Breed to Come (15 page)

"This I do not understand." Jacel sat before his instruments, but his voice came to Ayana and Tan through the cabin com. "There is evidence of a highcivilization. Yet not only do they not answer our signals, but there is no communication on the planet either."

"But those lights—in the night!" Massa half protested.

Ayana wanted to echo her. It was better to seethose lights flashing out as day turned to night below,than to remark upon the glow which did not appear—the scars of darkness. Yet one looked more and morefor those.

"Have you thought," Tan asked, "that the lightsmay be automatic, that they come on because of thedark, and not because anyone presses a button orpulls a switch? And that where they are now dark some installation has failed?"

He put openly what was in all their minds. Andthat was the best explanation. But Ayana did not liketo hear it. If they now raced through the skies abovethe dead world with only that vast sprawl of structures its abiding monument for a vanished people,then what had killed them, or driven them into space?And did that menace still lurk below2

Ayana wanted to turn her head, not watch the visascreen. But that she could not do. It had a horriblefascination which held her in thrall.

"Without a signal we cannot find a landing site—"Jacel paused. "Wait! I am picking up something—asignal of sorts!"

They were once more in a day zone. Ayana couldmark the shape of an ocean below. The land masseson this world was more or less evenly divided, two ineach hemisphere. And they were over one such massas Jacel reported his signal.

"Fading—it is very weak." His voice sounded exasperated. "I shall try to tune it in again—"

"A message?" Tan asked. "Challenging who we areand what we are doing in their skies?" He spoke as ifhe expected that hostile reaction. But why? Unlessthe memory of the fears of the First Ship peopletouched him, even as it had her, Ayana thought.

But if that were so, if they were to be greeted as enemies—how could they hope to land? Better by far to abort— Though she was sure Tan would never consent to that.

Jacel, using the ship's resources, had another answer. The signal, he was certain, was mechanically beamed and carried no message. And as such it couldhave only one purpose—to guide in some visitor fromspace.

Hearing that, they made their decision, though notwithout reservations on Ayana's part, to use the beacon as a guide. As Massa pointed out, they couldnot continue in orbit indefinitely and they had no other lead. But they prepared for a rough landing.The computer gave no answers, only continued to gulp in all the information their instruments supplied.

With every protect device alerted, Ayana lay in herbunk. She shut her eyes, and would not look at thescreen, glad in a cowardly fashion that it was not herduty to be in the control cabin, where she would haveto watch.

The usual discomforts of landing shut out everything beyond the range of her own body, and she tensed and then relaxed. She had done this manytimes in practice, yet the truth differed so much fromthe simulation. A second or so later she blacked out.

As one waking out of a nightmare she regained consciousness. Then duty made its demands, and shefumbled with the webbing cocooning her body. It wasonly when she wriggled out of that protection that thesilence of the ship impressed itself upon her; all thethrobbing life in it was gone. They must be down, forthe engines were shut off.

Not only down, but they had made a good landing,for the cabin was level. They must have ridden in thedeter rockets well. So Jacel had been right to trustthe beam.

Ayana stood up and felt the grip of gravity. Shetook a step or two, feeling oddly uncertain at first, holding to a bunk support, looking at Tan.

He lay inert, a thin trickle of blood oozing from onecomer of his mouth. But even as she raised her handto him, he opened his eyes, those wide gray eyes, andthey focused on her.

"We made it!" He must have taken in at once thesilence of the cabin, the fact that it was in correct position for a good landing. His hands sped to unhookhis webbing.

"You are all right—?"

"Never better! We made it!" And the way he repeated that gave her a clue to his thoughts.

Perhapsfor all his outward show of confidence. Tan had haddoubts, strong doubts after all.

He was out of the cabin ahead of her, alreadyclimbing for the control cabin before she could follow.Voices from there announced that the two responsiblefor what Ayana privately believed to be a miracle—their safe landing—were already rejoicing over that.

The scene outside as shown on the visa-visionquieted them. They had indeed landed in what musthave once been a spaceport, for the scars of old deterand rise rocket fire were plain to be marked as thepicture slowly changed. However, there were buildings also, towering bulks such as they had never seenon Elhorn.

To their sight, though those buildings stood at adistance, there were no signs of erosion or the passingof time. But neither were there any signs of life. AndJacel, monitoring his com, shook his head.

"Nothing. No broadcast except the signal whichbrought us in. And it is set—"

Set by whom, why? The questions in Ayana's mindmust be shared by her crew mates. If they had landedon a silent and deserted world—what had rendered itso?

Massa was consulting other instruments. "Air—nothing wrong with that. We can breathe it. The gravity is a point or two less than we have known.Otherwise, this is enough like Elhorn to suit us."

"Like Elhorn? With all that to explore!" Tanwaved a hand at the screen where more and. more of the huge building complex showed as the pickup slowly turned. This must be a city, Ayana decided.

Though it pointed higher into the sky with its towersand blocks than any city did—or should.

To look at it aroused a queer repugnance in her, afeeling of reluctance to approach it. As if it were somecrouching animal ready to pounce, perhaps actuallyingest what came too near. She wanted none of thosewalls and towers. Yet on the screen the constantlymoving scene proved that their landing site seemed tobe completely surrounded by those buildings.

She could see no green of vegetation. No growthhad seemingly dared to invade this place of stone.Nor was there any other ship berthed here.

"I think," Jacel said as he leaned back in his seat,"this place is deserted—"

"Don't be too sure of that!" Tan retorted. "Wecould be watched right now. They might well have some reason to want us to believe no one is here. Justbecause you flashed out the old code, or what we believe is the old code, does not mean that they couldunderstand it. How long has it been since the First Ships lifted? We have been on Elhorn five hundredplanet years, but we have no idea how long was their voyage out, or ours back. A lot can change even in asingle generation."

He pointed out the obvious, but Ayana wished hewould not. With every word he spoke those distantwindows seemed more and more like cold eyes spyingon them. And in all that mass of buildings there couldbe many hiding places for those who had no wish tobe found.

"We cannot just stay here in the ship," Jacel said."Either we explore here—or we lift, try for a landingsomewhere else."

Ayana saw her head shake mirrored by the others.Now that they were down, the best thing to do wasabide by their choice—explore.

Fiercely she fought her fears under control. Even ifthe people were dead there would be records.

Andthose records could hold some secret, which might haltthe Cloud or otherwise aid those who had struggled tosend them here. They had a duty that was not to bebalked by shadows and uneasy fears.

Some rebel emotion, though, replied to that argument; this fear shefelt was not small, and she must work hard to subdueit.

They ran out the ramp. Tan opened the arms locker, and they all wore blasters at their belts as theywent out. Massa remained on guard at the hatch,ready to activate the alarms at any sign of danger.

There was a wind, but the sun was warm. Ayanacould detect no odor in the breeze against her face. It was like any wind, and this might be a fall morning onher own home world.

"A long time—" Jacel had trotted over to the nearest burn scar, was down on one knee by that scorched fringe. "This was done a long time ago." Heheld a radiation detect, and-its answering bleat was low.

Tan stood with his hands on his hips, turning slowly as if he himself was a visa-recorder. "They werebuilders!" And there was excitement in his voice as headded: "What a world to claim! An empty world waiting for us!"

"Do not be too sure." Jacel joined him. "I have afeeling—" He laughed as one startled and a little dismayed by his own thoughts. "I feel we are beingwatched."

Tan's answering laugh had none of the other's apologetic undertones. He threw out his arms wide andhigh. "Ghosts—shadows—let them watch us if theywill. I say mankind has come again to claim his home!And—let us get busy out there"—he waved to thebuildings—"and find out what awaits us."

But training remained to tame his exuberance a little. He did not indeed urge them to instant invasionof the watching, waiting city (if city it was). He wascontent to wait for their agreement that that must bedone. Instead he got busy in the storage compartments, transporting to the open the parts of the flitterwhich must be assembled for a flight of discovery.

It was well into late afternoon by. the signs beforethe framework of the small flyer was together.

Tanwas still working on it when Jacel appeared, stringingbehind him a length of cord, while stacked in his armswere small boxes. Tan, perched on the nose of theflyer, hailed him.

"What are you doing?"

"Seeing that we—or the flitter—have no unheralded visitors. Nights can be dark." Jacel set down hisload. Without being asked, Ayana came to help himplace the detects, string cord between them to complete a circle about the flitter.

This was one of the best warning devices they carried. Nothing could cross that circle of cord once itwas set, for it created a repelling field of force. Notonly that, but any attempt to approach would ringalarms in the ship.

"A trap for ghosts," Tan said. But he did not protest as Jacel carefully triggered each box.

Tan finished and left the flitter, and Jacel made thefinal setting. They were safe within the ship once theramp was in. For there was no possible way of attacking those holed up in a spacer; the ship was a fort initself.

However, Tan seemed reluctant to follow the others up the ramp, to seal up for the night. He turned tolook at the towers.

"Tomorrow!" He made a promise of that one word,spoken loud enough for Ayana to hear.

Thoughwhether he meant it for her or only himself she didnot try to learn.

Tomorrow, yes—there would be no holding Tanback then. He would circle out, looping wider andwider with every turn, relaying back all the information the instruments on the flitter could pick up.

Then they would learn whether the city was trulydead or not, for among those devices was one which registered the presence of life force. They were not altogether helpless—

Now why had she thought that? As if they were indeed under siege and had only the worst to fear?Ayana ran her tongue across her lips. She had beenpassed as emotionally stable, enough so (and the tests had been as severe as those preparing themcould devise) to be selected for the voyage. But the minute she had entered this solar system, it was as ifshe had been attacked by forces which tampered withher emotions, threatened that stability in ways shecould not understand. She was a medic—a trained scientist—yet she feared windows! Now she oncemore fought those fears—pushed them back—strove to conquer them.

They ate, of ship's rations which tonight seemedeven less satisfying and tasteless. Would they find fruit, or perhaps other food they could stomach here?She would be a party on the second or third trip—tobe sure no ghost of disease lingered. She would haveto go muffled and clumsy in a protect suit, but thatshe had practiced on Elhorn.

"Tan—Ayana!" Massa's voice over the com andthe excitement in it made Ayana reach for the blasteron her discarded belt. "Look at the screen!"

Windows were alight! The dark ringing the shipwas not complete. Apparently Massa had set the pickup on the move again to give them the changingview. There was one lighted tower and then another.

Not all were alight. Ayana managed to be objectiveafter her first startled reaction. There were blocks of lights, then again scattered single ones. Some buildings were altogether dark. Such uneven lighting hinted of inhabitants. There were people there—there had to be!

"Tan—do you see?" Ayana's question was a kind of plea against his plans for tomorrow. He must nottake off alone, cross that grim, watching place, in thelight flitter. That had a shield, of course, every protect device they could give it. But above that giant,and she was sure hostile, pile—

Those lights, surely Tan would accept them as evidence of life. They could lift ship, find one of thoseall-dark cities they had marked from space. That was'only sensible. But she knew she would not have achance to argue that when Tan answered:

"Doesn't mean a thing! Do not worry. Big Eyes.Those are probably automatic and some circuits havelong gone. Anyway, I have the force shield."

Even his use .of the private name he had for her(which she cherished because of the sweet intimacy itstood for)—even that hurt. It was as if he deliberately used it to scoff at her concern. Ayana closed hereyes to those lights, tried to find sleep and perhapsdream of the safety of Elhorn before this wild venturebecame her life.

The sudden clamor outside this new corridor was oneFurtig had heard before, which set fur erect along hisspine, flattened his ears to his skull, parted his lips tohiss. He caught an echo of that hiss from Ku-La. Yetin a second or two both realized that this was not thehunting cry of a Barker pack.

No, it held pain and fear rather than the hottriumph of the hunter upon his quarry. Furtig, belly down on the floor of the corridor, wriggled forward topeer through the transparent outer wall.

There was the Barker, threshing wildly onefoot—no, a foot and leg caught in something. Hewas in such a frenzy that he snapped with his well fanged jaws, striving to cut what held him. Then hishead was caught! His flailing body fell, or was jerked,to the ground. Seconds later he was so trapped in the substance which had entangled him that he could notmove save in spasmodic jerks, each of which worsenedhis plight. His baying came in muffled snorts.They came running from concealment where even Furtig's sharp sight had not detected them. Rattons—a gray-brown wave of them. They piled on the Barker, seeming to have no fear of what had felled him,and began to drag the captive away.