“I hope you are right,” Dau said, and his aspect shifted to an unguarded moment of weary-fondness. “We all do. But you have removed yourself from our protection, and we cannot intervene directly on your behalf.”
“I do not wish you to intervene,” Aille said, on the edge of offense. “My actions should be judged by the Naukra on their own merits.”
“That is fortunate,” Dau said, “for I suspect that is all you will receive—and not even that, should Narvo hold sway at the council. Though, it seems, the Bond will be playing a much greater role than usual. Very difficult to tell, how that will affect the outcome.”
The old kochanau’s whiskers quivered with amusement again. ” ‘Subtle as a Pluthrak,’ they say. Ha! They only say that, who have never encountered a Bond Preceptor.”
To Aille’s surprise—astonishment, even—Dau then bestowed upon him the posture of gratified-respect. “You have met our hopes, young one. Perhaps even exceeded them. I am not certain of your wisdom, in all of these matters, and I much fear the doing of it will require your life. But never doubt Pluthrak’s pride, kroudh or not. Narvo will never recover from this, and can finally be brought into proper association.”
Dau straightened. “And now, I need some dormancy. Alas, I am old and no longer as resilient as I once was.”
Nath, respectfully, immediately moved toward the door. “I will lead you to a suitable chamber, kochanau. It has a very good pool, if a small one.”
* * *
After the kochanau was gone, Aille stared at Yaut. The fraghta’s uncertainty was all gone now, clearly enough. His posture was even tripartite, very rare for Yaut. Gratification combined with relaxed-certainty.
Aille looked away, bringing his eyes back to the rotating image of the new sunship-in-design.
Yaut did not understand, he realized. Not surprising, of course. Until that moment, Aille had never really understood either.
It is all so stupid. In the end, is this all of Pluthrak’s vaunted “subtlety”? Another maneuver against Narvo? With half a galactic arm infested with Ekhat?
It is so—so—
Another of Wrot’s little adopted sayings came to him:
Like children, in a sandbox.
Chapter 40
Though it had once been his refuge, Oppuk now found the palace in Oklahoma City oppressive. Since recovering from the minor injuries suffered when his subordinates had seized him at the Bond’s orders, he had spent most of time there. Swimming in the pools of what his human servitors had called “The Great Hall.”
Back when he’d had human servitors. He had none any longer, and would not have tolerated any even if the Bond gave permission.
Which, they certainly wouldn’t. The only servitors they now allowed him were a handful of Bond members, who obeyed Oppuk’s orders but showed him little else in the way of respect. Very junior members, all of them, to make the insult worse.
One of them, Bori, was fortunately somewhat skilled. She was now adjusting the salinity of his favorite pool in response to his complaints, adding off-world salts, imported especially from Pratus, testing, then adding more. Already, the scent had improved to the point of being soothing again.
It was infuriating just being back on this world. At the very least, he needed his comforts fully restored. Even though Bori had not finished, Oppuk slipped back into the pool and settled on the rock-covered bottom, letting the cool simulated waves rock him as he tried to think.
It was difficult, because his anger continued to roil, as it had for what now seemed a near-eternity. Finally, giving up the effort, he surfaced and gazed about the vast room. Light blazed down from the holes in the ceiling, dividing the floor into a series of golden squares. Bori crouched silently by the far wall, polishing Oppuk’s harness, the very essence of neutral readiness. Tactful enough, to be sure, but hardly the exhibition of respect Oppuk deserved.
His fists clenched, as though he wished to strike someone, anyone, in fact. He glanced around the cavernous room, but there no human servitors or Jao menials conveniently to hand. There were none left, in the palace, besides Oppuk himself and the Bond servitors. Not even in his current rage was Oppuk unsane enough to visit violence upon a Bond member. They were “servitors” in name only.