Zara smiled at him. `Tell us what we don’t know, Kincaid.’ `Zara!’ Flavia called her to order. `What were your impressions, your reactions to what you saw, particularly on the deserted planets.
`I deplored the waste of valuable colonial property,’ Kincaid said, slightly flippant. Then leaned forward.
`The first one `Marengo `Is that what they ended up naming it?
Ah, well, it had once been reasonably successful. Agriculture not quite as extensive as I understand it was on Xh-33, and I think I was surprised that there wasn’t more He paused and regarded Flavia. `Is this what you mean?’ `Yes, yes, exactly.’ `Why?’ `I don’t know,’ she answered honestly. `It just seems sensible to gather as much information as possible from available sources.
`You’re it,’ Zara said, grinning.
`I wasn’t the only Talent in the merge that searched,’ Kincaid said in a voice gone suddenly harsh.
`But you’re down as the only T-2 and the merge focus ů ů Zara began. `Surely `I can only give you my impressions,’ Kincaid interrupted her.
Leave it, Zara, Laria said on a tight line to her sister as she spoke aloud. `Even those would give some insights … For instance, you’ve never mentioned any any detritus in the buildings you scanned.’ `Detritus?’ Kincaid gave a snort. `You mean bodies?
Not on Marengo. Too old.’ `That’s another fact I needed to know,’ Flavia said, grinning with relief `So many people assume – and that’s a major problem with the dissenters who are sure our interference” is going to make them the next victims – that ALL Hive colonies have been successful, ipso facto.’ `We have to find out why those that failed, failed,’ Zara said. `And why Hive Central didn’t know? Or didn’t care? Or what? I mean, you said the second one looked-‘ `Waterloo ` Flavia supplied.
`Thanks, the Waterloo planet looked as if it had started out OK and was then abandoned. So what happened?’ Kincaid frowned slightly.
`Yes, I wondered about that one since the Hive colony ship was still in orbit. Even with the plastic probes, I approached both ship and planet very carefully. Spatially, the Waterloo system wasn’t far from Marengo. Had the Marengo group merely switched to the Waterloo planet?’ `We don’t have all that much substantiating detail,’ Mallen said, `but the `Dini do maintain that the Hivers haven’t changed their modus operandi in centuries.
Comparing the installations on Xh-33 with those on Marengo and Waterloo show that they use the same general structures and agricultural schemes – at least on those three planets.’ `And on the other two I probed,’ Kincaid said, relaxed enough now to lean forward, elbows on his knees, hands clasped together. `They pick sites well inland, as if they don’t like, or maybe are even afraid of large bodies of water.
`They irrigate fields ů Zara put in.
`I want to see what sort of hydra pumping units they have ` Asia put in. `Did you see any?’ Kincaid smiled at her. `Asia, I wouldn’t know a pump unless it had a big sign written all over it – Pump!
But where agricultural activity had been started, there were irrigation ditches which I can recognize. On the ecologically poor planet, the third one, Talavera, these were just straight gutters of some material, fiall of leaves or dirt and sand. Very sad to see.
Very desolate.’ `But nothing to show why the planet was ecologically slain?’ Kincaid shook his head. `If the Hivers fiamigate every planet they want to colonize, they may not restore the necessary ecological balance. If it can be saved, it’d be a lovely place,’ and his face took on a wistful expression.
`We’ll damn well try!’ Zara said and made a face at him when she saw Jesper regarding her with a slightly supercilious expression. `You just wait and see.’ `Are you going there first?’ Kincaid asked with a hint of eagerness in his voice.
`That’s the plan,’ Flavia said.
He leaned forward more urgently. `But that system’s very close to the one the Hivers are active on.’ `Don’t worry, Kincaid,’ Flavia replied with a confident smile, sending him a mental reassurance as well.
With an impatient gesture, he waved that off `That planet’s dangerous. They’ve a ship. And you’d be in range of their scouts.