Fire in the Sky

4

Marrin Ola stopped in the doorway to the workroom when he saw Aslan sipping tea and listening to

Duncan Shears. “Get the cone up, I’ve got something to show you.”

A moment later he was back. He stepped through the haze of the privacy cone, took a cutter from inside his shirt and put it on the table. “Not a rumor. Not any more.”

Aslan looked at the mucky weapon. “Looks like it took a bath in mud.” She sniffed. “Very stale mud where something died a while ago.”

“It did.” He wiped his hand on his shirt, pulled up a chair, and gave them a sketch of what happened at the bridge. “… and I managed to pry about half what you want out of Oschos, the stuff is locked in the jit, I’ll bring it in later. It took a while, though, so I was irritated and in a hurry and I’d almost forgotten about the wobble at the bridge,, so I hadn’t turned on the telltale. So when Glois and his pal rode out at me, I nearly had a heart attack. The young idiots. I’d told them to keep away, but they saddled up and rode after, I think they thought they were going to protect me, I don’t know WHAT they were thinking. Anyway, Glois was excited about something but he wouldn’t say what. He got me on his caцpa and climbed up behind Ut and they took me to this mucky islet with a huge oilnut tree growing at one end. The cutter was there, one end of it sunk in the mud, the other end caught on a root. And the chorek who had it, he was facedown in the water, about as dead as you get. Drowned. I’d hit him with the stunner and down he went. There were pieces out of him, a crogall or something like that had started eating him. Kids thought all that was terribly interesting. Reminds me of me when I was a kid, but my stomach’s gotten weaker since those days.” He glanced at the cutter lying dark and lethal on the table, leaned back, and crossed his legs.

Aslan swore.

Duncan Shears rubbed at his chin. “You can interview from the Enclave.”

“We’ve been over that and over it, Duncan. It won’t work.” Fingers tapping at the worktable, she stared at the wall, her eyes narrowed, the corners of her wide mouth tucked in. “Shadith should be getting to Chuta Meredel soon. End of the week she said. When she calls in tonight, I want her to try getting permission for the three of us to fly in. From what I’ve heard, I doubt any Chav spy will be getting close to that place. Center of learning, repository of history, center of government such as it is. I’ve been salivating at the thought of getting there, but I didn’t see how… even Shadith had to ride there… no flikits allowed… and the Metau and Teseach went rabid when I barely mentioned the place… without an invitation I’d given up hope… funny, this business might even be what makes it possible.” She blinked. “Well, enough of that. Marrin, what about the com and the satellites, are they anywhere near getting them back on line?”

He uncrossed his legs and straightened his back. “Very sneaky and thorough virus. Hm. It’s hard to believe a Chav invented that virus. They’re not usually so… um… indirect. That is to say, they have few graces not directly related to the extraction of minerals. I suspect the presence of a Freetech and I think I know the man. Family had me locate him and send him out to Picabral not so long ago; I talked to him first. Most amoral entity I’ve ever come across and one of the cleverest at what he does. If I’m right, Koraka has about as much chance of resolving that virus with the personnel and equipment he has here as we have of walking home. It ate through the defenses as if they didn’t exist. All they needed was someone to get it into the system and they bought that. Software’s unusable, the techs are trying to pull something together to get the com going, but everything they try, the virus eats. We are cut off completely for the moment. And there won’t be a ship from Yarakan for another six weeks. They know who it was that the Chave bought, by the way. You remember that phora, Galeyn I think was his name? The one who looked like he had a burr up his nose? Well, he disappeared along with his private flikit. From what I could get out of Oschos, the Goлs is raving, he suspects all the rest of them and is talking of putting anyone who sneezes funny under probe.” He shrugged.

“And he can’t afford sitting there much longer looking like a fool. And if we hand him this business of the cutters and the Chav spy… Gods, that’ll start a shooting war. It’s all the proof he needs, isn’t it. A weapon, a body, a spy he can capture. Active aggression against University residents, stockholders, and a full Scholar as well as damaging Yaraka equipment. He could go under a truthreader and come out sweet.” Aslan got to her feet. “I want both of you thinking about options. See if you can dig up a third choice for us. We’ll meet tonight, my room, see what Shadith can tell us.”

11. The Ways of Secret Wars