The Stones of Nomuru

"I can, honorable sir; but what about your satrapsas?"

"I shall order them; but until our return from Machura I must rely upon my saddle."

After dinner, Salazar wrote up the day's results and composed a work schedule for his assistants over the next few days. When he entered his sleeping compartment, he found Sensao sitting on his folding chair. The Shongorin rose, saying:

"Honorable Doctor Sarasara, Oikisha has asked me to learn when you wish to copulate. What may I tell her?"

Salazar's jaw sagged. "God in Heaven!" he exclaimed before changing to Shongo. "What makes her think that I want any such thing?"

"Oh, sir, it is a rigid custom among the Choshas. It is part of the mutual obligations between an onnifa and her liege lord; they copulate as often as desired whenever the liege lord is without his lawful mate. Oikisha asked me if you had a lawful mate. I told her that I understood you did not; so Oikisha stands ready to perform her duty."

"I evidently did not know native customs so well as I thought," said Salazar. "But Sensao, such copulation is impossible, because of the physical differences between our species. If I tried to meet Oikisha's expectations, the result would be no pleasure for her and severe pains to me."

"I am sorry, honorable sir," said Sensao. "If you cannot meet your part of this obligation, she will consider her oath to you cancelled and resume her allegiance to Prophet Kampai. Since you are Kampai's foe, for having escaped from him and killed some of his people, she must try to slay you. If she succeeds, she must then return to her tribe, although she knows that they will kill her forthwith."

Salazar pounded his forehead with the heel of his hand. "What in the name of your ancestral spirits shall I do?"

"Sir, the most practical course would be to take your pistol and shoot Oikisha."

"Ugh! I don't like that course, either. Let me think."

For some moments Salazar sat, staring. Sensao stood immobile. At last, looking at the new poignette on his wrist, Salazar felt the stirring of an idea. He glanced at the time, looked up Kara's home number, and pressed the buttons to call her. Kara's voice came thinly out of the little instrument: "Hello?"

"It's Keith," said Salazar. After amenities, he asked: "Has your story on the hunting trip appeared?"

"Would you believe it, McHugh refused to run it? He wants me to rewrite the piece to make Conrad Bergen look like a hero, instead of the rat I showed him to be. Several of Conrad's enterprises advertise in the News, and McHugh's afraid of losing the revenue."

"I should have shot Bergen during the hunt and called it an accident. But that's not what I called about."

"Well?"

"I'm leaving in two days for Machura, to beard the Empress Gariko—that is, I would if she had a beard. Could you come along? It'll be a great story for your paper if I pull it off; I don't think even McHugh could bottle that up."

"Why—I don't know, Keith. You've taken me by surprise. I need time to think ..."

"Sorry, but I've got to leave the day after tomorrow. You'd have to start for Nomuru in the morning."

"Why me? Phil Reiner actually speaks their croak, and native affairs are his job."

"No, Kara; this has to be you."

"Why? If you've got any romantic notions, forget—"

"No, no! This is an emergency ..." He told of the capture of the female Chosha scout, her change of allegiance, and the duty unexpectedly thrust upon him. "Do you know what a freemartin is? It's a sterile, physically abnormal cow. The Kooks have the equivalent."

The poignette snickered. "Why not give her a try? The Reverend Ragnarsen would disapprove, but the poor man is probably dead."

"Kara, aren't you familiar with the Kooks' anatomy? You know what happens to a pencil in a pencil sharpener. The long and the short of it is that I've got to have a nominal mate for a few days; or else I have to shoot Oikisha. She's only trying to do her duty."

"Why don't you shoot her? You didn't mind killing some of those Kooks who pursued us."

"A battle is one thing; but shooting a captive in cold blood, and a female at that, is another. You know I'll kill when I must, but my heart's not in it. And if I fool around long enough, trying to figure a way out, she says she'll have to kill me."

"Why not make Galina your 'nominal mate'?"

"God! Do you think those biddies on the University's Committee on Coercion and Harassment would believe it was nominal? Besides, Galina might get ideas of her own. One very-much-younger girlfriend will last me a lifetime."

"Who else is going with you?" she asked.

"Just Oikisha. I can't take Marcel or Ito away from the dig."

"In other words, we'll be by ourselves for all practical purposes. Look here, Keith, is this a ploy to get me into bed with you? Because if it is, you can go jump—"

"No, no, Kara! I don't do things like that."

"You didn't use to; but I can think of other things you didn't use to do, either."

"Oh, please, Kara! I've paid my penalty. I promise not to lay a finger on you—at least, not without permission."

"You mean, a finger or any other organ!"

"Okay, a finger, toe, ear, or any other part. I need you, just as you needed me on that hunt."