Sliding Scales (15 page)

He did his best, bracing himself against her while snapping his body up and over. It broke her hold, but sloppily. They both ended up kicking and tail-thrashing on the sand. Grit flew. While this enhanced the mood, it was still inadequate to draw him out of his preoccupied funk.

She finally slid out of reach, staring at him across the sand and breathing hard. “If you will not sshare mating with me, try wordss. I am fond of you, Takuuna-nay, but not to the point of coddling. Thiss moodiness iss not like you.”

Rolling over, he settled into a reluctant defensive position. “It iss my tassking. It troubless me like itching under my sscaless.”

“We are all troubled by our tasskingss, Takuuna-nay.” She added a second-degree gesture of sympathy.

“I am charged,” he told her, “with uncovering the Vsseyan perpetratorss of the recent atrocitiess againsst our people here. Though I work hard and drive thosse under me relentlessly, we have found nothing.”

“Patience rewardss the perceptive,” she responded as she edged toward him across the sand. He was wary of another assault, but she was genuinely trying to show empathy.

“The Adminisstration will not hear of it. They want ressults, not aphorissms, no matter how true the lineage.”

Geelin's tail lashed out at him, but not so swiftly that he failed to detect the movement and duck. Morose but alert for such moves, he rolled across the arena away from her. “Then arresst your ssusspectss,” she hissed tightly as she rose into a striking crouch.

“What ssusspectss?” he lamented. “I told you: we have found nothing to implicate sso much as a damned ssprout among the nativess.”

“If you need ssusspectss, and do not have any ssusspectss, then you will have to invent ssome ssusspectss,” she suggested slyly.

“Invent … ?” Double eyelids blinked.

“Why not?” She moved toward him, and he edged to his right to keep out of her reach. “Do you have any sspecial love for the sslugss who are our hosstss?”

“No, it iss not that.”

“Well, then.” Rising to her full height, she assumed a tense, muscular stance, challenging him yet again. “There musst at leasst be ssome you predominantly disslike. Ssurely there are ssome Vssey who are vissible in their dissent? Who have expressed disspleassure with our pressence here?”

“Many,” he admitted as, reinvigorated by her suggestion, he launched himself beneath her, reached up, grabbed her tail with both hands, and twisted hard. She was slammed against the ground. In an instant he was behind her. “Truly, ssuccess hatchess from the egg of invention.” He bestrode her furiously. She clawed up and back, but was unable to do anything more than scrape his ribs. Her continued efforts only served to inspire him further.

What she was suggesting without realizing it, he understood as he rode her, was that he employ the same stratagem he had used in explaining the death of the softskin. If
he could not yet identify the actual source of the organized opposition to the Imperial presence on Jast, Takuuna did not doubt that he could invent one. There were a number of nonviolent, legal philosophical Vsseyan groups who were quite vocal in their dislike of the AAnn visitors. These could be questioned, their motives impugned, their actions scrutinized. Eventually, under “appropriate” questioning, a few of them might crack. After all, there was nothing imaginary about the devastating bombings that had taken place. Why, one of them might even have a line on the identity of the actual saboteurs. He was surprised he had not thought of it himself.

That the female fighting beneath him had was not only a tribute to her shrewdness but also to her palpable ongoing interest in him. He was already fond of Geelin CCRQPLL. It was apparent that her physical talents were matched by a commendable cunning. As they continued their traditional struggle, he found himself grateful.

When this was over, he decided, when he had uprooted and destroyed the Vsseyan radicals, he would make a ceremonial offer to formalize their mating. He hoped she would respond with suitable ritual vehemence. Of all the females he had had occasion to skirmish and mate with during his sojourn on Jast, Geelin was clearly superior to the rest, while overtly sympathetic to him personally and professionally as well.

That did not mean, of course, that he trusted her for one moment.

L
wo-Dvuum was completely at a loss. So upset was the prisoner that the tips of the tentacles that lined the protruding, disc-like upper third of the educator's body had withdrawn in upon themselves. The flexible eyestalks were also partly retracted. But the teacher's aural frill remained fully erect, intent on catching the slightest reference to ongoing events.

They had come for Lwo-Dvuum in the middle of the night, rousing the groggy educator from the quiet sleeping cabinet that stood between beloved stacks of antique literary texts and the more modern electronic readout that was used for daily tasking. There had been no need to restrain the prisoner. A Vssey subject to arrest could not hop from the law. All that was needed was to keep a detainee away from other means of transport.

Objections to the unwarranted intrusion poured forth as fast as the bewildered educator was able to compose them.

“What is the meaning of this?” Lwo-Dvuum demanded to know of his captors. “Where are you taking me? I warn you, I am a highly respecte' mentor. I will be lodging complaints against this incident at the highest levels!”

“Then you'll enjoy where we're taking you,” one of the apprehending police informed the outraged captive.

Enclosing the detainee in the center of an official police
circle, they forced Lwo-Dvuum to hop outside the building in tandem with them, leading the educator out of the stylish residence for unbudding professionals and toward the waiting transport. Lwo-Dvuum noted with dismay that it was unmarked. Once inside, increasing altitude prevented any chance of escape as the humming police transport rose above the surrounding structures. A fall of more than thirty body lengths would kill even one of the physically resilient Vssey.

Expecting to be flown to a local police post, or at worst to the central restraining facility for the socially ambivalent, Lwo-Dvuum's unease only increased when the transport instead began to descend in the direction of the main AAnn administration center. Within that diplomatic compound, even a highly respected Vssey such as an educator would have little recourse to universal rights. There would be no circle of compassionate judges to confront and challenge over a prisoner's fate. There would be only the AAnn; they of the nimble feet, snappish temperament, and sharp claws.

Knowing that much, Lwo-Dvuum was prepared to make his peace with the Great Circle—if only someone would deign to inform the mystified prisoner as to what charges were being laid. The educator asked as much of the nearest armed officer.

“That's for our friends the AAnn to explain.” The guard's tone was sufficiently brusque to cause the sensitive Lwo-Dvuum to flinch. What had an honest, hardworking mentor done to deserve such opprobrium? If the officer was correct, he would find out only from the authorized agents of Jast's scaly guests.

By the setting light, the prisoner thought apprehensively, at least one representative of the people should be present, if only for appearance's sake.

The transport touched down, and its passengers disembarked
. The last thing Lwo-Dvuum expected to see as the escort ushered its bemused prisoner away from the landing area was a familiar figure. The educator called out.

The response was immediate. Though they were marched into the shadowed rear of the looming structure by separate, silent squads, they were close enough to converse.

Bno-Cassaul was clearly distraught to see a close friend and another member of their special circle caught in the same dispiriting circumstances. Prudently, the restrained programmer made no allusion to any of their absent companions. There was no sign, for example, of Mua-Briiv, Tvr-Vheequa, or any of the other members of the speculative group.

Of course, Lwo-Dvuum reflected somberly, that did not mean they were not already being held inside, or were on the verge of being disturbed in their sleep.

The presence of the two friends and their respective Vsseyan escorts drew hardly a glance from passing AAnn. When they did, it was invariably one of scarcely concealed contempt. Lwo-Dvuum reflected that the members of the circle were more attuned to this general derision than the majority of their kind. Though continually expanding their presence and their interests on Jast, it was plain to anyone who took the time to still their tentacles and look that the AAnn cared next to nothing for the Vssey themselves. That was one of the central points of the circle's main thesis that they hoped to convey to the mass of Vssey. Now it looked like they might not ever get the chance.

Be calm, Lwo-Dvuum mantraed. The reason for the nocturnal seizure remained unknown. When surrounded by fire, the wise Vssey stands its ground and does not hop off in panic. One could only hope that Bno-Cassaul shared the same wisdom.

Any similar Vsseyan institution would have been crisscrossed
with moving walkways to speed travel. In the absence of such, both prisoners and escorts were required to engage in some extensive hopping. They did not tire—the Vssey were durable travelers—but it did take them a fair amount of time to reach their destination. Outside the doorway, the two prisoners were turned over to AAnn guards. Lwo-Dvuum's unease increased as the last of their fellow Vssey headed back the way they had come, hopping in unison back down the high-ceilinged corridor.

Their modest restraints were removed. As Lwo-Dvuum stretched his liberated footpads, one of the two AAnn guards hissed at them in a crude approximation of the local Vsseyan dialect. Unbound, the two mystified locals hopped forward as ordered.

They found themselves in a windowless chamber lit only by dimly luminescent walls. There was no décor, only a single table and two chairs. The furniture was designed to accommodate the builders of the complex. No chairs were provided for the prisoners, since the Vssey did not sit. Where standing straight for long periods of time was discomfiting to more flexible species such as the AAnn, the Vssey found the reverse to be true.

Inclining sideways, Bno-Cassaul whispered of anxiety made worse by the fact that there were not even enough of them present to form a comforting circle. At least three were needed, and there were only the two of them.

“Why are we here, my frien'? When the police picke' us up, I coul' envision several possibilities. None of them involve' the AAnn. What coul' they want of us?”

Lwo-Dvuum was under no illusions. “I don't think it is to partake of our respective expertise in teaching an' programming. Beyon' that, I cannot guess.” Movement at the other side of the room drew his attention. “By my last tentacle, I believe we are about to fin' out.”

A door silently appeared in the otherwise blank wall at
the back of the room. Two AAnn stepped through, whereupon the door shut tightly behind them. Not even glancing in the direction of the two detainees, they proceeded to occupy the two chairs behind the table. One removed a pair of small electronic instruments from a pouch slung at its waist. While the other waited patiently, these were activated. Both mute Vssey eyed the devices. Lwo-Dvuum decided they were not directly threatening. If their hosts intended to do them physical harm, some sort of restraints would surely have been put in place, with guards in attendance. The educator relaxed, but only a little. The AAnn might be bad-tempered, but they were a civilized species. To get what they wanted, surely they would not resort to something so inconceivably primitive as physical abuse.

Mental maltreatment—now
that
was something else.

The larger of the two toothy aliens spoke curtly, without any attempt at formality or greeting. His Vsseya, Lwo-Dvuum noted, was excellent, the mark of an experienced bureaucrat who had spent some time on Jast.

“
Fssadd
—you are the educator Lwo-Dvuum, and you the programmer composser Bno-Cassaul.”

Since the identifying was not posed as a question, neither Vssey saw reason or need to respond.

Their silence constituted sufficient acquiescence for the AAnn. “I am Takuuna VBXLLW, head of a sspecial unit of Vissitor Ssecurity.” He did not have to denote which visitors or whose security he was working for.

“What has that to do with us?” Bno-Cassaul pleaded his case with a fluttering of forward-facing appendages. If the AAnn recognized the meaning behind the gesturing, he did not respond.

“While it iss well known that not every ssection of your populace lookss favorably upon the Imperial pressence on Jasst, heretofore ssuch dissapproval hass taken the
form of petitioning, argument within the general media, and occassional philossophical and ssatirical broadssides. It hass been brought to my attention that both of you have for ssome time participated in jusst ssuch a circle of dissputation right here in Sskokossas.”

“There iss nothing illegal about any of that which you allude to.” By responding boldly, Bno-Cassaul hoped to put their inquisitors on the defensive. “We an' the other members of our discussion circle have done nothing wrong.”

Distracted by something significant buried within the AAnn's accusation, Lwo-Dvuum hardly heard the programmer's response. “What di' you mean by ‘heretofore’?”

Alert, vertical pupils turned to eye the educator. “I think you know perfectly well what I meant.”

It was Bno-Cassaul's turn to look curiously at the educator. Lwo-Dvuum paid no attention. “I do not. Nor does my frien'. Nor, I believe I can say with some confidence, woul' any other member of our circle. If you woul' consent to explain what you mean, perhaps we can she' some light on the situation.”

Extending one arm, Takuuna dragged the point of a claw across the smooth tabletop. The subsequent subdued screeching induced brief but excruciating pain in the hearing receptors of the two Vssey. Perhaps it was intentional, perhaps not. Lwo-Dvuum did not care, as his aural frill snapped almost flat against his upper body in a futile attempt to shut out the piercing squeal. The timbre of it did not seem to affect the AAnn.