Grass (59 page)

"We who?"

"The doctor here. She's remarkable, Brother Mainoa. She studied on Semling. She studied on Repentance. She's got some young helpers just back from school. She got interested in immunology, because of something she found here on Grass when she was a girl."

"Something?"

"A – I'm no scientist. She wrote a book about the stuff. It has a long name I've forgotten. It's a nutrient. Something our cells have to have in order to grow and reproduce. And here on Grass it exists in two forms, the usual one and one that's inverted. Nowhere else. Only here."

"When did she tell you this?"

"When I was visiting Stella. She was only talking to distract me, but she sounded so competent it gave me hope, some hope." She took the letter from him, stared at it, still finding it hard to believe. "I suppose you're right about this. If we don't find a cure, what difference does it make whether people know? But if we do? Then people need to know about this letter. People are entitled to know what Sanctity intended to do!"

"All right, Marjorie. We'll send copies off-planet, just in case. The Star-Lily still plans to leave tomorrow. Now that the tunnel is blown up, we'll ask Alverd Bee to get the crew and the warehousemen back over to the port to get it ready to lift."

"Tony," she said. "We'll send Tony." It would be a good idea to send Tony. He was too vulnerable to the Hippae. She had to get him away before he was tainted by them, as Stella was. Except … there might be plague on Semling. Which risk was greater? All risks were equal. All were life or death. "Tell the crew to be careful. There must be another tunnel. Why else that great Hippae trail leading here!"

He nodded, patting her hand. "If the men keep someone on watch and an aircar or two standing by, they should be safe enough. And, just in case the Hierarch starts looking for me – which he may do, if Zoe tells him about me – I'll hide myself away somewhere. I'll go back to the forest, that's what. Rillibee will come along to take care of me. If they come looking for me, tell them I went back into the forest. If they come looking for the letter, you never saw it. Rigo never saw it. When a cure is found, Tony will see that the letter is widely disseminated, just as the cure is."

Rillibee was beside them. "I'll go," he said. "I'll get Brother Mainoa up in a tree somewhere, and we'll wait until one of the foxen comes to get us."

She found herself trying to think of an excuse why she should go herself. She wanted to go herself. She wanted to be there, among the trees, not here with all these people. She looked around, seeking some reason, and turned back to find Rillibee already gone.

Damn. She felt unutterably sad but forbade herself to cry. "Does everyone accept that there's probably another tunnel?" she asked Roald Few, trying to distract herself.

"Oh, yes," Roald said. "Probably more than one. Probably not finished yet, or they'd be all over us."

"A tunnel could just as easily come in on this side of the wall," she whispered, looking around to be sure that no one else heard her. "It could come out below the town. Have you thought of that?"

Roald nodded wearily. "Lady Westriding, we've thought of that and of three or four other things that would be equally dreadful. People are beginning to talk about the winter quarters, how long they could hold them against a Hippae assault."

"So, if the tunnel isn't finished, what will the Hippae do next?"

"Burn the estancias," he replied, "just as they did Opal Hill. That's one of the things we figured out while you were out there enticin' the Hippae. We all agreed. Given their nature, if they can't get in here yet, they'll start fires."

"Has anyone warned the estancias?"

He buried his head in his hands. "Nobody's had time! And who are they going to listen to? Obermum bon Damfels? They might believe her. They certainly won't believe me."

Marjorie went away to make copies of the letter, to get Tony onto the Star-Lily, and to find Rowena.

No one answered the tell-me at Klive. At the bon Laupmons', someone answered but declined to respond either to the information that Taronce had survived or that the estancia should be evacuated. At Stane, however, after learning that both Dimoth and Vince were dead, Geraldria bon Maukerden begged Rowena to send whatever help would come from Commoner Town to evacuate the house and village. Mayor Bee already had all available aircars and trucks going to all the villages, the bon Damfels village included.

"The damned bons can char on their own griddle if they want to," he snarled. "But we'll get our village people out."

It was too late to get them out of Klive. Even before the tunnel had been blown up, Hippae had attacked Klive. There were no people left alive there, not in the estancia, not in the village, except one man, Figor, found wandering among the charred houses, a laser knife in his hands.

When she heard the news, Rowena wept, wiping the tears away with her left hand. The right arm and shoulder were in a Heal-all, mending. "Emmy's here," she said. "Amy's here. Shevlok's here, alive in a way. Figor will be all right. But oh, I grieve for Sylvan. And my cousins. And old Aunt Jem."

No one had time to grieve with her. There had been a trail leading from Klive to the swamp forest. All the Hippae on Grass seemed to be congregating there.

The evacuation fleet shuttled back and forth across the prairies, continuing even after fires sprung up at Stane and at Jorum, the estancia of the bon Bindersen's. Obermun Kahrl and Obermum Lisian refused to leave the bon Bindersen estancia, but their children, Traven and Maude, left willingly enough with the people of the village and many others from the big house.

At the bon Haunser place, Eric joined the evacuees along with Jason, the Obermun's son. Felitia had died outside the bon Laupmon walls, during what Rigo had come to remember as "The Joust."

The bon Laupmon place was totally destroyed before the cars arrived, though the commoners had cut a fire break around the village and, armed with harvesting knives, were standing fast with their livestock. At the bon Smaerloks', the drivers were told that the bons had gone hunting with the bon Tanligs. All of them, even the old folks. A vast crowd of hounds and mounts had showed up early on Hunt morning, and every occupant of the estancias had gone a-hunting. The only people left in the estancias were children. The children and the villagers were evacuated; a wide Hippae trail led from the estancias toward Commons.

The order station became the nerve center for Commons. From there one could see what went on at the port and receive messages from approaching ships. From there one could direct the defenses if Hippae came in through some other tunnel-In the winter quarters below the order station a makeshift hospital was set up to house Rowena, Stella, Emmy, Shevlok, Figor, and a dozen others who had been badly injured before or during the evacuation. People with only superficial injuries were treated and dismissed. When the last of them had been attended to, Lees Bergrem insisted upon going back through the gates to the hospital with several of her assistants.

"Whether there's another tunnel or not. the equipment I need is at the hospital," she told Marjorie. "I may be in a position to do more about this plague thing than anyone else, but I have to get to my equipment. I can't let those Hippae keep me away."

"Do you have any ideas? Any line of attack?" Marjorie asked. "Nothing. Not yet. I have a few ideas, but I'm not really onto a line of inquiry at this point!" She shook off Jelly's remonstrances and went, her helpers with her. all of them laden with food and drink and various esoteric supplies they had carried in when the Commercial District had been evacuated.

There was nothing else Marjorie could do. Tony was sleeping in the order station dormitory, ready to leave when the Star-Lily left – a matter of hours. Mainoa and Rillibee were in the forest- Persun and Sebastian were helping Mayor Bee get the evacuees settled and fortify the winter quarters.

There was nothing more that Marjorie could do "Roald's offered us a room at his place in town," she told Rigo. "His wife, Kinny, is fixing us some supper. We can walk down … "

He tottered to his feet with an apologetic grimace. "I'm not sure I can walk."

Persun overheard this and came forward. "I've got a little runner outside, sir. Room enough for you and Lady Westriding, if you don't mind being crowded. I have to go down to town anyhow."

Rigo smiled his thanks, and they rode in exhausted quiet to the Few summer quarters.

Kinny, with tears in her eyes, led them to a suite of comfortable rooms below. "We only lost one village," she said, weeping. "Only one out of seven. But everybody in town was related to someone there. Everyone's mourning Klive – "

Marjorie herself could mourn Klive, mourn the waste of it.

Kinny went on, shaking her head in amazed, pained annoyance. "Those bons, already trying to take over, did you know?"

"No," said Rigo. "How do you mean, take over?"

"Oh, Ambassador, you wouldn't believe – Well now, let's see. It's Eric, brother to the dead Obermun Jerril bon Haunser, and Jason, Jerril's son. And it's Taronce bon Laupmon, nephew to Obermun Lancel that died, and Traven, that's the dead Obermun bon Bindersen's brother. The four of them. They've decided to take over Commons, for the time being." She laughed, angry and amused, both at once. "They told Roald they had elected themselves a council of four to run things. Roald and Alverd are tryin' to explain things to 'em. Not easy. Not with them."

"Did they think you would all take orders from them?" Rigo asked, amazed.

"They really did. Yes. Well, we always pretended to, when we went out to the estancias. you know. It pleased the bons, and it didn't do us any harm. But there's too much at stake here in Commons to let them meddle with it. They're so ignorant." She made a face and asked them if they were ready to eat something.

"I think so." Marjorie said with a sigh. "I can't remember when the last meal I had was. In the Tree City, I think."

"Oh, I want to hear about that! You folks take your time washing up, and supper'll be ready when you come up."

Kinny served them in the kitchen while she chattered about the Tree City and a dozen other things, interrupting herself to cry occasionally, then interrupting her tears to laugh about something she remembered. It was only when they had eaten and were sitting over cups of tea that she remembered. "Oh, Roald called while you were down below. He told me to tell you. There's a big ship coming in tomorrow. From Sanctity. Roald says the big high mucky-muck himself is on it. The what-do-you-call-him. The Hierarch."

"Is he going to let it orbit?" Rigo asked, his stomach clenching as he thought what such an arrival might mean.

Kinny shook her head. "Roald said tell you he doesn't want to, nor Mayor Bee. Question is, how would you keep it from sittin' up there if it wants to?"

Marjorie's imagination had leapt ahead, far ahead. "Rigo, we have to get Dr. Bergrem away from the hospital. It's right by the port. If that ship comes down. If Sanctity finds out what she's working on ..

He groaned as he got to his feet. "Let's go talk to Alverd Bee once more."

"What is 'Galaxy class'?" Mayor Bee wanted to know.

"It's a Sanctity ship," one of the port controllers said. "Called the
Israfel.
I've never seen one like it."

They were in the winter quarters of the order station. From the adjacent rooms came the moans of someone wounded and the wail of frightened babies. Someone bustled down the hall and the moans ceased. The babies went on crying.

The man at the tell-me paid no attention. "Warship," he said, staring at a diagram on the screen. "Sanctity navy. Big son-of-a-hound."

"It's a troop carrier," said Rigo, staring narrow-eyed across the operator's shoulder at the diagram. "And a battleship. Old. All their vessels are old."

"No matter how old, it carries a thousand men," the port controller agreed. "With real combat weapons."

"Dr. Bergrem has to go," Marjorie said. "On the Star-Lily. She can't stay here."

"Dr. Bergrem doesn't intend to go anywhere," said the woman's voice from behind them. "What is all this?"

The doctor divested herself of her cloak and sat down as though to stay awhile. "I was on my way into town to pick up some book I need, and I hear my name being taken in vain."

"Sanctity's new Hierarch is about to arrive," Marjorie told her. "Cory Strange. You don't want to be here when he gets here."

"Why in hell not?" The woman settled herself firmly into her chair.

"Do you have a cure?"

"Not yet, no. But I think I've happened on a line of inquiry. If I just knew – "

"Then you must go," Rigo snapped.

The doctor flushed angrily.

"Shh," said Marjorie. "Dr. Bergrem, no one is trying to push you around. Read this." She took a copy of the note to Jhamlees Zoe from her pocket and handed it to the woman.

Lees Bergrem read it, then again. "I don't believe this!"

Rigo started to retort. Marjorie covered his lips with her fingers. "What don't you believe?"

"That anyone could – This must be faked … " She looked into their faces, finding nothing there but apprehension. "But why would – Damn!" She handed the note to Alverd Bee.

"You have to go," Marjorie repeated. "You may be close to finding a cure, or something that will lead to a cure. You said so yourself. If you find the answer here, with that ship in port you'll never get a chance to tell anyone. A thousand troops can put us all under house arrest. We were going to send our son to Semling with copies of this letter. But you could disseminate it even better. You're known at the University there "

"You send me off-planet, I can't do any good at all," Lees Bergrem said. "I need tissue samples and soil samples. I need things that don't exist on Semling. Forget it."

Alverd Bee looked up from the note, his face strained and angry. "If you won't go off-planet, then we'll have to hide you somewhere, Lees. That means moving your equipment. Tell us fast what you need. We have about six hours to get you hidden and Star-Lily away. After that, it'll be too late."