She swallowed, covering his hand with her own. “Nothing fancy, Ed.” Her voice sounded squeaky, even to her. “Just . . .”
She couldn’t say the last words. In a few days, Ed Kralik was going to be in a tank turret in the middle of the sun, fighting the galaxy’s most insanely murderous species. Even if she survived, he probably wouldn’t.
Just something to remember you by, if nothing else.
Chapter 35
Aille received a priority communication from Pluthrak that night. He had already surrendered to dormancy, but came fully aware when Yaut’s shadowy form appeared beside his pile of dehabia. He brushed at his ears, shook out his whiskers, and stood. The situation’s flow was even more urgent than it had felt earlier. He had fully expected contact from his kochan, though not so soon.
He followed the fraghta through the corridors of the palace, wondering if Tully would be successful in swaying the Resistance. Caitlin remained back in the quarters he’d appropriated, along with Willard Belk and Dr. Kinsey, all three utterly dormant at the moment with that peculiar unresponsiveness that made their species so vulnerable to nighttime attack.
The temporary signal staff, two female techs provided by Terniary-Adjunct Chul, awaited him uneasily. They did not turn around when he entered, but the lines of their shoulders betrayed misgiving. One glanced up from the familiar sinuous Pluthrak sigil in the holo tank, then assumed neutrality, struggling to express no further opinion of what Aille’s progenitors most likely had to say about his latest actions. It was a difficult stance to achieve under the circumstances, he was certain.
The older tech was out of Binnat, by her vai camiti, and no doubt familiar with this world and its complicated politics, both Jao and Terran. Light from the main image tank flickered across her snout. “Subcommandant,” she said, her ears precisely neither up, nor down, “shall we clear the facility?”
“That would be appropriate,” he told her. “I will notify you once your presence is again required.”
Ears back, she left, drawing the remaining tech with her. Yaut stood gazing up at the waiting tank. “You risk much by this course of action. Do you want me to compose a return message and plead on your behalf? I can verify the extreme speed at which decisions have been forced upon you.”
Aille considered. But, despite the risks, he sensed the existence of possibility here, where there had been none before—a chance to be of use in a truly meaningful, even unique way. “No.”
Yaut released the message from the buffer and stood back, his ears doubtful.
The sigil exploded into a shower of golden light, then solidified into venerated Meku himself, kochanau over all Pluthrak. His noble face with its impressive vai camiti gazed into the image tank as though he could see Aille. But this was a recorded message, transmitted through the framepoint via drone during the last solar cycle.
“Offspring,” he said, “Narvo has lodged a complaint with the Naukra Krith Ludh—that you refuse appropriate orders and are now conducting independent and unsupported action instead. They are demanding that you be declared kroudh. And now we are given to understand—also by the Naukra—that you had earlier sent a message on your own behalf declaring yourself kroudh.”
Meku had adopted a stance of admonishing-caution, modified with a thread of interest. “We have investigated the situation, as best we can from a distance, and feel that, though your stance may be correct, we cannot at present support insult at this level against Narvo. If you wish to persist, we will not contest the registration of your kroudh status, thus freeing you to do what you feel necessary.” His eyes took up an odd glint . . . anticipation, perhaps?
“We did not send you to Terra to be cautious,” he said, “but neither should you spend yourself unwisely. Some choices, however intriguing, can never be amended. Their final cost may be more than you wish to bear.”
Admonishing-caution was now replaced, in that smooth and silky manner that was always Meku’s style, with assessment-of-opportunity. “Be aware, also, that the Bond of Ebezon is already moving, without waiting for the Naukra to deliberate. A Harrier task force is on its way to Terra. Quite a large one, we believe. We are not certain, but we suspect the Bond has been seeking for some time to intervene in the Terran situation. If so, the possibilities are vast. Consult closely with your fraghta, of course, but also follow your own sense of things. This flow seems . . . very powerful.”