The Star Fox (25 page)

Song followed them a while (‘
Aupr
è
s de ma blonde, qu’il fait bon, fait bon, fait bon
—), but by the time they reached the lakeshore they heard simply a lap-lap of wavelets, rustle of leaves, flute of a bird. Aurore was going down behind the western peaks, which stood black against a cloud bank all fire and gold. The same long light made a molten bridge on the water, from the sun toward him and her. But eastward fog was rolling, slow as the sunset, a topaz wall that at the top broke into banners of dandelion yellow in a sky still clear with day. The breeze cooled his skin.

He saw her clasp arms together. ‘
Avez-vous froid, mademoiselle?
’ he asked, much afraid they would have to go back. She smiled even before he took off his cloak, probably at what he was doing to her language. He threw it over her shoulders. When his hands brushed along her neck, he felt his sinews go taut and withdrew in a hurry.

‘Thank you.’ She had a voice too light for English or Norwegian, which turned French into a song. ‘But will you not be cold?’

‘No. I am fine.’ (Damn! Did
fin
have the meaning he wanted?) ‘I am—’ He scratched around for words. ‘Too old and …
poilu?
… too old and hairy to feel the weather.’

‘You are not old, Monsieur Captain,’ she said gravely.

‘Ha!’ He crammed fists into pockets. ‘What age have you? Nineteen? I have a daughter that which she – I have a daughter a few years less.’

‘Well—’ She laid a finger along her jaw. He thought wildly what a delicate line that bone made, over the small chin to a gentle mouth; and, yes, her nose tipped gaily upward, with some freckles dusted across the bridge. ‘I know you are my mother’s age. But you do not look it, and what you have done is more than any young man could.’

‘Thanks. Thanks. Nothing.’

‘Mother was so excited when she heard,’ Danielle said. ‘I think Father got a little jealous. But now he likes you.’

‘Your father is a good man.’ It was infuriating to be confined to this first-grade vocabulary.

‘May I ask you something, monsieur?’

‘Ask me anybody.’ The one rebellious lock of hair had gotten free again.

‘I have heard that we who go to Earth do so to appeal for
help. Do you really think we will matter that much?’

‘Well, uh, well, we had a necessity to come here. That is to say, we have now made establish communication from your people to mine in space. So we can also take people like you away.’

A crease of puzzlement flitted between her brows. ‘But they have spoken of how difficult it was to get so big a ship down without being seen. Could you not better have taken a little one?’

‘You are very clever, mademoiselle, but—’ Before he could construct a cover-up, she touched his arm (how lightly!) and said:

‘You came as you did, risking your life, for Mother’s sake. Is that not so?’

‘Uh, uh, well, naturally I thought over her. We are old friends.’

She smiled. ‘Old sweethearts, I have heard. Not all the knights are dead, Captain. I sat with you today, instead of joining in the music, because you were so beautiful to watch.’

His heart sprang until he realized she had been using the second person plural. He hoped the sunset light covered the hue his face must have. ‘Mademoiselle,’ he said, ‘your mother and I are friends. Only friends.’

‘Oh, but of course. I understand. Still, it was so good of you, everything you have done for us.’ The evening star kindled above her head. ‘And now you will take us to Earth. I have dreamed about such a trip since I was a baby.’

There was an obvious opening to say that she was more likely to make Earth sit up and beg than vice versa, but he could only hulk over her, trying to find a graceful way of putting it. She sighed and looked past him.

‘Your men too, they are knights,’ she said. ‘They have not even your reason to fight for New Europe. Except perhaps Monsieur Vadász?’

‘No, Endre has no one here,’ Heim said. ‘He is a troubadour.’

‘He sings so wonderfully,’ Danielle murmured. ‘I was listening all the time. He is a Hungarian?’

‘By birth. Now he has no home.’
Endre, you’re a right buck, but this is getting to be too much about you. ‘I
have – have—When you to arrive on Earth, you and your family use my home. I come when I can and take you in my ship.’

She clapped her hands. ‘Oh, wonderful!’ she caroled. ‘Your
daughter and I, we shall become such good friends. And afterward, a voyage on a warship—What songs of victory we will sing, homeward bound!’

Well – um—We return to camp now? Soon is dark.’ Under the circumstances, one had better be as elaborately gentlemanly as possible.

Danielle drew the cloak tight around her. ‘Yes, if you wish.’ He wasn’t sure whether that showed reluctance or not. But as she started walking immediately, he made no comment, and they spoke little en route.

The party was indeed tapering off. Heim’s and Danielle’s return touched off a round of good-nights. When she gave him back his cloak, he dared squeeze her hand. Vadász kissed it, with a flourish.

On their way back through leafy blue twilight, the minstrel said, ‘Ah, you are the lucky one still.’

‘What do you mean?’ Heim snapped.

‘Taking the fair maiden off that way. What else?’

For God’s sake!’ Heim growled. ‘We just wanted to stretch our legs. I don’t have to rob cradles yet.’

‘Are you quite honest, Gunnar? … No, wait, please don’t tie me in a knot. At least, not in a granny knot. It is only that Mlle. Irribarne is attractive. Do you mind if I see her?’

‘What the blaze have I got to say about that?’ Heim retorted out of his anger. ‘But listen, she’s the daughter of a friend of mine, and these colonial French have a medieval notion of what’s proper. Follow me?’

Indeed. No more need be said.’ Vadász whistled merrily the rest of the way. Once in his sleeping bag, he drowsed off at once. Heim had a good deal more trouble doing so.

Perhaps for that reason, he woke late and found himself alone in the tent. Probably Diego was helping de Vigny’s sappers and Endre had wandered off – wherever. It was not practical for guerrillas to keep a regular mess and the campstove, under a single dimlight, showed that breakfast had been prepared. Heim fixed his own, coffee, wildfowl, and a defrosted chunk of the old and truly French bread which is not for tender gums. Afterward he washed, depilated the stubble on his face, shrugged into some clothes, and went outside.

No word for me, evidently. If any comes, it’ll keep. I feel restless. How about a swim?
He grabbed a towel and started off.

Diane was up. Such light as came through the leaves made the forest a shifting bewilderment of black and white, where his flash-beam bobbed lonely. The air had warmed and cleared. He heard summery noises, whistles, chirps, croaks, flutters, none of them quite like home. When he emerged on the shore, the lake was a somehow bright sable, each little wave tipped with moonfire. The snowpeaks stood hoar beneath a universe of stars. He remembered the time on Staurn when he had tried to pick out Achernar; tonight he could do so with surety, for it burned great in this sky. His triumph, just about when Danielle was being born—‘
Vous n’ètes pas vieux
,
Monsieur le Capitaine
.’

He stripped, left the beam on to mark the spot, and waded out. The water was cold, but he needed less will power than usual to take the plunge when it was waist deep. For a time he threshed about, warming himself, then struck out with long quiet strokes. Moonlight rippled in his wake. The fluid slid over his skin like a girl’s fingers.

Things are looking up
, he thought with a growing gladness.
We really do have a good chance to rescue this planet. And if part of the price is that I stop raiding – why, I’ll be on Earth too
.

Did it sing within him, or had a bird called from the ness ahead?

No. Birds don’t chord on twelve strings. Heim grinned and swam forward as softly as he was able. Endre’s adrenal glands would benefit from a clammy hand laid on him from behind and a shouted ‘Boo!’

The song strengthened in his ears:

‘
Röslein, Röslein, Röslein rot,

Röslein auf der Heiden
.’

As it ended, Heim saw Vadász seated on a log silhouetted against the sky. He was not alone.

Her voice came clear through the night. ‘
Oh, c’est beau. Je
n’aurais jamais cru que les allemands pouvaient avoir une telle sensibilité!

Vadász laughed. ‘
Vous savez Goethe vécut il
y a long-temps
.
Mais pourquoi rappeler de vieilles haines pendant une si
belle nuit?
’

She shivered. ‘
L’haine n’est pas morte. Elle nous entoure
.’ He drew his cloak around them both. ‘
Oubliez tout cela, made
-
moiselle. L’affaire est en bonne mains. Nous sommes venus ici pour admirer, parler, et chanter, n’est-ce pas?
’

‘
Oui
.’ Hesitantly: ‘
Mais mes parents
—’

‘
Pff!! Il n’est pas tard. La nuit, le jour, c’est la méme chose pour les Neo-Européens. Vous n’avez pas confiance en moi? Je suis aussi innocent qu’une grenouille perclue de rhumatismes. Vous avez entendu mes coassements’
.

Danielle giggled. ‘
Coassez encore, je vou en prie
.’

‘
Le souhait d’une si charmante demoiselle est un ordre. Ah
…
quelque chose
á
la Magyar? Un chant damour!

The strings toned very softly, made themselves a part of night and woods and water. Vadász’s words twined among them. Danielle sighed and leaned a bit closer.

Heim swam away.

No
, he told himself, and again:
No. Endre isn’t being a bastard. He
asked
me
.

The grip on his throat did not loosen. He ended his quietness and churned the water with steamboat violence.
He’s young. I could have been her father. But I junked the chance
.

I thought it had come back
.

No. I’m being ridiculous. Oh, Connie, Connie!

Ved Gud
– His brain went in rage to the tongue of his childhood.
By God, if he does anything
—! I’
m not too old to break a man’s neck
.

What the hell business is it of mine?

He stormed ashore and abraded himself dry. Clothes on, he stumbled through the woods. There was a bottle in the tent, not quite empty.

A man waited for him. He recognized one of de Vigny’s aides. Well?’

The officer sketched a salute. ‘I ’ave a message for you, monsieur. The colonel ’as contact the enemy. They receive a delegation in Bonne Chance after day ’as break.’

‘Okay. Good night.’

‘But, monseiur—’

‘I know. We have to confer. Well, I’ll come when I can. We’ve plenty of time. It’s going to be a long night.’ Heim brushed past the aide and closed his tent flap.

B
ELOW
, the Carsac Valley rolled broad and rich. Farmsteads could be seen, villages, an occasional factory surrounded by gardens – but nowhere man; the land was empty, livestock run wild, weeds reclaiming the fields. Among them flowed the river, metal-bright in the early sun.

When he looked out the viewports of the flyer where he sat, Heim saw his escort, four Aleriona military vehicles. The intricate, gaily colored patterns painted on them did not soften their barracuda outlines. Guns held aim on the unarmed New Europeans.
We could change from delegates to prisoners in half a second
, he thought, and reached for his pipe.

‘Pardon.’ Lieutenant Colonel Charles Navarre, head of the eight-man negotiation team, tapped his shoulder. ‘Best lock that away, monsieur. We have not had tobacco in the
maquis
for one long time.’

‘Damn! You’re right. Sorry.’ Heim got up and stuck his smoking materials in a locker.

‘They are no fools, them.’ Navarre regarded the big man carefully. ‘Soon we land. Is anything else wrong with you, Captain Alphonse Lafayette?’

‘No, I’m sure not,’ Heim said in English. ‘But let’s go down the list. My uniform’s obviously thrown together but that’s natural for a guerrilla. I don’t look like a typical colonist, but they probably won’t notice, and if they do it won’t surprise them.’

‘
Comment?
’ asked another officer.

‘Didn’t you know?’ Heim said. ‘Aleriona are bred into standardized types. From their viewpoint, humans are so wildly variable that a difference in size and coloring is trivial. Nor have they got enough familiarity with French to detect my accent, as long as I keep my mouth shut most of the time. Which’ll be easy enough, since I’m only coming along in the hope of picking up a little naval intelligence.’

‘Yes, yes,’ Navarre said impatiently. ‘But be most careful about it.’ He leaned toward Vadász, who had a seat in the rear. ‘You too, Lieutenant Gaston Girard.’

‘On the contrary,’ the minstrel said, ‘I have to burble and
chatter and perhaps irritate them somewhat. There is no other way to probe the mood of non-humans. But have no fear. This was all thought about. I am only a junior officer, not worth much caution on their part.’ He smiled tentatively at Heim. ‘You can vouch for how good I am at being worthless, no, Gunnar?’

Heim grunted. Pain and puzzlement flickered across the Magyar’s features. When first his friend turned cold to him, he had put it down to a passing bad mood. Now, as Heim’s distasteness persisted, there was no chance – in this crowded, thrumming cabin – to ask what had gone wrong.

The captain could almost read those thoughts. He gusted out a breath and returned to his own seat forward.
I’m being stupid and petty and a son of a bitch in general
, he knew.
But I can’t forget Danielle, this sunrise with the fog drops like jewels in her hair, and the look she gave him when we said good-by. Wasn’t I the one who’d earned it?

He was quite glad when the flyer started down.

Through magnification before it dropped under the horizon, he saw that Bonne Chance had grown some in twenty years. But it was still a small city, nestled on the land’s seaward shoulder: a city of soft-hued stucco walls and red tile roofs, of narrow ambling streets, suspension bridges across the Carsac, a market square where the cathedral fronted on outdoor stalls and outdoor cafès, docks crowded with watercraft, and everywhere trees. Earth’s green chestnut and poplar mingled with golden
bellefleur
and
gracis
. The bay danced and dazzled, the countryside rolled ablaze with wildflowers, enclosing the town exactly as they had done when he wandered hand in hand with Madelon.