The Light-years Beneath My Feet (21 page)

“It was vital to the success of the enterprise that your innocence as to its ultimate potential objective be at all times preserved. I think you will agree that such has been the case, and that events have developed propitiously. We are now in a position to demand, as opposed to filing polite requests for, assistance from the Niyyuuan astronomic community in locating our homeworlds. This would not be possible without our successive military triumphs, albeit on the low-grade traditional level. One squad of Niyyuu equipped with modern weapons could disperse all the assembled armies of all the six realms we have brought together. But that, fortunately, is not the Niyyuuan way.”

He was quiet, trying to digest everything she had said. As usual, no matter how fervently he detested her manipulation of him and his friends, no matter how much he hated being used, he was finally forced to admit that the results just might have been worth all the sneaking and subterfuge. They now found themselves in a position that should greatly enhance their chances of finding a way home. And she was right about something else as well: despite not wanting to admit it, he had to confess to himself that if she had clearly and unambiguously laid out her intentions back in Kojn-umm, he would automatically have rejected them. Not only because he would have believed in their ultimate failure, but because of the potential danger.

At that thought he performed what could only be described as a follow-up double take. “I could have been killed! At any time since we left Kojn-umm, I could have been killed. Or Saluu-hir-lek might have figured out what was going on and had me assassinated. Or the forces of one of the realms we were opposing could have had me killed.” Rising slightly, he leaned toward her over the back of his own high Niyyuuan seat. “
That’s
why you didn’t want to put yourself forward as the promoter of the eventual strategy that was devised. That’s why you’ve stayed in the background and out of the way. You figured that if anything went wrong with your scheming, as the public face of it I’d be the one who’d get killed.” His head snapped sharply to his left. “What are
you
laughing at?”

Off to one side, George had fallen off his narrow seat and was rolling back and forth on the floor, teeth exposed, his feet pawing at the air. “Slickly snookered by Sister Seafood! And not for the first time, either. Humans never learn. You’re so wrapped up in your own vanity and glory, that—” The dog dissolved in laughter.

Having hoped for at least moral support from the canine quarter of the quarrelsome quartet, it was fair to say that Walker was less than pleased with his companion’s ebullient response.

“You are of course correct in your assessment.” His accusation found Sque as serene and unruffled as ever. “Surely you must admit that for any of us mismatched fellow travelers to have a chance of returning all the way home, it is imperative that I, of all of us, must remain whole and unharmed.”

With an effort, Walker controlled his anger. “I do apologize if my desire to go on living conflicts with your overall assessment of how best to deal with our present situation.”

The K’eremu was as immune to sarcasm as Braouk was to flung stones. “There is no need to apologize. You are not responsible for responding according to base instincts over which you have no control. It is the same with all the lower orders.” Then, perhaps relenting slightly, possibly realizing she might be stepping over a line she could barely perceive, she added, “I am of course directing all my considerable mental energies to seeing that all of us, and not just myself, complete that much-to-be-desired voyage.”

Turning away from her and ignoring her gently probing tendrils, he folded his arms over his chest. “Don’t knock yourself out,” he muttered crossly.

Transparent lids flicked down over silvery eyes. “I am afraid my embedded translator is having difficulty with your last comment.”

By way of response, an irate Walker supplied a follow-up whose meaning her translator had no difficulty whatsoever conveying unequivocally. The questing tendrils promptly withdrew. No more was heard from the K’eremu for the remainder of the journey.

From the capacious rear of the transport, verse floated forward borne on the wings of alien melancholy. Braouk was reciting.

“Cast adrift here, fighting and killing daily, empty actions. How I long for the endless fields of Tuuqalia, for its vaulted skies and waving fields of surashh, for its dense forests and cool plains, for its—”

Necessity overcoming the need to visually display his displeasure, Walker uncrossed his arms and pressed his palms tightly against both ears. George used his front paws to press his own ears firmly against the sides of his head. For her part, Sque simply ignored their massive companion’s latest interminable recitation. Unequipped to translate it, their Charuchalan hosts remained blissfully ignorant of the content of the alien drone, however much it sounded to them as if the largest of their honored guests must be feeling vaguely unwell.

The most honored commander of the expeditionary army of the traditional forces of the righteous realm of Kojn-umm was in an ill humor. He had been ever since the startling anointment of the ungainly human as the chief strategic planner for the nonalliance of quasi-cooperating military forces of six territories. It was outrageous! It was insupportable!

It was also, however uncomfortable, a fact, and one that he was going to have to deal with. In order to do that, he needed information. Believing he possessed enough of the latter, he had been taken by surprise by the unity of the other realms’ decision. He would not make the same mistake again.

Hence his impatience when the citizen he had summoned to his presence finally appeared before him.

While she was not intimidated by the prospect of a private conference with the general, neither did Viyv-pym have any idea what Saluu-hir-lek wanted of her. She found out very quickly, as Saluu-hir-lek addressed her directly and in no-nonsense tones.

“What does this alien Marcus Walker mean to you?”

Her tails twitched involuntarily, a clear sign she did not understand the question. “
Mean
to me? There no meaning attached to relationship. I his appointed guide on and to world and culture of Niyyuu. Same functioning applicable to his three companions. If relationship has any meaning, takes the form of what I am paid by government of Kojn-umm.”

His words contradicted his gesture of understanding. “I have had abundant time to observe the alien Walker. Also to observe the alien Walker observing you. Is more there than simple diplomacy.”

Initially confident upon being sent for, his guest found herself increasingly bemused. “I confess I not follow the general commander’s line of reasoning.”

Her unfettered bewilderment was answer enough for his purposes. “Never mind. I’ve learned what I need know. You are blameless of participation in this betrayal.” Coming close, he lowered his rasping voice. “You must understand, Viyv-pym: I had to find out. Do not carry any concern with you now that clarity in this thing is restored.”

Having been accused and then found innocent of something without ever once having been informed of what it was, she was understandably bewildered. Her trial was apparently over without her ever having been brought before a court. Given her initial perceptions, she ought to have felt relieved. Instead, she was more confused than ever.

“You are upset because of the human Walker’s elevation,” she hazarded.

“Upset!” Once again he had to lower his voice. “Upset, yes. This whole matter is absurd, ridiculous, and unreasonable.” His flexible arms snapped in the air of the room like whips. “The alien is a cook, not military strategist. But I not fooled.” His large, alert eyes gleamed. “I see what being done. Charuchal-uul, Biranju-oov, and others wish marginalize me and influence of Kojn-umm on future actions. Better they not relax. When time come, I will deal with their deceit.”

“And the human?” Viyv-pym was not entirely sure why she should care, or why she asked. She knew only that she did, and she had.

“
Eehgh,
the human! It strange, but I not mad at him. It clear to me that he being manipulated for the ends of others. What others, I still not certain. No doubt good cook is ignorant of how he being used. No, the alien food preparator is harmless. I more fear the actions of his companions, especially the small rubbery being with many limbs. She says too little, sees too much. I repeatedly reproaching myself for my neglect of her.”

Viyv-pym gestured supplely. “I am Kojn-umm. You my superior. I will do whatever you deem necessary to advance best interests of our realm.”

“I know that you will, Viyv-pym. For moment, though, nothing can be done. Is better more useful watch and wait.”

“For what?” she asked him as she lowered her arms.

He was staring ferociously, but not at her. “For opportunity.”

Their rooms were admirable, overlooking just one of the great sweeping harbors for which Charuchal-uul was famed throughout Niyu. If the level of technological sophistication was not up to that of highly advanced Seremathenn, it was at least the equal of Kojn-umm. As honored guests, they had no cause for complaint.

At least not against their hosts, whose attitude toward them continued to reflect a mixture of admiration, suspicion, and a curiosity that bordered on the fawning. Among two of the visitors, there was still some internal dissension.

Walker was pacing back and forth in front of the floor-to-ceiling transparency that overlooked the view. If he closed his eyes almost shut and let his mind drift, he could imagine that he was standing in a skyscraper looking out over Lake Michigan. Then he would open them again, and his sight and mind would be confronted by alien architecture, alien transport, and a sky that was just a shade too greenish.

“You can’t keep interfering in local affairs like this. You’re going to make a mistake and get us killed.” He halted close to the K’eremu. “Look how your actions have offended Saluu-hir-lek. I’ve become familiar enough with Niyyuuan expressions and reactions to know that this whole experience has changed him from a friend to someone who wouldn’t be sad to see us disappear.”

As she listened to the human, Sque was lolling on one of the narrow padded benches that were the Niyyuuan equivalent of a comfortable couch. While her tendrils sprawled loosely around her, her body stayed, as always, upright in the center of the ropy mass.

“What I am going to do, Marcus, is get us home. You do still want to get home, don’t you?” He said nothing. “As for offending the ambitious general Saluu-hir-lek, I cannot function effectively if I am forced to waste time concerning myself with the possible personal disenchantments of representatives of the local dominant life-form.”

Nearby, George had been running nose patrol over a section of the peculiarly resilient flooring, absorbing and cataloging smells for future reference. Now he looked up briefly at Walker. “You sure, Marc, that it’s Saluu-hir-lek you’re so concerned about offending?”

Walker’s brows drew together as he regarded the busy canine. “I don’t follow you, George.”

“It’s been awhile since we had a visit from our lean and trim original minder, hasn’t it? Maybe you’re worried our activities might have offended
her
?” He bared his teeth. “Maybe you miss her a little?”

“Viyv-pym is our most active and knowledgeable conduit to the Niyyuu,” Walker snapped crossly. “She is our connection to this world and this culture and has been ever since Seremathenn. I miss her because of
that,
yes.”

“Uh-huh.” Cocking his head slightly to the right, the dog sat down and began scratching himself behind one ear. “Tell me something, Marc. When you kiss her, is it like sticking your tongue down a vacuum cleaner hose?”

A furious Walker began chasing the dog around the largely unusable Niyyuuan furniture while the agile canine toyed with him, remaining just beyond the human’s reach. Sequi’aranaqua’na’senemu did her best to ignore them both as she contemplated their immediate future. Despite a nagging conviction that doing so was a waste of time, she was still determined to do her best to save them both, along with the oversized versifier who was presently sleeping soundly at one end of the large room.