Damia's Children Part 4

The Mrdinis had been on a war-basis for centuries now so she shouldn't have been surprised by the military flavour, even if she wasn't all that familiar with it: undoubtedly one of the adjustments she would have to make.

The place was spotless - not that one could see too many details in the semi-light in which all 'Dini accommodation was kept. Laria was glad that she had been such a frequent visitor to the Aurigaean village. And this, of course, was the reason she had been encouraged.

She followed in Plus' wake as the official tour continued, to the bathing rooms on both sides of the main entry, to the apartments, and finally to the standing lift that gave her access to her own. Plus would not fit on the two-person affair - no more than a piece of flooring and the central shaft that lifted the floor up to her quarters or down to the level. It was an ingenious amenity. Mur gestured for her to take her place, took the other side and made a big show of pressing the control b.u.t.ton.

There were two, each with luminescent paint one marked D, and one marked U. Laria signed her approval and appreciation.

Sunlight poured through the wide windows of her own special apartment and she looked about her, clapping her hands, which was fortuitously just the way 'Dinis expressed delight. And it was an amazing surprise. She had fully expected to be living in 'Dini-style quarters, had made up her mind to that necessity if the exchange was to be properly honoured. But to have her own s.p.a.ce and place was unforeseen.

There was a human-style bed, with beautiful thick covers (for 'Dinis never used any), pillows, a chest, a small press for garments, a desk, a terminal (displaying a map of the city with her current position shown by the pulsing red cursor icon) and audio equipment, shelving, two human chairs and two 'Dini-style stools, with tail-holes.

There were two doors: one led out to the roof area and the other most probably to sanitary facilities.

'OH, TIP, BEAUTIFUL LIVING s.p.a.cE! MUCH BEAUTIFUL FOR SINGLE HUMAN. MUCH EFFORT DESIGN AND THINGS. BEAUTIFUL. THOUGHTFUL.

CONSIDERATE.

FRIENDLY!' In her excitement she had trouble getting her tongue about the 'Dini phrases.

You're doing all right, kid! Yoshuk said, his voice warm with approval.

Can you understand 'Dini?

I can understand your surprise and pleasure, Laria, and the syntax has to b 'Dini. I'll do my best to -learn it from you. They want you happy here and, as you see, they went to a great deal of trouble.

Obviously worth it.

Oh, it is, Yoshuk. It is. But . I'm going to need drapes on these windows. The light is blinding.

Didn't know what colours you liked, Nesrun put in. Got some things for you to pick from soon's you get over here.

Tip was signing at her, too, stating that, as an adult, she naturally had to have her own quarters.

The time for her to share her bed with others was over.

She caught Yoshuk's chuck}e at that comment and Nesrun's hiss of censure.

From a 'Dini view point, certainly.

Huf went on to say that they knew she did not require a hibernatory s.p.a.ce but she was to make known any other needs that would comfort her.

'THIS ONE TAKES GREAT PLEASURE IN THE QUARTERS. EXPRESSES GREAT PLEASURE AND THANKS. SO KIND. SO CONSIDERATE. SO HONOURABLE.' Someone had brought the lift down again and now it rose to her level with her carisaks. With Tip's help she cleared them.

'Hang on pretty now,' Huf said with a forward jerk of the head, meaning this was very important.

From its own pouch, Huf began to take necklaces of sh.e.l.ls and stones, bracelets with uncut gem charms, and what her mother had told Laria was an old mantilla comb, carved of ivory, which Tip carefully secured above its poll eye.

Understanding came and Laria rummaged in her cases for the pearls her father had given her for her birthday: a double-stranded necklace, earrings, bracelet and two rings, one pearl and one of a fire opal.

She had been astounded by such a lavish present - and one of jewellery - but now she understood that the jewels were as much a part of her role here on Clarf as her fluency in the language.

One of the areas in which human and Mrdini compared favourably was in their sociability. 'Dinis loved to have eating sessions with their kin and peripheral groupings. That was the reason for the large empty squares she had seen on the way here.

And it was to the nearest of these that Tip and Huf now led her.

Huf had put on its special treasures, the mother-of-pearl crown, various chains of uncut gems and other pretties, with coil upon coil of sh.e.l.l bracelets. Huf nodded approval as it saw how bedecked Laria was and then her old friends led her to the square.

A 'Dini percussion band was in place and rivalled even the continuing thunder of departing s.p.a.ce vehicles. Food had appeared, spread out on great tables which had been set up during the inspection, and hundreds of the small cubes and rounds that were 'Dini seats.

As honoured guest, she sat - on a conspicuously human chair - by Plus who had added extra decorations to its display and several smaller versions of itself, also much bejewelled. It was very polite to examine in close detail the jewellery of another 'Dini and so Laria performed that social obligation, exclaiming in admiration and managing to find something new to say about each ornament presented for her inspection.

By the time these courtesies for Plus' entourage had been acquitted, her jaws ached and her tongue was dry in a parched throat.

'Drink?' she asked Tip who had been hovering close by: possibly for just this requirement. She turned her head away from the main group and rubbed her jaw muscles, yawning to ease the tension in her mouth and lips: actions which could be misconstrued by 'Dinis if seen.

The sun was beating down again and she resolved to find herself a hat as soon as possible. She'd never needed one but somehow she had to protect her head.

Sunstroke is what you hazard, Yoshuk told her, but we've allowed for that.

Distance meant nothing to a Prime telepath but Laria was instantly aware that Yoshuk 'sounded' closer. She peered around her and saw the two humans entering the square. They were instantly lost in the milling of 'Dinis dancing to the rhythmic percussive beats. In fact, the rhythm was very difficult to deny and she'd had to keep her feet from tapping as she made the diplomatic jewel inspection. 'Dinis were very susceptible to cadence and the adept 'Dini dancer could perform incredible feats in tempo with drums or other tapped surfaces and objects. She'd danced at home but she also knew that there were certain protocols about dancing which she had to respect while on Clarf. Tip and Huf had been unable to explain the ramifications but she'd been promised full instruction once she arrived on Clarf.

Suddenly the two humans emerged out of the gyrating crowd of 'Dini, and the man both wore and carried headgear. The woman, who was taller than the slender little man, wore some sort of ornate turban about her head. The yellow and white fabric made the perfect frame for her dark skin and dark eyes.

'I am Nesrun of Betelgeuse,' the woman said and her smile of very white even teeth was even more impressive against the dark chocolate of her skin.

She held out her hand, palm up, and Laria made the formal contact, brief and somewhat electric as it was. Nesrun had a startling touch: vibrant, deep yellow, with a curious acid taste. But she nodded as if she approved of however she perceived Laria in the tactile contact.

'I am Yoshuk of Altair,' the man said, grinning broadly with some secret amus.e.m.e.nt as he held out his hand.

As he was quite the most beautiful man Laria had ever seen, she was curiously hesitant to complete the courtesies. His smile deepened as if he had caught her diffidence, though she had instantly shielded.

He was softer than Nesrun had been, deep blue, and lemony: a combination which startled her almost as much as his beauty. The skin touch was swiftly replaced by the hat he put in her outstretched hand, a hat similar to the one he wore.

'These are specially developed against harsh tropic suns, Laria.

Our welcome gift to you.' Laria was properly grateful, especially as the hat was an excellent fit, shading her eyes as well as the back of her neck with its slanting brim. There was air s.p.a.ce above her pate: neither heat nor the pressure of the sun was so intensely felt.

'With all we know about Clarf, no-one thought to mention the sun,' Nesrun remarked.

'Though, G.o.d knows, I have mentioned it innumerable times and so has every human visitor,' Yoshuk added with a droll grin of resignation.

Laria was aware that she was staring at Yoshuk, but he continued to smile pleasantly as if accustomed to such scrutiny: even inviting it, the way he turned his head so she had the full benefit of his cla.s.sic profile. Then Nesrun, apparently by chance, trod on his foot and he danced away from it, much as a nervous colt might. That a.n.a.logy interrupted Laria's daze and she fell into a more normal manner.

'Were you two responsible for my marvellous quarters??s?' Laria asked.

Yoshuk shook his head and Nesrun answered.

'No, the design is all their idea. They know what humans require.

I did suggest that you might be happier picking the final touches yourself.' She rolled her eyes upwards. 'They learn quick, though.' 'You should have seen what they'd rigged up for us!' Yoshuk grinned.

Trouble was, Laria thought, the grin doesn't spoil his looks, except I'd hate to annoy him. She grinned back.

'What did you mean, Yoshuk,' she said, searching for a safe topic to end the pause, 'by saying you'd be happy to learn syntax from me?

Don't you speak 'Dini?' Nesrun's laugh was pure malice which Yoshuk totally ignored. 'Neither of us speak 'Dini, Laria,' Nesrun said.

'Can't clack, click or whistle with any fluency. We get along by signing - our own brand - but it suffices. Or we ask for a dreamer.

That,' and she glared at Yoshuk, 'is the port of last resort.' She gave a controlled shudder.

Laria regarded her with some surprise. 'Don't you like 'Dinis?' 'I've got accustomed to them,' she said sardonically, 'but they are certainly not my chosen bed mates.' Again another little shudder.

Yoshuk leaned forward, almost conspiratorially, shielding his hand from those around them. 'She's not exactly xenophobic...' 'You're lucky to have been raised with them, Laria,' Nesrun put in. 'Saves a lot of adjustment.' 'Don't you want to learn 'Dini?' Laria asked Nesrun. It seemed terribly impolite to live in the midst of a new culture and not know about it; be unable to communicate with the inhabitants, especially when so much was at stake!

'I'd like to learn signing,' Nesrun said reluctantly, compressing her lips briefly, 'but you're going to have to teach that, too, you know!' 'I do,' Laria said and sighed.

Yoshuk gave her the kindest smile imaginable.

'Don't worry, Laria. You'll cope!' He said that with such sincerity and sympathy that Laria got a second wind of resolution!

'I'm to work out Tower times with you..

Yoshuk's smile became mischievous. 'You'll be on call, certainly.

But the real work won't come right away. It's almost more important for you to teach right now. In fact, it's imperative.' Laria took a deep breath. 'I can see that it is.' Then Plus leaned sideways to attract her attention 7' and she politely concentrated on what it was saying.

With the dark lenses and the hat, her headache was reduced to a mere pulse. Or maybe that was her blood throbbing in time to the percussives?

She lasted out the celebrations and was ready the next morning for the students of both races.

When his sister came home for his sixteenth-birthday celebration, Thian was even prouder of her than her parents - if that could be possible. She was tanned a warm ruddy shade - up to mid-brow - where her hat sat. She was extremely fit, and showed them all up by leading them a merry chase out hunting on Saki.

Nor had she lost her skill with arrow and dart for, at the end of the day, she had more in her hunting bag than anyone else. She was the same, and yet she was more, Thian decided. Better, and not the least big smug like some of his Denebian cousins who were being trained by his parents in Aurigae Tower.

He was scheduled to take over Laria's teaching duties on Clarf so he wouldn't have to put up with cousins Roddie and Megan, who were only T-3s and shouldn't take on the airs and poses they did.

The one time he had tried to take the wind Out of their sails, his parents had jumped on him with all four feet and threatened to send him to Coventry if he ever pulled another stunt like that.

'But they . .. ' he began in self-defence.

It is what you do that concerns us and you may not retaliate in that fashion no matter what the provocation!

There could be no question in Thian's mind that 7Z his mother meant exactly what she said. Worse, he could feel his father's mind confirming the rebuke.

They didn't say anything when he began bringing in more game than either of his cousins could find.

He studied the tactical games in which Roddie was said to excel and beat him consistently in all of them. He kept his scholastic record higher than his obnoxious cousin's - and Roddie was supposed to be the engineering brains in the family, taking after his famous namesake uncle. With quiet satisfaction, he saw that Roddie kept trying but he could never quite reach Thian's level and that was fine by Thian.

There are many ways to out manoeuvre an enemy and Thian was perfecting one.

He wasn't sure that he actually envied Laria, for she now was scheduled to do a final three months' training at Callisto Tower.

Grandmother Rowan was known to be picky to work with, a perfectionist, endlessly demanding that all her Tower staff operate on the highest possible level, especially now, as there was so much traffic. But that was why Laria was recalled from her teaching a.s.signment and given this intensive course. If she met the Rowan's high standard - which no-one doubted - she'd return to Clarf as Tower Prime to help bring in the great a.s.sault ships, built of Aurigaean ores in the satellite construction-yards of Earth, Betelgeuse, Procyon and the Mrdini worlds of Clarf, Sef, Ptu, Kif, and Tplu.

On quite a few occasions, while Thian had been standing a listening watch at the Tower, he had received important and secret messages. In point of fact, the first three times, he had been told to get either his mother or his father to accept the communication.

Either his mother or father must have vouched for him because, after that, he'd been given the direct message. He never discussed them with either parent, and never knew if they were aware of these developments.

But he treasured the trust shown in him, and tried to fit the substance of the messages into his overview of the Hive pursuit.

He was cautious with those think-files and always erased any notes thoroughly before he left his room screen. Thian was aware that most of the Federation did not know that contact with the Hive Migration ships had been made or that 'Dini and human pursuit ships were attempting to find the Hive Home System.

Before he'd been born, before Laria had been born, the Mrdinis had made contact with his parents on Deneb where they were spending a well-deserved rest and relaxation leave. There was something else about that point in time Thian hadn't been told: he just sensed that there was more explanation due him. Probably when he was older and a Tower Prime himself. The Raven-Lyon children knew when, and when not, to probe for information.

At any rate, Damia and Afra had Dreamed Mrdini and made contact with the alien race, discovering that the enemy which had ravaged their worlds was the same menace that had attacked Deneb, Granddad's planet.

The a.s.sault had been repulsed by the ma.s.sed, merged Minds of every T-rating on every planet in the Federation. The Many Mind of the sixteen queens on the Hive ship had been overpowered and then the ship plunged, helpless, into Deneb's sun. But there were more than one Hive ship and the Mrdini wanted human help in preventing more worlds from falling under Hive domination, for the Hive species stripped any suitable world of all other life forms, propagated at an incredible rate, and then sent its excess population out into s.p.a.ce to find yet more worlds where it could repeat the process.

While there were estimated to be millions of carbon-based planets in the galaxy, such uncontrolled expansion - to the detriment of other species - had to be limited.

At tremendous cost in personnel and materiel, the Mrdinis had struggled to keep their own worlds free. They had been overjoyed to find that humans were also involved in, and capable of, species' protection. They were fascinated by the special psionic Talents used by the Federation to reduce loss of life without diluting the effectiveness of the deterrent with which they had defeated the initial attempts of the Hive ships to intrude on their spheres of influence.

With such vastly different species and for such a common purpose, unambiguous communications had to be established. This was being done through the young of both life forms who paired early in order to instil mutual respect and form a basis for the mutual understanding required for the undertaking.

While this programme was maturing, the military arms of each species were searching s.p.a.ce in a joint operation. Though dissimilar in style and operation, the means to trace the Hive ships' ion trails back to their point of origin had been available to both navies, and had finally been productive.

FT&T Primes had forwarded a squadron to a rendezvous with the Mrdini ships which had intercepted the Hive vessels' trails. Each of the 'Dini ships had several strong dreamers who could communicate on a basic level with Talents on board the human ships. While hoping that following the ion trails back the way they had come might result in discovering the location of the Hive homeworld, the more pessimistic of both species recognized that the trails might dwindle to nothing considering the period of time involved - and the effort would be wasted. But others argued, and won, that this was the best opportunity to at least try.

They'd be no worse off, and at least would have identified where the Hive were not.

A second contingent, six fast ships from each fleet, had set out in pursuit of the marauding Hivers. It was as critical to know their destinations as to discover their origins. And possibly come to the a.s.sistance of whatever planet was the target of Hive attentions.

No-one yet, of either species, had suggested the Way to destroy the Hive culture. Or, at least, contain it. Another ethical point on which Mrdini and human were agreed: neither found it morally acceptable to undertake the total annihilation of another sentient species, even one as inimical to both their life forms as the Hivers.

'That's because they haven't been physically threatened,' Jeff Raven had said grimly in the privacy of his mother's home on Deneb.

'One can indulge in such moral stands at several removes.

'There must be some humane way to remove the threat of Hive invasions,' his oldest son, Jeran, had replied.

'We're working on it, though I'll argue the point that "humane" applies to the Hivers. Seemingly they have only one method of colonizing and that 5 fatal to any other life form inhabiting the planet they choose.' 'It'd be very difficult to change the goals of a species you can't even talk to,' Isthia said.

'I don't even want to talk to them,' the Rowan had said, giving a shudder as she vividly remembered the moment she, as focus of the merged female Talents, had briefly touched the Many Mind of the Hive queens. 'There was nothing there to talk to!' she added, after a moment's thought.

'We could just pick off each ship that's found using the same methods, couldn't we?' Cera RavenHilk asked.

'We could,' Jeff replied. 'But that would be a life's work in itself 'Besides tying up Primes and whole bunches of Talent, quite likely at the most inconvenient times,' the Rowan added, with a little sniff. 'I certainly wouldn't like to have to keep doing it, time after time. The 'Dinis' estimate of how many Hive ships there could be is unnerving.' 'How many is that?' Jeran asked diffidently.