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 theIsrafel.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.”
“The new Hierarch won’t know anything yet,” Rigo said. “Jhamlees Zoe can’t tell him anything until he lands on Grass.”
“Jhamlees Zoe can’t tell him anything, period,” said Persun Pollut as he entered the room. “Sebastian and I’ve been out to the Friary to see if they’d changed their mind about being evacuated. The Hippae have hit the place. We saw the flames all the way from Klive. Half this piece of Grass is burning.
“So this Hierarch won’t know,” the doctor announced, turning around as though to renew the argument. “I’ve moved out of the hospital once already. We just got set up again. I can stay there. The Hierarch won’t know what I’m doing.”
“He won’t care what you’re doing,” Marjorie pleaded. “Once he’s here on Grass, you’ll do what he says, or else. Dr. Bergrem, you haven’t dealt with Sanctity. Rigo and I have. Believe me! Even their own people have few rights against Sanctity; unbelievers have none at all except what they can enforce for themselves. If the Hierarch chooses to deploy a thousand troopers, we couldn’t enforce the coming of summer!”