he was settled, and then she was too busy for children.

There were times when they each resented and blamed the other, but more when they admitted that they simply wouldn't have been good parents.       

"Well, I hope you can find all sort of minerals and take a whole bunch of natives off the labor worlds. The situations there are getting bad. They simply won't limit their reproduction."

Lon bit his lip, but spoke anyway. "Maybe
we need to just leave all the inhabited worlds alone. The vast majority were doing better before they were discovered."

"Without rights, education, vaccination, public health measures like sewers and water filtration?" She put her fork down and glowered at him.

"Yes. Now they starve, because we take over their economies and ruin the stability they had. Our aid just destroys the market for grain, so the farmers go broke and lose their land. What we are doing is wrong."

"But you're a part of it."

Lon remembered the bodies. "There are better ways to do it. There have to be."

  She frowned at him. "Are you back to having nightmares? It isn't always as bad as
Tourney. And the natives can adapt. The only difference is the education they get, the opportunities they have."

"You mean the opportunity to starve because we've deliberately disrupted their trade?
Once we starve them into submission and move them, they adapt well enough. And they have plenty of opportunities for hard physical labor."

She glared at him. "Your experience was not typical. We save more lives with public works and immunizations than are lost by our taking over."

"If our motivation was simply to Do Good Things, we could skip the overthrow of governments, destruction of trade and starvation parts of the process. There's no excuse for the deaths, but there is a reason. 'We want everything of value on your world. Give it to us and live, or die and then we'll take it.' Until that changes, we're all collective murderers."

Carol closed her eyes in pain.

He sighed. "Sorry. So, how is Howie's re-election coming along?"

She took a deep breath and released it. "Oh, we poor volunteers are running about like maniacs, as usual. I've hosted three fund raisers so far. Honestly, why I want a life in politics is beyond me."

"He's one of the most powerful Councilors, he'll win, unless he does something remarkably stupid."

"I know, but that doesn't mean we can be complacent. Something odd could happen to change the electorates' focus."

Avoiding the hot topic, they munched their way amiably enough through six courses and finished up with white wine as midnight passed. They walked home, unbothered by the street people. Lon knew how to turn on the predator's body language, backed by the unmistakable confidence of a man who had fought before and won.

"Hmph. I'd argue harder if I didn't agree with you,
you know. I'm glad you got all empty worlds. I know how you dislike dealing with the natives."

"Indeed. And I won't increase your city's problems, Councilor."

"Let me show you my appreciation for that, and perhaps I'll even show you how much I'm going to miss you. At least I won't have to worry about you agonizing over the fates of helpless natives."

Of course, the next morning the Board of Directors was back in town and full of their own ideas.
They'd politicked and negotiated with the other exploration companies, and lowered the company's risk by swapping a quarter interest in Twelve-seventeen for twenty percent interest in two additional worlds. And Carolina New Horizons wanted their man leading the first exploration party. Jackson Jefferson. Lon's old boss and nemesis. His immediate superior on Tournay, all those years ago.

"He's an experienced
explorer, perfect for Twelve-seventeen, we'll see how he works out, while you shake down the cadre on Fifty-three. Good plan, that." Simon Meese eyed him thoughtfully. "You have reservations?"

"Jefferson. Well, it's been years. And the problems mostly involved natives. You might double check his experience at first in." Lon shrugged, backing down as Meese glowered.

"Carolina New Horizons thinks he walks on water."

Lon gritted his teeth and smiled.
There are no natives. Jefferson won't be so cavalier with his
subordinates'
lives.
"Right. Well, I'll start getting the equipment lined up for Fifty-three, and schedule some gate times."

"Right. Here's Jackson's number, co-ordinate with him." Meese gave him a stern look.

Play nice or he'll be my boss. Again. Gottcha.

Lon keyed in the number. Got a secretary, got transferred.

"Congratulations, Jefferson. You get the best looking world."

"Of course. No point in bidding too high, when anyone with any sense will be offering substantial interests, as soon as they feel the breeze through their pocketbooks. So, what
are you taking first? When are you heading out?"

"I'm putting together an all new cadre, so I'm starting with
Twelve fifty-three. I expect I can get regular gate times starting in about three months, but I may wait one more to let the temperatures warm a bit. Ice age world, you know? That'll give me time to get all the equipment delivered, as well."

Jefferson chuckled. "I have my people together already, and started ordering months ago. We were confident of getting at least one world.
Bid or deal."

"Right. Well, then. Maybe I'll see you in Nowhereistan, maybe not. Good Luck." Lon disconnected and ground his teeth. Son of a bitch was going to get there ahead of him, possibly even return with preliminary results before Lon had even left. He tapped into the gate scheduling site and applied
for a first gate in mid March. Even then he might regret not waiting one more month. Second gate a week later, to return all the trucks and carriers. Then gates every two or three weeks. They were easy enough to cancel, if he didn't need so many. He took a deep breath and started looking at his equipment needs. No need to even think about what Jefferson might be doing. Really.

All I'd need to complete the nightmare would be
natives on one of the prospects.

1360 Late Winter

Ash,
Foothills Province, Kingdom of the West

Lieutenant Carwell "Lefty" Lebonift was ambushed just short of the village. He'd been walking—his favorite form of locomotion—when the horse galloped up the graveled road. The rider had pulled the horse to a near stop before diving off.

Flat on his back, Lefty chuckled. "I need to talk my boss into letting me spend winters up here training." The grey, overcast day seemed a lot brighter, all of a sudden.

Question held him down and kissed him again. "Ha! Fine thing to say when winter's just over! I'm surprised I'm still speaking to you."

He nuzzled into her curly brown hair and held her. "Your horse is escaping."

"She wouldn't dare. Dad taught her to ground tie." She turned her head enough to see the mare walking off, her head held carefully sideways to avoid stepping on the reins. "Drat." She rolled off him and stood up, her left hand circling slightly.

Lightening flickered along the mountainside and Lefty could feel the
hairs of his arms stirring as the static charge built up. "Question, perhaps we ought to catch her the old fashioned way?" Question's wizard powers had come in strongly these past two years. But between her control problems, and a natural affinity for lightning . . .

"No way." The horse started walking in small circles, snorting in alarm. Question stalked down to pluck the reins off the ground triumphantly. "There. Now you can stop."

The mare kept circling, and Question tugged the reins. The mare kept circling. Question pulled her off balance, she staggered and kept circling.

"Drat it all, I didn't make it strong enough to persist. Stop that." She waved her left hand. Lightening hit a pine a hundred feet away.

Lefty ducked automatically. By the time his eyes had recovered from the flash, Question was nursing burned fingers and the mare was nearly out of sight down the track, with no sign of slowing.

He cleared his throat cautiously. "Still need a little practice?"

"Do you think?" She hitched her hand in the crook of his elbow and let her tender fingers dangle as they fell into step down the road. He pulled out his hip flask, and offered it.

"If that is that wine, you'd better not let Dad catch you plying his dear daughter with it." Her right hand went to her abdomen. "Lady Giselle says I get little burns all over when I lose control like that. She says I'm all scarred and probably won't ever . . . I had another tubal pregnancy last fall. It went bad just a week after you'd left."

He stopped and put his arms around her carefully. "Then you'd better have a sip of this, and we'll behave for a while."

She nodded and took the flask from him. "I'd say we were a star crossed couple, but look at Never and Dydit. Never's decided to not chase him, and he looks lost, and jealous of every man that looks twice at her, but he still shies away."

"Ah, we're a good couple. Just . . . not parents yet. The way we travel about we've no business with a baby, but in a couple of years, maybe we can, well, I guess I thought that wine could cure anything. We could adopt a kid or three."
He sighed at the list of platitudes. It wasn't going to convince a woman with baby hunger.

She swallowed wine and handed the flask back to him. They walked into the village in a glum silence. It was a beautiful little village, the wooden houses painted various pastel colors like large flowers in the bright green of the sprouting grass. The main road was graded and graveled, paved in the village proper, but with the spring runoff, a thin layer of ooze just couldn't be avoided.

Question's horse, sweaty but relaxed, was being walked around in front of the Tavern. Never had her blonde hair pulled back in a pony tail, and was bare foot in the muddy street. Her sash was being used as a lead line, and her shift and overdress fell straight and tried to hide her figure. She was still spectacularly beautiful. Why Dydit ran away instead of toward was beyond him.

Question sighed. "Thanks
, Never." She pet the horse. "Poor Little Bit."

"I'm afraid to ask what happened."

"Lost control again. Drat. Dad's going to say something acerbic about the reins."

"I suggested to Dydit that he bring an old set along with him when he came. Maybe the Sheep Man won't notice."

"Fat chance of that." Question shrugged ruefully. "I'll go find a rope."

By the time Dydit arrived the horse was cool and in a stall, and Never had her clean feet in shoes and her sash emphasizing a slender waist.

Lefty thumped his friend on the shoulder. "So, are you three ready to hit the road again?"

Dydit snorted. "Gods, yes. I learned a lot over the winter, but one more lesson in constant vigilance and I'll run away screaming."

"Thought you did that last week?" Question looked around innocently.

"I came back so it doesn't count." Dydit led the way into the Tavern. There was a small fire burning in a corner of the huge fireplace, antidote to the spring dampness. They grabbed the big round table in front of it. Their meetings had a tendency to involve lots of large maps being unfolded or unrolled.

Harry chuckled
from behind the polished bar along the side wall. The owner and proprietor of the Tavern was a old man, dark except for the arc of gray hair around the sides and back of his bald pate. "It's good to see Nil settling down to teach."

Dydit nodded. "He gets rude about all three of his students running away every summer, and when I come back he's gone insane and bred every mare we've got, and sold most of the three year olds I trained over the winter."

Harry shook his head. "I expect he'd do that anyway. And he claims it's nice to have time for the twins, and to try to coddle Justice."

"He needs a dozen students so he can't gang up on the two or three of us." Dydit thumped down in a chair and grinned. "But six months away from him is even better. Can we leave tonight?"

Never shook her head. "No. I have to at least make the Equinox assembly. This will be the fourth year in a row I've missed the Summer Solstice ceremony. It'll be seven or eight years before Rustle grasps power, but I need to be sure she gets to enough of the ceremonies to stimulate her power. Answer's reshuffled the Half Moons, but I'm still the odd witch out. So I learned a lot of solitary techniques over the winter. Out on the trail, I'll have plenty of time to study them. Practice. So, Lefty, when do we leave?"

Lefty was a sixteen year veteran scout from the Army, which had recently seen fit to make him an officer. And he was a wizard. Barely trained. Dydit and Question were both more powerful and better trained than he was. And Never might be 'only' a Half Moon level Witch, but she was learning
fast and growing in abilities. How had he gotten put in charge? Oh, right. He was an Army Scout, and they were civilian volunteers.

"One week. It was a cold winter so I'm starting us late on the assumption that spring thaw was late across the mountains as well. Not to mention where we were when we quit last fall. Whatever we ought to call it."

Harry frowned. "Asia is what the continent used to be called. I think you must be in a region called Siberia. You should be far enough south to find the end of the ice cap, soon."

Used to be called?
Lefty frowned at the old man. Was he a mage? Did he have any old books? Despite five summers spent with this trio, he still wasn't comfortable enough in the village to ask prying questions. Especially given the ability of at least half the residents to fry him to a crisp with a casual wave of their hand.

Giggling children invaded the Tavern. Two of them made a beeline for their table.

Never's seven year old daughter was a blue-eyed blonde charmer. Havi's hair was black and his eyes honey gold. Dydit's son showed the influence of the spell Dydit had lived under for nearly six hundred years. Six and a half years old.
Damn nice pair of kids, but they aren't
my
responsibility. I can just enjoy their best and send their worse back to Never and Dydit. It's the other way around with your own kids.
His thoughts circled around Question's last miscarriage. Being childless may have made exploration easier for her, but she wanted a baby so bad.
I'm in the Army. I could be sent anywhere. I won't be around to raise a child.
Her fertility problems and his lack of desire for a child were additional strains on a relationship that suffered already from his seasonal absences.
But there's no one else in the world for me.

"Hi
, Uncle Lefty. Is it time to go? We can pack and be ready to leave tomorrow." Rustle was all bright blue eyes, ready and willing to charm, argue, or reason as needed to get what she wanted.

The other kids were grabbing sandwiches off of trays and scattering. Apparently Harry was feeding the school.

The kids had gotten pretty bored last year, just driving through the canyon, on and on and on. Hell, he'd gotten bored too. But this year something should happen. They should arrive
somewhere
.

The kids grabbed food and scampered. Nice kids. Never's witch daughter and Dydit's rescued son. If Never and Dydit ever stopped chasing and started catching each other, they'd no doubt have
more children, together.
Maybe one wouldn't be so bad. Ours. A tough little girl like Question. If we can.
For the first time he felt a faint pang of regret. Figures it'd take loosing a chance to make him realize he wanted one.

Curious must have been in the back, cooking. She was saying something a bit too loud about witches consorting with wizards and goats. 

Never was a little flushed, but otherwise ignored the witch's comments as Lefty rolled out the maps.

Question was looking content as her fingers ran over the blank paper of the unexplored areas. "The New Lands are no paradise, but I love being out there, just going out
to find out what's there."

That got nods all around.

"And this summer, we'll explore the other side of the world."

More people came, and the other diners in the Tavern wandere
d by occasionally to study the map. Harry and the Auld Wulf argued about the permanence of the extreme divergence between magnetic and true north, with Nil egging them on.

The Auld Wulf straightened abruptly and stepped away, getting misty, as if disappearing into a fog bank. His shaggy vest and linen shirt
crinkled and darkened, Lefty could almost imagine chain mail and black leather. And a horse, huge and black, or perhaps just a horse-shaped hole in the fog, loomed over him and he was gone.

"Well. It's been a long time since that happened." Harry said.

***

Gemstone Valley's lush greenery cut off abruptly where the rocks surfaced in the surrounding ridge. From the ridge crest at the southern end of the circular valley, Jin could look south over barren rock and desert, and see the dusty column of air rising and being blown east by the light breeze.

"Well Corporal, I guess we'd better go see if that is a wagon train full of merchants just dying to cross a thousand miles of dry rock and sand to sell us their fine goods, or if those fellows we chased off last week have come back with friends." Jin had always assumed that the desert would ensure their safety. That the cost of getting to them would make them an unappetizing target for bandits.

"They were Auralians,
" Corporal Lebonift growled. "Next time you can't sleep and go for a stroll, take a couple of men with you. You could have been killed. And I'd really, really like to have had a talk with them."

The Corporal had lost a son to the Auralians years, two
decades, ago. The former Veronian Merchant was not going to lose his new family without a fight. The Corporal's wife had been pregnant when they met. In the two years since they'd settled here, that son had been followed by one of his own.

"Yes, it would be nice to know if we're facing a large bunch of bandits or an actual Auralian force." Jin tried to be professional, to not think about his own hostages to fortune.
"Well, they know where we are, so let's go take a look."

Jin kneed his horse down the track and ten men followed. After two years of safety, neither men nor mounts were liking the return of military discipline.

After they'd warmed up a bit, and settled down to travel, Jin sent men out to either flank, and sent Bickle out to scout ahead. "Don't get caught. If they see you, just bolt back here and let us know how bad the news is."

Bickle was neither seen, nor caught. The news was all bad. "Two centuries, all mounted, but foot soldiers, not knights.
Uniforms. I didn't get close enough to be sure, but I think they're Auralian. Not our army, that's for sure. They've got a wagon train of supplies, but the wagons are all sorts, like they were bought here."

"Or taken in raids." Jin looked around, thoughtfully. "We will need maneuvering room to use the horses . . . "

"You don't mean to fight them!" Nisto sounded shocked.

"We have to delay them long enough for the rest of the men to form up on the ridge crest." He licked his dry lips. "And for our families to retreat up into the mountains. Flick, you'll be the messenger." He swung off his horse and dug paper and ink from his saddle bags. Orders for Ornisio. Orders for Cinna and Mev. They'd know where to take the children, and as much else as they could.