In point of fact, those sleds had been known to lift twenty, a capability never mentioned in the designers" specifications. The exploratory sled was an all-purpose vehicle, its ultimate potential not yet realized. High-sided and slightly more than eight metres long with a closed deck forward for storage, its compact engine and power pack under the rear loading space, the vessel could be fitted with comfortable seating for six as well as the pilot and co-pilot, with the storage cage, as it was now. When the seating was removed or lashed to the deck, a sled could carry enormous weight, on board or attached to the powerful winches fore, aft and midships on either side. The plascreen could be retracted into the sides or raised in sections. The sled had both retro and forward jets with a vertical lift ability which could be used in defense or emergency flight. The two-man sleds were smaller replicas of the big one and had the advantage of being easily dismantled and stored: in flight, usually in the larger vehicle.
Augmented by the rescue squad, the foragers accumulated enough fruit to fill the sled's storage cage in the time it took more carrion eaters to begin spiraling above the grove. The swamp head seemed mesmerized by the comings and goings of the group, swinging slowly back and forth
Kai, we don't have to leave him here, do we? asked Bonnard, with an apprehensive Cleiti by his side. He had the orphan in his arms.
Varian? Any use to you?
Certainly. I'd no intention of leaving it. It's a relief not to have to chase something over the continent to get a close look. She frowned at the suggestion of abandonment. Into the sled with you, Bonnard. Keep a hold on it. Cleiti, you sit on his right, I'll sit left. There we are. Belt up.
The others stood back as Tanegli took off in the sled, gliding indolently over the ooze and the undecided beast that still regarded the grove with unblinking interest.
Set for maximum stun, Paskutti told them, glancing overhead. Those carrion are coming in again.
Even as the rescuers lifted from the ground, Kai saw the carrion fliers circling downwards, their heads always on the dead creature in the grass below. Kai shuddered. The dangers of space, instant and absolute, were impersonal and the result of breaking immutable laws. The deadly intent of these things held a repulsively personal malevolence that disturbed him profoundly.
CHAPTER TWO
Rain and head winds buffeted the airborne V so steadily on their way back that the heavily powered sled had long since landed when Kai and the heavy-worlders finally set foot in the compound. Varian and the three children were busy constructing a small run for the orphan.
Lunzie's trying to deduce a diet, Varian told Kai.
Just what is its anomalous state?
Against every odd in the galaxy, we have succoured a young mammal. At least its mother had teats. It's not very old, born rather mature, you see, able to walk and run almost at birth . . .
Did you . . .
Debug it? Externally yes. Had to or we'd all be hosting parasites. I've interrupted more of Trizein's carefully scheduled work to run a tissue sample on it so we can figure out what proteins it must have in its diet. It's got some growing to do to reach momma's size. Not that she was very large.
Kai looked down at the tiny creature's red-brown furred body: a very unprepossessing creation, he thought, with no redeeming feature apart from wistful eyes to endear it to anyone other than its own mother. But, remembering the waving swamp-dweller's head, and the hungry malice in the circling scavengers' relentless approach, he was glad they'd brought the thing in. And it might occupy Bonnard and keep the boy from following him everywhere.
Kai stripped off his belt and face mask, rubbing at the strap marks. He was tired after the return trip. The heavy-worlders had immense resources of stamina but Kai's ship-trained muscles ached from the exertions of the morning.
Say, don't we have to contact the Ryxi, too? Varian asked, glancing at her wrist recorder and tapping the reddened 1300 that meant a special time.
Kai grinned his thanks for the reminder and made for the shuttlecraft with a fair display of energy. There was still a lot of busy day ahead of him. He'd get a pepper to pick his energy level up, and he'd get a bit of a breather while he made contact with the avians. Then he had to go see that complex of coloured lakes Berru had documented yesterday in her sweep south. He found it damned odd there were no more than traces of the normal metals you'd think would be in abundance everywhere on this untouched planet. Coloured waters indicated mineral deposits. He only hoped the concentrations were heavy enough to make them worthwhile. There ought to be something in old fold mountains, if only some tin or zinc and copper. They'd found ore-minerals but no deposits worth the name.
Kai's orders from Exploratory and Evaluation Corps were to locate and assay the mineral and metallurgical potential of this planet. And Ireta, a satellite of a suspected third generation sun, ought to be rich in the heavier elements, rich in the neptunium, plutonium and the more esoteric of the rare transuranics and actinites above uranium on the periodic table, so urgently and constantly required by the Federation of Sentient Populations the search for which was one of the primary tasks of the EEC.
The diplomatic might say that EEC was exploring the galaxy, seeking to bring within its sphere of influence all rational sentient beings, augmenting the eighteen peace-loving species already incorporated in the FSP. But the search for energy was the fundamental drive. The diversity of its member species gave the Federation the ability to explore more types of planets, but colonization was incidental to exploitation.
The three useful planets of the sun Arrutan had long been marked on star charts as promising but only recently had the Executive Council decided to mount the present three-part expedition. Kai had heard the whisper that it was because the Theks wished to be included. This whisper was partially substantiated during his private conference with the EEC Chief Officer on board the exploratory vessel ARCT-10. The CO had privily informed Kai that the Thek had superior control of the three teams, and he was to consider himself under their orders if they chose to supersede him. Vrl, the Ryxi team leader, had been given the same orders, but everyone knew the Ryxi. And it was common knowledge that having a Thek on a team spelled ultimate success: Theks were dependable, Theks were thorough, the ultimate altruists. The cynics replied that altruism was easy when a creature calculated its life span in thousands of years. The Theks had elected to be placed on the seventh world of the primary, a heavy metals, heavy gravity planet, exactly suited to Theks.
The light-cored planet, fifth from the sun Arrutan, with a low gravity and temperate climate, was being evaluated by the Ryxi, an aerial species, who were in critical need of new planets to relieve their population pressure and give industry and opportunity to the restless young.
Kai's assignment, the fourth planet in the system, exhibited curious anomalies. Originally designated a second generation sun, with elements up to the transuranic, Arrutan patently did not conform to that classification. A probe sent out for a preliminary survey registered that the fourth planet was undeniably ovoid in shape; the poles were hotter than the equator: the seas registered warmer than the land mass which covered the northern pole. There was an almost constant rainfall, and an inshore wind of variable velocities up to full gale force. An axial tilt of some fifteen degrees had been postulated. The readings indicated life forms in water and on land. A xenobiological team was added to the geological.
Kai had requested a remote sensor to locate the ore concentrations but at that point the storm in the next system had been sighted and he found his request very low on the priority list. He was told that the original probe tapes would give him ample information to locate metal and mineral, and to get the job done in situ. Right now ARCT-10 had an unparalleled opportunity to observe free matter in action.
Kai took the official brush-off in good part. What he did object to was having the youngsters dumped on his hands at the last minute. To his complaint that this was a working expedition, not a training exercise, he was told that the ship-born must have sufficient planetary experiences early in their lives to overcome the danger of conditional agoraphobia. The hazard was not lightly to be dismissed by the ship-born: useless to explain to the planet-bred. But Kai railed against the expediency that made his team the one to expand the horizons of three members who were only half into their second decades. This planet was exceedingly active, volcanically and tectonically, and dangerous for ship-bred juveniles. The two girls, Cleidi and Terilla, were biddable and no trouble until Bonnard, the son of the Third Officer of the EV, instigated all manner of hazard-strewn games.
The very first day, while Kai and his team were dropping cores around the landing site to be sure they had landed on the more stable continental shield, Bonnard had gone exploring and lacerated a protective suit because he hadn't remembered to activate the force-field. He had stumbled into the sword plant, as pretty as the harmless decorative plants in the EV's conservatory but able to slice flesh and suit to ribbons with the most negligible of contacts. There had been other incidents during the nine days the party had been landed. While the other team members seemed to make light of the boy's escapades and were amused by his adoration of Kai, the team-leader sincerely hoped the little orphaned beast would divert Bonnard.
Kai took a long sip of the pepper, its tart freshness soothing his nerves as well as his palate. He glanced down at his recorder, switched on the comunit, arranged the recording equipment to the speed necessary to slow the Ryxi speech pattern into understandable tones for later review. He could generally keep up with their rippingly fast voices but a tape helped to resolve any questions.
Kai had been designated the liaison officer between the two groups. He had the patience and tact required for dealing with the slow Thek, and the ear and wit to keep up with the quick aerial Ryxi who could never have communicated with the Thek, and with whom the Thek preferred not to bother.
Right on time the Ryxi leader, Vrl, made the contact, trilling out the courtesies. Kai relayed the information that only the the first reports from each of the teams had been picked up by the EV, and gave his assumption that the spatial storm viewed before the exploratory groups had left the ship must be causing sufficient interference to prevent a pick-up of other reports.
Vrl, politely slowing his speech to a rate which must have been frustrating to him, said that he wasn't worried; that was for the Slows to fret about. Vrl's first report was the important one for his people: it confirmed the initial probe analysis that this planet contained no indigenous intelligent life form and could adequately support his race. Vrl was forwarding by interplanetary drone a full report for Kai's interest. Vrl ended by saying that all were in good health and full feather. Then he asked what winged life had been observed on Ireta.
Kai told him, speaking as fast as he could get the words past his teeth, that they had observed several aerial life forms from a distance and would investigate further when possible. He refrained from naming one form as the scavengers they were but promised, at Vrl's liquidly trilled request, to forward a full tape when completed. The Ryxi as a species had one gross sin: they hated to think that another aerial life form might one day challenge their unique position in FSP. This prejudice was one reason why Ryxi were not often included in EV complements. The other valid reason was that Ryxi fretted in enclosed spaces to the point of suicide. Very few bothered to qualify for Exploratory Services since they were so psychologically ill-suited to the life. Necessity had forced them into this mission and most of the members had spent the journey time in cryonic suspension. Vrl had been awakened two ship weeks before touchdown to be apprised of the necessary routine of report and contact with the other two sections. While Vrl, like all his ilk, was an interesting creature, vital, flamboyant with his plumage and personality, Kai and Varian were relieved to have the Theks along as balance.
Did Vrl remember to be there? asked Varian, entering the control cabin.
Yes, and all's well with him, though he's mighty curious about winged life here.
They always are, those jealous feathers! Varian made a face. I remember a deputation from Ryxi at University on Chelida. They wanted to vivisect those winged tree Rylidae from Eridani 5.
Kai suppressed a sympathetic shudder. He wasn't surprised. The Ryxi were known to be bloody-minded. Look at their courtship dancemales armed with leg spurs and the victor usually killing his opponent. You couldn't quite excuse that on the grounds of survival of the fittest. You didn't have to kill to improve the genotype.
Is there another pepper going? I've been trying to keep up with my team mates. She slid into the chair.
Kai snorted at that folly and handed her a container of stimulant, chuckling.
"I know we don't have to keep up with the heavy-worlders Varian said with a groan, "and I know that they know that we can't, but I can't help trying."
It's frustrating. I know.
So do I. Oh, Trizein says the little creature is indeed mammal and will need a lactoprotein, heavy in calcium, glucose, salt and a good dollop of phosphates.
Can Divisti and Lunzie whomp something up?
Have done. Bonnard is feeding . . . or I should say, attempting to feed Dandy.
It's named already?
Why not? It certainly isn't programmed to answer a meal callyet.
Intelligent?
Of a restricted sort. It's already programmed to a certain number of instinctive responses, being born fairly mature.
Is that herbivore of yours mammalian?
Nooooo . . .
What's the yes in that no for?
"Granted that viviparous and oviparous types often co-exist on a planet . . . and that you'd get some very odd gene specilization to cope with environment here, but I cannot rationalize that aquatic life cell formation with Dandy or with that big herbivore.
And speaking of that beast, Trizein says its cell structure is remarkably familiar; he's going to do an in-depth comparison. In the meantime, I've his okay to use a CHCL3 gas on it so we can dress those wounds before they turn septic. Can we rig a force-screen arc over that corral we erected so the wound can be kept free of blood-sucking organisms while it heals? When Kai nodded, she continued. And would you also ask your core teams to keep an eye out for any scavengers circling? Whatever wounded the herbivore probably attacks other animals. One, I'd like to know what kind of predator is that savage to its prey; and two, There's always a chance that we can find amenable specimens by saving their lives. They're so much easier to capture when they're too weak to struggle or run.