Darrell Bain Read online

  My three other crewmembers and I ran out into the open and dropped beside the two wounded women. We began dragging them back toward the ship. It was an effort, and they couldn't help much. Besides being exhausted, they had thought they were being left behind and were on the verge of complete hysteria. And just then the remnants of the marines from the left flank came running up.

  Juan was among them. He grinned at me though a face so dirty and smeared with blood I hardly recognized him. I breathed a sigh of relief to see him alive—but it lasted only a second. Two laser beams converged on him at the same time and cut him in two.

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  CHAPTER TWENTY-NINE

  We got the rest of the ones who had been held by the Snappers aboard not long afterwards. I moved mechanically, trying to blot that last awful moment with Juan from my memory while we moved on back into the ship, making room for the marines who were still coming in. There weren't as many as had gone out and some of the wounded were being helped by others, but the mission had been successful. As soon as the last marine was aboard, we took off.

  Thirty-two captives had been freed for the loss of one of our exploratory vessels and 20 dead marines as well as a number of civilians. Some might think it wasn't a good trade, but goddammit, those fucking miserable Snappers needed to learn not to mess with humans. That was what we began calling them, Snappers, after the partial resemblance of their heads to the duck-billed platypus but with the bill turned into a toothed beak. That, and the sound the beak made when it clacked together. We didn't know if it was a language or not.

  I never saw Smackers again. I don't know whether he was killed or simply lay where he had been curled up and was taken captive. I couldn't make myself care and I doubt if anyone else missed him either.

  After everyone was aboard, the two ships left the planet and headed out of the system. Once we were well away from the planet, they met so that we could compare notes in person and distribute the remaining crews more equitably. And most of all, decide on what to do next.

  * * * *

  After we were in space I stayed in my stateroom for the next 24 hours, refusing to speak to anyone. It was hard to make myself believe that Juan was gone. It happened so quickly, so nightmarishly, and right when I thought he was safe, that it didn't seem quite real. And of course there was no question of recovering bodies, not with plenty of aliens still available to fight. Also, both captains wanted to get out of the system as soon as possible so as not to get caught by an alien ship arriving on what was clearly a colony world of the Snapper empire.

  At noon the second day after the battle on Swavely there came a knock on my door, sounding faintly through the tight seal. I guess I hadn't heard the bell. I was sitting in my chair and staring at a framed picture of Juan he had given me a couple of weeks before the fight. He was smiling gently like I had seen him do on all the occasions after we'd made love. I had asked him about it once and he told me he was smiling because he enjoyed making love to me more than any woman he'd ever been with. A tear left the corner of my eye and trickled down my cheek. Shit! Why? Why him?

  The knock came again, more forcibly this time. I sighed and got up and went to the door. I opened it and there were Kyle and Jeri. I stepped back, more in surprise than invitation to enter, but they both came in.

  "We heard,” Jeri said, her voice soft with compassion.

  I stared at her for a moment then the next thing I knew she was hugging me and I was bawling my heart out, wetting her shoulders with my tears.

  She let me cry for a few minutes, then moved me over to the couch and made me sit down. She and Kyle unfolded seats from the wall and sat with me.

  I rubbed my eyes and started to get up and fetch a hand towel but Kyle held out his handkerchief and I took it instead.

  "Thanks.” I sniffed again, wiped my eyes dry and blew my nose. “I don't know what came over me. I don't usually break down like that."

  I didn't, really. And I hadn't loved Juan, not with that deep abiding passion of someone who means the universe to you, but I had been extremely fond of him and it was certainly moving toward that kind of love before he died.

  "Sometimes crying is good for you,” Kyle said. He gazed off into what would have been a far distance if we weren't in a confined room. I thought he was probably remembering some lost comrade in arms from one of the wars he'd been in. Somehow that made it easier for me to accept the fact that Juan was gone.

  "I guess so. I'm glad to see you two made it out of the ruckus. I thought about you."

  "That's nice to know,” Jeri said gratefully. “I'm just sorry I couldn't gauge the Snappers’ intentions and been able to prevent it, but their thought processes are too weird. Strange, because they have brains and metabolisms somewhat akin to ours."

  "That's in the past, sweetheart,” Kyle said. “Mai, if you think you're up to it, Gordon could probably use a little consoling. He's feeling kind of down right now because he wasn't allowed to participate in the rescue."

  "He shouldn't feel that way,” I said. “He's too important to risk in a gun battle. Laser battle, I should say."

  "Some of both,” Jeri said, “but he still thinks he should have done something more. Even after I told him I had been in the same position as him, it didn't help."

  "Where were you?"

  She smiled wryly. “With General Haley. He was making damn certain I didn't go out on my own."

  "Maybe you should get the general to talk to him."

  She rubbed her chin. “Might help. I hadn't thought of that, but it's you Gordon respects more than anyone else in the ship. Besides, General Haley's kind of busy right now. Listen, we didn't come here solely to commiserate, although that was certainly one of the reasons. The other is to tell you that there's a general meeting of the officers from both ships this evening at seven here in the Galactic. We have to decide where to go from here."

  "And I'm invited?"

  "Your presence is requested, along with Gordon,” Kyle said. “Go see him and drag him to the meeting, forcibly if you have to. We need him there. We need both of you there. It's going to be in the big conference room."

  I took a deep breath and let it out. “All right, I'll talk to him. In the meantime I'll offer you some Jack Daniels Black Label if you'll stay for a while and tell me what you've been doing since leaving Earth."

  Kyle checked his watch. Jeri didn't need to. All the Crispies have a built-in time sense and retain it even after converting to human.

  "Okay,” he said. “I can't resist a shot or two of Blackjack. We can stay for a while."

  * * * *

  The Zeng Wu had had six definite and another dozen possible star systems on their itinerary while on the way to Swavely, after which they were to begin searching for Cresperia. The six definite systems were those where new compound telescopes on Earth had spotted what they believed to be Earth-like planets. The others were possibilities. They hadn't discovered any other intelligent species, but had found two planets where it appeared that humans could survive and live, if not very comfortably. And one that was pretty nice.

  "Of course we can't be certain until humans have lived on them for a while,” Kyle said. “It might turn out that there are long term consequences, like lack of vital trace elements in the soil or conversely, too much of certain substances. However, we left a satellite at each one, claiming it for the United States and England."

  I smiled for the first time since Juan died. “The diplomats are going to say you've been naughty. Space should be for everyone, not just some nations."

  "Too bad for the diplomats. We're the ones who took the chances; we get to claim the prizes. And one of those planets really appears to be a prize. If Jeri and I decide to colonize one day we might go there."

  "How about the others?"

  "Hmm. Some danger. Jeri would say a lot of danger.” Kyle looked at his wife and winked. She smiled back at him.

  "Like what?"

  "The fauna is big, fast and sma
rt. We lost several marines by underestimating a couple of the things. And the climates aren't that great. But all in all we thought we'd done a good job up until Swavely. Damn it, I still feel rotten about letting those devils get the jump on us."

  "They seemed so friendly, though,” Jeri said.

  "Yeah. We're still trying to decide whether it was that particular gang or if it's a species trait. Jeri believes it's the nature of their species to take every advantage they possibly can by any means they can."

  "Do you know that for sure, Jeri? No, that's not right. What I meant is why do you think that?"

  Rubbing your chin looks stupid on some women but with Jeri it's an attractive trait. She did it again.

  "Cherry, it's kind of hard to explain. Sometimes I get what the psychologists call hunches but it's more than that. I think what I'm doing is assimilating a whole ream of data and putting it together subconsciously. Eventually I believe I'll learn to use this ... talent, if that's what it is, more productively but for now, let's just say I'd bet a whole bundle of whatever you'd like to name that I'm right. Which means that one of our ships must return to Earth and give warning. Now that the Snappers know we're roaming around in interstellar space, they're going to come looking for us. Especially after mopping up one of their outposts."

  "Captain Bronson didn't allow our astronomers out of the ship, other than right near it, so that there was never a chance they could be captured,” Kyle said. “Unfortunately, they dragged some information about Earth's location out of one of our crew. Not the exact coordinates, mind you, but they got enough data to enable them to find us eventually if they look hard enough."

  While we talked I had gotten out the liter of Jack Daniels that was still half full and made drinks for all of us. I needed it but had been wary of drinking alone, fearing I'd give in to self-pity and over-indulge. Now I sipped the hundred proof whisky gratefully. It was diluted only by some ice cubes and I got on the outside of the first drink quickly enough to make my head buzz. It was soothing. I should have had one the day before.

  Jeri raised her brow as I nodded. She poured one more round and returned the bottle to the cupboard where it was stored.

  I followed her motions. She winked at me. “It wouldn't do to show up at the meeting on wobbly legs, would it?"

  "Umm. Guess not. So what you all are saying is, one ship has to go back home to warn Earth."

  "Yup. That's a definite,” Kyle said. “What we need to decide now is who goes back and who goes looking for the Crispies."

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  CHAPTER THIRTY

  Kyle and Jeri stayed long enough to finish the second drink before leaving me to myself. I think they decided silently that I was back on track and I'm sure they had other calls to make. Jeri was helping to heal some of the wounded with her perceptive sense.

  "Thanks for coming by,” I said when they got up to leave. “I hope you come along on the hunt."

  "Then you're thinking of staying with the Galactic?"

  I blinked. “There's no question of going back until I have to, whether on the Galactic or the Zeng Wu. The job's not done yet despite our losses. I'm ... not ashamed of grieving for Juan, but I shouldn't have let it affect my duty.” Then I had a thought. “You're going to come too, aren't you?"

  "Oh yes, if we're allowed to,” Kyle said. From the expression on his face I wouldn't want to be the one who told him he couldn't. It was set in stone.

  "We'll go,” Jeri said, her countenance matching her husband's.

  "Great!” I said, and meant it. I really did like them. If there was such a thing as a “perfect couple,” those two fit the description. One day I hoped to be part of a marriage like that.

  They left a few minutes later and I headed for the shower. I needed one. Mentally, if nothing else.

  * * * *

  Captain Becker and General Haley, or Captain Haley I should say now, were meeting together privately while I was talking with Kyle and Jeri; or maybe while I was showering and washing away some grief. I put Juan into a special place in my mind where I could go back and remember him later when it wasn't so painful, and got back to work.

  The two captains made a number of decisions before the general meeting that weren't subject to argument. The first and most important was the resolution to send Zeng Wu back to Earth as soon as the crews were sorted out. The second pronouncement was to ask for volunteers to go back with the ship and if there were enough to fill all the necessary positions, then all the rest who desired could go on with Galactic in the search for the Cresperian planet.

  One problem wasn't quite that simple. Which Crispies should go and which stay? Or should they all go? That impacted me even before the meeting because after I had freshened up I went looking for Gordon.

  I found him just where I thought he would be, in his stateroom.

  "Hello, Cherry. Come on in,” he said with a notable lack of enthusiasm.

  "Hi, Gordon. Why the long face?"

  "You know why."

  "You forgot to pack spare underwear?"

  He tried to hold it back but finally he chuckled. Not loudly, but it was a start.

  "You know why. I wasn't allowed to fight. I feel like a fool."

  I cocked my head and raised a brow. “Have you suddenly become invulnerable?"

  "More so than those poor marines who died. Damn it, I could have helped!"

  "And you might have been killed, too. And suppose Kyle and Jeri hadn't made it? What would we have done then?"

  He sighed. “Oh hell, Cherry. I know all the intellectual arguments. Yes, I shouldn't have been risked, but it still doesn't make me feel any better. Sometimes the best solution isn't as good as it looks on the face of it. How can I face my brethren on Cresperia when they know I—"

  I held up my hands to stop him. “It's not your brethren you're worried about. It's the other men on the ship, isn't it? You don't feel as manly as them, do you?"

  He held it back for a minute while he thought. Finally he spoke. “Yes. If I'm being honest with myself, then that's what's bothering me. Damn it to hell Cherry, even the women—"

  "Now hold it right there, buster. Don't let your hormones run away with you. That kind of attitude might have been valid 50 years ago but all it does right now is make you look small."

  He got up and walked around the room, back and forth, back and forth, while I waited.

  Finally I broke the silence. “You do realize Jeri wasn't allowed to risk her life either, don't you?"

  He stopped pacing and stood facing me. I felt sorry for him, especially when I realized I'd probably have felt something akin to shame in his position, too. I went to him and put my arms around him. “Hush. It's okay. You're a good man, Gordon. Your time will come. Want me to tell you when?"

  "I wish you would.” He sighed.

  "How many other Crispies are there back on Earth?"

  He thought. “Several."

  "And where are they?"

  "One in America. Two in England.” He stopped talking and began thinking.

  I finished it for him. “And at least one in the Islamic Confederation, and at least one each in India and China. Perhaps a couple more in South America. What's the chances of smuggling them out of Iran or China without some help from a Crispy?"

  "Very little."

  I waited for it sink in.

  "I'll have to help if I go back. Sira couldn't do it with the IC, not being a woman."

  "Correct. That is your chance for derring-do if you insist on being a hero. Personally, I think you'd be better off staying safe and trying to advance our technology, but some of the higher-ups on Earth are going to want to grab your brethren, sure as shooting."

  "You really think so?'

  "I do, if for no other reason than we can't afford to have them in the hands of nations who are enemies of America. Now let's take another subject. You think eventually we're going to find your home planet, don't you?"

  "You know me too well. I haven't said so
in so many words because I didn't want to disappoint if it turns out I'm wrong, but yes, after putting all the data together that was milked out of me and Sira and the others after the Zeng Wu left, I think it's a good possibility. If not on this voyage, then the next."

  "And I'm sure you expect everything to go smoothly when we do contact them?"

  A slow grin spread over his face, then abruptly disappeared as he got the point. His hazel eyes widened.

  "No chance of that. We're a conservative society. It took roughly forever before we began exploring space and it's only the young Crispies who are interested. The corollary is that once they learn what it's like to become human there's going to be a giant schism in our society."

  "That's not all, Gordon."

  He thought for a moment. “It may even lead to war or something akin to it. Oh shit, Cherry. The aliens! What if they find Cresperia before we do? They'd be helpless! We don't have any warships at all!"

  "None?"

  "Not a single one. Oh, the exploration ships, what few we have, are lightly armed, but they're designed for defense while down on a planet. Besides, it's likely none would be there when the Snappers arrive. They stay out a long time and what worlds they find with life are thoroughly explored before moving on."

  I thought about that. It made sense for a species like his. They are effectively immortal and their society changes very slowly. Between us and the Zeng Wu, I thought we'd probably already explored almost as many worlds as they would have. And now if humans found them, they'd not only have to deal with us but with the threat of an inimical species as well.

  "How do you think the Crispies would take the idea of an interstellar war?"

  "Badly. And with humans trying to convert them ... oh shit, Cherry, it's going to be bad news any way I think of it."

  "And that's not all, Gordon. Suppose India or China has built a ship and gets to Cresperia before we do and talks some of them into converting to human males? Without knowing the consequences of the Y chromosome, most of the conversions would probably go bad. Just think of people like Ishmael loose on your world."