Beyond Heaven's River (4 page)

“Many years of study when let alone, when let to read. I know only bits and fragments. You seem to have easy ways to learn languages, however. Could I be taught?” He was almost finished with his meal.

“I don’t see why not. Would you like to meet the others now?”

“First, a tour,” he said.

“Fine.” She smiled broadly. “You’re a hard bargainer.”

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Beyond Heavens River

Four

Elvox had requested historical records from the orbiting United Stars ship. Displaying them rapidly and running an automatic search, he found no listing for a terrestrial citizen named Yoshio Kawashita. But the records were incomplete before 1990. He shrugged and handed the display tapas to his second-in-command, a heavyset unterloytnant, Lawrence Tivvers. Tivvers replayed the search and agreed with the negative results.

“I don’t think they’ll coerce him,” Elvox said. “We could prove illegal persuasion in any judgment dispute. But he’s open game for any kind of persuasion. He’s naive.”

“All this is on the fringes of the law,” Tivvers said, clearing the outside view ports to see the woman’s shuttle and the dome. “But it’s pretty clear, even so. He’s inherited the planet.”

“And we can’t investigate a damned thing unless he gives us permission.”

Tivvers punched up their work schedule and began to revise it. “I think we’re going to have to freeze everything until the Centrum ship gets here.” The Centrum oversaw the actions of mercantile consolidations like United Stars, and mediated when disputes arose. “USC won’t like us taking chances with a punitive decision.”

“Larry, I blew my chances for a promotion out there.”

“How? By not taking him in? That may work against her.”

“She’s too smart to do anything that will work against her. But she’s getting friendly with him, and we’re out in the cold.”

“Wait until the Centrum arrives. We’ll get our orders from the CO next accession, ten minutes from now — patience!”

Elvox rubbed his face. “She stepped right in, no weaknesses, no doubts. She swept him away like a storm. I didn’t have a chance to think.”

Tivvers acknowledged a beep on the intercom.

“Sir, this is Ruysmal. We’re ready to examine the dome.”

“Hold off on that,” Elvox said. “We’re going to sit tight for a while.” He slapped his palm on a panel and stood. “That’s timid, isn’t it? Would she be timid?”

Tivvers looked at him, a faint grin surfacing.

“She wouldn’t be timid, would she?”

“Hell, no. She’s Anna Nestor.”

“She’s no older than I am, no more experienced.”

“No,” Tivvers mused, “not in this sort of thing, maybe.”

“You believe all those stories about her?”

Tivvers’ grin was open now.

“She’s something to go up against, you know that? If we sit tight, she’s going to run circles around us.”

“You’re not thinking about taking chances, are you?”

“How did the CO get his command?”

Tivvers shook his head. “Julio, that was thirty years ago, things were different. The Centrum controls the show now. No consolidation dares go up against the Centrum — not when every other consolidation will jump all over its ass. This is a time of honor and decorum.”

Elvox made a rude noise, then punched up the cargo lock. “Ruysmal, get your team out to the dome and go over it with every detector we have. Don’t disturb anything, but find out everything you can.” He squeezed past Tivvers and took the ladder to the next deck, his voice rising up the shaft. “She can’t refuse to let me see him. They’ll say she was holding him out of communication. She has to let me talk to him.”

“Julio, before we do anything, let’s at least see what the legal advisers have to say.”

The sound of Elvox’s steps on the ladder stopped. “Okay. But make it quick. I’m getting a pack ready.”

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Beyond Heavens River

Five

Elvox crossed the field, rehearsing what he would say and how he would behave. Anna Nestor was an imposing figure, but this was too important to allow himself to be cowed. As he neared her shuttle, Tivvers told him by radio that the legal advisers concurred.

“Good,” he breathed. “Now I hope the CO goes along with me, too.”

“He will, if you succeed,” Tivvers said.

“Succeed at what? I’m not even sure what I’m after.”

“Influence, sir. Make him think we’re friendly, too. We can help.”

“Clear enough.” He closed the channel and opened another to talk with Nestor’s shuttle. His environment merged with the bubble around the base of the lander.

“Can we help you?”

He looked up and saw a tecto alter standing in the cargo-lock hatch. Nestor seemed to have a fair number of alters in her entourage. Usually, alters chose to stay with their own kind — in societies of less than a thousand, since there were seldom more than that number of any particular type. Elvox didn’t approve of adaptive breeding and tectonogenetics programs, personally, but USC did, and he was loyal to USC. “I’d like to speak to Anna Nestor.”

“And you’re” — the alter consulted a tapas —“Loytnant Elvox, correct?”

He nodded. The alter stepped back into the lock, leaving Elvox to rub his hands at the base of the ramp.

“Loytnant Elvox,” Nestor’s voice ran out from the outside speaker. “Come aboard, and be welcome.”

“Thank you,” he murmured.

The alter took him to the lander’s bridge. Nestor and several others were giving Kawashita rudimentary instruction on the state of modern technology. He referred to a tapas frequently. Elvox made a mental note to subpoena that tapas in any legal dispute, to see if it was biased.

The Japanese seemed at ease. He was listening studiously to everything said, though he couldn’t possibly understand a tenth of it, Elvox thought.

Anna took Elvox aside and welcomed him aboard the ship. “What can we do for you, Loytnant?”

“I’m here to speak with Kawashita, find out how he came to be here, offer him our congratulations …” He trailed off and smiled nervously. Kiril Kondrashef, Nestor’s shuttle pilot, was explaining the craft’s power system. Anna turned away to explain a detail more simply. She then turned back to Elvox and motioned him to take a seat.

“We’re very interested in your welfare, Yoshio,” Elvox said during a lull. “As … uh … Anna Nestor is. And we want you to understand how important your position is now.” Nestor smiled enigmatically. Elvox suddenly felt like a clumsy child.

“I begin to see,” Kawashita said. “Things are being explained well.”

“I hope you see that there are a great many things that will be very difficult for you to understand … right away.” He smiled ingratiatingly at Nestor, by way of experiment. Her smile shifted slightly and seemed to mirror his own. “Our technology is too complex for even a modern individual to absorb quickly. Some of the concepts will probably take years to sink in.”

“Probably,” Kawashita admitted. “I am not unfamiliar with some, however. Was talked about for a long time, this warper ability.”

Elvox was taken aback. “In your time, they … uh … knew about higher and lower spaces, how to use them?”

Kawashita shook his head. “Not in my time. After. I was let to read.”

Elvox itched to ask what he had been allowed to read, but a glance at Nestor told him the Japanese wasn’t willing to divulge such things yet. She shook her head and pursed her lips.

“Yoshio is up on quite a few things we wouldn’t expect him to be,” she said. “He’s learning very quickly.”

The lander shuddered slightly, and a mournful hum vibrated through the bulkheads. The pilot cleared the direct-view plates. Dark thunderheads were piling up all around the dome and landing area. Elvox saw Ruysmal and Dean walking toward the dome, leaning into a stiff breeze.

“Looks like the Waunters are settling in for a blow,” the pilot said.

Stabilizers were spreading out and bolts were being driven into the concrete. Nestor chuckled. “Until we’re sure about all this, let’s prepare to stay.” She looked at Elvox again. “Loytnant, unless you wish to risk life and limb, I suggest you remain here as our guest. I hope that won’t be too inconvenient.”

The winds outside were already rising above a hundred kilometers an hour. He shook his head in resignation. “I’ll have to send a message to my lander.”

“Feel free,” Nestor said, pointing out the communications panel.

Within the hour all three ships were firmly rooted into the concrete. The winds began to show their true faces. By early evening the cloud cover was clear and stars twinkled in the oncoming night. Minutes later a vast wet front swept over and dropped a flood on the plains of concrete.

Most of Nestor’s entourage were preparing to sleep in the cargo bay. Spare sleeping pads and blankets were being brought out, and hot drinks were served. Two women came up to the bridge to talk with Nestor, carrying ampoules of liquid for all of them.

Elvox watched Nestor closely. The women were musicians from her entourage, and their manner with her was informal, relaxed. The way her lander crew acted, the whole affair might have been a family outing. Elvox wondered how she kept discipline. But it wasn’t his concern. The drink was relaxing him, but he couldn’t shake a kind of awe at being in Nestor’s presence.

Some of her women were very attractive. He hadn’t seen so many women in one place for a month or more. The USC ship in orbit was crewed by both men and women, but on this mission the proportions had been hastily mixed, and before that, Elvox had served on an all-male ship. Most of the women on the main ship were married or career-minded. Here, things seemed much looser. Not that he was a Lothario under any circumstances. Still the old, familiar pressures were building, and he tried to push them aside. The drink wasn’t helping.

It hardly seemed possible for Nestor to be scheming all the time. Perhaps she was letting her guard down. He decided to play along, make the best of an awkward situation. If Nestor was offering her hospitality out of some ulterior motive, perhaps he could turn the tables on her. It wouldn’t be an unpleasant job.

While Kawashita talked with the pilot, Nestor took Elvox aside. “I’ve given up my own cabin,” she said. “I’ll be sleeping in a small cubicle usually reserved for Kiril.” She indicated the pilot. “He’ll sleep on the bridge. I don’t recommend you sleep in the cargo bay. My friends are always on the lookout for fresh provisions. I doubt you’d get any sleep.”

“Doesn’t sound too unpleasant,” Elvox said.

“Yes, but you don’t know my crew. Beyond that, space is pretty limited. I’m giving Yoshio complete privacy for a while, and as you can see, there’s not much room here for more than one.”

“I can sleep in a corridor,” Elvox suggested. Was she joking with him, about the crew? He had heard stories —

“The best idea might be for you to share my cubicle. There’s room enough for two, and I don’t want to be accused of shirking my social obligations to United Stars.”

He felt as if he were dreaming. Nestor and her family were celebrities, to say the least. Some maintained they were sacred monsters, necessary in society but hardly respectable. Still, she seemed reasonably decent. She was also attractive when not bent on business. The totality was not undesirable. He didn’t know what to say, however, so he just nodded.

“Good,” Nestor said. “This’ll give Yoshio a chance to get used to the modern facilities.”

The utilities on her lander were fancier than those on the main USC ship. Kawashita, considering his position and status, would probably never have to make do with less. Elvox watched Nestor from behind as she gave her pilot instructions for the morning.

Outside, the storm was letting loose with alarming fury.

“What held it all back so long?” Nestor asked. Elvox tried to get a view through a rain- and slush-spattered port.

“Landers aren’t made to withstand hurricanes,” the pilot said.

“Maybe they were just being humanitarians,” Elvox suggested. “They just wanted Yoshio rescued.”

“That doesn’t answer my question.What did they leave behind that controlled this until we landed? Is there a weather machine someplace? Or were we just lucky to be in time for the waterworks?”

They were almost shouting to overcome the noise outside. “We can investigate when things clear up,” Elvox said. “Right now, I’m a little afraid to go to sleep.”

“It’s my job to worry about it,” the pilot said.

“Kiril, don’t forget Loytnant Elvox is a lander captain, too,” Nestor said.

“Of course. But I think our ships are tough enough. Everybody go to sleep. I’ll yell if we get blown apart.”

“Very reassuring,” Kawashita said. He looked up from a technical manual on the lander’s primary operating systems. His tapas was busily translating from a queue of definition requests, and his eyes were squinty. “I know nothing about weather. I was never outside dome until now.”

“To rest with all of us,” Nestor said. “Yoshio, you know the way to your cabin. Mr. Elvox, are you happy with the sleeping arrangements?”

“Yes.” Happy was not quite the word. Uncertain, perhaps.

“Good. You’ll find the cabin just around the curve clockwise from Yoshio’s quarters. I’ll be down in a while.”

Elvox walked with the Japanese. He was curious about the man’s story, but discretion was best for the moment. It was a credit to Nestor and her people that the man was accepting things so calmly. Kawashita gestured for Elvox to wait as they came to his door.

“I am not familiar with some things here,” he said. “It would embarrass to askher about them. Could you explain?”

“I can try,” Elvox said. “What don’t you understand?”

“The bed. I was shown, but it is not easy.”

“Of course.” The sleep-field was easy to operate but difficult to explain. He showed Kawashita how to lie across it for maximum comfort, and how to set the timer for a gentle let-down after however many hours he wished to sleep.

“And these?” Kawashita pointed to the sleep-induction phones.

“Try them on,” Elvox suggested. “Over your ears, just like old-fashioned … like the ones in your time.”

Kawashita put them on and Elvox adjusted the knob for mild relaxation. Kawashita’s eyes began to droop, and his face relaxed. Suddenly he tensed and removed the phones, handing them back to Elvox. “Don’t need that now,” he said. “Sleep enough without.”

“They’re not the most pleasant way to sleep. But you do wake up feeling you’ve slept a whole night, when only a half hour has passed. They’re useful for long watches.”

“Yes, I see that,” Kawashita said. “I was a pilot. There were many days I could not sleep, thinking about the battle, flying. This would have been good. But not now.” He walked across the cabin. “The lavatory bothers me very much. Have questions —” He cut himself short and smiled politely, then shook his head. “No, never mind. I will ask later. I thank, and ask you forgive me very much.”

“No forgiveness for asking questions,” Elvox said. Kawashita’s face fell. “I mean, questions are essential. We expect them and don’t mind at all.”

He still looked worried when Elvox left. Before the door closed, Elvox heard him muttering.

“He’s been doing that a lot,” Nestor said behind Elvox. He turned in surprise.

“Oh?”

“It’s not the most polite thing to do, but we’ve been taping and listening.”

“I see.”

Nestor held up a translator tapas. “He’s talking to someone named Ko. Every chance, he discusses Japanese history with Ko. I suspect it’s been going on for some time, since they — he — makes reference to different events across about a thousand years. Right now,” she indicated the tapas screen, “they’re talking about the Japanese invasion of Manchuria, the Chinese incident, and the destruction of an Earth city called Nanking. In detail. Assigning blame to individuals.”

“Why?”

“We don’t know. We don’t know whether this Ko ever existed.”

“Perfidisian, perhaps?” Elvox said.

“No. There doesn’t seem to be anything in the cabin with him. Ko, whatever he or it was, is purely imaginary now.”

“But why the debate?”

Nestor shook her head. “Go ahead to the cabin, Mr. Elvox. I’ll be with you shortly.”

There was only one sleep-field in the cubicle he and Nestor were sharing. He wondered if he should use it, and decided it was more polite to take out the secondary mattress and lie on that. With the lights out, and the ship shuddering, he felt an odd smugness, something he hadn’t known in years.

He was almost asleep when Nestor entered the cabin. She left the light off and removed her clothes in the glow from the corridor. Then she bent over Elvox. “Loytnant,” she said, “unless it violates your creed, I’d much rather have something warmer than just a sleep-field.”