Power Play Part 25

"You wouldn't be so crazy about her if you'd been on the pirate ship with her," Bunny told him angrily.

"We'll do our best to save her, Muktuk," Sean said. "If you'll bring along one of our current pa.s.sengers, that will make room for her..."

"We could come by dogsled, too," Diego said. "It'll be good to feel like part of Petaybee again, won't it, Bun?"

"Sure will," Bunny said. "'Sides, I got somethin' important to talk to you about."

Diego looked extremely uneasy at that and was sorry he'd offered. Marmion and Namid rode in the shuttle, as well.

Once they were under way and had sent a radio message to Adak to transmit to Clodagh that they had the beginnings of a serious casualty situation on the way to Kilcoole, Yana was unusually quiet and, Sean thought, rather sad.

"What's the matter, alannah?"

She gave him a painful smile. "Since seeing the holo, I have a plan. I wish I didn't almost, but I do."

"To do what?"

"Nail the pirates, Luzon, and Torkel Fiske, and get them all out of Petaybee's hair for good."

"That sounds worthwhile. What's the catch?"

"It would involve taking the holo, returning with this shuttle to the pirate ship, and posing as Louchard. Since I'm the only possible shuttle pilot who qualifies, it means I'll have to leave Petaybee again, and the very thought ties me in knots. Still..."

"Why do you have to do that?"

"To take the ship back to Gal Three where it and the crew can be taken into appropriate custody. Meanwhile, as Louchard, I'll confront Fiske and Luzon and make d.a.m.ned sure there's an incriminating record of what transpired between them."

"I can't let you take that risk, Yana. Especially not in your condition." Sean sounded sterner than he meant to.

"I don't see much choice, not if the pirates are to be put out of commission, and Luzon and Fiske stopped from interfering with us once and for all."

"It's a good plan," Marmion interjected. "Excellent, in fact. It needs to be done. Only, may I make one small suggestion?"

Sister Igneous Rock was with the orange cats and the debilitated hunters, de Peugh and Minkus, when Adak burst into Clodagh's cabin, which she had turned into a temporary clinic and pharmacy.

"Sean and Yana are bringin' in a bunch of folks that got Petaybeed, up at Tanana Bay and over by Bogota," he said. "They're in a pretty bad way, according to Yana. She says some of them might not live, though she reckons they're none of 'em any worse than Frank Metaxos was when he first got here."

"Oh, dear. Clodagh is off with Mr. Ball, I'm afraid. She took him to the springs for therapy," she said. But almost before the words were out of her mouth, two of the orange members of the nursing staff tore out the door Adak had left slightly ajar: Clodagh was on her way.

The shuttle landed just as Clodagh showed up with Ball in his wheelchair strapped into the basket of Liam Maloney's dogsled. Dr. von Clough skied along beside them. He looked very tired. Brothers Shale and Schist, looking somewhat bemused, followed a disgusted-looking orange cat who seemed outraged at their lack of efficiency. Sister Agate hastily adjusted her robes to their usual decorous length. While Ball had been undergoing his therapy in the waters of the hotsprings, she had been inside the grotto, engaged in deep consultation with Aidan Yulipilik about the therapeutic uses of Petaybee's mildly intoxicating drink, blurry. The blurry was apparently not all that was intoxicating. Sister Agate was quite flushed from the attentions of the dashing Aidan, who made drums, snowshoes, dog harnesses, and skis for the entire village and many other parts of Petaybee. He also had twinkling slanted blue eyes and a physique that might be envied by many twenty-year-olds.

That could not be said of the poor people whom Sean and Namid began carrying or helping out of the shuttle. Most looked geriatric, astonished, and bitterly unhappy.

"There's not room enough at your place, Clodagh," Sean said. "Oh, this is Namid Mendeley, a friend of Marmion's. We'll use the meeting hall for now; we'll need to use the school cube, as well. There are still more patients to be evacuated from Bogota. We only brought the worst ones this time."

One of the poor souls was a woman, small and perhaps once pretty, with totally white hair and sunken cheeks. She was a pitiable object and moaned and cried out often. Four of the men died before they could be treated. Clodagh said if they could have arrived sooner, they might have been saved, but that it was the planet's will.

Sister Igneous Rock had the quite heretical thought that perhaps the planet might have willed something else if it had been aware of other options-like more fast transportation, easier access to intravenous fluids, just a few basic medical necessities. Clodagh's medicines could work wonders of recuperation, once the patients got past the critical stage, but fast transit, a source of not-quite-so-spiritual power, and convenient plumbing could do a lot toward remedying many sorts of emergency situations.

And here was all that geothermal energy the planet had to spare. It seemed a shame and a bit of a waste, really. But who was she to say?

She felt less modest about it within the next forty-eight hours, as the shuttle flew back and forth to the South until it was finally grounded for lack of fuel. Meantime, it had fetched patients from the south and taken fuel to Johnny Greene so he could also a.s.sist in the airlift. Even though everyone in Kilcoole helped, all of the water carrying, wood chopping, water boiling, heating of irons, lighting of lamps and candles, carrying and disposal of wastes, changing and washing linen-especially since most of it was not not linen or anything resembling it, but wool or fur or someone's down sleeping bag and not that easily washed-left her totally exhausted. linen or anything resembling it, but wool or fur or someone's down sleeping bag and not that easily washed-left her totally exhausted.

Indeed, under such hard conditions, it took her, along with Agate, Schist, Shale, Clodagh, and Dr. von Clough, who never ceased complaining about the conditions, every waking hour for three days to save two-thirds of the patients. The man who had been the foreman of the work crew in the South died, as did the father of a lost-looking young boy who cried into the coat of a young wildcat while little 'Cita patted him on the back.

The woman from Tanana Bay lived, and the big black man, though just barely, but the other two died. Clodagh said it would be a long haul for her and the other survivors.

The chief engineer on board the Jenny Jenny had been uneasy for days. He could run the administrative bits of the ship, but when all the senior officers just took off like that without so much as a by-your-leave, well, what was a bloke to think? Miss Dinah usually pa.s.sed on the captain's orders, or Megenda, or failing that Second Mate Dott, but they were all gone now, weren't they? He'd a.s.sumed, naturally, that the captain had stayed on board and sent Miss Dinah off with Dott and Framer. But when he himself had checked the captain's quarters and discovered them empty, and Louchard nowhere on board, the lads had broken into the Haimacan rum and gotten legless. No one had attempted to clean up the resultant mess, despite his warning that there would be h.e.l.l to pay when the captain returned. had been uneasy for days. He could run the administrative bits of the ship, but when all the senior officers just took off like that without so much as a by-your-leave, well, what was a bloke to think? Miss Dinah usually pa.s.sed on the captain's orders, or Megenda, or failing that Second Mate Dott, but they were all gone now, weren't they? He'd a.s.sumed, naturally, that the captain had stayed on board and sent Miss Dinah off with Dott and Framer. But when he himself had checked the captain's quarters and discovered them empty, and Louchard nowhere on board, the lads had broken into the Haimacan rum and gotten legless. No one had attempted to clean up the resultant mess, despite his warning that there would be h.e.l.l to pay when the captain returned.

And now the reckoning was due. There was the captain on the comm screen.

"Good to see you, sir. We thought you was on board wif us, sir, till we noticed you wasn't, like."

"Very observant," came the captain's gurgly alienish voice from out of his octop.u.s.s.y head with that funny eye channel running all around it. The reason he had Miss Dinah to front for him, everyone reckoned, was that too much looking at the captain would have been bad for morale. "But obviously, I am not there, as I am here on board the shuttle. Our mission is accomplished, but there is still the matter of payment for the Algemeine woman."

"Framer said as how them high-cla.s.s people wouldn't pay no ransom."

"Framer talked too much. Framer has paid the consequences of indiscretion. Even dignitaries have families who do not wish to see them... detained-or to suffer any... inconvenience. Besides which, outside parties had an interest in this detention. Patch through the following transmissions to these codes and rendezvous with me at the following coordinates."

"Aye-aye, sir. And may I say, sir, that it will be good to have you aboard again, sir."

Torkel Fiske was entertaining aboard his suite in his father's star-yacht when the call came in on the private channel that was supposed to be available only to him and his father. It only took one glance at his caller to tell him that the transmission was definitely not from his father. He closed the door quickly so that his guest would not inadvertently catch sight of his caller. The creature on his screen was hideous. Not that Torkel hadn't seen Aurelians before. He had, and he hadn't liked them then, either. On those occasions, they had been in appropriate places, not invading his privacy.

"Yes?" he asked. "This is a private channel. How did you gain access? You are in violation of the Intergalactic Communications and Trade Act-"

"Fiske, you two-timing maggoty imbecile. You set me up."

"I don't believe I've had the honor," Torkel said in his stiffest military manner.

"This is Louchard speaking, Onidi Louchard. Ring a bell?"

No wonder the pirate sent Dinah O'Neill to negotiate for him! She was a d.a.m.n sight easier to look at and more discreet, as well. She'd know better than to try to contact clients in their own homes. This was a definite breach of professional etiquette and he didn't intend to stand for it.

"Not here, it d.a.m.n sure doesn't. I'm ending this trans-"

"I. Would. Not," the Aurelian said, and Torkel remembered that the pirate was reputed to have an efficient complement of skilled a.s.sa.s.sins to eliminate those dissatisfied with Louchardian arrangements. "Now, listen to me, Fiske. You completely neglected to mention the Gentlepersons' Agreement regarding abductions when you suggested I kidnap the Algemeine woman. You knew that ransoms are never paid by people of that ilk."

"Your emissary," Torkel said, managing a sneer, "should have been aware of it, since the Agreement's a long-standing one. So that's your error, not mine! I'm ending now."

"No, you're not. You wouldn't care to entertain a visit from my termination specialists, now would you? And you will, unless you see to it that we're compensated for our trouble in her case."

"Compensation is your business, not mine. Why should I pay for her return?"

The pirate did something most unusual with his head, eyes, and tentacles that made Torkel's stomach heave, and the noise it made was even more ghastly. Aurelian laughter? Then Louchard said, "There's also the matter of Colonel Maddock-Shongili. She says-"

"I don't care what she says. I was led to believe you were competent at what you do. Obviously I was misinformed. If you can't get your ransoms, then kill both of them, for all I care. If you were as professional as you were said to be, we wouldn't be having this conversation. Out."

And he clicked the comm control with great satisfaction, feeling that he'd definitely had the best of that exchange. The best of that b.i.t.c.h, Yanaba Maddock! And nothing to link them with her demise.

Matthew Luzon received the call from the Aurelian as he was engaged in a.s.sisting with the enlightenment of the people of Potala, who had, before company renovations, been so wasteful as to have nearly seventy percent of their populace serving as celibate clerics. Potala had set up a theocracy until the company put a stop to it, reminding the little planet that, while it might believe that killing animals was wrong and certain places were sacred, the planet was, in fact, entirely and in all respects the property of Intergal. Fortunately, so far, Potala had showed no outward inclination to join in personally on the side of its inhabitants, despite the claims of certain tenets of their religion.

Matthew was busily reinterpreting those tenets when his comm unit signaled for his attention on the company's priority channel. A hideous Aurelian face and waving tentacles filled the screen.

"Luzon, you've been cutting in on enterprises that were guaranteed to us as part of our deal with you and Fiske."

"And who might you be, brother?" Luzon asked.

"I am Louchard, captain of the Pirate Jenny. Pirate Jenny. I have taken receipt of certain live cargo whose possession was supposed to guarantee me the right to exploit the a.s.sets of the world known as Petaybee, formerly an Intergal installation." I have taken receipt of certain live cargo whose possession was supposed to guarantee me the right to exploit the a.s.sets of the world known as Petaybee, formerly an Intergal installation."

"Ah, and how is the good Colonel Maddock?"

Louchard paused to indulge in a deep and nasty chuckle. "As you wished, her days are numbered. As to those a.s.sociates of yours from the Asian Esoteric and Exotic Company-were you aware that they have denuded vast areas of resources that should be used for her ransom? Really, Dr. Luzon, that was not well done. Tsck, tsck. I am not at all pleased to learn that you enticed other companies and individuals to move in where I believed I had been guaranteed a monopoly on such resources, poor and insufficient as they appear to be." Louchard chidingly waggled lateral tentacles. "Not the way to play the game with Captain Louchard, I a.s.sure you."

"My dear Captain, I implied nothing. Your dealings, I believe, were with Captain Fiske. Any disparity in what you were promised and what you eventually obtain should be discussed with him."

"You will not attempt to confuse the issue, Luzon. I have spoken to Fiske. He says you encouraged him to employ me to-entertain-Colonel Maddock and Madame Algemeine, misleading both him and myself as to their actual value in order to indulge a personal grudge."

"I deny that. There was never any personal feeling of animosity on my part toward either lady, despite the physical and professional injuries they caused me. I have simply been using rather unorthodox contacts to force an issue on which I feel the company has prematurely relinquished its rights. You understand, dear captain, that the harvesters from the Asian Esoteric and Exotic Company, the shuttle service, and other fruits of the publicity I have arranged for Terraform B have simply been in the nature of covering my bets, you might say, in case you failed, as you obviously have."

"That's a double cross in my book, Luzon. I'm going to have to dispose of my pa.s.sengers."

No more interfering Algemeine? No more self-righteous Yanaba Maddock? Matthew couldn't conceal his smile as he said, "You must do as you see fit, Captain."

Ending the transmission, Yana switched off the shuttle's comm unit and the holo image of Louchard. Sean had stationed himself with the other witnesses beyond the viewfield of the screen and now stepped forward. He put his hand on her shoulder, then leaned down to gently kiss her cheek. Marmion Algemeine and Farringer Ball, only just graduated from the hoverchair, looked extremely grim. Even Dr. von Clough appeared vastly upset.

Whittaker Fiske, whom Johnny Greene had summoned from the Intergal Station to witness the transmission, was terribly shaken. Clodagh, uncomfortable in the shuttle's s.p.a.ce-conserving seat, sat between Whit and Farringer Ball. She handed Whit a square of cloth, and he mopped his eyes and blew his nose before speaking in a choked voice.

"I knew Torkel was wrongheaded about Petaybee and had a grudge against Yana, but I would never have believed this of him if I hadn't heard it for myself." He turned tormented eyes to Clodagh. "I wish the planet had done to him what it did to those pirates and Metaxos before he debased himself in this fashion. Deliberately contacting a pirate to abduct all of you!" Whittaker shook his head, unable to look the victims in the eye as he waved at the empty comm screen.

Clodagh patted his hand. "Your son's been a grown man for years, Whit. You can only raise 'em, not straitjacket them. As far as his initiation to Petaybee, Sean and I shielded you both then, because we didn't want you to be blasted like those others. We were wrong, I guess, but we knew you were offworlders and you didn't understand. We wanted you to have as gentle a conversation as possible so you'd understand how it could be. We didn't want you, or him, to get culled. We should have just let Petaybee sort him out."

"I guess so," Whit said. "Though that should have been my responsibility. I should have called Torkel on some of his earlier escapades. If he hadn't got away with them, he'd never have tried something of this magnitude. But I felt there was good stuff in the boy. I never thought..." He sighed, resigned, his normal ebullience dead.

The others were quiet for a moment, then there was a knock at the open hatch and Adak stood there with Faber Nike.

"Here's the gent you was expectin', Ms. Marmion, come to take you home." Adak looked up at Nike's large frame, apparently satisfied that this man was appropriate to that task.

"If you will excuse us?" Marmion said to the others. Yana willingly relinquished her pilot's seat to Faber. "I have arrangements to make for the CIS court to be moved to Petaybee and an incriminating recording to deliver. Faber, the Louchard holo and certain representatives of law and order have a rendezvous to keep with a pirate ship. Oh, and would you all have any use for a spare s.p.a.ce-worthy vessel?" Her smile was definitely mischievous as she glanced round.

"What do you mean?" Yana asked, not certain if Marmion could pull off that sort of stunt.

"Well, the Jenny Jenny will be forfeited, but I think the authorities might consider it a just compensation for the inconvenience, hara.s.sment, outrage, and indignities of a false incarceration of Petaybean citizens." will be forfeited, but I think the authorities might consider it a just compensation for the inconvenience, hara.s.sment, outrage, and indignities of a false incarceration of Petaybean citizens."

"You were kidnapped, too," Yana said, while Sean chuckled.

"Ah, yes, but I have my own ship, and Petaybee could certainly profit by having its own navy."

"A shuttle and a s.p.a.cer?" Sean said, grinning. "I think we might even go into the transport business..." When he heard Clodagh's exasperated snort, he held up his hand and added, "Of course, there will be a strict enforcement of immigration-to keep the undesirable element from landing on our native soil."

"An eminently sensible and honorable career for a piratical vessel," said Namid, who had been sitting quietly behind Marmion. He rose now and took her hand. "Return soon."

She gave him a lingering glance and a saucy smile. "Oh, I will. I certainly will." Then she dimpled at Yana and Sean. "But I'll send the ship back as soon as I can talk the authorities out of it."

"What do you mean?" Dr. Matthew Luzon demanded imperiously of the three officials who had presented themselves at his main office on Potala. "I'm under arrest? For what crime, might I ask?"

"Fraudulent misrepresentation, illegal transport licensing, accessory after the fact in an instance of kidnapping-"

"Oh, now, come off it," Matthew said, cutting off the charges with an irate wave of his hand. "That is utterly outrageous!" He caught sight of his new chief a.s.sistant trying to get his attention. "Well, what is it, Dawtrey?"

"Sir, they've been through the legal department and the arrest is is legal and not a single loophole that can be challenged." legal and not a single loophole that can be challenged."

"Preposterous."

"Dr. Matthew Luzon, you will accompany us to the court which has issued this warrant to answer the charges, forthwith and immediately," the officer in charge of the deputation said in such a pompous tone that Luzon laughed.

"We'll see about this," he threatened, and depressed a toggle to summon his security staff.

"Sir, sir, Dr. Luzon," his chief a.s.sistant said, pumping his hand in the air with the urgency of a schoolchild in desperate need of relieving himself, "the matter has has been seen to, before we'd even permit them to interrupt you." been seen to, before we'd even permit them to interrupt you."

"And?" Luzon stood up, to give the three-man deputation the full force of his imposing stature.

"They are acting quite within the scope of their duties, and you really will have to go with them."

"I, Dr. Matthew Luzon, interrupt a busy schedule to appear in a minor court?"