Koban (53 page)

As the four of them started hurrying towards the dome’s east
garage, one of the elevators on the opposite side of the hall swished open, and
a blue suited Krall rushed out. The people in the hall got out of his way as he
moved along one of the lanes formed by the tables, gliding towards the same set
of doors on the east.

“That was Dorkda.”

“Are you sure?” Walters asked Dillon.

“Oh yes. I won’t forget the Krall that came close to ripping
out my heart. He sent a warrior to say he would meet with the Captain yesterday,
but it never happened. Perhaps he’s looking for him now.”

Dorkda passed right by them without a glance and out through
the double doors. They followed, and when they reached the maintenance area, a woman
on door guard duty was closing one of the smaller doors.

Dillon called out to her. “Did Dorkda just go out to the Fancy?”

“I don’t know where he was going, but that was Dorkda. He never
closes the damned doors behind himself. He leaves anything lurking under the overhang
free to sneak inside.”

“Maggi, are you going over to the ship too?” Dillon asked. “Noreen
and I were going back when you called to us. I don’t know if a Shuttle landing will
draw skeeters and wolfbats or not.”

Hearing Dillon, the woman volunteered information. “Wolfbats
ignore shuttles since they always mean Krall, which they avoid. But skeeters will
head for anything they see moving if they’re close by. Personally, I don’t go out
alone without armor, but with two or more eyeballs, it’s pretty safe.”

Considering the options, Maggi said “No. I can go over later.
I need to work on organizing over here and make some more contacts.”

Walters told them he was going back with them. As they were opening
the door, drawing their weapons and checking through the small window, the woman
asked them a question.

“You keep sending people back and forth, and unloading stuff.
Why didn’t the Krall just blow the ass off your ship like all the others out there?
I heard one of your hauler drivers say that a lot of you were going back to stay
there. What’s the deal? You make friends with those red bastards?”

“Hardly,” Maggi answered for them all. “We plan to use the ship
to make different kinds of weapons, which the Krall didn’t give to us, to use those
in fights to try and surprise and kill them. Some of the Krall know exactly what
we plan, and they approve. They are going to permit us to keep the ship as a base
of operations.”

She thought on that a few seconds, then nodded her head.

“Colonel ‘Grease’ always says they
want
us to kill their
new warriors if we can. That damned Telour wanted us to do that too, according to
what Doushan said. Right before he was killed as a collaborator.” She gave them
a pointed look as if in warning.

“If they want us to kill ‘em so bad, why don’t they just send
‘em unarmed when we have the guns?” She didn’t think it made sense, and shook her
head.

Dillon whispered to Maggi, “Careful what you tell her. We need
to confirm Telour is in total control here, and if he’ll stick to the agreement.”

She whispered back, “The ship is still there, so I think we know.
However, I’ll be careful. Link to me and tell me what the new Sheriff says.”

Shaking his head in mock dismay, Dillon replied louder “Get that
Old West crap out of your head Maggi. Watch something contemporary to your own life,
like World War Two movies.”

He leaned backwards as she swatted at his too-high head, and
he laughed at his diminutive foe. Followed by a louder cry as she connected,
only half again that high.

Noreen, in mock sympathy said, as he bent over clutching the
injury, “Got your pistol bent taunting a Tiger Lily did you?” She winked at Maggi.

On the Flight of Fancy Mirikami had finished his breakfast, and
the hangover remedy had helped purge the effects of the pills from the day before,
after copious fluid consumption.

He put on his Smart Fabric formal uniform for its protective
benefit rather than formality. Not only was it proof against fang and stings, but
it had a natural cooling effect by allowing perspiration to evaporate.

Mirikami was thinking of having the tablecloth material fabricated
into some basic work outfits for people. Provided they could find a suitable means
to cut and sew the tough stuff. He’d have to find out if the cloth could be colored.
You would sure be easy to see anyone dressed in glaring white, and that would draw
predator attention.

He had just left his cabin when Jake’s warning about Telour’s
arrival came. He quickly went to the nearby lift, and with no hesitation selected
the bridge level. That was where he would expect Telour to look for him, or he would
use the monitors and com system there to find his human “clan leader.”

“Where is Telour now?” he asked, as the lift rose.

“Passing deck 4 Sir. On the central staircase. Deck 5…”

“Enough. How many Krall can you see that came with him? Uniform
colors by numbers.”

“Telour has a blue uniform and Dorkda, in another blue uniform,
is coming from the dome. There are eight black uniforms, and two brown uniforms.”

The lift door opened. He told Jake to activate the consoles,
and put the external cameras on the main screen the same as they had been on the
day they landed.

The images flashed on quickly. He had one more question for the
AI. “What are the brown uniformed K’Tal doing?”

“One is under the ship looking up the inside of the thruster
tubes; the second is looking at the discarded engine pieces on the tarmac.”

Mirikami sighted the K’Tal looking at the nine pieces of their
destroyed engines on the pad. He didn’t turn around at the slight swish of air behind
him. “Welcome Telour.”

“You were expecting me, it appears.”

Mirikami turned to face him and bowed. “I hope your plan has
remained intact. We are working to honor our part of the agreement.”

“What was that move you just made, when you pointed your head
at me?” He sounded suspicious.

“On my home planet a custom of respect is to bow to a superior
or to show gratitude. It is not a human custom on most of our worlds. I think it
may be similar to the gesture I saw warriors make to you and Parkoda when they raise
their left hand with their talons extended. Humans have another gesture called a
salute.” He demonstrated that with his right arm.

“We sometimes use a salute on this ship from crewmates of lower
rank to those of higher rank, and the custom is for the higher status person to
return the salute. But it is not expected outside of a military organization, which
we are not, so we do not use it often.”

“You should do this salute more, because you will become more
like military here if you complete your agreement.”

“If we had military experience among these humans that would
be true, but very few of them have that tradition. I would prefer to teach them
to shoot fast than to salute fast.” He answered.

A snort.

Well I’m back to being a comic, he thought. I hope I make some
of them die laughing.

“I could smell that most of your clan is not here. They must
be in the dome. I thought you would bring them back to work to make new weapons
and train them. Why have you not started?”

“We
have
started training them. The first task today is
in progress. My people are learning how to use the Krall made guns at the firing
range in the dome. We will make different weapons, but they will need those you
give us as well.”

Before they could continue Dorkda arrived, his silent approach
to Mirikami’s ears was clearly detected by Telour before he vaulted over the stair
rail.

The ear blooming thing happened as they talked ultrasonically
for a short time.

When done, Telour looked at Mirikami. “One of your crew killed
one of the other captives a short time ago in the dome. There was a disagreement
between them.

“Dorkda observed this from our section of the dome. Because he
had not been relieved of his control of the people in the dome by me, and I had
control only of the people of this ship, there is a question of who has responsibility
for the loss of a status point for this.”

Mirikami had no idea what he was talking about, but thought he
might have a way to find out.

“Which of my people was involved in the fight, and what caused
it to happen?”

Jake started talking at the same time as Dorkda, but Mirikami
strove to focus on Jake’s words.

“Doctor Dillon fired twice at a man called Stavro Bock, killing
him. The man was said to be trying to take some of our supplies by force or threat.
I do not have video but I can play…”

Dorkda had already ended his shorter length statement, saying
only that one of the ship’s crew had shot and killed one of his animals when that
animal tried to shoot the crewmember.

Mirikami interrupted Jake. “If my clan mate was challenged by
another human from the dome captives, is it not his right to answer that challenge
Dorkda?”

“The challenge and victor are not in question and does not matter.
The charge to me of a single point by another clan for the loss of an animal I controlled
does matter. I can recover the point loss with a challenge of the animal that caused
the loss, and regain the point.”

Oh, damn!
Mirikami thought. Dillon may have signed his
death warrant when he defended himself. The Krall book keeping for status points
might force this issue. He glanced at Telour, but he appeared to be watching this
with interest.

Mirikami asked, “Who owns the rights to the captive that was
killed Dorkda? Do you know what clan claims each of the many captives?”

“I do not know the clan,” he answered, “but if that clan claimed
the point, I would have to pay. I do not want that debt waiting, because your clan
mate may die in testing before then. I will collect now, if Telour agrees.”

This bastard wanted to kill Dillon just in case he
might
be charged a damned point in the future, after Dillon was already dead? This was
insane.

He had a thought. “Telour now has control of the captives of
the dome, he was sent to relieve you so you should not be charged a point.”

“That could be so.” Dorkda agreed. There was a brief ultra-sonic
exchange between the two Krall and then the internal ears retracted.

Dorkda stiffened and extended his left arm to Telour with talons
extended, then leaped over the railing and was gone.

“Telour, where is he going?” Mirikami asked with trepidation.

“Dorkda has been relieved and will take his warriors and the
shuttle to our main compound.”

“What of his concern for the small debt?” Mirikami would somehow
warn Dillon if Dorkda were on his way to kill him.

“We agree that it is not his debt. You were clever to find a
way to show him this.”

Mirikami felt relief wash over him. It was short lived.

“It would be my debt.” He stated. “We agree that because I had
advised him I was about to land here that control had passed to me. Therefore, I
controlled the dome and those from Parkoda’s prize ship when the challenge occurred.
Both captives were my responsibility.”

“And you would settle the debt by killing my crew mate?” Frying-pan-to-fire
was Mirikami’s thinking for Dillon’s predicament.

A snort.

What the hell is it with me and Krall humor? He wondered.
I’m not even trying.

“If I kill him in challenge for his killing another human in
a challenge, two points are lost by two clans, and they are both my responsibility.
I regain one point by killing your clan mate. That is still a loss of one point
for me. If I do not challenge him, I gain no point for his death, but I still lose
a point for the man he killed. Still a loss of one point for me. My status does
not change either way. I can always kill him later, without penalty, if he fails
to serve me well.”

“Wasn’t the arithmetic the same for Dorkda?” Mirikami despised
these creatures for casually pricing human lives in their confusing damned status
system.

“No. He could lose a point for the animal already killed, but
to regain it by killing your clan mate, who was already under my responsibility
from Parkoda, would cost him the point he gained when he paid me the point I must
pay to Parkoda. By accepting that I had control of both animals removed all of his
responsibility.”

That skewed logic apparently made sense to a Krall.

“I think Dorkda had a dislike for your clan member, but he was
not worth a point for him to kill.” He added.

Dillon would be so proud when he heard that news.

“Telour, we have found at least one human in Koban Prime that
has military experience, and who appears willing to work with me to provide advice.
Am I able to ask him to join us, and explain what we plan to do for you?”

“And you want immunity for him from me?”

“No, he has immunity already.”

“I know of that human I think. Unless there are others that have
had a successful Testing Day while I was on the raid. He would be one of those captured
with Doushan.”

“Yes, it is Colonel Greeves.”

“Then he needs nothing from me, though he has served me indirectly.
He challenged two humans that had immunity and killed them. It was believed by other
humans that they had played a part in Doushan’s death. I was honor bound not to
challenge them myself, even if I knew for sure.”

“There may be others there we want to join with us,” Mirikami
explained. “But my question is can we tell them what we are doing, about your plan
to make humans into more effective fighters? They are more likely to join with us
if they know this.”

He got a short lesson in Krall politics.

“My clan now has control of this compound, and Parkoda has Jumped
with his ships on a long raid. Before he returns, in one hundred Koban days or
less, I will have proved my plan and win great status, or my plan dies with those
that knew of it in Testing. There is no risk to my status but I have no gain if
my plan does not make better warriors of humans. So I will succeed.”