Anne McCaffrey – Dinosaur Planet II – The Survivors CHAPTER TEN
After a dinner made lavish by the generosity of Commander Sassinak, Varian received a message from the cruiser, couched in the politest terms but nevertheless a firm request that Kai and Varian attend an important meeting on the cruiser at 0900. Kai was already asleep.
“Sleep he needs,” Lunzie said quietly. “He expended a good deal of energy today which he didn’t have, trying to find his Thek.” She beckoned Varian down the corridor to her quarters, away from the partitioned section where Kai lay sleeping. “C’mon. Let’s broach that brandy my discerning relative sent. This day has been a whozzer! Brandy’d go down a treat.”
Varian was quite willing to indulge and followed Lunzie to her compartment, which was now quite comfortable. The microscope held the place of honor on the wide working desk, where neat piles of notes and slides testified to the good use Lunzie had made of her afternoon. A cot, more shelves, a recorder, a viewer, and two comfortable chairs completed the furnishings.
The brandy uncorked with a satisfactory schewack, and Lunzie muttered admiringly under her breath as the amber liquid gurgled into the glasses. She passed one to Varian, inhaling the bouquet from hers and then, with a rare smile on her face, settled into the other chair. She lifted her beaker to clink against Varian’s.
“Here’s to the gods that grew!”
“And here’s to the soil that fed.”
The brandy went down smoothly until it hit the bottom of her throat. Then Varian found herself gulping cooler air, her eyes about to pop her skull. Tears formed and then dispersed as the fine after taste began to spread through out her mouth and throat. Varian swore she could feel the nerves at the base of her spine untwist.
“That’s some skull-pop!” Her voice was a respectful whisper.
“Indeed!” Lunzie seemed not to feel the same effect, sipping again while Varian regarded her portion with considerable respect. The warmth and relaxation continued to diffuse. Varian took another small mouthful, expecting the fiery result. Somehow the brandy was mellower. Or her throat was numb. “Sverulan as a planet,” Lunzie went on, “has very little to recommend it other than the raw vegetable material that ferments into this brandy.” She gestured toward her notes on the table. “I’m hoping that Divisti found something equally good. I can’t imagine that the heavyworlders could have existed long on this place without some sort of a stimulant.” She lifted her glass again.
“Lunzie?”
“Hmmm?”
“Do you know something you haven’t told us?”
Lunzie’s eyes met Varian’s without hesitation or guile. “About Ireta? No. And certainly nothing about a planned piratical take over. That was completely fortuitous. If you refer to the opportune appearance of the ZD-43 … Well, just as all elements of the Fleet have standing orders to pursue a leech when it appears on their sensors, so people like myself, on routine assignments,” and Lunzie accorded Varian a droll grin, “have been primed to obstruct attempts at planet theft when ever and how ever possible. Don’t know what more we could have done for Ireta than we did but …” Lunzie glanced reassuringly again at Varian, “I was not planted with this expedition any more than we were planted. And we weren’t! I would have said Ireta was the least likely take over property. The 101
Anne McCaffrey – Dinosaur Planet II – The Survivors heavyworlders must have been fairly desperate to stake a claim on a world that stinks as much as Ireta.”
“The stink of transuranic riches must have smelled better.”
“It’s not like you to be cynical, Varian. Restore your faith in mankind by a close study of your giffs. They’re worth the trouble it takes to preserve them. Remember, if this planet is thrown open, the Ryxi are just a short hop away—”
“Why would the planet be thrown open?” Apprehension overwhelmed Varian as she thought of the pompous, intolerant Ryxi.
“It’s rich, that’s why. There is already an established settlement with an immense grid to facilitate the landing of the heaviest ore freighters. Those heavyworlders in their transport will be given short shift and tossed back into space. But the tribunal might throw the rest of the planet open to competitive explorations, just to keep Aygar’s group in order—that is, if the Thek are willing to for go their obvious prior claim to Ireta’s wealth, staked with those old cores Kai has dug up. There is, however, a statute of limitations on how long an unworked claim remains the property of the original discoverers. That herd of Thek might well be the vanguard of Thek explorers. However, as xenobiologist, you’d do well to investigate the fringes. Two emerging species are better than one, even against a superior claim lodged by the Thek.”