rest Wirrda’s could inherit, maybe.
The house fronted on the central plaza. Directly opposite stood Rrinn’s,
where the meeting was to take place. Thus the Ruad could step out and
beckon the human to make a dramatic appearance if and when needed.
(That’s what Rrinn thinks.) Through a minute hole in the curtain,
Flandry saw the nine males who remained. They were armed. Ydwyr had
never given them guns, which would have affected their culture too
radically for his liking. But those bronze swords and tomahawks could do
ample damage.
Rrinn spoke grimly into his short-range transceiver. Flandry knew the
words he did not understand: “Set down at the edge of our village, next
to the tannery. Enter afoot and weaponless.”
Ydwyr should obey. It’s either that or stop xenologizing this pack. And
why should he fear? He’ll leave a few lads in the bus, monitoring by
radio, ready to bail him out of any trouble.
That’s what Ydwyr thinks.
Some minutes later the Merseians showed up. They numbered four. Despite
their muffling coldsuits, Flandry recognized the boss and three who had
been on that previous trip to this country–how many years of weeks
ago–
A small shape, made smaller yet by the tyrannosaurian bulks preceding,
entered his field of view. He caught his breath. It was not really too
surprising that Djana had also come. But after so much time, her
delicate features and gold hair struck through the fishbowl helmet like
a blow.
The Ruadrath gave brief greeting and took the newcomers inside. Rrinn
entered last, drawing his own door curtain. The plaza lay bare.
Now.
Flandry’s hands shook. Sweat sprang forth on his skin, beneath which the
heart thuttered. Soon he might be dead. And how piercingly marvelous the
universe was!
The sweat began freezing on his unprotected face. The beard he had
grown, after his last application of inhibitor lost effect, was stiff
with ice. In a few more of Talwin’s short days, he would have used his
final dietary capsule. Eating native food, minus practically every
vitamin and two essential amino acids, was a scurvy way to die. Being
shot was at least quick, whether by a Merseian or by himself if capture
got imminent.
He stood a while, breathing slowly of the keen air, willing his pulse
rate down, mentally reciting the formulas which drugs had conditioned
him to associate with calm. The Academy could train you well if you had
the foresight and persistence to cooperate. Loose and cool, he slipped
outdoors. Thereafter he was too busy to be afraid.
A quick run around the house, lest somebody glance out of Rrinn’s and
see him … a wall-hugging dash down the glistering streets, snow
crunching under his boots … a peek around the corner of the outlying
tannery … yes, the bus sat where it was supposed to be, a long
streamlined box with a sun-shimmer off the windows.
If those inside spotted him and called an alarm, that was that. The odds
say nobody will happen to be mooning in this direction, you know what
liars those odds are. He drew his stunner, crouched, and reached the
main heat-lock in about two seconds.
Flattened against the side, he waited. Nothing occurred, except that his
cheekbone touched the bus. Pain seared. He pulled free, leaving skin
stuck fast to metal. Wiping away tears with a gloved hand, he set his
teeth and reached for the outer valve.
It wasn’t locked. Why should it be, particularly when the Merseians
might want to pass through in a hurry? He glided into the chamber. Again
he waited. No sound.
He cracked the inner valve and leaned into the entry. It was deserted.
They’ll have somebody in front, by the controls and communication gear.
And probably someone in the main room, but let’s go forward for openers.
He oozed down the short passage.
A Merseian, who must have heard a noise or felt a breath of cold air–in
this fantastic oily-smelling warmth–loomed into the control cabin
doorway. Flandry fired. A purple light ray flashed, guiding the
soundless hammer-blow of a supersonic beam. The big form had not
toppled, unconscious, when Flandry was there. Another greenskin was
turning from the pilot console. “Gwy–” He didn’t say further before he