Crisis On Doona (33 page)

“And Third Speaker,” the Hrruban added for him.

“Too bad we can’t use their techniques against them,” Kelly said, “and start finding the tadpoles in their ponds. Get that Treaty Controller impeached or something.”

“Oh!” Nrrna’s little cry of surprise focused attention on her.

“Yes, Nrrna?” Hrriss prompted, and that was when Todd really began to notice how tender his friend was toward the pretty female and how often she seemed to rely on him for reassurance.

“The Treaty Controller,” and she bowed her head slightly, keeping her eyes averted from Kelly’s sudden grin of comprehension, “received delivery of a document box the day Kelly returned. It must have been very important for him not to send an assistant or secretary.”

Kelly snapped her fingers. “I’ve got a memory like a sieve. I got a coded comp-line message today from Dalkey Petersham. He was very cagey even in code. He’s got something he needs to get to me and he doesn’t trust the comp-mail lines.”

“Did he say what?” Todd asked, aware of an unusual uneasiness with a guy comp-lining Kelly all the time. But that was silly. They needed help from whatever quarter it came.

“What I got from the code was that, as a very junior official, he was supposed to check over and delete some ancient accounting tapes. They were for the Spacedep slush fund. There seemed to be large financial disbursements about ten years ago from that fund and all of them were paid to accounts off-Earth. He thought they might be useful to me, but he won’t send it comp-line and wants to know how he can get it to us in ... as they say ... a rapid irregular fashion.”

“Isn’t Captain Feyder back on Earth?” Todd asked.

“Been and gone, according to Kiachif,” Ken replied. “He’d done us all the favor we can ask of him with that Mayday beacon.”

“We could get in another medical shipment,” Kelly said, glancing sideways at Nrrna.

Her eyes went into slits of anxiety. “Oh, no. I was in trouble over the gloves when they saw how many packets had been trampled on. My superior was going to send a harsh message to our office on Terra. So I told them that I had opened the box outside, to take inventory, and a wind had come up and scattered them.”

“The wind was named Kelly,” the redhead said, giggling at the memory of the trouble she and Nrrna had had to get the static-charged packets back into the carton. “I even found one inside my tunic.”

“The count was off so I had to say that some had blown away,” Nrrna dropped her jaw and purred her pretty laugh.

“You’ve got a resourceful female here, Hrriss,” Kelly said. “And you nearly wouldn’t let her help.”

“I shall not again be so foolish as to interfere with her good plans,” he said, pulling a solemn face that made Kelly laugh.

Todd looked from Kelly to Hrriss and Nrrna, and then at Hrrestan and Mrrva, who seemed quietly pleased about the behavior of Nrrna and their son.

“Hey, friend, did you forget to tell me something this morning?” Todd asked.

“Nrrna and I plan to be lifemates,” Hrriss said, his eyes glowing as he glanced down at Nrrna. “The joining is due to take place about the time of Treaty Renewal.”

Todd dropped his jaw, so like a Hrruban that Kelly smothered her giggles. “Oh, really? Well, you didn’t waste any time while I was gone, did you?” But his eyes were glowing with pleasure and approval. “Why, you old tomcat, you! Congratulations!” He gave Hrriss a hearty punch on the arm and took one of Nrrna’s hands, lifting it to touch his forehead in the Hrruban gesture of well-wishing and congratulation. “To think you went out and did that all by yourself,” he said, unable to leave off teasing Hrriss. He could see that Hrrestan and Mrrva were delighted and his parents seemed to have known. He felt a little silly that he hadn’t twigged to it.

“We plan a celebratory feast on the occasion,” Hrriss said, “and we would be honored if you would stand as master of ceremonies.”

“The honor is mine,” Todd said, falling back into his chair and letting out a hoot of relieved laughter. “Well, I feel lots better. I admit I wondered why Nrrna was suddenly so much a part of the investigation. I thought she was a friend Kelly had brought in to help her.”

“Of all the ...” Kelly jumped to her feet and ran out of the room.

“What got her so uptight?” Todd inquired of everyone in the room.

“Kelly has been helping
you,
you numskull,” his mother said with a weary sigh of exasperation for her son’s obtuseness. “She’s the main reason you and Hrriss have been reunited.”

“I know she’s been helping me,” Todd said, still perplexed.

“Then do not sit like a mda in warm mud contemplating its toes.” Hrriss said. He rose and gave Todd a shove toward the door. “I have had the opportunity to make plain to her my gratitude. It is time that you adequately express your own. Do it suitably in the style of Hayumans, but do it now!”

Half stumbling onto the porch because Hrriss had put considerable strength into that push, Todd corrected himself and looked about for Kelly. Twilight made if difficult to see, but he spotted Calypso’s hide and saw the mare moving before he realized Kelly was astride her.

“Kelly! Kellllleeee! Wait a minute!”

He knew she had seen him, for he saw her white face turned in his direction, but she cantered off anyhow. Piqued, Todd took the nearest horse from the tie rail, Robin’s fleet racer Fargo, and started after her.

Todd was just gaining on the cantering Calypso when Kelly realized that she was being pursued, and kicked the mare into a gallop.

“Kelly! Pull up!” Todd yelled angrily.

She bent low in the saddle and urged Calypso faster.

Todd had half a mind to pull up right then and there. He hadn’t meant to insult her. Didn’t she know him well enough by now to know he liked her? Why, she was as moody as a Hrruban female in estrus.

In shocked surprise, Todd almost pulled up Fargo as he suddenly understood what he’d been too self-involved, first in the Hunt and then in clearing his name, to recognize. His heart seemed to expand in a peculiarly painful but marvelous way ... as it had when he had embraced Hrriss on the bridge ... but not quite the same way. Stunned by the intensity of his feelings for Kelly, he clapped his heels into Fargo’s sides and sped after his girl.

For Kelly was, and she had proved her love for him over and over again, only he’d been dense as two planks not to realize that his former friend and willing cohort had turned into a lovely girl, who could wear frilly wide skirts imported specially from Earth to look her best at the Hunt dance. For stupid him! Why she bothered with such a lunkhead he couldn’t understand, but he had to catch up with her and see if he couldn’t set matters straight between them.

A girl who had ridden between his home and Hrriss’s doing her best to say to each what they weren’t permitted to say to each other. And she had even gone to the extreme of dyeing her gorgeous red hair, risked her safety on Earth’s slideways and sleazy Aisles, bearded inspectors with purloined documentation and ... And he hadn’t the sense to realize what any Hrruban male would have known—that Kelly wanted him just as much as Nrrna wanted Hrriss.

Now he exercised his wits and saw the turn off the main road that would give him the jump on their head start.

He drove the bay up the hill and down, hauling him to a dead stop across the narrow trail. Calypso was travelling at such a speed that she did a stiff-legged stop to avoid crashing into Fargo. Kelly, who’d been looking over her shoulder, came tumbling out of the saddle, right into Todd’s arms. He caught her before she could slide out of his grasp and pulled her sideways across the low pommel.

“Gotcha! Fair and square,” he said, grinning because it had been a close thing. But he hadn’t been about to let Kelly go now he realized how much she meant to him. And before she could say or do anything to put him off his intended action, he kissed her hard.

The shock that coursed through his body at the touch of their lips was totally unexpected. Briefly he held her off so he could see her face, see if she could possibly be feeling the same way he did about that kiss. But her eyes were closed and there was an incredibly dreamy look about her face. So he gathered her to him more tenderly and found that their second kiss was even sweeter than the first and so he didn’t break it off in any hurry at all. Especially when he felt her arms clasping him, one around his ribs and the other pressing at the nape of his neck so he couldn’t have released her even if he’d wanted to.

The feel of Kelly in his arms was something magical. Much better than dancing with her had been, so he pressed her as close to him as he could. Until he felt Fargo—who was not up to the weight of the pair of them—buckle a bit on the forehand.

“Robin’ll kill us if we lame Fargo,” she murmured. “But Calypso could carry us both a long time.”

“I think we’ll rest both horses after that mad race,” he said, managing to dismount with her still in his arms. Then he clipped an arm under her knees and carried her to the nearest clear patch of grass. “I love you, Kelly Solinari. Will you forgive me for being dumb blind stupid iggerant not to realize how precious you are to me?”

“I might, but it could take a long time—like forever,” she replied in a lilting voice.

Sometime later, Fargo decided that he’d make his way back to his stable. Calypso had better manners. She wouldn’t leave her rider and grazed contentedly until she was needed again.

THE NEXT
morining, the two young couples composed a carefully worded message to Dalkey, containing instructions on where to hide the information he wanted to send. They posted it signed with Kelly’s key-code. Couched in the chatty phrases about their years together in college was the fact that several pallets of medical supplies were being transported to Doona in two days. Dalkey swiftly responded with an ardent note, the tone of which made Todd frown and Kelly blush.

“But it sounds genuine, Toddy,” Kelly said soothingly. Then she giggled. “You’re here and he’s parsecs away. Don’t be silly. Besides, he does say that he understands the instructions and I get the impression that he accessed more data than he originally promised.”

Todd apologized for acting silly, but the truth was, they were all nervous. Something could delay the shipment, or Dalkey might be seen where he had no reasonable explanation to be. Both Nrrna and Kelly arranged to be on hand to receive the supplies. This time Nrrna did not wear any scent.

The grid operator flinched when he recognized Nrrna appearing on the platform from First Village. He still found her attractive, though not as strongly, and especially not when she was accompanied by a Hayuman female. He only hoped that the Treaty Controller was not expecting another shipment, but a quick glance at the manifest told him he didn’t need to worry about that tonight.

Kelly was relieved that the operator seemed too busy to chat them up. She and Nrrna managed a desultory conversation while they waited, but they were so keyed up they’d forget what the other had just said. Kelly kept imagining problems: what if the envelope didn’t come or got torn loose in the transfer? What if Dalkey got caught? They needed to have genuine, hard documentation. Well, maybe if Dalkey didn’t come through for them, they might have some luck with the documents that the Treaty Controller had personally awaited. Anything that pleased an associate of Third Speaker was likely to be bad for Doona.

When the suspense became so great that Kelly was prepared to dive right through the pillars and drag the shipment up from Earth, the air thickened over the gridwork and the pallets materialized. She and Nrrna let out sighs of relief.

“Will you check it now so I may clear the grid?” the operator asked.

“That’s why we’re here,” she said, handing a sheaf of papers from her clipboard to Kelly and peremptorily gesturing her to go to the back of the grid.

They’d planned this so Kelly would be screened from the operator and could feel under the pallet for the envelope. Then she thought of a better stratagem than blind groping.

She let her clipboard drop. “Ooops,” she said gaily, and, in attempting to pick it up, kicked it under the pallet. “Wouldn’t you know?” she said with cheerful self-disgust. She got down, peering under the shipment, trying to see Dalkey’s envelope. He’d been instructed to use a gray one which wouldn’t be so readily visible to anyone casually glancing under the plastic pallet. She shook her wrist so the small torch would fall out of her sleeve where she’d hidden it, and played its dim beam around, but she saw absolutely nothing, not even cobwebs.

“Does your friend need help rising?” the operator asked rather irritably.

“Probably,” Nrrna said in intimate pitch, trying to stall. “Her balance is very poor. Hayumans have weak inner ears.”

“I had noticed that their ears are abnormally small,” he said, and came round to help Kelly to her feet. She feigned momentary weakness before she met Nrrna’s eyes over the boxes and gave a shake to her head.

“Thank you, sir,” she said to the operator, reaching out suddenly to grab his arm, swaying in a fashion that alarmed him. “My balance is none too good.”

That had given Nrrna sufficient time to look underneath on her side. But she shook her head, too.

“Is this all we’re supposed to get today?” Nrrna asked, checking over the number of boxes on her board. “I am missing several cartons.”

He leaned over to examine her list. “No, you do not have all. Those sizes have to be broken down into two shipments. Second lot will come through in”—he paused to check his own schedule—“two hours. A shipment of ore from one of the mining worlds is due in next. Come back.”

“Very well,” Nrrna said, masking her relief in a cool response, “I will accompany this lot to the Health Center. Will you stay on the island and wait for the rest?” she asked Kelly.

“Oh, I don’t mind. I’ve got a few things I can do while I wait. See you in the village.” Kelly threw a good-luck gesture to Nrrna.

Once the characteristic mist rose around the crates and Nrrna, whisking them from sight, Kelly left the reception area. As she departed, she heard the operator’s audible sigh of relief.

She’d been to the Treaty Island often enough to know the general layout, which was another reason why she had the best chance of accomplishing her second, and possibly more important, errand. But she stopped for a long moment to reread the inaugural plaque outside the main administration building.

“This Treaty Center was constructed in the fourth year of the Colony by the people of Hrruba, Earth, and Doona/Rrala in the spirit of cooperation represented by the Treaty of Doona.”

Kelly felt a tingle of pride and renewed determination that the colony world, the turning point in the histories of both civilizations, would not become a future battleground. She knew where the Councillors’ quarters were but she didn’t want to blunder into the Controller’s rooms if he was present. From the look of so many lights in the low Administration Building, there might be late meetings that would solve that problem.

She strode right up to the information desk where two Humans and a Hrruban, wearing official guide badges, were drinking malak.

“I’ve a message for the Treaty Controller,” she said brightly, addressing all three.

One of the Humans peered at a list on the desk. “He should still be in the Council chamber. They’ve got an all-day session. Back the way you came and around the corner to the right at the T-junction.”

“Oh! But I was told to take it to him at his personal quarters, sir.”

The guide exchanged a glance with the other two. “Well, they’d be due for a break soon.” He pointed out the glass door facing the desk. “Across the courtyard there, and along the garden walk. Treaty Controller’s apartment is the last on the right.”

“Thank you so much,” Kelly said, and followed the directions, swinging her arms and striding off as if she hadn’t a care in the world.

Several blocks on the left of the Administration Building housed visitors to the island, mostly researchers there to consult the ever-increasing Archives. To the right were the residences assigned to members of the Treaty Council. Each species, Hayuman and Hrruban, sent three delegates to the Council. Of those three, one was chosen from the species’ homeworld, one from Doona/Rrala, and the third could be from either of those or from a colony world. The seventh member, the Treaty Controller, was nominated every three years in turn from the Hayuman or Hrruban side. Most frequently the Councillors were justiciars by profession.

The seven apartments were actually small detached houses abutting the formal garden and maintained by Treaty staff. Kelly followed the row to the end and found the modest home of the Treaty Controller. Swallowing her nervousness, she slipped through the gate and approached the door, which was shaded by a stand of fringed palms. It wasn’t just the tropical sun that was making Kelly sweat. She had no idea what excuse she could give if the Controller should find her here.

Following the spirit of openness and trust fostered on Doona, nothing was locked. Doors had fastenings and fences with strong latches to keep animals from wandering in or out. Irreplaceables and valuables were locked up safely out of sight, but few residences on Treaty Island were ever secured. She hoped the Treaty Controller, not known for his acceptance of Doonan traditions, followed the local custom.

The door opened without resistance.

“Sir?” she called out tentatively. There was no answer, and indeed, as she stepped inside, the apartment had the silence of an uninhabited space. Gently she pushed the door almost shut. She ought to hear footsteps on the shell-lined walk.

The Treaty Controller lived in style. The fine green carpet was deep and soft, and took footprints all too easily. Her sandals made smaller impressions in it than slender Hrruban feet would. Would the nap spring up to erase her inward path? Or would he notice? His furnishings were lavishly decorated and suited to Hrruban anatomy. Not a single Hayuman-style chair or stool. The walls were hung with warmly colored Hrruban tapestries. All manner of Rralan-made crafts were displayed in wall niches and on small stone-topped pedestals, presents from Hrruban villages on the planet. Grudgingly she admitted that the old tom had good taste, but the furnishings also afforded numerous hiding places for the document box she sought.

As the tapestries were fastened to the wall from rods on a picture rail, she could look beneath them and tap the bright orange-dyed rla wall for hollow places. She found nothing and was examining the walls in the sleeping chamber when she heard the front door swing open and bounce against its hinges.

She froze and listened, hearing with great relief the sighing of a breeze. She tiptoed back to the door and peered around the corner, trying to keep out of sight. Someone stared right at her. Shocked and still in a half-crouch, Kelly stared back. But it wasn’t the Treaty Controller. It was a small, coffee-skinned Hayuman with gray hair twisted into a coronet on her head. A Councillor’s robe was slung casually over one arm.

“Who ... who are you?” Kelly asked meekly.

“I was going to ask you the very same question, girl,” the woman replied in a stern voice. “I thought the wind had blown the door open but I see he has a snooper going through his possessions. A thief on Treaty Island itself! Disgraceful! Give me your name this instant and your business here.”

“Please, Madam Dupuis,” for Kelly recognized her, “I’m not stealing anything. I’m Kelly Solinari of First Hayuman Village and I’m trying to help Todd Reeve.”

“In the Controller’s bedroom?” Madam Dupuis’s eyebrows rose in amused query. “He doesn’t like Hayumans, you know.”

“Don’t I just!” Sensing a sympathetic relaxation of the Councillor’s disapproval, Kelly decided the truth would do her more good than any invention. So she summarized her illegal return to Earth and approaching Inspector DeVeer for assistance, and how she had overheard mention of a very special document box from Hrruba anxiously awaited by the Treaty Controller. “We’ve got Todd and Hrriss cleared of one charge,” and Madam Dupuis nodded, so Kelly didn’t bother to explain other matters of which the Councillor would have more intimate knowledge than she did. “But it’s more than just an attempt to ruin the Treaty, Madam Dupuis. We think it’s a conspiracy between certain Hayuman and Hrruban elements that might lead”—this was the hardest part to say aloud—“might lead to an interspecies war ...” Madam Dupuis’s hand went to her throat and her complexion paled noticeably. “A war that is meant to leave only one species on Doona and only one dominant species in the known galaxy.“

Madam Dupuis regarded her for a very long moment with eyes dulled with sorrow.

“I fear you may be right, Kelly Solinari, though I have not had the courage to admit it to myself. I have always known that our current Controller was one of Third Speaker’s nominees, but he has, until recently, been scrupulously fair in his judgments during our negotiations.” She bowed her head for a long moment, her hand idly stroking her robe. “I have suspected a subtle alteration in his mien. You don’t live for twelve years in close contact with someone, even of another species, and not notice”—her fingers flickered—“little things. I’ve wondered about his much-vaunted impartiality, but then,” and she gave Kelly a rueful grin, “mine has been slipping somewhat, too. With all of my heart I want Doona to remain as it is.” Her manner altered abruptly. “It is extraordinary behavior for a born and bred Doonan to break and enter, but if you can keep it to yourself and can find what you seek, I shall forget I’ve seen you.”

“You will?” Kelly couldn’t believe her escape.

“Hmm,” Madam Dupuis murmured in an absent fashion. “I just came over to shut his door. I had noticed that the wind must have blown it ajar. Surprising how strong the breeze can be when the temperature starts to fall at this time of day.” She started back to the door then turned, hand on the knob. “Have you found what you’re looking for?”

Kelly shook her head. “I only just got here.”

“Then for the sake of us all, find it,” she said in a voice of command. “I’d help you myself because I believe you have seen the true reason behind all this maneuvering. I’ve got a boondoggle that I’ve been waiting to raise before the copies of the Treaty are written up. A Human outpost on Hrruba, similar to the facility Hrringa occupies on Earth. I want to see equal treatment for our species, but it’s a sticking point I haven’t been able to maneuver that old tomcat past. That should make a good long point to argue. I will make certain that you have an hour to search, but that is all I can hope to extend the argument. His patience isn’t infinite. Will that suffice?”