Damia (36 page)

“What?” Afra stared at Larak, struck by a horror of several Sodans converging on the Nine Star League.

Larak was delighted at the effect of that casual statement. “They’re keeping it to a need-to-know basis, but don’t worry. So far it’s been limited to unidentifiable impingements,” and Larak shook his head vigorously to reassure the Capellan, “and neither the scouts nor all that sensitive instrumentation has revealed anything in the least bit hostile. Those sentinels are sensitive enough to be set off by spaceflot or cometaries. This Sodan’s
modus operandi
seems to be entirely different. We Talents destroyed the Beetles more or less by ourselves. I think we can handle this mental giant.”

Afra gave a mirthless laugh. “We’ll be lucky if we can.”
He nodded briskly when Larak regarded him with astonishment. “Oh, yes, that mind is incredibly powerful. Not at all like the Beetles where there were only sixteen control beings that had to be diverted. And, if he has been insidiously reducing Damia’s strength or getting past her shields . . .” Afra paused, adding very softly, his yellow eyes clouded, “he could quite possibly destroy us.”

“Let’s get Dad and Mother in on this,” Larak said in sudden resolution.

Together the two soberly presented their conclusions to Jeff and the Rowan.

Surely if you were an alien contacted by a strong mentality, you would exercise caution in revealing details?
the Rowan suggested.
I would, if I met a mind in outer space.

You did
, Jeff reminded her,
and I was very friendly indeed.

Jeff!

If this Sodan is draining Damia, he means her, and us, no good
, Jeff went on, speaking in an official tone.
We are agreed that Afra does not cry panic unnecessarily, so we must act on his recommendations and now, before this entity gets close enough to investigate the Aurigaen system. Especially before he discovers the Aurigaen system and the rich lodes on that planet. I’m also keenly aware of how little defense Iota Aurigae has against space attack.

You concur with Afra that he’s prospecting for new sources of raw materials?
the Raven asked, in a tone of indecision.

That’s our main push in finding new planets, isn’t it?
Larak said.

If Damia is as exhausted as you suggest, Afra, how can we use her as focus? In the first place, she’s not likely to agree to take aggressive action against an entity she considers friendly.
She spoke as Damia’s mother, not Callisto Prime.

No, she’s not
, Afra said sourly.

And yet we need to use her link to his mind to make our own contact. There’s also the point that
, Jeff continued, not at all liking the expedient,
if we do discover, and prove
to her, that this Sodan entity is truly dangerous, to her, to Aurigae, to us, that we may need her catalytic ability to increase our defense against him.

Each day Damia returns to Aurigae a little more tired than the previous one
, Afra said slowly.
I was immeasurably drained after only a few moments in link. That’s never happened to me before.

I think Afra’s correct to call him a soul-eater
, Larak put in.

There’s no such thing
, the Rowan said sharply.

I don’t know what else to call him that’s as accurate
, Afra said.
Or how else to describe the effect he has on her.

In any case
, Jeff said firmly,
I find it disturbing to think of her immense natural energy being depleted.

Highly unlikely.
The Rowan bristled with indignation.

Let us conclude this swiftly
, Larak cautioned them.
Damia’s returning and . . . WOW! Is she dragging!

Afra suppressed annoyance that the curious childhood link between sister and brother gave Larak the edge in sensing her return. But, as Afra reached out to touch her mentally, her aura was very dim, indeed. He concentrated on the lightning debate that Jeff, Rowan, and Larak carried on, as decision and strategy were settled in the moment before Damia’s capsule landed in its cradle.

“Larak, I couldn’t believe I felt your touch,” she cried happily as she saw her brother, the picture of casual relaxation, perched on the edge of the console.

“Believe it, sister dear, your favorite bro is here,” he said, rising to embrace her. “This alien sure has got you wrapped up and tied like a present. See how the mighty have fallen.” When Damia flushed, Larak roared with laughter. “I’ve got to meet a guy who can do this to my sister.”

“Really, Larak, how puerile! You obviously have no conception of what a momentous occasion this is. I’ve always felt that I was given unusual strengths and abilities for a special reason,” Damia said, her eyes shining, “and now I know what it is!”

“The whole planet will know in a moment if you don’t
reduce your output,” Afra said sharply, to give Larak a chance to control his shock at her extraordinary remark.

With some resentment, Damia dampened down her emotional outpouring.

“I suppose you arrived with an appetite like a mule,” she said with some resignation.

Larak’s expression was a study of innocent hurt.

“I’m a growing boy, and while you’re out courting, Afra’s getting overworked, leaner, and hungrier.”

Damia looked guiltily at Afra.

“You
do
look tired,” she said with concern. “Let’s all push over to the house and have dinner. Larak, why are you here?”

“Oh, Dad wants Afra to pinch-hit on Procyon. Those two T’s who’re buffering Guzman are down with one of the local viruses and traffic is backing up. You know we have to jolly Guzzie along, but he hasn’t much stamina these days. He’s complained that I’m too young for such responsibility,” and Larak’s grin was pure malice. “Say, what’s this alien ship of yours like? Crew or full automation for a void trek?”

Hand poised over the cooking dials, Damia hesitated. She regarded her brother with a blank expression.

“Oh, you men are all alike. Details, details!”

“
Details
like that may bore you, sister heart, but they fascinate me. But if you want to continue on the abstract level, let me catch such mundane details for myself.”

“You can’t reach that far.”

To Afra her tone was protective as well as defensive.

“Let me hop a ride with you tomorrow, then.” Larak snagged a raw vegetable stick from the crisper and seemed more interested in its taste than her agreement.

Damia hesitated, looking for support from Afra, who shrugged “Why not?” as he followed Larak’s example and savored a crunchy white root with a slightly aniseed flavor. She caught no more than that from Afra’s mind when she sent a swift probe. And, he was certain, no more than that from Larak’s if she tried her brother. Even as close as
they were, her probe was a poor imitation of her customary mental dig.

“C’mon, sis, what’s to be coy for?”

“I’m not being coy!” Her temper flared in irritation, then subsided. “It’s just that . . . just that . . . these are very delicate stages in establishing a rapport . . .”

“Delicate? Rapport?” Larak blurted out, staring at her as if he couldn’t believe his ears. “You’re making a first contact, not a first date! That is, if it’s even marginally humanoid.”

“His is a true mind, brilliant, powerful,” she said haughtily. “The form is immaterial.”

“Oh?” Larak’s mobile face expressed extreme doubt. “Never thought you’d fall for the cerebral type, Damia, not the way you’ve developed.” He eyed her, not as a brother, but as an interested male.

Damia reddened, half with fury and indignation, and half with a sudden virtuous embarrassment for her brother’s accurate gibe.

“Ever since you and Jenna propagated a child, you’ve turned insufferable! Why, if I hadn’t been out here, we wouldn’t have been warned at all.”

“Warned?” Afra leapt on the choice of word. Perhaps she was not as completely bedazzled as they’d thought.

“Of this momentous occasion,” she went on, oblivious to the implication. “You’ve touched Sodan, Afra. Don’t you agree that his feat of crossing to another galaxy is momentous?”

“Yes, it is,” Afra said tactfully. “Only a brilliant mind could accomplish such a feat.”

Damia caught an undertone he wasn’t quick enough to suppress. “Oh, you! You’re jealous! Jealous?” Damia eyed Afra closely, plainly struggling with this new dimension to her oldest ally.

“And you’re also letting dinner burn,” Larak said, pointing to a sizzling pan.

“Don’t either of you know better than to distract a cook with stupid questions?” she demanded, quickly shifting the pan. “It’s a mercy nothing
is
burned!”

She served them, irritated that her dinner was not as perfect as usual, and the two men could think of no way to break the strained silence, especially as both had to concentrate on maintaining a convincing level of trivial surface thoughts. They hardly needed to use such a subterfuge because Damia went off into a private reverie, ignoring them completely.

Finally Larak pushed back his plate, having finished every scrap on his plate and what was left over in the pans.

“Even with half your mind on what you’re doing, sis, you’re a great cook,” Larak said, wiping his mouth and sighing with repletion. “So! This Sodan entity is clearly not a new reconnaissance device of the Deneb Beetles?” Larak looked from Damia to Afra, who shook his head quickly in denial.

“No question of that,” Afra replied. “Totally different mentality . . .” He ignored Damia’s snort. “. . . and vehicle. There is an impression of immense distances traversed, far longer than the twenty years since the Deneb entanglement.”

Larak whistled appreciatively, as if this was news to him.

“You didn’t happen to catch any details about propulsion and power which my sweet sister would not deign to notice?”

“No, actually, for there were no obvious visual images to be sensed and I was only concerned with identification. Clearly this entity isn’t a Beetle.”

“Stop calling Sodan an ‘entity,’” Damia said. “That’s rude. And he has eyes,” she added defensively. “We’ve discussed the concept of sight. You must take into consideration that he is also in control of the ship, and the drain on his energies to reach me as well as manage ship function and crew is enormous. It certainly is on me.”

“Yeah. You could do with some beauty sleep, sis,” said Larak.

“Thanks muchly,” she said, bridling.

“Children! Cut it out!” Afra intervened automatically.

Larak and Damia glared at each other, but the long habit of obeying Afra held.

“Get to bed, the pair of you,” he added. “Snarling at each other in the worst example of sibling rivalry I’ve seen since you graduated from Isthia’s fosterage,” and now he gave Damia his full disapproval. “Makes me wonder how your father dared install you as Aurigae Prime.”

“If there’s anything that annoys me more than Larak acting fraternal, it’s you, Afra, being avuncular.” She spoke coolly, but her flare of temper had been controlled.

Afra shrugged, relieved that his diversion had worked before Larak inadvertently disclosed to Damia why he was fielding these particular queries.

“At least this avuncular entity has sense enough to go to bed when he’s out on his feet,” he murmured. As he passed Larak, the boy winked.

The next morning at breakfast, no one looked particularly rested by a night’s sleep. Afra kept a surface rumble going in his mind to mask both tension and anxiety. Larak delivered a running monologue about his son’s developing intelligence and Jenna’s maternal charms. Damia was also closely shielding. When the three reached the Tower, Damia took the most cursory glance at station business, noting that cargo was light and the few messages were standard communications.

“I’ll take you out now, Larak, and then you’ll be free to handle the afternoon dispatches.”

“Fine. Dad wants Afra on Procyon as soon as I’ve taken over from him.”

Damia hesitated, then jutted her chin out. “I suppose you want to come along again, too,” she said, flinging the challenge at Afra, who merely shrugged.

“I wouldn’t mind another gawk. Fascinating mind,” Afra said casually. He was intensely grateful to whatever quirk had prompted her to make such an offer. He’d thought he’d have to surreptitiously follow Damia and Larak. With such distances to travel, he’d been nervous of losing even their combined touch.

“You two get settled. I can follow if Damia’s leading,”
Afra said, boosting the generators to their peak. Xexo had gotten the ailing one back on line for which Afra was extremely grateful.

As Damia and Larak left the Tower for their capsules, he contacted Jeff and the Rowan to stand by, then settled into his own shell, reassured by their sustaining presence in his mind.

Is there any possible chance we’re wrong about Sodan’s intentions, or the depth of Damia’s emotional commitment?
the Rowan asked hopefully.

Less and less
, Afra told her grimly.
We’ll know soon for certain. Larak needled her last night. She’ll have to check to make sure he’s wrong about Sodan.

Then Afra touched Damia and Larak, and all three went the mere half light-year farther to the ship, and Sodan.

You have rested well and are strong today
, was the cool greeting after an instant’s welcoming flash.

Damia instinctively covered against the discovery of her co-riders, but the greeting stuck in her mind. She could not escape the inference that Sodan was displeased with her strength, yet a tinge of relief colored that fleck of thought.

You come nearer to physical contact with us every day
, she began.

Us?
Sodan queried.

My planet, my people . . . me.

I’m only interested in you
, he replied.

Damia was unable to censor from Afra and Larak the pleasure she felt in that qualification.
That is between us, but my people will be interested in you
, she said adroitly.

There are many people on your planets?
he asked.

Planet.