Freedom's Landing
- Автор: Маккефри Энн
- Серия: Catteni Sequence #1
- Язык: английский
- Жанр: Научная фантастика
Электронная книга - «Freedom's Landing». Краткое содержание книги:
The alien Catteni value strength and intelligence in their slaves—and Kristin has managed to survive her enslavement while hundreds of other humans have not. But her trial has just begun, for now she finds herself part of a massive experiment. The aliens have discovered a new world, and they have a simple way of finding out if it’s habitable: drop hundreds of slaves on the surface and see what happens.
If they survive, colonization can begin. If not, there are always more slaves.
"Let's not lay it on too thick."
"Ah, Sarge!' "Easy does it. You do remember force-whips, don't you?"
"They're not carrying any."
"Only because everyone's unconscious."
"Are you counting, Tesco?" Mitford added.
"I would if you -.. eight hundred twenty, one, two and three. .. don't interrupt me allatime."
"Let's not make them too mad, blokes," Joe Marley said. "They're taking it out on "em." Everyone shut up, now that Joe had pointed out the rough - rougher - way the Catteni were depositing the unconscious bodies. Almost slamming them into the ground.
"Zainal, can you tell them not to mash the cargo?" Mitford said, raising his voice to parade ground level.
Zainal swivelled at the hips and, seeing one Catteni doing exactly what Mitford protested, snapped a savage bark. The erring Catteni made a big show of placing his burden down more carefully. The others, under Zainal's watchful gaze, behaved more circumspectly "Is Zainal going to stay there until they finish?" Lenny asked, leaning down to Kris, his expression anxious.
"I think so. At least he can curb their boyish bad habits."
"How does he get away with it?" Lenny asked.
"Because he knows how to give orders," Mitford said, almost admiringly.
Idle conversation continued among the watching gang, but no more bursts of laughter to annoy the Catteni.
Tesco had got up to a thousand when Mitford gestured for Dowdall to take over. Then more cartons were brought out which the Catteni stacked on the other side of the field, in a sort of farewell gesture of bad feelings. Still Zainal waited.
All the soldiers had disappeared within the ship and the silence was broken only by noises from the vessel itself, metallic complaints and emissions of liquid and steam.
Suddenly the watchers could all hear the sound of boots on metal and a second delegation, five Catteni this time, appeared in the opening. Two stayed inside, three came down, and two stopped partway.
The remaining Catteni, dressed in a more elaborate uniform and shorter by a full head than Zainal, came right up to him and presented first a sheaf of what Kris thought had to be print-out and then another folder.
These were presented most punctiliously.
Kris thought for a moment that the officer was going to click his heels together and bestow a Teutonic military bow on Zainal.
Zainal accepted the offerings, almost diffidently, said a few words in a low voice and casually sauntered away from the ship. The blinding blue-white lights went out, the ramp was retracted and they could hear warm-up engine sounds from the ship.
For a moment Kris feared that the exhaust from its engines would fry the nearest bodies. But, whining at a pitch that made everyone cover their ears defensively, the big transport lifted vertically in a slow ascent, then edged forward. When it was several fields beyond its landing site, the rear engines glowed from yellow to white to a blue actinic light that made Kris and the others avert their eyes.
The wind of its passage was enough to knock several watchers off their feet: the bodies of the latest victims fortunately were low enough to be below the blast path.
Kris could no longer contain herself but rushed out to Zainal, who had begun to walk more briskly, undisturbed by the take-off wind.
"Did you get what you wanted? What did you want that took so long?" she cried as she neared him.
"I got the explore report "and he held up the folder, "and medicals on Deskis." He held up the sheaf. "Treatment for Deskis.. ." and he pointed to the carton Kris had lugged over. "Medicals for humans and Rugarians," and he indicated the others. "And testers."
"How come they snapped to for you, Zainal?" Joe asked.
Zainal grinned. "I may be down but not out.
Kris giggled nervously at his casual use of slang. Go to the head of the class, she thought.
"I am still Emassi and they know it," he added, snapping out the "know "So what's "emassi" when you're at home?" Joe demanded, cocking his head to one side.
"A born rank." Zainal shrugged it off.
"Birth rank," Kris corrected automatically. She wanted Zainal to speak English properly.
"I understood him," Joe said in tacit reprimand.
Kris firmly closed her lips to a smart retort. Now was not the time to bicker.
"Look at it this way, folks, we've almost doubled our population the easy way," Mitford announced when he jumped to the top of the crate.
"Back at the old stand, huh, Sarge?" someone shouted.
"Yeah, and we'll follow the same routine. Only this time, we're ahead of the game. We know the drill.
Dowdall, get back to Camp Narrow and organize beds and food. Send me at least twenty more people. Bring some buckets and pitchers so we can water "em. We'll start sending folks back as soon as they're able to walk.
It's not that far and that's a blessing. You, you, you and you, start moving among "em and pick out the injured those Cats really banged some of "em down hard - and any DOAs. Lenny, Ninety, break open these cartons.
Su, Jay, start distribution. Then, Jay, you lead the first group of fifty back to Camp Narrow." Mitford jumped down again and stood by Zainal. "It looks to me like they emptied their entire load on this one field. That right, Zainal?" Zainal nodded.
"Is that report readable?" Mitford peered at the glyphs which resembled those that Kris had helped carve in the hillside.
"Yes. I also told them that this planet is occupied by others of high-tech skill."
"Did they believe you?"
"No." Zainal's grin was bleakly amused. "But they will tell to those who need to know-' Mitford gave him a sharp stare. "Why didn't they believe you? Did they think you were lying or something, to get off-planet?" Zainal shook his head. "I told them, first, that I am dropped and I stay." He did not look in Kris's direction but she knew, definitely, that he was saying that for her benefit and her heart did a little painful jump.
Stupid!
But she was so glad that he hadn't gone. "They believe report says this planet…empty."
"Lord," Joe Marley said in a groan, "how'd they miss the garages.
"Garages do not show warm-blood life forms," Zainal said and grinned.
A nearby groan from one of the bodies interrupted the conversation and they sprang into action. Actually, Kris thought as she took Mitford's own canteen to the nearby stream to fill it, Zainal, she and the others needn't have run so fast or risked broken bones to get here.
It had taken the Catteni several hours, at least, to unload. They could've walked, or waited for breakfast, but she was damned glad they hadn't. She'd have missed Zainal standing there like a Gibraltar Rock.
Would he have continued to stand there all day if they hadn't been willing to accede to his requests? Or demands? Being an emassi certainly granted him privileges, even if he had been dropped.
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.