Deluge
- Автор: Маккефри Энн, Скарборо Элизабет
- Серия: The Twins of Petaybee #3
- Язык: английский
- Жанр: Научная фантастика
Электронная книга - «Deluge». Краткое содержание книги:
Meanwhile, the powerful and avaricious Company is making another attempt to take over the world of Petaybee for its resources, and the twins parents, Yana and Sean, along with the entire planet, must fight for the independence of their sentient world once and for all...
“Keep them there, I guess,” Aidan replied, extending his bare hands toward the stove to warm them.
“They’re really gonna cool their heels, though, with no fire.”
“Sorry,” Yana said. “But they’re still wearing good winter gear, and I don’t trust them not to burn the place down around themselves to force us to release them. It’s the sort of thing I’d have done if I were in their place.”
“It’s not that so much,” Sinead said wryly. “But I worked hard helping build the longhouse and it’s got some brilliant carvings on the beams and posts. I’d hate to see it burned down. Still, we can’t keep them there indefinitely.”
Sean, who had been away for the first part of the meeting, announced his arrival by stamping his boots on the stoop outside. His entry sent one of Clodagh’s orange-striped cats leaping up from its nap on the coats piled beside the door onto one of the rafters, where it glared disapprovingly at the humans taking up all the other good nap spots not currently occupied by other orange cats. Its hind paws and tail disturbed bunches of the remaining dried plants strung upside down along the beams. Flakes of leaves, petals, and grasses sifted down onto the heads and shoulders of those below, along with a whisper of herbal fragrance that caused Eamon Oogliuk to sneeze into his mitten.
“Sean, we were talking about how safe it is for the soldiers to have them in the longhouse with no fire, and how dangerous we were afraid it would be to let them build one,” Sinead said, filling him in.
“It’s been sorted out,” he said cheerily. “I’ve been talking on the com to some of the distant villages.
They’re sending sleds and snocles to collect their share of our honored guests.”
“You’re splitting them up, then?” Sinead asked.
“That I am,” he replied. “First they’ll be going to each village’s Stranger Cave to make their manners with Petaybee, then those who are accepted will have a latchkay in their honor and those who don’t will receive the appropriate treatment. By dividing them, even if we don’t exactly conquer, at least we’ll prevent them from planning any mischief together. I think this is one strategy they’ll not be counting on.”
Clodagh smiled and began stuffing medicinal items in a bag made of woven rabbit skins.
“Did you try the com farther afield, Sean?” Yana asked when the general comment had died down. “Any news of the kids, or from Johnny and the others?”
He shook his head. “No, but I didn’t try. I was busy contacting the villages to take care of the current problem. I’ll try to reach Johnny now, shall I, and see if they’ve been able to get a message to Marmie’s allies.”
“Try the relay to Versailles Station too, if you can get offworld,” she said. “That’s the logical place for the kids to look for Marmie’s allies.”
“For that matter, I could try a few of them from here, if I can get out at all,” he said.
Clodagh shot a look at Yana and said to Sean, “But stay and warm up a moment first, love.”
“No, no, I need to get back to the cave and let the others know what’s going on here. The rock flock are supposed to be helping our newest citizens, but you know how transported they can get in the communion cave. No need to alarm the others any more than they are already. They’ll want to know when it’s safe to come home again.”
“I’d wait,” Clodagh said.
“Yeah,” Aidan agreed. “They’re a good enough lot, but they’re new and we’ve no idea where their loyalties may lie. No sense burdening them with more information than they might want to have. Another ship might land soon, and we’re down to just the one hijacker.” He dipped the tassel on his hat in Yana’s direction. “We don’t want to put the newcomers in the way of bein’ interrogated.”
“Nor any of us,” Aisling added.
“Indeed. So they’ll need to stay in the cave a bit longer?”
“Aye, and the rest of us will need to be gettin’ back there as well,” Sinead said. “At least to sleep. We won’t want to be caught out if another troop ship lands. They’ll not be happy about us hostin’ their personnel.”
“Back to the com station with me it is, then,” Sean said. “The first sleds and snocles should be here in a couple of hours, so keep an eye out for them.”
Sean trudged back out to the com station. It was the old com shed with a Nakatira cube added. The soldiers had sacked it, but hadn’t damaged anything of importance, probably thinking they might have a need for it themselves later on.
For a change he got a clear signal. He tried Versailles Station first, since the hijacked troop ship had only departed a short time ago. He’d become very familiar with the station’s routing procedure while the kids were in school there and expected to hear one of the voices he’d come to know.
Instead he was answered by an unfamiliar female voice that gave the station’s registration number but not its name or corporate affiliation, as previous comoffs had. “Please identify yourself and state your business,” she said.
“You first,” Sean replied, putting a bit of the Irish blarney in his tone to sound flirtatious and perhaps as if he’d been into the blurry. “You’ve a lovely voice.”
“Please identify yourself and state your business,” she said.
“You don’t sound like the usual operator. Let me talk to Yasmine. She knows me, and you see, I’m a bit shy.”
“Identify yourself,” she repeated, then added, “I can trace this, you know. Only authorized communications are acceptable.”
“How about putting me through to Colonel Cally then?” Sean asked. “This is a classified situation.”
“There is no Colonel Cally at this station. Colonel Montgomery is the officer in charge. But he will not speak to unidentified callers.”
Sean broke contact. The station was under Corps control. He hailed the troop ship next. Again a clear signal, which was a great relief, since he felt an urgent need to talk to an offplanet ally.
“Good to hear from you, Sean,” Rick O’Shay, manning the com, said in answer to his hail. “How did it go on that end? Yana get away okay?”
“She took a bit of a dunking, but that was our fault. Sinead set a few surprises for our guests.”
“And how are your guests? Added some, did you?”
“Yes, the crew joined the rest of their party in our largest and most deluxe accommodation. Since heating presents a bit of a problem, however, they’ll be touring the pole with some of our most experienced guides.”
“Ah. We’re doing grand here too. A bit understaffed, but we’re all excellent multitaskers, so that’s no bother.”
“I’d a special reason for wanting to chat, Richard.”
“And that would be?”
“It seems there’s new management at Versailles Station, which is most likely where our young ones had their new friends take them. Is there any way you can find out what happened? They may be needing assistance, and we’ve no other way to reach them.”
“I’ll speak with the charming Petula and get back to you, Sean.”
“You know what it’s been like here, Rick. You might get us again and you might not. I’m sure the kids are fine, but if I don’t do something to reassure their mother, she may declare war on the Company Corps, and while they’re being a bother at the moment, I’d hate to see that happen to them. They do have their uses.”
“Understood. Ah, here is our Ms. Chan now. Pet, pet, Governor Shongili himself would like a word.”
“Chan,” she said in a clipped voice that reminded him of Yana on a bad day. “What’s up, Governor?”
“As you may be aware, my children took an alternate form of transport and we think they may have gone to Versailles Station to seek help for Marmie. I just tried the regular channels to locate them at the station, and it seems to have undergone a hostile takeover.”