Shadows In Still Water (11 page)

Jak waved at the desk clerk and hurried out of the rooming house before she could begin the farewell ceremony. All the hotels in town were filled with people displaced from their homes by the flood, but Jak had managed to get a room at the Kaprinian consulate’s house for visitors. He suspected either Co-Lanen or one of the councilors had something to do with it because the staff had greeted him with Fal-el ritual. Although his caste was fairly high, he was only entitled to the el-line greeting.

He had enjoyed the Bal cleansing ceremony and the Ta-lal, but when they did the full half hour Kan-line meal blessing, he decided that living with humans wasn’t so bad. He was convinced of it when the Tleen serving girl gave him a nasty look for forgetting to dip his thumb in the zado sauce. Still, he didn’t like even a Tleen thinking he was some kind of stupid half breed.

Curling his antennae, Jak tried to forget about it. The air outside was already beginning to steam, wafting with the same fish smell as yesterday. Maybe a little riper.

Zarnek’s streets were restricted to foot traffic and renting a flitter meant he would have to go back into the rooming house, so Jak stepped off the stairs and started walking in the direction of the Talax River.

Zarnek was laid out in a flat, square series of thoroughfares running north and south with a number of perpendicular streets, every other one of which was a dead-end court. The Talax River split the city in half at the point where the river’s course changed from north and south to east and west.

At the corner of Zelta street, Jak stopped and looked up and down. The road held an obstacle course of people, plastic packing crates and odd pieces of furniture including an orange, egg-shaped Baxi seat that could hold five Berellians comfortably.

Jak picked his way through, keeping his eyes on his feet to avoid the puddles of water. He was on his way to Xanthy Court to meet Bedden Gel, Captain of the Valerian Search and Rescue team. The
Pasteur
crew would be arriving soon to get set up for mass vaccinations and Jak wanted to coordinate with the Valerians.

He had walked about four blocks when something made him look up. The street was still crowded but the atmosphere was different, quieter, thicker somehow. Turning his head around, Jak realized he had left the Kaprinian Quarter and he was the only Kaprinian in sight. Walking farther, ;he began to notice clumps of Jidalians standing around, whispering to each other. As he passed by, he smiled and nodded but they only stared, following him with their dark eyes.

Straightening his antennae, Jak kept walking, quickening his pace a little and resisting the urge to look back.

Xanthy court, when he reached it at last seemed a haven. Some of the
Pasteur
crew were already there putting up booths. The sound of their cheerful voices ricocheted among the buzz of laser drills and the whir of pump generators.

Jak gave Millie a wave then hurried over to the white, dome-like structure that was the Valerian command center. Only two Valerians were inside, a communications officer and Bedden Gel himself. He hovered in the air above a map table, his papery white wings beating furiously. Though only about 150 centimeters in length, the Valerian could easily lift an adult human weighing up to 300 pounds.

Bedden Gel looked up from his map, the bright blue orbs set on twin stalks on top of his head twinkling in delight.

“Dr. Rialus. Good to see you. Good to see you,” Bedden Gel greeted him.

“Bedden Gel, nice to see you,” Jak returned, reaching down to adjust his translator. Although he could understand some of the language without help, he had forgotten how fast the Valerian talked. “I see the crew is already setting up.”

“Yes. Yes. They arrived about thirty minutes ago. I had them set up here.”

Jak nodded, moving closer to the map table. It was a detail of Zarnek with red lights scattered up and down the blue line that represented the Talax. He was always amazed at the amount of work the Valerians did with relatively unsophisticated technology. He assumed the lights were where Bedden Gel had his crew working. “Have you found the missing people yet?” Jak asked.

“Two bodies. Two bodies.” Bedden Gel shook his head. “I don’t think we’ll find the third.”

“Too bad. What do we need to do to get the people here for vaccinations?”

Bedden Gel bounced up and down in the air as if he were revving up to take off. “I’ve already talked to the Dulan of Zarnek. He will make an announcement.”

“The Kaprinian Consulate knows about it too. I’m sure others will come once the word spreads.”

“Good. Good. I have to go.” Bedden Gel bounced out the door and flew off.

Jak stepped outside the dome and looked around. Millie and a couple of other people were marking lines with chalk on the street to direct traffic. Sometimes the
Pasteur
crew used just as unsophisticated technology as the Valerians. Whatever worked.

Jak’s attention was drawn to the open end of the court where it met the cross street, Belm. Rob Keller was talking to a Kaprinian with twisted antennae. When Rob shifted position, Jak could see for sure that it was the Kosapi, Althan Tahk. What was he doing there?

Walking over to one of the half-finished booths, Jak began to help, keeping one eye on Keller and Tahk. It wasn’t long before the conversation ended and Tahk went walking away down Belm street. Jak followed as fast as he could. Traffic was getting heavier so Jak found it easy to follow and keep out of sight. He could feel his unique blend of adrenaline and fanoline beginning to pump his lungs and heart faster. He had trained for reconnaissance his mandatory two years in the Kaprinian army but had never had cause to use it before.

Ahead, Tahk stopped. Jak turned to look into a shop window. He hoped no one noticed him. It was a network dating service housed in the building and his reputation would be ruined if anyone saw him looking in. Leaning his head back a little, he saw Tahk had been joined by a skinny little Sclarian wearing an unbelievable amount of garish jewelry.

Jak’s heart beat a little faster. What was Tahk doing with a Sclarian? The whole thing looked wrong. He ran his tongue over his dry lips and continued to follow.

They stopped again just outside a hotel. Ducking into a doorway, Jak adjusted his antennae, positioning them so he could hear without being seen.

“Did you talk with Miller?” Tahk was saying.

“Not exactly. No. Actually I couldn’t find him,” replied the Sclarian.

“Try harder.”

“It doesn’t matter now. We have what we want. Almost.”

“The humans are unhappy. They want the weapon as planned.”

Something jangled. Jak assumed it was all the Sclarian’s jewelry.

“I am grieved,” the Sclarian said. “Slightly sad for them. I couldn’t care less.”

“They could create a great deal of trouble. I would rather keep them happy for now.”

“Fine. Okay. I will keep searching for Miller. But my people here on the planet are already angry.”

“So are mine. I hope you remember where your loyalties are, my friend.” Tahk’s voice held a threatening note that Jak remembered all too well.

“You remember too.” The Sclarian’s voice held a smile.

Hearing another jangle of jewelry, Jak dared to peek around the corner. Tahk was walking into the hotel while the Sclarian continued down Belm. Jak stepped out, choosing to follow the Sclarian. Co-Lanen would want to know everything he could find out about this weapon.

Millie stood on a small bluff overlooking the Talax River. The tides had swept over the place she was standing then receded, leaving the river still swollen out of its banks. She watched a thick branch flow swiftly downstream, the current obviously still strong and dangerous.

A soft hum made her look up, shading her eyes from the bright orange sky. They had sent the crew shuttles back to the
Pasteur
so it had to be one of the remote control shuttles carrying their equipment. Watching it descend like a big red bird, Millie could soon make out the white cross painted on its underside to indicate a medical ship. A minute later and she could see it was a crew shuttle not a remote.

Millie felt a slight draft as the shuttle skimmed past her and began circling down into Xanthy Court. Traffic control had given them clearance to land shuttles there.

Millie returned to contemplating the river. It was peaceful up here, a bit warm and humid but there was a nice breeze that cooled her damp skin.

A few minutes later she heard footsteps and turned to watch Bridget coming up the trail.

“Hey, Millie,” the girl called. “Dr. Aurelia just arrived. She wants everyone back down there.”

Millie walked down to meet her. “I figured that was her in the shuttle.”

“I thought she wasn’t coming down here?”

Millie laughed. “I expected that to last about five minutes and I was right. She can’t stand to be away from the action for long.”

They started walking back to Xanthy Court. Bridget paused at the bottom of the slope to lift her shoe which was caked with an inch of brown slime.

“Yech! Look at this mud,” she said.

“My shoes are beyond hope,” Millie said, wrinkling her nose.

In the distance they could hear Dr. Aurelia bellowing, “Let’s go people.”

“What a mouth,” Bridget muttered, picking up the pace.

“Believe it or not she has a beautiful singing voice,” Millie told her.

Bridget looked shocked. “You’re kidding?”

Shaking her head, Millie added, “Operatic quality. I’ve only gotten to hear it twice in twelve years though. She has to be in just the right mood.”

“Seems like she has to be in the right mood for everything.”

Millie smiled. “Other than the boss, how do you like being here so far?”

Bridget tucked her lip between her teeth for a moment with a thoughtful expression. “ I think I like it. I mean...I have to admit I’ve been a little intimidated but it’s... Well, I was at LA County Hospital last summer and bored to the gills. We haven’t really done anything yet but there’s an...an energy here that’s exciting.”

Millie found herself nodding. Even after twelve years, she was still eager to see what each new day would bring. Being on the
Pasteur
was certainly never dull. “I think it’s the people,” she said. “There’s a different feel on the
Pasteur
than on any other GEM Co. ship.”

“Don’t take this the wrong way, but I’ve been wondering why all these aliens even want to work for GEM Co.?”

“If you work in space for any length of time you’ll find that most planets don’t have anywhere near the medical technology Earth has.” Millie sighed. “They spend their time building faster ships, better weapons and don’t care if half their population gets wiped out by a phinotheria epidemic.”

“But why do they come here?”

“Because they want to change things. Take LRuh for example. Her mate died from kestalymphonaylia. It’s a gradual debilitating disease quite common in Gidellians.”

“That’s too bad,” Bridget murmured.

Millie nodded. “The
Pasteur
came along two years too late. I wasn’t on board at the time but the crew came up with a vaccine for it. It’s pretty much wiped out now.”

“And what did LRuh do?”

“She applied to the University of Mars Medical School. It was a huge controversy at the time. They claimed they couldn’t accommodate her environmental needs but they really just didn’t want her there.”

“So what happened?”

“Aurelia and Admiral Meng fought for her. They took it all the way to N.A.-Mar’s High Court. That opened the door for everyone else.”

“I think it’s great,” Bridget said. “LRuh doesn’t seem to have any problems, though I did notice she didn’t come down here.”

“She doesn’t usually come planetside. Different terrain makes it hard for her to maneuver but she’s a terrific doctor.”

They had arrived at Xanthy Court and Millie stopped talking to stare in disbelief. With squeaks and cracks of splintering wood and a lot of yelling back and forth, the
Pasteur
crew were taking down the booths. Smack in the middle of the chaos stood Aurelia.

Walking over to the chief surgeon, Millie stood with hands on hips. “What’s going on?” she asked.

“We’re moving,” Aurelia replied. “Start taking stuff up to Linden Court.”

“Why? We just got everything set up.”

Aurelia jabbed a finger toward some point down the street. “We’re too close to that.”

Shading her eyes, Millie tried to see what she was pointing at. “I don’t see anything.”

Aurelia gave her a glare. “The water.”

Millie looked again. About two blocks away, she could see the glistening silver line of the flood waters. “It’s not that close. The water’s certainly not going to come any higher.”

“I don’t care. Move it, Mil.”

“Problem here?” asked Bedden Gel, captain of the Valerian Search and Rescue team. He hovered in the air next to Millie’s head, his round, white, papery, wings beating furiously. Millie wished he wouldn’t flap around her face like that though she would never dare tell him so. Resisting the urge to wave her hand in front of her face, Millie answered his question. “Yes, there is a problem, Bedden. The boss doesn’t like the spot you picked.”

“I just want to move farther from the water. That’s all,” Aurelia explained.

Bedden bounced up and down in the air a couple of inches. “Sure. Sure. Move if it makes you happy,” he said in his thin voice and bounced quickly away.

Millie laughed. “If it makes you happy. They’re going to put that on his tombstone. If he slows down long enough.”

Aurelia picked up two boxes of scanners and passed one to Millie and the other to Bridget. The girl made a face behind the doctor’s back and Millie had to smother a smile.

As he passed with an equipment crate, Steve Miller muttered under his breath, “Don’t we have anti-grav carriers?”

“No, we have medical students,” Aurelia replied, smiling politely.

Millie glanced around. Something doesn’t look right, she thought. “Hey, wait a minute,” she said aloud, “Where’s the rest of the equipment? Like the shelters we’re supposed to sleep in tonight?”

Aurelia jerked her thumb toward a spot behind her back, “The shuttles are parked over there.”

“No, I see one crew shuttle. No remotes.”

Turning to look, Aurelia swore under her breath. She tapped a number into her comm-link and a minute later Chief Rekhaan’s voice answered the call. “Rekhaan, where are the remote shuttles?” Aurelia demanded to know.

“They are not down there?” came the reply.

“Would I be asking if they were?”

A pause, then the chief’s voice answered, “The remotes are no longer under our control. They are not showing on the monitor.”

“Where are they?”

“It would appear they are misplaced.”

“Misplaced! And just how do you misplace a shuttle? Find them, Akshay. And I do mean now.” Aurelia slapped the receiver off and blew out a long breath.

Shaking her head, Millie asked, “Ever get the feeling you should have stayed in bed?”

Aurelia turned and crooked her finger at Zimbin. The big Berellian lumbered over to the two women with both furry eyebrows raised in a questioning look. “Zimbin, Rekhaan lost the remotes. See if you can find them. We’re not sure if they even made it down.”

“Okay, Doc,” the nurse said and trotted off.

Millie went over to help take booths down. A few minutes later a shout from Zimbin made her look up. He stood two blocks down in the middle of the water which was only thigh-high on him.

Cupping his hands around his mouth, he yelled, “I think I found our stuff!”

“Zimbin, get out of that water now!” Aurelia bellowed.

“But...” he started to protest.

“That’s an order, Mister.”

Millie looked sharply over at the chief surgeon. If she didn’t know better she would have said Aurelia’s voice held a note of panic. Following behind Aurelia, Millie hurried to the water’s edge. Zimbin slogged his way toward them, finally reaching dry, or rather damp ground, and stood dripping. His light brown fur looked dark with mud, and his clothes were ruined.

“You can’t quite see it from here but there’s a little island of high ground,” Zimbin said, pointing back the way he had come. “Must have been a park or something--there’s a monument on it. One of the remotes is just sitting there.” “One? There should be at least three,” Millie said.

“Oh, great,” Aurelia moaned, reaching for her comm-link. “I’m going to kill Rekhaan, I swear.”

After a long exchange, they finally determined that only one shuttle had been sent. The other two were still sitting in the docking bay. The crew chief assured them that he would find and correct the problem and send the remaining remotes down. When Rekhaan had signed off, Zimbin asked, “How are we going to get the equipment off this shuttle?”

“We’ll just fly it out,” Aurelia replied.

“Uh, not with the solar tiles covered with mud. We’re going to need an anti-grav hauler.”

Millie glanced over her shoulder to see Bedden Gel flying towards them. She stepped aside for him to hover beside Aurelia.

“Excuse me,” Bedden said, “I’ve just been informed that they’re going to release some water from the upper valley. Too much pressure is building on the dikes so they have to let some through.”

“When are they going to do it?” Aurelia asked with an alarmed note in her voice.

“About twenty minutes. They’ll release it slowly so the water level shouldn’t rise too much more. It was probably a good idea to move up to Linden Court though.”

“What about our shuttle?”

“What shuttle?” Bedden asked. Zimbin directed him down the street and, while the Valerian flew off to investigate, Aurelia paced impatiently back and forth. Several of the students and technicians who were finished clearing up Xanthy wandered down to the water’s edge, wondering what was going on.

Bedden Gel came back, shaking his head. “The water will definitely cover it.”

“All right people move it,” Aurelia said. “Zimbin, go find a hauler. Do we have any anti-grav pads, Millie?”

As Millie nodded, she heard Steve make a disgusted noise. “Come on, Miller,” she said, taking his arm and pulling him with her to the parked shuttle. As she opened the hatch and began pulling out the pads, each one about thirty centimeters long and five centimeters thick and shaped like an egg, Millie reassured Steve. “These are just tags for the hauler,” she said. “We don’t usually use the big units on a mission like this. They’re just too much trouble.”

Steve made no comment as she handed him the anti-grav pads. Shaking her head, Millie followed him back to the water’s edge. She was afraid the kid had a real attitude problem. She would have to keep an eye on him and preferably away from Aurelia.

“I suppose we students get to put these on the shuttle,” Steve said.

“This is strictly volunteer,” Aurelia replied sharply.

Millie suddenly realized the doctor’s face was very white but before she had time to voice her concern, Zimbin came back with the AG hauler, a big, flying, open box with the words John Deere in green and yellow along the side. “Thought I’d get some Kaprinian piece of junk,” Zimbin yelled above the engine noise, with a pleased smile on his face. He leaned over from the controls to offer his hand to Millie. She gripped his furry paw and clambered into the hauler. Passing Millie the tags, Steve shrugged then climbed into the seat behind her. Bridget and Torp Nevad climbed aboard as well, and they were soon hovering over the abandoned remote shuttle.

“Put these under all the portholes,” Millie instructed, passing out the anti-gravity pads. “Then push this switch up so it points to green.” Taking the tags, the students jumped out of the hauler onto the small square of purple grass around the shuttle.

Tapping Millie on the shoulder, Zimbin shouted, “We’ll need one on the top and the two ends.”

Nodding, Millie shouted back while motioning with her hands, “Drop down lower will you?”

Zimbin maneuvered the craft closer to the shuttle, and Millie hopped out onto the shuttle’s roof, hearing the thump of aluminum popping back from the pressure of her weight. She quickly set one tag just beyond the skylight then stretched out to stick one on the nose of the shuttle.

Oh, damn, she thought, feeling her foot slip. Sharp metal scraped her arm as she slid down the side, hit the grass then water with a hard splash.