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A short, black-clad Tabisee was standing over me. "Vivi. We have problem."
"Saura?" I stared in dazed disbelief.
"You should get up."
Yeah, I should. "How did you get down here?"
"Followed you."
There was a second Brkt in the tunnel now. I could see the shadow of coin shapes in its depths. It was bigger than the first one and did not appear to be leaking. "You let that Brkt pull you down?"
"Gave no choice."
She'd probably threatened to punch it full of holes. "This is insane! Why are you here? The med-evac was taking you to the Tabi embassy. You were safe!"
"Vivi. Not safe. Med-evac crashed. Shoff pulled out before Endar Sat Quar arrive."
"Are you all right? If that Frairy caused the crash— He said he only damaged the comm equipment."
"Endar caused. Sure will claim others did. Pursued us from wreck," she continued. "Frairy had to balance retreat. Two into room, must be two out. Had to go down pipe."
Two in, two out. "You think the Endar will notice the difference in height between you and Meeroush?" It seemed impossible to miss.
"Difference between Meeroush and Shoff is comparable to difference between Shoff and me."
Not quite, but if Duff created enough distraction—which he seemed thoroughly capable of doing—he might slide the discrepancy past their attention. "What about the others?"
"Carquetchian is Tabisee prisoner. Frairy will claim city law applies."
I bet that would be a tough sell. Damn the MoMo and the Frairy on Mandragala for getting us into this. Damn them all.
I pulled a strand of green moss off my shoulder and tossed it aside. "Are you okay?"
"Effects of deep sleep have worn off."
"I'm sorry you woke to such disaster."
"Better than not waking. Feared you lost when felt vibration run through Idwal."
Idwal. "Yeah," I winced. "Things have really gone sideways, Saura."
She gave a sniff of dismissal. "Will manage. Are partners."
Yeah. Partners without a ship. "You may want to rethink that." I motioned her to step back while I climbed to my feet again.
She put out a hand to pull me up. "Explain."
She was my partner, and I owed her an explanation. But she was also Tabisee. How much should I involve her, especially with the economy of the Tabi Empire at risk?
It tore at my heart, knowing I shouldn't do it. But, as she said, we were partners. I just had to be careful what I got her involved in now.
I gave her a brief rundown on everything that had happened since our parting on the lower ring at Idwal: the destruction of the shuttle, the kid in the airlock, my injury, and the resulting destruction of Section Ten. The Ritto rescue, waking here on the Moneyworld in recovery, to the High Jerak's interrogation, my escape, and the Tabisee on this world—everything except how the Zeeks had not restored my wetware. I couldn't drop that on her now.
Then I stood there, plucking strands of green from the armor plates while she considered it all.
"Vivi, are Endar aware of child?" she asked.
"I think High Jerak Seok knows more about Idwal than he's admitting."
"Where is child now?"
"Somewhere here onworld."
Her ears went rigidly upright. "By Holy Plinth, Vivi, say not true!"
"Why?"
"Vivi, child is telepath! Powerful telepath. Heard cry for help when you injured."
A wave of shock ran through me. "No way! I didn't hear her."
"No surprise. You are thick in head." My partner thumped the side of my helmet with her palm. "Child call for help."
"But—I don't understand. Tabisee aren't telepaths."
"Are not. Came through anyway. Painful loud."
"Are you sure?"
"Very sure! You bring most forbidden thing to Moneyworld."
"I didn't do it intentionally!" Holy crap! The impact of this on the EA... I was on a path to single-handedly set Human commerce back to the Stone Age. "I only rescued her!"
"Not blame Ritto crew. Logic says came with you."
A Human telepath on the Moneyworld! The Endar would use that to destroy Earth Alliance's chances of ever gaining access to Whooex trade markets.
I wanted to sink to the floor in despair. The armor wouldn't bend.
"Sure is a child?" she asked.
"Not completely. But mostly. This is the first chance I've had to search for her."
"Say ninety days since Ritto bring here."
"Ninety-two now, I think," I said glumly.
"Many people on this world."
Many dangerous people. We'd be better off cutting our losses and running. She and I, heading for the spaceport and hustling a ride off this dirtball before things got worse for everyone.
No. "It doesn't matter, Saura. She's a kid. I can't walk away and leave her as prey for every lowlife here! I have to find her." A chain of young faces, long left behind, swam across my vision. They were victims I had not been able to save. I was responsible for this one being in this situation.
I had made so many bad decisions...
"We will find child, Vivi." Saura's statement was firm and absolute, the way it should not be.
"No, not we." Two days ago I'd cried inside for her help. Things had changed. "The High Jerak was too intrigued with you back in the Ritto warehouse. He'll check Mathet's story out. If they can't make things match up, he'll come after you. Hell, he's already given orders to shoot you out of the sky! You have to go back to the embassy, where he can't get to you." I had always feared her people would take her away from me. Now I was urging her to go to them.
"Pftt," she made a dismissive sound. "Vivi Zant thinks can stop me helping?"
No way was I taking that wrath on, especially when I couldn't bend at the knees. Dammit!
Whatever the future brought, now was the time for us to act.
Then I remembered the Brktar. Damn. Double damn. I'd forgotten they were down here with us. That showed how off-keel I was. They'd overheard everything Saurubi and I had discussed.
The one who had pulled me down the tube looked even smaller now. "Is he okay?" I asked Local 100866.
I thought he wobbled, but the dim light emanating from the walls made it difficult to tell for sure. Considering what I had seen of their reactions thus far, it could mean anything up to and including a death threat. I looked at Saura. "We have to move, but first, can you shut down the tracker tags in these suits?"
"Know little about clunky planetforce suit Officer Shoff demanded put on before crash," she sniffed in irritation. "But will try."
Shoff had probably saved her life.
"If you can close down the commlink in the helmets that would be good." At least we could eliminate that bit of spying.
"Vivi, understand cannot move freely on world without suit?" she asked.
"Yes. I also understand my presence here puts your people at risk of huge repercussions. But I won't let them put me back in a stone cell beneath the Tabi compound. As soon as I find a place to safely stash this suit I plan to sever all ties with your people."
One of the Brktar emitted a loud hum and I looked over at them, relieved to change the topic of discussion before it expanded into an argument. The puddle the two sat in was spreading and they both appeared considerably smaller in size.
Maybe we could reduce the damage by taking them with us. Besides, if they were injured, it was bad form to leave them behind.
"What about the two of you?" I asked. Carrying sacks of fluid in this gravity was a logistics problem. "Can we—"
"No, Vivi," Saura said firmly, anticipating my thought.
I heard a scuffing sound behind me. This time I did see Local 100866 quiver.
"Lift hands and turn. Slow," a voice said.
I didn't need to see a language tag in the corner of my eye to recognize Frairen now. Maybe Duff was telling the truth and we really were in Frairyland.
Saura and I turned to face six white, rag-covered mounds of varying heights. Dirty squares of cloth with holes cut for their eyes draped their heads.
The image was not particularly intimidating. The long black sticks with shimmering purple tips they held, however, were.
"Vivi, careful," Saura's tone said the suits wouldn't protect us from a nasty zap.
Yeah, mine hadn't protected me from whatever Meeroush had used on me.
"Shift speak this ball, Shorty, and take off lids. Now!" The speaker and leader of this motley bunch of rags was also the shortest. It had to be a Frairy, of course.
I suspected he was not on the Tabi payroll.
"Slow," Saura told me as she undid the seals on her headgear and lifted it off.
There were a few jerks, twitches, and mutters when I removed mine.
"What hell it be from?" the biggest ragpile grunted.
"Proambu," Saura answered. "Separated from diplomatic envoy—"
"You liar, bitch." The leader cut her off. "Ain't no Proambu comin' low on this ball. Try twistin' words again and you feel heat." A tangler swung precariously close to her shoulder.
Saura's ears flicked outward and dipped, but she didn't flinch.
"Turn off track tech and power down."
"She can't," Saura said.
"Do for. Then hold them lids pressed to front with arms wrapped around, fingers laced."
I turned my helmet up and watched the places her fingers touched. Her finger slid back to one and she touched it again.
Was she taking a risk these ragpiles didn't have the means to detect some tracking signals?
"Suits, too," the leader said.
She pressed two places on my collar. The suit relaxed its clamp on my legs.
She gave me a sidelong glance.
"Scan 'em," he ordered.
One of his men swept a handheld device over our bodies. I held my breath, but no shriek of betrayal warned of something she had neglected to deactivate.
I wondered if this ragged leader had any idea of the numerous tracking and security devices spacers had implanted in their bodies. Even I had no idea what a precious Tabisee astrogator had hidden inside her.
Oh, wait, Vivi. Saura deactivated her stuff years ago to stay off EA security scans, and mine didn't work because the Zeeks had failed to put critical parts back into my forearm.
We were on our own here.
"We aren't here to invade anyone's turf or to interfere with anything." I said as I positioned my helmet against my chest. Of the five hostiles I could see, two were taller than me, but not particularly heavy. The third was a hulk. Those white rags covered a lot of flesh. I doubted any of those three were Frairy. But the speaker and the one beside him were. My impression of the last one, standing behind us, was somewhere between the tall and short. It could be anything on this world, even a stunted Endar—if the Endar ever took off their black leather and slipped into casual rags. Cruising drainage tunnels probably didn't fit their style of undercover work, though.
Regardless, I did not want to take on any of these dirt-bounds while wearing Tabi armor, loosened or not. Saura, on the other hand, would enjoy going a round or two with them.
The ragpile behind us made a hooting sound of triumph from the area where the Brktar huddled.
"Don't—" I started to protest.
A tangler swung dangerously close to my face.
"What find?" The leader asked his compadre.
As the ragpile came into view, my heart sank. It carried the soggy winnings from Duff's card game.
"Thought to hide under trash," it crowed, waving a thin, dripping, transparent membrane at me.
"I..." I managed to steal a glance over to the spot where the Brktar had sat. There was nothing there except wet surface and another bit of membrane. "You didn't have to kill them!"
The ragpile stopped waving the skin. Its eyeholes peered at me. "What, what, kill?" It looked at the wet concrete and back at me.
"Nothing," I muttered. "Just let us go about our business."
The leader confiscated the bounty and shoved it into his robes. "Why?" He asked, focusing his eyeholes on me as the last coin disappeared into his filthy rags. "It your birthday or somethin'?" Chuckles sounded around me.
I was beginning to understand why Frairies were not welcome inside the EA. They would need too many ass-whippins.
"Move out." He gestured. "Step fast."
Great. We were headed the upward-slanted direction.
One of the taller guys jogged on ahead while the rest of us fell into a brisk walk. The other tall one and the spare Frairy took the lead; the leader, the tank, and the Brktar-killer brought up the rear. The formation told me we were not in friendly territory.
I glanced over my shoulder at where the Brktar had been. The puddle had nearly disappeared.
"Move." A tangler swung close to my cheek, giving me a close look at the layers of grunge built up along its end bracket and the tatters of old rags wrapping the shaft.
Saura's ears turned down and back. Our captors, however, did not seem overly concerned with the sight of a clearly irritated Tabisee.
"What we do with?" the tank asked his leader.
"Check, see. Get jing for them sure," came the reply.
"That one look 'spensive happy-time girl. All shiny."
He thought Saurubi was a prostitute because of the starmap tattoos on her face? I choked back a laugh and waited for the goddess of fury to rain hellfire upon them.
The goddess did not erupt.
It couldn't be because she failed to understand what he'd said; if I did, she did. So, she either judged it was not the right time for a lesson in respect, or she actually thought the numbers were against us. I doubted that last one. I kept my eyes forward and off my partner lest she take out her displeasure on me later for witnessing the comment.
The leader continued, "There be someone wants 'em. If not, we eats 'em."
The tank gave a low, hollow laugh. "No much meat." Something prodded the armor plates on my buttocks.
"We get somethin'. Ugly one has somethin' can sell, sure."
The joke was on him. Thanks to the Zeeks, the ugly one didn't have anything to sell, sure.
For a while, the area of drain we walked had smooth, unbroken walls. Then heavy, solid doors began to show up with increasing regularity. Their chipped and patched edges bulged with sealing material around openings cut into the plascrete. They looked grungy, with scrapes and scars on the surfaces as if they had been in place for years. Many had faded symbols painted on them. There was no visible method to open them on the outside.
I had a bad feeling our destination lay behind one of them, probably in an even worse neighborhood.
Garbage clustered in mounds beside the doors, most stuffed into dark, opaque bags, but the larger debris varied from scrap metal to old shelving and broken furniture. It all looked recently discarded, though we occasionally passed a soggy item lodged against the base of the wall. It took a moment for me to figure out what I was seeing: the residents of this area used the drain tunnel for an alley.
I hated alleys. They were dangerous places, anywhere in the universe.
The painted symbols on the walls were similar to those in Spacertown, identifying the back exits of shops for deliveries—and other shady business. It appeared the businesses here simply dumped their garbage out the backdoor and let a gush of water carry it away. Considering the size of the trash, the force required to sweep the tunnel clear must be immense. I wondered if the flood came through at a set time and if a warning sounded. Our captors didn't act as if they felt a need to rush, so there must not have been an imminent threat.
Or they were too stupid to recognize it.
After a while, I unlaced the fingers of my left hand and signed Saura: 'make a break'.
She swiftly responded 'no'.
That was okay for now. We only had two directions to run. We sure weren't getting inside the doors we passed.
I suddenly realized I'd lost the hydra-filtration system in my awaysuit to the Endar thanks to Mathet's inventiveness. Now I had no way to filter the water on this world to ensure it was safe for me to drink. I hadn't considered that when I drank from the water bottles in the Tabisee compound, but those were from a civilization I semi-trusted. I had no idea where tangler-toting, scavenger Frairies who patrolled sewer tunnels got their water. The thought dulled my thirst.
At least Saura had done something to relax the armor. I plodded along, trying to conserve energy while watching for an opportunity to slip our captors.
Eventually, we moved out of the alley area into another stretch of solid walls. The air slowly grew colder. We came to an intersection where our tunnel, along with five more, opened onto a domed chamber. There was a huge hole with finished edges in the floor at the center and a matching one where the ceiling arched overhead. We'd found the source of the temperature drop; our breath steamed from the cold air rising out of the pit. A steady moan from its chilled depths filled the chamber.
Saura shot me an uneasy glance. Her ears perched upright now, the tips turned inward in silent signal: prepare. If our escort thought they could dump us down this hole they were in for a fight. The two lead guys continued around the hole, taking up positions on the far wall next to the second tunnel on our left.
A sudden movement in the mouth of the tunnel caught my attention. Their scout reappeared, moving fast enough to label a full-on retreat. He stopped when he saw us, gestured toward the first opening to our left and dived inside. The guards followed him.
"Move," the Frairy behind us grunted.
Seeing as being eaten, skinned, or sold into whatever did not advance my search for the kid, this seemed like the perfect time for us to part ways with our escort. Someone else, however, had a vote in this. I flashed Saura a questioning look: our current companions or the unknown? The tunnel the scout had exited definitely was not an option, but we had three more perfectly good openings to our right, and I didn't think the ragpiles would risk firing a blast across the mouth of the tunnel their scout had fled.
Fingers flashed caution.
I dived between the tank, who had moved up to flank us, and the edge of the pit, heading toward the tunnels to the right.
The shaft of a tangler struck me across the shoulder. It was not the business end, but the impact was hard enough to knock me off balance.
I felt cold air graze the side of my face.
Shit! I twisted, trying to throw my body back toward the chamber wall as the pit loomed, but the darkness beaconed like a magnetic attraction; I kept falling toward it. My brain shrieked terror and my muscles strained against weariness and gravity.
An armored hand clamped my right wrist and snapped me forward. I half-flew, half-stumbled a few steps and slammed against the chamber wall.
"Idiot," Saura snarled. She shifted her grip to my shoulder and pulled me scrambling and limping toward the mouth of the new tunnel. After a few steps, I got my feet back under me and we ran.
Purple light bloomed across the walls, and a hand of air struck our backs, throwing us to the floor.
"Sorry folks, change of plans," a familiar voice boomed cheerfully. A flurry of sound filled the space as a new group of figures streamed in from the mouths of all the tunnels.
Duff.
"Great," I muttered.
The tunnel was so close...
"Get up."
I got to my feet and turned to face a Frairy with a hand-weapon leveled at me. Duff sauntered over and cocked a wrinkle of skin above his left eye. All his elaborate clothing was gone, exchanged for a plain, olive one-piece jumpsuit. It actually gave him an official look.
"You don't mind changing dates to the dance, do you?" he asked.
"I thought you and the Tabisee were allies." I gestured at the gun trained on Saurubi.
"Unofficially." He didn't wave the weapon away. "Meanwhile, day-to-day business goes on."
"What is day-to-day business?"
"The official business of a Frairy world."
"Oh. Is that what the—" I made a gesture at the plain jumpsuit.
"Smart Human. Now, hands up."
I sighed and raised my hands. Saura did the same. "You a cop?"
"A neighborhood enforcer of sorts." He twisted to watch his men at work behind him.
That explanation could mean anything. "We're not looking for trouble. I already told you—"
"I know, illegal Human lookin' for illegal Human kid. Super violation of this world's laws." He twitched a finger and another Frairy came over to pull our hands down and secure them behind our backs.
At least a dozen green-clad, armed Frairies swarmed about the chamber. Our recent captors lay in unmoving white mounds scattered across the floor.
"Who are they?" I asked Duff.
"The ragpiles? Bunch of skinners. Won't be happy bout this change in their plans." His eyes flicked over me critically. "Don't think they could do much with you. But that," he gave Saura's blue fur an admiring look, "that would sell for some good money."
Frairy guts spilled all over the floor was the last thing we needed right now. "They wanted to eat us," I said before Saura could react.
"Guess times are harder than I thought."
"You think this is a joke?"
"Am I laughing, Flygirl? Besides, I didn't create this situation. You did."
Thanks to one of his people.
"Their leader has the winnings from your poker game on him," I said.
"Is that so?" Duff called out something to one of his men. The other walked over and rummaged through filthy robes. He brought Duff a handful of damp coins and chips.
The Frairy leader shoved the mass into his pocket. "I suppose the bastard will want this back."
"Local 100866? He's dead," I said angrily. "Him and the other one."
"Did you see him die?" The Frairy's expression was entirely unsympathetic.
"No. One of those bigger guys brought his money and a—" What? A skin? "A transparent membrane. There was a lot of water and another, smaller membrane along the wall..."
Duff chuckled. "I'll have this spent before he comes looking for it." He took in my appalled expression. "They ain't dead. That's their defense mechanism. It will take him time to pull his stuff back together and grow a new containment skin, but he'll be back squeaking for his stuff. At least he and Dart 770 had the sense to escape. Better than I can say for you two."
Well...shit. I watched his men drag the limp ragpiles to one spot. "What did you do to them?"
"Percussion grenade. Had to cut them out of the picture. Skinners are hard-takers. They don't ransom back their finds."
"Someone needs to teach them economics," I muttered.
"What? The economics of being flayed alive if they're caught? Kidnapping is not tolerated here."
"But murder is?"
"What's one less air-breather? Not near as much loss as a pile of coins." He turned to the Frairies working in the chamber. "Wrap things up, folks. No traces."
Several were running horizontal light bars mounted on long poles over the surface of the walls.
"What are they doing?" I asked.
"Drawing away energy left from the grenade. It reduces the blast residue so scans will miss or mistake it for an old hit."
A chill ran over me. Could someone apply tech like that on a scale like, say, a settlement, to destroy evidence of a recent attack? Did the EA know of its existence? "Whose tech?" I asked.
Duff's small teeth flashed with humor. "Not yours, Flygirl."
Several other members of his crew were unfolding a two-meter metal disk on the floor.
Saura's ears perked in alarm. "Not take Human through transport ring," she snapped. "Endar will pick up DNA signature."
"Not off this one, they won't. The Whooex Union doesn't have this tech."
Her ears twisted warily. "Whose tech?"
"Proambu."
"How does Frairy have?"
"We have well-placed friends."
Well-placed friends, like, perhaps the MoMo? Much as I wanted to ask, I kept silent.
"How know Endar not monitor?" Saura persisted.
"Because it was designed to protect Proambu worlds from Endar incursion."
"Are sure will take Tabisee or Human?" She voiced my question.
"You're not at war with the Proambu, are you?"
"No."
"Well then." Duff shrugged.
As soon as the Frairies stepped away from the transporter, Duff grasped my arm and hauled me forward onto the thin plates.
"You're sure this is safe?" I asked.
"No," he answered cheerily. "But anyone who can master the tech required to build a ringworld can handle a simple differentiation of chromosomal materials in a matter shift."
Simple? "That is—" abruptly I found myself standing in a dim stone niche. "—not simple."