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Jindigar was about to suggest that they transpose the key when voices erupted
outside. One female Dushau voice rose above the others in clear Standard. "You
can't go in there'! That's a consecrated Temple, don't you understand! You
shouldn't even be--"
Jindigar leapt to his feet, as everyone else started to move. He thought he
heard the rumble of a human or Lehiroh man's voice, not a sound he'd ever
heard inside the compound. Krinata was the only ephemeral allowed this far.
"I can't do that," answered the Dushau as Jindigar crossed the Temple floor
and approached the front door, realizing it was Trinarvil defending them. "The
Oliat must not be disturbed "
He identified Storm's voice this time. "Jindigar will be furious with you if
you don't let me speak to his Oliat. You don't know what's just happened "
Jindigar wound through the curved entryway and emerged onto the porch of the
Aliom Temple beside Trinarvil, the Oliat hanging back in the shadows behind
him, Krinata at his heels.
"What has happened?" asked Jindigar, ignoring his fatigued numbness.
Storm answered from the ground in front of the porch where he stood surrounded
by six nervous Dushau who had closed in to escort him back out to the gate.
"The Gifters laid eggs in the Cassrians' hatching pond, and their grubs ate
Cassrian eggs, leaving a rotten mess that killed the other eggs. The
committees had the lab create a fungus that kills the Gifters' eggs but not
Cassrian eggs or hatchlings. It was supposed to stay in the pond; only
tonight, they found a mutated version of that fungus growing on the corn
sprouts. It killed corn even faster than it killed Gifter eggs. Jindigar,
without the corn Lehiroh and humans won't survive next winter. We're too low
on vitamin supplements."
And where will their fungus spread next? Scanning the group of Dushau
gathering around them, Jindigar asked Trinarvil, "You knew this?"
"Yes, but Jindigar's can't cope with it."
Krinata, a trained ecologist, muttered, "I'll bet it was, a native phage that
invaded the fungus and turned it."
Jindigar glanced around, agreeing with a gesture. Darllanyu, hidden back in
the shadows of the tunnel entry, asked, "Are ' we going to have to work this?"
Zannesu reassured her. "We can't------------- "
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She shook that off. "If we must we must." Every one of them, despite the tight
adjournment, knew that she held the vial of pensone in her hand like a
talisman. "We can't abandon the colony at such a moment."
Eithlarin possessively edged closer to Zannesu but did not contradict Dar.
At Trinarvil's behest two Dushau Outriders moved to escort Storm toward the
outer gate. In a sudden decision, driven perhaps by the long hours of tedious,
fruitless effort of the last few days, Jindigar called out, "We'd like him to
wait in the debriefing room. We must discuss this."
Trinarvil looked at him as if he'd gone into Renewal mad-
ness, and he thought she would overrule him. But she sighed and went after the
group around the ephemeral intruder. "I'll go get a Historian to let us in.
Wait."
Jindigar turned to his Oliat, leading them back into the Temple. "I don't want
to convene and search the colony's situation, but I think we must interview
Storm. The debriefing room is the only place in here where we can talk
comfortably. I don't want to go into the outer court."
"Jindigar if we have to..." repeated Darllanyu.
"Don't be too quick to become a martyr," he cautioned, but inwardly admired
her courage.
"I want to come with you," said Krinata.
"Not necessary. I can talk to Storm."
Venlagar offered, "Llistyien and I can come too. Zannesu and Eithlarin could
stay with Dar."
It was too logical to be argued with Center, Receptor, Emulator, and Outreach
teaming to deal with the external while Inreach, Protector, and Formulator
dealt with the internal. Standard practice. Why urn I resisting? He didn't
know, so he said, "Come, then." But we are not going into the field again.
They dressed against the growing evening chill and went over to the debriefing
room, which was now lit with the new candles that gave off a better light for
Dushau eyes. Two apprentice Historians stood guard over the equipment while
Trinarvil watched Storm sitting nervously on the end of one of the couches.
Seeing Jindigar, Storm rose.
Jindigar waved him back to his seat and perched on the edge of an instrument
panel opposite him, adopting an informal, friendly tone. "I couldn't invite
you into the Temple. But I'm glad you came."
"I didn't want to come into the compound at all I know you don't like it. But
they wouldn't deliver my notes to you I knew they weren't getting through."
"If they had," he admitted brutally, "I doubt I could have responded. Things
have not been good for us."
"I figured they would have told me if you'd Dissolved."
"Krinata would have come." If she survived. "Now tell what has happened. Every
detail."
The trained observer rendered his report in crisp, terse, factual sentences
that elaborated on the summary he had given before and ended with a message
from Terab, sent both as friend and committee executive. "She said to tell you
that unless some Dushau can help, before the colonists all starve, they will
storm the Dushau compound even the inner one. I don't believe that, Jindigar,
but she said I was too out of touch, working for you. She says you have to
come and talk to them."
Terab knew as much about Renewal as any ephemeral, except perhaps Krinata. She
knew what she was asking.
He looked around at the room, still ready for him to resume work with
Threntisn. But there was nothing they could do until the Historian recovered.
In sudden decision Jindigar stood, summoning strength from somewhere deep
inside. "Right now, then." He wasted no energy dissuading his officers from
accompanying him, and Storm, as always, had anticipated their needs. The [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]

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