Freedom's Landing

Chapter Twelve

They were so well organized, and Mitford harangued so effectively, that the "indigenous personnel', as he referred to them, were served hot, revitalizing drinks from a hastily erected camp kitchen before the sun was halfway up the sky and, later, sandwiches for lunch. The newly awakened were kindly advised to stick to water at first and then slowly chew down a third of a ration bar: gorging on empty stomachs led to unpleasant reactions.

Mitford had immediately sent the medical crates - all but one tester kit - on to Camp Rock with news of this new drop and a request to Worry to send Leon and other medical assistance. The Catteni had broken a few bones of those they had slammed down so hard. Some of the new lot would have to be accommodated at the Rock, as people were beginning to call the cavern camp, almost affectionately. Kris felt considerable gratification at the thought that Leon would now be able to treat Coo, Pess and the pregnant female and to keep the newly arrived Deskis healthy.

By the time the first batch of flfty moved slowly out on their way to Camp Narrow, Mitford had taken Kris off wake-up duty and put her onto debriefing: getting names, occupations, origins, and lastly but just as importantly, what they might know of recent events - recent to them - on Earth. The mere fact that people were resisting the Catteni continued to boost morale. Today's encounter on the field also ranked as a major plus.

"Getting something out of the Cats without having to pay for it," was the happy summation.

When she took a few moments to eat her lunch, Mitford approached her for a synopsis of her findings.

"So far the humans I've got originated from North America, Canadians as well. Then there seems to be a whole raft of English, French and German. Resistance', and she grinned, "is increasing and the Catteni have had to call in reinforcements to deal with stoppages and sit-downs and all kinds of passive movements. There's also active sabotage, too - blowing up Catteni supplies or shipments destined for Catten or Barevi." "Shipments? Arty things?"

"Not that I heard.

Somehow, Sarge, I don't think our artistic tastes would parallel Catteni.

"Hmmm. Possibly. Any useful professionals?"

"Two Canadian dentists, nineteen teachers - it seems the Catteni emptied a private school for one reprisal.

They took…all the girls away," and the words came reluctantly out of her. "Some of the teachers are nuns.

They resisted the kidnapping. One said she had had her arm broken. It looks a bit crooked, and I can feel the excess calcium where the break was but basically it's completely knitted."

"A long time coming here, then. What do they use for this stasis junk?" Kris shrugged as she flipped over her sheets to pick out the more interesting occupations. "Five hairdressers, two masseurs, a reflexologist "A what?"

"Makes your feet happy.

"Argh."

"You should try it, Sarge, it can really relax you!"

"I said useful occupations!"

"How about two chemists, five pharmacists, a structural engineer, nineteen housewives, three with kids still attached, and…you know, there's not a single person over fifty among those I've talked to."

"Don't give me nightmares," Mitford said.

"Two jewellers, three ex-soldiers and a detective inspector." She came to the end of her report on the morning's interviews.

It took the rest of the long Botany day to process everyone.

Zainal talked to the new Deskis and sent several up to watch for fliers but Mitford felt that, having disassembled the garages, whatever mecho summoned the fliers had also been disabled, but he was quite willing to post sentinels, "just in case' Three hundred and two dead were left on the field.

Some could be identified by others who had been captured with them at the same time so their names were recorded.

Kris had to look away from the small bodies of the children.

Those under five could not endure the stasis.

Their deaths, so needless, so terrible, distressed her.

"You never knew them," Zainal murmured to her when he saw the tears in her eyes.

"No, and no-one will now.

She turned away, fighting with the fact that Zainal was Catteni, too, and a member of the species who had caused the deaths. She told herself flrnly that Catteni or not, Zainal had done all he could to help and certainly he had been able to reduce unloading injuries. They should also give thanks that he'd been able to ensure just one drop site. Even Mitford's talents as an organizer would have been stretched to mount multiple rescue operations and get everyone undercover before the scavengers emerged from the night ground.

Zainal touched her arm gently. "We go now. Night falls."

"Yes, it does," she said, heaving a sigh against the stresses of the very long day in which she had been going all-out most of the time.

The rescue teams were somewhat cheered by the hot meal awaiting them at Camp Narrow. Having so many barns available for housing since the resident population of the Camp was only a few hundred - made the difference between total chaos and mere confusion. Many of the newly arrived did their best to help, either settling their injured comrades, or lending a hand with the chore of feeding the multitude.

Leon and his medics had set up an infirmary for the injured and the weak. Kris saw Zainal and Leon examining the contents of the tester kits, Zainal carefully translating the properties of the various vials to the doctor.

Since there were a number of totally frightened aliens in that category, Leon had Zainal stay on to translate. Slav could at least reassure members of his own species who, Kris noticed as she ate, seemed quite cheerful. They were certainly inspecting Slav's weapons and even trying to pull his bow, hissing in the Rugarian equivalent to laughter.

Several of them were females which might account for Slav preening as much as he did. She hadn't really thought about how the other species would manage, either in relationships or propagation. If what was dropped on a planet stayed down, at least mating would be possible for all five species. Except Zainal. She put that exclusion to the back of her mind.

Mitford was everywhere, encouraging, detailing jobs, trying - it seemed to Kris watching him from the corner of the kitchen barn where she had wearily slumped - to make himself known to all the Terrans. To her surprise, she even heard him speaking a few words of German and French to representatives of those nationalities. She knew French well enough to tell that his usage was rudimentary, but he was trying. And the folks responded with a little more hope in their manner. Then she saw Aarens, hunkering down by a very pretty girl and chatting her up in what sounded like extremely fluent French. She was clearly flattered and, as clearly, recovering from the shock of the journey. Aarens, who wore a vest of many pockets and a belt of tools including an assortment of screwdrivers of all sizes, was making her laugh.

"Come," and Zainal held out a hand to her. "You sleep.

Tomorrow is another day." Grinning at his unwitting use of the famous Scarlett O'Hara phrase, she extended her hand and let him haul her to her feet. She couldn't help but notice that many eyes followed them out of the barn. Maybe she should paint "one of the good guys' on his forehead. Then she ffinched, remembering her own recent and less than charitable thoughts. But she'd been tired and upset when she'd thought them. And she'd had the grace not to voice them. She was even more tired now and where on earth was Zainal taking her? Halfway to the Rock? He turned her in at the last barn which, she noted, was relatively empty. Others were already sacked out - or would that be strawed out? She giggled.

"Soft bed," Zainal said when he had gently herded her to the far corner where a huge mound had been carefully prepared.

"Oh, thank you thankyou thankyou," and turning, she just let herself fall backwards into it. She was faintly aware that Zainal was tucking her against his body and then she was out for the count.

She and Zainal both drew debriefing duty the next day, she with humans and he with the various aliens. As they were in the same barn for that job, she saw how he handled the different species: the forty Deskis with dignity, the twenty-nine Morphins with a cool, diffident manner, and the thirty-eight Turs with a sharp, very Cattenish delivery. Slav had been handling contact with his own species of whom there were sixty. Since there were over eight hundred humans, there were five other debriefers besides Kris, three of whom could speak other languages: German, French and Italian.

Late that afternoon, Mitford called a meeting in the garage of the Welcome Committee and his aides to organize the dispersal of the huge addition to Botany's population. Worry and Esker had made the trip over from the Rock, Tesco and the Doyles who were in charge of Camp Narrow were on hand, and Aarens was conspicuous by his absence. She'd last seen him breakfasting with a half-dozen girls.

Kris was amused to see that pieces of mechos were doubling as stools while the carcasses, in various stages of dismantlement, had been pushed back to allow enough space for the meeting. She noted the veritable snow of sketches, diagrams and drawings that were tacked up on the walls and hung over different worktops which were littered with components being reused.

Mitford made a point of having Zainal sit on his right while Slav was on his left.

"First off, folks, I'd like to say that we owe a lot more to Zainal here than we can ever repay. He got us nutrients that'll keep our Deskis alive and tester kits so we won't have to risk poisoning to find out what is edible. He got," and now Mitford held up the folder that the Catteni captain had passed to Zainal, "the "official"

- , and he paused for a sardonic grin, "survey report on this planet. You will be glad to know that we're on the biggest of Botany's four continents, the temperate one.

Zainal's translated the report and, frankly, I don't think much of the exploratory team that landed on this world.

Neither does Zainal."

"Nice to know the Cats aren't as great as they think they are," someone said. "No offence, Zainal!"

"None taken,' Zainal said with a cheery wave and a bland expression on his face.

"Zainal will summarize the report to us. Floor's yours," and Mitford sat down, gesturing for Zainal to stand.

"The report says that the planet has good air to breathe, good water to drink, and the…green plants - grow, so plants for other worlds can - - - grow well, too. True. The report says two…

Cats.. and Zainal's use of that nickname in a pejorative tone of voice elicited grins from his audience, "disappeared one night. Guard saw movement but did not go see.

He thought men go to leak." Zainal might not be obviously trying to ingratiate himself, but he was couching his comments very cleverly indeed. "Not found anywhere. Guard tells of strange movement.

This planet has dangers. Two more are not seen so all sleep inside." "Ah, c'mon, Zainal, how'd they miss the garages and these barns and all?" Esker wanted to know.

"Sensors look for live flesh and ship lands in cold season." Zainal shrugged. "Sensors register metal but not much for…" He turned to Kris, "those who work in ground "Miners."

"Miners, and no special metals needed by Catteni."

"Some of those mecho alloys are very special indeed," Lenny Doyle said, "very special."

"I agree," Zainal said, "but the stupids on survey do not know. Take dirt, water, stone samples, and flesh of rock-squats, avians, loo-cows and critters they find on other lands, but…they do not see trees for forest." Ninety laughed aloud at that. "Attaboy, Zainal." Kris had been watching reactions and, of all there, only Dowdali and Tesco didn't seem to respond in any way to Zainal: they just sat there, eyes on the Catteni.

Kris wondered from their attitude if they even believed what he was saying.

"What about winters here, Zainal?" Lenny asked.

"Report of - - -" he frowned and turned to Kris, "what falls from skies, wet, cold, solid but…runs like water from sun "Snow.

"Ah, snow."

"Deep snow?" Lenny asked.

"Not when here. Oh, hand wide," and Zainal held his big thick hand flat, thumb down, to indicate the depth.

"That's deep enough."

"Longer day than Catten, longer y) "How long?" "Report says," and now he held up four fingers, then all five and flnally two.

"Oh Lordee, that's longer by three more months.

How're we going to feed twenty-five hundred plus all winter long?"

"Find more silos and start breeding rock-squats in captivity," Mitford said. "Anyone volunteer to farm rock-squats?"

"Hell, Sarge, don't take the fun out of it for us hunter types," Worry said plaintively.

"Say, Zainal, how long did this team of surveyors stay on Botany?" Zainal looked down at the report. "Twenty days.

"Hell's fire, we've surveyed better than they did, haven't we?" Ninety said, laughing.

Zainal tapped the sheets. "This has tests done which Leon and Joe Marley need. Useful. Some plants deadly."

"Tell us something we didn't find out the hard way," Tesco muttered.

"That'll help even at this date," Mitford said. "Now, would you mind telling us about your conversation with the Catteni ship captain?" Zainal's wide lips twisted briefly in mild contempt.

"Not captain. Below captain. One step."

"His exec?" Mitford suggested.

Zainal shrugged. "Emassi may command, even Emassi who is drop.

They obey. Good habit. They do not believe mechs. Do not wish to believe what is not in report." He gave an amused snort. "They will.

They also debrief." He shot a glance at Mitford. "We will see."

"Yeah, but they won't see any mechos if they do a fly-by now, will they, since we've disabled them all," Ninety said, almost querulously.

"So?" Zainal asked. "We are here. We can use mechos.

Next time Catteni drop, different story. I do not stand," and he imitated his cross-armed stance at the bottom of the ramp, "and wait." "You'd attack one of your own ships?" Ninety asked, surprised.

"Why not?" And Zainal regarded Ninety with amused condescension.

"A ship useful when mechos return next year to collect."

"You mean, you'd mount an expedition to follow them to their home system?" Kris asked, amazed by his intention.

Zainal nodded. "Be very good to see who farms whole planet."

"Hell, I'd be scared out of my wig," Dowdall said, regarding Zainal with interest. "Wouldn't they be a bit much for you by yourself?"

"You come with me?" "Me?" Dowdall was surprised and then he grinned, rather nervously, back at the Catteni. "Man, if you're willing to go, I guess I would be, too."

"We have six airline pilots now plus two retired NASA mission specialists," Kris said brightly. "Maybe we could Boy, I'd just give my eye-teeth to be in a first contact group."

"No eye-teeth left," Zainal told her with a big grin.

A rather odd silence followed that remark which made Kris blush though no-one was actually looking at her.

"A lot of us here would, not just those NASA blokes," Worry said, breaking in. "But I think that's down the road a while. You didn't happen to find out if they're going to dump more people on us, did you?" he asked wistfully Zainal shook his head. "Not the question to ask. Captain takes orders. Low captain. Not smart," and he held up one big hand, rocking it as he had seen Ninety do. "You Terrans make trouble, get put here. Simple." He grinned in what Kris took as approval. "Terrans make big trouble for Catteni." His grin broadened.

"And you like that?" Tesco asked, an edge to a voice that was louder than it need be.

"Yes, I do," and he jerked one thumb at his own chest, "other Catteni do not!" And he shook his head.

"Good on you, he added, "to make big trouble. Makes Catteni think." Worrell guffawed out loud. "Good on you, Zainal, too.

Couldn't be cast off with a nicer bloke."

"So, we can expect more?" Mitford said, not entirely pleased with that prospect.

"Believe so. But…" and Zainal held up his hand, "maybe report changes minds. Maybe.

"But don't count on it, huh?"

"And the Cats would let us take the rap from the creatures who own this planet?" someone at the front of the garage asked in a sharp voice.

"Possession is nine-tenths of the law," Kris said emphatically, having caught the hostile tone in the murmured comments around the garage. "We're here and we're obviously going to stay "Catteni are not the highest. We take orders, too," Zainal surprised everyone by saying.

"From those Eosi you were telling me about?" Mitford demanded, scowling, his body tense.

"We work for the Eosi who own most planets good for humans, Catteni and others. You do not want to meet them," Zainal said, shaking his head.

"Oh yes I would if they're the ones responsible for this whole schtick,' Mitford said, his scowl black.

"That's what we heard back on Earth at any rate," Worrell said.

"Not that we saw any Eosi on Earth. Just their mercenaries." He grinned. "We'd made the planet a little too unsafe even for the occupying forces."

"And all this time I thought the Catteni were our enemies?" Dowdall said, trying to digest the information.

"While they're just hired hands."

"Now you know," Mitford said, scowling.

"How come we're only finding out about these Eosi now?" asked Dowdall, shooting an accusing glance in Zainal's direction. He wasn't a man who liked surprises.

Zainal grinned. "First I have no words. Second you do not ask.

Do not debrief me. The Doyles and Worrell laughed and Dowdall, now no longer quite as hostile towards Zainal, managed a weak grin.

"Eosi make good use of all peoples, Zainal said. "Very clever species." "Then let's take all the heat off Zainal," Kris said. "Let's make the bad guys the Eosi and spread the word." A second thought struck her and she hurried on. "Do you speak Eosi, if they came to investigate this place again?" Zainal considered that question. "If report goes high enough, I think they send but not Eosi. High Emassi.

But I do speak with Eosi." He didn't much like to, either, Kris decided from his expression.

"So, do we wait until some high muckymuck reads a report sometime this century or what?" demanded Tesco.

Zainal looked briefly at Mitford who nodded and took over the reply to Tesco.

"We do as we have been, what we can with what we have. If a mecho ship comes to look Botany over, we grab it if we can."

"And go where with it?" Tesco asked sardonically. "Not even NASA got beyond Jupiter."

"I take ship. I am space captain," Zainal said, "but will need crew." "Well, that's a great idea but how'll you do it? If you Cats don't know about the species which farms this planet, how would you know how to pilot one of its space ships?"

"If ship has living pilot, we make pilot take us back," 33' Zainal replied, not at all confounded by the snide query.

"If mecho, it will return to base: that is what it is made to do.

We ride on it."

"And then what?" Tesco demanded surlily.

Zainal shrugged. "First, ship has to come here. Where there is much. - - Yankee in-gen-oo-it-tee." Kris let out a laughing cheer, seconded by some of the other Americans present.

"Those of us from Oz aren't that bad in the make-do line either," Worry said staunchly.

"Which ship comes first, then we make plans. Right?" Zainal said and turned to Mitford who stood up again.

"That's it, Zainal, right on the nose. So, listen up, folks. We gotta get the latest recruits settled in and let "em know the score.

Worry, you call a meeting at The Rock as soon as you get back and tell "em what happened. All patrols are to make housing their priority, so hunt out some more garages. We'll need to get ready for the next group. I'll get on the blower to Shutdown and BellaVista," and he glanced fondly down at the comunit attached to his belt. "We might even claim Botany as ours! And the hell with Eosi or whatever."

"Long live King Mitford facetiously.

Mitford's expression turned sour instantly and he waved an angry finger at Lenny.

"Can that sort of crap, Doyle. I'm no king nor want to be.

Anyone else wants to carry the can on this planet, they're welcome to it!" He glared around him and no-one doubted the sincerity of his wish to step down, but no-one offered to take over either.

"Ah, I was kidding, Sarge," Lenny said contritely.

"You're doing great.

Lenny Doyle said "I'll second that," Worry spoke up, lifing his hand to raise a cheer. Which was unanimous.

"Well," and Mitford was only partially mollified, "I didn't ask for it but someone had to organize you sorry collection of individuals."

"Which you have done admirably," Kris said. "No-one else could have! So relax, Sarge."

"Ahhhh," and he made a mock swipe at her and then his expression cleared. "Is there any of that beer left?" The moment "beer' was mentioned, Kris noticed that the tension oozed out of the air. She was willing for a few pints herself until she saw Zainal edging towards the door. With the general movement and shifting in the room, she slipped out after him.

It was full dark outside, no moons up yet. She could see Zainal moving across the light shining out of the next barn door, left partly ajar.

"Zalnal," she called softly, knowing he could hear an even softer whisper. She saw him pause, saw him stride out a few steps, and then she ran to catch up with him, catching him by the arm. "Don't you dare run out on me, buddy!" He strode on, making her half-run to keep up.

"Do they still not understand? We Catteni are not our own masters.. . either!"

"No, I don't think they did understand. I certainly didn't.

"We do Eosi - - dirty work. Explore for Eosi, fight for Eosi, police for Eosi, kill…" and that word came out violently, in great repugnance, "when killing needed.

People hate Catteni. They better hate Eosi!" The pent-up outrage within him had carried them well past the barns now and into the openness where the meat crates had been stacked.

"I didn't know that, Zainal. I think it will be easier for you when everyone else does."

"I do not ask easy," he said, angrily whirling towards her, a dark shape, his grey skin making him almost invisible in the shadows.

"Yeah, but you don't need hate. And there are, I have to say, a couple of people "Couple? More than couple. Couple only two, yes?"

"Yes, perhaps, but they are stupid people who don't like anyone not just like they are. So let's make them hate the real villains, the Eosi. Catteni have to take orders, though it never occurred to me you guys were taking orders from anyone." She paused, trying to sense if she was saying the right things. "So what are these Eosi like that they can command tough, big, brave Catteni?"

"They "and there was more to Zainal's pause than a search for an appropriate word. For the first time she sensed fear from him. "They are brains…" and he tapped his forehead, "who know. - - every thing.

"Brainy know-it-aIls," she began, with laughing irreverence and he caught her hands.

"Do not laugh at Eosi until you have met one.

She caught the tremor in his hands and heard it in his voice.

"You have?"

"Yes, as a child, I go with father to be - - examined by Eosi." He inadvertently squeezed her hands so hard, it took a great effort not to cry out. The examination must have been a painful process if his response to the memory of it was this fierce.

"You passed?" she asked, more curious than ffippant.

At that, Zainal straightened his shoulders and stood more erect.

He probably hadn't even noticed that he had been unconsciously contracting in on himself.

"I am Emassi. We speak to Eosi." Then she could see his teeth, whiter than his skin even in the shadows he stood in. And he was not smhing.

Kris thought of the Cabots and Lodges of the old Boston proverb.

Well, it was one way of shaking off the aura that Zainal's fearfulness of the Eosi had put into the atmosphere around them. But that chain of command did explain why the transport captain didn't dare ignore Zalnal.

"Maybe no-one will come to Botany and we won't have to worry about Catteni or Eosi or even the mechos' makers," she said, soothingly.

Zainal snorted. "No, they will come. The Eosi will send high Catteni." He paused a moment, evidently considering what he had just said.

"And the mechos will send their representative and they'll come together in a head-on collision and leave us to get on with our lives." She spread her hands wide and then banged both fists together, knuckle to knuckle. "Poof! They all disappear in a cloud of smoke and that's that!" He had her in his strong hands then and she was being lifted up a few inches off the ground so that they were eye to eye. He was smhing now"Is that how you wish it?"

"Sure, why not? The wheels of the universe turn in mysterious ways," she said, airily bending several aphorisms to her purpose. "Terrans will make so much trouble that the Eosi will have to give up on our planet. Or better yet, the Catteni will get a dose of the smarts and start collaborating with the irresistible Terran forces and go out against the Eosi domination and free the entire galaxy! You do come from this galaxy, don't you?"

"We do." He sounded cheerful again. Then his expression altered as he looked down at her. "You like this Catteni?" he asked, "this Emassi, this Eosi speaker?" She swallowed for she picked up on his sudden uncertainty.

"Yes," she said, trying not to sound as eager as she was.

Catteni wouldn't scare off easily, or would th? One kiss, a few hair touslings.

"I go slowly, like Jay," and he grinned. "You are not like Patti Sue -" "I should hope the hell I'm not."

"But you will have heard things about Catteni - - - "I know you, Catteni Emassi Zainal," and she jabbed a finger at his chest so hard she nearly bruised the tip.

"You're the one I worry about."

"You worry about me?" and if the notion pleased him, it also amused.

"Why, they could have shot you where you stood yesterday morning.

My heart was in my mouth the whole time."

"You worry about me?" He caught her by the arms, picking her up as if she were no more… weighed no more than…than a Deski, her legs dangling.

"Yes, you great lummock. And with me you don't need to go slow.

I've been hoping you'd make some sort of a move on me for the - - He kissed her then, and the mere touch of his lips to hers was the catalyst for a storm of emotions within her, emotions and sensations that coursed up her veins and bones so that she had to fling her arms about his neck to be sure she wasn't reeling.

But Catteni don't kiss, she thought irrationally along with some other more sensual observations. His lips were firm and he seemed to know exactly how to kiss with great effectiveness. Oh, Lordee, but of course he'd seen Joe and Sarah exchanging affectionate kisses in the evenings. Oh, Lordee, but he'd learned fast.

With one arm pinning her to him, his other hand made short and devastatingly accurate examinations of her body. But he'd said, back in the ffitter - oh, ages ago - that he hadn't tried a Terran before.

That was when she'd had to deck him. She wanted to deck with him.

"Catteni are good lovers," someone else had told her more recently.

Well, she was going to find out, like real soon. She wriggled a bit to get some space and shoved her hand into his coverall to feel the sexily smooth skin she had admired during his illness.

He murmured against her lips and then began to move off, taking great eager strides to wherever he was hauling her. Wherever could he be taking her? There was so little privacy to he had in any camp and Kris wouldn't have thought they could find a secluded spot in a place currently jam-packed with bodies, but Zainal seemed to know exactly where he was going. Had he planned any of this? Then he altered his stride, grunted as he climbed up and over and into something metallic.

By the smell she knew it had to be one of the reconverted mechos she'd heard about and she was now being laid down in the load bed. On piles of blankets. Oh, they were in one of the reconstructed air cushion vehicles that had collected the stores from the drop field.

She didn't think about much after that because Zainal's hands, gentle for all their size and strength, were peeling off her coverall and she was trying to do the same with his, only their hands kept getting entangled.

"Always you must help - -" he said on a laughing note.

She threw her arms over her head. "So you do it. Nor did he waste time. He had hauled off her boots and shucked her out of the coverall in seconds. Then she saw him, a grey blur above her, as his hands pushed back her hair and his fingers outlined her face, in such a gentle, tender, loverly fashion that her senses were overwhelmed.

Who'd've thought a Catteni could behave like this?

She felt him lean into her, carefully, as if afraid to crush her body with his mass. One other fact about Cattenis sprang to mind: they were big! She could feel that he was, too. And she had a pang of fright.

"I do not hurt you," and his voice was no more than a hoarse whisper. "Not you, Kris. Do you believe? I go slow, slow, slow.. ." and she could feel the pressure that was slow oh, much too slow.

She squirmed, trying to force herself down and him in.

She heard his gasp, but he would not accede to her whispers and kept up the slow penetration until she was moaning for completion.

Never in her albeit brief experience at this sort of dalliance had she been so eager to accept all a man could give. Not even with Brace Tennemann and she'd thought he was the best-looking man on the football team in her sophomore year.

"You go too slow, Zainal," she cried, again trying to pull him as close as his fir'my propped arms would let her, kissing whatever part of him was in reach, sensuously caressing the marvelous skin of his body.

"Slow makes it better," he said, his tone rippling with laughter, possibly with delighi at her urgency. "Slow is better for me, too." And slowly he continued his seduction of her willing self, until she was so strung out with the incredible sensations he was producing that she wondered how she could survive the climax. Then it came over her, and him at the same instant, for they cried aloud in the same instant: cries of joy and immeasurable elation.

Just when she felt she could stand no more of the exquisite relief, it began to ease, and she was able to feel the shudders still rippling through him. They were both gasping for breath and he fell to one side of her, limp with such a massive release.

"You go that slow the next time, Zainal, and I'll kill you," she murmured.

"Slow is better for you and very, very good for me," he said, almost smugly but his hand, running softly down her body, expressed his tender concern for her.

"This is going to be an equal opportunity partnership, buddy," she said. "I get to call the pace now and then."

"Oh, do you?" To her total astonishment, he moved to cover her again.

"My God!" Where did he find the energy so quickly?

He chuckled in her ear. "Like the thorns of Barevi, it doesn't take a Catteni long to re-arm."

"Oh, my God!"

"No, 0 boy, 0 boy, 0 boy?" he asked teasingly.

"No, man, 0 man, 0 man!" She paused, taking a deep gulp of breath.

"I think we…do…it your way again.

Please!" Emassi Zainal was only too happy to oblige.

Sometime during the night, Zainal moved her back to her assigned sleeping place, clothes and all. She grinned when she woke up and found herself discreetly clothed, her boots at the side of the straw mound she was occupying.

Zainal was, it was true, on the other side of her, but beyond him were Joe and Sarah, much as they had bedded down all together during the patrol. It was very considerate of him to think of her reputation: if, indeed, he had given it a moment's thought in the midst of last night's ardour. She was, when she stretched, quite sore, despite his go-slow policy, and understood precisely why most human females would have felt terribly violated by their treatment in Catteni hands. But it does indeed depend on the man! Catteni or human!

Someone was moving outside in the aisle, rattling each barn door in turn to rouse the residents. Another Botanical day was starting.

This one was filled with sending people on to BellaVista, Shutdown or the Rock. The word was that Camp Narrow would concentrate its efforts on recycling the mechos, so those with mechanical skills or technical training would be based there. Now that they had the two vehicles, they could collect what they needed from the other garages, including "body' parts to make more useful vehicles. More comunits were being assembled and more mobile carriers made out of existing chassis.

"Not speedy, but they sure do manoeuvre the obstacles," Lenny told her at noontime. "Some of these lads are really clever," he went on enthusiastically. "They figured out how to short circuit, or whatever it is you do with programming chits..

"Chips, then, how to keep the versatility but give control to the driver. Clev-ver!"

"Indeed."

"They don't have much speed which the lads are still trying to improve "Personally, I'd rather not ride over this landscape at speed," Kris said.

Lenny just grinned. "You've never done it." Kris went back to debriefing, but was called over to help Mitford and his aides figure out where best to place the remaining recruits.

"How long does it take a person to become the "indigenous personnel"?" she asked Mitford at one point. She was finding it necessary to shift position a lot to ease her soreness. But it had been worth it. Zainal smiled a lot today as he went from one group of aliens to another.

"Huh? Oh," and Mitford grinned, leaning back to stretch his arms and ease his shoulder muscles. "Here, let's just say until they have to help a new batch in-flow. Say, tell me about this seaside building your patrol found?"

"There's not much to tell. It was closed up tight even though Zainal tried every which way to get inside. Maybe the fish aren't running."

"I do like sea food. Like clam chowder, too," and Mitford for once sounded a little wistful. Kris was rather pleased that she was audience to that mood.

"With one of those air-cushions, we could start at dawn and be back by nightfall with a sack of clams," Kris suggested.

"You could at that. If Dowdall hadn't interrupted just then, Kris was sure they might have been given a go-ahead on such a luxury run.

But the vehicles were more urgently needed for other tasks.

On the third day, she, Zainal, Joe and Sarah escorted an air-cushion car, carrying some of the less able recruits on their way to BellaVista via the Rock. Worry greeted Zainal and the others effusively from his office.

"Your patrol needs to hunt for us," he told them, "and you're to break in some of a mixed bag of the new blokes and sheilas. The Rock's going to be Supply Depot for meats and green groceries.

"Mixed bag?" Kris asked.

34' "Too right, since you've got Zainal and he can speak Deski, Rugarian and Turs."

"Oh, that kind of mixed bag," Kris said. If they had Turs to train, Zainal was the right teacher.

"We also need you on short day-trips," Worry said more confidentially to Kris. "In case of you know what?" And he tilted his chin skyward.

"Oh, in case we get surveyed again," Kris said, looking at Zainal who now sported a comunit.

Mitford expected to be back at the Rock the next day but he'd had a private word with Kris.

"Keep pretty close to Zainal, will you, Kris?"

"Why?" she'd asked, glaring at Mitford.

"I don't want to lose our most valuable alien asset. "You won't lose him."

"Not by his choice, I don't think," and Mitford gave Kris a searching look which she returned without a blush.

He nodded, as if he knew more than he would conirnit to words.

"He's emassi and can deal with Eosi…I guess they permit emassi Catteni to speak to them. We might need him badly to deal, for us, with these Eosi.

That is, if one of them ever does see a report on this planet."

"Zainal is sure they'll send some sort of emassi, higher in rank than he is. Eventually," and then Kris realized she'd reassured the sergeant on the very point that concerned him.

"There's a lot more going on, on Earth, on Barevi and Catten, than any of us knew," he went on.

"That's for darnn sure," Kris said.

"Just so's you know I'm counting on you, Bjornsen." She gave the sergeant a level look, noticing the new lines around his eyes, the muddy look in the pupils from the many problems he was dealing with.

"You can count on me, Sergeant, she said and this time, she did give him a formal salute.

He grinned as he returned it.

They were still bunked in the Mitchelstown cave and the possessions they had left behind were untouched. Fresh coveralls and pairs of boots had been added to each shelf.

Seeing these, Kris and Sarah voted on a dip in the lake so they could wash themselves and their coveralls, since they now had fresh ones to wear. Not that the coveralls showed any of the hard usage they'd been given over the past five weeks.

A youngster, not one of the rookies, caught them before they left their quarters.

"Kris Bjornsen?" he asked, looking from Kris to Sarah.

"Yes," Kris said.

"Dr Dane wants you to come speak to him. When you can. It's not urgent, he said."

"Tell him we got his message and will see him shortly.

And what's your name?"

"I'm Buzz," and the boy grinned to show two missing front teeth, "because I buzz abojit the place like a hornet.

Mom says I'm too noisy to be a bee and there aren't bees on Botany anyway. My real name's Parker but I don't like it at all."

"Buzz is a grand name for an active boy like you," Kris said and smiled back at him. "See you around."

"You will," he answered cheerfully over one shoulder, already "buzzing' off.

Leon wanted to report on some of the findings now that he had test kits. The information would be invaluable to any hunting party since Leon and his assistants had been able to identify other nutritionally rich plants, berries and nuts.

"We've put some of the younger members of the Rock out looking for these," and he tapped the nut-like shells.

"I've seen them in quantities around here. And these berries are rich in C and A." He pointed to some of the green globes that Joe had thought might be digestible.

"We're trying to dry them for storage. I know you hunter types would prefer to go for the meat but these can be just as important to a properly balanced diet."

"Can we see Coo?" asked Kris.

"If you can catch him," Leon said drily. "That stuff was magical on all the Deskis. I'm keeping a real close watch on Murn, the female.

Even Pess is back on duty.

Thanks, Zainal." And Leon gave him a comradely clap on the arm.

"You saved their lives, you know." Zainal merely flicked his eyebrows up but Kris had a sense that he was not as diffident as he appeared.

Leon was obviously of the same mind.

The Rock was full again. That seemed as it should be to Kris.

Furthermore, many more of the indigenous personnel waved or smiled at Zainal when they met him.

They hunted the next day, returning home laden with rock-squats and another loo-cow, since Bart and Pete in the Cheddar wanted to roast one whole to show the rookies that it could be done and that the meat was tasty.

They hunted the next two days, in different directions, and spent part of the day picking the nuts and stripping the branches of every berry-shrub they located.

"We'd've had more," Sarah said with a jaundiced glare at Joe Marley, "if more had actually landed up in the sack!" Joe merely raised his eyes in innocent surprise. Oskar guffawed aloud as he handed over a heavier sack than Joe's.

They did not hunt the next day, although that was the plan. Just past third moonrise a sentry excitedly stamped into Mitchelstown cave and called out Zainal's name.

"Yes?"

"You gotta come. Something's about to land. Not as big as the others but big enough," and with that, the man ran out.

"Wake Worrell," Zainal called after him.

"That's where I'm going," the man cried over his shoulder and was told to keep his bloody voice down as he proceeded down the corridor to Worry's quarters.

"All come," Zainal said, pushing his large feet into his boots.

The sentry's arrival had awakened everyone but they hadn't moved to dress. Now they did. In a hurry. But when Joe and Oskar reached for their spears, Zainal stopped them.

"No use against Catteni hand-weapons and shows bad faith," he said.

"Who do you think it is, Zainal?" Joe asked before Kris could.

"Catteni. And early even for them." It was two-moon time, so the night was bright with them, and clear. When they went up to the height with Worrell in tow, they could see the approach of the ship, its running lights twinkling.

"Small, fast ship," Zainal said. "It is heading for that field, I think," and he pointed to what was the nearest expanse, a twenty-minute hike from the Rock.

"They know where we are?" Worry sounded upset.

"Life-form readings," Zainal said succinctly. "They an effort to relax completely as he listened to what know where transport landed. The Rock shows many people."

"Not dumb. Well, these Catteni at least," Worry said and started down from the heights. "No offence intended, Zainal."

"None taken," was the easy answer.

"Maybe we should let them wait long enough to discover the scavengers?" Joe suggested slyly.

Zainal only grunted but Kris thought the notion held a certain charm for him as well. So it wasn't surprising when Zainal neatly sling-shot a rock-squat fast asleep on a boulder and hauled it along with them as they traversed the rocky hillside.

The craft had landed long before they reached it. An open portal spilled light onto the stubble of the field.

Light didn't attract scavengers: it repelled them. Just outside the illuminated area, Zainal casually dropped the rock-squat.

"How long does it usually take?" Joe muttered.

"Longer near light," Zainal said and continued on his way to the ship.

It was a sleek one, Kris saw, and looked like it was meant for speed and manoeuvrability with its swept back wings and tapered nose.

But it was a large affair, not as big as the Challenger had been nor the Enterprise, but a fair size - three, four times the height of Zainal and about as long as a Boeing 727 but much wider.

Zainal halted right in front of the door and cracked out sharp Catteni words.

Instantly three Catteni filled the doorway, one of them striding down the ramp towards Zainal. Watching his face, Kris saw his eyes widen for an instant, in surprise, she thought, and his right hand, which she could see, briefly clenched into a fist. Then he seemed to make was said.

"My report cause trouble," he said to the others in a brief aside before spitting out more Catteni phrases.

The officer, for that's what Kris decided he was, was of high rank, to judge by the excellent fit of his tunic and the complexity of insignia on his collar and cuff.

Zainal didn't seem in awe of him, or even respectful, unless Cattenis always snapped at each other: sort of like the English who are scrupulously polite to people they do not like and continually insult their intimate friends.

The Catteni language sounded as if it was composed of growls, grunts, gutturals and fricatives, without a single mellowing vowel.

However, it might only sound vicious.

You'd think the Chinese were cursing each other until they smiled and bowed so politely "There is other trouble," Zainal said after a spate of raw staccato noise. "With Terrans and with Eosi." Now he grinned malevolently…at least his mouth looked malevolent in proffle.

"And " Worry prompted.

"I am drop. I stay drop. He say it is duty to come. I say I drop, I stay. His loss, your gain." Then he turned his grin on Worry, and Kris thought his look was as mischievous as if he was holding some kind of a royal flush in his hand in a high stakes poker game.

"Ughh," Sarah said suddenly, moving closer to Joe.

Zainal looked over his shoulder and so did Kris, so they both saw the first tentacular strands of a scavenger feeling its way out of the ground to encircle the dead rock-squat.

Zainal said something and stepped aside for the captain to see.

Although the tentacles seemed to avoid the lighted area of the body, they gleamed slimily in the shadows.

Strips of the squat animal noticeably disappeared at an ever increasing rate as the scavenger decided its victim was tasty.

Then Zainal held out his comunit, pointing to various elements of it, patently displaying irrefutable evidence of alien artefacts that had been recycled. That elicited a surprised exclamation from the captain and the other two Catteni who bent closer to see the device.

For one moment, Kris was afraid Zainal would let them have it.

That was when Kris thought Zainal began his own demands, for the captain shook his head vehemently at first but, as Zainal became insistent, he seemed to relent and ask questions of his own to which Zainal replied with a quick shake of his head or an affirmative nod.

Then the captain said something to one of the others who went off, down the blue-white lit companionway to the bow of the ship.

The captain continued his interrogation. Some of his questions Zainal answered. Others he shrugged off, impatiently or irritably or with an amused, superior expression.

The messenger returned with a handful of print-outs, some crumpled. The captain barked at him and, with a startled and penitent look, the man hastily reassembled them in good order before passing them over to the captain, who glanced down at the first sheet before he gave all to Zainal. Zainal immediately passed them to Worrell.

"Maps of this world from space," Zainal murmured.

"Show mountains, metal deposits, other data. He does do not want to give." Kris could see that only the sternest self-control kept Worrell from peering avidly at the material.

Zainal now stepped back from the open portal but the captain followed him a step or two, managing sharp and penetrating glances at the indigenous personnel, as if determined to store their faces for future reference. Kris did not like that scrutiny though it gave her a chance to identify this Catteni as another emassi like Zainal with his fine, almost patrician features. With his gaze still on Kris, the captain asked a short question. Zainal answered with a sort of supercilious expression on his face. Shock registered on the other man's face and he gave Kris a second startled look.

"I tell them you are very smart Terrans, all of you, and I am proud to be in your patrol, Kris."

"Thanks a peach skin, Zainal." If this fellow ever landed on Botany and started looking around for her, she'd make herself very scarce. He must blame her for Zainal's decision not to "take up his duty' Then his look turned "knowing' and sly. He said two short words.

So fast that his movements blurred, Zainal shot out a fist and decked him, ignoring the weapons which the other two immediately almed at him. He stood back, arms crossed on his chest - old Stoneface while the captain, waving aside the guards, got to his feet, rubbing his jaw.

"Nice to know he gets a bit of his own back, Worry murmured to Kris. "What'd the bloke say?"

"How would I know?" Kris muttered out of the side of her mouth but, from the look on the captain's face, she also decided to get into the act. Zainal had given her the clue - he was in her patrol. She gave Zainal a stern look as if he shouldn't have retaliated. "Now wasn't that a half-ass thing to do when all we have to defend ourselves with is slingshots?" she said to Zainal in as imperious a tone as she could muster, as if telling him off. Which she was, since the drawn weapons had scared her badly. She'd seen them in action and the charge they propelled jerked every nerve in a body unless you were lucky enough to be knocked out first.

"Worth it," Zainal said but he made a subservient nod of his head at her and, stepping back slightly behind her, crossed his arms again.

The captain asked one more question, his tone almost plaintive as he rubbed his jaw.

Zainal gave a "that's impossible' sort of hitch of his shoulder.

The captain said something else, more briskly now, waving at his two subordinates who moved off into the body of the ship. With a very respectful salute to Zainal, and a crisp but equally respectful bow to Kris, the captain stepped back into the ship and the portal slid shut, putting them in a darkness lit only by the one remaining moon in the sky.

"Hey, couldn't they leave the lights on until we got safely off this field?" Sarah cried.

"Stamp as you go," Zainal said, turning and trotting away from the ship, coming down hard every third step.

"You'll tell us what we couldn't understand?" Worry asked, trying to pace Zainal but his shorter legs were unequal to it.

"I will." They were safely away from the ship when it raised vertically, as the transport had done, and then gathered speed in an ascent angle.

"VTOL! Wow!" Joe said. "Do all your ships have that capacity, Zainal?" He mimed the action.

"The ones that land, yes. Biggest, stay above," Zainal replied and continued on.

Stamping, even every third or fourth step, jarred her tired body, but every time Kris felt herself slacking off, she thought of the slimy look to the scavengers' tentacles or feelers and that reinforced her step. They reached stony footing and, as one, leaned against the safety of the nearest rock.

"That last bit he said, before you socked him," Kris asked firmly.

"Socked him?" Zainal asked.

He wasn't temporizing because she realized "hitting' and its synonyms might not yet have come up m conversation. She demonstrated.

"In Catten women lead only other women," Zainal said.

"But special…ah, rank of women do command even Emassi."

"Why did you hit him?" Zainal's lips curled in a snarl before he answered. "He put a bad name on you. A wrong name."

"Thanks, but didn't you take a chance? They might have shot us because you hit their leader. That sort of thing got you in trouble before, you know." Zainal grinned, pressing his thumb against his chest.

"The trouble is mine. I do not "sock" to kill so the others do not fire. They only…how do you say…" and he crouched, reacting with his hand standing for, the weapon.

"Reflex action?" Joe suggested.

"Hmmm," Zainal said although he had not quite understood the tem.

"Let's leave the subject of Kris's honour aside," Worry said.

"Why did you want these?" He was unfolding the sheets. "Can't even see what they show in the dark."

"Maps of this planet from space to tell us where we are.

Where to go. Where…" and now he paused, frowning, unable to find words to use, "where biggest garage is."

"Really? Had your blokes found it?" He shook his head. "Show where metal is. A very oh, funny?

No, not funny." He struggled, turning to Kris to help him out.

"An anomaly?"

"How in hell would he understand "anomaly"?" Worry asked.

"Oh, hush, I'll explain it. An anomaly is something that should not be where it is. A deviation from the normal. A queer difference."

"Ah, yes." Zainal became quite agitated. "That is it.

More metal than good to be there. Many places. Lots of metal.

Not right metal. Anomaly…hmmm," and he almost tasted the word.

"Something that is different."

"They didn't want to give you these maps?" Sarah asked, also trying to discern details from the print-out.

"No."

"They wanted you to go with them, didn't they?" Kris asked pointedly.

"Yes, they said all was OK', and his grin was broad with malice, "to come home. More than one day. Catteni drop me here. I stay here.

They cannot make one rule for me, because I am useful to them, and one for other Catteni."

"Man's got a sense of honour, so he has," Joe said in mild surprise.

"Why not?" Kris snapped back.

"Why not indeed," Joe said in a placatory fashion.

"Why didn't you go, when, you could? What was the duty they want you for?"

"Emassi duty," and Zainal's voice turned inflexible.

"Too late for that duty now. Once I wanted that duty. Not now.

Much has happened. They drop me. I stay drop."

"Dropped," Kris said automatically.

"Dropped. Funny language, English."

"You're not the first to think so." "Nor will I be last," and he grinned in the night at her.

"So," Worry said, "they wanted you for a duty you no longer feel, you need do?"

"Right. No-one believes what I told transport men about mecho makers."

"So that's why you showed him the comunit," Sarah carried on, "because he knows what supplies came with us and that certainly wasn't included."

"Right," Zainal said.

"So you showed him and now they will have to believe you," Sarah went on, "but why wouldn't they believe you?"

"I dropped," and he emphasized the final d of the past tense.

"So now what?" Kris asked, worried.

"We wait. We see."

"And if the Eosi come before the mechos' makers?" "Not Eosi but someone higher than "Zainal jerked his thumb upwards indicating the late captain. "We wait.

We see."

"I don't like this," Worry said. Then the comunit he wore at his belt bleeped, a curious intrusion in the night.

"Worrell here…Oh, Mitford. Yes, Zainal did make contact with the spacecraft. Here," and Worry handed the unit to Zainal. "He shoulda called on yours." The conversation was one-sided but since everyone listening knew what had happened from Zainal's point of view, some of his responses were amusing, though possibly not on Mitford's end, or in the middle of a cold night - and Kris was beginning to feel the chill in the air. Finally Zainal gave a series of "OKs' in response to Mitford's instructions, depressed the "off' button and passed the device back to Worry.

"He knows. We know. We say nothing," Zainal informed them.

"Say nothing?" Worry exclaimed. "The whole camp got wakened by that damned sentry rousing you and then me.

They'll demand to know.

Zainal shrugged and struck off up the next tier of rock.

"False alarm, that's what we'll tell them. It was a false alarm.

Ship just flew over," Worry went on.

"Wrong time of night to overfly anything," Joe suggested, climbing behind Worry. "Moons went down early."

"Nonsense," Kris said firmly as she followed Joe, Worry and Zainal. "We tell the truth, or how will they trust us?"

"Good point," Sarah said, starting up. "We want to build trust, not destroy it."

"Say nothing," Zainal called down to them. "Smile and say nothing. Sarge will tell them what they need to know." "He's got a point there," Worry said.

"One thing puzzles me," Joe said, spacing out words as he climbed, "why your survey didn't tumble to the fact that this world - well, this continent at least - is all carved up into neat fields? Surely they must have seen the anomaly in that…a clear indication that this planet was, had been, cultivated?" Zainal answered. "Loo-cows and rock-squats not smart so planet is not occupied! They do not "see" the machinery." He added a plainly derogatory phrase in the harsh Catteni.

Then they all had to save their breath for climbing.

When they reached the Rock, only the sentries were awake, as they should be, and Worry brushed off their questions with a "Nothing to worry about. Tell you in the morning, I'm bushed."