Power Play

25

Sometime in the middle of the blizzard, Nanook clawed at the shuttle hatch and Yana opened it wide enough for him to jump the drift blocking it and land with a thud on the deck. He seemed to have brought half of the great outdoors in on his coat and paws, but as Sean rubbed him dry, he reported good news.

‘Coaxtl says the Youngling and the others are in shelter. Nanook can lead us there after the storm.’

Nanook did. They landed the shuttle in a snowbank which quickly turned into awakening polar bears, who unhumped themselves, rose and lumbered off, without a backward glance. Yana and Sean disembarked and started for the entrance of the cave formerly drifted over by bears, but Nanook barred their way, growled, and preceded them.

Yana had thought to bring a laser lantern. It burned brightly enough to show the most eclectic gathering of Petaybean wildlife she had ever seen curled, draped, stacked, lying, sitting, standing, washing, yawning and sleeping just inside the cave entrance.

Nanook growled warningly, but before they took a further step, Coaxtl sauntered towards them, yawning. The other beasts paid the humans no further mind.

Cita was right behind her friend, and ran to Sean to embrace him. 'Did you bring anything to eat?’

Loncie Ondelacy, Pablo Ghompas and their com munity followed. 'Yana, Sean, glad you came. But there are casualties and we all need to eat.’

Wading deeper into the cavern, Yana looked at the twisted, mumbling people lying on the floor all around. 'I'm glad we came too. But now what do we do?’

‘Whatcha drivin'?' Johnny Greene asked. Yana told him. 'Not big enough,' he said. 'We need serious transportation. Can you get help from Intergal?’

Sean shook his head. 'They won't lift a finger to help us because of our "disloyalty". Instead they're dumping every problem they can find like garbage onto the face of this world and leaving us to drown in it.’

‘Well, I can see why they wouldn't want this lot back,' Johnny said with a jerk of his thumb at what was left alive of those on the floor. 'But it's only human to try to do something for them. Is there no way at all?’

‘Nothing we can do from here,' Yana said. 'We came because Coaxtl called and we thought you and Cita were in danger.’

Johnny shook his head. 'No more. Them though Loncie Ondelacy said, 'Well, I for one don't blame Intergal a bit. If we don't want them to rule us, we can't expect them to jump every time we holler. And whether they caused this problem or not, we can expect more of the same. We have got to figure out a way to solve our own problems if we want to be autonomous. Yana and Sean, why don't you give Johnny a lift back to his bird along with some of the council members to help dig it out and make a run back to Bogota for food, blankets, and medical supplies. Also to organize a dogsled evacuation here, although it'd be better if they could be flown out, given the shape they're in. You could take Cita too.’

But Cita shook her head. Her voice was small but her eyes were shining with excitement. Children did tend to love a crisis, Yana reflected - especially somebody else's. 'Though I may be much in the way and a bother, Coaxtl is needed to keep Nanook informed and the other beasts from deciding that these ones,' she indicated the ravaged bodies around them, 'are easy prey. Since Coaxtl honours me by speaking to me, I should remain to pass messages between her and my elders and betters.’

Sean nodded. 'You can come back with Johnny when he returns north then. I'm sure you'll be a big help to Loncie and Coaxtl.’

They ferried Johnny and five of the councilmen back to the copter. The soft new snow had drifted deeply around it and it took them some time to dig it out again. Once its runners were free and Johnny and the others were airborne, Sean and Yana returned to the cave and carried out six of the most severely damaged among the illegal harvesters, Zing Chi and the father of Yo Chang among them, and returned to Tanana Bay.

The dog teams were being hitched as they landed. The dogs set up a fierce howl when the shuttle set down, and the whole village came running to investigate.

Back at the O'Neills', Yana and Sean saw for themselves the state of Dinah and the other pirates, who had to be taken from the communion cave and cleaned before being bundled into the shuttle.

On seeing Dinah, Sean said, 'Maybe we'll have to rethink letting the planet dispense its own justice. It's fair enough, but we can't handle the casualties. Bad enough that people have to remain badly maimed or die because we don't have the technology to get them to help but when we have it, just not enough of it, it fairly breaks your heart.’

‘It does,' Muktuk agreed, 'even when it's such as them.’

‘I'm most concerned about Dinah,' Yana said.

‘Perhaps you'll be less so when we tell you what we found on her,' Marmion said acerbically. 'Do you want to do the honours, Namid?’

He fished in his pocket and suddenly disappeared, to be replaced by the ugly Aurelian visage of Onidi Louchard. 'I am the pirate Louchard,' said a voice that sounded exactly like the pirate Louchard's. 'Who are you and why do you seek me?’

Yana, Bunny and Diego all jumped away from the piratical image.

Muktuk began to laugh. 'You mean that little bitty gal pretended to be that thing to control all those big ferocious pirates? Ah, Sean, your governorship, sor, you've got to save her, you do. She's purest O'Neill stock through and through, that one.’

‘You wouldn't be so crazy about her if you'd been on the pirate ship with her,' Bunny told him angrily.

‘We'll do our best to save her, Muktuk,' Sean said. 'If you'll take one of our current passengers, that will make room for her…’

‘We could come by dogsled, too,' Diego said. 'It'll be good to feel like part of Petaybee again, won't it, Bun?’

‘Sure will,' Bunny said.’

‘Sides, I got somethin' important to talk to you about.’

Diego looked extremely uneasy at that and was sorry he'd offered.

Marmion and Namid rode in the shuttle as well. Once they were under way, and had sent a radio message to Adak to transmit to Clodagh that they had the beginnings of a serious casualty situation on the way to Kilcoole, Yana was unusually quiet and, Sean thought, rather sad.

‘What's the matter, alannah?"

She gave him a painful smile. 'Since seeing the holo, I have a plan. I wish I didn't almost, but I do.’

‘To do what?’

‘Nail the pirates, Luzon and Torkel Fiske and get them all out of Petaybee's hair for good.’

‘That sounds worthwhile. What's the catch?’

‘It would involve taking the holo, returning with this shuttle to the pirate ship and posing as Louchard. Since I'm the only possible shuttle pilot who qualifies, it means I'll have to leave Petaybee again, and the very thought ties me in knots. Still…’

‘Why do you have to do that?’

‘To take the ship back to Gal-Three where it and the crew can be taken into appropriate authority. Meanwhile, posing as Louchard, I'll confront Fiske and Luzon and make damned sure there's an incriminating record of what transpired between them.’

‘I can't let you take that risk, Yana. Especially not in your condition,' Sean said, sounding sterner than he meant to at the idea of her not only leaving the planet again but putting herself in such danger.

‘I don't see much choice, not if the pirates are to be put out of commission and Luzon and Fiske stopped from interfering with us once and for all.’

‘It's a good plan,' Marmion interjected. 'Excellent, in fact. It needs to be done. Only, may I make one small suggestion?’

Sister Igneous Rock was with the orange cats and the debilitated hunters, de Peugh and Minkus, when Adak burst into Clodagh's cabin, which she had turned into a temporary clinic as well as pharmacy.

‘Sean and Yana are bringin' in a bunch of folks that got Petaybeed up at Tanana Bay and over by Bogota,' he said. 'They're in a pretty bad way, according to Yana. She says some of them might not live, though she reckons they're none of 'em any worse than Frank Metaxos was when he first got here.’

‘Oh dear. Clodagh is off with Mr Ball, I'm afraid. She took him to the springs for therapy,' she said. But before the words were out of her mouth, two of the orange members of the nursing staff tore out of the door that Adak had left slightly ajar.

The shuttle landed just as Clodagh showed up with Ball in his wheelchair strapped into the basket of Liam Mahoney's dogsled. Dr von Clough ski'd along beside them. He looked very tired. Brothers Shale and Schist, looking somewhat bemused, followed a disgusted-looking orange cat who seemed outraged at their lack of efficiency. Sister Agate adjusted her robes to their usual decorous length. While Ball received his therapy in the waters of the hotsprings, she had been inside the grotto engaged in deep consultation with Aidan Yulipilik about the therapeutic uses of Petaybee's mildly intoxicating drink, blurry. The blurry was not all that was intoxicating. Sister Agate was quite flushed from the attentions of the dashing Aidan, who made drums, snowshoes, dog harness, and skis for the entire village and many other parts of Petaybee. He also had twinkling slanted blue eyes and a physique that might be envied by many twenty year olds.

That could not be said of the poor people whom Sean and Namid began carrying or helping out of the shuttle. Most looked geriatric, astonished, and bitterly unhappy.

‘There's not room enough at your place, Clodagh!' Sean said. 'Oh, this is Namid Mendelsky, a friend of Marmion's. We'll use the meeting hall for now - we'll need to use the school Cube as well. There are still more patients to be evacuated from Bogota. We only brought the worst ones this time.’

One of the poor souls was a woman, small and perhaps pretty once, with totally white hair and sunken cheeks. She was a pitiable object and moaned and cried out often. Four of the men died before they could be treated. Clodagh said if they could have arrived sooner they might have been saved but that it was the planet's will.

Sister Igneous Rock had the quite heretical thought that perhaps the planet might have willed something else if it had been aware of other options - like more fast transportation, easier access to intravenous fluids, just a few basic medical necessities. Clodagh's medicines could work wonders of recuperation, once the patients got past the critical stage, but fast transit, a source of not-quite-so-spiritual power, and convenient plumbing could do a lot towards remedying many sorts of emergency situations.

And there was all that geothermal energy the planet had to spare. It seemed a shame and a bit of a waste, really. But who was she to say?

She felt less modest about it within the next forty-eight hours, as the shuttle flew back and forth to the South until it was finally grounded for lack of fuel. It had fetched patients from the South and taken fuel to Johnny Greene so he could also assist in the air-lift. Even though everyone in Kilcoole helped, all of the water carrying, wood chopping, water boiling, heating of irons, lighting of lamps and candles, carrying and disposal of wastes, changing and washing linen especially since most of it was not linen or anything resembling it but wool or fur or someone's down sleeping bag, and not that easily washed - left her totally exhausted.

Indeed, under such hard conditions, it took her, Agate, Schist, Shale, Clodagh, and Dr von Clough, who never ceased complaining about the conditions, every waking hour for three days to save two-thirds of the patients. The man who had been the foreman of the work crew in the South died, as did the father of a lost-looking young boy who cried into the coat of a young wildcat while little Cita patted him on the back.

The woman from Tanana Bay lived, and the big black man, though just barely, but the other two died. Clodagh said it would be a long haul for her and the other survivors.

The Chief Engineer on board the Jenny had been uneasy for days. He could run the administrative bits of the ship, but when all the senior officers just took off like that without so much as a by-your-leave, well, what was a bloke to think? Miss Dinah usually passed on the Captain's orders, or Megenda, or failing that Second Mate Dott but they were all gone now, weren't they? He'd assumed, naturally, that the Captain had stayed on board and sent Miss Dinah off with Dott and Framer. But, when he himself had checked the Captain's quarters and discovered them empty, and Louchard nowhere on board, the lads had broken into the Haimacan rum and got legless. No-one had attempted to clean up the resultant mess, despite his warning that there would be hell to pay when the Captain returned.

And now the reckoning was due. There was the Captain on the comscreen.

‘Good to see you, sir. We thought you was on board wif us, sir, till we noticed you wasn't, like.’

‘Very observant,' came the Captain's gurgly alienish voice from out of his octopus-like head with that funny eye channel runnin' all around it. The reason he had Miss Dinah to front for him, everyone reckoned, was that too much lookin' at the Captain woulda been bad for morale. 'But obviously, I am not there as I am here on board the shuttle. Our mission is accomplished, but there is still the matter of payment for the Algemeine woman.’

‘Framer said as how them high-class people wouldn't pay no ransom.’

‘Framer talked too much. Framer has paid the consequences of indiscretion. Even dignitaries have families who do not wish to see them… detained, or to suffer any… inconvenience. Besides which, outside parties had an interest in this detention. Patch through the following transmissions to these codes and rendezvous with me at the following coordinates.’

‘Aye-aye, sir. And may I say, sir, that it will be good to have you aboard again, sir.’

Torkel Fiske was entertaining in his suite aboard his father's star-yacht when the call came in on the private channel that was supposed to be available only to him and his father. It only took one glance at his caller to tell him that the transmission was definitely not from his father. He closed the door quickly so that his guest would not inadvertently catch sight of his caller. The creature on his screen was hideous. Not that Torkel hadn't seen Aurelians before. He had, and he hadn't liked them then either. On those occasions, they had been in appropriate places, not invading his privacy. 'Yes?' he asked. 'This is a private channel. How did you gain access? You are in violation of the Inter-galactic Communications and Trade Act…’

‘Fiske, you two-timing maggoty imbecile. You set me up.’

‘I don't believe I've had the honour,' Torkel said in his stiffest military manner.

‘This is Louchard speaking, Onidi Louchard. Ring a bell?’

No wonder the pirate sent Dinah O'Neill to negotiate for him! She was a damned sight easier to look at and more discreet as well. She'd know better than to try to contact clients in their own homes. This was a definite breach of professional etiquette and he didn't intend to stand for it.

‘Not here, it damn sure doesn't. I'm ending this trans’

‘I. Would. Not.' The Aurelian said, and Torkel remembered that the pirate was reputed to have an efficient complement of skilled assassins who 'eliminated' those dissatisfied with Louchardian arrangements. 'Now listen to me, Fiske. You completely neglected to mention the Gentlepersons' Agreement regarding abductions when you suggested I kidnap the Algemeine woman. You knew that ransoms are never paid by people of that ilk…’

‘Your emissary', and Torkel managed a sneer,' should have been aware of it, since the Agreement's a long-standing one. So that's your error, not mine! I'm ending now.’

‘No, you're not. You would scarcely care to entertain a visit from my termination specialists, now would you? And you will, unless you see to it that we're compensated for our trouble in her case.’

‘Compensation is your business, not mine. Why should I pay for her return?’

The pirate did something most unusual with his head, eyes and tentacles that made Torkel's stomach heave and the noise it made was even more ghastly. Aurelian laughter? Then Louchard said, 'There's also the matter of Colonel Maddock-Shongili. She says…’

‘I don't care what she says. I was led to believe you were competent at what you do. Obviously I was misinformed. If you can't get your ransoms, then kill both of them for all I care. If you were as professional as you were said to be, we wouldn't be having this conversation. Out.’

And he clicked the corn-control with great satisfaction, feeling that he'd definitely had the best of that exchange. The best of that bitch, Yanaba Maddock! And nothing to link him with her demise.

Matthew Luzon received the call from the Aurelian as he was engaged in assisting with the enlightenment of the people of Potala, who had, before Company renovations, been so wasteful as to have nearly seventy per cent of their populace serving as celibate clerics. Potala had set up a theocracy until the Company put a stop to it, reminding the little planet that, while it might believe that killing animals was wrong and certain places were sacred, the planet was, in fact, entirely and in all respects the property of Intergal. Fortunately, so far, Potala had showed no outward inclination to join in personally on the side of its inhabitants, despite the claims of certain tenets of their religion.

Matthew was busily reinterpreting those tenets when his comunit signalled for his attention on the Company's priority channel. A hideous Aurelian face and waving tentacles filled the screen.

‘Luzon, you've been cutting in on enterprises that were guaranteed to us as part of our deal with you and Fiske.’

‘And who might you be, brother?' Luzon asked.

‘I am Louchard, Captain of the Pirate Jenny. I have taken receipt of certain live cargo whose possession was supposed to guarantee me the right to exploit the assets of the world known as Petaybee, formerly an Intergal installation.’

‘Ah, and how is the good Colonel Maddock?’

Louchard paused to indulge in a deep and nasty chuckle. 'As you wished, her days are numbered. As to those associates of yours from the Asian Esoteric and Exotic Company, were you aware that they have denuded vast areas of resources that should be used for her ransom? Really, Doctor Luzon, that was not well done. Tsck, tsck. I am not at all pleased to learn that you enticed other companies and individuals to move in where I believed I had been guaranteed a monopoly on such resources, poor and insufficient as they appear to be.' Louchard chidingly waggled lateral tentacles. 'Not the way to play the game with Captain Louchard, I assure you.’

‘My dear Captain, I implied nothing. Your dealings, I believe, were with Captain Fiske. Any disparity in what you were promised and what you eventually obtain should be discussed with him.’

‘You will not attempt to confuse the issue, Luzon. I have spoken to Fiske. He says you encouraged him to employ me to… entertain Colonel Maddock and Madame Algemeine, misleading both him and myself as to their actual value in order to indulge a personal grudge.’

‘I deny that. There was never any personal feeling of animosity towards either lady on my part, despite the physical and professional injuries they caused me.

I have simply been using rather unorthodox contacts to force an issue on which I feel the Company has prematurely relinquished their rights. You understand, dear Captain, that the harvesters from the Asian Esoteric and Exotic Company, the shuttle service and other fruits of the publicity I have arranged for Terraform B have simply been in the nature of covering my bets, you might say, in case you failed, as you obviously have.’

‘That's a double-cross in my book, Luzon. I'm going to have to dispose of my passengers.’

No more interfering Algemeine? No more self-righteous Yanaba Maddock? Matthew couldn't conceal his smile as he said, 'You must do as you see fit, Captain.’

Ending the transmission, Yana switched off the shuttle's comunit and the holo-image of Louchard. Sean had stationed himself with the other witnesses beyond the viewfield of the screen and now stepped forward. He put his hand on her shoulder, then leaned down to gently kiss her cheek. Marmion Algemeine and Farringer Ball, only just graduated from the hover-chair, looked extremely grim. Even Dr von Clough appeared vastly upset.

Whittaker Fiske, whom Johnny Greene had summoned from Intergal Station to witness the transmission, was terribly shaken. Clodagh, uncomfortable in the shuttle's space-conserving seat, sat between Whit and Farringer Ball. She handed Whit a square of cloth and he mopped his eyes and blew his nose before speaking in a choked voice.

‘I knew Torkel was wrong-headed about Petaybee and had a grudge against Yana, but I would never have believed this of him if I hadn't heard it for myself.' He turned tormented eyes to Clodagh. 'I wish the planet had done to him what it did to those pirates and Metaxos before he debased himself in this fashion. Deliberately contacting a pirate to abduct all of you!' Whittaker shook his head, unable to look the victims in the eye as he waved at the empty comscreen.

Clodagh patted his hand. 'Your son's been a grown man for years, Whit. You can only raise 'em, not straitjacket them. As far as his initiation to Petaybee, Sean and I shielded you both then because we didn't want you to be blasted like those others. We were wrong, I guess, but we knew you were off-worlders and you didn't understand. We wanted you to have as gentle a conversion as possible so you'd understand how it could be. We didn't want you, or him, to get culled. We should have just let Petaybee sort him out.’

‘I guess so,' Whit said. 'Though that should have been my responsibility. I should have pulled Torkel up about some of his earlier escapades. If he hadn't got away with them he'd never have tried something of this magnitude. But I felt there was good stuff in the boy. I never thought…' He sighed, resigned, his normal ebullience dead.

The others were quiet for a moment, then there was a knock at the open hatch and Adak stood there with Faber Nike.

‘Here's the gent you was expectin', Ms Marmion, come to take you home.' Adak looked up Nike's large frame, apparently satisfied that this man was appropriate for that task.

‘If you will excuse us?' Marmion said to the others. Yana willingly relinquished her pilot's seat to Faber. 'I have arrangements to make for the CIS court to be moved to Petaybee and an incriminating recording to deliver. Faber, the Louchard holo and certain representatives of law and order have a rendezvous to keep with a pirate ship. Oh, and would you all have any use for a spare space-worthy vessel?' Her smile was definitely mischievous as she glanced round.

‘What do you mean?' Yana asked, not certain if Marmion could pull off that sort of stunt.

‘Well, the ship will be forfeit, but I think the authorities might just consider it a just compensation for the inconvenience, harassment, outrage, and indignities of a false incarceration of Petaybean citizens?’

‘You were kidnapped, too,' Yana said while Sean chuckled.

‘Ah, yes, but I have my own ship and Petaybee could certainly profit by having its own navy.’

‘A shuttle and a spacer?' Sean said, grinning. 'I think we might even go into the transport business…" When he heard Clodagh's exasperated snort, he held up his hand and added, 'Of course, there will be a strict enforcement of immigration - to keep the undesirable element from landing on our native soil.’

‘An eminently sensible and honourable career for a piratical vessel,' said Namid, who had been sitting quietly behind Marmion. He rose now and took her hand. 'Return soon.’

She gave him a lingering glance and a saucy smile. 'Oh, I will. I certainly will.' Then she dimpled at Yana and Sean. 'But I'll send the ship back as soon as I can talk the authorities into it.’

‘What do you mean?' Dr Matthew Luzon demanded imperiously of the three officials who had presented themselves at his main office on Potala. 'I'm under arrest? For what crime, might I ask?’

‘Fraudulent misrepresentation, illegal transport licensing, accessory after the fact in an instance of kidnapping’

‘Oh, now come off it,' Matthew said, cutting off the charges with an irate wave of his hand. 'That is utterly outrageous…" He caught sight of his new chief assistant trying to get his attention. 'Well, what is it, Dawtrey?’

‘Sir, they've been through the legal department and the arrest is legal and not a single loophole that can be challenged…’

‘Preposterous.’

‘Dr Matthew Luzon, you will accompany us to the court which has issued this warrant to answer the charges, forthwith and immediately,' the officer in charge of the deputation said in such a pompous tone that Luzon laughed.

‘We'll see about this,' he threatened and depressed a toggle to summon his security staff.

‘Sir, sir, Dr Luzon,' his chief assistant said, pumping his hand in the air with the urgency of a schoolchild in desperate need of relieving himself,' the matter has been seen to, before we'd even permit them to interrupt you.’

‘And?' Luzon stood up, to give the three-man deputation the full force of his imposing stature and personality.

‘They are acting quite within the scope of their duties and you really will have to go with them.’

‘I, Dr Matthew Luzon, interrupt a busy schedule to appear in a minor court?’

‘It's a major court, sir,' the assistant said, 'and Legal says you have no option but to accompany them without protest or…’

‘… A charge of resisting arrest will also be levied against you, Dr Luzon.’

The senior official, expressionless though his face was, did seem, in Luzon's estimation, to be enjoying his duties far more than he had any right to. The very idea that officials could barge into his office, interrupt his work day when he had an entire planet to set to rights, was preposterous. And yet, the atmosphere was rife with barely concealed emotions, almost 'menacing' in the tension.

A discreet tap on his door, which his senior secretary hastened to open, resulted in the view of his entire legal staff, assembled in the outer room. Peltz, the senior adviser, caught Luzon's eye and gave him a quick nod of the head. Luzon took that to mean that they had everything under control and this risible situation would soon be a rather bad taste in his mouth.

‘Very well, gentlemen, if that is the order of the court, as a law-abiding citizen of this galaxy, I submit.' There was nothing at all submissive about Dr Matthew Luzon as he smartly passed his would-be captors on his way to the corridor and to the personal vehicle which should be waiting at his level to transport him.

The vehicle awaiting him was not his personal one but a drab and very official one and matters proceeded downhill with astonishing speed after that.

Nor was he at all reassured to discover that the plaintiff who had levelled these charges against him was none other than the Secretary General of Intergal, Farringer Ball, and that the warrant had originated from Intergal's Petaybean installation.

‘The planet's corrupting everyone,' he shouted as he was led off to a holding cell. The last glimpse he had of his well-paid, highly trained and motivated legal department were their slightly bemused expressions. Bemused at his expense.

Nor was his incarceration in any way mitigated by the fact that he was led past a cell containing Captain Torkel Fiske who was sitting in abject dejection on the spartan bed of the accommodation.

‘Fiske? What's the meaning of this?’

‘Now, now, sor,' said the senior officer hurrying him to the next section of the prison and his own quarters, 'no talking. That's not allowed to prisoners on remand.’

What Torkel Fiske could not figure out was how he had been implicated in the Algemeine-Maddock-Rourke-Metaxos kidnappings. Unless, of course, Captain Louchard had been captured and had taken revenge on what he considered to be Torkel's perfidy by deciding to turn Galactic-evidence to gain a reduced sentence. Kidnapping demanded a fate far worse than death - imprisonment in a space capsule which was then released beyond the heliopause of the local star system with sufficient oxygen to keep the criminal alive long enough to regret both crime and life.

Some took as long as weeks to suffocate, depending on the amount of oxygen supplied, and there was no legal amount specified so there was no way of knowing how long you would keep on breathing. If you were claustrophobic, maybe you went mad first. If you had agoraphobia, the torture would be equally severe. No-one had ever been rescued.

Torkel had managed to get a message off to his father although he wasn't sure if that would do any good. Why, his father might even have told the officials where to find him: Whittaker was scrupulous about obeying the law and Marmion was an old and valued associate.

What Torkel had counted on was Captain Louchard's piratical expertise as well as an ignorance of the Gentlepersons' Agreement regarding being kidnapped. There hadn't been an abduction of someone of Marmion de Revers Algemeine's social prominence in so many years that the Pact was no longer common knowledge. Besides, Torkel would have been happy enough with the abduction of the minor personalities, to pay back Yana, and indirectly Sean, as well as those obnoxious kids. Caveat emptor! Even a pirate should know where to draw the line in dastardly deeds.

Odd, if Louchard was responsible for Torkel's arrest, that there had been nothing on the net reports about the capture of pirate and crew. That would have given Torkel sufficient warning to make for parts unknown and to undergo a complete identity change. He'd some tentative plans made in that direction but he'd been taken so by surprise that he hadn't had a chance to put them into use. He'd opened his door and there they were!

And the complaint had originated not from Dama Marmion de Revers Algemeine but Farringer Ball. That didn't make much sense to Torkel Fiske who had last seen Farringer Ball on a screen at SpaceBase in Petaybee. And the man was physically on that wretched iceberg now. How under the suns had he managed to end up there? Of all places in the civilized galaxy!

The sight of Matthew Luzon also in custody did nothing to relieve Torkel's sense of impending doom and, as if expecting his movements to be shortly confined in a space coffin, he began to pace the cell. Small as it was, he could still walk about it. Three paces up and three paces back and two back and forth… and if he went too fast, he cracked his shins on the hard plastic edge of the built-in bed or slammed his toes against the slab wall.

The Jenny-, now registered as the Curlycom, with new papers and no history before its recommissioning and complete overhaul, made her 'maiden' landing at SpaceBase with a shipment of plumbing units, temporary housing units (though none as fancy as the Nabatira Cubes although adequate for the Petaybean climate), and other 'mod cons' which most inhabitants of the Galaxy took for granted but which sent the happy recipients on Petaybee into raptures. An accompanying note delivered by the captain, Petaybean-born Declan Doyle, newly commissioned and still stunned by his promotion and good fortune, indicated that the shipments had been purchased with the rewards for the return of many valuable and priceless items found on board the ship when she had been stopped, boarded and her crew placed in custody.

One arrival among the others particularly pleased Sister Igneous Rock. It was a collection of texts on the theories and principles behind the application and installation of geo-thermal and hydro-electric power, the English translation from the original Icelandic, dating from several centuries before. Sister Igneous Rock discussed the windfall with Brother Shale, then on every subsequent day, she could be found at the communion cave reading bits aloud and afterwards asking pertinent questions.

‘What do you think? Would that work well here? Could you do a channel here and here, and still meet your other commitments? This wouldn't hurt, would it?’

She kept a log of her research, enquiries and the planet's responses and was compiling a list for Sean, Yana and ultimately Madame Algemeine of equipment that would eventually be needed to assist the planet in its first venture into co-operative technology. Her intense contact with the planet considerably reduced her awe of it, but although it lost its godlike stature as a result, the planet, considering and collaborating with her for the welfare of its inhabitants, never stopped being 'beneficent' in her mind.

The first out-bound voyage was to deliver to the Intergal Station the sixty survivors of the Asian Esoteric and Exotic Company whose unauthorized presence on Petaybee was adversely regarded by Intergal and CIS. Intergal tried to evade the responsibility but Petaybean officials were perfectly within their rights to return the illegal aliens to their previous port of call. Their employers had been notified to collect the stranded men and women.

The in-bound voyage was a joyous occasion, for Petaybean citizens had invited specialists in many fields to return home to provide the skills needed to develop its potential. They came willingly and with songs about how they would help Petaybee, how and where they would live, how well their children would live where the air was clear and clean, if cold, and where they could walk again with pride that they had been born on a world that knew exactly what it wanted.

The official CIS meeting was convened in the architecturally astonishing Arrivals Hall of Petaybee Space Facility - designed by Oscar O'Neill from the bits and pieces which Intergal had not thought salvageable and some remarkable local materials donated by the planet itself. O. O. had terminated his employment with Nabatira Cubes in order to devote the rest of his life to learning about the O'Neill clan and adapting many long-held construction notions to Petaybean needs and materials.

Farringer Ball, looking fit with a winter-tanned skin and now walking without aids, was the Chairperson.

Although he still tired easily, he had obviously recovered his zest for living and banged the opening gavel with a firm hand.

Phon Tho Anaciliact, thoroughly enchanted by what had been accomplished so speedily, was there as the senior representative of his organization.

Admiral General Touche Segilla-Dove had arrived in his impressive gig with his aides and other service personnel since that arm of Galactic Management always had to have a say in such matters. Though, one orbit of his gig, with all its sophisticated sensors and investigative devices, had proved that Petaybee was in fact totally unprotected. One had to discount its navy of one ship and one medium-sized shuttle sporting the Petaybean arms of an orange cat couchant and a curlycorn rampant, both on an ice floe in the middle of what appeared to be a cave. One spacer and one shuttle could not constitute any threat to galactic peace and stability. The planet had only the one space facility if you could find it in the blizzards.

Admiral General Segilla-Dove might not quite believe that the planet was itself a sentient being but its spokespersons certainly were. And if they claimed to be speaking on its behalf after serious and deep consultations, that was fine by him. A planet held to an orbit around its primary - that was a scientific fact - and was therefore unlikely to go about the Galaxy fomenting rebellion and upsetting the status quo.

What he did find exceedingly odd was the bald statement that the planet was listening to every word said in these proceedings and that that was why the walls of the Arrivals Hall appeared to alter in pattern and colour, and why the floor occasionally sent wisps of mist to curl about one's uniformed trouser legs.

The two alien members of the Commission a Hepatode in its globe with the transcorder bobbing up and down the circumference and a Deglatite, shielded from the eyes of the Imperfect by its carapace - were acknowledged by Farringer Ball.

He began by expressing regret that the members of the CIS had been delayed in the performance of this duty by his own physical illness but he hoped they would appreciate the visit to this newest Sentient.

The witnesses were then called, one after another, to give evidence to the sentience of the entity on which they all stood. Clodagh Senungatuck was first and spoke quietly and authoritatively.

Doctor von Clough, who had assisted her throughout the treatment of Farringer Ball and that of the casualties from the South as well as Dinah O'Neill, testified to the tremendous healing potential of Petay-bee. He said, however, that much study would need to be done before it could be determined which elements of Petaybean therapy could be isolated from the milieu and used off-planet. Meanwhile, he would seek permission to transport certain of his patients to Petaybee for therapy similar to that which had been used to rehabilitate Farringer Ball.

Then Sean Shongili, as the resident eco-biologist, delivered his short address in a concise and very reassuring manner.

Colonel Yanaba Maddock-Shongili, co-administrator for, and in the name of, Petaybee, spoke of her experiences with the entity and her knowledge, based on a long and impressive military career with Intergal itself, that sentience came in many forms and this one differed only in size, and could certainly not be assumed to be less intelligent than any others. Namid Mendelsky's testimony was an unexpected bonus, a complete corroboration of all the others had said, but with the additional weight of his scientific acumen and his professional standing in the field of astronomy.

The astronomer had spent every possible minute in the Kilcoole communion cave, conversing with Petaybee.

‘The thing we must all remember about a planet awake barely two hundred years, gentlepersons, is that it is still a baby. While necessarily volcanic in temperament,' he paused for their laughter, 'Petaybee shows unusual gentleness and restraint in dealing with most problems and persons. It had told me that it regards anyone on or anything that happens on its surface or inside of it as an extension of itself, and makes what it feels are the necessary adjustments. It had queried me, for instance, on the physical aspects of the rest of the universe, though the nature of the universe seems to be something it understands instinctively.’

‘Excuse me, Doctor,' one incredulous juror had asked. 'But how exactly does it tell you that?’

‘Six months ago, I understand, it would not have done, which is a sign of how remarkably fast it can respond to certain stimuli. With the current crises caused by the outside threat from the Company and others seeking to utilize its resources before the planet has quite discovered them, the planet rapidly developed a direct means of communication. Its mineral content contains the same substances used in storing sounds for reproduction in computer equipment. The planet has always absorbed the words of those who speak within its walls - it stores the words and, like a baby, regurgitates them as echoes at what it deems to be appropriate times. Sister Igneous Rock and I have been having daily prolonged conversations with the planet, and like any child, its vocabulary and communication skills have grown as a result. Local people have always gone to these inner spaces, they say, to include the planet in the seasonal and critical events of their lives. It should be noted, and you may question them on this matter, that when Colonel Maddock and her companions carried small talismanic bags of Petaybean soil gleaned from the inner caves, they felt not only psychological comfort, but also some form of telepathic communication with the planet. This is not hard to imagine, given the telepathic links between humans and animals, animals and other animals (as witnessed by many in the incident involving the Asian Esoteric and Exotic Company on the Southern Continent), and occasionally, as in an earlier incident, plants, the planet and human and animal agencies. Such links are so close that I personally am led to agree with Petaybee that, in fact, everything that comes within its atmosphere is part of the life of a highly complex and diversified organism consisting not only of minerals and elements, but of every living thing that comes in contact with its surface. This tremendous telepathic linkage and the need for "adjustment" of initially outside organisms to the planet are why Petaybee has at times had such a devastating effect on some humans. Perhaps in time this will be modified. Anything is possible.’

‘Anything is possible?' asked one of the more literal-minded jurors. 'Is this all there is to your theory? Have you no more definite conclusions?’

‘I have, as well as recommendations that I think the Petaybean inhabitants will agree with. The planet has infinite potential beyond anything I've ever seen, experienced or heard of in my career. However, it is a growing, developing entity and it must be nurtured and encouraged in finding its own best uses and values. New immigration must be monitored and numbers controlled so as not to overwhelm the available resources and, most particularly, so that newcomers to the planet can become properly acclimatized and adjusted without harmful after-effects.’

Admiral General Sevilla-Dove was inclined to believe Mendelsky, though the opinion was not exactly what he had expected from an astronomer. But the Admiral General had noticed how the mist seemed to thicken on the floor when the locals spoke. And the air in the Hall also was fragrant with scents he only barely remembered from his childhood.

This meeting was really only a formality and Farringer Ball whacked the gavel that made the whole thing right and tight in just under an hour and a half, the Admiral General noted.

Then the formal meeting was thrown open to specially invited guests and a meal of finger foods, accompanied by a local drink called 'blurry', were handed round in celebration.

The 'invited' seemed to be everyone on the planet, which might explain why the Arrivals Hall on a barely terraformed iceball in the middle of nowhere was as large as it was. For certainly people were not thronging to visit, or even vacation, on Petaybee in numbers that would require such a massive facility.

Then a gaggle of musicians took their places on the dais where Farringer Ball had officiated. Their music was subtly enhanced in a fashion which kept one of his aides, who was musically inclined, trying to find out where the accoustical augmentations were hidden. The Admiral General waited the customary courteous hour and then made his farewells.

He did spend a few minutes congratulating the Shongilis on their officially acknowledged status and he hoped that the planet would prosper. (How warm air could be blown up trouser legs securely tucked into his boots, Sevilla-Dove did not know, but when it reached his crotch, he was surprised and… relieved.)

The fact that his aides also had experienced unusual physical pleasures did not impinge on his feeling that he had been specially singled out for the attentions.

The Admiral General and his aides were the only members of CIS who did leave. But then they wouldn't have understood how important today's songs would be. The Hepatode and the Deglatite might not have been able to eat or drink but they each found a corner from which to watch the curious antics of the Petay-beans.

Marmion had arrived sometime during the investiture and had much to regale her friends about certain 'loose ends' she had seen tied in appropriate knots prior to her return.

‘Macci was all but skint, despite his excellent salary with Rothschild's,' she told Yana, Diego and Bunny. 'Actually, it was Charmion, of all people, who found out that he's a gambling addict. He gambles for and on anything that anyone will take book on. And you know how some species regard betting as the only honourable form of entertainment. He was so deeply in debt that when… oh dear, it was Dinah again who made the contact… how is she?’

‘Much better. Remarkably so, in fact. Except for her hair, which she calls her new platinum blond look, she looks as good as she did before the cave - better in fact. Happier, certainly. Any place else, people would resent her but apparently in Tanana Bay she's a bit of a celebrity, and thoroughly enjoying it. Chumia says she is writing a great song about her pirating days and how Petaybee got the best of her. And men who want to replace Namid are turning up on the doorstep from as far away as Katmandu, but Dinah doesn't seem too eager to go rushing off. I think she enjoys having family near too much and having the chance to find out who she is without always having to scramble for something. I'm sorry I couldn't keep my word on the safe passage I guaranteed her and her crew, but I did tell her all along I couldn't speak for the planet.’

‘What happened to all of them was no fault of yours, Yana. It was a direct result of being who and what they were. In spite of everything, it was the good part of Dinah's nature that preserved her.’

‘The planet as the ultimate character-building experience, eh? I suppose so. Still, a bit rough at times,' Yana said. It wasn't so much that she felt any remorse towards the pirates as that her own honour was important to her. Dinah seemed to bear no ill will, however, arid Yana had quite forgiven her now that she was so changed. 'Muktuk and Chumia are even letting her hunt on her own these days. So Macci was the victim of his own excesses?’

‘And willing to clear a few debts by leading us into danger.' The set of Marmion's lips suggested that she wasn't quite as forgiving as Yana. 'Pies, I'm relieved to say, was totally innocent. Her only sin was wanting to show him off without investigating his background thoroughly. Though how he managed to delude the Rothschild Personnel Bureau is a matter under the strictest scrutiny, I can assure you. Asian Esoteric and Exotic Company is having all its activities investigated to see if there have been other ecologically unsound "harvests". It's been quite exciting, really. But I'm so glad to be back here,' and she tightened her hand on Namid's arm. 'If you simply have to stay and talk every day to Petaybee, I guess I'll just have to ask permission to immigrate.’

‘Oh, we'll have to enquire if that's possible,' said Sean with a very serious expression.

‘Sean!' his wife chided him. And then he laughed, giving her an affectionate kiss on the cheek, and grinned at Marmion and Namid.

‘As if we dared take Namid away from his educational duties with Petaybee!' Then he pointed. 'Ah, the best is about to begin.’

After the custom of latchkay singings on Petaybee, Buneka Rourke accompanied Diego Metaxos to the dais.

‘Diego has a song to sing,' she said with more than her customary dignity and the assembled Petaybeans settled down to listen.

Diego's song was different from any other Petaybean song. It was neither a chant nor an old Irish melody with new words but a tune all his own, with Irish and Spanish influences and the beat of the Inuit as well, but also hints of the music of the other peoples of Petaybee and parts beyond. It spoke of growth and change, pain and discovery, the pain that had accompanied the awakening of the planet, the near-death of his father, the actual deaths of others, the cost of too much change too quickly to Petaybee, but how good a thing the change could be if it altered someone as it had Dinah O'Neill. And lastly, it spoke of his fear of change if it meant losing Bunny. He concluded with a hope that he could be like the planet and let the changes awaken himself and his beloved to lives limitless in possibility for adventure and love.

There was a chorus to this song, with its repetitive theme of change and growth, and on every chorus, the voices of the people were joined by another voice, a big, melodious, joyous voice that contained all of theirs in a resonance of its own.

The 'around' echoed particularly long and happily throughout the rest of the latchkay.