Freedom's Landing Part 31

"I said useful occupations!"

"How about two chemists, five pharmacists, a structural engineer, nineteen housewives, three with kids still attached, and . . . you know, there's not a single person over fifty among those I've talked to."

"Don't give me nightmares," Mitford said.

"Two jewellers, three ex-soldiers and a detective inspector." She came to the end of her report on the morning's interviews.

It took the rest of the long Botany day to process everyone.

Zainal talked to the new Deskis and sent several up to watch for fliers but Mitford felt that, having disa.s.sembled the garages, whatever mecho summoned the fliers had also been disabled, but he was quite willing to post sentinels, "just in case' Three hundred and two dead were left on the field.

Some could be identified by others who had been captured with them at the same time so their names were recorded.

Kris had to look away from the small bodies of the children.

Those under five could not endure the stasis.

Their deaths, so needless, so terrible, distressed her.

"You never knew them," Zainal murmured to her when he saw the tears in her eyes.

"No, and no-one will now.

She turned away, fighting with the fact that Zainal was Catteni, too, and a member of the species who had caused the deaths. She told herself flrnly that Catteni or not, Zainal had done all he could to help and certainly he had been able to reduce unloading injuries. They should also give thanks that he'd been able to ensure just one drop site. Even Mitford's talents as an organizer would have been stretched to mount multiple rescue operations and get everyone undercover before the scavengers emerged from the night ground.

Zainal touched her arm gently. "We go now. Night falls."

"Yes, it does," she said, heaving a sigh against the stresses of the very long day in which she had been going all-out most of the time.

The rescue teams were somewhat cheered by the hot meal awaiting them at Camp Narrow. Having so many barns available for housing since the resident population of the Camp was only a few hundred - made the difference between total chaos and mere confusion. Many of the newly arrived did their best to help, either settling their injured comrades, or lending a hand with the ch.o.r.e of feeding the mult.i.tude.

Leon and his medics had set up an infirmary for the injured and the weak. Kris saw Zainal and Leon examining the contents of the tester kits, Zainal carefully translating the properties of the various vials to the doctor.

Since there were a number of totally frightened aliens in that category, Leon had Zainal stay on to translate. Slav could at least rea.s.sure members of his own species who, Kris noticed as she ate, seemed quite cheerful. They were certainly inspecting Slav's weapons and even trying to pull his bow, hissing in the Rugarian equivalent to laughter.

Several of them were females which might account for Slav preening as much as he did. She hadn't really thought about how the other species would manage, either in relations.h.i.+ps or propagation. If what was dropped on a planet stayed down, at least mating would be possible for all five species. Except Zainal. She put that exclusion to the back of her mind.

Mitford was everywhere, encouraging, detailing jobs, trying - it seemed to Kris watching him from the corner of the kitchen barn where she had wearily slumped - to make himself known to all the Terrans. To her surprise, she even heard him speaking a few words of German and French to representatives of those nationalities. She knew French well enough to tell that his usage was rudimentary, but he was trying. And the folks responded with a little more hope in their manner. Then she saw Aarens, hunkering down by a very pretty girl and chatting her up in what sounded like extremely fluent French. She was clearly flattered and, as clearly, recovering from the shock of the journey. Aarens, who wore a vest of many pockets and a belt of tools including an a.s.sortment of screwdrivers of all sizes, was making her laugh.

"Come," and Zainal held out a hand to her. "You sleep.

Tomorrow is another day." Grinning at his unwitting use of the famous Scarlett O'Hara phrase, she extended her hand and let him haul her to her feet. She couldn't help but notice that many eyes followed them out of the barn. Maybe she should paint "one of the good guys' on his forehead. Then she ffinched, remembering her own recent and less than charitable thoughts. But she'd been tired and upset when she'd thought them. And she'd had the grace not to voice them. She was even more tired now and where on earth was Zainal taking her? Halfway to the Rock? He turned her in at the last barn which, she noted, was relatively empty. Others were already sacked out - or would that be strawed out? She giggled.

"Soft bed," Zainal said when he had gently herded her to the far corner where a huge mound had been carefully prepared.

"Oh, thank you thankyou thankyou," and turning, she just let herself fall backwards into it. She was faintly aware that Zainal was tucking her against his body and then she was out for the count.

* * * She and Zainal both drew debriefing duty the next day, she with humans and he with the various aliens. As they were in the same barn for that job, she saw how he handled the different species: the forty Deskis with dignity, the twenty-nine Morphins with a cool, diffident manner, and the thirty-eight Turs with a sharp, very Cattenish delivery. Slav had been handling contact with his own species of whom there were sixty. Since there were over eight hundred humans, there were five other debriefers besides Kris, three of whom could speak other languages: German, French and Italian.

Late that afternoon, Mitford called a meeting in the garage of the Welcome Committee and his aides to organize the dispersal of the huge addition to Botany's population. Worry and Esker had made the trip over from the Rock, Tesco and the Doyles who were in charge of Camp Narrow were on hand, and Aarens was conspicuous by his absence. She'd last seen him breakfasting with a half-dozen girls.

Kris was amused to see that pieces of mechos were doubling as stools while the carca.s.ses, in various stages of dismantlement, had been pushed back to allow enough s.p.a.ce for the meeting. She noted the veritable snow of sketches, diagrams and drawings that were tacked up on the walls and hung over different worktops which were littered with components being reused.

Mitford made a point of having Zainal sit on his right while Slav was on his left.

"First off, folks, I'd like to say that we owe a lot more to Zainal here than we can ever repay. He got us nutrients that'll keep our Deskis alive and tester kits so we won't have to risk poisoning to find out what is edible. He got," and now Mitford held up the folder that the Catteni captain had pa.s.sed to Zainal, "the "official"

-, and he paused for a sardonic grin, "survey report on this planet. You will be glad to know that we're on the biggest of Botany's four continents, the temperate one.

Zainal's translated the report and, frankly, I don't think much of the exploratory team that landed on this world.

Neither does Zainal."

"Nice to know the Cats aren't as great as they think they are," someone said. "No offence, Zainal!"

"None taken,' Zainal said with a cheery wave and a bland expression on his face.

"Zainal will summarize the report to us. Floor's yours," and Mitford sat down, gesturing for Zainal to stand.

"The report says that the planet has good air to breathe, good water to drink, and the. . . green plants - grow, so plants for other worlds can - - - grow well, too. True. The report says two . . .

Cats . .

and Zainal's use of that nickname in a pejorative tone of voice elicited grins from his audience, "disappeared one night. Guard saw movement but did not go see.

He thought men go to leak." Zainal might not be obviously trying to ingratiate himself, but he was couching his comments very cleverly indeed. "Not found anywhere. Guard tells of strange movement.

This planet has dangers. Two more are not seen so all sleep inside." "Ah, c'mon, Zainal, how'd they miss the garages and these barns and all?" Esker wanted to know.

"Sensors look for live flesh and s.h.i.+p lands in cold season." Zainal shrugged. "Sensors register metal but not much for . . ." He turned to Kris, "those who work in ground "Miners."

"Miners, and no special metals needed by Catteni."

"Some of those mecho alloys are very special indeed," Lenny Doyle said, "very special."

"I agree," Zainal said, "but the stupids on survey do not know. Take dirt, water, stone samples, and flesh of rock-squats, avians, loo-cows and critters they find on other lands, but . . . they do not see trees for forest." Ninety laughed aloud at that. "Attaboy, Zainal." Kris had been watching reactions and, of all there, only Dowdali and Tesco didn't seem to respond in any way to Zainal: they just sat there, eyes on the Catteni.

Kris wondered from their att.i.tude if they even believed what he was saying.

"What about winters here, Zainal?" Lenny asked.

"Report of - - -" he frowned and turned to Kris, "what falls from skies, wet, cold, solid but . . . runs like water from sun "Snow.

"Ah, snow."

"Deep snow?" Lenny asked.

"Not when here. Oh, hand wide," and Zainal held his big thick hand flat, thumb down, to indicate the depth.

"That's deep enough."

"Longer day than Catten, longer y) "How long?" "Report says," and now he held up four fingers, then all five and flnally two.

"Oh Lordee, that's longer by three more months.

How're we going to feed twenty-five hundred plus all winter long?"

"Find more silos and start breeding rock-squats in captivity," Mitford said. "Anyone volunteer to farm rock-squats?"

"h.e.l.l, Sarge, don't take the fun out of it for us hunter types," Worry said plaintively.

"Say, Zainal, how long did this team of surveyors stay on Botany?" Zainal looked down at the report. "Twenty days.

"h.e.l.l's fire, we've surveyed better than they did, haven't we?" Ninety said, laughing.

Zainal tapped the sheets. "This has tests done which Leon and Joe Marley need. Useful. Some plants deadly."

"Tell us something we didn't find out the hard way," Tesco muttered.

"That'll help even at this date," Mitford said. "Now, would you mind telling us about your conversation with the Catteni s.h.i.+p captain?" Zainal's wide lips twisted briefly in mild contempt.

"Not captain. Below captain. One step."

"His exec?" Mitford suggested.

Zainal shrugged. "Ema.s.si may command, even Ema.s.si who is drop.

They obey. Good habit. They do not believe mechs. Do not wish to believe what is not in report." He gave an amused snort. "They will.

They also debrief." He shot a glance at Mitford. "We will see."

"Yeah, but they won't see any mechos if they do a fly-by now, will they, since we've disabled them all," Ninety said, almost querulously.

"So?" Zainal asked. "We are here. We can use mechos.

Next time Catteni drop, different story. I do not stand," and he imitated his cross-armed stance at the bottom of the ramp, "and wait." "You'd attack one of your own s.h.i.+ps?" Ninety asked, surprised.

"Why not?" And Zainal regarded Ninety with amused condescension.

"A s.h.i.+p useful when mechos return next year to collect."

"You mean, you'd mount an expedition to follow them to their home system?" Kris asked, amazed by his intention.

Zainal nodded. "Be very good to see who farms whole planet."

"h.e.l.l, I'd be scared out of my wig," Dowdall said, regarding Zainal with interest. "Wouldn't they be a bit much for you by yourself?"

"You come with me?" "Me?" Dowdall was surprised and then he grinned, rather nervously, back at the Catteni. "Man, if you're willing to go, I guess I would be, too."

"We have six airline pilots now plus two retired NASA mission specialists," Kris said brightly. "Maybe we could Boy, I'd just give my eye-teeth to be in a first contact group."

"No eye-teeth left," Zainal told her with a big grin.

A rather odd silence followed that remark which made Kris blush though no-one was actually looking at her.

"A lot of us here would, not just those NASA blokes," Worry said, breaking in. "But I think that's down the road a while. You didn't happen to find out if they're going to dump more people on us, did you?" he asked wistfully Zainal shook his head. "Not the question to ask. Captain takes orders. Low captain. Not smart," and he held up one big hand, rocking it as he had seen Ninety do. "You Terrans make trouble, get put here. Simple." He grinned in what Kris took as approval. "Terrans make big trouble for Catteni." His grin broadened.

"And you like that?" Tesco asked, an edge to a voice that was louder than it need be.

"Yes, I do," and he jerked one thumb at his own chest, "other Catteni do not!" And he shook his head.

"Good on you, he added, "to make big trouble. Makes Catteni think." Worrell guffawed out loud. "Good on you, Zainal, too.

Couldn't be cast off with a nicer bloke."

"So, we can expect more?" Mitford said, not entirely pleased with that prospect.

"Believe so. But . . ." and Zainal held up his hand, "maybe report changes minds. Maybe .

"But don't count on it, huh?"

"And the Cats would let us take the rap from the creatures who own this planet?" someone at the front of the garage asked in a sharp voice.

"Possession is nine-tenths of the law," Kris said emphatically, having caught the hostile tone in the murmured comments around the garage. "We're here and we're obviously going to stay "Catteni are not the highest. We take orders, too," Zainal surprised everyone by saying.

"From those Eosi you were telling me about?" Mitford demanded, scowling, his body tense.

"We work for the Eosi who own most planets good for humans, Catteni and others. You do not want to meet them," Zainal said, shaking his head.

"Oh yes I would if they're the ones responsible for this whole schtick,' Mitford said, his scowl black.

"That's what we heard back on Earth at any rate," Worrell said.

"Not that we saw any Eosi on Earth. Just their mercenaries." He grinned. "We'd made the planet a little too unsafe even for the occupying forces."

"And all this time I thought the Catteni were our enemies?" Dowdall said, trying to digest the information.

"While they're just hired hands."

"Now you know," Mitford said, scowling.

"How come we're only finding out about these Eosi now?" asked Dowdall, shooting an accusing glance in Zainal's direction. He wasn't a man who liked surprises.

Zainal grinned. "First I have no words. Second you do not ask.

Do not debrief me. The Doyles and Worrell laughed and Dowdall, now no longer quite as hostile towards Zainal, managed a weak grin.

"Eosi make good use of all peoples, Zainal said. "Very clever species." "Then let's take all the heat off Zainal," Kris said. "Let's make the bad guys the Eosi and spread the word." A second thought struck her and she hurried on. "Do you speak Eosi, if they came to investigate this place again?" Zainal considered that question. "If report goes high enough, I think they send but not Eosi. High Ema.s.si.